—Spider-Man (Ben Reilly)I'll thwip over, save a few folks, punch an old man, and meet you back at the apartment for leftovers?
Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Beyond Corporation
- Doug Siravanta
- Keith (First appearance)
- Dr. Ashley Kafka
- Janine Godbe
- Marcus Momplaisir
- Maxine Danger (As a hologram)
- Luis (First appearance)
- Mrs. Lind (First appearance)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Ben Parker (Vision or hallucination)
- Miles Morales (Mentioned)
- Kraven the Hunter ("Sergei Kravinoff") (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for 1st story
As Doug recounts helping Spider-Man[1] to his co-worker Keith, he voices how miffed he is having been reassigned to a desk job at the Beyond Midtown Branch, before being frightened seeing other co-worker Sonny escort Doctor Octopus to their office space; pretending to be an old man seeking his grandson to infiltrate. Telling the villain of his recent kidnapping[2] and potential demotion if it happens again, Doc Ock instead assures Doug he isn't there for him, but rather to make his way to the top of the company hierarchy.
In therapy, Ben talks with Dr. Ashley Kafka about a dream he has with his Uncle from a time he stole a pack of gum. But unable to see his uncle's erased face, Kafka's ring technology restores his face and allows Ben to make an emotional breakthrough. Later that night, Ben and Janine get dressed for date night and take a self-driving car. But as they're about to have a kiss, Ben reluctantly answers a call by Marcus about Doc Ock, having breached many of their data servers in the Midtown Branch. With the order to suit up by Maxine herself, Ben is told to go by an understanding Janine, and he promises to rendezvous back at their apartment later.
At the Beyond site, Doc Ock makes his way through the security measures to finally reach an item holding all of Beyond's secrets, promising to enact revenge on the company for stealing his secrets. However, Spider-Man arrives to kick Doc Ock in the face, then greets Doug upon seeing him before sending him and Keith to somewhere safer. Doc Ock elaborates how Beyond took something of his without notice until he investigated them further, pondering how far could their lies and deceptions go. When Ben comments how Kraven saw corporations were bad, Doc Ock expresses how corporations are good for revenue and manipulation until his arms deactivate from a small device Spider-Man planted on him.
Undeterred, Doc Ock removes his suit and arms to make his way to the device he wanted, and triggers the security system to target Spider-Man. Pelted by non-lethal rounds, Spider-Man is overwhelmed by the defenses until he is knocked unconscious, underwhelming Doc Ock's expectations. Taking his leave, Doc Ock advises the out-cold Spider-Man that Beyond hire someone more qualified by his return. Ben wakes up in a medbay later, updated by Marcus that he was out for thirty minutes so there's still time to locate Doc Ock. Ben's guilt still weighs on him, feeling he let everyone down from Doc Ock's escape with the device.
While Marcus tries cheering him up, Maxine soon calls on hologram voicing her disappointment that ben couldn't best Doc Ock, when someone like the "legacy" Spider-Man routinely could. Demanding the drive back, Ben requests to know whats on it but Maxine refuses to give more details to Ben's functioning as an asset. Ben's attempt to correct her is met with doubling down that he is indeed an asset, slowly building into a liability, and explaining that the drive has information that would haunt Beyond and everyone working for them in perpetuity.
Ben and Marcus copy her orders, with Ben asking if Marcus knows where to start finding the villains as he could be anywhere. At Beyond HQ across town, Mrs. Lind greets Luis on return from her lunch break. Soon after, Luis is met by a visitor asking to see Maxine Danger, but finds she has no visits scheduled for the day. The visitor reveals himself to be Doc Ock, who doesn't mind as his arrival is something of a surprise.
