Chapter 21: Spidery Is Struggling

Peter, who is running, suddenly feels his spider-sense tingling. However, with his thoughts in chaos, he fails to dodge in time. A gold and red suit of armor rapidly charges towards him, grabs him by the waist, and swiftly carries him through the air for a distance before throwing him to the ground.

Peter lands in a heap. The beautiful gold and red armor hovers midair, shaking Spider-Man considerably. He removes his mask, and a voice comes from within the armor, "Just as that guy said, it really is a high school kid…"

In a rage, Peter slams his fist into the ground and says, "I'm not a kid, I'm Spider-Man!"

Across from him, Stark emits a disdainful snort, "Spider-Man? Sure, you have a good reputation among the gamblers in Hell's Kitchen. The only good thing you've done is help those people win a lot of money."

Peter's anger feels like it's about to burst through the sky. This strange robot has attacked him out , tossed him to the ground, and even mocked him. In a fury, Peter lunges forward, but Iron Man's armor gracefully arcs through the air, dodging the attack.

Little Spider-Man now knows less combat skills, has never fought robots, and doesn't understand anything about tactical combat algorithms, naturally powerless against the Jarvis-equipped Mark 5.

Spider-Man yells, "You cursed robot, I'll show you what I can do!"

Iron Man's armor lands, and he says, "Oh, will you? Show me how you defeat those second-rate fighters?"

Stark's word is as poisonous as ever. The little Spider-Man's face turns shades of green and red with the teasing. Eventually, Stark seems to lose interest in continuing the conversation with Peter,and says coldly,

"Baby kid need stay at your home. New York isn't your playground to hop around in. Don't think that just because you're a little different, you can run wild in the city. Someone's already got their eye on you."

Stark feels no fondness for the current Spider-Man, especially knowing that despite his extraordinary abilities, only to box in underground rings for money. To him, this seems incredibly foolish.

Stark has his own pride. Although he can be arrogant, stubborn, and sensitive, the real Iron Man is awakening after his experience with kidnapping and life-threatening danger; he loathes the reckless behavior of Peter.

Peter stands up, angrily throws his mask to the ground, and says, "You talk about me running wild in New York, but aren't you doing the same?!"

A glimmer of senses returns to him, and he continues, "Sure, you wear your suit . I can see it's no cheap toy; you've got the money to play with."

"But what about me? Both my aunt and uncle are in poor health, and they can't even afford the bills for a check-up. I really need money, so why can't I fight in the ring? I'm not using my powers to hurt anyone!"

Stark crosses his arms and says, "Have you ever considered that by having these powers and not using them to save others, you're essentially harming them?"

Peter makes an incredulous face, shaking his head as if he can't believe what the person before him is saying, "It 's my powers.I can use it however I want. Why can't I use them to do a bit more for myself instead of having to help others?"

The Peter of now hasn't experienced the death of Ben Parker. He doesn't understand the meaning of "With great power comes great responsibility." Thus, he takes it as granted, believing that since he has acquired these powers, he is right in seeking some benefits for himself.

However, it cannot be said that his reasoning is wrong. Everyone lives for themselves. But Spider-Man is destined for the path of a superhero. The innate goodness and resilience within Peter will gradually surface as he matures, and he is bound to become a hero.

As for Stark, despite his arrogance, he holds a sense of duty towards the world and believes that as a supreme genius, it's his native responsibility to protect the people and the planet.

Stark can see that Peter flip out unusually, speculates he might be affected by recent events. He tells Peter, "I know that there are many things you don't understand right now; I've been there. But some things you can't comprehend until you've lived through them. It's not something you can understand by just listening to me. All I can tell you is that if you continue to harbor such thoughts, one day you will regret it."

With that said, Stark's armor flies off, leaving Peter alone, despondent and dejected, sitting on the spot.

He truly doesn't understand why everyone is against him, as if he were a born bad guy. Peter doesn't grasp why, after gaining superpowers, his life seems to be more painful than before.

He has earned some money, but he dares not give it directly to Uncle Ben. Due to his night watch, he can't sleep well, and his academic performance has also dropped. He has even neglected Gwen's feelings because his excitement over his new abilities, and now she is giving him the cold shoulder. He wants to beat up his nemesis Thompson, but he can't fight in school and have to swallow his anger.

