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Chapter 36: Sinister Six - Part 4

After everyone introduced themselves, Daredevil—Matt—contacted his allies.

We planned to meet again in the evening, so for now, we disbanded once.

My suit was torn, and I was still wearing Jessica’s husband’s… Luke’s?… shirt, so I decided to go home for a bit.

Since I’d already called the school and told them I’d be out sick today, I made sure not to run into any classmates or staff. Thankfully, I managed to make it back home safely.

I stuffed the oversized shirt and pants into a paper bag and changed into my usual casual clothes—a checkered shirt and chinos.

…The same outfit Gwen always nags me about, saying, "Try dressing with a little more style."

I refilled the web fluid in my web-shooters.

They’re cartridge-based, so all I have to do is swap them out.

The web fluid itself is made by combining commercially available chemicals. When exposed to air, it hardens into a highly adhesive thread—pretty clever, if I say so myself.

Then I packed my suit into my backpack. All set.

Once again, I made my way from my house in Queens to Matt’s place in Hell’s Kitchen.

Looking up, I saw the sun was starting to set.

Queens and Hell’s Kitchen are close, but… I picked up the pace a little.

I just barely made it on time and rang Matt’s doorbell.

Unlike Jessica, I didn’t have the guts to just knock.

After a moment, the door opened…

A nearly two-meter-tall Black man stood there.

He had a very tough-looking face and a shaved head.

“What do you want, kid?”

“Wah…”

I almost flinched, but when I looked closer, I recognized the yellow shirt he was wearing.

“Um… you’re Jessica’s husband… Luke, right?”

The man’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“Yeah. I’m Luke Cage… So, who are you, kid?”

Luke stroked his chin, his tone sounding like he was testing me.

“I’m… Spider-Man. Thank you for having me, Mr. Luke.”

At that, Luke let out a faint chuckle.

“…I like polite kids. Come on in. Everyone’s already here.”

Luke opened the door wide, and I was welcomed into Matt’s home.

Inside were Matt, Jessica… a guy with a sharp face in what looked like an expensive suit… and another rough-looking man in a shirt with a white skull on a black background.

…Way too many tough-looking guys.

If I hadn’t been told otherwise, I’d have thought this was a gang hangout.

Matt sensed my arrival and began to speak.

“That makes everyone. Spider-Man, including me, these people are part of a team that protects Hell’s Kitchen—we’re called the Defenders.”

When I turned my gaze, the man in the suit gave me a small nod.

“Let’s do a round of introductions. I’ll go first.”

“Tch. What is this, elementary school homeroom?”

The guy in the skull shirt muttered irritably.

“I’m Matt Murdock. People call me Daredevil. I may be blind, but my other senses are heightened. For example, I can tell if someone’s lying by the sound of their heartbeat. I can predict movements from muscle contractions… I can ‘see’ more than most people can.”

Matt tapped his ear with a finger.

“I work as a lawyer. If you ever need one, call me. Next is Jessica.”

Matt gestured toward Jessica.

“She’s Jessica Jones… though you probably already know that, Spider-Man. She has superpowers—can lift cars, fly, that sort of thing.”

“Wait! She can fly? How?”

I felt a little bad for interrupting, but I couldn’t help asking—it was bugging me.

Before Matt could answer, Jessica did.

“Just normally. You know, with superpowers.”

“‘Normally’…?”

“All my hero friends fly. It’s not that rare. Carol does, Jean does…”

It felt like asking was pointless, so I dropped the subject.

Maybe superpowers don’t need logic.

“Let’s get back on track. This guy next to her is Luke Cage.”

“Luke.”

Luke held out his hand.

“Uh, nice to meet you… I’m Spider-Man.”

I shook his hand and—

He gripped it hard.

Hard enough that I genuinely thought he could crush a steel pipe like a paper straw.

I quickly pulled my hand away.

“Wh-what was that for…?”

“Sorry, sorry… I just had to check something. Wanted to see how much you could handle. You pass.”

Luke said something terrifying and walked back over to Jessica’s side.

…Oh, and got an elbow to the ribs from her.

“…Sigh. Anyway, Luke’s a hero who goes by the name Power Man. He’s got insane strength and skin that can’t be pierced. He was even part of a government-sanctioned hero team called the Thunderbolts for a while.”

“Well, these days I’m more of a hired gun. Paid bodyguard kind of thing.”

“And next to him is Danny Rand—Iron Fist.”

“Hey.”

The man in the nice suit—Danny—nodded to me.

