Marvel’s Shadowed Knight

Whatever Gwen was saying didn't matter to Bruce in the slightest.

Right now, his main priority was to cut off Kingpin's reinforcements as much as possible.

Despite how much Kingpin valued his collider project, when it came to dealing with real intelligence agencies, his operation was still a mess—full of holes like a wasp's nest.

Bruce was certain that there were Hydra agents among Kingpin's ranks.

Most likely, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were also lurking around him.

The commotion in Brooklyn had simply been too big to ignore.

For a city like New York, which wasn't situated on any major fault line, an event of this magnitude was bound to attract attention.

As for why no one had stopped Kingpin yet?

Bruce could only assume that both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra wanted the collider for themselves.

What they intended to use it for—only they knew.

Bruce's job now was to ensure that every agent around Kingpin was rendered useless, scrambling like headless chickens, unable to relay any information in time.

A small EMP should be enough to do the trick.

Of course, it had to be done without damaging the collider itself.

Time continued ticking away, but no one disturbed Bruce or Peni Parker.

The two had already left the Spider-Cave.

At the very least, they needed to replenish their energy.

But there was one exception in this world.

Aunt May.

She walked over to Bruce, placing a simple sandwich and a cup of coffee beside him.

"Don't forget to eat." She gently patted his shoulder as she spoke.

Bruce paused, staring at the modest sandwich sitting to his left.

He turned, as if wanting to say something to Aunt May.

But at that moment, she was speaking with Peni Parker, and Bruce couldn't help but notice—Aunt May had made Peni's sandwich with extra care.

It was cut into the shape of a small bear.

Peni was absolutely delighted, her face lighting up with pure joy.

Bruce said nothing.

He simply turned back to his work and continued.

But when Aunt May returned and saw the now-empty plate, she couldn't help but smile.

Even the coffee had been finished by this brooding, quiet young man.

With a soft chuckle, she took the plate away without saying a word to disturb Bruce.

"Good sandwich."

Bruce's deep voice broke the silence.

Aunt May turned to look at him, but by then, he was already focused on his work again—

As if she had only imagined the words.

But she didn't believe in imagination.

And more importantly, she had believed from the very beginning that this boy had a good heart.

"You're welcome to come by anytime." Aunt May said before stepping onto the lift and leaving the Spider-Cave.

Bruce didn't respond.

But his hands, busy working, paused for the briefest moment.

"She's a kind woman," Thomas suddenly remarked.

Bruce only buried himself further in his work.

All he wanted now was to get everything done properly.

So that, in the end, everything could have the best possible outcome.

By the time the night had passed, the sun was already beginning to dip toward the west.

Peni cheered excitedly. "I did it!"

Her small face was filled with joy. Even though the task hadn't been particularly difficult for her, the happiness she felt was undeniably genuine.

"Well done." Bruce walked up to Peni, his voice softer than usual, carrying a rare hint of warmth.

"Hehe, just like you asked—I made two!" Peni handed Bruce two keys. "The fake one has four horizontal web lines on the spider emblem, while the real one has three."

"Got it. Go ahead and regroup with the others." Bruce pocketed the keys and turned toward his workspace.

Peni didn't quite understand what Bruce was planning, but since everyone trusted him so much, she naturally placed her trust in him as well.

"Okay!"

With that, she happily stepped onto the lift and left.

As Peni and her little robot disappeared from sight, Bruce lowered his head and examined the two keys in his hand.

"Hey, everyone!" Peni beamed the moment she joined the other Spider-People.

Gwen instinctively glanced behind her, checking to see if the Bat had followed.

When she confirmed that Bruce wasn't there, she frowned and asked, "Where's the Bat?"

"Looks like he's not done with his work yet. I gave him the keys and left." Peni answered casually, simply stating the facts.

But she had no idea that, to Gwen, Miles, and Peter Parker, this simple response hinted at an unpredictable turn of events.

That guy was the Bat, after all.

Gwen exchanged a look with Peter Parker, then made up her mind.

"I'll go check on him."

Just as Gwen reached for the back door, it swung open before she could touch it.

Emerging from the shadows of his cape, the Bat stepped forward, stopping right in front of her.

"We can proceed with the plan."

A hand extended from beneath the dark cloak, holding two keys, each already attached to a string.

"Which one is real?" Gwen took them, scrutinizing the markings to determine which was genuine.

But Bruce didn't answer.

Even when Peni opened her mouth, ready to explain, Bruce gave a subtle shake of his head, stopping her.

Despite knowing Bruce for only a short time, Peni had an instinctive feeling that whatever he was doing must be the right choice.

So, she chose to stay silent.

"You take this one. The colorful Peter Parker takes this one." Bruce handed one key to Gwen and the other to Peter Parker.

The two exchanged glances. Something about this felt off, but given the situation, it seemed best to follow the Bat's lead.

"I assume you know when Kingpin plans to activate the collider again?" Bruce directed the question at Peter Parker.

"Tonight." Peter remembered it clearly.

After all, villains had a habit of setting arbitrary '24-hour deadlines' just to make things dramatic.

It had become such a cliché that it was downright exhausting.

"How's his training coming along?" Bruce finally turned his gaze toward Miles, who was clearly feeling defeated.

Peter didn't answer immediately. He pressed his lips together, reluctant to say anything discouraging about the kid.

Miles had potential—potential that could lead to great things.

But right now, he simply wasn't ready to bear the responsibility of being Spider-Man.

And that was a reality Peter couldn't ignore.

Miles wanted to hear Peter say he was ready.

But deep down, even he knew the truth—

He wasn't.

(End of Chapter)

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