Unstable on the Way to School

At six in the morning, the alarm clock rang on time, shattering Peter Parker's sweet dreams. He raised his hand and gently pressed the alarm, refraining from smashing it into pieces this time.

"Day twenty-two of overcoming morning crankiness. Not bad." Peter patted his own face, got up excitedly, dressed, washed up, and headed downstairs.

He saw Aunt May clearing the table in the dining room and asked in confusion, "Did Uncle Ben sleep in today?"

"Maybe it's not Ben who slept in." Aunt May, a few years younger than Uncle Ben and still under forty, shot Peter a look as she tidied up. "It's someone who forgot what day it is."

"Oh! I forgot school starts today." Peter suddenly realized why Uncle Ben hadn't gone running with him. "Is Uncle Ben in the garage?"

"Yeah, can you go next door and call Gwen?"

Peter nodded, ruffled his hair, and walked next door. Gwen Stacy was his childhood friend. Since her father, George Stacy, was a single parent and a busy sheriff, Gwen spent most of her time being looked after by the Parkers.

However, in the few months since Peter became Spider-Man, Gwen had joined a London trip organized by the middle school for graduating students, having a blast all summer and only returning yesterday. Peter hadn't gone because he had to train with Uncle Ben and be Spider-Man, so she'd been pretty upset before leaving.

Hopefully, the London trip had put Gwen in a better mood.

"Hey, Peter." Before Peter could knock, Gwen's head popped out from the second floor. Her blonde hair was a mess as she asked, "What time is it?"

"Only six. First time I've seen you up this early. Didn't sleep well last night?"

"Terribly. Still jet-lagged. I basically didn't sleep at all." Gwen rubbed her tangled golden hair. "Wait a sec, I'll be right down."

Peter waited patiently for about five minutes before Gwen opened the door and walked out. Her once-messy hair was now tamed with a black headband, falling naturally to her shoulder blades.

"Turtleneck long sleeves and jeans. Huh, looks like London was way hotter than New York."

"Ah... whatever, I don't feel hot anyway. Does high school not have a uniform?" Gwen glanced at her outfit, then tossed something over. "Catch, smart kid. A gift for you."

"Whoa, a Deerstalker Hat just like Sherlock Holmes. Did you buy it at a souvenir shop on Baker Street?"

"Nope, I grabbed it from some random stall." Gwen joked as she closed the door.

Peter glanced into the Stacy living room. "What about Uncle George? Already at work?"

"No, he was busy until early morning and just went to sleep. I doubt he'll have time to drive us to school today. Let him sleep in. I'll have breakfast at your place."

"Perfect timing. Aunt May's already made breakfast, and Uncle Ben just went to the garage."

Gwen smiled helplessly. "Looks like Uncle Ben and Aunt May know he should sleep more—or go to bed earlier."

Breakfast at the Parker house was simple: a few slices of toasted bread with lettuce and jam, plus a fried egg. By the time the food was set, Uncle Ben had washed his hands and walked into the dining room.

"Alright, youngsters. I'll drive you to Midtown High today. It's the first day of high school." Uncle Ben sat down, a bit resigned. "I've got to go to work, so I can't make it to your opening ceremony. I left a message for George—if he wakes up early, he might still make it."

"It's fine, let him sleep in. He can handle his own breakfast." Gwen bit into her fried egg viciously, and Aunt May and Uncle Ben exchanged a knowing smile.

Peter didn't say much, finishing his breakfast quickly and then just sitting there. Gwen ate while glancing at the clock in the dining room.

"Less than two minutes? Since when do you eat that fast?"

"Ever since summer break started. Peter's been eating faster and faster. I thought he'd suddenly turned into a bottomless pit." Aunt May made the sign of the cross. "Thank goodness, he just eats faster now."

"I need to save time for training combat with Uncle Ben..."

"Wait." Gwen paused. "You've been training combat this summer?"

Peter hesitated, then nodded, reciting the excuse he'd prepared. "Yeah, I need to make sure there aren't any bullies like Carl in high school... The worst part is that Carl might've gotten into Midtown High too."

Carl, the biggest enemy Peter Parker had faced since his rebirth, was a white brute over six feet tall even in middle school—a textbook American football jock bully who loved picking on everyone, not just nerds.

Honestly, Peter thought he'd have to wait until he met Flash Thompson to get bullied, but Carl showed up in middle school.

Without his spider powers, Peter naturally got picked on a few times. Of course, he got back at the guy with some inventions and pranks, and with Carl's brains, he could never figure out who was messing with him.

