As Peter was just climbing into Gwen's room and getting caught by George, Zed's meal was also being served.
Ned handed Zed and Natasha a Coke and an orange juice respectively, and then sat down, asking Natasha:
"Natasha, how did you get to know Zed? Uh, after all, we're just high school students!"
Natasha smiled charmingly, making Ned's eyes widen, and then passed the ball to Zed:
"You have to ask him!"
Zed saw Ned looking over and calmly lied: "I met her when doing business with her boss. I don't know her very well!"
"Really? You were quite forceful that night! My head still hurts a little!" Natasha said, still touching the place where Zed had kicked her last time, and then continued, "One night isn't enough for you to remember me, let's continue tonight!"
Ned watched the two flirting and felt he didn't need to be a wingman at all. He sadly drank his Sprite, trying to minimize his presence.
After dinner, Ned hurriedly left the two, wanting to get away from this place of heartbreak for a single dog.
Zed and Natasha stood side-by-side at the restaurant entrance, watching Ned walk away. Zed said, "Are you that free? I gave you the information, and you still have time to bicker with me?"
"There are people in S.H.I.E.L.D. who are more suitable for this job, my only task is you." Natasha seemed very familiar with Zed.
"Don't be so cheesy! Ned's gone!" Zed strode away from the restaurant, "No matter how many ants there are, they can't kill an elephant. Wait until you fish that old popsicle out, then come find me!"
Natasha was indifferent to Zed's departure. Silently staring at Zed's back, she then said: "Sir! The target is not lying. Throwing out the news of Captain America is both to distract us and to make it easier for him to collect the Watch Face."
"I know! But we have to take this bait! Predicting the future? What a troublesome ability!" Nick Fury's voice came from the earpiece.
"So, how should we deal with Zed Oleg next? He is very confident in his combat skills, a direct fight might be very unfavorable to us." Natasha raised her professional opinion.
"Bonds!"
Nick Fury was silent for a moment before spitting out a single word. Then, he said to Natasha, "Since he cares about Ned's safety, Charlie, Emma, Joey, and Peter won't be exceptions either. Protect these people and make him owe us a favor."
"A demon lord's favor isn't cheap!"
Until the end of the call, neither of them mentioned Zed's words about Natasha only having less than fifteen years left to live and dying in a foreign land.
They both knew Zed wasn't lying, so some things could only be buried in their hearts.
Deputy Director Hill belonged to the Security Council and wouldn't hide anything from Nick Fury. The Time King's identity had already been reported, but so far, no one had stepped forward to take the lead.
The power the Time King displayed during the New York battle was too terrifying. These guys were all waiting for S.H.I.E.L.D. to make the first move. They wanted to share the benefits together, leaving the bad consequences for Nick Fury to bear alone.
But this was exactly what Nick Fury wanted!
Nick Fury looked at the orange cat at his feet and the pager in his hand, and he felt reassured!
\n\n
After Peter returned home, he felt dizzy and then collapsed on the bed, losing consciousness. When Peter woke up, he found that his Spider-Man suit had been dyed black at some point.
Deep black, tempting black, invaded Peter's mind, making him feel that this was the right color.
Peter dressed himself up like a flamboyant gigolo, wiggling his fingers from side to side as he swaggered down the street.
"Hey! Ned! Zed! Good morning!" Peter greeted them both in an exaggerated and affected manner.
Zed felt that Peter was acting a little off. Too flamboyant! It was so different from the Peter that Zed knew. The current Peter seemed to be deliberately flaunting his existence.
Ned also thought that Peter was acting strange: "Peter, what's gotten into you today? Why are you so happy? You just went on a date with Gwen yesterday, and today you've become like this? Could it be! You're the same as Zed! Oh my god! Am I the only one left?"
Peter continued to exclaim excitedly:
"What do you mean what's gotten into me? I feel amazing! I've never felt so good! This is the real me!"
Peter danced as he spoke. With Peter's incredibly high physical fitness, the dance was indeed very cool, and the onlookers, unaware of the situation, cheered Peter on loudly.
More and more people gathered to watch, and Zed and Ned were directly pushed out, unable to get a word in.
Ned turned to Gwen, who had just arrived at school, and asked, "Gwen! What happened last night? What happened to Peter?"
