I swing through one building after another, pushing my speed to the limit as I chase the second chopper cutting through the skyline.
Wind roars past my ears, the city blurring beneath me as Yuri's voice crackles through the comms.
She reports that the thieves are wearing demon masks, designs that resemble ancient Asian folklore. The words make my stomach tighten.
I am not ruling it out. This could mean Martin Lee's phase has already started.
That makes no sense.
Martin didn't announce himself as Mister Negative until I was twenty five. Right now, I am fifteen.
This is wrong. Something is pulling events forward, twisting the timeline into something it was never meant to be.
After this, I am heading straight to the secret Sanctum. I need answers. I need to know what is causing this anomaly.
CRASH!!!
The chopper clips a construction crane mid flight. Metal screams as the impact sends massive crates and boulders breaking loose, plummeting toward the streets below.
Civilians.
No time to think.
I fire web after web, anchoring the falling crates and yanking with everything I have. My arms burn as the weight drags me downward, but the webbing holds.
The boulders stop just meters from the ground, swaying violently before settling into place.
I let out a sharp breath. Crisis barely avoided.
But the chopper is already pulling away.
Great. Now I am way off track.
Unless.
I shoot webs to both sides of the street, brace myself, and stretch them tight. My muscles coil like springs. Then I release.
The city snaps forward in a blur as I catapult myself through the air, heart pounding as I rocket straight back into pursuit.
I twist mid flight and land feet first on the side of the chopper, fingers digging into the metal frame.
I pull myself up smoothly and peer inside.
"Hey guys. Wonderful weather we're having, right?"
A fist comes flying at my face.
I duck instinctively, crawling along the underside of the chopper as the punch slices through empty air.
The wind howls around me, trying to tear me free. I flip upward, hook my legs, and swing myself inside in one fluid motion.
I whip my body around and drive my foot into one of the goons' chests. He flies backward and out of the open door, screaming as he falls.
Before he can drop too far, I snap my wrist and web him instantly, wrapping him into a tight cocoon that sticks harmlessly to the side of a nearby building.
Another goon reacts fast.
He pulls a gun.
The muzzle flashes as bullets tear through the air. I twist and crawl along the interior wall, narrowly avoiding the shots. One round misses me by inches and slams straight into the turbine motor.
That is bad.
Sparks explode from the engine as it begins to whine violently. The chopper shudders. The blades slow, then grind to a halt. The tail rotor jams, locking at an unnatural angle.
The entire aircraft lurches sideways.
My grip tightens as the chopper starts to lose control, tilting toward the city below. My heart slams against my ribs as alarms blare inside the cockpit.
Yeah. This just went from bad to worse.
The chopper was losing control, spinning wildly as it twisted left and right through the air.
The engine screamed in protest, metal rattling as the aircraft began to drop fast. Gravity was winning.
It was coming down hard.
I did not hesitate.
I fired web after web at the chopper, wrapping the body as fast as my hands could move. The webbing stretched out and anchored itself to the side of a nearby building.
I planted my feet against the wall and pulled with everything I had, muscles screaming as the tension nearly ripped my arms out of their sockets.
The web lines tightened.
Using the momentum like a massive swing, I yanked downward and then back up with all my might.
The chopper dipped dangerously close to crashing, close enough that I could see people on the street below pointing and running.
Then the force kicked in.
The chopper was flung upward instead of down, jerking violently in mid air. But the strain was too much. With a deafening snap, the tail section tore clean off, spinning away like a broken blade.
My heart dropped.
I twisted around instantly, eyes locking onto the falling tail as it tumbled straight toward the civilians below.
I aimed without thinking, timing every second perfectly, and fired a web shot at the exact moment it passed between two buildings.
The web caught.
I yanked hard and redirected the tail's fall, slamming it into the side of a building and wrapping it tight. The metal groaned but held, dangling safely above the street.
That should be easy enough for the authorities to retrieve later.
I turned back just in time to see the main chopper swinging wildly in the sky, still suspended but unstable.
I released my grip and leapt off, flipping through the air as I switched my webbing mode to rapid fire.
My hands became a blur.
I shot webs across two buildings, back and forth, layering them again and again until a thick webbed bridge formed between the structures.
The chopper dropped and crashed onto the webbing, sinking into it as the strands stretched and held.
It leaned downward immediately, the weight threatening to tear through.
Not today.
I fired more webbing, reinforcing the bridge, then shot directly into the chopper itself, sealing doors, engines, and landing struts in place. The webbing hardened, locking the aircraft securely between the buildings.
The chopper was down.
I flipped forward and landed cleanly on top of it, knees bending as I absorbed the impact. The webbing beneath me creaked but stayed firm.
I straightened up, breathing hard, adrenaline still pumping.
Yeah.
That was an awesome landing.
Beep. Beep.
