RedX43
patreon
[Frog] Chapter 145: Gwen's Behaviour
🕑 Added 2024-11-04 08:56:53 +0000 UTCAt the NYPD station, George walked in with Gwen, attracting friendly greetings from several officers along the way. George had brought Gwen to the station many times since she was young, so most people there knew her well, having watched her grow up.
As soon as they entered, George spotted a familiar figure in the lobby and called out, "Peter."
Peter, waiting for George, turned around and froze for a moment, noticing Gwen by George's side.
"Good morning, Uncle George," he greeted. "Hi, Gwen."
Gwen waved, replying, "Hey, Peter."
"Let's head to my office first," George said. "Anna should arrive shortly; we’ll wait for her there."
Peter nodded, replying, "Alright."
He already knew from the reports that Anna was a doctor working with the homeless population. Once inside George's office, Peter asked, "Uncle George, has there been any activity over at Oscorp recently?"
Peter was worried there might be other experimental formulas in Oscorp’s possession. Since he had resigned, he could no longer access the company as freely as before.
George shook his head and handed Peter a file from his desk. "No, there’s been nothing suspicious. Although we can't arrest Norman, surveillance is still within the legal limits. Everything at Oscorp has been routine lately, no issues at all."
Looking through the file, Peter felt a bit relieved. He assumed Norman had discovered the side effects of the enhancement serum and, until those issues were resolved, wouldn’t dare to make any rash moves.
What Peter didn’t know was that, to preserve his reputation and future—and to get revenge on that general—Norman had already injected himself with the enhancement serum. This act triggered a manic and sinister second personality, one that had even made a pact with Mephisto, gaining additional powers.
“Peter, are you really moving out of New York?” Gwen asked once they had wrapped up the discussion.
Closing the file, Peter replied, "Yes, I’m heading to the countryside to teach. Uncle Ben helped me find this job, and I think it’ll be a good fit."
Gwen understood. To Peter, New York had become a place full of painful memories. His involvement in two major scientific projects had both ended in disaster—none of it his fault. In fact, Peter's brilliance was well-recognized. But still...
Suppressing her own disappointment, she offered, "Well, I wish you the best of luck, Peter."
"You too, Gwen."
George extended his hand to Peter, saying, "Peter, thanks for your help today."
"Of course, Uncle George."
As they shook hands, a subordinate suddenly burst into George's office without knocking, causing George’s expression to change. He had long enforced a rule that no one was to enter his office without knocking unless it was an emergency.
“What’s going on?” George asked with a frown.
The officer glanced at Peter and Gwen in the office, seeming hesitant, before Gwen spoke up, "Peter, let’s wait for Anna outside."
Peter nodded. "Sure."
Once they left, the officer closed the door behind him. George sensed something serious had happened even before the officer, with a tense expression, held up a sealed folder and said, "Sir, we’ve got a major situation."
“What happened?” George asked.
The officer handed over the file, saying, "A general stationed at Military base was assassinated last night."
George froze, then quickly took the file, feeling more unsettled with each page he read.
"What’s the word from their side?" he asked.
“They suspect the assassin may have slipped back into New York and want our full cooperation in tracking them down—dead or alive.”
George stored the file carefully and said gravely, "Alright, let’s head to the scene."
Before leaving, he picked up the phone, giving a few more instructions. "Make sure any request is fulfilled. And keep an eye on the deputy commissioner."
"Got it, chief," came the voice on the other end.
George left his office with the file and entered the lobby, where he saw Gwen, Peter, and Anna, who had just arrived.
With everyone present, he approached them and said, “Gwen, I won’t be able to drive you home tonight. Make sure you get back early and don’t stay out too late.”
Gwen nodded with a smile. "Sure, Dad."
Then George introduced them, "Anna, this is Peter, who I told you about. Peter, this is my niece, Anna."
With that introduction, Peter and Anna finally met.
After George finished assigning the remaining tasks within the police department, he left the station.
“We should go check on that enhanced individual first,” he said.
“Alright,” agreed Anna. Then, turning to Gwen, she asked, “What about you, Gwen?”
Gwen glanced outside, hesitated a bit, and then said, “I won’t tag along. I’m heading out for a bit myself.”
Anna smiled knowingly, teasing, “Off to find Alan?”
Blushing slightly, Gwen didn’t deny it, only responding, “You go focus on solving the case, cousin. I’ll be going now.”
Without another word, she dashed out, not noticing Peter’s somewhat dejected look.
Watching Gwen’s retreating figure, Anna shook her head with a smile, “That girl…”
She then turned to Peter, “Mr. Parker, let’s go take a look.”
“Please, call me Peter,” he replied, chuckling. “I’m Gwen’s friend, after all.”
…
Outside the police station, Gwen slipped into a secluded corner. In the next moment, a web shot out, and she swung away from the station, heading in Alan’s direction.
As she swung through the city, she suddenly paused, leaning against the wall of a tall building and staring at her hands in confusion.
“This is odd… I feel like…”
“Red Queen, do you detect anything unusual?” she asked.
After a quick scan, Red Queen’s voice replied, “Miss Gwen, everything appears normal.”
Although reassured by Red Queen’s response, the strange sensation lingered in Gwen’s mind. It was as if… there was a voice in her ear, whispering strange things.
