Spider-Man SI

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***

Parker house. Next morning.

The morning followed the standard pattern. I got up, how could I not? Jogged, tidied up, had a little snack, and wandered to the bus stop. On the way I put on beads of headphones, yesterday I finally threw some music on my player. And so now I had hope that the journey would not be so boring. Well, it was, but there's always a but! I think it's clear that I have a blonde hair colour. Gwen again, having just got on the bus, came towards me. When she started flapping her mouth like a fish on the shore, I smiled gloatingly and showed that I couldn't hear anything for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, further events did not go according to the planned scenario. Against expectation, I was not offended, but tried to take off my headphones and player. I was pressed by two hemispheres of the second and a half size, and I swam. And when delicate and dexterous girls' fingers started to search my pockets, I was completely lost.

I came to my senses only in a few minutes after the stimulus had calmed down and left me alone. In my hands I frantically clutched her player with headphones. That was the exchange that had happened. I let go a little, and I put her unit on my ears. But not for long. They took the headphones away from me and gave me my own. Well, yeah. Her headphones will be better, I need to change them for something more decent. The blonde's music was surprisingly not too bad, and after a song or two there were some decent tracks. So if you skipped all the girl romance, you could live.

We walked into the classroom in silence, Gwen seeming a little taken aback by my selection of music. She still couldn't tear herself away, pacing behind me like a somnambulist.

- Pete...

The teacher was talking at the blackboard, and I was thinking about how to improve my starters. Yesterday, after I put Gwen in a taxi, I rushed home. I told the house that I'd found a job. I assured them that the job wouldn't take up too much of my time and distract me from my studies. In short, I told them I'd be a lab technician at uni. It didn't help much and I had to spend another half an hour proving that everything would be okay and I would only benefit from this arrangement. For myself I decided that something should be done about school, anyway I go there just to sit in my trousers. I have learnt the whole school course long ago, and I have nothing to do there.

After that, I did my homework for the sake of decency. Then I loaded the laptop with programmes and a new operating system. The laptop was mediocre, but it was much better than the junk I had to use before. I connected it to the internet and downloaded some songs to the player. It was time to go to bed, but I didn't feel like it. So after waiting for my aunt and uncle to go to bed, I went out the window. I spent two hours testing the starters and the cobwebs. What can I say? After climbing the walls, this is the most awesome thing that's ever happened to me! I screamed, and screamed loud and clear with delight! By the way, with the web I realised another thing, or rather it opened to me from a new side. Spider sense! It turns out that you can not cling to everything with a spider's web, and you need to choose places carefully. Otherwise either the panelling can fall off or the plaster can crumble. At first I couldn't understand what was going on, why my intuition was screaming about danger, but when the third time I almost kissed the asphalt, I thought....

- Peter!

- I'm listening to you, I'm listening to you!

The teacher did not react in any way to such a blatant breach of discipline. He continued to mutter something monotonously to himself. There is a type of people who do not pay any attention to others, unfortunately, or fortunately, they can be found among teachers. That was the case with this one, in truth, I didn't even know his name, and I doubt anyone in the class knew it. It was safe to talk.

- Look, I've never heard songs like this before. What language are they sung in, anyway?

Paying attention to the blonde, I realised with some bewilderment that she not only sat next to me, having kicked Dean out of his seat, but also moved her desk to me!

- Learn Russian, Ukrainian. Then you'll be able to understand what they're singing about.

- Ukrainian? And you're telling me that you know these languages yourself? - Gwen looked shocked.

- Actually, I also know Japanese, and a little French, - I said and surprised myself, I'm a polyglot!

- It turns out that you have a lot of secrets, Pete, - the blonde smiled coquettishly.

- You don't even realise how many. Listen, Gwen, now that you and I have jobs, we have to do something about school.

As much as I don't want to, but it seems that the girl is already tied to me. Let's make some plans.

- What do you mean?

- Well, look at it this way. To properly study at Connors we need a lot of time, a couple of hours after school is not serious.

- Yeah, you're right,' Gwen wrinkled her nose amusedly. - We can't ditch for long either. They'll call home and we'll be in trouble. Do you want to take the SATs?

- Mm-hmm. It's a little close to graduation. Personally, I'm confident. Are you okay with that? I can help if you need me.

- No way! - she snorted. - I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid! I can handle it.

- Good! - I liked her determination. - Then we'll go to Mrs Davis's today and she'll help.

