While engaging criminals, Spider-Man has been adept at controlling his own strength. He knows the extent of his power, even being able to lift a heavy truck weighing dozens of tons, enough to turn criminals into mush.
"Bring it on!"
"Call out!"
Spider-Man swiftly shot out two strands of spider silk.
Arthur deftly dodged, only a slight turn to the side.
"Spider-Man, you don't think this move will work on me, do you?"
"Of course not, the main event is yet to come! Wow!"
It turned out that Spider-Man's two spider webs were not meant for attacking, but for leveraging his strength. The webs firmly adhered to the opposing building. Spider-Man pulled with force, utilizing the elasticity of the spider silk, propelling himself forward with a kick.
Arthur didn't even bother to evade, setting up a gravitational barrier in front of him.
"Boom!"
Spider-Man's kick collided with the gravitational barrier, causing a resounding explosion.
Arthur easily defended himself, not even the strength of the Hulk could break free from his gravitational cage.
"What happened?"
Spider-Man looked surprised.
"One of my abilities. Be careful!"
Arthur casually replied before throwing a powerful punch.
"Boom!"
It connected directly with Spider-Man's chest, sending him flying.
"What power!"
Spider-Man, now flying upside down, was nearly knocked out.
"Call out!"
As Spider-Man approached the opposing building, he managed to slow down and save himself by launching his spider silk.
"Arthur, you're too tough!"
Spider-Man grumbled.
"Really? I haven't even used my full strength yet!"
Arthur said with a smile.
In truth, even one-tenth of Arthur's strength would be more than enough. However, he chose not to reveal this, fearing it would intimidate the friendly neighborhood spider and ruin their sparring session.
"You monster!"
Spider-Man cursed, spinning silk as he dangled in the air. He then rushed from a blind corner, aiming to lock Arthur from behind.
"Now you can't move! Give up!"
Spider-Man positioned himself to immobilize Arthur, a technique that would render most people powerless.
But Arthur was far stronger than him, effortlessly breaking free from the hold.
"How can it be?!"
Spider-Man was shocked.
Arthur swiftly threw Spider-Man over his shoulder, sending him flying.
Spider-Man managed to grab onto a passing pole, twirling around it more than ten times before releasing his grip.
"No more fighting, no more fighting. I'm clearly no match for you!"
Spider-Man admitted defeat.
Seeing Arthur about to attack again, Spider-Man waved his hand in surrender.
"Are you admitting defeat already? We've barely started!"
Arthur said, bored with the one-sided match.
"Don't you guys just want to beat me up?"
Spider-Man rubbed his arm, showing the marks left behind, and spoke angrily.
"Forget it! Let's call it a day!"
Arthur seemed displeased.
"You're such a violent maniac!"
"By the way, Arthur, when you introduced yourself earlier, you mentioned being a hero out of interest. What does that mean?"
Spider-Man sat down on the ground, intrigued.
"It means exactly what it sounds like. I'm not some poor guy like you! I'm a billionaire, and of course, I enjoy life. Being a hero is just a hobby for me. I'm not bound by anyone or anything. If I want to do something, I'll do it. If I don't, I won't!"
Arthur explained, albeit with a touch of arrogance.
(Black marinated egg: This is my money, earned through hard work, you bastard!)
"You bastard!"
Spider-Man couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes filled with envy.
"I envy you so much!"
Spider-Man sighed.
"Don't you think a hero like that isn't a true hero? I have this incredible power, but I don't use it to help others,"
Arthur expressed his doubt.
Coulson didn't react this way when he heard those words.
"Why not? Nobody is obligated to be a hero. Last night, you stepped up to save many people, and that makes you a hero,"
Spider-Man responded.
Of course, he didn't ask or force anyone to do anything. "With great power comes great responsibility" is just a personal standard he lives by because his Uncle Ben taught him so.
"Spider-Man, I truly appreciate you. If you ever face enemies you can't handle in the future, you can come to me!"
Arthur patted Spider-Man on the shoulder, as if telling his little brother, "I've got your back from now on!"
"Bastard, I'm not your little brother!"
Spider-Man couldn't help but retort, pushing away Arthur's hand with annoyance.
The two exchanged a few more words and swapped contact information before Arthur took off into the sky.
...
Returning to his villa, Arthur glanced at the vast, lonely room. However, he didn't mind. Being an otaku, he was accustomed to solitude.
If other nerds acquired the Rat Charm ability, they would undoubtedly use it to bring back their "waifus." Unfortunately, it was Arthur who gained the power.
Although Arthur had his fair share of fans in his previous life, they were mostly fans of his combat skills. He wasn't well-versed in the world of love fans, and thus had no favorite fictional wives. Hence, the Rat Charm had little use for Arthur. (Speaking of the author himself.)
Resurrected characters were not adept in combat, so they wouldn't be of much help in battle.
Stretching, Arthur turned on the TV with great interest and began watching.
The news was broadcasting: "Billionaire, playboy... leader of the Stark Group, Iron Man Tony Stark, will participate in the 'F1 Monaco Grand Prix' in Monaco tomorrow."
The events of [Iron Man 2] were about to unfold.