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Floating in midair, completely ignoring the laws of gravity, the figure looked like he weighed nothing at all. Muscles rippled under his suit as he calmly hung there.
Neither Gwen nor the usually unshakable Captain George could believe what they were seeing.
Humans can't fly—not without gear or tech.
Even a three-year-old knows that.
And yet, this scene right in front of them shattered everything they thought they knew.
"Who… the hell… are you?" George finally found his voice after a long pause. He raised his gun and pointed it directly at the floating figure.
Maybe the only thing that could ease his fear of the unknown was the cold, familiar weight of his pistol.
"I'd put that thing down if I were you," the man said as he slowly descended toward the ground, still holding the cockpit in one hand. His voice was calm but carried a cold edge. "I don't like being aimed at. And besides, that toy won't do anything to me anyway."
George must've felt the chill in his voice, because for once, he didn't argue. He quietly lowered his gun and said, sincerely, "Alright. I apologize."
"That's the same stubborn dad who tried to unmask me even if it meant hurting me?" Gwen thought, watching her father's surprisingly obedient reaction.
If George had known what she was thinking, he probably would've said: "I may be stubborn, but I'm not stupid. Come on, you think something like this can be threatened with a lousy handgun?"
Clang!
By now, Peter had reached the ground and casually set the cockpit down.
But in the very next second, the cops on the ground swarmed in.
Some stared in complete disbelief.
Some were curious, gazing at the strange force field that shimmered faintly around his face.
And a few, nervous and unsure, aimed their guns at him.
"Lower your weapons!"
George stepped out of the cockpit and didn't hesitate for a second—he barked out the order to the surrounding officers.
Then he looked up—at a 45-degree angle—to the figure still floating a few feet off the ground. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again.
"Are you… a mutant? A superhuman? Or maybe… an alien?"
He paused, then added, "Or… a god?"
Honestly, George had one more theory—but he didn't dare say it out loud.
"What do you think?" Peter asked as he gazed down at everyone below. His voice was deep and full of quiet authority. His eyes lingered on one particular figure who looked like he was trying to sneak away unnoticed.
Whoosh!
The next moment, before anyone could react, he shot straight into the sky, vanishing from sight. Hundreds of meters above, a mushroom-shaped shockwave exploded around him.
BOOM!
Two seconds later, the sound finally hit everyone's ears—proof that what they saw wasn't just a hallucination.
"I get it now! He's Superman! The actual Superman from the comics!"
Someone finally broke the stunned silence with a shout.
In the next instant, the whole crowd exploded with excitement.
"Chief! Spider-Woman's gone!"
Just as everyone was still processing what had just happened, one of the officers who had been rescued by Gwen ran over to report to Captain George.
"I know."
George didn't even turn his head. His eyes were still locked on the sky where the figure had long since vanished. He spoke slowly and calmly.
"Sir, this whole operation was basically a bust. We lost a ton of equipment—three helicopters destroyed. That's a serious hit."
"Luckily, thanks to Spider-Woman, we didn't lose any lives. Just a few officers with minor injuries. So, maybe we should…"
The officer gave a quick summary of the operation's aftermath, but then trailed off, clearly hesitating—like there was something he wanted to say but didn't dare.
At the same time, other officers who'd witnessed Spider-Woman swoop in like a real-life superhero to save everyone were also looking at Captain George expectantly.
"In that case, cancel the warrant on Spider-Woman."
"Yeah! That's a great call, Chief!"
The officers immediately broke into spontaneous applause, especially the ones who had just been rescued by her.
"All right, now issue a new warrant. I want us to go all-out searching for that other guy who's been tearing up the city."
George pressed his hands down to calm the excitement, then gave out another order.
"And one more thing—everything that happened just now stays classified. No one talks. Understood?"
His face was deadly serious.
"Okay, let's clean up the scene and get things back in order ASAP."
With that, Captain George turned and walked away.
"Sir, want me to call a chopper to take you home?"
An officer offered kindly when he saw the captain getting ready to leave.
"...Nah, I'll drive myself."
Looking around at the still-smoldering helicopter wreckage, George didn't even hesitate before shooting down the idea of getting back in the air.
Meanwhile, ten thousand meters above the ground—
"Wooohooo!"
A figure shot across the sky at breakneck speed, leaving only an excited shout in the wind.
"I was a fake-ass Superman before—but now I'm the real deal!"
The flying figure suddenly picked up even more speed, diving straight into a patch of clouds.
The blast of wind created by the insane velocity tore through the soft, cotton-candy-like clouds, scattering them like smoke.
A streak of silvery-white trailed behind him, cutting through the sky like a comet.
After leaving behind a bizarre, lingering pattern in the clouds, the figure suddenly burst out again—then dove downward once more.
Above the vast ocean, a human shape appeared, skimming just meters above the water's surface.
The supersonic flight created a sharp, slicing gust of wind that carved a long trench into the sea below, like a blade cutting through water.
As sea spray flew everywhere, Peter suddenly spotted a massive shadow beneath the surface.
Without a second thought, he dove straight in.
SPLASH!
Hundreds of meters away, a massive explosion of water shot into the air.
A giant whale burst from the ocean, launching several dozen meters up.
Whale: I'm flying!!
Also whale: Okay I'm done.
SPLASH!!
Peter had just used a whale to skip across the water like a rock.
As the ocean erupted in waves, Peter launched himself back into the air again.
He instantly broke the sound barrier and soared straight through the clouds.
Spotting a passenger jet a few dozen kilometers away, Peter accelerated again and closed the distance in seconds.
Once he caught up to the plane, he slowed down to match its speed, flying right alongside it.
Then he floated over to one of the windows and tapped it lightly with his knuckles.
A moment later, the window shade lifted and a kid looked out, puzzled.
"Dad, look! It's Superman!"
Before the dad could even turn around, Peter smiled and waved at the kid through the glass.
And just like that, he shot upward again—straight into the sky.
Cut to another scene—
Out in deep space, a lone figure floated with arms outstretched, basking in the light of the rising sun over Earth's horizon.
The golden glow bathed his figure like a dream—radiant and unreal.
"....."