Chapter 042: Hammerhead

My parallel world self, your taste really isn't great.

Jessica Jones silently cursed some version of herself, flicked her wrist to shoot a web line, and swung upward, too lazy to stay with the chatterbox any longer.

Wait for me.

Peter Parker, having finally encountered a kindred spirit, wasn't about to let him slip away easily, so he quickly gave chase.

Left behind were only the shaken store owner and a group of criminals on the verge of tears.

And, of course, the police who arrived late.

Jessica Jones swung and leaped across one building after another, but she couldn't shake off Spider-Man behind her, so she stopped and landed on the roof of a building.

Peter Parker followed closely and landed in front of her.

What exactly do you want? Jessica asked bluntly, having little goodwill toward Peter Parker.

Peter Parker quickly said, 'I mean no harm. I always thought I was the only one. Now that I've met you, I'm so happy. Can you imagine? I always thought I was alone, but now seeing so many of my kind, I'm overjoyed. I feel like jumping for joy.'

So what? Jessica asked.

Peter Parker said, 'I... I want to join you.'

Join us?

I mean, we could form a team, a Spider-Team. Don't you think that's cool? Peter Parker wasn't stupid; he knew that by joining them, he could learn their origins and goals.

Many doubts could be resolved that way.

Jessica looked Peter Parker up and down, leaving him confused. 'What's wrong? Is there something off about me?'

Jessica Jones said, 'No, but our leader said you once rejected his invitation. Why do you suddenly want to join us now?'

Peter Parker shook his head frantically. 'Reject? No, I didn't. No one ever invited me. I never even had the chance to reject.'

Jessica said, 'Our target is the White Witch.'

Peter Parker froze, his eyes widening in disbelief. He remembered—someone had indeed invited him. 'It's that person, that person. Your leader is that robot!!!'

The machine is just his disguise, Jessica said.

I don't... I mean, I don't know. No, I know it's his disguise, but... but...

But you rejected his invitation.

He wants to take on the White Witch. My God, Peter Parker said. 'You might not know, but that woman is incredibly powerful. She could kill us with a wave of her hand.'

Yes, we know the White Witch's power, but that's not a reason for us to back down, Jessica Jones said, looking at Peter Parker with some disappointment.

This original Spider-Man wasn't as great as she had imagined.

He was just an ordinary person.

I... I... Peter Parker stammered for a long time without saying a word. Whatever he said now, he had indeed backed down back then.

Jessica sighed and said, 'I'm not blaming you, Spider-Man. I know well how powerful the White Witch is, so we have no right to criticize you. And you've done well enough. Goodbye.'

With that, Jessica Jones turned and left.

Peter Parker raised his hand as if to say something, but finally let it fall helplessly. He didn't know what to say if he called her back. Fight the White Witch together? That woman was too strong; they were no match.

After shaking off Peter Parker, Jessica suddenly received an order.

So she changed direction and half an hour later returned to her secret base.

The underground bar.

So slow, Jessica was teased as soon as she returned to base. 'You're the last one back, Jessica.'

Jessica looked up to see Cindy Moon hanging upside down on the wall and rolled her eyes. 'I ran into Spider-Man on the way.'

The original one? Cindy Moon jumped down from the wall and asked.

Yes.

What's he like?

Just a kid. His voice sounds very young, probably about the same age as Miles, Jessica Jones said.

This made Miles, crouching on the wall, very indignant. 'I'm not a kid anymore. I just stopped a robbery yesterday. I'm a mature Spider-Man.'

A mature Spider-Man would never say that.

Alright, stop arguing. Gwen stepped in to mediate. 'Does anyone know why we were called back?'

Everyone shook their heads slightly.

Just then, Wang Bo pushed open the door and walked in holding a stack of newspapers. 'Everyone's here. Good.'

Gwen asked, 'Why the sudden call? Is something important happening?'

Sort of, Wang Bo said, patting the newspapers in his hand. 'I've been reading the news these past few days. You've all done well, even very well. But so far, everyone's been acting alone. So I plan to gather everyone for a team mission to build some synergy.'

Silver Sable said, 'So we have a big target.'

Yes.

Who is it? Kingpin or the Queen?

Neither Kingpin nor the Queen, Wang Bo denied everyone's guesses. A beam of light shot from his eyes, forming a person's head. 'Your target is this man. Joseph Harrow.'

The name doesn't sound local, Gwen said.

That's right, he's Russian, Jessica Jones said. 'And a very tough guy.'

Everyone turned to look at Jessica Jones.

Jessica stepped forward and pointed at Joseph Harrow's image. 'In New York, and even in America, Kingpin is like a king. But not everyone fears him.'

In New York, there are several gangs that, while not as powerful as Kingpin's organization, are equally troublesome. Even Kingpin is reluctant to start a war with them easily.

The man you're looking at now is one of them.

This guy is a Russian immigrant to America and one of New York's biggest gang leaders. During a gang shootout, he suffered a severe head injury, and doctors replaced his skull with an iron one, giving him an indestructible iron head.

Since then, he's called himself Hammerhead. His iron skull makes his head bulletproof, and he can use it to flip a car.

Since then, this guy has been thriving, and many people don't want to mess with him.