After saying goodbye to George, Peter and Gwen walked into school side by side.
With her top-tier grades and striking looks, Gwen drew plenty of attention all along the way. On top of that, her dad was the city's police captain, so she had always been popular at school.
As for Peter, even though his grades were also excellent and he was good-looking too, he had always kept such a low profile that more than half the school did not even know who he was.
Today was the first day of the new term, and the campus was packed with students coming in groups. The whole place was lively.
A little too lively, in fact. Up ahead, a bunch of students had gathered together, excitedly discussing something.
"Hey, guys, did you hear?! A Spider-Woman showed up around here! She calls herself Ghost-Spider, and she even helped the police catch a criminal!"
The moment Peter and Gwen entered campus, they heard their classmates talking about Ghost-Spider, who had suddenly appeared the night before.
The two of them quietly pricked up their ears at once.
"No kidding, I was there! She was insanely cool, okay?! And she had an amazing figure too. She could swing around with webbing and everything. It was awesome!" an ordinary-looking random student said excitedly.
"Yeah, but nobody knows who she really is or how she does any of that," another student said with obvious envy.
Hearing that her classmates seemed to approve of her vigilante actions, Gwen immediately found herself unable to stop smiling.
"Peter, what do you think about Ghost-Spider?"
Gwen turned toward Peter, who seemed deep in thought, a hint of anticipation in her eyes. She looked exactly like a child waiting for praise.
After all, praise from other people could never compare to praise from Peter.
"Well... hard to say. I've only heard about her, I haven't actually seen her yet, so I can't really comment on her figure. I'd have to... examine it first before I could know..."
A playful mood rising in him, Peter pretended to think for a moment before answering with a perfectly serious expression.
He looked absurdly sincere, like he was discussing something incredibly important.
Gwen froze.
She just wanted to hear his opinion, and this was what he gave her?
"But if New York had more people like her, maybe the city would be a better place. Uncle George might even get more time to rest," Peter said with a smile. "I just hope this heroine doesn't treat it like some kind of game. And sometimes, she shouldn't be too soft-hearted either. Responsibility is a very heavy thing..."
At the moment, Gwen had not truly taken on that responsibility yet. No one had ever told her that with great power comes great responsibility. She would probably stay lost for a while longer.
Still, Peter was Spider-Man now too, and his doomed fate had already changed. The world itself had changed. Who could say what would happen next?
"So, Peter, you think what Ghost-Spider is doing as a vigilante is the right thing too?!"
"Oh my God, so my stubborn dad is the only one who thinks Ghost-Spider is a problem. Look, so many people support her. He's obviously the one who can't keep up with the times~"
The corners of Gwen's lips lifted into a playful smile. But the moment she thought about Officer George, with that fierce look of his and his determination to arrest Ghost-Spider, she could not help puffing up her cheeks in frustration, looking exactly like a sulky little bun.
Peter did not really want to burst her bubble, but he still could not help rubbing his forehead and pointing toward a nearby LED screen.
"Uh... Gwen, I hate to pour cold water on this, but it looks like Uncle George isn't the only one who thinks Ghost-Spider is a problem..."
Following where Peter pointed, Gwen looked toward the school's LED display, which was broadcasting the news.
And the news station on screen was the famous Daily Bugle.
Its host was J. Jonah Jameson.
"Over the past two weeks, crime in our city has been steadily rising, and all of it is because of this white spider-person! These terrifying super-criminals have been provoked into action by that white spider-person and are swarming out to attack innocent civilians!"
"Believe me, ladies and gentlemen! This is a warning! The Daily Bugle believes the police should issue a warrant and bring that white spider-person into custody! And any necessary deadly force should be authorized in the hunt for this genetically mutated menace!"
Jameson's broadcast instantly darkened Gwen's face, and resentment practically poured off her in waves.
"Hey, that's not fair! Jameson is slandering her and making things up! Ghost-Spider is not the source of all this trouble! Trust me, Peter, that guy is talking complete nonsense!"
"Relax. Who cares? News reporters and TV hosts love twisting facts to grab attention. I'm sure that Spider-Woman won't care about all the gossip."
Peter shrugged and kept a gentle smile on his face, but inwardly he thought, Sure enough, no matter what universe it is, Jameson is naturally hostile toward Spider-Man. Though I think there was one universe where Jameson became Spider-Man himself. Was he hostile to himself too?
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Peter! Peter Parker! Hanging around little girls all day now? What, are you trying to score?"
Hearing that familiar, infuriating voice, Peter instantly felt the life drain out of him.
This guy really never learned.
Sure enough, the moment he turned around, Peter saw the very face that made him want to punch something.
Flash Thompson.
Nicknamed Flash.
With his short blond buzz cut and broad build, he looked like the textbook American high school bully.
In practically every Spider-Man story, he always started off by picking on Peter.
On Peter's first day at Midtown High, Flash had tried to throw his weight around and teach him a lesson. Peter had dodged him easily and knocked him down with one kick.
