bigabreads Chapter 4: The First Battle - Thrilling
Chapter 4: The First Battle - Thrilling
Chapter 4: The First Battle - Thrilling
Rewind a bit, and Hermann Schulz, along with his henchmen, armed with their self-made "thrillers," donned the signature black masks of robbers and prepared to rob a bank.
After all, the Chitauri ruins had been cleared clean, and there was nothing left to dig up. Having learned how to make quick money, they could no longer accept the days of honestly earning money, especially since they now possessed a different kind of weapon—the "Terror" launcher, capable of opening any vault.
They chose a time no one else would—early morning, before the bank opened. They chose this time for two reasons: first, it was unexpected; no one would suspect someone robbing a bank before it opened; second, Herman didn't want to kill anyone, so he chose this time to ensure there were no bank employees inside.
Of course, there is a third reason: the "thrill" is powerful enough to shake open the doors of banks and vaults, and can be forcibly broken into even if no one is at work.
"Just like I said, this is the most powerful lockpick." Herman, wearing a black mask, took the lead, blasting open the bank door and leading his men straight inside. "Brothers, find the vault door!"
"Isn't that simple?" One of the henchmen switched to level two and scanned the inside of the bank randomly. "What they can't scan is the vault!"
A group of people shouted "Great idea!" and began their operation. They were completely unaware that while they were wreaking havoc, something crawled in from the outside through the broken door, perched on the ceiling, and silently watched them.
"My spider-sense has been going off nonstop ever since I came in. What is that thing? It doesn't look like a Chitauri weapon; it looks like some strange technology I bought somewhere."
Spider-Man saw a criminal point his weapon at the counter, and then the counter was instantly blown to pieces.
"Sound wave... no, shock wave weapon? I wish I could see colorful shock waves in reality, that would make hiding so much easier."
Muttering to himself, Spider-Man reached out and shot out a web, snatching a "Horror" launcher: "Hey guys, don't you know banks don't open until nine? Go find an ATM at this hour!"
"It's him!" one of the horror gang members recognized Spider-Man. "It's that bug who killed so many people! Sweep him away!"
"I bet the 'many people' you're talking about aren't exactly good neighbors!"
Spider-Man attached his webs to the ground near the speaker's feet, using the elasticity of the webs to launch himself. Before the speaker could pull the trigger, he kicked the enemy away and simultaneously fired another web, pointing another enemy's "Horror" launcher downwards. The impact of the second-gear shot sent the enemy flying, crashing into the ceiling before falling to the ground, where he was immediately knocked unconscious.
"Oh, sorry, I really didn't expect this. It seems ATMs aren't really suitable for your withdrawal method. Why is the spider sensor beeping so loudly?! Behind you!"
A side somersault followed by a barrage of web-shooting attacks marked the start of Spider-Man's first showdown with Herman. Herman was far more skilled with the "Thriller" launcher than anyone else; all the launched webs were shattered by the unseen shockwave, with only Spider-Man managing to temporarily dodge it.
"While I'd love for you to tell me where you bought this, I guess you'd rather explain it to the police, right?"
Spider-Man, leaping back and forth across the bank's floor, uses his spider-sense to dodge unseen shockwaves. Unable to get close to his opponent or launch webs, he has to find another way.
"Bought it?! I made it! My creation!" Herman roared, ripping off his mask and venting his rage, which Spider-Man couldn't comprehend at all. He turned the shockwave to the highest setting, level three, strong enough to cut open the vault door, and pulled the trigger towards Spider-Man.
"Hey, wait! Don't be angry! What did I say that upset you?"
Spider-Man, hanging upside down from the ceiling, began to run at high speed. He glanced back at the hole in the ceiling and realized something was terribly wrong. He used his webs to hook onto the bank teller counter, ripped it off, and threw it over.
Herman continued firing as the counter slammed into him, but the shockwave only shattered the table. As for Spider-Man, he had vanished without a trace amidst a flurry of flying office papers.
Where is Spider-Man?
"I'm here!"
Spider-Man grabbed Herman's shoulder from behind and punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious and sending him sprawling to the ground. The "Shock" launcher landed beside him.
"Dude, if you really designed this thing, you'd be considered an engineer, wouldn't it be better to just find a regular job?"
Peter happily used his spider silk to hook the "Shock" launcher and curiously began to adjust it. He set it to the lowest setting and tested it on the remaining half of the counter. The power was mediocre; it didn't even shatter the entire counter.
"My God, how much power are you using... The outer walls are starting to collapse, the entire building's load-bearing structure is failing, if you keep going, the whole building will collapse."
