Torment: Part 5

The police are alerted to an explosion in the Upper East Side of the city and rush to the scene. In the ruins of the mansion, Spider-Man braces the falling debris in order to prevent himself from being buried alive. His mind reeling from the blast, he wonders if the Lizard and the woman who has Connor's in her thrall are still alive, and more importantly, why has she attacked him? His strength ebbing thanks to the strain of holding up the debris and the heat from the flames, Spider-Man struggles to keep himself alive, his only thoughts are making it home alive to see his wife Mary Jane.[1] At that very moment, Mary Jane is returning home in a taxi cab hoping her husband has finally come home. As the cab makes its way through the city, the driver has to swerve away to avoid some speeding fire trucks. Back in the ruins, Spider-Man thinks about how a ruptured gas main during his battle with the Lizard caused the blast. He struggles to hold on to the simple fact that she doesn't know who the woman who attacked him was or the reason why. With the debris braced, the wall-crawler makes the slow crawl out of the wreckage.

Elsewhere in the ruins, Spider-Man's attacker has also survived the blast as well. From the beats of her drum, she calls to the Lizard who digs himself out of the rubble as well. She marvels at how unstoppable her slave is. She then returns her attention to destroying Spider-Man. Back in the cab, Mary Jane's mind drifts off as she struggles to stay away. She is suddenly jolted awake when the taxi has to swerve to avoid some police cars. MJ briefly panics, worrying about her husband, but reminds herself to remain calm. In the flaming wreck of the mansion, the mystery woman focuses her mind, hoping that her voodoo powers to reach out and sense for Spider-Man. She soon becomes aware that Spider-Man is watching from above and orders the Lizard to attack him. Having had enough, the wall-crawler gives into his rage. Leaping into battle with the Lizard, he demands to know why this woman is attacking him. However, as the Lizard overpowers the heroes, the woman only stands and watches in silence as her thrall prepares to make the killing strike. At that same moment, Mary Jane sits silently in her cab, thinking about the two close calls she had on the way home. Thinking about how she almost died twice in the same night, she wonders how her husband can live with that risk every single time he puts on his mask.

At the scene of the battle, the mystery woman wonders why the poisons in Spider-Man's body hasn't killed him yet and decides to speed things up. Increasing the rhythm of her spell, the woman causes Spider-Man even greater pain. Still demanding answers, Spider-Man struggles to get to his feet and dodges yet another lunge from the Lizard. The masked hero weakly calls out to his wife, assuring Mary Jane that he is coming. When the Lizard leaps at him again, Spider-Man throws a bundle of chains at the creature. The man-monster is caught up in the chains and gets caught in the debris, choked seemingly to death. As she watches the Lizard's blood drip to the debris on the floor, Spider-Man tells her that she is next. The woman tells Spider-Man he is going to die and with a hand gesture she causes another explosion that sends Spider-Man sprawling. Realizing that she can no longer win this battle, the mystery woman departs as Spider-Man recovers from the blast. When fire crews arrived on the scene, Spider-Man makes his departure. As the firemen search the scene they find no bodies, not even that of the Lizard. Soon, Spider-Man returns home. Seeing the state of her husband, she rushes to his side. He will heal and live to fight another day. However, he is not the only one, as the Lizard's hand rises out of the murky water just outside of the city.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Calypso, Lizard

Continuity Notes

1. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be referred to as husband and wife.