This darn superpower hasn't brought him any significant benefits. It hasn't turned his life around overnight or given him the lavish lifestyle he desires. He can't figure out where the problem lies.

Sitting on the roof of a Hell's Kitchen building, Spider-Man contemplates, feeling the cold New York night breeze.

Then, his outstanding hearing picks up a whisper coming from the alley behind the building.

It's the back door of a nightclub. Originally, two tall, muscular bodyguards were stationed there. From his vantage point, Peter can see them, but they can't see him.

Peter observes a bald man in a jacket who seems to be talking to his subordinates. With his sight and hearing far surpassing that of a normal person, he notices a target-like mark on the bald man's forehead and overhears him saying,

"... as long as we hit the gas before he can react. You know, Andre has a good car that's been modified. It's much faster than standard cars."

"Just need to stay still at first, stay under his hearing. When he takes the turn, that's when we hit him, and he'll be done for."

His subordinate suggests, "I know the perfect spot at the end of Mary Street. There's construction debris at that intersection, and the smell of the car's fuel can be hidden..."

The bald man smiles wickedly, adding, "We need to kill him before that woman does, so the boss will see who his most strongest underling is..."

Peter, sitting atop the building, listens to their conversation distractedly. They seem to be planning to run someone over with a car. Being taught in turn, Peter rebelliously thinks, what does this have to do with him? It's just a gang fight after all, one gang member wanting to kill another - why should he get involved?

After all, there weren't any good people in the accursed Hell's Kitchen.

Thinking this way, Peter slowly walks back. Now the night is very late, and he has already told Uncle Ben that he isn't coming home tonight. So, he returns to Daredevil's apartment, where Daredevil is still sleeping soundly.

Peter reflects that perhaps his earlier thoughts were not entirely correct. There is still one good person in Hell's Kitchen, the friend before him, who perhaps is too good.

He observes the wound on Daredevil's leg that is still bleeding, while the bruise that Iron Man had inflicted on Peter is already fully healed. Peter suddenly feels a bit absurd: Daredevil is just a regular person without self-healing abilities like his own.

That's why Daredevil pays the price for meddling in others' affairs. Peter wants to learn Daredevil's martial skills, but he has no interest in learning his way of dealing with people.

Earlier, when he overheard the gangsters' conversation, if he had rushed down in anger to uphold justice, his entire night would have been ruined. There must be at least a dozen bouncers in the nightclub, each one he'd have to knock down. The bald man might be especially difficult to beat. With so many opponents, a misstep could lead to pain that lasts quite a while.

And what would be the outcome? Only preventing a gang conflict, but what kind of good deed would that be? There are no innocents in Hell's Kitchen; only other gangsters would be caught up in the conflict. Peter wonders, why should he spend a whole night, risking injury, to meddle in such affairs?

With these thoughts on his mind, Peter gradually falls asleep. In his dreams, he makes a fortune with his powers, buys a big house on the most bustling street in Queens, and everyone, Uncle Ben and Aunt May, move into the new large house with their own private doctors. Uncle Ben's illness is cured, Aunt May seems to have grown younger by ten years, and they live a very wealthy and happy life.

The first half of the dream is quite wonderful, but perhaps because Peter had heard Daredevil groaning in pain during the night, the latter half of the dream takes a dark turn.

As Peter leaves the house, a thug breaks into his beautiful house. The thugs kill his aunt and uncle, looting everything. Their neighbors all see the crime, but no one calls the police. When the police arrive afterward, they can't immediately catch the killer. Peter becomes a ghost wandering the city every day, seeking the criminal who shattered his perfect life, but without any leads.

Finally, in his dream, Daredevil appears. Peter asks Daredevil why, with all the criminals he's stopped, why he missed those few thugs? Daredevil coldly tells him,

"The only one who can bear the full responsibility is yourself."

Peter wakes up sweating. It is just dawn in New York, and the cold air seeps through the window cracks, so chilling that he almost feels like crying.

Daredevil wakes up too. Peter helps him get some water, and Daredevil says, "Thank you. But I'm going to have to trouble you later to pick up some medicine from the clinic down on the corner of Mary Street."