The night wind that swept Kaitou Kid away also blew Spider-Man in. He handed over the gemstone, the rose, and the card to Commissioner Stonberg. Spider-Man knew the commissioner. As a volunteer superhero, he had frequent run-ins with the police, and he got along fairly well with the commissioner.
"Spider-Man," said Commissioner Stonberg, unsurprised to see him. "You're too late. That damn thief already got away."
Spider-Man knew the stout commissioner hated crime with a passion and despised criminals the most. But Kaitou Kid wasn't just a common thief. "At least he left these behind."
When the gemstone was placed into the commissioner's hand, he looked stunned. "How's that possible?"
"Kaitou Kid returned it. He also left these two things behind."
The rose was an unusual shade—a pale lavender, specially cultivated by Kaitou Kid himself. The card had a message written on it: "Kaitou Kid's second performance in New York has ended successfully. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Damn it!" It was a provocation. The commissioner forgot the card was evidence and crumpled it in a rage. "I will catch you, Kaitou Kid."
Just thinking about tomorrow's headlines—how Kid escaped from under heavy police guard—made his head hurt. He had hoped to capture Kid and show the world the strength of the NYPD. Now it looked like New York's police were the ones being laughed at.
Being played like a monkey drove the commissioner nearly to the point of fainting.
From the moment the smoke bombs and card storm were deployed to the appearance and disappearance of Kaitou Kid, only about four minutes had passed. The police didn't make any real mistakes—Kaitou Kid was just too cunning. No one expected the masks to be nothing more than a distraction, while the real Kid used the commotion to climb to the rooftop via grappling line.
A classic misdirection. And Kid vanished without a trace.
Once again, Kaitou Kid succeeded. His fame skyrocketed overnight.
The next day at school, Peter Parker's classmates who had been there in person told the story with exaggerated enthusiasm, raving about how magical Kaitou Kid was. In their eyes, he had become a figure even greater than a superhero.
"But isn't he just a thief?" some less-informed students asked. Peter perked up his ears to listen.
"Kaitou's not your average thief. Tell me—what kind of thief gives the stolen goods back? What kind of thief steps up when the city's in chaos? I'm telling you, Kaitou's on par with any superhero," said one of Kid's fans.
"Yeah right. Superheroes fight crime and protect people. What has Kaitou done besides stealing a nuke?"
"You don't get it," the fan argued. Defending their idol came naturally. "I've followed him since his very first news headline. By my count, he's directly or indirectly helped the police solve several cases. First, he lured them to a drug lab. Second, he stole a nuclear bomb. Later, he even beat Bane. And he never keeps the things he steals. He just takes them as part of the act. Kid isn't just a thief. He's the Moonlight Magician."
Peter had to admit—someone who returned stolen goods probably wasn't all bad. Still, treating theft as performance art was... kind of annoying. Spider-Man didn't even know what to do if he met Kaitou Kid again. Arrest him? Let him go?
Even Mary Jane was one of Kid's fans. That made things complicated.
Oh, right—he still hadn't given her that gift. Yesterday, he didn't hand the commissioner the mask left by Kaitou Kid. When he saw Mary Jane's disappointed face, he knew she'd wanted one too.
Spider-Man was really something, but in the end, she was just a high schooler. A little selfishness was normal. The only thing was—he still hadn't figured out how to give it to her. Peter imagined the ideal scenario would be to pretend to bump into her by chance, then casually hand over the gift. But making it feel natural was way too difficult. So, he decided to call Liu A'dou, his reliable older buddy, for advice on how to confess his feelings to a girl.
When Liu A'dou picked up a call from an unfamiliar number, he was surprised. He hadn't expected Spider-Man to still have the number he gave him at the end of last year.
Still, Liu A'dou readily agreed. Since Spider-Man wasn't going to reveal his identity, the two arranged to meet in a quiet, secluded place. Liu A'dou didn't mind stepping back into the role of the empathetic older brother.
Saturday morning, at an abandoned children's amusement park. When Liu A'dou drove up, Spider-Man was already there, lazily swaying on a rusted swing.
It was eight in the morning—pretty early. Liu A'dou had picked up breakfast on the way.
"Spider-Man, no wonder you're a superhero, waking up this early," Liu A'dou said with a smile. "Had breakfast yet? I brought plenty."
"Thanks." Spider-Man took the drink A'dou handed him, lifted his mask just enough to reveal his mouth, and sipped the warm coffee through a straw. "Tastes great."
There was more food, and they shared it.
The two sat together, staring out at the rundown surroundings. This place was on the edge of the city, far from downtown. Living here was inconvenient, so the residents had all moved out, leaving behind empty houses and rusted, forgotten playground equipment.
The swing creaked back and forth. Finally, Spider-Man spoke. "Actually, I wanted to ask... how do you confess to a girl you like?" It took a lot of courage for him to even ask that question.
Liu A'dou understood. Spider-Man was still a kid, not like himself—young in appearance but already mature on the inside. Honestly, Liu A'dou wanted to tell him, You should be focused on getting into a good college, not chasing girls.
But he knew Spider-Man was a top student. If anyone had earned the right to talk about love, it was him. Plus, it was clear he had zero experience and was full of doubt. The only thing A'dou didn't know was—who exactly was this girl? Was it Gwen, or Mary Jane?
In the old and new versions of the Spider-Man movies, Peter's girlfriend was different. In the newer ones, Gwen was his first love, but sadly, she died later. Mary Jane was his future wife, someone he'd meet in college. Of course, the movies adapted things. In the older versions, Mary Jane was both Peter's first love and his wife. Gwen didn't even appear.
"How did you two meet?" Liu A'dou asked. From Spider-Man's answer, he could probably figure out who the girl was.
"We've been neighbors since we were little. We've known each other forever."
Got it. It was Mary Jane.
But Mary Jane was a total beauty, always surrounded by guys. Peter confessing now basically meant certain failure. Still, if he stayed close and loyal, never gave up, someday Mary Jane would find out the unremarkable Peter Parker was actually Spider-Man—and fall deeply in love with him.
Looking at it that way, Spider-Man's fate really was tragic. No wonder he was the people's hero. In some alternate comic universes, the whole Marvel dating scene was a mess. There were even stories where Iron Man stole Mary Jane from him. His luck was truly rock bottom.
Now, with Spider-Man turning to Liu A'dou for love advice, A'dou thought hard. It really was tough. Peter Parker was a high schooler who, besides being a straight-A student, didn't have much else going for him. He got bullied all the time. Trying to pursue Mary Jane was harder than reaching the moon. Especially now—she was young, full of dreams and fantasies. A guy like Peter was the last thing she'd consider. Yeah, this was going to be one hell of a challenge.