Chapter 56: Hail Hydra!

Inside the New York Police Department.

"Mr. Parker, I trust you understand. Even if Dr. Connors committed those murders while he was mutated, it doesn't change the fact that the crimes were his doing," George said after finishing his interrogation of Peter. "As for his punishment, that will be left to the legal system to decide."

"I understand," Peter replied, looking dejected. He then asked, "Can I see him one last time?"

After a moment of hesitation, George stood up and said, "Follow me."

They walked through the police station, taking several turns before reaching a special room.

Inside, Dr. Connors was strapped to a hospital bed, his hand and feet tightly bound. Apart from his head, he could hardly move any part of his body.

Hearing the door open, Connors opened his eyes. When he saw Peter, tears welled up in his cloudy eyes. "Peter, I'm sorry."

Peter approached his mentor, his own eyes red with emotion. "It's not your fault, Dr. Connors. I should have noticed something was wrong that night."

Sensing the weight of their conversation, George quietly closed the door behind him, giving them their final moment together.

Inside the room, Connors asked, "Peter, were those anti-gene drugs your creation?"

Peter nodded, explaining the deal he had made with Norman. He expected Connors to be upset, but instead, the doctor was relieved. "Peter, I was wrong. If I had worked with you instead of trying to do everything myself, the regenerative gene serum might have succeeded long ago."

Peter consoled him, "It's all in the past now, Dr. Connors."

Meanwhile, outside the room, George glanced at his watch. It was still early. With the major case over, he could finally enjoy some time off with his family. After waiting for a bit longer, Peter emerged from the room.

George patted him on the shoulder and said, "Go home for now. I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Thank you, Mr. Stacy," Peter said as he left the station.

Just as Peter stepped outside and was about to hail a cab, a luxurious car honked from the curb. Curious, Peter looked over and saw Norman Osborn's face peeking out the window.

"Hey, Peter," Norman called out. "Need a ride? Harry and I can drop you off."

"Harry?" Peter asked.

Harry stepped out of the backseat and walked over to him. "Peter, I'm sorry for everything that's happened. My dad filled me in on the details. Come on, let me take you home."

"Thanks, Harry," Peter said as he accepted the offer and got into the car.

As they drove off, George, having changed into civilian clothes, left the station, saying goodbye to his colleagues as he did so.

"I wonder if Gwen's home yet," he thought to himself as he turned on his personal phone, noticing a missed call from an anonymous number.

He didn't dwell on it, deciding instead to call Gwen and check if she was home.

"Maybe I'll do a surprise inspection," he mused with a chuckle, putting the phone down and driving away from the police station.

Not long after George had left, a black sedan pulled up in front of the station. A balding man in glasses stepped out, flanked by a group of burly bodyguards.

Their sudden appearance quickly caught the attention of the officers inside. One of them approached and asked, "Can I help you?"

Before the man could respond, a portly middle-aged man came rushing out of the station. When the officers saw him, they immediately saluted. "Go back inside," the man ordered. "These people were sent from higher up."

Recognizing the man as the deputy director, the officer wisely backed off. "Higher up" meant someone with more authority than George, the police chief.

Once it was just the group left outside, the portly man leaned in close and whispered, "Hail Hydra."

The balding man smiled and responded in kind, "Hail Hydra."

"Please, follow me," the deputy director said, leading them to where Dr. Connors was being held.

The balding man entered the room alone while the others waited outside. After a long while, he came back out and asked, "Where is Peter Parker, the one working with Osborn, being held?"

The deputy director nervously chuckled, "He wasn't detained. George let him go."

The balding man frowned but said nothing more as he led his men out of the station.

Inside the holding room, Dr. Connors stared blankly at the door, lost in thought.

...

"Mm..."

Gwen's voice echoed throughout Alan's house, carrying an indescribable laziness mixed with a hint of pain, making it hard for anyone who heard it not to let their imagination wander.

At that moment, on the bed in Gwen's room, Alan was sitting on Gwen's back, pulling her arms to stretch her back.

Having never felt so relaxed, Gwen could only let out these sounds of comfort without much other thought. Alan's mysterious oriental massage techniques were simply too effective.

After performing a few more stretches, Gwen lay down in Alan's arms, her face flushed with embarrassment.

She couldn't stop blushing at the thought of the sounds she had just made, unaware that her current posture was torturing Alan.

Observing her reaction, Alan gained a deeper understanding of how conservative Gwen was. A girl this reserved… she might be the only one in the entire country.

With this realization, Alan mentally gave a nod of approval to George.

"Gwen," Alan called softly.

Gwen merely responded with a gentle "Mm."

Snap! Suddenly, Alan snapped his fingers, and the room's lighting shifted from a bright white to a soft, warm yellow—a recent upgrade he'd made to the house, perfectly paired with the Red Queen system to enhance the ambiance.

