MCU: Spider-Man: Rise of Saint

Franklin climbed through his bedroom window, his muscles still aching from catching cars. MJ lay curled up on his bed, using the pillow she'd thrown at him earlier. The movie's menu screen played on loop on his wall.

He peeled off his mask, looking at the fresh tears in his suit. The bat creature's claws had sliced through the spandex like it was paper. He'd need to fix that before going out again.

The bat fur sat in his suit pocket, dark and coarse. Franklin pulled it out, examining it under his desk lamp. Not like any bat hair he'd seen in biology class. The structure looked wrong, mutated.

His chemistry knowledge might be good enough to make web fluid, but analyzing genetic mutations? That needed equipment he couldn't get his hands on.

The police would have resources though. Labs, scientists, people who could figure out what that thing was.

Franklin checked the time - just past midnight. News coverage of the bridge incident filled his phone screen. Shaky videos showed the creature throwing cars while SWAT teams moved in. Some clips caught him catching vehicles, saving people.

He grabbed paper from his desk, writing "From Spider-Man" before stopping. Should he add more? Warn them about the creature's strength? Its intelligence?

MJ shifted in her sleep, reminding him how the night was supposed to go. Their first real chance to be alone together, interrupted by sirens. Again.

"Really knocked this one out of the park, Saint," he muttered.

Franklin webbed the fur and note into a small package. The police station was a few blocks away. He looked at MJ, debating whether to leave another note in case she woke up.

"Be right back. Again."

The station looked like a war zone. Cops rushed in and out, phones rang non-stop, detectives shouted orders across the room. Through the windows, Franklin saw officers crowded around maps, marking possible creature sightings.

Captain Stacy stood at the center of it all, directing the response like a general. He'd come out of retirement after the Battle of New York, and now this - another monster loose in his city.

Franklin stuck the package to the station's front door. Three officers ran out just as he swung away, one of them grabbing it immediately.

"Captain!" the officer called. "Something from Spider-Man!"

Back in his room, Franklin found MJ exactly as he'd left her. He changed out of his suit, hiding the torn sections under other clothes. Tomorrow he'd need to break out the sewing kit again.

He sat on the edge of his bed, watching MJ sleep. Part of him wanted to wake her, to explain why he had to leave. But what would he say? Sorry I ditched you to fight a giant bat monster?

"I'm sorry," he whispered instead.

MJ stirred. "You missed the movie."

"Had to help with something."

"Always do." She sat up, checking her phone. Her lockscreen showed news alerts about the bridge. "The bat thing's all over Twitter. That was you on the bridge?"

Franklin nodded.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just..." He looked at her, at the distance growing between them with each interrupted moment. "I'm really sorry about tonight."

MJ got up, gathering her things. "I should head home. It's late."

"I can walk you-"

"I live next door, Franklin." She paused at his window. "Maybe next time we try this, make sure the city doesn't need saving first."

After she left, Franklin lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. The night replayed in his head - the creature's impossible strength, the cars falling toward the river, the kid trapped in the burning van.

His phone lit up with a text from MJ: "Glad you're okay. Even if you are the worst date ever."

Franklin smiled, typing back: "Promise I'll make it up to you."

"You better."

He set his phone down, listening to sirens in the distance. Police still searching for the creature. Still trying to understand what it was, where it came from.

The torn suit needed fixing. But for now, Franklin just wanted to sleep. To forget for a few hours that being Spider-Man meant nights like this - choosing between what he wanted and what he had to do.

His phone buzzed one more time. MJ again: "Next time, we're watching the movie at my house. No windows for you to escape through."

*********

Franklin sat in Gloria's car outside the DMV, tapping the steering wheel while the instructor marked his score sheet. Six months of practice led to this moment.

"Well," the instructor said, "besides that parallel parking attempt-"

"Sorry about the cone."

"And the slightly wide turn on Cedar Street..."

Franklin winced. "And that."

"You passed." He handed Franklin the form. "Take this inside to get your license."

The DMV buzzed with typical morning activity - people slouched in plastic chairs, kids whining about the wait, clerks calling numbers in bored voices.

Franklin joined the line for photos. Gloria waited in the lobby, giving him a thumbs up when she spotted him.

"Did you run over any cones?" she asked when he sat next to her.

"Just one."

"Better than Jerome. He hit three during his test." Gloria smiled at the memory. "Never did get better at parking."

The clerk called Franklin's name. One awkward photo later, he held his temporary license while they printed the real one.

"Got plans to celebrate?" Gloria asked as they walked outside.

"Meeting MJ for lunch." Franklin checked his phone. "She's already at that diner near her house."

"Want me to drop you off?"

"I can walk. It's nice out."

Gloria hugged him. "Your parents would be proud. Jerome too."

Franklin watched her drive away before heading toward the diner. He cut through the park, enjoying the spring weather. A group of kids played basketball on the court where he used to practice.

Movement near the public bathrooms caught his eye. Someone stumbling, holding the wall for support.

Professor Langstrom.

Franklin almost didn't recognize him. The professor's clothes looked wrinkled, like he'd slept in them. His hands shook as he pressed something to his arm - a syringe.

"Professor?"

Langstrom spun around, hiding the syringe. As he turned, Franklin noticed something different about him. His ears seemed slightly pointed at the tips, not dramatically, but enough to look wrong. When Langstrom blinked, his eyes caught the light - a faint red tint around his pupils.

