Spider-Man : The Story of a Hero

New York — Terrace of a Small Restaurant — Day

Seated on the lively terrace of a small restaurant, Gwen and Eddie sat across from each other, each holding a soda. The sun gently warmed the place, and the conversations of the other customers blended into a soft background murmur.

And yet, despite the peaceful atmosphere, a heavy silence had settled between them. Gwen absentmindedly sipped her drink, her gaze lost in the distance. Her face, both sad and confused, revealed the countless thoughts that had been overwhelming her since the day before.

Sitting across from her, Eddie discreetly watched her. The more the seconds passed, the more his concern seemed to grow.

— ”Are you... okay?”

Gwen didn’t answer. Her eyes remained fixed ahead of her, as though everything around her had temporarily disappeared. Completely absorbed in her thoughts, she didn’t even seem to have heard the question.

Eddie waited patiently for a few moments, hoping for a reaction, but she remained perfectly still, trapped inside her own mind.

He finally spoke again softly, trying to bring her back to reality.

— ”Gwen?”

By gently waving his hand in front of her face, he finally managed to get her attention. She blinked several times before slowly coming back to her senses and meeting his gaze.

Even so, the sadness on her face hadn’t disappeared, and Eddie noticed it immediately.

— ”Are you okay?”

Gwen remained silent for a few more seconds. She finally let out a quiet sigh, gently set her glass back down on the table, and lowered her eyes for a moment before answering him with a sincerity she no longer had the strength to hide.

— ”No. Not really, to be honest...”

Eddie didn’t need long to think.

— ”Is it about Peter?”

For a fraction of a second, Gwen considered denying it. Pretending that everything was fine, as she had so often tried to do lately. But the words refused to come out.

She was exhausted by the situation. All the confusion, the growing misunderstandings, their repeated arguments... it was all truly beginning to weigh on her.

— ”Were you able to talk to him?”

She simply answered with a slow shake of her head, never taking her eyes off the table.

— ”I... I don’t think I’ve ever been this lost in my entire life. I’ve known Peter for so long, and yet... right now, I don’t recognize him anymore. I don’t understand anything, and every time I try to understand... he pushes me away.”

Eddie remained silent, listening attentively while Gwen absentmindedly played with her glass. Her face looked completely drained of energy. She seemed deeply affected by everything that was happening between her and Peter.

Inside, however...

Eddie couldn’t have been more satisfied.

Everything was unfolding exactly as he had imagined. He had planted the seed of doubt, created discord between them, and now the cracks were beginning to show. After successfully forcing his way into his little brother’s life, all that remained was to take advantage of the situation.

But none of that showed on his face.

On the contrary, he continued to play the role of the caring young man to perfection, giving Gwen a look filled with almost flawless kindness.

— ”If you need to talk... if you want to open up to me... I’m here.”

Their eyes met for a few moments, and it was precisely at that moment that Gwen experienced a genuine moment of weakness. From the very beginning, she had promised herself not to grow any closer to Eddie, partly out of respect for Peter.

And yet, without even realizing it, she was doing exactly the opposite. Part of her still hoped to understand what was happening to the man she loved. But another part simply needed someone to talk to.

And, against all expectations, it made her feel better.

After all, Eddie had known Peter much longer than she had. Maybe he was even the person most capable of helping her understand such a sudden change.

After one last moment of hesitation, Gwen finally let her guard down.

She then began talking to him about herself, about Peter... and about several aspects of their lives that she had never shared with anyone before.

New York — Bank — Day

On an unusually deserted street in Manhattan, Spider-Man was fighting the Terrifying Six in broad daylight. All around them, the aftermath of their battle was already clearly visible: the pavement was cracked, several vehicles had been reduced to wrecks, and the facades of the nearby buildings bore the marks of their exchanges of blows.

Leading the group, Doctor Octopus immediately launched the offensive. In a movement that was as brutal as it was perfectly coordinated, his six metallic arms shot toward Spider-Man, trying to pin him down before he could react.

But the young hero displayed astonishing agility.

Instead of retreating, he leaped directly onto the metallic tentacles, running across them as though he were crossing a series of narrow sidewalks suspended in the air.

Each of the scientist’s attacks passed within inches of him, but none of them managed to touch him.

When he reached the last mechanical arm, Peter pushed off with tremendous force and launched himself into the air. At the peak of his jump, a strand of black webbing shot from his wrist and covered both Doctor Octopus’s face and feet, blinding him while violently pinning him to the ground.

— ”What?!”

Driven by gravity, Spider-Man came crashing down onto Doctor Octopus and delivered a vicious kick straight to his face. The force of the impact sent the scientist flying several yards away until he crashed heavily onto the pavement with a groan of pain, unable to get back up.

Without giving him the slightest chance to recover, the other members of the Terrifying Six immediately attacked. Scorpion was the first to lunge at him, chaining together strikes with his venomous tail, which lashed through the air at incredible speed.

Spider-Man effortlessly dodged every single blow when a violent warning suddenly surged through his spider-sense. He instinctively turned his head, but it was already too late: Rhino was charging straight at him at full speed, head lowered and his gigantic horn pointed forward.

Everything pointed toward an unavoidable collision.

And yet, at the very last instant, Rhino came to a complete stop. His enormous body had been halted in the middle of his charge before being lifted off the ground, held suspended in the air by Spider-Man, who was gripping his horn with a single hand as though his two tons weighed absolutely nothing.

For a brief moment, every criminal froze, unable to believe what they were seeing.

— ”Huh?! What’s going on?! Why am I in the air?!”

Even Scorpion was left speechless.

— ”Uh... could he do that before?”

Without answering, Spider-Man tightened his grip around Rhino’s horn before beginning to spin him around. Round after round, the gigantic brute gained speed, his body tracing huge circles like the hammer of an Olympic thrower.

When he felt he had built up enough momentum, Peter suddenly released his grip and hurled Rhino with phenomenal force straight toward his own teammates.

Caught off guard, the other members of the Terrifying Six had to dive out of the way to avoid being struck by the two-ton colossus, who slammed violently into the ground.

Despite his extraordinary durability, Rhino took the full force of the impact and immediately lost consciousness.

— ”DAMN! IS HE CRAZY OR WHAT?! IS HE TRYING TO KILL US?!” Sandman said, completely stunned.

Electro clenched his fists.

Lightning was already coursing across his entire body.

— ”HE WON’T IF I KILL HIM FIRST!”

TO BE CONTINUED.