MCIM Ch. 151

After seeing Max and Caroline off, Mario continued wandering through New York with Skye, hitting spots they hadn't explored yet. Maybe it was because of the daylight, but Spider-Man's distinctive red-and-blue figure never made another appearance. Hours ticked by, and the sky gradually darkened into evening. Dark clouds rolled in from the ocean, heavy and oppressive, turning the atmosphere thick and charged.

Mario led Skye to the Brooklyn Bridge, where they sat together feeling the salt-laced wind blowing in from the sea. The bridge swayed gently beneath them, suspended high above the water.

"So, how was today?"

Skye wrapped her arms around Mario's waist and smiled. "Really happy."

BOOM.

Thunder rumbled through the sky. Seconds later, rain began hammering down in heavy sheets.

Mario pulled glass blocks from his inventory and rapidly constructed a small glass shelter right there on the bridge. Between the darkness and the downpour, nobody below would notice their impromptu architecture. The rain created a curtain of white noise around them, oddly peaceful despite the storm's violence.

"Looks like this is gonna last a while," he observed, watching the thick cloud cover. "Being near the ocean is a pain in the ass. When it wants to rain, it just dumps everything at once."

Skye nodded, then her attention shifted to the right. A figure was swinging through the downpour on strands of webbing, apparently planning to cross the bridge directly.

"That's Spider-Man?"

Seeing the webbing, she immediately guessed the identity. Mario nodded, but Skye's next question was typically direct.

"Where does his web shoot out from?"

"I know exactly what you're thinking," Mario said with a grin. "And even though it makes zero biological sense, his web really does shoot from his wrists."

The web-slinger swung closer, reaching the section of bridge beneath them. He seemed to notice their presence and looked up through the rain. Then he yanked hard on his webline, launching himself upward to land beside the glass shelter with perfect acrobatic precision.

"Whoa! Are you guys on a date? That's amazing!"

Spider-Man's voice carried that youthful enthusiasm that made him both endearing and exhausting.

"Can you tell me how you managed to build a glass house on the Brooklyn Bridge? Does the city even allow people to build structures on bridges? This is so cool! I gotta ask about the permits tomorrow..."

Watching Spider-Man's verbal diarrhea in action, Mario suppressed the urge to throw him off the bridge and forced what he hoped was a friendly smile.

"Spider-Man—"

Before he could finish, Peter interrupted.

"Oh my God, why does my spider-sense tell me I should stay far, far away from you the moment I see that smile? Are you a criminal? No, that can't be right, even criminals have never made me feel like this."

Mario's eye twitched.

Impressive spider-sense. Just like Superman's bullshit powers, when it happens to Spider-Man, everything gets blamed on spider-sense.

Seeing that Spider-Man was gearing up for another rambling session, he felt his patience evaporating and snapped, "Shut up! What are you, some kind of parrot or something?"

The moment he said it, he regretted it. Sure enough, Spider-Man immediately latched onto the comment.

"Parrot? Is that like another superhero? I should definitely meet them someday and compare notes..."

Mario reached out and knocked out two glass panes from the shelter. "Peter, come inside first. The rain's heavy out there."

The moment Spider-Man heard his real name, his heart nearly stopped. Beneath the mask, shock flooded his face, and he immediately tried to deny it.

"You can call me Spider-Man. My name definitely isn't Peter..."

He turned as if to leave, already regretting not following his instincts and staying far away from Mario from the start.

"I've got things to do anyway, so I'll just..."

Just as Peter prepared to shoot a web, Mario said calmly, "Peter Parker. You should be an honest kid."

Peter froze mid-motion. He turned back to look at Mario, who stood inside the glass shelter with that same knowing smile. This time, all traces of Peter's playful tone vanished.

"What do you want?"

Looking at Peter standing in the pouring rain, Mario beckoned. "Come inside first."

Maybe because he was too young, Peter hesitated only briefly before stepping into the shelter.

"Is this your ability?"

When Mario had shattered the glass earlier, Peter had noticed that the broken shards hadn't fallen from the bridge at all, they'd just fragmented and disappeared.

"You could say that."

Mario sat cross-legged on the glass floor, studying Peter, the superhero often described as the most down-to-earth in the entire Marvel universe. He would never forget that scene from the movie: Peter saving everyone on a subway train, and those ordinary people, after seeing his unmasked face, mustering the courage to stand between him and Doctor Octopus to protect him from harm.

"Your mask is soaked. Take it off."

Peter shook his head. "No thanks. I really like this mask. Plus it's got great breathability."

Mario nodded, understanding the display of insecurity perfectly well. He smiled. "You're still working as a freelance photographer for the newspaper, right?"

Hearing this, Peter became certain his identity had been completely compromised. "Who are you? How do you know me?"

Mario appreciated the change. He liked talkative Spider-Man too, just not when Spider-Man was talking to him.

"Who I am isn't important. What matters is that I can offer you a job that'll let you stop worrying about rent and food. Think about whether you're interested."

In his mind, Mario recalled a meme he'd seen: Batman and Iron Man casually throwing money around while Spider-Man picked it up from the ground like a starving pigeon.

The three movie Spider-Men might differ in abilities and experiences, but they all shared one trait in their early days: poverty.

Especially the Tobey Maguire version, he was the poster child for broke superheroes.

