A yellow taxi slowed to a stop on the corner of 43rd and Lexington, in front of the Manhattan Federal Trust Bank. The door opened, and out stepped a man in a worn brown hoodie and faded jeans. His head was down, face hidden in shadow, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
Herman paid the driver in crumpled cash and stood on the curb for a moment, staring at the massive stone building before him. People passed by without a second glance. No one noticed the tension in his jaw. No one saw how tightly he gripped that bag.
He turned and walked toward a nearby alleyway.
In the silence of the narrow space, he dropped the bag and exhaled shakily. Then, from inside the duffel, he pulled out two things.
A yellow-and-brown mask.
And the gauntlets.
He slid the mask over his face, the rubber stretching tightly. Then, one by one, he fitted the gauntlets over his arms. They locked into place with mechanical clicks. Lights flickered to life. A low hum filled the alleyway.
The Shocker was ready.
At Midtown High, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.
Students flowed into the hallway like a tide of voices and footsteps. Nathan slung his backpack over one shoulder and walked beside his new teacher, Natalie Rushman. Or, as he really knew her she was Natasha Romanoff. Super-spy. World-class assassin. Current undercover high school instructor.
"You're quiet today," she noted, casting a sidelong glance at him.
Nathan shrugged. "Just tired."
They parted ways as he turned down the hall. That's when he saw them.
Harry, laughing as he gently tugged Gwen's hand into his own. Gwen smiled, eyes crinkling, cheeks pink. Nathan slowed.
Then, a little further down the hallway, Peter and MJ. They walked shoulder to shoulder, MJ playfully bumping into Peter, laughing at something he said. Peter looked like he was floating.
Nathan stopped.
His eyes darted between the two couples. The pang in his chest wasn't jealousy it was distance. They had lives. Joy. Something normal.
And he had none of it.
BZZT! His phone vibrated. A security alert.
BREAKING: BANK ROBBERY IN PROGRESS – MANHATTAN FEDERAL TRUST
Nathan sighed, slumping back against a locker.
Behind him, Natasha stood at the end of the hall, watching. Her expression softened as Nathan turned and walked toward the exit. He didn't look back. But she did.
And her stare lingered long after he disappeared through the doors.
KRA-KOOOM!
The front of the bank exploded. Glass doors shattered into molten fragments as a concussive blast roared out onto the street. People screamed and ducked for cover. A tremor rattled nearby windows. Dust rolled through the intersection.
Inside, marble columns cracked and toppled. Chandeliers fell like guillotines. Desks flipped, paper and debris flying in all directions.
At the center of the destruction stood The Shocker.
His suit was a patchwork of insulated plating and fiber mesh, crude but powerful. The gauntlets on his arms pulsed with energy, vents releasing steam with every movement. His breath came fast beneath the mask. He looked around the room.
Terrified civilians huddled against the walls. A young woman shielded an old man behind a toppled counter.
Shocker's voice came out rough. Frayed.
"I don't want to hurt you. I swear to God, I don't. I just need the money… Just don't move!"
He aimed a warning blast above their heads destroying a marble eagle statue. The crowd shrieked and backed further away.
He turned toward the open vault. Bags of cash already filled the floor, some half-stuffed. He glanced down at the inside of his wrist console, where a small, weather-worn photo was pinned beneath the screen.
A woman and a little boy.
His wife and son.
His jaw clenched beneath the mask.
"I'm not the villain," he whispered. "I'm not…"
THWIP!
A bag of cash flew upward and stuck to the ceiling in a web.
Voice from above:
"Hey, Voltage Viking! You dropped your purse!"
Spider-Man flipped into the bank, landing gracefully atop a teller counter. He posed with one arm outstretched and a grin plastered across his face.
"Big fan of the new look. Real 'mad electrician goes to war' vibes."
Shocker turned slowly. His hands twitched.
"You don't know what you're getting into, kid."
"Oh, I do," Nathan quipped. "Pretty sure I've fought tougher guys than a C-minus Iron Man with a grudge."
