Baxter Building The atmosphere in the living room on the top floor was so oppressive that it made people breathless.
Peter was looking at the real-time traffic monitoring data retrieved by the artificial intelligence "Sassy" from the Google server, while staring at several densely populated areas on the map, trying to figure out where the Lizard might next attack.
Jessica·Drew hung up the phone, stuffed the phone back into his pocket a little irritably, and spat in a low voice. "There are no clues. They haven't even touched the shadow of the monster. They are really a bunch of useless trash."
"Since the search has no effect, I think it is better to change the idea," Susan·Storm leaned on the table and suggested, "We should think more about the ultimate goal of the monster, instead of running around the city like flies." After saying that, she did not forget to cast a cold look at Jessica.
Jessica rolled his eyes and pretended not to see it at all.
Peter spread his hands and interjected. "The problem is, we know almost nothing about this monster. We don't even know what it is, and we can only guess based on it now."
"And we don't even know who it is," Johnny Stone leaned aside and shrugged, "It just seemed like it came out of nowhere, didn't it?"
Susan nodded. "That's true."
"Actually... it didn't completely appear out of thin air." Peter interrupted them.
"What do you mean, Peter?" Jessica immediately turned his head, his eyes a little more careful.
Peter gently rubbed his temples. "That Lizard Man... is actually Curt·Dr. Connors. He did human experiments on himself and ended up looking like that." He couldn't help but shudder when he thought of his previous experience in the smelly and dark underground water. This nightmare will probably haunt him for a while.
"Connors is Lizard Man?!" Jessica was stunned.
Peter looked at everyone in surprise. "Why, you don't even know?"
"Nonsense! Who would know!" the three of them shouted in unison.
Peter shrank his neck. "Okay, okay... In short, Connors is that monster."
"Even if we know his identity, we can't directly deduce his motives." Jessica frowned and took a breath.
"That's what I said," Peter said, stroking his chin, "But... we do know someone who may know the inside story."
Jessica raised her eyebrows. "Are you kidding?" Seeing Peter shrugging, she sighed softly, "Okay. But I suggest you change your suit. That girl is definitely more willing to open her heart to Peter·Parker than to face Spider-Man."
"No problem. Then you contact her, or should I do it?"
Half an hour later.
"This... this is incredible!"
Gwen Stacy·Stacy stood in the middle of the hall of the penthouse apartment, looking around with gleaming eyes, his lips slightly open, and he was so excited that his breathing was a little short.
Peter had already changed into his daily casual clothes, and he stuffed the ruined old battle suit into a hidden compartment in the laboratory. He and his companions stood aside, watching Gwen Stacy look around like a child entering a fairy tale castle for the first time.
"I feel like I'm in a dream!" Gwen Stacy couldn't help but exclaimed, "I've always dreamed of working here! Oh my God, this is... so crazy!"
Susan showed a gentle smile and walked up to show her around, "If you want, you can come at any time. Peter mentioned to me that you have graduated from college and are very smart. If you are looking for a job, you are always welcome to submit an application."
Gwen Stacy's eyes opened wide instantly. "Oh my god... are you serious?!"
"Of course." Susan nodded gently, "I've been looking for outstanding talents. But because our laboratory has a good reputation... well, it occasionally gets bombed, so there are not many people willing to apply. As long as you are willing, you can come at any time."
"I do!" Gwen Stacy blurted out, but then her expression suddenly froze, "Wait... no."
Johnny raised his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"
"I... I can't come," Gwen Stacy swallowed hard, his eyes dimmed, "Dr. Connors... I still work for him. Although he is missing now, I can't just leave him and leave."
"You don't have to worry about this," Jessica snorted coldly, "When Connors goes to jail, your employment relationship will naturally be terminated."
"What did you say?! Why?!" Gwen Stacy's face suddenly changed, and his tone became a little hysterical.
"Because he turned himself into a giant lizard and is now planning to poison the entire New York city with genetic mutation bombs." Johnny added sarcastically.
