Peter Parker was an ordinary high school student.
The not-so-ordinary part was that someone he knew was a superhero.
Gwen Stacy was the recently famous Queens superhero known as "Silk."
With the appearances of the Dark Knight Zod and the Fantastic Trio, ordinary people were starting to realize that their world seemed to be changing.
Just like Queens' "Silk," along with Hell's Kitchen's Daredevil and Supergirl.
Silk got her name from the white bodysuit she wore, patterned like a web with a spider emblem. Gwen herself liked the nickname too.
Gwen felt she was helping her father deal with trouble, so she never got tired of it. As for Peter discovering her identity, that happened purely because her days and nights were flipped. She was so exhausted she got dazed. Peter wanted to check on her, and by accident, he found out who she was.
At first Gwen was worried. Later she realized Peter Parker was a good friend who could keep a secret, so she stopped caring.
But Peter Parker's Uncle Ben died. He died from a thug's gun going off by accident. Peter asked her to help find that thug, and after thinking it over, Gwen agreed.
"But with only a sketch, how am I supposed to find that guy?"
Gwen was troubled. She had searched for days. Aside from dealing with a few small problems, she'd found nothing.
What she didn't know was that Flint Marko had already been arrested and sent to prison.
"What are you looking for?"
A voice suddenly sounded by Gwen's ear. Gwen jumped, and Zod saw her spring away like a cat that had just spotted a cucumber.
"Dark Knight?"
Seeing Zod Xis floating soundlessly in midair in black armor, Gwen let out a breath of relief.
Wait, why didn't my spider-sense react?
Gwen found it strange.
What Gwen didn't know was that Zod found it even stranger. If the Black Queen hadn't informed him, he wouldn't have known a female Spider-Man had appeared in Queens, New York.
A white spider suit. This is Silk?
Is my universe Earth-6565? But that doesn't feel right. Most of it is movie plotlines and movie characters.
Zod was thinking about Gwen's origins, while Gwen was thinking about why her spider-sense hadn't reacted.
"Sorry, I startled you," Zod said with a quick smile.
"Oh, it's fine." Gwen shook her head. "I just didn't notice you."
Gwen actually had a good impression of the Dark Knight Zod, even though her dad had been badmouthing him nonstop, saying things like the Dark Knight Zod was just putting on a show and wasn't a real hero.
If Zod knew that, he'd probably feel pretty speechless. He held back precisely to avoid stealing the police's work and damaging their credibility. Otherwise, he wouldn't even need to wear armor. If the Black Queen controlled the armor to save people, the efficiency would absolutely beat the police.
Besides, Zod wasn't only the Dark Knight. He was also a super genius so talented the whole world felt inferior.
"Hello, Dark Knight. I'm Silk."
Gwen took the initiative and reached out.
Zod reached out as well. After they shook hands, Gwen answered his question.
"Yes, I'm looking for a criminal who shot an elderly man on the street. I want him to face justice in court."
Gwen spoke with a bit of restraint, like she was facing a teacher.
After all, to many people, or at least in their minds, the Dark Knight Zod was the first superhero. Like Captain America, he had opened a new era. The difference was that Captain America was already the past, while the Dark Knight Zod was the present symbol. Every other superhero was just his junior.
What if Zod doesn't acknowledge me?
That was what Gwen was thinking.
"Only that much information?"
For a moment Zod didn't realize she was helping find the criminal who killed Ben. He thought it was just a normal case.
"I also have a sketch."
Gwen thought about it. If Zod helped, they should find the criminal faster, right? So she took out the sketch Parker had given her.
After Zod scanned it, the Black Queen quickly pulled up the result.
"The person you're looking for is named Flint Marko, but he's already in prison."
Zod Xis raised a hand, and an image projected from his forearm. It was footage of Flint Marko being arrested and sent to prison. Gwen's expression instantly turned into the kind of "no fucking words" face.
Of course, because she wore a mask, Zod couldn't see it. And it wasn't like he kept x-ray vision on all the time to look through people.
All those nights of sleep I gave up!
Gwen wanted to cry. Because her messed-up sleep schedule had already made her skin worse. She'd even started breaking out. She'd sacrificed that much, only to find out the guy she wanted was already behind bars.
"Next time you can pay attention to the news. If you don't have the energy for it, you can also download Spiderweb. It pushes news alerts."
Zod slipped in an ad.
Spiderweb's downloads had already reached 22 billion users. It had completely crushed Twitter and YouTube, and it had caught up to Facebook's monthly active user count.
Those 22 billion weren't just in the United States. They were spread across the world. The only exception was China, because of the firewall.
At the same time, Spiderweb supported Hindi. Combined with advanced features and convenience, it had grown explosively.
Zod copied the Tencent-style model and launched a Blade Account. One account could be used across all Blade Technology Industries network products, including paying through Spiderweb, directly linked to Blade Bank, realizing mobile payments ahead of the curve.
That was also why Spiderweb's user count rose so fast. Registering a Blade Account alone cost 10 USD10 USD, which also cut off a lot of bot farms.
Of course, if bot farms really needed them, they could still get plenty of accounts.
"I do use Spiderweb," Gwen said embarrassedly. "I just didn't notice."
Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube had all considered countermeasures, but compared to Spiderweb, they lacked too many functions. Even if they tried to poach people from Blade Technology Industries departments, nobody wanted to go.
Obviously. Blade Technology Industries screamed unlimited potential and an infinite future. And you old, fading flowers still want to recruit me so I can be buried with you?
Zod nodded and didn't make a big deal of it. Spiderweb was mainly for communication anyway. News? How many young people paid attention unless it was huge?
"By the way, Mr. Xis." Gwen relaxed after learning the criminal was already in prison, and she finally let out the breath she'd been holding. "I have a lot of questions about superheroes. Is it okay if I ask you?"
/-\
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