Chapter 86 Jinjiang's Solitary Development

A cafe in Queens, New York.

It was still a private room, and it was still Superman and Batman, but this time there was also Spider-Man dining together.

"The latte here isn't as good as the one in Metropolis." Clark used his fork to pick up the waffle. "Next time we go to Metropolis, we can also bring Robin, Connor and Krypton. I'll treat you."

"I may not have time." Peter said listlessly. There were two crutches next to his chair and a plaster cast on his ankle - it was actually unnecessary, but there was an injury that your aunt felt hurt. "I have to prepare for moving in two days, and I have submitted an internship application to the Daily Bugle. If I pass the interview, I need to go to work next week."

"The Daily Bugle?" The playboy sat back on the sofa, holding a coffee cup in one hand, as if he was sitting in a banquet hall sipping red wine. "Is it the company that likes to report the embarrassing stories of superheroes? It's always chattering, just as annoying as the British tabloids that stare at the color of princes' underwear every day."

Peter glanced sideways: "Did they provoke you?"

"It's common, in the industry." Superman said, unconsciously puffing out his chest, "But the Daily Planet is very good."

Bruce spread his hands: "Yes, Mr. Gold Medal Reporter. The last time Superman went to the awards ceremony, I was the one who dressed up as Clark to accept the award on your behalf."

"...at least the Daily Bugle headquarters is close."

"But their boss, Jameson, hates Spider-Man."

"'There's nothing new under the sun.'" Peter closed his eyes and shrugged, "There are so many people who hate Spider-Man. At least they paid a fair price for his photos."

Clark persisted, "So can we have our next gathering in the metropolis? Or Kansas, Martha would definitely like it."

"I don't have time either." Batman said, "Spider-Man made too much noise. Not only did he attract Mephisto's attention, but the strong space fluctuations caused a lot of turmoil in places we can't see. The creatures wandering around the earth in the universe are ready to move. I heard from Master Ancient One that even the ruler of the dark dimension may interfere."

"Oh, that lady from Kamar-Taj, I didn't realize you were still in touch with her."

"I'm Batman."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Spider-Man asked.

Bruce: "Not at the moment... No, there is one. Do you know what has become of your scripts now? I need a backup."

Superman turned his head away reluctantly. Spider-Man sighed and buried his face in the plate: "Can I scold Mephisto?"

"Hurry up." Batman urged ruthlessly, "I'm in a hurry. This is very important. One of the keys to defeating the enemy is to understand how they see you."

"Iron Man is not an enemy. Okay, okay, you know, I took the initiative to admit that I was from a parallel universe in order to convince Miles and the others not to worry about me."

"Very brave," Clark praised. "I still don't dare to say that the nonsense Luther made up is true."

"That's because there's no point in you admitting it. He's just trying to imply that you're a lunatic and a potential thug."

Peter said,

"But it was different here. The situation was critical—plus, I was injured and my mind was not clear. And later Tony told me that after talking to Shazan, he felt that Spider-Man was from a parallel universe, and what I said just confirmed his point of view."

"And then we saw some of the parallel universe development when we fought the Kingpin."

"As I expected." Batman recorded expressionlessly, "Our universe is like a sieve. Either we can see other people's world lines casually, or people from outside can easily fall into ours. We must find a way to strengthen the boundaries of the universe, so that we don't wake up one day and find a hundred Supermen surrounding the earth."

Superman: "...Why me? Why not you?"

"Because……"

"Because you're Batman?"

"Because," the Dark Knight emphasized each word, "I am an ordinary person, the only one here."

All right.

The system said: "I don't have much to say, just be happy."

"And then? You saw May Parker, who was dying," Clark changed the subject, "and you revealed that you didn't know Mary Jane. Mephisto said that the Spider-Man of the parallel universe signed a contract with him, in exchange for marriage in exchange for Ms. May's life."

"To be fair, from a literary perspective, I think this development is very dramatic. Anyone who was there would have known that May Parker was dying, that a deal with Mephisto could reverse the past, that Peter Parker was from a parallel universe, and that he was alone in this universe..."

"He once had a formidable rival," Bruce said. "Don't look at me, Peter. You said it yourself. I bet Iron Man remembers it."

"Yes, plus your reaction to Ms. May's injury," Superman said, "it sounds like Spider-Man paid some kind of price to save the world and his family? But why don't they think you're just not old enough? You're only sixteen, maybe the Spider-Man here didn't know Mary Jane until after college."

"Because there is no Mary in our universe."

Batman showed them his investigation results, "Her full name is Mary Jane Watson. She was born in a single-parent family and lived with her mother in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There is no such person in our world. By the way, Gwen Stacy's father George is a police chief, and he has no children in our world. This means that unless something unexpected happens, you will never see them."

“…”

Peter: "System? What's going on?"

System: "You can't force all parallel universes to develop in exactly the same way. The Mary Jane here is actually called Michelle Jones, and her initials are all MJ. You've already met her - and don't you have a good relationship with her?"

