"So, the next guy I had to face was Mysterio? How 'exciting.'"
His brand-new suit fluttered in the New York night wind as Spider-Man streaked past neon-lit skyscrapers. Peter had little interest in this upcoming enemy—especially after recalling Quentin Beck's hypocritical face in Far From Home. Although this universe's "Mysterio" was completely different from the MCU version, and the source of his power was not the same either, Peter still instinctively disliked him.
What was more, Mysterio's upper limit was absurdly high. The movie version was actually relatively weak. It would be fine if he really only had the movie-level strength. But in some versions, Mysterio's illusions could even interfere with Spider-Sense, manipulate senses beyond vision, and leave people utterly lost in a false reality.
"Hopefully this universe's Mysterio isn't that insane..." Peter muttered. He had specifically upgraded his suit's infrared vision function for Mysterio, hoping it would prove useful when the time came.
But that was not the only problem.
Behind those stolen high-tech devices, there was clearly an even more dangerous figure—some genius capable of integrating cutting-edge technologies like photonic projectors and neural connectors. Doctor Octopus? Norman Osborn?
Peter rubbed his temples. He still knew far too little about this world.
In fact, Peter Parker was not the only one with similar thoughts. MacDonald Gargan, a notorious New York detective who specialized in gathering dirt on various gang bosses and blackmailing people, was currently looking up at the new Spider-Man swinging overhead. He could not help but sigh at how little he still knew about Spider-Man. After confirming that Spider-Man had indeed changed into a completely new suit, he hurriedly called Kingpin.
"Mr. Gargan, what is it? Don't tell me you've already found Spider-Man's true identity?"
"Not yet, Mr. Visk."
Gargan looked around, turned into an alley, and began speaking in a low voice. "But has your plan to ruin Spider-Man's reputation begun? If not, delay it immediately!"
"I'm afraid Chameleon has already begun his operation. Did something happen?"
"No, nothing." Gargan did not dare raise his voice to Kingpin, so he could only suppress his emotions as best he could and pretend everything was fine. "It's just that Spider-Man changed suits. If you plan to continue, you'll need to consider giving him a new look."
Kingpin hung up, while Gargan still had to continue his aimless task of searching for Spider-Man's real identity. As for that plan, just as Kingpin had said, it was indeed too late to stop it.
Chameleon was already prepared. His custom suit allowed him to transform into anyone he had seen. Its essence was a piece of bionic artificial skin modeled after that created by Mystique, the current leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants, and it was now an absolutely unique item. He had heard that S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed similar mimetic masks, but they were certainly not as convenient as his suit.
He was using a miniature earpiece to contact his special effects technician, Quentin Beck.
"Are you sure the equipment has been calibrated? I've spotted a good target."
Quentin Beck had been stuffed into a box truck disguised as a delivery van, his back pressed tightly against the cold metal interior. Two burly men stood beside him like door guardians, while the three monitors before him rendered a real-time three-dimensional projection of Hell's Kitchen.
"Ready at any time, Mr. Dimitri."
Chameleon, walking down the street disguised as an ordinary passerby, tossed out a small round sphere. The light began to shift, and he vanished without anyone noticing.
Not far away, two small-time thugs were robbing a pedestrian. This was Hell's Kitchen; such things were hardly rare. But Quentin was quite curious about Chameleon's choice.
"Mr. Dimitri, why did you choose to start in Hell's Kitchen? If we're trying to ruin Spider-Man's reputation, shouldn't we go somewhere more widely known, like Times Square?"
"It's a very simple principle. If you want to frame someone, you can't immediately make him act completely opposite to his usual behavior. That would make people suspicious." As he spoke, Chameleon transformed into Spider-Man's old suit and picked up a grappling gun. "You have to stay in character, with only slight adjustments."
"It's like mixing drinks, dear Beck. You can't pour milk into whiskey. You need vodka—strong enough, but not so obvious that people can taste the fake in one sip."
If any passersby looked up, they would see Spider-Man swinging on webbing, circling around a building and entering the street. Even the sound of his landing was real. Chameleon rolled forward and, under Quentin's cover, used projected light to blend perfectly with the Spider-Man hologram striking a pose.
"Guys, I have to say, can't you find a way to make money yourselves?"
"Spider-Man" stood up and said this to the two men. The thugs immediately fled upon seeing "Spider-Man," but "Spider-Man" fired a web, snagged one of them, and yanked him back. One punch sent blood spilling from the man's mouth.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you were so fragile. Are you okay, buddy?"
"Uh... I'm fine. Thanks, Spider-Man."
The pedestrian cautiously stepped forward to thank him, then watched "Spider-Man" bend down, take the thug's wallet, pull out all the cash inside, and stuff it into his own pocket.
"What are you...?"
"Nothing. After all, being a superhero doesn't pay anything. Want some? Maybe it can count as compensation for you."
"Spider-Man" gave a slight smile, then leaped away on his webs. As for Chameleon, he did not go far.
Several of Kingpin's men exchanged looks. After all that, this was what he was doing?
"Don't rush. We'll need to do a lot more things like this today. Spider-Man fights crime, but takes money from criminals. Does that count as theft? Maybe, but it's not enough to shake people's image of Spider-Man as a hero."
"People will only discuss his moral flaws. They won't think he isn't a hero."
Dimitri smiled. What came next would be much simpler. The next step was for Spider-Man to occasionally use excessive force while taking action and injure a few people. After that, Spider-Man would "execute" several evil men.
As public controversy around Spider-Man grew, his performance could become increasingly extreme, as though public condemnation had caused Spider-Man to give up on himself. Even if Spider-Man himself showed up, it would not matter. After all, all Spider-Man would see were illusions created by Quentin.
There was no way he could distinguish himself from the illusion.
Quentin, meanwhile, became extraordinarily excited. Through the holographic projection, he could see that Chameleon had not only imitated Spider-Man's motivations and tone, but had even perfectly replicated the original's habits in tiny movements, such as the slightly faster angle of his head turns.
"This, this makes so much sense, Mr. Dimitri. You're simply the best actor I've ever seen... Your performance just now was so perfect, exactly like Spider-Man..."
Although Quentin Beck was merely a minor figure Kingpin looked down on, Dimitri still found the praise immensely satisfying. He could tell that Quentin greatly envied his performance—or rather, his ability to perform.
He was a highly talented special effects technician, but perhaps he wanted even more to become an actor.
With that thought, Chameleon began to wonder whether he could use it to build a good relationship with Quentin and lure him over to his own side later. With such a special effects technician, his business espionage and assassination work would undoubtedly rise to a whole new level.
Forget it. He should help Kingpin deal with Spider-Man first.
At that thought, Chameleon could not help laughing. He still did not know that Spider-Man had already changed into a new suit.
That evening, a post titled "Has Spider-Man Started Robbing People?" began spreading. In the blurry footage, "Spider-Man" was stuffing bills into his belt. Kingpin's online trolls began promoting it on a massive scale.
Only Chameleon quietly observed it all.
Chameleon first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 in March 1963. His real name was Dimitri Sneshkov. One of Spider-Man's enemies, he was a former Soviet Union and Russian spy, as well as Kraven the Hunter's half-brother. He possessed the ability to become anyone, and his true face had never been seen.
For this book's timeline, he had been changed into a Russian defector agent.
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