Chapter 21: Lights, Camera, Mysterio Part 1

Chapter Twenty One: Lights, Camera, Mysterio Part One:

“Help, someone help me, my purse has been stolen!” shouted a young woman with blonde hair with pink highlights, with a horrified expression on her face, as two young men shoved her to the side and rushed from the building, laughing madly but they suddenly stopped, when a figure swung in right in front of them. They looked rather shocked and surprised to see that they’ve come face to face with Spider-Man.

“You’re not supposed to be here!” shouted one of the thugs.

“Yeah, I get that one a lot,” said Spider-Man as he quickly shot a line of webbing and knocked one of the thugs for a loop with a vicious punch right to the face. Another punch and both thugs were on the ground. Spider-Man dropped down and grabbed the purse, before he swung forward. “They just don’t make henchmen like they used to, here’s your purse…owww!”

The young lady had kicked Spider-Man right in the knee. He supposed he should thank his lucky stars that she did not aim any higher.

“What was that for?” asked Spider-Man wincing. “In case you didn’t know I had saved your…”

“You stole my scene you web slinging fool!” shouted the girl in a screechy voice that Spidey was almost sure would break windows if it was any higher.

“Scene?” asked Spider-Man in a confused voice.

“That’s right, Spider-Man, scene, as in this is a movie being filmed,” said a very familiar voice and Spider-Man turned around, to come face to face with Quentin Beck, also known as the pompous super villain Mysterio.

“Beck?” asked Spider-Man. “What are you doing here?”

“Making a cinematic masterpiece until you decided to blunder in and assault my actors,” said Beck.

“What is your game, Mysterio?” demanded Spider-Man.

“Mysterio something that is in the past, I’m a new man, I’ve paid my debt to society and now I’ve decided to return to the film industry, only instead of special effects I’ve going to direct,” said Beck as he went face to face with Spider-Man before the police sirens came in the distance. “Ah yes, the proper authorities, they should know what to do with someone who commits grievous bodily harm on harmless movie actors.”

“I hope they lock him up forever and throw away the key, because that was supposed to be my big scene,” added the girl turning her nose up in the air at the very sight of Spider-Man.

“Calm yourself Andrea, you will get your moment and you will be famous,” said Beck as he looked to see Captain George Stacy, along with three other officers exit the car. “Ah, Captain Stacy, so good to see you once again and under better terms than last time.”

“I’ve heard you were released, Mr. Beck and not even a couple of weeks out, I find you in the center of trouble,” said Captain Stacy.

“Trouble, how dare you say such a thing, rather it’s your pet web head who is the cause of the trouble!” shouted Beck. “Yes, Captain, your tolerance of a vigilante such as Spider-Man is normally none of my concern, until now when he interferes with my business and my production. I am attempting to film a legitimate piece of cinema here and yet he swings in with no regard to the law and assaults my highly qualified union actors. As you can see, I have the proper permits to film in this part of the city.”

Beck shoved several papers towards Captain Stacy, who read them with a grave expression.

“As you can see, I have all rights to sue this web slinging nuisance for everything he’s worth, including that mask he hides behind in the name of being a hero,” said Beck. “Wonder Studios went through all the proper channels to get this production together and I won’t have Spider-Man ruin it.”

“Now, Beck, I’m sure we can work something out, Spider-Man is unaware that a movie was being produced here at this time,” replied Captain Stacy in a calm voice but Beck was having none of this.

“I don’t care, Spider-Man committed assault so Spider-Man must pay, I will see him in court, minus that mask and I’m sure the other citizens that he privately assaulted under the name of his vigilante crusades will be extremely interested in exactly who is hiding underneath there,” said Beck but then he grew thoughtful. “But, I’m a fair man, perhaps Spider-Man really meant no harm when he sabotaged the scene we filmed here. Still there is only one option for Spider-Man, to make up for the damage that he caused here, costing me a day of filming and thousands of dollars.”

-

“YOU DID WHAT?” shouted Gwen in shock.

“Gwen, please, not so loud, the entire neighborhood will hear you,” said Peter, as they walked in the park.

“No, let me get this straight, you actually sighed up for a role in Beck’s film as payment for the damage that you caused,” said Gwen in a low voice, as if she was trying to wrap her head around the absurdity of the entire situation.

