Shocking Development

Chapter 5: Shocking Development

"Get back here, Shocker! You can't escape me, I'll chase you to the ends of the EEAAARTH!" - Christopher Daniel Barnes overacting as Spider-Man.

≈*≈

Peter stretched out after a fulfilling night's rest. It took him no time to leap out of bed, attach to the ceiling as part of his morning stretch, and walk over to his kitchen to get some breakfast, not even bothering to drop from the ceiling. He felt great, rejuvenated even. Just one night of sleep after two without had done him wonders. He dropped down to land flawlessly in a chair at his kitchen counter and cooked himself up some breakfast.

Feeling refreshed and better than ever, Peter opened up his window and let the sunshine stream through. Unlike last morning, it was a welcome sight. He considered going for a run like yesterday, but he had work to do and had no time to waste.

He plopped himself down at his work desk and began his task of trying to understand Shocker's gauntlet.

Unfortunately, after a bit of tinkering, Peter had to admit that the gauntlet was beyond him. He had to give Shocker some credit, this was pretty advanced for a crook wearing a yellow quilt. But even if he didn't have the time to fully reverse engineer or even fully understand the gauntlet, he could at least try his best to grasp the basic principles. The gauntlet was a convex oval dish that extended from just past the knuckles to halfway down the forearm. The centerpiece of the gauntlet was a large red gemstone of some kind. It didn't take him long to figure out how to hot wire the thing. It resulted in a loud buzzing as one of the components attached to the gemstone by a metal band vibrated.

"Woah, a supersonic vibrator, the frequency of this thing is off the charts, but what's it doing?"

He soon found that turning on the vibrator somehow produced a high frequency oscillating current. It actually gave him quite the shock. Re-attaching the circuit, he found it was supposed to flow back into the vibrator as a primary power source, creating a positive feedback loop.

"Hang on, this thing seems to be its own power source, but how can that work, isn't that super dangerous? It's not some kind of generator, is it? That's ridiculous. And how's it creating a current, especially a high frequency AC current? It's just releasing kinetic energy. A little more exploration and he found the battery which was connected to the vibrator as an auxiliary power source.

"But this capacitor is a DC current. I don't get it, there's no transformer, the circuitry is rudimentary, what's going on here?"

Reluctantly, he turned it on, hoping the feedback loop wouldn't cause the whole thing to explode. It went normally at first, but then the vibrations started to accelerate faster and faster. He noticed the gemstone begin to spark, he could feel the heat coming off it, even glowed a little. He turned it off before it got out of hand.

"Incredible. This thing is capable of reverberating at hypersonic speeds. Must have been on low power mode before." But that still didn't solve the mystery. And how did the gemstone play into all this?

It suddenly clicked. "Could this all be piezoelectric? I get it! It's its own transformer. The capacitor battery is just for an ignition charge. Then this band around the stone must be a constrictor…" a bit of looking and he found a diverging current powering a motor attached to the band. "The reverberator causes a buildup of pressure in the stone. Rapidly compressing and decompressing in tune with the vibrations. The oscillations between the piezoelectric and reverse piezoelectric effects transform that physical back and forth movement into an alternation in the electric current, mimicking AC current. And that high frequency AC current is much better suited to powering the vibrator than the low voltage high amperage DC current, creating a positive feedback loop that further accelerates it to hypersonic levels. And then the leftover energy is used to tighten the band around the stone, squeezing it to increase the stress and create a further build up of elastic potential energy. The oscillating vibrations running through the band give just enough breathing room for the stone to momentarily decompress enough to produce enough of a current to keep the system self-sustaining while conserving most of the energy!" Peter went slack-jawed in amazement at the device. Sure, the resistance from the normal force increased exponentially and wouldn't allow the potential energy stockpile to build up infinitely, but the upper limit was astonishing for such a simple power source.

The trigger and release mechanism was not so well preserved unfortunately, and seemed to be mostly contained in the part of the gauntlet that got left behind when he tore the main compartment off Shocker's arm. So Peter could only guess at how that energy was released to create those massive shockwaves. And he guessed it had something to do with Shocker's quirk. Converts elastic energy into pressure force, he had said. Not a very high resolution description, but Peter could puzzle together how it worked. He probably meant something more like he relaxes all the bonds that hold elastic potential energy in a small volume around his hands, the sudden decompression of which creates a pressure differential expressed in the form of a pressure wave. Or in layman's terms, an explosive shockwave.

As far he could tell, Shocker would activate his quirk at the same time as he punches something—say a dodgeball—to activate the gauntlets' triggering mechanism. The compression of the dodgeball from the impact of the punch is used to catalyze the release of elastic energy from his quirk. Likely releasing the band restricting the reverse piezoelectric effect, and using up the potential energy stockpile in the same moment. Following the moment of impact, the deformation rebound is augmented by the burgeoning shockwave, the ensuing rapid expansion of which creates a powerful super sonic shockwave.

Without those components or Shocker's quirk, Peter was unlikely to be throwing shockwaves around with his salvaged gauntlet. But he could probably find a use for that hypersonic reverberator. But those were thoughts for another time. For now he had to focus on how he was going to use this knowledge to find Shocker. And how to defeat him after he found him.

Having handled the device first hand now, Peter had to admit he was impressed with Shocker's ingenuity. He was now very familiar with the intense amounts of feedback the vibrations produced, and not only the vibrations, but the unstable electric current that seemed to create a statically charged field around the gemstone as well. It was no wonder why Shocker wore that protective suit, and opting for the padded gambeson was pretty good taste in insulation, Peter thought begrudgingly. Not to mention, Shocker had transformed that potential drawback into a protective field that gave a jarring, brain-rattling, nerve-flaying, muscle-jellifying, reverberating jolt to anyone that dared lay a hand on him. No small feat, come to think of it.

But, it wasn't perfect. A theory as to Shocker's weakness was already forming in Peter's mind based on that information. It took a little bit of time for that feedback loop to accelerate. And even if Shocker didn't let out a huge shockwave that burned through the entire stockpile of energy built up in the crystal, it would still probably force the vibrator to restart. And it took a little bit of time after ignition for that feedback loop to accelerate back up to hypersonic levels. His shields should be down during that short window, leaving him open to attack without the risk of any backlash.

Thinking back on his fight to test his hypothesis, Peter did notice that the only times he managed to hit Shocker was when he counter-attacked after a dodge or misdirection. Still, it would have to be a pretty short window, maybe a bit longer after a big attack.

That was good, he could feel a plan start to formulate in his head. But it still didn't solve his primary problem. All the battle plans he could imagine were as nice as nothing if he couldn't even find Shocker in the first place.

Peter turned his gaze back to the gauntlet and went over everything one more time.

Alright, I ripped this thing off his arm, so he's now missing everything I have, and will need to replace it to repair his half of the gauntlet. So, if I can just find where he sourced some of these components, I can find where he will show up.

