'I guess that's the best a fake ID could do'
Jonathan thought as he exited another convenience store where he failed to get a part time job.
Why was he looking for a part - time job?
First of all, living was not free, even Gwen had to work to support herself.
Now, the heroic Ghost Spider allowed Jonathan to live in her studio apartment so long as he could help out with the bills.
Recalling the deep conversation he had with Gwen though, Jonathan realized that even heroes were not having it easy with money.
Not all heroes were like Tony Stark, some lived more mundane lives outside of being crimefighters.
Gwen… well she was a special case, her past was not entirely similar to that of the Ghost Spider people know from the Spiderverse Comics and Movie adaptation.
Gwen Stacy who had become the Ghost Spider who Jonathan had met got her spider powers through an accident.
She was an intern at Oscorp and her subsequent acquisition of powers did not go unnoticed.
What ended up happening was a wild goose chase where Gwen Stacy was forced to run away just to not become an experimental subject.
Unlike Peter, her story was dark, her father used his connections to hide her but Norman Osborn was more shrewd than any one would have predicted.
After George Stacy was framed for various crimes, he was not simply put on paid vacation, he was actually sent to prison, yes, prison, not jail.
A police chief, found collaborating with criminals, had been sent to prison.
What followed was a report on Gwen stealing research materials, and a revelation of how she had acquired superhuman abilities.
Her mother died trying to protect her, she tried to break her father out of prison but George Stacy was already silently murdered in his cell. No one cared and nobody bothered, he was placed on a life sentence and no one except a dead wife and a fugitive daughter would want to hear news about him.
Gwen was left to find out that her father was buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in the prison facility grounds where true criminals spend their days trampling on the soil.
It was a crazy tale, one that made Jonathan wonder if Gwen was a hero, a villain or an antihero.
Fortunately, Gwen was not blinded by anger, she ended up becoming a hero, one that followed a believe similar to that of Peter Parker, her ideals built upon the lessons her father had taught her.
Gwen Stacy, the Ghost Spider, was smart, she created a secret base, using her knowledge and abilities she had become a hero.
But Gwen couldn't really survive on being a hero, moreover, as a fugitive she had nowhere else to go.
This resulted in her having to rely on her world's fantastic four, which worked out for 2 years until she was forcefully evicted from her universe.
This resulted in Gwen meeting a few other spider people.
She spent a few months traveling with them as well as looking for a world she could call home.
Finally, she found this universe, one that did not have a Gwen Stacy and with that she decided to stay.
Hearing her story, Jonathan forgot to ask about using her dimension traveling gear to return to his own world.
But the conversation ultimately led there and unfortunately, without a set destination or goal, the dimension traveling device could only randomly send Jonathan to various worlds.
On paper it was a good gamble but…
'I can't just take her gear and go off on my own…'
There were plenty of things he could employ, like contacting the other spider people, having them make him a dimension hopping tool…
Well, all of those wouldn't work, after all, dimension hopping was an OP ability, and what kind of hero would give some rando such an ability?
Ultimately, Jonathan could only try to talk to the mysterious power that sent him here which worked out but…
[Become a Superhero (Unachieved)]
[Getting Laid (Unachieved)]
The response he got was a simple prompt about a mission.
'Getting laid and becoming a hero…'
The two tasks set for him were both simple and complicated at the same time.
'The devil's in the details'
Seeing the tasks, people would think that they could just do some simple heroic acts for the former task and then hire a prostitute for the latter.
Even Jonathan had that thought at first but looking closely, the first task necessitated becoming a "Super" hero.
Anyone could become a hero but, to become a superhero, would necessitate the use of "super powers" or achieving a feat equal to or greater than that of people with such capabilities.
Jonathan had a superpower, but how he could utilize it was something he did not really know as he had yet to see what it can actually do.
The second task looked to be easier, but it was formatted in a way that made it read like a title.
'These two tasks do not have descriptions but they probably have some hidden requirements to achieve…'
Jonathan sighed, after all, he could already see the mysterious power placing such a trap.
Sleeping with any woman was easy but if he did that and failed to accomplish the second task then it would only make completing it even harder. Not to mention, Jonathan was not some superpowered individual or MC who was immune to disease.
