Aunt May's "Spider-Man Nephew"

Summer in Queens always carried a cloying heat. The jingle of ice cream trucks drifted from one end of the street to the other, mingling with children's laughter and spreading across the asphalt. Lin Mo crouched outside the repair shop, changing the tire on an old bicycle. Sweat ran down his temple and dripped onto the oil-stained back of his hand, blooming into a small dark patch.

"Lin! Come up here!" Aunt May called from the apartment window, her voice carrying a note of excitement. "My nephew's here!"

Lin Mo looked up and casually wiped the back of his hand on his T-shirt. His gaze passed the sheets hanging out to dry and saw Aunt May leaning over the windowsill, waving at him. Behind her was half a face wearing black-framed glasses, the lenses reflecting the glaring sunlight. His heart skipped a beat, and the wrench in his hand nearly fell to the ground—he was here.

He stood, dusted off his pants, and headed toward the apartment building. The fan in the stairwell creaked as it spun, unable to dispel the stifling heat but carrying the sweet scent of Aunt May's freshly baked cookies. By the time he reached the third floor, Aunt May's door was slightly ajar, and he could vaguely hear voices inside.

"...I'll only be staying for the two months of summer vacation. I'll definitely go back before school starts, so I won't trouble you." It was a teenage boy's voice, timid and bashful, with the faint hoarseness of a voice still changing.

"How many times have I told you not to be so polite with Aunt May?" Aunt May said reproachfully. "Your parents went to Europe for a conference, and they aren't home. If I don't take care of you, who will? Besides, Lin and Ted are always mooching meals off me. What difference does one extra pair of chopsticks make?"

Lin Mo smiled and pushed open the door. The scene in the living room instantly reminded him of the comics he had read before crossing over. A skinny, tall boy sat on the sofa with his back perfectly straight and both hands neatly placed on his knees. The collar of his faded T-shirt was slightly curled, and his black-framed glasses had slipped down to the tip of his nose. He was hurriedly pushing them back up.

"L-Lin... Uncle Lin, hello." The boy sprang to his feet when he saw him, but moved too quickly and knocked over the backpack at his feet. Books spilled out with a clatter, revealing a notebook with a spider printed on the cover. His cheeks instantly flushed red like ripe tomatoes. "Aunt May said you're really good at repairing computers."

Lin Mo's gaze fell on the spider notebook, then swept over the homemade wristband on the boy's wrist—circuit boards and rubber bands wrapped together. It looked familiar, almost like... an early Spider-Sense device? He suppressed a laugh and bent down to help pick up the books. "Just call me Lin Mo. No need to call me uncle. I'm only a few years older than you."

"Peter Parker," the boy hurriedly introduced himself as he stuffed the books back into his backpack. His glasses slipped down again. "I... I'm a junior at Midtown High School. I'm staying here for the summer."

"Sit down. Don't just stand there." Lin Mo handed him the books, his fingertips brushing Peter's hand by accident. He felt him trembling slightly. Dynamic Vision activated instinctively, and Lin Mo clearly saw the metallic edge peeking out of Peter's school uniform pocket—it looked like a miniature launcher, with a little spiderweb-like sticky fluid still clinging to its button.

So it really was him. Lin Mo sighed inwardly. This shy boy who barely dared to meet anyone's eyes would be swinging between New York's skyscrapers in a few years, catching falling school buses with webbing and punching alien invaders away. It felt strangely wonderful, like seeing a star before it had begun to shine.

"Hungry?" Aunt May came out of the kitchen with a plate of cookies, and the fragrance instantly filled the living room. "Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Hurry up and try some." She pushed the plate toward Peter, then handed one to Lin Mo. "You too, Lin. Look at all that sweat. Did you just get back from the Sahara Desert?"

"Pretty much." Lin Mo took a bite of the cookie, and the sweet chocolate flavor melted across his tongue. "I was helping Carlos fix his motorcycle. That old guy's bike is harder to deal with than a tank."

Peter nibbled at his cookie in small bites, secretly glancing at Lin Mo before quickly lowering his head. His long lashes cast a small shadow behind his lenses. Lin Mo noticed that his fingers were long, with distinct joints and neatly trimmed nails. There was a faint callus at the base of his thumb, like one formed from holding pens or operating precision instruments for years.

"Peter's one of the top students at school," Aunt May said proudly as she sat beside him. "He won first prize at the science fair with some kind of... bioelectricity device. Apparently, it could make frog legs move."

"It... it was a neural conduction experiment." Peter's face reddened further. "It was actually very simple, just batteries and wires..."

"Don't be modest!" Aunt May cut him off, then turned to Lin Mo. "He takes after his father. He's loved taking things apart since he was little. Radios, alarm clocks—nothing in the house could escape his hands. Oh, right, doesn't your computer always get blue screens? Let Peter take a look. He's even better than computer repairmen."

Peter immediately looked up, his eyes lighting up. "Really? What model is it? Does an error code appear when it blue-screens? It could be a memory compatibility issue, or maybe overheating..." Once the conversation turned to his field of expertise, much of his shyness vanished. He spoke faster, excitement shining in his eyes behind the lenses.

