More Harm Than Good

Spider-Man, wearing his red and blue makeshift costume, swung through the city using his web-shooters which were then upgraded with his new web formula. It took a while for him to get used to the new slack of these webs, but after a few minutes, he was once again a natural at it.

"Woooohooo!" Spider-Man could be heard shouting as if he were riding a roller coaster as he flew high above the New Yorkers commuting as they typically do from below. His name was hardly known at that point since he had just started his debut as a hero.

Some looked up with bright smiles and wide eyes, while others frowned and scoffed at the hero.

"Look, it's that spider kid!"

"Isn't that the freak who caused all that damage earlier with the rhinoceros guy?"

"Jameson is right about him. Did you see how he handled that guy who shoots rings from his hands? I think he calls himself the ringer. Anyway, they nearly got a bus full of kids killed."

"Look at him, flying through the air without any sense of responsibility in the world."

Spider-Man couldn't hear them, of course, but he knew that his public opinion was low at that point.

I can't hear what they say about me down there, but I can see it on their faces.

They hate me.

All thanks to the media and Mr. Hitler Stache, everyone thinks I'm some villain.

I just want to help people, that's all. I want to use this gift I was given to make the world a better place, just like how Uncle Ben told me to.

I just don't get it. How can they see a guy like me putting everything on the line to protect them, and yet, they think I'm some bad guy?

He didn't quite yet grasp what it really meant to be a hero. It wasn't just about having powers and taking down bad guys, that was only part of it. Being a hero was something bigger than that. He'd soon find out exactly what that was.

In the distance, Spider-Man could hear gunshots, multiple gunshots that sounded as if they were coming from dozens of rifles. "Alright, Spider-Man. Let's do this." he said before redirecting himself toward the sound of the commotion.

Somewhere off in the distance, there seemed to be two different factions facing off against each other. On one side, hiding behind black SUVs and sedans, were professionally dressed men using old-school weaponry such as Tommy guns. On the other side, there were men wearing modern clothes and bulletproof vests, hiding behind armored vehicles as they blindly fired at the professional-looking men.

As the two factions fired their weapons at each other, police cars began to surround them, blaring their sirens and shouting at them through the speakers on their vehicles. "Put your weapons down and put your hands up!" one of the cops ordered as he and the rest of the units exited their vehicles.

Both factions ceased their fire, exchanging glances before aiming their weapons at the cops, choosing to take down their common enemy before anything else. "Uh... Captain?" one of the officers muttered, coming to the quick conclusion that their lives would very likely end within the next few seconds.

However, before a single bullet could be fired, a strange, web-like substance grabbed one of the Tommy guns from the hands of one of the crooks. Everyone, including the cops, looked up to see that same weapon in the hands of Spider-Man as he flipped and landed on one of the armored trucks like a gymnast. If he were given a grade for his landing, it would've been at least a nine out of ten.

Once he landed, with the gun still in his hand, Peter glanced at it for a second before dropping it as if it were a hot potato. He then looked up to see cops, along with the two criminal factions, all aiming their weapons at him. "Oh... hey..." he said as he waved awkwardly.

And... this is exactly what I meant. It makes sense for these goons to aim their weapons at me, I guess, but the cops?

Uh, helloooooo, I'm on your side. If it wasn't for me being here, you'd all be nothing more than a bunch of bullet bags!

"Shoot 'em!" one of the thugs shouted before all of the goons did just that, firing their bullets at the arachnid.

Using his heightened senses, Spider-Man flipped off of the truck, dodging all of the bullets before hiding behind it. As bullets whizzed by, Spider-Man stood with his back against the truck and thought of a plan. "Okay, Spider-Man. Okay, Spider-Man... twenty-something guys and one of you-" as the hero talked to himself, one of the goons peeked around the truck, aiming his weapon directly at Spider-Man's face. "Oh, fuck..."

𝘽𝘼𝙉𝙂!

The goon fired a shot aimed directly at Spider-Man's head, but the arachnid was far too quick. Using his webs, he yanked himself forward and slipped between the thug's legs with such speed, the gunman couldn't even tell what was about to hit him. Once behind the goon, Spider-Man tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, on your six, buddy." Spider-Man said before kicking the thug in the head, slamming him against the truck, and knocking him out cold.

"Okay... twenty-something minus one." Spider-Man said to himself as he eyed a fire hydrant. His eye then locked onto a manhole cover, giving him an idea.

Without a second to waste, Spider-Man bolted over toward the manhole cover and yanked it toward himself with his webs before using it like a frisbee to break the fire hydrant. Once the water began spewing from the ground, Spider-Man yanked the manhole cover back to himself once more and began using it to aim the blast of water toward his enemies.

The gunman tried firing their bullets at the novice hero, only to have them deflected by the manhole cover that Spider-Man was using as a shield. "Thank you, Captain America." Spider-Man muttered as he used the Avenger's technique to protect himself from gunfire, all the while he spewed the criminals with highly pressurized water.

Eventually, the gunfire ceased and Spider-Man slowly glanced over his makeshift shield. The lenses beneath the goggles on his mask widened once he realized he hadn't only hit all of the thugs with the blast of water, but the cops too. He also realized that some of the bullets ricocheted and damaged some of the property around him. "Oops..." he whispered before quickly running toward the thugs to subdue them all with his webs.

One by one, he webbed their hands to the ground or to vehicles until all of them were down for the count. As he webbed the final one, he noticed that the vests that the more modern faction was wearing had the name Fisk plastered on the back of them. "Fisk? You mean, like, Wilson Fisk?" he whispered to himself. However, before he could think too much about it, he heard the voice of an officer behind him.

"Freeze! Don't move!" the voice told him, one that was a little bit familiar to him. Slowly, Spider-Man put his hands up just as the officer told him to. "Now turn around." the officer instructed. Just as he was told, Spider-Man turned around, and once again, the lenses beneath his goggles widened. 'Wait a second...' Spider-Man thought as he noticed the name tag that said 'Stacy' on the chest of the police officer. 'Stacy as in... Gwen Stacy? This is Gwen's dad!'

"What's your name!" Captain Stacy asked with his gun still pointed at Spider-Man. He was completely soaked due to being sprayed by the water from the hydrant. He was furious, so furious that Peter wouldn't have been shocked to see steam coming off of his body.

"Isn't it obvious? See the spider symbol." Spider-Man, with his hands still in the air, pointed toward his chest. "Spider-Man. With a hyphen, by the way. Please, please don't forget the hyphen when you write your police reports or whatever. Remembering the hyphen is like... really important to me."

"I mean your real name, kid." Captain Stacy spoke with the voice of a man without an ounce of patience left. He didn't have time for his clownery. Honestly, he was shocked that his menace was a child of all things.

"Oh, that name. It's uh... Kaine. Kaine Reily-" he lied before webbing Captain Stacy's gun and yanking it off to the side. Before anyone else could react, Spider-Man took off, swinging away, and once again fleeing from the scene of his own mess.

Left behind were dozens of drenched officers, damaged property, and a few seriously injured thugs, along with some cops that were also injured. Due to the pressure of the water coming from the hydrant, getting hit directly by the blast of water hurt as much as getting hit by a rubber bullet. If any of them were any closer, their injuries could've been serious. He's also lucky none of the ricocheting bullets hit anyone...

As he swung away, Spider-Man couldn't shake this terrible feeling in his chest. 'Maybe they're right.' he thought to himself, realizing that perhaps he was doing more harm than good.'