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Marcus woke and immediately checked his surroundings.
Still in the hidden chamber. Exactly where he'd laid down.
Five hours had passed since he'd lost consciousness, though subjectively it had felt like only minutes.
He remembered the Master Weaver. The impossible space. The beam of light that had struck him.
Marcus examined his body carefully. Aside from feeling stronger, he detected no negative effects.
He pulled up his system interface.
[ Movie Plundering System ]
Host: Marcus Reed
Age: 23
System Space: Gold, food, water, thermal weapons, clothing, miscellaneous items
Abilities: Super Telekinesis, Super Brain, Super Physique, Super Self-Healing, Super Strength, Super Speed, Spider-Sense, Web Generation
Origin Points: 71
Two new abilities had been added: Spider-Sense and Web Generation. Spider-Man's signature powers.
His Origin Point count hadn't decreased—in fact, it had increased slightly. He'd entered this world with 68 points, gained 2 from saving Uncle Ben, and picked up 1 more from participating in various Spider-Man plot events.
Before losing consciousness, Marcus had commanded his system to automatically protect him from any harmful effects. The fact that his body showed no problems meant the Master Weaver's light had been beneficial.
"Was that the Spider-Totem choosing me?"
It was the most logical explanation.
Marcus considered pursuing the question further, then dismissed it. With his current strength, deeper investigation was pointless. If that power operated at a higher level than his system, understanding it wouldn't help him anyway.
Better to adapt to his new abilities and gradually increase his strength. The truth would reveal itself eventually.
Over the following days, Marcus focused on mastering his new powers.
Web generation was straightforward—useful, but nothing compared to his telekinesis.
Spider-sense was more interesting. It predicted danger before it arrived. Since Marcus wasn't currently in any danger, he deliberately created training scenarios, limiting his other abilities to practice recognizing the warnings.
The spider gene had enhanced his physical capabilities significantly. His base strength now exceeded twenty tons per hand.
If he pushed to his absolute limit, full overload, he could exceed one hundred tons of combined force.
Peter had stopped a runaway train in the original timeline—an action requiring at least one hundred tons of force. But afterward, Peter had been completely exhausted.
Marcus needed complete control over this new strength. Without it, normal life would become inconvenient—crushed doorknobs, broken furniture, accidental injuries.
Fortunately, control wasn't difficult for someone with his enhanced brain. Within days, he'd mastered the coordination between his old strength and new capabilities.
He was now several times more powerful than before.
And as he adapted to his enhanced abilities, Marcus had an interesting idea...
Meanwhile, Peter Parker was working his part-time pizza delivery job.
Now in college, Peter was an adult. He needed to earn his own living expenses instead of constantly relying on Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
Besides freelance photography for the Daily Bugle, he'd taken on food delivery to supplement his income.
At the pizza shop, his boss was already yelling at him.
"Parker! You're late again! You're ALWAYS late!"
"I'm sorry, I got held up—"
Peter's apology was genuine. He couldn't exactly explain that he'd been delayed saving people as Spider-Man.
The boss didn't have time for a longer lecture. "Haoran Law Firm. Eight pizzas. They ordered twenty-one minutes ago. Our guarantee is delivery within twenty-nine minutes."
He jabbed a finger at Peter. "You've got less than eight minutes. If you don't make it, not only do I lose the payment, but you're FIRED!"
Peter grabbed the packaged pizzas without further argument and loaded them onto his electric scooter.
He'd worked hard to get this job. He couldn't afford to lose it.
Peter wove through traffic, squeezing through gaps between cars whenever possible.
But it was rush hour. Even on the scooter, his progress was slow.
He checked his watch. He wasn't going to make it in time.
After turning into a deserted alley, Peter made a decision. He changed into his Spider-Man costume and switched methods.
Between the tall buildings, Spider-Man was unimpeded.
He should've been able to deliver on time easily—
But halfway there, an emergency happened.
Two children, a boy and a girl no older than ten, ran into the street. A truck barreled toward them, the driver unable to stop in time.
Peter swung down, grabbed both kids, and pulled them to safety on the sidewalk.
"Don't run into traffic!" he told them urgently. "Look both ways!"
Then he swung away immediately.
The detour cost him thirty seconds.
When Peter arrived at the law firm, he was late.
They refused to pay for the order.
Peter returned to the pizza shop empty-handed.
The boss didn't even let him finish explaining. "You're FIRED."
Out of options, Peter headed to the Daily Bugle.
This was his last remaining source of income.
He found Jameson in his office and handed over a folder of photographs.
Jameson flipped through them, his expression growing darker. "What am I looking at here? A puppy catching a Frisbee. Pigeons in the park. Two old men playing chess."
"I wanted to show the warm, human side of New York—"
"I'm not paying you to make art!" Jameson threw the photos down. "If you weren't the only person who can get Spider-Man pictures, I'd have fired you years ago!"
Peter's jaw tightened. "Spider-Man won't let me photograph him because you've made him a public enemy!"
It was true. After the Green Goblin incident, Spider-Man had been wanted for two full years. Peter had barely provided any Spider-Man photos to the Bugle during that time—especially since the newspaper constantly slandered him.
Peter thought he deserved credit for not punching Jameson in the face.
"I don't care," Jameson said flatly. "No Spider-Man pictures, no payment."
Peter's shoulders slumped. He really needed the money.
Reluctantly, he pulled out one more photograph—a decent shot of Spider-Man in action—and handed it over.
Jameson's eyes lit up. He'd known Parker was holding back inventory.
He immediately called his staff. "Put this on the front page! Biggest headline!"
Peter waited.
"'MASKED MENACE THREATENS NEW YORK!'" Jameson announced proudly.
Peter's face fell.
Jameson was his biggest hater. His number one critic. No matter what Spider-Man did, the Daily Bugle found a way to spin it negatively.
As Jameson continued his endless tirade against Spider-Man, Peter thought silently:
I'm going to put ashes in your eyes someday.