Chapter 159

Earth-90214.

In 1939's New York, it remained a rather dark era.

Although the Great Depression had passed for many years, the economy still hadn't fully recovered due to the ongoing war, and the lower classes continued to be squeezed, living in dire straits.

Six years ago, a passionate young man named Peter Parker, deeply influenced by Aunt May's ideals and Uncle Ben's values, chose to enter journalism. He wielded photos and truth as weapons to combat crime and protect the weak.

However, in such a severely corrupted city, the abilities of a mere journalist were actually quite limited.

Until one day, while covertly capturing a criminal activity, Peter Parker was bitten by a highly poisonous spider emerging from an abandoned statue! He fell into a coma and dreamt of the Spider God – Ereshkigal.

When he awoke in the dream, he discovered he had gained mysterious spider powers.

From then on, he was reborn, becoming the... Spider Noir.

Afterward, he fought against gangs, dealt with capitalists exploiting laborers, and time and again fought against injustice, becoming a great hero in the eyes of many ordinary people.

Simultaneously, he became a thorn in the side of many.

Roxie Theater.

"The footage of this thrilling fight was captured three months ago. The location was the streets of New York, which was the last public appearance of the Spider Noir."

"We can see in the footage he stopped a drugstore robbery. This is quite different from his initial focus on fighting against gangsters and outliers."

"Today, as the chaotic era of everyone being armed and lawlessness has become a thing of the past, with the likes of Al Capone, John Dillinger, the Green Goblin, and crime lords either brought to justice or locked up, we have to consider one thing."

"That is, in today's America, do we really need illegal vigilantes like the Spider Noir?"

Below in the audience seats, an immediate discussion sparked, with people expressing various opinions.

Among them was a man dressed as a gentleman, holding a cane in his hand, gazing intently at the large screen ahead and speaking to his female companion, "That's him! His movements, speed, and agility are exceptional! The blood of the Spider God flows within him!"

The woman asked, "So how do we find him? Don't tell me you're planning to rob a drugstore or something to get his attention."

The man paused and replied, "I'll figure it out... Otherwise, I'll have to spend the rest of my life entertaining those ignorant lower-class people. I don't want that!"

As they spoke, they got up and left their seats, exiting the theater.

"Wow, Dad, look, it's the Magnificent Mysterio!" A child's innocent exclamation came from nearby. "He can make an elephant disappear out of thin air!"

Then, with an admiring gaze, the child asked his father, "Dad, can we go see it? Can we?"

The boy's father ruffled his son's head. "I don't have money to spend on these second-rate charlatans. All this magic is just smoke and mirrors."

The boy felt a bit disappointed, but he immediately spotted another poster and exclaimed, "Dad, how about we go watch 'Jungle Continent'! They have a thousand animals!"

The boy's father carefully examined the poster and smiled, "A thousand animals? That's somewhat interesting. Let's go see that."

The man in the theater, who was previously conversing, halted for a moment, his hand gripping the cane tightened. "Would rather see animals than come to see me?"

Meanwhile...

On the other side, at the New York World Expo.

Spider Noir, Peter Parker, was currently the happiest man in the world.

To his right was his beloved Aunt May, and to his left, the woman he loved most, MJ.

They walked and laughed together, filling Spider Noir with complete joy.

About half a year ago, shortly after returning from accidentally traversing into another world, MJ, who had left New York to participate in a three-year civil war, also returned here.

MJ and he had been in love for six years, and he had planned to propose to MJ three years ago, but she had been gone for three years unexpectedly.

Thankfully, she returned safely.

"So, ladies, what would you like to see?" Spider Noir asked. "How about 'Dream of the Goddess' over there? Everyone says Salvador Dalí is a genius."

(PS: Salvador Dalí was a Spanish surrealist artist.)

Aunt May sneered, "Only he would call himself a genius and keep going on about it."

Spider Noir looked at Aunt May. "You don't like surrealist works, Aunt May?"

Aunt May replied, "Dalí just puts a lobster on a naked woman's head and fools everyone into calling it 'art,' and even labels it with the ridiculous term 'surrealism.' In my eyes, he's just a comedian at best!"

Peter chuckled.