In fact, Peter becoming Spider-Man had a lot to do with Carl. At the Osborn Tech Expo, when the radiation device exploded and chaos erupted, that guy still had the nerve to grab the irradiated spider and put it on Peter's neck.

He'd been torn about whether to become Spider-Man, carefully watching to see if the spider would land on his hand, but Carl just dropped it right on his neck. Forced his choice for him.

"You'd better be careful. I don't think two months of combat training will let you beat Carl."

Peter laughed dismissively.

"Ha, I'll knock him flat."

"Remember, learning combat isn't for starting trouble—it's for protecting yourself." Uncle Ben added instinctively, then realized that was probably the least of his worries. He smiled, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said, "Alright, kids, time to head out."

The Parker family car was a Toyota about fifteen or sixteen years old, its engine already turning a bit sluggishly. Luckily, Midtown High wasn't far—at most a ten-minute drive in the morning.

In the car, the two kept chatting about Gwen's London trip—where she'd gone, what photos she'd taken. Uncle Ben didn't put on any music, just drove along, listening to the youngsters talk, and couldn't help but smile.

It seemed like another ordinary, mundane day.

"Uncle Ben! Watch out!" Peter Parker's sharp shout made Uncle Ben slam on the brakes. Then, the wall of the building beside them collapsed, chunks of broken concrete crashing down in front of the car, missing it by only three or four meters.

Uncle Ben, barely escaping disaster, let out a long breath and was about to turn around and take another route, but the road behind them was quickly blocked by falling debris. A massive chunk of reinforced concrete flattened the engine of the car behind them, and the driver, terrified, jumped out and ran.

"Get out of the car!" Uncle Ben reacted instantly, shoving the two kids out and spotting the nearby subway station. "Hide in the subway station!"

Peter looked at the building around them—the walls were cracking fast. He glanced at Uncle Ben and Gwen, then bolted away from them, sprinting hard.

"Uncle Ben, Gwen, you two hide first! I'll look for a safe way out around here!"

"Be careful!" Uncle Ben called out, then grabbed Gwen's hand and pulled her toward the subway station for shelter. Gwen watched Peter running off with his backpack still on and was about to say something when she was cut off.

Why is he still running with his backpack?

"I knew becoming Spider-Man meant I'd run into this sooner or later, but the first day of high school? Come on!"

Racing through the surrounding alleys with his backpack, he confirmed there were no cameras or bystanders, then pulled out his Web Shooter and mask from the bag. He tossed the backpack dozens of meters into the air, leaped onto a wall, and ran upward while strapping on the Shooter and mask.

The backpack reached its apex and began to fall, only to be caught by a web line and reeled in to its owner. Peter stuffed his discarded T-shirt and sweatpants inside, then pulled out the long-sleeved gloves and put them on, drawing them up to his shoulders.

The suit beneath the T-shirt was only short-sleeved, designed to connect with these gloves via zippers. This setup was made for quick costume changes in summer and fall—he hadn't expected to use it so soon.

First, he slipped one hand into a glove, then switched the backpack to the other hand to put on the second. Finally, he took out the Spider Belt, loaded with spare Web Fluid and other small tools, and held it in his mouth. He zipped up the backpack, tossed it up again, fastened the belt, pulled down his mask, and leaped.

Against the rising sun, the red-and-blue hero launched himself from the edge of a high-rise, firing a web to stick his backpack to the building's outer wall, then dashed to the other side and dove from the sky.

The whole process was faster than Peter had expected. He even had time to glance at the digital watch on his left wrist.

"If I can wrap this up in half an hour, Uncle Ben won't be late for work!"

At the subway entrance, Uncle Ben and Gwen realized things had gone wrong. The shelter wasn't just for them—a massive crowd was pushing toward the entrance, already causing a crush.

The condition of the nearby building was dire; cracking sounds could be heard clearly.

Amid screams from the crowd, Uncle Ben and Gwen saw concrete chunks falling from the sky—but the screams didn't stop.

Because the falling debris didn't hit anyone. It was caught by a net.

Then a small, fast-moving shadow swept over the crowd. People looked up curiously.

"Is it a bird? Is it a plane?"

"No! Haha, it's Spider-Man!"

Spider-Man, answering his own question, shot countless webs between two buildings, weaving a massive net above the street that caught every falling boulder. After finishing, Peter finally had a moment to land on the opposite building and assess the situation.

"Alright, let's see what's going on?"

His gaze swept over the severely damaged building until, with a burst of sound, Spider-Man spotted smoke billowing from one spot.

It was a bank.