Ch.105 Black Cat's Dark Humor

"We won."

With the terrifying mutated spiders gone, Carter and the others finally sighed in relief.

The mutated Spider-People inside the cages also couldn't help but get excited.

"We're saved."

"Thank God."

"No, thank Spider-Man."

"No, thank God for sending Spider-Man."

"Has he seen God?"

The agents started to rescue the mutants, while Charlie looked at the notifications that appeared before his eyes.

[You played the role of Friendly Neighborhood Spider, saving the mutants. Restart Times +8]

[Elimination Points reached 100, 100% Critical Hit activated, can be stored for next use.]

Until he used the current 100% critical hit, he wouldn't be able to accumulate more Killing Value.

Charlie thought about it, his magical energy quickly dissipating. The web patterns on his suit retreated to his hand, reforming into the small spider.

The spider totem on his chest also dimmed due to energy consumption during the fight.

Chitter-chitter~

The little spider yawned as it lay on Charlie's hand and soon fell asleep.

The summoned little spider, which was born using the self-destructing machine as the primary summoning material, naturally had the ability to control explosive webs and could also inject magical energy into Charlie to compensate for his lack of energy-based attacks.

This energy was borrowed from the Spider Totem, with limited duration.

Luckily, he had more than one Spider Totem.

With that in mind, Charlie rubbed the little spider's head with his finger and then placed it on top of his head.

Anyone who had been friends with Spider-Man knew he didn't have a pet pouch.

Resting atop his head, the little spider used the power of the Spider Totem with every breath to regain energy, and soon a faint red-and-blue halo formed over Charlie's head, making him look rather comical.

Looking at the rescued Mary Jane and Gwen, Charlie didn't go over to greet them but instead walked up to Carter.

"Seems like Kingpin and HYDRA have teamed up. He might even be a HYDRA member. Any way to take him down?" Charlie asked.

Carter shook her head. "We don't have any evidence proving he's part of HYDRA. After all, he never shows up at the scenes himself, and his team of lawyers is just as good as Stark's."

"Yeah, I heard about Kingpin. That guy once snatched away one of my best lawyers," Tony added.

Charlie thought for a moment. "This guy's a huge problem. Can you track him down?" he asked Carter.

Carter raised an eyebrow, leaning in to whisper, "I know what you're thinking, but Kingpin's whereabouts are always a mystery. He rarely shows himself publicly, so we won't be able to find him anytime soon."

"No worries, I think he'll be willing to see me." Charlie shrugged.

He definitely had to find a way to deal with this mysterious guy.

"No, how could this happen? My superpowers..."

Suddenly, commotion broke out among the rescued mutants.

As one of them discovered that they had lost the ability to shoot webs, the others immediately checked their superpowers.

But the conclusion was the same—they had all lost Spider-Man's abilities.

"No!!"

"Oh my God, why are you doing this to me!"

"We're just regular people again."

"Oh God, why is this happening..."

In an instant, the mutants wailed in despair, crying as they knelt, completely disheartened.

Seeing this, Harry tried to comfort them.

"Don't be sad. The reason you were kidnapped was because you had superpowers. Now that they're gone, you won't be targeted again."

Some thought it made sense and felt relieved.

But others couldn't accept it and started cursing Harry.

"Shit, if you had saved us sooner, we wouldn't have lost our powers."

"Yeah, it's all your fault. Give us our powers back."

"It's all because of you."

"You have to take responsibility."

A group of people surrounded the agents, yelling and demanding answers.

Seeing this, Carter sighed helplessly.

"Why are they like this? Are they idiots?"

Tony had an indifferent smile. "You'll get used to idiots like these in this era."

Charlie adjusted his web-shooter, a large web exploded and hung the group from the ceiling.

"Oh shit, it's Spider-Man. Why is he doing this to us?"

"We're his fans!"

"He should be on our side."

"Damn Spider-Man, I'm no longer his fan."

"He can't make us calm down."

"He's selfish, just wants to keep all the powers for himself, afraid we might outshine him."

They initially looked at Charlie in disbelief, then began cursing him once they understood what had happened.

Charlie dug his ears, then shot webs to seal their mouths.

"Alright, much quieter now."

He looked at Harry. "Say thank you."

