Chapter 389: The Vulture's Past
Click!
A steel blade instantly popped out from Toomes' thigh armor, slicing through the webbing wrapped around his leg.
"Spider-Man, the same trick won't work on me twice," Toomes said confidently.
To deal with Spider-Man, the Vulture suit Mason designed was effectively a custom-built "Anti-Spider-Man" suit. The inspiration came from Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor, Veronica. Mason thought that if Iron Man could build a suit to counter the Hulk, they could build one to counter the spider. He had spent nights studying footage of Spider-Man and asked Toomes what the most annoying part of fighting him was. The conclusion was immediate: the webbing. By equipping the Vulture suit with hidden blades, the web problem was solved.
"Glad to see you're learning, but watch your back," Peter shrugged, pointing behind Toomes.
"My back?" Toomes narrowed his eyes. He glanced behind him, but there was nothing but empty space.
Thwip!
A strand of webbing snatched Gwen from his grasp. Before he could react, Peter had pulled her back to the safety of the rooftop. Toomes realized instantly—the bug had lied to him!
"You damn insect!" Toomes roared.
"Gwen, are you okay?" Peter ignored the raging Vulture and patted Gwen's cheek. Her temperature felt abnormally high; she seemed to be running a fever.
"I... I..." Gwen felt completely drained. Fatigue washed over her, and all she wanted was to rest.
"I'm getting you to a hospital." Peter moved to pick her up, but Toomes landed on the roof, blocking his path.
"Spider-Man, using such childish tricks," Toomes said, his face flushed with anger and embarrassment.
"Eh... it might be a childish trick, but it worked pretty well on you~" Peter kept his body positioned between Toomes and Gwen.
"Listen, Peter, this isn't what you should be doing. You should go back to school and be a student," Toomes said, his face mask retracting to reveal Adrian Toomes.
"No, Uncle Toomes. Do you know how much pain this would cause Liz if she knew?" Peter countered. He knew Liz had no idea what her father was up to.
"Pain? Haha! If I didn't do this, my family would have been just another pair of homeless bums on the street long ago," Toomes sneered.
"That's not true. If you just found a proper job—"
"A job?! Hahaha!" Toomes laughed hysterically. "I had a salvage company! I spent my entire life savings to get the government contract to clean up the Chitauri scrap after the battle of New York! I wanted to study that alien tech and make my fortune!"
He stopped, his voice turning into a growl. "And then! The damn Stark Industries formed some 'Department of Damage Control'! The government tore up my contract on the spot, and I was facing bankruptcy! I could have made an honest living. I never planned to sell this stuff to gangs. But Stark and those bastards ruined me! They didn't care about the losses of a normal man. To them, I was already dead."
Toomes spoke with increasing heat, his face turning red. He poured out his resentment toward Stark, the government, and the Avengers—whom he saw as nothing more than hypocritical elites.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Toomes. I didn't know your history. But you can stop now," Peter said. He wanted him to surrender while there was still a chance to one day walk out of prison.
"Heh... Peter, I thought you were smart, but you're so naive." Toomes shook his head. "They don't care about people like us... unless you aren't an 'ordinary' person anymore."
Toomes saw Peter as a blank sheet of paper that had been brainwashed by the "superhero" narrative.
"I don't know what else to say, but I will stop you, Uncle Toomes." Just as Peter finished, the whirring of helicopter blades sounded overhead.
Clack! Toomes' mask slid back into place. "Goodbye, Spider-Man!" He took off without looking back.
A few police officers rappelled down from the helicopter. Peter handed Gwen over to them. "She has a fever; get her to a hospital." With a determined look, Peter took off in the direction Toomes had fled. He had to bring him back.
Parker Avenue
This area had once been the site of the massive battle between the Hulk and Abomination. The wreckage had long since been repaired.
"You really are a fool, Peter!" Toomes taunted. They were back in the city center now, giving Peter the height he needed to swing.
"Maybe I am. My brain just doesn't know how to quit," Peter quipped. His eyes sharpened—it was time to get serious. Usually, he struggled because he was too kind, trying to stop criminals without hurting them. But he couldn't afford to hold back now.
He fired a web precisely at Toomes' leg. Toomes didn't even flinch, his blades slicing through it instantly. "I told you, your webs are useless."
"Look behind you!" Peter yelled.
"That again? You—"
BAM!
An armor-piercing sniper round slammed into one of Toomes' wings.
"What?!" The turbine on his left wing sparked and began emitting thick white smoke. Toomes realized too late that this time, Peter wasn't lying.
Peter seized the opening, webbing Toomes' waist and yanking him down with all his superhuman strength.
Crash! Before Toomes could recover, Peter webbed the turbine on his right wing, sealing it shut. The Vulture was grounded.
"Uncle Toomes, it's over. You have to face the law," Peter said, walking toward him.
Rumble... rumble... rumble...
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. "An earthquake?" Before Peter could react—
BOOM!
The building they were standing on shattered and collapsed.
"No!" Toomes reached for a pipe, but he was too slow. He plummeted.
"Uncle Toomes!" Peter leaped, firing a web to catch him. But just as he was about to pull him up, the ceiling beneath Peter's feet gave way like wet tissue paper. He lost his balance, and both of them fell into the abyss of the ruins.
Dust clouded everything, making it impossible to see.
"ROAR!!!"
"Where is Spider-Man?!" A massive, hulking figure with a long rhino horn on his head emerged from the dust.
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