Chapter 665: The Spider Weaves Its Web (Part I) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

The morning sun in New York is always exceptionally bright. The light on the skyline passes through the bustling city, shimmering between high-rise buildings. Among them, a figure dressed in red and blue weaves in and out.

With a "thwack," a spider web sticks to the glass facade of a high-rise building. Spider-Man swings low, causing a series of gasps, then swings high again. He tucks in his limbs, puts force into his waist, flips forward, and performs a stunt, prompting cheers from the New Yorkers below.

Quickly, his figure vanishes at the end of the street, and similar scenes unfold on every street he crosses, until he gets closer and closer to the heart of New York.

A spider web is stuck on the Stark Tower's sign. Spider-Man follows the web to the rooftop, enters through the roof's door, and heads to a room designated for him to change clothes. After Peter changes, he rushes downstairs to a laboratory.

Inside the lab, Stark is busy at a lab table. Connors is sitting at a nearby table, typing a thesis on a computer, while Banner and Yinsen are in front of a documents cabinet, quietly discussing a stack of materials.

With a "bang," the door opens, and Peter rushes in. All eyes fall on him as he raises his hands over his head and exclaims, "I'm going to college!"

Everyone glances at him and then continues with their work, leaving Peter standing there. He vigorously waves his overhead hands and says, "I am a college student now! I registered today! I've moved all my stuff into the dorm. Starting today, I'll be attending college!"

The others still pay him no attention, except for Connors, who, while typing on his notebook computer, remarks, "New York University is closer now. You can come in early every day, just in time for the morning meeting."

Peter retracts his arms, places his hands on his hips, and assertsively inquires, "Isn't my high school graduation and successful enrollment into New York University worth celebrating?"

"Peter, from the day you graduated from high school, you've asked this question daily. Of course, I'm not saying it's not worth celebrating, but..." Banner gestures at everyone in the room, adding, "We'd rather you share your joy with us when you earn your third or fourth Doctorate of Science..."

Expecting Peter to walk away dejected, everyone is surprised when he instead says with renewed vigor, "Right, I need to study hard. Oh, Dr. Connors, I have an idea about the structure you mentioned. I'll draw it for you right now..."

In a flash, Peter runs to the documents cabinet, grabs a stack of paper, sits at Connors's table, and starts scribbling. In no time, he hands the papers to Connors, then zips over to Stark, asking, "Mr. Stark, do you need any help?"

"Get out of the way, don't mess with my work," Stark, absorbed in his research, waves Peter away. But Peter isn't discouraged. He runs over to Yinsen and Banner to join their discussion.

After a while, when Connors finishes reading his notes, Peter zips back to answer some questions, then rushes to Stark to offer help again, and then back to Banner...

In the entire laboratory, he zips from left to right, then back from right to left.

The main laboratory Stark uses is vast, occupying more than half of one floor. Peter runs hundreds of times between these three groups, simultaneously engaging in intense intellectual labor.

But when everything settles, he leaps out of the window with a "swoosh," shouting "oh-oh," as he swings through the New York sky until he disappears over the horizon.

After Peter leaves, Stark sets down a model, folds his arms, turns around, and watches the direction he left, musing, "What's gotten into the kid? Has he been overly excited lately?"

"Maybe he's genuinely thrilled about getting into college," Connors shakes his head.

"He's been going on about it since ten days before his high school graduation, got excited all day during the ceremony, and has been talking about it for the past half month. He won't stop discussing the college orientation for probably three months," Banner adds with a sigh.

"Have you noticed his symptoms getting worse recently?" Yinsen walks over and opens a computer, entering a news website. "Look, the headlines are all about Spider-Man's aerial stunts..."

"There are over 4,000 photos, all taken within this week, meaning Peter is snapped over 600 times a day, making at least four or five outings. And every day, he's swinging around with these high-difficulty stunts. Where does he get all that energy and stamina?" Yinsen asks, puzzled.

"You have to understand, boys his age are like this. Haven't you ever played basketball until 3 AM?" Stark shrugs.

"But..." Yinsen opens another photo and points. "How do you explain this?"

Stark leans forward, squinting towards it, but it's a bit unclear. So, he turns on a projector, and what appears on the wall is an image of a spider web. Stark glances at it, then queries, "What's the matter? Isn't that just an ordinary spider web?"

