Chapter Fifty-One: The Grand Festival

Gwen removed her mask, revealing her true face.

"Gwen."

Peter was a little surprised. What was Gwen up to? In that instant, his youthful heart began to stir, his imagination running wild.

"Hi, Peter," Gwen greeted him again, then continued, "Do you want to be Spider-Man?"

"What do you mean?" Peter was utterly confused.

Gwen smiled and said, "I don't want to be Spider-Man anymore. But this city still needs Spider-Man, so I found you."

"Why?" Peter was shocked, and urgently said, "I don't have powers like you. How could I become Spider-Man?"

Gwen didn't explain her reasons. Instead, she recounted how she had been bitten by Osborne's experimental spider.

"So that's how you became Spider-Man," Peter said, feeling a bit down. He almost had the chance to become Spider-Man himself.

"Here," Gwen said, handing him a vial.

"What is this?"

"Spider serum. It's similar to the lizard serum, except this spider was genetically modified by your father. He added human genetic codes, so when it fuses with your genes, you won't suffer the same monstrous mutations as Dr. Connors."

Peter held the vial of spider serum, staring at its deep blue contents in silence for a long time.

He looked up, wanting to say something, but Gwen was gone. The vast rooftop was empty, leaving him alone.

"Gwen..."

Elsewhere, Norman discovered the virus in his computer.

Yet he wasn’t angry; instead, he burst into laughter.

He believed Michael was just like him—a man with desires, and anyone with desires could be persuaded.

George continued his vigil below Osborne Tower. Norman hadn’t left the building in ages; nobody knew what he was up to.

But without a search warrant, they couldn't force their way into private property. The stalemate dragged on, but George was patient, confident he would eventually catch Norman slipping.

A few quiet days passed, so quiet that George felt the calm was the precursor to a storm, an oppressive stillness.

Soon, the carnival began. Watching the lively crowds on the street, George felt a vague sense of unease.

If an attack happened in such a scene, how many would die?

The old men of the board were upstairs in the square, sipping their drinks, celebrating what they thought was their victory.

They were delighted, believing everything had gone according to plan. Norman's isolation seemed to them a sign of surrender.

Suddenly, a strange cackle echoed from afar as the Green Goblin soared in on his glider.

He hurled a pumpkin bomb at them. With a thunderous explosion, the board members were sent flying.

Michael appeared in midair, quickly closing in on the Green Goblin.

He had been waiting here, knowing the Goblin would kill them, so he had been on guard since early on.

The Green Goblin spotted Michael and threw another pumpkin bomb. Michael activated the magical shield on his arm, charging through the explosion.

Emerging from the smoke, he was startled to see a dozen Green Goblins in the sky.

He quickly realized it was a holographic projection; the Goblin was using multiple gliders to create an illusion—only one was real.

He activated his echolocation. A cacophony flooded Michael’s ears—cries for help, sobbing, trampling.

His head throbbed as he quickly filtered out the noise, locking onto the Goblin’s glider and soon identified the real one.

The Green Goblin glanced back at Michael in pursuit and threw out a dart bomb.

The dart bomb differed from the pumpkin bomb; on either side were two darts acting as wings, allowing it to glide farther and, after exploding, to unleash deadly shrapnel.

Coincidentally, Michael’s telekinetic flight relied on wind, drawing surrounding air to propel him.

The bombs followed the wind’s path, heading straight for Michael.

"Damn—"

Michael conjured a magical shield, blocking all the bombs.

The Green Goblin watched this scene, immediately discerning Michael’s flight method and the similar energy shield.

"Michael, I knew it was you."

By the time Michael dealt with the bombs, all the gliders had surrounded him, bullets raining down.

Michael casually drew several portals, returning the bullets straight to the Goblin’s gliders, quickly taking out many of them.

The Green Goblin finally reacted, launching missiles from his glider.

Facing a barrage of missiles, Michael remained calm, but he didn’t dare assume whether they were triggered or remote-controlled. He promptly drew a portal and teleported away.

Michael was safe, but the building behind him suffered—several huge holes blown open.

This confirmed for Michael that the missiles were likely triggered on impact.

"Michael, don’t you understand? This city has eight million people, and such noisy crowds have only one purpose: to be the foundation upon which a few geniuses stand. You, me—we are both extraordinary."

"I'm nothing like you. You're insane."

The Green Goblin was clever, but a villain’s perspective could never be openly justified; the world’s darkness was not meant for the spotlight.

Just then, a red-and-blue figure appeared on the rooftop.

"Hey, guys, are you dueling?"

"Another Spider-Man, another would-be hero." The Green Goblin was surprised, then furious. Why did these people always oppose him, always want to be heroes?

In his rage, he hurled a pumpkin bomb at Spider-Man.

"You're the Green Goblin, I know—ah..." Spider-Man quickly used his webs to dodge the pumpkin bomb, well aware of its destructive power.

After dodging it, Peter’s tendency to chatter kicked in.

"Clearly, you're a villain."

His answer was two more pumpkin bombs, and Peter ran along the wall, narrowly avoiding the explosions.

"So, who are you?" Michael was exasperated. Others were fighting, and here he was chatting. If only he’d focus on the battle, he could have defeated the enemy already.

"I'm Batman," Michael replied shamelessly.

"I can see that. You look just like a bat—black suit, pointed ears." Peter pointed at Michael, giving him a once-over. "Your armor and cape are cool, but honestly, is it really convenient for moving around?"

Michael: Very convenient. Besides, running around in tights is a bit perverse.

"Shut up."

The Green Goblin finally lost patience, directing his remaining gliders at Spider-Man.

Michael couldn't help but marvel at fate—his destined rival had simply ignored him.

"Did you forget about me?"

Michael flung out a magical whip, lashing it around the Goblin’s waist and pulling hard.

The Goblin was yanked away by the immense force. In the moment of crisis, he grabbed his glider, using its thrust to engage Michael in a midair struggle.

The Goblin heard a cracking sound and glanced down to see his waist armor shattered by the crushing force. Any further and his waist would break.

The Goblin decisively let go of the glider, using Michael’s pull to kick him in the chest.

Caught off guard, Michael was kicked downward.

The Goblin was caught by another glider, and he went after Spider-Man once more.

This time, he directly controlled two gliders to ram into Spider-Man.