I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 75: Bigger and Stronger! (Patreon)

The negotiations had fallen apart.

Not over money. Not over copyright. The sticking point was simply that Jameson didn't want Batman wearing a mask.

What on earth was that man thinking? Of all the things he could object to, he'd picked that?

They could always return to the negotiating table later. Business deals took time, after all.

But the other teenagers weren't nearly as patient as Peter.

"What does he know? If superheroes show their faces, criminals will be at their doors looking for revenge the next day! Why does he think police officers working organized-crime cases sometimes cover their faces?" Gwen fumed.

"How dare he question Batman! That bastard!" Thompson was outraged by anyone who criticized Batman. Whether the criticism made sense hardly mattered to him. Perhaps thinking about it was beyond his abilities.

"It's only money! I'll tell my mom to help us crush that stupid newspaper!" Harley declared.

"Uh, I don't think even Norma could just take down the Daily Bugle," Peter said.

The paper was practically a monopoly in New York. It had political connections, an enormous public platform, and influence over what people read and heard. It was a giant of an organization, which was precisely why Peter had approached it in the first place.

"You could always consider starting a company yourselves," one of the lawyers suggested. "I'm sure Ms. Osborn would be happy to approve that."

Of course, now that Harley had called in a legal team, Norma's office almost certainly knew what had happened.

"No way," Harley replied. "Then it'd just be another handout from her! But... starting something ourselves? That's actually a good idea."

Harley was beginning to want a life outside her mother's shadow. Her friends had given her encouragement and confidence she'd never imagined having. Now she wanted to succeed on her own and someday stand on equal footing with Norma.

"Oh, that's great! We're going to publish The New Batman ourselves?" Thompson asked excitedly.

"I think we're more likely to flop," Peter sighed. Having the Daily Bugle promote their work would have been the best way to gain an audience.

"Have a little faith, Peter," Gwen said. "We can make it work."

"I hope so. Don't forget everything else we already have to do." Peter could practically feel several new headaches joining the list.

Even after they returned to the apartment, the group kept enthusiastically discussing their company. Before long, they had the outline of a plan.

Then they ran into their first problem.

They were too young. Their ages would make a lot of the practical arrangements difficult.

"Maybe we can find an adult we trust to help us," Peter suggested. "Someone who knows what they're doing."

Everyone looked at everyone else. They knew plenty of people their own age, but reliable adults were a different matter.

"Honestly, the easiest thing would be to put your mother in charge on paper, Harley," Peter said. "But I know you won't agree."

It was common knowledge among their little circle that Harley couldn't stand her mother, the powerful company executive. To Harley, Norma was cold, proud, arrogant, distant, and obsessed with work.

Peter thought the whole situation was troublesome. If Gwen and her father had a disagreement, they could probably solve it by sitting down and talking. But with Harley and Norma, arranging a meeting between them was difficult enough.

Hmm. Maybe he could invite Norma over for dinner someday?

Would she even show up?

Harley folded her arms and puffed out her cheeks in silent protest. Her opinion was perfectly clear.

"All right, I've got a few other people in mind," Peter said. "No promises, but I'll go ask around later."

The person he was really thinking of was Quentina Beck, who lived downstairs.

As someone who might one day become the supervillain Mysterio, her technical ability was beyond doubt. Her personality, on the other hand, was a cause for concern.

For now, he and Quentina got along well enough. What happened in the future was anyone's guess. He'd have to take things as they came.

That evening, Peter went downstairs and knocked on Quentina's door.

After peering through the peephole and confirming it was him, she opened up and invited him in.

"Good evening, Peter!" Quentina greeted him brightly. "Oh, right, let me get the rent money. I've earned a bit recently, so I can pay off everything I owe you!"

Her videos had brought in a surprisingly good amount of money. She wouldn't have to worry about living expenses for the next couple of months, at least.

Originally, she'd made a short animated piece based on The New Batman as part of her portfolio for job applications. But the excitement around Spider-Woman's fight with the Lizard had sent the video far beyond its intended audience. It had gone viral and earned her a tidy sum.

Now she didn't even have to rush to find a job!

She was already considering other possibilities, like becoming a video creator full-time.

"Actually, I'm not here to collect rent today," Peter said as he stepped inside.

Then he noticed a fishbowl sitting on the bed, right beside the purplish-red sheets. His eyelid twitched.

"Something wrong?" Quentina asked. She'd pulled out an envelope of money and caught him staring at the fishbowl.

"Uh, no. Nothing." Peter gave an awkward laugh. "There's just something ominous about a fishbowl and those red sheets together. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something, Quentina."

"Go ahead, Peter. I'm listening." She picked up the fishbowl, held it against herself, and settled into a chair.

"We're thinking of setting up a studio. Maybe even a company." Peter shrugged. "We're underage, though, and to be honest, I'm not sure it'll work. I was wondering if you'd have time to help us out."

"A company? Your own company?" Quentina's eyes lit up as if she'd discovered an entirely new world.

"Yeah. We want to do comics, streaming content, superhero stuff, that sort of thing..."

"I'm in!" Quentina answered immediately.

Why hadn't she considered it before? She didn't particularly want to take a job at someone else's company, and making videos independently felt too unpredictable. So why not start a business of her own?

After all the setbacks she'd endured, Quentina wasn't quite the arrogant person she'd once been. She now believed she could use her abilities to build something substantial, and Peter had just handed her the opportunity she'd been looking for.

"Uh, I should warn you," Peter said. "You may end up acting like a babysitter for the rest of those kids."

He sighed. "Well, here's hoping it works out."

Even Peter wondered whether they were getting ahead of themselves.

Only last week, he'd been looking for an internship with Gwen and worrying about what he'd do with his future.

This week, he was already talking about starting a company and making it big.

He could still remember his original plan: join the school newspaper and use it to land an internship at the Daily Bugle.

That was quite a leap in a very short time. Peter could only hope life wasn't about to throw another disaster at him.

As luck would have it, a ground-floor storefront directly across the street from their apartment was still vacant. They could take it over and use it for the new business.

It was remarkable how much energy people could find when they were finally doing something they cared about.