Debut

Chapter 3: debut

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

≈*≈

Everything's set up. Peter thought as he changed into his costume. Sorry, today may have been a long day, but he wasn't allowed to rest just yet. Not that he could've slept if he had wanted to, it may have been sundown in Japan, but his circadian rhythm told him it was prime hours back home. That, coupled with no small amount of excitement, left Peter pumped and ready to make his debut as the amazing Spider-Man. Who knew jet lag could be useful for something after all?

His new costume had come a long ways from that cobbled-together luchador impersonation he started with. It was a full body skin-tight suit colored in instantly iconic red and blues with an eye catching webbing texture, and spider motifs on the front and back. He looked like a proper superhero now.

Now in full regalia, Peter put one foot up on the window sill, and shot a webline out onto a nearby building, allowing the cable to pull him into a swing, he launched himself out the window. His starting position on the 4th floor left him plenty of room to pick up speed during his descent, before translating that into upward momentum at the other end of the pendulum swing. Not allowing himself a chance to slow down, he shot another webline, this one shorter, the tighter arc translated into more angular acceleration, pushing him to go faster than before. It was a cycle: build height, use that height to sling another web at eye level, build speed at the bottom of the swing, translate that tangential velocity into more height as he came back up. He repeated this pattern until he got to a comfortable height, speed, and rhythm.

"Tarzan buddy, you should've told the rest of us what we were missing out on!" Flips, catapults, corners, all exhilarating! He let out a loud whoop as he reached the bottom of a particularly large swing, feet inches from the ground, before lifting into the air again. Earning quite a bit of attention from the city crowds with the flashy display of trapeze artistry.

≈*≈ Spider-Sense! His attention pinpointed to a sudden yelp emanating from a nearby alleyway.

≈*≈

"Thanks, I just about panicked when he pulled that knife!"

≈*≈

"Mr. Whiskers, you're okay!"

≈*≈

"Excelsior!"

≈*≈

"My, now isn't that an exciting way to cross the street."

"All in a day's work for your friendly neighbo-" ≈*≈

BOOOM!

The glass windows on one of the high stories of a skyscraper shattered directly above Spider-Man's head.

Leaping into action, Spider-Man jimmy-rigged a net between the building wall and the nearby street lamps to catch any debris or deadly shards of broken glass from falling on the heads of unsuspecting civilians.

At least now I know what that uneasy feeling I've been having for the last five minutes was all about. He squinted at the billboard lettering at the top of the building. "A bank. Because of course it's a bank," he muttered to himself. "Well, no time to lose."

Crouching atop a street lamp, Spider-Man fired out twin weblines to stick high up on the wall of the building. Letting himself fall to the underside of the lamppost, he kicked off towards the ground, causing the lines to go taut, and catapult him up towards the top floors.

His ascent reached its peak just shy of the floor with the broken windows, he used his remaining momentum to wall jump off the side of the building, launching him up and away from the now very obvious thundering sounds of a hammer pounding sheet metal.

BANG! CLANG!.. CLASH!… CRAASH!

… and finally

THUD.

Spider-Man got eye level with the broken windows just in time to see the obvious perpetrator's relentless pounding on a large vault door succeed in making it fall to the floor, granting him access to the bounty within.

With twin thwips, Spider-Man attached a cable to either side of the hole in the wall once occupied by the vault door. The wall jump from before pushed him away from the building, that momentum now stretched the webline like a bowstring and fired Spider-Man right at the villain, body kept straight as an arrow as he delivered a devastating kick to his backside before springboarding off the villain with a backflip and landing in a tiger's crouch, powerful muscles coiled and ready to pounce.

Peter took this time to get a better look at the villain in question. He wore a yellow gambeson with maroon armor segments overtop the torso, arms, and legs. No skin was exposed and their head was covered by simple headgear and padded mask matching the rest of the outfit. Oh yeah, and did he mention the big honkin' gauntlets he used to punch down the two ton door of a vault!?

