Peter could more or less guess what Gwen was thinking.
In Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man movies, Peter Parker hadn't immediately decided to fight crime after acquiring his powers.
Instead, his first thought had been to enter an underground wrestling competition, earn some money, and buy a secondhand convertible to impress Mary Jane.
As for becoming a superhero?
What was that supposed to accomplish? Could he eat it?
Gwen was probably experiencing something similar.
Although her father's influence had played a role in her decision to become a masked heroine, there was also a healthy dose of ordinary teenage vanity involved.
After all, last night had been her superhero debut!
Peter could easily imagine her returning home and barely sleeping a wink, eagerly anticipating the morning newspapers and the excited conversations at school.
She must have been looking forward to seeing stories about her heroic exploits everywhere.
But what had actually happened?
A certain rookie spider heroine had her spotlight stolen by Peter's activities at Pier Nine.
There wasn't so much as a tiny article about her in the newspaper!
Of course she was upset.
Now that Peter understood the problem, he also knew exactly how to cheer her up.
"Hey, Gwen! Forget that old-fashioned newspaper. Look at this!"
Peter tapped Gwen on the shoulder and held out his phone.
Displayed on the screen was a photograph of Ghost-Spider that he'd deliberately downloaded from an online forum the previous night.
It was currently 2009, and Tony Stark hadn't even experienced his mysterious disappearance yet. Consequently, the general state of technology in this world was still relatively primitive.
Although corporations like Oscorp possessed technologies that seemed absurdly advanced in certain fields, smartphones hadn't become widespread.
That was another industry Peter intended to enter eventually.
After all, Apple didn't exist in this particular universe.
With enough starting capital, he was confident he could recreate Apple's business empire within the Marvel Universe.
Of course, he was still working out how to turn his initial earnings into a legitimate business foundation. Building a smartphone empire would have to wait.
Hearing Peter's enthusiastic voice, Gwen listlessly raised her head.
There was even a faintly resentful look in her eyes.
'Can't you see I'm in a bad mood, you big idiot? What are you grinning about?'
But the moment she saw the photograph on his phone, her expression underwent a complete transformation.
Because the picture showed none other than herself, gracefully fighting crime the previous night!
Gwen shifted unconsciously in her seat.
After taking a moment to compose herself, she arranged her face into an expression of innocent curiosity.
"Who's that?"
'Oh, you're good. Almost convincing, even.'
Peter chuckled inwardly before adopting an equally enthusiastic expression and playing along.
He obviously couldn't keep Gwen's secret from her forever, but for now, teasing his adorable little Ghost-Spider was far too entertaining to pass up.
"I'm not sure! I found her picture on an online forum. Apparently, she's a superheroine who can shoot webs. Isn't that awesome?"
"The person who posted it said he saw her stopping a robber last night. How cool is that?"
"She's like a friendly neighborhood hero, protecting ordinary people. Almost like a modern-day Robin Hood!"
"Those people at the Daily Bugle have terrible judgment. Instead of covering someone like her, they're wasting their time reporting on gangsters killing each other. It makes no sense!"
As Peter continued speaking, Gwen's eyes grew brighter.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and her heart felt as sweet as though she'd just eaten a spoonful of honey.
'So someone did notice what I was doing!'
'And Peter's paying attention, too!'
'He actually thinks I'm doing something amazing!'
Just as Gwen was savoring that wonderful feeling, another pleasant feminine voice sounded beside them.
"Hey, Peter, Gwen! Are you two talking about that masked heroine from last night?"
The speaker was a beautiful girl with silver hair.
Her name was Felicia Hardy, and she was a member of the same study group as Peter and Gwen.
In numerous Spider-Man universes, Felicia would eventually adopt another secret identity.
Black Cat.
"Morning, Felicia!"
Hearing that her good friend knew about her activities from the previous night, Gwen instinctively straightened her back.
She became noticeably more cheerful.
