Am I (Not) a Hero?

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...

The classes dragged on slowly, but they eventually ended.

During lunch, I sat alone.

Cindy understood my silence to be left alone. She chatted at the next table with her friends from some sports club, occasionally glancing my way.

"—Peter? Do you mind if I sit here?"

A familiar chubby guy with a healing lip approached the table with his tray.

"Whatever."

"Go ahead"

I shrugged, finishing my second sandwich.

"It seems like you and Betty are the only ones bothered by what happened to Jessica. It's sad; she was a good person."

Ned said.

"She's not 'was,' Ned; she's still alive."

I grumbled.

"People can come out of comas."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, I'm just not thinking."

He scratched his head.

"At least you didn't send me away right away like Betty did. She's been as dark as a thundercloud, snapping at everyone."

"What's the point in being angry and snapping? We couldn't do anything. Still, I get her; it feels really awful."

I said absentmindedly with my thoughts consumed by all my problems.

'Gwen's a mutant, MJ's powers came from who knows where, and Jessica's in a coma. God, when people ask for everything at once, they don't mean problems…'

"I heard Betty's going to the hospital to see her after class. Are you going together?"

"Betty, Betty, damn Betty. Just shut up already. Can you talk about anything other than this flat-chested girl?"

I had nothing against her personally, but for some reason, her name was starting to annoy me.

"No, I'll go alone."

I exhaled through my teeth, trying to calm down.

"Why did you even sit next to me?"

"Um, just…"

He stuttered.

"You told Flash not to mess with the people you hang out with. So…"

Ned didn't know how to justify his desire to save his skin.

"Never mind, I get it. If anything, you'll be bait for Flash. He's been getting a bit too relaxed over the weekend."

I shifted my angry gaze to the flinching Flash, watching us and clearly thinking of something sinister.

'For his own safety, I hope he changes his mind.'

"Got it, I'll keep my mouth shut."

Ned said, zipping an imaginary zipper over his lips and returning to eating.

I scanned the rest of the cafeteria.

Gwen Stacy immediately caught my eye.

Surprisingly, Harry wasn't around.

Did she send him away too?

Why?

He's a piece of shit as a friend, but Harry is still the future heir to a multi-million-dollar fortune.

She was sitting between MJ and Allan, who was hanging out with her loyal followers, Taylor and Courtney.

More importantly, everything was calm at their table.

MJ wasn't even looking at me, but she couldn't have missed yesterday's hint.

Whatever, the blonde and the redhead could wait, and right now, my priority was Jessica in a coma.

'If I don't think about the fact that her whole family has been ground to bits, Jessica's physical condition shouldn't have any particularly serious issues. And if I remembered her superhero profile correctly, she even had some form of regeneration, but it's better to see it for myself.'

The break was over.

As I was leaving, Flash was about to bark something in my direction, but Kong and Ed tried to shut him up.

This sparked a minor quarrel between them. Apparently, Kong didn't appreciate having his neck kissed by the floor.

After ignoring them, I made my way to the next class, and lessons passed by in the background, just like before.

I wrote down some notes and retained a bit here and there, but mostly, I just dozed off with my eyes open.

As soon as the classes ended, I immediately headed to the hospital to see Jessica.

Earlier, I'd told Ned I wouldn't go there with Brant, but fate had thrown us onto the same bus anyway.

In complete silence, we arrived at the right building and asked the receptionist about Jessica Campbell.

Of course, they didn't let us in, but that's fine. They might stop Peter Parker, but nobody is stopping Spider-Man.

Well, at least we found out that thanks to her father's insurance, she was in a VIP room and would receive the best treatment and all such.

Jessica's condition was stable at the moment.

Aside from a head injury and radiation poisoning, she hadn't suffered any other harm.

Betty and I exchanged grim nods in the same silence and went our separate ways.

When I got home, MJ was waiting for me, sipping tea with Ben and May. As she told them, she came to ask for my help with her homework.

Aunt May insisted on pushing us into my room, but happily she forgot to lock the door.

'Right, locking your own nephew in a room with White Tiger is just cruel.'

I chuckled at my own joke.

"Sit on the bed, I don't want to drag a chair from the kitchen."

She said as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"So, how can I help you?"

I began.

"First, let's start with physics."

She said, pulling the necessary notebook out of her bag.

"You shouldn't have any problems with that, right, Tiger?"

"Exactly."