Surveying the situation further, he was in a large open room, support pillars holding up the high ceiling. There was also a multitude of civilians. A mix of both office workers and clients cowered behind desks and filing cabinets that had been unceremoniously pushed to the side by the path of destruction that led to the vault. At the end of that path the aspiring bank robber had been knocked onto his face, and was now slowly getting back to his feet.

"Don't worry everyone, just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man here to make a withdrawal. You all get to safety, I've got this guy handled. I mean really, robbing a bank? How cliche can you get? Big shocker there."

Standing up and shaking himself off, the villain narrowed his eyes at Spider-Man. "Ooh, looks like a big bad superhero has come to stop me. Spider-Man, eh? I don't recognize you. Rotten luck, rookie, you have to deal with me, and if you think I'm some common crook you're in for a real shock!" With that, he thrust a fist forward. In the domed shield of the gauntlet was a large ovoid red gemstone that glowed and vibrated. And when the man punched, that energy was released in the form of a targeted shockwave sent booming towards Spider-Man.

≈*≈ Spider-Man backflipped out of his stance just in time to see the floor beneath him crack from the impact.

"Fancy moves there, bug. But you can't dodge in mid air." A second blast nailed him and sent him into a support pillar.

"You're new to the job, so allow me to give you a crash course in heroics: these people here are my collateral. And every second you waste trying to stop me, you put them at risk with another type of collateral, so be a good little hero and stand aside."

He's right. This guy could bring the whole building down on top of us. I gotta get the civilians out of harm's way. Reassure the people, talk down the villain, and keep stalling while they make their escape. Simple enough. 

"You know, that would sound way more intimidating if you didn't look like a baseball catcher. But hey, as far as cliche supervillains go, it's a unique look and skill set: bad vibes and soiled mattress, an inspired combination. Did I mention that the yellow really brings out your eyes?"

That earned a glare from his opponent, but the villain didn't take the bait and opted to instead keep his distance and set his feet in a strong stance that could handle the recoil from the blasts charging in his fists.

Spidey looked back to the cowering masses. "The rest of you, get to the stairs, things are about to get hairy." Spider-Man said as he jumped between the villain and his potential victims.

"Oh no you don't." ≈*≈ another blast flew past his face as Spider-Man deftly twisted out of the way.

"Please, I barely had to try to dodge that one."

"Wasn't aiming for you, web-head."

He heard the rumble from the impact before he saw it: Cracks spider-webbed across the wall, threatening to collapse, and block off the door to the stairs, trapping the civilians by the exit under rubble in the process. Not wasting a second, Spider-Man turned around and webbed up the wall, securing it with a giant bandage patch of webbi-

Thwiss~ thwiss~ his web shooters hissed. Out of webbing, gotta reload the caniste≈*—bash! A shockwave hit him square in the back, shoving him to the floor on his face.

"Keep your eyes on the prize. Don't got time to be worrying about them when I'm right here."

Alright then, one thing at a time. Gotta stop the problem at its source before I can play damage control. At least I can kite his attacks away from the people.

Shocker began sending out volley after volley of shockwave blasts at Spider-Man. Better do it fast, he's not gonna give me time to think. He began jumping from pillar to pillar, weaving in between the barrage of blasts with acrobatic finesse. "Seeing a lot of shock, but very little awe. This the best you got?" Despite his taunts, he was getting grazed. This would be a whole lot easier with webs to swing on!

As if reading Peter's mind, Mr. Shock and Awe himself decided to taunt him right back. "What's the matter? Not gonna spin any webs? I see how it works, you can only shoot out so much at a time before you run out, and you used up quite a bit securing that wall. That means it's only a matter of time before you get hit and don't get up."

As much as he hated to admit it, the best defense was a good offense, and boom chicka boom here was a living proof of concept.

