Beyond Responsibility

Chapter 3: Debut

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

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Everything's set up. Peter thought as he changed into his costume. Sorry, today may have been a long day, but he wasn't allowed to rest just yet. Not that he could've slept if he had wanted to, it may have been sundown in Japan, but his circadian rhythm told him it was prime hours back home. That, coupled with no small amount of excitement, left Peter pumped and ready to make his debut as the amazing Spider-Man. Who knew jet lag could be useful for something after all?

His new costume had come a long ways from that cobbled-together luchador impersonation he started with. It was a full body skin-tight suit colored in instantly iconic red and blues with an eye catching webbing texture, and spider motifs on the front and back. He looked like a proper superhero now.

Now in full regalia, Peter put one foot up on the window sill, and shot a webline out onto a nearby building, allowing the cable to pull him into a swing, he launched himself out the window. His starting position on the 4th floor left him plenty of room to pick up speed during his descent, before translating that into upward momentum at the other end of the pendulum swing. Not allowing himself a chance to slow down, he shot another webline, this one shorter, the tighter arc translated into more angular acceleration, pushing him to go faster than before. It was a cycle: build height, use that height to sling another web at eye level, build speed at the bottom of the swing, translate that tangential velocity into more height as he came back up. He repeated this pattern until he got to a comfortable height, speed, and rhythm.

"Tarzan buddy, you should've told the rest of us what we were missing out on!" Flips, catapults, corners, all exhilarating! He let out a loud whoop as he reached the bottom of a particularly large swing, feet inches from the ground, before lifting into the air again. Earning quite a bit of attention from the city crowds with the flashy display of trapeze artistry.

≈*≈ Spider-Sense! His attention pinpointed to a sudden yelp emanating from a nearby alleyway.

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"Thanks, I just about panicked when he pulled that knife!"

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"Mr. Whiskers, you're okay!"

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"Excelsior!"

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"My, now isn't that an exciting way to cross the street."

"All in a day's work for your friendly neighbo-" ≈*≈

BOOOM!

The glass windows on one of the high stories of a skyscraper shattered directly above Spider-Man's head.

Leaping into action, Spider-Man jimmy-rigged a net between the building wall and the nearby street lamps to catch any debris or deadly shards of broken glass from falling on the heads of unsuspecting civilians.

At least now I know what that uneasy feeling I've been having for the last five minutes was all about. He squinted at the billboard lettering at the top of the building. "A bank. Because of course it's a bank," he muttered to himself. "Well, no time to lose."

Crouching atop a street lamp, Spider-Man fired out twin weblines to stick high up on the wall of the building. Letting himself fall to the underside of the lamppost, he kicked off towards the ground, causing the lines to go taut, and catapult him up towards the top floors.