I replied, but I had a vague idea of how to teach someone else.

For the most part, I just had to break down where to use which formula. It was not difficult, just a bit tedious.

Did she really come here to study?

They say guys don't understand hints.

"Okay, we're done with that."

She said, shutting the notebook.

"By the way, remember those I showed you on Friday?"

She slightly tugged at the collar of her sweater and pulled out a jade amulet.

She just accidentally flashed me her chest.

"Oh, so you did combine them."

I commented on the amulet and hinted again.

"By the way, doesn't it look a bit like the one White Tiger has?"

Mary Jane nodded in agreement.

"It does look similar. So, did you watch her broadcast? What are your thoughts on White Tiger, Tiger? Besides the compatibility of your species, of course."

She giggled, flashing her white teeth.

"My first thought is to tell you to stop calling me that."

I replied, as my eye was starting to twitch.

"But overall, she's pretty cool, and the helmet is cute. The idea of streaming is interesting too. Mutants and superheroes have long been some kind of freak show, but it hasn't reached this level yet."

"Ha, I'm never going to stop calling you that."

MJ smirked, leaning closer to my face, and suddenly asked seriously.

"Or maybe I should call you Spider-Man?"

"Um… I don't know what you're talking about?"

I raised an eyebrow with a slightly unsure smile.

'Well, how is she going to prove that I'm Spider-Man?'

She suddenly swiped at my face with translucent claws, but I leaned back, dodging the strike, and held my hands up, ready to use my web.

That's a sufficient demonstration of my abilities.

"That's for saying I'd 'put you on a leash,' you eight-legged fetishist."

She grinned.

"I didn't expect that; you seem like such a modest boy, Tiger."

"Oh, come on, it's not like they're drawing you in a jar now."

I joked.

"You shouldn't have tried to act all threatening."

"Who's talking, Mr. 'All Heroic and Stuff'?"

She scoffed.

"By the way, your hints couldn't be clearer; it felt like I got hit in the head with a hammer."

"I tried."

I shrugged.

"By the way, even considering my hint, you admitted it pretty easily."

"To be honest, I wasn't planning on telling anyone, and definitely not Aunt May, Liz, and certainly not Harry. But what I didn't expect was that you would too…"

She didn't say the word "superhero" out loud.

"So I thought I could open up. Besides, we're okay again, right?"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

"And since we've both stupidly opened up to each other, what are we going to do about it?"

"Hmm…"

She hummed.

"How about we stream together?"

"That sounds interesting, I'm in."

I agreed.

"But I want part of the donations."

"Hey, what happened to 'true heroism'? Real heroes don't take money, Tiger."

She cut me off.

"Shut up, fan girl; it's not for you to judge real heroes."

"Who are you calling a fan girl?!"

She protested fiercely.

"Who was the first one to go looking for Spider-Man and asked for a selfie? You're definitely a fan girl."

I said.

"The viewers asked me to meet with you!"

"And who was the first to rush to look for Spider-Man and ask for a selfie with him? You're definitely a fan."

She scoffed and turned away, crossing her arms over her chest, but soon, she started asking questions.

"Who is Silk? You know her, right?"

"I do, but that's not my secret, and I'm not going to share it."

I replied firmly.

"Well, fine, I'll dig into it myself anyway."

She shrugged carelessly.

"Your abilities are quite similar, so it's not a natural mutation, right? That means you didn't get them naturally. In addition, you both became heroes recently and almost at the same time, which means…"

She fell silent, but I was shocked by the speed at which she was piecing together the facts.

"Hey, hey, be careful with the conclusions. I can do that too."

I said, folding my arms in front of my face in a BBC Sherlock style as I quietly analyzed.

"You recently found the amulet, and before that, White Tigress wasn't in the city. Therefore, we can conclude that your power comes from it. In other words, without it, you're just an ordinary teenage girl. Let's not rush into revealing anyone's abilities or identities just yet. But if you want, I can introduce you."

Mary Jane looked up and grimaced.

"Okay, you're right. We'll meet her later."

She said, energetically getting up from the bed.

"So, what about the stream?"

"Isn't it a bit early?"

Streams usually happen in the evening when tired workers come home from work.

"Now is the perfect time. Let's go to my place. If Mrs. Parker doesn't let you go, just tell her we're going on a date or something."

She waved her hand, beckoning me to follow.

"Okay, okay. Don't be so impatient."

...

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