Strange swallowed, looking at Schiller’s gray eyes. He really didn’t have the courage to refuse. After all, anyone who wasn’t stupid could tell that Schiller was not an ordinary person.
Strange was dragged into the car, but he still said, “I need to tell you first, I am a Doctor, not God. If your friend is already dead, no matter how much you threaten me, I can’t bring him back to life.”
Schiller drove expressionlessly. He said, “We are both Doctors. I know this better than you. I came to you because I’m sure you can save him.”
Strange breathed a sigh of relief, but still frowned and stubbornly said, “You’re just a Psychology Doctor. You’d better not make such arbitrary conclusions about neurosurgery.”
Before he finished speaking, he saw a ballpoint pen resting on his forehead again. Schiller’s Hands were both on the steering wheel, and the ballpoint pen was floating silently. Strange made a zipping motion over his mouth, indicating that he would absolutely not speak again.
On the other side, Little Spider stood at the operating room door, overwhelmed by immense guilt and self-blame. He didn't even want a fly to get in.
However, Matt’s ex-girlfriend, Elektra, secretly slipped to the operating room door.
Elektra wasn’t there to kill Matt; on the contrary, she knew about that group’s plan earlier than Peter. She had been trying to find an opportunity to tell Matt, but Matt left too quickly, and Elektra only arrived after the incident.
Her feelings for Matt were complicated. They were classmates and lovers, but they broke up due to irreconcilable differences. Elektra had accepted Kingpin’s commission to assassinate Matt this time, but she held back everywhere and never really intended to kill Matt. Yet, she looked away for a moment, and Matt was ambushed by others. How could she not be anxious?
Elektra came from a wealthy family and was not inexperienced. She knew Matt’s injuries were severe and his condition was critical. Without the help of some mystical power, it would be impossible to save him. She had to act; perhaps only the power of the “Beast” could keep Matt alive.
Elektra used the ninja’s stealth technique and arrived at the operating room door. She didn’t even notice the high school student-like figure at the door. After a few days of observation, she knew Peter was just a high school student who couldn’t even fight. Elektra planned to bypass him and go straight in.
Coincidentally, Peter possessed Spider-Man’s abilities, the most important of which was his Spider-Sense. At this moment, his mind was highly tense, and his Spider-Sense was several times more sensitive than usual. As soon as Elektra approached, Peter turned his head and stared intently at the corner of the wall. He felt someone there, and he swung his fist, striking at Elektra.
Elektra knew Peter’s strength was extraordinary and didn’t dare to take the blow directly, but Peter’s movements were full of flaws. He lacked professional training; when punching, his upper body leaned too far forward, and his lower body’s legs were not separated, failing to stabilize his center of gravity. Elektra’s arm wrapped directly around Peter’s wrist, pulling him forward, and Peter immediately lost his balance, falling forward.
Elektra tripped him, and Peter was taken down. But perhaps his mental anxiety stimulated his use of his abilities; he bounced up the moment he landed, gripping Elektra’s lower back tightly with his arm.
Elektra herself was also anxious, and both of them were very angry. However, Elektra was, after all, a female assassin trained by the Hand. As soon as Peter hugged her, her other Hand, holding a short blade, swung backward fiercely.
The short blade, carrying a qi blade, sliced from Peter’s shoulder down to below his last rib, almost cutting off half of his body.
In an instant, an overwhelming, immense pain consumed Peter. This almost unleashed his full potential. With a burst of strength, Elektra was directly flung away, falling to the other end of the corridor, unable to get up for a long time.
Peter also fell to a sitting position. He felt like he was about to die from the pain. The short blade not only cut open half of his back, but the qi blade also sliced into his lung. Now, every time he breathed, fresh blood surged up his windpipe.
Peter had never felt such pain before. The immense pain of his entire back muscles being torn almost made him faint.
He was just a high school student. The greatest pain he had ever experienced in his life was a few punches a few days ago, which was a World apart from the injury he had now.
His entire back was almost pierced through, and his lung was injured, making his breath smell of blood. Each inhalation was accompanied by immense pain. Peter’s tears welled up involuntarily, and he squeezed out a painful moan from his throat.
He suddenly realized that heroes also get hurt and bleed.
And when heroes get hurt, it hurts terribly; it’s not good at all, and they aren't spared just because they have some special abilities.
His self-healing ability made him feel a bit better within a few breaths. Out of the corner of his eye, he vaguely looked into the operating room, and through the frosted glass, he could see Nightcrawler lying there.
Nightcrawler’s head was tilted, his eyes open. He was conscious but couldn’t move.
Peter knew that Nightcrawler had no self-healing ability; he was about to die.
He was just a blind man who knew martial arts, and now his entire spine was broken. He must be in immense pain, more than him, but he couldn’t make a sound.
Peter felt fear and despair, a bitter sorrow and anger for a hero’s fragile life. More importantly, immense guilt and self-blame overwhelmed him.
An ordinary person without superpowers fought against an underground boxing ring and saved him, but when he heard those criminals conspiring, he felt it was none of his business and left, causing his friend, a true hero, to suffer such great pain and even be on the verge of death.
Matt was a true hero, and he was not.
This intense emotion made his Spider-Sense buzz. In an instant, Peter’s spider abilities were amplified to the maximum. That intense emotion surged in his heart, and in his eyes, the entire World changed.
Elektra instantly activated her stealth technique, concealing herself, but Peter’s eyes were bloodshot, and in an instant, he locked onto her position.
