The police cruiser had barely stopped before one of its doors flew open.
Two officers quickly stepped onto the street.
The younger officer immediately headed toward the injured robber.
But the instant he saw what had happened to the man’s wrist, the color drained from his face.
He quickly reached for his radio.
The other officer, a seasoned veteran, walked straight toward Ben Parker.
“Sir, are you all right? What happened here?”
The older officer looked at Ben, then at Misaka Mikoto standing beside him.
An Asian girl wearing a strange school uniform seemed completely out of place amid the bloody scene.
“He tried to steal my car.”
Ben pointed toward the robber on the ground, still shaken by what had happened.
“And then… she saved me.”
He looked at Misaka with unmistakable gratitude.
The older officer’s gaze lingered on Misaka for a moment, suspicion written plainly across his face.
“She?”
“I did it.”
Misaka folded her arms, looking impatient.
Her stomach was practically stuck to her back from hunger, and she just wanted to get this over with and find something to eat.
“You?”
The officer clearly didn’t believe her.
He pointed toward the robber who had been taken down with a single attack.
“What did you use? Girl, this isn’t the time for jokes.”
Misaka pulled the arcade token from her pocket and casually weighed it between her fingers.
“This.”
“You did it with a coin?”
The officer looked as though he’d just heard the funniest joke of the year.
He snorted.
“All right, little lady. I understand. Did you happen to see anyone else passing through here? Maybe someone wearing armor? Or someone carrying a shield?”
Clearly, after the Battle of New York, New York’s police officers had developed a considerable tolerance for the existence of “superheroes.”
Compared with believing that a petite teenage girl could inflict such horrifying injuries, they were much more willing to believe that some passing superhero had casually dealt with the robber before leaving without taking credit.
A vein twitched on Misaka’s forehead.
She really wanted to demonstrate it again right then and there.
But common sense told her that showing off extraordinary abilities in front of the police was definitely not a wise idea.
She pursed her lips and simply stopped talking.
If they didn’t believe her, that saved her the trouble of explaining herself anyway.
Just as the officers were preparing to question her further, an anxious teenage voice came from the end of the street.
“Uncle Ben!”
A teenage boy in casual clothes came running toward them, panting heavily.
The moment he saw the flashing police lights and Ben’s car, panic filled his face.
Only after reaching them and seeing that Ben was safe did he let out a long breath of relief.
“Peter! What are you doing here?”
Ben hurried toward his nephew.
“I… I saw the police car, and I thought you…”
Peter Parker stumbled over his words, still shaken.
But then his eyes swept over the robber being lifted onto a stretcher by the paramedics.
Peter froze as though he had been struck by lightning.
That face, twisted by pain—
He recognized it!
It was the very same robber who had stolen the wrestling promoter’s money less than an hour ago.
The same man Peter had deliberately allowed to escape out of spite.
A cold chill shot from Peter’s spine straight to the top of his head.
His mind went completely blank.
If…
if no one had stopped him…
Would that gun have been pointed at Uncle Ben?
And if Uncle Ben had died because of one selfish thought of mine…
He couldn’t bring himself to think any further.
Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
“Peter, are you all right? Why are you so pale?”
Ben noticed his nephew’s strange expression and asked with concern.
He took Peter by the arm and pointed toward Misaka, who was still standing there looking annoyed, explaining everything that had happened.
“Thanks to this young lady, Misaka Mikoto. Otherwise…”
“I might really have never seen you again.”
There was lingering fear in Ben’s voice, but even more gratitude toward Misaka.
“She’s a brave, good kid.”
Every word of praise from Uncle Ben struck Peter’s heart like a heavy hammer.
Peter’s vacant gaze slowly shifted toward Misaka.
A girl who looked barely old enough to be out on her own.
Petite.
Wearing a school uniform he didn’t recognize.
Her expression showed a trace of irritation and…
Tiredness?
She was the one who saved Uncle Ben?
And what about me?
I have powers far beyond those of an ordinary person.
What have I been doing with them?
He had risked everything for a few thousand dollars in an underground fight.
Then, because he wanted revenge against a petty and unpleasant promoter, he had deliberately allowed a dangerous criminal to escape.
He had personally pushed Uncle Ben to the brink of death.
