บท 57: Chapter 57: The ‘New Captain America’ Plan
At State University…
George's car came to a steady stop at the entrance of the campus. Watching Gwen get out of the car and walk toward the university, George rolled down the window and called out to her, "Wait a minute, Gwen."
"Dad, is there something else?"
"Uh... yeah... Tonight, I'm coming home early. Let's have dinner together. And invite your friend."
"Alan…"
"Yes, him. Invite him over for dinner."
Gwen froze, feeling like a child caught doing something wrong. Her voice became a bit nervous and stammered, "I'll... I'll ask him when I see him later."
"Looking forward to hearing from you."
As George drove away, Gwen started to feel anxious. Had her father already figured something out? She walked into the campus, wondering where she had slipped up. George had only met Alan once… right?
While Gwen was lost in thought, Alan suddenly appeared behind her, tapping her shoulder.
"Ms. Spider-Woman, what's on your mind?"
Gwen jumped in surprise and turned around to see Alan with a bright smile. "Hey, you scared me."
"Why doesn't my Spider-Sense work on you?"
Alan chuckled. "I'm not trying to harm you, just saying hello."
Gwen nodded in agreement. Her Spider-Sense only seemed to pick up danger, not friendly greetings.
Walking alongside Alan, Gwen's hands fidgeted nervously. She wasn't sure how to tell him about her father's dinner invitation. It was also the first time she'd ever invited a boy to her house. How could she bring it up without it sounding awkward?
After walking in silence for a while, Gwen finally spoke up, "Alan, do you... you know…?"
This left Alan a bit confused. "Know what?"
"Uh... well… Dr. Connors was taken away early this morning."
Gwen abruptly changed the subject. Alan's eyes narrowed, sensing that something wasn't right. If Connors had been taken through official channels, Red Queen would have informed him.
But she hadn't said anything this morning. That struck Alan as suspicious.
"Who took him?" Alan asked.
Gwen thought for a moment. "I don't know. This morning, my dad stepped out to take a call during breakfast. When he came back, he told me that Dr. Connors had been taken by the people in charge of the case."
Alan didn't dwell on it further. The internal power struggles in the US were far more complicated than they appeared on the surface.
Maybe someone was stirring up trouble again. But that didn't concern Alan too much—his interest in Connors was only because it was connected to Gwen.
More importantly, Alan was curious about Gwen's current behavior. She seemed like she had something else to say but was holding back.
"Gwen, is there something else you want to tell me?"
Gwen blushed when her hesitation was exposed. "Is it that obvious?"
Alan nodded, indicating it was very obvious.
Gwen nervously fiddled with her fingers for a while before finally saying, "My dad wants to invite you over for dinner tonight…"
Alan smiled. "No problem. I'll come with you after classes."
"For now, let's head to class."
"Yeah!"
After getting it off her chest, Gwen felt much more at ease. Naturally, she linked her arm with Alan's, walking together closely as they headed to class.
Not far away, Peter stood behind a tree, watching Gwen from a distance. He stared at her back for a long time before murmuring to himself, "Gwen, you're Spider-Woman, aren't you…"
When Gwen disappeared from his sight, Peter finally turned around and left, heading toward the outskirts of the campus.
Once outside the university gates, Peter hailed a taxi. The driver smiled kindly and asked, "Where to, sir?"
"Oscorp…"
...
In Front of Oscorp Industries
At the entrance of Oscorp Industries, Norman stood tall in a sharp suit, looking as if he were waiting for someone important.
After a while, he glanced toward the crowd and smiled, raising his hand to wave. "Hey, Peter."
Peter noticed Norman and frowned as he approached. The events of last night were still fresh in his mind.
After Norman had driven him home, he had purposely mentioned Connors' arrest for illegal experiments in front of Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
Then, in their presence, Norman extended an offer to Peter—to join Oscorp Industries as an intern and become his direct assistant.
With Uncle Ben and Aunt May's encouragement, along with Peter's own thoughts, he reluctantly agreed to Norman's request.
Now, standing before Norman, Peter's expression wasn't particularly pleasant. "Norman, I don't want a repeat of last night. I don't like feeling like someone is pulling my strings."
This time, Peter didn't even bother with formalities when addressing Norman, his tone carrying a hint of warning.
Norman smiled awkwardly. "Soon, you'll understand my good intentions. I promise, the same thing won't happen again."
Though Peter didn't fully believe him, he nodded. "Are we heading to your lab now?"
"Not yet. I want to introduce you to a few people first."
