Cherreads

Chapter 297 - Chapter 297: Identity Exposed

[Toomes narrowed his eyes as he looked at Spider-Man. Unaware that Toomes was growing suspicious, Peter tried to play it cool and brush off any doubts.]

["It was lucky that he showed up that day!" Peter forced a smile, but the nervousness was evident—his heartbeat quickened, and his breathing grew shallow.]

[Toomes smirked slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Good man, Spider-Man!"]

[At that moment, Liz noticed the traffic light had turned green, but Toomes was still idling. The cars behind them blared their horns impatiently, prompting her to remind him, "Dad! The light is green!"]

[Toomes finally drove forward, arriving at the school entrance. "Here we are, end of the route!"]

[As Peter and Liz prepared to get out, Toomes casually said, "You go in first, baby! I still need to have a 'dad-style' conversation with Peter."]

[Liz playfully squeezed Peter's hand and whispered, "Don't let him scare you!" Then she kissed Toomes on the cheek before stepping out of the car and heading inside.]

[Once Liz was gone, Toomes reached into the car and pulled out a pistol. He turned toward Peter, his expression unreadable, and asked, "Does she know?"]

[Peter feigned ignorance, shaking his head. "Know what?"]

[Toomes watched his reaction closely, then gave a small nod. "So she doesn't know. Good. Keep it that way. I appreciate it."]

["I also have my own personal secrets, and I have plenty of reasons why I don't want my daughter dating certain people..." He shrugged, as if resigning himself to the reality. "But in the end, I can't really stop her."]

["Peter, nothing is more important than family. You saved my daughter, and I won't forget that. So, I'm giving you a chance—are you ready?"]

[Peter remained silent, his face expressionless. Toomes tilted his head slightly and continued, "Go inside, forget everything that happened tonight, and never—never—interfere in my business again."]

["Because if you do... I will kill you. And everyone you love. I swear, I will do it, Peter. Do you understand?"]

[Peter nodded stiffly. Toomes studied him for a moment before breaking into a satisfied grin. "Hey! I just saved your life. What do you say?"]

[Peter exhaled and met his gaze. "Thank you."]

[Toomes chuckled. "You're welcome! Now, go in and have fun with my daughter. You don't have to be too nice!" He smirked before driving off.]

[Peter stepped out of the car, watching as Toomes disappeared into the distance, his mind racing with thoughts.]

"Oh? Toomes actually dares to threaten Spider-Man? Where does he get that kind of confidence? Is it just because he has a gun?" Second-generation Spider-Man Peter was baffled.

"Even if he's not at full strength, Spider-Man is still Spider-Man! He can lift cars and hold up collapsing structures. Toomes is just an ordinary guy," Gwen pointed out.

"Maybe he assumes this Peter Parker relies on gadgets like Tony Stark and Rhodey do?" she added thoughtfully.

"Or maybe it's because he knows Peter is interning at Stark Industries. Who knows?" Second-generation Peter shrugged. "But if it came down to a real fight, Toomes would learn real fast what Spider-Man is capable of."

Tony sighed, shaking his head. "Threatening Peter's family? What a coward. If Peter gets serious, Toomes is the one who's going to regret this."

"That guy clearly has no bottom line," Rhodey muttered, frowning. "And judging by how things are going, his luck isn't going to last much longer."

[Peter walked toward the school entrance, his footsteps heavy. Through the glass doors, he could see Ned and other classmates dancing inside. Ned waved excitedly at him.]

[Michelle Jones, standing nearby, smirked before flashing him an international-friendly gesture, expressing her dissatisfaction with his lateness once again.]

[Peter blinked and stepped inside. He spotted Liz laughing and chatting with her friends.]

[When Liz noticed him approaching, she smiled and asked, "Hey! What did my dad say to you?"]

[But before she could get an answer, she noticed something was off. Peter's expression had changed.]

[The next second, Peter blurted, "I have to go! Sorry! It's not your fault!"]

[With that, he turned and ran out, leaving Liz staring in stunned confusion. Michelle Jones, too, watched his retreating figure with a puzzled expression.]

[Peter sprinted through the hallway, yanking off his tie and tossing it aside. He pulled open his locker and retrieved his homemade suit, quickly changing into it.]

[As he rushed out through the school's back exit, he was busy adjusting his old web-shooters—ones he had built himself—when suddenly, a mechanical fist came out of nowhere and struck him hard.]

["Ah!" Peter yelped as the web-shooter flew from his grasp. Stumbling, he looked up to see Herman standing in the shadows, watching him coolly.]

["He gave you a choice, kid," Herman said, his tone neutral. "You made the wrong one."]

[Peter, still dazed, groaned and asked, "What the hell is going on?"]

[As Herman stepped closer, his eyes flicked over Peter's suit, and he let out a bemused chuckle. "What's with the cheap-looking suit?"]

[He flexed his mechanical fist before his gaze landed on the fallen web-shooter. "Oh! This must be your web-slinger, huh?"]

[Peter's eyes widened. Without hesitation, he lunged for it, but before he could grab it, Herman swung his fist, slamming it into the side of a school bus. The impact sent the entire vehicle hurtling toward Peter.]

[Peter barely had time to react before the bus crashed into him, sending him flying backward into another bus. The metal frame dented under the force of the impact.]

[Herman strolled forward, casually kicking the web-shooter further away. Glancing down at his mechanical fist, he muttered, "Man, I didn't really believe this thing would work at first, but damn! This is pretty sweet."]

[Peter groaned as he pushed himself up, rubbing his aching head. But before he could even regain his footing, Herman swung again—this time, the punch sent him crashing through the windshield of another school bus.]

[Peter tumbled inside, knocking over several seats before coming to a stop. As he lay there, he caught sight of a mess of chewing gum stuck under the seat in front of him and grimaced. "Oh… that's disgusting."]

[Before he could get up, Herman slammed his fist against the bus, causing it to flip over multiple times before landing hard on the ground.]

[Peter crawled out, gasping for breath. "Why did he send you?"]

[Herman remained eerily calm. "You'll never know," he said before raising his fist for another strike. But just as he was about to bring it down, a strand of web shot out, sticking firmly to his mechanical glove.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More Chapters