ushernet Chapter 26: Don't challenge Batman to a fight, but what about Spider-Man?
Chapter 26: Don't challenge Batman to a fight, but what about Spider-Man?
Chapter 26: Don't challenge Batman to a fight, but what about Spider-Man?
The members of the detective agency huddled together and recorded a "thank you video" for Spider-Man on their phones. After uploading the video, they chatted for a while before leaving. Of course, Peter Parker didn't go home—he slipped into the empty chemistry lab like a nimble cat.
"If Jonah Jameson knew about this," Peter thought with a self-deprecating laugh as he rummaged through the reagent bottles, "he'd be ecstatic—Spider-Man's first official violation of the law. But then again, it was Peter Parker who did this, what does it have to do with Spider-Man? Luckily, there are no cameras in the classroom. Let me see, I can probably make three batches of web-weaving fluid, hopefully that'll be enough. And hopefully it'll all be over tonight—who knows when Herman's boxing gloves will explode."
In less than twenty minutes, three bottles of pearly cobweb liquid were stuffed into his coat pocket. He then opened the door, looked around to make sure no one had noticed, and left the school.
Peter didn't notice because Karl King, who had stayed behind for football practice, was nearby. He saw Peter leaving from a distance in the hallway and became curious: What is skinny Parker doing at school so late?
Is he tinkering with something? Could I use this to get back at him and save face for myself?
Curious, he sneaked into the lab, searching for what Parker had been doing. After searching for a while without finding anything, he sniffed around and found the lab bench that smelled of chemicals.
"What is he doing here?"
Curious, Culkin opened the sink's filter cover and found something white stuck to it. Was this what Peter Parker was doing?
Curious, he tried to tear off a section, but found nothing, so he could only curse. He noted this down and left the chemistry lab—unaware that the spiderweb would automatically degrade within two hours, and that it would be gone when he returned tomorrow.
Peter, who had already left, finished changing his clothes and made a phone call to Uncle Ben.
"Hey? Uncle Ben, I'll be home late tonight. Just tell Aunt Mei her worrying nephew went to see some excitement. What excitement? Remember to watch the Daily Horn TV!"
An unprecedented surge of excitement coursed through Spider-Man as he soared through the Manhattan twilight. His next target was a battlefield, and to ensure safety and undisturbed movement, he needed to block off the roads. While he could find Commissioner Stacy, she didn't have the capability to seal off an entire war zone. The Avengers, on the other hand, possessed that capability.
He then swung all the way to Avengers Tower, skillfully landing on the tower's helipad, and then walked inside.
"Stop, soldier. If you go any further, you'll be within the warning zone."
Steve Rogers emerged wearing a short-sleeved shirt and carrying a cup of coffee. Peter had to explain, "I have some kind of...danger sense, Captain. If I step into a dangerous area, I'll know."
"That's no reason for you to take risks, child. What brings you here?"
"I've found a way to lure out the horror, but there are only two problems. First, I need to block off a section of road, and I can't find anyone with enough influence to do that, so I thought maybe the Avengers could help."
"That's not difficult. What's the second question? You can tell us, and the Avengers will handle the rest."
"That's the second problem, Captain, the Avengers can't participate."
Peter stated his request: "Last time, Herman couldn't beat me and fled in defeat. This is how I lured him out, giving him a fair battlefield so that he would willingly come here to fight me. If the Avengers intervene, he is very likely to run away directly."
The captain expressed his objection in one sentence: "Then you want us to pin all our hopes on you overcoming the horror, and on the fact that his weapons won't explode in the process."
"I'm proposing this plan not because I think I've failed and need to fix it, Captain. I'm proposing it because... I just feel I can do it."
Peter took off his hood and looked at Rogers. Rogers looked at him, then sighed and took out his phone.
"You've won, kid. I know a friend who will help you."
Peter used his dynamic vision to catch a glimpse of the "Nick Fury" annotation flashing across the screen, smiled, said thank you, put on the hood, and prepared to leave.
Of course, the captain has a new problem.
"Um, child, which part do you want to isolate?"
"Times Square! Captain!"
Watching Spider-Man swing away, Captain America nodded and made a phone call: "Okay, Nick, I need you to help me seal off Times Square. I'm not crazy..."
Only a sufficiently prestigious venue would make it more likely that Mr. Horror would agree to a duel, and Times Square was the perfect choice. Peter arrived there, took out his old camera, and moved among the buildings, searching for the best shooting angle. When the duel began, he would stick the camera there, set it to automatic shooting, and see if he could take a few photos that he could sell to Jameson.
"If only someone could tell me how American high school students can get rich quickly without doing odd jobs and committing crimes before I time-traveled. Right now, all I can do is take pictures of myself like the real Peter Parker... When I'm rich, I'm going to build my own high-tech base like Peter Parker in 'Parallel Universe,' filled with all kinds of uniforms, or maybe I'll add a display function to the goggles of my uniform first."
He honestly didn't know how to make money. He wished he had transmigrated into Harry Osborn's body. Now, all he could do was wait for the Brazil World Cup and persuade Uncle Ben to bet on Brazil 1-7—this was the most memorable thing for him, something he couldn't forget even after transmigrating.
"Alright, it's time for the Daily Bugle's live broadcast at 6 PM every day. Next stop, the Daily Bugle building! It's time to meet my dear number one fan for the first time!"
In the Daily Bugle's media building, J. Jonah Jameson was reviewing yet another press release he'd written that day—another day of bashing those damn masked monsters. He took a sip of water, cleared his throat, and suddenly his old friend Robbie walked into the studio.
"Jonah, something terrible has happened."
"What could be so important, Robbie—"
"Spider-Man is here!"
Jonah Jameson paused for a moment, then immediately reacted: "Great, this wretched spider has finally found us! As long as I, Jameson, have a breath left, I will never let this freak undermine press freedom!"
"He's not here to undermine press freedom, Jameson," Robbie interrupted Jameson's rant. "He said he's brought us an exclusive."
Jameson's expression froze instantly.
"Welcome to today's Daily Horn News. Before we begin the main news, we received a special video." A few minutes later, in the studio, Jameson felt nauseous, as if he had swallowed fly excrement. If Spider-Man hadn't told him that the terrifying weapon could explode at any moment, he wouldn't have cared about that spider freak at all.
"Hey, Thriller, it's me, Spider-Man, remember?"
It was a selfie video clearly filmed on a phone, with Spider-Man's huge face right next to the camera: "I still remember the day I beat you up, and you had to resort to threatening me with the safety of ordinary people to make me run away. What's wrong? You've been hiding these past few days?"
"I got beaten up?" Herman, hiding inside the stronghold, was furious. "I almost killed you that day, you damned reptile!"
He decided to ignore that damned crawler and refused to go out no matter what.
"I know you might be scared. You're worried you can't beat me, or that your weapons aren't as powerful as you advertise—or maybe you're just afraid of the Avengers? If that's all, don't worry, I've got you covered. Tonight after 8 p.m., it'll just be you and me in Times Square. No Avengers, no police, but all the media in New York will be watching. I'll show the world that your weapons are nothing special, just terrifying."
My weapon is nothing special?!
Herman was so angry that he opened his wardrobe, took out his uniform, and then carefully considered whether it was unwise to do so.
"—That's all the media in New York, Herman. And if that bug wasn't lying, it was just him."
After careful consideration, Hermann began to take off his clothes and put on his uniform.
There couldn't be a better opportunity. All the media in New York will remember that thriller beat Spider-Man!
I've already made it into the top 30 in my section without even being pushed to the top. Thank you all for your support.
(End of this chapter)