64: Chapter 64 Remodeling

Johnny Storm perked up as soon as he heard, agreeing without a second thought.

When Peter drove that DMC-12 into the Baxter Building parking garage, Johnny Storm's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"What?!" He rushed over, eyes wide, "This is a DeLorean?!"

"Yeah." Peter got out of the car, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"How is that possible?!"

"Left behind by my dad. My uncle gave it to me for my birthday." Peter patted the roof of the car. "I figured it should stay in the family. But this car is basically a piece of junk right now; can you help me out?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?! You want me to help you mod a DeLorean?!" Johnny Storm was practically roaring.

"So that's a... no?"

"No, my ass! One hundred percent yes! A thousand times yes!" Johnny Storm's eyes were practically glowing.

They loaded the car into the industrial elevator specially designed for Ben Grimm in the building and transported it to the door of Johnny Storm's lab.

But then came the trouble—the car was too wide to fit through the door.

"Hey, Stonehead!" Johnny Storm shouted at the top of his lungs, "We need your help!"

"Don't fucking call me that! Or next time—" Ben Grimm walked to the elevator entrance, but stopped mid-sentence, staring blankly at the silver-gray sports car. "Johnny Storm, why is there a time machine in your elevator?"

Peter grinned. "It's mine. I'm having Johnny Storm help me upgrade it. Can you help us lift it inside?"

Ben Grimm nodded, hoisted the car up as if it were a toy, carefully adjusted the angle, and walked into the lab.

For the next few days, the three of them dove headfirst into the modification work.

Johnny Storm originally had over a hundred crazy ideas, but most of them were shut down by Peter and Ben Grimm working together.

He didn't want the car to breathe fire—this was Peter Parker's daily driver, not Spider-Man's war chariot.

First, they ripped out the ancient combustion engine and replaced it with an electric motor that Peter designed and Johnny Storm helped build.

The new engine was only a quarter of the size of the original, freeing up the front compartment to be used as a trunk.

Embedded in the center of the engine was an Arc Reactor that Peter had modified; theoretically, it would keep the car powered for the next hundred years.

Ben Grimm felt the transmission that kept breaking was pointless, so they just swapped it for an automatic, making it much easier to drive.

Johnny Storm then entered "berserk mode."

He completely rebuilt the suspension system, swapped in his own "never-flat" tires, and replaced all the windows and the windshield with bulletproof glass.

The rear seat space was also reconfigured; now, you could actually stretch your legs out when sitting inside.

For the interior, Peter decided on a low-key, luxurious route.

The dashboard was replaced with smooth mahogany, and a micro-computer control system was embedded below the air conditioning to monitor the engine and all vehicle data.

He also went insane and crammed in a top-tier sound system.

The first time they tested it at max volume, Sue heard it from her room, rushed down, and chewed out the two guys for waking her up.

"Hey, Peter." Johnny Storm handed over a blueprint while wiring the car. "Check this out?"

Peter looked down and froze. "Dude..."

"Listen to me—"

"Dude!"

"Just tell me if you want it or not?"

Peter was silent for a few seconds, then laughed: "...Dude."

Afterward, they secretly installed four small Repulsor Cannons under the car, and hid a large one at the rear, cleverly disguised as a spare tire rack.

Ben Grimm kept asking them what they were doing, but the two wouldn't say a word.

Finally, the moment the system activated, everyone held their breath.

"Welcome back, Peter." An electronically synthesized male voice lit up on the console screen.

Johnny Storm let out a whistle: "It even has voice recognition."

Ben Grimm gave a rare nod of approval: "Enough talk, let's drive it out and test it!"

The car was transported back to the parking garage by the elevator.

Peter sat in the driver's seat, pressed the start button, and placed his thumb on the center of the steering wheel to complete the fingerprint verification.

Doc's system voice sounded again: "Warning, abnormal weight detected. Performing dynamic compensation. Speed limit set to eighty kilometers per hour."

