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In the bookstore's lounge, Russell stared silently at the young woman before him.
Of all the possibilities, he had never imagined that the first person to respond to his job ad would be none other than the Ghost-Spider he had encountered last night.
"Russell."
Breaking the awkward silence first, Russell extended his hand.
"Gwen, Gwen Stacy."
Gwen shook his hand, surprise flashing across her face.
Clearly, she hadn't expected the bookstore owner to be the same man she had met briefly the night before.
Pulling his hand back, Russell smiled slightly, teasing Gwen, "So, can I call you Gwen? Or should I stick with 'Ghost-Spider'?"
"Just call me Gwen when we're in public, Russell," she replied, her cheeks tinged with embarrassment. It was awkward hearing her alter-ego called out so casually.
"Alright, then just Russell for me too. Let's keep things informal," he said warmly.
"Okay, Russell," Gwen agreed, relaxing a bit.
"Gwen, can you tell me about last night? Did you manage to find the girl that vampire kidnapped?"
Russell inquired, turning the conversation towards the vampire incident. In the last three months, vampire sightings in New York had been on the rise, and he sensed that something big was brewing. If the situation got worse, he was ready to lay low for a while.
Vampires, after all, didn't drop any attribute points.
"I did find her, but... she had already been turned. Damn vampires!" Gwen's voice grew heavy as she recalled the unfortunate girl's fate.
"What did you do?"
"I brought her home and asked her family to keep an eye on her. She seemed pretty traumatized, poor thing."
"Has this been happening a lot lately? I mean, vampires turning ordinary people?" Russell pressed further.
"I've come across three or four similar cases this week alone," Gwen said with a frown. It was clear that she had also sensed something amiss.
"Do vampires exist in this world... a lot?" Gwen asked, puzzled.
She had only been in this world for a couple of weeks and had little knowledge of its deeper mysteries. There were no vampires where she came from.
"I'm not sure, but they would definitely know."
"You mean we could interrogate some vampires for answers?"
Gwen's eyes lit up with excitement as she looked at Russell.
But he quickly deflected, "Not 'we'—you, Ghost-Spider! I'm just an average guy."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Average guys don't keep their cool while killing a vampire with a UV flashlight."
"I just have a slightly better-than-average poker face, that's all," Russell said, gesturing with his fingers to emphasize the tiny difference.
"Enough about vampires. There's something else I wanted to ask you," Russell said, steering the conversation away. He had no intention of letting Gwen rope him into hunting vampires. He preferred to let her do the hard work while he reaped the information.
"What is it?"
"I'm talking about the robot fight last night. I saw you head over there on TV."
Compared to the vampires, Russell was more intrigued by what happened between Iron Man and Iron Monger. He was curious to see how the original storyline would deviate with a Spider in the mix.
"Oh, that! In the end, with Ghost-Spider's help, the wicked Obadiah was defeated," Gwen said cheerfully, her mood lifting as she recounted the event.
Helping others and battling villains filled her with a sense of accomplishment.
"Wait, are you saying that the big clunky robot was Obadiah, Stark Industries' COO? And the other red and gold one was Tony Stark?" Russell pretended to be surprised, playing the clueless bystander.
Even a bystander should be courteous and deliver proper emotional responses.
"Shh! Keep that info under wraps," Gwen said, putting a finger to her lips and lowering her voice.
"I get it, I get it," Russell nodded.
Without either noticing, Russell had moved to sit right beside Gwen. Although there was no one else in the bookstore lounge, they instinctively leaned closer, speaking in hushed tones.
"I heard that Tony Stark is holding a press conference this afternoon. Want to go check it out together?" Russell suggested, remembering a classic moment he didn't want to miss.
"What's so interesting about that?" Gwen seemed indifferent. As someone who was directly involved in last night's event, she was already aware of all the juicy details and didn't feel like going over them again.
"Besides... aren't we supposed to be conducting an interview for the reading room position?"
Shifting his tone to something more official, Russell said, "Gwen, you're hired!"
"What?!"
Gwen let out a surprised gasp, clearly caught off guard by Russell's sudden change in tone.
"This job isn't complicated. I'm confident you'll manage just fine. The responsibilities are mostly screening library patrons, maintaining order, and preventing theft. As for the specifics, you can handle them however you like," Russell explained.
"..."
Gwen looked confused. Handle it however she liked? What did that even mean?
Sensing her hesitation, Russell reassured her, "Don't stress about it. I'm running this reading room just to pass the time. Profit and loss aren't important. As for the salary, I'm not exactly sure what the market rate is, so let's start with $10,000 a month. If you're okay with that, we can sign the contract now."
With that, Russell began to get up to fetch a contract template.
"Wait a minute."
Gwen stopped him.
Although they were both strangers in a new world, Gwen had spent eighteen years living in her version of New York.
"$10,000 a month? Isn't that too high? And... can we skip the contract?"
"Why skip the contract?" Russell asked, puzzled.
"Because... because..."
How could she tell him she wasn't even from this world, that she had crossed over from a parallel universe and didn't technically exist in this reality? Even she wouldn't believe that if it hadn't happened to her!
Watching Gwen fumble for an excuse, Russell chuckled.
"Alright, no contract then. Now, let's talk salary."
Gwen breathed a sigh of relief, grateful he wasn't pushing the issue.
"$5,000 a month... no, make that $3,000."
"It's not every day someone complains about getting paid too much," Russell chuckled. "Alright, let's go with your suggestion."
"Russell."
"Yeah?"
"Can I... get an advance on my first month's salary?" Gwen asked, blushing slightly.
"I'm completely out of cash. And... I need to find a place to live."
Only God knew how she'd survived the past three weeks.
When she first arrived, Gwen was focused on finding a way home, but reality hit her hard. Food, shelter, clothing—everything cost money.
Seeing the embarrassed look on Gwen's face, Russell fell silent.
Were all superheroes this broke? Or was it just Spider-People?
(End of Chapter)