12: Chapter 12 GST

Peter got up, covered in dirt, his face grim. "The Police didn't lock them all up?"

"The big boss was definitely arrested, but those low-level lackeys weren't prosecuted and were released directly." Marcus said, still shaken. "I didn't expect their revenge to come so quickly. I have to go warn the brothers not to go out."

Peter stood in place, looking at the bullet holes on the street, his heart sinking.

He had originally thought that taking down the boss would solve the problem, but he had overlooked the madness of these desperadoes. Humans are always irrational; these innocent bystanders almost lost their lives, all because of the chain reaction triggered by his "righteous action" tonight.

They had come out to retaliate because of him.

This was his responsibility.

Peter comforted Marcus with a few words, returned home alone, and slipped into the Underground Room. He dug out a black bodysuit, thin sneakers, a black compression shirt, red gloves, and a mask.

He sneaked back to Marcus's neighborhood and found that the remnants of the Grass Stain Gang were actually throwing a wild party in the park, with burning oil drums illuminating the gun-toting thugs.

Rushing in blindly was suicide, so Peter turned and slipped into a trashed grocery store nearby. He left a hundred dollars on the counter and took all the spray paint cans, hammers, wrenches, nail guns, and a few knives. Passing by a vandalized leather goods store, he pulled a brand-new red leather jacket from the rubble, which fit him perfectly.

He used black spray paint to crudely spray a huge spider logo on the back of the jacket. This look reminded him of the Garfield version of Spider-Man, but it was highly practical.

Returning to the perimeter of the park, Peter precisely threw four spray paint cans into the burning oil drums.

Spray paint cans plus an open flame equaled a perfect controlled demolition.

With a loud bang, flames shot into the sky. The strong Impact and sudden darkness plunged the party into chaos.

"Light it up! Get a lighter, quick!" the boss roared in frustration.

Just as a faint spark lit up, Peter pounced down from a tree like a ghost. Webbing shot out, hanging a thug upside down from a branch.

What followed was a completely one-sided hunt. Peter used the darkness and terrain to maneuver, his Webbing precisely sealing gun barrels and causing bullets to backfire and explode; wrenches and hammers whistled through the air, knocking out one person after another.

When the last few remnants huddled together in terror, Peter threw a punctured spray paint can into the crowd. Black smoke instantly filled the air.

In the smoke, he moved as if no one was there, dragging the remaining enemies into the darkness one by one.

"What the hell is that?!" the boss screamed in a breakdown, firing blindly in all directions.

As the smoke gradually cleared, a figure wearing a black bodysuit, a red jacket, and a red mask hung upside down from a branch.

"I'm Spider-Man."

The boss pulled the trigger in panic, but Spider-Sense allowed Peter to easily dodge. Peter threw a wrench with his backhand, knocking the gun away, and then delivered a heavy punch to the man's chest, completely knocking him out.

The cleanup was just as efficient. Peter swiped a few bills from a guard's pocket, comforting himself with the thought that "stealing from a thief isn't stealing," then used the guard's phone to call the Police, crushing the phone immediately after hanging up.

After confirming that everyone was still alive, he swung up to the rooftop and watched the Police cars roar in. Only then did he hide his identity, return home, stuff his suit into a hidden compartment under the floorboards, and pretend he had just finished work, lying to Aunt May and Uncle Ben that he had stayed over at Marcus's place.

In the middle of the night, Peter examined the red jacket again in the Underground Room.

This style reminded him of Spider-Man in "Last Stand". It was warm enough, but it did catch some wind during high-speed swinging. Perhaps he could add Kevlar armor to the lining in the future and add some hidden weapons, like shurikens.

He put on his suit and slipped out of the house. Just as he was about to go on patrol, he saw Harry Osborn's car parked downstairs from Mary Jane's house. Flash and Liz Allan were also in the back seat.

Peter originally wanted to follow them and see what these teenagers were up to, when he heard Harry Osborn promising not to bully Peter anymore. Only then did Mary Jane agree to go with them to the "Sweet" bar—using fake IDs.

Peter secretly complained about these teenagers' love-struck brains. Just as he decided to give up trailing them, the sound of a Police siren in the distance made him immediately change direction.

Where there's a siren, there's a case.

Following the sound, he came to an alley behind a jewelry store, just in time to see a dark figure climbing out of a window. Peter descended from the sky, kicked the figure over, and snatched the brown paper bag containing the jewelry.

"Pretty experienced technique, but isn't using a brown paper bag to hold jewelry a bit too retro?" Peter teased.

The shadow didn't waste words, getting up and launching a fierce roundhouse kick straight at his face. Peter ducked to dodge it and was about to counterattack, but the opponent used his momentum to grab his arm, sending him crashing hard to the ground with a beautiful shoulder throw.

