Aunt May's "Discount Eggs"

Saturday sunlight carried the crisp chill of early winter. Streaming through the supermarket's glass curtain wall, it cut bright patches across the floor. Lin Mo pushed a shopping cart behind Ted, listening to him complain that the judges at the community talent show "had no taste"—last week, Ted's "Great Vanishing Act" (which was really just hiding in a closet) had only won an encouragement award. He had been so mad that he hadn't spoken to the judge in the red hat for three days.

"I'm telling you, Mo," Ted said, tossing a bag of chips into the cart, his voice still indignant, "that judge was definitely jealous of me! My magic show was obviously way more exciting than that little girl playing piano!"

Lin Mo smiled but said nothing. His mind was nowhere near Ted's magic. It was on the supermarket's discount section. Today was the Queens supermarket's anniversary sale, and eggs were half price. Lines had started forming at six in the morning, and now the area was packed tight with middle-aged women, like a moving wall of flesh.

"Aunt May must be in there too." Lin Mo rose onto his tiptoes and peered into the crowd. Sure enough, he spotted the familiar figure in front of the shelves—Aunt May, in a beige trench coat, was being shoved this way and that by several hefty women. Even her shopping bag had been crushed out of shape. She was still half a meter away from the egg shelf and couldn't reach it at all.

"Come on. Let's go take a look." Lin Mo pushed the cart toward the discount section. Ted was still muttering about the "blind judges" until Lin Mo grabbed his arm and dragged him forward. Only then did he react. "What are we going over there for? There are more people than eggs on those shelves. We'll lose half our lives trying to squeeze in!"

"Aunt May's in there." Lin Mo kept it brief.

Ted's complaints stopped at once. Rolling up his sleeves, he charged forward. "Damn it! Who's bullying Aunt May? I'll flip their shopping carts!"

Lin Mo hurriedly pulled him back. "Don't be reckless. With that skinny body of yours, you'd just be delivering yourself to the slaughter." Looking at the impenetrable wall of people, a sly glint flashed in his eyes. "I've got a way."

Ted froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Your 'wall-crossing magic'?"

"Something like that." Lin Mo smiled and handed him the cart. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

He took a deep breath and blended into the edge of the crowd, pretending to be pushed from behind as his body tipped forward. The instant he neared the human wall, he activated his phasing ability. His body turned translucent in an instant, like a drop of water dissolving into the sea.

Passing through the crowd felt strange, like moving through a group of motionless statues. The women's elbows, shopping cart wheels, and coupons scattered on the floor all passed through his body without the slightest resistance. He could even hear them chatting.

"These eggs are really cheap, fifty cents cheaper than last time!"

"My husband can't go a meal without eggs. I have to stock up!"

"Hey, look at that young man. Isn't he the one who helped put out the fire for old Irene last time?"

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. He quickly sped up, passed through the last few people, and reached the egg shelf. There were barely any eggs left—only two cartons on the bottom shelf. The packaging was a little bent, but the eggs inside were intact.

He reached out, grabbed the eggs, and turned to phase back through the crowd. This time went even more smoothly. He even picked up the glasses for an elderly man who had dropped them along the way. In his phased state, he could still touch physical objects. The old man held the glasses that had suddenly appeared in his hand, looking utterly baffled. "That's strange. How did my glasses come back by themselves?"

When he emerged from the crowd, Lin Mo deliberately staggered, pretending he had been squeezed out. Holding the two cartons of eggs steadily, he walked over to Aunt May. "Aunt May, here."

Aunt May's eyes widened in surprise. She looked at the eggs in his hands, then at the still-impenetrable wall of people. Her mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg inside. "Lin, those moves of yours! How did you squeeze in there? I just saw you outside!"

"Got lucky. Someone happened to leave a gap." Lin Mo smiled and put the eggs into her shopping bag. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ted giving him a thumbs-up in the distance, silently mouthing, "Awesome."

"That's incredible!" Aunt May patted her chest, an exaggerated expression on her face. "You're much better than Peter. Last time he tried to grab some discounted bread, he got squeezed between the shelves. I had to pull him out myself, and he was still clutching half a squashed loaf of bread. It was hilarious."

Lin Mo remembered Peter's embarrassing state and couldn't help laughing. It had happened last month, when whole wheat bread was thirty percent off. Peter had secretly gone to grab some to surprise Aunt May, only to get pinned between two women and become completely unable to move. In the end, Aunt May had shouted, "There's a mouse!" and rescued him in the chaos.

"He's still young." Lin Mo helped Aunt May straighten her shopping bag. "By the way, where's Peter? Why didn't he come with you?"

"He's outside watching the bicycle." Aunt May pointed toward the supermarket entrance. "He said he was afraid it might get stolen. That child worries too much." She paused, then took Lin Mo by the arm and led him toward the checkout counter. "Come on, I'll buy you a Coke to celebrate getting the eggs."

Lin Mo smiled and didn't refuse. Looking at Aunt May's excited expression, he suddenly felt that this ability did not necessarily have to be used for fighting and killing. Helping an old lady grab discounted eggs seemed pretty useful too. At least it meant Aunt May would get shoved around less, and when she got home, she could tell Peter with a smile, "We got lucky today. We ran into Lin and got two cartons of eggs."