Another blast launched across the room towards the pillar he was perched on. This time Spider-Man dodged by jumping straight forward and over the blast, engaging the villain head on with an axe kick. The villain responded by crossing his arms above his head in a block. The kick connected, but it was muted by the vibrating gauntlets, the feedback of which threw off Spider-Man's balance, making him fumble the landing as fell at his opponent's feet

"*Groan* That was like hugging a jackhamm-*≈

He flipped over from his back to his hands and feet just in time to see a gauntlet pound into the ground beside him, firing point blank. The tile floor shattered, and the aftershock that rippled through the ground and into his muscles staggered Spider-Man's follow through, allowing the masked crook the time to point his other gauntlet inches from his dazed face. "Boom..."

BOOM!

Spider-Man was sent flying, crashing headlong into a support pillar. He righted himself, still seeing doubl- no, triple, and unable to tell if the loud ringing in his ears was from the shell shock or his panicked Spider-Sense. He crawled around to the back side of the pillar to catch his breath as he felt a shockwave slam into the pillar's front. The second blast weakened the pillar further, almost knocking him off it. Still, it only made it half way through his cover and bought him enough time to reload his web fluid.

He stuck his head out to confront the villain once more. "You know… *hah* *hah*" buy time to recuperate, provoke him into making mistakes, make him monologue, gather info. "You villains are all the same. 'Costumed crook robs bank,' you won't even get in the papers like that without a catchy name. And then you'll get saddled with something silly, like Quilt Face, or Shocker."

"Good a name as any, let them call me what they want. You think I care about getting in the papers, bug?" Another blast.

Spider-Man dropped to the floor to dodge as the third blast drilled through the rest of the weakened pillar, knees almost buckling as he tried to stick the landing. "No creativity with these guys. This shockwave quirk of yours could be really useful for demolition work, ever think of that? But instead you squander that potential the same as every other two bit criminal."

"Ain't no quirk, Spider-Man, but of course someone gifted as you can't see things any other way. My quirk's nothing special. I can transform elastic energy into pressure force. Sounds flashy, but you need energy to get energy, so I rarely produce more than a puff of air. That means that while others glided through life with their quirks, I was left behind by society."

Elastic energy into pressure force… "So you're like those paltry air cannons where you stretch back the plastic bag? Man, that is pathetic."

"Now you're starting to get the picture. These gauntlets are just like those little air cannons," He said as held out an outstretched fist, charging up a big blast, "times a million." The energy released all at once, and this time it struck true, blasting the wavering web-head off his feet.

Cough* At least he's not firing at the civilians. I've got his attention now. And I'm starting to get an idea of how his power works. We're getting somewhere. Just keep prodding, reveal his insecurities. "So you're worthless without those gauntlets. I knew you were overcompensating for something. Of course, judging by your costume, I just assumed you were a bed wetter." Spider-Man quipped as he got to his feet again and began climbing to the ceiling. "Sorry, but that's an unhealthy dependence, I'm going to have to confiscate that." He threw a webline at the gauntlet, and tugged to pull it off.

Shocker wasn't phased though, clenching his fist to keep a grip on the gauntlet, he pulled his tethered arm back and grabbed the taut line with his free hand, his ability unraveling the web into tatters.

"Nice try, but I'm not some one trick pony, it's gonna take more than that to disarm me. See, unlike you, I couldn't succeed in life off my quirk's raw power alone, had to keep my wits about me to survive." By this time, Spider-Man made it to the top of the pillar he was climbing and perched in the corner between it and the ceiling.

They may be directional, but those are still shockwaves, and shockwaves propagate three-dimensionally. That means they lose energy exponentially with distance. So long as I stay up here, he can't reach me, I'm out of range. So just keep ranting while I get my second wind.

"You see, other people were born fated to fly through the air, or could breath fire. Me? My biggest claim to fame was popping a dodgeball in gym class. Here, allow me to demonstrate." Shocker withdrew a heavy bag of coins from the vault, tossed it up and punched it out of the air with a strong hook from his gauntlet. Propelled by the shockwave, the bag of bullion rocketed straight into Spider-Man, bursting on impact.

Uumph! Spider-Man fell from his perch before recovering enough to grip the pillar and skid to a stop, clutching his bruised ribs with the other hand. I wasn't expecting him to use a projectile to focus his attack, he's more clever than I thought. He didn't get much time to think before Shocker continued his monologue.

