In the dim alleys of the city, far removed from the glittering towers of New York, darkness ruled the street corners, and human nature could be just as dark.
A broad-shouldered man in a black ski mask held a gun while restraining a red-haired woman. Beside him stood another masked man, one hand clamped around the throat of a little boy.
It was obvious that the woman and the boy were family.
"Please... please, let my child go. Don't hurt him..."
"Mom... I can't breathe..."
The boy's purpling face drove the red-haired woman to the brink of collapse. She begged desperately, tears pouring down her face.
She had only been taking her child home after shopping.
Why had this happened to them?
Now only she and her son had each other left.
The boy's father had been a police officer too, but he had died a year ago while pursuing a vicious super-criminal.
"Shut the hell up! If it weren't for Cont, my brother wouldn't have gone to prison. Now that he's dead, I'm going to kill his son first. And as for you... I'll make sure your life becomes hell."
The masked man with the gun slowly looked the woman up and down, his expression making her face go even paler.
"But before that... maybe I should have a little fun first..."
"No... no..."
"My husband left some money behind. If you let us go, it's yours. Please... please let us go..."
"Oh, come on, Mrs. Cont, don't be stupid. You think we can't get that money ourselves? Right now, it's time to enjoy ourselves, so don't ruin the mood, okay?"
At that moment, a voice rang out from above them.
"You pieces of trash don't have wives or children of your own? Tell me, if I killed you, would they be sad?"
"Who's there?!"
Boom!
The heavy impact behind them nearly scared both masked men out of their skin.
The gunman spun around in fury, only to freeze.
It was a person.
One hand braced against the ground, one knee bent, dressed in a red-and-black suit and wearing a mask that made him look mysterious and dangerous.
"Who the hell are you?!" the gunman shouted.
Peter stood up and fell silent for a moment.
He knew those eyes.
He knew those clothes.
Even without seeing the man's full face, Peter recognized him immediately.
In the future, during one of his crimes, this man would kill Uncle Ben.
Those pale green eyes and that same worn outfit made him far too easy to identify.
"Wraith Spider."
"What?!"
A gust of wind seemed to sweep through the alley.
Before the gunman could even react, Peter moved.
With a single shove, he sent the man slamming hard into the wall.
The impact was violent enough to crack the surface.
The man dropped heavily, no longer able to get up.
Peter looked at him without the slightest ripple in his heart.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
Peter's spider-sense flared instantly. He turned sharply and fired a strand of webbing, wrapping the bullet in midair before it could reach him.
Tilting his head, he looked toward the other masked thug, the one still using the child as a shield.
"D-don't come any closer... or I'll kill the brat!"
The shorter masked man tried to threaten Peter with the boy, but Peter stayed perfectly calm. He switched the webbing feed on his suit, fired an electric web shot, and the high voltage instantly paralyzed the thug.
A second shot of normal webbing yanked the child safely over.
"Alright, Jack. Go home with your mom. Get some sleep, and forget about tonight."
Peter naturally knew the boy.
They lived in the same neighborhood, and while Officer Cont had been alive, he had helped Uncle Ben more than once. Peter had always thought well of their family.
"Are you a superhero? Like the ones in comic books?"
Peter went silent for a moment.
"If that's what you want to call me, then sure. Go on. Get back to your mom."
Mrs. Cont pulled little Jack into her arms with shaking hands and quickly checked him over for injuries. Aside from a faint mark on his neck, he seemed fine.
"Thank you, sir!"
Feeling as if she had been given a second chance at life, Mrs. Cont held Jack close, thanked Peter again, and hurried away.
Watching the two leave, Peter's voice lost its earlier warmth and turned cold again as he looked back at the two criminals on the ground.
"Alright. Now it's just the three of us. Want to have some fun?"
The broader masked man tried to drag himself backward in terror.
Staring at the black-and-red figure standing before him like some grim spirit, he could never have imagined he would lose this badly, and to some unknown spider-themed vigilante at that.
Weren't people saying the spider vigilante was a woman?
So who was this guy?
Which bastard had spread the wrong story?
"Why are you doing this?! We've got nothing against you!" the stronger thug shouted, spitting blood to the side.
"If you do evil, you should be ready to be punished."
"Evil?" The thug looked stunned. "Do you have any idea how many people in this city rob, deal drugs, and do all kinds of illegal things every day? Even the police can't stop it all. You think you can punish every single one of them by yourself?"
"And besides, what do you even gain from doing this?"
"First, I'm not looking for profit. Second, if I stood by and did nothing, then one day people like you would hurt someone I care about, and I'd regret it for the rest of my life. So I'm going to wipe out every criminal I can."
The thug looked at Peter as if he were staring at a lunatic.
"You think you're a god? Even if you stop me today, can you stop every crime happening in this city every second?"
"That's why when I run into people like you, the kind who will do anything to get what they want, I should put you down. Then the city's crime rate drops by one more."
Peter sounded like he was talking to himself as much as answering the question.
He fired a web strand, yanked the gun over from beside the thug, chambered a round, and slowly raised it toward him.
"Hey, wait, Spider-Man, you can't kill him. Hand them over to..."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At that moment, Gwen arrived swinging into the alley, and what she saw next was something she would never forget.
Several shots rang out.
Both masked men collapsed instantly.
Peter tossed the gun aside without turning around.
"Mercy isn't always the right answer. Sometimes, making sure the threat ends for good is the only right choice."
"You're insane! Listen to me, the law can deal with criminals. You don't need to act like some kind of judge!"
"If one day you lose your family or your friends, I hope you can still say that. Tell me, are you afraid of something like that happening?"
"I... I'm not afraid of losing anyone..."
"Really? Because your hesitation says otherwise."
Peter slightly turned his head toward the stunned Gwen, patted her on the shoulder, then fired a web line and swung upward.
He climbed to the highest point and sat on the rooftop of a tall building, looking up at the stars and down at the crowds below that looked as small as ants.
His spider-sense stirred faintly.
Peter did not turn around.
He already knew that the girl had climbed up after him with the same easy agility and was now standing there, looking out over the bright, restless lights of New York.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence was deep.
And perfectly clear.
(End of Chapter)
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