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Parahumans Series - WildbowSpider-Man - All Media TypesSpider-Man (Comicverse)Marvel (Comics)Marvel 616Marvel
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Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver & Peter ParkerPeter Parker/Mary Jane Watson
Characters:
Taylor Hebert | Skitter | WeaverPeter ParkerLisa Wilbourn | TattletaleBrian Laborn | GrueColin Wallis | Armsmaster | DefiantDragon (Parahumans)Sophia Hess | Shadow StalkerThomas Calvert | CoilEmily PiggotDanny Hebert
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Cross-Posted on FanFiction.NetCrossoverAction/Adventure
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Published:2026-05-07Updated:2026-07-30Words:60,582Chapters:14/?Comments:255Kudos:390Bookmarks:136Hits:13,097
Tangled in a Stranger's Web
CHPrime
Chapter 3: Interlude: Armsmaster
Chapter Text
Armsmaster had always worked hard.
Ever since triggering and joining the Protectorate, he had pushed himself to excel in all fields, not just his Tinkertech. He forced his body into the best possible shape it could be. He adapted an unusual and difficult sleep schedule to maximize his waking hours. He spent days preparing himself for every possible encounter, and streamlining his tech to be as effective as possible.
And he had been rewarded for his efforts. He captured a number of villains and other criminals in his first few years. Nearly double the national average. His inventions were sophisticated enough to catch the eye of Hero, who took Armsmaster under his wing to help him further hone his craft. After a few short years of dedication, Armsmaster was a household name, and he had been offered the leadership position for an entire city. Things would only continue to improve as he did.
Nearly a decade later, he could feel his life slipping away inch by bloody inch.
Brockton Bay remained as crime-infested as it had been the day Armsmaster had stepped off the plane. The Empire remained as entrenched as it had ever been, with new gangs springing out of its shadow. No less than five Birdcage-bound villains stalked the streets without fear. Entire neighborhoods were effectively controlled by criminals, and no community outreach program could possibly fix this mess.
Armsmaster himself had adapted and persevered. But he could sense the writing on the wall. His tech was improving, but not quickly enough to keep pace with the new threats that seemed to sprout up daily in the city. His once lustrous name was beginning to show signs of rust.
The national offices still called him for advice and expertise, but the calls that seemed to get shorter every time—Colin had to force himself not to actually measure the average call time, or he would go legitimately insane—as newer and more "exciting" Tinkers showed up in other, more controlled cities.
Worse yet, not all of them were under the PRT's umbrella. Uppercrust's Elite branch, a legitimate operation as far as any investigation or audit could prove, was a known factor, but it was slowly expanding its reach year after year, choking out civil servants like him with their endless cash flow and business savvy. Toybox, the rogue cell of Tinkers, was attracting more and more young talent who could use their Tinkertech without restriction. A dozen other similar organizations, each more criminal and ruthless than the last, followed suit.
Simply put, the PRT, the law of the land, was losing control. Slowly, but inevitably. Colin could feel it aging like his own body—gradually, like a frog sitting in a slowly boiling pot. Everything was becoming harder and harder, as progress stalled, funding was redirected, and newer, more exciting prospects showed up and were showered with adulation, because certainly this new generation could save the world.
Because Armsmaster kept failing to.
It had been coming to a head recently. Instead of deploying his newly developed tranquilizer against Lung, he had stumbled on the gang leader, unconscious and defeated by a new cape—so new she hadn't even picked out a name. After explaining to her the world of trouble that was heading her way if she took credit, Armsmaster was rewarded by a review by the same faceless bureaucrats who denied his budget requests and punished for alleged misconduct, because apparently, his invention didn't mix well with a liter of insect venom.
Things took a turn for the worse when he ran into the bug girl again. The brat had come to him with one of the most boneheaded requests imaginable: she wanted his permission to commit multiple felonies in an attempt to infiltrate a gang to learn the identity of their "secret boss".
