"AAAAAAARGH!"
A piercing scream echoed throughout the bank lobby.
Shocker was, after all, nothing more than an ordinary human beneath his specialized equipment.
The agony of having every finger on both hands forcibly broken was more than enough to leave him completely incapable of fighting.
"Hey, quiet down, buddy."
Peter was beginning to get a headache from all the screaming.
He casually punched the marble floor beside Shocker's head.
"Unless you want to end up looking like that!"
BANG!
A tremendous impact shook the surrounding area.
Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the solid marble, leaving a deep, unmistakable fist-shaped indentation in the floor.
Shocker's screaming stopped instantly.
Although his entire body was still twitching uncontrollably from the pain, he didn't dare make another sound.
If that punch had struck his head instead, he would almost certainly have died on the spot!
"I... I surrender!"
After finally recovering enough to speak, Shocker stammered desperately.
"I give up! As long as you don't kill me or hand me over to the cops, I'll do anything you want!"
'Anything I want?'
Peter's eyes brightened.
Now that was an interesting offer.
Compared to Spider-Man's other recurring enemies, Peter actually had a rather favorable opinion of Shocker.
After all, the man hadn't even graduated from high school.
Yet through independent study, he'd mastered a variety of technical skills, including lockpicking and breaking into secured locations.
He'd also taught himself enough physics to personally design and construct the sophisticated equipment he wore.
That made him an unusually valuable technical specialist!
Furthermore, compared to many other supervillains, Shocker possessed a surprisingly strong set of personal principles.
He might have been obsessed with making easy money without working an honest job, but he'd never intended to use his equipment to go around murdering people or setting buildings on fire.
In the comics, Shocker had never personally killed a single person throughout his entire criminal career.
A technically gifted criminal who still possessed a conscience!
Handing someone like that over to the NYPD seemed like a terrible waste.
Perhaps Peter could give him an opportunity to reform.
And, more importantly, an opportunity to work for him.
Having reached that conclusion, Peter didn't hesitate.
He hoisted the half-conscious Shocker onto his shoulder and prepared to leave.
He intended to find somewhere private where the two of them could have a proper conversation.
"Hey! Wait a minute!"
Seeing Peter casually carrying Shocker away, Gwen finally recovered from her astonishment.
She hurriedly called out to stop him.
Peter paused.
Then he turned toward her.
His white-and-red Hollow mask concealed his expression, revealing absolutely nothing about his thoughts.
Gwen gathered her courage and stepped forward.
In what she considered a particularly serious voice, she demanded, "Don't you think we should hand him over to the police?"
According to Gwen's straightforward understanding of justice, the proper procedure was obvious.
Catch the bad guy.
Then deliver him to the authorities.
That was simply how things were supposed to work!
But in response to her question, Peter merely offered another question of his own.
"Why do you think I call myself the Arbiter?"
Without waiting for an answer, he turned and continued walking.
Only his final piece of friendly advice drifted back toward Gwen.
"If I were you, I'd get out of here too, rookie."
"Otherwise, you might end up getting mistaken for one of the bank robbers."
That deliberate callback struck Gwen directly in her most embarrassing memory.
For a moment, the words stopped her in her tracks.
"That's not going to happen!"
"I'll prove just how wrong you are!"
'The NYPD would never be so unreasonable!'
'My dad's a police officer, and he's the most honest cop in all of New York!'
Determined to prove herself right, Gwen abandoned the idea of pursuing the Arbiter.
Instead, she stood in the middle of the ruined bank lobby with her arms crossed, patiently waiting for the police to arrive.
She would personally explain everything that had happened.
She would make it clear that Ghost-Spider was a trustworthy hero.
And she would prove to that arrogant jerk just how ridiculous his assumptions had been!
...
Peter had already disappeared around a street corner with Shocker over his shoulder.
However, using the reflection in a nearby building's glass windows, he could still see Gwen stubbornly standing inside the bank.
