Midtown High School in New York was still peaceful at this time—no strange superheroes or supervillains disturbing everyday life.
The future Spider-Man, Peter Parker, was still just an ordinary high school student who had yet to encounter the fateful spider that would change his life.
Jessica Jones (Jessica Campbell) had just experienced the car accident that changed her destiny and granted her extraordinary abilities.
On the way to a Disney trip, Jessica argued with her younger brother, distracting their father and causing him to crash into a military truck carrying radioactive chemical materials.
The car accident itself wasn't serious, but the radiation leaked from the chemicals claimed the lives of Jessica's family. Only Jessica survived, gaining superpowers (flight and enhanced strength), while the rest of her family died.
After waking up as an orphan, she was adopted by the Jones family and renamed Jessica Jones, subsequently dropping out of school.
In the future, she would encounter the Purple Man, who would leave her with an unbearable psychological trauma, turning her into a broken, alcoholic private investigator—until she eventually met the rest of the Defenders.
But for now, the students on campus continued living their carefree high school lives.
During free time after classes, they would occasionally mention that a former classmate had dropped out after a car accident.
The high school students each had their own paths: geniuses like Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy studied hard and prepared to intern with major corporations, aiming to enter their dream universities.
The school sports teams—football and basketball—trained relentlessly, hoping to shine in national competitions and secure athletic scholarships to good universities.
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"Basel?" Peter Parker had just finished packing his books and was getting ready to go home when he noticed a quiet Native American classmate lingering hesitantly at the classroom door.
Hearing someone call him, Basel trembled all over. Seeing that it was Peter Parker, he exhaled in relief, though fear still twisted his expression."Thompson and his guys said they're going to teach me a lesson after school…"
Although they weren't close, they were both often bullied by the jock clique, and there was a natural sense of shared misery between them.
"They're doing that again!" Peter, thinking about his own experiences, felt angry and indignant.
But Peter was still just an ordinary student—not yet Spider-Man—and powerless against sports bullies.
"Why don't we go find a teacher?" Peter suggested after thinking for a moment.
Basel forced a bitter smile and shook his head."School's already over. The teachers might all be gone."
"And they're waiting for me outside school. Even if we report it, the teachers don't really have a reason to intervene."
"Besides, teachers already don't like me. They won't bother with this." Basel's voice was full of resignation.
Although they were both bullied, there was a big difference between them.
Peter was white and a top student, always at the top of his class since starting high school. Naturally, teachers paid him extra attention and care.
The jocks saw Peter as a nerd, but at most they'd pull occasional pranks—because if anything serious happened, the school would absolutely take Peter's side.
Basel, on the other hand, had average grades, no athletic abilities, and was Native American. Teachers looked down on him just like the bullies did.
In the past when he sought help, the school would only lightly reprimand the bullies, without actual punishment. Afterward, Basel would suffer even worse revenge.
"What are you going to do then?" Peter asked nervously.
"I'll hide in the equipment storage room. They won't wait forever. Once they get tired and leave, I'll go home." Basel forced a smile.
"You're sure you'll be okay?" Peter still looked uneasy.
"Relax, I brought my game console. I'll play while I wait. They won't outlast my patience!" Basel lifted his handheld console.
"…Alright. Be careful." Peter sighed helplessly. He truly had no power to help.
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Night fell. Basel hugged his console—its battery nearly empty—and curled up in the dark equipment warehouse, hungry, thirsty, and shivering.
The group waiting at the school gate eventually realized he wasn't coming and searched the campus. Somehow, they discovered where Basel was hiding.
To punish him for making them wait, they locked the door from the outside and left, intending for him to stay trapped the whole night.
Basel had tried shouting for help earlier, but after school the campus was empty, the storage room remote. His voice had gone hoarse, and no one heard him.
As the sun completely disappeared and still no one came, Basel fell into despair.
"How did this happen…?" He looked at his console as its screen faded to black, overwhelmed with sorrow. His parents would panic when he didn't return, and who knew when someone would open the door tomorrow.
The more he thought, the more unbearable the pressure grew. Suddenly, a stabbing pain surged through him. The darkness of the warehouse burst into orange light.
But Basel no longer had spare attention to notice the glow. His body was breaking apart with agony, his mind completely blank.
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Holy City Hospital
Li Hua received an emergency alert and rushed from the nearby medical dormitory to the underground base.
"Elena, where are you right now?" Li Hua asked through the communicator.
Elena sighed helplessly."I'm stuck in traffic. It'll take at least half an hour to reach the hospital."
"No time to wait." Li Hua inserted the game Gashat and transformed into Kamen Rider Brave."If we delay any longer, the virus might completely consume the infected."
"Activate the teleportation system. I'm going to perform the virus removal surgery."
Elena sat in her sports car, watching the call end, and sighed deeply.
"Don't worry. Your team has gained enough experience with the Rider system. Li Hua should be able to handle this monster." Dan said from the monitor.
"Boss, please arrange a dorm room next to the hospital for me." Elena said calmly.
"You know," Dan explained, "if you carry a Driver with the game cartridge, you can teleport to any Collapse outbreak instantly."
"Can I… take it home?" Elena blinked, feeling like she was being asked to take surgical instruments back from the hospital.
Dan nodded."Of course."
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After transforming, Kamen Rider Brave arrived at Midtown High School and saw a massive revolver-shaped Collapse Beast cornering a terrified boy and girl.
Without hesitation, he slashed at the Bugster Virus, drawing its attention.
"Are you hurt? Get away from this monster!" Li Hua shouted as he blocked the creature's bullet-like projectiles.
Peter and Gwen, still shaking, took one look at the monster and the armored hero and fled the battlefield.
Peter had gone home worried about Basel, but since they weren't close and he didn't know Basel's home number, he planned to confront Thompson's group instead.
Knowing they wouldn't respect him, he asked Gwen Stacy to join him—since they often studied together.
After all, Gwen's father, George Stacy, was the NYPD Police Chief, and Gwen herself was student council president. Even the jocks rarely acted out in front of her.
So after hearing Basel was locked in the storage room, they came to rescue him—only to encounter the monster and be chased by the monster before Li Hua arrived.
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The Purple Man can emit pheromonal chemicals from his body. When absorbed through skin contact, he can verbally control his targets—similar to hypnosis.
He can control several people at a time, but needs to remain close. Once he leaves, the effect fades, and strong-willed or physiologically resistant individuals can fight the control.
Pheromones are external hormones used to communicate between organisms, released outside the body to influence others within a limited range.
(End of Chapter)