"Hey Yuri, looks like you're getting less paperwork from here on out."
Her voice comes back through the comms, skeptical as always. "Was that the electric guy who caused massive damage a few months back?"
I wince slightly. Yeah. This is going to take some explaining.
"Well, I've got a lot of explaining to do."
I clear my throat and try to lighten the mood. "I'll fill you in later. For now, you hungry? I'm getting pizza."
There is a pause. A very long one.
"Your jokes are not always funny," Yuri finally says. "But if you're paying, I prefer Aloha chicken."
I grin under the mask. "You got it, Yuri. Yuri?"
The line goes dead.
Same old Yuri. Hehe.
I exhale and lean against the building for a moment, staring out at the city as the adrenaline slowly fades.
Still, I should make sure she never becomes a vigilante. I cannot shake the feeling that it was my fault she became Wraith in my previous life.
No. Stop thinking about the past.
At least things are moving forward. Dismantling the Sinister Six before they could fully form was a huge turnaround. One of the biggest wins so far.
Norman was never forced to retire this time. Connors' experiment with the Lizard ended in complete success. No monster. No citywide disaster.
The medication took off fast. Selling like hot cakes. Oof. I almost forgot about the upcoming event where the medication goes public. That was a major milestone.
Me and Gwen already got first seats in the VIP section. The event is on the weekend, so for now, I have one more important mission.
Pizza.
I flip my comms channel and make the call. "Hello, Joe's Pizza? Yeah, Spider Man here. I'd like one pepperoni pizza with extra cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and also one Aloha chicken."
I pause mid sentence. "Which size? Ummm…"
Shoot.
I forgot to ask Yuri what size she wanted.
I sigh quietly to myself. Well, she did say I'm paying, with that usual attitude of hers. Meh. Not like I can't afford it. Thanks to trading and investments in the market, money is not exactly an issue anymore.
"Two large ones, please. I'll use E Wallet."
And send.
I relax as the order goes through. Finally. Time to head to Joe's Pizza and pick it up. He already knows where to put it.
I shoot a web forward, launch myself into the air, and swing toward my favorite pizza place, the city glowing beneath me as the night settles in.
Later in the evening, I swing by the police station with the stacked pizza boxes secured under my arm.
The city lights glow softly as I land on the rooftop.
Yuri is already there, standing by the railing, hands resting on the cold metal as she looks out over the city far below.
Quiet. Thoughtful. Distant.
"Pizza time?"
"Kyaa!"
She jumps and spins around, hand flying toward her gun before she realizes it is just me. The reaction makes me chuckle.
Well, that was a cute yell. Especially for someone so strict about duty. Hehe.
"Omaewa, hontō ka…!" Yuri mutters, clearly annoyed and embarrassed at the same time.
"Gomen, gomen, Yuri san," I say, apologizing in her mother tongue.
She blinks and stares at me. "I'm still surprised you know Japanese."
I shrug casually. "I like to learn new things. For example, Rhino."
Her face tightens immediately. "Please don't remind me about that dumb Russian guy. By far the dumbest criminal I have ever seen. He barely even knows how to use that Rhino mechanism of his."
I laugh and hand her the pizza box. We sit down on the rooftop floor, backs against the wall, the city stretching endlessly in front of us.
She looks at me for a moment, then squints. "Huh. How do you eat with the mask on?"
Without answering, I adjust the fabric around my mouth, opening just enough to take a bite while keeping my face hidden. I chew and glance at her.
"Ah," she says, nodding. "So that's how you eat."
She takes a bite of her Aloha chicken pizza before looking back at me, her tone turning serious again. "So, care to explain the electric man?"
I tell her everything. About Electro. About how he was scared back then and just wanted help.
About how things spiraled out of control because no one reached out to him in time. I mention sabotaging the sniper, but she does not react strongly to that part.
She listens quietly.
"Can we trust this Electro?" she asks after a moment.
"Relax," I reply. "I told him to put himself into stabilization and recovery at SHIELD. I told him to go there, say who he is, and say he needs help. Turns out he's doing alright. He's helping make the world a better place now."
"Yokatta ne…" she murmurs softly.
"Yeah," I say, taking another bite. "If it wasn't for me intervening, just imagine the chaos if he turned full villain."
"Agree." Yuri nodded with agreement as I made the right call in telling Electro to turn himself in at SHIELD.
We eat in silence after that. Yuri bites into her Aloha pizza while I work through my pepperoni. Neither of us rushes.
We simply sit there, watching the city and the sky as the sun sinks below the horizon, painting everything in warm shades of orange and gold.
It looks like a piece of art frozen in time.
Today, it is just a spider and a cop woman, sitting together above the city.
Working toward a better tomorrow.
Also, to all the reader's, Happy New Year guys.
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Chapter 23 — End.