No wonder Aunt May, who had been doing street propaganda for years, remained sharp-tongued even though she was older.

However, at this moment, when he looked at the "surrealist art" that many people were crowding around, he truly felt it was tasteless.

Then, he looked to the other side. "Ha! Look, that's the 'Magnificent Mysterio'! What do you think, MJ? Lobster art or magic performance?"

MJ glanced at the mysterious guest. "Let's go with magic, it might be a bit more enjoyable."

So, the three bought tickets and entered the "Magnificent Mysterio's Magic Show."

However, for some reason, from the moment they entered, Peter's spider sense kept vibrating, seemingly warning him of an impending danger.

Yet, despite looking around, he couldn't pinpoint the source of danger.

At that moment, the magic performance on stage began.

Amidst the crowd's watchful eyes, the man called mysterio had all his limbs bound and was suspended upside down in a spherical water tank.

"What you are about to witness is the most dangerous escape act in history."

"The Death Sphere!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, there's no need to worry that the Magnificent Mysterio will meet his end before escaping, as he can hold his breath underwater for up to six minutes!"

"In three minutes, this generator will input 50,000 volts of electricity into the tank, instantly killing all life in the water."

"Five seconds left, four, three, two, one. And now, let the performance begin!"

...

Hum—

A terrifying current surged into the tank, illuminating it brightly.

When the light faded, all the fish that had been swimming in the water were found dead and floating, while the completely bound Mysterio had vanished without a trace!

Shortly afterward, Mysterio emerged from elsewhere.

The woman in charge of the introduction exclaimed loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause to the Magnificent Mysterio!"

Clap, clap, clap, clap—

Seeing this spectacular performance, the audience didn't hesitate to applaud.

Aunt May reluctantly clapped twice before stopping, sighing, "Those poor fish."

MJ, curious, asked, "How do you think he did it?"

Aunt May shook her head, "I have no idea. Whether it's about the TV or the rays, I'm clueless. But I'm sure Peter saw everything clearly."

So MJ turned to Peter, "Well, what's your take, Mr. Genius? Smoke and mirrors?"

Spider Noir hesitated for a moment before analyzing, "The 'smoke' he released was probably dry ice. They compressed high-concentration carbon dioxide into particles and put it in the water, causing dense smoke to rise from the bottom."

Although he said this, in reality, he had another thought because the smell didn't resemble dry ice.

"When he reappeared, he wasn't even wet." Shadow Spider continued.

So he probably never went into the water; otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible for his body to completely dry in such a short time.

He just used some sort of illusion to make us think he entered, nothing more.

Considering his own spider sense, Spider Noir felt there was definitely something wrong, his brows furrowing slightly.

MJ affectionately hugged Peter's arm, resting her face on his shoulder, "So, you actually didn't understand it at all, did you?"

The softness and warmth transmitted through his arm brought Peter back to reality, and he chuckled, "That's right."

"But being able to see your smile is the best thing."

The three of them left the place while chatting and laughing.

However, in a place unknown to Peter, a conspiracy was unfolding around him.

Backstage.

The Magnificent Mysterio and his female companion returned here after dealing with their fervent fans.

Mysterio held a ball emitting an unknown gas, covered its surface, and then dissipated the smoke.

Then, they removed their masks, revealing gas masks underneath.

The woman said, "We spent three years lurking in the Amazon jungle, living with venomous snakes and being bitten by mosquitoes before learning to make this 'magical smoke.' And now, we're wasting it on pleasing these bumpkins."

Mysterio remained silent, placed the magical smoke ball aside, and took out a bottle of wine from the cabinet.

The woman continued to persuade, "Use it to deceive Wilson Fisk, and we'll be rich in minutes!"

Mysterio paused, then picked up two glasses, pouring the wine while saying, "Yes, yes. Then in a while, he'll realize it, send a masked killer. The two of us will instantly become tragic corpses. No, for now, I want to maintain a working relationship with Fisk."

"Besides, this is just the beginning."

"As soon as we find Spider Noir, and his blood flows into my body, Fisk will immediately understand what true power is!"

°°°

Hungry for more chaps? Then check out our pătreon!

Link: Påtreon.com/BaphometFiction

I post 10 advanced chapters of this fanfic there.