Chapter 52: Robbing Incident

Two days had passed since the Goblin's attack on the breakthrough ceremony, and Maverick had finally learned from the news what had happened that day.

It turned out that the Goblin, whom Maverick had nearly dealt with before, had attempted to assassinate a wealthy man again. It seemed the Goblin had a real penchant for money, going from robbing a jewelry exhibition last time to attempting to murder a wealthy individual this time.

From the footage captured at the scene, it was evident that the Goblin didn't have any deep-seated grudge against Wilson Fisk. It was clear he had been hired to carry out the assassination.

If the Goblin had truly had a personal vendetta against Wilson Fisk, he wouldn't have wasted so much time tangled up with Spider-Man. Instead, he would have gone all out to kill Fisk, regardless of Spider-Man's interference.

Watching the footage of Spider-Man grappling with the Goblin's glider, Maverick understood why he had seen Peter falling from the sky that day.

'Poor Peter Parker.' (A/N: Insert Lizard choking Peter scene) Maverick thought to himself. Peter must have been in a lot of pain that day but pretended like nothing had happened. Little did Peter know, Maverick, through Venom, was well aware of his situation.

As Maverick leisurely continued to eat breakfast with Venom, the morning news began airing on TV.

The TV showed surveillance footage from a museum. In the footage, Spider-Man was seen breaking through the glass and stealing numerous artifacts. When security guards tried to stop him, he injured several of them and hung them from the museum's ceiling.

Along with the footage, the news anchor provided commentary on the events.

"Pfft~!" Maverick couldn't hold back and ended up spitting out his milk.

Coughing and struggling to comprehend, Maverick asked Venom, "Did I see that right? Spider-Man robbing a museum!"

Venom, annoyed by the milk that had splashed on it, shook itself off and replied, "You saw it correctly and heard it right. That's exactly what the footage shows."

"But why would Spider-Man rob a museum?" Maverick remained puzzled. "From the actions and techniques in the footage, it's clear that although this person is trying hard to imitate Spider-Man, they aren't the real Spider-Man."

Analyzing the footage carefully, Maverick noted that while the person in the video looked identical to Peter's usual gear, a closer observation revealed that his movements and fighting style were not as fluid.

"It seems someone is impersonating that fool and committing robberies," Venom nodded in agreement, noticing the same oddities as Maverick.

"Peter must be really troubled by this. I wonder how his back is doing. Suddenly, I think developing a pain relief medication could be quite profitable. We could even get Spider-Man to endorse it," Maverick mused, continuing to eat with Venom.

As Maverick had predicted, Peter was stunned when he saw the news on TV.

What was going on? When had he ever robbed a museum? This was defamation, slander!

After his fight with the Goblin, he had taken a hard fall. His back was still aching. With his healing factor, he could manage, but an ordinary person might have sustained lifelong injuries, or worse, died from such a fall.

"Oh, Peter, this is terrifying! Spider-Man robbing a museum?" Aunt May exclaimed, shocked by the news. Knowing that Peter took photos of Spider-Man, she was now even more worried about the dangers he faced.

"Child, maybe you should find another job. Spider-Man is too dangerous. What if he hurts you?" Aunt May said, concerned.

Peter felt a pang of frustration but swallowed it down, understanding that Aunt May was just worried about him.

"Trust me, Aunt May, Spider-Man isn't like that. This has to be someone framing him," Peter assured her.

At the same time, Jameson called him, demanding that he head to the museum featured in the news to take photos.

For Jameson, the editor of the Daily Bugle and Spider-Man's number one critic, this was a golden opportunity. He was convinced that the so-called hero had finally shown his true colors, and he was determined to expose Spider-Man's villainous side to the public.

After hanging up the phone, Peter lost his appetite. He told Aunt May he had to go and then hurried out towards the museum.

By the time he arrived, Jameson and the photography team from the Daily Bugle were already set up and ready.

Seeing Peter approach, Jameson scowled and barked, "It's time for you to do your job. Make sure you capture every detail of this crime scene."

"Yes, sir. I didn't expect you to be covering this personally," Peter responded.

Jameson straightened his tie and said, "When it comes to Spider-Man, I always report personally."

Then, recalling something, he asked with a stern face, "By the way, why haven't I seen a single photo from you this morning?"

Peter felt a pang of guilt and awkwardly scratched his head, replying, "Uh, I'm really sorry."

"Sorry doesn't sell newspapers! Do you even consider yourself a journalist?" Jameson lectured him.

Peter could only feel immensely embarrassed, knowing he had indeed slacked off and was now being reprimanded by his boss.

Just as Jameson was about to continue his tirade, the cameraman signaled that they were ready to start recording. Jameson swallowed his words and focused on preparing for the broadcast.

In an instant, his expression transformed from one of perpetual annoyance to one of solemnity and friendliness suitable for the news: "Good day, viewers. Welcome to today's Bugle News. Behind me is the museum that Spider-Man robbed last night."

"Last night, this pest that has been plaguing New York finally showed his true colors. I will now give you a tour of this terrifying crime scene."

"I knew he would say that," Peter muttered to himself, exasperated by Jameson's bias. All he wanted now was to find out who was framing him.

Crossing the police line, Peter made his way to the innermost warehouse, where the security guards were reportedly hung up by Spider-Man and left overnight.

Surveying the dimly lit warehouse, Peter finally spotted a remnant of white webbing in an inconspicuous corner of the ceiling.

Seeing no one around, he discreetly climbed the wall, retrieved the piece of web, and then returned to the ground.

°°°

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