Chapter 42: Daredevil and The Punisher

Using people from different worlds to judge those in this one seems somewhat prejudiced and biased. 

But an "old acquaintance" with a criminal record is certainly worth investigating for Peter.

After all, this guy is the most suspicious lead in his reasoning so far!

"Karen, help me look up this Adrian Toomes," Peter said.

"Okay."

Perhaps due to this test, Iron Man gave Peter as much autonomy as possible, even granting some authority.

Like looking up people now - this shouldn't be within Peter's usual access.

But it was granted to him.

This guy didn't have much on his resume.

Adrian Toomes' parents died when he was young, and he was raised by his older brother Marcus, excelling in school. 

But later, Marcus was in a car accident. Toomes dropped out to care for him but unfortunately still failed to save his brother's life.

After lying in a hospital bed for years, Marcus passed away.

As an adult, Toomes relied on his early learning and efforts to become an outstanding electrical engineer and inventor. He founded the salvage company Bessman Salvage.

When collecting scrap, he'd gather and repair still-useful tools, then repurpose them to make inexpensive but easily sold "90% new" appliances.

It wasn't until 2012, after the Battle of New York, that Bessman Salvage received a city council commission.

Toomes thought this was his chance to rise up, so he bought new trucks, hired many workers, even taking a huge loan.

But unexpectedly, the federal government and Stark Enterprises also had their eyes on this lucrative opportunity - to Earth, the Chitauri army's high-tech was truly a prize. 

Moreover, they considered safety concerns.

After all, this alien technology posed great risks. Rather than leave it to civilian organizations, it was safer in their hands.

Under that authority, Toomes had no chance to resist.

Eventually, Bessman Salvage went bankrupt and was liquidated.

What surprised Peter was that in following years, Toomes didn't sink. Instead, he quickly paid off debts and lived comfortably.

Well, Peter wasn't jealous or anything.

But it defied common sense.

Leaving aside how Toomes paid the huge debt, he didn't even own a company now. Where did his money come from?

If there was a suspect index, then in Peter's mind, Toomes' suspicion level jumped directly from 30 to 70!

He wanted to investigate him before just to find clues.

Now he wanted evidence!

However, the more information Peter sought about Toomes, the less he could find. 

This guy was clearly hiding something on purpose.

It raised his suspicion further but also hampered Peter's investigation.

At this point, the bus Peter had "boarded" unknowingly arrived in Queens, heading away from his home's direction. 

Peter snapped to and immediately disembarked.

Over the next few days, Peter resumed his "home-streets-school" routine.

But now his extracurricular focus shifted from scientific research to tracking Adrian Toomes' whereabouts.

Unfortunately, progress was quite slow. 

For one, though frequently skipping class, school was crowded, making it inconvenient to converse with Karen.

Secondly, this guy acted extremely cautiously, perhaps with strong counter-surveillance instincts, hindering Peter's special investigation.

Peter even ventured into chaotic alleys at night, interrogating gangsters for intelligence.

Progress was slow this way, but not completely fruitless.

A week later, the weekend arrived again. 

Peter slipped out and caught a ride to Manhattan.

His target: a block between 34th and 57th Streets, 8th Avenue and the Hudson River.

The gangster he interrogated called it Hell's Kitchen.

From the small-timer, he also learned Hell's Kitchen housed many gangs from different countries.

The most famous were Hellhounds, the Irish Kitchen, and a Mexican drug trafficking organization.

A few months ago, these gang forces suffered devastating blows. 

First, a masked vigilante called Daredevil defeated Wilson Fisk, the leader jointly elected by the criminal organizations.

Then a lone gunman known as The Punisher took steps to permanently eliminate most organizations.

However, the centipede wasn't dead, just stiff. 

Today in Hell's Kitchen, many ambitious people remained.

After their leader's arrest and large organizations disbanded, remaining small gangs and factions vied for control.

According to the small-timer, he'd heard of many Hell's Kitchen gangs using energy weapons in shootouts, clearly having stable access to such arms.

Moreover, some intel pointed the intelligence agency to Hell's Kitchen.

So Peter decided to try his luck there.

—Hell's Kitchen.

Peter wasn't familiar with this area, having never visited before. 

Fortunately, his AI suit assistant Miss Karen could help.

Not only did she have a sweet voice, but navigation abilities to quickly pinpoint targets and plan optimal routes.

She could even identify nearby vehicles to hitch rides. 

With Karen's aid, he quickly shuttled between buildings until reaching one rooftop.

There he saw two figures.

One wore a rough polymer fiber suit, his whole body chained to a chimney. 

Next to him stood a man in body armor carrying many weapons.

Peter paused, slightly stunned, quickly dropping prone.

"Karen, is the one tied up Daredevil?" he asked doubtfully.

"Yes, Daredevil, also known as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen."

A photo appeared - media footage of Daredevil.

"Then who's the other person?" Peter felt he looked familiar.

Another picture popped up: "Comparing, there is a 90% probability this is The Punisher, another violent vigilante active in Hell's Kitchen."

"The Punisher?"

Peter was surprised. 

He didn't expect to encounter the two famed Hell's Kitchen vigilantes so soon.

But the way they met was rather unexpected.

(End of chapter)