“Yes, and for free, I had no other choice, it was either that or reveal myself to the world in a court of law,” said Peter as he sighed. “You know, I just have the strangest feeling that this was almost set up.”

“Well this is Mysterio we’re talking about,” responded Gwen. “He always has to make a production out of everything but you do realize that…”

“A trap, yeah, I know, this could very well be a trap, your dad had the same thought as well,” said Peter with a sigh, as he sat down on the park bench, with Gwen following suit. “But we have no other options and if Mysterio is up to something, at least I’ll be close enough to keep an eye on him. Still, I’ve got to be on my guard, after I ruined his grand scale plans last time, the grisly demise of Spider-Man would be the ultimate production for someone of his deranged caliber.”

“What do you think he might be up to, other than the obvious, of course?” questioned Gwen and Peter responded with a shrug, but he had his own ideas. It was Mysterio, it had to be something grand.

-

“The Globe outsold us!” shouted Jameson in an irate voice at the Daily Bugle building. “What could that rag have that would make anyone want to buy it.”

“Our consumer research says that they were disappointed about the lack of coverage of the new Wonder Studios movie, Attack of the Space Arachnoids from Jupiter,” said Robbie as he read over the papers.

“You mean to tell me that some cheesy sci-fi b movie out of the 1950s trashed the Daily Bugle’s sales!” shouted Jameson in complete outrage.

“That’s not all, it says the movie has a guest role for Spider-Man,” said Robbie which caused Jameson to spit his coffee all over the desk, before turning towards it with a complete look of revulsion on his face.

“What, Spider-Man?” demanded Jameson in absolute distaste. “You mean to tell me that someone would pay for a movie featuring that wall crawling reprobate and it would actually get coverage.”

“It’s a new angle, Jonah, Spider-Man the actor is different than Spider-Man the super hero,” said Robbie with a shrug but Jameson turned, deciding to direct his fury towards Ned Leeds.

“LEEDS!” boomed Jameson at the top of his lungs. “This is all your fault. If you had gotten that story in about those dangerous government weapons that were stolen earlier this week in on time, we wouldn’t be blasted by the Globe for such a ridiculous story.”

“Mr. Jameson, I did the best, the government wasn’t exactly too forthcoming,” protested Ned which was an understatement. The truth was, he was thrown out of the factory that he had found, with threats about being arrested. When he returned, the weapons if there were any, were gone. “It was almost like the government was hiding something, something dangerous and something dangerous was stolen.”

“Leeds I don’t pay you to think, I pay you for news, in fact, if the people want b-grade horror, then I’ll give the people b-grade horror,” said Jameson, before he turned. “I want you on the set of that new movie that the web head’s in and dig up some dirt about exactly what Beck and Spider-Man are planning?”

“Planning?” asked Robbie.

“Yes, Robbie, Beck was released from prison and I’m not too convinced he’s turned over a new leaf and we all know how much of a menace to society Spider-Man,” said Jameson. “Get me a good story Leeds or I might have to find a replacement. Take Brock with you to get some photographs, he needs another chance to redeem himself and I’m already paying Parker way too much for someone who is just a freelancer.”

The entire office staff remained silent and unmoving.

“What are you waiting for, a pat on the back?” demanded Jameson. “Get out of there and go, now, now, now, move it, before you’re fired!”

-

“Man I can’t believe it the web head gets to be in a major motion picture,” whined the Human Torch when the news hit the Baxter Building the morning.

“Johnny, I think it’s far from a major motion picture, I mean, seriously, Attack of the Space Arachnoids from Jupiter,” said the Invisible Woman. “Even the title sounds utterly ridiculous, never mind the plot.”

“Come on, Sue, it sounds like a classic, and Spider-Man gets to be in a supporting role,” said The Human Torch as he read the paper. “This Quentin Beck guy says his role was tailor made. Imagine a Fantastic Four movie, I mean wouldn’t that be the best thing ever?”

“Come on Matchstick, who in their right mind would pay money to see a movie about the Fantastic Four?” asked the Thing. “In fact, who in there right mind would pay to see a movie about Space Arachnoids from Jupiter.”

