Chapter Text
“John! Are you alright?!” Angela skidded across the floor, her lab coat catching on the plastic ground as she caught Jonathan Ohnn’s arm, holding him upright.
“Aha, I’m fine Angela…” He chuckled, choking a little. There was a thud. The pair looked down to see a round and slightly dented bagel roll across the floor, spinning to a halt between them. “Hoo-wee, that was one tough little bagel… Must’ve thrown that with some weight in his arm”.
“Well, you’re not bleeding” Angela smiled, touching a small spot on his head. “Worst case scenario, concussion?”
“Oh dear, dear, dear me that is no good” John wobbled up to his feet, Angela holding his arms while they both stood up. “I need to do work on the collider today…”. The rest of the scientists rushed by brandishing odd guns, crying out as the two masked strangers jumped from the balcony ahead.
“At least the day can’t get weirder-“ Angela tried.
“Come back Spider-Men!” A new voice shouted. Suddenly, a collection of rubbery green tentacles slammed down around the pair.
“Oh shoot!” John & Angela jumped as someone who looked like Doctor Octavious clattered over them, the green tendrils spilling from her back and dragging her through the room. She threw the glass balcony open and skirted out into the auburn forest outside. The room fell into silence. Only the sound of everyone’s quick breaths were heard, most of the scientists not used to running as much. Angela and John exchanged glances; a weak smile shared.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Angela whispered, chuckling.
“Oh yeah, I am totally gonna be unrecoverable due to a ‘bagel’, he-he” John snickered, letting his head knock to hers.
“Mister Fisk!”
The couple sprang apart, looking to the cafeteria entrance. Mister Fisk himself sauntered in, his black suit shimmering in the sunlight, giving him an odd air of godliness. Looking closer, it did seem like he was actually sweating. He must’ve run here, before slowing down upon entering the room. The scientists left all stood upright, letting he stride through the cafeteria with an oddly tall guard in his wake. Angela and John made eye contact as he walked by, before quickly breaking it as laughter spluttered at both of their lips.
“Don’t look at me” Angela snickered.
“I can’t help it, its where my eyes go on their own” John sighed, rubbing his jaws to stop himself laughing along.
“Where is Octavious?” Fisk asked coldly, silencing the room.
“She’s chasing down the spider-people sir” A scientist piped up.
“I see…” Fisk nodded, before sauntering away from the group to stand on the balcony. John and Angela stood up, watching him go with a sigh.
“My head hurts…” John moaned, rolling on his heels. Angela rolled her eyes, catching his hand as he spun around pitifully.
“Let’s go drama lord. I can get you cool pack or something” She snickered. John nodded, trailing after her clutching his head.
“Hey, we gotta wait for Doctor Octavious” Another scientist called over as the two tried to leave.
“Soak your head” Angela groaned, scrunching her nose at them. John smiled, looking down at the back of her head as she led him away. His eyes flitted down to their linked hands, the fresh wedding rings on both of their ring fingers making him smile. Slowly his chest became warm again, a softness overwhelming him as his wife led him away.
“Alright John, here” She said suddenly. John snapped upright, looking around. They were in her office, and he was seated on a small stool opposite her. In Angela’s hand was a cool pack wound in a soft blue scarf. “I wrapped it up so it wouldn’t stick to your skin” She added brightly.
“Aw, thank you” John gushed. He wound the cool pack to his head, smiling at her as she packed away her files. “Angela?”
“Yes?” She said quickly, looking at him.
“Hi” He smiled, his cheeks pinking.
“Hi~” She snickered, catching his cheek and squeezing it softly. The two held the moment warmly. But soon everything would change. There would be no sensation like this again. As unfortunately for them, John did have a concussion from the bagel.
It was a creak in the night that awoke Angela. It was like a wary footstep in the kitchen, inches from her head through the thin apartment walls. Her head snapped up from the pillow. She narrowed her eyes at the bedroom door, its handle glinting in the moonlight temptingly. The vacant duvet next to her searching hands told her John was still missing. She scooped her phone up and checked for recent calls or texts. There had only been one. And it wasn’t from John.
