Peter Parker looked around cautiously before taking a deep breath.
"Watch this."
After saying just those two words, he tossed his backpack aside and approached the wall of the alley.
Under Ronan's watchful eyes, Peter began climbing the wall, step by step.
Just like a spider!
Ronan's eyes widened in disbelief.
It wasn't that he was shocked by Peter Parker's abilities—he already knew about them.
What surprised him was why Peter was showing this to him.
Given Peter's character, shouldn't he be keeping this a secret, telling no one?
Why suddenly reveal his powers in front of Ronan?
After all, their relationship wasn't that close.
Thud!
A soft sound echoed as Peter jumped down from the wall.
The landing was so light that if the alley hadn't been so quiet, Ronan might not have even heard it.
So this is what Spider mutation powers are like?
"You, you, you..."
"You're a superhuman?"
Ronan staggered back two steps with a look of mock terror, using every acting trick he'd picked up from cheesy TV dramas.
It might've been a bit over-the-top, but surely, fooling a high schooler wouldn't be too hard, right?
Now it was Peter Parker's turn to look speechless.
Two days ago, Peter had personally witnessed Ronan step through a portal.
Seeing Ronan's exaggerated reaction now, did he think Peter was some gullible child?
"Ronan, I know you're a superhuman too."
"Two days ago, the day the aliens invaded Earth, right here in this alley..."
"I saw you step through a portal and vanish in a flash."
"I was hiding here the whole time."
Peter pointed to the trash can nearby with a face full of frustration.
At that time, he had been hiding there.
Everything Ronan did had been seen by Peter.
Ronan smacked his forehead, feeling helpless.
He had been in such a rush to get back to Kamar-Taj to watch the action that he forgot to check if anyone was around.
After all these years of never making such a mistake, the one time he didn't check, it ended up biting him.
And the person who saw him was Peter Parker!
This...
Sigh...
"Peter, is there any chance you might have seen it wrong?"
"If I could vanish as fast as you say, why would I even bother coming to school?"
"Wouldn't it be better to lead tours and make money?"
Ronan took a deep breath, planning to "convince" Peter with logic.
If it were anyone else, Ronan's words might have worked.
I mean, come on, why would someone with that kind of ability still attend high school?
But it didn't work on Peter Parker.
Because Peter had powers of his own.
"No, I didn't see it wrong—that was definitely your face!"
Peter shook his head firmly, not buying Ronan's excuses.
What he saw was what he saw.
Ronan clenched his fists. Why won't this kid take a hint?
Adults always leave each other some room to save face.
Oh wait, they weren't adults yet. Never mind.
"Then, could it be possible that those violent aliens transformed into my appearance?"
"They might have been trying to mimic me, to blend in on Earth."
"But thanks to the Avengers' efforts, their plan failed."
Ronan threw out another theory.
This time, it was Peter's turn to hesitate.
He'd seen enough alien movies to know that some aliens could shapeshift, and sometimes, even the real person couldn't tell the difference.
Could it be that... Ronan was telling the truth?
Seeing Peter waver, Ronan immediately pressed his advantage.
"Look, Peter, you might've been too scared at the time, so it's totally normal to have seen things wrong."
"But let's say you're right—I believe you."
"In my opinion, it's most likely that an alien took my form, trying to teleport to my house, kill me, and replace me."
"But because of the Avengers, their plan was foiled."
Ronan's eyes darted around as his smart brain worked at full speed.
His home country had thousands of years of history when it came to the art of persuasion.
Now, he just needed to use a little bit of that to fool a high schooler—easy work.
As for the idea of aliens wanting to replace him...
Ha, if the Skrulls ever tried that, Ronan would leave them to deal with The Ancient One. Problem solved.
"Think about it, Peter. If I had such powers, do you really think I could resist showing them off?"
"Just like you—you have amazing powers too, and you couldn't resist sharing them with someone."
"That's perfectly normal!"
This time, Ronan not only used logic, but he also involved Peter himself in the explanation.
He didn't need to guess—he knew Peter Parker definitely had the urge to show off his powers.
That youthful desire to show off was impossible to suppress.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be a Spider-Man.
Hearing this, Peter even nodded in agreement.
Seeing Peter nod, Ronan was overjoyed.
He knew the battle was half-won!
"So, you probably saw an alien that day."
"But I strongly recommend not telling anyone about this. After all, who knows if the folks in those white coats might think you were infected by the aliens."
"And then drag you into some secret lab to be dissected."
"Especially since you have powers now too!"
If you want to persuade someone, logic alone isn't enough. You also need a bit of fear.
First, you present your reasoning, then bring the other person into the story, and finally, point out the dangers.
Nine times out of ten, they'll hesitate, and that's when you win them over!
"This..."
Peter was clearly flustered now.
After all, he was still just a high school kid.
And having only recently gained his powers, he was already worried about potential dangers.
Now that Ronan had spoken his fears out loud, Peter felt a wave of regret.
He regretted being so impulsive and rash in revealing his powers to Ronan.
If he'd taken his time, done some investigation, maybe even asked Ronan subtly, he wouldn't have needed to show his hand like this.
So, now his mind was filled with one thing:
Regret.
Deep regret!
Seeing Peter's state, Ronan knew he had him.
It was time for the final step.
"Don't worry, Peter. I didn't see anything today, and we didn't talk about anything."
"I'll keep your secret safe."
"You know me—I'm the best at keeping secrets."
Ronan patted Peter on the shoulder, and without waiting for him to respond, turned and started walking away.
On one hand, he had said enough—any more, and it might backfire.
On the other hand, leaving Peter with some room to think was the best option.
"Thanks."
"I just wanted to talk to someone about it."
"Keeping it all inside is hard."
Just as Ronan walked a few steps away, Peter spoke up to thank him.
See? He's even thanking me.
Of course, Ronan chose to ignore Peter's last sentence.
Without turning back, Ronan simply waved his hand at Peter.
"Mm-hmm, sure, no problem."
"No need to thank me."
"See you."