I'M IN MARVEL

In the rest area of the bookstore, Russell observed the girl standing before him, momentarily speechless. 

He hadn't anticipated that the first applicant for the job would be Ghost Spider—the very same vigilante he'd encountered the previous night. 

"Russell," he finally said, extending his hand to break the tension. 

"Gwen. Gwen Stacy," she replied, shaking his hand. 

Her blue eyes betrayed a flicker of surprise. Clearly, she hadn't expected the bookstore owner to be the man she had stumbled upon during her nocturnal patrol. 

Retracting his hand, Russell offered a small smile. "Gwen, is it okay if I call you that? Or should I stick with 'Ghost Spider'?" 

"You should always call me Gwen, Mr. Russell." Her tone was soft, but a tinge of embarrassment crept in as her alter ego was acknowledged. 

"You can drop the 'mister' and just call me Russell. Makes things simpler," he said with a grin. 

"Okay, Russell." Her voice carried a hint of relief. 

"Gwen, can you tell me about last night? Did you manage to find the girl the vampire kidnapped?" Russell asked, steering the conversation to the incident that still lingered in his mind. 

In the past few months, New York had seen a troubling surge in vampire activity. Russell had noticed it too and felt that something significant was brewing. If the situation escalated, he'd consider laying low. 

Vampires, after all, didn't yield power-ups. 

"Yes, I found her," Gwen said, her tone darkening. "But she had already been turned. Damn vampires." 

"What did you do?" 

"I brought her back to her family. Poor girl—she was terrified." Gwen's voice softened, but the frustration lingered. 

"Have incidents like this been happening often?" Russell pressed. 

"I've come across three or four cases this week alone," she said, frowning. The frequency clearly troubled her. 

"Are vampires this common in your world?" she asked suddenly, tilting her head. 

"No idea," Russell replied with a shrug. "But they probably know among themselves." 

"You mean we could interrogate one?" Gwen asked, a glint of enthusiasm in her eye. 

"Not 'we.' You, Ghost Spider. I'm just an ordinary guy," Russell said, raising his hands in mock protest. 

"Ordinary guys don't kill vampires with ultraviolet light like it's no big deal," Gwen retorted, rolling her eyes. 

"My nerves are just a bit stronger than most," he replied, gesturing defensively with his hands. 

Before she could rope him into more vampire-hunting schemes, Russell changed the subject. "Let's talk about something else. What happened with those two robots last night?" 

The battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger had captivated him more than the vampire debacle. He was curious to see how the timeline might shift after Gwen's interference. 

"Oh, that," Gwen said, her tone lightening. "With my help, we defeated Obadiah. Tony did most of the heavy lifting, though." 

A spark of pride flickered in her voice as she recounted her contribution. Being a hero, after all, brought her joy and fulfillment. 

"So you're telling me that the big clunky robot was Obadiah Stane, Stark Industries' COO, and the red-and-gold one was Tony Stark?" Russell asked, feigning amazement. 

"Shh! Don't go spreading that around," Gwen said, holding a finger to her lips and glancing around theatrically. 

"Got it, got it," Russell said with a nod, leaning closer without realizing it. 

Though the bookstore's lounge was empty, the two of them unconsciously huddled together, their voices dropping as they whispered. 

"I heard Stark's holding a press conference this afternoon. Want to watch it together?" Russell suggested, thinking of Stark's iconic "I am Iron Man" moment. 

"What's the point? I already know what he's going to say," Gwen replied, her voice nonchalant. 

"Fair enough," Russell said with a shrug. His tone shifted as he straightened. "Anyway, about this job... Gwen, you're hired." 

"Huh?" Gwen blinked, startled by the abrupt change in topic. 

"This job isn't complicated, and I'm confident you'll manage," Russell said, his tone serious now. "You'll handle checking the IDs of borrowers, maintaining order in the reading room, and preventing book theft. How you do it is entirely up to you." 

Gwen stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words. 

"Don't stress," Russell said, leaning back in his chair. "I'm running this place just to kill time. Profit or loss doesn't matter. As for the pay, let's start with $10,000 a month. If that works, we can sign a contract right now." 

He got up to fetch a contract template, but Gwen called out, "Wait!" 

Russell paused, turning to face her. 

While Russell was from another world, Gwen had lived in an alternate New York her entire life. She knew enough to realize that $10,000 a month was absurdly high. Even her father, George Stacy—the NYPD Commissioner—earned less than that. 

"Isn't that too much? And, uh, do we have to sign a contract?" 

"We can renegotiate the salary," Russell said, waving a hand dismissively. "But why no contract?" 

"Because… um…" Gwen trailed off, fumbling for an explanation. Could she admit she wasn't from this world and technically didn't exist here? 

Seeing her struggle, Russell chuckled. "Fine, no contract. Let's talk about the pay instead." 

"Maybe… $5,000 a month?" Gwen offered hesitantly. "No, $3,000." 

"You're the first person I've met who argues for a lower salary," Russell said with a laugh. "Fine, $3,000 it is." 

"Thanks, Russell," Gwen said, relaxing slightly. 

"Anything else?" 

"Uh, can I get a month's pay in advance?" she asked, looking sheepish. "I'm broke. I need to rent a place." 

Russell sighed, his gaze softening. 

Were all superheroes this poor, or was it just Spider-People? 

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