Davis was indeed happy to help. Being a quiet, harmless nerd can be very rewarding. That's how the vice principal always felt about me. Of course, she was a bit surprised why we wanted to pass the school programme by external exams. But we told her the truth, and she gave in.

Nothing else of interest happened for the rest of the school day... well, almost. Flash looked at me like a wolf, and got mad when his friends made fun of him about the incident. There was also a fight with Mary Jane. Gwen, thank the gods, wasn't hanging around me all the time, and sometimes I was alone. Mary came up to me in the dining room.

- Hello, Pete. We haven't spoken in a while, how are you?

She was acting all twitchy and trying not to look me in the eye.

- Hi, Mary! Yeah, you're right, we haven't spoken in a while. Ever since you moved away, we've been seeing less of each other. Even though we're in the same class.

The girl blushed and even more, lowered her eyes. Her parents and Aunt May and Uncle Ben have been friends for as long as I can remember. They're still on good terms, but it's been harder since the Watsons moved to a wealthier neighbourhood. And my situation with the redheaded girl was pretty... specific. Mary was slowly becoming a popular and famous schoolgirl, and I'd always been the studious, four-eyed, nerd. Obviously, people from such different worlds couldn't communicate.

- You're dating her?! - my childhood friend suddenly blurted out.

- I'm sorry? Who am I dating?

- That blonde! Stacey! You're dating her?!

- Mary,' I was angry and my tone may have been too harsh, 'what's it to you? Why do you care about my personal life?

- Y-you fool! - she ran away.

You're the fool! I've been trying to ignore her for so long, and now I have to reopen an already bleeding wound.

- So are we going out, love?

Gwen came up behind me, she must have heard everything, how else to explain her playful tone? Except I wasn't interested in playing games....

- Gwen...' I glared at her with the hardest look I could muster, 'we're going to Conors tomorrow, I hope you haven't forgotten that.

- Peter, I-

Sitting through the rest of the lessons was beyond me and so turning round I left the school. So, I had some shopping planned for today, so I took the money. Having run through several sports shops, in each of them I bought the same black tracksuit. In general, over the problem of a super-hero costume I thought long enough. And to make it like the original Spider-Man was certainly not intended. Firstly, it's clownish, and secondly, tight trousers are not my style, obviously not mine. I wouldn't mind putting on a bulletproof vest, helmet, and the rest of the SWAT gear. But all of that weighs a lot, and I was pretty sure that my main focus was on agility and speed. Tkach's fighting style was always based on that, on mind-boggling agility and dizzying acrobatic pirouettes.

So, for now, I've decided on a regular tracksuit. In addition to it I bought several pairs of gloves covering fingers, no one has cancelled banal prints yet. I bought my own shoes earlier. Surprisingly, I easily found in the shops masks covering my head completely. To them I bought some more modern sunglasses than the ones I got from my father.

In the future, I hoped to buy something more appropriate than a tracksuit, but that would be later, when I was rich and vain. Hehe...

I also visited several electronics shops, searched for a long time and finally found the components I needed. For some reasons, I couldn't buy the necessary device ready-made. But this did not prevent me from assembling it myself, because today you can find anything in the Internet. Yes, the main thing is to know how to look for it. The ringtone played, and I looked at the screen and answered it.

- Yes, Aunty?

- Pete, when will you be home?

- Soon, like, an hour. Why?

- All right, then. Remember what to buy, cos we're almost out of groceries for some reason.

After listening to my aunt, I wandered around the city looking for a decent microscope, but as the time limit was quickly running out, I didn't find anything worth buying. Except for some headphones. And, having weighed a heavy rucksack on my shoulders, I went home. I decided to buy groceries somewhere closer to home. The fact that I had become super strong could not cancel my natural laziness and desire not to carry bags full of food across the city.

The small shop I looked into greeted me with a heavy atmosphere. The clerk looked at me strangely, but without saying a word, continued to rummage around the cash register. Opposite him, near the counter, stood a man with a hood over his head. In order not to embarrass them, I stepped back into the shop. After a minute's observation, everything became clear. Robbery.

- Excuse me! - I took the first package I could find off the shelf and went straight to the clerk. - I forgot my glasses at home. Could you tell me the expiry date of these crisps, because I can't see very well.....

When I got far enough away, I elbowed the unlucky robber in the head. He immediately collapsed to the floor. A gun fell out of his pocket, and I shoved him away with my foot.

