The talkative raven in the world of American comics

Chapter 4: The Story of a Bullet

The man walked slowly down the alley, the dizziness from the alcohol making him exhale a long breath.

He took out a cigarette case from his pocket, put a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it.

Just as I was about to light it, a loud noise suddenly came from behind me.

"Who?!"

He turned around abruptly and found the alley as quiet as ever, with only water stains on the wall as if they had just been wiped by something.

In his blind spot, which he couldn't see above, a figure crawled slowly on the wall like a spider.

The man tapped his head, concluding that he was simply hallucinating from drinking too much.

Then he lowered his head slightly, instinctively shielding his hand from the wind as he lit a cigarette.

call--

A thick cloud of white smoke hung in the alley. As soon as the man turned around and looked up, he saw a young man standing in front of him with a blank expression.

"Damn it!"

The sudden appearance of the boy startled him so much that he dropped the cigarette in his mouth.

"What's wrong with you, kid!"

The man immediately started cursing, patted the ash off his collar, and then looked at Peter, his eyes narrowing.

He remembered that face.

It's the kid who didn't have money to buy coffee and milk at the convenience store last night.

He crossed his arms and said irritably, "What? Did your family not give you enough money to buy milk again?"

Peter remained silent.

The man further warned, "I remember your face. I'm warning you, don't try to play any threatening games with me."

"What else did you do last night?"

Peter stared intently at the man and took a step forward.

The man instinctively took a half step back, frowning as he looked at Peter. "What are you talking about?"

He knew exactly what the kid was talking about, otherwise he wouldn't have come to this tavern to drink.

Because he killed an innocent old man last night.

"The old man you killed! Do you know what he meant to me?!"

Peter could no longer control his emotions. He stepped forward and shoved the man, the force of which knocked him to the ground.

The man fell to the ground with a thud and quickly reached into his pocket, preparing to pull out his gun.

However, Peter saw his actions and stepped on the man's wrist.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

The man let out a scream. He never expected that a teenager could be so strong. The pain of his wrist being crushed by the boy's foot was like being run over by a car tire.

Peter then lifted the man up and slammed him against the wall, causing the gun inside the man's clothes to fall out.

"So you're going to use this gun to kill me again, aren't you?!" Peter roared.

"Relax, buddy!" the man pleaded. "What's your relationship with that old man?"

"Everything I have!"

Peter was like a powder keg, instantly ignited by anger, exploding in the blink of an eye.

He clenched his fist and punched the man hard in the nose.

Click.

Peter had already broken the man's nose with a single punch.

The pain prevented the man from doing anything else; he could only try to stop the guy with words.

"Wait, I can explain... I didn't intend to kill that old man, he insisted on doing it..."

boom!

Upon hearing this, Peter punched the man in the face again.

"What do I have to do? Do I have to run right into your line of fire?!"

"Stop it..."

Peter seemed to be venting his anger, or perhaps releasing his guilt over Uncle Ben's death, as he repeatedly punched the man until the latter's face was covered in blood and he was breathing rapidly.

"Please don't... I didn't mean to kill him, please give me another chance..."

Hearing this, Peter was so angry he almost laughed.

Give him another chance?

What about his uncle?

Who will give Uncle Ben a second chance?!

Just as Peter continued to clench his fist, preparing to smash it down on the man's head, he suddenly remembered something, stopped what he was doing, and glanced to the side.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Oz stood on a trash can, blinking his crimson pupils with an innocent look.

Peter didn't know why he wanted to see Oz; his body just instinctively wanted to look at him.

Peter whispered, "I...I don't know."

Oz said "Oh," and added, "Don't worry, go ahead and kill him. I have ways to clean up the scene and make sure no one knows about this."

Peter explained, "I didn't intend to kill him!"

Oz asked, "Then why are you looking at me?"

"..."

The scene fell silent for a moment, with only the man's panting echoing in the alley.

Peter shook his head, remained silent for half a minute, and then asked:

"Do you really have the means to handle the scene?"

Oz looked at Peter and wondered if his arrival had caused the kid to change his mindset. That would be hilarious!