Really. He knew the girl was green when he first met her, but to try to infiltrate a group with a known Thinker and expect to get away with it was the height of stupidity.
He had tried to explain that to her as clearly as possible, but like all teenagers, she hadn't listened and instead gone and robbed a bank with her new friends, the Undersiders. Armsmaster was mature enough to admit his temper was flaring up during their meeting, but he hadn't thought she would actually be stupid enough to try her idiotic plan.
And then, like clockwork, the city started exploding. And of course, it was another new hero, not Armsmaster, who saved the day.
Spider-Man had an easy-going attitude and had reservations about joining the Protectorate. Experience said that meant he never would, and that he would be found dead within a month after he bit off more than he could chew.
Regardless, his excuse for not joining was almost refreshingly novel.
"My lie detector confirmed he believed he was telling the truth about being from another reality." Armsmaster reported.
Piggot made a tutting noise. "Of course it did." She reached for her mug of cold coffee and took a long sip. "What about you two?"
Assault shrugged as he slouched in his chair. "You were listening in the whole time, dunno what you want us to say."
"He seemed genuine, from what I could tell." Battery said after a quick eye-roll. "He didn't seem to have any noticeable tells and was nothing but forthcoming the entire time."
"That's what concerns me." Piggot sighed. "A portal to an alternate fucking reality. Just what we needed in this god-forsaken city."
"My reconnaissance of the area Spider-Man said he arrived at led to several very exotic energy readings that corroborate that something unusual happened, but no obvious signs of a dimensional travel device. Dragon is still reviewing all the data, but she is similarly stumped." Armsmaster said blandly, before pausing.
What did it say about his career when something like that didn't excite or terrify him? Just numb acceptance.
"Wonderful. Another unknown we can deliver to Watchdog." Piggot grumbled, before her eyes sharpened. "What about the gangsters? Spider-Man said he tied some up."
Armsmaster flicked his eyes underneath his visor and brought up a few photographs of the crime scene. The photos showed the few "marketable" moments at the ghastly scene that would be used in Spider-Man's press release because the new hero couldn't be bothered to wait for an official photo. ABB goons clutching their stomachs or rubbing their heads while the slowly dissolving webbing kept them in place.
"All the criminals he mentioned were still there, along with more casualties. Most were happy to surrender to our custody after Bakuda's bomb implants."
"And what was your analysis?" Piggot asked.
"Spider-Man is experienced." Armsmaster answered. "Despite his apparent and self-reported Brute rating, no permanent damage was done to anyone he apprehended. Light bruises at the most."
"So, another point in the truth column?" Assault asked with his usual obnoxious grin.
Piggot refused to acknowledge his remark. "And his webbing? Does it match what we saw on Bakuda?"
"An extremely strong chemical compound. Its tensile strength is easily as durable as steel, but oxygen exposure slowly degrades it—the time measurement can't be exact, but preliminary findings suggest it keeps its strength for roughly one hour before the atomic bonds disintegrate due to oxidation, which may suggest—"
Piggot's knuckles rapped on her desk. "Cut to the chase. Did he lie on his paperwork?"
Armsmaster bit back a sigh. "No. Not as far as I can tell. The compound appears to be synthetic. We could probably reverse engineer it if he shares the formula.
"Not Tinkertech?"
Armsmaster's jaw set into a rigid line. "I believe it can be replicated without a dedicated Tinker or Dragon's oversight. She concurred."
"Then we need to convince him to share his formula, or reverse-engineer it ourselves." Piggot said. "That's billions we don't have to spend and hours out of Dragon's day she doesn't have to waste on containment foam. When he comes back in, we'll push him hard on that. The package and temporary ID we gave him don't come with many ways to get money or shelter, so he should be willing to play ball."
"And if his formula comes with strings attached, like giving people cancer? Tinker stuff always does." Assault piped up.
