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*****
Peter looked at Gwen curiously.
Gwen put down her chopsticks, her expression extremely serious and solemn.
The four of them, Peter included, couldn't help but follow suit and become serious.
"Pfft!"
Gwen couldn't resist letting out a laugh. Under the four's baffled gazes, she announced cheerfully, "The break is starting soon, let's go play on Kent Star!"
"Kent Star!"
Gwen: "Shh!"
The four of them quickly clamped their hands over their mouths, but their eyes were still dancing with excitement.
Gwen was very pleased with their reactions, but she paused slightly when she noticed a faint red mark under Mary's hair, partially hidden by makeup but still discernible. She quickly looked away, trying to be as natural as possible.
"That's awesome! Kent Star!"
Harry cheered softly, his mind already racing with thoughts of what to pack.
"What's there to do for fun?" Luke asked with anticipation.
Gwen thought for a moment, gently biting her finger. "I haven't been there in ages, either. But Dad said the development up there is happening really fast. I'm not completely sure, but there are lots of beautiful sights."
"The Bubble Grasslands, the Reverse-Flow Waterfall, and the Floating Mountains..."
As Gwen ticked off the places she had visited, the little group's eyes grew brighter and brighter, like shining lightbulbs.
These were all fascinating locations that Mike and Jor-El had designed themselves after taking control of the planet.
"Stop talking about it, I'm already dying to go see it!" Harry was thrilled.
"I'd actually like to check out Kent City. I heard Future-Tech Industries moved to Kent Star, and their technology is incredible," Peter mused, giving his glasses a slight push.
"Peter, you're such a geek!" Harry slung an arm around Peter's shoulders, teasing, "A guy has to be a little romantic, or you'll never get a girl."
"I-is that right?"
Peter's expression faltered for a second, and he couldn't resist sneaking a peek at Gwen.
Gwen rolled her eyes and said dismissively, "You guys are nowhere near being men. My brother and my dad, that's what real men are like."
"..."
The three boys stared at Gwen, utterly speechless.
Could you please not compare us to your family?
"If Gwen insists on finding a boyfriend who meets her family's standards, she's probably going to be single for life," Harry muttered under his breath.
"Harry!" Gwen hissed through gritted teeth.
That guy! How dare he curse her!
Mary Jane listened quietly to their banter, her eyes dimming as she pressed her lips together.
"Um, I don't think I can go," she said. "My family and I have to visit some relatives."
Mary Jane forced a smile as best she could, but her heart was filled with bitterness. She could even feel the wound on her face begin to throb hotly again.
"That's such a shame."
"Seriously? Such a great opportunity."
"Can't you just come with us?"
Seeing the expressions on Harry, Peter, and Luke, the bitterness in Mary Jane's heart only intensified.
She desperately wanted to, of course. But when she thought about her mother lying in bed, and the fact that her mother would have to face that abusive father all alone if she left, Mary Jane suppressed the urge. She offered the group an apologetic smile.
Just as Harry, Peter, and Luke were about to protest, Gwen squeezed Mary's hand and cut them off. "Real men don't waste time with so many words. Mary obviously has her reasons for not going. There's always next time."
"Gwen..." Mary Jane looked at Gwen, her eyes filled with gratitude.
Gwen gave Mary Jane a reassuring smile. "Now, eat up!"
A few minutes later, they finished their food and headed toward their classroom. Taking advantage of a moment when Mary Jane went to the restroom, Gwen snapped her fingers at Peter, Harry, and Luke. As the three boys looked at her curiously, Gwen beckoned them closer with a hooked finger.
The trio's eyes brightened, and they leaned their heads in.
"What's up?"
"We've got a job to do."
A cold glint flashed in Gwen's eyes.
"But I checked our website, and it doesn't seem like anyone has requested help," Peter said, a little confused.
Luke, as if realizing something, asked in surprise, "Is it Mary?"
"Exactly!" Gwen gave Luke an appreciative look, then turned to Peter and Harry. "You two are really slow on the uptake."
"Wait, what's wrong with Mary? Someone dares to bully her?" Harry found it hard to believe.
At their school, if anyone dared to bully any one of them, he, Harry, would make sure that person found out exactly who Harry Osborn was.
"Smack!"
Gwen smacked Harry on the back of the head without mercy. "So dense! How are you supposed to be the Osborn heir acting like this?"
Harry: "..."
Fine, so he just hadn't been paying that much attention to Mary, that's all.
"I'm guessing it's Mary's father," Gwen whispered, her expression thoughtful.
"Her father? That can't be right, can it?" Luke frowned.
