Spider-Man : The Story of a Hero

New York — Manhattan Streets — Evening

Chaos had taken over the streets of Manhattan. Still in midair, the Beetle was bombarding the city with destructive laser blasts and mini-missiles. Buildings were collapsing, civilians were screaming as they fled in every direction, while cars exploded, their burning wrecks now blocking several avenues. Around the area, several police vehicles were attempting to establish a security perimeter.

Among the forces present, Yuri Watanabe was leading the intervention alongside her colleagues.

— ”How are we supposed to deal with this? We’re on the ground, and he can fly. And on top of that, he’s firing fucking lasers capable of destroying everything! This is insane!”

Despite everything, she raised her service weapon and aimed at the armored man. Just as she was about to open fire, the Beetle suddenly plummeted from the sky before crashing violently into the middle of the street.

— ”Captain! What was that?!”

— ”I... I think he crashed. Let’s go take a look!”

A thick cloud of smoke immediately rose from the impact site. Weapons raised, the police officers cautiously advanced toward the crater. When the cloud finally began to clear, Spider-Man’s silhouette appeared, one foot firmly planted on the Beetle’s armor. He was trying to crush it with all his strength, but the metal was holding up surprisingly well.

— ”His armor is really tough.”

— ”Spider-Man?!”

Hearing his name, the young hero instinctively looked up at her. That single second of distraction was enough for the Beetle to suddenly reactivate his propulsion system and strike him with an extremely powerful blow, sending him crashing into the wall of a building. Although his Spider-Sense had activated, Peter reacted a fraction of a second too late.

Taking advantage of the opening, the Beetle immediately took flight again. Spider-Man got back up fairly quickly and was about to resume the chase, but he stopped when he discovered that all the police officers were now pointing their weapons in his direction. All of them... except Yuri.

— ”What do we do, Captain?! Can we shoot?!”

While all the police officers waited for her order, Yuri did not answer. She simply walked toward Spider-Man, her face calm. The hero and the captain stared at each other in silence for several long seconds, until she finally decided to speak.

— ”Was it you?”

He frowned beneath his mask.

— ”What are you talking about?”

Without breaking eye contact, Yuri took a few more steps, almost completely closing the distance between them. Their faces were only a few inches apart when she repeated her question in a firm voice.

— ”Answer me: was it you?”

Meanwhile, the other officers watched the scene in confusion. None of them knew what their captain was talking about with the man in black. Peter, however, understood perfectly. She was referring to Tombstone.

— ”Yeah. It was us.”

Upon learning that Spider-Man was indeed responsible for Tombstone’s death, Yuri immediately thought of George. One of the most important people in her life had finally been avenged... and it was precisely the man she hated who had carried out that revenge.

She remained motionless for several long seconds, her expression closed off, as though lost in deep thought. Slowly, she lowered her eyes before discreetly raising her hand and motioning for Spider-Man to leave. Immediately understanding her gesture, he did not respond and launched himself after the Beetle.

Her colleagues, however, could not believe it.

— ”Captain! You really want us to let him go?!”

— ”Exactly! He killed George and we’re not arresting him?!”

Yuri remained silent, her gaze still turned toward the sky. Her expression revealed a mixture of doubt, anger, and self-questioning. However, the situation did not leave her any time to think any further. She suddenly turned toward her colleagues and immediately gave them an order.

— ”Contact the police station and request additional vehicles. We’re going to keep following that armored guy who’s causing all this chaos.”

— ”But... what about Spider-Man?!”

— ”Until I give an order, you do nothing. Is that clear?”

They all nodded, even if some of them did so reluctantly, their teeth clenched.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man was moving at full speed above the streets of Manhattan, never taking his eyes off the Beetle. He followed him from a safe distance, desperately searching for a way to pierce that infernal armor that seemed capable of resisting absolutely everything, when a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind him.

— ”NEED SOME HELP, SPIDER?!”

— ”Black Cat?”

In the middle of an acrobatic movement, Peter immediately stopped his aerial pursuit and landed with perfect precision against the side of a building. He then reached the young woman in a few leaps before landing on the rooftop where she was waiting for him.

— ”What are you doing here?”

— ”What? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

The young woman wore a black and yellow suit resembling the appearance of a cat, accompanied by a hood adorned with small feline ears bordered with light fur. A cat mask concealed half of her face, while two yellow lenses covered her eyes.

She walked toward him with an elegant and silent stride, each of her steps impressively discreet.

— ”New suit? Did you change it to attract me? You know I love black too...”

As she slowly circled him, she let her hand slide across his chest. Peter immediately reacted by firmly grabbing her wrist.

— ”What do you want, Cat?”

He finally released his grip. Disappointed by the coldness of his tone, Felicia let out a soft sigh.

— ”I want to help you. We’ve been watching you for a while, and it looks like you’re struggling against that armored guy.”

Peter slightly raised an eyebrow.

— ”’We’?”

— ”Oh yeah! Actually... there’s someone I want you to meet!”

At that moment, a female figure leaped from a higher rooftop before landing gracefully right in front of them. She wore exactly the same outfit as Felicia, except that the yellow elements had been replaced with red. Unlike her, her red hair was completely visible.

— ”She’s a friend of mine. Her name is—”

— ”Black Cat! Nice to meet you!”

Full of enthusiasm, she immediately stepped toward Spider-Man to shake his hand. Felicia instantly stopped her by abruptly pulling her backward.

— ”You can’t take that name! I’m already called that!”

— ”Who cares! I’m a better Black Cat than you anyway!”

— ”Oh yeah? Wanna bet?!”