"It's not all bad though, It made me realize I needed to use my brain if I wanted to get ahead in life. Gave me the idea to design these babies. And now, I'm unstoppable. Not because of some quirk I was blessed with, but by virtue of my own ingenuity." He punctuated this point by barraging Spider-Man with more sacks of cash. The preserved energy and momentum of which caused them to fly faster and pack a much bigger punch than when the shockwaves were simply propagating through air.

Spider-Man quickly slung a web to swing out of the way before he was bludgeoned to death. Think you're the only one who can attack at a distance? He aimed his web shooter at one of the bags flying towards him. Thwip! He swung the bag in a circle and returned to sender with added force from the swing. "Looks like you overpaid pal, here's your change!"

Shocker rooted his feet, held his ground, and punched the sack out of the air before it hit, causing it to rupture in a flurry of golden confetti. "Please, you didn't really expect that t- Gah!" Flying out of the wave of coins obscuring Shocker's vision, Spider-Man swung in, planting a heavy kick that sent Shocker across the room.

"That's the first good hit you've landed. But it won't happen again." He said with ragged breath, clearly not benefiting from the same enhanced physique that had allowed Spider-Man to withstand all those shockwaves. "You've held out pretty well, just one of my attacks is enough to incapacitate a normal man, and you've taken a dozen. But I can tell you're on your last legs. At this rate, you don't stand a chance." He was still standing, ready to take anything Spider-Man threw at him.

I underestimated this guy. He doesn't just rely on his quirk, he's smart, crafty, tenacious. But I know smart, I can reason with smart. "You know, if you're smart enough to design something like that, you shouldn't need to rob banks. So what's the hold up? Why turn to crime? With that gauntlet, you could've made ten times the money you just threw at me, no problem."

"YOU WOULD THINK THAT, WOULDN'T YOU!? Even after I clawed my way to the top, even after I gained this power, everyone still only saw me as someone beneath them, desperately trying to over-compensate. Do you finally get it, Spider-Man? I already tried that! But this superpowered society is a caste system impossible to escape. Nobody was willing to see me as an equal partner. Oh, they were more than willing to take my designs, but were shocked when I asked for more than spare change in return. Well, I'll show them a real shocker. I just need the funding, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. This has gone on too long, bug. It's time to end this!" Shocker pulled both his arms back in a heavily telegraphed attack.

Spider-Man catapulted himself forward. Gotta intercept, that attack's way bigger than the others, it'll bring down the ceiling! However he only succeeded in bringing himself into point blank range as Shocker took a strong step forward, leaning into the attack with his whole body. He launched both fists forward, one over the other, joined at the wrists as they released the supercharged energy an inch from Spider-Man's chest.

BBBRRRRUUUMMMVVVV!

The supersonic shockwave sent Spider-Man straight through one damaged pillar before slamming him into a second. The building rumbled from the excessive damage of the blast. He wanted to just lay down and die it hurt so much. But he couldn't just wait for the building to collapse on top of him. I have to finish this fast, there's still so many people cowering around and watching like deer in the headlights.

"Everyone! The building is unstable, you need to get to the stairs, now!" He watched as the dozens of people scrambled to get over the makeshift barricades of upturned desks and debris caused by Shocker's blasts in order to get to the exit.

Shocker's got to be low on power after that move, but I need to disable him entirely, or else he won't allow me to get to the hostages. If I can restrain the gauntlets by cocooning them in my webs, they shouldn't be able to build up enough power to attack. My webs are the perfect combination of elasticity and tensile strength, if anything can absorb the shock and mute the vibrations, they can. I just need an opening.

He swung in to engage Shocker close quarters. Shocker may have been skilled, but Peter knew he was the faster of the two. If he could just get in close, it would only be a matter of watching Shocker's hands and avoiding the blasts.

Shocker tried to blast him out of mid air, but he had learned his lesson from the beginning of the fight. Firing a web with his free hand, Spidey pulled himself out of the way, allowing the angle of his webline to swing him back around and hit Shocker from the flank.