The problem was, Peter was no engineer. He didn't recognize most of the components, and wouldn't know where to buy most of the ones he did. Assuming of course that the motors and capacitors were store bought and not homemade, which seemed the much more likely option considering Shocker's situation and the general ramshackle feel of the device. He especially didn't think he'd find anything like the hypersonic reverberator on the market.

Maybe he'd been looking at it the wrong way. Even if Shocker made the components, he would still have to source the raw materials. Peter's eyes landed on the red crystal, and a chesire grin spread across his face. "Hello gorgeous, why, don't you look awfully rare and hard to get a hold of." If he could identify the mineral, it probably wouldn't be hard to find the shipment or storage facility Shocker would be likely to rob. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to set up a trap or an ambush.

Only one problem, he didn't have a mineral kit or any of the other equipment he could use to identify it. If he still had that microscope from Dr. Connor's, or even just some basic chemicals, he could get the job done in a jiffy, but alas, his volatile personality, let's call it, had removed that possibility yesterday. And he didn't think he could ask Setsuna the favor of getting her uncle to do it for her either in light of their shaky interaction yesterday.

Peter groaned. Looks like he was only left with only the most primitive methods to painstakingly deduce the information he wanted. Like Google.

knock* *knock*

"Huh? Why would someone come over right now?" Peter worried he might be having that confrontation with Setsuna afterall.

"Stan?" He answered the door to find the wiry custodian smiling back at him.

"Hiya there Pete. I've been tracking the sound of a squeaky faucet, and I think it's coming from this floor. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that by any chance?"

"Uh, no, sorry."

"Well that's too bad. Mind if I check anyway?"

"Um, sure, come on in, I guess. But, don't you need your tools?"

"Ah, don't worry about that. All you ever need for a job like this is a trusty wrench." Stan pulled a simple metal wrench from his belt to showcase as he walked in and surveyed the room, walking over to check the sink before the buzzing gauntlet parts caught his eye. "Why would you look at that. Ain't this one of those new fangled hand held massagers? Let me tell ya, I could really use one of these after my massage chair broke down. You see I got this incessant kink in my back."

Peter nearly rolled his eyes as he felt the beginnings of a rambling story come on. But then, an idea came to mind. "Hey Stan, there actually is a way you can help me out. By any chance do you know what kind of mineral this is?"

Stan took a closer look at it. "Why of course! Why, that's ruby-quartz."

"Ruby-quartz?"

"Yes. I remember because of an old friend of mine. Scott, his name was. Made a pair of sunglasses out of the stuff. Don't know why you would want to make a pair of sunglasses out of a gemstone, it'd just turn everything into a red-tinted kaleidoscope, wouldn't it? And Scott wasn't a real extravagant guy either. Never one for jewelry or fancy clothes. So it really stuck out to me. But, I will say this, I never saw him without those sunglasses, man really liked his sunglasses it seemed."

"Huh, well thanks Stan. That actually really helps me out."

"Oh no problem, anything to get you to forgive me for breaking your toilet."

"Wait, you what!?"

"Sorry, what was that, these old ears, I gotta go find that squeaky faucet, don't mind if I check your bathroom do you?" He said as he shut himself in Peter's bathroom.

≈*≈

A couple hours of digging on the internet (and plunging on the toilet) later, and he found the mineral in question was indeed ruby-quartz. The fact he needed Stan to figure it out, didn't help to make him any less peeved. Especially because he had turned out to be right, and Peter had to admit he'd have been left floundering without him.

And so, as much as Peter hated to admit it… Stan, I hereby forgive you for breaking my toilet. Peter thought with a sigh. Finding Shocker was much more important than holding a grudge, and that was now possible thanks to Stan, who had likely saved many lives from Shocker unknowingly.

Peter had discovered on the internet that due to its rarity, there was only one port that received periodical shipments of ruby quartz, a port in Kanagawa near Tokyo. And the most recent shipment was just last week, so there should still be some ruby-quartz left in a harbor warehouse nearby. Thankfully, that wasn't too far from where he was in Shizuoka. And considering that the robbery had taken place in Musutafu, Shocker was probably thinking the same thing.

Now all that was left to do was stake the place out, set up a few traps, lie in wait for Shocker to show up, and hope that Shocker wouldn't have recovered enough to try stealing something two days in a row and already got his hands on it while Peter was busy sleeping last night. He couldn't find any reports of a recent break-in around the area, but that did little to assuage his fears.

If he wanted to do that though, he would have to leave quickly. The sun was already beginning to descend from his afternoon zenith. And even assuming that Shocker would strike at night, it would still take Peter a few hours to travel and make preparations.

Peter opened up his window and began to unzip his jacket. ≈*~riinng~*≈ 

Spider-sense tingling? Must not be safe to change into costume here.

So instead of swinging out into the city, Peter decided to vault over the window sill and disappear from view as if he were just any other normal teenager sneaking out of the house.

Unbeknownst to him, a disembodied eye had been watching him out of the corner of his room. It quickly followed him out the window, but lost track of him soon after. Resigned, the floating eye slipped back under the door where Setsuna was waiting in the hall with her hair falling over one side of her face. The bangs covered the missing chunk of her face that had been sent out scouting, and was now being brought back to re-attach.

First he stays cooped up in his room all day with that glove, and now he's sneaking out? What's going on with you, Peter-kun? She gave out a small whine as she let her back slide down the wall until her knees reached her chest. I hope he's alright.

≈*≈

That was so weird. Why would my spider-sense react at that moment? I'm sure I wasn't in any danger or else my spider-sense would have kept some of that background fuzz for a couple minutes until I got far enough away. But no, just a sudden small jolt and then nothing. Peter shook his head clear of the thoughts as he web slung between the tall buildings of the city. No time for that now. Got to focus on the confrontation with Shocker. Thankfully, web-swinging had a way of clearing his head.

He plopped down on the rooftop of the rather dilapidated dockside warehouse in question just as evening started to set in. He crawled in through a broken window and scanned the place from his high vantage point as he skittered across the underside of the ceiling. No one here for now. Looks like I got here first. Assuming that Shocker's going to show up at all, that is. He could just have a spare gauntlet at home. Peter desperately hoped those doubts would be proven wrong. This was the only lead he had to go on, no use in having second thoughts now.

Scouting out his surroundings, he was very pleased with what he found. First, it was dark. He may have been wearing a red and blue onesie, but that was still more stealthy than Shocker's bright yellow getup. Especially when he could hide in the shadowy corners of the rafters, which would go a long ways to bolstering his intimidation factor. The rest of the warehouse was a maze of stacked crates, hitch cables, and chains dangling from the ceiling. The perfect environment for him to manipulate to his advantage. Certainly a far cry from the wide open office space of their first encounter where he had to keep in mind the safety of the bystanders and collateral damage. A smirk visible even through the mask spread across Spidey's face as his brain lit up with devilish ideas for the upcoming rematch.

