LOUD MOUTH → PETER PARKER ✓

Epilogue: The Return of A Hero

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄: THE RETURN OF A HERO

There was chaos in New York. Not really unusual, considering crazy shit happens all the time there, but this was the Peoples Lives Are In Danger type of chaos, and that's usually the kind people would like to put a stop to as quickly as possible.

An escaped convict somehow managed to get his hands on a new tech suit that made him a literal superpowered machine, and decided to go around the streets of New York, wreaking havoc as The Rhino. Pretty stupid name, but this guy was a whole new level of crazy.

People screamed as they ran to get out of the man's way. He flipped cars and put holes in the concrete ground with a single step. He was mad with power, laughing at the way people fled when he was near.

The police had created a barricade and were attempting to shoot at the man, but the bullets simply bounced off the cold metal without leaving behind so much as a scratch. He laughed and fired back at them with his own suit-equipped machine guns, which we absolutely in no way a match for their puny pistols. The police ducked for cover as their cars were peppered with bullets.

People gathered behind the police barricade to watch the exchange, exclaiming in awe and horror with every move. News vans and helicopters swarmed the area from a distance, each station trying to get their own take on the disaster before them.

While the shootout was happening, a small boy wearing a Spider-Man costume watched with interest. He wondered where Spider-Man was, and why he wasn't helping. No one had seen Spider-Man in weeks. But he still wondered. He looked around and found he was the only Spider-Man in sight. He held the responsibility now.

When his mother looked away, he crawled under the barricade, heading towards the line of fire. He heard her screaming for him to come back and didn't look to see as the police held her back while she attempted to jump over the barricade to get him. He had to have no fear. Like Spider-Man.

He ran into the street, a mere fifty feet away from the giant behemoth of a man. The police captain shouted at his men to hold his fire, seeing a kid run in. The Rhino himself even stopped, interested in the boy.

One of the officers stood up. "Kid, you gotta get—"

The Rhino shot a few bullets at the man to silence him. The man ducked, missing them by an inch.

"Look, New York! Spider-Man is back!" the convict teased, making fun of the little boy. The boy said nothing, but slipped the mask over his face. "Brave boy, huh?" The Rhino asked. "Do I scare you, little boy?"

Again the boy said nothing. The Rhino began to take huge steps towards him, wanting to see how many he could get in before the boy turned and ran. But he stayed still, waiting for the approaching man like a passenger waiting for a train. Everyone watched in horror.

But eyes were suddenly drawn up as a crimson figure flew over heads silently. Suddenly, The Rhino stopped, confusing the boy. And then he heard a voice behind him speak.

"Hey, Spider-Man."

He turned and saw that Spider-Man stood behind him. The boy smiled, taking off his mask. "I knew you'd come back." he said happily.

Spider-Man laughed, bending down to his level. "Yeah, thanks for stepping up for me. You're the bravest kid I've ever seen. I know someone who would've loved to meet you." he said. "I'm gonna take care of this jerk, you take care of your mom, okay?" he said, giving the kid a fist bump. "Alright, get out of here. Go."

The kid nodded happily and ran off towards his mother, causing a cheer to erupt from the crowd. Spider-Man jumped on top of the nearest cop car and was handed a megaphone. He began to stretch, knowing he might have gotten a but rusty of his little vacation from heroism.

"You fight me? You fight me now? Eh?" The Rhino yelled towards him.

"On behalf of the fine people of New York City and real rhinos every where, I ask you to put your mechanized paws in the air!" Peter shouted back through the megaphone.

"Never!" the man shouted. "I crush you, I kill you! I destroy you!"

"You want me to come down there so you can kill me?"

"Yes!"

"I'll be right there," he promised, putting the megaphone down and talking quietly to himself. "Ah, there's no place like home."

The Rhino began charging at him, and he allowed himself to say a few more words before preparing to fight. "You're on my side, loud mouth." he said, looking up towards the sky. "Let's do this."

Author's Note:
And with this, I conclude Loud Mouth. It's very emotional. I'm really feeling the sadness.
Okay ANYWAY the sequel to this book, All Die Young, is out now! So go read that and recover from the ending of this :( Again, thank you all so so much for reading this book, it means the world to me, honestly. <3333
Grace