Jimmy stayed silent for a moment before standing up to leave.
"Big bro, where are we going now?" The young Black man quickly got up to follow him, asking anxiously.
"We're going to gather information on that girl and whoever's behind her," Jimmy replied as he stepped out of the internet café—only to see, right across the street, a girl in a black bodysuit and a mask waiting for him.
"Looks like you really haven't learned your lesson," the masked girl said softly, walking right up to Jimmy.
"...Can you tell me your name?" Jimmy asked quietly after a moment of silence.
The girl gave a small smile. "Heh! My name is Erika."
"Erika...?" Jimmy muttered, and then his eyes went wide. If he wasn't mistaken, Erika was…
"Mafa, go inside and look up a blind lawyer named Matt," Jimmy said quietly to the young man beside him.
"Ah! O-okay!" The young man's legs had already gone weak at the sight of Erika, and hearing Jimmy's words felt like a pardon—he dashed back into the café at once.
Erika watched the young man scurry away, then turned to Jimmy with a smile. "Well? Have you figured it out yet?"
Jimmy lowered his head in silence.
"Hey!" Erika chuckled as she looked at him. "You know, it's only because it's me. If it were Bullseye, he wouldn't waste time talking."
"Bullseye!?" Jimmy finally looked up, eyes cold. "Don't tell me... your employer is Kingpin?"
"What!?" Erika was clearly shocked to hear that name. Her brows furrowed immediately. "You know about him!"
Jimmy's face turned bitter. Kingpin… that name wasn't unfamiliar to him. When he was a kid watching Spider-Man cartoons, Kingpin had shown up all the time (the big bald fat guy! If you don't know him, look it up). As the undisputed king of New York's underworld, Kingpin's appearance wasn't surprising—it almost felt inevitable.
"So… those goods were Kingpin's," Jimmy muttered, frowning. He knew how dangerous Kingpin was—even Daredevil, Punisher, and Spider-Man always had to go all out against him.
"Since you know that much, I can't let you live!" Erika suddenly said coldly. She drew her pair of sai and leapt at Jimmy.
Jimmy's eyes narrowed. Right now, his combat power had only recovered to around 50, most of his abilities were unusable, and even his only weapon—the dragon horn—was gone. Helpless, Jimmy pulled out two pistols and started firing at Erika as she closed in.
Jimmy quickly bent backward to dodge Erika's kick, firing at her as he moved, but she dodged every shot effortlessly.
"Damn it!" Jimmy yelled in frustration. Erika, relying on her combat experience, easily avoided his shots—though some of it was also due to Jimmy's own weakened state.
Suddenly, Erika flung her two sai, knocking the guns from Jimmy's hands. In a flash, she was right in front of him, punching at his face.
Jimmy let out a cold snort, raising his right arm to block her punch, and threw his left fist at her chest without hesitation.
Erika swiftly hooked her legs around his arm, twisting her waist and throwing Jimmy to the ground. She pinned him down, raising her right fist to slam it into his face.
Of course, Jimmy wasn't going to just give up. He managed to move his still-functional right arm to strike at Erika's hand—but pain shot through his hand. Just as Erika was about to land another punch,
"Yah!"
A figure suddenly appeared, kicking Erika off of Jimmy.
Spinning in midair, Erika landed and looked up to see a man in a red bodysuit.
"Spider-Man!"
Erika knew this famous superhero all too well.
"Damn it!" She realized she stood no chance against Spider-Man. Gritting her teeth, she cursed under her breath before dashing off into a dark alley.
"Wow, she's one sexy woman!" Peter exclaimed in awe.
"If Gwen heard you say that, you'd be in big trouble," Jimmy groaned as he got up from the ground.
"Hey, Master, what the heck is going on?" Peter rushed over to Jimmy's side, concerned.
Jimmy let out a heavy sigh. He picked up his two pistols and Erika's discarded sai. In the distance, he heard police sirens. The gunshots had clearly woken the neighbors, who naturally called the cops.
"Come on!" Peter quickly supported Jimmy, then fired a web line up to a building.
On a rooftop, Peter asked again, "Master, what happened to you?"
Jimmy shook his head helplessly. "Ever since I took that serum, all my abilities have disappeared. My body's basically that of a normal human now."
"What!?" Peter was shocked. "And that girl?"
"An assassin. I busted up a drug ring before, and now the people behind it are coming for revenge," Jimmy explained with a bitter smile.
"That's bad… What will you do now?" Peter asked.
"Find out who's really behind this," Jimmy said coldly.
"Alright! Leave it to me then!" Peter pounded his chest proudly.
"You… Fine," Jimmy eventually nodded. Honestly, with his abilities gone, he had no choice but to rely on Peter now.
"Heh, Master, just wait for my good news!" Peter grinned, then swung away on a web.
Suddenly, Jimmy seemed to remember something. "Wait, Peter! Do you still have those web shooters?" His own had been destroyed when he transformed into a monster.
"Ah! Sorry, I don't have any spares right now," Peter called back, shaking his head.
"…Fine. Make me a new pair, okay?" Jimmy urged.
"Got it!" Peter gave him a thumbs-up and swung off.
Jimmy furrowed his brow. "Looks like I need a new suit too," he muttered as he climbed down from the rooftop.
At dawn, Jimmy went to find Frank, hoping to commission a few new black Spider-Man suits.
"Heh, well well, Spider-Man himself! What can I do for you today?" Frank greeted him cheerfully, still groggy from just waking up.
"I need three black Spider-Man suits," Jimmy said with a frown.
Since Frank had custom-made the original Spider-Man suits, he naturally knew Jimmy was Spider-Man.
"Heh, no problem. Oh! You're hurt!" Frank suddenly noticed Jimmy's arm and exclaimed in surprise.
"It's nothing serious," Jimmy waved it off.
"Heh, the injury might be small, but the one who hurt you must be big. Let me guess… Was it Kingpin?" Frank asked meaningfully, eyeing Jimmy.
Jimmy's whole body tensed. He looked up sharply at Frank and asked, "You know about Kingpin too!?"