"What?!"
"A bank robbery? Are you serious?"
"Come on, let's go see!"
The announcement instantly threw the cafeteria into chaos.
The students reacted as though someone had announced a fight outside the school gates. Their curiosity and excitement flared up all at once.
One after another, they abandoned their lunches, dropped their trays, and surged toward the school entrance in a noisy crowd.
Gwen's eyes immediately lit up as well.
A bank robbery!
Now that was big news!
And, of course, it was also a perfect opportunity for Ghost-Spider to make a name for herself!
She instinctively rose from her seat.
After hurriedly telling Peter, "I'm going to take a look, too," she joined the crowd rushing outside.
Watching Gwen disappear, Peter couldn't help shaking his head.
'Still such a rookie.'
'When everyone else is moving in one direction and you're the only one heading the opposite way, anyone paying attention is going to realize something's suspicious!'
After making that observation, Peter leisurely finished the remaining half of his sandwich.
Only then did he rise gracefully from his seat.
Naturally, he intended to join the excitement as well.
Besides, the new superhero suit he'd brought in his backpack deserved its official debut.
Peter strolled into an empty storage room.
Once he was certain nobody was around, he quickly changed into the black-and-red suit he'd spent the previous night making.
The tightly fitted material perfectly outlined his streamlined, muscular physique, emphasizing the explosive strength hidden beneath his skin.
Blood-red patterns and lines decorated the black fabric, giving the costume a distinctive appearance that was both sharp and dangerous.
After finishing his preparations, Peter opened a window and jumped straight down from the second floor.
There was only one minor disappointment.
Since he hadn't yet invented anything resembling a web-shooter, he couldn't travel through the city by swinging on webs the way Gwen did.
Instead, he had to rely on the most primitive approach: running, jumping, and climbing over buildings.
'This isn't going to work.'
'Next month, I absolutely have to buy something that improves my speed or gives me a proper movement technique.'
'And if the System Shop doesn't offer anything suitable...'
'I'll just have to figure out a way to steal the Green Goblin's glider!'
'Anything's better than having to run everywhere on foot.'
'Seriously, what kind of superhero has to make an entrance like this? It's embarrassing!'
...
While Peter was contemplating his transportation problem, chaos had already erupted in the Midtown neighborhood outside the school.
At the entrance of Manhattan Bank, not far from Midtown High School, a man wearing a padded red-and-yellow bodysuit was attacking the bank's security personnel.
His hands were encased in enormous metal gauntlets.
Peter, who had quietly climbed onto the wall of a nearby building, tilted his head slightly when he recognized the man.
A name immediately surfaced in his mind.
'Herman Schultz...'
'Shocker!'
This guy was another one of Spider-Man's recurring enemies.
Armed with weapons capable of generating powerful shock waves, he persistently robbed banks.
And just as persistently, Spider-Man kept showing up to stop him.
Vmmmm!
Just as Peter identified the villain, Shocker raised his hands and aimed his gauntlets toward several armed bank security guards.
An invisible shock wave erupted from the weapons.
The next instant, the guards were hurled backward, coughing up blood as they flew through the air.
Their guns went spinning away in different directions.
"Stay the hell out of my way!"
Shocker swaggered through the crowd.
"Cooperate with me, and I guarantee nobody gets hurt!"
He removed a large canvas bag from his back and tossed it onto the bank counter.
"Fill it up!"
"And don't even think about trying anything funny. You know what's going to happen if you do!"
The bank teller, accustomed to the dangers of life in America, nodded obediently.
Without daring to hesitate, the employee immediately began gathering the money.
Shocker casually leaned against the counter, admiring the enormous metal gauntlets on his hands with a thoroughly self-satisfied expression.
Then...
Whoosh!
A sharp rush of air sounded behind him.
A moment later, Gwen swung into the bank on a strand of webbing.
After striking a pose in midair, she landed gracefully on the floor like a ballet dancer.
Shocker turned around.
He stared at the black-and-white-clad girl for a moment before shouting irritably.
"Hey, buddy! Can't you see I'm busy here?"
"Ever heard of first come, first served?"
"Why don't you go rob a different bank?!"
Gwen: '???'
'Wait...'
'Did this idiot just mistake me for another bank robber?!'
The realization sent a furious blush spreading across her cheeks beneath her mask.
'Oh, you've got to be kidding me!'
'I'm Ghost-Spider! A rising star in the superhero world!'
'And this bank robber thinks I'm one of his colleagues?!'
'Unbelievable!'
Even the most patient person would have found that insulting!
'Okay, maybe I should prepare some kind of introduction before showing up next time.'
'At least that way, the villains won't mistake me for another criminal...'
After mentally adding that item to her growing list of superhero rules, Gwen let out a cold snort.
She abruptly fired a strand of webbing that stuck to Shocker's lower leg.
Then she gave it a sharp pull.
Caught completely off guard, Shocker immediately lost his balance and crashed onto the floor.
"Hey, big guy! Your little crime spree ends here!"
Gwen deliberately lowered her voice, trying to make herself sound more intimidating.
Unfortunately, the effect was practically nonexistent.
Shocker was furious after being knocked down.
Without Gwen noticing, he turned the small switch on his thumb that controlled the intensity of his gauntlets.
Then he suddenly aimed one hand toward her.
A powerful shock wave erupted from the weapon!
Gwen's Spider-Sense immediately warned her of the approaching danger.
Unfortunately, her lack of combat experience worked against her.
The invisible shock wave was also extremely difficult to detect.
As a result, she failed to react quickly enough.
BOOM!
The impact sent Gwen flying backward.
She slammed into the bank's wall with tremendous force, producing a web of cracks across the thick surface.
Fortunately, the genetically modified spider had dramatically enhanced her physique.
An ordinary person struck by an attack of that magnitude would probably have spent the rest of their life in a wheelchair.
But Gwen...
"Oh, my back..."
The little spider merely complained before springing back to her feet, looking as energetic as ever.
"When we get you to the police station, you'd better tell them exactly where you bought those things!"
"Bought them?!"
Shocker reacted like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
His anger immediately intensified.
"I BUILT THESE MYSELF!"
"They're the result of my entire life's work!"
Having his craftsmanship questioned clearly struck a nerve.
Shocker began unleashing his fury on Gwen without restraint.
Invisible shock waves repeatedly tore through the air toward her.
Although Gwen's Spider-Sense could warn her of incoming danger, she was still a rookie superhero.
Ordinary criminals carrying guns were easy enough for her to handle.
But fighting an actual supervillain like Shocker so early in her career was another matter entirely.
Gwen twisted, jumped, and swung around the bank, desperately using her webbing to change direction and evade the relentless barrage.
For a while, she managed to stay ahead of the attacks.
Eventually, however, her unfamiliarity with her enhanced body's movements caught up with her.
She also hadn't yet learned to place sufficient trust in her Spider-Sense.
One small mistake was all it took.
While she was still in midair, another of Shocker's shock waves struck her directly.
Her body slammed into a ceiling beam before falling rapidly toward the floor below.
'Hiss...'
Gwen instinctively braced herself.
This time, she was certain the impact was going to hurt.
But just as she was about to crash...
A black-and-red figure suddenly raced toward her from the distance!
The newcomer moved with remarkable speed, reaching her in the blink of an eye.
Then, with perfect timing, he caught Gwen securely in his arms, carrying her like a princess.
Who else could it be but Peter?
Looking down at the girl he'd effortlessly caught, Peter couldn't resist teasing her.
He deliberately lowered his voice before speaking.
"For a superhero, you really are..."
He paused.
"Embarrassingly bad at this!"