Chapter 893 - Shining Stars, Rotten (38) (Patreon)

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On a New York night, the sky was adorned with a bright moon, casting a cold hue over the entire city. Under the moonlight's shimmer, a gigantic bat spiraled in the sky before gracefully gliding down from a rooftop.

The wind rushed past, and its wings created a trailing breeze as it navigated the neon-lit streets. The colorful lights painted a flowing spectacle in its wake. In that fleeting moment, the expressions and actions of everyone in the alley were frozen in time.

Some extended their arms in fear, while others crouched down to evade the impending attack. The crowded masses resembled a painting of warfare, with their exaggerated gestures and expressions being an authentic reflection of their emotions, not mere artistic renderings.

Nightshade looked up, observing the bat as it passed overhead. With a swift motion, a blade with a cold glint emerged from his armored forearm, and he readied his composite bow.

With a whoosh, an arrow shot forth unerringly, and Nightshade watched as the bat staggered and plummeted toward the end of the alley.

Waving his hand, he said, "Follow me. We're heading to the Brooklyn Bridge. Those bats must be headed there!" He then employed his grappling hook, with Bacteria Man following closely behind. As they raced across the rooftops, Nightshade squinted his eyes and gazed at New York's skyline. There, a slender black line was closing in on Brooklyn.

He saw the bats flapping their wings and even heard the trembling shrieks, but this time, there were no spider webs shot at them, no shields deployed, and no one wearing expensive Mech armor providing firepower support.

As the bats once again soared through the streets, their wingbeats stirred up a wind that ruffled the hair of the panicked pedestrians.

With several swift noises, the bats emitted mournful cries and tumbled to the ground like drifting leaves.

A black mist enveloped them, and the vampire revealed its true form. It clutched its wounded arm, noticing black smoke rising between its fingers. It yelled, "Silver bullets... cursed vampire hunters! I'll kill you all!"

Before the words could fully escape its lips, a frigid glint flashed by its ear, and a rapidly spinning blade severed half of its hair along with an ear. A moment later, a sword pierced its heart, and the vampire transformed into a pile of black ash, slowly collapsing.

Behind it stood Eric the Blade, wearing a cold expression. He sheathed his sword and picked up the fallen ear, saying, "A somewhat retro trophy, but not bad, right?"

Behind him, a group of people approached. Some held handguns loaded with silver bullets, while others wielded silver-plated cold weapons.

They didn't possess Blade's half-vampire strength; they were ordinary people with a vendetta against vampires, known in folklore as vampire hunters.

"Darn it, why are they heading to the Brooklyn Bridge again? That bridge was just repaired not long ago, and it looks like it's about to be destroyed again," one of them said as they approached Eric.

...

Eric looked up at the bright moon and remarked, "The moon tonight doesn't feel right. How long has it been since you've seen such a bright moon?"

"Those cursed rats picked a good day!" a female vampire hunter gritted her teeth. "Wouldn't you also want your funeral to be on a sunny day?"

"Let's go, to the Brooklyn Bridge, and see what they're up to."

With a bang, a gunshot echoed, and a bat fell from the sky. Matt holstered his handgun and turned to Erica, saying, "Erica, take them to the car and head to the Brooklyn Bridge. These bats seem determined to avenge their past humiliations."

"Matt, are you really letting these kids onto the battlefield?" Erica furrowed her brows. "I'm not questioning your teaching ability, but some of them are so young, some have just started college..."

Before Matt could respond, a girl from the team stepped forward. She was dressed in a blue-and-white uniform with a cape and confidently said, "Thank you for your concern, Miss Erica, but we can definitely be of assistance."

"When I passed through Hell's Kitchen, I was almost controlled by terrifying criminals until Mr. Matt helped me. I would have done something terrible if it weren't for him," she lowered her gaze to her hands. "Now it's time for me to use my abilities for something good."

"Jessica, I know you're the most powerful among us, but you must understand that the war against vampires is no child's play. During the last vampire invasion in New York, there were superhero sacrifices..."

Matt approached, gazing into Erica's eyes. "They're here, which means they're determined to fight for justice, just like Spider-Man did back then."

"I'm here to teach them more skills so they can better uphold their determination."

Jessica rubbed her wrist and said, "Spider-Man is my idol, but I know there's more than just Spider-Man protecting New York. This is my home, and I'll fight for it."

With that, she looked up at the sky. When the moonlight bathed her face, her determination became even more evident. She said, "Let's go and meet these bats. Let's see if they can withstand my punches!"

As more and more bats passed overhead, people on the streets gazed at the Brooklyn Bridge. As the crowd dispersed in the opposite direction of the bat convergence, many went against the flow, following the bats' trail toward the gathering dark clouds.