A faint smile spread across his face.
'You're still so young, little Gwen.'
'Don't worry. Reality will teach you a valuable lesson.'
...
As always, the NYPD's efficiency didn't disappoint Peter's expectations.
By the time the bank robbery was completely over and most of the customers had already fled, the piercing sound of police sirens finally approached from the distance.
"NYPD!"
"EVERYONE INSIDE! DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY!"
A large group of heavily armed police officers rushed into the bank lobby.
But instead of finding a dangerous criminal holding people hostage, they discovered a devastated interior.
And standing alone amid the wreckage was a masked woman wearing an extremely unusual costume.
Almost instinctively, the officers raised their weapons.
Dozens of dark gun barrels immediately pointed straight at Gwen!
Gwen froze.
She raised both hands, momentarily unsure of what she was supposed to say.
This was nothing like she'd imagined.
In her mind, the police would arrive, she would explain how she'd saved everyone, and they would respond with gratitude and praise.
Instead...
'Why are they pointing guns at me?!'
'Is this seriously how you treat someone who's trying to help?!'
"Don't shoot! She's the hero who came to save us!"
"That's right! The robber in the red-and-yellow suit was defeated by her... Wait, no! Another, even stronger hero carried him away!"
"She's one of the good guys!"
Fortunately, several bank employees and customers who had remained behind to receive medical assistance immediately began speaking up for Gwen.
They hurriedly confirmed that she had come to rescue them.
Otherwise, Gwen might have become so frustrated that she'd turned into a villain on the spot.
After hearing the witnesses offer consistent explanations, the officer in charge finally raised his hand, signaling his subordinates to hold their fire.
Even so, his expression remained suspicious.
"Well, miss..."
He examined Gwen carefully before continuing.
"Regardless of what happened here, we'll still need you to accompany us to the station and provide an official statement."
'The police station?!'
Gwen's heart skipped a beat.
'You've got to be kidding me!'
She hadn't even begun preparing herself for the possibility of walking into a police station as Ghost-Spider and coming face-to-face with her own father, George Stacy!
Just imagining that situation made her scalp tingle.
'Nope!'
'Absolutely not!'
At the same time, Gwen couldn't help remembering the Arbiter's earlier warning.
'Damn it! I should've listened to him!'
'If I'd just left when he told me to, none of this would've happened!'
"Sorry, but I've got other things to do."
Gwen firmly rejected the officer's request.
"Hey! You can't just leave!"
The officer's expression changed, and he immediately stepped forward to stop her.
But how could an ordinary human like him possibly restrain someone with Gwen's abilities?
She flicked her wrist.
Thwip!
A strand of webbing shot upward and attached itself to the ceiling.
Whoosh!
Amid the startled cries of the officers and nearby witnesses, Gwen was pulled high into the air.
She swung toward a shattered window, slipped through the opening, and disappeared among the surrounding skyscrapers.
Unfortunately for Gwen, that entire escape was captured by a camera.
The photographer had arrived after hearing about the robbery.
His name was Eddie Brock, a photojournalist working for the Daily Bugle.
And he'd managed to photograph the exact moment Ghost-Spider fled from the police.
...
"DO YOU SEE THIS?!"
"DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT?!"
At the headquarters of the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson waved the photograph in his hand and shouted excitedly at the people around him.
"That masked heroine you people kept telling me we should cover..."
"SHE RAN AWAY FROM THE POLICE!"
"What does that tell you?!"
"If she hasn't done anything wrong, why would she run?!"
Jameson snorted indignantly.
"As far as I'm concerned, this woman, that so-called Dockside Butcher, and the Arbiter those witnesses keep talking about are all exactly the same!"
"They're nothing but masked thugs threatening the safety of this city!"
Meanwhile, Gwen had finally managed to shake off the police.
Unfortunately, the young heroine had absolutely no idea that a new wave of public outrage was already beginning to gather around her.
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