Chapter 14: Insanity Eyes Part 2

I parted ways with Michelle and put on the suit I had hidden in my locker.

I saw Michelle leaving the school. Surely—probably—there shouldn't be anyone else left on campus.

Ideally, I shouldn't waste time putting on the suit. I should head straight to where the Lizard Man... where Mr. Connors is.

...If someone dies because of that delay, I'll regret it more than anything.

Once I was suited up behind cover, I leapt into the hallway.

From the upper floors, I heard loud footsteps and the sounds of destruction.

I smashed through a window and jumped out.

Firing a webline to the rooftop clock tower, I used the recoil to launch myself upward.

...I could hear the voices of Midtown High students. But I didn’t have the luxury to care.

Trusting my enhanced Spider-Sense, I searched for the source of the strongest danger.

Third floor—science lab!

I ran across the roof, shot a web at my feet, and launched myself in a curve through the air.

Using the centrifugal force and the pull of the web, I flew straight into the science lab window.

...And then, the moment I stepped into the classroom where Mr. Connors was—

There she was.

Michelle—who shouldn't have been there.

Why!?

“Spider-Man!?”

I shielded Michelle as I fought Mr. Connors.

I blocked the massive, clawed hand that reached for her and launched repeated attacks on the Lizard.

His scales were tough—his defense high—but in terms of raw power, I was stronger.

“So you do want to make me angry!”

“I’m the one who’s angry here!”

Hurting someone I care about like this—

To draw him away from Michelle, I pulled Mr. Connors toward me and leapt down into the courtyard.

I managed to land safely with a breakfall, but Mr. Connors crashed into the ground flat on his back.

“Guh...grah...!”

With the shock of the fall still on him, I hit him with a flying kick.

It struck his temple, but thanks to his thick, powerful neck, the damage seemed minimal.

In that case!

I shot a web at a nearby manhole cover and yanked it toward me.

Spinning it through the air in an arc like a hammer throw, I flung it at Mr. Connors.

“Gah!?”

CLANG!

The manhole hit with a huge crash.

It bounced off him and embedded itself in the wall like a frisbee.

I’d missed my mark by a little—far from a clean hit.

Cap really is amazing. He can throw his shield exactly where he wants it.

Still, it must’ve done a lot of damage—Mr. Connors dropped to his knees, groaning.

I shot a web from my right hand and wrapped him up.

I had to restrain him here and stop him from moving.

Then, just as I got closer—

“Ghh!?”

A sudden stab of pain shot through my abdomen.

This is… the knife wound I got from that red-masked guy.

Did it reopen because of all the movement…?

Mr. Connors didn’t miss that opening.

His eyes—those cold, reptilian… no, fully reptile eyes—flashed sharply.

“GRAAAAAHHH!!”

A desperate charge—a last-ditch attack. With one arm still bound in webbing, he lunged at me with his whole body.

I couldn’t dodge in time.

A hulking mass, easily over a hundred kilos, backed by monstrous acceleration!

It was like being hit by a truck—I was sent flying and slammed into the school building wall.

The concrete wall caved in and cracked—that alone said everything about the impact.

My vision almost went black, but I forced myself to stay conscious through sheer willpower.

“D-damn it…”

While I was staggered, Mr. Connors slithered across the ground like some kind of beast and dove into the sewer beneath the manhole I’d thrown earlier.

“Wait!”

I chased after him into the sewer, but…

“I… lost him…?”

It split off in three directions. The echoes made it impossible to tell where he was.

Even my Spider-Sense hadn’t recovered from the shock of that last hit.

“Damn it!”

I slammed my right hand into the wall.

…The reopened wound throbbed with a deep, burning pain.

---

“Peter.”

By the time I reached the evacuation site… Michelle pulled me into a tight hug.

“M-Michelle?”

She was clinging to me. Tightly—very tightly.

“Ow.”

My side—where the wound was—flared with pain.

Michelle pulled back when she noticed, her eyes falling on the injury… her expression darkened.

“S-sorry, Peter.”

“No, it’s fine… I’m okay.”

Every time Michelle made that apologetic face, my heart felt heavy too. Like it was being squeezed.

“…Were you okay, Michelle? You’re not hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

Now that I think about it—why was she in the classroom all alone?

