Marvel Cybernetic Girl

I lost.

The man known as "Shocker" lay sprawled on the ground, staring helplessly at the endless blue sky above.

His combat suit was in tatters, his weapons wrecked beyond use. Even that so-called "Ghost" device had been completely and thoroughly destroyed.

He had lost so utterly, so cleanly, that there hadn't even been a sliver of a chance. No dignity left. No excuses to cling to.

Heh... "A match for Iron Man," they said... What a joke.

Sorry, boss. The enemy was simply far too strong. And us…?

We're not superhumans.

We're not noble dreamers or grand villains with terrifying ambitions.

We're just ordinary men, struggling in the swamp called life, trying to snatch a little more for ourselves. That's all.

His real name was Herman Schultz, once a diligent, honest company man.

He had a wife. Three children.

They lived together in a cramped apartment in Queens, barely scraping by on Herman's modest paycheck.

Life wasn't easy.

In an age where industrial productivity had soared thanks to automation, small companies often struggled just to make payroll, let alone offer employee benefits.

Herman knew a fair bit about engineering and had even tried applying to those rising tech giants.

But competition was everywhere. Nothing was as simple as it seemed.

Even giants like Stark Industries or Rhodes Island Industries no longer needed an army of workers—they'd long switched to using advanced AI.

In the end, Herman's career remained chained to that small firm, and so did his tight, frugal life.

But poor as they were, the family was happy.

A boy and a girl; a complete home.

Though Herman had no savings to speak of, he'd never given up on society. He still believed in tomorrow.

Until the day his wife fell gravely ill.

With what little money they had, Herman immediately poured everything into her treatment.

But the cost of modern healthcare was a monstrous thing—what they had didn't even last a day.

Rhodes Island Industries was trying to pioneer a new generation of medicine based on the Extremis Virus, but that research was far from bearing fruit.

If that technology had reached the public in time, maybe his wife could've been saved.

But the best treatments and power still lay in the hands of a select few elite doctors.

For men like Herman Schultz, the dream of world-class medical care was nothing but a cruel fantasy.

His wife was hospitalized. Their savings—gone.

In a single night, Herman's entire world collapsed.

Thankfully—or perhaps not—when things reached their worst, the company's boss, Adrian Toomes, reached out generously to "help."

But of course, the price was clear.

His peaceful life was gone for good.

From that moment, Herman's fate was set on an entirely different course, bound to Toomes and his ambitions.

From that day on, Herman Schultz became "Shocker."

Shocker followed the Vulture, Adrian Toomes, down the path of stealing advanced technology, dealing in alien tech, and smuggling illegal weapons...

And then—Shocker met "Neko Hitomi."

"Nyahahaha~! Hitomi is number one! (>^ω^<)"

A moment later, Shocker was flattened by HItomi with a single blow…

The fight here ended so quickly that over on Spider-Man Peter Parker and White Owl Lila Barton's side, their battle hadn't even properly begun.

Of course, calling what happened to Shocker a "fight" would be generous.

HItomi preferred to call it a "one-sided beatdown."

After all, a small fry like Shocker wasn't even worthy of helping her warm up, let alone serve as rehab practice for someone as battle-hardened as her.

Whatever struggles or sad story you might have… that's all beside the point now.

Pity is no excuse for mistakes. Wrong choices lead to wrong endings.

You chose to become a villain. You knew, sooner or later, you'd face justice.

Your motives may deserve sympathy—but your crimes never will.

HItomi clapped the dust off her hands, hefted her battle axe over her shoulder, and strode off into the distance.

"Alright! Let's keep this quick and clean. I'll knock out these three weapons dealers, drag them in for questioning, and get to the bottom of whatever rotten scheme they're hiding!"

Meanwhile...

While things were going smoothly on HItomi's side, Peter Parker and Lila Barton weren't having such an easy time.

Compared to Kagura—the top-tier "superhero"—Spider-Man and Lila, the daughter of Hawkeye known as "White Owl," clearly couldn't match that level of strength.

In real combat, they couldn't even bring out their full potential.

"Die! Die! DIE!!"

The villain known as "The Tinkerer" let out a crazed roar, firing special dissolving rounds from the two mechanical arms on his back—rounds so corrosive they could melt nearly anything.

He chased Spider-Man relentlessly, unleashing a wild barrage as if his ammo were limitless.

Maybe he had a mini Arc Reactor hidden in that backpack of his.

"You self-righteous hypocrites have no idea what real suffering feels like!"

"Suffering or not," Peter shot back while flipping and weaving between the blasts, "you're still stealing from others and selling high-tech weapons to criminals!"

"Whatever your reasons, hurting innocent people to ease your pain will never make what you're doing right!"

Amidst the storm of firepower, Spider-Man's red-suited form flipped and darted, weaving layer after layer of webs around Tinkerer, carefully shrinking his opponent's space to move—trapping him bit by bit in a sticky prison.

"You think you can trap me? ME?! Don't even dream of it!"

Realizing what Peter was trying to do, the Tinkerer bellowed furiously. "Your pathetic webs are nothing against my dissolving rounds!"

As he spoke, he ramped up his assault, blasting away all of Spider-Man's webs in an instant.

But that's exactly what Peter had been waiting for.

The moment the Tinkerer focused on clearing the webs instead of chasing him, Peter lunged forward with lightning speed—and planted a solid kick right into the villain's face.

All those webs strung between the nearby cargo containers? Just a clever decoy to divert the Tinkerer's attention.

Spider-Man was smart.

He made the web setup look like some elaborate trap so the enemy would get distracted trying to destroy it.

In reality, Peter was just looking for the perfect opening to strike directly.

And once the Tinkerer switched targets—giving up on chasing Peter to blast the webs instead—the chance arrived.

'THUD!'

"Ugh!!"

Spider-Man's powerful kick sent the Tinkerer flying several meters backward, smashing him hard into a nearby container.

Sticky webs, laid in advance, snapped tight—binding him in place and stopping him cold.

"Heh, turns out you weren't so tough after all," Peter grinned, dusting off his hands. "Want to beat Spider-Man? Come back after a few more years of practice!"

"It's... not over yet!!"

To Peter's surprise, the Tinkerer didn't give up.

Some villains, after all, have frighteningly stubborn wills.

From the mechanical arms on his back, hidden alloy blades suddenly popped out—slicing apart the webs that held him.

The arms shifted again, morphing back into cannons, and in the blink of an eye he fired a wild barrage straight at the smug, unprepared Spider-Man.

"Oh, SH*T!!"

Peter's Spider-Sense flared like an electric shock—warning him a moment too late.

The Tinkerer's attack was way too close; not even Spidey's reflexes could dodge in time.

"Look out!!"

At the last second, a petite, silver-haired girl leapt in front of him—shielding him with her small frame...