Spider-Gwen's My Neighbour

With mixed feelings swirling in his chest, Jack Kadere turned to look at Gwen, seated to his left, wanting to catch her expression.

But the moment he turned his head—squish.

Something soft and warm pressed against his face, and his vision was instantly filled with fabric and curves.

Turns out Gwen and Jessica had both stood up and leaned in to look at the news on Gwen's phone, while Jack, still seated between them, turned at just the wrong angle… and walked right into it.

"Oh—! It's okay, Jack." Gwen's voice trembled slightly, her cheeks dusted pink. She brought her hands up to cover her chest reflexively. "I-I know you didn't do it on purpose."

So understanding already? I didn't even get to apologize yet, Jack thought, stunned.

But wait—if Gwen was really Ghost-Spider, then she should have spider-sense, right?

She could've dodged that with ease.

So… she didn't?

Jack swallowed, eyes flicking up. Gwen's awkward, bashful smile, her flushed cheeks, the way she avoided direct eye contact—yeah, she was flustered. Not angry. Not even pretending to be.

For a moment, Jack simply admired her. The charm of a girl in love wasn't something to underestimate.

Then, suddenly, a mechanical voice rang out in his ears.

[Extraordinary Relationship System Loaded.]

Jack blinked. A system?

He didn't react outwardly, keeping his expression composed even as his mind spun with rapid thoughts.

A little late to the party, but sure—getting a system as a transmigrator was practically tradition at this point.

He quickly skimmed through the system prompts and absorbed its contents.

To activate a mission, he needed to achieve the status of an Extraordinary Relationship User.

According to the system's definitions, this referred to individuals with deep, formative bonds with superheroes—like Pepper Potts with Tony Stark, Ned Leeds with Peter Parker, or even Uncle Ben, whose death gave Peter his defining values.

The system considered these relationships vital to a hero's development.

Once Jack formed such bonds, the system would generate quests titled after that hero—"Peter Parker's Relationship Mission," for example. The tasks would be relevant to the hero's life and concerns, and completing them would grant Jack various rewards.

In short, forming tight, meaningful connections with superheroes could make Jack stronger through the system.

Good news: his current relationships with Gwen and Jessica already qualified. He just had to wait for the first quest to trigger.

"Wait—deliberately?" Jessica asked suddenly, raising her brow. "Did something happen, Gwen?"

Apparently, she'd been so focused on the article she hadn't noticed Jack's little accident with Gwen.

Gwen waved it off, lowering her hands calmly. "Jack just bumped into me. Nothing intentional."

Before the awkward moment could grow, she smoothly changed the topic.

"Hey, Jess—what do you think of Ghost-Spider?"

Jessica lit up immediately. "Oh, she's awesome!" She lifted her phone, showing off the photo of the costumed heroine. "Check it out—hooded, sleek, agile. Total style points!"

Then she gave Gwen a sly wink. "Don't you think so?"

Gwen bit back a laugh. "Besides being cool, my dear Jessica, anything else?"

Jessica tilted her head, pretending to think deeply. "Mmm… well, she's got a pretty great figure, too."

She looked Gwen up and down playfully. "Honestly, even better than yours, Gwen."

Jack watched Gwen's face twitch subtly as she tried to maintain composure. Her lip twitched; her fingers flexed. She was obviously struggling to keep from reacting.

The irony of hearing your friend gush about you without knowing it? Priceless.

"Jack, what about you?" Gwen turned toward him with sparkles in her eyes. "What do you think of Ghost-Spider?"

Oh, she wants praise, huh?

She'd just become a superhero and was clearly fishing for compliments from her childhood friend—the boy next door.

Oh wow, you really do want me to compliment you, huh?

Jack Kadere had the same thought, a smirk forming as their unspoken understanding played out like clockwork.

"I think you have the better figure, Gwen," Jack said with a straight face.

"J-Jack! What are you saying? That's… so embarrassing!" Gwen's ears turned red as she fumbled to cover her flushed cheeks.

She hadn't expected that kind of praise—even if she was secretly delighted by it.

Jack shrugged with a perfectly innocent look. "What? You asked me what I thought."

"But still—wasn't there any other answer you could've picked?" Gwen groaned, covering her face.

[Notice: You have triggered the Newcomer Benefit.] [The system will now scan and select two nearby superhero templates to copy and fuse.] [Upon successful fusion, you will acquire corresponding abilities.]

Wait, what?

Jack froze. His internal monologue screeched to a halt. Newcomer benefit?

As if on cue, the system continued its mechanical broadcast.

Of all the superheroes nearby… the two closest were obviously Gwen and Jessica.

[Template selected: "Knightress" Jessica Jones — Extraordinary Template Copying Initiated…]

[Template selected: Ghost-Spider Gwen Stacy — Extraordinary Template Copying Initiated…]

Jack blinked, momentarily stunned into silence.

"Jack?" Gwen tilted her head and looked at him curiously. "You spacing out again? Was my question really that hard?"

Jack snapped back to reality. "Oh—uh, no! I was just thinking… Ghost-Spider's got extraordinary powers, and she uses them to help people. That's… really impressive."

Even heroic.

After all, Gwen's powers were now literally being gifted to him through the system. The least he could do was acknowledge how much that meant.

"Really impressive…?" Gwen blinked, surprised by the sincerity in his voice.

She'd only gone out a few times in costume—mostly to test her powers and stop small-time thugs. It hadn't felt particularly heroic at the time. Sure, part of it was her upbringing—being raised by a police captain father—but hearing Jack say it like that made her heartbeat quicken.

Did he really see her that way?

Meanwhile, Jessica casually stirred her drink, though her fingers tapped in thought.

[Template Copying Complete.] [Initiating fusion of extraordinary templates: Knight Spider.]

[Gained Ability: Jessica Jones-level physical enhancement.] [Gained Ability: Spider-Man-level physical enhancement.] [Gained Ability: Limited Flight.] [Gained Ability: Spider-Sense.] [Gained Ability: Wall-Crawling via Static Adhesion.]

[Unlocked Knight Spider Suit: High durability, self-repair function, stealth mode, information blackout field.]

[Unlocked auxiliary knowledge: Fundamentals of Spider Silk Launcher Engineering.]

[Note: Physical enhancement attributes from each template are combined using a geometric stacking algorithm. However, lesser enhancements have a diminished effect on greater enhancements.]

Jack's mind buzzed with the rush of new data and unfamiliar strength threading through his muscles.

Knight Spider?

The name had a nice ring to it.