Chapter Thirty-six: Fallen Before Victory Could Be Achieved

“How did you know all this?” Gwen eyed Michael suspiciously, half-convinced he was making it all up.

Michael smiled faintly and said, “I recently discovered a place where, believe it or not, there are wizards. I learned a bit of magic.”

“Magic?” Gwen’s curiosity was piqued as she watched him, trying to deduce his intentions.

“Watch this.” Michael tapped the vase with his finger. Instantly, it transformed into a kaleidoscope of butterflies that fluttered through the air.

“Wow—” Gwen caught one of the butterflies, marveling at it. “How did you do that? It’s a real butterfly!”

“It’s just an illusion,” Michael replied, snapping his fingers. The butterflies folded their wings and condensed into a single caterpillar.

“Ah!” Gwen recoiled in fright, hastily shaking her hand.

Michael burst into hearty laughter at her reaction.

Only then did Gwen realize it had all been a trick. “You’re terrible,” she muttered. Thankfully, they were in a private room—otherwise, she would have been utterly embarrassed.

“Was it really that funny?”

“No,” Michael replied, coughing to compose himself as he met Gwen’s murderous glare.

“Are you still being Spider-Man?”

“I am.” Gwen propped her chin on her hand, studying Michael. “But recently, I discovered another Spider-Man.”

Another Spider-Man?

Michael’s mind immediately leapt to all sorts of possibilities. “Another Spider-Man? Is he like you—a mutant?”

“No. I think it’s Peter.”

“Peter?” Michael was even more puzzled. How had Peter become Spider-Man? And without any mutation?

Gwen continued, “He made himself a web-shooter and a mask. After teaching a few punks a lesson one evening, he got carried away and started playing the neighborhood hero in Queens.”

Michael was at a loss for words. Was this guy always so enthusiastic?

“With Peter’s skills, it makes sense he could build a web-shooter. Do you want him to become a superhuman too? That way you wouldn’t be alone in your crusade for justice.”

But for some reason, a sense of discomfort stirred within Michael.

Gwen shook her head and said, “No. I was hoping you could talk some sense into him. He’s just a regular person—this path is too dangerous for him.”

“I don’t have time,” Michael replied flatly, refusing without hesitation. Not for any particular reason—he simply found the whole thing irritating.

“Michael, I really think only you can help me,” Gwen pressed, bewildered by his refusal.

“Fine.” Michael pulled out his phone and dialed Captain George’s number. The call connected quickly.

“Hello, Michael. Is something wrong?” George’s voice came through the line.

“Captain George, I need a favor.”

“Go ahead,” George replied, intrigued about what Michael might request.

“I have a classmate, Peter Parker. He idolizes Spider-Man, so he made himself a mask and web-shooter. He’s been running around Queens playing vigilante between six and ten in the evenings.”

“All right. Come by for dinner sometime.”

“Will do.” Michael hung up and looked at Gwen. “There you have it—problem solved.”

Gwen stared at Michael in disbelief, clearly shocked by his actions. “What did you just do?”

Michael spread his hands innocently. “Helped him kick his hero habit.”

“I wanted you to talk him out of it, not get him arrested!” Gwen was on the verge of losing her mind; the thought of what awaited Peter made her cringe.

Michael sipped his tea and said, “Don’t worry, Captain George is very patient. He’ll persuade Peter to stop his daredevil antics.”

Gwen rolled her eyes, pointedly refusing to speak to him further.

“Come on, let’s go out and have some fun,” Michael suggested.

Gwen smiled faintly. “Not today. I’ve got hero duties later.”

Michael chuckled. “Maybe take tonight off. If Captain George brings in two Spider-People in one night, he’ll be over the moon.”

All thanks to you, Gwen thought, rolling her eyes again.

“Let’s go. Think of it as a little vacation for yourself.”

“You know, I don’t have parents, and no one’s ever spent time with me. You could just keep me company.”

Gwen looked at Michael in surprise. “What about Jack, the man who adopted you?”

“He only cares if I can make money for him,” Michael replied, a shadow passing over his face.

Humans are social creatures. Even someone like him felt lonely without anyone to care.

Gwen gazed at Michael, her heart aching for him. “Come on, let’s go out together.”

…

That evening, Gwen returned home to find George waiting for her.

“Where have you been? Your teacher called to say you skipped class.”

Only then did Gwen remember she’d left school that morning with Michael. Well, too late now.

She answered wearily, “I went out to eat with Michael. He told me he’d never hung out with anyone before, so we walked around, visited the zoo and the aquarium, rode the roller coaster, and caught a movie.”

George nodded; at least it was better than being Spider-Man for a day.

“Did you know? Today we caught a Spider-Man,” George remarked.

Gwen was speechless. Of course she knew—she’d told Michael, who had immediately turned around and reported it.

“Oh, great. I’m going to shower now,” she said.

“Wait,” George called, his tone serious. “Do you know what happened when his family came to the station?”

“What?” Gwen asked, feeling a twinge of guilt.

“They scolded him for being so selfish and doing such dangerous things, promising he’d never do it again. He asked his uncle, ‘Didn’t you say with great power comes great responsibility?’”

“And his uncle replied, quite rightly, that getting caught was a sign he was in over his head. He didn’t have that kind of power. What he needed to do was study hard and use his brilliant mind to achieve things greater than fists ever could.”

“But he was stubborn, like you. He said, ‘If I see someone getting bullied, how can I just stand by?’”

“His uncle told him, ‘Just because someone hurts another person, doesn’t mean you have the right to hurt them back. What you call punishment might just be a different kind of harm.’”

“His aunt was furious, calling him reckless and apologizing profusely to us. In the end, the two of them hugged and cried.”

“In the end, I let the boy go and gave them a chance—but I confiscated his web-shooter.”

“Gwen, what I want you to understand is that luck doesn’t last forever. There will be even scarier criminals in the future, people much more powerful than you—like that iron giant we saw at Stark Industries. When you face something beyond your abilities, I hope you’ll stay out of it, all right?”

Gwen was at a loss, unsure what to say or do.

“Dad, can I think about it?” she finally asked.

George nodded. “All right, I’ll give you time. But Gwen, promise me—don’t break your mother’s and my heart.”

“I never want to face your corpse one day. While Helen doesn’t know about this yet, let’s end it before she does.”

“I understand,” Gwen replied.

She retreated to her room, burying herself under the covers, her heart in turmoil.