In the video, Mysterio was smugly humiliating his former boss, who once looked down on him.
Outside the video, Tony couldn't help but laugh in anger. "That lying bastard… Is he talking about me when he mentions a drunken man-child?"
Pepper chuckled. "Well… maybe he's half right?"
Tony's eyes widened. "Half right? You mean the drinking or the man-child part? Whatever, this guy is an absolute idiot. How does he think pulling off this scam will make him a superhero on my level? What, does he expect to fool the rest of those bloodthirsty aliens with his little tricks?"
Eternal Space
Pietro had a similar question. "I admit, his illusion work is top-tier. Even someone as cunning as Fury got fooled. But he seriously thinks faking it will make him a superhero? What's in his head?"
He scoffed. "I guarantee you, whether it's the Chitauri, or any other villain, they're not as gullible as us so-called 'good guys.' They'd rip that fraud to pieces!"
Peter nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Fake is fake. At the end of the day, he's just a regular guy. Forget the big bads—any random villain could take him down!"
Hearing this, Stephen rolled his eyes and pointed at Peter. "Yeah, and that's exactly why he needed to steal your EDITH glasses! With Tony's defense system and that drone hive in space, Mysterio isn't just some random con artist anymore."
Peter's face fell, and he muttered, "That was… future me."
He felt wronged. Watching this unfold from a future perspective, of course, everything seemed obvious now. But he was just a kid back then. How was that his fault?
Stephen shrugged. "I said future you. Either way, Mysterio got what he wanted. He never actually wanted to be a superhero. Everyone knows being a hero is a lousy gig—tons of responsibility, barely any perks. What he wanted was the fame of being a superhero, not the responsibility. If Earth ever faced a real crisis, he'd be the first to run—probably back to his so-called home universe. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"
Pietro and Peter both nodded. It wasn't hard to see through Mysterio's nature from his actions and words.
At the core, he was no different from some fame-hungry celebrities, fake experts, or scheming politicians—desperate to build a reputation, then find ways to turn that influence into real profits.
Just like he said to his team in the video: "My wealthy friends!"
Clearly, after pulling off this ridiculous yet surprisingly convincing scam, Quentin Beck and his crew had successfully turned "Mysterio" into a marketable brand.
Meanwhile…
Having finally dealt with the chaos, Peter returned to the hotel, eager to enjoy his vacation. His first priority? Strategizing with Ned on how to win over his crush.
But just as he was getting excited, he received devastating news—the trip was over.
Peter was dumbfounded. He had just handled all that trouble, barely managed to get back to a normal life, and now… it was already over?
Ned explained, "Dude, every place our tour group visits, some disaster happens. Parents are freaking out. The school decided we're flying home first thing in the morning."
Peter was crushed. And so were the viewers.
Seriously? Mysterio was over there celebrating, and this love-struck fool was completely oblivious? He got played and still had no clue?
Some people in the audience even started cursing—This Peter is an embarrassment to Spider-Man!
Of course, none of this affected the Peter in the video. He mustered up his courage, walked over to MJ's room, and knocked on the door, inviting her for a walk.
From everything they had seen so far, it was obvious—Peter was pretty awkward when it came to romance. He had a million plans in his head, but when it came time to act, he hesitated, lacking the confidence to follow through.
But to be fair, even the first Spider-Man had the same problem.
Among the three, only the second Spider-Man (Garfield's version) was bold enough to confess to his girlfriend directly. He had told Gwen straight up that he was Spider-Man.
Back in the video, MJ agreed to go with Peter.
Anyone with eyes could tell she liked him. But, as expected, she was reserved and subtle about it. Her personality wasn't very expressive, and she wasn't the type to make the first move.
The two walked together, clearly interested in each other, but somehow managed to create the most awkward atmosphere possible. Still, there was a certain charm in their clumsy, youthful romance.
They eventually stopped on a quiet bridge, no one else around. Peter took a deep breath—this was his chance. He had prepared a special gift and planned to confess directly.
"MJ, there's something I need to tell you…"
Normally, at this point, a girl might shyly wait for the confession.
But MJ? She was different. She stared straight at him and cut him off.
"I am Spider-Man."
Peter froze.
Wait, what?
Did she just say she was Spider-Man? Then… who was he?
Since when did Spider-Man change genders?
MJ kept a straight face. "That's what you were going to tell me, right? That you're Spider-Man."
Clearly, she had already pieced it together. And honestly, her reasoning made sense.
Every time something happened, Peter conveniently disappeared—only for Spider-Man to show up. Once or twice could be a coincidence, but not every time.
Especially tonight—MJ had literally watched him leave the theater and followed him.
Faced with her suspicions, Peter instinctively denied it. He even tried to explain, "It wasn't Spider-Man out there fighting those element monsters tonight—it was Night Monkey!"
And hey, the news said so.
And everyone knows—the news never lies!
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