Chapter 46 - Getting to know Spider-Man

On that same night, hours after Sara left school, a hooded man could be spotted inside an alley, his gun pointed at a helpless woman. The sounds of the city at night drowned out the woman's screams, leaving her unsure of how to react to the situation, further irritating the thief.

"Are you gonna give me that purse already? You think this gun's a toy?" exclaimed the man.

No matter how much the man yelled, the woman simply couldn't bring herself to move to comply with the thief's demand. However, unaware of this, the thief continued to shout and threaten the woman, thinking she was refusing to hand over her purse.

"Hey buddy, don't you think it's a bit late to be getting into robberies? Couldn't it wait till tomorrow?"

At that moment, a young male voice echoed in the darkness, causing the robber to quickly turn around and start looking around. However, no matter how much he searched, he couldn't see anything in the darkness.

"W-Who are you? You think this is a joke? I'll blow this woman's head off and then I'll blow yours too!" exclaimed the thief.

But even after his words, no other noise was heard. The place was enveloped in complete silence, except for the sound of the woman's sobs. However, at that moment, the voice emerged from the darkness once again.

"Did you know it's by talking like that you'll never be popular? You need to learn to be nicer to women, man" joked the voice.

At that instant, consumed by anxiety and desperation, the thief pointed his gun into the darkness and fired three times. However, nothing happened. Suddenly, something leaped from the darkness and pinned itself to the wall, the symbol on its chest clearly revealing the intruder's identity.

"S-Spider-Man?"

The thief clearly recognized the hooded figure. Almost all the criminals in the area knew who he was, but still, he never imagined he would encounter him in person.

"None other than your friendly neighborhood" replied Spider-Man, making a hand gesture.

The thief began to look quickly around, trying to find an escape route. There was no way he would be captured again; two years in prison had been more than enough for him.

"Look, I can imagine what you're thinking, and I'd recommend quietly surrendering. I've never let a thief escape me, you know?"

Upon hearing the hooded figure's words, the man quickly turned his gaze back to the woman. Though she trembled, her expression indicated she felt safer than before. Without hesitation, the man advanced toward the woman and grabbed her. Then, pointing his gun at her head, he stared at the hooded figure and said.

"If you move, I'll blow her brains out" declared the man firmly.

Saying this, the hooded figure interrupted his movements, content to just watch. Realizing the hooded figure had stopped, the man smiled, thinking he had won. However, his confidence crumbled when a voice, both masculine and feminine in tone, echoed in the darkness.

"I don't think that's going to happen"

Soon after the voice was heard, red tentacles suddenly appeared, wrapping around the man's arm and securing both the gun and his limb. Then, the tentacles lifted the man to the top of the building, revealing something before him.

Strange white eyes watched the man as a mouth full of teeth was visible. A large, red-colored body, enveloped in a flowing white coat, was all the man could see before him: a true monster that made his insides tremble with fear.

"Mugging innocent people in the middle of the night is fun?" Prime inquired.

The thief trembled, unable to respond. He couldn't process what was happening. Would he die? Would he be devoured by that creature?.

"I don't think it's so funny anymore, do you?" exclaimed Prime.

As they pondered what to do, Prime and Sara directed their gazes to the reason they were there. Before them stood Spider-Man, or rather, Peter Parker. No matter how they looked at him, Peter was clearly in a fighting stance. Before the situation became more serious, Prime simply threw the man toward Peter.

"I believe this belongs to you"

In the end, both Prime and Sara and Peter were on top of a building, watching as police car lights apprehended a man, the same individual captured by both of them.

"I'm telling you, there was a horrible monster there! It was gonna eat me!" explained the thief, visibly disturbed.

"Yeah, yeah, sure there was" said the police officer, casting a glance at his friend, indicating with a gesture that the thief was crazy.

Of course, from the perspective of the two policemen, the man seemed to really be out of his mind. However, Peter thought differently. After all, the supposed monster was right beside him. Peter had never seen anything like it. He couldn't even tell if it was human. To Peter, the monster's skin seemed to be made of an amorphous material, as it didn't have a defined geometric shape.

"Okay... I guess I should thank you for helping me with this, but first of all, what exactly are you?" Peter inquired.

Upon hearing that, Prime turned to Peter. Before their voice echoed again, maintaining the same tone, both masculine and feminine, something that, while Peter found interesting, also equally frightened him.

"I won't lie, I thought we were going to exchange punches before having a conversation" Prime said.

Upon hearing this, Peter let out a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Honestly, I'm not interested in fighting you. You're scary and seem very strong. Plus, I've always been taught to try to resolve things by talking first"

Upon hearing this, Peter just watched as the monster stared at him. Then, with a sigh, the creature opened its mouth once more.

"Who would've thought a boy labeled as a nerd at school would have a life like this, off-camera?"

Saying this, Peter looked surprised at the monster and was even more shocked when Sara suddenly appeared by his side as the creature dissipated. In reality, Sara hadn't appeared suddenly after the monster disappeared; in fact, the monster was Sara.

"Didn't expect to run into you again today, Peter. By the way, loved the outfit" Sara said.

Peter could only look at Sara in surprise as she watched him with a smile on her face. At that moment, he just looked ahead before removing his mask, revealing his true face. Anyway, Sara seemed to already know who he was, and Peter felt he couldn't fool her otherwise.

"How did you find out?" Peter asked, looking confused.

"My friend is really good with DNA and stuff. Your cell is pretty abnormal, I mean, I don't think there are many people with DNA similar to that of a spider. Putting the rest of the pieces together was easy" Sara replied, a playful look on her face.

"You know, your story is pretty weird, don't you? And about this "friend" you're referring to that creature?"

Upon hearing Peter, Sara turned to him, surprised, as she didn't expect a question like that.

"You noticed? Usually, people don't pick up on those details" Sara inquired.

"Well, yeah" Peter said, nodding. "It seemed like two voices were coming out of the same body, and the way it got into you made me think you and the monster are two distinct beings"

After that, they both fell silent again. Neither of them knew exactly what should be said or what could be shared with each other. In fact, it hadn't even been a day since they met, and they already knew each other's biggest secret. Except Sara, who didn't care so much about it. Prime noticed that Peter seemed to care a lot about others finding out about his powers.

"But then, you go around in that costume helping people... Is there any special reason for that?" Sara asked.

Upon hearing Sara's question, Peter looked at his mask and held it firmly.

"You know... I've been myself all along. I gained these powers six months ago. I read books, build computers, and, you know, I'd love to play soccer, but I didn't play before, so I'm not going to start now" Peter said.

"Why are you different?" Sara asked.

"Exactly. But I can't share this with anyone, so I'm not... When you're capable of doing the things I do, but choose not to do them, and then bad things happen, it's your fault" Peter exclaimed.

"So, you help others to do your part? Trying to make the world a better place and all?" Sara inquired.

"Yeah, and that, helping others, is exactly that" Peter replied.

Upon hearing Peter's words, Sara smiled.

"Helping other people for no reason. You know I think you're a complete idiot, right?"

Upon hearing this, Peter laughed, a little embarrassed.

"But still, you're a cool guy"