Ahhhhh!!!
A piercing scream echoed through the bank lobby.
Shocker was just an ordinary person; facing the sheer agony of having all his fingers forcibly snapped, he lost his combat capability on the spot.
"Hey, quiet down, pal."
Peter's head throbbed from the noise, so he casually slammed a fist into the marble floor next to Shocker.
"Unless you want to end up like this!"
Bang!
Accompanied by a loud bang, the hard marble floor instantly cracked into a spiderweb pattern, with a clearly defined fist print embedded deep within.
Shocker's screams stopped abruptly; though his body still twitched from the pain, he didn't dare make another sound.
If that punch had landed on his head, he feared he really would have died on the spot!
"I... I surrender!"
Finally, having caught his breath, Shocker spoke tremulously:
"I surrender! As long as you don't kill me and don't hand me over to the Police, I'll do anything!"
Do anything?
Peter's eyes couldn't help but light up.
That was quite an enticing offer.
Compared to Spider-Man's other arch-enemies, Peter actually appreciated Shocker.
This guy hadn't even graduated high school, yet he was self-taught, mastering the skills of lock-picking and even teaching himself physics to hand-craft the equipment he wore.
He was a rare technical talent!
Additionally, this guy had quite a few principles compared to other villains.
Although he was focused on getting something for nothing, he never thought about using this gear to kill or commit arson; in the comic book setting, Shocker had never killed a single person from beginning to end.
A technical talent with a conscience! Handing him over to the NYPD would be a waste.
Perhaps he could give him a chance to work for him and turn over a new leaf.
With that thought, Peter didn't hesitate, immediately hoisting the half-dead Shocker onto his shoulder, preparing to leave.
He wanted to find a secluded spot to have a good chat with him... "Hey, wait a minute!"
Seeing Peter about to swagger away with Shocker on his shoulder, Gwen finally snapped out of her shock and couldn't help but call out to stop him.
Peter stopped and looked back at her; under the white and red Hollow mask, not a single ripple of emotion could be seen.
Gwen summoned her courage, stepped forward, and asked in a tone she thought was very serious:
"Don't you think we should hand him over to the Police?"
In her simple sense of justice, catching bad guys and handing them over to the Police was only natural.
Facing her question, Peter didn't even turn his head as he asked in return:
"Why do you think I'm called The Punisher?"
After leaving that question, he started walking away, leaving behind only a friendly tip:
"I suggest you leave as soon as possible too, rookie."
"Otherwise, watch out for being treated as an accomplice to the bank robbers."
This callback hit Gwen right where it hurt, while also successfully freezing her in place:
"That won't happen! I'll prove to you just how wrong your thinking is!"
The NYPD wouldn't be as indiscriminate as this guy claimed!
My dad is a cop, and the most upright cop in all of New York!
To prove she was right, Gwen gave up the idea of chasing The Punisher and instead stood in the bank lobby with her arms crossed, silently waiting for the Police to arrive.
She wanted to explain everything to them personally and tell them that Ghost-Spider was a trustworthy hero.
At the same time, she wanted to show that self-righteous jerk just how horribly wrong he was!
Watching Gwen's stubborn little expression in the bank lobby through the reflection of the building's glass, Peter, who had already disappeared around the corner with Shocker, couldn't help but smile slightly.
Still too young, little Gwen.
Reality will teach you a good lesson... The NYPD's efficiency never disappointed Peter.
It wasn't until the bank robbery had concluded and the customers had mostly fled that the shrill sirens finally arrived, fashionably late.
"NYPD! Everyone inside, listen up! Drop your weapons and surrender immediately!"
A large group of heavily armed Police officers rushed into the bank lobby, seeing only a mess and a masked woman in a strange costume standing silently in place.
These people raised their guns almost instinctively, the dark muzzles pointing squarely at Gwen.
Gwen was instantly stunned.
She held up her hands, for a moment not knowing what to say.
The turn of events was completely different from what she had anticipated.
In her imagination, the Police would arrive, she would explain the situation to them, and receive a wave of gratitude and praise. As it turned out... why was she being pointed at with guns?
Does being a good person mean having guns pointed at you?
"Don't shoot! She's the hero who came to save us!"
"That's right! The robber in the red and yellow suit was driven away by her... no, he was taken away by another, even more powerful hero!"
"She's a good person!"
Fortunately, the bank staff and the customers lying on the ground waiting for rescue spoke up one after another to testify for Gwen.
Otherwise, Gwen might have turned dark on the spot in a matter of minutes.
Hearing the consistent testimony from the crowd, the officer in charge finally raised his hand dubiously, signaling his subordinates not to fire for the time being.
"This... lady."
The officer looked Gwen over, his tone still filled with caution:
"Regardless, you need to come back to the station with us to cooperate and give a statement."
Go to the Police station?
Gwen's heart skipped a beat.
You've got to be kidding!
She wasn't mentally prepared to meet her own father, George Stacy, at the Police station in her Ghost-Spider identity yet!
Just thinking about that scene made her scalp tingle.
Refuse! She had to refuse!
At the same time, Gwen couldn't help but think to herself:
I regret not listening to The Punisher's words!
If I had chosen to leave directly as well, there wouldn't be all this trouble!
"Sorry, I have other things to do."
Gwen decisively rejected the Police's request.
"Hey! You can't leave!"
The officer's expression changed, and he immediately stepped forward to stop Gwen.
But how could Gwen be caught by an ordinary person like him?
With a flick of her wrist, a strand of webbing shot out instantly, sticking to the ceiling.
Whoosh!
Amidst the exclamations of the Police and onlookers, Gwen's figure was carried by the webbing, swinging high into the air, exiting through a broken window and quickly disappearing among the city's skyscrapers.
And this scene happened to be captured perfectly by Eddie Brock, a photographer and reporter for the Daily Bugle who had rushed to the scene.
"Did you see that! Did you see that!"
At the Daily Bugle headquarters, J. Jonah Jameson looked at the photo in his hand and couldn't help but shout excitedly to everyone around:
"The masked hero you suggested I report on is fleeing in front of the Police!
What does this prove? If she didn't have a guilty conscience, why would she run!
Hmph, in my view, this person, that 'dock butcher,' and the 'Punisher' mentioned by witnesses are all the same! They're just a bunch of masked thugs threatening the city's safety!"
Gwen, who had finally managed to shake off the Police pursuit, had no idea that a storm of public opinion was quietly brewing against her.
She only knew that the guy called The Punisher seemed to have been right again...