On the stage of the Apollo Theater, *Hamlet* was reaching its climax.
The stage lights shifted between light and shadow as the actors delivered their lines with resounding force.
Mary Jane was utterly absorbed, her eyes shining as if filled with starlight.
Sitting beside her, Peter kept his gaze on the stage, but his mind had already wandered far away.
Hamlet bore the weight of avenging his father, yet hesitated and dragged his feet again and again, ultimately bringing about total ruin.
Watching the character on stage, Peter was inexplicably reminded of himself.
He possessed the power of Spider-Man, yet all he wanted was to hide away and live a quiet life.
How was that any different from Hamlet, flinching and holding back?
Yet whenever he thought of Uncle Ben, Aunt May, and a peaceful life, he couldn’t help shrinking back.
“With great power comes great responsibility”—the words were easy enough to say, but actually shouldering that burden was simply too heavy.
Just as his thoughts were tangled in turmoil, an earth-shattering boom reverberated from outside the theater.
*Boom—* The entire building shuddered.
Chandeliers swayed violently from the ceiling, and a chorus of screams instantly erupted across the auditorium.
“What’s happening?
An earthquake?” “What was that noise outside?!” Peter’s expression changed drastically, and he jolted to his feet.
This commotion, this direction…
The thing he feared most was happening after all.
“Mary Jane, come with me!” He grabbed Mary Jane’s wrist and pulled her toward the exit without giving her a chance to argue.
The crowd surged frantically around the doors, a chaotic mix of screams and weeping.
Relying on strength and reflexes far beyond those of a normal human, Peter shielded Mary Jane as they pushed through a side exit.
But the moment they burst into the street, they were stunned by the scene before them.
Not far away, Harlem was engulfed in towering flames and billowing black smoke.
The streets were pitted and cratered, strewn with pulverized car wrecks, as pedestrians fled toward them like madmen.
Amidst the smoke and dust, a monstrous creature six meters tall roared toward the sky.
Its body bulged with knotted muscle, its skin torn in numerous places where pale bones jutted directly out of the flesh—a sight hideous to the extreme.
Abomination.
Peter’s heart sank violently.
Immediately after, the ground vibrated violently once more.
The middle of the street collapsed with a crash as a massive green hand clamped onto the edge of the crater.
Lowing a growl, Hulk rose from the rubble.
His massive frame swelled continuously with each breath, his muscles sharply defined.
“Hulk!!” Abomination bellowed with excited fury and charged forward with heavy, thundering strides.
The two gigantic behemoths slammed into each other with brute force, generating a shockwave that swept down the street like a typhoon.
Windows along the avenue shattered instantly, and dozens of people who hadn’t run fast enough were knocked off their feet.
Mary Jane turned deathly pale, clutching Peter’s arm tightly as her voice trembled.
“Wh-what are those things?
Monsters?” “That’s Hulk…
The other one is called Abomination,” Peter said gravely, pulling her back.
“We need to go, now.
It’s too dangerous here.” He led Mary Jane into the fleeing crowd, running away from the battlefield.
According to the original plot, this battle would destroy half the street, causing heavy casualties, but Hulk would ultimately win.
As long as he got Mary Jane to safety, everything would be fine.
That was the smartest choice.
Yet before they had run very far, a painful groan sounded from nearby.
A collapsed lamppost lay crushed over a middle-aged man’s legs, blood soaking through his trousers and spilling onto the pavement.
The man’s face was chalky white as he struggled desperately, unable to move an inch.
The surrounding crowd cared only about escaping, and not a single person stopped to help.
“Help…
Someone help me…” His voice was faint, quickly drowned out by distant explosions.
Mary Jane halted, her eyes turning red with panic.
“He’s hurt!
Peter, we have to help him!” Peter stopped as well.
Reason screamed at him frantically: *Mind your own business and get out of here.
Getting involved will only get you burned.* He was just an ordinary guy—no, wait, he had superpowers now, but still, this wasn’t his job.
Yet the man’s desperate eyes pricked his conscience like needles.
He could easily lift that lamppost.
He could dodge flying debris.
He could save this man’s life.
If he walked away now, he would never be able to live with himself.
Uncle Ben’s words—”With great power comes great responsibility”—and Mary Jane’s question—”If the capable ones all hide away, what happens to normal people?”—echoed repeatedly in his mind.
“Help him fall back over there, find a corner to hide behind, and stay put,” Peter pushed Mary Jane toward the injured man, his tone unusually firm.
“I’m going to lift the lamppost.” “Are you crazy?
