3: Chapter 3 The Battle of Harlem

On the stage of the Apollo Theater, "Hamlet" was reaching its climax.

The stage lights flickered between light and shadow, and the actors' lines were resonant and powerful. Mary Jane watched with rapt attention, her eyes shining as if they held starlight.

Peter sat beside her, his gaze fixed on the stage, but his mind had long since drifted away.

Hamlet bore the burden of his father's murder, yet he hesitated and delayed, ultimately leading to a disastrous end.

Watching the character on stage, he inexplicably thought of himself.

He possessed the power of Spider-Man, yet his only desire was to hide away and live a quiet life.

How was this any different from the hesitant Hamlet?

But the moment he thought of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and the peaceful life they led, he couldn't help but shrink back.

"With great power comes great responsibility" — the words were easy to say, but when it came to actually shouldering it, it was too heavy.

Just as his thoughts were in turmoil, a deafening roar erupted from outside the theater.

Boom—

The entire building shook, the chandelier on the ceiling swayed violently, and a chorus of screams instantly erupted from the audience.

"What's going on? Is it an earthquake?"

"What was that noise outside!"

Peter's expression changed abruptly, and he stood up sharply.

This disturbance, this location...

The thing he feared most had happened after all.

"Mary Jane, come with me!" He grabbed Mary Jane by the wrist and, without explanation, pulled her toward the exit.

The crowd was surging chaotically at the entrance, screams and cries blending together.

Relying on his superhuman strength and reflexes, Peter shielded Mary Jane and squeezed out through a side door. As soon as they rushed onto the street, he was stunned by the scene before him.

Not far away, Harlem was engulfed in flames, with thick smoke billowing into the sky.

The streets were riddled with craters, car wreckage was scattered everywhere, and pedestrians were fleeing in a panic.

Amidst the smoke and dust, a hideous monster, six meters tall, was roaring at the sky.

Its entire body was covered in knotted muscles, its skin torn in many places, and white bones poked out from the muscle tissue, looking terrifying to the extreme.

Abomination.

Peter's heart sank sharply.

Immediately after, the ground shook violently again.

The center of the street collapsed with a roar, and a large green hand gripped the edge of the pit. Hulk stood up from the ruins with a low growl, his frame expanding with every breath, his muscles rippling clearly.

"Hulk!!"

Abomination roared in excitement and charged forward with heavy footsteps.

The two behemoths collided violently. The Impact swept across the entire street like a typhoon, instantly shattering all the glass along the road, and many people who were too slow to run were knocked to the ground.

Mary Jane turned pale with fright, clutching Peter's arm tightly, her voice trembling: "W-what is that? Is that a monster?"

"It's Hulk... the other one is called Abomination," Peter said in a low voice, pulling her backward. "We need to leave quickly; it's too dangerous here."

He pulled Mary Jane into the crowd of fleeing people, running away from the battlefield.

According to the original plot, this battle would destroy half the street and cause heavy casualties, but Hulk would win in the end.

As long as he got Mary Jane out safely, everything would be fine.

This was the wisest choice.

But they hadn't run far when a groan of pain came from nearby.

A collapsed lamppost was pinning a middle-aged man's leg, blood streaming down his trouser leg.

The man's face was deathly pale, and he struggled desperately but couldn't move an inch. The people around them were only focused on escaping; not a single person stopped.

"Help... save me..."

The voice was faint and was quickly drowned out by the explosions in the distance.

Mary Jane stopped in her tracks, her eyes reddening with anxiety: "He's hurt! Peter, let's help him!"

Peter stopped as well.

His reason was screaming at him: Don't get involved, just leave; getting mixed up in this would only bring trouble upon himself.

He was just an ordinary person—no, wait, he had superpowers now, but this still wasn't his business.

Yet the man's desperate gaze pierced his heart like a needle.

He could easily lift this lamppost, dodge the flying debris, and save this person's life.

If he just walked away like this, he would never be able to get over this hurdle in his heart for the rest of his life.

Uncle Ben's words, "With great power comes great responsibility," and what Mary Jane had said, "If all the people with power hide, what will happen to ordinary people?" echoed repeatedly in his mind.

"Help him retreat over there, find a corner to hide in, and don't come out," Peter said, pushing Mary Jane toward the injured man, his tone exceptionally firm. "I'm going to lift the lamppost."

