Like most parents, May's advice to the kid was basically the same few sentences, repeated over and over.
Just thinking about how tormented the two downstairs were made Su Ming quite happy.
But it sounded like May had realized she misunderstood what the two were doing, so her guidance didn't involve any 'forbidden knowledge,' and the topic focused more on forbidding Peter and Wade from interacting.
If Wade hadn't smartly lifted his mask making Aunt May feel nauseous for a moment and buying himself some time to run, Su Ming suspected May could have lectured them until the next morning.
So while May was retching, Deadpool opened the door and ran, disappearing into the night.
May let out a sigh of relief; she was afraid Peter would be led astray by Deadpool, and even after driving away the 'source of pollution,' she wasn't sure if it was over.
She slumped on the sofa, watching a Christmas show on TV, where the chubby host was jumping around dressed like a reindeer, yet she couldn't muster any interest, no mood to laugh at all. She just felt it was too hard for her.
Her husband died, she raised her nephew Parker alone, and had to work two jobs every day to pay the bills.
But he insists on being a superhero, not only risking his life but also getting mixed up with some dubious people.
Being a superhero is okay, he could go follow someone serious and earnest like Captain America or Black Panther, who don't have many scandals.
But Peter insists on hanging out with Iron Man, Ant-Man, Star Lord, and Deadpool.
These four are, respectively, a playboy, a thief, a bandit, and a mercenary, none of them are good influences. Although May knows that kids Peter's age want to play with cooler people, those four are definitely off-limits.
Just imagining Peter and Iron Man driving out to pick up girls with that greasy manner, lecherously whistling at passing girls at the crossroad, makes May's scalp tingle.
Not to mention, if Peter became an intergalactic bandit or a mercenary licking blood off the blade, May would lose the will to live.
"Go close the door, Peter, lock it."
May covered her forehead, her hands slowly threading into her hair, soothing her throbbing scalp.
"Oh."
Peter obediently closed the door; he actually knew his aunt didn't want him to interact more with Deadpool, and he didn't want to either, but Deadpool kept pestering him, what could he do?
Not only Deadpool, almost all of these people he often interacted with proactively clung to him, impossible to shake off. He was also very troubled by it.
For a moment, Peter vaguely felt like he was the World Protagonist, noticing that both superheroes and supervillains particularly liked gravitating towards him. Was this the protagonist's privilege?
But thinking of his scant friends on Twitter, he deflated like a punctured balloon; in neither novels nor comics was there a protagonist like him.
In his view, protagonists should be as prominent as the school's football quarterback, yet even with his secret identity as Spider Hero, Peter Parker was still like a little shadow.
"The door's locked, Auntie." Peter lowered his head and walked to May's side, not daring to meet her disappointed gaze.
"Come here, Peter." May patted the sofa beside her, and after Peter sat down, she hugged him in her arms, gently stroking his head like when he was a little child: "Aunt knows you have your own ideas, but some people, although they've saved the world, have problematic conduct in daily life. I hope you'll do better than them, that you can save everyone and still stay true to yourself, not fall like them."
Peter felt a bit guilty and nodded: "I know, Uncle Ben told me that if you have the power to do something, seeing it and turning a blind eye is irresponsible. After being bitten by the spider and gaining superpowers, I've been trying to help others, I just want to make Iron Man and Deadpool better, even if just a little bit..."
May looked at Peter in surprise, then showed a gratified smile, patting his head and smoothing down his cowlick.
"So that's it, then aunt misunderstood you. My Peter is still a good child." She said, happily kissing Peter on the cheek, "Go upstairs and play, don't go patrolling today. Stay home and play the online games you young people like, with Ned or something."
"No, today is Santa Claus's once-a-year patrol day, I'll stay home." Peter awkwardly scratched his face, feeling shy that Aunt May still treated him like a kid at his age.
"Is Santa Claus also a superhero?" May furrowed her brows, pondering and then nodding, indeed, if he were an ordinary person, he wouldn't be able to fly in the sky with a sleigh, right?
Peter pressed his palm against his hair, looking at the ceiling as he recalled: "I remember someone told me that Santa Claus is both a god and a mutant."
"Is that so?" Aunt May picked up the wine bottle from the coffee table, poured herself a glass, then turned back to the TV and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter if he's a mutant. You shouldn't care about someone's skin color or race, but look at what they've done. If Santa Claus visits our home, I'd gladly welcome him."
"Got it, I'll go clean the chimney to make it more comfortable for him when he arrives." Peter understood. Just like how he wanted to meet Michael Jordan, Aunt May really wanted to meet Santa Claus.