≈*≈

A few hours of waiting and Peter was starting to worry about how long he had until he was forced to leave and try again tomorrow. But sure enough, Shocker didn't disappoint, and arrived in his signature yellow and maroon suit in all its patchwork glory.

Peter watched silently as Shocker raised the hand holding his remaining gauntlet and laid it upon the freezer chest sized metal container carrying the coveted crimson crystals. the crate softly rumbled until it popped open. What? No bombastic entrance this time, Shocker? Oh well. Shocker took another step towards his bounty. No sooner had he done so, than he had found himself dangling from the roof by his leg caught in a simple snare. "Ah- what the!?"

Spider-Man slunk down in front of his face, also dangling upside by his web. "Ooh! Lookey here, I caught me a big one. I caught a- wait a minute. You're not a rabbit. Silly villain, don't you know, trix are for kids." He sing-songed, voice thick with sarcasm.

"Spider-Man! Why, I'll show you a trick." Shocker cocked back his one remaining gauntlet and let loose a blast at the dangling provocateur.

Spider-Man didn't react and simply tugged on his web line, causing him to sway out of the way of the blast, allowing it to pass harmlessly behind him. Meanwhile the recoil sent Shocker swinging back and forth wildly, still dangling from his snared leg.

"You weren't aiming that at little old me, were you?" He replied in mock astonishment. Grinning beneath the mask as he heard the impact from the blast and the consequential snap of a rope that accompanied it.

"Quit the act, bug! I know my mark. But what are you doing here?" Shocker snarled as tried to reorient himself in midair

Spider-Man ignored the question and continued his little game. "Oh, well it's just that I thought you'd have taken your own advice when it came to collateral damage." He took the squeaking sound of the rope running through the winch's pulley as his cue to drop to the ground, allowing Shocker to see the massive net full of wooden crates swinging right at where Shocker was hanging.

"AAAHHH- *Oomph!*"

Spider-Man wasted no time in webbing Shocker to the wall after he was unceremoniously slammed into it by the makeshift wrecking ball. "Uuugh…" Shocker groaned, clearly dizzy and trying to get his bearings despite being upside down. "Bug… You're in for a world of hurt."

Spider-Man jumped onto the wall next to him, intent on disarming him while he was still restrained. "Wow, so you rob banks, murder little girls, and have sadistic tendencies. Hate to tell ya pal, but the moniker of super villain really fits you like a glove. And speaking of, why don't you allow me to take that one off your hands, I'd hate for either of us to have an incomplete set."

Shocker growled and shredded the web holding him before Spider-Man could get his hands on his remaining gauntlet. Flipping over in mid air, Shocker landed on his feet in a crouch. Steadying one arm with the other as if aiming a rocket launcher, he let out a large blast, clearly intent on squashing the spider like a bug on the wall. And when the dust cleared, Spider-Man had vanished.

≈*≈

Shocker grit his teeth. "Just had to shake things up, didn't you. This was supposed to be a nice quiet job."

"You? Quiet!?" he heard the mocking voice echo around the warehouse. "No offense, but you'd probably have a better chance at being silent if you took your phone off vibrate."

Shocker continued to stall as he relentlessly scanned the place for any sign of the bug. "Them's the facts, Spider-Man. Believe it or not, my true talent lies in safe cracking."

"Please, you're a walking earthquake dressed in neon yellow hockey pants. You're less subtle than an elephant wandering into a peanut factory."

Listen as he laughs at his own bad joke aaand- THERE! Shocker sent a quick blast over his shoulder towards the hint of movement in the corner of his eye, only for Spider-Man to swing into him from the other side. He could practically hear his ribs crack as he was lifted off his feet and the air was squeezed from his lungs by the impact.

Shocker didn't allow himself a moment's reprieve, however. Silently grateful that he was sent crashing into a tower of crates that he could prop himself up against and keep his footing. He fired back a small warding shot in the direction of the sudden kick, but again, nothing there. He quickly re-established his bearings. No trace of him.

Slowly, he wandered around through the maze of wet and rotting wood. "Get back here, Bug!" No response. "…Bug?" Only eerie silence. The familiar thrum of the surrounding reverberations of his suit was his sole companion. Shocker continued to grind his molars. The nuisance thought he could hide from him!? "You can't escape me!" He yelled at the shadows.

All of a sudden he felt a tap on his shoulder. Immediately Shocker reacted, whirling around and firing a blast behind him before he could even see who was there. But when he looked back, there was nothing. Turning forward again, he was met by the wide white eyes of the mask staring at him, dangling inches from his face.

"Boo."

Sent flying by the punch, Shocker crashed into a pile of old lumber, leaving him buried under a heap of debris. Nary a second had passed before he let out a roar of fury and erupted out in a shower of splinters.

Looking around, the bug was still nowhere to be found. Shocker walked around, surveying his surroundings a bit more. He was done with this game. He knew Spider-Man would attack again eventually. He just had to keep his guard up and his eye on the prize. I'll play that I'm going in for a rush at the crystals. That'll lure him out. And if it doesn't, there'll be nothing stopping me from getting what I came for, win-win.

Suddenly Shocker dove into a somersault, taking cover behind a rack of spare parts. He just needed to break Spider-Man's line of sight for a second before he broke into a full tilted sprint towards the desired ruby-quartz in the center of the room. Ears pricked up for the slightest disturbance.

The faint rustling of chains and he had it. He dove straight forward, doing a 180 in the air so he could slide harmlessly on his back as he took aim at the figure of Spider-Man descending upon him. He looked on with satisfaction as the wave of concussive force collided with the meddler's midsection. He could imagine the oomph of air getting knocked out of him so clearly he could practically hear it. The clang of the metal beam as he was thrown backwards into the rafters was twice as satisfying. The slap against the wet floor as he belly flopped back down was thrice.

Shocker went for a follow up attack while the bug was down, but like always, Spider-Man was far too inhumanly quick to react and recover. No water off his back though. The current situation was workable. He stood between Spider-Man and the ruby-quartz, and he was more than capable of holding that ground. The bug also seemed reluctant to engage for some reason. I see, once bitten twice shy, eh? You want to dance around a bit? Fine. Gives me the chance to figure out just what's going on here.

"How'd you chase me back here anyway?"

"Oh Quiltface, don't you read the news? We're partners in crime, soulmates. Why, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth!"

Spider-Man shot another strand of that pesky webbing his way. Oh no you don't. Shocker snatched it out of the air and reduced it to tatters. Spider-Man however remained unphased and looked on expectantly.

Shocker narrowed his eyes. He's waiting for something. Another trap? Shocker jumped to the side seconds before a crane hook dropped to the ground where he had just been standing with a loud clatter.

