Under Darren's mighty Memory Restoration Technique, Elektra finally regained her memories—
At the tragic cost of having her face swell up like a dumpling.
Her once-deadly allure was now… well, a cautionary tale.
Matt, heart aching with guilt, hobbled over on one knee, clutching his bruised ribs. "Elektra, I—"
THWACK!
Her kick connected squarely with his groin again.
Matt's words cut off in a strangled yelp as he dropped to the floor like a folding chair.
Apparently, post-recovery Elektra was even more aggressive than her amnesiac self.
And considering she'd just realized someone had punched her into a human pumpkin, her fury had to go somewhere—preferably into Matt's already-traumatized anatomy.
Darren could only watch, utterly fascinated.
"What the hell did Attorney Murdock do to deserve that kind of wrath from his ex?" he muttered. "Man's gotta have committed a war crime or something… or maybe it's just a side effect of his overly sensitive constitution."
After one last punishing kick, Elektra seemed to calm down slightly—well, as calm as a bruised assassin could get.
She straightened, still glaring through one swollen eye, and said coldly, "The Hand has its eyes on you now. Be careful."
Then she turned and stalked off into the shadows without so much as a glance back.
Matt stared after her, half in pain, half in longing. Darren just shook his head.
"Bro, if that's love… I'll stay single for life."
As for Elektra's warning—Darren didn't care in the slightest.
The Hand? Please.
They didn't even have Sharingan or Rasengan. What was there to fear?
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters – Director's Office
Nick Fury sat, as always, behind his desk like a quest-giving statue from an RPG.
He reached into a drawer, pulled out a file and an ID badge, and slid them across to Darren.
"You've been promoted, Agent Darren. Level Six clearance. This grants you access to higher-level intelligence… and greater responsibility."
[Mission "The Ninja Enigma" Completed!]
[Reward: S.H.I.E.L.D. (Hydra) Agent Clearance – Level 6]
[Clearance Upgraded: Level 6]
[New Function Modules Unlocked!]
[Feature 1: Scanning System Upgrade – Now includes "NPC Basic Info View."]
[Feature 2: Morality System Activated!]
Every time his clearance rank rose, Darren's "system" evolved—granting new perks like map teleportation, auto-loot, and enemy radar.
Now it had upgraded again, offering him two shiny new toys.
He decided to test the Scanning System first—on Fury himself.
[NPC: Nick Fury]
[Role: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Level 10 Agent]
[Affection: 50]
[Evaluation: Undercover Hydra Operative. Codename: "Motherf—er Man."]
Darren blinked.
"...So S.H.I.E.L.D. really is just Hydra's part-time job now, huh?"
He rubbed his temples. "No wonder everyone keeps trying to nuke Manhattan."
Still shaking his head, he turned to the second new system: Morality.
Apparently, he could now earn "Justice Points" or "Evil Points" by performing certain actions.
"Alright," Darren muttered, "let's field-test this thing."
Later that Night – A Shady Alley in New York
Nothing like testing moral alignment in a crime-ridden district.
Within minutes, Darren spotted his target: a burly young man in baggy jeans and a gold chain—textbook street thug aesthetics.
The guy was busy snatching a brown-haired woman's purse.
The woman resisted briefly—until she realized he could probably bench-press a car.
Darren sighed. "Perfect tutorial-level NPC."
He strolled over casually.
"Yo, excuse me—mind if I interrupt?"
The thug turned, scowling. "Huh? The hell you want, ch—"
He froze mid-sentence when he found a Golden Desert Eagle aimed squarely at his forehead.
His face drained of color.
"...dude, listen, I-I didn't mean—uh, can I help you?"
"Yeah," Darren said coolly. "Give the lady her bag."
"Sure, sure, no problem!"
The thug practically shoved the purse back into the woman's hands.
[Stopped a street crime. Justice +0.01]
"Hah. Just as I thought. Beating up bad guys earns Justice Points."
Still, 0.01 felt… stingy. He wasn't saving cats from trees—he literally stopped a robbery!
"Can I go now?" the thug asked, trembling.
"No," Darren replied, smiling faintly. "Now rob her again."
"...Huh?"
Both the thug and the woman stared at him, utterly baffled.
"I said, take the bag back."
The thug blinked. "You serious?"
Darren cocked the gun. "Do I sound like I'm joking?"
The thug gulped. "O-okay, man… your world, your rules."
He hesitated, then reluctantly yanked the purse away again.
The woman gasped, horrified.
"Good. Now," Darren said cheerfully, "return it."
"..."
The thug stared at him, dead inside.
He shoved the purse back. Nothing happened. No new points.
Darren frowned. "So I can't farm Justice Points like XP? Lame."
He sighed, holstered his gun, and was about to leave—
When something thudded from above.
A figure landed gracefully on the metal fire escape.
"Wow," a young, energetic voice said. "What's this? An underground mugging club? Mind if I join?"
Darren looked up.
The newcomer was wearing a red sleeveless hoodie, blue sweatpants, and cheap goggles made from cut-up binoculars. On his chest was a hand-drawn spider emblem that looked like a kindergarten art project.
Darren squinted. "Damn… poverty really hit Marvel hard, huh?"
He activated his scanner.
[NPC: Peter Parker]
[Alias: Spider-Man]
[Affection: 10]
[Evaluation: 'The symbol of a broke guy.' Killed his uncle.]
Darren stared. "That… is the saddest résumé I've ever seen."
Even the system description reeked of broke energy.
"Spider-Man! Help me!" the thug shouted instantly, pointing at Darren. "This psycho's holding me at gunpoint!"
He'd rather be arrested than deal with this maniac any longer.
Peter's brow furrowed. He'd already seen the guy snatching the purse earlier—so he knew who the real criminal was.
Still, he raised his hands calmly.
"Hey, uh, let's all take a breath, alright?" he said, landing between them. "Mister, put the gun down. Killing people doesn't solve problems."
Darren smirked. "No, but it does solve the people who make problems."
Peter blinked.
"…Technically… not wrong."
And for the first time that night, the self-proclaimed friendly neighborhood Spider-Man wasn't quite sure who the real bad guy was.