Failure
The mechanical crow man, or at least that's what Peter called him, flew straight at him, picking up speed with every meter he got closer. His metal wings, spread wide, sliced through the ferry's walls with ease, sparks flying everywhere.
Suddenly, he aimed the strange weapon in his hands directly at Peter, and a violet beam shot toward him. Peter dodged by jumping to the side and looked back, seeing the wall it had hit cleanly severed, the cut so precise it had melted the metal, leaving a gap that showed the other side.
But he didn't have time to think about that, because the attacker didn't slow down. He dug his claws into a nearby car, lifted it, and threw it straight at Peter.
Peter jumped again, planted his hands on the car's roof mid-flight, and pushed himself upward, dodging it completely as the vehicle shot past him and into the sea behind.
Right then, the mechanical crow appeared in front of Peter, trying to cut him with the edge of his wings.
Peter reacted fast, shot his webs to the ceiling, and pulled himself up to dodge.
But the crow spun in the air and aimed his weapon again, firing directly.
Peter had to keep dodging as the energy shot carved another cut into the ceiling, piercing through it effortlessly and continuing its path into the sky.
"Move. We're getting out of here," the crow said to his worker, who was still clutching his ribs in pain, probably fractured from Spider-Man's hit, even as he tried to stay on his feet.
He barely nodded and started getting up however he could to escape.
"Oh, no. You're staying," Peter said as he shot a web to catch him, but a beam of energy cut it instantly.
"Tsk… fine. Big bird first… then grab the eggs. Or that sounds wrong…," Peter muttered as he dodged another shot and fired more webs at the crow, who quickly sliced them apart with his wings, remembering the earlier attack.
But this time they were regular webs, meant to hold him.
Peter fired more, faster and faster, until he was shooting dozens at the same time, anchoring their ends while still dodging the energy shots that cut through everything in their path.
He stuck one to the ferry and, in one smooth motion, stepped onto his own webs and started running toward the crow, dodging shots. At times he would jump to the side, hang from a web, swing under, and come back up, keeping full control over his body.
The results of his training with Owen were obvious.
The crow saw him getting closer and closer, and unable to shoot him precisely, he spun sharply with his wings tangled in the webs and increased the power of his weapon. The next shot was much larger, completely cutting through the webs around him, the slash descending and even parting the water for a moment, showing the absurd power of that weapon.
Peter lost his footing, but he didn't panic. He fired webs straight at the crow's legs and swung forward as the man lost stability for a moment.
He used that instant.
He launched himself upward with force and, mid-air, let go of his webs before moving his hands from the outside inward.
Immediately, dozens of web charges fired in a burst and exploded right in front of the crow, who, just as he regained his balance, couldn't react in time.
A thick mass of webbing trapped him completely.
The impact was strong… but not enough.
The crow's wings trembled for a moment… and then tensed hard.
The webbing began to crack.
But in the end… he didn't break free and was thrown against the ferry by the force of the explosions, slammed into the ground along with the other criminals.
Peter propelled himself again, landing in front of them… not letting his guard down.
He let out a breath, seeing that they all seemed trapped. Even if one got away… he wouldn't get far.
"Now I should probably read you your Miranda rights or something, right?" he muttered lightly. "What do you think, Karen?"
But before she could answer, Peter noticed something.
The webbing around the crow started to glow faintly with a violet hue.
And his spider-sense exploded.
"A large amount of radioactive energy detected. Immediate retreat recommended. Imminent danger," Karen said at once.
Peter's eyes snapped open, staring straight at the mass of webbing.
And then—
A beam of energy pierced through it.
It tore it apart instantly.
It was massive.
So powerful it kept going, slicing the entire ferry in half.
A clean violet flash, leaving a mark as it passed.
The mark stayed carved into the floor and the ceiling, while Peter stood completely still, eyes wide.
For a moment…
Silence fell over the entire ferry.
The mechanical crow stepped out of the web cocoon at that moment, and Peter raised his hand to trap him again, but just as he moved…
The marks left behind suddenly split open.
From the center of the cut in the floor, jets of water began bursting out, and the ferry started separating in half, the cut too clean.
Peter froze… then turned to look.
"Oh, damn… responsibility," he muttered, bringing both hands to his head.
"What do I do…?" he said, forcing his mind to move. "Karen, X-ray. Highlight the strongest structural points."
He didn't wait for an answer.
He moved.
He started firing webs at full speed over the marked points, using everything he had. Layers, reinforcements, nets, all mixed together without stopping. He jumped from one side to the other, tying both halves together while swapping cartridges mid-motion like it was automatic.
From inside, people barely managed to see him pass.
A blur.
And then the webs.
Dozens, hundreds, tightening to hold the ferry together while it tried to tear itself apart.
When he reached the other side, the movement stopped.
Barely.
The interior was covered in webs, holding the structure together by a thread.
"Well… this… counts as mission accomplished, right?" Peter said, though he didn't even believe it himself.
"You tell me," a voice said behind him.
Peter turned sharply.
And there he was, floating above him.
Iron Man.
"Mr. Stark… when did you—"
"Ah… not the time for that, kid," Tony said, raising his hand.
Something dropped from the sky.
A massive metal cube.
As it descended, it began to split into pieces, releasing small cylindrical devices that activated like thrusters and shot toward the sides of the ferry, pushing both halves and lining them back up.
At the same time, drones with laser cannons entered the ferry and began firing, melting the edges of the cut and fusing the metal directly.
They weren't built for this.
But they worked.
"They told me you might need help… that's why I came. But… looks like you don't need me as much as I thought," Tony said with a sarcastic tone, though there was something else in his voice.
Peter felt it… clearly.
"Ah… well… the Class A agents didn't arrive, and as a Class S agent I had—"
"I know the rules, Peter," Tony cut him off. "I was there when they were made. In fact, I created several… including that one."
Peter went quiet.
"But I didn't anticipate they'd cause this kind of problem… so I guess we'll have to change them again," Tony added, with complete simplicity.
And there it was.
That feeling of disappointment.
Right then, helicopters and boats with the VITAE symbol started surrounding the ferry. The agents had finally arrived, along with people from the DODC and other agencies.
Everything started to fill up.
"You should head out first. I've got a lot to fix now with all this mess," Tony said without looking directly at him. Then he glanced him up and down, noticing the black suit. "At least they didn't see your Spider-Man suit, right?"
"No… well… just the criminals, I think," Peter replied.
Tony brought a hand to his forehead over the mask for a moment, then gestured for him to leave.
Peter didn't say anything else.
Tony turned toward the chaos forming; agents, helicopters, lights, orders crossing over each other.
"There go my vacations…," he muttered before shaking his head.