I left my hiding place when the woman serving drinks turned away and sat down at a table at the opposite end of the room. A pretty blonde with a slim waist and confident breasts entered when all the tables were already taken. She was accompanied by a chubby friend with a cute face, but her figure and height, which was short even for a fifteen-year-old, were not my type at all. Funny, legally they are of age, so if I tried to add statutory rape to my crimes, it wouldn't work.
I got up and found a waiter to ask for directions to the restroom, and when I returned, I found that my table had been taken by Gwen Stacy and her friend. It made sense, since this table was closest to the staff entrance, through which the superheroine hiding her identity would sneak into the building to change and go out to the podium.
"Oh, is this seat free? I was sitting here, but then I left..." I said to the girls, avoiding their eyes. I fiddled with the hem of my T-shirt to adjust my trousers and smooth out the creases in the print.
"Um, hi. My friend and I didn't know...
"Of course you can! Sit down! What's your name?" my friend interrupted Gwen, who was embarrassed by the male attention.
"I'm Peter, from the Daily Bugle newspaper, covering this charity event. Is it true that Spider-Man will be here?
"Yes, probably..." Gwen stammered, still unsure.
"Are you a Spider-Man fan? Me too!" exclaimed the chubby girl. "My name is Nadine, and this is Gwen. We go to Midtown School of Technology.
"It must be hard to comprehend what happened to New York? My pride fled from there right after..."
"The jump?" Nadine interrupted me.
"Decimation. What do you mean, 'jump'?
"What happened to us. We jumped and moved forward five years! It's not scary at all, to be honest.
"I loved New York," Gwen said out of turn.
"The city will be rebuilt. They say there's already electricity and the internet there.
"My mum says the city is ruled by some gangsters who don't care about the law.
"What do you think, Gwen?
"I don't like this Fisk either! How dare she blame everything on the Avengers? They fought for all of humanity, but the enemy was too strong.
"Spider-Man did a great job fighting Thanos," I said to cheer up Gwen, who was looking sad.
"I prefer to think of her as a friendly neighbour who flies between skyscrapers and helps old ladies cross the road. And sometimes she rescues cats from burning fast food restaurants, imagine, I saw her do it myself," Gwen said, lost in her memories.
"Well, my friend, she showed her strength, agility and creative thinking when she fought Thanos. Without her, Iron Lady would never have made it to Titan! I want to always see her like that, fearless and powerful," Nadine chimed in.
"Yes, I like that image better too." I showed them the picture on my T-shirt.
"It doesn't look like her at all," commented Gwen.
"Wow, how beautiful!" Nadine moved closer to see every detail of the print. "Is that a photograph or a realistic drawing?"
She almost buried her nose in me and shamelessly patted my shoulders, smoothing out the folds. Gwen continued to stare blankly, still not realising what her friend was actually doing.
"It's a drawing. I stumbled across it on the internet, and it had a strange caption: 'What if Mary Jane Watson became Spider-Man?'. I don't know who she is, but I'd go on a date with her.
Gwen choked on the juice she was drinking from an elegant glass.
"With that monster?" she said through her cough.
"Who is she?
"A famous mutant, nicknamed Scorpion! Spider-Man's arch-enemy, actually!" Nadine was surprised by my ignorance.
"Wow! To be honest, I wasn't interested in superheroes until recently, but it's a whole world to explore!" I said with a silly but charming smile on my face.
"I can be your guide!" Nadine was already sitting very close to me and hugging me.
I put my hand on her thigh and said:
"It'll be an interesting journey. Gwen, stop being shy, I can tell you have a lot to say about the battle between Spider-Man and Scorpia." I reached out my hand to her.
"Scorpio started wreaking havoc in the city a year ago, that is, six years ago, before the Jump. She killed innocent people and robbed banks, and when she met a worthy opponent..." She ran away, tucking her scorpion tail between her legs!
"Are you talking about Spider-Man? Why didn't the other Avengers try to stop her?"
"Osborns, may they be damned forever!" said Gwen, looking around. "She worked for them, and no one wanted to get involved with them.
"Gwen, that's conspiracy theory! There's no proof, and no serious corporation would get involved with a criminal like Mary Jane...
Nadine interrupted my mobile phone call.
"Oh, sorry, I need to powder my nose," I said and rushed to the bathroom.
"What's wrong, Snezhana?" I asked, not reaching the cubicle.
"A car with two reptilians has arrived.
"What? What reptilians, are you high on valerian?
"Scaly, with human-like faces! Hide somewhere, I'll send Wendy to you.
"Okay, I believe you. What are the reptilians doing?" I remembered that aliens were, if not the norm here, then at least not news; every inhabitant of Earth knew about Thanos.
"One of them got out of the car and turned into a human! I mean, a black person. I mean, in America, it's the same thing, I mean... Huh?