That pole is so heavy!” Mary Jane grabbed him, her eyes filled with worry.
“It’s too dangerous!
Can’t we wait for the police?” “There’s no time.
If we wait any longer, he’ll lose his legs.” Peter didn’t say anything more.
He turned and marched up to the lamppost, took a deep breath, gripped the cold iron pole with both hands, braced his core, and let out a low grunt— The heavy metal pole was actually lifted right off the ground by his raw strength.
“Hurry, crawl out!” The man froze for a fraction of a second before snapping to his senses, dragging himself out with every ounce of strength he had left.
Mary Jane rushed over to grab his arms, and together they hauled him free.
Peter let go, and the lamppost crashed back to the pavement with a loud clang, kicking up a shower of sparks.
He shook out his hands, feeling an uncanny calm settle over his heart.
So when you possessed power, stepping up to save someone was simply the natural thing to do.
But this was far from over.
In the distance, the battle was escalating.
Abomination swung a wrecking ball attached to a heavy chain, smashing it into buildings again and again, raining concrete and masonry down like lethal hail.
Cries of despair, explosions, and collapsing structures blended together—every passing second brought more casualties.
The police and military had yet to establish an effective perimeter.
At this rate, the body count would only keep soaring.
Peter stared at the distant flames and clenched his fists.
Hide?
How long could he keep hiding?
He could run away with Mary Jane today, but what about next time?
Or the time after that?
Since he had transmigrated into this world, was he supposed to spend his whole life cowering behind the Avengers just to survive?
Spider-Man wasn’t Spider-Man just because he got bit by a spider.
It was because he chose to step up even when he knew full well how dangerous it was.
“Mary Jane, take this gentleman somewhere safe and stay put,” Peter suddenly spoke, his voice calm yet undeniable.
“There are still people who need help.
I have to go check it out.” “Where are you going?!” Mary Jane panicked, reaching out to grab him.
“There are monsters over there!
What good can you do?!” “Someone has to do something.” Peter offered her a small smile, turned, and dove into an adjacent alleyway.
Inside the alley sat a clothing shop whose display windows had long since shattered.
He dashed inside, scanned the racks, and grabbed a red hoodie, a pair of dark blue sweatpants, a black ski mask, and a pair of gloves.
In a flash, he threw them on.
Before leaving his apartment earlier, he had stuffed his web-shooters into his pockets, intending to fine-tune them when he found a moment.
He hadn’t expected them to come in handy like this.
He pulled out the shooters, strapped them onto his wrists, and adjusted the angle.
The ski mask concealed his entire face, leaving only his eyes exposed.
Gazing at his unfamiliar reflection in the broken glass fragments, Peter drew a deep breath.
Starting today, he was Spider-Man.
He raised his hand toward the cornice of a rooftop and pressed the trigger.
*Thwip—* A thin white strand shot out instantly, sticking firmly to the brickwork.
Peter launched himself into the air, swinging out on the web.
The wind howled past his ears as the scenery on the ground blurred beneath him.
The sensation of weightlessness mixed with a surge of adrenaline sent chills down his spine.
Ringing in his first web-swing, awkwardness was inevitable.
He landed clumsily on the opposite roof, nearly tumbling off the ledge.
Regaining his footing, he looked down at the streets below and at the two monsters clashing in the distance.
His heart pounded wildly against his ribs.
Tension, fear—and yet an overwhelming thrill.
Sprinting across rooftops, he quickly reached the periphery of the battle zone.
Looking down, the situation was far worse than he had imagined.
A military helicopter had been slammed to the ground by Abomination.
Its fuselage was severely crumpled, a massive hole torn in its fuel tank as aviation fuel gushed onto the pavement, right beside sparking electrical wires.
Hulk tried to leap over to help, but Abomination clung to him relentlessly, keeping him pinned in combat.
In another ten seconds, the chopper would explode, and none of the soldiers inside would survive.
There was no time to hesitate.
Peter leaped off the roof, executing a smooth roll to absorb the landing impact before sprinting straight toward the helicopter.
“Stay back!
It’s going to explode!” a woman shouted frantically nearby.
It was Betty Ross.
Peter didn’t reply.
Raising both hands, he fired repeatedly at the ruptured fuel tank.
Layer after layer of webbing spun around the tear, instantly sealing the leak so tightly that not a single drop could seep out.
Sparks flickered against the webbing without setting it alight.
Crisis averted.
Turning to face the grappling Hulk and Abomination, he raised his voice and yelled, “Big guy!
Leave this to me—focus on beating his face in!”