But because he did not want to become the center of attention by publicly humiliating the school bully, Peter had avoided him whenever possible ever since. Naturally, that made Flash think Peter was scared of him.
Really, Peter just did not want things to become a hassle.
"Flash, you know something? You really are annoying. So annoying it makes people want to beat you up."
Peter's voice was loud enough to drown out the noise around them. For a moment, everyone, including Flash, just stared at him in shock.
Even Gwen could hardly believe it. Peter had always seemed like the definition of low-profile to her, so why was he suddenly acting so high-profile today?
Instead of getting angry, Flash actually laughed. He rubbed his hands together excitedly and strode toward Peter.
"Peter, so you're finally done pretending! Fine! Come on, Peter! Let's have a real fight! I'm definitely getting revenge for that kick two years ago!"
"It's a shame that kick didn't manage to teach you anything back then."
Peter shot the reply back in an even, indifferent tone.
Peter's calm expression only made Flash angrier. To him, it felt like outright provocation.
"Are you kidding me? You little rat. All you ever do is hide or let girls back you up. I'm gonna teach you a lesson!"
Flash roared and threw a punch.
Gwen moved to stop the whole farce, but Peter was faster. He caught Flash's fist with one hand.
The moment Flash's punch landed in Peter's grip, he tried to yank it back out, but Peter's grip was absurdly strong. Flash's fist was pinned in place, and he could not move it at all. His face was already turning red from the strain.
What a joke.
Peter now possessed one-fifth of the first Spider-Man's power. He had several tons of strength. How could an ordinary person like Flash possibly break free?
When Peter saw Flash trying to swing at him with his other fist, he casually kicked him once.
The next second, Flash dropped to his knees, staring up at Peter in total confusion.
Standing over him with his hands still in his pockets, Peter bent down slightly. His face remained as calm and casual as ever, but with a wicked little lift of his eyebrow, he said, "Hey, buddy... I'm gonna put some dirt in your eye~"
Feeling the sharp pain shooting through his arm, Flash, who had no idea how he had suddenly ended up on his knees, felt his heart skip in panic.
This guy...
He seemed even scarier than he had been two years ago.
Damn it. Why did I have to pick a fight with this monster?
Peter said nothing more and simply walked off toward the classroom with Gwen.
And just like that, the whole little drama ended with Peter winning through overwhelming strength.
"Peter, since when are you this strong?!"
As they walked, Gwen wore a puzzled expression. A strange feeling had come over her just now too.
Her spider-sense had suddenly gone off.
But unlike usual, it had not been triggered by danger or fear. Instead, she could feel that this activation of her spider-sense had brought her a weird sense of delight.
"Get enough sleep, wake up early, exercise more, and eat Aunt May's bacon rolls. If you do all that, you can be as strong as me too~"
"Oh, get out of here. Not one word of truth. I refuse to believe Aunt May's bacon rolls can make you stronger. Mutation, maybe. That taste..."
Gwen rolled her eyes at him as she muttered, then suddenly widened her eyes and stared at him.
"Wait... you weren't exposed to some kind of radiation mutation recently, were you?!"
"How is that possible? I've been staying home all month. Did you ever run into me outside?"
Peter was completely righteous and fearless.
He really had not mutated.
This was all the power of his cheat. No reason to feel guilty at all.
"Then why did you suddenly stop keeping a low profile and mess with Thompson like that?"
"Uncle Ben always says that with great power comes great responsibility. Before, I just wanted to stay low-key and avoid unnecessary trouble. But Ghost-Spider's appearance changed the way I think about that."
Peter looked down at his own hands.
"I was thinking... maybe that Ghost-Spider believes in the same thing Uncle Ben does. She can use her power to protect the city, so why can't I use my own strength to protect the people at this school who get bullied? Even if my strength is insignificant, I'd still be following in Ghost-Spider's footsteps, wouldn't I...?"
"Peter, you... wh-what are you even saying?! That's way too embarrassing!"
Gwen's face turned bright red after being hit by Peter's seemingly unintentional straight shot.
Because she was Ghost-Spider.
It had happened during her summer internship at Oscorp not long ago.
That day, she had wandered by accident into a laboratory full of spiders and had been bitten by one of them.
Panicked, she had rushed out of there. But when she woke up later, she discovered that she had gained extraordinary abilities.
She started testing them by swinging through alleys and buildings, helping people along the way.
At first, it had only been because she wanted to test her powers and have some fun.
Of course, it also had something to do with the proper values her father George, the police captain, had taught her since childhood.
She had never expected those actions to influence someone else.
And the person she influenced most turned out to be her childhood friend.
A shy warmth rose in Gwen's heart. She did not think she was as noble as Peter made her sound, but he was right. With great power comes great responsibility. That really did make sense.
Her face flushed redder and redder as a mischievous idea took root.
Look, Peter.
The Ghost-Spider you keep praising to the skies is standing right in front of you~
(End of Chapter)
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