I'm working on Marvel's Spider-Man in American comics.

Chapter 41 The Punisher

It was a normal day after school, a normal day of leaving school. Since the detective club didn't have any extra activities today, Harry and Amadeus were both ready to go home, and Peter left even more quickly.

"Hello, boys."

Just as they were about to leave together, Gwen called them back. The two looked at Gwen with some confusion, their expressions as bewildered as if they had been suddenly called on by a teacher.

"Gwen, is that you? Hello?"

Harry greeted her hesitantly, and, wondering why she was there, quickly asked, "Is there something you need?"

Gwen crossed her arms and glanced around behind them, seemingly checking for a missing figure: "Peter didn't come with you?"

“He basically never walks with us; he always seems to be very busy.”

Amadeus shrugged, the backpack strap leaving a mark on his thin shoulder. Are we friends? Probably, but do we really know each other well? We've only known each other for less than two weeks. So it's not surprising that Peter Parker walks home alone every night.

Gwen's eyebrows twitched slightly, more as if she were asking for confirmation than questioning.

"So...you don't know what he does after school either."

Harry, who was supposed to answer "Should we know?", suddenly grasped the key point: "Wait, you mean Peter went somewhere after school?"

"No, he just gets home late."

After Gwen finished speaking, she heard Mary Jane and the others calling her to go to band practice, so she said a brief goodbye and left. Amadeus adjusted the strap of his backpack and straightened his glasses.

"What do you think Peter did after school?"

“I don’t know,” Harry said nonchalantly. “Maybe Peter is the most honest one among us.”

Peter was currently hovering over Manhattan. It was really strange, New York had become much more peaceful lately, and the occasional criminal activity no longer required Spider-Man to handle.

"Jarvis, have the Avengers' satellites located my imposter and the Punisher?"

These days, the chameleon's movements have extended beyond Hell's Kitchen, most likely to avoid being discovered by the Punishers if it stays in the same place. However, Peter also knows that with Mysterio's help, the chameleon that appeared might not be a real chameleon, but perhaps just a piece of footage.

In this situation, if the punisher were to actually take action, it might actually alert the enemy.

The latest satellite scan results quickly appeared in the eyepiece. The Punisher wasn't found, but the location of the fake Spider-Man was immediately clear. Peter swung over and landed on a rooftop after a short distance, beginning to survey his surroundings. He was certain there was a spot nearby, somewhere the satellites and surveillance couldn't reach, where the Punisher was hiding. Furthermore, since he needed to spot and kill the Chameleon, he had to carefully control the distance.

"Got you!"

Frank Castle was hiding on the rooftop of a sheltered building, observing Spider-Man taking down his opponent in the distance through binoculars. This wasn't difficult; after all, he knew exactly where and when thugs might cause trouble in this area.

He suddenly sensed something was wrong, and as he lowered his binoculars, he drew his gun. But almost instantly, the pistol was snatched from his hand. Then, a target he was supposed to be watching was hanging upside down, waving his hands repeatedly: "Hey, hey, calm down, buddy, calm down."

Realizing what was going on, the Punisher immediately picked up the sniper rifle that was lying to the side, but Spider-Man snatched it away again. The annoying guy not only took his gun, but also stuck his hands together as he landed: "I know what you're going to do, but first, we need to talk."

“What’s there to talk about? Since you’re here, the one standing in that lousy place must be that chameleon bastard. Once he’s dead, everything will be over.” “That’s the problem.” Spider-Man said, looking out the window. According to the thermal imaging, neither Spider-Man nor the thug who got beaten up existed: “There’s no one there. It’s just a projection.”

The Punisher frowned.

"Do you have thermal imaging equipment? If so, one look will tell. I don't know who got their hands on Horizon Labs' advanced projection equipment and modified it. This person collaborated with Chameleon to project incredibly realistic images in various places, when in reality there's nothing there."

As Spider-Man spoke, he ripped the silk from the Punisher's hands, who then picked up another pair of binoculars and looked at the chameleon, before cursing, "Son of the Beach."

"So I spent the whole day watching it, went to seven or eight places, and they were all fake?"

“There’s definitely one real place. Their target is me. They created all these imposters just to lure me in.” Spider-Man handed the gun back to the Punisher, stating a conclusion the Punisher had also deduced. The Punisher, after a moment’s thought, understood Spider-Man’s idea.

"You mean you'll act as bait to scout out the situation, while I take care of that damn chameleon from behind?"

"I... First, I need to know why you've been chasing the chameleon so many times. Is he really that heinous?"

Upon hearing this, the Punisher, for some unknown reason, couldn't help but laugh as he tore the spiderweb off his pistol.

"Heinous crimes? If you're talking about things that are beyond human comprehension, like torture or murder, no. But he's just a son of a bitch who would do anything for money. He's willing to do anything for money, and more than 20 people have died at his hands."

"And...the law can't bring him to justice?"

“I know a lawyer, but even he can’t put someone who doesn’t use his own face in jail. How are you going to get him to admit that he did all those things, hero?” The Punisher put away his pistol, fitted his sniper scope, and prepared to leave. “Not to mention how many people in this country, from top to bottom, want this guy to do their dirty work. Guess how long it will be after he goes to jail, the CIA, the FBI will be after him. Nobody wants him dead except me.”

"Oh, uh. I understand."

Spider-Man nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket: "Can I have your contact information? I need to go back and prepare. I'll go see what Chameleon is planning to do around four o'clock tomorrow afternoon, and I'll let you know then."

The Punisher hesitated for a moment, which was rare, before exchanging phone numbers with Spider-Man—of course, Spider-Man wasn't using Peter Parker's phone, but an old-fashioned keypad phone he'd found at a flea market, which he used as a communication device after the Avengers Tower was redesigned and relaunched.

After speaking with the Punisher, Spider-Man climbed out of the window and left the scene. He'd let Chameleon do his work for him for another half day; he needed to prepare a surprise for him and Mysterio.

Speaking of which, is Cal King sick? Or is he just scared of himself?
Of course not. At this very moment, Karl King was curled up in bed, burning hot, his skin covered in bizarre red rashes. The mutated spider hadn't granted him superpowers; instead, it had brought him hellish torment.

Am I going to die? Am I going to die?
Amidst this anguish, Mrs. Jin carefully opened the door, bringing food with her. She stood in the doorway, tears welling in her eyes, but dared not approach her son: "Are you alright, Carl?"

"Give me medicine! Quickly, give me painkillers!"

“You’ve already eaten too much, Karl. If you keep going like this, the drugs will become…”

"You bitch!" Karl, enduring the pain, grabbed the alarm clock from the bedside table and smashed it against his mother. "You want me dead! Just like you want my dad to go to jail! Isn't that right!"

"Karl..."

"Give me the medicine!"

(End of this chapter)