Chapter 123: The Spider and the Bat (Part 2)

In Parker’s room, Peter gripped the doorframe tightly and said, “Let me go! This is my body! I’ll use it however I want! I’m going out to meet Gwen—”

Then he glanced at his watch and added, “Come on! It’s already 10 p.m.! We’re meeting by the river at 10:30! If we leave now, we’ll still make it! I can’t stand her up—she went through such a huge danger yesterday, she needs comfort!”

“But you haven’t even finished a single decent battle plan!! You’ve been dawdling for three hours!! You’ve only written a third of it!! You must finish it before you go out!”

“Are you insane?! Even your school teachers don’t make anyone spend three hours on homework!! I’m leaving right now! Let me go!”

Peter’s arms alternated between relaxing and tightening, as if he were wrestling himself. Finally, Venom roared, “You’re sixteen! Only two years away from eighteen! I’ve met plenty of eighteen-year-old humans far more diligent and disciplined than you!”

“You’re lying! My upperclassmen are just like me—we’re normal! Who in this world has a high schooler stuck inside writing homework?! Let me out! I’m really going to be late!”

Twenty minutes later, Peter landed on a rooftop and warned Venom in his mind: “When I’m on my date with Gwen, you’re not watching.”

“Have you even held her hand yet?” Venom asked.

“Of course we have—”

“Just held hands, right?”

Peter’s face flushed. “So what? We’ve only been dating for a few months—we haven’t even gone on a hundred dates yet…”

At a café by the river, Gwen had already ordered two coffees. When she saw Peter, she beamed. Peter sprinted over, breathless. “Sorry I’m late—the road… was a bit jammed.”

“It’s fine—I came too early. I already ordered. Let’s sit over there.”

As Peter took the coffee cup, his body suddenly went limp. He flung his arms wide and hugged Gwen. She gasped. Peter pulled back, grimacing. “Oh—sorry! I… I just…”

Then he saw tears glistening in Gwen’s eyes. “You saw the newspaper? About what happened on that street beside the school yesterday?”

Peter had been there. He knew. “Ah… yeah. I saw you were there too…”

Before Peter could say more, Gwen’s eyes welled up. “You don’t know how dangerous it was. I watched a young cop die. My god—I just can’t accept it…”

“Hold her.”

“That’s too much! How can you control me—”

“Listen to me. Hold her.”

Peter’s body moved again, uncontrollably. He pulled Gwen into a tight embrace. She clung to him and began to cry, soon trembling violently. Peter could only stroke her back.

After a long while, Gwen calmed down. She wiped her tears with a napkin. “I’m so sorry—I lost control—but…”

Her voice cracked. “My dad’s under so much pressure. I can’t even show fear—I’m scared if I do, he’ll worry. What if he gets distracted on the job? Then it might be him who dies…”

Seeing Gwen’s sorrow and worry, Peter felt a deep ache. He couldn’t speak. Then his arm lifted again, unbidden, and grasped the hand holding her coffee cup. Venom spoke inside his mind: “Aren’t you going to say something?”

“What should I say? This… this is too sudden…”

“You’re the most cowardly human I’ve ever met.”

Finally, Peter gathered his courage, looked Gwen in the eyes, and said, “Don’t worry—I’ve always been right here with you.”

As soon as he finished, he snatched his hand back as if burned, then grabbed his coffee and took a gulp.

Gwen stared at his reddened face, then suddenly smiled through her tears. “You’re acting different today.”

Peter groaned inwardly: “It’s all your fault. Gwen’s going to think I’m rude.”

Then he heard Gwen say, “But I think it’s actually nice. You used to be so shy—I never thought you’d be this bold…”

Peter’s face turned even redder. He stammered, “I… I didn’t do anything special. It’s just… natural…”

“You’re hopeless,” Venom’s voice echoed in his mind.

Gwen giggled, nearly choking on her coffee. She clearly adored seeing Peter flustered.

“Let’s go see a movie later—our usual theater. I’ve got a coupon for a large cheese puff bucket. Perfect chance to use it.”

After leaving the café, Peter said to Gwen, “Sorry, wait a sec—I need to pop into a convenience store.”

He dashed into the nearest store, headed to the shelves, grabbed a bag of chocolate puffs, and paid.

Gwen spotted him exiting and stared at the bag in his hand. “Why buy this? I didn’t know you liked chocolate.”

Tomato Novel

Peter tore open the package, pulled out one puff, and offered it to Gwen. He shrugged. “I thought sweets might cheer you up.”

