Peter yawned and stretched shortly after letting his blanket fall to the floor. He scratched his eyes gently and ran his eyes around his room momentarily before letting himself fall from the ceiling to the floor.
He landed silently and immediately made his way towards the bathroom. The boy merely looked at himself in the mirror for a few seconds before starting to brush his teeth.
It had been a few months since he'd been bitten by that spider, and honestly, he hadn't seen any change in his physique. Not even a loss of lean mass or a gain in fat... he looked exactly the same.
Something he was grateful for.
He finished with his hygiene and made his way downstairs soon after, walking at a calm, light pace. His eyes focused on his aunt, who was preparing breakfast while humming some old song.
This was a surprise... Peter looked at his watch. She didn't wake up that early.
"Good morning, darling! Did you sleep well?" She asked sweetly, and Peter ran his hand through his messy hair.
"Good morning, Aunt May. Shouldn't you be asleep?" He asked as he sat down and rested his arms on the table.
"I've been feeling well since the doctor suggested changing the medication. If it continues like this, he expects a significant improvement over the next few months." She replied, placing a plate in front of Peter shortly afterwards, followed by a glass of coffee.
"... That's good. It's great, actually." Peter said, taking a sip of coffee before turning his attention to the omelette. Big and filling, with a slight burn to add a bit of crunch, just the way he liked it.
"You know, I had the strangest dream tonight." She said as she sat down facing him. Peter merely lifted his gaze for a few moments, before returning his attention to his food.
"Oh really? And what was it about?" he asked, not really caring.
"... I dreamt that you came home all bruised and full of blood. There was a green figure behind you..." Peter momentarily stopped chewing. His expression remained unchanged, but internally he froze. "Strange, isn't it? It felt more like a nightmare."
He didn't look at her, nor did she, but he knew how she felt.
"How much trouble would you get into to end up like this? It's almost inconceivable." She asked rhetorically, and Peter swallowed his food and snorted a laugh, reaching for the second omelette she had prepared.
"Right? Really, what a strange dream." He said, looking at her for a few moments. "Don't you think you're eating too little? Do you want me to make you another pancake?"
"Oh, no, darling, you don't have to." She denied it, snorting out an amused laugh soon after. "Well, I think I'm eating too little compared to you. Are you feeding just yourself or do you have a small army hiding in there?"
"Hmpf... sort of." He said simply, smiling to himself as he did so. "I guess it's a good thing you didn't take my pancakes."
"Ah, you're not so bad. The way you keep flipping those pancakes, you could be on a cooking show." Aunt May said, and Peter snorted, shaking his head.
"Of course. Today, on 'MasterChef', we have... a disaster!" He said dramatically, making her laugh gently.
"Well, at least you'd be memorable." True. "I think you'd better get on with your camera. Who knows, maybe you could even be in a movie."
A movie... not a bad idea. Depending on the movie, he wouldn't have to worry so much about money anymore.
"Speaking of movies... have you seen that new superhero movie that's coming out with that actor your uncle liked?" She asked, and Peter merely arched an eyebrow in mild curiosity.
"The one who looks like a teenager? Timothée Chalamet?"
"Yes, that's the one. Apparently, it's a movie based on the town's particular hero." She said, and Peter's eyes widened slightly.
A movie based on Spider-Man?! What the fuck? Really?!
That... was incredible and stupid at the same time.
But fuck... he'd watch a movie based on him! Well, on his other him... but still.
"That kid is everywhere these days." She said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I don't really like superhero movies, but I confess I got curious."
Peter stared at her for a few moments, a little unsure of how to proceed.
"And what do you think?" He asked, clearing his throat after she stared at him with a certain intensity. "About Spider-Man, I mean. You know, there seems to be a lot of controversy about him lately."
She continued to stare at him with the same intensity, a look he couldn't sustain. He got up with his empty plate and walked over to the sink while she seemed to think.
".. I think he's taking too many risks." She said after a few minutes, finishing off her pancakes. "Although it's good to know that there's someone out there who's taking risks for the good of others... I can only imagine all the pressure that's on him and those close to him. I just pray that everything will be okay."
She said, and they remained silent for a few minutes after that. Peter looked thoughtful at first, but then shook his head to himself. It was such an... Aunt May answer that he almost wondered what he was waiting for.
"... What about your garden?" He decided to change the subject, the conversation seemed too close for comfort.
"Oh, it's going wonderfully!" She said, her face practically glowing. "The roses are finally starting to open up. I even planted some daisies this year."
She got up shortly afterwards and walked over to get a glass of water.
"Are you going out again today?" She asked, and he waved his hands to get rid of the excess water.
