Finding Kingpin's hideout in Hell's Kitchen was as easy as eating and drinking for Riley. After all, for a very long time, the kingpin of this crime empire had been Spider Man's main enemy, or at least, Riley remembered him as Spider Man's main enemy.
Riley recalled his later journey to that magical central universe. What was Kingpin up to again? Oh yes, he seemed to have created some sort of Eternal Life Factor industry and was promoting it in the cosmos. Riley remembered catching a glimpse of him in the Holy Sanctuary, still strong and formidable, with a slight smirk on his face.
Spider Man was all too familiar with this expression. It often appeared after Kingpin had reached some shady deals with mob bosses from various cities. Only this time, in that universe, it might have been changed to striking a big deal with an interstellar civilization or space pirates.
Riley still remembered the instinctive muscle tension he felt when he bumped into Kingpin in the Holy Sanctuary. This feeling continued until Kingpin, smiling, tried to hire him as a salesperson for the Multiverse. At that point, Riley got away as fast as he could. Spider Man had never wanted to see Kingpin less, hadn't one Nick been enough?
Seeing Kingpin again, however, Riley felt a sense of desolation because the once incredibly strong man, who almost possessed the strongest physical strength in the world without any special power transformation, had turned into a fat, ugly, and bloated monster.
He was still wearing a suit and had Kingpin's appearance, but he had spiked ears, long fangs, a tumor hanging around his waist, and a tentacle sticking out of his back. His muscular body, which had been honed to perfection, was utterly ruined by these foreign ornaments.
Standing in the hall of the KimBing Palace, Riley was surprised at the leaps and bounds his thinking had taken. But the fact was, Spider Man always thought Kingpin's overly muscular body made him a challenging opponent. But looking at it now, when the beauty of the human body gets destroyed by these monstrous elements, it's enough to make one sigh in regret.
Kingpin, standing in the middle of the hall, let out a roar. Jessica was flying at his side, trying her best to avoid eye contact and loudly warned: "Be careful, he's lost his mind!"
Xu Shang-Chi stood in the middle of the hall, with one hand upright in front of him, quickly forming a spell, his eyes lively and a breeze blowing beneath his feet.
"Divination!"
Along with one complex symbol lighting up under his feet after another, the Bagua Diagram gradually formed, with the symbols spinning faster and the glow getting brighter.
Riley understood what Xu Shang-Chi was trying to do. Hence, he signaled to Jessica.
Jessica dive-bombed, her shotgun firing with a bang on Kingpin's side, but the bullets couldn't pierce his tentacles. Riley shouted, "Use your fists!"
After speaking, he fastened a spider silk to the railing of the second-floor patio and swung over, one foot kicking at Kingpin's shoulder. Kingpin roared, swung his fist back rapidly, but a shot fired at his foot by Jessica made him stumble, and he couldn't catch Spider Man.
After Spider Man landed, he stuck to the pillars in the hall and climbed upward spirally rapidly like a real spider, then jumped from the railing on the second floor, again turning and hopping, landing on the chandelier at the highest point like a falling leaf.
Jessica saw what was happening out of the corner of her eye and guessed his purpose, so she flew around Kingpin at a high speed to distract him, but didn't let him hit her. Her shotgun fired occasionally. Although it couldn't cause substantial damage, the energized bullet could impact the target's balance.
Kingpin's robust and powerful legs slightly bent, and he jumped up trying to catch Jessica who had made a blunder in the air. But, under her black hair, Jessica's face revealed a smirk.
She turned around, her black hair flowing like butterfly wings. After a smooth mid-air maneuver to dodge Kingpin's attack, she fluttered towards the center of the hall like a panicked moth.
Kingpin wouldn't allow her such an excellent opportunity to attack. He used his tentacle to jump quickly between the pillars in the hall, chasing the agile figure, completely oblivious of the chandelier above his head starting to sway.
"Bang! Crash"
The chandelier fell heavily with Spider Man, Kingpin screamed and fell onto the floor, but he wasn't severely injured. He was just dazed due to the shock and stupefied for a moment, but that was enough.
"Rest, hurt, life, block, scene, death, shock, start, eight doors, lock!"
The bright Bagua Diagram fell heavily from above, and several chains securely bound the huge body in the crisp reverberating sound.
Xu Shang-Chi made a circle with both his hands in front of him and then slightly rotated it. Afterwards, both his palms faced downward, his fingertips facing each other, and his breath and hair fell together.
"That was so cool, bro!" Riley swung over quickly and shouted loudly.
Jessica also landed on the ground, curiously looking at the silver magic chain. At least in her view, this should be some kind of magic. She looked at Xu Shang-Chi walking towards her, shook her head slightly and said, "I thought you weren't a Mage type since you look so strong."
"I wasn't before, but I'm working towards it." Xu Shang-Chi shrugged: "Well, actually it's because I can't fight. I don't know any combat skills. What's the use of being strong physically?"
At this point, the three of them were looking at Kingpin. Riley pursed his lips and frowned, saying, "Don't you guys think he is kind of weak?"
"Weak?" Jessica raised her voice: "Didn't you see when I shot him, not even a spark came out? He's incredibly powerful!"
