Benny: So You're the Real Spider-Man

In an instant, everything around fell silent.

The dancing dust motes shimmered like sprites in the sunlight, which streamed through the collapsed walls like the drooping arms of a god.

But this peace was soon broken once again.

Police cars arrived with sirens blaring, blocking the courthouse and preventing any onlookers from entering.

Harry, who was resting in a chair, heard the voice and scoffed, "The criminals have all escaped before they arrive. I really don't know what these cops are doing with taxpayers' money!"

"Harry!"

Norman snapped, then apologized to George Stacy, whose face was not looking too good.

Stacy had no way to defend herself, so she could only nod and remain silent.

It has to be said that, given the efficiency of the New York Police, it's sometimes no wonder that the public trusts Super Hero more than them.

However, as the Police Station chief, he naturally couldn't let those self-proclaimed heroes run rampant.

He strode out of the courthouse.

Matt said to Norman, "Mr. Osborn, you can leave the rest to me. If all goes well, all of Stromm's property will soon be in your name."

Norman nodded.

He didn't allow Matt to transfer Stromm's assets to Ben's name; he and Ben kept the division of the spoils to themselves, which was also a way to protect Ben.

Next, he took Harry to the hospital for a check-up to rule out any potential problems.

He had originally wanted Peter to go for a physical exam with him, but Peter, worried about his spider abilities being exposed, naturally didn't dare to go and quickly refused.

After parting ways with Norman, Peter wandered aimlessly around with his schoolbag on his back.

Before I knew it, I was standing downstairs at Primus's building again.

With this in mind, he thought he might as well go to Connors to do some research and see if he could develop an antidote for the Green Goblin's modification potion.

But to his surprise, Ben, whom Eunice had described as going shopping with Mary Jane, had turned into Four Arms, tinkering with his car in the laboratory.

"Benny, weren't you meeting with Mary Jane?"

"Someone called to harass me, so the date is off." The Four Arms, over three meters tall, rolled all four of his eyes, then flipped the Rust Bucket RV over like a stir-fry.

His movements were anything but gentle; on the contrary, they were extremely rough, to the point that Peter worried the car might be crushed by his enormous hands.

However, the Rust Bucket RV built by Ben couldn't possibly be that fragile.

He might not be able to withstand a punch from the Four Arms, but a simple touch wouldn't cause him any damage.

"I'm going to see a movie with Felicia at eight o'clock tonight, so I'm here to modify the engine." He freed one hand to stroke his chin, thought for a moment, and asked, "Don't you think it's a bit too extravagant to put Tetramand engine in Rust Bucket RV?"

"It's like using Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth to tie a stone to a stick and make a stone tool," Peter said.

"Or perhaps nuclear weapons would be mounted on small wooden boats?"

Peter now understands just how advanced the Tetramand's engine truly is.

Even within a cosmic civilization capable of traversing interstellar space and achieving faster-than-light travel, this engine is unparalleled.

Peter's opinion was that it was completely unnecessary.

Even Rust Bucket RV can't utilize even a fraction of its engine's potential.

"You're right, but what can I do? I have the skills!" Ben declared, adding that having the skills gives him the freedom to be capricious; who says Lasso of Truth can't be used to tie stones?

"Whatever makes you happy."

Peter wasn't in high spirits.

Although Ben knew the reason, he pretended not to know and asked a question.

"What's wrong?"

"The courtroom was attacked, and I let the Green Goblin escape," Peter said listlessly.

He recounted everything that had happened at the courthouse to Ben, then said, "That's a madman. I'm worried he might hurt Uncle Ben and Aunt May..."

"Yeah?"

Ben looked at him and smiled slightly, "Do you really think that after I capture the Green Goblin, he still has a chance to escape and continue his evil deeds?"

Peter was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"It means that if I want him dead, I can do it immediately."

Ben grinned wickedly, then, to Peter's astonishment, pulled out a controller that looked somewhat like a lighter.

"Actually, when I captured Green Goblin, I had already implanted a chip in his body that could release neurotoxins."

Ben handed the controller to Peter.

"Press this button, and the neurotoxins in Green Goblin's body will be released immediately, at which point he will surely die."

Actually, pressing the button doesn't kill the Green Goblin immediately.

The controller also has many settings, with only the highest setting capable of completely eliminating the opponent.

But that's not important. What's important is that Ben has once again placed the decision of Green Goblin's life or death in Peter's hands, to see what he will choose.