A text from a scientist at Alchemax was set on the screen with a single sentence. ‘The Collider is going to explode’ it said. There was no hesitation. Angela tore her sheets off, grabbing at her backpack from the bed’s end. But she faltered, recalling the noise moments earlier. Swiftly she picked up a cricket bat beside the wardrobe, wielding it cautiously as she pried open the bedroom door. The apartment was dark. Angela flicked at the light switch. There was no response. The power must’ve been out. She stepped carefully across the floorboards, swinging around aggressively to the kitchen with her weapon pointing out in front of her. It was empty. Angela walked in quickly, dropping the backpack and yanking open drawers, swiping out a first aid kit. But then as she turned back, she dropped everything she held instantly. Her body became taut, not even flinching as the cricket bat clattered to the floor. Someone was in the living rom. A tall shadow was stood by one of the long windows, outlined by the city lights. It didn’t react to her actions, hanging in ominous silence. But for some reason, the fear Angela had felt for a second vanished. She felt oddly calm seeing the ‘stranger’. And it was from this odd comfort that a name slipped her lips.
“John…?” Angela whispered. Angela wasn’t sure why she called out her husband’s name. This character looked nothing like him. But she felt it was him. At the name, the figure melted a little in its tight form, sliding closer. Once in the moonlight, Angela struggled to keep her expression placid upon John’s appearance. His skin was stark white, hairless, featureless. Across it, large ink splotches shifted his body. He looked entirely alien. But as she leaned closer, she could see his hands wringing each other, his foot shifting. These mannerisms cast all doubt from her. This was truly John. “John, are you… is that you?” Angela breathed, stepping carefully across the kitchen threshold.
“Angela… oh you do recognise me, that makes all this so much easier” John’s voice left the tall white spotted person. They slipped forwards, extending their arms out. Angela’s eyes creased a little sadly, lifting her hands up to catch his cheeks. His arms fell to loop her waist, a deep relieved sigh leaving him from somewhere. Her eyes however widened as two of her fingers slipped into the hole centred on John’s face. “Ah, sorry about that” John said, shifting her hands out from it. As if suddenly aware of what was happening, he went to push her back, creating distance between them.
“Oh no, my darling…” Angela sighed, stepping closer despite his pushes. “What did you- Do I even want to know? But are you okay?”
“Oh… I knew you’d still love me” John gushed, embracing her. Angela’s face widened as she landed next to one of the black spots on his body, a soft humming emanating from it. But John just held her tighter, sighing with relief. “I mean, I knew you’d be like willing to listen, but this is way better”.
“What happened to you? Are you in any pain?” She said quickly, leaning back and craning her neck up to make what eye contact she could.
“Well, it was such a crazy thing, uh… The collider exploded, ha… the Spider folks and their band came back”. John sighed, squeezing her again as he pressed the side of his head against the top of hers. “And it was a concussion”.
“From the bagel?!” Angela choked, pushing at his chest to escape. But instead of landing on his body, her hands sunk through two holes in his chest.
“Ack!” She yelped, disappearing into him up to her shoulders.
“Oh boy. Sorry, sorry I am still not entirely sure where these bad boys go” He said quickly, releasing her and rushing away. Angela stared in awe as her arms were revealed, popping out from John’s body as he stepped back. “Oh gosh, are you- eeh that is kind of freaky to look at”
“Wow… is it an interdimensional space?” She said quickly, her eyes brightening. John’s body softened, one of his long arms trailing a hand down from her shoulder. Angela caught it, turning his hand over slowly, examining it. “Are you storing anything in them?”
“I can take them off, don’t ask how I figured that out.” He said, popping a spot from his leg and placing it into the air. Angela stepped over, tapping around it. “Here, look” John added, inserting his hand into the hole. Suddenly, a noise in the kitchen made them both look up. John’s hand was poking out from another black portal and had pushed a mug off the sideboard.
