With a heavy thud, something landed hard on top of Marco's speeding truck—then came a teasing voice.
"Hey there, Mister Marco~~ you're under suspicion of armed robbery, reckless driving, and a bunch of other charges. I suggest you surrender peacefully, or I'm gonna slap you silly! And trust me, you don't want that to happen!"
The words had barely left his mouth before a red-and-blue figure flipped upside down and pressed his face against the driver's side window.
It was none other than Spider-Man—Peter Parker himself—already looking quite comfortable in his new career as the friendly neighborhood hero.
"Damn you! You just can't stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong! I'll crush you into paste today!"
Marco's eyes blazed with fury. His bank heist had been going perfectly—until this bug-eyed brat showed up and ruined everything.
Slamming his foot on the brakes, Marco skidded the truck to a stop and unleashed his power. Sand surged from his body, wrapping Peter in a massive cocoon before smashing him into the ground with brutal force.
Spider-Man couldn't even move. Encased in solid sand, he could only watch helplessly as the ground rushed up to meet him.
"Damn you, Spider-Man! Damn you to hell!!"
Marco clenched his fist, and the sand around him mimicked the motion—forming a gigantic fist that came crashing down on the hero again and again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After several heavy blows, the asphalt cracked open into a deep crater, and Spider-Man lay at the bottom, dazed and coughing.
"Cough, cough—what the heck, Marco?! Trying to kill me or what?"
He scrambled back to his feet, but before he could regain his balance, another sand fist came hurtling toward him.
His spider sense screamed in warning. Peter fired a web and swung out of the way just in time, the sand fist smashing into the pavement behind him with explosive force.
"Hey, Marco! You forget your meds or something?"
Using his swing momentum, Peter launched himself forward, spinning mid-air and landing a solid kick to Marco's chest.
Wham!
Except—his foot passed straight through.
"Pfth—ugh! Marco, you jerk! That's a mouthful of sand—ptoo, ptoo!"
Peter hit the ground rolling, covered head to toe in gray dust, brushing frantically at his suit and even wiping his mask's lenses.
The moment his foot had connected, Marco's body had turned entirely into sand—dispersing on impact.
Bzzzzt!
His spider sense flared again. Peter leapt high, firing a web to the nearest wall.
Boom!
Where he'd been standing just seconds ago, a geyser of sand erupted, quickly gathering into Marco's humanoid shape once more.
If Lucas were there, he'd probably ask whether Marco had eaten a "Sand-Sand Fruit" or something—he was literally doing elemental transformation now.
As Marco's form solidified, a net of webs dropped from above, binding him tightly like a giant silkworm cocoon.
A white-and-pink figure landed beside it—Ghost-Spider, Gwen Stacy.
"This the bank robber?" she asked.
"Yeah," Peter said as he swung beside her. "But don't get cocky—he can break his body down into sand. I don't think that cocoon's gonna hold."
He was right. The web cocoon began to tremble violently, and fine grains of sand started leaking through the gaps.
Bang!
In the next instant, the entire web exploded outward, sand spraying in all directions like shrapnel. Peter and Gwen fired webs and swung away just in time.
Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!
The sandstorm ripped through the street, shredding what remained of the webs. Cars nearby were perforated with holes like they'd been hit by gunfire.
Most civilians had already fled, but a few unlucky ones lay on the ground, groaning in pain, their bodies riddled with wounds.
"This guy's a nightmare!" Peter growled, seeing the casualties. "Ghost-Spider! You handle the civilians—I'll take care of him!"
Without waiting for an answer, he fired two webs at opposite buildings, pulling them taut like a slingshot.
"Here we go!"
He launched himself forward like an arrow, slamming toward Marco just as the villain's sand body reformed.
Meanwhile, Gwen went into full rescue mode. She shot webs to stem bleeding, wove a large net in the air, and gently placed the injured inside one by one.
Her webbing was both strong and elastic, keeping the wounded stable. There wasn't time to deliver them to the cops yet; safety came first.
Soon, sirens wailed. Emergency responders and a squad of police arrived, led by Captain George Stacy himself.
The moment Gwen saw her father, her stomach dropped. Panic flashed across her face, and she swung away before he could even look in her direction—straight toward Peter's fight.
Peter, meanwhile, was getting absolutely wrecked. Marco's ability to turn into sand made him nearly immune to physical attacks. Every punch Spider-Man threw just scattered sand—doing zero damage—while Marco's counterattacks kept landing solidly.
"Damn it, Marco! Fight like a man! Stop turning into sand!" Peter shouted in frustration. Every hit felt like punching a pillow made of dust.
"Haha! Why would I? This is my power, you idiot!" Marco roared back, laughing maniacally.
"Fine! Then I'll pound you into dust anyway!"
Peter launched another furious assault, his fists a blur.
At the same time, Gwen used her web to grab a nearby manhole cover and swung it hard toward Marco.
Bang!
The metal disk flew straight through Marco's body—then crashed squarely into Peter's chest.
"Wh—"
Before he could even react, the impact launched him backward, sending him crashing into a fire hydrant.
Sploosh!
Water erupted in a geyser, soaking him head to toe. His red-and-blue suit was now caked with a thick paste of wet sand.
"Ptoo! Ptoo! Ugh, gross!"
He spat out a mouthful of grit—only for the sand to fall right back through his mask.
"I—You—Ugh!!!"
Peter stomped in place, fuming and shaking like a wet cat.
"This damn sand—wait…"
He froze, glancing down at the sludge clinging to his suit. His eyes widened behind the lenses.
"…Of course! Water!"
"Got it!!" he shouted, firing a web and swinging away at full speed.
Gwen, still dodging sand attacks, didn't have time to ask what he'd figured out. She focused on keeping Marco busy, darting in and out with precise acrobatics.
"Damn pests!!" Marco roared, shredding through yet another web that had tangled him. His patience—and his temper—were wearing thin.
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