"She has a handprint on her face. It's an adult's. If it were someone unrelated, Mary would have told us."
"And besides," Peter added, "Mary's family situation has always been rough."
"So, we investigate this secretly?"
"Yeah. Don't say anything to Mary about this. It would just make her feel terrible." Gwen made the decision.
Since Mary Jane hadn't told them, she clearly had her own reservations. Maybe she didn't want her family's shameful problems to affect her friends, or perhaps she just didn't want anyone to know about her situation at home...
But regardless, now that they, as her friends, had noticed, they couldn't just pretend they hadn't seen a thing.
Titan Squad, secret operation!
The four exchanged a knowing glance. When Mary Jane returned, they all acted as if nothing had happened.
...
The winter sunlight spilled over Mary Jane, but it failed to bring her even a trace of warmth.
She glanced at the sun, which was close to setting, and then at her house in the near distance. She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.
The smile she usually wore had vanished. The girl who was normally so strong, bright, and bold now resembled a small, drenched kitten caught in the rain.
She took a deep breath, mustering her courage, and headed home.
Her house, also in Queens, was a small two-story building that looked its age.
She cautiously pushed open the door. Not seeing the nightmarish figure she dreaded, she felt a small wave of relief.
She dropped her schoolbag and went up to the bedroom.
"Mom."
She pushed the door open. Looking at the woman lying on the bed, covered in bruises, she called out softly, her eyes filled with pain.
Madeline opened her eyes. When she saw her daughter, a smile formed on her face.
"How was school today?"
Looking at Mary Jane's face, her eyes filled with guilt.
She felt so useless. She couldn't even protect her own daughter. On the contrary, this child had gotten hit again yesterday, just for trying to protect her.
"I'm fine!" Mary Jane put on a smile for her mother. "How's your leg?" she asked with concern. "Does it still hurt?"
Madeline hugged Mary Jane and whispered, "With my Mary here, it doesn't hurt."
Despite her words, a thick shadow of fear flashed in her eyes when she thought of her husband.
Alcoholism. Domestic violence.
As soon as he touched alcohol, that scoundrel of a husband of hers turned into a demon.
Yesterday, she had only complained a couple of times, and he had beaten her savagely.
Her face, her body, her broken leg... she had genuinely thought she was going to be beaten to death. But Mary Jane had courageously jumped in front of her, pushing her husband away.
And as a result, her daughter had been hit, too.
It's all my fault. Madeline thought, filled with remorse and helplessness.
"Mom, you must be hungry. I'll go make you something to eat."
Mary Jane stroked her mother's head, then gently bumped her forehead against hers. With that, she headed downstairs.
She opened the refrigerator and looked at the ingredients inside. Feeling a bit troubled by the limited options, Mary Jane started to prepare dinner.
Recalling the egg-fried rice tutorial she had watched, Mary Jane fumbled her way through making it.
Looking at the rather unappetizing-looking fried rice, Mary Jane nonetheless felt a small sense of accomplishment.
She carried two plates of the fried rice upstairs and gave one to her mother. After her mother took a bite, Mary Jane asked eagerly, "How is it?"
"It's not bad, but..." Madeline frowned slightly, then booped Mary Jane on the nose. "It would be perfect with just a little less salt."
"But I love it."
Mary Jane happily rubbed her nose.
Just as the mother and daughter were sharing their simple but warm dinner.
"BANG!"
The sound of the door slamming.
Both of them trembled involuntarily. Madeline was so frightened she nearly leaped out of her skin.
Creak... creak...
The old wooden floorboards emitted an awful grating sound. Every footstep felt like it was stomping directly on both of their hearts.
After a few seconds, the footsteps vanished.
Just as the two of them breathed a sigh of relief, a string of curses erupted from downstairs, followed by the sharp, crisp sound of something shattering.
"Mary Jane! Get your ass down here!"
Mary Jane pressed her lips together. Though terrified, she decided to go downstairs.
She knew perfectly well that if she didn't go down, that scum she was forced to call 'father' would storm upstairs and start on her mother.
Her mom couldn't take another beating.
Looking at her bruised and battered mother, Mary Jane got to her feet.
"Don't go!" Madeline grabbed Mary Jane's hand, her eyes filled with terror and worry.
"Don't be scared, Mom. I'll be fine."
Mary Jane forced a bright smile, set her plate aside, and walked downstairs.
Madeline watched Mary Jane walk into the dim light. She watched her daughter slowly descend the stairs, looking as if she were about to be swallowed by the darkness. Madeline struggled, painfully pulling herself out of bed and grabbing the crutch that lay beside it.