"I think those gauntlets have addled your brains. You know, shell shock. Raddled your jar, scrambled your eggs."

"Shut up already!" Good, keep him angry, he's getting sloppy.

Shocker jabbed, but it was child's play for Spider-Man to slap Shocker's wrists away from this close up. Crash, crash. Two missed blasts and Spider-Man had his opening. Wham! A swift punch to the chest, and Shocker was knocked against a stray filing cabinet.

Quick, before he recovers. Spider-Man held down the button for his web shooters and encased the gauntlets in a thick cocoon of webbing. Good, now to knock his lights out for the police.

He jumped on Shocker, only for his whole body to vibrate from the feedback of Shocker's suit, making his nerves go haywire and allowing Shocker to easily throw him off his back, over his shoulder, and onto the ground.

Spider-Man groaned, his whole body felt like one big funny bone.

"Sad to see green horns go down so quickly," the webs covering the gauntlets were shredded as they buzzed to life. "But if you won't cooperate, then I'm afraid this is the end for you, Spider-Man."

≈*~riinng~*≈

Too dazed to even think, Spider-Man trusted everything over to his spider-sense and reflexes. Pulling his legs up for a handspring, he delivered a powerful kick to Shocker's chin as he allowed the momentum to pull him off the ground and back into the fight. The two seemed to float in the air for a moment as Spider-Man grabbed hold of the gauntlet, hoping his spider-sticking would be strong enough to overcome the intense hypersonic vibrations that turned his muscle fibers to jelly. His grip held firm, and he yanked with all he had, ripping the main segment of the gauntlet off of Shocker's arm, before kicking himself off Shocker's chest right as the broken gauntlet exploded, separating the two.

Spider-Man was able to backflip so he landed on his feet, finding part of Shocker's gauntlet still glued to his hand. Shocker himself wasn't so lucky, he plowed through tables, desks, and other discarded office equipment before getting to his feet.

"That's one gauntlet down, let's see how long it takes me to get to the other. Surrender, Shocker, you're out of options." Spider-Man said as he webbed the broken gauntlet to his belt so that he could peel his hand off it. I've got to get these sticky fingers under control, he murmured to himself.

Shocker shook his head clear from the unexpected blow to the chin and rubbed the rapidly growing bruise on his chest. "Afraid you're the one who's messed up, Spider-Man. Didn't want to resort to this, but you've pissed me off."

"Please, you're bluffing. What are going to do, give me a vibrator massage?"

"Am I? Here's your first lesson, hero: always have an ace up your sleeve. You didn't really think I fired off all those blasts randomly, did you?" With that, Shocker aimed his remaining gauntlet at the last undamaged support pillar, and fired his last shot, and the building shook.

≈*≈ "No. No, no, no!"

The ceiling rumbled louder and louder as people panicked and debris began to fall. "AAAH!" "Spider-Man help!" "There's people caught under the rubble!" "Stop shoving, I've got to get to the stairs."

"Make your choice, bug. You can save the money, or save the people. And we both know I'm not worth it."

"I can do both!" He asserted.

"Oh? Let's see it then." Shocker said before confidently turning away to collect his payday, clutching his injured side as he did so.

Spider-Man was about to charge after the unguarded villain when the cries of a mother and child reached his ears. Shocker's not an immediate threat anymore. People first, villain after.

Reluctantly, Spider-Man took his eyes off Shocker gathering up his bounty. No time to dilly dally, he got to work: swinging to grab people out from the danger of being crushed by falling concrete, lifting rubble off civilians, making web splints and casts for the injured and swinging them over to the exit to hand them off to civilians strong enough to take them. "Here, carry them on your back, I'll make a web harness to secure them so you don't have to worry about slowing down as you run downstairs."

"Everyone that's injured, find a partner! Partners carry them safely down the stairs!" Everyone that's left go to the windows."

BLAST!

Spider-Man looked back to see Shocker blow a hole through the back wall in order to make his escape. Frozen in indecision for a moment before being brought back to reality.

