“Of course, but how will you explain suddenly having a new sports car to your family?” Hawking asked with a smile.
Peter scratched his head:
“I… I haven’t figured that out yet.”
Indeed, suddenly spending a hundred thousand on a new sports car would raise questions from Uncle Ben and Aunt May. He couldn’t tell them the truth, which complicates things.
Seeing this, Hawking offered a suggestion:
“How about this… You said you like photography, right? I know the owner of the Daily Bugle well. I’ll get you a part-time job as a journalist there.
You can tell them you accidentally captured some precious photos, and the owner of the Daily Bugle really appreciated it, invited you to work part-time during the holidays, and even offered to lend you a sports car to enjoy before graduation.”
“You know the owner of the Daily Bugle!”
Peter’s eyes widened in amazement.
Photography was one of his few hobbies outside of his studies, and besides becoming a scientist, he had always wanted to be a journalist.
While the Daily Bugle might not be the biggest newspaper in New York, it was well-known enough, and he indeed recognized it.
“I can take you to meet him in a bit, and then we can go buy the car. By the way, do you have a driver’s license?”
Hawking nodded; he was only fifteen, and in New York, you have to be at least sixteen to get a driver’s license. Neither of them could drive the car if Peter didn’t have one.
He certainly couldn’t just cast a soul-stealing spell on any police officer they might encounter.
“I have one, and I carry it with me!”
Peter immediately pulled out his driver’s license from his backpack, excited.
He was seventeen this year and would attend college after the summer holiday. How could he not have a license? He had even driven Uncle Ben’s old car several times.
“Then let’s get going.”
Hawking stood up, waved his hand, and rode his motorcycle, taking Peter Parker to the Daily Bugle headquarters.
They met J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle, who arranged a part-time journalist badge for Peter. Hawking took Peter to the dealership and paid in cash for Peter’s first sports car.
“It’s just too cool!”
Peter couldn’t stop admiring his new sports car as Hawking laughed and rode his motorcycle:
“It’s yours now, but don’t forget, eleven o’clock tonight, Queens Park.”
“No problem!”
Peter immediately nodded enthusiastically.
For Peter, Hawking, who just bought him a sports car, was nothing short of heroic.
It felt like that roommate you just met in college who suddenly buys you a sports car, and all you have to do in return is spend an hour or two a day over the next few years helping him find people, and you can even take days off whenever you need.
How great does that roommate seem?
After waving goodbye to Peter, Hawking rode his motorcycle back to the X-Mansion, but he thought of another problem.
That was whether Uncle Ben would still end up dying.
Logically, now that Peter had the money for the car from him, he wouldn’t need to fight in illegal matches, wouldn’t argue with Uncle Ben, and Ben wouldn’t drive out to find him only to be accidentally killed by a robber.
However, he had seen a short video that said Spider-Man’s powers aren’t actually from a mutation, not a technological power, but a magical one.
When Spider-Man’s spirit is troubled, when his beliefs falter, the magical powers within him can also be temporarily lost.
Because Spider-Man’s powers come from the Spider Totem, each universe is destined to have a Spider-Man, and that spider only works when it bites the one chosen by the Spider Totem; it’s useless to anyone else.
And every Spider-Man, once chosen, is destined to lose a loved one, whether it be a family member or a lover.
If that’s the case, even if his influence saves Ben this time, it won’t save him the next time.
But what can he say? Right now, he is powerless; he can’t follow Ben every day.
And even if he could, it wouldn’t help. This involves destiny, a higher power he isn’t strong enough to confront.
That’s also why he needs to keep getting stronger.
Marvel has too many extraordinary beings. If you’re not strong enough, they can easily play with you, dictate life or death, and bring you to ruin.
These multiverse-level deities are the most terrifying beings.
Nighttime, eleven o’clock, at Queens Park.
Peter had arrived early, half an hour in advance, for fear of being late.
When he drove the sports car home that evening, he faced a harsh interrogation from Uncle Ben, but fortunately, he managed to bluff his way through using the part-time journalist ID and the explanations Hawking had coached him with.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May usually went to bed around nine, so after that time, he could head out without worrying about being discovered.
“What’s that?”
Peter was sitting on a park bench, focusing on the park entrance, waiting for Hawking to arrive on his flashy motorcycle, when suddenly he felt something and quickly turned around to look up into the sky.
“It can be done this way too!”
His enhanced vision allowed him to immediately see Hawking approaching fast from a distance, standing on a tree trunk.
“Boom!”
The tree trunk slammed into the park’s lawn, and Hawking landed smoothly, appearing right before him.
“Hello, Peter, you’re quite early.”
“I thought you’d come through the entrance, but I didn’t expect you to arrive like this—it’s… quite unexpected.”
Peter looked at the tree trunk embedded in the lawn, then at Hawking, his face full of surprise.
Hawking shrugged:
“This way is faster. The sea separates the Bronx and Queens, and riding through Manhattan would take too long.
If you want to learn, I can teach you next time.”
Despite Peter Parker swinging through the city using his webs and fighting seemingly minor criminals, which makes him appear less powerful, Spider-Man’s strength can reach up to 25 tons. With some training, replicating Hawking’s tree-traveling flight could be possible.
“I want to learn!”
Using webs to move quickly is only viable in the city; he would have to run on foot in deserts or prairies.
If he could master this technique, he wouldn’t have to worry about those issues, and it would look cool.
“By the way, aren’t you worried about being recognized without any clothes to hide your identity?”
At that moment, Hawking realized Peter was still wearing his school uniform.
He probably forgot to remind him during the day because he always pictures Spider-Man in his tight suit.
“Oh no, I forgot!”
Peter realized at that moment, too. It was his first time, and he hadn’t thought about many details. If his photo ended up in the newspaper and Uncle Ben saw it, he’d be in deep trouble.
“What should we do now?”
“What kind of outfit do you want?”
Hawking asked.
Peter immediately pulled out a pen and paper he was carrying and quickly sketched out an outfit.
“I want it like this, but it’s too late now.”
…
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