"Press it, and Green Goblin will die. That way, you won't have to worry about him causing trouble anymore. Neither Kingpin, the Hand, nor anyone else will be able to find the remaining Lizard Serum. And all that's left is a mad villain. I think it's a good deal. What do you think?"

"But we can't..."

Peter opened his mouth, as if to say something, but his voice was stuck in his throat like a fishbone full of thorns, making his vocal cords sting.

Why not?

Ben patted the watch logo on his shoulder, changed it back, then dusted himself off and asked:

Are you Batman?

"You think that if you kill a criminal, there will be one more criminal in the world, so the total number of criminals remains the same?"

"No." Peter shook his head.

He certainly knew this theory was utterly absurd.

Killing one criminal might not change the total number, but what if you kill ten or a hundred?

Needless to say, it's pointless to care about the total number of criminals; what matters is that the innocent victims are saved.

"I just feel that a person's life or death shouldn't be decided by us, because people are always unable to make rational judgments due to impulses or other reasons," Peter said.

Just like today, when Green Goblin said he was going to kill everyone Peter knew, he really wanted to just snap the other guy's head off.

"Then who should decide?" Ben asked.

"Law?"

"But as you've seen, the more capable a criminal is of causing significant impact, the more they like to exploit legal loopholes, and the more people there are who don't want their 'talent' to be buried."

Upon hearing this, Peter then shared his thoughts from the day with Ben.

"Making them lose their Superpowers is indeed a good idea." Ben nodded in agreement at first, but then he asked, "But have you considered that some people are just as dangerous even without Superpowers?"

"There are some people who, even while in prison, can control every move in the outside world and have countless people risk their lives for them?"

"And some people are incredibly intelligent. They don't have Superpowers, but they possess wisdom that is unmatched by ordinary people. You can't just turn them into fools, can you?"

In fact, Ben doesn't mind making others look like fools.

But instead of going through all that trouble, it's easier to just kill him.

After hearing this series of questions, Peter fell silent again.

He initially felt he had matured a lot after today's events, but now it seems he was too naive and presumptuous.

"Then what should I do?"

Ben raised his chin and pointed to the controller in his hand.

"Hasn't the right to choose already been handed to you?" he said.

"Those criminals are nothing but pests in the city. Is it really necessary to arrest pests?"

Peter fell silent. He looked down at the controller in his hands, and the scales in his heart seemed to begin to waver. His hands holding the controller began to tighten.

"Click!"

The next moment, a crisp sound rang out.

He crushed the controller.

Peter raised his head and said seriously, "No matter what, I still can't just kill him like this. It's not out of mercy or any other reason, but I'm worried that once I cross this line, things will get out of control..."

Not killing was also a form of self-restraint for him.

Killing a person was too easy for Peter; it was almost as easy as killing an ant.

He worried that if this continued, he would become increasingly indifferent to life, distinguish himself from ordinary people, and turn into that kind of arrogant guy who thought he could decide the life and death of others.

"That's right, but Peter..."

Ben opened his mouth, then hesitated before speaking, "Once the controller is damaged, the neurotoxin will take effect immediately... I'm afraid Green Goblin is already dead."

Peter: Σ(⊙▽⊙"a!!!

Peter was stunned.

Okay, I was just kidding.

Ben's words reassured Peter, and then Peter turned around and went to find Connors to do his research.

Ben shook his head as he watched Peter leave.

He wasn't disappointed that Peter couldn't bring himself to kill the Green Goblin; on the contrary, it was exactly what he expected.

So you are the real Spider-Man.

Ben thought to himself.

At the same time, he raised his wrist, and a row of blue arcs lit up on the Web Shooter.

Of course, Peter didn't only have the one controller Peter had. He had already integrated the controller's functions into the transmitter. In fact, he had also incorporated quite a few other functions into it.

This wristband-like device is arguably the part of Spider-Man's body where he can do the most hands and feet.

At that moment, Ben stretched out his finger and swiped it across his wristband, instantly bringing the blue aura to its maximum brightness.

Just as Peter wouldn't kill the Green Goblin, Ben wouldn't let the Green Goblin live either, especially after he threatened Peter with killing his family and friends.

"If I were to let him go, I wouldn't be Ben Parker!"

Thank you to Salty Fish Warrior, Passerby Who Likes Novels, and Godslayer Kai for the 100-point donation.