"Yeah," Spider-Man said dryly, "that's quite a coincidence."

Damn it.

Who recognizes people by their initials?

Batman: "Luckily, Iron Man doesn't spread this stuff around. Unfortunately, it's troublesome enough for him to know, and it's a good thing he told Lady May."

"What's so good about it?!"

The scene was even more exaggerated than Peter's first phone call with Ned after he came out of Kingpin's laboratory.

Ned Leeds is a minor, but he still has the adventurous nature common in American high school students. Judging from his skillful use of rhetoric to cover for Spider-Man, this guy is also smart enough. The only thing Peter needs to do is to control the character and talk about how he cooperated with other heroes of S.H.I.E.L.D. to beat up the villains when they play the game together next time.

"That's so cool!" Ned said in a throaty voice when he called him. "I mean I was really worried about you before, but you're fine, so you know what's going through my mind now? Helicopters! School buses! Bridges! Oh my god, I could run a hundred laps downstairs again! All my classmates will remember that day for the rest of their lives! Spider-Man saved us all! I bet there were double-digit girls who wanted to confess their love to you at that time."

"I won't agree to that." Peter said firmly, "You're not bad, brother. Iron Man knows you."

“Ahhhh!!”

A human scream rang out from the other end of the line.

There was also the sound of adults clapping their slippers: "Ned! If you yell again in the middle of the night, I'll make you sleep in the snow!"

“…”

Tony Stark and May Parker's heart-to-heart talk is another matter.

It is no exaggeration to say that Moses wished he could become invisible like Miles, or even just disappear from the world.

Peter Parker and Richard's bloodline identification report was placed on the coffee table.

Tony was dressed in a suit and tie, as if he was attending a solemn meeting: "I think you have the right to know this, ma'am. You are not only his guardian, but also his only relative left in this world."

Spider-Man might not be afraid of anything that happens to him.

But the only thing he couldn't bear was red or transparent liquid flowing out of the person he loved.

Aunt Mei's tears made him feel like he was facing a formidable enemy.

"I'm sorry," the young man whispered, "I should have told you this earlier. I'm really sorry...but I don't know how to say it."

"It's not your fault," Mei said, choking back tears.

This woman who could keep calm even in dangerous situations could not control her emotions at all. She was clearly aware that her tears made Peter nervous, but her mind could no longer control her behavior. She took a deep breath, leaned forward, and hugged the child in her arms, feeling the muscles on his shoulders bulge first, then slowly relax. Then, Peter raised his hands and hugged her back.

He was stronger than the older woman. Mei suddenly realized this. But she always felt that he had not grown up yet.

"I love you." Her voice was trembling, but she spoke very seriously and powerfully, "I don't know what you've been through, but I love you, and this is the only thing that won't change."

At least you are family.

At least she and you both long for reunion.

At least Mephisto was right, it was love that kept us going until today.

"At least you won't suddenly run to Kansas in the rain with your dog in your arms and block the door of a strange woman's house to beg for shelter like Superman?"

Superman insisted: "This is also an accident! I still don't understand why Xiaoke did this. Maybe it's just a coincidence."

Batman drank the coffee in his hand, then put the quilt on the table mat and said, "We have encountered too many coincidences. We should not make excuses for our mistakes."

"Look at the bright side. Now we don't have to explain to anyone how we suddenly appeared." Superman easily adjusted his tie and stood up. "Iron Man no longer treats you as an ordinary child. And in this situation today, no one will doubt that we have known each other for a long time."

Spider-Man: "If only people wouldn't look at me like... you know what I mean while flipping through Spider-Man Origins comics and eating cereal."

Superman: "Well, it's just a habit. A few months ago, there were always people in the city who suddenly hugged my waist and cried and confessed on the street. For a time, I thought I could go to the church to work. Just kidding, I don't think they are necessarily because of me, but what I did gave people an opportunity to believe in hope and work hard to move towards a better self."

"This makes me happier than when I see their lives saved by me. Superheroes and ordinary people should not have a relationship of imprisonment and restriction, but should help and cooperate with each other. No one should be the ruler of the other."

"When I was a reporter, I always saw people discussing the relationship between superheroes and super villains, but the fact is that if one side is missing, the other side will still exist, as long as there are still assholes who harm others for their own benefit and people who are willing to help others in this world. And we are just like the old saying..."

Batman then added: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Spider-Man: “…”

"Yes, this is not to educate others, but to warn ourselves."

“…”

Spider-Man jumped up on the spot, his movements so agile that the bandage on his leg could not be seen at all: "Have you all really read that comic?!"

**

Gotan city.

"It turns out he wasn't joking."

Robin murmured.

Before his eyes, a Prussian blue computer screen slowly unfolded, slowly rotating around the attic space of the clock tower. Countless coordinate systems were arranged on it, like a flowing galaxy, embellishing the night with splendor and magnificence.