Watching him go on and on, Lin Mo suddenly remembered the notebook that had fallen out earlier and deliberately teased him. "If you run into any questions you can't solve, ask me. Don't keep climbing rooftops."

Peter's words came to an abrupt halt. His cheeks turned so red they seemed ready to drip blood as he frantically explained, "I... I just like looking at the stars. The view from the roof is good, and there aren't any streetlights blocking it, so you can see Orion..." The more he spoke, the more flustered he became. In the end, he simply lowered his head and pretended to study the cookie crumbs with great concentration.

Aunt May laughed and patted Peter's back. "This child has loved climbing high places since he was little. He climbed trees in his backyard and fell several times, yet he never learned his lesson." She gave Lin Mo a meaningful look, an amused smile at the corner of her lips. "Just like you when you were little, always squeezing through cracks in walls."

Lin Mo felt his old face heat up too. He really had been mischievous as a child—climbing trees to raid bird nests, crawling through fences to steal his neighbors' cherries, getting beaten more times than he could count. But compared to the future Spider-Man in front of him, he was nothing worth mentioning—this guy could climb the Empire State Building.

"By the way," Lin Mo changed the subject and pointed at Peter's backpack, "did you bring a change of clothes? Aunt May's guest room is ready. If you need anything, tell me. There's a supermarket right next to the repair shop."

"I... I did." Peter nodded quickly and pulled a folded laundry bag with a Spider-Man pattern from the side pocket of his backpack. Aunt May had probably bought it for him. The pattern was a little childish and didn't quite suit his age.

Lin Mo's gaze lingered on the laundry bag for two seconds. Thinking of Peter's future red-and-blue suit, he suddenly felt that the pattern carried a hint of prophecy. He stood up. "I'm heading back to the shop first. Carlos will start nagging soon. Peter, if you've got nothing to do this afternoon, come hang out at the repair shop. I'll show you a real 'big guy.'"

"Really?" Peter's eyes immediately lit up like stars being ignited. "I heard the repair shop has a retired server, one that was phased out by S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Lin Mo froze for a moment, then nodded. "How did you know?" Carlos had gotten someone to acquire that server, saying he wanted to take it apart and study it, but it had been sitting untouched in the corner ever since.

"My cousin interns in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s logistics department. He mentioned it to me." Peter scratched his head awkwardly. "He said that server uses an alien alloy and has especially strong electromagnetic interference resistance."

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. Peter's cousin? Could it be...? He did not dare think too deeply about it and merely patted Peter's shoulder. "Come by this afternoon. I'll let you take it apart and play with it."

When he returned to the repair shop, Carlos was cursing at an old printer, the cigarette in his mouth nearly burned down to his fingers. "This piece of junk prints words that look like ghost scribbles!" The old man crumpled the printed paper into a ball and threw it on the floor. "The customer wants it this afternoon. What are we supposed to do?"

"Let me see." Lin Mo walked over and activated Phasing Ability to inspect the inside of the printer. A strand of hair was wrapped around the roller and jammed in the gears. He lightly picked it out with tweezers, moving as quickly as if performing a magic trick.

"Done." He pressed the print button, and clear text immediately appeared on the paper.

Carlos stared for a moment before cursing, "When did you learn that trick? Why didn't you do it earlier and save me from wrestling with it for half an hour?" He complained, but the corners of his mouth could not help rising.

"I just learned it at Aunt May's." Lin Mo smiled, though his eyes drifted toward the shop entrance. Peter had appeared at the street corner, hesitating over whether to come in, his fingers nervously picking at his backpack strap.

"That kid is the nephew Aunt May mentioned?" Carlos followed his gaze. "He looks pretty honest. Not like that little brat Ted, who'd tear the roof off if you didn't beat him for three days."

"More reliable than Ted." Lin Mo picked up a rag and wiped down the workbench. "He gets good grades and knows computers."

Just then, Ted came in from outside humming a tune, carrying a huge magic box with "Las Vegas Royal Circus" printed on it. "Carlos! Mo! Look what treasure I found!" He dropped the box onto the floor with a loud bang. "Got it at a secondhand market. They said a real magician used it before!"

Peter jumped at the sound and instinctively took a step back, bumping into the bicycle by the doorway. Its bell rang with a ding-ding.

"Oh, so you're Aunt May's nephew?" Ted finally noticed Peter. He grinned, revealing a small canine tooth. "I'm Ted, your brother Lin Mo's best buddy! Come on, I'll show you my new magic props!"

Ted pulled Peter toward the box. Peter stumbled a little, and his glasses slipped down again. Watching his flustered appearance, Lin Mo suddenly felt a little sorry for him. At this age, a boy should have been playing ball on the court and joking around with friends, not carrying the responsibility of saving the world too soon.

"This is a Human Levitation device." Ted proudly opened the magic box. Inside were an iron plate and several magnets. "Watch closely. If I stand on this, I can float!" He stepped onto it and jumped hard. Sure enough, he "floated" a few centimeters, though it was really just magnetic repulsion.

