บท 141: The Cost of Recklessness
Leo couldn't help but be somewhat melancholic—
After just a little activity, the drugs in the secondary heart was nearly depleted, and it turned out that his initial formula had some minor issues.
But fortunately, they weren't major problems.
However, George's gaze towards him had changed—if he remembered correctly, wasn't this kid supposed to be on the brink of death?!
Can someone on the brink of death run a hundred meters in nine seconds?
And Gwen's gaze was also odd, though the girl was still wearing her mask.
Fortunately, this disturbance hadn't resulted in any deaths, though there were injuries—quite a few, actually—like Peter's classmate Flash, who twisted his ankle while running.
Economic damage was another matter; the main building of Midtown High School was unusable until major repairs were completed.
In the night, people saw the building collapse by more than half, with sewer pipes exploding along the way, and large areas of the road cracking and sinking.
But, somehow, no one died.
It seemed that Peter had managed to retain some degree of rationality before being knocked out, controlling his hunger.
The NYPD quickly took control of the scene and kept the media out.
Outside Midtown High School's main building, Leo and Gwen sat on student chairs, Peter lay on a stretcher, and George sat in a teacher's chair.
George, holding a notebook, had an odd expression: "So... are we doing this here?"
It mainly depended on Gwen's decision—she nodded.
She would need to rush home soon; it wouldn't be feasible to leave a phone number for George to call her back, and then she would go to the police station to record the statement, would it?
As for George, although he had had grievances against Spider-Woman before, they had fought side by side this time, so he wasn't as strict.
In the end, Peter Parker was still in a dazed state, with glucose hanging nearby. Aside from his mind being somewhat confused and a few small cuts left from the removed monitoring devices, he was mostly uninjured.
Even if he had issues now, they could be resolved in the lab, so there was no rush to send him to the hospital—this was Leo's assessment.
Leo thought for a moment and pulled out a phone from his pocket: "Use this. It has a voice input function, so you don't have to write."
"Did you make this yourself?"
"Yes."
"Not bad, ahem. Let's get started then."
George became serious: "First, Peter Parker, do you know what you've done?"
"I..." Peter was deeply despondent.
This was nothing like he had imagined.
In this "great self-sacrifice," he had almost crossed every threshold, and after crossing each threshold, nearly every situation had been beyond his expectations.
He had shattered the lab's high-strength glass, dug through the sewer system, and even dismantled his high school—
If anyone had died, it would have been a lifetime of pain for him.
After holding back for a long time, feeling dizzy, Peter voiced his inner thoughts: "I—I just wanted to help, to be special... like you."
A typical adolescent problem.
Severe adolescent issues usually just turn most ordinary people into problematic youths, but a capable problematic youth can bring enormous issues to society.
The other three could only sigh in resignation—
What else could be done?
George began questioning Gwen: "So, Miss Anonymous concerned citizen, I need to know what Peter Parker did while turning into a lizard."
Gwen seemed startled and flustered, hurriedly saying: "I never—I'm saying, I believe Peter Parker was in an unstable state of mind at that time!"
Her voice was somewhat muffled—clearly.
"You mean he was in a state of mental disturbance?"
"Yes—I think so!"
"Alright. Were there any instances where he actively attacked people along the way?"
"No—except for me."
"Uh, so you think he had no intention to harm others, but clearly, he caused significant damage. Can you provide his route of action?"
"I saw him starting from High School Street outside Midtown High School. He might have come from the sewer system."
"Understood."
George checked the voice input for accuracy and then continued: "Peter Parker, do you have anything to add? Is what this concerned citizen said true?"
Peter looked down: "My memory is unclear. I only remember being at Empire University, injecting the Lizard serum in the lab.
I arrived at the lab quite late. There were still people working in the adjacent building. Then I entered the lab, and Mr. Leo remotely shut down the equipment.
I don't know where I got the courage, but I adjusted the lab's wiring and gave and turned the equipment back on—I knew Mr. Leo wouldn't agree with this experiment.
Then I put all the monitoring equipment on myself, fixed myself to the observation platform, and didn't expect it to turn out like this."
Peter didn't dare look at Gwen. He suddenly raised his head to look at Leo: "Sir, I—"
Leo shook his head and waved his hand: "You were wrong, no doubt about it, and you must bear the consequences—remember what I told you? That's why I don't choose to conduct human experiments recklessly.
Why did you suddenly do this? What triggered you?"
Peter looked bitterly at Gwen—he felt that this girl was the person he knew, but he had no evidence.
"...How is Harry?"
Gwen hesitated: "I don't know. The Osborn Group sent him to a specialized ward. He said it might be because he missed taking his medication."
"He knows about his condition?"
"What condition?" Gwen asked, then realized that her concern seemed off, "Uh, I mean, how should I know?"
Peter lowered his head and explained his motivation: "I wanted to complete the research on the lizard serum quickly because it might help in treating Harry's illness.
He might have a rare genetic disease."
Leo's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Where did he get that information? From the context, it could only have come from Norman.
Interestingly, Harry seemed to have been taking medication all along, though whether he knew about his condition was unclear.
In conspiracy theory terms—did he happen to forget his medication today and then fall ill?
What exactly did Norman say to Peter? What were his true intentions?