Even Blade knew how to "redistribute wealth from criminals," but Spider-Man was too young and too principled. He couldn't bring himself to do such things, so he made a living selling photos of himself to a newspaper that constantly slandered him.

"A job?"

Peter clearly hadn't expected Mario to try recruiting him. But since this was their first meeting, there was no way he could agree so easily, no matter how tempted he felt.

"Sorry, I can't agree to that. Right now, I just want to know how you found out my identity."

Mario showed no disappointment at the refusal. "There's no rush. You can take your time thinking it over. As for your identity, I learned it by accident. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

---

He watched Spider-Man's figure disappear into the rain. Even soaking wet and bedraggled, the kid looked cool when he was swinging on those webs.

Does that webbing even work properly in the rain?

Skye stood beside him, watching the retreating figure. "He seems really young."

Mario nodded. "That's right. He really is just a kid."

A freshman-year Spider-Man, no matter how you calculated it, he was barely an adult. But precisely because of that, Spider-Man's character felt even more precious.

He thought back to what he'd been like at nineteen and couldn't help but smile bitterly. If he'd gained abilities like that at nineteen, he probably would've been insufferable. The neighborhood dogs wouldn't have felt safe walking around with their tails up.

Skye hadn't expected this superhero to be so young. She looked at Mario with confusion. "You're planning to have him work for you?"

"We'll see. If he still prefers photography, then forget it. Actually, I'm more interested in Doctor Octopus. At least when exploiting him, I wouldn't have to worry about moral guilt."

The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping. On the bridge below, only the outlines of headlights flashed past as cars drove through the storm. The two of them sat at the top of the bridge, listening to rain hitting glass and water, creating a strangely peaceful atmosphere.

Neither spoke, simply enjoying the moment together.

---

After spending a full week touring the Spider-Man universe with Skye, Mario sent her back home.

Returning once again to the Spider-Man universe, he drove a car to Empire State University and parked. Watching the students coming and going through the entrance, he felt a wave of youthful energy washing over him.

"College life really is something else. I'm getting too old for this shit."

He said it like he was already seventy instead of in his twenties. Pulling out sunglasses, he slipped them on so nobody could track where exactly his gaze wandered. Then he strode into Empire State University without anyone stopping him. Suddenly, he felt a gaze lock onto him with laser focus. It was an almost mystical kind of awareness, the kind even ordinary people sometimes experienced. He immediately turned his head.

At a glance, he spotted Peter standing not far away.

Peter was a student at this university. The moment he saw Mario, panic flooded his features. Ever since Mario had exposed his identity on the bridge a few days earlier, he had been constantly worrying about being exposed to the public.

After all, he'd taken down countless criminals over the past few years. He feared for his family's safety, especially May. Honestly, he'd always known his identity might be revealed someday. He just hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

At that moment, a young woman standing beside Peter asked softly, "Do you know that guy?"

The woman was beautiful, with a sweet smile and expressive eyes.

Mario knew exactly who she was: Spider-Man's love interest, Mary Jane Watson.

As for other aspects of her character, he didn't feel qualified to judge. But there was one thing he was certain of: she had fallen for Peter long before she ever knew he was Spider-Man.

The problem was that Spider-Man worried his crime-fighting activities would endanger her safety if his identity was exposed. So he'd rejected her feelings, forcing himself to watch from the shadows as the woman he loved threw herself into his best friend's arms.

The whole tragic love triangle made Mario's balls ache just thinking about it.

Hearing Mary's voice, Peter snapped out of his thoughts. Seeing Mario notice him and start walking over, Peter's expression turned wooden.

"Um, we happened to meet by accident a few days ago. You go ahead. I've got something to handle here."

Right now, he didn't want to put her in any danger. Although he didn't know Mario's true capabilities, his instincts screamed that this man was completely different from the ordinary criminals he'd encountered before.

"Hello, Peter!"

Mario had already walked up to them, greeting Peter with a faint smile. Then he turned to look at Mary, who hadn't left yet, and asked, "And this lovely lady beside you... is she your girlfriend? I have to say, you've got excellent taste."

Peter tensed immediately. "N-no... she's just my classmate..."

Hearing Peter's denial, Mary, who had been blushing just moments before, felt overwhelming disappointment crash through her chest.

"You two talk. I have things to do anyway."

She turned and left without looking back.

Peter blinked in confusion but instead of dwelling on it, he asked seriously, "You said you wouldn't leak my information."

Mario shrugged. "And I haven't. Also, if you get any louder, everyone around us will definitely hear you."

Peter glanced around. Since they were standing on a main campus walkway, and his voice really had been too loud, several students were already casting curious glances their way.

Mario pointed at a bench nearby. "Let's talk over there."

He walked to the bench and sat down with legs spread in that comfortable male posture, looking like a regular at some sketchy establishment. He patted the seat beside him. "Come on."

"What do you want from me? I'm telling you right now, I won't do anything illegal for you."

"I'm here to find Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius. I assume you know him. Please take me to meet him."

Peter hadn't expected that response at all, which left him completely off-balance.

"Oh crap... I almost forgot. His experiment is today. If I don't hurry, I'll be late."

He turned to Mario. "If you want to see him, then go to Oscorp Tower. He's conducting his fusion experiment there today..."