“It’s a portal!” Angela beamed, instantly shoving her own hand in. She watched as her arm appeared next to John’s. “Yoo-hoo” She called, waving her arm.
“Yoo-Hoo~” John called back, waving his arm as well from the kitchen.
“Ha-ha!” Angela laughed excitedly. “Wow John this is incredible! Oh! But bad… but also very cool”
“Well, I think you’re the only one who thinks that” He said suddenly, sounding sad as he drew back his arm.
“What do you mean?” She asked, following suit as John dramatically walked to the window, gazing out at the twinkling city lights.
“Look at me Angela” he said, turning and gesturing to his body. “I’m hideous!”
“What? No…” Angela coughed. “You look… fine”
“I am a walking dot-to-dot graph! I’m a cow Angela!” He cried, holding his chest.
“Stop shouting!” Angela cried, covering her mouth to stop laughter escaping. John sighed, rubbing his head. She watched him pace about kicking his legs out with a melancholy stare. Angela tilted her head, smiling again. “John?”
“Yes…?” He sighed.
“Hi”
“… Hi…” John murmured, his shoulders loosening. Angela sidled closer, catching his ragdoll hands, swaying them between the pair. “Hoo-boy, this is helping a lot actually”. He commented, interlocking their fingers.
“Deep breaths dude” Angela smiled.
“Oh man, oh man this is actually happening…”
“Yeah…Big question though. Can you drink tea anymore?” She asked, kissing his knuckles.
“Oh…” John made a swallowing noise, his knees buckling as Angela kissed across his hands. “I think so…”
“I can make some honey and lemon tea. Then we can have a long talk about this” She soothed, looping his arms over her shoulders. John flinched as she caught his face, drawing his head down.
“Angela…” John murmured, feeling sheepish as she kissed across his now-bald head, hugging it close.
“Is that a no?” She whispered, kissing his neck and shoulders.
“Do you really still want me around?” John whispered. He could see the moonlight from outside was casting he and Angela’s shadows across the room, and he watched as her hands held him gently, settling onto areas without holes on them.
“Of course… I didn’t marry a domino, but I can love one” She grinned, leaning back and tapping their foreheads together.
“You must know how cool that sounded. Oh you’re amazing, you’re awesome!” John exclaimed, throwing out his arms and hugging her tightly again.
“Ah-!” Angela made a small yelp, but it cut off.
“I think I can learn to live this this” He commented. “I mean, this city has had plenty of weird looking people, I don’t think a spotty guy is gonna throw everyone off too bad. Right? I could be a circus freak and make some money, or like one of those tech support guys over the phone…”
There was no reply.
“Hello~? Did you fall asleep or something…?” John said, going to hold her shoulders. But he felt his arms tap against his body. He looked down, his breaths quickening.
“Angela…?” He whispered, leaning back. She was gone. She was not longer stood in front of him. She had vanished. His eyes darted down instantly to his chest. A huge black hole had merged on his chest in the spot she had been. “Oh no… Oh no, no, no!” He yelped, reaching a hand into the hole. A clatter made him flash up, seeing his arm stretch out into the bathroom.
“Angela- Oh you’re kidding!” He cried. He ran around the apartment. “Angela! Can you hear me?”
John threw the cupboards open, throwing the clothes from the wardrobe. She’d slipped through the hole, but where had she come out?
“No, no, no!” He yelped, throwing spots around the room as he plunged his hands into them randomly. His hands popped out in random places about the apartment, knocking over lamps and cracking against the back of the television. “Of course, this happens to me- I lose everything! Now I’ve lost my wife!?” He choked, throwing out his arms as he fell to his knees. “Cruel world! What more do you want from meeeee?!”
This is the origin story of The Spot, and his unfortunate wife. This would never have been if our Ultimate Spiderman hadn’t hit him with that bagel, thought we must admit, I'm sure the pastry was delicious.