Oz reiterated his promise: "Yes, and I assure you again, no one will know about this."

The man, who had been feeling dizzy and disoriented, suddenly yelled, "Who are you talking to?! Don't kill me! I really know I was wrong, please give me another chance!!!"

The kid in front of me was acting like a lunatic, inexplicably starting to talk to himself.

Talking to himself is one thing, but the topic has to be his own life.

What do you mean by killing him and then having the means to clean up the scene?

If you're so capable, why don't you have money for milk coffee?!

Peter clenched his fist and slowly raised his hand.

The boy's action immediately made the man's eyes widen, and he looked terrified.

Please don't!

boom!

The fist struck the wall behind the man's ear like a cannonball, leaving a gash. Tiny pebbles fell onto the man's clothes and then to the ground as he trembled.

Peter lowered his head, withdrew his fist, and avoided looking at Oz's eyes.

Instead of explaining his actions to Oz, he asked a different question.

He said, "Do you have a way to knock him out?"

"Who are you with—" the man asked again in terror.

"certainly."

The man finally heard a sound.

The sound seemed to come from nowhere, appearing out of thin air, and surrounded his ears.

Immediately afterwards, a huge, pitch-black bird came into view.

The man couldn't see the bird's entire face; he only saw a pair of scarlet, menacing pupils that were now flashing with dazzling light.

Then, he lost consciousness and completely passed out.

After rendering the killer unconscious, Oz jumped onto the killer's head.

"I thought you were really going to kill him."

Peter ignored Oz, took out his phone, and quickly dialed the police, informing them that there were traces of a criminal suspect in the area.

He then leaped up and jumped to the rooftop at the top of the alley, landing hard on his backside.

Oz's figure appeared beside him in an instant.

He guessed that Peter probably wanted to wait until the police arrived and witness the murderer of Ben Parker being arrested by the police.

Oz looked at the silent boy and thought to himself that at least the most difficult step had been taken.

The three Spider-Man films that have been active in the public eye are largely due to the fact that only two movies were planned, and someone died in each one.

Unlike the first version of Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, which embodied "with great power comes great responsibility," or the third version of the naive Dutch Spider-Man who had an Iron Man dad, this version is different.

Garfield's Spider-Man seems to better embody the loneliness of a hero.

"I can't do it," Peter suddenly said.

"Hmm," Oz said, indicating that he was listening.

The boy's voice choked with emotion as he said:

"If I kill him, I can't even imagine how Uncle Ben would see me. It was my fault that led to Uncle Ben's death. From any perspective, I'm the one who deserves to die the most..."

Oz nodded: "Indeed."

"..."

Seemingly used to Oz's jinx, Peter continued:

"Before Uncle Ben was murdered, he told me something very important, but I didn't pay any attention to it at the time."

"Until just now, I suddenly remembered something he said."

"He believes that if I have the ability to help others, then I have the moral responsibility to do so. It's not a choice, but a duty."

Peter's ears twitched as he heard the approaching sound of police sirens.

"I can punch through a wall, and I can punch his head to pieces, but if I were to do that with just that ability, I think Uncle Ben's death would be meaningless."

"It's the same logic when this guy robbed the convenience store. I had the ability to stop him, but I didn't."

As Peter spoke, he covered his face with his hands, trying to stop the tears from flowing.

"I've already disappointed him a lot, and I don't want to disappoint him again."

Seeing Peter's tearful appearance, Oz couldn't help but think of Batman's experience next door.

It was all at night, all shootings, all the loss of loved ones.

A single bullet ignites the fateful battle between Batman and the evils of Gotham.

And Spider-Man...

That night there were no nemesis, only a bullet and a remorseful boy.

Oz jumped onto Peter's shoulder and patted his head with a feather.

"I believe your Uncle Ben would be proud of you."

Peter was taken aback; Oz, who was usually so taciturn, was actually saying something comforting.

"So you can speak properly after all..."

"Really? Then it seems I'll have to make more hellish jokes in the future."

"..."

In Peter's blind spot, on Oz's back, a jet-black feather silently fell.