“Besides not to mention the fact that it is scientifically implausible for any kind of advanced life to thrive on Jupiter, based on current data, even these space arachnoids,” said Mr. Fantastic. “I don’t know where some of these movie producers get their stuff.”

“At least it’s not Skrulls,” said the Human Torch as he shuddered remembering the last time the Fantastic Four had ran into those particular aliens.

-

“QUIENTIN!” screeched Andrea as she stomped into the room, where Quentin Back and a group of men were crowded around the table.

“Andrea, I believe the proper procedure is to knock before you enter a room,” said Beck calmly but Andrea was not having any of it.

“What’s this crap on every newspaper page about Spider-Man being the star attraction of my movie?” demanded Andrea, as she shoved the latest edition of the Daily Globe right in Beck’s face.

“Now, Andrea, the public, for whatever reason, gravitates around that wall crawling nuisance but I can assure you that he is merely a novelty, used to generate some extra publicity that will allow your star to shine the brightest,” said Beck as he looked at the young actress, who had her arms folded, with a disbelieving look on her face. “Trust me on this, but the time this over, you’ll be known the entire world over and you won’t be able get a moment’s rest. You’ll be a star, my dear, a star and Wonder Studios will make you our poster girl.”

“I better be a star, I should be in glamorous high end, major motion pictures, not some movie about Space bugs or whatever your stupid little production’s about,” said Andrea, turning her nose up in the air. “You really think this might make up for money.”

“Science fiction has a wide variety of those who will watch even the most dismal films and my film will be beyond most of the drek, thus even turning the eyes of the harshest critics and getting you, major movie roles,” said Beck as Andrea nodded, with a relaxed smile, as dollar signs basically danced in her eyes. “Now go forth young lady and prepare, filming begins in a few hours and we wouldn’t want you to look anything other than your best. It would reflect badly on you.”

Andrea nodded, as she moved off, ready to look her best. To be honest, this movie was beneath someone like her but she was using it as a springboard to jumpstart her career and make a fortune. Beck turned to the men around him, really henchmen of his, posing as actors for the movie.

“Don’t know why we have to put up with her, boss,” said one of the henchman.

“She’s just a prop in the grander scheme, the utter demise of Spider-Man, nothing more,” replied Beck smoothly. “She’s played her role nicely, although I was glad that her acting talents wer enough to trick Spider-Man into thinking there was an actual robbery. Naturally, with my help, she was able to pull it off without a hitch.”

“Spider-Man won’t know what hit him,” said one of the henchmen with a grin but Beck turned him away.

“He will soon realize that the grandest master stroke will paint his demise,” said Beck in a calm voice. “The video of his demise will be the amusement of the New York Criminal Underworld for some time to come but it will also prove to the world once and for all that Spider-Man was a fool to think he could match wits with the magnificence of Mysterio!”

Beck ended that last sentence with his usual tone before he looked serious.

“And with the last minute changes to the script, Spider-Man will be in for a bit of a surprise,” concluded Beck.

“But naturally we’re not going to let poor Spidey in on the last minute revisions,” said one of the henchmen as they laughed and Beck stood up, a triumphant smirk etched on his face. This would be his grandest triumph to date.

-

Spider-Man arrived on the set right away, see the set up. He had read the script that Beck had shoved in his face when he had been coerced into doing this little production and needless to say, he was none too impressed with it. It was cheesy, over the top, even for what was a sci-fi horror movie or whatever genre Beck was trying to pull off to shield his scheme. Having both directed and writing the script, it was obvious to the wall crawler why Beck’s talents laid in special effects. He was good at making things look good, but not so much in actually producing quality from the ground up.

“Ah, Spider-Man arrived at last, very well then, places everyone,” said Beck as he saw that Andrea walked up a scaffold, where she climbed inside a cage, where two of his henchmen, dressed in the Archanoid costumes stood on either side, with staffs, as the other Archanoids moved in, with weapons in hand, as Spider-Man was handed a weapon of his own but a camera flash had distracted the proceedings, as Ned Leeds and Eddie Brock walked inside. “I beg your pardon, gentlemen, but what are you doing here?”

“I’m Ned Leeds from the Daily Bugle and…” started Ned but two burly security guards walked in, grabbing Ned roughly by the arms, while two more security arms took a hold of Eddie Brock.

