On the other side…
Rhino's body was taken by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Phil Coulson reported the incident to Nick Fury. "Shall we send someone to contact the girl claiming to be the 'Knightress'? After facial comparison, we've identified her."
Nick Fury replied casually, "Sure, send someone to look into it."
He didn't think much of Jessica; after all, she was just a novice hero. As the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D., he had encountered plenty of superhumans, even a few non-human entities.
Phil Coulson asked again, "Should we notify Natasha Romanoff?"
"Phil, do you have a misunderstanding about our agent hierarchy?" Fury looked up, annoyed. "Natasha has bigger tasks. Our intel shows this Jessica Jones is just a high schooler at Midtown High. Are we playing house now?"
Phil hesitated, "But she's superhuman. Based on our analysis, her metrics are far beyond average, especially her strength. It's conservatively estimated she can lift at least 800 pounds."
A fan of Captain America, Phil knew that Steve Rogers could only bench press around 1,200 pounds (545 kg) and clean and jerk 800 pounds (363 kg).
"Rhino Mikhailovich is even stronger, and hasn't he been broken down into parts," Nick Fury said seriously. "I think we should be focusing on that 'Black Spider' instead."
"This Black Spider is highly elusive, with strong counter-surveillance capabilities. His suit appears to be highly advanced, blocking almost all attempts to gather information," Coulson noted, scanning the data, though he found little to go on.
Fury narrowed his eye. "There's a definite link between the Black Spider and the Ghost Spider. Almost every time he appears, she's nearby."
Coulson thought of something and added, "Jessica Jones started a fan club for Ghost Spider. It's unclear if it's pure admiration or if there's some other connection. Skye, who's been on the bureau's radar, is also part of the club. I glanced at it briefly but haven't had the chance to dig deeper."
Fury gave him a look. "Are you hinting you need a vacation?"
"That's not what I meant… but, yes, a break wouldn't hurt," Phil chuckled, rubbing his bald head.
"You'll get your chance." Fury handed him another assignment. "Before that, here's a task for you."
Phil took it, resigned. "What about the Ghost Spider Club?"
After a moment, Fury suggested, "Assign Barbara. She can investigate this one."
.
.
.
Time flew by.
It had been a few weeks since Norman Osborn's body had disappeared, and the Osborn Group was struggling without him. Harry, just a high schooler, found it difficult to manage, despite his early exposure to the business.
The board was fracturing, and much of Harry's authority as acting chairman was gradually stripped. Funding had also dried up for several of Norman's past projects, including Dr. Connors' lizard-based gene research.
Recently, Peter had been either helping Dr. Connors or supporting Harry at the Osborn Group, so he hadn't been around much to hang out with Ned or visit the club.
Meanwhile, Evan was focused elsewhere—he'd just stepped out of Hell's Kitchen.
He'd tracked down Kingpin and "educated" him on the principle of keeping the streets clean.
Along the way, he had also taken out a few of Kingpin's supercriminals, sparing only Kingpin himself. Leaving him alive meant he might recruit more super-villains from Spider-Man's rogues' gallery, which would provide even more opponents for Evan.
Evan had tasted the perks of [Weather Control] he gained from Rhino and was now eager for more. After all, the system's random rewards could offer incredible benefits, even if the defeated villain wasn't highly powerful.
Tony Stark's recent disappearance in the Middle Eastern desert also heightened Evan's sense of urgency, though the arrival of the "purple titan" was still far off.
Beep-beep
Evan picked up his phone. "Hey, Skye… wait, what? You dropped out of school?"
...
If you find any mistakes in the chapter. Please point it out in the comment section and I will try to correct them as soon as possible.