Chapter 73: The Path of the Hero
"Mr. Norman? Are you all right?" Just as Peter called out, Norman finally snapped back to reality from his inner dialogue.
By the skin of his teeth, Norman realized he had nearly succumbed completely to his negative persona.
Still shaken, Norman felt his legs give way upon seeing Peter, nearly collapsing to the ground—but Peter, quick as a flash, caught him before he fell.
"Mr. Norman, should I call an ambulance?" Peter was deeply concerned. Norman's complexion was deathly pale, and he looked anything but well.
"No need, thank you, young man. Just let me rest a moment. Perhaps it's my age catching up with me—my body certainly isn't what it used to be."
"Peter, how did you end up at the expo? Did Harry come?"
"Harry didn't make it. I did reach out to him today, but he said he had to handle matters at the Osborn Group and couldn't get away. So I came alone."
"Thank you for your help. If it weren't for you just now, I probably would have fallen. I feel much better now. Next time, Harry will bring you over to our place for a visit."
Norman politely bid Peter farewell and, supported by his bodyguards, departed the Stark Industries Expo.
"Was that an illusion?" The moment he helped Norman up, Peter had suddenly felt a chill run through him, as if encountering some danger. But Peter didn't dwell on it and continued exploring the Stark Industries Expo.
After touring the expo, Peter felt satisfied and prepared to head home. Thanks to his enhanced physique after mutation, Peter now chose walking—the "most eco-friendly" mode of transportation—more often when not attending school.
"Hey, Auntie Mary!"
"Oh, it's little Peter! Out for some fun on your day off?"
"Yep, Auntie Mary. Get me the usual—a cheese pizza, extra cheese."
"Sure thing, Peter! It'll be ready in ten minutes!"
Aunt Mary ran a famous pizza place in Queens. It was a well-regarded spot among the locals.
Mary herself had a tough life. Her husband had some health issues, so they never had kids. Then, in middle age, he was diagnosed with liver cancer.
Now Aunt Mary was alone, which was why the neighbors looked out for her business. Of course, her pizzas were genuinely delicious and affordable. It was fair to say her pizzeria was famous far and wide in Queens.
"All right, little Peter, your cheese pizza is ready." Aunt Mary deftly boxed up Peter's pizza.
"Bye, Auntie Mary!"
"Bye, little Peter." Auntie Mary watched him leave with affection. In truth, every pizza she made for Peter was specially prepared—doubling the cheese and toppings compared to others' orders.
Not for any other reason, but because every time Peter called her Aunt Mary, it filled her heart with genuine happiness.
If Mary had a child of her own, he'd probably be about this age!
"Click." Anyone living in New York could instantly recognize that sound as a bullet being chambered.
"Hand over all the money! Get it into a bag right now!" Mary, who had been preparing to continue making pizza, saw the dark muzzle of the gun and immediately raised her hands.
"The money is all here! Take whatever you want! Please, just don't hurt me!" Mary cooperated fully, opening the cash register drawer, taking the bag the robber tossed over, and obediently stuffing all the cash inside.
The robber in front of her wasn't even wearing a hood, but Mary dared not lift her head. Countless experiences had taught New Yorkers that cooperating with robbers was safer.
"It's all here!" Mary handed the bag filled with cash to the robber.
Just as the robber was about to leave, he noticed the ring on Mary's ring finger and abruptly stopped. "Give me that ring on your finger. Now!"
"Please, this is my wedding ring. My husband passed away from cancer a few years ago. It's a very important keepsake. I beg you! It's not even a valuable ring!"
Mary, who had been trembling with fear moments before, found the courage to plead with the robber, for this was the most precious memento of her late husband.
"Shut up! Stop talking nonsense! Take it off now! Don't make me do it!" The robber pressed the muzzle of his gun firmly against Mary's forehead.
With no other choice, Mary tearfully slipped the ring off her finger.
The robber grabbed the ring and cash, then dashed into the alley. Mary was left sobbing uncontrollably inside the pizzeria.
Not far away, Peter Parker witnessed the entire scene. Yet his fear of guns paralyzed him, preventing him from intervening. Throughout the ordeal, Peter trembled in terror, powerless to do anything but watch as Aunt Mary was robbed of her wedding ring in utter despair.
Peter wanted to comfort Aunt Mary, but his earlier cowardice filled him with shame.
"You're nothing but a coward~"
"You're just a weak, timid coward~"
"That's a gun. Even if you're not the Peter you used to be, getting shot in a vital spot will still kill you."
The conflicting voices in his mind echoed like the blaring sirens outside, rising and falling in waves.
Seeing Aunt Mary devastated in the pizzeria, Peter felt a knife twist in his heart. Glancing back at the unfamiliar alley, he clenched his backpack tightly and sprinted toward it.
As he ran, he pulled a red mesh hood from his backpack, yanked it over his head, then hid the bag behind a nearby trash bin.
"God help me, I must be insane!" he thought as he picked up speed. After two alleys, he spotted the robber again.
Hearing footsteps behind him, the robber froze, spun around, and fired.
But luck wasn't on the robber's side. All three shots missed. After all, not everyone was a sharpshooter. At that distance, and being the robber's first heist, mistakes were inevitable.
Only then did Peter's courage begin to grow. Truth be told, the gunfire had been genuinely intimidating. When Peter was a child, he'd witnessed a shootout firsthand.
That day remained etched in his memory to this day.
"Kid, get any closer and don't blame me for being rude!" The robber just wanted to get out of there fast. This wasn't Hell's Kitchen; the deafening gunshot would draw the NYPD in no time.
Peter dodged several times, evading the robber's aim. Close in, he grabbed the robber's wrist and twisted it hard, snapping it clean off.
"Aaah!" The excruciating pain of shattered bone made the robber wail incessantly, collapsing instantly to the ground.
Peter quickly bent down, opened the bag stuffed with cash, and found the ring.
"Die!" The fallen robber, consumed by rage, aimed at Peter with his remaining good hand and pulled the trigger.
The instant the trigger was pulled, Peter's Spider-Sense kicked in, sending his heart racing and adrenaline surging. He whipped his head around just in time to almost see the bullet's trajectory.
"Bang!" Peter's entire body tensed as he twisted desperately, trying to dodge the bullet.
Unfortunately, he'd been too careless. The bullet grazed his left arm, sending a spray of blood into the air.
Falling to the ground, Peter scrambled to grab a rock with his free hand. He aimed it squarely at the robber's face, striking him directly. In an instant, the robber's nose was flattened by the impact. The excruciating pain caused his vision to darken, and he passed out.
Crawling to his feet, Peter Parker looked at his grazed left arm with lingering fear and a wave of frustration.
The moment the bullet left the barrel, Peter felt death come dangerously close. Had his body not reacted with an intense sense of crisis at the last second, that bullet would likely have struck his chest instead.
Gasping for breath, Peter moved forward to check the robber's condition. He was relieved to find the robber merely unconscious, not dead from his blow.
Of course, aside from a smashed nose and a broken wrist, the robber was still very much alive.
Hearing police sirens approaching nearby, Peter gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain in his arm, and leapt over the dead-end alley in a single bound.
Meanwhile, at Mary's Pizza in Queens, a heartbroken Mary discovered the ring—still warm to the touch—unexpectedly inside her cash register after calling the police.
"Honey, are you watching over me?" Mary murmured softly as she slipped the recovered ring back onto her ring finger.