c10: The Commissioned Task of the Spider
"Little Peter, do you understand?" Ryan Wong looked at Peter Parker with hopeful eyes.
To be honest, the feeling of mentoring someone especially someone destined to become a legend was intoxicating. Ryan was getting hooked on it.
Especially when the one being mentored would someday become a symbol Spider-Man, the Friendly Neighborhood hero of Queens just thinking of it made Ryan feel a rush.
And if his guidance made a difference? That sense of satisfaction would hit a whole new level.
So, under Ryan Wong's expectant gaze, the young pre-Spider-Bite Peter Parker hesitantly said, "Big brother, even if you stop him from hurting others now… his own life might fall apart."
"He's lost a hand. A lot of jobs will be impossible for him. He could end up starving..."
So kind-hearted.
Feng Ailun, who had been observing silently, couldn't help but sigh.
Even without his powers, young Peter already embodied what makes a true hero not strength, but empathy, that core virtue that both Steve Rogers and Clark Kent displayed long before they donned their suits.
But sometimes, empathy is a candle flickering in a hurricane.
Bald John on the ground, howling and defeated heard Peter's words of sympathy, and suddenly his anger ignited.
The pain in his arm seemed to vanish under the surge of hatred.
He pushed himself halfway up, kneeling like some unholy knight, and from beneath his ragged coat, pulled out a Glock with his remaining hand—leveling it straight at Peter Parker.
"To hell with you! You think I need your pity?!"
Bang~!!
The gunshot rang out, echoing through the crime-ridden alleys of Hell's Kitchen, where vigilantes like Daredevil and Punisher often roamed. This wasn't some petty thug; this was the kind of remorseless scum that would join the Hand or sell intel to Hydra without blinking.
Unlike muggers who feared retaliation from street-level heroes, these kinds of villains had nothing to lose.
The bullet screamed through the air, fast almost Mach 1 and Peter, not yet bitten by the radioactive spider, had no spider-sense to save him.
At that moment, Ryan Wong's gaze narrowed. With the reflexes reminiscent of Barry Allen reacting to danger, he burst forward chakra erupting beneath his feet like the explosive kinetic charge of Black Panther's suit and tackled Peter to the ground.
This was the kind of movement only a ninja could make, a speed once matched by legends like Minato Namikaze.
Puff~ The bullet ripped through the air, grazing Ryan's back and striking someone in the audience behind them.
"Ahh~!!! Damn you, chrome dome! You shot me!!" the man cried, clutching his calf as he crumpled to the pavement.
With grim familiarity, he drew his own weapon standard fare in Hell's Kitchen and fired back at Bald John without hesitation.
Instant chaos erupted. Civilians ducked behind cars and concrete like they were in Gotham during a Joker rampage. Only Bald John, the shot man, Ryan, and Peter remained exposed in the street.
Shops around them slammed their shutters and turned off their lights, as if they'd seen this a hundred times before just another day in a neighborhood where Kingpin's shadow still lingered.
Ryan, calmly analyzing the chaos, pulled a three-pronged kunai from a pouch strapped to his leg. It was a Flying Thunder God Kunai, upgraded with tech cobbled together from Stark scraps and Wakandan vibranium.
Thunk!
He threw it to the rooftop of a nearby building. A pulse of golden energy surged outward the seal activated and in the blink of an eye, both he and Peter were gone.
"Wha—?!" Bald John blinked, stunned. But before he could figure it out, the wounded bystander groaned and kept firing, forcing him to dive behind cover.
High above, on the rooftop, Ryan crouched beside Peter, the city skyline of New York stretching out behind them like a painting.
He placed a firm hand on Peter's head and asked softly, "Now… do you still think a man like that is just going to starve to death without a hand?"
Peter was speechless. Eyes wide, heart thudding, he stared at Ryan.
Then, after a pause, he clenched his jaw and shook his head.
"So, the method I told you must be kept in mind, because it is really useful!" Ryan Wong reaffirmed his earlier advice, voice firm with conviction.
But the young Peter Parker stared at the rooftop gravel, confused and worried, until Jiu Liangcai spoke up: "Big brother, you're so powerful… can you stop them?"
Ryan tilted his head, intrigued. His eyes gleamed under the city lights. "You want me to stop them?" he asked, surprised but pleased by Peter's moral clarity.
"Yes! What they're doing… it's not right!" said Peter, his brows furrowed with budding righteousness so much like Steve Rogers before the Super Soldier Serum, so much like Billy Batson before shouting "Shazam!"
"I definitely can. But let me ask you something," Ryan said, slipping into a mock-formal tone. "Are you commissioning me for a task, Spider-Kid?"
"A commissioned task?" Peter echoed, confused, but then nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting. "Yes! I officially entrust you to stop them!"
Ryan beamed. "Excellent. And what's the reward for this heroic assignment?"
Peter blinked, puzzled. He checked his pockets like Miles Morales trying to find subway fare after a web-slinging detour. Finally, he produced a slightly dusty lollipop and held it up.
"Is… is this okay? It's all I've got right now…"
"Absolutely perfect," Ryan replied, taking the candy like it was Mjolnir itself. He unwrapped it with a grin fit for Nightwing on patrol. "Just stay here. Watch carefully. Time to show you what a real mission looks like."
Whoosh!!
A golden ripple of energy swept across the rooftop as Ryan vanished, teleporting in a flash akin to Boom Tube travel from Apokolips or a Bifrost Bridge gate from Asgard. He reappeared instantly right behind Bald John, his right hand glowing faintly with a seal.
This wasn't magic. It was an advanced Thunder Mark technique one adapted from Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God, upgraded by merging it with Stark tech and Mother Box algorithms.
He had marked John's hand earlier without a trace just like Batman tagging criminals with nanodust before an ambush.
Without a word, Ryan spun and delivered a clean, calculated kick, knocking the pistol from John's hand with the precision of Black Widow during a SHIELD op.
Then, raising one arm, he hurled a tri-pronged kunai toward the man who'd been shot earlier. The moment the blade struck pavement nearby, he teleported again in a golden flash—reappearing beside the injured civilian.
With one swift motion, he lifted his foot and brought it down in a defensive stance, ready to shield and retaliate if needed.
Just like that, the entire street froze.
Tension crackled in the air like static before a lightning strike—before Storm summons a tempest or Shazam invokes Zeus.
Ryan glanced up, back at the rooftop, and flashed a confident smile to Little Peter.
Unwrapping the lollipop with flair, he popped it into his mouth. The caramel sweetness was oddly satisfying, like a post-mission shawarma break with the Avengers.
Meanwhile, his mind shifted inward.into the mysterious system interface that guided his transformations.
[Host: Ryan Wong]
[Current Character: The Fourth Hokage – Minato Namikaze]
[Playback Synchronization: 28%]
[Owned Personas: Fourth Hokage – Minato Namikaze]
[Times Character Played: 0]
He smirked to himself.
This was just the beginning.
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