Shocker roared and fired a concussive shockwave blasted forward.
BOOM!
Nathan launched into the air, web-zipping across the chandelier rails. Debris rained down as marble chunks exploded from the impact.
"Yikes! Too much caffeine today?"
Nathan shot two web-lines, pulled himself into a fast corkscrew, and dove toward Shocker.
"Let's see what happens when I pull the plug!"
THWIP!
A line of webbing snared Shocker's gauntlet. Nathan yanked it sideways and landed a clean kick to the villain's back.
Shocker stumbled but spun and slammed the ground with his gauntlets.
BOOOOM!
A shockwave tore through the floor. Nathan flipped midair but the blast caught him off guard. Tiles cracked. A seismic rumble tore through the bank.
KRACK!
Another blast caught Nathan square in the chest.
He flew backward, smashing into the vault door with a deafening clang. He slumped down, gasping, suit torn across the ribs.
"Okay," he wheezed, coughing. "Ow. Not… insulation-grade impact padding…"
Shocker stomped toward him, gauntlets humming.
"You're just a kid. Walk away."
Nathan forced himself up, blood on his lip. Fists clenched.
"Not when people are in danger. You don't get to scare them no matter why you're doing it."
Shocker hesitated.
He stared at the civilians. At their eyes. At their fear.
His gauntlets lowered slightly.
He looked at the photo on his wrist again.
But then sirens blared outside. Police cars screeched to a stop. Lights flickered through the dust and glass.
The moment shattered.
Shocker growled. Desperation surged.
KRAAAA-KOOM!!!
He unleashed a full-force blast. The floor exploded. Nathan was thrown into a stone pillar. Concrete rained down.
CRASH!
Nathan was buried. His body crushed beneath twisted rebar and shattered tile. His Spider-Sense screamed but too late.
The world dimmed.
Pain blossomed.
"Peter's gonna… roast me for this one…"
Shocker stared at the wreckage. At the blood-streaked young hero beneath rubble. The mask was cracked. A single eye-lens shattered.
He turned to the crowd again. They didn't move. Couldn't.
"I didn't want it to be like this…"
He grabbed two of the bags. Turned. Fired a final shot into the walll and vanished through the smoke.
Before disappearing completely, he looked back.
"Don't follow me, kid. Not again."
Nathan pushes the rubble off him and he holds his ribs and he mutters "Why do I keep doing this?" He then swings away.
The graveyard was quiet.
Nathan sat cross-legged in front of two headstones. His mask lay beside him in the grass, soaked in blood and dirt.
His face was bruised. Swollen lip. Black eye. Dried blood at his temple.
"I don't know why I keep putting this mask on," he muttered, staring at the names engraved in stone. "Why I keep doing this. Being Spider-Man."
A tear slipped down his cheek.
"Peter and Harry… they get to live. They get to be happy. Have girlfriends. Go to dances. Be normal."
He let out a weak, bitter laugh.
"And I get thrown through walls. Shot at. Blown up. That's just New York. Now there's this supermodel spy who wants me to join a team to protect the world?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I want to."
He looked down at his lap. The mask rested there. A broken symbol.
"I don't know who to talk to."
Then, faintly like a breeze through the trees a memory.
A voice. A man in dark glasses. At the funeral. Someone who had held his shoulder as he cried. Someone his mom once trusted.
Nathan wiped his face.
He picked up the mask. Stared at it.
Then he stood.
In a quiet neighborhood in Hell's Kitchen, Nathan stood in front of a small brick building. The light was on inside. He hesitated, then knocked.
After a moment, the door opened.
A man with red-tinted glasses stepped out. Late twenties. Calm demeanor. Kind face.
"Nathan," he said. "What's up?"
Nathan looked down at his shoes.
Then back up.
"Mr. Murdock… can we talk?"
Matt Murdock nodded.
"Of course."
He opened the door wider.
And Nathan stepped inside.