"Mr. Saint." Langstrom inhaled sharply through his nose. "I'd recognize that scent anywhere now. Still carrying chemicals from those labs you work in."

Franklin tensed. He hadn't been near any labs lately, except for making web fluid.

"What brings you to this part of town?" Langstrom asked, his voice unsteady.

"Just got my license." Franklin pointed to the DMV down the street. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just fine." Langstrom's hearing aid squealed. He yanked it out, shoving it in his pocket. "Bit under the weather."

Franklin stepped closer. Langstrom's pupils looked strange - too wide for the daylight, almost animal-like. The slight points of his ears seemed to twitch at every sound.

"Sure you're alright? You seem..."

"Never better." Langstrom straightened his jacket with trembling hands. "The research is progressing wonderfully. Revolutionary results."

"At MIT?"

"Yes. No. Both." Langstrom rubbed his temples. His nostrils flared again. "That scent... chemistry labs, but something else. Something unique."

Franklin took a step back. "Professor, maybe you should see a doctor."

"Doctors." Langstrom laughed. "They can't help. Can't understand. But it's working - I can hear everything now. Smell everything. Just need to stabilize it."

He hurried away, leaving the syringe cap on the ground. Franklin picked it up. Green residue coated the inside, the same color as the serum bottles he'd seen in Langstrom's lab.

Those bottles had been behind dark cloth. Now Franklin knew why - they were meant to be hidden, kept away from regular lab inspections.

Franklin pulled out his phone, searching news about the bat creature. The sightings started days ago - right when Langstrom came to New York.

The pieces clicked together. Langstrom's research at Stark Industries. The spider project. His obsession with cross-species genetics. The way he could somehow smell Franklin's web fluid chemistry.

Everything connected: the pointed ears, the reddish tint in his eyes, his enhanced senses. The bat creature wasn't just similar to Langstrom's research.

It was Langstrom.

His phone buzzed. MJ asking where he was.

Franklin watched the professor's retreating figure. Langstrom's walking grew more stable with each step, like whatever he'd injected was taking effect. The slight points of his ears seemed more pronounced, even from a distance.

Next time that bat creature appeared, Franklin would know exactly who he was fighting.

Franklin slid into the booth across from MJ at their usual diner. Her half-finished coffee and empty plate suggested she'd been waiting a while.

"Sorry I'm late. DMV took forever."

"Did you pass?"

Franklin pulled out his temporary license. "Only hit one cone."

"Better than I did." MJ took a sip of coffee. "Failed my first try. Hit two cones and nearly ran a stop sign."

"Really? You never told me that."

"Some things are better left in the past." She pushed her leftover fries toward him. "So what had you staring into space outside the DMV? Saw you from the bus."

Franklin leaned forward, lowering his voice. "I saw Langstrom."

"Your MIT professor?"

"He's the thing from the bridge. The creature." Franklin described what he'd seen - the syringe, the strange eyes, the pointed ears. "His ears twitched every time a car passed. And his eyes... they had this red tint to them."

"You're sure it's him?"

"Everything fits. His research at Stark Industries, the timing of the attacks." Franklin grabbed a fry. "He's doing something to himself. Some kind of experiment with bat DNA."

"Well, Twitter's calling it Man-Bat now." MJ showed him her phone. Videos of the bridge incident filled her screen. "Guess Batman was taken."

"People really need to work on their naming skills."

"Says the guy who picked Spider-Man as their superhero name."

Two days later, Franklin sat on his bed reviewing a city map. Red marks covered it - everywhere he'd searched for Langstrom. Abandoned buildings, old warehouses, closed subway stations. Dead ends at every spot.

"Only place left is the sewers," he muttered.

"That's gross." MJ looked up from her spot next to him, closing her textbook. "Can't you let the police handle the sewer searching?"

"They won't find him. They don't know what to look for." Franklin traced a tunnel route with his finger. "Plus he's probably changing back and forth. Regular cops wouldn't stand a chance if he transformed."

MJ took the map from his hands, tossing it aside. "That can wait. Gloria's working late, remember?"

She moved closer, running her fingers through his hair. Franklin turned toward her, the map forgotten as she pulled him into a kiss. Her lips tasted like the cherry lip gloss she always wore.

They fell back onto his bed, "You're so fucking beautiful," he whispered, his hands skimming over her curves.

Later, Franklin stared at his ceiling while MJ slept beside him. The sewer system stretched for miles under the city. Langstrom could be anywhere in that maze of tunnels, planning his next move.

He slipped out of bed carefully, grabbing his suit from his backpack.

"Sorry," he whispered to MJ's sleeping form. "Have to check."

An hour later, MJ woke to an empty bed. She checked her phone - no messages.

"Franklin?" She looked in the bathroom. Empty. Checked downstairs too.

Back in his room, she noticed his backpack open, suit missing. Her calls went straight to voicemail.

"Unbelievable." MJ flopped back on his bed, staring at the same ceiling Franklin had earlier. "He nutted in me and went straight to do hero work."

In the sewers, Franklin's phone kept going off in his backpack, unheard as he searched tunnel after tunnel for any sign of Langstrom. The creature was down here somewhere. It had to be down here.

The question was - how much of Professor Langstrom was left to save?