The roar of the helicopter rotors echoed in his ears. Nick Fury narrowed his single eye and stared through the bulletproof window at Avengers Tower gradually shrinking in the distance.
He did not believe in Madame Web's totem legends, but he knew exactly where the spider that had bitten Peter and Cindy had come from—it was a product of the Super Soldier Program codenamed Savage Force. Its purpose was to use animal genes to create a new generation of Super Soldiers. Its earliest director had been Professor Nathaniel Essex of Britain, but after shifting his focus to mutant gene research, he handed the project over to his two students: Richard Parker and Herbert Edgar Wyndham.
The latter had been missing for years, while Richard chose spiders as his research subject. He conducted the research with his wife, Mary Parker, but withdrew from the project several years ago, leaving Richard's student Jonathan Drew to continue the work.
They had chosen to withdraw because they discovered that the United States military was sharing the relevant data with another secret organization. That was also why Nick Fury had recruited them, ultimately leading to their deaths at the hands of the Winter Soldier.
The deaths of Richard Parker and Mary Parker had been a major failure for S.H.I.E.L.D., but the Parkers' sacrifice had not been in vain—it tore open Hydra's carefully woven disguise. This terrorist organization, which should have perished in WWII, was not only still alive, but had already sunk its tentacles into the marrow of the entire postwar order.
A.I.M., Roxxon, the Hand... these exposed Hydra forces were merely the tip of the iceberg. And Savage Force—known within Hydra as Project Number Two—was only the beginning. Fury's temples throbbed. If the overt Savage Force program alone could produce three superpowered individuals, then how many monsters had Hydra's secretly planned Project Number Two bred?
More importantly, Hydra had definitely planted moles within S.H.I.E.L.D. But how many moles were buried inside S.H.I.E.L.D., and whether they could all be rooted out, were still unknowns to Nick Fury.
"He knows all this."
Fury watched Avengers Tower gradually vanish from sight and recalled Peter Parker's words from earlier, his brow furrowing.
Had Richard left something behind for him?
Wilson, a cigar clenched between his teeth, entered the underground level of Fisk Tower. Aaron Davis followed silently behind him like a shadow, smoke curling beneath the incandescent lights. Something new was being built here: a high-spec concealed laboratory.
"It's a pleasure to meet you here, Dr. Otto Octavius."
Facing the mechanical claw extended toward him, Kingpin did not refuse. He shook it lightly before letting go. "I assume you understand my request. Spider-Man has severely disrupted New York's underground trade. I need a weapon capable of dealing with him."
"The honor is mine, Mr. Kingpin." Otto used a mechanical claw to adjust his glasses. "But first, I need to gather enough data. I've seen some of Spider-Man's battles and recorded his fights against Scarecrow and Swarm. Even so, I believe that still isn't the limit of his abilities. If you intend to defeat Spider-Man, you must first force out his limits."
"As the old saying goes, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
Kingpin frowned at those words. Test Spider-Man's limits? He knew that with the people currently under New York's gangs, even armed with every kind of firearm, they would never be Spider-Man's match. These superpowered people had changed the rules of the game. Numbers and firepower were no longer absolute advantages.
Then, if they wanted to fight Spider-Man, they would have to create more people like Scarecrow or Swarm.
"Build me a suit of armor. I'll deal with Spider-Man."
Aaron Davis spoke up. Kingpin turned to look at his trusted subordinate, whose gaze was resolute. "Leave it to me, King. I can handle it."
"Listen, Aaron, my friend." Kingpin put an arm around Aaron's shoulders, his grip perfectly measured. "I'll have equipment made for you, but not to deal with Spider-Man. Understand? We don't need to do it ourselves."
He turned to Octavia. "I'll hire a group of international mercenaries to test your new equipment, Dr. Otto. Before that, focus on developing weapons to deal with Spider-Man. I hope to see results soon."
Watching Kingpin leave the laboratory, Otto propped himself up with his mechanical claws and turned on the computer. In truth, besides the weapons he developed, there were other paths available—such as stealing the research results of the United States' Super Soldier Program.
Before Otto left Osborn Industries, he had learned that the military had discovered a meteorite in the Arizona desert. It carried a symbiote capable of bonding with Earth life and drastically enhancing the human body.
If he could get his hands on that thing and control it, defeating Spider-Man would be effortless.
As Otto thought, he checked the current stockpile of Chitauri parts owned by Kingpin on the computer, adjusting his glasses as he began devising equipment to deal with Kingpin.
As for what he truly intended to do, that had always been clear—Spider-Man was not his enemy, never had been. Norman Osborn, the one who had turned him into this, was Otto's real enemy.
"Light Particle Imaging Device? It was given to Quentin Beck... Kingpin actually managed to find someone who understands this thing."
In fact, Quentin did more than understand it. He had been continuously improving the device. At that moment, staring at the fishbowl-like object in his hands, he could not help holding his breath.
"I did it? I did it. I really pulled it off?"
As he muttered to himself, Quentin rubbed his temples. Electrodes linked to the projector were attached to both sides of his head, while the projections in the room kept changing without pause.
Quentin heard footsteps. Kingpin's men, who had always bullied him, were coming again. He looked around, then at the Light Particle Imaging Device in his hands.
He put the thing over his head.
"Beck? Where did that kid run off to?"
The two gang members who entered found no one in the room and prepared to leave in confusion. They headed toward the door, only to slam headfirst into something. They quickly realized what had happened.
"That damn kid is messing with us again! Hurry, find the door and get out!"
After feeling around and finding the door, they left the room. Based on past experience, as long as they got out, they could avoid Quentin's tricks. Then they could give that bastard a proper beating.
But this time, something seemed different...
They stepped out the door, only to find that nothing had changed. They had entered Quentin's workshop once more. Then they were struck hard—something smashed viciously into them and knocked them to the floor.
Amid a cloud of smoke, a man wearing a glass helmet and a green combat suit appeared before them. One of the gang members threw a punch, but hit nothing at all.
"Tell Kingpin—I'll take care of Spider-Man."
Nathaniel Essex, the well-known X-Men villain known as Mr. Sinister.
Herbert Edgar Wyndham, who would one day be known as the High Evolutionary.
Mysterio first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 in February 1963. His real name was Quentin Beck, and he was one of the founding members of the Sinister Six.
One of Spider-Man's most famous enemies, he had originally been a Hollywood special-effects artist. He possessed no superpowers of his own, but excelled at using high technology to create lifelike illusions and chemical gases that induced hallucinations.
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