Peter's eyes lit up. He leaned closer to inspect it carefully. "Neodymium magnets! Their magnetic force is at least ten times stronger than ordinary magnets, but the repulsion is unstable, so it can tip over easily." He pointed at the edge of the iron plate. "If you add a buffer here, with springs or rubber pads, it should be more stable."

Ted blanked out for a moment and scratched his head. "You can modify it like that? I thought floating was enough."

"Science can make magic more perfect." Peter's cheeks were slightly red, but when he spoke about technical knowledge, the confidence in his eyes could not be hidden. "I can help you modify it. We can use the circuit boards I brought and add a remote-control switch. You can float whenever you want."

"Really?" Ted excitedly slapped Peter on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over. "That's great! From now on, we're magic partners! You handle the technical side, I'll perform, and we'll definitely make it big!"

Lin Mo smiled and shook his head before turning to repair the retired S.H.I.E.L.D. server. Peter's voice came from behind him, carrying barely restrained excitement as he discussed improvements to the magic props with Ted. Every now and then, they argued about physics principles, like a strange and wonderful duet.

The afternoon sunlight shone through the repair shop's glass windows, casting mottled shadows across the floor. Lin Mo sat at the workbench, listening to the laughter behind him as his screwdriver, guided by Phasing Ability, precisely removed the screws from the server. He knew the peaceful days would not last long. Hulk's roars, alien invasions, the war in Asgard... all of that awaited them in the near future.

But for now, Peter was still just a boy who loved climbing rooftops to look at the stars. Ted was still dreaming of magic in Las Vegas. Aunt May's cookies were still warm, and summer in Queens still carried that cloying heat.

Lin Mo picked up a chip from inside the server, etched with the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem. Looking at the complex lines on it, he suddenly felt that superhero stories had never begun with a leap from a skyscraper. They began with seeds quietly planted on a sweltering afternoon, in a teenage boy discussing magic props with his friends in a repair shop.

That evening, Aunt May came to call them home for dinner. When she saw Peter and Ted squatting on the floor tinkering with the magic box, she smiled and shook her head. "Two big kids, and you're getting along quite well." She handed Lin Mo a bottle of iced cola. "Peter usually doesn't talk much. He can only really get along with people like you who understand technology."

"He's very smart." Lin Mo twisted open the cola, and the icy liquid slid down his throat. "Way smarter than I was at his age."

"Smart, yes, but he's too honest. His classmates always bully him." Aunt May sighed. "Last time at school, someone stole his lab report, and he didn't even dare tell the teacher. Lin, look after him more. Don't let him suffer here."

Lin Mo nodded, his gaze falling on Peter. The boy was focused on wrapping wire around the magnets, his fingers too nimble for a high school student, with a faint smile on his lips. Lin Mo knew that before long, this honest boy would become brave and strong, protecting the world in his own way. All Lin Mo could do was let him enjoy a few more carefree days of summer before then.

At dinner, Peter went on and on about his science experiments. Aunt May nodded repeatedly as she listened, while Ted chimed in now and then, saying he wanted to use Peter's inventions in his magic acts. Looking at the scene before him, Lin Mo suddenly felt deeply content. Maybe this was the meaning of his crossing into this world—not to save the world, but to protect these ordinary, warm moments.

After dinner, Peter volunteered to wash the dishes. He was a little clumsy and broke a plate, his face instantly turning scarlet. Aunt May smiled and said it was fine, telling him to go watch television in the living room. But Peter insisted on cleaning it up. He crouched down to pick up the shards and cut his finger slightly. He only frowned and kept picking them up.

Watching his back, Lin Mo thought of the future Spider-Man, who would rise and continue fighting even after being beaten black and blue. A warm current suddenly surged through his heart. He walked over and used Phasing Ability to help Peter pick up the last shard. "Be careful. Don't cut your hand."

"Thanks, Brother Lin Mo." Peter looked up, his eyes sparkling. "I... can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Can you really... walk through walls?" Peter lowered his voice, curiosity glimmering in his eyes. "Brother Ted told me. He said you know magic and can pass through walls."

Lin Mo paused, then smiled. "What do you think?"

Peter lowered his head, tracing circles on his pants with his finger. "I think... it's real." He looked up, his expression unusually serious. "Like... like some abilities have always existed. They just haven't been discovered yet."

Lin Mo's heart gave a violent jump. Looking into Peter's clear eyes behind those lenses, he suddenly understood—some seeds did not need deliberate watering. They would sprout on their own. He patted Peter's shoulder. "Don't think too much. Enjoy your summer vacation. If you want to learn computer repair or modify magic props, come find me anytime."

Peter nodded hard, a brilliant smile appearing on his face, as though he had finally solved a difficult problem.

Late at night, Lin Mo walked home, the moonlight stretching his shadow long behind him. He thought of Peter's Spider-Man-patterned laundry bag, the homemade wristband on his arm, and the light in his eyes whenever he talked about science.

The wristband suddenly lit up, and a line of pale blue text appeared:

[Potential ally energy signature detected. Compatibility with host: 60%.]

Lin Mo smiled. It seemed that Queens' story had only just begun. And this summer was destined to become different because of a certain bespectacled boy.