"Yes. I'm going to the Daily Bugle today, and then I'm going to help out with the band." He said, drying his hand on the cloth beside him.
"Okay. Are you going to be late tonight? We can watch that movie you said you were interested in." He turned to her and smiled gently.
"Sure." He said, turning again and making his way to his room.
Peter landed softly in the alley behind the small bakery. He removed his mask and put his backpack on the ground. From inside, he took his clothes and put them on over his costume, putting the mask in the backpack shortly afterwards.
He looked down at himself. He had stopped a carjacking earlier, pinned a drug dealer against the wall and prevented an armed robbery in a restaurant... no one hit him, and no shots were fired. Okay, he should be presentable enough.
He smoothed his hair and started walking. His hands rested gently in the pockets of his jacket after he started chewing a mint gum.
The weather that day was cloudy, cold, which was fine with him. He loved the cold. Much better than being sweaty and stinking without even leaving the house.
After a few minutes' walk, he reached Bea's house, and at the girl's request, he just opened the door and walked in, announcing his presence.
There was no one there, again. Her parents worked during the day, and in recent weeks he had only met them once on a Saturday morning.
A muffled sound came from the studio, and Peter closed the door, certain that they hadn't heard him.
He opened the door slowly, and just arched an eyebrow when he saw that there was only Bea there, playing a few notes on her keyboard.
He gave the door three loud knocks before entering. Bea turned and smiled gently at him.
"Ah, Peter. I wasn't expecting anyone right now." She said, and he glanced at the clock on the wall. Well, considering that he arrived half an hour earlier than the agreed time, it wasn't surprising.
"I was already out sorting out some... business. I was in the neighborhood, so I decided to come at once." He said, sitting down in the chair in front of the sound desk.
"Well, that'll do for me. This? Impressive." She pointed to the soundboard. "But too complicated sometimes."
"What, exactly?" He asked, and she leaned over the table, right next to him.
"These little buttons here? Like, what does this 'gain' do?"
"The gain is basically how the microphone perceives the sound. If you turn it up too high, it will start to distort, which isn't good. So always adjust it until you hear everything clearly, but without noise." Peter explained, pulling out two protein bars from his backpack. He offered one to Bea, who politely declined. "The vocals have to be at the front, but not so loud as to cover the instruments. And you have to give the bass and drums room to breathe in the background. It's like... building a song in layers."
"Right, I get the basics." She said, crossing her arms. "But how do you equalize the mids to ensure that the vocals aren't drowned out by the lower instruments? And how do you achieve this without compromising the presence of the string instruments?"
Peter merely arched an eyebrow as he ate his second protein bar. Someone had been playing around in that studio for a long time, apparently.
"The mids are where most of the vocals live, but it's also where a lot of instruments, like guitars and keyboards, are featured. The trick is to create frequency pockets for each element."
"Pockets?" She arched an eyebrow in confusion, and Peter threw the packet of protein bars into the trash near the wall.
"For example, you can use a parametric equalizer to slightly cut the mids around 1.5 to 3 kHz on string instruments, while boosting that same range on vocals. This makes the vocals stand out without competing."
"You take a bit out of one, to put in the other, got it." She said, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to him.
"And this is where compression comes in too. You can use a compressor on the vocal to make sure it's consistent, especially if the singer varies a lot in volume. And it's necessary for MJ's singing style, for example, she varies a lot." Bea merely arched an eyebrow, and he shrugged.
"You know, I thought music was just about playing and singing... I didn't think it would be so complicated." Peter snorted a laugh, leaning back in his chair. "You make it sound so easy."
"Acoustic physics, electrical engineering, even a bit of advanced math if you want to calculate the frequency response of the room. It's practically science, my field." He said, knowing full well that he had sounded conceited, but he wasn't lying.
She switched off the low music playing and turned her attention to the equipment, helping Peter to set up and lay the cables. The boy accepted the help at first, but then left her to do it on her own. It would be good for her to learn right away.
He sat down in the armchair in the corner of the room behind the door and focused his gaze on the television screen hanging on the wall.
"Coldplay... pop, pop rock, is that your style?" he asked after a while, taking another piece of mint chewing gum from his pocket and starting to chew.
"Yes, although I don't focus too much on styles and more on the bands themselves. Red Hot Chilli Peppers is also one of my favorites." He nodded to himself, blowing a ball of gum that exploded in a low noise. "You look like you like rock music... I'd guess you listen to Linkin Park all day."
He smiled.
"Guilty as charged. They've got it all, rock, pop rock, nu metal, rap rock. They're great!" He said, throwing his head back and closing his eyes for a few moments. Sometimes it was very tiring to suppress all his senses like that, but he was getting used to it very well.