Gwen Stacy's face instantly turned pale, and her hands could not stop shaking. Peter could clearly smell the panic and despair emanating from her body.
"Gwen Stacy," Peter called her name softly, looking at her softly, "This is true... I had vague suspicions when I first went to your laboratory. Listen to me... Put aside the Dr. Connors in your impression, he is just a dangerous monster now. We must stop him before he causes a catastrophe."
Gwen Stacy looked at everyone in the room in horror, and finally turned around suddenly, covering his face and ran out.
Peter sighed. Jessica rolled his eyes helplessly, Susan's eyes were full of sympathy. As for Johnny...
"What's wrong with her?" Human Torch asked with a confused face.
Snap!
"Ouch!" Johnny jumped up suddenly, and Jessica's biological electric shock directly hit his back numb.
Susan helplessly held his forehead.
Jessica looked at Peter: "Go and comfort her."
Peter blinked. "Why me?"
Jessica raised a smile that could see through everything, "There is some unusual bond between the two of you."
Peter sighed and chased after him. But before leaving, he noticed that Susan was looking between him and Jessica with an extremely subtle and dangerous look. It must be said that a woman's heart is really a needle in the sea.
At the end of the corridor, Gwen Stacy was huddled in a dark corner next to the elevator, with his legs tightly curled up in front of his chest and his whole body in a ball. Waves of suppressed sobs could be heard in his ears.
Peter knew that time was running out, and that there was a genetic bomb threatening the entire city waiting to be dismantled, but he still suppressed his restlessness, silently walked over and sat down next to her, staying with her quietly, waiting for her to speak.
After a long time, Gwen Stacy choked and spoke, his voice broken with sadness. "I... I owe him too much."
"Why do you say that?"
"He is the only one who truly believes in me," Gwen Stacy confided without reservation, "My dad... he doesn't understand how I feel. He's not stupid, but he can't understand what a 'genius' is. He has no idea what it's like to graduate from high school at the age of thirteen and have no friends among his peers."
"But Dr. Connors understands, right?"
Gwen Stacy sniffed and nodded slightly. "No one can accept that a sixteen-year-old girl is smarter than all of them. But he doesn't care. He knows that I need guidance and knows that I have talent... He gave me a job, let me do what I love, and gave me a chance to prove myself..."
Peter leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. The corridor fell into silence again, with only Gwen Stacy's sobs gradually weakening.
"It sounds like he is indeed not a bad person," Peter broke the silence, "It can even be said that he is a very responsible person."
"He is." Gwen Stacy said softly.
"In this case, there is no way he would intentionally kill that Officer Kimber." Peter turned his head and looked at her.
Gwen Stacy raised his head in surprise, not sure whether it was because Peter accurately named the police officer or because of his conclusion.
"I don't think Dr. Connors would kill someone... it was that monster who took action, it was 'Lizard Man'." Peter looked at her eyes seriously, "No matter what he becomes, that is not someone you respect. That man. Because of this, you have a responsibility to him. The real him is trapped in that monster body... Help us stop him before he commits an irreparable crime. Gwen Stacy, save him, and help us get the doctor you are familiar with back."
Gwen Stacy stared at Peter quietly, her eyes flickering. For a moment, Peter thought that her mood was still on the verge of collapse. But then, an extraordinary calmness spread in her eyes, and the previous wavering completely disappeared, replaced by an extremely determined look.
Gwen Stacy suddenly kissed Peter, and then backed away with some embarrassment.
"Is it too sudden?" she asked quietly.
"A little bit." Peter came back to his senses and smiled at her.
Gwen Stacy chuckled lightly, cleared his throat, and looked slightly probing. "So... what is the relationship between you and that bodyguard lady?"
Peter raised an eyebrow. "You just kissed someone who you thought might have a girlfriend?"
"Hey! Didn't you kiss me yesterday too!"
"This cannot be generalized--"
"Have you two kissed enough?"
A cold and playful voice suddenly came from above. The two of them looked up suddenly and saw Jessica leaning against the wall not far away, with his hands folded across his chest and a meaningful smile on his face.
