At the top of the Empire State Building, the night wind gently brushed past the two people snuggling together.
Gwen leaned against Peter's shoulder, playing with the warm emerald dragon scale in her hand:
"So where exactly did this thing come from?" She tilted her head, her deep blue eyes filled with curiosity,
"And that ability you have to restore objects—those aren't things that can be done relying on knowledge of physics or biology."
"Of course, it's not some scientific invention. It's magic!"
He placed his finger on Gwen's brow, using the horse talisman to help her quickly recover from the fatigue after the big battle.
To cover up the existence of the incomprehensible System, Peter had decided to commit fully to his "Magical Boy" persona.
"magic?" Gwen's eyes widened. If she weren't currently experiencing the healing of magic herself, she would definitely suspect Peter was making fun of her again.
"That's right," Peter said, talking nonsense with a straight face.
"There are many different types of magic in this World, but the magic I possess is different from everyone else's."
"The magic I have was bestowed upon me by an Oriental Divine Dragon. This scale is also one of the gifts he gave me..."
In the time that followed, Peter made up a story for Gwen about a "Divine Dragon and the Chosen Child."
Gwen quickly accepted this premise; the facts were right before her eyes, so she had no choice but to believe it.
"You know, when I got this dragon scale, the first person I thought of was you."
Peter reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Gwen's ear. His gentle movements and words made the girl's heart skip a beat.
She had indeed been a little jealous before because Peter gave the dragon scale to Felicia, but hearing Peter say this now, that small knot in her heart vanished instantly:
"Don't. I couldn't handle that style of fighting. Compared to controlling water with singing from the rear, I still prefer solving problems directly with webs and fists!"
"I knew you'd say that." Peter smiled and then teased,
"After all, my Little Spider is quite the chatterbox. If she had to keep singing during a fight, wouldn't she be driven crazy?"
"I am not~" Gwen argued with a red face, but she subconsciously imagined the scene in her mind... Okay, if that really happened, she would indeed go crazy.
"Thinking about it like that, the dragon scale really is more suitable for Felicia. Her singing is great, and she truly needs the power to protect herself."
Speaking of this, Gwen couldn't help but smile:
"The three of us teaming up as superheroes... the thought of it is quite interesting. Oh, right, speaking of which, she doesn't have a proper code name yet!"
Actually, Peter had already thought of a suitable new title for Felicia, but being too proactive now—how would that be different from outing himself?
So he decisively acted as if he had just realized it:
"I would have forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. If Felicia is going to join us in the future, she definitely needs a suitable title."
Hearing that Peter had never thought about a title for Felicia, and comparing that to how he had thought of a title for her on her very first day as a superhero...
Gwen didn't say it, but in her heart, she couldn't be more satisfied.
"If you ask me..." Gwen said after thinking for a moment.
"How about Mera... uh, but would DC have an issue with that name? Or maybe 'Banshee'? 'Tidecaller Diva'? 'Water Queen'?"
Noticing Peter's strange look and his hesitant expression, Gwen also felt that these names were indeed a bit too cliché, on the same level as "White Widow" or "Spider-Woman."
"No, you do it. I feel like you're better at naming things."
Hearing this, Peter deliberately put on a look of deep thought, and only after a moment did he toss out the name he had long since prepared:
"Emmm... how about 'nightingale'?"
In other parallel Universes, Felicia Hardy was supposed to become "Black Cat," but now that Felicia had gained the recognition of the emerald dragon scale, she had taken a completely different path.
Thus, Peter gave her the name "nightingale."
The nightingale's song is beautiful and moving, and it loves to be active at night, which perfectly matched Felicia's performance of singing loudly on Seventh Avenue tonight.
Hearing this suggestion, Gwen's eyes lit up: "That sounds great! That's the one!"
She immediately took out her phone and sent a message to Felicia:
[Hero title: nightingale. Peter came up with it for you! How is it, do you like it? From now on, we can continue fighting side by side after school!]
In her bedroom, looking at the message from Gwen, Felicia couldn't help but show a very complex expression.
First, The Punisher's robust and perfect physique appeared before her eyes, but then, that masked face was immediately replaced by Peter's handsome and gentle smiling face.
This caused Felicia to have a bit of a breakdown, burying her beautiful face completely in her pillow.
Why did things turn out like this?
She finally felt her heart flutter for someone, only to find out his true identity was her good friend, and he was already basically in a committed relationship with her best friend.
Felicia wanted to reject all of this, to keep her distance from Peter so her restless heart could calm down.
But... what girl could refuse becoming a superhero admired by thousands? Or refuse the magical abilities she had already experienced once?
So, Felicia ultimately, as if possessed, typed out this reply on her phone:
[I like it very much... see you at school tomorrow]
By the time she realized what she had done, it was too late; phones these days didn't have a recall function.
"How did it come to this..."
Felicia murmured softly, then fell into a deeper level of inner conflict.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for Felicia.
Of course, in the vast city of New York, she was certainly not the only one destined for insomnia... "Tony, thank God you're back!"
Downstairs at Stark Industries, when Pepper saw Tony return alive and in one piece, she couldn't help but hug him excitedly.
Smelling the pleasant scent of perfume on Pepper, Tony only felt a wave of thirst:
"You know what, Pepper? I stayed in that hellhole of Afghanistan for nearly half a month. Now there are only two things on my mind. The first is to eat a cheeseburger immediately, and the second is..."
Pepper quickly covered Tony's mouth. There were paparazzi and reporters staked out all around! Stop saying those embarrassing things!
Meanwhile, on the top floor of Stark Industries.
Looking at Tony being all lovey-dovey with Pepper, Tony's "good uncle," Obadiah Stane, couldn't help but smash the wine glass in his hand in a fit of rage:
"Fuck! What on earth did those useless trash from the Ten Rings Gang grow up eating? They can't even deal with a playboy like him!"