Gwen beamed, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You’ve really changed. My friends always said you had no idea how to please girls—but looks like you’re doing pretty well.”

Peter blushed again, then pulled out a puff for himself, peeled the wrapper, and popped it in his mouth.

“Oh, shit. This is disgusting,” Venom’s voice rang in his head.

“Then why did you make me buy it?”

Peter chewed. “I think it’s fine. Isn’t chocolate supposed to taste like this?”

“You’ve never seen the world, kid. This chocolate is shockingly awful. Of course—cheap junk tastes like cheap junk,” Venom said.

At the theater, Peter accepted a cheese puff bucket nearly half his height from the clerk. Gwen apologized. “I didn’t realize it was this big—the picture made it look smaller…”

Peter struggled to hold the massive bucket. “It’s fine. You know I’ve been eating way more lately. I think we can finish it.”

When the movie started, they sat in the center-back row. Peter wedged the giant bucket between the armrest and the seat in front, right between them—within easy reach.

As the film played, they munched on cheese puffs, sipped soda, and whispered about the plot.

Just as Gwen reached for a cheese puff, a black tendril shot from the bucket, snatching seven or eight in one swift motion. She rubbed her eyes. “What the—?!”

“What?” Peter turned to her. By the time she looked again, the tendril was gone. With so many puffs, it was hard to tell if any were missing. She blinked. “Nothing. Must’ve been a hallucination.”

Then Peter heard Venom complain inside his mind: “This is awful too. Tastes like cheap processed junk.”

“Why are you so picky?” Peter said. “It’s fine.” He grabbed five or six puffs and shoved them into his mouth.

When the movie ended, Gwen stared at the empty bucket. “I knew you ate more now—but this is ridiculous! That was a ten-person portion!”

Inside Peter’s mind, Venom belched. “Not tasty, but damn filling.”

After dropping Gwen off, Peter lingered outside. Venom snapped, “Can’t you just go home and finish that damn battle plan?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake! Spare me! I don’t need a plan!” Peter crouched on a rooftop, pulled on his Spider-Man suit, and said, “We just wear this, go smash that base. Simple.”

“You’ll get your ass kicked,” Venom said.

Half an hour later, Peter fled down an alley, dodging attacks. A black mist wrapped around him, slowing his movements. Then claws slashed toward his back—black slime blocked the strike. Peter spun and threw a punch. The attacker vanished instantly.

Before he could turn, another vampire teleported before him, lunging with claws. Peter ducked—but another bat-like creature dove from above.

“Damn it. I walked right into their trap. They’ve been waiting here for me.” Peter scanned the alley—five or six high-level vampires surrounded him.

These enemies perfectly countered Peter. He had strength and spider-sense, but no real way to counter magic.

His punches were powerful—but useless if they missed. He was fast, but couldn’t fly. Once they turned into bats and rose, he couldn’t catch them.

Meanwhile, the vampires took turns harassing him—one attacked head-on while others distracted. Peter’s movements were severely slowed.

“Listen—if you don’t handle this in ten minutes, I’m stepping in,” Venom said.

“Step in? You can fight? Then why not now? Why can’t you—” Peter rolled across the ground, dodging another strike. “—help me right now?!”

“This is the consequence of not making a plan!!! And do you think I don’t want to? Do you know how much chaos I’d cause?!”

As he spoke, the high-level vampires abandoned their harassment. They cornered Peter and launched a full-scale assault. Soon, his suit was slashed in several places—another hit or two, and it would tear.

Venom said, “Alright. Clear your mind. I’m taking over…”

At that moment, gunshots rang out. One vampire screamed, black smoke rising from its body. A black man in a leather jacket and eye patch leapt over the alley wall.

He slashed another vampire’s shoulder—the blade sparked black smoke where it touched flesh. The vampire tried to turn into bats and flee—but another slash severed its wings. It crashed to the ground, flapping wildly, until a silver wedge drove into its heart.

The man was Blade, a dhampir and vampire hunter. He’d tracked this group for months. Today, they’d gathered together—perfect chance to wipe them out.

Blade’s plan worked. In moments, one vampire lay dead, another wounded. But he’d been so focused on the vampires, he hadn’t noticed the person they’d surrounded. Only when he turned did he see black slime erupting—and a figure rising into the air.

Amid a torrent of black sludge, a massive winged monster emerged midair, its chest bearing a bat emblem.

Blade looked up. Above New York, a colossal black bat—wingspan over ten meters, blotting out the sky—hovered.

————EXTRA NOTES————

Ten thousand characters today!

Request monthly votes!

Request recommendation votes!