"I agree, 'Hybrid Theory' is on my playlist to this day, they have really deep lyrics and a sound that mixes emotion with heaviness." Bea said, and it was true. He couldn't think of another band from the last decade that had emotions as raw as theirs. "But say, have you ever considered listening to something more... different? Like Ariana Grande or Dua Lipa?"
Peter made an exaggerated grimace and pretended the comment was a blow to the heart. "Really? It's gone from wine to water."
She arched an eyebrow and looked at him with a not very pleasant expression.
"Nothing against Dua Lipa, it's not my style, but even if it was, you can't compare 'New Rules' with 'Crawling'. It's like comparing a light breeze with an emotional hurricane."
"Oh, right, because everyone wants an emotional hurricane while doing the dishes." Bea said, laughing sarcastically.
"Linkin Park is the only band you can listen to in all kinds of situations, and that's a fact." He said, putting both hands behind his head. "But, of course, it's not the only band I listen to, I just found the suggestion quite distinctive... and Pop isn't bad, but sometimes it's too light."
"Pop may be light, but it's designed to make you happy, to get you dancing." She said, throwing a pillow at him. Peter let himself be hit on the head, hearing her let out a breathy laugh.
"Do I look like the dancing type to you?" he asked, throwing the pillow back, without force, but still hitting her harder than he should have, to which Bea just stared at him with messy hair and slightly wide eyes, and he just smiled amusedly. "I'm more the type who prefers to bang my head. Or singing loudly in the shower."
Or listening to a guitar solo while I beat the crap out of some thug... it's wonderful.
"But I still think you should expand your horizons. Maybe one day you'll discover that pop can be just as good as rock." She said, throwing the pillow in his direction again, this time with more force, at which Peter again let himself be hit.
"Hey, I listen to pop, I like it, it'll just never beat rock for me." He said, and just after that, the sound of female voices interrupted the little moment. Liz walked through the door with Gwen right behind, carrying a bag full of cables and sheet music. Liz stopped in the middle of the room, looked from Peter to Bea and gave a mischievous smile.
"What's going on here, lovebirds? Are you discussing which song you're going to dance to at the opening of the wedding?"
Bea snorted and threw another pillow, this time at Liz.
"Well, well, Peter... what were you two doing alone in a closed room in an empty house?" MJ asked, in the same tone as Liz, and Peter just arched an eyebrow, alternating his gaze between where he was sitting and where Bea was sitting.
"I think it's difficult for any physical interaction we could be doing to be possible at the distance we're at." He merely replied, standing up shortly afterwards and nodding to Gwen, who did the same and smiled in his direction.
"Argh, nerd Parker strikes again." Liz said, rolling her eyes.
"Glad you're early, Peter. We can get started right away then." Gwen said, already pulling her guitar out of her bag on the floor in the corner of the room. She, like the others, was getting more excited about the idea of the band every time she went to the studio to practice.
"Seriously, what were you talking about? No offense, Peter, but I don't think your interests are the same as Bea's." MJ asked, now without that malicious tone and pure curiosity.
"We were talking about rock and pop... and Linkin Park." He replied, sitting down in the chair which, by now, should have had his name written on it.
"Well, at least you have good taste. I hope you haven't tried to convert him to K-pop, Bea." Gwen said, laughing to herself.
"Ah... there's a genre I'll never hear." Peter said, adjusting his glasses that weren't there... seriously, he should have gotten rid of that habit by now.
"Oh, not you too!" Bea grumbled loudly. "Why do all the boys have this prejudice against k-pop? The songs are great."
"I can't speak for everyone, but I find the videos weird, the lyrics even weirder, and I mean the meaning of the lyrics. And, above all, the fans. Seriously, the fanbase is awful." Peter replied, ignoring Bea's grumbling.
"Okay, okay, I agree with Peter, but can we get started already?" Liz said, walking over to his bass.
He adjusted the mixer levels one more time, just in case, while they got into position. The music room was now more organized, with the cables properly coiled, the microphones firmly attached to the stands and the speakers strategically placed to maximize the acoustics.
He had been bringing in a few things each week, and so had they, at his request. Now the studio looked much more professional.
Bea slid her fingers across the keys at first, starting with a soft tone. Then she began to play with more speed, creating a rich base while Liz came in with a low, heavy riff. Gwen's guitar then exploded and MJ followed with the drums at a faster pace.
Peter threw his chewing gum in the trash and immediately replaced it while Gwen sang. Mary Jane transitioned into the next part of the song with a vigorous drum arrangement. When it came time for the chorus, Gwen and MJ joined in harmony.
They had come a long way.
His phone vibrated next to him, and he squinted slightly as he saw a situation with the police.
The situation looked ugly... there were several cops involved... it looked like there were hostages in danger.
