Chapter 667: Spider's Web Chronicles (Part II) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

In the dimly lit room, Schiller rubbed his eyes and fidgeted with his ears, while Stark pulled his face mask back up, which he had just momentarily lowered. Steve shook his head, and Natasha let out an exasperated huff. She said, "Are you guys out of your minds? I go by the code name Black Widow because I'm a widow, not because I'm a spider."

"Thanks, we got that now," Steve sighed. "I thought maybe during the Soviet Union's transformation, they used spider genetics, which is why you have that code name."

"I mean, seriously, are you guys fantasizing too much?" Peter appeared quite excited, probably due to entering the spider's mating season. Natasha lazily leaned back in her chair, lit a cigarette, and continued, "Besides, he has a girlfriend, right? Why would he need to mate..."

At this point, the female agent paused for a moment, then froze, suddenly wearing a peculiar expression. She said, "Peter and Gwen, could it be that they haven't..."

She made a suggestive gesture, and everyone in the room, being adults, understood what she meant. Stark wore an incredulous expression and said, "How is that possible? They've been dating for almost two years. They can't possibly..."

"It's hard to say," Schiller took a chair and sat down. "During Peter's checkup, I noticed he's been quite conservative in this regard. It might be because of his uncle and aunt's conservative upbringing."

"I remember Peter mentioning that he went to a religious school, so that could be part of the reason," Steve added.

"And Gwen's father is the chief of the New York police station, so her upbringing must have been strict too. So, it's not surprising that they haven't taken things further. After all, not everyone rushes into deep conversations two hours after meeting someone, like you do," Schiller remarked, looking at Stark.

"I don't believe it. Kids their age, how could they not have some impulses? Plus, after Peter confessed to Gwen about being Spider-Man, their relationship should have deepened, shouldn't it?" Stark was genuinely puzzled.

While Natasha tinkered with the computer nearby, she said, "Confirmed. Peter and Gwen probably haven't done anything. The materials sent back by the agent responsible for monitoring Peter indicate that he hasn't stayed over at Gwen's place, and there's no record of them booking a hotel room, so..."

The group exchanged glances, and Schiller paused before saying, "If, and I mean if, the situation is as we suspect, Peter might have inherited some spider behaviors, entering a mating phase during this year of adulthood, which is making him highly excited..."

"At the same time, he hasn't developed a deeper relationship with his girlfriend. Now, the question is, how do you think we should deal with this?" Stark opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Steve looked at him and said, "You'd better watch your words; there's a lady present."

Before Steve could finish his sentence, Natasha chimed in, "How about we find a female agent from the CIA to introduce them? Peter is young and handsome; at least he's probably not as promiscuous as some people. He'd be a good catch, and they'd be eager to meet him..."

Stark widened his eyes, about to respond, but Schiller interjected, "That would be a betrayal to Gwen, which Peter wouldn't agree to. Plus, I believe it's not that simple."

"Peter is still an individual, and he's smart. I don't think he would be completely controlled by his animal instincts. From a human perspective, his behavior might be due to a lack of security in his current emotional relationship, seeking a more stable one," Schiller continued.

"Isn't that..." Stark began, but he saw Schiller's meaningful gaze and clammed up.

"In any case, we need to deal with this issue; otherwise, it won't just affect the cityscape," Steve frowned. "Once those spider webs accumulate and land on people, it'll be hard to remove. If someone trips and gets hurt, that's a problem. Even sticking to birds and insects could disrupt the ecosystem."

At that moment, Stark received a communication from JARVIS. He said, "Hello? What? The spider webs have been cleaned up? Who cleaned them? Spider-Man? But those were his webs, weren't they? Alright, I'll be right there..."

When the group returned to Stark Tower, Peter was standing behind a lab table conducting experiments. Stark, upon seeing him, examined him from top to bottom and asked, "Aren't you... I mean, haven't you lost your mind?"

"Why would I lose my mind?" Peter seemed bewildered by the question.

"Then why were you weaving so many webs over New York?" Stark asked again.

"Oh, that," Peter began, "last time, Gwen wanted to know if I could weave webs, so I gave it a try. Surprisingly, that photo I took became quite popular, and the photographer who took it even won an award. After that, some street art organizations asked me to help weave webs for their events or photography purposes, and I agreed."

"Don't worry, those webs are made of special materials and will naturally decompose in about five or six hours. Even if some aren't completely cleared, I'll take care of them to avoid causing trouble for the cleaning crews," Peter reassured them.

