"Felicia, what does 'doted on' mean?"
Listening to Felicia's slightly resentful voice, 2B Miss tilted her head in curiosity. Despite the fact that her internal database contained a definition of the word "doted on," those were merely written explanations. Her machine brain couldn't truly understand the emotional depth behind the phrase.
What she lacked was a genuine, human explanation—something only people could provide. Humans were always so insistent on the importance of "feelings," as if emotions outweighed logic and reason.
To 2B Miss, emotions seemed to be a manifestation of human irrationality. But perhaps, she thought, if she could grasp the meaning of "doted on," she might be able to understand what it meant to live like a true human.
"To be doted on is a form of love," Felicia explained. "Only when someone loves another person deeply will they go all out to dote on them—like how our boss dotes on Gwen."
"Is that so?" 2B Miss tilted her head further. "But Boss told me that if you love someone, you have to lick them thoroughly."
"???" Felicia was completely dumbfounded. Her jaw dropped.
After a moment, realization struck. She looked exasperatedly in the direction Peter had gone.
"That pervert! He's even teaching nonsense to robots. Completely inhuman."
Not far away, Peter suddenly sneezed.
"Damn it, who's gossiping about me behind my back?" he muttered.
He raised his hand and fired a stream of spider silk at a nearby building, launching himself forward. In an instant, he was swinging rapidly in the direction of a fight—towards Sandman.
In just a few seconds, Peter crossed several hundred meters thanks to his web-slinging agility.
At that moment, Daredevil was getting utterly beaten down by Sandman. It was quite the sorry sight.
"Hey, Little Red! Getting beaten again? Why are you always so weak?" Peter called out mid-swing, landing near the battle. "The first time I met you, you were getting whooped, and now here we are again. Do you have some kind of masochist streak?"
Peter's infamous trash talk had kicked in. Standing on the sidelines, he couldn't resist teasing.
Daredevil, struggling under Sandman's blows, looked up—shocked and slightly relieved. This masked man knew his secret identity. That was the shocking part. But the relief came from knowing this guy also possessed incredible strength. If Peter helped, Sandman wouldn't be a threat at all.
"If you're so capable, then you handle it!" Daredevil snapped, trying to dodge a punch.
"I will, I will. Don't make such a fuss."
Peter grinned, firing two quick streams of spider silk directly at Sandman's face.
The white, sticky strands blinded Sandman, throwing off his rhythm. As he struggled to tear the webs off his eyes, Peter shot several more strands at his feet.
Then, with a sharp tug, Peter yanked Sandman off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground.
Unfortunately, the massive figure was falling straight toward Daredevil.
"Crap!" Daredevil quickly swung his batons around a nearby lamppost, pulling himself clear just in time to avoid being flattened.
"Hey, sorry! I swear I didn't do that on purpose. You believe me, right?"
"What do you think?" Daredevil glared at Peter, still shaken. He wanted to slap him, but he knew he couldn't win that fight.
"I think you'll believe me," Peter chuckled. He jumped on top of Sandman before he could fully transform back into sand.
"Hey, big guy," Peter whispered, "they don't understand you. But I do. You're just trying to get money for your daughter's medical treatment, right? There's no need to go all out like this."
Peter's tone softened slightly. "If you keep fighting, the money you've gathered might get taken or destroyed. You already have what you need. I'll open a fire hydrant in a minute and spray you with water. When that happens, act like you're losing and surrender. I promise every penny you stole will be transferred to your daughter's hospital account. Sound fair?"
Sandman, startled, looked up at the masked man.
He had originally planned to fight to the death. But now, this unexpected proposal intrigued him.
His real name was William Baker. Once just another street thug in New York, he had served time for theft. During his prison term, his daughter was born.
Determined to reform, he tried to go straight. But life wasn't kind. After his release, he discovered his daughter was gravely ill and needed expensive treatment.
Desperate, he reverted to crime. During one job, he accidentally stumbled into a particle accelerator experiment and was transformed into the Sandman.
Realizing his new power to control sand, he resumed his criminal activities and robbed a bank—leading to the present battle.
"You're serious?" he asked, his tone cautious but hopeful.
Peter nodded. "Dead serious. I keep my promises. And if I lie, hey, with your powers, no prison could hold you. You could bust out anytime and take your revenge on Daredevil."
"???" Daredevil stared blankly.
"Wait, why would he come after me?" he muttered.
"Come on, isn't it obvious?" Peter shot back. "He can't beat me. But you? Easy target."
"..." Daredevil looked like he wanted to argue, but couldn't.
"You better keep your word," Sandman warned, slowly rising. "If not, I'll come for you."
"No worries," Peter said with a shrug. "You're welcome to try."
With that, he shot a web toward a nearby fire hydrant and yanked it hard.
Water exploded out, shooting into the air and falling in a heavy downpour over Sandman.
Water was one of Sandman's two major weaknesses. It slowed his movements, disrupted his control, and melted his sand-based body.
The other weakness was extreme heat. Temperatures above 3400°C could turn his sand into glass, effectively neutralizing him permanently.
Peter, of course, knew all this. He wasn't worried. More importantly, he knew Sandman's heart wasn't evil. The man just wanted to save his daughter. There was no need for this to turn into a bloodbath.
As the water drenched him, Sandman's enormous form dissolved and shrank. Soon, he reformed into a normal human-sized version of himself and quietly raised his hands in surrender.
"You'd better keep your word," he said again as the police moved in to arrest him.
Peter just smirked. His attention shifted.
Far away, Gwen stood, watching the scene.
Without hesitation, Peter fired a web line at her, wrapping her tightly. Before she could react, he pulled her toward him and took off into the air, vanishing into the city skyline.
Under the stunned gazes of those present, Peter disappeared—taking Gwen with him.
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