“This production is closed to the media,” said Beck in a firm voice, as the reporter and the photographer were both escorted out promptly, as Beck sat down on his director chair, waiting for the media representatives to be escorted away. “Right, now, everyone ready, places, we’re ready to shoot Scene Thirty Seven, the evil Archanoids have captured the leader of the rebel army and now its up to the crazed and reckless vigilante, Spider-Man to save the day. I want the fight good and it will end with Spider-Man managing to save the rebel leader, but he get greviously wounded in the process and left for dead.”

“So that’s my big part?” asked Spider-Man in disbelief.

“I have no room for prima donnas in my production, Spider-Man,” said Beck.

“Right, I think you already have your quota filled between you and Miss Personality up there in the cage,” responded Spider-Man.

“Watch it or I’ll make sure you never work in one of my films ever again!” shouted Andrea in a high pitched voice.

“Yeah, that would really break me up inside,” said Spider-Man in a sarcastic voice.

“You know, I’ve got to hand to Mysterio, I mean I think he might have found the one person in the world vainer than he is,” thought Spider-Man. “There should be some kind of award for that or something.”

“Quiet, quiet on the set!” shouted Beck as he turned to the cameraman. “Make sure that camera is ready to roll, I want to see each and every moment of this glorious scene as it unfolds. Archanoids, get your weapons ready and prepare to attack Spider-Man. Lights, camera, and action!”

“I just have the funniest feeling that old fishbowl head is going to make this scene all too real,” said Spider-Man bracing himself as the Archanoids turned right towards him and the second their weapons pointed right towards him, his spider sense flickered into overdrive as they closed in. “And I hate it when I’m right.”

He watched as one of the Archnoids stepped forward. The scene called for him to attempt to blast them with his weapon, a glorified flashlight but his spider sense continued to warn him that something was up. A heavily concentrated blast with a very real weapon had blown up one of the props behind him to bits. Quickly, Spider-Man leapt up, landed on his feet, and shot a line of webbing out, wrapping it around the gun, pulling it from his hand, causing the goon to fall flat on his face. He flung himself over two more of the Archanoids and kicked them right in the back, causing them to land on the ground with a loud thud.

“Spider-Man desist, cut, desist, this was not part of my scene!” shouted Beck as Spider-Man dodged another blast from the very real weapon, before he disarmed and then wrapped up his enemy.

“Just wait, once I get rid of your goon squad, I’ll make you part of this scene, Beck,” said Spider-Man in a threatening voice as two more of the Archanoids went towards him, but Spider-Man shot wrapping around them, tying him together, before he leapt up onto the cage, where Andrea was. The actress gave an ear piercing shriek, as Spider-Man swung on the cage, gaining momentum before he propelled himself into a somersault, walloping both of his enemies. They spiraled down to the ground, as he leapt up and knocked another back with a kick.

“Stop him, stop him, he’s ruining my big moment!” shouted Andrea.

“Ruining mine too,” muttered Beck as he stepped to the side to enact his back up plan, as one of the Archanoids attempted to go for the blaster, but Spider-Man kicked it out of his hand and pulled the goon up to the ground, before sending him flying right through a proper backdrop. Webbing wrapped him into place as another weapon attempted to club Spider-Man from behind, but the wall crawler tripped him up and launched him up, before webbing his feet together.

“Alright, Mysterio, it’s just you and me, so come out and face me!” shouted Spider-Man. “It’s over, Beck!”

“On the contrary Spider-Man, it has merely begun,” said Beck with a laugh as the spider sense alerted him that something was wrong and sure enough it was, as gas was pumped into the room. Spider-Man felt his legs buckle, he could not shield himself in time from the affects of the gas, as it was beginning to put him under. He watched as Beck stood, with a gas mask on. The actress in the cage passed out, as Spider-Man slumped to the ground, temporarily paralyzed from his ordeal. “Now, Spider-Man, time to prepare you for the final take of your final scene!”

Beck laughed in a crazed manner, looking at the battered body of Spider-Man who twitched but offered little movement other than that. He walked over, before he grabbed the intercom.

