After coming back from Gwen's house completely stuffed from dinner, Peter's stomach felt ready to burst.
The reason was simple. Gwen's mother, Helen, had been far too enthusiastic. So enthusiastic that he had not known what to do with himself.
Peter could clearly feel it.
She was looking at him exactly like a mother-in-law looking at a future son-in-law, the more she looked, the more satisfied she became.
But when he was younger and went out to play with Gwen, Helen always ended up scolding him over something. So why had her attitude changed so quickly over the past two years?
Had she realized Peter was the perfect family man?
That whole family was a little too warm.
Officer George had even offered to drive Peter home, but Peter had refused.
He absolutely needed some exercise to help digest all that food, otherwise he would not even be able to sleep properly tonight.
Walking into a quiet alley, Peter felt the surging power inside his body.
This was the first time he had truly felt what it meant to have strength.
It was strange.
And for some reason, it thrilled him.
When he opened his eyes, they were filled with determination. Peter leaped straight upward, jumping nearly twenty-three feet and sticking firmly to the wall beside him.
That feeling of looking down from above made his emotions surge even harder, and the excitement in him only grew.
This was only one-fifth of the power. If he ever got the full thing, would he not take off completely?
After a few quick tests, Peter already had a rough idea.
This one-fifth of the power was basically equivalent to Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man right after first getting his spider abilities, with all the physical capabilities from the first movie. That meant the full power of the first Spider-Man would obviously be terrifying.
The explosive strength and agility were already surprising enough, but the pleasant shocks did not stop there. Once Peter focused, he could clearly feel everything around him slowing down. Even the mosquitoes flying around at night became crystal clear.
Then, as fast as lightning, Peter shot out his right hand and caught one in his palm.
Looking at the mosquito in his hand, Peter smiled in satisfaction, then let it go.
He lowered his gaze to his palm. It was covered with countless tiny barbs so small they were almost invisible, and every single one could expand or retract according to his will.
That was exactly the same as the original Spider-Man when he first gained his spider powers.
But it was already late, so he needed to hurry home and check in. Otherwise Aunt May and Uncle Ben would start worrying again.
"Aunt May, Uncle Ben, I'm back!"
Peter took out his key and opened the door, only to find Aunt May and Uncle Ben still sitting at the dining table.
"Peter, you're back."
Aunt May smiled warmly the moment she saw him.
"Yeah."
"Have you eaten? If not, sit down and eat right away."
Aunt May got up and was about to head into the kitchen to get Peter's dinner.
"No, no, it's fine. I already ate. I had dinner at Gwen's house~"
"You keep going over to other people's homes to mooch meals, and you don't even know how heartbroken your Aunt May is. I finally made your favorite spaghetti and meatballs today too. Looks like you're the one missing out. Fine by me. I'm already sick of bacon rolls anyway, so I'll taste these meatballs myself."
Uncle Ben joked as he stabbed a huge meatball with his fork and took a delighted bite. He looked ridiculously satisfied.
Aunt May rolled her eyes at Uncle Ben, who never seemed to take anything seriously, then turned back to Peter.
"Gwen is a wonderful girl. If you decide to pursue her, your uncle and I both fully approve."
"Well then, Uncle Ben, make sure you eat plenty. Just don't stuff yourself too much~"
"And Aunt May, I'm only seventeen. Isn't it a little early to be talking about that...?"
Peter's face turned red before he awkwardly ran upstairs.
"That kid keeps getting weirder and weirder..."
Uncle Ben shook his head with a smile.
"Do you think Peter's being bullied?"
"Bullied? Who could bully him? If you ask me, it's probably hormones~"
After hearing Aunt May's question, Uncle Ben laughed.
"That's true. Before you know it, he's already grown into a young man. It's only natural for him to get a little restless."
Aunt May nodded in agreement.
"Ah, youth. It really does make you nostalgic..."
"Oh? Nostalgic for what exactly? Nostalgic for the girlfriends you had in your youth?"
"May, now that's just unfair. You know perfectly well you were my first love. How could I possibly have had any ex-girlfriends?"
"You idiot..."
Watching Uncle Ben suddenly grow flustered, Aunt May found it amusing. She let out a proud little huff, then cast another meaningful glance toward the staircase before lowering her head to continue eating, the corners of her mouth curling upward.
Back in his room upstairs, Peter began organizing his gear. From a suitcase hidden under the bed, he pulled out a suit.
Unlike the classic red-and-blue suit, this one used a red-and-black color scheme. Only the areas on both arms, where silver and black crossed over each other, had web patterns. On the back was a white spider emblem, though the shape of that spider looked a little like a skull.
The chest had another fierce-looking spider emblem as well, only much larger.
Yes, he was Peter Parker.
But as someone who had crossed over into this world, he did not want to become the same Peter as every other Spider-Man. Even though he had chosen to walk the path of becoming Spider-Man, he had also chosen to become a different kind of Spider-Man.
That was why he had designed this suit, something that had never existed before.
The material used for the suit combined insulating materials with high-grade fibers. It was wear-resistant, protected against electrical attacks, and had two miniature electromagnetic pulse devices built into the palms to help him subdue enemies more effectively.
As for night vision, that had naturally been included in the design as well, though there was no need to go into detail.
After putting on the suit he had made with his own hands, Peter stood in front of the mirror in the moonlight and examined himself.
He looked unbelievably cool.
The fit was perfect.
It suited his temperament completely.
Alright then.
Since the system had already issued a mission, it was time for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to officially appear in New York City.
Peter placed two prepared cartridges of electric webbing into the suit's slots, let out a belch, pulled on his mask, opened the window, and jumped straight out.
He moved at incredible speed between the skyscrapers, each casual leap covering dozens of feet.
Before long, he landed atop a tall building. Looking at the endless stream of traffic below, Peter could not help sighing.
New York really was the greatest city in the world.
After admiring the beautiful night view for a while, Peter stood up and walked to the edge of the building.
"Hoo..."
He took a deep breath, then leaped.
In an instant, he left the ground behind and dropped into open air.
"Woohoo!!!"
Peter made no move at all, allowing himself to free-fall through the air.
If he smashed into the ground from hundreds of feet up, even Spider-Man would end up crippled.
Peter closed his eyes and could clearly hear the roaring wind rushing past him.
Finally, just before he hit the ground, Peter fired webbing that stuck to the buildings on both sides.
The only problem was that it was his first time actually shooting webbing, so he was still far from skilled at it. He swung clumsily, tottering all over the place, then crashed directly into the giant LED screen on the side of a building.
"No, wait, oh crap!!!!"
A miserable scream rang out.
J. Jonah Jameson, who had still been in the middle of reporting New York news on that LED display, ended up making intimate contact with Peter.
Then the screen crackled with arcs of electricity and completely shorted out.
Rubbing his aching head, Peter looked down at the endless flow of people below and could not help sighing.
"Looks like... being a superhero really isn't easy..."
(End of Chapter)
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