Chapter 152: The Turnaround
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
"Exclusive Report: The New York Mayor's Attacker Might Not Be Spider-Man!"
The day after receiving the evidence provided by Daredevil, Frontline published the story as its front-page exclusive.
"...According to a tip received by Frontline reporter Clark Kent, Spider-Man may not have been the true culprit behind the attack on the Mayor! Previous reports indicated that New York Mayor Wilson was attacked after signing an executive order targeting Superheroes from the Anti-Registration Faction. Based on clues provided by the police, Spider-Man became the prime suspect in this incident."
"However, the latest evidence suggests that Spider-Man may also have been a victim of the attack. A review of Spider-Man's movements at the time of the incident shows that while Mayor Wilson was being attacked, Spider-Man was in the vicinity of Hell's Kitchen, apprehending a burglar..."
Although the evidence exposed by Frontline currently lacked any official endorsement and was insufficient to completely clear Spider-Man of suspicion in the Mayor's attack, it still had an impact.
This was because the name Clark Kent was already associated with several exclusive news stories, all of which were later verified, lending him considerable credibility.
In particular, his successful exposure of the internal corruption within the New York City Police Department had made him famous overnight.
Therefore, many citizens who saw the Frontline report believed what Clark Kent had written, and began to think that Spider-Man might have genuinely been framed.
The Mayor's attacker was likely someone else, and there might be some unknown conspiracy behind it all.
"I knew it! There's no way Spider-Man was the one who attacked Mayor Wilson. There has to be a misunderstanding!"
"This is a conspiracy by the Pro-Registration Faction! They're trying to frame the Superheroes of the Anti-Registration Faction with this tactic. Why should they have to reveal their identities? It's an infringement on liberty! To be public or not is a personal choice; the Superheroes of the Anti-Registration Faction have the right to choose..."
"Spider-Man is the culprit. There's video proof. Clark Kent is just a grandstanding clown, making up lies for his own news story."
"Frontline, fake news!"
"Wilson is a liar! He deceived the citizens of New York and betrayed the trust we placed in him..."
Later that day, in street interviews, it was clear that the attitude of New York's citizens regarding Spider-Man's attack on the Mayor was gradually beginning to change.
Among them, a large portion still didn't believe Frontline's news, of course.
But compared to the previous, one-sided crusade that condemned Spider-Man as a murderer, a shift had occurred.
At the very least, a small number of New York citizens, after reading the News Report Colin published in Frontline, chose to believe its contents.
"Spider-Man... alright, I admit it..."
"Maybe you really aren't the killer. Although I still stand by my opinion that you possess Super Strength that shouldn't belong to you, and the way you swing around New York City in that mask is a blight on our city's beautiful landscape... but maybe, just maybe, in the case of the attack on the New York Mayor, you might actually be innocent. You're not fit to be a Superhero, but maybe you won't become a damn criminal either!"
Among the voices, another bellwether of change was the former owner of The Daily Bugle, Jameson.
It was well-known that Jameson disliked Spider-Man.
Especially after his Daily Bugle News Agency was destroyed by Spider-Man, Jameson had always considered him a thorn in his side.
In the online news program he started, he would ruthlessly tear into any news related to Spider-Man, rendering it worthless.
But as a veteran of the media, although Jameson hated Spider-Man, he hadn't suppressed Colin's News Report about him.
One had to remember, Frontline was a Newspaper Agency that Jameson secretly sponsored.
If he disliked Colin's piece on Spider-Man, he could have easily had Ben Urich kill the story.
The fact that Frontline not only ran the story but featured it on the Front Page proved, at the very least, that Jameson still held to his principles as a media professional and did not interfere with the Newspaper Agency's freedom of the press.
...
Hell's Kitchen, near the border of Midtown West.
A young black boy saw a figure pass by and immediately stopped waving the Toy Figure in his hand, shouting excitedly to his mother beside him.
"Mom, I know her! She's the Superhero who lifted the automobile to save people before!"
The black child pointed at the small, staggering figure before them, his expression one of pure excitement.
"Hey, Bart, what did I teach you!"
However, in contrast to her excited child, a heavyset Black woman nervously pulled her son into her arms and reminded him, "Don't get involved with these people. They're no good."
"But, Mom, didn't Superheroes protect Hell's Kitchen?"
"Who told you Superheroes are here to protect us? Have you forgotten how your cousin's family ended up in prison? It was because of that guy, Daredevil, who broke into your cousin's house and destroyed the crop they worked so hard to grow."
"So, Superheroes are bad guys?"
"That's right!"
"Superheroes, get out of Hell's Kitchen!"
Just as the Black woman was teaching her child that Superheroes were the cause of their family's ruin, a white man dressed like a Homeless Person by the roadside began to curse and boo. He blocked the staggering figure's path, looked down at the small person before him, and grinned, revealing a mouth full of rotten teeth.
"Hell's Kitchen doesn't need protection from you clowns!"
Bang!
However, before the Homeless Person could finish his sentence, the small figure swung her fist, leaving a clear imprint on the lamppost beside her.
Bzzzt—
Following the heavy blow, the dim yellow light of the lamppost flickered once before plunging into darkness.
"..."
Such a simple and brutish method was undeniably effective.
Stiffly, the Homeless Person looked from the clearly visible fist print on the metal lamppost to the petite Jessica in front of him and swallowed hard.
"First off, you've got one thing wrong. I'm not one of those damn, stupid Superheroes. So, don't piss me off..."
Raising the bottle in her hand for a swig, Jessica glared at the Homeless Person and the chattering Black woman nearby. Her face, full of drunken irritation, scrunched up as she spoke.
"Otherwise, I don't mind leaving the same kind of fist print on you as I did on that pole."I think people don't understand it. I have a personal website where I post advanced free chapters — there are 10 new chapters per day, so you can check it out here: soollhooaf.com