I wanted to ask.

But if I did, it’d mean I already knew she’d been there.

And since I was the one who evacuated first, I didn’t really have the right to ask.

“Michelle-chan!”

A male voice called out, and when I turned around, there was Flash.

“Flash?”

“Ah—oh, Peter.”

He looked at me, then averted his gaze awkwardly.

“Flash, what’s up?”

Michelle asked, and Flash turned to face her properly.

“Sorry, um… are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Michelle gave him a thumbs-up, and Flash let out a big sigh of relief.

“Man… I’m really glad… Thank you, Michelle-chan.”

“No problem, don’t worry about it… ah, but drop the ‘-chan,’ please.”

Michelle made a bit of a sour face as she said that, clearly not loving the honorific.

“O-oh, got it—Michelle. But really, thanks again. You saved my life.”

He dropped the honorific—and Michelle made another sour face.

…Well, she doesn’t show much emotion, so unless you're paying close attention, you’d probably miss it.

Flash definitely didn’t notice.

After Flash left, Michelle turned back to me.

“Michelle, did you save Flash?”

“Yes.”

She nodded firmly.

And then it hit me.

That must’ve been why she was in the science lab at the time—to help Flash.

I doubt Michelle has particularly positive feelings toward him.

And yet…

“…That’s amazing.”

“Not really.”

She nodded again, as if to say she really didn’t do anything amazing.

She really is…

“No, Michelle. Helping people is amazing. When someone says you did something great, just take the compliment… and you saved him from Mr. Connors after he turned into a lizard, right?”

“Yes, but—”

“Michelle, I think you don’t give yourself enough credit… but I, and everyone else, think you’re incredible. You’re brave.”

“Stop…”

Michelle pressed her hand to my chest.

Like a sinner confessing her guilt.

“I’m not… some amazing person.”

And with that, she lowered her head again.

…Looks like I made her sad again.

Michelle tends to think badly of herself—like she’s a terrible person.

She’s smart, kind, cute… so why doesn’t she want to be praised?

Why does she look pained when she is?

I just don’t understand.

“But… I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“…You too, Peter.”

“Sorry—did I make you worry?”

“No.”

…Michelle really knows how to say cold things with a straight face sometimes.

“Ah—what about Gwen and Ned?”

“They’re okay. I think they went home already. The only people still around are bystanders and the ones who were slow to evacuate… Oh, right. I need to message them.”

Saying that, Michelle pulled her phone out from her chest pocket.

…It looked like a brand-new model. I’d never seen that design before. Wonder where you even buy those.

Her fingers flew quickly over the screen, and she finished texting in under a minute.

…Honestly, that surprised me.

I didn’t think Michelle was that good with phones.

I kind of had her pegged as the tech-clumsy type.

“That was—”

“Yeah, just a safety check. I told them you were okay too.”

She said that with a faint smile.

…Come to think of it—

When I, as Spider-Man, burst into the science lab where Dr. Connors was, what kind of expression did Michelle have back then?

It wasn’t like her usual face at all... Was she angry, or scared? I couldn’t tell... She was just gripping her pen tightly.

Maybe... that expression was fear.

I—

“Ah, you’re Peter Parker, right?”

“Eh—ah, yeah?”

When I turned around, there was a police officer standing there.

Middle-aged, probably around forty.

“Um, and you are...?”

“I’m George. Captain George Stacy.”

He showed me his badge to prove it.

...Huh? Wait, Stacy?

“Gwen’s... dad?”

Michelle said what I was thinking, voicing my doubt out loud.

“Hm? Ah, yeah. I’m Gwen’s old man. Wait, you’re... Michelle, right?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Michelle nodded.

“My daughter’s in your care. I’ve heard your name from her—Gwen, I mean. Anyway, Peter, I’m here to confirm the evac status.”

George checked something off on the papers in his hand.

That must’ve been the evac roster.

“Um... Gwen’s dad?”

“Hm? Just call me George.”

“Ah... George-san... um, has everyone been evacuated?”

“Yeah. You’re the last one. Ah—well, no idea about that weirdo in the red tights, though.”

Saying that, George laughed heartily.

Red tights... Oh. He means Spider-Man.

He means me.

“Still... Connors, right? A teacher turning into a giant lizard and going berserk... this world’s going to hell.”