The first to arrive near the Brooklyn Bridge was the police car with blinking sirens. George, holding a gun, opened the car door and looked up at the bats perched at the top of the bridge. He took a few steps back and waved to the officers behind him, saying, "Hold on for now, set up a perimeter, and evacuate the civilians!"

"All personnel, load your weapons and ensure you have enough firepower. Equip the Freeze Guns issued to you earlier. This group, set up obstacles; another group, prepare the net guns. And you, check the explosives..."

The instructed police officers scattered to make preparations for the impending battle. George's expression remained grim, and at that moment, his mobile phone rang.

...

He picked up the phone and found that it was Gwen calling. George clenched his hand holding the mobile phone and answered it. On the other end, Gwen's voice was somewhat hoarse as she said, "Dad, I'm in the laboratory right now. Do you remember those bombs we used against the bats last time?"

"A few days ago, I saw the shells of those bombs in Dr. Otto's laboratory. I'm going to re-energize them to have the same explosive effect, just give me an hour..."

"Gwen!" George raised his voice, "You should be resting. You've been crying for the past few nights. You need to rest..."

"No, I'm not tired. I have more to do," Gwen's tone was steadier and more resolute than George had expected, devoid of the previous sorrow. She continued, "Spider-Man may be gone, but it doesn't mean there's only him who wants to protect this city. We all do!"

"The first time we fought against the bats, you went to the front lines. But back then, I was still in high school, trembling at home, relying on others to protect me."

"Back then, we did have many heroes, Captain America, the determined yet youthful Spider-Man, and the ever-powerful Iron Man..."

"But when we no longer have all of that, it doesn't mean we should give up and wait for our doom. Otherwise, why did you go back to the front lines again?"

George, holding the phone, fell silent. He finally said, "Take care of yourself, Gwen. We'll see each other tomorrow morning."

After hanging up the phone, Gwen's arm dropped, and the phone fell to the ground. Another hand, clad in a uniform, picked it up. SpiderGwen handed the phone back to her and asked, "Are you okay?"

Gwen took a deep breath and replied, "I'm fine. Thank you."

She then stood up, walked to the laboratory table, and started organizing materials. She continued, "Thank you for being here, the other me from a parallel world. If it weren't for you, maybe I'd still be at home crying."

SpiderGwen walked over and turned to look at her. "Your reaction is quite different from what I expected. You don't have Spider mutation, you don't possess great strength, you're just an ordinary person. You don't have to do this..."

Gwen grabbed a metal plate on the huge bomb casing on the lab table and observed it closely, her face still marked with unshed tears. She said, "No, it's precisely because I don't have great strength that I came here."

"If Peter were still here, he wouldn't rush into battle right now. He would also be looking for a more fundamental way to deal with this. " Gwen turned her head to face SpiderGwen.

For a moment, the two of them looked at each other's faces as if in a mirror, seeing an identical but fundamentally different version of themselves in each other.

"That Spider-Man who came with you that day was also Peter Parker, right? In that case, why didn't you fall in love with him?" Gwen asked a rather probing question, one that SpiderGwen couldn't answer.

"In this world, there might be thousands of Spider-Men, but each Spider-Man is different. In this world, there might be thousands of versions of me, but each me is unique."

...

Gwen picked up the nearby materials and started recording. She said, "If you want to rush to the front lines, go ahead. But I'll stay here and protect this city in a different way."

As a long silence filled the air like waves washing over the room, Gwen's telephone suddenly rang. She answered it, and Betty's voice came through, saying:

"Gwen, hurry to Dr. Otto's laboratory. Do you remember that bomb? We can restart it. I once documented the internal structure of the bomb, and I'm on my way to the laboratory on the road... Oh my goodness!"

A loud and chaotic noise came from the other end. Gwen furrowed her brow and said, "Betty, are you okay? Hello? Hello?"

"No... I'm fine," Betty's voice carried a hint of panting. She continued, "I'm driving, but just now, a bat almost hit my car. Listen, Gwen, we need to figure out a way to activate that bomb..."

"Dr. Dora dealt with similar technology in her research. But I have to go to her laboratory to get the materials first. You head to the laboratory where the bomb casing is stored, and I'll send the materials over right away..."

Gwen replied, "I'm already in the laboratory where the bomb casing is stored. In fact, I already have some ideas. If you can provide the materials, that would be even better..."

But Betty's voice still sounded heavy. She said, "Gwen, the first time we fought the bats, you were still young, so you may not know. Vampires have almost the same appearance as humans, and some of them are not afraid of sunlight."

"Last time, they suffered a loss, so this time, they won't let us easily create large-scale weapons that can harm them. Our research may not go smoothly..."

"Alright, I understand, Betty. Please be safe... Hey! Who's that? Who are you? Why are you intruding into my laboratory?"

"Hello? Gwen??"

"Hello? Hello???"

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 894: A Glittering Star Rotten (39)