"The material is shockingly non-carcinogenic. All the chemical compounds I could identify are not toxic outside of extreme dosages." Armsmaster noted. "I can't be totally certain with our limited samples or a complete list of the chemicals needed—"
"Which you will get, one way or another." Piggot cut him off. "Get ready to run the usual safety suite with the power testers."
"Yes, director."
"Sorry we didn't see his notes on it, director." Battery piped up. "If we had known it wasn't one of his powers, we could be having the conversation now."
Assault frowned. "Hey, let's be fair to ourselves, Puppy. Who calls themselves Spider-Man and can't do the one thing spiders are known for?"
"It's fine, we have his number, and it's better that we don't come off as desperate." Piggot leaned forward. "Finally, threat assessment. If he goes bad, can we handle him?"
"He is likely keeping some details to himself, but just through observing his navigation of the city, we have a decent understanding of his baselines." Armsmaster stood a little straighter. "If the worst comes, he is within Protectorate ENE's ability to capture and contain."
"Boss seems pretty dead-set on getting this guy." Assault remarked as they made their way down the hallway to the elevator. "She's giving him a lot more runway than I would expect her to with a story as nuts as his."
"We're too busy for the usual back-and-forth." Battery answered. "Homeland Security is calling after the bombs. Plus, the Empire is bound to have a response that we'll have to deal with."
"I know, but it's not like her to rubber-stamp someone like this."
"We can use all the good PR we can get right now after the Wards' failure at the bank and Lung's escape." Armsmaster refused to let himself sigh. "A new hero coming in and fixing several of our problems likely bought Piggot's goodwill."
"Personally, I'm just amazed we have a form for dimensional hoppers. In fact…" Battery's face scrunched. "If we only have a connection to Aleph, why did we have something that specific and that detailed? I saw the boxes he had to check over the table, and I have an easier time doing my taxes."
"Complain to the head office." Armsmaster shook his head. It was rare, but there were stories of people falling into Earth Bet through dimensional portals. Apparently, it was common enough to warrant pre-formatted paperwork. "Of course, Director Piggot is probably trying to get their attention with a document that bizarre."
"What do you—" Assault paused. "For the budget, you mean?"
"Yes. For the budget." Armsmaster answered. "If we secure something this valuable, the national office will have to give us help."
For as long as Armsmaster had led the east north-east, staffing had been a constant problem. In a city overrun with villains, Protectorate ENE operated with no more than seven heroes. The national office never sent any extra capes to help staff the city, despite the PRT's own guidelines explicitly saying that more heroes should be sent to help regain control of the city.
Piggot and Armsmaster sent their reports up the chain of command every quarter, explaining the dire situation Brockton Bay was in and requesting additional resources. They just needed enough to contain the most dangerous capes, and then the resources could be reassigned elsewhere.
No matter how they framed the argument, they were always denied. Other cities were under more dire threat. Other fires needed to be put out. The bay had independent heroes in the form of New Wave, who really should count as PRT heroes given how closely they collaborated. The CUI was saber-rattling near Hawaii and Alaska, so the resources were needed in international theatres. Sometimes they even included the Wards in ENE's full-time hero count, despite clear guidelines telling them that they couldn't.
For the first few years, Armsmaster accepted the excuses. As time went on, the reality of the situation became clear: It was politics, plain and simple.
Brockton Bay had no high-value strategic resources. It was not a major population center, and its historical economic centerpiece, the shipping industry, had dried up and died when Leviathan and cape-powered piracy sank the profitability of international trade. The only other draws, Medhall's corporate headquarters, Fortress Construction's eastern branch, and New Wave's Panacea, could all be relocated easily enough.
The top brass was waiting for the city to die so they could reassign resources elsewhere.
But Armsmaster was stubborn. He would not let a city given to him to protect be dragged down under the waves before he spent himself. It took quite a bit of doing, but he and Piggot managed to cobble together a strategy for the city. They were patient, taking back streets from the gangs slowly, working to keep their enemies as complacent as the politicians above them, preparing strike after strike after strike.