- I hope I've understood the situation correctly. - I turned to the salesman, who had not yet recovered.

- Y-yes... Thanks man! Thank you so much.

- You're welcome. Call the cops and keep an eye on this one in case he wakes up. Who knows?

I left the shop without listening to the clerk's babbling. I didn't want to wait here for the police. Well, fuck it! The robber was smooth sailing. Although he tensed up when he heard that I was coming to the counter, he didn't even deign to turn round to me, for which he paid the price. By the way, if it's that robber, Uncle Ben's life is no longer in danger. Well, that's good to know. I don't want to lose the only people close to me. And I don't want to lose them because of stupidity, my own stupidity.

After buying groceries at another shop, I went home. After ordering from the kitchen, I talked to my uncle for a while and went to my lab. For an hour I played with the purchased electronics until I had a radio receiver tuned to police frequencies on my desk. It's a useful thing to have in the house, I'm sure it will come in handy. Next I started to improve my starters and web. At this stage, the modified glue was only capable of taking one form - super strong, sticky only at one end of the rope. I didn't want to limit myself to just that, though. I wanted to be able to spin a spider cocoon. Since my web was almost the same as a real one, strong to tear, I think to get out of it will be problematic. Ordinary people definitely can't do it, but mutants, or altered people like me, it's a matter of opinion. But I don't think it's easy either.

I remember in some cartoon, Spidey could shoot dense balls of spider web. Sort of like rubber bullets. I figured I could do something like that, too. Actually, my launchers are really something, already. I mean, the initial velocity at which they're able to fire webs. It's high, but I did it on purpose, the faster the web fires, the easier it is for me to manoeuvre and feint, so to speak. I think the speed of firing will allow future projectiles to do a lot of damage to an unprotected person. Easily putting bruises, maybe even breaking ribs.....

I woke up this morning refreshed and rested. I guess I got another surprise from the spider that bit me. For the umpteenth time I've noticed that I only get a few hours of sleep. After all, I worked in the basement until midnight, and now I'm not even tired. Cool!

After the standard jog, I got ready for school. But I didn't want to take the bus. Or rather, I didn't want to meet the blonde. So I went the more usual way, yeah, on the rooftops. The headphones I bought yesterday played 'Master of the Forest', followed by 'Fred'. But even 'Damn Old House' couldn't improve my bad mood. Girls...everything from them, everything from them. Evil as well as good...

Lessons flew by quickly, I was still working on the problem of spider webs and starters, so I didn't react to the outside world. I talked to Mrs Davies, and when she asked me about skipping the last lessons yesterday, I told her I wasn't feeling well. Thank Odin she didn't pick on him. Flash, finally recovering from my lesson in politeness, tried to remind me of myself. But his idea of tipping me over, accidentally of course, failed. This time he seemed to have broken his lip or nose, it is not clear, there was blood... it was horrible, what is being done.

I stood leaning against the school fence, enjoying the sunlight hitting my eyes. As it turned out, I could stick with more than just my arms or legs. My back perfectly held me almost weightless, and my feet only touched the tarmac for the sake of appearances. Suddenly the pleasant and warm rays of the sun were obscured by a shadow. Without saying a word, I peeled away from the fence, and without opening my eyes I walked along the pavement. I wanted a few more moments to feel the bliss received from the light, and no blonde could not prevent it ...

- Peter...

I kept walking, ignoring her. Well, I'm touchy, I can't help it. I even put on my headphones to distract me.

- Listen to me! - The headphones were ripped off and a gentle fist smashed into my chest. - I'm sorry, Pete. I hurt you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Please stop sulking at me, it's not like I said it out of spite. It's just... I.... I was really curious about the answer.

And she blushed so sweetly that I realised she couldn't fake it yet. And that was good to know.

- You should,' I ran my fingers along her cheek, 'learn to pick the right moment for questions like that. But you're right, I can't hold a grudge. Come on, what if our employer goes home before we get there?

Why am I being so nice? I'm so easily swayed by women's guile. I guess I'm growing up to be a sissy!

At the institute we went straight to the professor's office. But he was not there, but another man was waiting for us. A short-cropped blond man (I have an attack on blondes) with a small goatee of the same colour. He had gold earrings in his ears, and his whole appearance made me fear that he was gay.