An overwhelming wave of shame and regret washed over Peter Parker.
His cheeks felt scorching hot, as though someone had just slapped him across the face.
He had gained incredible powers, yet he hadn’t taken on the responsibility that came with them.
And this strange girl standing before him hadn’t said anything at all.
She had simply acted.
And in doing so, she had taught him the most profound lesson of his life.
“I…”
Peter opened his mouth, but it felt as though his throat were stuffed with cotton.
He couldn’t get a single word out.
What was he supposed to say?
Thank you?
Or sorry?
Grrrrrr—
A loud and embarrassingly timed growl shattered the heavy atmosphere.
Misaka clutched her stomach, her cheeks turning slightly red.
Damn it!
Of all times to growl, why now?!
The sound of her stomach’s protest finally brought Ben and Peter back to their senses.
Seeing Misaka’s embarrassed expression, Ben suddenly remembered that she was still just a child.
A kindly, apologetic smile appeared on his face.
“Oh, goodness. I’m so sorry, kid. You saved my life, and I didn’t even realize you hadn’t eaten yet.”
“Come home with us. My wife, May—she makes the best chicken wraps in all of Queens!”
The older police officer looked at the Parker family, then at Misaka, whose expression clearly said, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on.
He shook his head and walked off to handle the rest of the scene.
The suspect had been apprehended, the victim was unharmed, and as for the mysterious “superhero,” that was something for the appropriate authorities to worry about.
Misaka had originally intended to refuse.
She had never liked troubling other people.
But the moment she heard the words “chicken wraps,” the hungry beast in her stomach was thoroughly awakened.
She swallowed.
She looked at Ben’s sincere expression, then glanced at the teenage boy beside him, who was still drowning in self-reproach.
“Well…”
“In that case, I guess I won’t be imposing.”
Survival comes first.
Dignity comes second.
That was what Misaka Mikoto told herself.
And so she followed the still-shaken Ben and the troubled Peter back to their cozy little home.
Once Ben told May everything that had happened on the street corner, the kind-hearted woman immediately went into action.
First, she threw her arms around Ben and hugged him tightly, making absolutely certain that he was unharmed.
Then, all of her attention shifted to Misaka.
“Oh, goodness! Sweetheart, thank you so much!”
May took Misaka’s hands, her eyes already reddening with tears.
Then came a rapid-fire series of questions.
“Are you from Japan?”
“Why are you alone in New York?”
“Where are your parents?”
Misaka was overwhelmed by the woman’s enthusiasm and could only answer honestly.
“I somehow ended up in America without really knowing how, and I can’t find my way home.”
“As for my parents…”
“They aren’t in this world.”
She meant that literally.
Her parents were alive and well in another world.
However, to the Parker family, her words meant something completely different.
They aren’t in this world.
They had died.
A teenage girl from Japan.
Both parents dead.
Alone and wandering the streets of New York.
In an instant, Ben Parker and May Parker’s minds automatically constructed an entire tragic story filled with tears, suffering, and heartbreak.
They even imagined increasingly horrifying details on their own.
Perhaps this poor girl had been kidnapped by a Japanese criminal organization and trafficked to America, where she had been forced into some unspeakable line of work.
Then, through some combination of courage and mysterious abilities, she had managed to escape.
And while starving and freezing on the streets, she had somehow happened upon Ben Parker and saved his life.
The logic chain was so “perfect” that sympathy nearly overflowed from their eyes as they looked at Misaka.
“Oh, you poor child…”
May could no longer hold back her tears.
She pulled Misaka tightly into her arms and gently patted her back.
“How much you’ve suffered…”
Being suddenly hugged by a complete stranger radiating warmth, Misaka’s entire body went rigid.
A question mark slowly seemed to appear above her head.
What the heck?
Are Americans really this emotional?
All I did was tell the truth.
Why is she crying?
She could feel Uncle Ben’s expression beside her becoming incredibly solemn.
And that boy named Peter was looking at her with a complicated mixture of sympathy, guilt, and admiration.
It was almost as though he thought she was some kind of saint who had endured unimaginable hardships.
The sorrowful expressions on the faces of the entire Parker family left Misaka completely bewildered.