"Mr. Mark, sorry, but I came here for the Green Goblin this time, not you."
Coulson glanced at the body covered by a white sheet and waved a hand. "Take it away. Send it to the lab."
The agents behind him nodded and immediately began moving the body.
Coulson stayed at the scene, then looked over Gwen Stacy and the others.
Finally, he said to Mark, "I need you all to come with me. Is that all right?"
Gwen Stacy and the others nodded without objection.
This was standard procedure.
Something seemed to occur to Mark, and he asked Coulson about it.
"I remember there being a bounty on the Green Goblin."
Coulson opened his handheld computer, checked, and said:
"That's right. Successfully apprehending the Green Goblin earns you three thousand dollars. You can collect the money at the nearest police station."
"Three thousand?"
Mark looked astonished. "That little? No wonder you could never catch him."
Coulson shrugged. "That's not my responsibility. The higher-ups have specific criteria for approving those amounts."
Mark nodded. "Then I have no problem."
"Good. Please come with me."
Everyone followed Coulson into the vehicles.
Before long, they arrived at the nearest police station. Mark and the others weren't taken to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Building.
After all, this was just routine questioning to establish the details. There was no need to treat them like criminals.
In the interview room, Gwen Stacy and the others were questioned one by one.
Then it was Mark's turn.
Natasha was in charge.
She studied Mark, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
"I didn't expect you weren't a magician."
Mark said with a serious expression, "I've stated repeatedly that I have superpowers."
"Mm-hmm, got it."
Natasha said casually, "Then after you leave here, please register your superpowers with the relevant department."
Mark: "..."
"Which department is that?" he asked.
Natasha smiled slightly. "Mine."
Mark rolled his eyes. "Then you can register me right now."
"No problem."
Natasha opened her handheld computer. "Name, age, sex."
"Mark Parker, eighteen," Mark said.
Natasha looked up. "Tell the truth."
"Twenty-one," Mark corrected himself.
Natasha entered the information. "What are your superpowers?"
"Magic."
"Tell the truth."
"An enhanced physique. I can glow, and I can transform."
"Is that everything?" Natasha asked again.
Mark thought for a moment. "For now."
"Good. That's settled, then."
Natasha put away her handheld computer. "Next, we'll take you to the lab to measure your abilities.
"If your performance is exceptional, we can consider recruiting you to work for S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Work?"
Mark curled his lip. "Sorry, but you're no longer useful to me. I won't be joining you."
His stats had improved a little from playing the game lately.
With the Demon Hunter Set's defense added to his own, he was almost certain Professor Connors's strength could no longer pose a lethal threat to him.
Since Lizard Man couldn't kill him, Mark no longer needed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protection.
With that in mind, Mark was about to make a few more sarcastic remarks.
But then Coulson suddenly came in.
"Natasha, the results are back. The Green Goblin died from a neurotoxin."
Then he looked at Mark. "You weren't the one who killed the Green Goblin."
Mark instantly grew wary. "You're not trying to weasel out of paying, are you?"
He stood and slammed a hand on the table. "Listen, no matter how the Green Goblin died, I'm getting my three thousand dollars-not a dollar less!"
Natasha: "..."
Were all the people from the Mental Hospital this obsessed with money?
Spider-Man was the same.
The difference was that Spider-Man only wanted Gold Coins.
With that thought, she signaled Coulson to leave.
Once again, only the two of them remained in the room.
Natasha tried to be as patient as possible.
"It's only three thousand dollars. No problem. I'll put in the request for you.
"But before that, you need to tell me whether you met anyone strange while you were in the Mental Hospital." She began fishing for information.
Mark sat back down. "What do you mean by strange?"
Natasha considered her wording, deciding she couldn't tell him everything.
She said, "People with mental issues."
Hearing that, Mark looked at her as though she were an idiot.
"Ma'am, those are the only people in a mental hospital."
Natasha: "..."
She had slipped up.
So she continued, "What about people with superpowers, like you?"
Mark shook his head. "No. Even if there were any, they wouldn't necessarily want to reveal themselves."
As he spoke, something seemed to occur to him.
"Oh, right. If you catch a criminal with superpowers, make sure you don't lock them up in the Mental Hospital."
Natasha didn't understand why.
"Mr. Mark, we're not idiots. We would never do that."
"Then I'm relieved." Mark looked reassured.
Seeing this, Natasha thought, This guy really does have mental issues.
She stood. "We're done here. I'll have someone deliver the three thousand dollars to you. You can leave."
Mark nodded, got up, and left the interview room to find Gwen Stacy and the others.
They all left the police station together.
"I think we should celebrate surviving that," Harry suggested.
Mark glanced at him. "You're nuts."
After that jab, he called Peter over and headed home with him.
Watching them walk away, Harry looked baffled.
"Why did he insult me?" he asked Gwen Stacy.
Gwen Stacy pointed at her watch. "It's already really late."
Harry shrugged. "Staying up late is normal for young people."
"You're nuts."
Gwen Stacy threw out the insult, turned, and left.
Then Harry looked at Felicia and Cindy.
Both moved their lips without making a sound.
But Harry could tell from their mouths.
They had said the exact same thing.
"Oh my God, you've all changed."
Harry could only turn to Norman.
"Son
", I'm getting old." Norman turned down the late-night father-and-son outing.
He still had to go back and work out his next plan.
In the end, Harry wandered alone outside the police station.
Everything that had happened today had been too thrilling.
He couldn't sleep.
The Secret Laboratory.
Norman found Professor Connors.
"The plan failed. My man didn't take Peter away," he said.
Professor Connors didn't seem surprised.
He said calmly, "I don't understand what you're thinking. If you'd acted yourself, Peter couldn't have escaped."
Norman shook his head. "That's different. My plan was to use the crisis created by the Green Goblin to win Peter's absolute trust and get him to tell me where that thing is willingly."
"What a hassle."
Professor Connors set down the Regeneration Serum in his hand. "Peter is merely innocent, not stupid. He'll notice something is wrong."
"But this time, Mark killed my man. His abilities aren't weak," Norman said.
"Mark?"
Realization dawned on Professor Connors. "I remember now. When I ran into him at the botanical garden, he did display superpowers."
"Yes, fairly decent superpowers."
Norman recalled Mark's abilities and thought little of them.
If he had been the one wearing the Green Goblin Armor, the abilities Mark had displayed would have been no match for the terrifying Demon.
He could guarantee that.
As for Professor Connors, he wanted to warn Norman about something.
But in the end, he decided against it.
If that strange black liquid was still inside Mark's body, Norman would definitely suffer for his arrogance.
But that suited him just fine. He would be happy to see it happen.