He swallowed some saliva... ignoring it for the moment.
Bea glanced at MJ during the chorus, signaling a change in the melody with a slight movement of her head. MJ took the cue without missing a beat, hitting the drumsticks with speed before softening the intensity for the bridge. Liz, totally connected to the bass, slid her fingers deftly, creating a pulsating base that underpinned everything.
"That was good, but tone it down a bit next time, MJ." Gwen commented between verses, without stopping playing.
"Who died and made you leader?" MJ replied jokingly, but adjusted the strength of the drums, drawing a satisfied smile from Gwen.
When the sound faded, there was a brief silence before Gwen raised her hands in a gesture of victory and Peter looked up from his phone.
"... I've seen worse bands." Peter said, shrugging, ignoring the middle finger Liz sent in his direction.
"Fuck you, Parker. We're kicking ass! Pick up an instrument first before you say that, okay?" Liz said, and Peter merely popped another mint in his mouth.
Gum was to him what cigarettes were to a smoker.
"Hey, I helped. A thank you would be welcome." He said, making a ball of gum.
"Oh, you do help." Liz gave a mischievous smile. "Especially when it comes to keeping an eye on Bea, eh?"
Bea, who was adjusting the keyboard, turned around immediately. "What?"
"I don't know anything about that." Peter said merely. "Now shut up, I've got news. Very good news."
He paused dramatically, blowing a ball of gum slowly.
"Do you want to set a day to say what you want or are you still going to say it today?" MJ asked, rolling her eyes, and Peter smiled as his ball of gum popped.
"I got you a gig."
The silence that followed was almost palpable, until Mary Jane stepped forward.
"Wait, what?"
"A gig. I got it. For you." Peter repeated with a wider smile. "I showed a snippet of some of your songs to the owner of The Groove Spot when I heard he was without a live show. He loved it and wants you to play there next month, as the main band for the evening."
Liz blinked, confused. "You what?!"
"Main band?!" Gwen asked loudly, her face a mixture of pure surprise and yet disbelief. "Is this serious?! Peter, I swear, if this is a joke..."
"Totally serious. He was organizing a night just for new bands when the one he had before became unavailable, and he wants you to be the headliner."
Bea put her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her smile, but her eyes were shining with emotion. "Did he... did he really like it?"
"Well, yes... I even wondered what he was thinking to have liked it so much. I mean, the music isn't that great... I could go there again and try to convince him that it's not worth it..."
"Shut the fuck up, Parker!" MJ said suddenly, pulling him into a tight hug. Peter remained motionless for a few moments, as he had never hugged anyone his own age, or anyone outside of his Aunt May and his uncle...
Well, he understood the girl's excitement, of all people, she had been the most excited about the idea since... well, ever.
"I can't believe it! Thank you, Peter!" She thanked him, her voice slightly muffled.
"Whoa, ease up a bit on the hugging, Miss Watson, Bea's going to be jealous." Liz said, and MJ undid the hug, pointing her middle finger at her.
"That's wonderful!" Gwen said. "Wonderful and scary... we have to celebrate."
"I agree." Bea said.
"You can go, I have to go now." Peter said, picking up his phone and putting it in his pocket.
"What?! Oh, are you serious?!" Mary Jane grumbled, and he just looked at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry, but you know how it is with Aunt May. The medicine wears her out." He said, mentally scolding himself.
He had to find better excuses.
"You can celebrate amongst yourselves, don't worry. You deserve it."
"You deserve it as much as anyone here. Without your help, we wouldn't be here now." Gwen said, also dissatisfied.
"Ah, well... we'll arrange another day then, but seriously, you can have fun amongst yourselves." He said, putting his backpack on his back. "I'm sorry. We'll decide later... you have my number."
Peter hurried out of Bea's house and headed for a remote neighborhood in Brooklyn.
He hid in a nearby alley and quickly put on his costume. Soon, he jumped up and shot a web at a nearby building, propelling himself forward with force.
In a matter of minutes, he arrived in Red Hook, an industrial neighborhood known for its warehouses. The neighborhood was in chaos. He landed on the roof of a nearby building, hiding in the shadows as he analyzed the situation.
On the ground, several cars were parked in a makeshift perimeter around a three-story building. Cops were behind car doors, using them as cover while exchanging fire with the criminals entrenched in the building. The building in question appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, but was now surrounded by armed men. They wore tactical vests and carried automatic rifles.
Spider-Man narrowed his eyes, noticing important details: two cops were lying in the street, one of them clearly wounded, while another was dragging himself to try to reach him. Others were slumped over, blood dripping from their wounds... their hearts were not beating, dead for at least a few minutes. Other hostages were being held on the second floor, visible through a broken window, with guns pointed at them.