Yinsen slowly zooms out the picture on the keyboard, and Stark finally sees that the spider web's backdrop is the New York Empire building.

Surrounded by numerous high-rises, this vast web is spun between the buildings. Banner, looking at the photo, adjusts his glasses and remarks, "You know, this web is pretty well-spun. Quite aesthetic."

Connors nodded in agreement, the spider-web displayed in the picture was indeed masterfully crafted. Centered around the Empire State Building, it featured 21 equally spaced radial lines, each set at a consistent distance and angle. Between every pair of lines, staggered connecting threads formed a pattern of meticulous precision.

"It's certainly a cut above modern art," Connors remarked. "I appreciate the symmetry in this design. Unfortunately, such an item would never be permitted in my laboratory, though it'd make for an excellent decoration."

"The issue, however, is that this web was likely crafted by Spider-Man," Yinsen sighed. "Correct, he's called Spider-Man, but he's human. Why would he weave such an enormous web across the New York skyline?"

"Perhaps he had too much free time; didn't he take a vacation recently?" Connors shifted his attention back to his paper. However, Stark noticed something amiss. Ever since delving into psychology, he understood that every human action has its roots.

Human behavior is driven by various forces, whether interest, emotion, or even seemingly pointless habitual actions, possibly a release of certain pressures.

"Why would Peter do this?" Stark questioned, puzzled. At that moment, Connors was already on his mobile phone, directly calling Peter. "Peter, I saw on the news that you've woven a massive spider-web in downtown New York. Why?"

"What? Gwen asked if you could actually make a web, so you made her one? ...I see, understood, goodbye." Connors hung up and explained, "Remember, Peter revealed his identity to Gwen? Out of curiosity, she wondered how being bitten by a spider endowed him with these abilities, so they conducted a test."

"As it turns out, Peter can weave webs. Though he can't produce silk, he can create a perfect spider-web using his web-shooters. That's all there is to it." Connors put down the phone, leaving everyone somewhat speechless.

Yinsen shrugged, intending to close the news tab, but as he returned to the homepage, it refreshed, displaying a breaking news banner featuring another colossal spider-web.

Assuming it was the previous report, Yinsen didn't pay close attention until he was about to shut down the computer. He noticed something different about this web's background.

Frowning, Yinsen zoomed in on the image. His eyes widened in realization, and after a pause, he said to Stark, "Tony, I have news, but please try not to get too upset."

Stark, who had been engrossed in a model, turned his head, "What's the news? Come on, I won't get angry."

Handling his model, he continued, "Everything has been going smoothly recently, and I've been in a much better mood. Trust me, I'm not the same Stark I used to be..."

"Alright," Yinsen restarted the projector, casting the image onto the wall. "About three minutes ago, Peter wove a gigantic spider-web above Stark Tower..."

Seeing the massive Stark logo in the photo, they all rushed to the window, gazing up to discover an immense, beautifully symmetrical web hanging above Stark Tower and the surrounding high-rises.

"Peter Parker!" echoed a furious roar throughout Stark Tower. Stark, infuriated, darted to his desk, grabbed his phone, and called Peter. "Peter! What's the meaning of this? Why weave a web on Stark Tower's rooftop?! Pepper is obsessive about cleanliness! She'll lose her mind seeing this!"

Without waiting for Peter's response, Stark slammed the phone down and barked at JARVIS, "JARVIS! Quick, find a cleaning company! Get it removed before Pepper returns, or I'm doomed!"

"Forget it, the cleaning crew will never make it in time, Mark!" In a moment, Stark was suited up and rapidly ascended to the rooftop to tackle the web.

It turned out that Peter's scientific skills were indeed commendable, especially after being honed by many. His web-shooters had undergone numerous upgrades, producing incredibly sturdy webs.

Iron Man, clad in combat gear, fought furiously, deploying a swarm of drones to help. It was only after a grueling battle that they managed to clear the main structure. As Stark, panting heavily, landed on the rooftop, he turned back to see a figure in red and blue continuously circling on a distant building's top.

"JARVIS, zoom in!" Stark commanded, and before he finished speaking, his view magnified. There it was, another gigantic spider-web gracing the New York skyline.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 666: The Spider's Web Tale (Part II)