“He uses a power called ‘chi’ to enhance his strikes and fire off blasts. Also…”

“I can heal wounds too.”

With that, Iron Fist—Danny—walked up to me.

He was taller than me, and a bit intense.

“Excuse me.”

Danny placed his right hand on my shoulder.

His hand began to glow—my body started to heat up.

"This...?"

"I'm channeling chi to heal you. It just enhances your natural healing, so I can’t fix missing limbs or cure diseases. Keep that in mind."

After a few seconds with his hand on me, my body felt almost unbelievably light.

I lifted my shirt to check, and the wounds I’d gotten from the Sinister Six last night were completely healed.

"Th-thank you so much!"

"It’s only natural to help an ally. I’m counting on you from here on too."

I shook hands with Danny.

Man, they might all look a little intimidating, but they’re good people after all.

Even the guy in the skull shirt, I bet—

I turned my eyes to Matt—and then—

"This is Frank Castle. The Punisher. He’s a wanted criminal."

"Huh? Wait, what?"

My voice cracked with confusion.

◇◆◇

He’s a killer who targets criminals—that’s why they call him the ‘Punisher.’

Matt told me he used to be in the military. But after his wife and kids were killed by gangsters, he started hunting down bad guys.

To call him a ‘hero’ is… pushing it. He’s not really my type.

…No, actually, I’m really not comfortable with him.

Still, I can’t beat the Sinister Six on my own. I need every hand I can get—even if it belongs to a criminal.

Matt said he made Frank promise “No killing this time,” though… and apparently that’s why he’s in such a foul mood.

There were six of us. The Sinister Six also had six.

Naturally, we decided to split up and each take one down.

Since I was familiar with most of them, I listed off their strengths and weaknesses.

"Mysterio is probably the one behind this whole mess. He calls himself a magician, but I think he just uses illusions. It seemed like he left the actual fighting to the others."

"Then I’ll take him."

Matt—Daredevil—volunteered.

"My enhanced radar senses make me immune to illusions. I’m probably the best match."

And so, one by one, heroes were paired off with villains.

"As for this ‘New Goblin’ guy… I want to take care of him."

"Why’s that?" Jessica asked.

"He thinks I killed his dad. If I can clear that up, we won’t need to fight. …Besides, Harry is… well, he’s a friend of a friend. I want to help him."

"A friend of a friend? Aren’t you his friend?"

"Ah… well, yeah. I guess we’re kinda rivals."

Jessica tilted her head and gave a small nod.

In the end…

‘Rhino’ was assigned to Luke.

Luke had the edge in raw power, and the guns built into Rhino’s suit wouldn’t work on his impenetrable skin.

‘Shocker’ went to Danny—Iron Fist.

Shocker can fire shockwaves for long-range attacks. That range advantage is his biggest weapon.

But Iron Fist can also fire blasts of chi from his hands, so he should be able to match that reach.

‘Venom’ was left to the Punisher.

Venom has insane physical abilities, no doubt about that.

But he’s weak to sound and fire.

Punisher has stun grenades and even a compact flamethrower, so the odds are in his favor.

And then…

"This villain called ‘Redcap’..."

The moment I said the name, Matt and Punisher’s eyes sharpened.

Matt spoke with a grim expression.

"I’ve fought him a few times… He doesn’t really have any notable weaknesses."

"You’ve fought him before, Matt?"

"He used to be based here in Hell’s Kitchen… I’ve fought him more times than I can count."

More times than he can count.

Which also means—he’s lost that many times.

…But of the team members left to face him—

"I’ll go."

Jessica.

"I’m probably the most versatile one here… and hey, if any of you beat your target early, you can come help. I can stall for time by flying if I have to."

Matt gave a firm nod at her words.

I added some extra info about Redcap.

"Also… I don’t think he actually wants to kill us. Like, seriously kill us. That’s the feeling I’ve gotten from him so far."

Upon hearing that, the Punisher let out a mocking laugh.

"Hahaha… huh? Kid, don’t you know anything?"

"What are you... talking about?"

The Punisher’s mocking tone was starting to get on my nerves.

"I'm talking about his objective."

"...I don’t know what that is."

Now that I think about it—Redcap always says she’s “working” when she’s out killing people.
So this time… what’s the goal?
Why go so far as to hide the truth from the New Goblin—that she killed Norman?

"His target is you, Spider-Man. Same as the rest of them. They’re all working together because they’re sure they can take you out."

The Punisher gave a twisted grin.

"Even back when he was in Hell’s Kitchen, he already had his eye on you."

