บท 37: Chapter 37: Gwen Takes the Initiative
At Peter Parker's front door, two detectives knocked.
Aunt May came to answer, and when she saw two uniformed officers standing at her doorstep, she couldn't help but furrow her brow.
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked.
"Please don't be alarmed, ma'am. We're here to speak with Peter Parker. Is he home?" one of the detectives inquired.
"Peter?" Aunt May's heart tightened for a moment. Had Peter gotten into trouble?
"Officers, Peter is my nephew. Has he done something wrong?"
"You must believe me, he's a good kid! If he's in trouble, someone must have pressured him—"
Before Aunt May could continue, the other detective quickly interrupted her with a chuckle.
"No, no, ma'am. There's no need to worry. We're just here to ask Peter some questions about his mentor, Dr. Connors."
Aunt May let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, I see. Please, wait here. I'll call him down."
"Peter! Peter!" Aunt May called upstairs.
"I'm coming, Aunt May," Peter responded as he hurried down the stairs, his face looking worn out.
"What's wrong, dear? Has something happened?" Aunt May asked, concerned. "If something's going on, you have to tell me."
"Don't worry, Aunt May, I'm fine," Peter reassured her before turning his attention to the officers at the door.
The two detectives stepped forward. "Mr. Parker, we'd like you to come with us to the station to assist in an investigation."
Peter immediately understood. Today was the deadline. It seemed someone had already discovered what had happened at the school's lab and reported it to the authorities.
"Alright, I'll come with you," Peter agreed.
He then turned to Aunt May and said, "It's okay, Aunt May. I'll be back by tonight. We'll have dinner together when I return."
---
At the New York City Police Department, George Stacy sat across from Peter in the interrogation room. Between them on the table lay several photos from the scene at Dr. Connors' lab, including one of the giant discarded reptilian skin.
"So, according to you, after the research experiment succeeded that day, Dr. Connors gave you some time off?" George asked.
"And you haven't seen him since?"
Peter had already prepared for this moment, carefully crafting a story in case the police questioned him. He knew he couldn't reveal the truth about Dr. Connors' current situation.
George appeared relaxed as he picked up one of the photos from the table. "Do you know what this is? Have you ever seen anything like it?"
The photo in question was of the enormous reptile skin.
Peter shook his head. "It looks like the kind of skin shed by the animals we were studying, but this… this is way too large. I imagine it must be some sort of movie prop..."
After asking a few more inconsequential questions, George stood up and shook Peter's hand. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Parker."
"It's no trouble at all. Dr. Connors is my mentor, after all. I'm deeply saddened by what's happened to him."
Their conversation concluded, and Peter left the police station.
Inside the interrogation room, George continued to study the photos from the lab, as if searching for more clues.
Just then, a detective pushed the door open.
"I think you should take a look at this."
George frowned. He didn't like being interrupted when he was deep in thought. "Did you find any leads on Dr. Connors?" he asked.
"No, but it seems there's a new superhero patrolling the streets of New York."
"What?"
George took the tablet handed to him by the detective.
The video played from a bystander's perspective.
It showed a few robbers who had just held up a convenience store, sprinting away when suddenly a woman dressed in white leaped down from above.
Yes, judging by her figure, it was clearly a woman.
In the video, the armed robbers were swiftly taken down in just a few moves, then tied up to a lamppost with thick white threads. The three guns they had were easily snapped in half by the woman in white. Cheers erupted from the onlookers in the video.
The camera then shifted as the person filming rushed over to touch the white threads.
"My God, is this spider silk?"
"Did you see that? That was so cool! She's a total badass."
"Look at her, she just broke those guns with her bare hands!"
...
The video hadn't fully finished playing, but George had seen enough. He angrily slammed the tablet down onto the table. The detective who had brought the video winced. That was his personal tablet, brought to the station to kill some time—he really didn't want it to get broken.
"Another wannabe hero. I really wonder what kind of parents would raise a daughter like that," George grumbled. "Maybe they should try disciplining her for a change."
Just as he was saying this, more people entered the interrogation room. And this time, it wasn't just one or two—it was a group.
George immediately recognized the trio in front of him. They were none other than the three robbers from the video!
One of them smugly declared, "If it weren't for Spider-Woman, you dumb cops would've never caught us."
The detective who had escorted them in noticed George's darkening expression and could only give the three foolish robbers a sympathetic glance before quietly slipping out of the room.
...
On the rooftop.
After swinging all around New York City, Gwen returned from the opposite direction. The moment she touched down on the rooftop, she rushed toward Alan at top speed and leaped into his arms, wrapping herself around him like an octopus.
"So, did you have fun?" Alan asked with a smile.
Gwen removed her mask, her face glowing with excitement. "I loved it! And guess what? On my way back, I ran into a robbery—I caught three robbers!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.
"I tied them to a lamppost with my webs and even snapped their guns in half," Gwen said, gesturing animatedly as she tried to convey the overwhelming joy she felt.
Alan simply listened, smiling as Gwen recounted her adventure.
When she finally finished, Gwen wrapped her arms around Alan's neck and said, "I'm just so happy... Today has been the happiest day of my life."
"Thank you, Alan."
Alan chuckled. "This is all because of your own abilities. Why are you thanking me?"
"Without your support and encouragement, I don't think I would've ever taken this step," Gwen said, her voice filled with emotion. "Thank you..."
As Alan was about to tell her that she didn't need to thank him, Gwen grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down.
Their lips met.
Alan, momentarily caught off guard, wrapped his arms around Gwen...
...
Author's Q&A:
Q: The Spider That Bit Peter Was an Ordinary Spider?
A: The spider that bit Peter was just an ordinary spider, not a mutated super-spider, so Peter won't turn into Spider-Man.
Q: My(Author's) Personal Opinion on Spider-Man and Iron Man
A: Personally, I like both Spider-Man and Iron Man, but after watching No Way Home, I don't like Spider-Man anymore (those who've seen it will understand...).
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