Chapter 16 - Blackout

Since all the people in the bowling alley that night were civilians, i.e. ordinary people, the natural reaction of most of them was to scream and run frantically for the bowling alley exit.

Jason, Betty, and the rest of the group of locals who were with me naturally joined the panicked crowd that was gathering like a flock of sheep.

"Come on, we have to get out of here!" Jason shouted, pulling Betty's arm.

Because of the general chaos, some people fell, others tripped over each other in their eagerness to escape, and children cried loudly. The only thing most people were focused on was the flashing light that signaled the exit.

Harry grabbed Mary Jane's hand when he saw her lagging behind and pulled her close. "MJ, come on, now!"

But Mary Jane resisted, her eyes searching the chaotic surroundings, apparently looking for someone.

"Harry, wait! I... I don't see Gwen! Where did she go?" She tried to pull her arm back, but Harry wouldn't budge.

"What matters is that you get out of here safely! Don't worry about the others!" Harry replied.

At that moment, Flash looked back and realized that I was still standing there. "Lucas! What the hell are you doing? Come on!" He yelled at me.

I was only paying attention to all these details because I was looking around for ways to deal with this situation. Then my eyes fell on Flash, and I did my best to keep a look of concern and fear on my face instead of excitement.

"You go ahead! I... have to find Gwen before I go!"

Flash shook his head in disbelief. "Damn... men in love really do turn into idiots..." He muttered and then yelled at me, "All right, but don't delay! Glory is already calling the police! We'll wait outside!"

I watched them disappear into the crowd that was gathering at the exit and was a little more relieved because I hadn't really intended to go looking for Gwen.

Electro hovered over the tracks, so focused on his target that he ignored all the sounds around him. He reached forward and sent a bolt of lightning toward one of the bowling lanes, causing it to explode from the overload, sending shards of wood and metal flying into the air. This revealed the high-powered generator hidden behind it.

"I could die if I tried to absorb power from a substation, or I could be lost forever if I tried to steal it from a pole in the street, but generators are independent, they're safe, and this is the largest generator in the region. Who knows, once I've absorbed this and become more powerful than ever, I might actually be able to level up..." Electro muttered to himself as his eyes glazed over the generator.

"Maxwell Dillon!" I shouted.

My voice easily reached Electro, even though he chose to ignore everything around him, because what I shouted was his real name.

Electro stopped and turned around slowly. His eyes radiated surprise, while his sadistic smile seemed forced.

"How do you know my name?" he asked, his eyes glaring at me without even blinking.

"It doesn't matter! What matters is that you stop now, otherwise everyone will know who you are and soon the police will be here!"

"What do these things matter? With the power of this generator, nothing can stop me. Jewels, women and social power, everything will be within my reach!"

"Not if I can stop you!"

Electro laughed out loud enough to put a hand on his stomach as he swung his legs in the air. "You?! Are you going to stop me? What a joke..." He raised a hand and yellow sparks began to transfer between his fingertips.

Then I clenched my fist and sparks of a pale blue color shot out of my fists. But it wasn't lightning, it was the One for All. I looked to my right and saw a bowling ball in the compartment where they usually waited to be thrown, so I picked one up and threw it as hard as I could.

The bowling ball flew like a cannonball towards Electro and hit him right in the chest with such force that the bad guy was thrown backwards and crashed violently into one of the bowling alley walls.

Even I was surprised at how easily I threw the ball, considering it seemed no heavier than a sheet of paper. I closed my fingers and looked down at my right hand.

'This strength... Man, I'm at a new level, but... it's hard to maintain. It feels like my whole body is shaking with fear and my heart is racing. Yes, as much as the system has assimilated the One for All 20%, it should only negate the extreme side effects of using the skill, but it doesn't teach me how to use it properly. I need to calm down and reduce my usage. Maybe 20% is still too much to use in my first fight...'

However, I shouldn't think about slowing down, because all the Electros could withstand a few kicks and punches from Spider-Man before being defeated, so obviously he wouldn't be defeated with just a bowling ball.

Amidst the wreckage of the wall, the villain coughed and struggled to his feet, this time without the smile.

"You... will pay for this! You have no idea who you're up against!" He shouted at me and raised his hands, and I felt my hair stand on end from the static energy he was gathering.

"Okay, time for plan B..." I thought aloud and started running in the opposite direction, using my increased speed to try and catch up with a bowling ball. "If one wasn't enough to take you down, maybe another will!"

"I'm not going to be beaten by a kid!"

Before I could reach the ball to throw it, Electro sent a powerful electrical discharge into the area, hitting me and throwing me hard against a metal table.

As I felt the pain of my spine hitting the metal, I asked myself:

'Why am I doing this? I didn't receive a quest from the system asking me to fight or defeat Electro. And Gwen will be here soon to defeat him, so why am I...? Damn it, I don't even have to ask myself that a second time. Of course, like any comic book fan, I've always wanted to fight a villain, I've always wanted to be a hero... And now that I'm here, am I going to be a coward if I feel a little pain? Of course not, that's part of the job.'

Within a second, I was back on my feet, but unlike before, I was the one with a smile on my face, a big, happy smile.

[Heroism Quest: Blackout.

Description: Electro is destroying the bowling alley where you were having fun with your colleagues. If he manages to touch the generator, he'll become more powerful than ever and this could be a dangerous path for this already decaying city.

Objective: Defeat Electro.

Rewards:

+1 Mysterious Rare Skill Card.]

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