"Spider-Man, the ceiling!"

I'll have to let him go for now. "Don't worry, it's under control." He made slip-shod repairs. Patches of web to stop crumbling, and trusses of web cables to support the damaged pillars. *Thwiss≈ Thwiss≈* that's the third canister of web fluid!

Done for now, Spider-Man swung over to the crowd gathering by the broken windows, desperately trying not to fall off the building despite the shoving.

Spider-Man jumped out the window, standing perpendicular to the outside wall. *Thwip thwip thwi- thwip* rapid fire shooting webs to make a net between this building and its neighbor. Oh web shooters, please don't jam, please don't jam.

"Okay, everyone, there's a safety net-"

"We're going to have to jump!?"

"There's no choice! And no time, so listen closely."

"B-but!"

"It's only 10 meters, that's hardly a high dive. Don't worry, the net will catch you, you'll be uninjured. Once you land, kick open a window and crawl inside. The lower floors are still secure so you'll be safe for the time being. But don't use the elevators! Make your way to the stairwell on the opposite end of the building, don't want to crowd the exits on this end while the injured make their way towards medical attention. Do you understand?"

. . .

"Do you understand!"

"Y-yes Spider-Man."

"Great!" He stuck a webline to the chest of the man in front. "Now, Banzai!" Spider-Man cheered as he pulled the man out the window."

"AAAAAH!- oomph." The crowd peered over the edge to see the man unharmed in the web, and then, like lemmings, they all began taking the leap of faith.

All these people, they're entrusting their lives to me without hesitation… I won't let them down.

Now that that was taken care of, Spider-Man returned to the task of reinforcing the building, the roof held up by nothing but webbing and a prayer. His web formula wasn't as strong as real spider silk—not yet anyway—but they were definitely far better than duct tape. And as the old adage goes, if duct tape didn't fix the problem, you weren't using enough duct tape.

By the end of it, the room was more web than wall. Okay, just a little bit more and the damage should be contained enough to prevent it from spreading to higher floors. As if to mock him in that moment, the cobblestone mosaic once called a ceiling shifted with the sound of rolling thunder, the cracked concrete barely holding itself together. Are you kidding me! How much more do I have to do? It's like an archway fitted with a loose keystone, or better yet, it's like watching two tectonic plates grind together before an earthquake while I'm standing underneath!

He identified the problem child: a particularly beat up pillar. Just a few key reinforcements should do it. Thwiss≈…

No… Thwiss≈ No! Thwi- thwi- thwissss≈≈ No No NO! He pressed the button rapidly but nothing came out. His last canister was spent.

CRACK. The ceiling settled and sagged, segments of concrete jutting out through tears in the net of webbing.

There are still injured people trying to get out, if the ceiling collapses, they'll be crushed! Not to mention the untold hundreds on the higher floors. If the floor falls out from under them…

No choice, he would just have to hold it up himself. He scrambled up to the top of the pillar, and pushed against the ceiling in a squatting position. Feet and back pressed flatly against the wall, knees straight out as he sat on his heels, head and hands planted firmly on the roof, he pushed. And pushed. Like Atlas holding up the sky, he struggled with all his might.

"Spider-Man! Are-"

"Get… out…" he strained through grit teeth. "Don't know… how long… I can hold it." Nevertheless he kept at it. No matter how much his muscles began to ache or his vision swam. Doing his best to buy as much time as possible, staring intensely at the door out of the corner of his eye, watching as more injured civilians slowly stumbled through, even as his vision blurred it all together. "Just a little longer…"

And he held on a little longer. "Just a little longer." And again, moments passed. "Just a little longer." And his strength did not fail him yet. He repeated his mantra for what seemed to be eternity, even as the edges of his vision began to darken. Tunnel vision. Gonna black out… No, I… can't… and yet…

"Worry not citizens; hope has arrived: because I AM HERE!" The heroic voice of All Might declared as he appeared on the scene before Spider-Man.

Nearly all motivation gone, Spider-Man allowed himself to collapse, his conscious awareness reduced to a blurry patch of color amid a field of blackness.

