Blaine didn't know what little Spider-Man and Ned had been up to after they went back last night, but today they both looked listless. That suited him just fine—it gave him some peace and quiet.
After enduring a full day of classes, it finally came to an end with the dismissal of a teacher Blaine barely understood.
As soon as school was over, the students rushed out like a stampede. Under repeated reminders from little Spider-Man and Ned, Blaine eventually followed along as well.
Since the party wasn't until around eight in the evening, Blaine wasn't in a hurry. He went home first to rest, checked on the still-growing Heart-Shaped Herb, and then headed toward the party venue.
The party was being held at the home of a wealthy classmate—more precisely, at one of his family's private villas. It was located in a remote suburban area. Perhaps that was why the students were so excited—after all, a "wilderness adventure" sounded far more thrilling.
This rich classmate was known for spending money freely, which made him quite popular among the others. However, perhaps due to being spoiled, he didn't particularly like Ned or little Spider-Man, who never catered to him.
As for why they were invited, it seemed to be because Ned had claimed that Peter Parker knew Spider-Man. The other students were intrigued, which was how this party came to be organized.
When Blaine arrived, he could already hear Ned at the door enthusiastically telling everyone how Peter Parker and Spider-Man knew each other and were even friends. The crowd reacted with astonishment. Of course, some didn't believe it and kept insisting that Peter Parker bring Spider-Man over so they could see him for themselves.
Blaine smiled knowingly and released his mental awareness, trying to locate where little Spider-Man was changing into his suit.
Sure enough, on the roof of a side building of the villa, little Spider-Man had already put on his suit.
Just as he was about to head inside, he suddenly seemed to notice something and looked into the distance. Following his gaze, Blaine looked as well.
Because the villa was located in the suburbs, apart from a large open area—roughly the size of several golf courses—the surroundings were filled with dense forest.
At that moment, deep within the forest behind the villa, a wave of blue, shifting light suddenly appeared.
It looked quite mysterious, and the glow was bright enough that anyone unfamiliar with it might mistake it for an alien spacecraft.
However, within the villa, only little Spider-Man and Blaine seemed to notice it—and only they understood what it likely was. Earlier in Queens, when alien weapons were used during a robbery, they had emitted a similar blue glow.
Looking back at little Spider-Man, it was obvious—true to form, he couldn't sit still when something unusual appeared. In an instant, he flipped off the roof, landed on the ground, and after a few agile leaps, made his way toward the open field behind the villa.
If Blaine guessed correctly, he was going to investigate. And what happened next made Blaine laugh.
The distance was too great, and little Spider-Man couldn't fly. Blaine watched as he raised both hands and fired two webs into the air with a soft 'thwip'.
However, the awkward part was that the moment the webs shot into the air, they fell straight back down the next second.
Normally, little Spider-Man was used to swinging between high-rise buildings. That method of travel was indeed faster than running. But this was the suburbs—there were no skyscrapers, no towering structures, only some relatively thick trees. Worse still, he was standing on an open golf course. Clearly, his usual swinging technique didn't work here at all.
With no other choice, and eager to get there as quickly as possible, little Spider-Man could only dash forward on foot in a rather clumsy manner.
Watching him run off, the party instantly lost its main attraction, and Blaine lost interest as well. Without hesitation, he activated Shadow Stealth and followed directly behind him.
Beyond the woods lay a large lake, likely connected to some distant river. Sure enough, a group of people had gathered by the lakeside, secretly trading alien weapons. Among them, Blaine even spotted a modified mechanical arm resembling Ultron's design.
A large armed transport aircraft was parked nearby, and two groups were conducting the deal beneath it. At least three large crates emitting a blue glow were present—clearly filled with alien weaponry.
The leader wore mechanical armor, with wing-like structures mounted on his back—massive engine units. Without a doubt, this was "Vulture."
He was in the middle of negotiating with another person when little Spider-Man suddenly burst onto the scene. With a flick of his wrist, a web shot out and instantly bound a mercenary holding an automatic rifle.
The mercenary didn't even have time to react before he was tightly wrapped in webbing and slammed to the ground face-first. The sudden attack immediately alerted everyone else. Armed to the teeth, they turned toward little Spider-Man at once.
Perhaps little Spider-Man was feeling confident—after all, he had already been through the airport battle and even gone up against Captain America. Compared to that, these criminals seemed insignificant. He charged in directly, intending to take down everyone—both people and goods—and then report back to Happy, proving to Tony that he wasn't just good for grocery runs, finding lost cats, or catching petty thieves.
But he had clearly underestimated Vulture. Having his operation disrupted right under his nose—especially after the embarrassment of the last encounter—there was no way he would let it go this time. With a roar, Vulture spread his mechanical wings and engaged little Spider-Man head-on.
As the two fought back and forth, Blaine found it utterly dull—it felt like watching children play-fight.
Just as Blaine was growing bored and considering leaving, Vulture suddenly resorted to a dirty trick. He fired a small blue device from somewhere, striking little Spider-Man directly.
At such close range, there was no time to dodge. The alien device detonated on impact, unleashing a burst of purple electricity that instantly paralyzed little Spider-Man, causing him to collapse to the ground.
Perhaps Vulture didn't want to drag things out. After all, what he was doing was illegal. Having landed a successful hit, he chose not to pursue further.
But little Spider-Man was not so easily dealt with.
*************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is Lord_Immortal_0170