The X-Men people in the audience looked at each other in confusion. Spyke raised their hands. "I still don't understand."
"Seriously, Peter, do you have to show off your skills every time to feel comfortable?" Qin raised her eyebrows, but with a smile.
Peter smiled, "Yeah, sorry." His stomach made a loud noise at the right time. "By the way, can you eat something first? I'm starving to death."
"Of course, please sit down." Xavier motioned.
Peter nodded and sat down next to Spyke at the end of the long table. Qin sat back next to Scott, Kurt was next to Peter, and Kitty sat opposite Rogue. Rogue was gouging him out with an eye knife.
"So, Miss Stinky Face, what's your name?" Peter asked with a provocative smile.
"It's none of your business." She said bluntly.
"Okay, Miss Stinky Face." Peter turned to Spyke, "I am Peter. What about you?"
"Evan, nice to meet you." The boy said with a smile, "Where are you from?"
"Queens. What about you?"
"Manhattan, Bronx." Evan smiled even wider, "Which school are you in?"
"Midtown High School. What about you?"
"I... wait, Midtown High School? Your name is Peter·Parker, right?!" Evan was so surprised that he almost jumped up.
Peter was stunned. "Uh... yeah, what's wrong?"
"Dude! Is it really you?! The one Peter·Parker who is smart enough to cooperate with Fantastic Four?!"
Peter blinked. "How did you know?"
"Who doesn't know! A high school student collaborates with a superhero, how can such a thing be hidden? Also, last year, did you drive your school bus over those Justin Hammer drones and save Midtown High School?! That's so cool! My buddy said he saw you run over the drones with your car!"
Peter was so shocked that his jaw dropped. "I... I didn't expect that I was so famous."
"Then is this true?" Rogue also came over, "Have you really cooperated with Fantastic Four?"
Peter nodded. "Well, let's forget it before. But...Doom didn't cooperate anymore after that incident."
"Wait, do you know Spider-Man?!" Kitty suddenly jumped up from the chair.
Peter glanced around. Qin and Logan were trying their best to hold back laughter, while Xavier and Ororo just smiled. He looked at Kitty and shrugged. "We know each other. He occasionally pops in to say hello. He always goes out to fight crime with Johnny, so I don't have many opportunities to meet him."
Kitty's eyes began to shine. "Oh my God, my God! What kind of person is he? Is he single? Is he ugly under the mask? Silk Did he make it himself? Or was it sprayed out from his body?"
Peter blinked and looked at Qin. Qin looked like he was almost bursting with laughter. He sighed, "I'm not very familiar with him. I've never seen him take off his mask, but he's quite nice."
"Where is he now?" Rogue took a sip of black coffee and asked.
"What do you mean?" Kitty was confused.
"We haven't seen Spider-Man for more than two months." Rogue explained, "Is he dead or something?"
"What?! He won't die! He is Spider-Man!" Kitty turned to look at Peter, "Right?! Right?!"
Everyone looked at Peter at the same time.
Peter was silent for a while and sighed, "He left. I don't know when he will come back... and I don't know if he will come back."
"No way." Kitty slumped back in his chair, as if all his strength had been drained away. But the few people who knew Peter's true identity only had worry on their faces.
"Peter, you don't mean to... think..." Qin's voice sounded in her mind.
"Suicide? No. But I'm not sure if I want to continue being Spider-Man." Peter answered her, then lowered his head and ate quietly.
He turned to Logan: "Have you contacted Steve recently?"
Logan nodded. "I have contacted him. He is still not recovering, but he is slowly getting better."
Peter didn't answer anymore. The dinner table became lively again: Kitty chased Kurt and scolded him for stealing his cell phone. Qin and Scott talked in low voices, while Spyke kept looking at him thoughtfully.
"Peter, if you've finished eating, now is a good time." Xavier said.
Peter put down the tableware and stood up. "Lead the way." He waved to the others and followed Xavier into the study at the end of the corridor not far away.
The room was very grand, spacious and elegant. Xavier slid behind the desk and motioned for him to sit down opposite.
