"I mean no harm. Otherwise, I could easily shoot your Helicarrier out of the sky. That is my sincerity."
The elderly, one-eyed Caucasian woman before him was not a gender-swapped, white version of Nick Fury. Although her role was similar, she was actually the century-old Peggy Carter, the 616 Captain America's first love, and the current Director of SHIELD on Earth-65. Considering Peter didn't have a preference for the elderly, he wasn't particularly interested in her, just needed to remember that she was the Director of SHIELD in this universe.
"Furthermore, my partner has disarmed you without attacking, which also proves we mean no harm."
Peggy Carter looked down at her waist in surprise. Her sidearm was indeed missing and had appeared on a nearby table. She looked at the two of them with a hint of surprise, then decided to temporarily trust them: "What do you need?"
"My inter-dimensional device is temporarily non-functional, so my partner and I need a room, here on this carrier. Then, I need to visit our stowaway. In return, we can temporarily fight crime for you during our stay."
Peggy Carter considered the proposal for a moment, then nodded: "Alright. I'll arrange rooms for you, but first, I'll take you to see our guest?"
A few minutes later, Peter and Gwen met Dr. Connors, or rather, the Lizard version of Connors. His current body was quite small, just over two meters tall, and his tail was only about a meter long. Although he still looked quite frightening, he was at least no longer monstrous.
The moment he saw Peter, he immediately stood up excitedly. After looking around, he flicked out his tongue and let out a recognizable, human voice filled with disbelief.
"Spider-Man, you've come! Thank goodness. I don't know why I ended up in this place..."
The SHIELD agents all looked astonished. They had always believed this Lizard monster was incapable of communication and could only be violently suppressed or cured with an antidote. This was the first time they had encountered a transformed individual who could still speak.
"Alright, Dr. Connors, let's take this one thing at a time. We accidentally traveled to another universe; this isn't our Earth, but don't worry, I can take you back. Second, there should be another Curt Connors who hasn't undergone the secondary enhancement here on this Earth. If we can get a blood sample from him, perhaps we can perform a secondary reversal experiment to completely change you back."
Connors immediately showed a look of relief.
"Thank Mess you so much, Spider-Man. Thank you. Otto Octavius, that guy turned me into a monster..."
"Otto Octavius is dead. He was shot in the police car."
Peter had actually heard the various reports from Gwen on the way. Harry had discovered the High Evolutionary's 'Counter-Earth', which the Avengers and SHIELD might explore later. Felicia had obtained the earliest radioactive spider specimen, which Norman Osborn likely intended for Peter to find.
Beyond that, Gwen brought truly useful news: Otto was actually murdered by a hitman hired by Norman. She had also overheard later that Norman's primary goal in doing all this was to acquire leverage against the Pentagon, thereby forcing them to buy the Savage Strength project at an exorbitant price or exchange massive investment for partial control of the project. It just proved that Norman Osborn was still Norman Osborn—unscrupulous and completely lacking a moral bottom line when it came to making money.
Fortunately, Norman Osborn was still a fundamentally sentimental person, who, after killing his old friend, revealed this information while drowning his sorrows in alcohol.
In contrast, Peter wasn't too bothered by the fact that Norman had planned to cultivate him as Osborn Industries' star superhero—like something out of The Boys—and that his being bitten by the spider was an accident.
He had initially planned to directly confront Norman, but after hearing Gwen suggest that Norman might be suffering from a mental disorder and should seek treatment, Peter decided it was better not to immediately sever ties. If he provoked Norman and the Green Goblin truly emerged, the consequences would be dire.
"What? He's dead? My God..." Connors muttered, then sighed helplessly, unsure what to do. Peter didn't say much, only offered a couple of words of comfort and promised that he would definitely take him home before leaving.
Peggy Carter obviously listened to the entire conversation; after all, she was the Director of SHIELD.
"It seems your world is quite different from ours. At least our Otto Octavius is still alive and well."
Carter said, handing Peter a glass of wine, but Peter waved his hand in refusal. Carter said nothing further.
"Yes, we need the Curt Connors of this world. He's the Director of Genetic Engineering at Osborn Industries. Can SHIELD locate him?"
"He's missing."
Carter seemed to have no intention of hiding anything: "He disappeared about five months ago, after the Lizard invaded the Midtown High prom. We initially thought he was kidnapped by the terrorist organization S.I.L.K., but now we suspect that was Connors."
No, that was my counterpart, or rather, the Peter Parker of this world.
Peter felt that the mental state of the people on Earth-65 wasn't great; everyone seemed to be an extreme powerhouse, and many people's personas had inexplicably changed. For example, the Earth-65 Shadowcat's power was a mirrored version of Wolverine's, allowing her to sprout a pair of Adamantium claws, and she also had sadistic tendencies...
"Regardless of whether it was him or not, I need him to cure our Connors. We'll be imposing on you for this period, Director Carter."
Peggy Carter watched Spider-Man leave, deep in thought. The fact that Spider-Man hadn't accepted her wine might indicate that he was just a minor.
Gwen noticed it too.
"Was she trying to test you just now?"
"It doesn't matter. I wasn't trying to hide it anyway. Peter Parker is dead in this universe, and them..."
The two of them walked to the room SHIELD had prepared for them, opened the door, and found only a very small space: a bunk bed with three tiers, a small row of desks, and that was it.
Peter took a deep breath.
I forgot that no matter how big the SHIELD Helicarrier is, it's still just an aircraft carrier. Space is very limited.
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