47: Chapter 47 He's Here

He leaped across the rooftops, tailing their car.

Liz Allan parked a few blocks away, and Jean stepped out of the car, looking nervous.

Peter shook his head. She wasn't ready at all.

Just then, his phone rang; it was Felicia.

"We're at Point Peak," she said.

"I know, look up."

Felicia slowly looked up, confirming that Mary Jane and Liz Allan weren't paying attention. Peter was standing on the roof, waving at her.

"She isn't ready."

"She'll be fine."

"She hasn't had any training."

"Have you?"

"I have a danger sense and spider-like reflexes. She can only use telekinesis."

Peter watched Jean walk out of the alley, her posture stiff.

"I'm hanging up to make sure our girl doesn't get herself killed."

"Good luck, Tiger," Felicia teased.

Peter leaped between the rooftops, following Jean. Along the way, she was whistled at and mocked by a few street thugs. She ignored them and kept moving.

Peter admired her silently. The nervous girl from a few weeks ago would never have done that; she had grown too quickly.

Eventually, she ran into trouble.

She walked into an alley, and three men immediately jumped out from the front, while two more appeared from behind. They brandished knives and baseball bats, laughing wildly.

Peter couldn't hear their threats clearly, but he was already furious.

Then, they made their move.

Jean moved.

She used telekinesis to shove the guy with the knife, sending him flying. The thugs were stunned, but Jean didn't stop.

She controlled a trash can to knock down two of them, then slammed another trash can against the wall. When one person lunged from behind, she used telekinesis to flip him over her head, slamming him hard into another thug who was just getting up.

She seemed to enjoy the process of dealing with these thugs. She moved and dodged as if she were dancing, tossing them around.

But just then, Peter noticed a thug with an angry expression lunging at Jean with a knife from her blind spot.

"That's not good!"

Peter shouted, shot a stream of Webbing, and precisely entangled the knife, snatching it away.

The thugs all stopped and turned to see Peter clinging to the wall, examining the knife.

"This is dangerous, you know? You could hurt innocent people."

"Sp-Spider-Man?!" one thug shouted, "Damn it! This chick isn't worth it! Run!"

They turned and ran, leaving Peter and Jean behind.

Peter jumped down and tossed the knife over his shoulder.

"You guys really make me miss the old days. Back then, ordinary thugs would fight back, but now they all just run. Sigh, how pathetic."

He looked at Jean. Her jaw was practically on the floor, and stars were shining in her eyes.

Peter tilted his head; it was the only way to express emotion beneath the mask.

"So... who are you trying to be with this outfit?"

"I, I am Marvel Girl," Jean answered in a soft, trembling voice, incredibly nervous.

Peter chuckled, "It's okay, Marvel Girl, I don't bite... unless you ask me to."

Jean let out another gasp.

Peter looked around and whistled.

"Wow, you've got some skills. Telekinesis? Are you a Mutant, or did you have a cosmic accident?"

"Mu-Mutant," Jean said softly, "An-and you are Spider-Man!"

Peter nodded, "Correct! What gave me away? Was it the giant black spider on my chest?"

Jean laughed out loud.

"Oh, that's great, you can laugh," Peter said, "I thought you would just scream in fear. If you want to be a hero, you have to be braver, Marvel Girl."

"I am brave!" Jean shouted excitedly, "It's just... I've never seen a real superhero before."

Peter flicked her forehead.

"But if you really want to be a hero, you have to take it seriously. Go home, train, learn, adapt. You can't rely on superpowers for everything, understand?"

Jean nodded, "Yeah, I know. It's just... I wanted to see what I could do."

"From what I just saw, you have the potential to become something truly amazing."

Peter chuckled and took out his phone.

"Selfie?"

Jean's eyes lit up, "Okay!"

The two stood together; Jean made a peace sign, and Peter made a devil horn gesture.

Peter quickly uploaded the photo to a social media platform with the caption:

[New York, met a real Marvel hero today. Say hello to Marvel Girl! Watch out, she bites.]

He specifically blurred Jean's face to hide her identity.

Peter turned to Jean and said, "Alright, Marvel Girl, stay safe. Don't worry, you'll be a superhero soon."

Jean smiled, and Peter jumped away, climbing up the wall.

"Thank you, Spider-Man!" Jean shouted.

"You're welcome!" Peter shouted back, climbed to the roof, and disappeared into the Shadow.

He looked down as Jean walked quickly back to where Liz Allan had parked.

Jean quickly got into the car, and they drove away. Peter followed on the rooftops; Jean seemed to be excitedly recounting her first meeting with the best superhero in the World.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Until Peter saw a dark Shadow streak across the rooftops and slam hard into the middle of the road.

Liz Allan's car screeched to a halt, and everyone watched in shock at the metal beam embedded in the middle of the road.

The girls were bewildered, but Peter just felt his heart sink, as if it were the prelude to a heart attack.

How did he get here?