- Hi!' he said cheerfully, standing up from his chair and stretching his back. - You must be Peter Parker and Gwen Stacey. My name is Eddie Brock, and Professor Connors asked me to meet you. Peter, it's been a long time!

- Um... Really? Do I know you?

- Ha-ha! Yes, we do! You were too young and you must not remember anything.

- Wait... - really now that he said that, I remembered my childhood, - we used to play together, yes, that's right, I remember! A few times we went out as a family for a picnic! But those memories are too hazy and fuzzy....

- Yes, I did,' the boy said, embarrassed for some reason. - Well, now we'll have more time to reminisce. By the way, I should give you a tour. Somewhere I had... aha here!

- What is it? - Gwen asked, looking at the plastic rectangle.

- These are your passes, and documents on the territory of our university.

- Cool!

It really is! Everything was labelled on the pass. Our names, our full names, our positions, our security clearance, and even our pictures. Where did they come from? Although the Internet... school filing system... M-yes... Prof's efficiency is amazing!

The tour was awesome. Well, part of it. Since it was only Gwen's second time in the building, she was interested in seeing everything. I, on the other hand, knew the accessible part like the back of my hand. So I only woke up when we were shown our future fiefdom. The lab! Oh, this place was awesome! If I could, I'd get a cot and live in this realm of science! All the apparatus, all the installations, even ordinary glass flasks glowed in my eyes with a divine light! And I almost believed that I was in paradise!

- Ah, my lab technicians! - The prof found us at the very end. - Eddie, thank you very much, you may be free to go.

- All right, Professor! Gwen, Peter, bye, see you later! - the unlikely subject disappeared waving his dressing gown merrily.

- So, what do you think? - Connors circled the space around him with his left hand.

- The lab is super, sir! I can't wait to work here! - Gwen just glowed.

- I'm glad you like it. We're having a short day today. We're celebrating a colleague's birthday. So you'll learn more about your duties and the rules of the lab tomorrow. Well, I have to say I had a hard time getting you an official job, you're underage. But my natural charm got the job done!

We all laughed. After all, I was right - he is an interesting guy.

- About your second request. I've already found a suitable teacher, but you'll have to wait a bit, he's away now. That's basically it. I'm going back to celebrate and you come back tomorrow. Oh yes! I almost forgot! Here you go, - we were handed the same piece of paper. - There is a list of literature, it would be good if you could look through it and read what you haven't read. There aren't many books, but there are plenty of scientific articles. That's it, I'm out of here!

- All right, Professor.

- See you tomorrow.

Just before we could say goodbye, the active scientist disappeared. It's a good thing we already had our passes, otherwise I'm afraid we wouldn't have left the building until tomorrow. The doors to the lab were too massive. But outside, I experienced the blonde's wrath again. Her sharp fist is something even my mutated carcass can feel!

- Well, Peter, you promised me!

- Huh? I'm sorry, I seem to have lost the thread of our conversation.

- You promised you'd buy me ice cream! I'm starving!

- Oh, I wish I'd never made up with you.

- What?! Oh, yeah?!

I was getting seriously beaten up, and in order to save the integrity of my carcass, I capitulated. I had to take her to a coffee shop. Two hours later, after paying for the bucket of ice cream that the swallow had eaten, I finally took her home.

- Hey, aren't you afraid of catching a cold? I've never seen people eat so much ice cream at once.

- Ha! I was out of shape! - proudly assured me. - Peter.

- М?

- Do you think this is a good time for these questions?

I stopped and stared into her lovely deep eyes. What can I say to her? I don't know the answer myself.

- Are you that interested in knowing it? Gwen...let's not be hasty....

My psychic powers have suddenly decided to reassert themselves. From the girl smelled such longing, sadness and disappointment, that it was just creepy. I couldn't stand it any longer, so I stepped close to her and hugged her tightly.

- Look, I'm sorry. I... I'm just, I'm just not ready for a serious relationship... I'm not ready for a relationship that usually occurs between a guy and a girl. It's just... I've had too much on my plate lately... Besides, we've only known each other for a little while...' I seemed to have said something stupid again, as the blonde's eyes flashed with something so... not good. - I'm sorry if I'm being ridiculous, I'm sorry.

- I've had a lot on my plate, too. After my mum died, we couldn't stay in San Francisco. We decided to move here, but it didn't get any easier. Dad's always away at work, and he only comes home to sleep once in a while. And I'm alone all the time. Do you know how scary that is?

