Hedwig Goes Bald

Clang, clang, clang...

The knocking jolted Gemini awake from his sleep.

He shot upright in bed, his eyes unfocused. The racket kept pouring into his ears, like countless flies buzzing around him, making Gemini unbearably irritated.

Clang, clang, clang...

Before Gemini had much time to adjust, the knocking started again. He rolled out of bed and, in a flash, appeared at the door and opened it.

A slovenly witch stood outside. She was a waitress from The Leaky Cauldron, looking listlessly at Gemini as a tray floated behind her.

"Dinner is ready. Would you like to eat, sir?"

Gemini looked at the tray floating behind her. On it sat a large piece of baked flatbread and something bloody that looked like an internal organ.

"What's that?" Gemini frowned in disgust.

"Raw liver. It sells very well. Want to try some?"

"No, thank you." Gemini pursed his lips. "I'll take care of dinner myself. Please take this thing back."

"Very well, sir." The slovenly witch turned and left.

After closing the door, Gemini finally let out a breath. The knocking had left him jumpy. He had barely turned back toward the room when there was a crack behind him. Gemini turned around blankly to find himself holding an old doorknob.

The poor doorknob had been yanked right off the door...

Worst of all, it seemed to have stuck to his hand. No matter how hard he shook it, it would not come off.

Gemini struggled to pull the doorknob off his hand, feeling utterly miserable. When he finally tore it free, he discovered that it had stuck to his other hand instead.

"What the hell is wrong with this thing... It won't come off! Fuck! Am I going to get pregnant or something?!"

The sudden loss of control over his body made Gemini increasingly agitated. Hedwig, who had just woken up, perched by the window and watched him as if he were an idiot.

With a flick, the doorknob finally flew onto the floor.

Gemini collapsed face-first onto the bed and let out a relieved sigh.

He looked out the window. It was already night. The streetlamps had lit up, and a steady drizzle fell from the sky.

"Looks like... the Spider Serum worked."

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, and a smile curled across Gemini's lips.

Now this was more like it!

If a wizard did not have the physique to wrestle a fire dragon, what kind of wizard was he? He might as well become a warrior instead.

Adsorption Ability

Through mental control of intermolecular atomic forces at molecular boundaries, such as static electricity, the user could adhere their body—especially their hands and feet—to the surfaces of objects.

Spider Physique

When proportionally amplified, a spider granted Spider-Man superhuman strength, speed, agility, endurance, defensive ability, reaction speed, and senses. Maximum strength allowed the user to lift 15 to 20 tons, jump vertically thirty feet, and run fast enough to catch up with speeding cars. The user could remain active at peak condition for hours, hold their breath for over eight minutes, and survive even explosions at close range.

Self-Healing Factor

Serious injuries that ordinary people could not recover from could be completely healed in only a few hours to several days.

Immune system

An accelerated metabolism rendered the user immune to the effects of most drugs and toxins.

Spider-Sense

A danger-prediction ability that warned the user through pain at the back of the head and increased adrenaline secretion. The pain triggered by the sense increased with the severity of the danger.

Those five abilities were the Weapon Shop's detailed summary of the serum's effects.

Gemini made a rough estimate. Even after his physique had been modified by the Spider Serum, at eleven years old, he probably only had around five or six tons of strength at most. The exact figures would still need testing.

Sitting up in bed, Gemini stared thoughtfully at the bedsheet stuck to his body.

It took him quite a while to barely gain control over his unruly Adsorption Ability and the sudden surge in strength.

At least he would not accidentally rip another doorknob off...

After putting on the two Web-Shooters, Gemini fired a strand of webbing at the wall, startling Hedwig so badly that she could not make sense of her little master's behavior at all.

"Sorry, I scared you." Gemini smiled apologetically and reached out to gently rub Hedwig's round little head.

Then...

Swish—

Hedwig stared wide-eyed at the clump of feathers stuck to Gemini's hand. The whole bird was devastated.

"Hey, hey, hey... don't peck me. I'll take you to the pet hospital tomorrow. They should have some potion to make feathers grow back or something... probably..."

Only after pecking Gemini more than a dozen times did Hedwig finally calm down. She hooted, turned around, and faced away from him, sulking by herself.

"I'll bring you something tasty when I get back tonight."

After soothing Hedwig for a while, Gemini changed into a black outfit, put on a mask, flipped out the window, and vanished into the night.

Whoosh—

The black figure appeared atop a building as if teleporting, and delight flashed across Gemini's face.

With Spider-Man's abilities and physique, he could finally use the Six Powers that he had been completely unable to perform before. For now, he could only use Soru and Kami-e, but as his physical condition improved, mastering the rest was only a matter of time.

After all, he was not from the Pirate World and did not possess that kind of freakish physique. Gemini could accept learning a little more slowly.

A brief period of practice had already given Gemini a rough grasp of some basic abilities. At the very least, he could ensure that he would not stick random things to himself anymore.

The small black figure flashed across rooftop after rooftop. Half an hour later, Gemini finally found a group of petty thugs in a secluded alley.

There were around seven of them, both white and black. Some held beer, while others pinched cigarette butts between their fingers. Most looked eighteen or nineteen years old, and two even had tattoos. Every other word out of their mouths began with F or S.

Scenes like this were common in the streets and alleys of Western countries. Thugs like these generally liked to gather in groups in back alleys, where they could dance awkwardly, rap, fight, or rob passing middle school students.

"Good evening, everyone."

Gemini flipped into the alley, startling them all.

"Fuck, who the hell are you?"

A white youth with a tattoo on his neck cursed. He looked warily at Gemini, but after seeing that his opponent was barely over four and a half feet tall, he relaxed and sneered.

"Lost, little brat? This isn't a place you should be. Too bad your mommy isn't here. We don't have any milk for you."

After saying that, he laughed as though he had made a truly hilarious joke.

Bang!

A black blur flashed past, and the white youth was sent flying, slamming sideways into the wall.

The petty thugs beside him were all dumbfounded.

At most, they usually robbed middle school students and got into the occasional fight. When had they ever seen anything this savage?

He crashed to the ground with a thud. The white youth opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Looking at the white youth he had knocked unconscious with one kick, Gemini smiled gently. "Casually insulting others is not good behavior, but it's fine. I forgive you."

"Fuck!"

"Shit!"

"Frank got taken down!"

"Fuck, grab him! He's alone! Don't let him get away!"

Someone shouted, and only then did the others snap out of it and rush at Gemini.

The fight ended quickly.

Very quickly, the group of petty thugs were all sprawled before Gemini, groaning in pain.

Though he had not yet reached Spider-Man's dozen-plus tons of strength, Gemini's small body still possessed four or five tons of force. A casual punch could blow someone's head apart.

"I'd like to ask, is there any gang... or criminal organization nearby? If there is, please tell me."

Gemini crouched in front of a black youth and asked sincerely.