Peter returned home that evening and briefly explained the situation to Tony. Tony was clearly surprised; it was rare for Norman Osborn to take such a significant risk to secure control of his company by making a deal with Stark Industries. Furthermore, most of the two companies' products weren't in the same field, meaning the acquisition wouldn't even trigger anti-monopoly laws.
However, this matter clearly exceeded Peter's area of expertise, so Tony told Peter to go home and took over the matter himself. Peter simply communicated this to Harry so Harry would be aware.
Of course, Tony Stark didn't really know how to conduct business, but he just needed to hand all business matters over to Pepper Potts, and everything would naturally be resolved.
Back to Peter: having returned home and gotten ready for bed, Peter went into his bedroom, lay down, and pulled out his phone. He made a private call to Felicia using a satellite phone—Stark Industries' satellite—to ensure the call's security.
Although the call was just to set a time to meet up and check if Norman or others were hiding anything.
"Hello, Felicia?"
"Uh-huh, is there a problem with the detective agency?" Felicia, who was at home searching on her computer for news related to the rapid drop in Osborn Industries' stock price, didn't think Peter had anything serious to discuss, given he used the formal term instead of her name or codename. However, Peter's next words quickly changed her mind.
"It's not that there's a problem with the detective agency; it's that there's a problem with the Hudson River again."
Felicia raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding what was happening, and countered:
"Want to set a location? I assume it's tonight?"
"Yeah, the top floor of the Osborn Tower, about two hours from now. See you there."
Felicia listened to Peter's meeting spot and nodded. Then she noticed Peter Parker's voice was strangely quiet. Just as she was about to ask why, she heard a loud shout from the other end of the phone.
"Peter! Aren't you asleep yet?!"
"I'll be right there, Aunt May!"
Despite Peter muffling the phone with his hand, both his overly loud reply and Felicia's own Super-Soldier physique allowed her to hear everything perfectly, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Are you laughing?"
"No, I'm not. Go to bed, Spider-Man. See you in two hours."
Two hours later, having changed into her Black Cat costume, Felicia, who had been waiting on the rooftop for a while, sat dangling her legs over the edge. She watched as Spider-Man swung over on a web. Tonight, he was wearing the old-style Symbiote suit: pure black with a white spider icon.
It looked more suitable for stealth, but considering Spider-Man could already turn invisible, it was likely just for aesthetic effect.
"So, Spider-Man has a bedtime?"
"Most of the time, I just have a time to turn off the lights. If there's a special situation, I usually wait until my aunt and uncle are asleep before I head out."
"I remember her." Felicia, who had once attended an alms-giving event, smiled and shook her head. "She's a very nice person, isn't she?"
"She is. It's just..."
Peter rubbed his head and sighed. Uncle Ben knew his situation but was still worried about his late nights and early mornings, and even more worried about his safety.
As for Aunt May, he suspected she knew he sneaked out every night but was temporarily being placated by Uncle Ben.
He started debating whether to tell Aunt May his identity but was unsure, worried that if she knew, she would worry excessively about his safety.
"Perhaps you should consider telling your family about your secret identity. I don't think you can keep it a secret forever," Felicia continued. "The longer you keep it a secret, the greater the harm she'll feel from your perceived lack of trust when she finds out."
Peter paused, choosing to skip the topic: "Have you told your mother you're investigating the truth behind your father's death?"
"She lives in Europe; she can't monitor what I'm doing."
Your defensive layers are impenetrable, Felicia. (A literal translation of the idiom Peter used)
Ignoring Peter Parker's internal thoughts, Felicia asked, "So, why did you call me out here?"
"Do you remember the huge New York blackout last month?"
Felicia nodded as a matter of course: "Some blue lightning guy flew around Manhattan for a few dozen minutes, causing a two-hour power outage in New York. I had a cell phone ruined. Why?"
"That guy was a mutant, but his powers weren't originally that strong. He only became that powerful after stealing an electric eel from Osborn Industries and undergoing surgery. And currently, it looks like the Pentagon helped him with the surgery."
Black Cat's expression finally turned serious. The Pentagon—that was the direct mastermind behind her father's death. There were many Hydra agents hiding inside, and they had started manufacturing new Super-Soldier models with a new program.
"And how is that related to Osborn Industries?"
"Today, people from the Pentagon came to pressure Osborn Industries, and someone dumped a huge amount of Osborn Industries stock. The Pentagon is slowly buying it up."
Dumping massive amounts of stock... No wonder Osborn's share price dropped so fast.
Felicia looked thoughtful, then shook her head, still looking puzzled. All this sounded like the Pentagon had problems, so why bother Osborn Industries?
"Spider-Sense. I just feel like something's hidden here at Osborn Industries, especially that Osborn himself is hiding something from me. I need your help investigating the link between Osborn Industries and the Pentagon."
Felicia nodded, looking down at the building, which was already dark. It was past 11 p.m., and the entire Osborn Industries Tower was pitch black. Clearly, everyone had gone home.
In other words, there wasn't a single employee here now. It was the perfect time for infiltration.
For both Peter and Felicia, infiltration itself posed no difficulty. Both had outstanding agility, and with the addition of a professional thief and an invisibility ability, the two easily sneaked into Norman's office. Peter also used Venom to disable the alarm system inside.
Next, Black Cat was responsible for picking any non-computer-related locks, while Peter was responsible for deciphering the computer. Just as they were about to start, a violent shockwave, sounding somewhat like an explosion and somewhat like an impact, came from beneath them.
The two looked at each other in the darkness.
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