Harry blinked, "Uh, thanks."

Since when did this guy develop such a weird habit?

Carter also looked helpless. "Coulson, you're in charge from here on."

"No problem, leave it to me," Coulson nodded.

Carter looked at Charlie. "Let's go, Spider-Man, saving everyone again."

"But after treating them like this, they're going to become your haters," she added.

Charlie walked alongside Carter and said indifferently, "I don't need their support—unless I ever decide to run for office."

"Run for office?" Carter chuckled, "Alright, care to tell me—"

She glanced back at Tony and the others, then whispered to Charlie, "How did you win the resurrection match this time?"

Charlie waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing much to say—it was too easy for me, no challenge at all."

"Oh, by the way, I helped you with two troublesome guys, remember to give me some operational funds."

Carter: "..."

Before she could reply, Charlie moved over to Tony. "Interested in a collaboration?"

Tony looked surprised. "You want me to help sell Spider-Man merch?"

"That's a bit tricky—since you're always masked, it's hard to secure the copyrights for that."

Harry, standing nearby, suggested, "How about you secretly take off the mask, and I'll help you—"

Charlie shot Harry a sideways glance and interrupted, "No need. I just want to discuss developing synthetic web fluid."

"Then you can talk to me," Harry was interested in synthetic web development.

Charlie refused, "No, you should focus on other things—like your father's unfinished experiments."

Collaborating would naturally lead to more connections, but he worried that Harry might not be tough enough.

After all, he already had four and a half Spider Totems.

Hearing that, Harry agreed he shouldn't get distracted and didn't press further.

Tony, however, didn't seem interested in synthetic webbing.

"Sorry, I've already collected some samples from the mutants' webs. I can easily replicate better synthetic webs."

Charlie: "..."

He nearly forgot—Tony was a genius. Replicating synthetic webbing was no big deal for him.

"Uh, my webs are better," Charlie insisted.

Tony smiled. "I collected your webs too. There's not much difference."

"Unless it's a different kind of web—yes, the kind that floats in mid-air. I'd be very interested in that," Tony continued.

Charlie waved his hand in disappointment. "Forget it. I want to know how to make that kind of web too—seems like Spider-Man is destined to be broke."

Tony patted Charlie's shoulder to comfort him.

"Buddy, relax. I could invite you to be the face of the web product."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Alright, take the tracker off my shoulder, and I'll agree."

"Uh, you noticed. How awkward."

Tony maintained his smile.

As they chatted, the group soon reached the factory's open area.

Amid the chaos, Charlie noticed something off.

Aleksei's body was missing.

"You had someone take the body?" he asked Carter.

Carter frowned. "No, if it were taken by agents, I'd know about it."

"So, Kingpin still sees value in Rhino's body," Tony said.

Harry crossed his arms, a bit uncertain. "They wouldn't clone another Rhino, would they?"

"You already know the answer."

Charlie approached the deep pit, kneeling to inspect it. A thought struck him.

"He walked away himself," he pointed at the footprints nearby. "He wasn't dead yet."

Harry took out his phone. "I'll get someone to track him while we still have clues."

Just then, a flash of lightning lit the sky. The now-humid air began to drizzle, and within seconds, heavy rain fell, quickly washing away the traces.

Harry: "..."

"Well, even God is helping him now," he said helplessly.

Carter spoke to Charlie, "We'll find that guy. There's one more thing—come to S.H.I.E.L.D. tomorrow. We've made some discoveries about that strange black spine."

"Sure, no problem."

With that, Charlie fired a web, swinging into the rain until he disappeared into the rainy night.

Watching Charlie disappear, Harry fell into thought, then turned back to the car.

"Mind if I hitch a ride? My suit's out of power," Tony said, squeezing in.

...

Boom!!

In the rainy night, a dirty alley, under a leaking tarp, Aleksei lay quietly on a bed covered in newspapers.

There was a horrifying hole in his chest, but with writhing flesh, his injury was healing quickly.

But there was no joy on his face.

Rats scurried through the garbage, while Aleksei stared at the tarp overhead, watching the rain collect, forming a bulging spot that began to leak.

Drip~

A drop of rain fell on his mouth, and Aleksei instinctively licked it, bringing back memories.

Long ago, this was the kind of garbage heap he lived in.