"What's next, an anvil on my head? I'm getting sick of your loony toons, bug." Shocker fired off a blast at Spider-Man's head. His reflexes may be mad quick and efficient, but acting on reflex makes you oh so predictable. Aim high, he dodges with a duck. The stray shot causes the wall of crates behind him to collapse on top of him. He somersaults forward to escape being buried, and… 

Blast! Spider-Man's attempt at evasion only brought him right into the path of the follow up attack that sent him flying to the other end of the warehouse.

Darn, that blasted him out of my sight again. Should've aimed the blast to pin him to the ground more. No matter, just cry Marco, and he can't resist yelling Polo. "What's it to you, bug? What do you care for some rotting dock shed?" He called out.

"And let you get your mitts on the ruby-quartz so you can rebuild your gauntlet and hurt more innocent people? Not likely."

Ah, so that's how he found me out. Little tramp must have kept parts of my other gauntlet and guessed I'd need more ruby-quartz to rebuild it. I can play with that. I wonder just how far he thinks I'd be willing to go. Bet I can make him reckless.

"Ah, you must be familiar with the special properties of ruby-quartz then." Shocker dramatically pointed his remaining gauntlet at the container full of crystals. Making a visible show of charging up a blast inches away. "You know what I can do with just one of these. Imagine what would happen if I overcharged a whole shipment of the stuff. What do you say, Spider-Man, up for a little deja vu?"

"You wouldn't, you'll bring the whole building down on the both of us!" The webhead exclaimed in shock. And there it was, the bug didn't hesitate to reveal himself. Hook, line, and sinker… Idiot. Shocker silently chuckled to himself as he looked up at the wall crawler in the rafters who had foolishly given away his location in his bewildered exclamation.

"Wouldn't I? My suit protects me from my own blasts. I'd get away just fine. But you? Last I remember, you've got a pretty bad track record when it comes to judging my ultimatums. Wouldn't want a repeat of the bank now, would we? These docks aren't very sturdy either. It collapses, whole harbor may go with with it. I'm sure more than a few people drown. Might even sink a ship or two. Your choice Spider-Man, walk away to fight another day, or see if you've gotten any better at holding up buildings while the people around you die. Still think you can do both?"

≈*≈

Peter narrowed his eyes. No. He refused to just stand aside and let the bad guy get away again. He refused to go 0 for 3 on this one. But he couldn't just ignore the threat either. Shocker held too many cards. But there had to be something, some other angle. Think, Spidey, think! It never works out when you just rush in.

He proved with those hit-and-run attacks from before that Shocker's shield went down for a couple of seconds after he took a shot. But that didn't really help him now as he couldn't really make a move or shoot a web with Shocker staring straight at him. Not before Shocker could react anyway.

But what other option did he have? He already dropped the crane hook. Really wish I had been a bit more frugal in springing that one. No use crying over spilled milk, but it did leave him with worryingly few options. Alright, Parker, time to use your head instead of your muscles.

"Just give it up Shocker, even if you stall me here, I called in a tip to the police and nearby pro heroes before you arrived. They see the docks collapse and they'll be on you in a second. You'll only sabotage your own escape." While distracting Shocker by making his little speech, he subtly readjusted his grip on the rafters to hold onto one of the beams he was sticking to from the back, hiding his hand—and more importantly his wrist mounted web shooters—behind it.

Shocker did his best to show no outward sign of alarm, but Spider-Man could see that he stiffened slightly at the news. "You're bluffing. I read the report, you're just a vigilante amateur. You wouldn't risk your own hide getting taken in on the hunch that I might show up."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I made sure to survey this place before hand. You see I'm a slippery little bug, I can scurry away in a second, but you, you'll have to blast your way through the debris. No way you avoid getting caught."

Shocker let out a guffaw at the predicament. "It seems we're at an impasse then. As I see it, it's mutually assured destruction. I go nuclear, and we both lose. Not only am I captured, but you have to watch as more people die under your watch. Of course, we could also go our separate ways and call it a draw too."

A draw? You mean you get what you want while I run away. "Not a chance!"

"Then it comes down to nerve. What's the matter Spider-Man? Here's your chance to defeat me once and for all. Not willing to pay the price, don't have what it takes?"

You're the one with their finger on the trigger! Alright, I can put some pressure on him too. Discreetly, Spider-Man shot a web line hidden from line of sight by one of the beams of the rafters. Attaching to a mop, he gave a few quick tugs to the line. Making it knock against a wall, giving the distinct impression of someone pounding on the door.

Shocker grit his teeth. Agitated at the prospect of a run in with the authorities. He didn't have the time to be holding a Wild West stare down. He needed to squash the bug fast, I'll provoke him, let him come to me.

"I know why you're so obsessed with me." Shocker began. "You're fuming about being called my partner. The Bugle said some pretty nasty things about you, far more than what they had for me. I suppose it's deserved though. I'm a working man, they can see I'm just doing what I can with hand I was dealt in this unfair world. That's my fate. But you, you're the insurgent. A no good vigilante that goes against convention. Gifted enough to do good, but too incompetent and impatient to do more than harm." Shocker could see Spider-Man's fingers clench against the wall. Good, keep pushing his buttons.

Spider-Man deflected. "Wow, a villain, projecting. Color me shocked. Shocked, I say."

Shocker clenched his fist, his charged gauntlet still pointed at the ruby-quartz. Shocked? That can be arranged. "Who's the real villain here? I was compensating for an injustice in society that left me destitute. As for you, why, you probably flunked out of a hero course, and retaliated by upturning a perfectly good institution. Whose fault is it that the building collapsed? I had the whole thing under control until you butted in. If you hadn't interfered, that poor little girl wouldn't have gotten caught up in the crossfire, no one had to get hurt. And now you're mad that things didn't go your way, and you've come to exact vengeance for your personal vendetta. Face it Spider-Man, I'm not the monster, you are. Her blood's on your hands."

Spider-Man lunged at Shocker. Come to papa. BOOM! The full force of the attack charged over the course of their conversation washed over Spider-Man and sent him crashing to the ground and tumbling away until he careened into a metal rack storing boat engine parts and toolboxes, which all fell on top of him.

≈*≈

"Aah!…" Sore… everywhere. He tried to sit up, but just lifting his head was a struggle, his core felt like it had just finished doing 2,000 crunches and even lifting his shoulders off the ground seemed impossible. Nevertheless, he began to lurch himself ba- brvv! A quick jab from Shocker knocked his head back against the metal rack. He swore he heard the lightbulb behind his eyes pop as his vision momentarily blacked out and crinkled.

Shocker slowly advanced on the downed vigilante. Blasting him back down each time he tried to get up until Shocker was upon of him.

Brvv, brvv, brrrmmmmmmmmm…

A steady wave of concussive force cascaded upon Spider-Man. The rippling energy felt like it was shredding him apart atom by atom, and then each atom was getting thoroughly bruised black and blue.

