A figure suddenly appeared, dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and a masquerade mask, concealing their face entirely. However, the graceful silhouette clearly indicated the person was a woman.
"Thank you!" George said, his expression complicated after being saved by the mysterious figure. Though grateful, he looked at her with confusion and asked, "Who are you?"
The figure remained silent in response to George's question.
It was Gwen—she had followed him from home. If she spoke, George would undoubtedly recognize her voice. That was the last thing she wanted. She knew very well how much her father hated masked vigilantes.
To him, vigilantes were nothing more than criminals in disguise—wolves dressed as sheep, taking justice into their own hands and using violence to combat violence. He deeply despised anyone who tried to replace the police, no matter how noble their intentions. If he ever found out, he would do everything in his power to bring them to justice.
Naturally, Gwen had no desire to be pursued by her own father. Remaining silent was her safest option.
Perhaps it was due to her recent mutation, but after her father had left home earlier, she felt an overwhelming sense of danger looming. She didn't know why, but her instincts told her to follow him—and thankfully, she did. If not for her intervention, her father might have been killed by that Sandman monster.
Thinking about how close Sandman had come to ending her father's life made Gwen's eyes well up with tears.
She turned to glare at Sandman, her fists clenched. But she was paralyzed by inexperience—this was her first time facing a real threat. She had only just obtained her Spider-Man-like powers and hadn't yet learned how to use them.
Gwen had always been a well-behaved girl. She rarely raised her voice, let alone got into a fight. This was completely new territory for her.
Meanwhile, Sandman was enraged. Gwen had just rescued a police officer—one who had tried to arrest him. That alone made him furious. Now, she was standing between him and his rage.
Without hesitation, he attacked. A massive sand fist, carried by a gust of wind, surged toward Gwen.
Gwen's face turned pale with fear. She had no idea how to handle an attack like that. Her instincts kicked in, and she jumped backward to avoid the strike.
To her shock, the leap carried her more than ten meters away.
Stunned by her own abilities, Gwen's eyes lit up. That one jump sparked a flicker of confidence. She wasn't completely powerless after all.
A mischievous thought entered her mind, and she struck a martial arts pose—Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg—something she remembered from a classic Dragon Kingdom kung fu movie.
But it felt awkward.
She quickly dropped the pose, rubbed her nose in a Bruce Lee-style stance, then changed again, spreading her arms in a Wong Fei-hung gesture.
Still not feeling it, she dropped that one too.
In under ten seconds, Gwen had cycled through three different martial arts poses. Onlookers were baffled. No one could understand what she was doing.
Realizing the attention she had drawn, Gwen felt a wave of embarrassment and quickly stopped. She stood still, flustered and unsure of what to do next.
But in Sandman's eyes, her rapid posing looked like blatant provocation.
He was already furious that she had interfered—and now she was mocking him? That was intolerable.
Roaring with rage, Sandman lunged at her again.
Startled, Gwen leapt back once more, this time landing on a nearby lamppost.
Thanks to the strong adhesion of her hands, she stuck firmly to the pole and instinctively assumed Spider-Man's iconic crouching pose. She hadn't expected it to look so cool, and she smiled in amazement at what she had just pulled off.
With her body enhanced, she was now capable of performing feats she never dreamed possible.
Eager to explore more, she prepared to leap down from the lamppost.
But then something went terribly wrong—her hands wouldn't let go. No matter how hard she tried, she was stuck.
Worse, she had used too much force trying to detach, and her body swung upside down like a bat.
"Damn it, don't mess up now!" Gwen muttered through gritted teeth, clearly frustrated.
Her lack of familiarity with her new powers was catching up to her—at the worst possible time.
This wasn't just embarrassing; it was dangerous. Sandman had noticed her awkward position and was preparing to strike.
Seeing him charge at her again, Gwen panicked. She began humming a song in her mind, trying to calm herself and break free of the lamppost.
But it was too late.
Just as Sandman's attack was about to land, a staff struck the lamppost from the side. With a loud crack, the pole snapped and Gwen fell to the ground—safe, but disoriented.
Daredevil had arrived.
He stood nearby, his expression unreadable, long staff in hand. He had just saved Gwen.
Judging by her earlier jump, he could tell she had significant physical strength. But based on her clumsy moves, it was also clear that she was a total novice.
If he hadn't intervened, she might have died.
Recently, the world had changed. More and more super-powered individuals were showing up—as though Pandora's box had been opened.
Daredevil used to believe that his heightened senses and combat prowess gave him the upper hand. But that was no longer enough. Ever since he encountered a mysterious masked figure not long ago, he began to realize his fighting skills were being outmatched by supernatural threats.
Take Sandman, for example. Physical strikes had no real effect on him. Daredevil's staff might as well have been a feather.
Had the police not shown up earlier, Daredevil could've been knocked out long before Gwen's arrival.
And now, instead of being resolved, the situation had only grown more complicated—another masked vigilante, clearly untrained, but undeniably powerful.
Despite the chaos, he didn't have time to question her motives. Sandman still posed a threat, and Daredevil knew he had to act fast.
Charging forward with his staff, he re-engaged Sandman. The two clashed violently.
But Daredevil was outmatched. Sandman's elemental body absorbed every blow without so much as a wince. In mere moments, Daredevil began to falter.
Meanwhile, atop a nearby rooftop, a masked man stood watching the fight unfold. He was flanked by two beautiful women.
Felicia leaned toward him with a smile and asked, "Looks like your beloved's getting bullied. Want me to step in?"
Peter shook his head. "No need. I'll protect my woman myself."
Felicia rolled her eyes. "Tsk. You just spoil her too much."
For more chapters
patreon.com/Robertt45