Captain America gave the highest directive for countering Hydra: Every Avenger should seek out their own contacts, assemble teams and forces to investigate every corner of the country for Hydra-affiliated businesses. After today's meeting, they were not to share their investigation results with each other to prevent all the leads from being wiped out if Hydra discovered their efforts.
As for the other matter, both Tony and the Captain agreed. On one hand, Captain America, having just woken up from World War II, had no ill will towards the Russians. He was even quite friendly with them, as they were allies when he was in the ice. On the other hand, Tony had no problem letting the Russians annoy the U.S. government. So the invitation from the Avengers had been sent out, and now they were just waiting for Kraven to accept.
With that, Peter was temporarily free again. If they needed someone to investigate Hydra, there really wasn't much for him to do. It wasn't that he couldn't find people. For example, the Defenders, Felicia, or even Oscorp, which had contracted a portion of the Super-Soldier program, were all good places to investigate.
But for the most part, he didn't need to take the initiative to investigate. Everyone else would surely come to him if they found something related to Hydra—with the exception of Oscorp. Although he didn't know why, Norman Osborn seemed to trust him immensely, and he had the highest level of access to Oscorp's systems. But just like with the military base incident, Hydra was probably very deeply hidden, and there was a high chance that even Osborn himself was unaware of Hydra's presence, aside from a few select researchers.
Regardless, it was now Saturday. Facing a new weekend, Peter sighed in relief. This October was certainly less busy than September, and he felt much more relaxed.
However, just because he didn't have school didn't mean he had nothing to do. Harry pulled him away from his busy Spider-Man life for a very simple reason: his dinner date with Liz that evening. When he heard the news yesterday, he was immediately excited and asked Peter what he should prepare.
"What do you think of the suit I wore to the homecoming dance?"
"You mean the green one? Just wear something normal, dude."
Based on that conversation, Peter had to go shopping for clothes with Harry again. In the same old clothing store, Harry tried on several suits in a row—purple, red, and yellow. He just refused to pick a black or white suit. Even a blue one would be fine. What's with this sense of style...?
"Did you... did you ask what her family is like? You have to make a good impression on them."
Harry looked confused. "Liz thought my green suit was great, though?"
"...What about her parents? Did you find out what they like?"
Under Peter's speechless gaze, Harry finally had a look of realization. He then explained his situation to Peter. "Liz's mother passed away a long time ago. Her father raised her and took very good care of her."
Unlike Norman Osborn, who only showed coldness and criticism toward Harry after his wife's death, as if he didn't think his son had any redeeming qualities.
Understanding Harry's unspoken meaning, Peter nodded. "So, did she ever tell you what her father's personality is like?"
"He's a very detail-oriented person. He pays close attention to the details of his daughter's daily life and worries if she's having any trouble. Sometimes Liz complains that he's a little overprotective."
"So, you need to reassure her old man. You need to at least prove that you're a reliable person, and preferably an honest one."
Peter looked helplessly at the pink suit Harry was wearing. He was genuinely puzzled as to why such a thing existed. "Do you think wearing something like this will make Liz's dad feel like you're a person he can trust?"
"Uh... no?"
"You even said that as a question, dude."
Peter sighed in exasperation. Harry, being a good sport, finally chose a very serious-looking suit. The only drawback was that it made him look like a salesman.
After a long while, the two finally picked out the clothes. Harry left the store, satisfied but nervous. He then looked at Peter. "Since it's still early, why don't we activate the Spider Squad?"
"Crime doesn't happen every day, Harry."
Harry looked at Peter with an incredulous expression. "What parallel universe are you from? This is New York."
"Is there no universe where New York goes a day without crime?"
"That would probably be a universe where it's still called New Amsterdam."
As the two talked, they arrived at the secret base. Dr. Jonathan was still here, raising his genetically modified spiders. It was hard to call it research; it was more like Dr. Jonathan using a pair of tweezers to grab other insects and toss them onto the spider webs.
"Oh, hey, Peter, Harry. You guys are here?"
"Morning, Dr. Jonathan. How are the spiders doing?"
Peter asked casually, and Dr. Jonathan took off his goggles to reply. "They're looking great, Peter. The genetically modified spider that bit you and Silk... both the injection of the venom and the spider's programmed genes were not up to par for human testing. Theoretically, that spider was too terrifying for the human genome. Most people would have died from a complete genetic breakdown, and the lucky ones would have experienced severe mutations. You and Agent Silk are special, lucky cases."
The spider's powers were essentially a choice made by the Spider-Totem, something Peter had actually mentioned to Dr. Jonathan. But unfortunately, Dr. Jonathan was a steadfast scientist, and he flatly rejected a conclusion that science could not explain. As for where Madame Web's spider abilities came from, Dr. Jonathan's science couldn't explain that, either.
"So..."
"The spiders I'm breeding are different from the previous generation. Their modified genomes are more compatible with the human genome. I'll also turn their venom into a serum and use Vita-Rays to promote gene fusion. It'll be much safer and more efficient—though I have no idea how to do it yet."
As he said this, Dr. Jonathan finally realized what was happening. "Oh, my apologies. I'll get out of your way. The Spider Squad is heading out, aren't they?"