Peter was stubborn, but MJ had come prepared. She pulled out a small device wrapped in webbing from her backpack and asked why Night Monkey had the same web-shooting ability as Spider-Man.
It turned out that during the battle against the Elementals, MJ had been hiding in a nearby alley. When Peter shot his webs, he accidentally snagged this strange mechanical device and flung it away. By sheer coincidence, it landed right at MJ's feet, so she picked it up as evidence.
But even with this, it still wasn't solid proof. Peter continued to deny everything. Then, in a moment of desperation, he blurted out, "Are you only paying attention to me because you think I'm Spider-Man?"
Peter had long sensed that MJ treated him differently from other guys. Deep down, he had been secretly thrilled, believing that maybe she liked him back. But now, he started to second-guess everything. Was he just fooling himself? Maybe MJ was only interested in Spider-Man, not him…
At this point, many viewers watching the scene couldn't help but laugh.
This was classic clueless guy behavior. And come on—Peter was Spider-Man, and Spider-Man was Peter. What was he even overthinking?
MJ, being a girl with some pride, didn't deny it. She admitted outright, "Yeah, if not for Spider-Man, I wouldn't have paid attention to you."
Her words were like an arrow straight through Peter's fragile teenage heart. He looked utterly devastated, his face filled with despair. "Whatever," he muttered.
Just then, the device in MJ's hand suddenly lit up. Startled, she dropped it, only for it to project a monstrous figure into the air!
The unexpected turn of events shocked both of them, but they quickly realized the truth—the creature was just a holographic projection. It had the same style as the Elementals they had fought before.
A little more investigation revealed that the device could project a full recording of the battle between Mysterio and the Elementals. It was incredibly lifelike, though without the drones, there was no actual impact.
At this point, even if Peter had been in denial before, he couldn't ignore the truth anymore. He stood there, dumbfounded, swallowing hard. "I... I'm Spider-Man. I really messed up."
Outside the screen, Stephen let out a breath. "Pfft, I thought it'd take him way longer to figure it out. Now that he knows, dealing with Mysterio should be easy."
Pietro nodded. "Yeah, that con artist is just a coward hiding in the shadows. Once you see through his tricks, all you gotta do is find him and punch his face in."
To them, Mysterio's illusions were just cheap parlor tricks. Sure, Peter could be reckless and easily distracted, but he had fought in the battle against Thanos and even survived space travel. If anything, he had more experience than the other two Spider-Men. Taking down Mysterio should've been a walk in the park.
But Peter wasn't feeling so confident. Watching these future clips had really shaken him. It felt like no matter what he did—wait, no, no matter what his future self did—it always ended in disaster.
Meanwhile, Mysterio had also realized something was wrong. When he discovered that one of his holographic projectors had gone missing, his men didn't think much of it. But he was furious. After scolding them, he used EDITH to track down the missing device.
EDITH's surveillance capabilities were terrifying. It quickly pulled up footage of Peter and MJ talking on the bridge. Seeing this, Mysterio made up his mind—he had to eliminate Peter and everyone who knew the truth.
Outside the screen, Erik scoffed. "Did this fool really think he could keep up his charade forever? Only an idiot like that kid would be tricked so easily."
He had nothing but disdain for Mysterio's deception. A fake was a fake—no matter how realistic it looked, it could never stand the test of time. Even if Mysterio had EDITH, control over satellites, and a fleet of armed drones, what did it matter?
To Erik, all that metal was just a pile of toys waiting to be crushed.
Logan, however, wasn't letting him off the hook. "Yeah? And didn't you just get fooled a second ago?" he said with a smirk.
It wasn't just Erik—Logan and even Charles had been momentarily deceived by the incredibly lifelike holograms.
Their time period was still stuck in the late 20th century. They had never even heard of holographic projection technology, let alone expected it to be so advanced in the future.
Erik's face darkened. He grumbled, "I was just unfamiliar with it. But even if I had been fooled, if EDITH was in my hands, I wouldn't have handed it over to Mysterio."
Charles sighed. "Erik, don't be so harsh on Peter. He is just a sixteen-year-old kid."
Erik rolled his eyes. A kid, a kid, a kid. He felt like he was developing PTSD from hearing that excuse over and over. Every time someone said, He's just a kid, he felt an irrational urge to punch something.
Back in the video, Peter, now fully aware of the mess he had caused, was determined to fix it. After returning to the hotel, he changed into his Night Monkey suit right in front of MJ.
Just then, Ned burst in and learned about Mysterio's illusions as well. The deception itself wasn't the real problem—the real issue was that Peter had personally handed EDITH over to Mysterio.
That was a huge problem.
Having experienced EDITH's power firsthand, Peter didn't dare risk calling or using the internet to contact Nick Fury. Instead, he decided to rush to Berlin immediately to find him in person.
In a world where information traveled at lightning speed, a system like EDITH—with its high-level clearance, access to satellite networks, and Stark's cutting-edge AI—was beyond terrifying.
Peter didn't even dare use his phone or any electronic device, fearing he'd be tracked. He was being cautious—but still not cautious enough.
The moment he arrived in Berlin, he ran into Fury, who was driving alone. Without hesitation, Peter got in the car.
Watching this unfold, Erik smirked and shook his head. "Unbelievable. He's already been tricked once, he knows how real the holograms look, and he still just blindly trusts people."
Charles tried to defend Peter. "It's normal to let your guard down around someone you trust. He's still inexperienced."
Erik just rolled his eyes.
_________
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