Ben Grimm sat in the passenger seat, and the whole car visibly sank to the right.

Fortunately, the suspension system intervened immediately, stabilizing the chassis.

Johnny Storm had to sulkily crawl into the back seat, muttering non-stop.

Peter drove the car out of the basement and onto the streets of New York.

There wasn't much traffic in the evening, but passersby all cast glances their way.

He didn't mind—who didn't know by now that Peter Parker hung out with the Fantastic Four?

The music was blasting, and Johnny Storm, wearing sunglasses, sprawled out in the back seat with a long sigh: "This is the life."

The car drove onto the bridge leading to Queens, wind pouring in through the windows, the engine as quiet as a cat.

Peter made a U-turn up ahead and drove back.

"Hey, want to try that out?" Johnny Storm leaned over and gently flipped open the cover beneath the handbrake button, revealing a red button inside.

Ben Grimm turned his head, alert: "What is that?"

"A little surprise." Peter smiled and slammed it down.

A low hum suddenly emanated from the bottom of the entire car.

"Flight mode activated." Doc's prompt was terrifyingly calm.

The next second, the car body floated up steadily, rising higher and higher.

"What the fuck is this!" Ben Grimm gripped the armrest tightly, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Don't chicken out, Ben, learn from the birds!" Peter slammed on the gas, the large Repulsor Cannon at the rear roared to life, and the car shot off the bridge, carving an arc as it soared into the sky.

Johnny Storm didn't say a word as he unbuckled his seatbelt: "Race you a lap?"

"You're on!" Peter roared.

Johnny Storm pushed the door open and flipped out, transforming into a ball of flame in mid-air as he streaked forward.

Peter gripped the steering wheel tight, driving the car to stay hot on his tail.

The two of them sped across the sky above the East River.

By the time they quietly landed back in the parking garage, Sue was already waiting at the entrance with a dark expression.

The whole city was going crazy with rumors that the "Fantastic Four had built a flying car," and Sue's phone was being blown up by investors.

She chewed out Johnny Storm and Peter for a full hour, and finally demanded the complete blueprints for the electric engine from Peter, saying it was "to at least appease the market."

Reed was absolutely delighted with the flying car and announced on the spot that he would do a similar small summer project; Peter had a vague hunch what that was—most likely some sort of even more outrageous flying machine.

By the end of July, Peter finally hit the road in this brand-new, legally modified car that still secretly retained its flight capabilities, returning home to Queens.

"Peter—where did you get the money?!" Uncle Ben's voice was trembling.

"The Fantastic Four had a lot of spare parts and scrap lying around, so I had Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm help me piece it together. It looks intimidating, but it didn't really cost much." Peter's ability to lie through his teeth had reached a master level.

Uncle Ben was skeptical but couldn't help but be excited, insisting that Peter take him for a ride and demonstrate all the features.

Afterward, Peter picked up Felicia.

She was wearing jeans and a leather jacket, leaning against the door frame as she sized him up and the DeLorean behind him, arching an eyebrow: "Yo, finally turned into a total nerd?"

"I always was." Peter smiled and opened the door for her.

They went for a spin, and midway through, Liz Allan called to ask Felicia to go shopping.

Peter frowned—this was a perfect opportunity to show off the car.

So the two of them immediately turned around and drove to Liz Allan's doorstep.

Liz Allan practically sprinted out: "Dad! Come look at this!!"

A middle-aged man walked out slowly, and the moment he saw the DeLorean, he looked like he'd been electrocuted. "Parker, what on earth did you do to it?!"

That afternoon, Peter was dragged around by Liz Allan's father as he explained the car inside and out.

The man was as excited as a kid entering Disneyland, and in the end, he insisted on driving it for a lap himself.

Liz Allan was begging on the side, too, so Peter reluctantly agreed.

In the evening, Peter went to pick up Mary Jane.

Mary Jane's first reaction upon seeing the car was anger that she was the last one to be notified.

