"So, when the power came back on, I went to check the damage, and I saw a lot of petty thieves knocked out on the ground with baseball bats. They all said they didn't know who hit them. So, either a stealth master knocked everyone out, or an Invisible Man did it."
The Invisible Woman, Gwen Stacy, sat in the back seat of the car with an awkward yet polite smile. Peter, sitting beside her, was slightly restless and quickly changed the subject: "Uncle George, didn't you get promoted to Inspector? Are you still going out on patrol?"
The rank structure of the NYPD generally shifts starting at the Inspector level. Patrolman, Detective, and Sergeant are frontline officers who must respond to calls. Once promoted to Inspector, they usually move away from active patrol work and take on an office-based role.
Captain George Stacy had finally earned his promotion due to his steadfast dedication during the Symbiote Crisis and his many instances of leading NYPD officers against various super-villains, coupled with the imprisonment of Kingpin, who controlled the NYPD. Considering he was only in his forties, he was quite accomplished for his age.
"I can never sit still. It's one thing during work hours, but if I run into something on the road, I'll still handle it if I can."
Inspector Stacy said this as he dropped Peter and Gwen off at the entrance of Midtown High. It was a rare day when he drove the kids all the way to the school gate. After Gwen waved goodbye to her father, she suddenly blurted out:
"I still haven't told my dad that we went on a date."
"Should... should I ask why?"
Gwen just smiled: "It's nothing. I just feel a little embarrassed that the date didn't go anywhere... Did you fight that Electro guy the night before last?"
The name "Electro" was actually coined by J. Jonah Jameson (JJJ). The old man intensely hated the guy for causing a nearly two-hour city-wide blackout and blowing another huge hole in Times Square, leading him to loudly criticize the villain—and toss in a few insults toward Spider-Man while he was at it.
"Yeah, overall, it was fine. No one was seriously hurt, but the guy didn't want to be caught and chose to self-destruct."
"Were you hurt?"
Peter naturally shook his head: "No."
Gwen breathed a sigh of relief. During those two hours, when she saw a man made of lightning flying through the sky and after receiving Peter's advance warning to stay safe, she was immediately worried.
Electro had drained the power from all active electronics, making it impossible for Gwen to contact Peter. In that moment, she felt an unprecedented anxiety—an inability to confirm his safety.
She couldn't know if he was safe, and no one would reply if she asked. She worried he might go up against an enemy he couldn't handle and get injured or even taken down...
Spider-Man's power was constantly growing, and dealing with enemies was getting easier for him, but that didn't stop Gwen's concern.
Peter likely sensed her worry and reassured her with a smile: "Don't worry, I can protect myself."
Gwen couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. That statement had zero credibility. Believing Peter Parker would put his own safety first in a fight was less likely than him confessing his feelings to her.
But she didn't say anything, pretending Peter's words were perfectly acceptable.
"So... when is our next date?"
Peter was stunned by the question. He quickly looked at Gwen, who looked back at him with confusion: "What's wrong? Since we've already had one date, why can't we have another? You didn't reject me."
Peter's brain sputtered. Venom chimed in appropriately:
[Logically, there is no issue.]
Is there really no issue?
[They seek a mate, and you did not provide that to them, so it is reasonable to continue. Organisms will fight each other to secure a mate; this is the natural law of your planet.]
Peter walked through the school entrance, his mind full of question marks.
[Of course, there is another scenario: that the individual is powerful enough to dominate the mate selection of most members of the opposite sex. Without a doubt, all animals function this way.]
Peter, who already guessed that if he asked, "But I'm not an animal," Venom would counter with, "Why wouldn't humans be animals?" simply mumbled, "Why am I listening to your nonsense..." and forcibly cut off the dialogue with Venom.
But Gwen clearly misinterpreted Peter's words.
"What?"
"I was talking about Venom; he's talking nonsense in my head," Peter explained to Gwen, pointing at his head, then smiled helplessly: "So, uh, Uncle George mentioned that Invisible Man..."
"Oh, yeah, that was me. My arm is a little sore from swinging that baseball bat. Good thing I play the drums."
"You know you only make people forget you exist; you don't actually disappear. Bullets can still hit you," Peter reminded her, stopping by Gwen's locker.
"I walk behind them. I'm not going to walk right into their muzzle," Gwen replied, using Peter's own words against him: "Don't worry, I can protect myself."
She watched Peter walk away and began thinking about whether she should study harder so she could be re-assigned to Peter's classroom for the second semester.
...I'll think about that later. For now, I'll plan the next date, or better yet, just figure out where to go.
On the other side, Peter walked into the classroom. From the Cosmic Cube crisis to the Zombie Universe, and now to Electro, he had been on a non-stop rotation. The great blackout the night before last had Harry excited. He even skipped over the part about the two girls circling Peter on the way back from Puerto Rico: "What happened the night before last? Tony Stark actually gave out free power?"
"I thought JJJ made it clear enough..."
"He just talked about a 'Lightning Spider-Man' showing up and that the Spider-Cave had a new suit."
Cindy, sitting nearby, was also very interested, mainly because she had felt Peter moving at an incomprehensible speed that night.
"To catch Electro, the Avengers designed a supersonic suit for me, driven by my bio-electricity. That's all."
"So, you're a speedster now."
"Not really. The new suit uses up electricity too fast. Unless Thor is following right behind me or something similar, I can't run that long..."
As Peter was talking, he noticed Amadeus wasn't in school and was about to ask about him when the bell rang. The teacher walked in and announced: "Alright, class, here's some news: In December, Osborn Technologies is inviting our freshmen class for a technology tour. If you have any conflicts, remember to request a leave of absence in advance."
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