“Phineas, your little project is ready, is it not?” asked Beck and he waited for an answer, before he nodded with a smirk on his face. “Good, good, get it ready to go, because we’re going to have a test pilot here before long. Spider-Man has kindly volunteered to take a trip on it’s maiden voyage.”

Beck walked around, freeing his henchmen one by one. It would be so easy to finish Spider-Man right now but that would not be a fitting final cut delivered by a master of manipulation such as Mysterio. He needed an ending that fit the absolute brilliance that was Mysterio. He motioned for the henchmen, some of them worse for wear, to pick Spider-Man up. They carried him to back of the van and Beck got in the front see, starting up the vehicle. Spider-Man would not be waking up for several hours, but Beck was determined to have him be awake for his own demise. It was only appropriate that Spider-Man would get to see the end coming and appreciate his brilliance.

-

Spider-Man turned his head, completely groggy. It was a few seconds for him to remember what happened, he was fighting Beck’s henchmen and he had been knocked completely unconscious by some kind of knockout gas. He was still weakened, his spider strength was maybe at a quarter of what it might have been and he realized he was chained to something. Several more seconds had passed, before he realized exactly what he was chained to.

Spider-Man had found himself chained to the top of what appeared to be a flying saucer or at least one straight out of a 1950s Alien Invasion movie. He lifted his hands but found the chains had little to no give whatsoever. He continued to struggle and squirm but he collapsed, as several people walked forward, looking highly amused at his discomfort, lead by one Quentin Beck.

“So, it comes down to this Spider-Man, the final curtain, the end game, the final scene, forever,” said Beck as he wiped a mock tear away from himself. “It’s sad really.”

“Yeah sad that you’ve strapped me to such a cheesy little trap,” said Spider-Man as he looked at Beck. “Seriously, exactly what possessed you to come up with something like this?”

“I don’t expect you to understand my brilliance Spider-Man, someone like you will never understand true genius but there it is, behold my greatness!” shouted Beck in his usual over the top manner. “I bet you think this is a cheesy little toy but it is far more than that.”

“What, something more stupid than that fishbowl you wear on your head?” asked Spider-Man but Beck just stepped forward and looked right at Spider-Man.

“You talk big for someone who is unable to move and unable to free himself,” said Beck. “This flying saucer was developed by my cohort, Phineas Mason. He’s nicknamed the Terrible Tinkerer for reasons which you’re going to understand just before you meet your demise. This little movie prop is designed to do one of two things. It will reach escape velocity, with you dying in the cold vacuum of space. Or it will simply crash to the ground. Either way, I win and inside the saucer is a camera which will transmit your last agonizing minutes for the world to see.”

“Boss, I don’t see why you don’t just shoot him, I mean he’s just chained there, not moving, wouldn’t that be much easier than doing some hokey movie stunt?” asked one of the henchmen.

“You fool, it’s not the final result that matters but the presentation,” argued Beck. “Any common criminal could shoot Spider-Man, but only my cinematic brilliance could string together such a marvelous conclusion to this thorn in my side.”

“Such modesty,” muttered Spider-Man sarcastically.

“You’ll regret your sharp tongue in a matter of moments, Spider-Man,” said Beck in a boisterous tone which carried for many feet to come. “Farewell, the end is coming and the final credits will be rolling!”

Spider-Man gave one more struggle but at the moment it was futile. Without his full strength, there was no way he was breaking his chains anyway soon. Beck walked over with a twisted smirk on his face, pressing a button that opened up the top of the warehouse and Spider-Man looked up, there was nothing to catch his webbing onto in an attempt to pull himself loose once he had gotten past the warehouse and he felt himself rise up into the air. He hoped against all hope that Beck was mistaken, surely this thing could not work.

“Got to get free somehow, the gas, I can see feel the effects, my muscles won’t respond like I want them to,” thought Spider-Man as the platform rose above and the lights began to flicker on one at a time. “No way out but down, way down or maybe up but it’s not going to be good, no doubt about it.”

“Good night, Spider-Man, farewell and good bye, we all hope for a good death scene but yours may be among the best because it is scripted and put together by the magnificence of Mysterio,” bellowed Beck from down below, as prop began to come to life, with a humming sound and it began to lift off the ground. Spider-Man was strapped down, completely helpless, as Beck watched him go higher up into the air.


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