Noticing the change in lighting, Gwen curiously lifted her head, locking eyes with Alan. In the warm glow of the room, the mood instantly shifted.

Their gazes met, and with the atmosphere just right, Alan leaned in and gently kissed her.

Gwen trembled, though she wasn't sure exactly why. As the mood deepened and Alan prepared to take things a step further, the room's lights abruptly switched back to their original bright white, snapping the moment apart.

Alan sat there, baffled. What just happened? He was certain he hadn't given any orders to the Red Queen.

At that moment, the Red Queen's voice rang out, "Master, Miss Gwen—George is on his way home."

Alan: "???"

What the… Forget what I said earlier about giving George a thumbs up!

Gwen panicked as soon as she heard that George was coming home. Even though she was bold enough to stand up to her father in her Spider suit, at home, Gwen was still rather obedient to George.

"Sorry, Alan, I have to go."

"Red Queen, is my suit ready?" Gwen asked.

"It's ready, Miss Gwen," the Red Queen replied.

Without wasting a moment, Gwen rushed out of the room, quickly changing into her Spider suit and packing her regular clothes into a bag.

Standing on the balcony railing, she called back, "See you tomorrow, Alan." With that, she swung out of the house on her webs and disappeared into the night.

Whether she was running because she was truly afraid of George or just too embarrassed was hard to tell.

As Gwen swung through the city, the cool night breeze gradually cooled down the heat rising in her body. Remembering the scene in Alan's room, she quickly shook her head vigorously.

"No! Alan isn't my husband yet," she muttered to herself. "Mom always said those things should only be done with your husband. Right! Alan is still just my boyfriend... I think?"

Even as she said it, Gwen felt uncertain. After all, neither of them had officially confessed to one another. Shaking away the confusion clouding her mind, Gwen continued swinging homeward.

If Alan knew what was going on in Gwen's head, his understanding of just how conservative she was would likely be challenged once again.

Watching Gwen leave, Alan felt a sudden emptiness in his heart, but he quickly regained his composure. He sat cross-legged on his yoga mat and began his nightly spiritual training.

...

At Tony's house.

Pepper Potts, waiting on the first floor for Tony to come up and explain himself, was beginning to feel uneasy. Ever since Tony's kidnapping, she felt like the Tony who came back was a completely different person.

Tony, having removed the Mark 3 suit, emerged from the basement holding a small device that looked like a USB drive. Seeing Pepper still waiting for him warmed his heart.

"Hey, Potts. Are you busy right now?"

Pepper turned to him, "Other than taking care of you and handling a mountain of company business, I don't think I have much else going on."

"Then help me out with something." Tony handed her the black USB drive. "Go to my office and plug this into the main computer. J.A.R.V.I.S. will hack in and retrieve the latest shipping manifests."

Pepper, worried, asked, "And what are you going to do once you get the manifests back?"

"The same as today—track them down and destroy them," Tony replied casually.

Pepper continued, "Tony, you know I'd do anything for you, but if you're going to keep acting recklessly like this... I can't help you. If you insist, I'll resign."

Tony knew Pepper was concerned about him. She was probably the only person left who truly worried about his safety.

He hugged her as she tried to leave and said, "Potts, I'm not going to take any unnecessary risks. Trust me. I've just realized what I need to do, and deep down... I know this is the right thing."

Pepper hadn't expected to see this softer side of Tony—the man who was usually sharp-tongued, strong-willed, and the quintessential playboy.

She sighed and finally voiced something that had been weighing on her heart for a long time: "You know, Tony... you're my everything..."

With that, she turned and left, taking the USB drive with her.

As Tony watched her walk away, he turned and called out, "Yinsen, next time, don't hide and spy from behind."

Yinsen, holding a cup of green juice, walked over and said, "Tony, I wasn't spying. I just got here."

"Thanks." Tony took the green juice. Although it tasted terrible, he had no choice but to drink it.

"Still haven't found a new element to replace the old one?" Yinsen asked with concern.

Tony shook his head. "J.A.R.V.I.S. is still running simulations. I think we'll have results soon..."

"J.A.R.V.I.S., let's continue improving the suit."

"No problem, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded.

---

On a private jet.

Obadiah Stane was holding the design schematics for Tony's Mark 1 armor, his eyes wide with astonishment. "He truly is a genius."

"So why did you try to kill him? Wouldn't keeping him alive be the better option?" Kingpin asked as he wiped the blood off his dragon-headed cane.

"But I despise geniuses—Howard was one, and Tony's no different..."

Obadiah picked up his phone and made a call. "Establish Sector 16 underneath the arc reactor. Make it top secret. Tony has no authority to interfere."

"Gather the remaining engineers. I want them here now."

"I'll see you in two hours."

---

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