The boy who had been so clumsy just a moment ago vanished almost instantly. Then, a huge force slammed Elektra against the wall. She spat out a mouthful of blood and used her last bit of strength to use her stealth technique to escape. When Schiller returned to the hospital, he saw Peter sitting dazedly beneath a crumbling wall, his eyes bloodshot.
Strange entered the operating room. By this time, it was completely dark. Schiller stood opposite Spider-Man.
“Peter. I never expected our meeting to be under such circumstances,” Schiller said.
Peter’s reaction was a bit slow now; he didn’t understand what Schiller meant. Schiller squatted down and looked into Peter’s eyes. He said, “I’m sorry I didn’t accompany you for that physical examination. As you can see, I no longer work at this hospital.”
Peter’s mind cleared a bit. He said, “It’s you, you are that Doctor.”
He clearly remembered the Doctor he had been chatting with online.
Schiller said, “Yes, it’s me.”
Peter lowered his head silently and said, “I must have disappointed you. I’m not as good as I seemed when we chatted. I made a lot of mistakes and almost got my friend killed.”
Schiller said, “I think you’ve understood some things.”
“Yes, yes…” Peter said hoarsely, “I understand the biggest truth is that getting hurt really hurts.”
“It hurts so much, but he still has to do it,” Peter whispered, “He’s a hero, and I’m not. Perhaps I’ll never be a hero…”
Schiller’s voice was still very calm. Peter couldn’t detect a hint of blame in his tone. He just said very peacefully, “Perhaps you’ve understood that if people with ability in this World don’t save others, then no one will save you.”
“Perhaps you feel that your current life is not good, but even this not-so-good life is built for you by some people who are willing to give.”
“Even the lives of those beggars are only possible after Nightcrawler cleared out the thugs on that street.”
“Peter. This sentence perhaps shouldn’t be said by me, but now, I’m afraid only I can do it,” Schiller said.
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
Spider-Man closed his eyes in silence.
Just before dawn, at the darkest hour, Strange took off his gloves and walked out of the operating room, saying, “Congratulations, the operation was very successful. There’s an eighty percent chance his nerves will fully recover.”
After Peter heard these words, he finally let out a loud roar, as if wanting to vent all the emotions accumulated in his chest. He directly jumped out of the window, climbed rapidly along the building’s wall to the rooftop, and then began to shuttle quickly across the rooftops of New York City.
At this moment, he saw the golden-red armor again, circling around him as if trying to lead him somewhere. Peter followed the armor, and they leaped and ran all the way to the New York TV Tower.
The two stood at the very top of the New York TV Tower.
Peter desperately wanted to roar, but no sound came out. All the emotions were stifled in his chest; he was going crazy.
Stark’s faceplate lifted, and Peter saw his face, saying with some surprise, “You’re Stark! Iron Man is Stark!”
“It’s not surprising, kid. Besides the Master of Stark Industries, who else could develop such armor?” Stark said.
“But the news said you were kidnapped, taken to Afghanistan.”
“Yes, but do you want to know how I escaped?”
Peter looked at him. Stark said, “I built an energy core and installed it here.” Stark pointed to his chest.
“There is still an Ark Reactor here now.”
“In a cave in Afghanistan, I cut open my own chest and inserted a metal foreign object. My own blood soaked my pants completely.”
Just imagining that scene, Peter felt a dull ache in his chest. He said, “That must not have felt good, right?”
“Of course, it hurt a lot,” Stark said, feigning nonchalance, but Peter could hear a slight tremor in his voice, as if he didn’t want to recall that day.
“You have to cut open your chest cavity with a not-so-sharp bone knife, and then sew wires into your flesh.”
Peter felt a chill down his spine.
He really hadn’t expected that Stark, who always appeared as a playboy in the news, this seemingly carefree and immensely wealthy magnate, had also experienced such a painful past. He had also shed a lot of blood and endured pain that ordinary people could barely withstand.
“Although I always like to call myself a genius, I am very clear-headed. I know that if I get hit by a bullet, I will bleed a lot. If shrapnel shatters my heart, I will die. If I lose a leg, I also won’t be able to walk.”
“But I’ve done quite a few jobs with such risks. Am I doing it for kicks?” Stark said.
“I am the richest person in this World, and I also have power that most people in this World don’t. I have absolutely no need to wear my expensive armor to save ordinary people whose monthly salary can’t even buy one of my screws, let alone take such a big risk.”
Spider-Man closed his eyes and was silent for a while, then he said, “…With great power comes great responsibility, right?”
Stark didn’t answer; he just pointed to his heart.
And Peter already understood his meaning. He thought his heart had already given him the answer.
Facing the morning sun of New York City, Peter and Stark stood at the very top of the TV Tower, watching that golden glow cut through the clouds, coating all the buildings in New York with a brilliant gold.
From today on, Peter Parker, Spider-Man, understood a truth—
So-called heroes are also mortals. They feel pain, get hurt, bleed, feel lonely, and get lost. The only difference between them and the ordinary people on the ground is that they have a sense of responsibility that ordinary people don’t, and a great determination to uphold justice until death.
No one in this World is born able to withstand such intense pain. As they walk through the darkness, they forge their pain-etched bones and blood into a solid armor on their bodies, and when dawn breaks, they use this tough resolve to save the World.
Spider-Man stood up from the iron frame of the TV Tower for the first time. He hadn’t put on his Spider-Man suit yet, and he wasn’t that tall or strong, but his soul stood tall, becoming upright. The surging emotions in his chest transformed into a kind of power, spreading from his wound throughout his body.
Facing the first rays of the morning sun, he thought, it’s dawn—
It’s time to save the World.
When a complete plot is encountered, it will be updated all at once, without being stuck.