"Who?"
"You'll find out when we get there."
Norman patted Peter on the shoulder and led him inside Oscorp Industries. As they walked, Peter realized just how little he knew about the company.
He saw research projects he had never even heard of. Norman, noticing Peter's surprise, chuckled.
"Don't be too shocked. When a company reaches a certain level, it stops being confined to just one field."
"A lot of technology eventually converges on similar goals."
Peter nodded in agreement. Although he wasn't particularly fond of Norman at the moment, he couldn't deny that Norman's scientific achievements were far beyond his own reach for now.
"We're here. Just ahead," Norman pointed to a hatch.
As they approached, Norman handed Peter a white lab coat and said seriously, "Once we're inside, don't speak unless I signal you to."
Peter nodded in agreement. Norman then swiped his ID card, and as the hatch slowly opened, he straightened his clothes, clearly taking the meeting inside very seriously.
Peter couldn't help but wonder—who were they meeting that Norman was so cautious?
As the hatch opened, Peter heard an irritated voice, "I've seen the glider. You should know I'm not here for that."
"General, please be patient. Mr. Norman will be here shortly."
Upon hearing the voice of displeasure, Norman quickly hurried inside. "Hey, General!"
Peter followed closely behind. When he saw the people in the lab, his pupils contracted in shock. In addition to Oscorp's internal scientists and engineers, the room was filled with high-ranking military officers, all dressed in green uniforms adorned with medals. Some of them were figures Peter often saw on television.
Norman's mysterious meeting was with the U.S. military.
Norman approached the group and greeted each of them with respect. "General, you're not satisfied with my glider?"
Standing before him was an elderly general with white hair, but his eyes were still sharp. Next to Norman stood a glider that resembled a bat's wings, hovering steadily in midair during testing.
The general smiled as Norman greeted him. "I've been waiting for you for a while."
"And who's this?" the general asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion as he noticed Peter behind Norman.
"This is my new assistant, Peter Parker. A very talented young man," Norman said, stepping closer to the general. "And an important part of our collaboration."
The general looked at Peter with increased interest, his hawk-like gaze making Peter's spine tingle. "Peter, greet the general," Norman prompted.
Peter snapped back to attention. "Hello, General," he said.
The white-haired general nodded but said nothing further, turning his attention back to Norman. "Our collaboration must accelerate."
Norman frowned. "Why?"
"Tony Stark has shut down all weapons contracts at Stark Industries. You're aware of this, correct?"
Norman nodded. "The whole world knows. That's why Stark Industries' stock has plummeted."
"But what does that have to do with our collaboration?" Norman asked, still confused.
"Do you remember when I mentioned artificial exoskeletons to you?" the general continued.
"Of course. But General, with current technology, creating powerful exoskeletons isn't the hard part," Norman said. "The real challenge is the energy source. Supporting an exoskeleton requires an enormous and portable energy supply."
The general sneered and motioned to an aide, who handed him a file. The general passed it to Norman.
"Just yesterday, one of our F-22 jets was destroyed by an unknown weapon," the general explained. "Not long before that, our satellites captured a mysterious object flying over New York City at incredible speeds. And both these incidents had one thing in common—they were both humanoid in shape. And they're connected to Stark Industries."
Norman opened the file and studied the photos and analysis, his face growing more serious by the second.
After a long pause, he finally muttered, "This can't be…"
Norman didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was right in front of him. He knew the general wasn't joking about something like this.
"Could Tony Stark have already solved the energy problem that has plagued the scientific community for so long?" Norman asked.
The general nodded. "That's the only explanation for why he shut down Stark Industries' weapons division. He now has something far more profitable."
"I know the Stark family well. They would never share this technology with the military, let alone their exoskeleton designs," the general said, his voice firm. "I won't allow an uncontrollable power to emerge in this country."
"Norman! Begin the human enhancement trials immediately. You need to give me another Captain America! Or even more than one!"
If this had been before, Norman might have lacked the confidence. But now, with Peter on board, he felt much more optimistic about the project.
Seeing how far Howard Stark's son had come filled him with an unspoken frustration. He could live with being outmatched by Howard, but now his son too?
Peter, who had been listening to the entire conversation from behind, was stunned. He finally understood what Norman had meant earlier when he spoke of surpassing Howard.
Clenching the documents in his hand, Norman's eyes gleamed with determination.
"Of course, General. In fact, that's what I wanted to tell you today—the 'New Captain America' plan can begin."
...
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