Chapter 4 — Midtown Tech High School
Four years later, on a quiet morning.
As usual, Blake Thorne finished breakfast at the Parker family's home.
Afterward, he headed out with Peter Parker toward their new school—Midtown Tech High School. The two of them rode their skateboards side by side, gliding through the city streets still wrapped in the cool air of early morning.
As Blake grew older, he gradually came to a realization.
Peter was becoming more and more of a chatterbox.
And now, with seemingly endless energy, Peter kept talking nonstop beside him.
"Hey, Blake! Did you see the New York news yesterday? Osborn Industries just released a paper on molecular genetics! I'm telling you, it's probably the biggest breakthrough in genetics this year!"
Blake gently shook his head, looking slightly overwhelmed by his friend's enthusiasm, and replied,
"Peter, we just started freshman year of high school. I don't think we need to dive into topics that complicated yet…"
Peter rolled his eyes and immediately fired back,
"Oh come on! Then what do you think is a normal high school topic? Like you? Talking about stocks, financial markets, Wall Street, and military weapons contracts from Stark Industries?"
"By the way, Blake, when is your family finally going to let you inherit that legendary fortune, huh? If I remember correctly—last week, when I accidentally saw the data on your computer—the Stark Industries shares you own alone…"
"They're already worth hundreds of millions of dollars! You seriously got all that just from trading stocks yourself? Or is that only a small part of your family's assets? If we compare them, who's richer—your family or the Stark family?"
"Oh yeah, Blake, you've never bought shares in Osborn Industries, right? Why not? That's Harry's dad's company."
"I honestly think Osborn Industries will surpass Stark Industries someday. They're developing genetic research, saving lives—way more useful than a company that just sells missiles, don't you think?"
Faced with the relentless barrage of questions from the ever-talkative Peter Parker, Blake chose not to answer a single one.
He simply lowered his head and continued skating forward toward Midtown Tech High School.
Inside, Blake felt a faint sense of regret.
'What was I thinking when I decided to live next door to Spider-Man? Even if I just wanted to experience a normal life… I didn't have to go this far…'
— — —
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the school gate. Both of them stepped off their skateboards and walked into the campus.
That day, the school courtyard was noticeably livelier than usual.
Dozens of extracurricular clubs had set up recruitment booths, all trying to attract new freshmen.
As Blake and Peter walked through the crowd, they were suddenly stopped by a tall, beautiful girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She held a stack of promotional flyers in her arms.
"You two are freshmen, right?" she asked with a friendly smile. "My name's Mary Jane. I'm a first-year too. I've already joined the photography club. If you're interested, you can come with me and take a look."
As she spoke, Mary Jane handed brochures to both Blake and Peter.
The moment Blake saw the beautiful girl in front of him—and heard that all-too-familiar name—he instantly realized who she was.
The girl who would one day become Spider-Man's first love.
Blake glanced sideways.
Sure enough, Peter Parker was frozen in place, staring at Mary Jane without blinking, as if he'd completely lost the ability to speak.
Blake could only sigh and press his fingers to his forehead.
'Falling in love already, huh… Peter, if you keep doing it like this, you'll never get close to her.'
Seeing Peter standing there awkwardly without saying a word, Blake had no choice but to step in.
"Thanks, Mary. But unfortunately, I'm not really interested in photography. However…" He turned slightly and gestured toward Peter. "My friend here, Peter Parker, is actually pretty passionate about that kind of thing. I'm sure the two of you would have plenty to talk about."
After saying that, Blake left Peter behind and walked off toward the main school building.
Mary Jane watched Blake's back as he walked away. Her expression shifted slightly—there was a trace of disappointment, but also unmistakable curiosity.
She felt that Blake was very different from other boys their age.
His gaze was sharp and clear, carrying the calmness of someone far more mature. And yet, at the same time, his body radiated warmth and vitality, like a gentle flame—not dazzling, but never fading.
His physique was solid, clearly the result of long-term physical training—nothing like the stereotypical image people held of Asian teenagers.
Within the crowd, Blake was like a soft light—not eye-catching, but impossible to ignore.
That was the real reason Mary Jane had approached them first.
Unfortunately, the outcome hadn't matched her expectations.
— — —
Not long after leaving Peter—and before he could get very far—Blake was stopped once again.
This time, it was another girl.
She was also blonde, blue-eyed, and just as striking.
"Hi, um… my name is Gwen Stacy. You're a new student too, right?"
Like Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy spoke with a polite, friendly tone. The difference was that Gwen was representing the school's debate club.
Despite being only a freshman, Gwen was already a full-fledged member of the debate team, thanks to her outstanding academic achievements and family background.
Her father was George Stacy—the Chief of Police of New York.
When Blake saw Gwen standing in front of him, he paused for a brief moment.
Don't misunderstand. It wasn't because Gwen was beautiful.
What truly confused him was something else entirely.
'Why are the two "main heroines" from two different Spider-Man versions—Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy—appearing in the same world?'
'Could it be… that the Spider-Man movies I watched back then were bootleg versions?'
He clearly remembered that in the first Spider-Man films, the protagonist was only involved with Mary Jane.
Meanwhile, in The Amazing Spider-Man, his lover was Gwen Stacy.
They were never supposed to exist in the same universe!
After thinking it over and still finding no answer, Blake gently shook his head and replied to Gwen,
"Thank you, but I'm not interested in joining the debate club. You might want to look for someone else."
He walked past Gwen and continued toward the school building.
Before he could get far, however, Gwen spoke again, her tone carrying a hint of condescension.
"You must be Asian. Boys from there are usually lacking in confidence, hate competition, and are terrible at debating. No wonder you refused."
Hearing the sharp words from the white girl behind him, Blake—despite having traveled through countless worlds and adapted to countless identities—still felt something ignite within his chest.
Even though he now went by the name Blake Thorne…
Deep down, he still felt that he was… a son of Asia.
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