Night fell as Gaia drove Wanda to the Fisk Tower.
After parking the car, Gaia glanced at the valet walking toward them.
He turned to look at Wanda beside him.
She was wearing a burgundy, off-the-shoulder silk gown, her hair swept up into an elegant updo.
Well…
okay, he couldn’t actually see anything.
Was Wanda really this conservative?
Gaia felt a bit baffled, wondering if the Wanda in front of him might not be the real deal.
“Let’s go.”
Wanda gave a soft hum, reaching up to adjust the collar of Gaia’s black suit.
The two got out of the car.
Gaia tossed the keys to the valet, and Wanda naturally stepped up to his side, slipping her arm through his as they walked side-by-side into the Fisk Tower.
“Hahaha!
Gaia, my dear godson!
I knew you’d get an invitation.
Oh, heavens, you make me just as proud as John does.
That old bastard Ben really is a lucky dog to have a son like you.”
Just as Gaia and Wanda stepped into the ballroom, a booming, gruff, and incredibly powerful voice rang out.
Looking toward the source, they saw a middle-aged man in his late forty-somethings wearing a brown suit.
He had graying temples, a neat mustache, and a brilliant smile plastered across his face as he walked toward them.
Little Gaia looked astonished: “Holy crap!
He’s actually not smoking a cigar today!”
Gaia ignored Little Gaia, stepping forward to give the older man a hug.
“It’s great to see you tonight, Godfather Jameson.”
That’s right, his godfather was none other than that man: J.
Jonah Jameson.
You might not believe it, but in this universe, Ben Parker was one of the chief editors of the Daily Bugle, Jameson’s college classmate, and his best friend.
According to Jameson himself, the only reason Ben managed to woo May was entirely thanks to him.
Jameson laughed heartily, clapping Gaia on the back.
He turned his gaze to Wanda, giving her a brief sweep before nodding in deep satisfaction.
“What a beautiful young lady.
You must be Gaia’s date.
I am J.
Jonah Jameson, Gaia’s godfather.
A pleasure to meet you.”
Wanda, already well-aware of Gaia’s family dynamics, put on her best well-bred lady persona and greeted Jameson:
“Hello, Mr.
Jameson.
I’m Wanda Maximoff.
I really enjoy your reporting.”
As she spoke, something seemed to cross her mind.
A subtle smile touched her lips, and she gave Gaia a highly meaningful look.
Jameson nodded, then turned back to Gaia with a complaint:
“Gaia, when is that old bastard Ben coming back?
I’ve been doing all the work lately, and I’m practically dead from exhaustion.”
Gaia thought for a moment before replying:
“I’m not entirely sure of the specifics.
He said this year is their twenty-fourth anniversary, so they absolutely had to make the most of it.”
Jameson let out a cold snort and grumbled harshly in his signature voice, “That old bastard.
He’d better get his rear back here soon.
Otherwise, the moment he returns, I’m taking a vacation and dumping all the work on him.”
At that, Jameson changed the subject:
“By the way, you’ve finally blossomed!
If you hadn’t brought such a gorgeous date tonight, I would’ve thought you were gay.
Ben’s complained to me about it plenty of times over the years.
And where’s Peter?
Didn’t you bring that little guy along?”
Gaia shook his head:
“Peter is staying at the Osborns’ the past couple of days.
Where are Aunt Joan and John?
How come you’re alone?”
In this universe, Jameson’s wife hadn’t died.
According to Joan Jameson herself, back when she was cornered by masked muggers and thought she was done for, Ghost Rider had dropped from the sky and saved her life.
This was why Jameson was now such an ardent advocate for Ghost Rider.
Jameson lifted his chin proudly:
“John is heading into space in two days.
Joan is at home helping him pack.”
Gaia understood:
“Ah, is that so?”
“Hahaha!
Gaia, I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you.
So you’ve been here chatting with Mr.
Jameson?”
A loud laugh echoed from nearby, and the three of them turned their heads.
Three people were approaching.
Richard went without saying.
As for the other two: the woman was wearing a deep blue evening gown, while the man was exceptionally massive, completely bald, and dressed in a white suit.
“Mr.
Fisk, Mrs.
Fisk.
Long time no see.”