"Yeah, we're talking about that masked heroine. After hearing Peter describe her, I think she's pretty cool, too."
Her cheeks reddened slightly.
Then, unable to contain her curiosity, she continued, "Um, have either of you noticed what people on the forums are saying about m—about this heroine? I'm really interested in what everyone thinks of her."
"Well, let's see..."
Peter tilted his head, pretending to think.
Only after he'd kept Gwen waiting long enough to make her thoroughly impatient did he finally smile.
"I remember people discussing what they should call her. Someone suggested Web Woman, and I think another person wanted to call her White Widow or something."
"What kind of terrible names are those?!" Gwen complained.
Felicia nodded in agreement.
"Seriously. Some people have absolutely no taste."
Peter nodded thoughtfully.
Then he offered a suggestion with an entirely straight face.
"Personally, I think the way her black-and-white suit appears and disappears in the darkness makes her look almost like a ghost."
"So maybe we should call her... Ghost-Spider?"
'Ghost-Spider...'
Gwen silently repeated the name.
Her eyes began shining.
It sounded mysterious, stylish, and incredibly cool!
It perfectly captured everything she'd imagined her superhero identity could be.
It was so much better than some ridiculous name like White Widow!
"That's a great name! That's exactly what she should be called!"
Gwen nodded enthusiastically, her smile brighter than it had been all morning.
Seeing her so delighted, Peter couldn't resist teasing her again.
He deliberately released a disappointed sigh.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't really matter what we think. I suggested that name on the forum last night, but nobody responded!"
"I guess there's no chance it'll ever reach that lady's ears..."
'Who says it won't reach her ears?!'
'And another thing! I'm a girl, not a lady!'
Gwen was practically screaming inside her head.
Outwardly, however, she could only maintain a gentle smile.
"Well, maybe that masked heroine is curious about what people are saying after she saves them!"
"She might even look online to see whether people are praising her. So I'm sure she'll eventually see the name you came up with!"
Gwen desperately searched for a way to reassure Peter without exposing her secret identity.
Unfortunately, the next moment, Felicia spoke again.
"Seriously? Do you really think there's a superhero out there who's that full of herself?"
Gwen: '(눈‸눈)'
Her wonderful mood vanished instantly.
Suddenly, she didn't feel like talking to her dear friend anymore.
...
Meanwhile, as Peter was enjoying himself by teasing the little Ghost-Spider, a very different conversation was taking place on the top floor of Fisk Tower in Hell's Kitchen.
Kingpin, whose massive body resembled a mountain, was seated on a specially reinforced luxury sofa.
Kneeling respectfully on one knee before him was a man wearing a tight blue combat suit.
A distinctive bullseye symbol was displayed prominently on his head.
This was none other than Bullseye, one of Kingpin's most trusted enforcers.
"Every corpse was killed with a single blow. Their heads were either destroyed outright, or their chests were completely penetrated."
"The methods were exceptionally brutal. Nothing like Daredevil's usual approach."
"I suspect... the reason this individual acted so viciously may have been..."
Bullseye hesitated.
He carefully examined Kingpin's expression before continuing in a cautious tone.
"He may have been deliberately provoking you, boss!"
BANG!
The moment Bullseye finished speaking, a fist nearly the size of a cooking pot slammed into the solid wooden coffee table beside him.
The entire table shattered into pieces.
Kingpin's expression darkened, his eyes filled with vicious anger.
"I haven't even finished dealing with Daredevil, and now another suicidal fool has appeared!"
"Do these people seriously think I'm someone they can push around?!"
"Immediately mobilize every media outlet under my control! I want last night's incident reported everywhere!"
"Portray that masked bastard as a lunatic who has no regard for human life and takes pleasure in killing!"
"Make him look like a monster who might randomly murder innocent people on the street at any moment!"
His voice grew colder.
"I want every citizen of New York looking for that menace!"
"I'll have the entire city help me get rid of him!"