Razoning

At the morning, I descended the stairs from the second floor and found myself in the living room of my home, overwhelmed with nostalgia as I dressed as I used to when I was a teenager, although technically I still was.

In front of the television was my uncle, or rather, my father, engrossed in reading the newspaper.

"Look who's come down!" he exclaimed, always full of enthusiasm.

Suddenly, a pair of arms enveloped me in a tight hug. I assumed it was my mother.

"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked.

"Very well, looking forward to going out for a walk," I replied with a smile.

"It's too early for you to leave the house. I'll permit you after lunch," she said in a protective tone.

Permission to go out, right? How hilarious.

"Look, I was right, something big happened yesterday!" my father exclaimed, pointing to the newspaper headline.

"Strange explosion in Central City."

After the explosion, numerous calls were made to 911. Many people suddenly fell ill, others disappeared from their homes, some woke up in the middle of the night due to the noise, and others didn't even feel anything.

How strange, but being this a fictional world, it will surely have great significance for posterity. Besides, it's probably what brought me here.

"Well, it's time for breakfast," my mother said.

My father immediately got up and headed to the dining room with the newspaper in his hands. I followed closely.

...

It was already late. I left the house to take a walk and get to know the city better. I was grateful that it was Sunday because I had a day off to make use of.

As I walked through the streets, I began to notice some things.

My mind was improving in every possible way. When I first woke up, I had difficulty remembering many things, but now it was different.

I could recall minute details from my past, no matter how old those memories were. I saw them as if I had experienced them recently.

Now I understand why the name "Jump City" felt so familiar to me. It's obvious. This is the city where the events of the Teen Titans unfold.

But this applies not only to my old memories but also to the new ones. Although I should have forgotten it soon, I perfectly remember the headline of the newspaper my father was reading.

Not only that, but I also remember what was written on the sides of the newspaper, even if I didn't pay much attention to them at first glance. I only caught a glimpse of it, but I have a clear memory of what it said, even if my mind didn't process it correctly.

Basically, I'm a walking library.

But memories are not the only thing.

A leaf torn from a tree passed in front of my eyes.

I can calculate the movement of the leaf with just one glance. I'm practically a human calculator. I consider every possible aspect to predict the most likely path the leaf will take, and as I think, it happens.

It's just statistics, but it feels unreal.

I can also notice certain things more easily. Moods, behavioral patterns of people and inanimate objects, almost with just one look.

I only need to see it a couple of times, and that's enough to scan and understand a complete pattern. Observing this, I realize the rhythm of this city.

It's quite balanced. It's not a frantic pace like that of a metropolis, but it's not slow like that of a small town either. I guess it feels good to be here.

But, will it be my golden ticket?

I mean, it's quite good, but knowledge itself is not a weapon.

And speaking of weapons, I still haven't decided what kind of hero I'll be, or rather, which hero I'll be.

It may seem the same, but there's a significant difference.

I suppose I should first think about what kind of hero I could be.

I could be an original hero or something like that, but surely there's something similar already existing in the DC Comics universe, and I would like to be something different.

I don't know if it's due to the innate human desire to stand out in some way, but if I'm going to be a hero, I would prefer there not to be another one like me in this universe. I could be Iron Man, but I guess the closest thing in this world could be Cyborg or even Batman himself.

Captain America is basically a Superman with fewer powers, and Wonder Woman could be Black Widow, and so on. But there's one hero that would be relatively easy to replicate in this world and that, according to my memories, doesn't have a counterpart here.

Spider-Man.

One of my favorite heroes after Batman.

I sighed.

I'm just complicating things for myself, I said to myself as I sat on a park bench I had reached.

But, does it matter?

I've already lived once, I had everything in the palm of my hand. Everything I do now is to avoid repeating what I've already experienced.

I could become rich in a matter of months, but I would get bored with that wealth in a few days.

Maybe in the past, I had the purpose of being rich, but now that I've already been there once, it would simply be dull to go back to the same thing. And life without a real purpose is meaningless.

If I have an extra chance in this world, why not take the risk?

Besides, I have a family again. If there are records of Wonder Woman fighting in World War II, then it's obvious that things will stir up in the future. Being rich won't give me the necessary security to protect my family.

At least not directly. Even if I were rich, I couldn't build an anti-Darkseid bunker.

I won't deny that the desire to become a superhero is just a whim, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to perform altruistic actions. I have no hidden agenda beyond not living the same life I've already lived once.

The fact of being Spider-Man in particular is also another whim of someone bored with ordinary life, that's clear, but why not be him if it's possible?

It all comes down to a self-centered person making selfish decisions.

"Why not do it if it sounds fun?"

That will be my reason for doing things.

I laughed at myself for being someone so strange.

Well, now that that's decided, I have more things to think about.

The first thing is, if I want to be Spider-Man, I need several things. The first is to have the spider serum. I was a biologist and at some point, I played being a god with various species, so it doesn't sound so far-fetched to conduct an experiment that grants me some spider-like abilities.

At least not in this world. The drawback lies in making it work as it should. I don't have high expectations about it; I'll need trial and error to get an accurate response.

Most likely, the first version of the serum I develop will be defective and only grant me the ability to climb walls. I can solve the other powers with technology while I develop a more effective formula, so I'm not too worried about that.

Now comes the biggest obstacle of all.

Capital.

I'm poor.

My father makes money, but not enough to rent a private laboratory and obtain the specific machinery needed to experiment with species genetics.

I need to get rich in the next six months to be able to start the "Spider" project, I thought as I looked at a large building in front of me. S.T.A.R Labs.