"Mmmph, mmph, mmph, mmph, mmph." Aunt May's mouth was stuffed full of food again.
It was obvious she was in a hurry.
But Peter really wanted to say, could you not be in such a hurry? Let me be the one to panic first.
Peter reached out and turned Aunt May to face him, his expression serious. "Aunt May, those things are too dangerous. I don't want you doing something so dangerous."
"I applied for sponsorship eligibility from Mr. Stark's September Fund, and now I'm an intern at Stark Industries. Believe me, Aunt May, I can improve our lives!"
Hearing Peter's words, Aunt May turned toward him with a serious expression as well—except her two puffed-up cheeks ruined the effect.
Only then did she realize how improper she looked. She hurriedly swallowed her food, but choked a little because she was too rushed.
Peter quickly handed her the milk.
Aunt May took the milk and gulped down several big mouthfuls.
"Peter, do you think I'm doing these things for ourselves? No. There are still so, so many people in this world who need our help. Since I have the ability to help them, I should do it." After saying all that in one breath, Aunt May paused to catch her breath, then summed it up. "With great power comes great responsibility. Do what you believe is right, Peter."
Peter nodded solemnly, committing Aunt May's lesson to heart.
At the same time, his heart skipped a beat.
He wondered whether Aunt May had suddenly said that because she had noticed something.
No, that couldn't be it.
He had clearly been very careful every time he sneaked out, hadn't he?
Peter cautiously stole a glance at Aunt May.
Fortunately, Aunt May did not seem inclined to pursue the matter.
After speaking with Peter, she had more or less finished eating. She gave him his allowance for the day, then hurried out the door.
It looked like the event venue was probably quite far away, which was why she was in such a rush.
Peter shrugged, cleaned up the kitchen, picked up his little backpack, and headed for school.
Midtown High, where he attended, was a public school. Its conditions might not compare to those private high schools wealthy people established for their children, but it was already quite good.
Its teaching staff, textbook resources, and everything else were quite plentiful.
Before receiving Stark's funding, Peter had secretly made his suit and synthetic web fluid using the school's materials.
Peter had originally wanted to put on his suit and swing to school on webs, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.
Even though he had the Avengers' funding, it belonged to someone else in the end.
He was not an official Avenger either, so it would not be right to keep asking them for things.
Besides, Peter had not told anyone the formula for the synthetic web fluid, so he still had to make the web fluid himself.
Come to think of it, when he went to take part in the Avengers' civil war this time, he had taken all of his previous web-fluid reserves with him. He did not have much left now.
"Perfect, there's a lab class today. I'll make some more then." Peter put two Bluetooth earbuds in his ears and boarded the bus.
"But it's not great to keep secretly taking things from the school. Those lab supplies are meant for students to use up anyway, but they still aren't mine. Every time, I have to worry about getting caught."
"Maybe I can find a way to start a company of my own? Like Mr. Stark's Stark Industries. Mine could be called... called... Parker Industries! Wow, that name is awesome. Parker Industries!"
"I wonder if any Peter Parker in a Parallel Universe has founded Parker Industries. I really want to see it someday~"
The more Peter thought about it, the more excited he became. But then he remembered that he was currently broke. Even his only "workshop" was just a small table cobbled together in his room, not even as good as Amazing Spider-Man's workspace hidden in an abandoned room.
Splash!
A basin of cold water had been dumped over him.
All right, he calmed down.
"Parker Industries has a long way to go... Maybe I can start by creating a Parker Laboratory. I can work with Mr. Stark and secure some research funding. As long as it makes money, I can not only maintain my equipment and develop new gear, but also donate to the charity Aunt May works for, so she won't have to raise funds by doing such dangerous things." Peter found that the more he thought about it, the clearer his plan became.
Yeah, that was it.
First, find a project that could make money.
Then, talk to Mr. Stark about a partnership.
Finally, establish Parker Ind... Parker Laboratory!
"A bright future is waiting for you, Peter. Keep it up!" Peter silently encouraged himself.
By now, he was already at school, putting away his things.
"You took two days off. Where did you go?" A hand landed on Peter's shoulder from behind.
Lost in thought, Peter jumped in fright. He turned around and discovered that it was his good friend Ned.
Ned was a chubby Asian boy whose family had settled in America many years ago. Peter did not know what his parents did, but his family was quite well-off, and he often shared new toys with Peter.
"Uh, Ned, I... I applied for Stark Industries' September Fund, and now I'm part of the Stark Internship Program. I was busy with that these past two days." Peter made up a lie.
If taking part in the Avengers' civil war counted as an "internship program," then it was not exactly a lie.
"Whoa!" Ned believed him immediately. "The Stark Internship Program! That's amazing! I dream of getting into Stark Industries, but they don't think I'm good enough. What did you submit? What's the internship project about?"
"Uh... confidential. You know," Peter said.
Ned suddenly understood. "Oh, oh, I get it. I get it. Trade secrets."
Peter felt a little awkward. Afraid Ned would keep pressing him, he hurriedly changed the subject. "What about you, Ned? What have you been doing these past two days?"
Only then did Ned remember what he had wanted to tell Peter. He pulled a LEGO minifigure from his pocket and grinned. "Guess what? The LEGO Death Star I ordered arrived!"
Peter took the LEGO minifigure and glanced at it.
Ned continued, "LEGO Star Wars Series 10188 Death Star!"
"It has 3,803 pieces, including 23 minifigures such as Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, a Death Star droid, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and more!"
"The superlaser control room, the Imperial conference room, a hangar with a movable launch rack, space inside for Lord Vader's TIE Advanced, Emperor Palpatine's throne room, the droid repair room..."
The more Ned talked, the more excited he became.
Peter had no choice but to interrupt him.
"Ned, what are you trying to say?"
Ned took a deep breath and flashed a wide grin. "Let's build it together!"
"I really want to build it with you too, but you know, Ned, I have the Stark Internship Program, so..." Peter put on a regretful expression.
In truth, he wanted to go to bed early tonight and head over to Amazing Spider-Man's world to find that Lizard-Man.
Before you continue