Gaia stepped forward to shake hands with the man—Wilson Fisk.
Wilson Fisk was Richard’s father.
Fisk glanced at Wanda, then sized up Gaia:
“Vanessa talks about you all the time.
Although Richard said you were doing well, it doesn’t look like it now.
You’ve lost quite a bit of weight.
Have you run into some difficulties?
Just say the word, and I can help you.”
Vanessa Fisk, the woman, chimed in:
“That’s right, Gaia.
You’re a friend of the Fisk family.
If you’re facing any trouble, feel free to speak up.”
Gaia smiled and shook his head, declining the Fisks’ offer:
“Thank you both for your concern, but I’m doing great, really.
The reason I’ve lost weight is because my muscles have become more refined.”
Hearing this, the Fisks exchanged a glance.
Fisk, in particular, narrowed his eyes to examine Gaia more closely.
Then, smoothing his brow, he accepted Gaia’s explanation and smiled:
“It seems so.
In that case, let’s head inside, everyone.
The charity gala is about to begin.”
Gaia nodded slightly, and the group walked deeper into the banquet hall together.
Watching Gaia’s retreating figure, Little Gaia couldn’t help but complain:
“The way this universe is developing is honestly mind-boggling.
To be frank, I still feel like I’m dreaming.”
With that, Little Gaia pattered his small legs to catch up with Gaia.
Well, how should one describe this gala?
There were quite a lot of people, including many celebrities.
Elite figures of New York high society like Emma Grace Frost, Justin Hammer, and Norman Osborn were all present.
Even Tony had sent Pepper.
Unfortunately, the only ones who could actually hold a conversation with Gaia were Norman Osborn and Pepper.
As a result, Gaia found it rather boring.
He spent almost the entire time eating and drinking with Wanda, or otherwise contemplating his plans for tomorrow.
First, working out—that was a must.
Just as Gaia had expected, his physical strength had been vastly heightened and enhanced after being bitten by the spider.
Before the bite, because his body was reaching its absolute physical limit, working out for ten hours a day would at most increase his arm strength by 1.3 kilograms.
But after the bite, having trained for only eight hours today, his arm strength alone had jumped by a whopping 51.23 kilograms.
This rate of improvement was highly impressive.
Based on this value, in just a hundred days, his arm strength alone would increase by over five tons, to say nothing of his other attributes.
Yet, this was also the source of Gaia’s anxiety: his power was still growing too slowly.
If this was his limit of growth, he would ultimately be nothing more than a top-tier street-level hero.
…
At the same time, at the Osborn residence.
“Holy crap!
Bro, you’re insanely strong!”
Harry watched Peter casually curl an 800-kilogram barbell in one hand like it was a light dumbbell, his jaw dropping in utter shock.
Ever since Harry found out last night that Peter had acquired superpowers, he had immediately ordered his butler to customize a bunch of testing equipment.
He wanted to thoroughly test Peter’s abilities.
In the end, Harry never in his wildest dreams expected that while Peter’s wall-crawling ability seemed somewhat underwhelming, his strength would actually be so terrifyingly immense.
Based on what he had shown so far, Peter’s baseline strength easily surpassed Captain America’s.
Holy crap!
My bro is a superhuman?!
Wait, if you think about it that way, wouldn’t I be the hero’s logistics support?
Harry recalled how heroes in comic books always had a wealthy best friend.
Translating that to reality, wasn’t that exactly him and Peter?
Immediately, his eyes lit up as he looked at Peter.
“Hey, man, do you want to be a hero?
You know, like Ghost Rider and Moon Knight.”
Hearing Harry’s words, Peter wore a highly satisfied expression.
[Side Theater: Harry really is my best friend.
We think exactly alike.]
[To be honest, I really do want to try being a hero.]
[Fighting crime, punishing evil, and promoting good!]
[Oh yeah, just thinking about it gets me hyped.]
(Little Peter, wearing his suit, transforms into a hero appearing in New York.
Before long, he becomes a hero on par with Ghost Rider and Moon Knight, adored and praised by the citizens of New York.)
Of course, it would be even better if they could form a team.
Peter had already thought of a name: Team Spider.
Thinking of Gaia and Gwen, who had also been bitten by spiders, Peter decided to find some time to ask them tomorrow.