Dennis Carradine woke up from a violent pain.
He felt as if his head had been split open by an an axe, his wrists were aching from the ropes, his feet dangled in the air, and his body swayed incessantly like a boat in the waves.
"Where am I?"
He tried to open his eyes, and dim light fell into his corneas. His vision was blurry, with overlapping double images, making it impossible to see anything clearly.
When he spoke, his voice was a painful whimper.
He didn't know where he was, but at least he could be sure he wasn't at sea, because the air wasn't the wet, salty smell of the ocean. Instead, it was full of dust, rust, and a faint smell of gunpowder, just like every abandoned factory in Hell's Kitchen.
He had been kidnapped.
He quickly realized this; such things were common in New York.
He just couldn't understand why someone would go to such lengths to kidnap him, a mere small-time hoodlum.
His eyes still couldn't see anything, but that didn't stop him from feeling scared and regretful.
Damn it!
If he had known this, he should have robbed some money earlier, then stolen a car, and left this cursed New York!
"Dennis Carradine."
A strange voice came from beside his ear, a little sharp and with a double tone. The voice echoed in the space, as if countless people were speaking to him, layers of sound waves pressing on his chest, making him breathless.
Dennis Carradine's face showed fear, and he pleaded:
"Sir..."
"Dennis Carradine," the voice said again, "do you know why I brought you here?"
Dennis Carradine's vision had begun to clear. He found himself hanging from the ceiling of an abandoned factory. Not far away were fences and walkways made of corrugated iron, but there was nothing beneath him.
His heart immediately jumped, his body trembled uncontrollably, and he swayed even more violently.
"I don't know, Sir..." Dennis Carradine's voice trembled, with a hint of a sob, "You, I can give you anything you want, I'll tell you anything you want to know, please..."
A low-level person like him, who couldn't make a living in Hell's Kitchen, actually didn't have much courage. Now he was completely terrified. But he thought, since he wasn't killed immediately, he must be of some use, right?
He only hoped that the person would get what he wanted and let him live.
However, the other party's next sentence plunged him into complete despair.
"I only want your life!"
"No, Sir, please..." He cried, looking down at the ground in fear—he was at least fifty feet high (about fifteen meters) from the ground. If he fell from here, his brains would definitely be splattered everywhere.
So he desperately searched for the person who had kidnapped him, wanting to see who the other party was. He wanted to know how he had offended that person. No matter what it was, he could kneel down and admit his mistake, as long as the other party spared his life.
Soon, he discovered a strangely shaped, somewhat thin Shadow standing in the darkness—
"Sir..." Dennis Carradine seemed to see a savior. He cried, "Don't kill me, Sir, please... I can do anything for you, anything..." He couldn't speak any further, his words like fish bones stuck in his throat. His eyes widened significantly, but his pupils shrunk several times.
Because that strange Shadow walked out of the darkness, exposing itself to Dennis's eyes—it was a monster!
That thing was like a Velociraptor, most of its body covered in Black, its arms and feet were Blue, and its slender tail also had circles of Blue stripes—Quick Flash Star!
This kidnapper was, naturally, Ben.
Originally, Ben planned to constantly watch Uncle Ben after Peter was bitten by the spider, to prevent Uncle Ben from encountering danger. But after becoming Little Commando yesterday, he changed his approach—why should he wait for tragedy to happen before trying to prevent it?
Evil should be nipped in the bud!
So, he immediately began to look for clues.
He didn't know who the criminal who killed Uncle Ben in this World would be, but he had watched two versions of the Spider-Man movie, and he had two clues in his mind—
In the Tobey version of the movie, the one who killed Uncle Ben was Sandman, William Baker; and in The Amazing version of the movie series, the murderer had a star mark on his wrist. And this World he was in was somewhat similar to a synthesis of the three generations of Spider-Man World.
"I hacked into the New York Police Department's system and found your file, Dennis Carradine."
Ben's tone was a bit impatient at this moment. He paced on the platform built of corrugated iron, his roller-skate-like feet making a "clatter" on the ground.
"Among all the criminals with files in New York, there aren't many who have a star tattoo on their wrist, only you!"
Of course, Ben had also investigated Sandman William Baker, but there was no such person.
"If I offended you before, I'm willing to apologize..." Dennis pleaded humbly.
He obviously realized that Ben's capture of him was very purposeful, not a mad monster's indiscriminate attack. But he also knew that he had no value to be exploited, and it was impossible for anyone to buy his worthless life.
So, the only possibility was that he had inadvertently offended someone, or—he secretly glanced at Ben's appearance—or accidentally stepped on a lizard in the sewer?
"When I kill you, I will apologize to you too."
Ben sneered. He walked to Dennis's side. Now, he only needed to extend those Black, scissor-like hands to cut the rope suspending Dennis.
He knew this was by no means a righteous act.
Perhaps such a him was unworthy of Spider-Man's abilities, and unworthy of the Omnitrix.
But that wasn't important; he wasn't a hero, and he didn't intend to become one.
What was important was that he could use this power to protect the people he cherished!
"No! No! No!"
Dennis screamed. He saw the rope slowly being cut by Ben's sharp claws. The fear of death almost made him wet his pants. He had no time to think about what kind of creature this thing in front of him was; he just wanted to live!
"I don't know, Sir, I don't know how I offended you," he cried, speaking very quickly, "but please, spare me, please..."
"You don't know? It's okay, I can tell you." Ben said, "Because you will kill a kind, good person. This is what you deserve!"
"I didn't," he whimpered, shaking his head desperately, "I didn't kill anyone."
"Not now," Ben said, "but it will be different in a few days."
A few days later?
Dennis felt that this monster must be crazy!
Dennis was now very regretful. He should have left this cursed Hell's Kitchen earlier!
Those gang members fought constantly, and joining a gang was just asking for death.
He should have robbed some money in Brooklyn, Queens, or anywhere else earlier, then stolen a car and left New York!
Anywhere would do, San Francisco, Washington...
Just don't let this monster find him.
But now it was too late to say all this.
What could he do?
He could only try to reason with a monster, he could only beg a madman for mercy:
"I won't, I promise!"
But Ben had no intention of continuing to speak.
After transforming into Quick Flash Star, his personality also became a bit more impatient. Being able to say so much to Dennis was already a testament to his patience.
Now his claws cut the rope, and Dennis instantly lost his last support. He screamed and fell. Ben didn't look down. He knew Dennis's head would hit the hard concrete ground and then splatter like a watermelon.
"Thud!"
A loud noise!
But it wasn't Dennis hitting the ground; it was a fiery figure bursting through the ceiling of the abandoned factory and rushing in.
That Shadow quickly swept past Ben's eyes, and a scorching heat wave slapped Ben's face!
He swooped down and caught Dennis just as he was about to hit the ground. Then, he released his grip, gently placing Dennis on the ground, and slowly floated up with Fire spraying from his hands, until he was eye-level with Ben.
"Tony Stark!"
Ben's voice was unusually angry.