Meanwhile, Mary Jane had reached the bottom of the stairs.
Her gaze first swept over the shattered plate on the floor. Seeing the grains of rice stuck to the floorboards, she pressed her lips together and mustered the courage to look at that piece of scum.
She saw her father, Philip, face flushed, guzzling from a beer bottle.
If only... he would just drink himself to death like that. How nice would that be.
Looking at him, the thought uncontrollably surfaced in Mary Jane's mind.
"You damn waste of money! Did you make this?"
Seeing Mary Jane, Philip slammed his beer bottle down on the table and staggered slowly toward her.
Mary Jane took a fearful step back, but then defiantly lifted her chin.
Perhaps that small, defiant gesture provoked the scum. He swung, slapping Mary Jane so hard across the face that she was knocked to the floor.
"Damn waste of money! It's all your fault for making the food so salty! And you made me drop my plate!"
The scum cursed, grabbed his beer for another swig, and then, spraying spittle as he yelled, he advanced on Mary Jane. He grabbed her face, squeezing it hard.
"I told you! Don't make this damn Chinese food! Dammit! I hate Chinese food!"
"You understand me?"
"Dammit! Don't you look at me like that!"
The scum roared and violently shoved Mary Jane flat onto the ground.
Mary Jane's hand landed on a sharp shard of glass, and blood immediately began to gush from the wound.
Seeing this, the scum felt not a shred of pity. Instead, he stood up and kicked Mary Jane hard in the side.
"Such a fucking bad omen!"
He cursed and was about to kick her again when Mary Jane's mother rushed down the stairs.
She saw Mary Jane's bleeding hand, and her body trembled. A roar filled her head, and to Mary Jane's absolute astonishment, she swung the crutch and hit that scum.
Mary Jane froze.
This was the first time in her entire memory that her timid, broken mother had ever fought back against that scum.
Thwack!
With a solid crack, the crutch connected with the scum's head. A gash opened up, and blood immediately began to well out.
The scum froze, stunned.
This was the first time anything like this had ever happened to him.
The impact sobered him up considerably in an instant.
"Bitch! Are you trying to die?"
The scum roared, grabbed Madeline by the hair, and slammed her to the floor. Clenching his fists, he began to relentlessly beat the woman.
Madeline screamed, lying defenseless on the ground.
Mary Jane screamed and threw herself at the man.
The scum staggered, knocked off balance. He glared at the mother and daughter, clutching his bleeding head, and roared, "Just you wait! I'll settle accounts with you both when I get back!"
With that, he pressed his hand to his bleeding head and staggered unsteadily out the door.
Watching the scum leave, Mary Jane wiped her tears as she held her mother. "Mom, let's leave," she pleaded. "We can go anywhere."
"But how will we survive? And he'll never let us go... He'll beat me to death."
Madeline was terrified.
She had run away before. She had even tried to divorce him. But every attempt had only resulted in an even more terrifying beating.
It was clear that after such prolonged domestic abuse, she had lost all courage to break free.
And that desperate swing with the crutch tonight... perhaps that had been her last remaining shred of courage.
Mary Jane retrieved the crutch and helped her mother up, slowly heading upstairs.
Watching the backs of the mother and daughter, and the bright red droplets of blood on the floor, they looked so desolate, as if they had been abandoned by the entire world...
What Mary Jane didn't notice, however, was that as the two of them turned to go upstairs, a small, inconspicuous, palm-sized robot slipped out from a corner and quickly departed.
At that very moment, Gwen, Peter, Harry, and Luke, witnessing this entire scene through the small robot, felt as if bombs had been stuffed into their chests, ready to detonate at any second.
"Bastard! This is infuriating!"
"Dammit! That's not a father, that's a monster!"
"Poor Mary Jane!"
The three boys cursed, furious. Harry nearly smashed the remote control for the robot in his hands.
Gwen was equally furious. She took a deep breath. "We have to help them."
The three boys nodded without a trace of hesitation.
Gwen paused in thought for a moment.
"I think we need to do the following."
"First, we teach that bastard a lesson. We make him agree to a divorce and make him leave Mary and her mom alone for good. Second, we help Mary Jane's mother get out of this situation, like finding her a job that can support them after the divorce. Third, Mary Jane can't know we did any of this. She's a strong person, and she has her pride."
"Anything to add?"
Gwen's gaze swept over the three boys. Seeing them shake their heads, she gave a sharp order: "Alright then, Titan Squad! Move out!"
(End of this chapter)