Peter planned to use the excuse of cleaning the chimney to proactively find Santa Claus, invite him home for a few minutes, and make Aunt May happy.
So he quickly returned upstairs, intending to change into his uniform and then go to S.H.I.E.L.D. to check Santa Claus's home address or something. However, when he reached his bedroom door and looked inside the room, he remembered he had forgotten something.
Deadpool didn't come alone; he also brought his cousin, Deathstroke.
Peter isn't afraid of Deadpool, because that guy is always laid-back and approachable. But Deathstroke is different; Peter always feels a bit constrained around him, even though he's Wade's brother. They've interacted a few times, and he's quite humorous and easy to talk to...
But every time Peter gets close to this person, his Spider Sense goes crazy, alerting him. There's something dark and dangerous about Deathstroke, and he might be the source of danger himself.
Seeing Peter return, Su Ming had just finished clearing all browsing history and deleted the two posts he made earlier, so after winter vacation, Peter would probably become a star when he returns to school, right?
After all, how many kids his age have drunk wine starting at forty thousand dollars, not knowing it themselves, which makes it the most amusing.
"Did my cousin run off?" Su Ming turned on the chair.
"Yes, Mr. Wilson." Parker looked at Su Ming, gradually sidling towards the wardrobe, where his Spider Armor was hidden at the bottom of a pile of trash.
"No problem, he's probably hiding in the bushes outside the door. You know my true identity?" Su Ming stood up, closed the door, and then continued to talk to Peter.
Peter turned around, moved the various debris at the bottom of the wardrobe aside, revealing a box with the Stark Industries logo: "Yes, Wade once told me to hang out with you more, but I don't understand what he meant by those words about being the protagonist, hugging the thigh, or leeching popularity."
"Oh? Is that so... Based on your knowledge, who among the masked people also knows my true identity?" Little cousin might have the aftermath of jumping over the wall, since, generally speaking, the protagonist on the Marvel side should be Little Spider, just like Batman next door.
Peter took off his pajama pants and T-shirt, wearing a vest and shorts, and switched into his Spider Armor, adjusting the Spider Silk Shooter on his wrist.
Unsure if this counts as split personality; after putting on the uniform, he clearly became much more talkative: "As far as I know, quite a few people know your true identity, like Iron Man and the head spy of S.H.I.E.L.D., but don't worry, Captain America still doesn't know. We're all keeping it from him and want to see if you can fool him for a century."
"Haha, mischievous." Su Ming stood up and patted Spider-Man's shoulder, Strangulation took the chance to sneak away with a bit of Peter's skin and hair before he noticed, Su Ming asked again: "Are you planning to go out on patrol?"
Peter felt a chill earlier, but didn't find anything, maybe it was just a misperception. He felt somewhat ashamed; Deathstroke patting his shoulder is friendly, yet he backed away, which was quite impolite.
"No, my Aunt really likes Santa Claus, I want to go out and find him to invite him home as a guest." Peter scratched his head, saying somewhat embarrassingly.
"Isn't that a coincidence? Wade and I are also looking for Santa Claus. The original plan was to stake out at your house, but actively seeking him is good too." Su Ming casually shut down the computer, ignoring Peter's spider eyes on the screen.
"Hmm? Why stake out at my house?" Peter was somewhat puzzled; he didn't know Santa Claus.
"Tonight Santa is giving gifts to good children, Wade and I both agree you're the best kid in New York, so naturally we're here waiting by your chimney." Su Ming slowly floated towards the window.
"I remember in storybooks it says he works after midnight, taking up that time would be bad, I can't let other kids miss out on gifts because of me, so I have to find him early and invite him to come home and chat with my Aunt before his shift."
Peter thought for a moment, deciding that Deathstroke and Wade's plan wasn't comprehensive enough, going earlier was better.
"You're really quite considerate of others, so what are you planning to do?" Su Ming paused mid-air, turning to look at Little Spider, who, standing tall and straight, exuded full Guang Weizheng vibes, completely unlike his usual loser self.
"I plan to go to S.H.I.E.L.D. to search for information. After all, I'm an external member of the Avengers, and Heitan treats me well." Peter shared his plan; if you're looking for someone, an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. that's a spy agency would be more professional.
"Not going to find Iron Man? His satellite and AI intelligence network is very good too." Su Ming suggested.
Seeing Spider-Man look like he's melting, dulling a bit, even the light reflecting off his armor seemed dimmer: "I can't go to Mr. Stark; he's hitting on my Aunt. If it weren't for the rush, I wouldn't even want to wear the armor he's given me, wearing it feels like I'm indebted to him, but I really don't want any step-uncle..."