"So, Peter, why did you ask me for help?"
Peter sighed, "It's hard to explain."
"Is it related to Spider-Man?"
"It's related, but it's not just him." Peter lowered his eyes, "Ever since that incident with Doom... I have been scared."
Xavier raised his eyebrows. "Afraid? What are you afraid of?"
Peter met his gaze. "Afraid of death. Isn't that funny? I obviously can't die - especially now."
"Sorry, I didn't understand. Why do you think you can't die?"
Peter sighed, "Did Logan and Qin tell you how Doom got me just one step away from death?"
Xavier nodded. "I told you. They said they wanted to save you, so I let them use Blackbird without hesitation."
"Thank you. Anyway, in order to save my life, a little Logan's blood was used during the treatment to help me heal myself. But the effect was far more than that. I inherited his ability." Peter raised his right hand. The skin between his fingers slowly tore apart, and three black bone claws stained with blood poked out. He gasped in pain - he was still not used to this thing.
Xavier looked at the pair of black bone claws, his pupils narrowed.
"I inherited all the abilities of Logan." Peter said, "That is to say--"
"You can heal almost any injury on your own." Xavier finished it for him.
"Yes." Peter retracted the bone claw, and the wound on the palm of his hand healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. "So I know that I can't die, at least it will be difficult to be killed. But I am still afraid of wearing that uniform. When I woke up from the coma, the injuries were all healed. At that time, I was very angry, and all I wanted to do was to settle the score with Doom. But when I heard about Felicia... I suddenly didn't care about that anymore."
"Felicia is your former girlfriend." Xavier corrected the wording himself.
Peter nodded. "Yes. Qin told you about her?"
"Jin had some... rather strong comments about the lady. She was very angry," Xavier said. "She told me that Felicia attacked you."
Peter shrugged. "It's not a big deal, she just shocked me. To be honest, what makes me most uncomfortable is that she didn't let me go with her."
"What do you mean?"
"She is Black Cat. Professor, remember her, right?" Xavier nodded. "She is the girl who was with me when we went to find Wyndham. And the thief who helped us sneak into Black Prison - that is her father. We have been trying to find a way to rescue him. Come. Later, someone offered to help, but I told her it was a trap, but she didn't listen. When Doom attacked me, S.H.I.E.L.D. and all the forces focused on Latveria, which gave Felicia a chance. She took advantage of the chaos to rescue her father and ran away."
"Success?"
Peter smiled, "It worked. When I learned about this, I wasn't angry. To be honest, I wasn't angry at all. I thought she was extremely smart. As long as she didn't go to jail, I was satisfied. What did it matter if she used my injury as an excuse to run away? When I recovered, I looked for her whereabouts, but by that time, she had already made up her mind to run away."
"She had to run. Her father was a fugitive, and she didn't want to lose him again. So she herself became a fugitive, a criminal... I told her that I would go with her, and that I was willing to leave everything behind. But as soon as I finished saying that, she shocked me."
Xavier looked at him quietly for a while. "Are you willing to give up everything in New York for her? Family, friends, none of them?"
Peter pointed at his temple. Xavier understood and opened the channel of Mind Stone's induction. Peter said calmly in his mind: Yes, I do. After I gained these abilities, I was forced to become Spider-Man. I know I have to be a protector and try my best to help others. Later, I forced myself to be a better Peter·Parker, trying my best to become smarter for my family. But Felicia... she is the only thing I want in this life. So yes, if I could choose, I would give up everything for her.
Xavier disconnected and sighed softly, "It's difficult to read your mind, Peter. But I have to admit... very few people make me feel that they are living surrounded by lies."
Peter shrugged. "That's it for me."
"You see yourself as three people, right?" Xavier asked, "One is Peter·Parker, and the other is Spider-Man. There is also a third face - you regard him as your real self, right?"
Peter was stunned for a moment. "Yes... almost. It's scary accurate." He secretly sighed in his heart: He could see through him with just one glance. Mind Stone, the world's top sensor, indeed lived up to his reputation.