Another beautiful day began. Peter Parker finished his studies and celebrated a victory at the detective club—the club successfully helped Spider-Man capture Shocker, which significantly brightened Peter's mood after Aunt May had lectured him all night.
Then, Spider-Man arrived at Avengers Tower once again. The last rays of twilight reflected golden-red light off the building's glass facade, a dazzling display, much like his mood at that moment.
Although his two suits were pretty much ruined from the fights with Shocker, he managed to find the most intact pieces to wear.
"Stop, soldier, you're entering a restricted area."
Iron Man deliberately mimicked the Captain's serious tone, then his faceplate retracted, revealing Tony Stark's iconic face with a teasing smile. He chuckled, patting Peter's shoulder: "You know what? The Captain always thought you weren't ready, thought you were just a kid, that you'd be impulsive and all that. Turns out you did great, didn't you? The idea of overloading and detonating Shocker's weapon was brilliant."
Peter laughed too, noticing Tony Stark was wearing his armor.
"Mr. Stark. Do the Avengers have a mission?"
"Oh, right, we need to go to Africa to catch a smuggler named Ulysses Klaw. He's got a big stash of vibranium weapons." After saying this, Tony realized Peter might not know who Ulysses Klaw was, so he added: "The Captain's shield uses vibranium. He's been supporting a civil war in Wakanda to plunder their assets, so we need to bring him in. The Quinjet has already departed."
Peter actually knew about Ulysses Klaw, the guy whose hand was cut off by Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the comics, this character was a supervillain called "Klaw" (or "Noise" in some translations), and he also appeared in the Black Panther movie, with a vibranium-powered sound generator attached to his severed arm. Peter mentally rated him as "less impressive than Shocker."
The Avengers probably weren't just going to arrest a smuggler; it was most likely related to vibranium and Wakanda, but that was beyond his scope.
"Anyway, we're going to be away on a trip, no one will be home. And coincidentally, I thought someone could help me look after this place." Tony said, leading Peter into Avengers Tower. At the same time, he picked up a pre-prepared card from the bar: "The Avengers protect the world, and your friendly neighborhood can protect New York. Here's your Avengers ID card, kid."
"Does this mean..."
"Don't overthink it, kid. At best, you're a reservist." Tony chuckled: "You've got a few more years of hard work ahead. Alright, look after New York while we're gone. With this ID card, you can use all the facilities in Avengers Tower. Oh, right, to prevent abuse, you'll need to swipe your card every time you come in, and it'll let us know what you've been up to."
"Understood, Mr. Stark." Peter took the ID card, examining it from all sides, then made his first request: "Can I use the tech here to make a new suit? My current suit, well, it has no protection whatsoever and it's practically rags."
"Like I said, kid, you can use all the equipment."
Tony said, putting his faceplate back on: "If you don't understand something, ask J.A.R.V.I.S. I need to go catch up with the Captain—"
"Uh, one more thing, Mr. Stark."
Tony, who had already activated his thrusters and was preparing for takeoff, stopped and looked at Peter: "What?"
"I met someone. She said she's a seer, can see my future, knows my identity, and has similar spider abilities to mine." To avoid interfering with the Avengers' mission, Peter summarized his encounter in the most concise way possible: "She said on the same day as me, another person gained spider abilities, and this person is crucial because I'll be traveling through the multiverse in the future, and I'll need this person as a beacon to return."
"Whoa." Iron Man paused for a full three seconds to process all of this: "That's... unusual. Regardless of whether it's true or not, if there's a possibility of another Spider-Person, the Avengers will investigate cautiously."
Peter probably knew who that person was. When talking about someone who gained abilities from the same spider as Peter Parker, it would likely be Cindy Moon, also known as Silk.
But there was a problem: regardless of what Cindy Moon was doing now, she certainly wasn't a Midtown High student. If she were, Peter would have noticed her long ago. He also had to consider the possibility that it wasn't her, so after much thought, he decided it was better to leave this matter to the Avengers.
As for Tony Stark's thoughts, they were simple—six months had passed, and there was still no news of another spider-powered individual?
No need to say more, just go find Nick Fury.
After watching Iron Man leave, Peter put away his Avengers ID card, then addressed the entire building: "If I want to make a suit, where should I go?"
"The 3D printers are on the fifth floor laboratory, Mr. Parker."
Peter nodded, muttering to himself.
"For a building where only the top few floors are used to house the Avengers, isn't the fifth floor a bit low?"
"Actually, the Avengers only consider the top five floors as the living quarters, Mr. Parker."
Peter chuckled. He needed to test out new equipment to give his suit a proper upgrade.
"This is your new equipment, Mr. Smerdyakov."
Dimitri Smerdyakov, codenamed Chameleon, a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service agent. After stealing former Soviet disguise equipment, he defected to the United States. After spending all the money the CIA gave him, he chose to use this disguise technology to work for various underground organizations. Now, he had accepted Kingpin's invitation to a deserted warehouse to test the little toy Kingpin had prepared for him.
Dimitri squinted, pinching the small spherical object, possibly only three centimeters wide, and looked at Kingpin: "Is this thing really as miraculous as you say, Mr. Fisk?"
"Let my employee explain it to you. This is Quentin Beck, formerly Hollywood's most excellent special effects artist."
Quentin Beck was a timid, thin man, nodding incessantly as if in agreement. Quentin walked up to Dimitri, and after thinking for a long time about how to explain the function of the object in his hand, he decided not to explain and simply described its use.
"Press the middle button, then throw it on the ground. That's how it works."
Dimitri did as instructed and witnessed a miracle unfold. Lifelike images appeared before them. The warehouse, which had only a few people, now appeared to have countless workers. From any angle, no obvious projection lines could be seen.
"This is light particle distortion technology. It's not perfect yet; it can only be programmed and matched to the environment. It can't be operated anywhere..."
Dimitri didn't want to hear such meaningless scientific jargon.
"What's the projection range?"
"A sphere with a radius of one hundred meters, but it can only display pre-arranged images, and it must be deployed within the appropriate range."
That's enough, more than enough to deal with Spider-Man. Within a hundred-meter radius, he could completely impersonate Spider-Man and commit all sorts of crimes, ruining Spider-Man's reputation—sometimes, defeating a superhero didn't require actually beating or killing him. Making everyone believe he was a criminal and a villain was also a method.
And for Chameleon, this was not difficult; he was already well-versed in this art.
"Just arrange the right scenarios, and I can begin. I'll first tarnish Spider-Man's reputation, then lure him into a trap. The rest is up to you."
Dimitri finished, then asked with slight interest: "But I still want to ask, have you chosen a location?"
"I am already searching for a suitable burial ground for Spider-Man."
Kingpin lit a cigar: "I have hired the best detective in all of New York, Mr. Mac Gargan. He will choose the most fitting end for Spider-Man."