"Are you crazy? That post is so heavy!" Mary Jane grabbed him, her eyes full of worry. "It's too dangerous! Can't we wait for the Police?"

"We can't wait. If we drag this out, he'll lose his leg."

Peter didn't say anything more; he turned and walked quickly to the side of the lamppost.

He took a deep breath, gripped the cold iron post with both hands, engaged his core, and let out a low grunt—

The heavy metal lamppost was actually lifted by him by sheer force.

"Crawl out quickly!"

The man was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and scrambled out with all his might.

Mary Jane also rushed over to help pull his arm, and together they dragged the man out.

Peter let go, and the lamppost slammed onto the ground with a loud "clang," sending sparks flying.

He shook his hands, feeling unusually calm.

So, after gaining power, reaching out to save someone was such a natural thing to do.

But it wasn't over yet.

The battle in the distance was becoming more and more intense. Abomination swung a wrecking ball attached to a chain, smashing it against the buildings, and rubble and debris rained down like raindrops.

The sounds of crying, explosions, and collapsing buildings blended together; people were getting hurt every second.

The Police and the military hadn't yet formed an effective line of defense, and at this rate, the casualties would only increase.

Peter looked at the flames in the distance and clenched his fists.

Hiding—how long could he hide?

He could take Mary Jane and escape today, but what about next time? Or the time after that?

Since he had traveled to this World, was he supposed to hide behind the Avengers and live like a coward for the rest of his life?

The reason Spider-Man is Spider-Man was never because he was bitten by a spider.

It was because even when he knew the danger, he would still choose to stand up.

"Mary Jane, take this gentleman to a safe place and stay there; don't wander off," Peter said suddenly, his tone calm but unquestionable. "There are others who need help; I have to go see."

"Where are you going?!" Mary Jane said anxiously, reaching out to pull him. "It's full of monsters over there! What use will you be if you go?"

"Someone has to do something."

Peter smiled at her, turned, and dove into the nearby alley.

There was a clothing store in the alley, its display window long since shattered.

He rushed in, scanned the area, grabbed a red hoodie and a pair of dark blue sweatpants, fished out a black ski mask and a pair of gloves, and threw them on in a flash.

Before leaving, he had casually stuffed the Webbing shooters into his pocket, intending to find a chance to calibrate them, but he hadn't expected them to come in handy now.

He pulled out the shooters, strapped them onto his wrists, and adjusted the angle.

The mask covered his entire face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Peter looked at his unfamiliar reflection in the broken glass and took a deep breath.

From this day on, he was Spider-Man.

He raised his hand, aimed at the eaves of the roof, and pulled the trigger.

Thwip—

A thin strand of Webbing shot out instantly and stuck firmly to the masonry.

Peter leaped, and his whole body swung out along the Webbing.

The wind whistled in his ears, the scenery on the ground receded rapidly, and the sensation of weightlessness mixed with the rush of adrenaline made his scalp tingle.

It was his first time swinging on Webbing, so it was inevitably clumsy; he landed staggeringly on the opposite roof, nearly falling off.

After steadying himself, he looked down at the street below, watching the two monsters fighting in the distance, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

Nervous, fearful, yet incredibly excited.

He ran quickly along the rooftops and soon reached the vicinity of the battlefield.

Looking down, the situation was even worse than he had imagined.

A military helicopter had been smashed to the ground by Abomination; the fuselage was severely deformed, the fuel tank had a large hole in it, and aviation fuel was gushing out, right next to sparks coming from a short circuit.

Hulk wanted to go over and save them, but he was held fast by Abomination and couldn't break free.

If he waited another dozen seconds, the helicopter would explode, and not a single soldier inside would survive.

There was no time to hesitate.

Peter leaped from the roof, rolled upon landing to dissipate the force, and headed straight for the helicopter.

"Stay away! It's going to explode!" a woman nearby shouted urgently; it was Betty.

Peter didn't answer; he raised both hands and fired repeatedly at the damaged fuel tank.

Strand after strand of Webbing layered over it, instantly sealing the leaking hole completely, not even a drop of fuel could leak out.

Sparks splashed onto the Webbing, but nothing happened.

Crisis averted.

He turned to look at the brawling Hulk and Abomination and shouted: "Big guy! Leave this to me, focus on beating him up!"