"So Mr. Johnson, why do I have to treat?"
"Because my world doesn't use dollars."
"..."
Johnson and Peter sat in a burger joint with food piled up in front of them.
The long-distance space-time travel had left him quite hungry.
Peter had arrived wearing only his self-made Spider-Man suit, but now sported a beige trench coat that Johnson had kindly provided.
Being Johnson's coat, it hung loose on Peter's frame, the sleeves rolled up twice to show his wrists.
Through their conversation, Johnson learned that Peter came from Marvel Universe 199999, also known as the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Peter had been about to raid a criminal hideout when the wall he landed on suddenly transformed into chaotic space-time matter. Despite his struggles against the strong pulling force, he was yanked into this universe.
Thinking about Spider-Man's recent death in this world, Johnson fell into deep thought.
It reminded him of "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse", though that animated film had never crossed over with the MCU.
Could his interference have altered the timeline? Given the nature of the Marvel multiverse, it seemed quite likely.
This young Spider-Man had weathered the Endgame battle, May's death, and Doctor Strange's "Runes of Kof-Kol" that made his best friends forget his identity. Now living alone in a shabby apartment, he had truly become a mature spider-hero.
As everyone knows, among all Spider-Men — except for Dr. Otto Octavius as Superior Spider-Man and a few others — the vast majority share one common trait.
They're poor.
(At this moment, Saitama, who was out jogging, suddenly sneezed: "Achoo! Who's talking about me?")
Peter sat across from Johnson with a pitiful expression, muttering quietly, "I checked the cashier area, and while they use dollars here, the denominations are completely different from my world. My money won't work!"
"Oh."
"Oh... is that all you have to say?"
Peter covered his face while the tall man across from him, who didn't look much older, calmly ate his fries, seemingly unconcerned about paying the bill.
Knowing he couldn't pay, Peter couldn't eat another bite.
Johnson, on the contrary, was in quite a good mood.
On the way to the burger joint, his Element Collection had captured one of Peter's spider abilities.
╔══════════════════════╗
FANTASY CARD: Spider Strength
CARD TYPE: Ability Card
RARITY: SR
┌─ SYSTEM DESCRIPTION ─┐
Spider super-power, proportionally scaled strength of a super spider at human size.
┌─ PRIMARY FUNCTION — SUPER STRENGTH ─┐
Superhuman level physical strength, able to easily lift more than a hundred times one's body weight.
┌─ SECONDARY FUNCTION — ENHANCED PERFOMANCE ─┐
During special emotional states like anger, determination, or focus, Spider-Man can exert several times his normal strength.
╚══════════════════════╝
Under the continuous enhancement of his Stand ability, Johnson's strength already matched that of spider-heroes, but this kind of direct attribute enhancement was still welcome.
After using it, the genetic-level enhancement optimized his body structure, increasing his strength by nearly a third — and that wasn't counting the boost from activating the secondary function.
During the meal, Johnson processed the effects of his increased strength, which brought his spider-related powers to two types.
Well, he just needed two web-shooters to become Spider-Man.
"Let's put that aside, Peter." Johnson finished his last fry and picked up his cheeseburger, "We both know that no Spider-Man, in any universe, would simply die from an earthquake."
"Yeah, that's impossible, so someone must be behind this." Peter's expression turned serious, "Someone wants the public to accept this fact to cover up some dark secrets."
"Yes, so we need to investigate this starting with two key elements." Johnson took a bite of his burger, "Brooklyn."
"The earthquake!" Peter responded instinctively, then realized, "You mean the Brooklyn earthquake was man-made!"
"Most likely." Johnson finished his burger in a few bites, wiped his hands, and stood up, "We don't have much time, so from now on we need to split up."
Peter sat up straight, "So, Mr. Johnson, what's the plan?"
"I'll investigate the cause of the earthquake, and you..."
Peter suddenly felt like he was fighting alongside Captain America and Mr. Stark again, and couldn't help feeling excited.
"...will stay here and work to pay the bill."
Peter: "..."
✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱
Dawn of the next day.
The sun rose, and the city that never sleeps gradually awakened from its brief quiet.
Stores along the street began opening, avenues filled with traffic, and pedestrians hurried along the sidewalks.
New York, Brooklyn District.
Johnson sat in a coffee shop called "Melody", looking out through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the street.
Unlike the principled young Spider-Man, while he was indeed a registered professional hero with the Hero Association, his moral boundaries were quite flexible. He had already visited Brooklyn the night before.
"Hey brother, first time in Brooklyn?"
"Look at him, you lost or something?"
A group of troublemakers who had been partying until dawn approached Johnson with friendly smiles.
Asian face, tall build, well-dressed, alone.
And we've got five guys, with the boss packing heat.
Perfect, advantage is ours!
If they'd known that the person before them had just flown across the East River and landed around the corner, they might have run as far away as possible.
But there are no what-ifs.
Johnson had heard about New York's friendly locals, but this was his first real experience. What a coincidence — you're exactly who I was looking for!
When their supposed prey actively approached to give high-fives and chest bumps, the group of street thugs looked bewildered.
What's going on, could he be one of our gang? Nobody said anything about new Asian recruits!
After walking arm in arm to an alley without cameras, the thugs exchanged glances, their laughter fading and friendly looks turning cold.
Seeing the mood was right, Johnson dropped his act and made the first move.
"Hey, dog shit."
?? ×5
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" One of them pulled out a knife, "If you don't explain yourself clearly, you won't be walking out of here in one piece!"
"Nothing special." Johnson cracked his neck, producing sharp popping sounds, "I just want to beat the shit out of everybody."