- I'm sorry, Gwen, I'm stupid. Look, I've got an idea!

- W-what?

- Let's make it neither ours nor yours! I'll think of you and me as mates and you can think of me as your boyfriend if you want. How's that?

- Hee hee... - I was hugged back. - That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!

Ugh! Thank the Hulk, now the girl wasn't so blackly sad. The rare moments of peace were shattered when a car parked near us.

- Oh! Daddy...' the blonde squeaked and hid behind my back.

A presentable-looking man got out of the car, from the front passenger seat. A classic steel-coloured suit looked simply delightful on him. And even though he was of average height, he overwhelmed the people around him. The effect was amplified when he looked at the person he was talking to, like he was looking at me now, with his eyebrows pulled together.

- Um, hello, sir. My name's Peter Parker, I'm a classmate of your daughter's.

- Stacey. George Stacey. - suddenly the man smiled infectiously and there was a quiet giggle from behind, traitor! - Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm very pleased that Gwen has made friends so quickly at her new school.

And why did he emphasise the word 'friends' so clearly in his voice? And why is he grinning so wryly? If I were a man, if I had a daughter, I would keep her suitors under the crosshairs of a sniper, and beacons would be planted ... and cameras would be hidden everywhere ... and security would be hired for my daughter ... and ... well, you know what I mean. And here calmly reacts, no strange Gwen's father, and in general, they have a family of that still!

- Attention! - from behind the open car door was well heard a woman's voice. - All available cars! Attention! Shots fired, a police officer has been wounded. Address.

- Sorry, guys! Gwen, I'll be back later! - shouted Captain Stacey, jumping into the seat.

To be honest, I was a little discouraged. Yeah, well, it must be a tough job being a cop. Gwen just looked sadly at the car.

- Gwen, if you want... - I hesitated, - I can stay with you for a while.

- Tempting...' I was pulled into a hug, 'but I'm afraid I'm not ready to invite a guy to my house when my parents aren't there. You got me home, but out the door, hee-hee, not yet.

- Okay,' I cheered inwardly, 'now just hurry up and say goodbye. - You've already got my phone number, so call me if you need anything. Bye. Bye.

- Thank you, Pete... - I heard, having already moved a few metres away from the blonde. But when I turned round, she'd already gone into the entrance of the building.

Okay, I'll catch up with you later. Running into the first dark alley, I started to take out my equipment from my rucksack. Listening to my gut, I felt nothing. Somehow I was sure that my intuition would warn me if I was being followed or if there were cameras around. I quickly changed my clothes and jumped in the right direction, as I had heard the address of the crime. Well, there it is! Some shop, hmm... looks like they sell jewellery there... they used to... oh, never mind! That patrol car was much more interesting. It seems they were the first to respond to the robbery, and without understanding the situation, drove too close to the window, and got shot at from the shop.

A car covered in bullet holes and a dark-skinned policeman of a respectable age clutching a wound in his side were the evidence. The main barrier of cars and cops hiding behind them was five metres away from the poor wounded policeman. Before my eyes, two of his colleagues, wearing almost three armoured waistcoats, tried to crawl up to the wounded man, but the gunfire from the shop quickly cooled their ardour. It is understandable, even though you are wearing armour, but not everyone can risk his life to save another.

As much as I don't want to get shot, Phoenix me! This is the perfect situation! Okay, there's no time to think long and hard. At any moment can arrive guys more serious than ordinary police officers, with better armour and specially trained for such situations. Leaving my rucksack on the roof, I pulled my hood up and jumped down. Well, well, well... not paying attention to the policemen who were stunned by such a spectacle, I found the sewer cover with a glance. It's not glamorous, but it's fucking strong. I fold my hand in a classic gesture and shoot in the direction of the lid, a moment and I catch the iron. Another moment and it sticks firmly to the back of my forearm.

- I feel like Captain America! Shield's just a bit of a bummer!

The guards have fallen even further into prostration. What can I do if I'm always on the prowl in dangerous situations? Yeah, it's not much of a shield, but it's something. Gathering my courage, I made a sharp dash towards the wounded man, trying to keep my feet as low to the ground as possible. The bandits didn't seem to have time to react, or I was so fast. But either way, they only fired once at me, and not even close.

- Sir! Do you understand me? - The man mumbled something, but a cannonade of more shots from the bench drowned him out.

