Chapter 81: Lighting a Match I

"Hey, didn't anyone tell you not to do crime?" Peter asked from his spot crouched atop a lamppost, only getting muffled curses from the webbed-up man on the ground.

Man, it was like talking to a brick wall with some people!

Looking the man up and down, Peter quickly decided that it didn't look like he'd be running away any time soon.

Well, the fact that he was also stuck to a mailbox helped out with that.

Either way, he was doing this stuff professionally right now! Wouldn't hurt to double-check his work, right?

The sound of a high-pitched squeal snapped him out of his thoughts, Peter looking away from the mugger and at the girl that Mirko was talking to.

Who would've thought the girl they saved from getting mugged would be such a fangirl?

Chuckling for a second, Peter simply watched as the girl spouted off about how Mirko was her favorite hero while taking dozens of pictures.

At least she seemed like she was fine! Mirko looked like she wanted to hop up to a lamppost away from her, though.

He didn't really blame her, to be honest.

"Yeah, yeah, you alright?" She asked, talking over her and getting a quick nod along with a few camera flashes to the face.

Behind the mask, Peter pursed his lips as Mirko tapped her foot impatiently in annoyance.

Yikes, he felt bad for the next bad guy they found. That'll probably end in a few fractures at least given her mood.

Y'know, for whoever it was that they'll come across.

Moonlight shone down from the dark sky, Peter simply took in the city while tuning out the civilian below.

It was about 8:00 PM right now, a warm and cloudless night with a bright moon over the city.

Hosu was… beautiful.

Just… so many lights and sounds and colors that weren't there during the day! It felt like an entirely different city!

It was as if Hosu didn't slow down no matter what time it was. People walked the streets, each with different goals and personalities that filled the city around them.

A guy from New York like him? He could appreciate something familiar like that.

Sure, Musutafu also had a pretty vibrant night light he got to see a lot of during his nights swinging around…

But this?

This was different.

This was nice.

Suddenly, a flash went off that snapped Peter out of his thoughts. He looked toward the ground to see the girl waving at him while grinning.

Oh! She was taking pictures of him! And smiling!

That was a good sign!

Smiling under the mask as his lenses portrayed the expression, Peter held up a peace sign for the girl while staying in his regular crouch.

"Ohmigosh, no one's been able to get a good pic of you two together! You're always blurry and stuff! I'm gonna get so many likes!" She giggled, holding up her phone and taking a picture with all three of them before running off into the night.

Huh, did she get the mugger in that?

Wait, she just got mugged! Like, not even five minutes ago! And she just… leaves?

Did she not care or something?

As he watched her excitedly turn a corner, Peter shrugged to himself.

Guess not! At least she wasn't hurt.

Lowering himself toward the ground and hanging upside from a web, Peter turned to Mirko.

"She seemed nice, huh?" He chuckled, Mirko rolled her eyes and tapped her foot.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you had hearing like mine, kid. Sounded like nails on a chalkboard!" She huffed, Peter simply patted her on the back.

Probably looked weird since he was upside down and all, but it's the thought that counts.

Mirko's ears twitched a bit, both of them turned to see a police officer jogging toward the webbed-up man.

Wait, how was he gonna get him off the mailbox?

"Still, isn't it cool to see how much people like you? She seemed so excited!" With a flip, he let go of the web he was hanging on and landed softly on the pavement.

All he got in response was a small shrug before she began to stretch her legs.

Yeah, she might've… incredibly loud and all, but still! She just seemed so happy, you know?

And while that happiness probably came more from Mirko and all, a part of him still took pride in that he was a part of that.

Probably a pretty small part compared to her, but whatever.

A win's a win, right?

"Wanna stop a few more crimes and grab a bite somewhere? Still haven't met my quota today." She asked, her back popping as she stretched again.

About to respond, Peter froze.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, the boy could feel his heartbeat grow faster immediately.

It took less than a second before he doubled over.

A sharp pain in the back of his head knocked him down, stabbing into his skull more and more as his breathing grew faster.

Whatever Mirko said was drowned out by the ringing, the buzzing in his skull turning to a screaming that rattled around in his head.