Herman was still a little dazed from the punch, but he was completely sobered up after hearing those words.
"What? The building structure has been damaged? That's impossible, I didn't set it to that high power... The 'Terror' launcher shouldn't have that much destructive power!"
It was only at this point that Peter Parker discovered the problem.
"What did you call this thing? 'Terrifying'?! This is truly terrifying."
Taking advantage of the moment, another member of the Thriller Gang, who had just been brutally beaten, stood up, picked up the "Thriller" gun, set it to the highest setting (level three), and fired at Spider-Man. Thanks to his spider-sense, Peter dodged immediately, but the gathered shockwave sliced a clear crack in the bank's wall—not just one wall, but the entire building. Sunlight streamed in from outside.
"Damn it! We have to make them stop!"
Realizing that the entire building would collapse if things continued this way, Peter made a decision immediately. He dodged the attack from a distance while simultaneously launching his spider silk. Relying on his spider-sense, the focused shockwave barely grazed his body, and the spider silk successfully pulled his opponent's hand off the trigger.
Then, Peter snatched the weapon from the other man, picked up the "Shock" launcher, and snapped it in two with a single forceful movement. This way, there was no need to worry about the other man continuing to use it.
Herman then realized that the "Shock" launcher was more troublesome and powerful than he had imagined. The attenuation effect of the high-powered shockwave after destroying objects was much lower than he had expected, resulting in the shockwave still possessing tremendous force after shattering objects.
"We can't fight anymore!" Herman shouted urgently as he saw his other comrade raise his weapon. "If we keep fighting, the whole building might collapse!"
But his groggy companion, who had barely stood up, seemed unable to hear Herman's demands. He turned the knob to the highest setting—not third, but, for some reason, the fuse had blown, so it was now fifth.
Herman was completely dumbfounded and immediately yelled, "Frank, throw that thing away! The recoil will kill you!"
Frank, the henchman, looked at "Shocking" with a puzzled expression, then pulled the trigger.
But just by pulling the trigger, he lost his bearings and nearly flew into the air. The reason I say "nearly" is because, at the last second, Spider-Man kicked him away. But the trigger had already been pulled, and malfunctioned, locking itself in place, and it crashed right into the oncoming Spider-Man.
The massive impact slammed into the ground, and the shockwave instantly stunned the entire Horror Gang, including Herman. Spider-Man, holding the Horror Launcher, was thrown into the air by the immense recoil. The powerful impact, along with him and the Horror Launcher, not only pierced through the bank's ceiling but also through more than a dozen floors, finally embedding himself in the ceiling of one of the floors.
"Ah, my back, my back..."
Peter, who had pulled himself out from the ceiling, touched his back. It hurt terribly, but it wasn't too bad. Fortunately, his physical abilities were beyond those of ordinary people; the impact only left him with bruises, and with his decent self-healing ability, the bruises would probably disappear in a few hours.
"Are all MCU-style 'thriller' movies this... realistic? I'm a little disappointed."
Spider-Man, having slammed himself down from the ceiling, leaped through the hole he'd created, landing back on the ground floor of the bank with a superheroic stunt. All the members of the Thriller Gang were still unconscious on the collapsed bank floor. Spider-Man glanced at the almost completely shattered floor, then, as usual, bound all the criminals together, securing their weapons with his webs, before swinging out the door.
Then Spider-Man creatively wove several lines of text on the web, describing the serious situation the building was in, and set up blockade and evacuation signs at the intersection.
The cobweb-like solution can only last for two hours. If the NYPD and the Disaster Control Agency can't find a way to maintain the building within two hours, then things will be in trouble.
Even if it can be maintained, the entire building with its load-bearing structure damaged has become an undeniably dangerous building.
"Hey, Uncle Ben, Gwen!"
From the moment Spider-Man spun that web, they didn't enter the subway station. They just hid near the entrance, making it easy for Peter to find them.
"I found a route that I can take, and it doesn't look like there's any traffic right now."
Peter, carrying his backpack, greeted the two men and then patted Uncle Ben's car: "Luckily, Uncle Ben, your car is alright."
"Who is this guy?"
Gwen, who had been in London for two months, pointed to the spiderwebs hanging in the street. She had no idea that such a spiderweb freak had appeared in New York. Peter hesitated for a moment before explaining, "There's this guy who calls himself Spider-Man who's been fighting crime lately. You know, superhumans and stuff."
"Oh, then his taste isn't very good."
As Gwen opened the door, she spoke, and Peter jokingly retorted, "You mean his uniform?"
"No, I meant his shoes are the same as yours."
(End of this chapter)