George, unaffected, shifted his questioning to Leo: "So, Mr. Leo, do you think Peter Parker had any subjective malice? How was his behavior in the lab?"
"It's clear he did not follow the lab's regulations and violated the rules by conducting an experiment, at the very least—he broke the human protection laws.
But considering he was experimenting on himself, I don't think he had subjective malice—of course, I'm not excusing the objective reality of his illegal actions.
He must be held accountable for the damage caused."
Leo's response was quite firm, making George and Gwen silent—
Leo could have given some other statements, such as errors in the experiment.
This way, the motive—was good, the outcome—no casualties, and Peter was still a minor—only a month away from adulthood, and financially dependent on a guardian.
Plus, understanding and taking responsibility from the lab side.
But Leo didn't want to entertain the idea of good motives; he simply dealt with the bad execution.
Punishment should be administered as it is.
**Peter's head hung even lower.**
Leo continued, "I think it's necessary to reveal the full truth of the situation, whether he had good intentions or not he still caused major damage.
Peter—You might think I don't care about you, but consider this if we decided to hide the truth of this incident, how can we expect ourselves to follow standard procedure and commit ourselves to ethical experiments?
You believe this is a very important experiment—yes, it is important, which is precisely why we cannot casually distort ethical standards."
Hiding the truth and not punishing or lightly punishing Peter would means that anyone could potentially do the same in the future, claiming accidental damage when committing crimes.
By punishing Peter—we set a message that everyone needs to understand the consequences.
Peter won't receive a heavy sentence, that's for sure—based on his motives, the damage caused, the eyewitness accounts, and George's support.
Around a year in prison seems inevitable, which isn't too long.
However, the financial compensation will be astronomical, certainly a debt that's hard for an average person to repay.
People need to understand the basis for such judgments; otherwise, the overall impact will be poor.
Of course, even if the incident is thoroughly clarified, the seeds of its consequences have already been sown—
Those who commit crimes could rely on this judgment to fabricate evidence chains for similar situations.
George quickly understood Leo's point.
"Yes, this incident is rare and will serve as a typical case, so it must be detailed."
Just as George was about to finish, Leo added, "There's another important detail, Captain Stacy: The lab lost a genetically modified lizard."
"What consequences might this have?"
Leo nodded, "The lizard serum was synthesized in our lab, and someone might reverse-engineer the drug's design from the lizard serum."
George felt a wave of frustration—so, someone might create a second lizard?
"Ugh, I'm beginning to understand your point more and more. I'll inform New York of the truth."
The motives and process of the incident were roughly recorded.
Gwen looked at the dazed Peter, feeling heartbroken, but she couldn't comfort him at this moment.
She suddenly stood up, "Officer, and Mr. Leo, I'll be leaving now."
George looked at the heroine and said, "Alright, thank you for your cooperation. And—I was wrong about you. I always thought you were a weird person seeking attention, capable of doing more but unwilling to act.
But today, you've done New York City a great service."
This was the only positive thing she heard on this disheartening day.
She nodded, leaped high, and then disappeared among the tall buildings.
Leo then looked at Peter, squatting to be at his level, and said, "Peter, you must face the consequences. Whether it's imprisonment or compensation, I hope you understand my point."
"I—I understand, sir. I'm just... very sorry."
At this moment, he recalled Leo's words—he was still young, and shouldn't always focus on what he didn't have.
By the time he began to appreciate how wonderful everything he had was, it was all too late.
He was originally the top student in Midtown High's science and engineering program, and at a young age, he had participated in Professor Connors's experiment, with a strong possibility of becoming an intern research assistant in a world-shocking study.
He was about to enter college, to enjoy a wonderful four-year campus life, and might even become a moderately famous scientist.
But now, the school wouldn't want him, campus life had turned into prison life, and possible achievements had been lost.
This is a mistake often made by young people—recklessness and its cost.
Seeing Peter's tears, Leo patted his shoulder, "But you still have things to look at, like knowing that significant contributions to society might help reduce your sentence or assist in repaying your debts.
And... it might also help cure your good friend Harry."
Peter's head shot up at this—
Leo smiled, "You must be punished, but I didn't say we'd expel you. Look on the bright side—it's just that student loans have turned into compensation debts, and learning environments have become prison.
But you still have a smart head. Just don't get disheartened in prison. Don't keep your head down, thinking you're worthless—you need to be strong, understand? And apologize to your aunt and uncle."
Leo finished, stood up, and cleared the way.
A gray-haired couple stood not far away, looking sadly at Peter.
He thought that Uncle Ben, who had very high expectations, would show a disappointed look, and Aunt May would be upset. But in reality, they just looked deeply sad and pained, not for themselves, but for him.
As if they had aged ten years in an instant.
Seeing this, Peter's tears flowed uncontrollably—
"I—I'm sorry, I really—"
Peter covered his face and sobbed uncontrollably.
George, observing this scene, was also deeply moved when suddenly, an officer rushed in, handing him a bag of documents and whispering something in his ear.
His face changed dramatically. He patted Leo's shoulder, signaling him to step aside.
Leo stood up and walked with George to the side.
George, with a serious expression, said, "There's been a death. At New York University, in Lab 2, four corpses have been found, with scales appearing on the deceased, and you should see for yourself."
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