Peter had come home later that day. Aunt May came to greet him, but after kissing her and briefly shaking hands, he ran into the bedroom, which disconcerted May. Peter was more organized since last time, his bulletin boards and notes were on his computer now, the only things hanging on his wall were pictures of Ben, Gwen, Max, and Harry. A lot had happened in the “Year of the Spider” as he called it, a lot of people who depended on him with whom he failed, his pictures on the murals were the reminder, he didn't need more than that. But their computer document had only one common theme: Oscorp. He was writing down the latest information he had gathered from that day when May came knocking on the door.
- Pete, honey, can I come in?
- Just a moment, Aunt — He activated the automatic lock and opened the door, right after closing his documents.
- You'll never take that off, will you? — May pointed to the lock — Can I talk to you?
- Sure, sit there.
- Son… I'm very happy with everything you've done in the last month. You finally leave your room to do something, a paying job that could qualify you for MIT, the only things on your wall are pictures of your friends that you don't want to forget, I really appreciate that. But something's been bothering me about you, is everything really alright?
- Yes, Aunt May, as far as possible.
- Are you sure?
- Of course, work has kept me busy.
- That's what I'm afraid of.
- Wow, but one moment you're worried that I don't do anything, the next that I do too much?
- There are many ways to grieve, Peter. You must recognize and know how to deal with them.
- But how? — Peter started tapping his foot, a little irritable — You rarely talk about everything that happened, you just hit the ball forward. It seems like you don't even want to deal with it.
- Don't think so, boy!
- Look, May… I'm just occupying my head, so she doesn't have room to think about anything else. I don't know if I'm prepared to try something else.
- Peter... — She got up — At least promise me that you're not doing anything Oscorp on this computer.
The young man looked at the computer screen, and then looked away, embarrassed. May put a hand on his shoulder, saying “you can't, right?”, and left his room right after. He decided to start being as frank and truthful as possible with her ever since he finally started doing things other than visiting Gwen's grave. He decided it was time to don the uniform and hit the streets once more. He watched the whole city from the Empire State, the night lights illuminating the city that never sleeps. It didn't take long for him to descend at high speed and swing between the buildings behind an intense police race to an armed robbery at one of the city's banks.
The news resounded in the media across Manhattan, Spider-Man was back. Speculations about the possible absence of the hero circulated among people, some said that he could be sick after the clash with Electro, due to some kind of electromagnetic radiation after the death of the villain. Others said he had simply decided it was time for his well-deserved vacation, that underneath that mask there was a person, which had defended people from all manner of crimes, big and small, that was still there, a “guy” as one of them described it, who needed rest. Some conspiracy theories have arisen since the last day they had seen him in Oscorp's electrical power system, that a kind of Flying Goblin was seen heading there the same day, and that Spider-Man spent all this time hunting him, but these theories were dismissed as delusions caused by the battle with Electro and the darkness caused by the blackout.
But now was not the time for discussions or rumors, the spider hero was back, and people could count on his protection and his good heart once more, and Spider-Man could honor the sacrifice of so many people he lost because of responsibility from which he could not escape. Once again on top of the Empire State Building, he gazed down at the Oscorp building, as if its mirrored windows emanated an unearthly green glow, but the secrets behind that place didn't haunt him as much as the person who was supposed to be there. Every time he thought of Gwen Stacy, he thought of what she would want for his life, that the man who jumps from the precipices of that city was there to watch over those who couldn't, that the friendly neighborhood was there to bring the hope that he told so much to Harry. This friend he doesn't know where he is anymore, but hoped he could meet again, to explain everything that happened, so he could apologize. But there was no point in thinking about those things now, he was wearing the mask, it was time for action.
Some of those rumors about the spider's return reached the mouths of Oscorp employees, where, the other day, Parker and Whitman began to share a desk while Peter was finally free to continue his nanotechnological research while Debra finished filing her latest contribution. for the project I had been working on for the last few weeks. But there was an unexpected visit, a person came to take the research crates, the crates with the injection compound specifically, bringing a virtual clipboard, the charismatic Morris Bench came, handing the clipboard to Debra to fill in and approaching Peter, with a wide smile on face.
- Hey there, Queens!
- Whoa, what’s up Bronx! — The two shook hands — What did you come here for?
- Shipping, Pete. I came to pick up the shipment of the “Hydro Project” to take it to an Oscorp station on the high seas. Apparently, any chemical trace is to be rigidly stored in its proper place.
- Wow, I didn't expect Debra to make such a fuss, hahaha.
- The research goes to… Oops, I can't say — Morris gave a playful smile — So you know, I'm going to disappear for a few days. Peter, look, I wanted to tell you something...