Jonathan had a plethora of reasons why he lived the way he did and most of it was because he did not like being in the spotlight. What followed were reasons such as wanting a simple life, being lazy and the like.
With all that, Jonathan now walked through the streets of NYC trying to get a job.
Although he still did not have a concrete plan on how to get back, panicking would not help.
Right now his main goal was get a stable footing and then he would start to devise a plan.
Unfortunately, despite having a fake ID created with the help of Gwen, and the research he had done on trends, music and the like the night before, he was still rejected in all the establishments he went to.
In this world, he was nothing more than a high school dropout, 21 years old and looking for any work he could do.
Gwen had the same credentials and she worked as a bartender, a job she got after saving the owner of the bar from a group of thugs, not as Ghost Spider but as regular ol' Gwen Stacy.
Jonathan thought about it but…
'Crime is not really something you would encounter'
And as he predicted, his life, unlike heroes or other MC's was… normal.
Like a normal man, he walked all over the city looking for a job but not once did he see crime. Not once did he get the opportunity to save a damsel in distress or a rich manager.
All Jonathan got was continuous rejection.
What he didn't really understand was that the way he looked and dressed was what prevented people from hiring him.
Jonathan, although he wore cheap clothes Gwen got for him from a thrift shop, his appearance did not reflect hardship at all.
Unfortunately for Jonathan, he had taken good care of his health, a benefit of living a life that was pretty much levels below what he could live.
If he had been a bit more driven, if he had lived chasing after fortune and glory more… he would have traces of overwork, stress and the like on his body. He would have lived a more luxurious life in his original world but it would come with the extreme work that came with it.
But, as he chose to live a relaxed and carefree life his body did not reflect the stress and suffering it would have for others.
He did not have traces of dark circles coming from a lack of sleep as he never spent sleepless nights studying or working hard to achieve a top position or greatness. Instead, living with an acceptance of mediocrity, Jonathan was able to learn a plethora of useless and useful things throughout his life.
Jonathan could brag about knowing how to play a plethora of instruments and being able to sing at a near professional level.
He could brag about his knowledge in a wide variety of fields, he could brag about being able to understand a lot of physics related knowledge but he can't really make anything new, he can't study the deep unknowns of physics.
That was Jonathan's current state, a generalist, one who lived a relaxed life and this gave him the appearance of a pampered youth.
This pampered appearance of him dissuaded many managers, his hands were callused, but not due to hard work but due to his combat martial arts training and years playing guitars and other instruments.
His athletic build which was vaguely apparent was another thing, normal people did not have the time or energy to build such a physique.
In a way, Jonathan's lifestyle reflected his previous world's life, one that was devoid of extreme riches but also devoid of hardships.
If he was applying for a managerial position carrying with him a degree, he would have been accepted, but he carried with him a resume that was nothing more than a mark of being a high school dropout.
The mixed signals only presented Jonathan as a spoiled brat who did not understand the "w" in work, much less the "h" in Hard Work.
Because of this, Jonathan found himself sitting in front of Gwen, the blonde young woman was currently wiping a few glasses listening to Jonathan talk about his failed attempts at getting a job.
Listening to his words, Gwen sighed as she asked him-
"What else could you do aside from highly technical things?"
Gwen asked, after talking with Jonathan, she had a bit of an understanding about his abilities. As such she asked him if he could do something that did not need proof of having specialized knowledge-
"I could sing, play a variety of instruments…"
Hearing his response, Gwen paused, she thought for a moment before saying-
"Wait here"
She returned the glass to the shelf and walked to the back.
A few minutes later, she came back accompanied by a beautiful woman who looked to be in her mid twenties, her long brown hair was tied in a ponytail as her bright blue eyes shone with a scrutinizing glare behind her rectangle glasses.
She wore a black mini-pencil skirt, black stockings and a simple white blouse. She exuded the aura of a stern career woman.
"Jonathan, meet the manager, Carlie Cooper, manager, this is Jonathan, an aspiring musician"
Gwen introduced Jonathan to the manager and the first thought Jonathan had was-
'Maybe I should have just asked Gwen to help me get a job?'
This thought came up as Jonathan stood up and extended his hand towards Carlie.