The Ancient One didn't ask about Lucas's challenge to Chthon in the Flickering Realm. When Lucas brought it up, she stopped him.
Seeing Lucas's expression was enough for her to know what had happened in the Flickering Realm. There was no need to hear Lucas recount it again.
After finishing their morning tea, Lucas bid farewell and returned to his residence on the seventh floor of his bookstore. On his way, he also packed some breakfast for Gwen as a late-night snack.
Although eating at night is not good for the digestive system and can easily lead to obesity and insomnia, as long as one exercises properly, it can help food digest faster and prevent fat from accumulating in the body.
As for insomnia, staying up late is harmful to physical and mental health. Just pull an all-nighter.
Night turned to day.
For superhumans, pulling an all-nighter does not affect their physical and mental health.
At the dining table, Gwen and Lucas chatted about recent events.
"The public opinion surrounding the Avengers hasn't been good these past few days. Several New York newspapers are still constantly criticizing them."
Saying this, Gwen took out a stack of newspapers and handed them to Lucas.
Lucas took them and quickly flipped through.
The newspapers mainly focused on criticizing Tony and Hulk.
Tony, as a billionaire, playboy, and the most famous superhero, Iron Man, was already an object of envy, and this time he received the harshest criticism.
Some newspapers even claimed that he should bear full responsibility for the incident and compensate various companies and individuals in Manhattan for the economic losses they suffered.
Hulk, on the other hand, was simply criticized for the extensive damage he caused during his battles, with accusations like 'What exactly did you protect?'
Clint, Pietro, and Natasha, benefiting from their less destructive combat styles, did not appear in the newspapers at all.
Besides the Avengers, Thor, Loki, Wanda, G'iah, and other Kamar-Taj sorcerers, who also appeared on the battlefield, were only briefly mentioned.
After all, Thor and Loki had Asgard behind them, and Wanda and G'iah had Lucas behind them.
"Hmm... minor issue, don't worry about it. Tony will handle it himself."
Putting down the stack of newspapers, Lucas picked up another stack and continued to browse.
Finally, he found reports about Gwen and her team.
"Phantom Team? Gwen, is this your team's name?" Lucas asked, looking at Gwen.
"Actually, calling us a band might be better." Gwen's tone was indistinct.
She was currently focused on eating to replenish her energy.
After carefully reading through, Lucas said, "The newspapers' evaluation of you guys is quite good, they're basically all praising you."
Thanks to Gwen and her team's long-standing presence throughout New York, fighting evil and promoting good, they had already accumulated a good reputation.
Furthermore, since the combat power of the other members was incomparable to the hammer wielders, the Phantom Team members primarily participated in rescue efforts during this incident. Therefore, their public image was much better than that of the Avengers. This saved Lucas a lot of trouble.
Tony's problems, he would solve himself. Lucas wouldn't interfere unless lives were at stake.
But if Gwen were wronged, he would not stand idly by.
"By the way, Gwen. You just said it would be better to call yourselves the Phantom Band. So, are you ready for your performance?"
"Yes, this Sunday, which is tomorrow."
Gwen put down her knife and fork and invited Lucas, "Our band is rehearsing today, Lucas, do you want to come and watch?"
"Of course."
After tidying the dining table together, Gwen pulled on her hood, opened the window, and leaped out. In mid-air, her wrist web-shooters fired webs, and she swung away into the distance.
A voice drifted back from afar. "Follow me."
Lucas came to the balcony and his figure flashed, transforming into a luminous white stream of light that shot into the sky, trailing far behind Gwen.
Spider-Man never takes the usual path.
A moment later, the two arrived at a park in the suburbs.
There were only two or three pedestrians jogging in the park, and no electronic equipment was visible, making it seem utterly unlike a venue for a band performance scheduled for tomorrow.
"Lucas, why are you here too?"
Suddenly, the air shimmered where the voice came from, and several figures abruptly appeared.
It was Erin who greeted Lucas. After greeting him, she introduced the remaining people to Lucas.
They were all members of Gwen's Phantom Band.
Daredevil – Matt Murdock.
Jewel – Jessica Jones.
Power Man – Luke Cage.
Iron Fist – Danny Rand.
And the new member, Mysterio – Quentin Beck.
"Mysterio is our team's special effects artist, skilled at using high-tech to create illusions that are indistinguishable from reality. The reason we can rehearse here without being discovered is thanks to the illusions he creates to conceal us."
In fact, besides creating lifelike illusions, Mysterio is also adept at producing chemical gases that induce hallucinations. The combination of both is what truly makes it impossible to distinguish between real and fake.
Lucas nodded, feigning amazement and exclaiming, "I see, that's really impressive. I couldn't tell at all that the scene outside was fake, and that there was a hidden world within."
"With such a talented special effects artist, I'm sure your performance will be spectacular."
Mysterio shyly responded to Lucas's compliment, "Thank you for your praise, Lucas. I'm just an ordinary Hollywood special effects artist, with no superpowers myself. I'm very fortunate to be able to join this team of superhumans."
Although he was already middle-aged, Mysterio still acted like a young man, shy and humble.
But Lucas would not be deceived by his appearance.
In the Earth-199999 timeline, he would become a major adversary for Spider-Man, making Spider-Man run in circles. He even managed to trick Spider-Man out of the legacy Iron Man left for him.
And on Earth-404, he was similarly ill-intentioned. Although he didn't deliberately sense it, Lucas could still feel that his thoughts were far more chaotic than those of the others.
However, Lucas wasn't concerned with his schemes. The immediate priority was Gwen and the Phantom Band's upcoming performance.
Anyway, Mysterio couldn't cause much trouble, at most a little damage in New York.
As long as Earth didn't explode, there were no problems.
Lucas looked at Mysterio and suddenly felt a stir, thinking to himself, 'Why do I always encounter Spider-Man's opponents? Am I really the Spider-Man of Earth-404?'
First Vulture, then Mysterio. If this happened a few more times, all of Earth-404's Spider-Man villains would have been encountered by Lucas.
Afterward, the Phantom Band began their rehearsal, preparing for tomorrow's performance.
They were determined to put on a grand and perfect show to inspire the citizens of New York, who had been continuously attacked by the Battle of New York and the Manhattan incident, and to restore their confidence in life.
(End of Chapter)
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