Spider-Man: Horror games dev

"Tony!" A dark-skinned man approached.

"What?"

"This is the third time you've wrecked the streets!" He slammed the table, glaring at Tony.

"Relax, dude, no one died," Tony said, casually sipping a cup of coffee.

"Property damage, my friend," the man shot back, staring at Tony.

"I can pay for it, Rhodey."

"You think money fixes everything?!" Rhodey snapped, glaring at him.

"…So what do you think I should do?" Tony raised an eyebrow at his best friend.

"Next time, tell people to stay clear when you're fighting. It's not that hard, is it?"

"Fair. If they don't listen, don't blame me."

"Tony!"

*Ring ring ring*

"Oops, someone's calling. Gotta go, Rhodey."

Tony stood up, opened the door, and was about to leave.

"I swear to God, if my boss complains about you again, I'll kick your sorry, womanizing ass and stop going to bars with you, you jerk!" Rhodey shouted so Tony could hear.

"What?! Ugh, fine! It's no fun without you anyway!"

Slamming the door shut, Tony left his friend's workplace and checked his phone.

"…Ugh, what now?"

Holding the phone to his ear, he waited for the other side to speak.

"Oh… you there?"

"Loud and clear, like your mom calling me."

"What?"

"Never mind. So, why'd you call? I'm still getting sued for accidentally destroy someone's car."

"Well, it's about a murder case."

A murder?

"Dude, what's a murder got to do with me?"

"Normally, nothing… but this time's different. These murders… they're kinda mysterious."

Tony sat on a park bench nearby, snatching a kid's ice cream before it was eaten and finishing it himself.

"Spill it."

"Where to start… You know about those disappearances lately? Near California?"

"California? People go missing there all the time. The Mexicans practically claim it as their turf now."

"Wow, wow, Tony, you're getting racist there, chill."

"Racist? I hate everyone equally, so it's not racism."

"…Ugh, Tony, sounds like that betrayal made you trust no one, huh?"

"Talk less, what about those disappearances?"

The other side scratched their head, speaking slowly.

"How do I put this… The people who went missing showed up again the next day. The weird thing is… they acted totally normal."

"Normal? What do you mean?"

"Well, like they were just fine, even though they'd been missing. Like they went on a trip and came back."

"…That's normal, isn't it?" Tony grabbed a sandwich from an old man and tore it into pieces to feed the pigeons.

"Yeah, they acted completely normal. Until a cop found a body with its head smashed near a lake… and guess what?"

"…Go on."

"The body… its DNA matched one of the missing people who came back."

…

"Skinwalker?" Tony said seriously.

"Not sure… but if it was a Skinwalker, I don't think so. They acted *exactly* like the victims."

"So, most likely… it's a doppelgänger."

"Oh, great, overtime…" Tony groaned, rubbing his face.

"No big deal, you're the only hero who's public with his identity, right? Iron Man?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

But Tony didn't hang up.

"Hey, can I ask one thing?"

"Hm? Go ahead."

"Who are you?"

A pause. The phone went silent.

Tony smirked.

"I don't know how you got my number or how you know so much about me, but I'm guessing you stole someone's identity from my company, right?"

"Maybe I was too chummy with that employee, so you killed him and took his identity. Nice stalking, by the way."

"But I've got a few words for you, so listen up, you impersonating bastard."

"I. Never. Trust. Anyone."

The phone stayed silent for a moment before disconnecting.

"Jarvis, call the suit."

[…]

"No more games. This is serious."

[…]

"…Honey."

[Understood.]

He attached the comms to his belt, and the suit's components flew toward him.

Once suited up, smoke burst from the armor as he took off with the jet thrusters.

"Honey, trace that call."

[Understood.]

In just a few minutes, Jarvis pinpointed the target.

[The target is near our company. They don't seem to be fleeing. They're mocking your threat, sir.]

"Oh! Big balls, huh? Let's see if I can break every bone in its body and make it regret that."

Tony flew at breakneck speed.

He landed and peered into a dark alley.

He switched on his suit's lights, but no one was there.

So he walked in, completely fearless.

Of course, moments later, the sunlight dimmed instantly, leaving only deep shadows.

"…"

Footsteps echoed, as if trying to instill fear in Tony slowly.

"You brain-dead or something?" Tony said loudly, making the footsteps stop.

"If you're trying to scare me, too bad for you—I'm used to making *others* scared."

"And hey, my ways of scaring people are pretty diverse, and they're usually the most American ways!"

Tony's suit deployed an arsenal—rocket launchers, guns, sharp blades, a full array of weapons from cold steel to heavy firepower.

The footsteps grew louder, getting closer to Tony.

"That's the dumbest decision for something pretending to be human, animal," Tony said, activating his suit.

…

The people nearby were casually walking when a massive explosion shook the air.

A cloud of black smoke rose, flames still burning.

Heavy, mechanical footsteps crunched over a body.

Tony looked at the so-called doppelgänger. Its head was elongated, its right arm long, but its left arm stumpy.

"…Pathetic."

Tony grabbed its head. It squirmed, but the suit's strength was too much for it to resist.

Crack!

Black blood oozed from its neck. Tony looked at the head and smirked.

"I wonder if this thing's worth studying. Bruce is gonna love this."

He took off and flew back to his company.

*****

Tony Stark is the Anti-Hero in this au

Also he's 27, kinda young