A Partner Destined to Be: Ned

In a house in an upscale neighborhood in New York City.

The owner here is named Adrian, a rather wealthy white man. The woman is black, a housewife, and their daughter is in high school and excels academically.

It's a typical happy middle-class family.

Adrian, in particular, has an excellent reputation throughout the neighborhood; he's a good family man, a successful businessman, and always willing to help his neighbors.

Such a good person, no one would imagine that he is Vulture, an arms dealer who has risen to prominence in New York and even the entire East Coast in recent years.

Actually, aside from certain gang members and underground elements...

Few people have ever heard of the name "Vulture".

He is low-key and mysterious, and possesses a large amount of alien technology left over from the Battle of New York.

However, he never shipped out large quantities of goods, nor did he trade with terrorists.

At most, they sell some modified alien weapons to local gangs and drug dealers.

This is why he has never come into the sights of high-level national law enforcement agencies such as the Avengers or the Federal Bureau of Investigation over the years.

Adrian, or rather the Vulture, was quite self-aware.

He won't become unaware of his own limitations just because he has a resource at his disposal.

He couldn't afford to mess with those high and Avengers; he just wanted to make a fortune quietly, earn enough money, and live a good life with his wife and children.

Adrian was originally a good family man, and back then he was a very law-abiding person.

But after the Battle of New York, he spent all his savings and even mortgaged his house.

They assembled a team, purchased trucks, and contracted to clean up alien debris left behind by the New York City.

But the work had barely begun when the Avengers partnered with the United States government to develop a dedicated post-war cleanup department to recycle such items.

This plunged Adrian into despair.

They even lost their own house.

In order to survive, he and his men concealed the number of alien artifacts they possessed.

They then manufactured various weapons and sold them secretly.

These past few years have been smooth sailing; I've made a lot of money and made my men's lives more prosperous.

Vulture originally planned to work for two more years before retiring.

But recently he has been feeling very unlucky.

Firstly, it was because some of his men had acquired powerful weapons.

Later, he started to get arrogant and eager to go out and do something big.

Secondly, his organization has recently been targeted by a neighborhood Hero Spider-Man.

The incident stemmed from the fact that some thugs used the weapons he sold to rob an ATM.

Then they ran into Spider-Man.

That's nothing, they just happened to run into each other. The few thugs had no idea who they were dealing with.

They were very careful.

But yesterday, when his men went out to deliver goods, they somehow ended up getting targeted by that Spider-Man.

One of his henchmen even fought with Spider-Man.

A fragment of a Chitauri energy block was also left at the scene.

This matter could be a big deal or a small deal, and he didn't want to be targeted by the Avengers.

That damn meddlesome Spider-Man, can't he just work peacefully until retirement?

Vulture was at home helping his wife cook, chopping food while thinking about this.

They practically chopped up all sorts of vegetables like Spider-Man.

At that moment, his daughter returned; she was none other than Spider-Man's classmate and the girl he had a crush on, Liz Allen.

"Honey, you're back. Isn't there a dance tonight?"

The Vulture greeted its beloved daughter with a beaming smile as soon as she returned.

"The ball has been postponed, Dad. I remember I already told you. We changed the location at the last minute. This time, our party will be held at the Avengers' base. We still need some time to set it up. Yes, that land in the sky, AC City. Isn't that so cool?"

Liz seemed very excited about the ball, wondering if she would get to see Spider-Man.

Compared to the aloof Avengers, she felt that Spider-Man, who was always working hard to protect Queens, was much more endearing.

"What?"

The Vulture nearly cut its own hand, and the knife fell to the ground.

Hearing that his daughter was involved with the Avengers, he was immediately unsettled.

"Are you alright? You're even more agitated than I am. I don't remember who you're a fan of."

Liz quickly stepped forward and took her father's hand to check if he was injured.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just surprised that your party is held at the Avengers' base. You know, even if that area is open to tourism, it's only a small part. The Avengers' base, that's so cool."

The Vulture realized what was happening and asked, feigning nonchalance.

"Do you remember Peter Parker, one of our Academic Decathlon team members? I told you he was a genius."

"Liz asked."

"Of course, genius, Peter, of course I remember."

The Vulture casually replied that the father was interested in remembering the names of other boys his daughter mentioned.

Liz could tell, of course, that her father hadn't remembered, but she was used to it and continued helplessly.

"He previously said he was interning at Stark Industries and often missed our events, seeming very busy. Everyone said he was bragging, but a couple of days ago, while we were practicing, Iron Man and the Yu Shen actually showed up, looking for Peter. This was such a surprise to me."

"They not only knew Peter, but because of him, they lent us the base to have a party. Although it was only a part of it, it was the Avengers' base, right above us. My party was held in Sky City."

Liz Allen continued excitedly.

The Vulture didn't say anything after Liz, but just muttered the name Peter Parker softly.

On the other hand, Spider-Man has no idea that he's being targeted by the father of the girl he secretly loves, or by the villain's desire for his Hero identity.

He's getting into another little trouble.

He had just returned from patrolling Queens, a routine he performed every day after school – patrolling the Queens before heading home.

But when he entered his room through the window from mid-air...

He discovered that his classmate and best friend Ned was sitting on his bed.

"Oh my God, you're Spider-Man, Peter, you're Spider-Man!!"

Ned stood up, his eyes wide, and spoke to Peter.

"I'm not!!"

Peter denied it immediately.

He's still wearing Spider-Man's Armor.

"You are it. You just retracted your helmet. Don't tell me you can cosplay and create Nano Armor. And I saw you climb in through the ceiling."