Chapter 171: Lifting the Building

Although Missy tried, she still could not fully understand why Peter kept doing all of this.

May felt her heart stop. She could not believe that the man she loved so much could... no. She refused to believe it.

Not only her, but also the three hybrids who called themselves Peter’s children refused to accept it.

For the first time, Cortana felt genuine fear.

Fear of losing everything.

Fear of losing her world.

For the first time, she also felt hatred.

Hatred for whoever had planned all of this.

She would not rest until she found the person responsible and made them regret it.

Her thoughts stopped when she heard someone scream.

Like everyone else, she turned back toward the television.

....

"Look!"

"The building should...! But it is not! How?!.... There!"

Every civilian, along with everyone watching on television, stared at the screen.

Little by little, the cloud of dust created by the explosions began to disperse, revealing something that shocked everyone watching.

More than one person rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Others changed channels to verify it, only for their astonishment to double when every station showed the same unbelievable sight.

"It is Spider-Man!"

Those who knew the arachnid were the most astonished.

They could hardly believe the feat he was accomplishing.

A small group of teenage girls, however, experienced what could only be described as a collective brain short-circuit.

They knew Spider-Man’s limits better than almost anyone.

What they were witnessing went far beyond them.

....

"It is Spider-Man!"

"He is holding up the building!"

The moment those words were spoken, every camera focused on New York’s guardian and protector.

Damn, damn, damn, it hurts like hell, but... I cannot... not now, Spider-Man thought in frustration as he felt the muscles in his arms and back beginning to tear apart.

Right now, I curse my heightened senses. I can hear every muscle in my body tearing. I am holding up a fifty-story building with second-degree burns across part of my back and burns over different parts of my body.

At least the fireproofing worked. Damn the fight with Rhino. The suit absorbed too many of those impacts.

He felt one of his legs begin to give out until he was finally forced onto one knee, causing the building to tremble slightly.

More than anything, he wanted to let go.

But he knew that if he did, hundreds of people would be injured.

In the worst-case scenario...

...they would die.

So he endured.

Not only for the civilians gathered outside...

...but also for the people still trapped inside the building, unable to evacuate.

You can do it, Peter. You can do it. You are Spider-Man, and Spider-Man always gets back up. He always does, and you have to do it too. Just do it. Come on. Come on. You can do it. Up. UP!

"GRAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

Slowly forcing himself back to his feet, he felt parts of the suit begin to tear apart.

"MORE!"

Raising his arms higher, he quickly looked around and came up with a plan.

He only had seconds.

Letting out another roar, he did something he would have considered impossible before.

Something that would have astonished even himself if he had not been focused on far more important matters.

He supported the building with one hand.

With the other, he pulled nearby steel beams into place so the structure could remain standing for a few precious moments.

Just long enough to evacuate everyone inside.

Just long enough for everyone outside to get far enough away.

Using his webs, he pulled more beams into position and secured them with his cement webbing, anchoring them wherever they would provide the most support.

Moving around the building, he swung from point to point, launching several web grenades.

Once the ground had been covered, he layered multiple varieties of webbing across the lower floors, gradually reinforcing the damaged structure.

Turning around with a slight stumble, he walked toward the nearest group of firefighters.

"I recommend that you leave now. The webs will not hold forever, and there are still many people inside."

He watched the firefighters recover from their shock and immediately spring into action.

"Get everyone away from this area. It is dangerous."

He raised his hand.

Just as he was about to leave, several reporters began shouting questions at him.

He ignored every one of them.

Just before he swung away, however, his communicator rang.

He lowered his arm and answered it.

"Spider-Man reporting in."

"Spider, we need help. Are you busy?" Dan asked.

"I am not free. What is happening?"

"A suspect wearing unusual clothing and carrying strange weapons has entered a bank and is holding several people hostage. We need your help. Several of my officers are injured, and two of them may end up in intensive care."

"Bank robbery. Unusually dressed suspect with strange weapons threatening innocent lives?"

"I will be there in ten minutes."

He ended the call and immediately headed toward Dan’s location.

As he left, he never noticed the expressions on the civilians’ faces after hearing the conversation.

Most of them had assumed that, after such an exhausting ordeal, the vigilante would finally go home and rest.

Instead...

...they had just heard him accept another emergency.

More than one person simply could not believe that, after holding up an entire building, Spider-Man could still keep going.

---------------

Hell’s Kitchen. Murdock Apartment.

Both Matt and Karen stood frozen in place, with Karen being the one most affected.

Neither of them could believe what they had just heard and seen.

For a few brief seconds, Matt could hear that his girlfriend’s heart had practically stopped beating, something that did not worry him too much since he had experienced a similar reaction when he heard that his friend had lifted an entire building.

But what truly impacted him was hearing that Peter still had more work to do, that he was not going to stop yet.

That single action made Matt’s respect for the arachnid grow immensely.

He might not agree with some of Spider-Man’s methods, but he was also glad to know that the man always kept his word.

More than once, Spider-Man had stopped criminals on his behalf without taking their lives, even when both of them knew those criminals deserved a one-way trip to hell.

If Matt had already respected him for taking his work seriously and honoring his promises, he respected him even more now after witnessing everything he had done.

Karen shared that same respect.

And if either of them ever needed help from someone they could truly rely on...

...they already knew exactly who to call.

....

Xavier Mansion.

Silence.

Pure.

Eerie silence filled the meta-human mansion.

No one could believe what they had just witnessed.

More than one person now understood the meaning of do not judge a book by its cover.

None of them had ever believed someone like him could accomplish something so extraordinary.

If they had still harbored doubts about the arachnid despite knowing his fighting style and personal code...

...those doubts vanished after seeing what he had just done.

They knew now that he was someone they could trust.

Recovering from the shock, Logan suddenly covered his nose.

A familiar scent had reached him.

Searching for its source, he quickly realized it was coming from the redhead he constantly kept an eye on in case something went wrong.

The moment he recognized both the scent...

...and what had caused it...

...his eyes lit up with a familiar expression.

Ororo felt a slight chill run down her spine the instant she saw Logan’s face.

She knew that look.

It was a look that never ended well for someone.

Logan only wore that expression when he had found fresh targets for the training room.

She could only pray for whoever that unfortunate individual happened to be.

But she didn’t know how wrong she was...