"Get closer to him, be ready to neutralise him if he approaches the banquet or behaves suspiciously. Wendy, keep an eye on the car.
"Got it," said Snezhana and hung up.
I returned to the table. Nadine looked offended, and her chair was much further away from mine. She was glaring at her friend.
"What did I miss?"
"Nothing!" the fat girl replied grimly.
"And what's your surname, Peter from the newspaper that even the internet doesn't know about?
"Parker, why?
"I want to tell you a story, Peter Parker, and then ask you one question.
"Sounds intriguing," I realised I'd been found out, but that was part of the plan. It just had to happen half an hour later.
"Once upon a time, two little girls were in love with a little boy, but they hated each other. One of them was big and strong, and her red hair and pretty face charmed adults and other girls, who didn't notice her mischief, and some even helped her. The second girl was not beautiful or strong, but she was much smarter than all the other students in the class. Time passed, and the feud between the girls would subside and then flare up again. The boy didn't notice anyone around him. Until one day he asked me to help him with his homework.
"I knew that the girls had real-life prototypes!" — or rather, I read this in Gwen's emotions. What's more, for some reason, I was the boy in this story.
"Don't interrupt. So, the boy and I became close, we walked and laughed, rode next to each other on the bus... That's how it was on the day our class went on a field trip to Oz Corp. And Mary Jane, then still a law-abiding girl and everyone's favourite, suddenly dragged the boy over to sit next to her, and he couldn't refuse. She held his hand so sweetly that it made me sick, but I let the boy decide for himself who was more important to him. And he chose me!
At that moment, Gwen's phone rang. She looked at the screen, then at me, and decided to answer, but didn't say a word into the phone. Ten seconds later, my phone rang, and I answered without moving from my spot.
"It started calling someone! Target neutralised and identified as Veronica Fury," Snezhana reported.
"Is she famous?
"In certain circles, all registered mutants know her. She's the Avengers' curator from the special services.
"Cool! I definitely need to interview her!
There was a commotion on the line, followed by a dull thud.
"This xenomorph is tougher than I thought! Hurry up, I don't know how long I can hold it off.
"Yes, I understand she's a busy person! I'm on my way!" I said and hung up.
"It was nice talking to you, girls, but I have to run. You know, Daily Bugle may not be the most popular publication, but I have a very demanding boss, and if I miss the opportunity to interview Veronica Fury, she'll... kill me." I emphasised the last word to make it clear that I was literally in danger.
I hate improvising.
I wasn't detained on my way out. I used all my senses and soon heard someone crawling along the wall behind me, a few metres above the ground. My task was to keep Gwen Stacy under control and not let her on stage, but the boy journalist was in trouble... No superhero could pass by and not protect an innocent victim who had become a pawn in the hands of supervillains. Well, or maybe Gwen was smarter than she seemed and decided to join the game herself.
I could see Snezhana and the alien lying in front of her through the wall, so I slipped into the right basement without hesitation. Hearing me, the Huntress injected the one-eyed black woman lying in front of her with a stimulant from an army first aid kit and put a gun to her forehead.
"Who are you really?" I asked the shape-shifter who had opened his eyes.
"My name is Talos, and I belong to the Skrull people.
"I don't understand, but that's very interesting.
"I'm on your side, you're...
"That's not interesting," I said, stepping hard on the Skrull's hand. "Who did you call?"
"Gwen Stacy.
"I should have known. Why?
"She's in grave danger!
"Well, of course, I was with her. Are you a superhero curator, or a superhero yourself? Why are you saving Gwen Stacy?
"I'm a Skrull, and I only act in the interests of my people!
"Commendable. You may begin with the details.
"Our planet was destroyed by the Kree race for standing in the way of their interstellar expansion. Earthlings are going to follow the same path as the Kree, which will soon lead to a galactic war. The Skrull people have adapted to living among other species and are secretly building up their power, but war will set us back decades, if we even survive.
"What does Gwen Stacy have to do with this?
"She's Tony Stark's heir, she's very important to Quinnpin, but I don't know why.
Snezhana looked at me, and I nodded. The reptilian is afraid, but he sincerely believes what he says.
"What do you know about the new superhero with an aquarium on his head and lasers coming out of his hands?
"She repelled the elemental's attack.
"An elemental?" I asked Snezhana. She shrugged and waved her tail.
"There are so many strange things on Earth. After the male-female ratio, I stopped being surprised.
"You know too little for a service curator.
"Because I'm Talos, not Fury?
"How many enemies does Vella Fisk have when I ask her... I wonder if they answer the same way to others? Did you recognise my face when you said we were on the same side?
"Yes.