It screamed about danger, pointing him in all directions as Peter gritted his teeth.

Some vague warning, like it always was.

Outside of that fact, this… this was different.

God, it felt like someone was driving an ice pick through his brain! He couldn't hear anything, that familiar awareness of his surroundings suddenly disappearing.

That's what he had always hated about his spider-sense, the confusion.

Like some sort of messed-up calm before the storm that felt like someone was stabbing him in the brain.

He didn't know what was gonna happen or how or why, he never did.

But if it felt like this? To the point where it felt like someone was stabbing his brain? That already told him enough.

It was gonna be bad.

Somehow, Peter managed to open his eyes and see how Mirko was crouched down with him, trying to talk to him.

He needed to know what was gonna happen, he had to warn her!

His eyes snapped to the side, seeing nothing but random people across the street looking at him in a mix of confusion and worry.

No, whatever was gonna happen wasn't gonna be there.

Mirko was shaking him slightly now, a bit more worry in her eyes as Peter took steadying breaths before he somehow managed to straighten himself a bit.

Looking over to the other side of the street, his eyes snapped from person to person in an effort to find something that would tell him what was about to happen.

In the back of his skull, he could feel how his spider-sense's ringing spiked slightly as he looked around, before it finally reached a deafening peak.

His lenses narrowed as he focused his eyes, his sight having landed on two kids that looked a bit older than him.

One of them kept looking around in a worried manner, all the while snapping his fingers and making small sparks come out like some sort of lighter.

The other one, tall and skinny, edged him on while also looking around. His eyes quickly landed on Mirko, but he decided to shrug it off.

After a few more tries, the shorter boy snapped his fingers and created a small flame that floated above his index finger.

Seeing this, the taller one smiled.

He sucked in air, cheeks puffing out before blowing a small gust of wind behind the flame, making it fly off of the kid's finger and into the air.

Alright… even in his current state, Peter knew that his spider-sense wasn't gonna go off like this just for a small case of illegal quirk use.

His eyes stayed on the bright flame as it flew, its orange color contrasted the dark sky behind it. It waved around in the wind before a small gust blew it toward the open window of a five-floor apartment building.

As his eyes stayed on it, his spider-sense kept ringing at the same volume, nearly deafening.

That had to be it! That flame was gonna cause something! But what was it gonna even do ? light a paper on fire or something?

Wasn't like it was gonna burn the building down or make it explode, right?

Wasn't like it was gonna make it explode…

As that thought bounced around his head through the screaming of his spider-sense, his lenses widened as another thought occurred.

The masked teen reached up to his goggles, quickly switching them into infrared vision.

Before, he simply saw a small flame floating into an opened window on a 4th story apartment.

But when his vision changed into a mix of warm and cold colors, his heart stopped.

Now, through his lenses, he saw a different picture.

He saw a flame flying toward a window that had gas leaking out of it.

"It's a gas leak…" He nearly whispered, his spider-sense growing dull as the threat became clear.

The small relief that was on Mirko's face was replaced with confusion when she heard him, ears twitching as she raised an eyebrow.

"What'd you say?" She asked, Peter simply watched helplessly as the flame flew closer and closer to the gas.

He… he couldn't stop it.

"It's a gas leak!" He yelled, fear in his voice as he got up and began running toward the building.

Honestly, he didn't know why he was even running. It wasn't like he could just prevent the floor from exploding or something.

But there he was! His body ran on its own, while his mind tried to make his panicked thoughts into something useful.

Gas leaks meant fire and explosions, which also meant civilians in danger and a lot of debris.

He needed to think, needed to come up with a plan before everything goes to shit.

A small ping of warning in the back of his skull made him widen his eyes, Peter knew what it meant.

He was out of time.

Web-shooters were full, his mind working overtime in preparation of taking in everything that was going to happen.

He couldn't stop it from blowing up, but he could help.

Right now? That was enough of a plan for him.

For a moment, everything was silent as the flame flew into the window. Everyone just stood by in confusion as Peter put his arms over his face.

Boom!

...

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