"Ah..." Gwen Stacy's cheeks instantly felt as hot as smoke, "I... we..."
Jessica stopped smiling and his eyes became cold, but there was a joke hidden deep in his eyes, "Get up, we still have a big lizard to catch."
Gwen Stacy quickly stood up with his head lowered. The two followed Jessica back to Peter's personal laboratory. Storm sister and brother were already waiting inside.
"Do you feel better?" Susan asked Gwen Stacy with concern.
Gwen Stacy responded softly, "Much better, thank you."
"She not only feels better," Jessica joked from the side, making Gwen Stacy's face turn red again, and Peter couldn't help but chuckle.
Clearing his throat, Peter brought the topic back on track. "Sassy, call up all the surveillance footage of Lizard Man currently available, and mark his activities on the New York map."
Several holographic projection screens emerged out of thin air. The three screens played live videos, and in the center was a giant New York holographic map. The red dot clearly marked the Lizard Man attack location.
Gwen Stacy walked forward. Although she was shocked by this amazing technology, she quickly restored her professional attitude and stared at the map with narrowed eyes. "So... what do you need me to do?"
"What does Connors hate the most?" Jessica asked, "We need to conduct a psychological portrait of him. If he wants to send some kind of message to the outside world through this attack, where will his target be?"
Gwen Stacy pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and pointed to a conspicuous building on the map. "If I were him... I would choose Osborn Enterprises."
"Why?" Peter asked.
"Dr. Connors has always been resentful. He firmly believes that Norman·Osborn's paper on muscle replication technology misappropriated his research results. He said that while Norman·Osborn was still working under him, he took his core scientific research results as his own."
Susan frowned, obviously disgusted with this kind of plagiarism. "Then why didn't he sue?"
Gwen Stacy shrugged helplessly. "He said he had no conclusive evidence. Even if he did, Norman's huge team of lawyers could easily suppress the matter. If Connors wants to take revenge... he will definitely choose there. This is his obsession."
Peter touched his chin. "Karma... he completed his greatest research achievement in his life on his enemy's building. So..."
"He is probably inside Osborn Enterprises now!" Jessica reacted very quickly, took out his mobile phone and walked out, "I am agent Drew. Immediately send all action teams to block Osborn Enterprises. Lizard Man is very likely to be there..."
Peter turned to Gwen Stacy and said, "Thank you, Gwen Stacy. I promise that S.H.I.E.L.D. will try to deal with him as lightly as possible."
Gwen Stacy nodded slowly. "Okay... then what should I do next?"
"You'd better go home first," Peter pointed to Jessica who was busy making phone calls outside, "S.H.I.E.L.D. will handle the next thing. To say the least, even if S.H.I.E.L.D. can't handle it, Johnny and Spider-Man can handle it."
Gwen Stacy blinked. "That's it? Is this all you need from me?"
"Yes, just leave the rest to the heroes." Peter gestured to the Storm siblings, "Do I need to send you back?"
"No need... I can do it myself." Gwen Stacy said in a low voice.
"Let me send her out." Susan took the initiative and led Gwen Stacy out. Before leaving, he cast a firm look at Peter.
Peter nodded in response. After they left the laboratory, he immediately turned and looked at the main screen. "Sassy, are the new suits ready?"
A prototype of a suit that was less than one-third complete appeared on the holographic screen. Sassy's voice was a little helpless:
"I'm afraid not, Master. It's only 27% completed at the moment, and it will take at least a few weeks for full completion."
"Wow, what is this?" Jessica walked in after making a phone call and looked at the holographic image with some curiosity.
Peter sighed, "A new suit. It should be my most cutting-edge equipment at the moment... It's a pity that it can't catch up."
"Don't you have a spare?" Johnny asked.
"The ruined set was the spare suit." Peter rubbed his temples, "Johnny, making my suit is very cumbersome. I don't have a production line, and I don't have as much free time as Tony·Stark. I put most of my energy into the development of the new suit... However, I do have one last option."
Jessica raised his eyebrows. "What choice?"