All Might was there in an instant to catch him. "Woah, easy there friend. It's not quite over yet. You've done well, allow me to finish the job on your behalf."

"Building… collapse… gotta… stop."

"Don't worry friend, you've won. I've held up a building or two in my day, should be a simple enough adjustment." All Might gripped the pillar in a bear hug and heaved. Goodness, heavier than I thought. This little guy must have been supporting northwards of 15 tons. Shifting the column into place with a slight degree of difficulty, All Might was able to prop up the ceiling properly.

≈*≈

When Spider-Man regained full awareness of himself, he found he was sitting on a rooftop, having awoken from a delirious state of half lucidity. He tried to get to his feet.

"Don't push yourself too hard there, lad. You've earned yourself no small amount of rest. That was quite a debut you just had."

"Shocker… the villain. I let him get away. Gotta… go find him…"

All Might looked back at Spider-Man as he wrestled himself to his feet. "Let me tell you a story, son. About my own debut. It wasn't too unlike this, building collapsing around me while several people needed to get out. I saved 1079 people that day. Today, thanks to your efforts, 312 are going to return safely to their families. And, you stopped the building from taking irreparable damage, something even I didn't accomplish. I'd say that's something to be proud of, don't you think? Don't worry about this Shocker fellow, we'll catch him."

"But if I didn't engage Shocker, the building wouldn't have taken that damage in the first place. I put everyone in danger, and I didn't even stop him."

All Might stared long and hard before giving a sigh. "It's true you've got a lot to learn about hero work, rookie. And you'll have to learn to live with those failures." Spider-Man hung his head in shame. "But today you showed the world the heart of a hero. That gave people hope, and because of that hope, people that would have otherwise turned to crime might take their lives in another direction. What's one robbery compared to a hundred that will now never happen? That's what it means to be a symbol of peace. Put on a smile, lad—not that the mask will show it. Ha ha ha!" All Might remarked with his trademark guffaw. "These people need to know their hero is alright."

Spider-Man nodded in understanding. "Thanks for the advice, All Might. I'd ask for your autograph, but, well, that seems a little inappropriate in this situation. Anyway, sorry to duck out, but I, uh, kinda have to go. No offense."

"None taken. I myself don't have much time left to spare. Now that you're awake, it's time for me to skedaddle." And with that, he jumped off into the night.

Spider-Man peered over the side of the roof. The bank was right next door, and he could see the large crowd now gathered around it. Out of web fluid, gonna have to take the scenic route, hitch a ride on a train or something. Still… he thought as he mulled over All Might's advice. No reason why I can't give a little show along the way.

Spider-Man dove off the rooftop with an adventurous whoop, drawing the attention of the crowd as they watched him run down the side of the building with an impressive acrobatic display.

After a final series of flips, he dove down headfirst, grabbing hold of a street lamp like an acrobatic bar, and swung a few windmills around it before using the momentum to launch himself up and away from the crowd by transitioning into a tight series of front flips. The crowd erupted into cheers at the sight of it. "All in a day's work for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" He called out right before he jumped out of sight and began making his way across town leaping between rooftops.

A/N: 1 week since I started this fic. 21k words and more support than I could reasonably expect. I enjoyed reading those reviews by the way. This chapter was a doozy. It was originally supposed to be longer, covering all of the next day. But this stretch of the chapter seemed to make for a good arc, so I decided to end it here to contrast with what will now be next chapter. Not only that, but the Shocker fight went on longer than I thought. And I had to completely rewrite it before I was satisfied. I had to write down all the components so I could shuffle them around to get the best order of events. You try to rewriting 3,000 words, shuffling around paragraphs and dissecting the scene, it's a pain. For those curious, this version of Shocker probably looks closest to the Marvel Strike Force design, but with the rounder red gauntlets from Spectacular Spider-Man. I think Shocker is a little underrated, and a good villain to get Peter wet behind the ears.

Thank you for all your support! let's hope week 2 is as good as the first one.