I'm working on Marvel's Spider-Man in American comics.

Chapter 140 The Defenders

The last day of September 2012 happened to be a Sunday, but the media had no time to rest. On this day, J. Jonah Jameson once again displayed his roar on the big screen.

"Just yesterday, we confirmed that Mr. Luke Cage, the vigilante codenamed Wonder Man, who was illegally detained by the New York Police Department, has regained his freedom. The reason is that Spider-Man destroyed the illegal super-soldier laboratory located at the bottom of the Hudson River, and more than a dozen citizens who were forced to undergo super-soldier experiments were rescued."

"Spider-Man has proven himself capable of fulfilling the duties of an Avenger, at least for now. Seemingly for stealth purposes, he dons a brand-new black suit—which makes him look more like a villain than a superhero."

At this point, Jonah Jameson paused briefly on the big screen before changing the subject.

"But that's not the problem! The problem is, why is a department that illegally conducts all sorts of human experiments able to hire a private security company in the name of the federal government? And why is this company able to use armored vehicles and helicopters in the city of New York? Can we really still trust our government? Or could this be a deliberate act of retaliation by the opposing party? Don't forget—this is an election year."

The politically neutral Daily Bugle was the first media outlet to receive news of Spider-Man and travel to the Hudson River to photograph the laboratory ruins. Thanks to Matt Murdoch's previous strategy, major media outlets in New York had already been keeping an eye on Luke Cage, and the battle between the New York street hero and Viper Security Company became part of the material.

The discovery of the final underwater super-soldier research facility, which Luke Cage claimed was evidence of the US government's illegal human experimentation using homeless people and prisoners, sparked a frenzy—but for the time being, no one knows that Hydra is behind it all.

The issue of illegal human experimentation has sparked heated debates and even heated arguments, especially since this is an election year. Given this incident, many believe that President Ellis of the Democratic Party is likely to be forced to step down and will not be able to win re-election.

But none of this had anything to do with the street heroes who had defeated their enemies. Luke Cage, now free, joined everyone at the underground bar that Daredevil frequented to celebrate.

“We saved New York—that might be an exaggeration, but at least we saved a dozen lives. Perhaps such terrible things could happen elsewhere, but not today, and not here.”

Matt, dressed in his uniform, raised his glass and took a sip. Black Cat sat to the side, swirling his glass of red wine, while Peter asked, "Are you an adult?"

“No, I’ll only turn eighteen tomorrow.” Felicia knew what Peter wanted to ask, and swirled her wine glass: “This contains pomegranate juice.”

"Really?" Peter naturally expressed his skepticism. Felicia didn't explain, but handed Peter a glass of red wine: "Would you like to try some?"

Peter was at a loss for words when the kind-hearted Venom came to his rescue.

This is red wine.

"This is red wine."

"Hmm... That's strange. Before you said it, this was definitely pomegranate juice."

Felicia smiled, her eyes narrowing as she sipped her red wine. "And you? Orange juice or milk?"

Peter hadn't actually ordered anything. So he quickly changed the subject: "So, what are your plans next? Maybe you could be like them, a street hero or something? Or maybe you could just go back to normal life? Anyway, your father's situation isn't going to be resolved anytime soon..."

Felicia simply raised an index finger and placed it on Peter's lips, signaling him to be quiet—even though the mask was in the way.

“Let me guess, are you worried that I’ll get tired of ordinary life and go looking for some excitement? Or follow in the footsteps of the Spirit Cat and become a thief?” Felicia smiled and withdrew her finger: “How could that be?”

Peter breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's not a super soldier."

Peter: ...

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for the young boy. But if one day you or your friends need to steal anything, you can come to me. Consider this a favor I owe you."

Peter suddenly changed his mind: "So if you owe me a lot of favors, I can ask you for help a lot more times?"

Felicia raised an eyebrow.

"Believe me, you won't have that chance."

The Punisher didn't come to the banquet; he had once again gone to some dark corner to prepare for the next cleaning operation that the others disapproved of. The others chatted about recent events, while Peter, watching them, suddenly thought of something, stood up, and walked over to them.

"Hey guys, I just had a sudden thought of something."

Looking at these four street heroes, he decided to push things back to how they were supposed to happen.

"Even if we destroy an illegal human experimentation site now, it's a fact that after Kingpin goes in, the major gangs in New York will fight each other endlessly, and the scale of gang warfare will expand. Even I can't take care of all of New York at the same time, and the Avengers will have to mobilize the whole world."

“But here I see you. New York has its own heroes. Perhaps... one of you alone is not strong enough, but if you can form a team, perhaps one trip by you can stop a street war.”

“That’s what I wanted to say too.” Matt nodded, looking at the other three: “We have a detective, a lawyer, a millionaire, and a former gang member. We know this city very well, and if we come together, we can help more people.”

“Fisk believes that if he goes to jail, new gangs will rise in New York, bringing new chaos. He’s proving to us that so-called masked vigilantes can’t make New York better, they can only make it worse. So we have to tell him he’s terribly wrong, and we’ll bring a completely new New York. We’ll prove him wrong.”

Iron Fist clapped his hands first, then asked a crucial question: "So what should we call it? 'The Avengers' Unwanted Trash League'?"

Everyone present laughed, and Luke Cage then suggested, "How about calling it 'Hire Heroes'? Lawyers, detectives, and I can work part-time as a security guard. We're all hired hands."

"Defenders, we defend this city from the enemy."

In the end, Daredevil came up with the best-sounding name: "We'll call ourselves the Defenders."

(End of this chapter)