"What are you staring at?"
Ned tried to snap me out of it. Good guy. Consistent. Persistent.
"Nothing," I muttered, which was a lie, obviously, because my eyes were still glued to Felicia Hardy. She was sitting across the cafeteria, sipping her drink like she wasn't absolutely ruining someone's confidence in 4K.
Another guy. Another rejection.
Second time in two days. Girl's running an emotional kill count. As one of the hottest people on campus, I guess rejecting dudes is just part of her daily cardio.
Now, to everyone else, she's just the hot girl with good hair and scary confidence. But me? I've got this whole "extra senses + healthy dose of paranoia" setup going on, so yeah—I noticed something different. Her posture wasn't just relaxed. It was pretend relaxed.Like a cat napping on the windowsill that's secretly ready to dropkick a bird through the glass.
Definitely some Black Cat energy.
Also, side note? My Assimilation skill's been levelling up lately—especially after that oh-so-subtle "surprise, you're in Marvel now" reality check. Edna's template is nearly done syncing. One more day and boom: I'll have a full-on super suit blueprint in my brain.
Now all I need is, you know… materials. Which I do not have. Yet.
Anyway—back to Hardy.
She's clearly prepping for the whole "steal diamonds and flirt with superheroes" lifestyle, but nah—she's not the one who got bit by the spider.
No hormones increase, no freaky strength bursts, no snapping locker handles like they're made of Twizzlers, nothing.
So: cross her off the Spider-Person suspect list.
Same goes for both MJs—Mary Jane Watson and Michelle Jones. Yeah, they both have "main character in a teen drama" energy, but they're just regular students. No Spinneret. No Night-Spider.
So now, we're down to two big suspects: Gwen Stacy and Cindy Moon.
And here's where it gets juicy—they've both been conveniently absent the last two days.
Coincidence? Maybe.
Suspicious? Absolutely.
Future spider-people? Betting money on it.
Now, there is a chance I landed in Earth-65, where Ghost-Spider shows up because Silk exists—but so far, no lawsuit against Oscorp and no Harry Osborn trying to be my bestie. So maybe it's Earth-65 adjacent. Like… AU of an AU.
Real multiverse spaghetti.
"Did you see the news?" Ned held up his phone, eyes wide.
More trouble in Hell's Kitchen. Group of thugs found knocked out in an alley, tied up with a neat little bow. Police say drug smugglers. Definitely got the "mysterious vigilante beatdown" package.
"Yeah, I saw it," I said, glancing at the headline.
Honestly, this kind of thing is the new normal. Welcome to New York—Home of Rent, Rooftop Ninjas, and Probably Too Many Heroes.
Normally I'd say Daredevil's clocked in—doing his whole "beat 'em up and let the cops clean it up" routine. But in this version? If he got trained by The Hand… well what can I say.
Just gotta hope Matt's still on the "punching the bad guys" side of things and not going full ninja warlord.
Just when I thought the rest of the school was finally gonna be normal—
[Random Host: Ψ7#-9π3Ξ Detected...]
[Testing Compatibility: αξ7/3⊗ Initiated...]
[Requirement Check: ∑9-χλπ→ ❌ Failed...]
[Protocol 747-Δ#63φ5₱ → ACTIVATED]
[Searching for New Host...]
[Error: Core Fragment π$π√•÷=¢§° MISSING]
[Fallback: Executing Emergency Directive #6+4_+&'!642+73&3ξ7]
[Solution: Initiating SHARING MODE with Host 74736_]
[Attempting Forced Connection to: χ_--"+-_₱""*... 💀]
[Connection Status: ❌ FAILURE]
[Searching for Alternate Host: α$βΣ∑⊗-Δ#%!?&]
[Connection Status: ❌ FAILURE]
[HOST ERROR: π8#Γ@€™⊗Δ∞]
[Searching: Connection Attempt with Host: _Δ$β~⩤Π#-_✪*^]
[Connection Status: ❌ FAILURE]
What the hell was that?
Wait. Was that—no way. Was that what I think it was?
A system?
I shouldn't be surprised, right? I already have one. But a system? A SECOND SYSTEM?
When was the last time I read a fanfiction where someone got two systems?
And not just in some random isekai world—but in Marvel?
I swear, the universe is out here playing some kind of sick joke on me.
I mean, seriously—look at me. I've got a system. No, scratch that—I've got two.
TWO SYSTEMS.
Hahahaha, you gotta love it. Some real "watch me break the universe" type of stuff. I'm out here living the dream, people. Who's laughing now?
I glance around, and there's Ned, staring at me with that "I'm confused, but also a little scared" look.
And of course, the rest of the cafeteria? Silent. They all stopped eating, and now they're looking at me like I just turned into a walking meme.
I cough, trying to act casual, but it's not working.
"Uh, nothing," I say, my voice cracking slightly, "Just remembered something good," I lie, barely believing myself.
But why do I feel like total crap right now?
Oh, right.
Because the connection failed.
No second system for me.
A sigh escapes me, and I'm suddenly more annoyed than I want to be.
"Dammit," I mutter under my breath, feeling the weight of disappointment settle in while I collapse slightly onto the table.
Ned leans closer, frowning.
"Your mood just, like, dropped."
No kidding.
I shrug, forcing a half-smile.
"Yeah. I just remembered something… bad."
[PRESENCE OF ⨀⧅⩶*!‰€₱₰∇☢Ω¶♠ DETECTED]
***************
Which system?