The last week of October had arrived. Peter was sitting in chemistry class, spinning a pen in his hand. After their trip back from Washington, the Airbus team had gone into hiding to investigate and analyze where Whip might have gone.
There were simply too many possibilities. Whip might have returned to his lab, or he might have already arrived in the vicinity of New York. Peter had already warned Matt and his friends that a terrifying alien monster was in New York and to be on their guard.
But besides being vigilant and waiting for the S.H.I.E.L.D. team to find a way to detect Whip, there seemed to be no other options.
"How was dinner?"
Feeling bored, Peter decided to ask Harry for an update. Harry scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "It was pretty good. I think Liz's father likes me. He... he might have figured out who I am. But he didn't seem to have a problem with it, which is way better than my dad."
"You still need to be careful with that wing he's researching... or that anti-gravity system he's working on." Peter sighed helplessly. He couldn't exactly tell Harry that his future father-in-law was likely to become a villain—after all, Harry himself was also at risk of becoming one. "That kind of experimental high-tech is the easiest to get stolen. If it really gets stolen, it'll be a huge mess."
"I'll keep an eye on it. But Peter, don't you think New York could use a... superhero who can fly?"
Peter was silent for a moment. He glanced at the teacher, who wasn't paying attention to them, then sighed and asked, "Are you talking about yourself?"
"Could I?"
"I... I don't know, but my advice is no." Peter sighed, and to his surprise, Harry simply ended the conversation without another word.
When the class ended, Harry's phone rang right on cue. Peter looked over as Harry said his dad was calling him and left the classroom. Peter then looked at Amadeus, who hadn't said much. "Hey, man, are you okay? You haven't said much lately."
"Me? I'm fine?"
Amadeus didn't feel left out. Although he had been completely sidelined up to this point, it didn't change the fact that he existed. He was just confirming that he was still alive.
A while later, Harry walked back in. Peter asked worriedly how it went. Harry just smiled and shrugged helplessly. "How should I put it? It's pretty much the same as before. Nothing's changed. Our relationship has always been like this. Alright, guys, do you have anything to do after school today? If not, let's stick to the original plan?"
"I might have some... classified missions, but I haven't gotten the notification yet." Peter shrugged. "Let's just stick to the original plan."
For some reason, Adrian still felt incredibly "hungry." He had already eaten a lot for lunch, but he couldn't suppress his appetite. So, he notified his researchers to leave early at around four in the afternoon, then found a fast-food restaurant and started feasting.
He had been eating for almost an hour, ordering thousands of dollars' worth of fried chicken and burgers, but he still wasn't full. Adrian, feeling confused, called the waiter over for another order. He paid for everything he had ordered so far and even left a tip, then continued to eat ravenously.
Meanwhile, the fast-food restaurant owner had secretly called the police. They suspected this guy was a mutant whose power was an insatiable appetite. Back when Magneto was officially labeled a terrorist, one of the members of his Brotherhood of Mutants, a guy named Blob, had a similar ability.
But Adrian had no idea. He himself was getting more and more confused about why he could eat so much. Had something gone wrong with him? Just as he was pondering this, armored vehicles and armed agents from the Mutant Response Division (MRD), the official U.S. government agency for monitoring mutants, surrounded the entire restaurant. Adrian finally realized what was happening. He looked outside, then at the waiter in the restaurant.
"I'm sorry, sir... I... the way you were eating was a little scary, and according to regulations, we have to notify the MRD..."
The waiter stuttered, but Adrian felt a sudden surge of anger for some reason. He tried his best to suppress his rage, asking the waiter, word by word, "Did I pay?"
"Yes, you did, sir."
"Did I leave a tip?"
"Yes, you did." The waiter nodded frantically. "You gave a full 10% tip."
"And you still think I'm some kind of mutant freak!"
Adrian roared and stood up, grabbing the waiter by the neck and lifting him up. As he did this, he couldn't believe it himself. What was wrong with him? How was he so strong? Was he really a mutant?
"Sir, get down! Sir, get down!"
The MRD agents immediately rushed in. Adrian threw the waiter aside, and with a series of rapid shots, a dozen tranquilizer darts hit Adrian. He staggered and fell to the ground. The MRD agents immediately rushed over and put a mutant gene inhibitor around Adrian's neck. But unfortunately, Adrian's current strength wasn't from the X-gene. It was from an alien symbiote. The green and red-headed symbiote instantly covered Adrian's entire body, then lifted an MRD agent and bit off his head.
"Mmm... now that's a meal."
Whip said, stretching its limbs, then impaled all the other MRD agents to death. This almost fifty-year-old man was still not the host it wanted, but unfortunately, it was in Spider-Man's territory, and it didn't have time to be picky.
But wings that won't make a loud sound? That's a good thing to have. Whether it was Venom or Spider-Man, they were both strong, but neither of them could fly.
Whip licked its lips at the thought. It pulled a dead MRD agent that it had just stabbed with its whip, bit off his head, and ate it. After getting a sufficient dose of phenethylamine, it leaped out and began to speed toward Adrian's lab.
Tonight, Whip would fly.
Adrian Toomes would become the Vulture, along with Whip.