Stephen said with a smile, "As a mage, the first rule we have to follow is: don't try to violate the laws of nature."
"If you're injured, you have to let your body recover on its own, rather than relying on magic."
"Besides, I don't know any magic that can restore the body."
As he spoke, Stephen had his magical cloak wrap around MJ. Then he opened a portal and sent MJ directly to the hospital.
In the blink of an eye, several weeks had passed since the battle at the Statue of Liberty.
During these several weeks, Spider-Man had become a wanted criminal. People still remembered the disaster and chaos he had caused.
They remembered the destroyed Statue of Liberty.
They remembered Osborn, whom he had killed.
Even though afterward, the police had not found Osborn's body.
However, this did not allow Spider-Man to escape the charges.
It was just that, for now, no one knew where Spider-Man had gone.
Whether he would appear again.
———
That day, it was raining.
Peter Parker held an umbrella as he walked into the cemetery.
The cemetery was very quiet. Light raindrops fell on the trees and the tombstones.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
Yet there was a kind of magic to it that made people feel calm.
Even though Peter Parker had not been having an easy time these past few weeks, it was as if there was a ball of fire burning in his chest at all times, making him often feel angry.
But walking through the cemetery and listening to the sound of the rain falling, he felt an unusual sense of calm.
He searched around, and before long, he stopped in front of a tombstone.
It was May's tombstone.
On the tombstone, in May's photograph, that familiar face wore a gentle smile.
Peter Parker crouched down and placed the bouquet of flowers he had bought from a flower shop in front of the tombstone.
"Aunt May, are you doing okay in heaven?"
"I miss you so, so much."
"These days, I've been thinking about the things you said to me every moment."
"If I could, I really wish I could hear you say them again. No, a hundred times."
"Unfortunately, I screwed it up."
Peter Parker wiped his face, "I screwed everything up."
"Those 'brothers' from the other universes were right. I still often feel angry."
"Even though I personally killed that demon, I still can't stop myself from wanting to kill him again and again with my own hands."
"Oh, right. I also became a wanted criminal."
"But you don't need to worry."
"Mr. Stephen must have used some kind of magic. Anyway, now no one remembers me."
"So as long as I don't get caught as Spider-Man, there won't be any danger."
"You don't need to worry."
With a sigh, Peter Parker stood up.
He left the cemetery.
———
At night, the rain grew heavier, and a torrential downpour fell over New York City.
This forced MJ, who had gotten off work, to cover her head with her hand and run quickly along the streets.
To get home as quickly as possible, she ran into an alley.
She regretted it as soon as she entered.
Even though it was raining, there were still several men wearing raincoats gathered together in the alley, and she didn't know what they were talking about.
MJ's arrival caught their attention.
When they looked over, MJ quickly turned around.
"You can't see me. You can't see me," She whispered.
One of the men pointed at MJ and shouted, "Hey, you. Come here."
They were conducting an illegal transaction, and MJ had suddenly barged in and already seen them.
Naturally, they did not want to let MJ leave.
As soon as MJ heard that, she immediately ran.
Unexpectedly, because of the rain, the ground was too slippery, and she accidentally fell.
The pain left her unable to get back up.
Footsteps sounded.
Several men had already run over.
And grabbed MJ.
"What are you going to do? Let me go!", MJ screamed.
"Shut up," One of the men took out a dagger and patted MJ's face with it, "Scream again and I'll kill you."
"Take her away."
One man covered MJ's mouth with his hand, while another grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up.
Then they knocked MJ unconscious, hoisted her onto their shoulder, and were about to leave.
Suddenly, the streetlamp in the alley flickered and abruptly went out.
Then a bolt of lightning appeared, instantly casting a huge shadow of a person onto the wall of the building beside them.
The several men were startled, "Who is it!"
At that moment, the sound of a bone breaking rang out in the darkness, followed by someone screaming, "My hand!"
When lightning streaked across the sky again, the alley was suddenly lit up.
This allowed the men to see that someone wearing a mask and a black skintight suit had appeared beside them at some point.
"Spider-Man!"
"It's Spider-Man!"
The several men cried out in alarm, dropped MJ, and tried to run. One of them rushed toward the mouth of the alley, but suddenly he flew into the air.
It turned out that he had been stuck to a mass of webbing and pulled into the darkness by someone.
The next second, the sound of bones being twisted apart rang out in the darkness.
But the sound of the bones breaking was drowned out by the thunder and lightning.
A moment later, several bodies had been added to the alley.
When lightning appeared once again, Spider-Man and MJ were already nowhere to be seen in the alley.
"Help!"
MJ shouted and woke up.
She sat up in bed and discovered that she had already returned home.
She was stunned for a moment, not knowing how she had gotten back.
At that moment, a bolt of lightning exploded outside the window.
She could not help narrowing her eyes.
And vaguely saw what seemed to be a person crouching on the distant clock tower.
But when the lightning lit up for the second time.
That person was already gone.
"Was it an illusion?"
"Wait, how did I get home?"
MJ covered her forehead, "I clearly remember encountering those men in the alley."
"After that, they knocked me unconscious."
"Who saved me?"
She couldn't figure it out, so she went to bed.
———
The next day, the Daily Bugle's morning news reported a murder.
There were four victims, all wearing raincoats.
MJ glanced at it and immediately sprayed out her coffee.
Because those four people were the same men she had encountered the night before.
["We have reason to suspect that Spider-Man did this."]
["And he also left some things behind at the scene."]
On the television screen, near the several bodies, someone had stuck some English word cards onto strands of webbing, putting them together to form a sentence.
[I'm watching you. I will punish you!]
Looking at this sentence, for some reason, MJ's heart suddenly twitched.
She covered her chest, feeling a wave of inexplicable pain.
Tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
Meanwhile, on the television, the Daily Bugle reporter was shouting.
["This is already the third case this month."]
["All I can say is, Spider-Man is truly too vicious."]
["He is no longer a city vigilante. He now considers himself a judge."]
["Are we really supposed to entrust our lives to a coward who doesn't even dare let people see his face?"]
["And with behavior like this, is he still worthy of being called Spider-Man?"]
["No, I think 'demon' suits him better."]
["Yes, he is a spider demon wandering through the night!"]