So that night, Peter treated the girls to spicy hot dogs at a roadside stand.

"Wow, so spicy." Mary Jane was fanning her mouth, choked up.

"I told you not to swallow it in one bite." Peter rolled his eyes.

Felicia took an elegant bite: "The key is moderation, Mary Jane, you can't just gulp it down."

Peter coughed meaningfully: "Right, can't gulp it down. Although I usually don't recommend that."

Felicia's ears turned red instantly, and she backhanded him on the back of the head: "Shut your mouth!" Mary Jane and Liz Allan tacitly pretended not to understand.

Liz Allan suddenly patted the roof of the car: "By the way, do you know who would like this car the most?" She paused, "Jean."

The atmosphere quieted for a few seconds at the mention of Jean.

Mary Jane sighed: "I wonder how she's doing."

"She says she's doing pretty well, just a bit lonely." Felicia shrugged, "It's just her, a few adults, and a guy named Scott over there right now. They say they'll be recruiting new students later, but there's no telling when."

Peter took a bite of his hot dog and mumbled: "How about we go visit her?"

Mary Jane was stunned: "Huh?"

"What's wrong? It's only a two-hour drive. We can make it back the same day."

"Peter, you're a genius!" Liz Allan nearly jumped up, "Let's leave on Saturday, how about it?"

None of them had any objections.

As for Uncle Ben and Aunt May—Aunt May was full of worry about Peter wanting to take a long-distance trip alone at such a young age, but Uncle Ben persuaded her, and she finally relented.

Of course, Peter wanting to see Jean wasn't entirely out of friendship.

He also wanted to see for himself what Xavier was really up to.

He had never trusted that bald man—even if Patrick Stewart's acting was explosive, it couldn't change his mind.

At six o'clock on Saturday morning, the girls arrived at Peter's house one after another.

Peter's luggage was packed with plenty of spare clothes and food, just in case he needed to head out as Spider-Man suddenly.

Mary Jane arrived first, dressed smartly, and threw her bag into the front compartment.

"Morning, Red."

"Morning, Tiger."

They picked up Liz Allan, then went to pick up Felicia.

Felicia wanted to sit in the passenger seat as soon as she got in, but Mary Jane gave her the middle finger: "I called it first."

Felicia pouted, but didn't argue too much.

The DeLorean drove quietly out of New York in the sparse morning traffic, and as soon as it hit the highway, it was as steady as if it were gliding along the ground.

Music flowed in the back seat, and the four young people chatted idly.

"You really should give it a name." Felicia poked her head over from the back seat.

"Doesn't it already have one?" Liz Allan chimed in, "DeLorean is the name."

Peter smiled: "It had a name to begin with." He called out, "Right, Doc?"

"Correct, Peter." The electronic voice in the car sounded gently.

"Holy crap, your car can talk!" Mary Jane was so shocked she kept slapping the console.

The two-hour drive passed by in a flash amidst the relaxed atmosphere.

Soon, the car stopped in front of the gate to the Xavier estate.

Peter pressed the intercom.

"Hello, is anyone there?"

"Who—Peter?"

Logan's fierce face appeared on the camera.

"Hey, Logan, how have you been?"

"What are you doing here, kid?"

Peter leaned to the side to reveal the three girls behind him: "We're here to see a friend. Open the gate, old wolf, please."

Logan grunted and pressed the button.

The heavy gate slowly opened.

The car drove in along the wide driveway, and Liz Allan leaned against the window, staring wide-eyed: "This is where Jean is studying? No wonder she adapted so quickly."

In front of the main house, the door was suddenly pushed open with a bang, and the red-haired Jean rushed out.

"You guys!!" She screamed and lunged forward.

Liz Allan hugged her, her eyes turning red: "I missed you so much!"

Jean hugged all the girls one by one, and when she finally stood in front of Peter, her face flushed slightly: "Hi, Peter."