I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 20: Don't Leave After the Game. There's More... (Patreon)

“I thought that guy was only good at bullying people,” Gwen remarked.

“Well, the game's over. We should get going,” Peter said. “We still have to figure out what to put on the pages of the school newspaper.”

They headed down from the stands, ready to leave, only to find a crowd of Phillips High students blocking their way.

“Hey, don't block the path.” Harley tried to squeeze through, but a big student shoved her back. “Hey! Are you guys seriously looking for a fight?”

Annoyed, Harley held out her hand toward Peter. He scratched his head. As it happened, he really had brought the device along.

Peter took the electric shock gadget out of his backpack and strapped it onto her hand, prompting a round of laughter from the Phillips students.

“Hmph! We'll see if you're still laughing in a minute!” Harley growled. The idea of using it to beat the whole crowd senseless filled her with a secret thrill.

Peter braced himself for a fight as well. Gwen, meanwhile, put a hand to her forehead and started wondering how quickly she could run to get help.

Before they could clash with the crowd, however, a voice came from behind them.

“Hey! What do you think you're doing? Picking on the little puppies and kittens from our newspaper club?”

It was Flash. Still dressed in his football gear, he'd noticed the trouble in the stands and brought a whole group of teammates over. Towering over the Phillips students in his protective equipment, he folded his arms across his chest and looked down at them with disdain.

“What? Why are you calling us puppies and kittens?!” Harley protested.

“Considering he's standing in front of us, maybe don't complain so much, Harley,” Peter said, nudging her.

“Ha! Look at the turtles! The turtle team!” somebody jeered.

“Say that again?!” Thompson shoved forward angrily, and the rest of the Midtown football team surged with him, nearly knocking the students over.

“What are you trying to do, you cowards?!” The Phillips football players saw their classmates being pushed around and hurried over to back them up.

Thompson planted himself at the front of his group. “I want you to apologize to our little guys!”

“At Phillips, we don't even know the meaning of the word 'apologize'!”

One of the other players gave Thompson a hard shove. Thompson didn't budge, but that was enough to start the fight.

In an instant, everything descended into chaos. Students cheered, yelled, and screamed as the spectator area dissolved into an enormous brawl.

The football game might be over, but nobody was going home yet. There was still a no-rules fight to enjoy.

“WOOHOO!” Harley pressed the switch in her palm. A burst of electricity shot out like a blade, striking a Phillips student who was charging at her with a chair. “This is awesome!”

Then a baseball bat came crashing down on the back of her head.

“Could you maybe watch your surroundings?!” Peter caught the bat-wielding student from behind and locked an arm around his neck. “Gwen!”

“Oh... Where am I supposed to hit him?!”

“Right below the ribs!”

Gwen drove a fist into the spot Peter indicated. The student in his grip immediately doubled over, clutched his side, and collapsed.

“Nice one, Gwen.”

“Oh my God, why does that make me sound like a trained puppy?”

“Harley? Hey, Harley, can you hear me? Oh, God... Gwen, get her out of here!” Peter shouted, but Harley didn't answer.

Gwen hurried over and lifted her up. Luckily Harley was light, and Gwen exercised regularly, so she could manage to carry her away.

“What about you?”

“Me?” Peter swung his fist into the face of a Phillips student charging toward him like a zombie. He shook out his hand, which was now smeared with the boy's nosebleed. “I've still got people to help!”

“All right, all right! Just be careful!” Gwen called, hurrying toward safety with Harley.

“I AM FLASH!” Thompson bellowed excitedly, plowing through several students like a bulldozer.

But soon he ran into someone who could match him. It was Phillips High's main offensive player, a hulking boy who was both older and much bigger than Thompson. His physique hardly looked like it belonged to a high-school student.

They slammed into each other hard enough to send pain shooting through both their shoulders, then locked up in a struggle that looked more like a wrestling match.

Thompson had already exhausted himself in the game. His opponent gradually forced him backward, the soles of his shoes squealing against the ground. The other boy seemed to be pushing him as effortlessly as someone moving a lawn mower.

“Oh, man! Your name's Thompson, right?” the boy laughed as he drove him back. “Listen up! I'm Cletus Kasady, and you're never going to beat me!”

“I wouldn't be so sure!”

Peter came flying in with a kick to Kasady's side. Kasady flinched in pain, giving Thompson the chance to shove him away.

“Huff! I didn't need your help, string bean!” Thompson insisted stubbornly.

“Come on, man. We've got to get home before dark.”

“Ptooey!” Kasady ripped off his stuffy helmet, spat on the ground, and rolled his neck. He crouched low and spread his arms like a sumo wrestler.

“HAAAAH!” Thompson charged and wrapped his arms around Kasady's legs, trying to bring him down.

“Too green, little man!” Kasady lowered his center of gravity and became as immovable as a block of iron.

“Hey, big guy! Over here!”

Kasady turned his head just in time for Peter's jab to strike him in the face. The impact threw his upper body back and briefly loosened his stance. Thompson seized the opening, took him down, grabbed his legs, swung him around, and flung him straight into a trash can.

“Nice teamwork.” Peter raised a hand for a high-five.

But Thompson grumbled, “I did most of the work! I could've beaten him without you!”

“Sure, sure. You would've beaten him all by yourself. You're the strongest, uh, offensive player around.”

“Hmph!” Satisfied, Flash puffed out his chest and finally slapped Peter's hand.

...

“OWWW!” A sharp ache throbbed through the back of Harley's head. She felt as though her whole body were falling apart.

“Oh, don't move! Good grief...” Gwen said, carefully pressing a Band-Aid onto the bridge of Harley's nose.

Meanwhile, a familiar voice was giving Peter a thorough scolding.

“Peter! Do you think Aunt May and Uncle Ben would be happy to hear you got into a fight? Just look at yourself! Look at the state you're in!”

Mary Jane wasn't finished. “Think about it! Aunt May sends you to school to study, not to get into fights!”

“Ha... I never thought I'd see the day when Peter got lectured like this.” Gwen chuckled, then called over, “Come on, Mary Jane! He got hurt standing up for Midtown High!”

“Don't defend him this time, Gwen! What happens if he goes out and gets hurt in another fight?!”

“Then next time he can just stand behind me again!” Thompson shouted. “What's the matter, Peter? Can't you even handle one girl?”

Laughter filled the bus.