The Arbiter Returns

The next morning, the sun shone brightly.

Midtown High School's campus was, as always, filled with the bustling energy of youth.

Students walked through the hallways in twos and threes, discussing last night's game or the upcoming exams.

No one noticed that a massive crisis was quietly descending upon them.

BOOM—!!!

A deafening explosion suddenly rang out from above the school!

The Green Goblin descended from the sky aboard his Green Goblin Glider, the Pumpkin Bombs in his hands blasting two enormous craters into the field.

Before the students could even understand what was happening, he cackled and charged into the school building!

He shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Peter Parker~ Where are you, good boy?"

At the same time, a beastlike roar came from the restroom. Lizard, who had spent the night in the sewers, burst out of it as well.

The two supervillains wreaked havoc throughout the campus, repeatedly demanding of isolated students, "Where is Peter Parker?"

In the chemistry lab.

Peter stared at the Green Goblin soaring freely outside the window, his brain briefly short-circuiting.

What was that flying in the sky?

A bird? A cloud?

No, it was the damn Green Goblin!

What haven't I seen before? (Delete that.)

This? I really hadn't seen this damn thing before!

No, dude!

Wasn't I supposed to be dealing with Lizard? Where the hell had the Green Goblin come from?

It had to be said, the Green Goblin's arrival taught Peter a lesson.

From that day on, he would never again trust any so-called villain appearance timeline!

"Peter, run!"

Felicia, who had been in gym class, rushed upstairs, panting as she shouted through the window:

"There's a freak outside who wants to kidnap you."

"Damn it!"

At the same moment Felicia gave her warning, Gwen Stacy immediately realized something was wrong.

She glanced at the "panicked and helpless" Peter beside her, then at the classmates already thrown into chaos, and made a swift decision.

"Peter! Come with me! It's too dangerous here!"

"No!"

Peter shook off Gwen Stacy's hand and spoke with a solemn expression:

"You heard him—he's here for me! If I stay here, everyone else will be safe!"

"Gwen, get out of here. As long as you call the police fast enough, I'll definitely be fine."

Gwen Stacy froze at those words, but quickly realized that this really was the best decision.

After telling him, "Then hide properly," she hurried out of the chemistry lab.

She had to change into her gear as quickly as possible. Only then could she save Peter.

"Aha! I found you, good boy!"

Less than a minute after Gwen Stacy left, the Green Goblin, riding his flying glider, crashed through the lab wall and charged inside. Before he even arrived, his arrogant voice had reached Peter's ears.

Peter did not hold back. He raised a hand and hurled a beaker filled with chemical reagents at him.

BOOM!

The beaker struck the wall beside the Green Goblin. Its contents exploded instantly from the violent impact, and the blast nearly knocked him straight off his glider.

"So your chemistry grades are pretty good too~"

The Green Goblin casually teased him, seemingly not taking Peter's "little trick" seriously at all.

But just as he prepared to rush forward and restrain Peter, Ghost Spider, clad in her black-and-white suit, swung in on a web and made a dazzling entrance.

She kicked the Green Goblin in the back, sending him flying off his glider, then turned to Peter and said:

"I'll handle this. Run!"

Unfortunately, she did not get to look cool for more than three seconds before a thick tail smashed through the wall on the other side and sent her flying again before she could dodge.

Lizard knocked down the wall and charged in from the neighboring classroom with a roar.

The Green Goblin, having gotten back onto his glider, did not forget to provide a smug voice-over from the side:

"You annoying little bug, your time is up!"

Hiss—

Gwen Stacy could not help sucking in a breath. She felt the wound she had received yesterday beginning to bleed again.

But she could not worry about that now.

To give Peter a chance to escape, she fired a web at a metal cabinet nearby.

Then she grabbed the web with both hands and swung the massive cabinet like a meteor hammer, smashing it heavily into the villain duo and sending them both flying:

"Friendly reminder: bugs and spiders are different species~"

"Tch~ I hope your moves are as sharp as that tongue of yours!"

After getting embarrassed twice in a row, the Green Goblin snorted coldly and flicked several darts from his hand.

Using her Spider-Sense, Gwen Stacy dodged left and right, successfully avoiding the flying blades.

But before she could catch her breath, Lizard roared and charged at her.

The "evil" two-on-one instantly turned the injured Gwen Stacy into a spinning top...

What Lizard and the Green Goblin, temporarily distracted by Ghost Spider, failed to notice was this.

While everyone's attention was elsewhere, Peter did not head downstairs. Instead, he calmly turned and walked into the men's restroom.

The instant he entered, the "panic" and "confusion" on his face vanished, replaced by absolute calm and indifference.

"Although the process has been somewhat unexpected, everything is still under control."

"Then it is time to set everything back on track!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gwen Stacy was already a rookie hero and was injured on top of that. After only a few exchanges, the two villains seized an opening, knocked her to the ground, and battered her into retreat with a storm of rapid attacks.

Her slight body fell again and again, either blasted away by the aftermath of Pumpkin Bomb explosions or forced back step by step by Lizard's savage strength.

The repeated setbacks caused even Gwen Stacy's once-firm resolve to waver.

This was too hard!

Even dealing with either one of them alone was extremely difficult for her now.

And now she had to face both of them at once. This was clearly making things hard for me, Fat Tiger!

Just as despair continued to grow in Gwen Stacy's heart, Lizard and the Green Goblin suddenly felt an inexplicable chill in their hearts at the same time!

Then, a calm voice rang out:

"Rookie, looks like you need help."

To Gwen Stacy, that voice sounded like heavenly music. She instinctively turned her head and, sure enough, saw that familiar yet unfamiliar black-and-red suit.

The Arbiter had made his grand entrance!

"Where did this guy come from?" The Green Goblin, who did not care about street news, could not help looking at Lizard beside him.

But Lizard had long since lost the ability to communicate. He merely roared like a beast and charged toward Peter.

Peter neither dodged nor retreated. He simply looked at Gwen Stacy and smiled.

"Rookie, I'll leave that clown over there to you for now. Give me one minute. In one minute, I'll come support you."

Those arrogant words made huge question marks appear over the heads of Gwen Stacy, the Green Goblin, and Lizard alike.

Was he insane?

Facing a monster over three meters long that could casually demolish a building, he was saying he only needed one minute to end the fight?

ROAR!

Realizing he had been underestimated, Lizard immediately raised his claws, intending to tear the little runt before him to shreds.

But in the next second, a scene that no one present could believe unfolded!

One hand!

The black-and-red-suited Arbiter used only one hand to effortlessly catch Lizard's claw.

And then...

BOOM!

Under the astonished gazes of Gwen Stacy and the Green Goblin, he used nothing more than an over-the-shoulder throw-like motion to cleanly slam the massive creature to the ground!