Spider-Man jumped into the building where everything was happening and slid down the side of the building quickly. He reached a small opening in the side of the building, where a ventilation grille was partially loose, and entered, moving carefully through the narrow tunnels until he found an exit to the inside of the building.
Inside, the warehouse was much busier than it looked from the outside. He positioned himself on the metal structure above the first floor and watched from above. Armed men were spread out, not only on the second floor, but also patrolling side corridors and the perimeter. On the ground, boxes marked with explosive symbols were strategically positioned in various areas.
What a nice welcome gift...
He narrowed his eyes and took notice. One of the men was talking quietly into a radio upstairs, two rooms to his right.
Spiderman muttered lowly. Outside, in a side street, trucks approached in silence, unloading more armed men who advanced stealthily towards the cops. They were being surrounded.
It wasn't just a hostage-taking or a robbery that went wrong and they came up with a last-minute plan. It was an ambush... something you wouldn't do for just any squad of cops.
Considering that Captain Stacy was there, he had an idea of what the objective really was.
He moved along the wall silently, his eyes focused on the hostages. Small lights flashed on the chairs where they were sitting. Explosive devices, connected to improvised detonators.
It didn't matter if he finished off the men there, the hostages would be killed anyway, he would have to deal with the explosives first.
He picked up a small control-like device that he had designed from recycled electronic parts, with a range that allowed him to deactivate the charges without coming into direct contact. It was a makeshift invention, but it worked very well. At first, he designed it to better deal with cameras and simpler protection systems, but he saw other, better uses.
And considering that those explosives weren't connected to any device with any kind of protection, it should work.
One of the men further on, with a rifle pointed at the head of one of the hostages looked in his direction, but he was no longer there.
Spider-Man moved around the site in silence, deactivating detonators and explosives. He watched down the corridor, quickly turning the corner to find a group of armed men still patrolling, unaware that he was already there.
He advanced on the first of them, hitting him in the back and causing him to hit his head hard against the floor. The second man was startled, but before he could even make a sound, the vigilante hit him with a strong punch to the face and leapt towards the third man, hitting him with a kick to the mouth.
He threw the three men up and pinned them to the ceiling with his webs.
He looked around, and making sure no one was around, he returned to the hostages. The largest concentration of men was downstairs, since they were preparing to ambush the cops, the hostages were just a distraction.
Three men, all of them in front of windows. They had a wide view of the street below, but the cops below did not.
He descended from his vantage point like a whisper of wind. He landed softly behind the first man, who had his back to him.
In one swift movement, Spider-Man reaches out and wraps a web around the thug's mouth and arms before he can react. The man stumbles forward in surprise, but is quickly pulled back against a wall of webbing.
The other two men turned in surprise, but the boy was already advancing. He shot a web at the second man and leapt towards the third, hitting him with a punch to the face and throwing him into the wall of webbing, trapping him along with the first.
He turns to the second one and shoots a web that catches on his chest. He pulls him towards him and hits him with a kick to the stomach. The man bends forward, vomiting into his own mask and falling to the ground.
The boy just pins him with his webbing, leaving him lying on the ground in his own vomit.
He turned to the hostages and signaled for them to be quiet while he released them. Once everyone was free, he signaled for them to follow him and headed down the corridor and into a room, making his way to a window that overlooked the building on the opposite side from where the trucks were arriving.
He made a web bridge from the back of the room, connecting it to a window in a nearby building. The structure was firm and stable enough for the hostages to cross safely. He moved quickly past the hostages, guiding them.
"Follow the web, keep your heads down. There are a lot of men coming, so hide. The police will find you when it's all over."
He turned to see if everyone was leaving. Most were already leaving, but there were still a few who had more difficulty. He signaled for them to hurry.
He made his way back the way he came in, moving quickly and silently. There were still hostages in the building, it looked like the basement... but next to the hostages, there were ten men, and he was sure that next to the men there were bombs even more dangerous and powerful than the ones upstairs.
He didn't have the equipment to deactivate the bombs... not before the reinforcement trucks arrived.
When he reached the roof, he shot a web and slid into the police perimeter. He landed behind a vehicle, where Captain Stacy was still coordinating the efforts.
"You were right, Captain." His voice caught the attention of all the police officers near them, officers who had already raised their weapons in his direction.
George merely turned and stared, signaling his men to calm down.
"You shouldn't be here, Spider-man. The situation is unlike any other you've ever been involved in." He said in his professional tone, placing one of his hands on his waist and the other on his gun.
"Oh really? I've never prevented a carjacking before, but I've done it so many times now that I don't even remember. I've never stopped a robbery before either, and yet I've handed dozens of crooks over to you on a platter." He replied, sitting down on the roof of the car in clear affront.