"I meant, he's become a bit stupid." Riley seemed unsure how to express it. He walked around Kingpin, then said: "The old Kingpin was very cunning and wouldn't face me directly. Instead, he would first get a bunch of assassins to drain my energy, then set up a pile of traps in his bedroom or office, making me run around."
"Finally, he would pick an open field that completely favored him, with no fulcrum to leverage, forcing me into a head-on fight. Although I am strong, I am light and not in his weight class, so it's easy to get thrown off."
Riley was rambling about his failings against Kingpin, saying: "He's not some minor villain like Bullseye, he's formidable and cunning. I suspect I haven't even dealt with his true self; those were just decoys. But this one now…"
Xu Shang-Chi also furrowed his brows, analyzing rationally with one extended finger, "If, as Jessica said, all the superheroes in this world have been infected by a crazy virus, then perhaps what they got is not a reinforcement, but a weakening."
"This crazy virus makes them more aggressive, growing tentacles and fangs, bursting with madness to destroy the world, but it also means they may have lost the most important advantage as a human, which is wisdom, or the ability to stay cool and composed. This is crucial."
Jessica furrowed her brows, seeming somewhat confused. She shook her head and said, "All I know is that if it was the previous Kingpin, a shot like the one I fired would have definitely killed him. It would have blasted his waist into pieces. But now, that's not possible at all. Isn't this a strengthen?"
"The previous Kingpin wouldn't have given you the opportunity to shoot him." Riley had a solid argument. "If a gun could solve the problem, Kingpin wouldn't have survived this long. There are too many people who want him dead."
"The ability to assess one's situation, as well as a strategic mind to devise effective responses, and the capability to execute strategies and tactics steadily. That's what matters most." Riley repeated Matt's teaching mimicking his tone.
"Humans have five fingers, they can make tools, set traps without clenching a fist. Humans have mouths, not just for insulting others but also for causing interference, persuasion, and even communication. But monsters seem to have forgotten all these. They've traded these most important talents for less important defenses. Big loss."
Jessica seemed to understand a bit. She nodded and looked at Riley, whose words she was surprised by. Riley shrugged and said, "Don't look at me, an elder taught me."
"Who? Your father?"
"No, Daredevil Matt. I don't know how famous he is in your world, but you can consider him a father to us both. Although I'd prefer to see him as a mother."
"Daredevil." Jessica stressed the name. She had heard of it. After all, she had lived in Hell's Kitchen for some time. If she remembered correctly, the Purple Man had been taught a lesson by this guy.
Just as Jessica was about to say something, a shadow appeared outside of Kingpin's palace. The three of them simultaneously turned their heads to gaze upon a hulking figure in a tight suit — a figure Riley recognized well.
"Matt!" Riley exclaimed.
However, his spider-sense had triggered, causing him to not only refrain from approaching but also to take two steps back. The burst of anger surged to Riley's heart once he saw the detailed image of the person who arrived.
This Daredevil Matt also had long fangs, tentacles protruding from his chin, and boils and tumors all over his neck. His skin appeared to be collapsing.
"Riley, Riley, calm down!" Xu Shang-Chi quickly grabbed Riley, seeing his clenched fists. He hastily extended his other hand to tap the Clear Heart Mantra on Riley's back.
Riley shook his head vigorously, took a deep breath, with his arm still shaking, he gritted his teeth and said, "How dare they..."
"Watch out!" Jessica screamed.
Matt, who quickly rushed in, was entangled with Riley again. Xu Shang-Chi, who temporarily lacked close combat experience, had to evade the sharp end and provided support from the outer edge of the battlefield with spells.
Looking at the distant New York from the remote skyline, another battle was erupting on the commercial streets of Manhattan. Quill and Rocket Raccoon stood back to back, facing the assault of several monsters.
Quill held a shotgun in his hand, and Rocket Raccoon had a hand cannon. Quill first blasted a zombie's head with tentacles with a shot and then used the gun butt to knock down a centipede-like insect approaching Rocket Raccoon. Once Rocket Raccoon's cannon was charged, with a "swish" sound, a rocket bomb exploded, shaking the monsters to the ground.
"Wait! What's that?"
Quill stared at the smoke beyond where the explosion had happened. A figure came out from there, tall, muscular, and holding a Stars and Stripes shield — this might be just the only superhero Quill could recognize.
In the era when Quill still lived on Earth, he was a household name, yet Quill uttered his name in a serious and low tone: "...Captain America!"
"How dare they!"
"Bang!" The tea on the table was knocked over. Stark, by the zen window, couldn't maintain his calm posture anymore. He stared furiously at the text on the laptop, gritting his teeth saying, "They turned Captain America into a monster! How dare they!"
Strange was sitting on the single sofa, one leg crossed over the other, still maintaining his dignity and even having a trace of superiority and mocking.
But when the pages of the notebook turned over, and the densely packed text was understood by his brain, he could no longer sit still.
"The monster Captain America was tricked by the notebook owner?! With just a burning truck???"
Strange's tone was even more high-pitched, almost like a curse.
"He abandoned his human appearance, human wisdom, even human dignity, just for this little bit of power?!"
"Damn idiot!"