"Here's what we'll do, Talos. You'll stay in this basement until midnight, alone and without obvious supervision. Maybe you're being watched, maybe you're not. After midnight, you're free to go. In three days, I'll be waiting for you at my house. Everyone knows where it is, so you'll find it. Come, and we'll talk as allies. And don't worry about Gwen Stacy. I have no intention of killing her.
I motioned to Snezhana to follow me, and she reluctantly holstered her gun. I let her out of the basement first, so that Gwen would see her first. Successfully parading past the spider hiding behind the air conditioner, Snezhana turned the corner and climbed onto the roof, while Gwen ran to rescue me, and we collided at the door.
"Peter? Are you okay?
"Oh, not really. The interview fell through, the boss won't be happy. How did you get here?" As I said this, I acted it out: I touched my ears and eyes, then pointed to my chest, and then pointed around the corner where Snezhana had gone.
"Well, I got bored at the party and went home, but then I heard a plaintive meow coming from the basement! Then I remembered how Spider-Man saved a kitten, and I decided to try it too, but the cat got scared and ran away." She made cat ears on her head and pointed around the corner, and I nodded.
"I want to go back, maybe I'll have time to ask Spider-Man a couple of questions?
"Yes, of course, she should be performing very soon. We'll make it, they won't start without me!" Gwen said cheerfully.
"Why won't they start?
"I don't know. She just said not to worry.
"And how did the story of those girls end? Did they all get married in one pride and live happily ever after?
"Unfortunately, it's not a fairy tale. Mary Jane went into the Oz-Corp showroom with a boy, but he saw me standing off to the side and turned away, heading towards me. Then Mary Jane pulled a stand with some kind of device out of the floor and threw it at him. She was an unregistered mutant, and that day she became a murderer. And the boy's name was Peter Parker! Tell me, is that your real name?
"No," I admitted in surprise.
Meanwhile, we returned to the reception, and Mary was already shining in her shiny red and blue armour. A loud, high-pitched scream rang out from the hall:
"Spider-Man, you're amazing!
"It's you," Mary replied into the microphone, pointing at the girl who had shouted the phrase.
"The device exploded, smashing several more display cases, causing panic, and Mary managed to escape. I was bitten by a spider, one of Oz-Corp's experiments to create artificial mutants. What's on your T-shirt is what's on stage right now. Is that really Mary Jane Watson?
"Yes.
"Did she do all this just to take my place? Kidnap you, make you pretend to be Peter Parker? "She's got three unregistered mutants helping her! They'll kill me and my pride if you don't surrender. I have to take you to a safe place...
"What kind of monster would force a boy to do such things!
Snezhana called again, and Gwen froze. If we were being listened to, she had just endangered me and my imaginary relatives.
"The drones are up and heading for New York.
"Understood," I replied briefly and crushed the phone in my fist.
"What did they say?
"They've assigned a new location." The operation was over, but I still had questions for Spider-Woman.
I walked away from the restaurant, Gwen following me.
"Peter, don't be afraid! I'll think of something, I'll save you and your loved ones, I'm Spider-Man!
"Everyone knows that, Gwen.
"I have connections! At Stark Industries and S.H.I.E.L.D., together we'll figure something out.
"Come up with a plausible explanation for this," I said, showing her my crumpled smartphone.
"Did you do this?" Gwen squeaked.
"No.
"Then who?
"Oh, Gwen, you're such an IDIOT!!! You actually believed me! You believed that I didn't smash the phone! How did you survive this long with such a low IQ?
"I'm smart!
"Because you get the best grades?
"Yes...
"No, that's impossible! How can you believe what you're saying? And your crazy story? Mary got jealous of Peter and threw a stand at him. What nonsense? Even if I didn't love her, or even if I didn't know Mary Jane, I wouldn't believe that! People, or whatever you call them, monsters, don't behave like that!
"You love Mary Jane?
"And that's all you heard! How surprising that someone could love her!" I fell silent, unable to explain anything further to this creature.
It seemed to me that lies were accompanied by certain emotions that I had noticed repeatedly in conversations. Insecurity, doubt, a lack of a sense of righteousness — my empathy works much more reliably than any lie detector. I don't have many examples of emotions that accompany lies, but no one expects to be tested on an emotional level. Now, Talos' and Gwen's words were accompanied by almost identical emotions: fear, a sense of injustice, confidence in their own righteousness. But Gwen was delusional! Now I can't believe a word the alien says. Ha, there was a moment when I thought the reptilian could be trusted. When I put it like that, it sounds absurd.
"Why? Why did she make you do this to me?" Gwen's crying brought me out of my thoughts.
"You still don't understand? I made Mary Jane take your place.
I don't know if I had inherited that "spider sense" or if it was a wave of anger warning me of danger, but I blocked the blow to my ribs. Gwen's strength was such that I broke through a thick brick wall with my back.
"Then I'll kill you both!" I heard through the pain and ringing in my ears.
***
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