章 197: Doing His Best
Adrian soared into the sky, his mind filled with a cacophony of different voices.
Some urged him to kill a man named Ethan. Some begged for mercy. Some told him to stop, while the loudest voice urged him to fly higher.
He burst through the dark room, and pierced the smoke and dust.
Flames trailed behind him, wind roared in his ears as he flew over noisy streets, through polluted air—
Adrian looked at the sun and the white clouds, a smile spread across his face.
At that moment, it was like a dream come true.
But soon, tall buildings loomed ahead of him, and he frowned.
"I want the open sky."
Whoosh!
With a flap of his wings, he shot straight toward the sky!
Norman was caught mid-air, the wind distorting his face:
"Ahhhhh!!!"
"It's Adrian!" Otto and Connors shouted simultaneously after seeing the photo Leo had sent.
Leo pulled up Adrian's information and asked, "Do you know him?"
"Of course," Otto quickly replied. "I used a chip he designed. The guy's a miser, but no one knows what he did with all the high fees he earned from his patents and designs. By my estimates, his assets must be worth millions!"
Connors added, "Well, now we know—look at that gear. It looks deadly. Is that a personal flying device?"
"Not sure, but I think he's up to no good. And that person hanging from his feet… is that Norman Osborn?"
Peter confirmed, "That's Mr. Osborn!"
"He's in for it," Leo clicked his tongue. "Adrian's actions will definitely kill him."
"We can't let him kill!" the trio in the lab shouted in unison through the communication link.
The conversation grew chaotic, but the point was clear.
Dr. Otto quickly said,
"Adrian might be stingy, but he's a responsible engineer. He wouldn't kill someone! His current state isn't normal. Please, Leo, we need to save him!"
Leo looked up at the Vulture, who circled in the sky, conflicted.
The appearance of the Vulture suit was probably connected to recent activities at the Osborn Corporation.
From a darker perspective, Leo would love nothing more than to see Norman Osborn suffer the consequences of his own actions—an entirely justified thought.
But what about the mad engineer?
A classic moral dilemma of the Marvel world was now right in front of him:
Let things play out, let the villain die, and everyone would rejoice.
But a good man, who never intended to harm anyone, would become a murderer and a criminal for life.
In the comics, Vulture was just like that—tricked into crime, imprisoned, angered into killing, his once-great reputation as an engineer tarnished. He ended up with nothing but the violent pleasure his suit gave him.
Stopping the Vulture meant that the worst man would live to face justice.
And trusting justice meant trusting others, trusting society—
Many people scoffed at the idea, maybe because everyone had a little outlaw in their hearts.
In his previous life, Leo would have decisively chosen the former, watching his enemies decay in the dirt.
That would have been the best ending.
As for the engineer? Leo didn't know him.
"Hmm?" Leo suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, unsure why he had even thought of that.
The system hadn't given him any instructions either.
Gwen landed beside him. "Hey, genius, that bird guy's mental state is clearly off. We need to stop him from killing."
Leo shook his head, dismissing the thoughts from earlier.
Yes, he needed to save Adrian—it was tied to future developments and battles.
More allies, more like-minded and capable friends were the key to long-term success.
If everything he'd done and aimed for so far was part of a great struggle—
Then more friends were a must.
"I'll handle it. You go to Oscorp. I've disabled all their network security protocols. They've crossed the line. Gather the evidence, and don't forget to bring Captain Stacy."
Of course, fewer enemies—fewer in every sense—was also key.
"You're going to handle that bird guy on your own? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Adrian's condition is complex, and it needs to be handled on the spot. But Oscorp is wide open now. Peter will assist you with the technical side of things."
In the air, Vulture circled, heading toward Oscorp Tower—the tallest building in the area.
Cyber-psychosis came with strange obsessions. The high-tech devices on cyber-psychos unconsciously harmed anyone in their way as they stubbornly pursued their obsessions.
Leo had dealt with cyber-psychos multiple times. To save Adrian properly, it had to be him handling it.
This would also bring him out into the open—operating from the shadows wasn't the main rhythm of this world.
If the enemy chose to remain in the dark, then Leo would stay in the light—being discovered in the shadows had much less meaning.
"Okay... but you're gonna need a ride, right?"
Gwen pointed to the tall building not far away.
To catch up with the rapidly ascending Adrian, Leo indeed needed some help.
Gwen grabbed a web and, pulling Leo along, quickly ascended between the buildings, heading toward Oscorp Tower—
New Yorkers raised their phones, capturing the scene.
Two people swinging on webs, chasing the eagle in the sky.
Martin saw it too, immediately realizing what Leo intended. He made a call:
"Leo—come back, that's too dangerous! You'll—"
"Martin." Leo hesitated before speaking, "I know that person was you, the one in the mask."
"."
Martin froze, then spoke quietly, "Blood for blood. He killed my parents. He has to die."
"He'll go to prison. We'll deal with him ourselves."
"Screw the law! I want him dead!!! All I'm asking is that you don't save that scum!"
"I'm asking you too—we're not saving that scum. We're saving an old engineer trapped by evil technology."
The web was stretched like a slingshot, its energy building up in the tension. Gwen pulled Leo, stepping back step by step.
Leo discarded his backup battery, tossed aside the armor-piercing launcher, and pulled out his data knife, gripping it tightly.
Martin's voice trembled with anger, even through the phone, "No, no, no—"
"Martin—I promise you, Norman will go to prison. We'll dismantle Oscorp, expose every crime they've ever committed, and leave no place for them in society. He'll pay for what he's done.
"But Adrian—he's worked hard for decades, designing countless machines for agriculture and workers. He only charges large corporations for patents and designs, sometimes even improving faulty machines for free.
"He has a son, a son who's married, and a granddaughter who just turned one.
"If punishing a bad man always means sacrificing a good one, then that's a failure."
"You want everything to work out perfectly—but maybe there's no such thing in this world!"
"We can try."
The call ended, and the web was now full of energy, ready to snap.
Gwen tightened her grip on Leo. "Ready? Tomorrow's headline man?"
Perhaps the tension had made Leo's body restless, and the arms clinging to his limbs began to glow red.
It was as if they were restless too.
"Let's go—"
Snap!
The web released, and Leo shot into the sky like a rocket!
Martin watched Leo soar into the sky, lowering his phone.
The black-and-white suit that covered him had faded. Though his expression remained grim, the anger had subsided.
He couldn't stop Leo—no matter how fast he was, he couldn't be faster than Leo.
He had only planned to weaken Oscorp, but the chance to kill Osborn had come so soon.
Yet his partner had stopped him.
Martin was a truly complex and conflicted character. The good in him was genuine, and the bad was also genuinely set on killing Osborn and anyone in his way.
But now there was a new problem in his logic: If he killed Leo, who would help him deal with Osborn?
Superpowers were impressive, but Martin couldn't single-handedly take down those tech corporations, the mob, and government-linked groups.
Besides... deep down, Martin was actually a good person.
"Damn it!" Martin suppressed his impulses and called his team, "Prepare to dismantle Oscorp!"
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