Peter was left dazed and disoriented from the fall. Looking up, he froze instantly.

Under the moonlight, a girl wearing a domino mask looked down at him. Her long silver hair fell like a waterfall, her emerald-green eyes shone brightly in the night, and her tight athletic wear outlined her perfect curves.

Peter's brain instantly short-circuited, and he blurted out, "I think I've fallen in love with you."

The girl paused. "What did you say?"

Peter blinked. "I don't know why I said that either."

The girl sized him up. "And who the hell are you?"

"Spider-Man."

"Spider-Man? What a stupid name."

"Still better than yours, Black Cat?" Peter felt her hand quietly reaching for the paper bag, and shot a glob of Webbing with a backhand to plaster her face. He had purposely lowered the stickiness, not wanting to hurt that beautiful face.

"What the hell is this!" Black Cat tore off the mask.

"You know, when a boy reaches a certain age, he starts spraying some white sticky stuff." Peter cracked a dirty joke.

"Disgusting!" Black Cat spat, pulling out a meteor hammer from her waist to counterattack.

The two tangled together. Peter didn't use lethal force at all, treating it entirely as appreciating her fighting skills. After a few rounds, he found an opening and pinned Black Cat beneath him.

"Come on, Black Cat, we just met and you've already tried to mount me twice." Peter joked, panting. "At least buy me dinner first."

"Sure, Spider, as soon as I get my wallet back!" Black Cat pushed him off with a knee strike and leapt onto the wall. "We'll settle this next time, Spider."

Watching her graceful figure depart, Peter smiled and didn't give chase.

Wait, where was the jewelry?

He looked down to find the paper bag in his hand completely empty. Thinking back, when he had pinned her to the ground just now, she had swiped the bag right out of his hand.

Peter laughed in spite of himself. He couldn't even bring himself to be angry after being played; the girl's technique was indeed beautiful.

He swung back to the bar street, wore his red jacket inside out, tucked away his mask and web-shooters, and seamlessly switched back to his identity as Peter Parker.

Just as he landed, he heard a heated argument coming from the alley behind the bar.

"Mary Jane, I said I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Harry Osborn was still making excuses.

"Sorry for what? Shoving your dirty hands up my skirt?!" Mary Jane exploded completely.

Peter rolled his eyes and stepped out of the shadows.

"Harry, I thought you just had an annoying personality, but I didn't expect you to sexually harass someone too." Peter interrupted coldly, dragging Harry Osborn away. "Are you okay?" He turned to look at Mary Jane.

"Parker? What are you doing here?" Flash and Liz Allan had expressions like they had seen a ghost.

"As you can see, stopping an Osborn from committing a crime." Peter shrugged.

"Get lost, Parker!" Harry Osborn, flying into a rage out of humiliation, rushed up and grabbed Peter's collar.

Peter could have easily dodged, but he forced himself to suppress his muscles' instinctive reaction, taking a solid punch from Harry Osborn and falling to the ground with the momentum.

"Harry, stop fighting!" Mary Jane cried out.

Looking at Peter on the ground, Harry Osborn suddenly looked like a deflated balloon, leaving in embarrassment in the car as Flash pulled him away.

"Are you crazy? Why didn't you dodge?" Mary Jane knelt down, checking the corner of his eye with concern.

"Because Harry isn't a supervillain." Peter rubbed his face and sat up. "He's just an ordinary guy with a personality flaw. Letting him throw a punch to vent his anger settles the matter."

As the two walked toward the bus stop, Peter took the opportunity to talk about the history between his body's original owner and Harry Osborn. In middle school, the two outcasts had comforted each other, but after entering high school, Harry Osborn started using money to buy friends, and the two gradually drifted apart.

Hearing this, Mary Jane's eyes dimmed. "I'm sorry, Peter. I didn't realize before that I was abandoning you too."

"I told you, I'm fine, Mary Jane." Peter's tone was calm.

"You're lying, you hate me. You never call me Mary Jane; you always call me by my full name."

Peter was slightly startled, not expecting her to be so sensitive. He sighed. "I'm used to being alone. I'm not good at getting too close to people."

Mary Jane said nothing more, and the bus arrived in silence.

Late at night, Peter lay in bed, looking at the ceiling, his brain working rapidly.

Too much had happened today. He had officially intervened in the underworld under the name of Spider-Man, met that rookie female thief who made his heart race, and re-evaluated the relationship between Harry Osborn and Mary Jane.

As for whether Harry Osborn would completely turn to the dark side because of what happened today?

No, he felt there was no need to worry. At the end of the day, Harry Osborn was a jerk, but at least he was a jerk with a conscience.