The tension quickly rose between the two young women, until Peter finally decided to intervene.

— ”You can argue later if you want, but right now, there’s an asshole we need to eliminate. And he’s really starting to piss us off.”

— ”Us?”

Intrigued, they immediately exchanged a glance.

— ”Does that mean we’re teaming up?”

— ”If you’re planning to make yourselves useful... yeah.”

— ”We’ll help you... on one condition: you show me what you look like.”

— ”And why only you?! I want to see too!”

Their bickering started up again, but the civilians’ screams and the explosions echoing in the distance brutally reminded them of the urgency of the situation.

— ”We don’t have time for your bullshit. If you want to help, come with me. Otherwise... get lost.”

Without waiting for their answer, he leaped into the air to resume his pursuit of the Beetle. The two young women exchanged a brief glance before launching themselves after him.

After several moments of swinging between the buildings of Manhattan, Spider-Man finally managed to catch up with his target. He immediately fired several webs toward his arms and face, trying to obstruct his vision and prevent him from using his lasers and missiles.

That was when a cry of distress suddenly caught his attention. A man and a woman were trapped beneath the debris of part of a building that had collapsed because of the Beetle’s attacks.

Despite all his efforts, the man was unable to free himself and let out screams filled with both despair and determination, desperately trying to save the woman he loved.

Seeing this scene, Spider-Man hesitated. If he abandoned the pursuit now, the Beetle might escape and disappear. And yet... could he really let those two innocent people die?

For a few moments, he made the decision to continue his hunt. After all, those people might be among those who hated him, insulted him, or would continue treating him like a criminal even after being saved. So... why should he help them?

Deep inside him, the symbiote rejoiced at that choice. But the very next instant, an image suddenly flashed through Peter’s mind.

Once again, it was Uncle Ben.

In the middle of that frantic battle, while everything seemed to be moving at incredible speed, Peter nevertheless felt as though time had just slowed down. He then made a new decision: let the Beetle escape in order to save people. Once again.

— ”Fuck this!”

At that very moment, both Black Cats came rushing in at full speed. The one dressed in yellow shouted toward Spider-Man:

— ”DON’T WORRY! WE’VE GOT THIS! YOU DEAL WITH THE FLYING BEETLE!”

They both immediately rushed to help the civilians. Peter watched them for a brief moment, surprised... but above all relieved. He immediately turned his attention back to his target.

The Beetle had already torn away the webs obstructing him and was preparing to use his lasers and missiles again. Before he could cause any more destruction, Spider-Man slammed into him head-on and hurled him violently against the side of a building.

Despite the impact, the Beetle immediately fought back by firing his lasers. Peter dodged them with exceptional agility, narrowly avoiding a beam that passed only a few inches from his head.

He fired another web directly at his opponent’s face before lunging toward him and grabbing him brutally by the throat. Taking advantage of their close proximity, he tore away part of the back of his armor, destroying his propulsion system. Deprived of lift, the two fighters crashed heavily onto the ground.

Spider-Man gradually tightened his grip around his opponent’s metallic neck until the armor cracked under the pressure. Still blinded by the webs, the Beetle nevertheless managed to launch a missile toward Peter’s head. He narrowly dodged it, and the projectile crashed into a building behind them in a violent explosion.

Annoyed by his resistance, Peter delivered a powerful punch to his face, slightly cracking the metal protecting his helmet. After that impact, the armored man stopped moving completely. He seemed to have lost consciousness.

But that wasn’t enough for Peter. He methodically continued tearing pieces off the armor, gradually exposing several parts of his opponent’s body. Just as he was about to finish him off, he saw Yuri Watanabe and several police officers arriving in the distance.

He stared at the Beetle for a moment, then finally released his grip before standing up. Towering above him, he looked down at him with deep contempt.

— ”You’re lucky.”

With those words, he launched himself into the air, leaving behind the unconscious Beetle, securely bound in his webs. In the distance, police sirens were already echoing and rapidly approaching the area.

At the same time, from the rooftop of a nearby building, the two Black Cats watched the entire scene.

— ”You weren’t lying... he’s incredibly strong! And I have to admit... it’s pretty damn hot.”

— ”I told you. Watching him fight is a feast for the eyes.”

A quiet sigh escaped her, accompanied by a slight smile.

— ”I already can’t wait to see him again.”

The red Black Cat’s lips also stretched into a mischievous smile.

— ”You’re not the only one...”

Parker House — Gwen’s Bedroom — Night

At the same time, at the Parker house, Gwen Stacy was lying in bed, desperately trying to fall asleep without succeeding. The recent events kept replaying in her mind, but those that had happened a few hours earlier particularly refused to leave her.

Exhausted by everything she was going through and deeply saddened, she let her gaze drift into the distance for several long minutes. Eventually, she slowly sat up, picked up the phone resting on her desk, then lay back down.

Hoping to take her mind off things, she began mindlessly scrolling through social media. And yet, nothing managed to distract her thoughts. Then, without really knowing why, a sudden desire came over her: to see her father again.

With slight hesitation, she opened her photo gallery and scrolled through a few pictures before coming across several memories of him. Some photographs showed them together, smiling, while others simply captured George alone.

At the sight of those images, Gwen tried to smile and remember the good times they had shared. Tears began flowing on their own down her cheeks while her teeth clenched despite herself. Her face tightened as she struggled helplessly against the urge to cry, until she finally broke down. She then pressed her phone tightly against her chest, never taking her eyes off the photo still displayed on the screen.

— ”I miss you, Dad.”

TO BE CONTINUED.