He pushed forward with everything he had.
"Excuse me! Please—move!"
A security guard frowned and reached out, blocking the scrawny kid without hesitation.
"Hey! Back up, kid! This area's off-limits!"
"Please!" The boy's face flushed red with desperation. His hands were clenched tight around a sweat-soaked copy of The Adventures of Homelander. "I just want to… I just want to see him once!"
The guard was already losing patience, preparing to drag the kid away—
"Wait."
A calm, gentle voice cut cleanly through the noise.
Antony stopped walking.
He turned, his blue eyes settling on the boy.
The guard froze, then immediately released him. Antony stepped forward instead.
The surrounding chaos fell into an unnatural silence.
As Antony approached, the boy felt like he was suffocating.
The god he'd seen on movie screens and comic panels—
the untouchable symbol of hope—
was standing right in front of him.
So tall.
So radiant.
Every star on that flag-draped cape seemed to shimmer.
"Were you looking for me, kid?"
Antony crouched down, bringing himself to eye level, his smile warm and disarming.
"I… I…"
The boy stammered. He'd never been good with words. Now his tongue completely tied itself in knots.
"Easy," Antony said softly. "What's your name?"
"P-Peter, sir." The boy swallowed hard. "Peter… Parker."
Antony' smile froze—for asecond.
Peter… Parker?
Spider-Man?
Oh hell—
His X-ray vision swept over the boy in an instant.
Bones: normal.
No mutations.
Heart rate elevated—nerves.
Adrenaline: baseline.
Right. Hasn't been bitten yet.
"Peter Parker…" Antony rolled the name around thoughtfully.
"That's a good name."
He extended a hand. "Mind if I see what you're holding, Peter?"
"Huh? Oh—yes! Of course!"
Peter fumbled in panic, nearly dropping the comic before Antony caught it smoothly.
It was the first issue of The Adventures of Homelander.
The edges were worn, the cover frayed—clearly read countless times.
"Looks like you really love it," Antony said with a smile, accepting a gold pen from his assistant.
"Where do you want the autograph?"
"T-The cover! No—wait! The title page! Anywhere—anywhere's fine!"
Antony opened the book.
He didn't just scribble his name like he did for everyone else.
He paused, pen hovering.
Then he wrote.
Bold. Steady. Unmistakable.
To my kindred spirit, Peter.
Never let this world change who you are.
— Homelander
He closed the book and handed it back.
"F-Friend…?"
Peter stared at the words, his mind completely blank.
Kindred spirit?
Homelander called him… a friend?
"You see," Antony said, pointing lightly at Peter's chest, his tone suddenly serious, sincere.
"I can hear your heartbeat."
Peter instinctively covered his chest.
"It's fast. Strong." Antony' gaze bored straight through him. "But I don't just hear fear. I see… potential."
Antony placed a hand gently on the boy's thin shoulder.
"This world is full of power, Peter."
"Some people gain power—and use it to bully the weak."
"Some gain power—and choose to look away."
"But you…" His voice lowered, almost like a benediction.
"Your eyes tell me that if you had power—you'd make the right choice."
"Just like the movie says…"
"With great power… comes great responsibility."
"Remember that, Peter. For people like us, it's both a curse—and a gift."
…..
BOOM.
Those words detonated inside Peter Parker's young, fragile heart like a nuclear blast.
Tears spilled down his cheeks.
He stared at the man before him—radiant like the sun itself—feeling his blood ignite.
He wasn't a useless nerd.
He wasn't just someone meant to be pushed around.
Homelander—the hero who saved the world—
said he had potential.
"I—I'll remember!" Peter shouted, clutching the comic with everything he had.
"I swear, Mr. Homelander! I won't— I won't ever let you down!"
"I believe you, kid."
Antony stood, ruffling Peter's messy hair one last time.
"Now go home, Peter Parker." He winked. "Your parents must be worried."
"I… I only have Aunt May…"
"Then don't let your Aunt May worry," Antony said gently, patting his shoulder. "Go."
"Y-Yes! Thank you! Thank you so much, Mr. Homelander!!"
Peter Parker felt like he was dreaming.
"I can see it," Antony added softly as he turned away.
"One day, you'll stand beside me. Together… we'll make this world better."
With a snap of his cape, Antony disappeared into the crowd.
Peter stood frozen, clutching the signed comic like it was the entire universe.
As the red-and-blue figure vanished, Peter removed his glasses and wiped his tears.
Something inside him had changed.
A belief had taken root.
"Homelander…" he whispered.
"I'll become a hero… just like you."
DING!
Special Popularity Value +50,000!
Special Character Bond Detected: "Spider-Man" (Absolute Affinity)
Hidden Reward Unlocked: Spider-Sense!
Already seated inside a stretched Lincoln, Antony nearly laughed out loud.
"Fifty thousand? Just like that?"
"And Spider-Sense? The legendary Peter Tingle?"
He closed his eyes.
The world subtly shifted.
Air currents.
Camera shutters blocks away.
Even the faint warning of someone spilling coffee hundreds of meters away—
All fed back into his mind as instinctive danger signals.
For someone who already possessed super-senses, this was pure icing on the cake.
"That little spider…" Antony smirked. "What a treasure."
In a great mood, he opened the car's mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of champagne.
Current Special Popularity Value: 87,000
"20 minutes to Beverly Hills," he calculated lazily.
"Days like this deserve a celebration."
"System," he thought,
"Open the Superhero Blind Box."
"Two pulls."
Consuming 60,000 Special Popularity Value…
Initiating Superhero Blind Box x2…
--------------
T/N:
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