Rhino's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Rhino wanted one thing on this cold, dark night: to crush Spiderman with his own two hands. He had chased that clue for a week, and it led nowhere. Now he stood in an alley below the tall tower with the red BUGLE sign, his rhino suit dented, his face raw with cold. He punched a dumpster. Metal folded like paper. But punching metal did not find Spiderman. "You can't catch a shadow alone," a voice said. Rhino turned. A crystal ball floated in the dark where a head should be. Green cloth, a magenta cape. This was Mysterio, a trickster who bent men's eyes with lies and smoke. Beside him crouched Green goblin, small and sharp-eared, grinning under a pink cap. An old man in green stood higher, wings spread wide against the wall. Vulture watched Rhino with cold bird eyes. "I don't need help," Rhino said. His fists stayed up. "You've spent seven nights," Vulture said. "You found gum on your boot. Nothing else." Rhino's jaw tightened. The old man was right, and that stung worse than the cold. A fourth figure stepped from the shadows. He wore a white smock, dark glasses, and four metal arms that clicked as they moved. One tentacle lifted a coffee cup. Another scratched behind his ear. "I'm Doctor Octopus," he said. "I run a small group. We call it the Sinister Six. We each want something in this city. You want the bug." A metal arm pointed up at the tower. "He works there. Or someone who knows him does. Six pairs of eyes cover six times the ground." Rhino stared up at the lit windows. He had watched that building for two nights and seen nothing. One man alone could not watch every door. "What do you get?" Rhino asked. "Spiderman ruins my plans too," Doctor Octopus said. "You break him. I profit. We both win." Green goblin snickered. "Or you keep hugging trash cans, big guy." Rhino swung. His fist stopped an inch from the goblin's nose. Green goblin didn't flinch. He just grinned wider. "Temper," Doctor Octopus said. A tentacle rested on Rhino's shoulder, light but firm. "Save it for the spider." Rhino looked at the four of them. He hated needing anyone. He had always solved things with his hands. But his hands had found nothing for a week. He wanted the fight more than he wanted his pride. "Fine," Rhino said. "I'm in. But I get him first. I break him." "Agreed," Doctor Octopus said. The metal arms clicked as he offered a human hand. Rhino shook it. The moment he did, the alley felt different. He was not a lone brute anymore. He belonged to something bigger, and something bigger belonged to him. Doctor Octopus turned toward the tower. "Then it's settled. We start at the Bugle. And when we find him, Rhino, you'll have your battle." Rhino smiled for the first time in a week.