"Watson!"
"Coming right away!"
Interns, regardless of the job, were truly laborers who did the hardest work. But Mary Jane had an advantage.
She was a girl, so no excessively strenuous tasks would be assigned to her.
Furthermore, J. Jonah Jameson genuinely liked this quick-witted girl and believed she had the potential to become an excellent journalist. He called Mary Jane over and introduced her to another of The Daily Bugle's ace reporters: "This is Benjamin Urich, currently The Daily Bugle's best investigative reporter, second only to myself when I was younger."
"If you were as young as me, Jonah, you still wouldn't be my match."
Jonah couldn't help but laugh out loud, completely unbothered by Urich's jest. He then looked at Watson: "Starting today, you will be Urich's assistant. Urich, you're investigating Daredevil's true identity, correct?"
"Yes, I'm very curious about these masked vigilantes. Not about their true identities, of course, but about the meaning behind them donning a mask. Are they genuinely intending to do good, or are they just looking for an outlet to unleash their violent nature without being arrested? That's what I want to investigate." Benjamin smiled. "You can call me Ben, kid."
Mary Jane smiled and commented on Benjamin's perspective: "A very... deep topic."
"That's precisely what we need to be vigilant about regarding masked vigilantes. Not only because we can't hold the person under the mask accountable, but more importantly, we don't know what kind of person is actually under the mask."
Jonah once again explained the importance of The Daily Bugle's coverage of these masked vigilantes: "What if that person is a psychopath, and being a masked vigilante is just a way for them to reasonably vent their violence? What if they lose control one day and beat a criminal to death? And I don't mean killing them in a situation that requires protecting other lives, but simply enjoying the act and killing someone."
Mary Jane nodded, then followed Benjamin to her new desk. Benjamin was a lean man in his early fifties, wearing glasses. He walked to his desk and introduced Mary Jane to a few surrounding colleagues: "That is my nephew, Phil. He's a decent reporter. He officially joined The Daily Bugle a couple of years ago after completing his internship."
Phil looked up, saw Mary Jane holding her box, gave a friendly smile, and then returned to his work on the computer. Mary Jane looked at him with a bit of envy: "Both uncle and nephew are reporters. He must have been influenced by you to choose this career."
"No, he just doesn't like how Jonah covers superheroes. He personally loves those colorful superheroes and wants to specifically report on their good deeds in The Daily Bugle."
As someone who had lived through the entire process of the terrifying era when mutants were discovered in the 70s and 80s, the era of mutant terror attacks and equal rights from the 90s to '05, and the subsequent "Heroic Age" that began with the Fantastic Four gaining superpowers in '05 and the X-Men disbanding in '06, Benjamin couldn't entirely understand the enthusiasm for superheroes among young people in their twenties and teens, including his nephew.
Less than a decade ago, all super-powered individuals were considered mutants; they were evil and wanted to replace humanity. The appearance of Magneto caused widespread panic among humans, as if mutants could replace humanity at any moment, and Magneto would become the next Hitler, enacting genocide against humans.
Humans went from fear to anger and hatred, but then, suddenly, everything seemed to change. Superheroes flocked onto the scene, and the world learned that not only mutants could gain special abilities; more and more non-mutants were becoming super-powered.
Suddenly, the hatred towards mutants across society seemed to diminish.
"The desk opposite belongs to Ned Leeds, a very good young man. He's also very serious about reporting but doesn't go on the front lines much, mainly writing articles in the office. He went to investigate a restaurant explosion a couple of days ago, but still hasn't found anything—Ned, have you found anything yet?"
"Same as usual, Ben, nothing. There are no clues from either the police or the scene."
Ned was a somewhat shy young man, around thirty, appearing to be a reporter who had been in the field for a few years.
Mary Jane noticed the bandage on Ned's hand and asked curiously: "Mr. Leeds, are you injured?"
"Oh, I was doing some handiwork at home and cut myself."
Benjamin took a sip of his coffee, casually cautioned, "Be careful," and continued drinking his coffee. After putting her belongings away, Mary Jane asked: "So, Mr. Urich, what will my work be now..."
"No work."
Mary Jane: ???
"You're a student, Watson. The focus is on learning. Jonah says you have great potential, but that's no reason to waste it. The Daily Bugle requires at least a college graduate, and you must finish university to get a formal offer from The Daily Bugle. So, for now, you just need to watch and learn more. Don't take on too much work; the most important thing is not to interfere with your studies."
Mary Jane understood this point but still felt a bit discouraged. Fortunately, Benjamin didn't dwell on the issue. The veteran reporter clearly knew what was most important and wouldn't overly damage Mary Jane's confidence: "However, there are a few things on hand. Ned, give a copy of that explosion case file to Miss Watson. She can help you organize it slightly."
"Alright."
It took another hour or so for Mary Jane to finally set up her desk. Although, as Benjamin said, as a high school student, she couldn't work full-time, she truly felt something at The Daily Bugle—something that made her willing to give up the TV acting career she previously thought was perfect for her.
She opened the report, looking at the areas Ned had marked in the materials. Ned was indeed a seasoned reporter, having concisely summarized all the key points.
"It doesn't look like an accident or a terrorist attack. It seems more like a super-powered incident?"
An explosion occurred in a restaurant, but the pedestrians around all claimed they didn't hear a clear explosion sound. Furthermore, the range of the explosion was very small, with only two or three patrons killed, which is why the police weren't taking it seriously.
But could a bomb really make such a small sound?
Author's Note: Phil Urich is the Third Green Goblin (superhero Green Goblin) and the Sixth Hobgoblin (this one is a supervillain). Ned Leeds is the Third Hobgoblin. They are indeed employees of The Daily Bugle.
I don't know why the MCU made Ned Spider-Man's best friend and a chubby character.
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