"Look, Spider-Man, I don't have time for you! We have an arrest warrant for you, but frankly, we have bigger problems-"
"I completely agree." He said, interrupting the captain. "And that's why I've come here to warn you that this is an ambush. There are four more trucks coming this way right now with who knows how many armed men. I saved some hostages upstairs, but there are still hostages downstairs. The situation isn't very good."
Stacy stared at him for a few moments, not seeming to completely believe what he was saying, but still paying attention.
"And why did you come here? Did the great hero come to ask for help?" Another officer asked, standing next to the captain, but Spider-Man didn't even look in his direction.
"I could save the hostages, but it would take too long and by then you'd all be dead, as would everyone inside that building. Is that what you want? That I let you die? I can leave here whenever I want, but I don't think you'd want that, right... Captain?"
They stared at each other for a few moments, until George sighed and signaled for the men to lower their weapons. As they did so, Spider-Man jumped to the ground, coming face to face with George.
The captain was a few centimeters taller, but seemed too apprehensive to even notice this detail.
"What do you suggest?" He asked, ignoring the grumbling of some of the men.
"They're trying to trap us. We have to divide their forces. I'll block off the streets with webs to delay the armored trucks and isolate the men on foot in the alleys. You and your men can deal with the ones here while I take care of the armored ones. I shouldn't be long." He said quickly, hearing the trucks approaching in the distance, and muffled voices coming from the alleys.
To his surprise, George came a few steps closer, making the other men uneasy. The man leaned forward slightly, not wanting the others to hear.
"For your information, I don't agree with the arrest warrant over your head, as much as I hate to admit it. Don't make me regret it." He said, walking away immediately afterwards and already dictating orders to his men.
Spider-Man stared at his back for a few moments, surprised, but then focused on his work. He climbed onto one of the buildings flanking the street and created a huge wall of web, reinforcing it with several layers and blocking off the street. That should have been enough to stop even that helicopter from before.
He did the same on another street where another truck was approaching, reinforcing it with several layers of web. The trucks would have to slow down, even stop and use their machine guns to get through, which would give them enough time (he hoped) to deal with things.
Soon he was back on the ground, observing the teams that Stacy had divided up. One advanced into the alleyways, the other remained on the main street. All with armor-piercing ammunition and high-caliber weapons to bypass the enemy's defense. Captain George took the lead of the team advancing down the alleyways, made up of five police officers trained in urban combat operations. Each of them was equipped with reinforced ballistic vests.
Captain Stacy stepped forward, holding a tactical shotgun with a flashlight, knowing he was being watched by a figure above.
The officers advanced in pairs, covering opposite angles in the narrow alleys, with one officer always aiming ahead and the other covering the rear.
Two officers designated as observers moved slightly ahead of the main group, checking corners and doors for possible traps or ambushes.
Satisfied, Spider-man advanced through the maze of alleyways. He saw the armed men first, just ahead of George's team.
With that, he dropped and swung himself down the alley, pulling the tactical weapons on the men, who, surprised, had no time to react. The moment he did, George's team advanced, firing at the men, who, unarmed, couldn't do much.
Some even tried to grab the pistols they had at their belts, a few even managed to fire a few shots, but inevitably, they couldn't do much.
Upside down, Spider-Man appeared in Stacy's line of sight, and signaled that there were more men approaching from the intersection of alleys ahead.
"Prepare flash grenades. Two seconds and we move in. I want left and right flanks covered!"
Following the instructions, two officers threw flash grenades around the corners. The deafening sound and the explosion of light disoriented the enemies, leaving them vulnerable.
They advanced, shooting the men who had taken the lead. Others tried to retreat, but Spider-Man landed right in front of them, intercepting their escape routes.
He grabbed one of the men and threw him at the others, using him as a kind of human shield for the shots fired in his direction. Considering that the man was wearing tactical gear and ballistic plates, he'd say he wasn't hurt too badly... he supposed.
With that, he jumped up again, moving quickly along the walls as he tracked the location of more armed men. George followed close behind.
He pointed to some windows ahead, and George nodded in his direction before signaling for two men behind him to take up position. The high-caliber weapons and armor-piercing bullets pierced through what little protection the men had, forcing them to retreat or hitting them and preventing them from moving.
Spider-Man dealt with the rest.
As the tactical team eliminated the last of the mercenaries from the alleyways, the sound of roaring engines and tearing steel echoed down the street. The two armored trucks drove through the thick web walls, and Spider-Man alerted himself.
The trucks immediately located the group of police officers. The heavy machine guns attached began to fire a hail of bullets, sweeping through the alleyways with a deafening bang. One of the trucks launched rockets into the area, destroying the makeshift covers and throwing debris into the air.