Schiller leaned closer to Stark and whispered, "It seems like his mental state is reasonably normal. Are you sure you're not exaggerating the situation?"

Stark snorted and snapped his fingers, saying, "Peter, I'm thinking of starting a new research project..."

"Whoosh!" In an instant, Peter appeared in front of Stark. Schiller couldn't even follow how he had moved; Peter seemed to have dashed over like a gust of wind. He spoke rapidly, "A new project? Do you mean a new job? I think I can handle it perfectly. I've already completed more than half of the 14 projects I currently have on hand, all within a week. The quality is pretty good too. Dr. Connors praised me for it. He reminded me to strike a balance between work and rest, but I don't feel tired at all. I can take on ten more projects if needed. Mr. Stark, if I could work independently on a research project without being an assistant, that would be even better. I'm a big student now, and I believe I can..."

"Stop!" Schiller shouted. Peter turned his head, saw Schiller, and "whooshed" over to him. He continued, "Oh, Dr. Schiller, you're back. Long time no see. How was your vacation? I just got back from mine. Did you hear about the funny incident at the high school graduation ceremony? Thompson's date tripped because she didn't tie her dress bag properly and knocked Thompson down. He instinctively made a football dodge move and accidentally bumped into the least liked principal. Gwen and I couldn't stop laughing..."

"Stop!" Stark shouted again, saying, "This is the 18th time you've repeated this story, Peter. Please stop."

"Oh, sorry, I can't seem to control myself," Peter said, placing two fingers against his lips and shaking his head. He took a couple of steps back, indicating he wouldn't speak further. However, just as Stark was about to speak again, Peter added, "I didn't say it 18 times; it was the 17th time."

After saying that, he covered his mouth again. Stark sighed in exasperation and pulled Schiller over, pointing at Peter. "I'm sure he's ill. Please treat him or maybe take him away..."

Seeing Stark standing up with a tense expression, Schiller realized he had probably reached his limit. If Peter wasn't taken away, Stark might throw him out of Stark Tower through the window. So, Schiller escorted Peter back to Arkham Sanatorium.

Once back at the sanatorium, Schiller assigned a room to Peter and said, "You'll stay here for now. If you need to go to school, use the second parking spot on the right downstairs. Most importantly, playing games with Pikachu shouldn't go beyond 10 PM. Otherwise, I'll toss your game console and controllers into the sea..."

"Now, follow me to the office. I want to conduct some tests on your mental state. You seem a bit overly excited."

Schiller led Peter to the office and had him complete a set of basic test questions before proceeding with his questions based on the results.

After several rounds of examination, Schiller came to a conclusion that Peter's mental state was perfectly normal, healthy, happy, and positively inclined. It was a state that would be considered a misdiagnosis even within a kilometer of a mental hospital.

Sitting behind the desk, Schiller wore a serious expression. But Peter misunderstood, looking worried as he asked, "What's wrong, Doctor? Is my condition severe?"

"No, you're not sick at all. You're perfectly healthy. The issue is that you're a bit too healthy. Why are you so hyper? Could it be due to brainwaves? Wait a moment..."

After saying that, Schiller picked up the telephone and called Professor X. He said, "Professor Charles, I apologize for bothering you, but there's something I'd like your help with. Peter..."

"Yes, correct, I find it strange too. According to the analysis results, there shouldn't be any problem, right? But he's overly excited, speaking rapidly, repeating himself, and having intermittent distracted moments. Could you please check his brainwaves?"

"Brainwaves seem normal too? Indeed, he's in an excited state, but we haven't found anything affecting him, have we? Alright, I understand. Goodbye..."

After hanging up the telephone, Schiller's brow furrowed even deeper. He wasn't afraid of patients having issues; what concerned him was when there seemed to be no issue found despite repeated examinations. In such cases, there were usually only two outcomes: either it was a false alarm, or the patient needed to come up with a name for their condition.

Just as Schiller was about to reexamine Peter, a portal suddenly opened in mid-air, and Doctor Strange walked out, followed by Loki. While Strange flipped through some documents, he said, "Schiller, our quarterly bills are out. Do you think there's room for optimization?"

Looking up and noticing Peter sitting across from him, Strange was momentarily taken aback. He shook his head and then exclaimed in astonishment, "Peter?! Where did you get such a strong Power of Belief? Are you ascending to godhood?"

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 668: The Enigma of the Spider's Web (Part 1)