I Bet Your Little Brain is Overheating

"That's all I could find. I messaged Happy to get some burgers," Pepper said, handing Tony some snacks.

Tony blinked in confusion as he took the snacks. "What are you doing here?"

Everything around him felt off, like something wasn't quite right.

"Jarvis, why did you project your underlying code?" Tony asked, still disoriented.

"Sir, you instructed me to display the code," Jarvis replied.

"Did I?" Tony murmured, his face blank as if he had just woken from a strange dream. "Guess I must be more tired than I thought."

"You've only gotten three hours of sleep in three days!" Pepper said with concern, crossing her arms. "This is crazy! If you run yourself into the ground, I might have to find a new boss!"

"Am I really that tired?" Tony tapped his head, a little confused, but he couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

"I must just be exhausted. It's not like there's a ghost haunting me, right?" He chuckled and shook his head.

Jarvis: ...

"Sir, I highly recommend that you rest immediately," Jarvis suggested, cutting off the virtual projection.

It had wanted to tell Tony about the shadow it had seen earlier, but seeing Tony in such a fatigued state, it decided against it. Besides, it had been too quick to deploy the high-precision cameras, and even though it had recorded something, the footage was too blurry to make sense of. Even after enhancing the image, it was difficult to identify anything. Nighttime shadows often played tricks on the eyes.

There was no way it was a ghost, right?

Jarvis, as an AI built on science, would never believe in ghosts.

…

Outside Stark Tower,

Bren slid along the glass walls of the building, his bioelectricity giving him remarkable adhesive power. Even on the smooth glass, he could maintain his weight.

"What a shame that when I transformed, most of my spider abilities didn't carry over," he thought. "Otherwise, this bioelectricity could solve the 'slippery' problem that Flash usually has."

He leaped from one rooftop to another before diving into a dark alley and stepping onto the main street.

Looking back at the towering Stark Tower with its glowing "Stark" sign, he didn't linger. He turned and headed toward the subway station.

About an hour later, he returned to Queens.

He didn't use the front door. Instead, just like when he left, he climbed up to a window.

Before entering his room, he glanced across at the window facing his, Mary Jane Watson's room.

This universe's Mary Jane was different from Tobey Maguire's version. She had only recently moved in with her aunt.

"Peter isn't back yet."

Bren entered his room, immediately opening his computer and transforming into Grey Matter.

"This old computer can't handle an AI like Jarvis," he muttered, typing away rapidly with frog-like fingers.

As he'd expected, after transforming into Grey Matter, his memory improved drastically. The underlying code of Jarvis flashed before his eyes like snapshots, and even the parts he had forgotten, he could now piece together with the knowledge of Grey Matter.

He quickly copied the code onto his system.

"Next, I just need Harry's money to clear, and then I can buy a supercomputer."

Looking at the situation, Bren realized that the initial investment was going to be a lot. Just for the supercomputer alone, it could cost nearly ten million dollars.

"Buying parts might be more cost-effective," he thought, tapping his chin.

Buying a pre-assembled computer was too expensive; he could just buy an older supercomputer and modify it himself, saving a lot of money.

But no matter how he calculated, money was still tight.

Harry could only contribute a maximum of ten million dollars, and that was if he sold some of his precious collectibles.

But what Bren needed wasn't just a supercomputer.

"If the first product is going to be mobile-based, I'll need several production lines at least. And the GG fees are also a significant expense."

Even though R&D funds could be minimized, Bren was still in a tough spot.

He needed more money.

"Who else do I know who has enough cash?"

His mind whirled for a moment before a blonde girl popped into his head.

"Felicia?"

Felicia was, indeed, from a wealthy family.

Most of the fortune from the Hardy family came from Felicia's father, the infamous cat burglar, who had set up a foundation to ensure the wealth would be passed down.

"Am I really going to sell myself to a rich woman?"

Thinking of Felicia's pretty face and seductive figure, Bren found himself momentarily tempted.

More importantly, after becoming Black Cat, she had two distinct personas: a sweet, quiet blonde, and a wild, captivating white-haired version...

With beauty and wealth, who could resist?

But Bren quickly shook off the idea.

Felicia probably couldn't give him much financial help. After her father, the cat burglar, disappeared, her mother had taken over the Hardy Foundation.

Bren had seen her a few times at school, and she was greedy, cold, and snobbish. She'd never invest in someone like him, and if she did, she'd want to take most of the profits for herself.

"What a difficult woman."

Bren sighed as the core of his watch flashed red again. He jumped off the desk and transformed back into his original self.

After saving his work, he shut down the computer and lay down on the bed.

Just then, his spider-sense tingle.

He quickly looked out the window to see Peter, like a giant frog, perched on his windowsill, peering inside. When he saw that Bren was awake, he didn't hesitate and jumped right in through the window.

"Phew, you're awake?"

Peter said, out of breath, but before Bren could respond, he started rambling about everything that had happened that night.

"You won't believe it! I ran into a Lizardman!" Peter reached back to unzip his suit. "Do you know how big his claws were? And his teeth!"

After stripping off the Spider-Man suit, he looked visibly relieved.

It was like taking off a pair of shoes that were too small after walking miles.

"A Lizardman? I know Zarkov is one," Bren teased from his bed. "So, have the Lizardmen taken over America? I bet your little brain must be overheating."

After all, who didn't know that it wasn't lizards ruling America, but squids?

(Doctor Octopus: Are you thinking of me?)

The proud Statue of Liberty was nothing more than someone else's dog.

"No, I'm serious! You should have come with me. We could have teamed up to catch him," Peter said, rubbing his red skin. "But I let him get away."

"Honestly, next time I put on the suit, I'm definitely using some powder. I'm breaking out in a heat rash!"

Thinking of the squid ruling America, Bren suddenly remembered that the villainous Octavius had become the mayor of New York, a prediction come true.