Spider-Man leapt to the top of the building while George signaled for the team to retreat. While one of the trucks fired in the direction of the group of police officers, the other shot at the vigilante, who began to run and jump from building to building, dodging the shots while analyzing the vehicles.
They seemed to be reinforced with heavy armor, rotating machine guns and twin rocket launchers. Didn't make sense, all this for the police captain?
He sighed, focusing his gaze on the thermal cameras they had. Spider-Man shot a series of webs at the nearby buildings, pulling loose pieces of metal panels and large chunks of concrete. He threw them at the truck that was firing at the police officers, destroying one of the thermal cameras.
With that, he drew the attention of both trucks to himself.
He jumped up again and propelled himself forward, then let himself fall onto the side of the truck closest to him, grabbing the rotating machine gun with both hands. He ripped the gun from its mount and threw it away after smashing it into several pieces, preventing any more shots from being fired.
He saw that the second truck was aiming in his direction, which made him snort. Climbing quickly onto the roof of the truck, Spider-Man shot a dense web against the front, blocking the driver's view. When the truck tried to move forward, he jumped onto the side of the cab, ripped off the door and pulled the driver out, immobilizing him with a web. He then threw the door towards the second truck, destroying the door in hundreds of pieces.
Taking advantage of Spider-Man's distraction, Stacy's team threw smoke grenades at the truck with the destroyed door, preventing the rest of the crew from reacting. The police surrounded the vehicle, surrendering the remaining men.
The second truck fired two rockets directly at the police. However, Spider-Man shot two webs at the rockets while still in the air, spun his body around and threw the rockets back at the truck. The armor held off much of the damage from the explosions, but the external cameras were destroyed and the bodywork was damaged, as were the rocket launchers.
The truck sped towards the policemen who were pulling the men out and surrendering them further on. Spider-Man jumped out and landed in front of the truck. He grabbed the front end and, with his feet planted on the ground, began to force the truck to stop. The friction caused the asphalt to crack, already weakened by the previous explosions, and the vehicle slowed to a complete stop.
Climbing onto the roof, Spider-Man ripped off the top hatch and shot webs into the truck, immobilizing the occupants before they could react. He entered the vehicle and hit each of the occupants with a strong blow, either to knock them out or just to knock out a tooth, and then he threw each of the men out of the vehicle, leaving them lying on the asphalt.
With both trucks neutralized, the cops consolidated the area, surrendering the remaining mercenaries and getting the hostages out safely.
Spider-Man observed the situation for a few moments, breathing a little easier now. He jumped towards a lamppost that had managed to survive, next to the police car Captain Stacy was in.
"I guess I'm not a potential threat when I'm on your side, huh?" He said, and the man raised his head to look at him.
"I don't think the force would see it that way. As far as I know, it won't take the warrant off your head." He said, more in the way of an apology than a warning or threat.
"A shame... I was beginning to enjoy working with you. If you ever need a sidekick, I'll come with my own webs and zero paperwork." He said, nodding gently to Stacy before jumping up and walking away quickly.
George watched him walk away for a few moments, until he was out of his line of sight. A sigh left his lips as he surveyed his surroundings... this was something well planned by those men.
Heavy weaponry, armored vehicles... he could have died that day.
"All this must have cost a fortune." He heard one of his men say as he led a handcuffed man to a police van. "What were you after? What did you want to get rid of the police force for, to send a message?"
The man who grunted as he was thrown into the van just laughed. He lowered his head for a few moments, before raising it again and looking at the man with a debauched look.
"Who said you were our target?" He asked. Both George and those listening were confused at first.
But soon it all made sense.
That equipment was too much to deal with just one police team, and with the plan they had, they could have done it without even half of what they had. And it was then that Stacy looked up and saw a green figure flying past above his head, heading in the same direction as Spider-Man had gone.
Spider-Man propelled himself forward in a single movement, enjoying the feeling of freedom that had intensified as a result of his previous success.
Hostages saved, non-corrupt cops alive... yes, the day was going wonderfully.
He propelled himself with his arms up the side of a building and jumped further. Late afternoon was approaching. He could call Aunt May and ask her if she wanted him to buy something for the movie session that evening.
But while he was in the air, the sound of something cutting through the air captured his attention. Before he could fully react, a brutal impact hit his back, throwing him forward with force.
Spider-Man hit the wall of a building hard, and his body went through the concrete, being dragged a few more meters into the office, destroying tables and walls.
He grunted in surprise and pain, then stood up. But the moment he did, he felt his neck being gripped tightly, and his eyes widened as he felt a sharp blow to his stomach.
