Mayhem

It was utter mayhem out in the streets of Gotham as those who had consumed the Scare Crows candy were causing havoc in the streets. Cars and buildings were on fire as those under the candy's influence attacked them without any regard for human life. However, with a close glance, one could tell by the look on the faces of those who were being controlled that they were not enjoying it.

It was as if they were stuck in a nightmare, looking on with wide eyes as they attacked others and destroyed the city, attacking each other like wild animals. "Stop!" "Get away from me!" "Don't hurt me!" "Monsters!" were some of the things heard coming from the mouths of those under the candy's control, it was as if they were protecting themselves.

Sitting atop a building, perched with his long coat flowing behind him, Spider-Man looked on with solemn eyes beneath his glass goggles, wondering where to even start. There's far too many things happening at once for one man to handle. 'There's gotta be thousands of them. Where do I even start?' he thought to himself, however, he'd get his answer after hearing tires screeching and a loud clash of metals.

Spider-Man turned his head to see a tanker trunk, filled with gasoline, driving recklessly through the streets of Gotham, having no regard for human life. Behind the tanker, there were a couple of police cars pursuing the vehicle, though they didn't have any clue how to stop it.

Without a second thought, Spider-Man lept from the building before firing one of his webshooters at a nearby building, which then stuck to it and allowed him to begin swinging through the sky using a web. Alternating hands, Spider-Man swung through the city using his webshooters until he eventually landed on the hood of the tanker, which startled the driver.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" the man screamed, driving more recklessly due to the bug on his windshield. Knowing he was running out of time, Spider-Man punched a hole in the windshield, causing the man to scream even louder than before. As the man screamed, Spider-Man used his webshooters to shoot the man's foot down onto the brake, causing the vehicle to begin coming to a full stop.

However, things wouldn't be so simple as Spider-Man started to feel that ringing sensation in his head once again. 'My Spider-Sense!' he thought, knowing that it was telling him that something was very wrong. However, his own internal alarm bell was still confusing to him, still blaring in his head until he turned around to see that the truck was heading straight a building that likely had people inside. An exploding from the tanker truck would be bad news, and it didn't take a detective to figure that out.

Using the hood of the tanker as a springboard, Spider-Man flipped through the air, his cape fluttering behind him before landing on top of the tank on the back. As soon as he landed, he began firing webs at the nearby buildings, attaching the webs to the tank to slow the vehicle down. However, his webs weren't enough to stop the truck, not in time and not with that strategy.

"Hopefully this works," Spider-Man said aloud before pulling himself to the front of the truck, digging deep and pressing his hands against the front bumper, using his feet for leverage to try and stop it with his own strength.

Spider-Man grunted as he put his everything into stopping the vehicle, truly testing the limits of his abilities for the first time. The man inside the vehicle continued shouting his brains out and those taking refuge from the outside mayhem inside the building were beginning to scramble inside.

"C'mon!' Spider-Man hyped himself up as he continued pushing against the truck, his feet scraping the concrete due to how hard he was pressing down into it. Just moments before the vehicle was going to smash into the building, Spider-Man let out one last grunt before bringing it to a complete halt.

Once the vehicle stopped, Spider-Man leaned against it and caught his breath. "They gotta put emergency brakes on this thing," Spider-Man whispered to himself before putting on a more serious expression on his face as he looked at the driver who was trying to exit the vehicle, however, his foot was stuck due to Spider-Man's webs.

Spider-Man then hopped on the windshield again and started to speak to the driver, deepening his voice to sound slightly more intimidating. "What are you doing!" Spider-Man shouted, getting mutters and stutters as a response from the man. Spider-Man then grabbed his collar and pulled him in closer. "Why are you driving what's practically a bomb at a hundred and fifty miles an hour through Gotham!?"

"Please! Let me go! They're gonna get me! They're gonna get me!" the man's eyes were wide as he spoke frantically, looking at Spider-Man as if he were a monster.

"Who!?" as Spider-Man asked this, the police cars that were chasing them came to a stop behind them and the officers inside started barking orders at them. "Hands up! Both of you!" the officers demanded.

"They're here! The monsters!" the man then looked into his rearview mirror before his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. It was as if what he was seeing in the reflection was something so horrifying, that his mind couldn't even comprehend it. "Get away!' the man shouted. "Get away from me!" as he screamed, the man pulled out a gun from between his seat and held it aimed at Spider-Man. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Spider-Man didn't move a muscle. His knowledge of his Spider-Sense was still minimal, but he could tell the man wasn't a threat to him or it would have gone off. The man had no intention of killing him. However, he knew one sudden movement could cause the man's fingers to slip. "Calm down," Spider-Man spoke softly, though still with a deep voice.

"No! No! I can't take it anymore!" the man shouted before turning the gun on himself. Spider-Man tried to act quickly, aiming his wrist at the gun in an attempt to shoot it out of the man's hand, however, he was too late.

The man shot himself in the head, killing himself in an instant, which then caused the cops to draw their weapons. Spider-Man looked on with wide eyes, watching as yet again he failed to save someone. In his own mind, he replayed the events time and time again, taking note of all of the things he could have done differently. It was just like when his parents were killed in front of him, he was frozen, stuck in time. However, unlike before, Peter found the will to move.

As the cops slowly approached from behind the vehicle, Spider-Man reached for a vial on his utility belt before scooping up some of the brain matter and blood. It was disgusting, but he knew that this could help him understand the truth about the Scare Crows candy.

The cops eventually made it to the front of the truck, aiming their weapons at the hood, only for Spider-Man to be gone. Their weapons and expressions fell upon seeing the mess of the man who shot himself in the driver's seat, wondering what the hell was going on.

I let it happen again.

I promised myself that it wouldn't.

I promised that I would do whatever it takes to save everyone, yet I failed again.

I'm starting to feel like what I'm doing is pointless. Like I'm not making a difference.

But as I look back, I did make a difference.

If I wasn't there, the damage caused would've been far worse.

Despite that fact, it still hurts.

The look of fear in his eyes.

The anguish in his voice.

Suicide was his escape.

I need answers, but there are still people who need me.

Though the damage caused to him by seeing a man take his own life in front of him shook the Spider-Man to his core, he knew that he'd see far worse upon scouring the streets of Gotham, especially on a night like this. There were still people out there, those who were free from the candy's influence and those under it. Regardless of their circumstances, there was no one else out there who could stop them but him.