He could eat five burgers in one sitting or endure hunger for three days straight.

Whenever it rained, it was a chance to take a shower—it was what he looked forward to most.

The place was full of garbage—his only possession, his only freedom.

But people always came and took away his garbage, just to see him humiliated.

Garbage belongs in the trash heap.

That was what he heard most.

He had no money, no power to protect himself—he was just garbage, always living in the dirt.

This continued for a long time.

Until he met a guy named Kingpin. That changed his fate.

Back then, Kingpin was just a gang leader, but he taught him how to gain money and power.

Following Kingpin, Aleksei gained money and power, but his life didn't get better.

He had to show others how cruel and terrifying he was—to kill his enemies in the most ruthless ways, which nearly broke him.

He was just a pathetic guy who had been bullied since childhood—he only wanted a stable life.

Three burgers a day, a place to sleep without rats—that would be enough.

But he was forced to get used to gang life.

Until recently, he put on the new experimental armor for a mission. After being defeated by Spider-Man, he fled back to Kingpin.

Kingpin told him that a radiation experiment could save his life.

But Aleksei knew—it was just Kingpin using him as a lab rat.

He agreed anyway.

He wanted to survive—his only hope was luck.

He succeeded, but also failed.

Once again, he was defeated by Spider-Man.

This time, he didn't return to Kingpin, knowing that Kingpin wouldn't tolerate a twice-failed piece of trash.

He chose to return to where it all began, to accept his fate.

To become garbage again.

Garbage belongs in the trash heap.

Aleksei gave a bitter smile—nothing had changed after all.

Regaining some strength, he propped himself up and searched through the trash pile beside his bed.

Ah, there was half a leftover slice of pizza—his favorite back then.

He shooed away the rat trying to take it, picked up the pizza, and took a bite.

Yep, it still tasted familiar.

He was content with his last meal.

Swoosh-

The heavy rain continued as a swaying woman holding an umbrella quietly approached Aleksei.

He had no idea how she appeared.

She was a very alluring woman.

The tight black bodysuit perfectly outlined her curves, and as his gaze moved up, Aleksei's heart inexplicably began to race.

Though she wore a mask, it couldn't hide her beauty. Her red lips were captivating.

And her long, snow-white hair tied in a ponytail made him realize who she was.

Black Cat, the most legendary thief in New York, and also one of Kingpin's enemies.

Who would've thought it was a woman?

"Are you here to kill me?" Aleksei quickly swallowed the half slice of pizza, then relaxed.

"Go ahead, make it quick. I'm scared of pain. Thanks," he said politely.

That was the last lesson his mother had taught him before she died.

Black Cat looked at the miserable man before her and shook her head slightly.

Casually tossing Aleksei aside, she lifted the bedboard to reveal a hidden backpack underneath.

It was the jewelry she had stolen three days ago.

"I'm not interested in killing."

Aleksei: "..."

"Alright, maybe I overthought it. You should leave. Someone will come to kill me soon."

Hearing this, Black Cat looked at him with interest.

"Interesting, but before you die, I need you to do something for me."

"Why should I help you?" Aleksei had no interest in doing anything now.

Black Cat smiled slyly. "Because it's something fun."

She pulled out a set of keys from her collar and tossed them to him.

"Go to this place and tell the owner that I'll steal their most important possession."

Aleksei twitched his lips—did delivering a message really mean entering someone's house?

"Interesting, sure, but I just want all this to end," he refused.

Black Cat turned away. "Up to you. By the way, I ran into some assassins earlier—they're dealt with. I thought they were after me."

"But now it seems you won't be dying just yet."

"Do this, and if you're lucky, you might get killed by that guy."

With that, Black Cat leaped and vanished into the alley.

Looking at the keys in his hand, Aleksei thought for a long time.

He had never done anything this absurd in his life.

Well, just once.

For the last time.

...

Late at night, Charlie finally returned to his rented apartment.

Before that, he visited Uncle Ben and Aunt May, which was why he came home so late.

Click!

As soon as he unlocked the door, Charlie's sharp senses detected breathing inside the apartment.

"Hmm?"

He opened the door casually, but upon seeing the figure inside, his expression turned rather amusing.

Great, this guy came knocking for trouble.