Chapter 681
Back to School Invitation
Chapter 681 Homecoming Invitation
When Peter left, Jonah Jameson was still broadcasting the list of Hydra members discovered within the government. There were already more than 20 Hydra members among members of Congress alone, and they were from both parties. Coupled with the kidnapping of the president by the former vice president and Hydra's AIM company in the first half of the year, the Matthew Ellis administration's approval ratings have plummeted in just one year.
President Ellis himself will certainly protest his innocence, since he didn't actually do anything, so how did he end up in this mess?
But there's nothing we can do. Even though you didn't do it, in a democratically elected country, whether you did it or not doesn't matter. The important thing is when the bomb exploded.
JJJ, on the other hand, is having a much better time. These past few days he's been firing off like crazy, feeling refreshed and invigorated. He's even stopped criticizing Spider-Man because he simply doesn't have the time.
What is Spider-Man doing? Oh, he's busy getting ready for school.
"You didn't take me with you again this time."
"To be precise, I never took you with me, Gwen."
Peter, the last to leave and lock the door, told the truth, but Gwen clearly didn't like hearing it: "You should have taken me with you. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the X-Men were all out there to wipe out Hydra outposts in other places, but I didn't. And now that such a big thing has happened, I'm the only one left sitting here."
"Doesn't that mean you're the only Spider-Man in New York? It just shows that New York needs you."
Peter locked the door as he spoke, while Gwen, who was standing beside him, was clearly dissatisfied with Peter's answer: "I'm not an ordinary person. I'm just like you, Cindy, and the senior. I have spider abilities too. I can make everyone ignore my existence. I'm also wearing Mysterio's helmet!"
Peter gave Gwen a strange look.
Didn't you return that helmet?
"Uh...no."
Although theoretically there's nowhere to return it, Mysterio has already been sent to the mansion jail for further training, and the helmet was already in Gwen's hands when he was arrested, so naturally there's nowhere to return it.
Of course, Gwen wearing Mysterio's helmet, combined with her own abilities, would indeed be a pretty good helper, but Peter simply didn't intend to let Gwen get involved.
“You underestimate Hydra, Gwen. Putting aside everything else, the enemy has brought tens of thousands of troops for this battle. If you use your abilities, we won’t be able to see you, and releasing your abilities might accidentally injure you.”
The word "accidental injury" is the reason Gwen hears most often when she can't participate in such large-scale operations. Katie is the exact opposite—Phantomcat's ability means that she's mostly sleepwalking on the battlefield, and her teammates don't need to care about her safety. But for Gwen, once she participates in the operation, her teammates might not even know where the bullets that hit her came from.
"Accidental injury... I also have spider-sense, and when you go on missions with the Avengers, aren't you ever worried that the Avengers might get hurt?"
The two walked to the back of the garage, talking as they went. Peter released nanobots and anti-venom to cover his body, while Gwen took off her coat and stuffed it into her backpack, then pulled up her uniform mask and hood: "You never worry about them, okay?"
"That's because they are Avengers."
The two of them shot out their webs and headed towards the school. On the way, they talked about the same thing: Peter basically ignored almost everyone he knew in any major operation, not just Gwen, but also Cindy and Felicia. He was basically like that unless the situation was really urgent and there was no other way, he would handle everything by himself.
They even beat up some thugs on the way, but they still hadn't finished talking about it. When they were almost at school, Gwen, realizing that they hadn't gotten to the point, slammed the door and left.
"Did you two have a fight?" Peter sighed after landing and turned to look at Felicia. She wasn't wearing the Black Cat uniform, but rather her everyday clothes, which she had climbed to the top floor in. She smiled and jumped down next to Peter, saying, "Why don't you sit here for a couple of minutes? I guarantee that girl doesn't really want to see you right now."
"It's nothing, it's just... wait, did you need something from me?"
Peter's sudden shift to the main topic made Felicia raise an eyebrow, but she quickly got to the point: "I asked the Defenders about what you guys have been up to lately, and I heard you're quite interested in the Opponents?"
"Yes, but there's been no news lately. All the leads have gone cold. We were planning to trace the original drug trafficking network in New York, but now we've lost all leads too..."
Peter watched as Felicia, sitting with her legs crossed on the bellows, waved a USB drive at him.
"what is this?"
"So after I heard that you had no leads, I went to Colombia and Mexico, found a few bosses, and got some stuff from their computers. Those drug lords are quite capable, but their security measures are really bad."
Felicia taunted, waving the USB drive in her hand: "While you've been confused, sales in the entire New York market haven't declined; in fact, they've increased. Yet you haven't seen any circulation... Aren't you curious? Who bought these things?"
Without a doubt, it was the Hand.
"You stole data from Colombian and Mexican drug cartels?"
“Unfortunately, they don’t have any artwork.” Felicia consciously ignored the unimportant details of “money and gold bars,” but Peter didn’t care either: “What if something goes wrong?”
"That's the difference between me and those little girls. You can't control me, kid. Black Cat's bounty in Colombia and Mexico isn't low right now, but unfortunately, I'll never go to those disgusting places again unless it's absolutely necessary."
Felicia smiled and took the USB drive back: "Want it?"
"...You need my help with something, right?"
“Stop thinking about serious matters, Peter Parker.” Felicia jumped off the bellows, leaving the USB drive behind. “But, I do have a small favor to do.”
"What is it? What trouble have you encountered?"
"I need a dance partner for my homecoming festival. I bet you're still undecided about who to choose, right?"
Upon hearing this, Peter, who had picked up the USB drive, turned sharply to look at Felicia: "What?"
"I was saying you haven't decided on a dance partner for your homecoming festival yet, have you?"
Peter understood, but he hadn't expected Felicia's request to be this.
(End of this chapter)