“Yeah, seriously.”

Michelle nodded repeatedly, agreeing.

“What happened to Dr. Connors?”

“Hm?”

“After he went wild... was he caught?”

“Nope. There’s signs he escaped down a manhole. Though from there, the sewers connect to all of New York. No clue where he ran off to.”

George let out a tired sigh, as if saying “give me a break.”

“Man, to think Spider-Man let him get away... Just my luck.”

“Yeah... you’re right...”

Right.

I let him get away.

...Back then, Dr. Connors as the Lizard wasn’t normal.

Not just physically. Mentally, he was unstable.

If he... hurts someone else again...

“...I have to stop him.”

I whispered so quietly no one could hear.

Since I was the last one, we got a ride in the police car.

Michelle and I sat in the back, both awkwardly quiet like cats in a stranger’s house.

Once George learned we lived in the same apartment, he drove us straight to the run-down building and dropped us off there.

The sky was already dark.

It felt more like night than evening.

“School’s off for the week. Actually, until Connors gets arrested, consider it closed. Be careful when you go outside.”

Saying that, George got back in the patrol car and drove away from the apartment.

“Peter.”

“Hmm? What is it, Michelle?”

When I turned around, Michelle was staring at me seriously.

“Good night.”

“Huh? Ah... good night?”

We waved to each other in front of our doors and parted ways.

...Good night, huh.

I’m not planning to sleep yet, though.

I stepped into my room and looked at the wound on my side.

Blood was starting to seep out a little.

I pressed a gauze over it and taped it down.

“...Sigh. Michelle’s gonna yell at me again.”

Come to think of it, where did she learn to treat wounds like that?

...Maybe her dream is to be a nurse?

Or maybe a doctor.

A job to help people, huh...

...Michelle’s kind. It’d probably suit her.

Maybe I’ll casually ask her about it next time.

I pulled off my pants and tossed them into the laundry basket.

Guess I’ll have to hit the laundromat tomorrow.

...Anyway, there’s no point thinking too much.

I threw the torn suit into the closet and pulled out a spare.

Ah... Since my Spider-Man suit’s handmade, I’ll have to patch this one up on my next day off.

Good thing Aunt May’s sewing machine is getting plenty of use.

She doesn’t know I’m Spider-Man, so she probably thinks I’m just some kid who enjoys sewing as a hobby.

I slipped my legs in, pulled my arms through, and finally slid the mask over my head. Done.

I silently leapt out the window.

This window faces a multi-story parking garage across the way, so no one’s watching.

There wasn’t a building there when I first moved in... Guess it got built later.

All I can see from my window now is a wall of concrete. Pretty depressing.

Probably one reason this apartment’s so cheap.

Thinking that, I climbed up onto the roof.

『Zzt... Zzt... Queens Police Department...』

A voice crackled in my ear.

It was from a tiny bug in my ear—a police scanner.

I regularly use it to intercept police comms and get to scenes faster than they can.

By the way, it’s Stark tech.

I adjusted the dial, flipping through a few channels.

Not this one.

Not this.

Not this.

...Here.

A report came through: sighting of a giant lizard—the Lizard.

I fired a web from my web-shooter and launched myself in that direction.

A red blur raced through the night city.

---

I could sense Peter... no, Spider-Man, moving away.

Even without seeing him, my enhanced hearing—amplified by the super-soldier serum—was sharp enough to track movements.

...Even though I told him goodnight.

Without a sound, I closed the book I’d been reading and placed it on the desk.

I’d noticed it.

The wound on Peter’s stomach... the one Redcap gave him... had reopened.

I just didn’t want him to push himself.

That’s why I said “Good night” to him earlier.

I wanted him to sleep. To rest.

“...Idiot.”

But maybe that sense of self-sacrifice... that’s exactly what makes him Spider-Man.

If someone out there needs saving, he can’t stand the thought of doing nothing and letting them die.

That responsibility... the weight carried by someone with power... that’s the essence of Spider-Man.

I put on my coat and stepped out of the room.

I pulled my hat down low, careful not to let anyone see me along the way.

If he wasn’t going to rest, then I had no reason to, either.

I headed for the place I’d gotten far too used to visiting... no, the place I’d forced myself to get used to since coming to Queens.