Chapter 4: Parker Family
The car door slammed open, and two police officers quickly got out.
One young officer immediately rushed toward the robber groaning on the ground. When he saw the bloody, mangled wrist, his face paled, and he immediately called for an ambulance over the radio.
The other, more experienced officer walked straight toward Ben Parker.
"Sir, are you alright? What happened here?"
The officer glanced at Ben Parker, then his gaze fell on Misaka Mikoto beside him. An Asian girl in a strange school uniform seemed out of place in this bloody scene
"He tried to steal my car," Ben explained, pointing at the man on the ground, the fear still lingering in his voice. "Then… she saved me."
He glanced toward Mikoto with deep gratitude.
The older officer gave her a long, skeptical look.
"Her?"
"I did it."
Mikoto crossed her arms, looking impatient. Her stomach was rumbling, and she just wanted to get this over with and find something to eat.
"You?"
The officer blinked as if he'd misheard. He gestured toward the robber whose hand had been reduced to nothing.
"And what exactly did you use? Kid, this isn't the time for jokes."
Mikoto fished out the coin from her pocket, spinning it between her fingers.
"This."
"A coin?"
The officer chuckled as if he had heard the joke of the year.
"Okay, little girl, I get it. Did you see someone passing through here? Like a guy in iron armor? Or someone with a shield?"
Clearly, after the Battle of New York, the New York police had become somewhat prepared for the existence of "superheroes."
Rather than believe a petite girl could cause such terrible damage, they preferred to believe that a passing superhero had conveniently dealt with a robber and left without a trace.
A vein twitched on Mikoto's forehead. The urge to demonstrate her power again was almost overwhelming, but she forced herself to stay calm. Showing off in front of law enforcement was never a good move.
She simply pressed her lips together and stopped talking altogether. If they didn't believe her, that was their problem.
Just as the officer was preparing to continue questioning her, a worried teenage voice echoed down the street.
"Uncle Ben!"
A boy in casual clothes sprinted toward them, breathless. When he saw the flashing police lights and Ben's car, panic swept across his face.
He rushed over, and when he confirmed Ben was unharmed, a heavy sigh of relief escaped his chest.
"Peter? What are you doing here?"
"I… I saw the police cars and I thought you…"
Peter's voice trembled, fear still clinging to him.
But when his eyes swept over the robber being lifted onto a stretcher by the paramedics, his whole body froze as if struck by lightning.
He recognized that face!
It was the robber who had stolen the boss's money at the underground wrestling ring just a few tens of minutes ago.
The same man he'd watched run past him.
The same man he'd deliberately refused to stop out of pure spite.
A cold wave crashed down his spine, numbing his body from head to toe.
If… if nobody had stopped him…
Would that gun have been pointed at Uncle Ben?
Would his own selfish, petty decision have gotten the only father figure in his life killed?
His thoughts spiraled. A thin sheen of cold sweat soaked through the back of his shirt.
"Peter, are you alright? You look pale."
Ben noticed the shift immediately and reached out, concerned.
He pulled Peter aside, pointed to Mikoto who was still sulking, and explained what had just happened.
"Thanks to this young lady, Misaka Mikoto, I'm still here. If not for her… I might not have made it home tonight. There aren't many kids as brave as her."
Uncle Ben's voice was filled with lingering fear, but even more so with gratitude towards Mikoto.
Every word of praise hit Peter like a hammer.
He slowly turned toward Mikoto.
A girl not much smaller than him. Petite. Wearing a uniform he'd never seen. Looking tired, annoyed, and, frankly, ready for dinner.
Was it her who saved Uncle Ben?
And him?
He had powers beyond anything human.
But what had he done?
Nothing.
Worse than nothing.
He had let the danger walk right past him.
He had pushed his uncle to the edge of death with his own hands.
A wave of shame and regret crashed over Peter so sharply it felt like someone had slapped him across the face. His skin flushed hot, his thoughts tangled into a chaotic mess.
He had power, but he hadn't shown an ounce of responsibility. And the girl standing right in front of him — someone he didn't even know — had just taught him a lesson without saying a single word.
"I…"
Peter opened his mouth, but his throat tightened, like cotton was stuffed inside it. He couldn't squeeze out anything. He didn't know what he was supposed to say. Thank you? Or… sorry?
Growl~
A loud, unmistakably hungry sound cut through the tense silence.
Mikoto immediately pressed a hand to her stomach, cheeks warming. Of all the moments for it to complain… why now?
At least it snapped Ben and Peter out of their heavy thoughts. Ben glanced at the girl's embarrassed expression and finally remembered she was still a child.
His face softened into a gentle, apologetic smile.
"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry, sweetheart. You saved my life and I didn't even think about whether you've eaten. Come home with us. My wife, May, makes the best chicken rolls in Queens. You'll love them."
The older officer watched the small group, then glanced at Mikoto, who looked like she wanted to sink into the pavement and disappear. With a helpless shake of his head, he stepped aside to handle the remaining procedures.
They had the suspect, the victim was safe, and as for the mysterious "superhero"… that was a headache for the special department.
Mikoto wanted to refuse. She never liked imposing on strangers.
But the word "chicken roll" hit her like a lightning bolt. Her stomach instantly rallied behind the idea, and she swallowed hard. She looked at Ben's sincere expression, then at the boy beside him, who still seemed ready to collapse under guilt.
"Well… if it's alright, then I'll accept."
Survival first, dignity later, Mikoto told herself.
She followed the still-shaken Ben and the heavy-hearted Peter back to their warm little home.
The moment Ben finished explaining what happened on the street, Aunt May practically exploded.
She ran straight to Ben, squeezing him in a tight hug to make sure he was truly okay. When she saw he was unharmed, all her attention swung toward Mikoto like a spotlight.
"Oh my goodness, sweetheart, thank you so much!"
May grabbed her hands, eyes filling with tears. Then came the barrage of questions.
"Are you from Japan? Why are you alone in New York? Where are your parents?"
Overwhelmed by the sudden wave of affection, Mikoto could only answer truthfully.
"I kind of ended up in America by accident. I can't find my way home. As for my mom and dad… they aren't in this world anymore."
She meant it in the literal sense — her parents were alive and well, just in another world.
But in the ears of the Parker family, it meant something entirely different.
"Not in this world" = "passed away."
A young girl from Japan, orphaned, alone in New York, with nowhere to go.
Ben and May's minds instantly crafted a tragic backstory worthy of a primetime drama.
In their imagination, it only got worse: she might have been trafficked by the Japanese underworld, forced into unspeakable circumstances, and somehow found the strength to escape and survive.
Then fate brought her to the street corner where she saved Ben's life.
The chain of assumptions was so perfectly dramatic that their eyes brimmed with sympathy before they even realized it.
"Oh you poor thing…"
May couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She pulled Mikoto straight into her arms, hugging her tight, patting her back as if comforting a wounded kitten.
"You must have suffered so much…"
Mikoto stiffened completely, frozen in place while being smothered by this warm, motherly embrace. A huge question mark practically hovered above her head.
What's going on?
Are Americans always this emotional? She only told the truth. How did it turn into this?
She could feel Ben's expression shift into profound sorrow.
Peter, meanwhile, looked at her with a mix of sympathy, guilt, and awe, as if she were some tragic hero who had crawled through the depths of suffering.
With the whole family staring at her like she had survived a lifetime of misery, Mikoto was utterly lost.