"...Is that true?"

"You think I’d lie? His old hideout in Hell’s Kitchen had traces of him researching you. No doubt about it—he’s been planning how to kill you."

With that, the Punisher pulled something like a scorched notebook from his bag.

"...What’s this?"

"A report I found at his old base. More like a scrapbook, really. Take a look."

He flipped through the pages and pointed to something.

"Here."

There it was...

“Spider abilities?”
“Clings to walls on his own.”
“Webs—organic or mechanical?”
“Does Tony Stark know his identity?”
“Suit is ordinary fabric.”

It was filled with handwritten notes trying to analyze my powers.

"This guy was stalking you long before your first encounter. You get it now? Why you shouldn’t fight him?"

A chill ran down my spine.


"Achoo!"

I sneezed.

...How odd.
I have a healing factor—technically, I shouldn't even catch colds.

Not to mention, I’m currently acting as Redcap, not Michelle Jane.
If anyone heard me like that, it could be a real problem.

That said… I’m alone in a private room inside Oscorp Tower.
Luckily, no one heard—

"Huh? That was a pretty cute sneeze, especially coming from you."

...Scratch that.
Herman, dressed as the Shocker, was here.

"I’ve got a suggestion for you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Would you prefer to get beaten until you forget everything, or keep quiet and take it to your grave?"

"Huh? H-Haha, I’ll keep quiet, of course! I mean, who’d I even tell?! No one would believe me anyway!"

"Just kidding."

"When you say that, it really doesn’t sound like a joke... seriously."

Herman sat down next to me.

"...Herman, just one piece of advice."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"...If things go south during this mission, run. Be the first to run."

"...Oh? You think I’d run away?"

"No. I don’t think you would. That’s exactly why I’m telling you to."

Herman tilted his head in confusion.

There’s no need to drag him into this mission.
And if possible… I hoped he wouldn’t see that side of me.


"Spider-Menace has retaliated against my exposé! This is unforgivable!"

On TV, J. Jonah Jameson, president of the Daily Bugle, was screaming.

"So it ended up like this, huh..."

I was at Matt’s house, holding a meeting with the Defenders.
We turned on the TV for a little mental break—and of course, there he was: JJJ, bashing me like always.

...But Matt was eyeing the screen with suspicion.

"...Something wrong?"

"I don’t know... something feels off."

I turned back to the TV.
Jameson was ranting about me again… business as usual.

"...? You see something strange?"

"...His voice."

"His voice?"

Matt nodded.

"It's different from usual… the way he uses intonation is off. The vocal pattern is similar, but this has to be an artificially generated voice."

"...No way..."

A horrible thought crossed my mind—had Jameson… been killed?

Matt must've sensed that, because he quietly spoke up.

"...You’re able to worry about him, huh?"

"Well… it’s true I don’t like Jameson, but… he’s not an evil person. And even if he were, it’s not like being evil means someone deserves to die."

"Hmph."

The Punisher, listening from a distance, gave a snort through his nose.

Ugh, what a terrible attitude.

Matt ignored him and kept talking.

"Spider-Man, you’re a kind soul. I like that about you. I’m Catholic… so I share that same belief—murder is unacceptable."

He gently placed a hand on my head.

"And so, to help you hold on to that kindness… I, and the others, will stand with you. Because we’re comrades."

...It kind of felt like he was treating me like a kid, and that bothered me a bit.

But I accepted it honestly.

Then Luke called out to me.

"Kid, we’ve got our plan."

The plan was simple: lure the enemy to an abandoned building on the outskirts of Midtown and take them down.

Apparently, the building would be purchased and prepped by Iron Fist—Danny.

...Turns out he’s the CEO of a company called Rand Enterprises.

Just like Mr. Stark.

...Is it a trend now for CEOs to become superheroes?

The final battle… would be at midnight tonight.

I’d sneak into Oscorp… draw them out… and lead them there.

I couldn’t get caught. I couldn’t get hit, either.
The goal was to lure them without raising suspicion… then strike hard and fast.

I took a deep breath.

And to shake off the nerves, I opened my mouth.

"Alright then, let’s do this—'Defenders + 1 (me)' all the way—"

"Hey, Spider-Man. I’m not one of the Defenders."

The Punisher cut in, totally killing my momentum.

"...Okay then, 'Defenders + 2 (me and Punisher)'—let’s go, everyone!"

The other four nodded at my half-desperate declaration.

...Yeah, four.
Even though there are five of us in the room.

I let out a sigh.

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