A cruel laugh echoed in his ears, and yellow eyes stared at him in amusement as he was thrown violently upwards, across several floors until the green figure reached him and hit him with a punch to the face, which sent him flying out of the building.
Spider-Man gritted his teeth and shot webs at the building he had just been thrown into, grunting in pain as his senses screamed in his head.
He thought about advancing against his enemy, but his eyes widened again when he saw an orange ball being thrown in his direction.
His instincts screamed again, and he propelled himself away. A little too late, the huge explosion still managed to hit him, throwing him violently sideways.
He landed on the roof of a building, his body bouncing a few times and sliding a few meters across the concrete.
Gasping in pain and irritation, he got up just in time to dodge another blow from his opponent. He tried to counterattack with a kick to the green figure's chest, the kick hitting him and throwing him off a type of glider.
He shot a web at his opponent's chest and pulled him towards him, landing a powerful punch on his goblin-like mask. The green figure 'flew' away, his body going through the side of another building due to the force of the impact.
Spider-Man propelled himself there, landing right in front of the green figure, now on his feet. He tried another punch to its head, but to his surprise, the figure easily caught his fist.
That should have been impossible for a normal person, since that punch had enough force to explode a normal person's head.
"Amazing." The green figure merely said, hitting Spider-Man with a powerful kick to the stomach, which threw him hard off the building.
Still in the air, Spider-Man felt himself being grabbed, and he screamed as he felt his body being thrown upwards.
How is he so fast?!
Who the fuck is this guy?!
He grunted again as he felt a blow hit him in the chest, and his body was thrown back onto the roof of another building. He bounced a few times until his back hit some ventilation ducts. The ducts deformed from the impact, and Spider-Man coughed a few times, his back against the metal.
The next thing he felt was a blade cutting through the air. Before he could understand what was happening, it had already pierced his stomach.
The figure thrust the blade hard, completely through Spider-Man's body, the cold steel coming out of his back. Spider-Man gasped, a painful, gasping sound escaping his throat like a blood-curdling scream, as drops of blood stained the ground beneath him.
The green figure laughed louder, grabbing his head and forcing him to look in its direction as it came even closer. Spider-Man stared into the thing's yellow eyes, which seemed to stare deep into his soul.
"It hurts, doesn't it? But don't worry little spider, it's not enough to kill you." He said, keeping the blade planted in his body and stepped away.
"You've been attracting a lot of my attention lately." He said, leaning on one of the ducts next to the wounded vigilante. "Swinging around buildings, making the city your personal playground."
Spider-Man reached for the handle of the blade, but stopped before trying to pull it out. He knew it was better to leave the blade there so he wouldn't bleed too much, but the pain...
That blade was poisoned with something... the pain was too much.
"Aww, look at the little spider..." The figure said in clear mockery. "So much unexplored potential trapped in such an inexperienced body."
"What the fuck... do you want?!" Spider-Man asked between gasps.
"You are an incredible creature, Spider-Man." The man knelt on one leg beside him, staring at him intensely. "You and I are not so different. It makes me wonder why you turned down my offer."
He stood up, walking until he was facing the fallen hero.
"I chose my path, you chose that of the hero. And they'll find you amusing for a while. The people of this city." He said, flicking the handle of his blade in amusement, making Spider-Man grunt.
"But there's something they love more than a hero. It is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. Despite everything you did for them, eventually, they'll hate you. Why bother?" He asked, and worst of all, he actually sounded genuine.
"... Because... there's a lot wrong... I don't do it for their approval! I do it... to see the great fall! Ashamed... afraid! Drowning in their own... lies!" He replied, and the man merely laughed in derision.
"And how's that working out for you? Two of the politicians you caught walked out of the front doors of the police station, even with your evidence." He said, leaning back on Spiderman's side, as if they were friends having a conversation. "There are 19 million people in this city. And these teeming masses exist for the sole purpose of lifting the few exceptional people onto their shoulders."
He slowly bent down and grabbed the hero by the chin, hard, forcing him to face his yellow eyes.
"You and I are exceptional. So much potential being wasted on people who don't care about you. I could crush you like a bug right here and now... but it would be a shame to waste such power. So I'll repeat my proposal. Join me! Imagine what we could achieve together... or what we could build." He released him, standing up quickly.
"Or we could destroy! Cause the deaths of countless innocent people again and again and again until one of us dies! Is that what you want?" he asked at the same time as the glider approached.
Spider-Man screamed again as the man removed the blade from his stomach.
"Think about it, hero!" He said with a laugh, and quickly flew away in his glider.
Spider-Man removed his mask after that, leaving only a frightened and wounded Peter Parker, desperate and alone as he bled out on that roof.