"EEEERRRAAAAAAAHHHH" he screamed as he pressed his hands over his ears and flailed like a electrocuted frog. All he could see was the grainy yellow haze of shockwaves washing over him.

All of the sudden, as if someone had attached an electrode to his stomach, his hips suddenly lurched up as his legs reflexively bucked and kicked Shocker off of him. His spider-sense seemed to have put him on autopilot for a moment.

He heaved and wheezed as he gulped down the now still air, his diaphragm almost too exhausted to continue breathing.

There was an eerie peace to the new found silence. Just an all encompassing ringing in his ears that drowned out everything else like he was deep underwater and had yet to pop his ears. But the intense weary pain in all his sleeping muscles and the sight of Shocker quickly getting back to his feet told him it wouldn't last. Spider-Man also struggled to his feet. Unable to tell the difference between his spider-sense and the ringing in his ears. If I end up with any permanent hearing loss because of this, so help me, I am going to scream. And if I can't hear that scream, then I'm going to keep screaming until Shocker can't hear it either.

He lowered himself into a sprint and ran at Shocker, ignoring the pain as he made another desperate gambit for the gauntlet. Shocker's response was immediate: a straight jab. Spider-Man's legs kicked against the ground like extending pistons, the jump launching him straight up into the air so that he hovered safely above the booming energy beam. Shield's down. Only got a few seconds to make this count.

Spider-Man pointed his webshooters at either side of Shocker and fired. With twin thwips the weblines planted on the ground behind Shocker, ready for Spider-Man to give them a pull and slighshot himself towards his foe.

1...

Spider-Man rocketed forward. But he wasn't the only one to react fast. Shocker leveled his gauntlet straight at the form of Spider-Man quickly careening towards him.

2...

Click. The Gauntlet didn't fire. Good, the charge hasn't built back up yet. Spider-Man's feet planted against Shocker's chest as the kick shoved him to the ground. Leaving Shocker pinned on his back as Spider-Man kneeled on his torso.

3...

Shocker got his shoulder loose from the pin enough to extend his fist up at Spidey's face. But Spider-Man's hands were already moving to intercept the strike and rip the gauntlet off, one hand already grabbing Shocker's arm. Time froze at that instant as Shocker's fist slowly approached Spider-Man's face at the same time as Spidey's fingers brushed against the glowing gauntlet.

Boom!

The next instant saw Shocker's gauntlet activate, blasting them both away from each other. His spider-sense was too muted by the ringing in his ears to warn Spider-Man to disengage. He spit the blood out of his mouth as well as a curse. He really thought he had got in close enough that time, but yet here he was, left aching from another blast. It didn't take long for Spider-Man to get to his feet again, Shocker doing the same.

He and Shocker circled each other for a moment, each trying to catch their breath. I let him bait me before, won't happen again. I know his weakness now. At this range, I can get to him and rip off the gauntlet in a second if I'm smart enough. Just got to get him to waste another shot first. But how? He's too cautious. And I'm too beat up to keep going tic for tac. Especially because my spider-sense is no guarantee at the moment. Maybe I've got to go at this from a different angle.

"Run out of snarky remarks, Bug?"

Spider-Man sighed. "I'm sorry."

Shocker stopped dead in his tracks, "Huh?"

"I know what it's like. To be disregarded because of your quirk and be powerless to stop it. Perhaps, I was so angry because I was worried that had things gone differently, I would've ended up like you."

"You expect me to buy your sob story? I've seen you fight, you've got the whole package. Our quirks are nothing alike, so you keep your sympathy. Don't need it, don't want it."

"You're right. We are nothing alike. But it wasn't always that way. The downsides to my quirk make it almost as bad being quirkless. For most of my life, I was called puny, icky. Nothing but a disgusting bug. But, I was smart. Not that anyone cared to notice that. So, I studied every day to get into a prestigious institution where quirk use was heavily regulated. Thought then I'd have a fair shot, no one would have to know about my pathetic quirk status. Ended up being a hopeless venture. Even though I got top scores, they'd throw it out once they learned about my quirk. But then, puberty hit, and my quirk evolved. Turns out, I was a late-bloomer. All of a sudden, things were looking up."

"Yeah, well some of us aren't so lucky, bug."

"Believe me, I know. I got what I wanted, but It all felt wrong. I knew I didn't deserve it. I wanted to throw all those new opportunities back in their face. But I remembered something my uncle taught me. 'With great power, comes great responsibility.' So I decided I would use this power to make things right, for people like us."

"How touching. But it doesn't change anything. No matter how we try to overcome it, things have only gotten worse for us, haven't they? So why don't you stay out of my way and let me get some real justice. Because you, in all your idealism, have no idea what it takes to survive in a world like this. You said it yourself, we're nothing alike."

"But it doesn't have to stay that way. I took a look at your gauntlet earlier. It's genius really, truly groundbreaking work—literally. Quirks aren't the only way to be gifted. My Uncle always used to say, 'the greatest tool in your shed is the brain in your head.' And Quilt-face, you've got it in spades. You're killing brain cells with all those jarring concussions you're throwing around. You've got potential, don't waste it stealing from dingy warehouses. I know a guy that'd be more than willing to sponsor your tech. He lost his quirk to cancer. I promise he wouldn't take advantage of you because of your quirk. You have another chance. Are you smart enough to recognize it?" Peter stretched out a hand for Shocker to take, pleading.

Shocker stood dumbfounded for a second, but didn't move, only considered. Eventually, he started taking slow steps forward, and lifted his gauntlet clad arm to meet Peter's.

The ringing in his ears almost made Peter miss what happened next. But his spider-sense never lied, even though he had the perfect excuse and motivation to ignore it. He was all too painfully aware as Shocker's outstretched fingers curled into a fist in slow motion and moved to strike at Peter's heart.

Peter stooped to the side, avoiding the strike by a hair as the blast passed over his shoulder. Three seconds, that's how long I have until the shield comes back up. Spidey's own outstretched hand came up to grab the underside of Shocker's extended gauntlet. A simple cling, and when he pulled his arm away, Shocker's gauntlet came with it.

Spider-Man and Shocker both jumped back to get their distance after the exchange. "I don't know how gullible you think I am, Bug. But I've long since learned that sweet words and empty promises rarely solve real problems."

"I was trying to help!"

"As if!"

Spider-Man wasted no time in webbing Shocker up now that his foe was defenseless. "Ugh! First it was rubies, now you're jaded too? We really need to find you a gemstone in your color, my friend. Maybe use it for your next gauntlets, you know, now that you don't have those ones anymore. Let's see, you definitely don't have the sunny disposition for heliodor, and I don't peg you for an amber guy either. Now I know what you're thinking: Citrine. Not only are you a sourpuss, but citrine is even a type of quartz. But it doesn't really scream "Shocker," does it? No, I'm thinking yellow tourmaline. How are you on yellow tourmaline? It's pizz-zazzy, it's got identity. I definitely think you could razzle dazzle all the other villains at the basement lair."

