Aunt May's "Discount Eggs"

Saturday sunlight carried the crisp chill of early winter, streaming through the supermarket's glass curtain wall and carving bright patches across the floor. Lin Mo pushed a cart behind Ted, listening to him complain that the judges at the community talent show "had no taste"—last week, Ted's "Great Vanishing Man" act, which had really just been him hiding in a closet, had only won an encouragement award. He had been so furious that he had ignored 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 full of indignation. "That judge was definitely jealous of me! My magic was obviously way more exciting than that little girl playing the 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. A long line had formed as early as six in the morning, and now the place 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 toes and peered into the crowd. Sure enough, he spotted the familiar figure in front of the shelves—Aunt May wore a beige trench coat and was being jostled from side to side by several hefty women. Even her shopping bag had been crushed out of shape. She was still half a meter from the egg shelf and couldn't reach it at all.

"Come on. Let's take a look." Lin Mo pushed the cart toward the discount section. Ted was still muttering about the judges having no taste until Lin Mo grabbed his arm and dragged him forward. Only then did he react. "What are we going there for? There are more people than eggs over there. We'll lose half our lives trying to squeeze in!"

"Aunt May's in there," Lin Mo said simply.

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

Lin Mo hurriedly pulled him back. "Don't be rash. With your scrawny build, you'd just be delivering yourself to them." He looked at the airtight wall of people, a sly glint flashing in his eyes. "I've got a way."

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

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

He took a deep breath and slipped into the edge of the crowd, pretending to be shoved from behind as his body leaned forward with the momentum. The moment he neared the human wall, he activated his Phasing Ability. His body instantly turned translucent, like a drop of water dissolving into the sea.

Passing through the crowd felt strange, like moving through a group of frozen statues. Elbows, shopping cart wheels, and coupons that had fallen to the floor all passed through his body without the slightest obstruction. He could even hear their conversation.

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

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

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

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. He quickly sped up, passing through the last few people and arriving at the egg shelf. There were barely any eggs left. Only two cartons remained on the bottom shelf. Their packaging was a little crushed, 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 casually helped an elderly man who had dropped his glasses pick them up. In his phased state, he could still touch physical objects. The old man touched the glasses that had suddenly appeared in his hand, looking utterly bewildered. "Well, that's strange. How did my glasses come back by themselves?"

As he emerged from the crowd, Lin Mo deliberately stumbled, pretending he had been squeezed out. He held the two cartons of eggs steady in his hands and 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 was wide enough to fit an egg. "Lin, those moves of yours! How did you squeeze in there? I just saw you outside!"

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

"That's incredible!" Aunt May patted her chest, her face exaggeratedly animated. "You're way better than Peter. Last time he tried to grab discounted bread, he got wedged between the shelves by the crowd. I had to pull him out, and he was still clutching half a squashed loaf of bread. I nearly died laughing."

Lin Mo remembered Peter's embarrassing appearance and couldn't help laughing. It had happened last month, when the supermarket's whole wheat bread was thirty percent off. Peter had secretly gone to grab some to surprise Aunt May, only to get trapped between two hefty women, unable to move. In the end, Aunt May had shouted, "There's a mouse!" and only then managed to rescue 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 said, pointing toward the supermarket entrance. "He said he was afraid it'd get stolen. That boy worries too much." She paused, then grabbed Lin Mo's arm and headed for the checkout counter. "Come on, I'm buying 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 his ability did not necessarily have to be used for fighting and killing. Helping an old lady grab some eggs seemed pretty useful too. At least it meant Aunt May would get squeezed around less, and when she got home, she could smile and tell Peter, "We got lucky today. We ran into Lin and got two cartons of eggs."

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

"What magic?" Aunt May asked curiously.

"Nothing," Lin Mo quickly cut in. He popped open a can and took a big gulp. The icy liquid slid down his throat, dispelling the faint heat caused by his Phasing Ability. "Ted just said I grabbed the eggs so fast that it looked like magic."

"You really were fast," Aunt May said with a smile. "Faster than Spider-Man." She was clearly joking, but she didn't notice Lin Mo and Ted exchange a look—Peter's Web-Shooters could already spray silk half a meter long.

As they walked out of the supermarket, Lin Mo saw Peter leaning over his bicycle with a notebook in his hand, writing something. Hearing their footsteps, he quickly closed it and stood up. "Aunt May, Brother Lin, Brother Ted."

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

Peter quickly hid it behind his back, his face turning red as 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 the silhouette of the Wall-Crawler, but also Spider-Man comic clippings and even sketches of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, though they did not look much like them.

"Let's go home." Aunt May patted Peter on the back. "I'll make you all steamed egg custard tonight, using the discount eggs we got today. I guarantee it'll be delicious."

On the way back, Aunt May kept talking about what a bargain the eggs had been. She said she would share some with the neighbors, especially Elderly 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.

As they passed the community park, a group of children were flying kites. One had gotten caught in a tree. It was shaped like Iron Man, its red armor especially striking in the sunlight. The children anxiously ran in circles, jumping to reach it, but no matter what they did, they could not get it down.

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

"Wow! It's the Wall-Crawler!" The children recognized him and excitedly swarmed around him, firing off questions all at once. "Wall-Crawler, can you fly?" "Do you know Iron Man?" "Can you help us get the ball that fell onto the roof?"

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

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

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

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. What do you say?"

"Sure." Lin Mo agreed with a smile.

"And Ted." Aunt May looked at Ted. "You should come too. Don't always sit alone in the basement drinking yourself into a funk."

Ted froze for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "I'm coming! Definitely! I can even perform my new magic trick—The Great Turkey Transformation!"

Everyone burst into laughter, their voices echoing beneath the warm lights and 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 crowds and help Aunt May grab a carton of discounted eggs. He could walk 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 offer 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 and Captain America to worry about. 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 reading "Thanksgiving Turkey Presale." He smiled and quickened his pace. Tomorrow, he still had to work at the repair shop, help Ted rehearse his "Great Turkey Transformation" trick, and... wait for Aunt May's Thanksgiving party.