It was slow. It was painful. But it got results. Modest ones, and despite the frustrations, they were slowly pushing forward. So many times they had come close to making real progress in the city, of finally lifting the fog it had been plunged into—
And then, without fail, something would go wrong. Hookwolf would be broken out of his transport to the birdcage. The Merchants would somehow get a tip-off and scurry back into their holes like the rats they were. A new villain would appear out of nowhere that had to be dealt with, ensuring that a sting against Coil's operations would fail.
A lesser man would have given up. But Armsmaster refused to.
Piggot never had any leverage. If Spider-Man's assistance was secured, suddenly, PRT ENE would have distribution for a very valuable commodity. Piggot could force the national office to pay attention. Finally, they would get the help they needed, and Armsmaster could finally save the city and ensure his legacy as a hero who made a real difference.
Instead of being yet another failure.
By the time Armsmaster got back to his lab, Dragon was already online.
"Hello, Colin." She greeted him warmly. "Did you manage to reach Spider-Man in time?"
He sighed and took off his helmet. With her, he was always Colin. "No, he left while we were compiling the data. I'm going to try to get in contact with him tomorrow." With any luck, the new hero had already realized the PRT was the only immediately available option for a bed and was already heading back, but ENE never got such a lucky break.
Dragon's holographic lips quirked. "I reviewed Assault and Battery's footage. He seems like a reasonable man, at least. I don't think it will be too hard to convince him."
"I hope so." If he did, it wouldn't be the first time a potential new hero slipped through the cracks. But it would set a disturbing record time from introduction to corpse.
"Did you also hear his description of Tinkertech in his home dimension?" Dragon asked. "It's quite marvelous, if he's telling the truth. To think, there's a world out there that doesn't have to deal with the Simurgh…"
"The law of averages says they have something worse." Colin snorted. "Maybe they have to deal with alien invasions to make up for all their good luck."
"Oh, don't be like that." Dragon laughed. "Just imagine all the advances we could make by studying their technology. And it isn't even Tinkertech, supposedly!"
Colin grunted an affirmative. "I'm imagining it. Spider-Man seems convinced that some of his friends will be coming to get him any minute. Like they have the technology to do it ready to go at a moment's notice."
Dragon's lips thinned. "You're worried?"
"No. Not really. The lie detector says he's being honest about being a hero." Colin scratched his beard. "More…concerned, if I had to put a name on it."
"What about?"
"Well…" Colin paused. That was a good question. One he already knew the answer to. "His story is ludicrous, and even if we take it all at face value…" He shook his head. "It's a lot of unknowns. Too many."
"That's fair." Dragon said. "Still, we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Spider-Man's webbing technology will be quite helpful. We might even be able to use it to enhance our own containment foam formulas, who knows?"
"The base compounds are chemically distinct. It won't necessarily lead to any progress with containment foam."
"And are you going to let that fact stop us from trying?" Dragon laughed. "Come on, we've had a long day. Let's work on a project together."
Colin started to argue, but stopped himself as a smile cracked through. "Alright. Let's see if we can reverse engineer its residue before we get a pure sample."
It was a productive, if slightly frustrating, evening. Tinker sessions with Dragon always were. Colin enjoyed himself and Dragon's company all the same. They were one of the few activities he actually looked forward to in the endless drudgery his life had become. She was always a delight to work with, and always kept up with his own frenzied pace.
But throughout the night, the feeling kept gnawing at him, eating away at what counted as his peace of mind. A distraction humming at the edges of his awareness.
Barely a few days after he was dressed down by a faceless review board for saving the bug girl from reprisals, he had spent his entire day cleaning up innocent, mutilated bodies while another, brand new hero saved the day, after Armsmaster had been caught off guard by a threat he should have seen coming. He spent his evening pawing after the slim chance that he might be able to use that hero's technology to solve problems he could not.
Armsmaster was humiliated.
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