Another wave, sweeping a pile of boxes out of its path. He's serious about this, the mercenary.
"Listen, shocks, I wasn't planning on storming your base until tomorrow. Maybe we should part ways and continue this meeting in about eighteen hours, fresh and with renewed vigor?"
"You're a funny little bug, but sorry, it all ends today," Shocker snaps, unleashing another energy ripple.
"Spiders are actually arachnids!" I comment, dodging and clinging to the ceiling.
Okay, Spidey, think! Shocker's main strength is his gloves. The suit also protects against kinetic impacts, but if the contact from the gloves is cut off, the defense mechanism will also stop working. A kind of "foolproof" warning.
But how do I cut off the supply? I don't see any giant fire towers with water nearby that could be used to short-circuit. There aren't enough large objects here that could "collapse" the defenses.
Shocker interrupts my thoughts with another volley. Okay, enough! We'll take more radical action.
"Come out, bug. You won't be able to hide for long!"
"And I'm not planning on it, you exciting one!" I attack from above, catching a bunch of boxes in the process. Shocker, like a seasoned shooting gallery patron, knocks out all the objects falling on him.
Completely oblivious to him, approaching from the other end of the warehouse. I fly in a perfect motion to hit the guy in the yellow jester's outfit, but instead I land not far from the enemy. Shocker noticed me and was about to aim his miracle gauntlets in my direction, but that wasn't part of the plan. I run up to my opponent, hook his right arm, and, running behind Schultz, break the glove along with his wrist, disabling the mechanism.
"AAggggghhhhhhh…"
A few minutes later, the room was empty except for the knocked-out and web-bound bandits, along with Shocker, who was still in a semi-daze.
"Y-y-y-you broke my arm!" Shocker finally came to his senses. "I'll finish you off, do you hear me? I'll beat you into the ground!"
Completely ignoring the criminal's emotional cry, I approach, pinning his feet to the floor. Stopping, I give Shocker a light punch.
"Shut up and remember, you still have a second, whole arm."
For now, Shocker quieted down a bit after the obvious threat.
"What do you want?" After a while, Shocker plucked up his courage and asked, glancing at me from under his brows. Until then, I'd been calmly examining the warehouse, checking to see if I'd tied up all the remaining criminals.
I turned around abruptly and spoke in a deadly serious and cold tone. "Remember, you fucking bastard, from now on, all drug trafficking will go through me! Tell your boss to give me 15% of all the proceeds, or I'll start ripping apart his entire criminal network piece by piece!!!!!!!!!" I yell at the end and rip Shocker's mask off.
"Wha-w-what?" the bandit mumbled, confused and frightened. I stare at him silently for several long seconds, and then start laughing uncontrollably. "Phh-hh, I'm so sorry, I wanted to see your face after my monologue. But it really was scary."
"Are you completely out of your mind, asshole! I'll wreck you!" Shocker yelled, trying to hide his fear behind anger. I approached and grabbed Shocker by his broken arm, causing him to genuinely squeal.
"Now seriously. You have a compound fracture, and every second of stubbornness and empty threats takes you further and further away from medical care. Nod if you understand."
With effort and clenching his teeth, Shocker finally nodded.
"Wonderful, who do you work for?"
The bandit was silent. I grabbed his healthy limb and bent his index finger quite hard.
"I repeat, your other limb is STILL intact. Just like all the thin fingers on it, one careless movement and they'll snap like twigs."
" I'm not a rat, I won't rat out the boss!"
"So much the worse for you," I break his index finger. The warehouse deafens with another cry of pain.
"Do you think the little finger will hurt more?" I take the criminal's shaking hand and pull back his shortest finger.
"Wait, wait, please, I'll tell you. I'll tell you!"
"Cool," I let go of his hand. "And don't even think about lying, if anything happens, I can hear your heartbeat!"
I confess, I was just playing a trick. I'm still a long way from Matt Murdock's supersensory perception. But Shocker doesn't know that.
"I-got it. I… The big boss. He's the one I work for."
"I need a real name, not some cryptic message!" I reach for his hand again.
"Please, they'll kill me!" Shocker squeals, trying to move as far away from me as possible. Did I overdo it? Look how pale the bandit has become, he's sweating all over, he's out of breath. Most likely, his temperature has risen sharply due to the pain shock.
"Where can I find the big boss?"
"He contacted me through Hammerhead. I don't know where the base is, I swear!"
"Hard Forehead" showed up. Interesting. It's true that now it's getting a bit difficult to figure out who the "big boss" is. I can name four people off the top of my head that Hammerhead has been following in various versions.
"Where can I find this tadpole?"
"Hammerhead. The Ice Eight Club, in Manhattan. His girlfriend is the administrator there. He hangs out there every free evening."
"What kind of operation was this?"
"Drugs, in those boxes."
So when I blurted out about drug trafficking, I guessed right? Then it's clear why he freaked out so much. He thought I was serious.
"Who was that dandy in the suit, the one who looks like an accountant?"
"He... is from another partner. It's their warehouse. We took a percentage for the privilege of distributing the product on their property."
"So the Big Boss isn't such a big shot after all?"
Shocker was silent.
"Who are these mysterious partners?"
Hmm, a turning point. I can finally establish myself as 'the guy who's not afraid to get his hands dirty.' And then there's no going back to the 'Friendly Neighborhood' image. Many will say, 'Go back? You just crippled him, he'll still be afraid!' Not quite.
What's happening now can still be attributed to the 'heat of the first fight.' Especially if I play the clown in subsequent clashes. But do I need that? I remember in the comics, most of the enemies respected Spidey to some extent, even if they didn't exactly take him seriously. My point is, that he was winning, no doubt about it. But that same Shocker saw only a joker and wanted to "crush a bug," not "kill a psycho."
Do you understand the difference? Now the question is, who do I see myself as? Batman or Green Arrow? Daredevil or the Punisher? A vigilante or a brutal vigilante? None of them, frankly. I see myself as Spider-Man. And that means everything in moderation. Both Responsibility and Power.
"Okay, hang in there, Shocks, I'll call the guys in uniform and the medics too. They'll patch you up," I pat the thug on the shoulder and stabilize the fracture with webbing. "This will help until the specialists arrive."
Leaving the warehouse, I set off to look for the nearest payphone, but on the way I ran into a police patrol car.
"Hey, guys, message from your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. I stopped a drug shipment from being unloaded at the Forest Hills warehouse on Leith Avenue. No need to thank me. A couple of guys were left there, personally packed. Please pick them up. Oh, and call the paramedics. Good day!" I said goodbye to the cops, and while they were still dazed by the fact that some guy in a gymnast costume had jumped on their car, I hooked the building and flew off toward home.
It's already dawn and I haven't slept yet! Yeah, the patrols are dragging their feet.
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