GENERATION X SPIDER-MAN (Issue #2)

Learning Curve

     It was a rather ordinary day inside First National Bank, deep in the heart of Manhattan. Customers made deposits and withdrawals. Representatives opened new accounts. Clerks reconciled entries and balances. Loan officers helped customers fill out applications. The branch manager, Lynn Hamilton, peered out the large window and was surprised to see that a fresh coat of snow had covered the sidewalks on this February afternoon. That was about the most exciting thing that had happened all day. However, that was about to change. A nondescript van screeched to a sudden halt near the entrance of the financial institution and four men wearing ski masks barrelled out of the vehicle. Moments later, they charged into the bank. They were professionals. Equipped with tactical training. Experience in hand to hand combat. Knowledge of weapons and ballistics. Their robbery attempt was systematic and efficient, with no wasted time. Within minutes, most of the store's employees were on the floor with their hands behind their heads and the customers were doing likewise. It was a chaotic scene. Paulie Weasel, a tall gaunt man with a ponytail poking out of the back of his black ski mask, was the leader and he instructed the employees to fill the bags with large bills. One of his accomplices, a musclebound man simply known as T-Bone, brandished his AK-47 assault rifle in a threatening manner.

"Stay on the ground and don't make a move!" Weasel shouted.

"That's right," T-Bone agreed, before shattering the bandit security glass with gunfire. "Give us what we want and nobody will get hurt!"

Just a few blocks away, Peter Parker was walking in the city after school and then his amazing spider-sense, a type of clairvoyant sixth sense that informs him of future danger, began to warn him that there was a robbery taking place nearby. After quickly ducking into an alleyway, the idealistic teen pulled a red and blue garment from his duffel bag. Despite the cold winter temperature, he quickly slipped into the skintight suit that he had recently stolen from Oscorp Tower. After a quick tap on the belt switch, the suit compressed on itself and fit snugly. Seconds later, he scaled the side of a nearby building like a spider. His duffel bag contained his regular clothing and books. The teen hid it in a safe place and then let his spider-sense guide him to First National Bank.

Meanwhile, the robbery continued. Rex and Shorty soon emerged from the vault area with bags and bags of cash. Nearly five million dollars. Paulie and T-Bone greeted them and helped the pair bring the remaining bags to the center of the bank. As this was happening, the costumed hero clad in red and blue crawled over the awning of First National Bank on this brisk February afternoon. Dozens of pedestrians passing through the streets of Manhattan watched as Spider-Man slipped into the bank unnoticed. The heist was nearly complete when the masked teenager crawled upside down on the ceiling, high above the robbers who were getting ready to leave. His hopes of gaining the element of surprise were soon dashed when one of the bank's employees spotted him.

"Look up there!" the woman screamed. "He's going to save us!"

"That was the plan," Peter muttered beneath his mask as the robbers looked up to the high ceiling of this large financial institution. "You're probably no good at surprise parties."

During any crisis situation, emotions tend to get amplified. Anger and fear. Panic and dread. The fear of the unknown. The fear of death. Machine gun fire was the only audible sound within the confines of First National Bank as the robbers unloaded clip after clip in an effort to shoot the costumed intruder who had arrived to thwart their heist. By now, Spider-Man had become something of a media sensation. In the four weeks since his first appearance, he had garnered an enormous amount of attention from the news media. At this point, there were more questions than answers. Was Spider-Man real? Could he really do these amazing things or was all of this some sort of elaborate hoax? There had been many eyewitness reports claiming to have spotted him in the city. The story of Spider-Man had begun to assume some of the same qualities as a myth or an urban legend. But, now the masked man was actually here in the First National Bank and he didn't disappoint. Acrobatic flips and daring somersaults through the air allowed the hero to avoid the deadly gunfire. All of this was aided by his uncanny spider-sense. His preternatural ability to sense danger helped him predict the course of the bullets before being harmed.