Shocker ripped through the web bindings with a roar. "Enough already! I'm through with this nonsense! I'll rip you to shreds if I have to do it with my bare hands!"

"H-how did you break out my webs without your gauntlet? It should have a tensile strength beyond steel!"

"Weren't you paying attention, Bug? Against me, that's exactly what you don't want. My quirk releases elastic strain to create pressure waves. Your webbing is tight, but quite ductile. Almost like a rubber band, and I've had plenty of practice snapping rubber bands with my quirk. The stress applied by the feedback of my suit provides more than enough potential energy to unravel and shred them from the inside out." Shocker charged at Spider-Man. "Don't you see? I don't need my gauntlet to take you down, your power is useless against me."

Spider-Man grumbled. "You can never make things easy on me, can you? Oh well, if I can't restrain you, I guess we'll just do it the hard way. all I gotta do is knock out your lights long enough for the police to arrive." He cocked back a punch, ready to intercept the charging super villain. Just one super strength punch, and it'll be lullaby baby for ol' Quilt-face.

He struck, but Shocker's force field cushioned the blow, and the vibrations caused his muscles to spasm, ruining his follow-through. Any momentum left was simply absorbed by Shocker's padded armor.

Shocker, meanwhile, didn't bother to stop his advance and rammed his shoulder into Spider-Man, tackling him against a metal beam. Shocker pinned him with his forearm against the bug's throat, the remnants of the broken gauntlet still buzzing erratically.

With the feedback from Shocker pressed so close to him—especially to his neck—Spidey was finding it increasingly hard to breathe. "You know… when I said this was like hugging a jackhammer, that wasn't an invitation." He rasped.

Shocker responded with a quick jab to the kidney to shut him up. "I told you I'm no one trick pony. Still think you can knock me out no problem, Bug? Funny thing about that. See, super strength doesn't really matter if you don't know how to use it. Doesn't matter how strong your muscles are, if your nerves are too shot to make 'em move." Shocker continued to bash him with one arm as he held him off the ground with the other. "All you have left is your weight. Unlucky for you, I learned a little Judo way back when in order to defend myself against quirk powered delinquents like you. So I know exactly how to use that weight and strength against you." Shocker shifted his grip, pivoted at the waist, and threw Spider-Man over his shoulder, slamming him onto his back on the floor.

He went to follow up with a ground pound, but Spider-Man did a kip-up transitioning into a back handspring to jump out of the way in time. "I ripped off your gauntlet, how is your force field still up!?"

"True, you tore off the release, so I can't fire off any blasts without blowing myself up, but now I have no way to turn the feedback off either. Looks like even crippled, I have you countered. Your webs don't work for long range, and your short range attacks are nullified too. You've lost your edge since our last encounter too. What's the matter, Bug? Still sore?"

Shocker was frankly quite fed up with this game. Even if the bug was bluffing, he still couldn't dawdle around forever, eventually someone would take notice. He'd just pocket some ruby-quartz, and run off. Spider-Man probably didn't know about the motor boat he took to get here, he could shake him off his tail no problem. What was the bug going to do to stop him? Punch him? Heh, saw how that worked out for him.

Spider-Man was flabbergasted to see Shocker just turn his back to him and walk off. A little offended that Shocker didn't take him remotely seriously. But, begrudgingly, he needed the opportunity to catch his breath. As pathetic as it made him feel, he couldn't just muscle his way through by thinking that Shocker was just some simple low-life crook. That was the mentality that got him into this mess. He needed a plan to subdue Shocker and then restrain him until the police showed up to take him away.

He began stumbling towards Shocker to keep track of him when he kicked a stray toolbox. He looked down at it, and shrugged. Low brow problems require low brow solutions.

Seconds later, a wrench spun through the air like a boomerang and bonked Shocker on the back of the head, causing him to collapse like a sack of potatoes.

"Well that worked better than expected. What do you know, Stan was right." All you ever need for a job like this is a trusty wrench. The sage advice echoed through his ears. Or maybe that was just the tinnitus from his concussion, he still couldn't tell.

Spider-Man inspected Shocker. He groaned softly and was already beginning to stir. Peter guessed he had two minutes tops before he came too. Enough time to come up with something passable, I suppose.

≈*≈

When Shocker came to, he was cocooned in webbing upto his shoulders and was being dragged down the docks by a webline. "What the… let go of me bug, I can rip through these in a second."

"Nuh, uh, uhh. Hold your horses, Shockey." Spidey cautioned as he hoisted Shocker up by pulling on the line he draped over a dockside lamppost. Dangling Shocker over the bay in the process.

"Gaze into the dark waters of the abyss below. I'm sure you've already been notified by the nippy atmosphere, but it's currently the middle of February right now. We're enjoying a nice winter night. Are you aware of what happens to people who take a swim in freezing waters, Shocker?"

"Enlighten me." He deadpanned.

"Well hypothermia sets in almost immediately, frostbite not long after. Your muscles seize up, and the breath is squeezed from your lungs due to the sudden shock from the loss of body heat. If you'll pardon the pun."

"Pardoned." He spat out. Barely holding in his aggravation that threatened to release his quirk and plunge him into the impenetrably black bay below.

"While most are immediately paralyzed from the shock, it is true that some people have been able to swim to safety. But your situation is a little different. Not only are you alone at the harbor, a mile away from any warmth, you're also wearing a full body gambeson and heavy ceramic armor. Water is going to soak into that padding in a second. And once fully waterlogged, I estimate that whole get up will weigh well over a hundred pounds. You'll be swimming with an anvil on your back, you'll sink like a rock and drown in a slow painful death. Assuming of course that your busted gauntlet doesn't electrocute you through your soaked suit first of course."

"You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what? Wouldn't let you take the plunge after you go suicidal because you're so prideful you'd rather die than admit defeat? Wouldn't save my own neck rather than dive in and risk dying myself just to pull you out?" There was a despairing pleading look in Shocker's eyes.

"You're right. I wouldn't leave you to swim with the fishes. Because I'm not like you. But even a quick plunge would render you incapable of doing anything but curling up on the docks and hoping the police come quickly. So for both our sakes, don't try anything."

Shocker ground down his teeth but remained silent.

Spider-Man pulled out his phone and made a call, doing a comical impression of a meek woman's voice. "Hello, police? I saw a sketchy man in a scary costume sneak into a warehouse at the docks. I think it's a villain. He's tied up now. Will you please send some people to this address to take him in?"

Spider-Man hung up "That webbing dissolves in a couple hours by the way, I would suggest yelling something like 'I'm wearing a soiled mattress' or something else totally embarrassing to get the attention of the police before that happens."

He turned away and spun a web to swing away. "Oh yeah, and one last thing. Once you're done doing your time in prison, that offer from before still stands." With that, Spidey shot one last web at Shocker to attach a note to the cocoon of webbing before waving adios and swinging away.