“Miss Gwen, there’s a violent apprehension in progress on Ninth Street,” Red Queen reported suddenly.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Gwen dismissed the strange feeling and, following Red Queen’s optimized route, swung toward Ninth Street.
Upon arriving, she spotted two men, one of them wielding a gun and running with all his might, occasionally firing shots behind him. Pursuing them were several local detectives, ducking for cover whenever a bullet whizzed by.
The angrier of the two men ducked behind a trash can, shouting at his partner, “Are you out of your mind? Who told you to stir up trouble here?”
His companion, far from worried, seemed almost thrilled. “Hey, how could I know I'd get recognized just walking down the street? But maybe it’s good. Ever since Kingpin died, we’ve been lying low. Today, we take a few down with us!”
These two were former underlings of Kingpin. Since his death, much of the evidence incriminating his organization had come to light, leaving his associates with little chance to escape. Each one of them had dirty secrets on their hands. Today, these two had been unlucky enough to encounter some detectives, sparking this gunfight in the street.
The calmer one suggested, “They’re staying back for now. Let’s take the chance to slip into the alley.”
The hot-tempered man, despite his talk about taking others down, wasn’t foolish enough to pass up a chance to escape. He cursed, “Damn that Spider-Woman! If it weren’t for him, Kingpin would never have—”
Before he could finish, a voice rang out above them, “You two seem pretty upset with me.”
Startled, they looked up to see none other than Spider-Woman perched on the trash can.
“It’s Spider-Woman!”
“You got our boss killed!” yelled the angrier thug, seething with rage. Once, following Kingpin meant living large, but now they were nothing more than hunted criminals. They blamed Spider-Woman, believing that if she hadn’t helped, the police wouldn’t have stood a chance against Kingpin.
The other thug, though outwardly calmer, shared the same grudge. They realized that without resisting, they’d be caught for sure. Fighting back, however, might give them a slim chance to escape.
Each with their own motive, the two prepared to pull their triggers—only for Gwen’s web to whip out and, with a powerful tug, yank the guns from their hands instantly.
Before the criminals knew what was happening, both guns were already in Spider-Woman's hands, dangling from her webbing.
Gwen swung the two guns playfully, commenting, “Playing with these things on the street? That’s not good, you know. What if someone gets hurt?”
“Damn you, Spider-Woman!” the angry thug was the first to react, grabbing a nearby trash can and hurling it at her.
Gwen gracefully flipped to dodge it, shooting out a web that glued the thug’s foot to the ground. Landing lightly, she continued to swing the guns in her hands like toys, even whistling a little tune—mocking him more than threatening. The angry thug cursed furiously, but no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t pull free from the web.
Meanwhile, the other thug, seeing his partner restrained, seized the moment to bolt deeper into the alley.
Gwen lifted one of the guns, calling out, “Stop running, or I’ll shoot!” When he ignored her and kept fleeing, Gwen’s annoyance grew.
Bang!
Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger. The bullet ricocheted off the alley's rusty scrap metal, making a loud, intimidating noise.
“Don’t shoot! I surrender, I surrender!” The thug froze in fear, hands raised, and slowly emerged from hiding.
Gwen stared at her own hand, stunned. “Did I… just shoot?”
At that moment, the detectives who had been pursuing the two criminals finally caught up, thanking Gwen. “Thank you, Spider-Woman, for helping us catch these two.”
Gwen handed them the guns, still a bit dazed. “No problem… I’m off now.” She shot out another web and swung away, ignoring the detective who shouted after her, “Wait!”
As Spider-Woman disappeared into the distance, the detectives turned back to the thug glued to the ground, who groaned in frustration as two of them tried to yank him free, pulling a little too hard.
“Damn it, stop pulling! It hurts!” he yelled. “My… my…!”
One of the detectives rolled her eyes, while a few male detectives exchanged sympathetic glances. Women would never understand this particular kind of pain.
Elsewhere in New York City, Gwen swung through the air, lost in thought. “Red Queen, did I really fire that shot just now?”
“Yes, Miss Gwen.”
“But I only meant to scare him; I didn’t think I’d actually shoot,” Gwen replied, feeling a strange unease.
Red Queen explained calmly, “Sometimes, people’s subconscious actions can override their conscious control.”
Gwen accepted the explanation, though the suddenness of it all left her feeling a little unsettled.
“My suit got a bit dirty; maybe I shouldn’t let Alan see me like this.” She swung to a secluded area, quickly changing her attire, and reemerged as a clean, stylish college student.
Reaching the apartment, she straightened her hair and, satisfied, headed upstairs.
Inside, Alan was sweating on the treadmill, while Pikachu was amusing itself with some of the other gym equipment. At the sound of the door, Pikachu perked up.
“Pika!”
Alan chuckled, reassuring it, “Relax, it’s not Anna. It’s…” His psychic senses tingled. “It’s Gwen.”
At the mention of Gwen, Pikachu’s face lit up as it dashed over to greet her. Alan quickly held it back, though.
“Hang on, Pikachu. There’s someone with Gwen.” Pikachu tilted its head adorably. “Pika… chu…”
“Come on up here.” Pikachu obediently climbed onto Alan’s shoulder, watching the door.
Just then, Gwen stepped inside. Spotting Alan in a thin T-shirt, his perfectly defined muscles on display, she lit up, running over with excitement and hugging him.
“I just love this so much…”
...