Then don't hesitate! Don't hesitate! Don't be stupid! Easily, almost without straining, I turned the patrol car on its side. I grabbed the cop with one hand, and with the other, I lifted the car slightly. All right, now, sideways, sideways and over to the people. Man, that's not a comfortable car! It's hard to carry it with one hand, though! When I was very close to the police barrier, the shooting stopped.

- Let me give you a hand!

Without looking, I let go of the wounded policeman's hands, and, picking up the sliding car with my other hand, it became easier. Whew! I think that's it! Lowering my second improvised shield, I turned to the policemen. The first person I saw was Captain Stacy, and I could tell by the bloodstain on his immaculate suit that he was the one who'd taken his colleague from me. By the way, the medics were fussing over the last one.

- I don't know your name, kid, but thank you. The medics say it's a serious wound.

Gwen's father held out his hand to me. I shook it with some apprehension, but it was all right, and the bracelets didn't clink. Turning round, I gave everyone a glimpse of the scarlet painted

- Spider. Call me Spiderman. Or you can just call me Spidey. I'll see you guys later. If you need me, call me.

As I released the web, I soared into the air. Heh-heh! That went even better than I thought it would! The bandits seem to have run out of ammunition, and if not, the special forces car had already arrived, and the brave guys in black overalls were already jumping out of it. They'll manage without me. Having skidded behind the left rucksack, I jumped home, thinking about the meaning of my deed. So, my first appearance in front of a large audience happened. Before I did so, I pondered for a long time whether I should become a superhero and a public figure at all. Or whether it would be better to stay in the shadows. No, the latter option was a no-go. I couldn't hide for long, and then the question became, what would people think I was? A psycho like Deadpool, or a supervillain, a killer, a grey mercenary? What's better, to get a bullet in the back from a policeman one day, or to help them and enjoy their favour?

I chose my path. And I struck preemptively, so no press can smear my name. I saved a cop, that's all. That's a fact, that's a given! And you can hide an elephant behind a candle flame. It's left to rare such actions to maintain the image, and in everyday life you can do whatever you want. The main thing is not to be too brazen, and obviously not to get caught. I don't make it my life's goal to save innocent virgins, no. But I want to protect the people I care about and stay alive. This place I'm in, it's scary. There are hypothetical personalities here that are extremely powerful. Which means that in order to counter them, I must at least match them. The target is right there in front of me, a good target, so let's do some tumbling!

***

George Stacey, the police captain grimly watched his unknown colleague bleeding to death. He hadn't had time to get to know his own subordinates, so it was no surprise that he didn't know the man. Once again, gritting his teeth, he snapped again.

- Johnson! Fucking hell! When's the cavalry coming?!

- They're on their way, sir!

- Johnson, that motherfucker who left his partner, I'm gonna--

- Sir, why don't you let him write his report first? Sir, let's--

Suddenly the captain's partner stopped talking with his mouth hanging open. George himself was somewhat... surprised when quite close to the sky some... bloke, it seemed. The stubby build wasn't at all impressive, and the mask and hood that completely hid his face didn't add to his credibility. He looked around, the captain blinked and only had time to see the strange guy catch a heavy manhole cover.

- I feel like Captain America! The shield's just a bit weak!

Sarcastically remarked this... this monster. And then in a few moments he was near the wounded man. A lone, confused gunshot sounded from the direction of the jewellery shop. The monster asked something to the wounded policeman, but the captain couldn't hear as the shots rang out again. Then the strange guy flipped the police car on its side, picked up the officer, and with his free hand he lifted... the car. Using it as a shield he began to back up to the barrier. After a moment, the captain regained his ability to think coherently.

- Definitely a monster...' he wheezed.

Waking up, Stacy threw himself into the whirlwind of events. Unable to wait any longer, he rushed forward. The improvised shield protected him from the bullets. But one couldn't forget, the bandits might hit lucky and the car would explode with petrol.

- Let me help!

Picking up his colleague he rushed to the medics. They ahhed and ahhed, but promised that everything would be all right. Further events were poorly remembered, except that the schematic drawing of a spider on the monster's back was imprinted on the retina.

Johnson was spinning the steering wheel, and Stacy was looking sadly at his hopelessly stained dinner jacket. The car came to a slow stop near the curb, but the captain was in no hurry to leave the comfortable seat. Tired.

- Jeremy. Run that Ma Parker for me.