≈*≈

It didn't take the police long before they spotted the thing dangling from the dockside lamp post. Tracing their flashlights up the figure, they discovered the yellow masked face of Shocker glaring back at them while cocooned in webbing.

" 'Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.' Looks like this is the guy, chief."

Shocker couldn't hold back his indignation any longer. "I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS! YOU HEAR ME, BUG!?"

≈*≈

Achoo! Peter snorted the snot back up his nose. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to be out all night in his Spidey-whities in the middle of winter. His ears were still ringing a bit too, he wasn't happy to take off his mask and find a trail of blood had come from his ears. But hey, at least he caught the bad guy. No damages this time either. And while he was still pretty bruised, he doubted he broke any bones like last time. After all that, he thought he deserved a week of time off to focus on the upcoming entrance exam.

A few more moments of resting passed by until a knock came to his door. Who could that be, it's what, 10:30? It better not be Ditkovich and the dang door again. I don't have any more money for him to fleece me for. He scowled at the thought and answered the door.

"Oh, Setsuna-chan, what's up?"

"I baked some cookies, but made too many for just Uncle Curt and I, would you like any, Peter-kun?" He's finally back. She thought. Stress from the exams must be getting to him. He needs to relax, and I need to get to the bottom of this.

"Oh no I couldn't, got things to do, studying and all that, wouldn't want to impose."

Setsuna noticed the bandaid on Peter's cheek and the thin line of dried red crust tracing his earlobe. She hid her tight frown with a small pout. What has he been upto while sneaking out? "Come on Peter-kun, you can't just stay cooped up in your room all day. You'll be fraught with nerves come the exams. Get out and enjoy yourself." She grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him out of the room.

"Woah, hey-" Peter stumbled through the door as he let Setsuna yank him across the threshold. "A-alright, alright. I give." He laughed. "You don't need to terrorize me with threats of sweets."

"Good. So long as you know what's good for you. Now come on, before the milk gets warm."

They arrived to see Doc Connors already seated at the coffee table with his own mug of milk, a plate of cookies in the middle of the table. Even at home, Connors wore a lab coat, must have found it comfy. Though notably, one sleeve was pinned up. His robotic prosthetic hung on the wall behind him, evidently recharging its batteries.

"Ah, good evening Peter. Studying hard I see." He greeted in reference to Peter's somewhat haggard appearance.

"Yep, been tinkering away."

"Well don't push yourself too hard, don't want anything blowing up in your face again."

"I don't think that'll be a problem. Not after today anyway."

Setsuna narrowed her eyes at that, but shrugged it off and walked inside after Peter.

"What about you, Dr. Connors? Any projects you've been working on?"

"The only tinkering going on around here is me trying and failing to fix this squeaky faucet of ours all day. Really should tell Mr. Lee about it."

≈*≈

The three enjoyed sweets and small talk. It was… nice. An overall good way to end the day.

I wonder if anything's been reported about the incident today. Peter checked his news feed on his phone. Sure enough, he found something.

No Honor Amongst Thieves: Spider-Man's Next Shocking Development

Ugh, the Bugle. Peter rolled his eyes, but went on with it anyway. "Hey guys, did you hear about this? Apparently that Spider-Man guy captured that Shockwave villain and turned him into the police."

"Really?" Setsuna asked. "Wasn't expecting that."

"I'd still be wary." Doc Connors weighed in. "These vigilantes... there's almost always an extra motive with them. Things we don't see."

"What's the rest of the article say, Peter-kun?"

"Let's see…" Peter skimmed the article. "In a shocking turn of events. Spider-Man has betrayed his partner in crime, a villain capable of producing concussive blasts known as the Shocker." Peter scanned a bit further down the page before continuing his abridgement of the article.

"Shocker was found tied up hanging from the docks with a note crediting Spider-Man for the capture…"

"Whether this was done to take Shocker's share of the money from their recent robbery, to save face after his conspiracy was uncovered, or both, had yet to be determined. But one thing is for certain, when it comes to the vigilante Spider-Man, there is no honor amongst thieves. He'd betray even his own partner and comrade when it ceased to be beneficial…"

"We don't know the reason for their confrontation at the docks…"

"The back side of Spider-Man's note explains that Shocker was there to steal a shipment of ruby-quartz—"

"Ruby-quartz…" Setsuna mused. "Why does that sound familiar?"

Peter ignored the interruption and continued skimming the article. "But while information on Shocker's initial testimony is still murky, preliminary reports suggest that Spider-Man was there to offer to sponsor Shocker's technology if Shocker agreed to work as Spider-Man's underling…"

"Other reports suggest that Spider-Man brutalized Shocker and then threatened to either drown him in the sea or leave him to slowly die of frostbite!"

Peter looked up from the article infuriated. "What kind of crap is this!? At the end of the day, Spider-Man did everyone a favor and got a villain off the streets without any complications, didn't he? Who cares about what the villain said happened."

Doc Connors set down his mug and dropped his shoulders as he let out a breath. "Peter. As you progress into adulthood, you'll see that things are almost never so simple."

Setsuna nodded along diligently. "Take it from a hero course student, Peter-kun. There are so many factors to take into account that regular civilians would never think to consider. Heroism is regulated for a reason."

"Okay but still, think of the catastrophes that were averted. Take this for instance: Shocker was there to steal a shipment of ruby-quartz to power that shockwave tech of his, right? Well, what if Shocker overloaded the whole shipment with energy? Compared to what his gauntlet can do with just one gem, the shockwave from a whole shipment would potentially be enough to collapse the whole harbor. But Spider-Man stopped something like that from happening."

Setsuna visibly paled and stiffened at the thought of such destruction. But Doc Connors couldn't hold himself back from laughing. "Haha, that was a good one Peter. Setsuna totally bought it hook line and sinker."

Setsuna's face flushed with embarrassment and she stood up in a huff. "And what exactly is so funny?"

Curt's laughter only intensified. "Quartz is incredibly stable, there's nothing radioactive about it at all." He doubled over. "You rarely get electromagnetic radiation out of it above the infrared range. Almost never gamma. You could strike it with lightning and nothing would happen. It's not like it's vibranium or anything."

Peter looked incredibly sheepish, redoubled by his attempt to hide it. "R-really?"

Connors paused for a moment. "You serious? It wasn't a joke?" He suddenly broke up into another round of howling laughter. "A simple spectrograph test would have showed you that."

Peter clenched his fist. I can't believe it, that whole thing with the shipment was a bluff! Maybe if I had some proper equipment, I wouldn't have been taken in by Shocker's trick! Instead, I had to rely on Stan to tell me what the stuff was! "Well what about its piezoelectric properties? It can definitely create a strong electric charge. What if it overloaded?"

"Peter, people use quartz for those things because it's so stable and precise. What, you think we're going to use radioactive isotopes in our time pieces?"

