The headline of the moment, and on everyone's lips, was the chemistry that rolled between Spider-Man and Screwball in their last live. People couldn't stop talking about the possible superhero couple, the first to go public, and how it happened. Peter went to Midtown on foot this time, and when Ned finally found him, after realizing he didn't have to meet the wall-crawler, questions rattled, but Peter remained silent. Flash himself decided to leave the duo alone that day, he was already telling everyone how he already predicted this, being the greatest expert in the heromania across the city. Ned knew that Peter was having a lot of fun with the whole situation, but he noticed that all of Midtown was talking with fervor while only one person remained quiet.
At recess, Peter got so busy watching the messages and comments on his channel while he ate that Ned decided to go talk to someone else for a change. Michelle Jones was sitting at an empty table, alone, eating her lunch, scribbling something in her notebook. The Filipino student approached her, and as soon as she noticed the presence of her classmate, she quickly closed her notebook to hide what she was drawing.
- Hey, Ned.
- What's up, MJ. Can I sit with you?
- You can… — She looked confused by the whole situation.
- Are you all right?
- Yeah… Nothing out of the ordinary, right — Her gaze began to drift away.
- I wanted to apologize for the way Peter treated you.
- No no. He has to apologize. I know you want to defend him, you're a great friend, but that's between me and him.
- But tell me... Why do you have all this aversion to heromania? What harm do they do if they do?
- My problem is not with everything that happens on the internet, it's with the two of them, Spider-Man and Screwball. They are not avengers, they are not Defenders, and they are not even great soldiers, super-scientists or secret agents. They are people from down here, normal people. Them treating their lives with so much disregard is... — She put her hand on her face, sighing deeply, and turned back to face Ned — Living a fake reality only makes the real problems worse. At some point it will blow up in their faces, and it won't be pretty for them, or for the people who accompany them. I know what it's like to have your life ruined by people who, in this celebrity life behavior, end up ruining everything.
- Did you…? — Ned raised one of his eyebrows, intrigued, suggesting something he couldn't finish saying, because MJ interrupted him.
- It was not me. It was… My sister. She was a very popular makeup influencer, but after her ex-boyfriend leaked… Some things on the internet, she never had freedom for anything online, it ended her. You know, I like Spider-Man, and I like you guys... Yeah, even Peter. I don't think it's wise for someone who works with lives to expose themselves like that, it could end very badly for everyone.
Ned listened carefully to everything MJ said and thanked him for saying it. These thoughts rumbled through the mind of the computer genius at Midtown High School. He felt compelled to rethink everything he'd done for his friend in the past few days, dealing with grief and loss like this wasn't healthy. His lola always said that he needed to face his problems like a man, and not hide behind something else, he thought he could only understand that at that moment. When the day was over, he approached Peter on the way out, who still had that triumphant face on as he watched everyone talk about his alter-ego.
- Dude… I need to talk to you — Peter looked at him, still quiet, and gestured for him to speak — I… I talked to MJ. Now, I know what you're thinking, but listen to me. I'm the chair nerd here, we're a team, I'm at least 30% of Spider-Man, so listen up. This… It's not good for you.
- What are you talking about? — He finally spoke, confused.
- That you... You should take it easy on the channel. It's nice to show what you're doing, have contact with the “smaller people” and all that, but you're letting it get out of hand. Social networks are volatile, imagine if they start to hate you for any little problem, or worse... If they discover your identity.
- That's why I have you!
- No man, there are things that even the best cybermage can't do. Would it be possible for us to go to your house and…?
- Ned, look, if you don't want to participate in this anymore, that's fine, but you don't need to talk like that about the only fun I have on these days.
- Seriously, man, please listen to me...
- No! I'm not going to stop doing anything because you got paranoid like crazy Michelle.
- Man…
- No, Ned! No discussion.
Peter walked away without letting Ned continue, and the big schoolboy was lost in the middle of his words, frustrated and worried. He wasn't angry, and he had already forgiven his friend for that, but he was afraid of what Peter might do next. Peter didn't have the courage to go home yet, and so he started his patrol for the day. The live had yielded a few moments with the residents of Queens, but nothing really remarkable. It was when he finished the transmission that he encountered Screwball again. She said to leave what happened the day before behind, and they both started to patrol, talked to many people in the city's movement, and ended up having more fun than anything. Peter hadn't felt this light since he'd been bitten by the spider that started all of this.