- What?
- I don't know why, but I have the feeling that I should tell you... — He approached the boy, whispering - Ask her out.
- What?! No… I don't have the head for that.
- I want you to listen to me, boy. You know I was in the navy, right?
- Yes.
- I never told you because I'm not anymore. Look, I was always a very bright guy at what I was good at, just like you, but I also had to choose between what I do, and who I live with. I had a very important mission in the Middle East, but I also had a wife and a son who needed me. My son had a bone condition, he needed special treatment. I didn't think about accompanying them, they needed me, and I was only thinking about the money, so I went. In the middle of one of the conflicts… I disowned. I fled the battle in fear of never seeing my family again. I was discharged from the Navy; I had no more money to treat my son and… When he died, she left me.
- Wow, Bench... My condolences.
- No, Peter. I was weak, I didn't know when to enjoy my life, when… To pay attention to what matters. You're alone, in this gigantic building, drowning in work. You need someone to put your feet on the ground. Promise me you'll ask her out, a favor for an old sailor.
- … All right, Morris, I'll see if I ask her out one of these days.
- My boy! — Bench squeezed Peter's shoulder firmly — They've finished taking out the crates, I need to supervise. You have a week to do what I told you, huh!
He yelled, leaving the office, waving to the two youngsters, who continued their research. Peter watched him walk away, and strangely, he felt that sixth sense of his alert him to something, but he wasn't sure what. Shortly afterwards, the figure of Gustav Fiers makes his way once more to the Ravencroft Institute, this time not making a point of appearing incognito. Harry was doing push-ups on the floor of his cell; he really hadn't expected his partner's visit so soon.
- Two consecutive days, did you miss me? — Osborn joked.
- We're transporting the Hydro Project chemicals to… Our new base of operations.
- I know it. Why did you come here today?
- As you've seen, the compound already works on living things, to some extent. The mouse in the video, it died just a few hours ago, so there's a way to artificially stabilize it, if there's time.
- You're suggesting we run tests.
- Yes, we need a candidate.
- Tell me... Is there someone inside Oscorp that we can cover up and use?
- Not exactly, the transport is mostly automated, only a minimal crew will take the cargo to the high seas, could be any of these — Fiers projected the hologram of the transport manpower.
- Wait... Morris Bench. This is the man who has had the most contact with Peter, isn't he?
- Yes, the two interact amicably on an ongoing basis.
- Very well then. It could be him. Set up an accident, anything that causes him to be exposed to these chemicals. Not all of it, we still need some for our plan.
- And what should be the injected element?
- Fiers, please — Harry grinned malevolently — A mishap at sea, isn't that obvious enough?
The gentleman nodded and left the Institute. Later that same day, the sun was setting in one of the ports of New York, Morris Bench had his clipboard doing the last cargo checks. So, he and a few other people boarded the ship and the automatic unberthing procedure began their journey. From then on, things were relatively quiet, Bench got together with the team, service friends with whom he had already done many transports, and a friendly game of cards began. But unbeknownst to them, the scheduled route was slightly altered, and a day's journey later, they were in front of a huge sea storm, and they were getting closer by the minute. Morris did his daily route check and looked confused.
- Guys! Do you know if our delivery route has changed?
- No — a distant voice replied — Why?
- Looks like we're on a different itinerary!
- It should be automatic readjustment, leave it at that!
He grunted in doubt, thought it best to make sure the containers in the open-air cargo area were properly secured, and headed for the tooling cabin to prepare for the procedure. When he emerged from the flight deck, they had just entered the storm, and the seas were raging. He ran to check the tethers, luckily there weren't many, but unbeknownst to him, Fiers was watching him from the Oscorp Tower command room, waiting for the right moment. Morris approached the armed container; Gustav hovered his fingers over a holographic button on his desk. So, when the unsuspecting sailor approached the furthest cargo, the current director of industries triggered the mechanism, causing the chains to release automatically.
Bench became desperate upon realizing this, calling for backup on his intercom, and running to try to grab the heavy box. But to his surprise, the box was ridiculously fragile, and it began to crumble in his hands from the sea turbulence he had to face as he struggled multiple times, exposing the contents of the chemical vials inside. He couldn't hold on for long, a big wave caused the huge metal boat to tilt at a very steep angle, which caused him to fall on top of the box, dumping all the chemicals on his skin. He began to scream in pain, which startled the companions who were approaching him, but the storm was too violent, and they were unable to reach their friend in time, having to hold on to the nearest tethers as he was thrown over the side of the boat, and into the open sea, their eyes desolately watching his colleague disappear into the waves of the sea.
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