"We use them in our fire alarms…" Peter grumbled.

Setsuna, who as of yet had been in solidarity with his embarrassment, had to herself hold back a chortle at his expense.

"The kind of charge we use in impulse currents comes from a stream of electrons. That's beta radiation. Nowhere near as volatile." Connors explained. Setsuna was now openly giggling while Connors continued his streak of laughter.

Peter started to sputter and got red in the face. "I- I, wel-, you, ugh," Peter could do nothing as his ears flushed red from embarrassment. Suddenly, he was midtown high's laughingstock again. "I'm going to bed." Peter mumbled as he hung his head and stalked off.

"Ahh, Peter, come on, get back here. We're just having some fun with ya." Connors teased.

"Looks like monkey boy has finally gone ape-" *slam*

Peter paced back and forth in the hall a little before he pushed himself up against a wall and slapped himself on the forehead over and over with the heel of his palm. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" Shocker was bluffing that whole time! Peter slid his back down the wall until he was sitting on the floor and wallowed. I really am a pathetic excuse for a hero!

He absentmindedly scrolled through his feed on his phone to find something to distract himself with. Huh? What's this? He scrolled back to the passed article:

Exclusive: Live Interview with Mother of Spider-Man's Victim!

Oh great, more guilt tripping. He pressed play on the video.

"-So I'm sure you've heard the news about what happened earlier tonight? What do you think of this surprise confrontation between Spider-Man and Shocker and what it could mean for getting justice for your child, Mrs. Gisei?"

"Thank you, yes I have heard of it. And frankly, I'm a little relieved."

"Relieved? How so?"

"Maybe I'm unable to see things objectively because I lack an outsider's perspective, or maybe you just had to be there yourself to truly understand it. But what I witnessed in that bank didn't mesh well with the portrait of Spider-Man painted afterwards. It was hard for me to believe that Spider-Man could have just been this deceptive vigilante that caused all this suffering to befall us. But you know how these villains are, they're tricky. I knew I could've been fooled and had my heartstrings manipulated because of the desperation of the situation, so I trusted the experts. And, admittedly, I needed someone to blame for Tsumi's death.

"But now, I'm not so sure. I think Spider-Man really did capture Shocker because he wanted justice. Now, I can't say why. Maybe he really was a villain and suddenly felt remorse, I can't say. But when you're standing there, in that bank, and your world is crumbling around you, and you see a man fighting till his bones break. All to save you and to stop the evil causing it, and you can't help but be endeared to that kind of gallant heart that won't stop burning, you want to stand behind them and hold them up. And maybe that's what's so sinister about Spider-Man's ruse, but now, I can't imagine that there wasn't even a spark of real heroism in there that just needed to be kindled. It may have just been an act, but in some ways, the pain was real. He really was hit by those shockwave attacks, and he really did go out of his way to save people. Maybe at some point things went too far and Spider-Man stopped playing pretend.

"I remember when the rubble fell and buried my daughter. I scraped, and clawed, and heaved to dig her out until my fingers were bloody and raw. My body was breaking down, and her cries were getting quieter. And then Spider-Man came. And he strained, and strained to lift the rubble off. It was clearly too heavy for him, and he was clearly in a lot of pain already. But through it all, I could sense a desperation as deep as my own in his struggle. As if it was his daughter in the wreckage. That's how committed he was to playing the role—that is, if it was just a role at that point. And, he did it. He saved her from the debris. He didn't have to do that, he went above and beyond what was required for just some ruse. And because of it, I got to spend a few extra hours with my daughter. Even if it was partially his fault she died in the first place. But then again, it's partially my fault too, I was the one that brought her to the bank in the first place after all.

"Regardless of what was really happening that bank, there is one thing I know for certain: I wouldn't trade those last few hours for the world. and so, as backwards as it sounds, I can't help but feel grateful to Spider-Man. If it was all just a performance, then what a spectacular performance it was. And like any good movie, perhaps I'm willing to suspend my belief just a little. In my mind, and in that moment, the vigilante Spider-Man really was the hero he pretended to be."

Peter turned off the broadcast. And picked himself back onto his feet. At the end of the day, maybe it was all worth it. He thought back to All Might's words following that first confrontation:

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. But today you showed the world the heart of a hero.

Peter chuckled a little. Who cares if I got taken in by some ruse about Ruby-Quartz. I should just be glad that no one at the harbor was ever actually in any danger from Shocker because of what I did. Maybe I can afford to laugh at myself a little.

Peter walked back over to the door he had stormed out of earlier, cracked it open a little and leaned through. "Hey guys, thanks for the cookies, milk, and all the laughs. But I really should be getting some rest. Got the exams coming up. See you later, uh, goodnight." He said as he awkwardly stood in the doorway.

"Anytime Peter."

"Goodnight, Peter-kun!"

And so, like he did the night before, Peter greeted his bed and got some well deserved rest. Only this time, he slept satisfied knowing that all the troubles he had left unresolved the night before, were now well and truly settled and behind him.

A/N: there we go, another 12k word chapter. We're now 5 chapters in and at the end of the prologue. Entrace Exam next time.

Yes, I absolutely had to reference the Spider-Man TAS line, it's the best. Overacting thy name is Spider-Man.

I feel like I have incurred the wrath of some engineer who's going to see how much I am not a scientist and am totally making stuff up with how Shocker's gauntlets work. Sorry, best explanation I could come up with.

I noticed I made a mistake last chapter when I mentioned something about Doc Connors only having one arm after I had already established he had a robot arm. So I had to justify it by showing that it can detach to recharge while he's at home and doesn't need the extra hand. I think it reinforces the idea that while it's helpful, the prosthetic isn't a full solution.

Would also like to shoutout Throw-Away9261 for their incredible chapter reviews, can't wait to read this one's. And give thanks to everyone for reading.

P.S. I decided to switch to Shocker's POV for a lot of the fight to give a different dynamic. If we don't see where Peter is, or what he's thinking, then it makes Spider-Man himself seem more mysterious and powerful. Like he could strike from anywhere at anytime. Reversing the power dynamic of their last fight and showing Peter's growth since their first encounter. Plus, we get to see how Shocker thinks. 

Originally, Shocker's thoughts as he threatened to blow up the shipment revealed that he was bluffing and it wouldn't actually do anything. But I didn't want people to think Peter was being stupid by not realizing it was bluff. Fact is, taking Shocker's threat seriously is the intelligent thing to do. And I reason the best way to show that is by tricking the audience alongside Peter by not giving the reader any more information than he has. This turns Connor's reveal at the end of the chapter from an in-joke into a twist. I lose out on a good joke, but the tradeoff is that I get more suspense. 

Which version is better? I couldn't say. I think I personally prefer the original. But as the author,I already know everything that's going to happen before I write/read it, so I probably value the laugh at Peter's ignorance more than someone who's reading for the first time and getting invested.