At one point, he and his partner sat on the edge of a building to watch the sunset. He commented on how he ended up becoming Spidey, without giving too many details about his own life, and she did the same, commenting on how her boring routine led her to be inspired by the most human and powerless heroes when they are not around saving the world. One thing she did, that the webhead noticed, is that she kept pulling out her phone to check something, assumed it was messages, and let her have her privacy. Later, she picked up her cell phone one last time, quickly put it away and grabbed the hero's arm, urgently telling him to follow her. They jumped between buildings, and she guided him to an abandoned one. Before they entered, she asked for a moment, and her drone arrived within minutes. She didn't want to miss the opportunity to record the action.
They entered, and although the arachnid hero didn't know what it was, he trusted her common sense, and soon they found a gang of masked men packing some boxes that he couldn't quite say what they were. She signaled for them to attack on her mark, and they did. The attack was swift and brutal, Spider quickly tied three of them up with a quick shot of his web and an acrobatic move to tie them up and engaged in heated combat with three others. Screwball used her sticks to fight a large group of them and seemed to be in control most of the time. One thing that bothered Spider-Man during all of this was the gang's clothing, mask aside, was... ordinary clothing. Not in the sense of being cheap gangster gear, but of being dresses, suits, and sometimes designer clothes. Why would henchmen of some gang dress like that?
It was then, when he'd finished taking care of his share of henchmen, and had turned to help her, with her signaling him not to do it again, and this time, he felt it awkward. It didn't feel like a Give-Me-Space sign, it felt more like a denial of her moment of glory. That tingle started again, and he didn't feel well. One of the henchmen had just disarmed her, and then, suddenly, she raised her wrist, and some sort of pitcher armed itself, and released a ball in her uniform colors, white and pink. When she fired the ball, an explosion of paint on the criminal's feet caused him to immobilize, his feet were stuck with the paint. He fell, and she smiled, fiddling with the controls on her arm, bringing the drone closer.
- And… Cut! — She yelled, clearly gleeful.
- Screwball, there's… Something wrong.
- What? Is that one of your powers?
- I can't tell... It's like... — The feeling of urgency made Peter anxious.
- Okay, maybe that will calm you down — She walked over, handing him a wad of cash.
- What? No, no SB, that’s yours, I can't take your money.
- Don't worry, there's enough for everyone here, isn't it guys!
Suddenly, all the henchmen answered yes, getting rid of their traps and bindings with various tools they had with them. Spider couldn't believe what he was seeing, eyes bulging, he started to stagger, the shiver had turned into dizziness.
- What the…?
- You had a paramount performance today, guys! Next time, I'll get new protective gear, I promise! — The vigilante said, while they all took off their masks and protective equipment hidden in their bodies receiving their payment. One of them even pointed out that he should hit a little lighter.
- Was it... All an act?
- Of course. Anything for the views, no? — She replied, handing the last wad of cash to one of the henchmen.
All this time, they were real people, hired by Screwball to pose as real criminals. The teenage hero's head spun, he had to lean against a column.
- Everything?
- Yeah, duh. Some of us don't have an Iron Man in our lives, Spidey. We must create our own villains.
- It was all fake…
- Oh no, it was all real. Real people working for real money, and real influence. I thought it was about time I got straight with you. People don't want to see good deeds on the internet, they want the action, the intrigue. What about me? I want the influence, and the money. And they all give it to me — She approached Spider-Man slowly, with each step, the sense of danger in his mind — I have a power, Spider. I have the power of influence, the hottest social network in the whole world, that is real power.
- All those robberies. Those fake kidnappings, arsons, accidents...
- All actors. Everyone has agreed to be a part of it, and they're paid very well. People like you and me! Isn't that wonderful. Nobody dies, nobody gets hurt... Too much.
- A lie! — he snapped.
- One wonderful lie. Didn't you also start this because of that?
- No! I do these things because we need someone to do them! I told you that today!
- Well... It's not what it seems, my friend. You have a lot of fun with me and all your followers on your… What do you call it? — She gestured, mocking — Your web. We can keep having fun, making money, and doing everything we did today, over and over again. Or… You might just not want to meet me anymore, you go your own way, if earning money from your hard-earned work feels illegal to you. We never talk about it again on either of our channels, but…! If you want to leak all of what you've seen today, I'm afraid we're going to run into some trouble.
- I…
- Don't pretend you're better than me, honey. Look at everything you did, don't lie to yourself saying it's because it's “the right thing to do”, you did it all because you like it…!
- No. No… — He took a few steps back and ran, jumping through a window.
- Yeah... He’s gonna leak it — She said, with a cold tone in her voice, walked over to her drone and started tapping on the controls on her wrist. A sly smile crept into her helmet-hidden expression as she plotted her next strike.
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