Ted was already waiting at the checkout counter with three cans of Coke. When he saw them approach, he quickly handed them over. "Ice-cold. Just grabbed them from the freezer." He winked at Lin Mo. "Your 'magic' is getting better and better. That just now was like a real magic trick."

"What magic?" Aunt May asked curiously.

"Nothing." Lin Mo quickly changed the subject. He popped open the Coke and took a big gulp. The icy liquid slid down his throat, dispersing the faint heat left behind by his phasing ability. "Ted meant I was fast at grabbing eggs, like I was doing magic."

"You certainly were fast," Aunt May said with a smile. "Faster than Spider-Man." She was obviously joking, but she did not notice the look Lin Mo and Ted exchanged—Peter's web-shooter could already spray webs half a meter long.

When they left the supermarket, Lin Mo saw Peter leaning over his bicycle with a notebook in his hand, writing something. Hearing their footsteps, he quickly shut the notebook and stood up. "Aunt May, Brother Lin, Brother Ted."

"What are you writing that's so secretive?" Aunt May walked over and tried to take his notebook.

Peter hurriedly hid the notebook behind his back, his face turning red like a tomato. "N-Nothing. I just drew a few things."

Lin Mo knew it had to be Peter's "Superhero Observation Diary." Ever since the fire, Peter had been recording things more frequently. It contained not only sketches of Wall-Crawler's back, but also Spider-Man comic clippings and even drawings of SHIELD agents, though they did not look much like them.

"Let's go home." Aunt May patted Peter on the back. "Tonight I'll make steamed egg custard for you all, using the discounted eggs we grabbed today. It'll be delicious."

On the way back, Aunt May kept talking about what a bargain the eggs were. She said she would share some with the neighbors, especially old Martha. "That fat cat of hers could use some extra nutrition too." Lin Mo listened, warmth filling his heart like he was carrying a tiny sun inside him.

As they passed the community park, a group of children were flying kites. One of the kites had gotten caught in a tree. It was shaped like Iron Man, its red armor especially eye-catching in the sunlight. The children spun around anxiously and jumped as high as they could, but they simply could not reach it.

"I'll do it." Lin Mo set down his shopping bag, activated his phasing ability, passed through the tree trunk, and easily retrieved the kite.

"Wow! It's Wall-Crawler!" The children recognized him and excitedly crowded around him, asking all at once, "Wall-Crawler, can you fly?" "Do you know Iron Man?" "Can you get our ball down from that rooftop?"

Lin Mo smiled and agreed to each request, helping them retrieve the ball as well. Watching the children cheer with joy, he suddenly remembered Coulson's words: "Sometimes, protecting a single street is more important than saving the world."

Maybe Coulson was right. Saving the world was too far away. What Lin Mo could do now was help Aunt May grab discounted eggs, help children retrieve kites and balls, and help Ted fulfill his "magic dream." These seemingly insignificant little things could make the people around him happy and make Queens feel warmer.

When they returned to Aunt May's house, Lin Mo helped out by putting the eggs in the refrigerator. Aunt May bustled about in the kitchen, humming a tune as lightly as a bird. Peter leaned over the dining table, secretly opened his notebook, and wrote: "Brother Lin used the 'Wall-Crossing Technique' to help Aunt May grab discounted eggs today. He moved as fast as the wind. He's getting more and more skilled with his ability. Maybe I can call him 'Wall-Crawler' now?"

Lin Mo pretended not to see it, but he thought to himself, Maybe Wall-Crawler isn't such a bad name. At the very least, it represented helping others, warmth, and the everyday life of Queens.

That evening, while they ate steamed egg custard, Aunt May suddenly said, "Lin, there's a Thanksgiving party in the community next week. You should come too. I'll make turkey, and you can help me out. How about it?"

"Sure." Lin Mo agreed with a smile.

"And Ted." Aunt May looked at Ted. "You should come too. Don't keep drinking alone in the basement."

Ted froze for a moment, then nodded forcefully. "I'm coming! Absolutely! I can even perform my new magic trick—the Great Vanishing Turkey!"

Everyone burst into laughter. Their laughter echoed beneath the warm lights, driving away the chill of early winter.

Looking at everything before him, Lin Mo suddenly felt deeply content. He possessed the ability to pass through anything, yet all he wanted was to pass through a crowd and help Aunt May grab a carton of discounted eggs. He could pass through the hardest walls, yet all he wanted was to protect this small dining table and this ordinary happiness.

Maybe that was the meaning of having power. Not to save the world, not to become a hero, but to give the people around him a little more help, a little more warmth, and a little more laughter in this ordinary world.

As for all that fighting and killing, he could leave it to Iron Man, Captain America, and the others. As long as he protected his Queens and his discounted eggs, that was enough.

After dinner, Lin Mo walked home and saw that the supermarket lights were still on. The discount section sign had already been taken down and replaced with a poster for "Thanksgiving Turkey Presales." He smiled and quickened his pace. Tomorrow, he still had to work at the repair shop, help Ted rehearse his "Great Vanishing Turkey" trick, and wait for Aunt May's Thanksgiving party.