"Listen, reliable sources suggest that there are extremely dangerous criminals in this warehouse. If you simply rush in like this, you might provoke them. There are ordinary people in the warehouse and the surrounding residences." Spider Man spoke to the leader of the New Warriors Team.
"Hey, is this the legendary Spider-Man? A scaredy-cat afraid of his own shadow! What dangerous criminals? To the New Warriors, there are no dangerous criminals, just superheroes who aren't brave enough!" Speedball quickly retorted, "Coward! Step aside! Watch us!"
"Stand back."
Spider Man's tone dropped. When he stopped speaking in his usual light-hearted and rapid style, a certain aura - a mix of various traits - radiated from him.
"You think I'll be scared by you?" Speedball paused, "What Spider Man? You're just a coward scared of criminals. Move aside!"
As he tried to walk forward, he heard swift echoing sounds. Multiple layers of shadows fell from the ceiling. Pairs of spider eyes lit up in the darkness, causing everyone to step backwards.
The fear of spiders is etched into human DNA. What's even scarier than dozens of spiders, are dozens of Spider Men.
"I've told you once, step back, you shouldn't be here." As Peter squinted at them, he said, "Being a superhero isn't about showmanship. If you act without considering the consequences, you'll regret it."
"What gives you the right to lecture us?!" Another female hero stepped forward, "Aren't you just a lackey of The Avengers? Without Captain America and Iron Man, no one would know you!"
"I don't need others to know me." Peter replied, "Iron Man is Iron Man. Captain America is Captain America. And me, I'm just Spider Man. I'll say this one last time, leave. I don't want to fight you."
The leader at the front, dressed in a black body suit with red stripes, was Nightingale - leader and organizer of the New Warriors. He said, "You're a superhero, so are we. This is our mission, step aside."
Spider-Man landed on the ground, but the New Warriors stood their ground. Just as tensions were mounting, several figures rushed out from inside the warehouse. They were the criminals the New Warriors were targeting, who had escaped from prison.
"There they are! Get them!" Speedball was the first to shout.
Ignoring Spider-Man's attempts to stop them, the New Warriors charged towards the criminals. The female leader leading the charge yelled, "Damn dirty criminals! You're dead!!!"
Peter squinted and said, "I'll lead a team to flank them and maneuver them into a different direction. Amazing Spider-Man, you'll lead a team to evacuate civilians..."
The Spider Men didn't say much else and quickly split into two teams. Peter led several of them in pursuit of the New Warriors.
Their vantage point gave them a better view than the New Warriors and criminals running on the ground. Hence, they could adjust their positions at any time to force the ones below to escape in the direction the Spider Men wanted.
Spider Gwen, swinging the highest, yelled, "Head east! There's a wasteland over there that hasn't been developed yet and there aren't many people!"
Peter immediately lowered his height and kicked a running criminal, forcing him to run in the other direction.
"Damn Spider-Man! Stop interfering with us capturing the criminals!" Speedball cursed at Spider-Man while running.
As Spider Gwen and Peter passed each other again, she frowned and said, "Are those people calling themselves New Warriors really superheroes? Why do their mouths stink? They are all cursing. Have they lost their minds?"
Hanging from his spider silk, Peter heard the obscenities from below and said, "We must stop them. Super criminals will lose control of their powers when provoked. I've made this mistake before..."
Spider-Man 2099 swung past Peter and said, "Unmistakably, they are imitating you, or us."
Peter looked at the situation below and knew that Spider-Man 2099 was right. The people below were adopting his former style of trash talking, constantly using various remarks to interfere with their opponents' actions.
And everyone had this style. It was clear that they had been trained specifically for it. As for who their training videos were aimed at, Peter didn't want to know right now.
But now, he knew that not all tactics fit all situations, especially when faced with super criminals who don't have good control over their abilities. Losing control after provocation would have unimaginable consequences.
Juven when Peter thought of this, his spider-sense reacted. He looked at a red-skinned man running at the forefront of the group, who was emitting a strange glow. On a distant rooftop, two blonde figures passed by in a flash.
Seeing the sport camera hanging from Speedball's neck, Peter suddenly realized that this was probably an elaborate set-up. It both framed the mutants and discredited the superheroes.
Looking again at the distance, they were still a bit away from the wasteland Spider Gwen mentioned. There were still sparse houses around with lights on, indicating the presence of civilians.
"He looks like he's about to explode!!...No! No! Peter!!! Don't go there!!!!!" Spider Gwen screamed.
In Spider Gwen's vision, Peter let go of his spider silk and fell straight towards the group of criminals.
His spider-sense was louder than thunder, but Peter knew that he couldn't follow his instincts at this moment.
Fear, panic, collapse; in a matter of seconds, his mind was filled with these emotions.
His spider-sense was screaming as if on the verge of death, but Peter's next move was to tightly embrace Nitro, who was about to explode.
Using his immense strength, Peter pinned Nitro to the ground and punched him fiercely in the head, but the power that had already erupted was unstoppable.
With a 'bang', a violent explosion erupted on the New York skyline, creating a mushroom cloud. Everything within hundreds of meters was blown away.
At the moment of the explosion, the spider-sense's warning in Peter's brain stopped because the intense pain overloaded his nerves.
Before death, Peter's last thought was that death actually wasn't painful. Or rather, the pain was extremely short-lived. After the nerves die, there is only an unknowing void.
It seemed like a long time had passed, but it might have been only a moment.
When he regained consciousness, Peter saw a hazy white light. He blinked his eyes in a daze.
Then he saw three people with halos above their heads: Nick Fury, Coulson, and Doctor Dora.
Next, he heard a familiar voice from the long-unseen Doctor Schiller:
"You're awake? Welcome to heaven."