"Yesterday, Peter and my father argued about Spider-Man, and then he left!" Gwen was also distressed, believing that Peter's current state was all her fault.
Zed had already figured out what had happened to Peter. The thing that had drastically changed Peter's personality, or rather, amplified the darkness within Peter, was likely Venom.
As for why Venom would attach itself to Peter at this time, it could only be the butterfly effect caused by his actions.
Zed had always followed the main timeline, only making small changes. The people whose fates Zed had altered were basically those who had been used up and then discarded, so they wouldn't have a significant impact.
However, two people's fates had been changed a lot: Ben and Peter.
Without Uncle Ben's dying words, without the motto of "with great power comes great responsibility," Peter's growth trajectory had also changed.
This time, Peter not only had to face Doctor Lizard but also Venom and his own inner darkness.
It really is a huge crisis!
And it's a problem for Zed too!
The fruit tree he'd painstakingly cultivated was about to bear fruit, and just when Zed had managed to temporarily put off S.H.I.E.L.D., Venom popped up to cause trouble.
A little irritated, Zed's eyes turned cold as he watched "Peter." This "Peter" wasn't Peter, nor was it Venom; it was the darkness within Peter, amplified by Venom.
Peter continued his revelry among the crowd, ignoring Ned and Gwen's pleas, and just kept showing off.
Furious, Gwen shook off Peter and left. Zed told the bewildered Ned to go comfort Gwen, while he himself returned to the shadows to continue tracking and monitoring Peter.
While Peter was indulging himself, Norman Osborn was in his laboratory, looking at the newly developed serum.
By this time, Norman Osborn could no longer stand on his own legs and could only sit in a wheelchair, directing his assistants to complete the final work.
"Mr. Osborn, are you sure you want to inject it directly? We can conduct clinical trials first and then experiment after we're sure it's safe," the assistant kindly reminded him.
Norman said firmly, "I don't have any time left. Even if I fail, I have to leave hope for Harry. Let's begin!"
The assistant didn't say more and injected the freshly made serum into Norman's body. After the serum entered his body, Norman began to convulse slowly, the movements growing larger and larger. The various values on the instruments were also skyrocketing.
"This! This! How can this be?" The assistant was already panicked, not knowing whether to stop the experiment.
While the assistant was still hesitating, Norman's condition gradually improved, but a chilling laughter came from Norman's mouth.
Peter had a very happy day, never realizing that life could be so enjoyable.
Peter lay in bed humming a song, his hand constantly caressing the Venom suit. Until the sound from the radio caught Peter's attention.
"According to the latest news, the Lizard Monster has reappeared on the streets of New York and is heading towards the Osborn Group. What is its purpose? Is this Lizard Monster a product of the Osborn Group's human experiments? This station will continue to provide follow-up reports."
Peter casually rolled out of bed, humming a song while pulling out the hidden compartment in the drawer. He twisted his waist and took out all the web-shooters and filled them into the Venom suit.
After everything was ready, Peter struck a cool pose, then leaped out the window, stepping onto the desk first.
This whole set of actions was cool, but it made too much noise. Not only did it attract Ben's attention, but it also knocked the pocket watch hanging on the desk to the floor, revealing the blank watch face inside.
Ben had long since discovered Peter's secret of being Spider-Man, but he hadn't said anything. Not saying anything didn't mean Ben wasn't worried.
Ben heard the commotion in Peter's room and opened the door, just in time to see the broken pocket watch.
Ben picked up the pocket watch in confusion and peeled back the shattered outer layer, the blank watch face completely exposed before his eyes.
Ben recognized this watch face!
The day Zed saved Ben, Ben saw the watch faces on Zed's waist and arm. Afterwards, he was interviewed by the relevant authorities and signed a confidentiality agreement. There was no way Ben could mistake this kind of watch face.
What made Ben even more unbelievable was that he clearly remembered that this pocket watch was a birthday gift from Zed to Peter.
Was Zed the clockwork man from that day?
Why did Zed hide the Watch Face in the Pocket Watch?
Why was Zed approaching Peter?
Ben, worried and flustered, accidentally pressed the Watch Face button. A pink light flashed from the Watch Face, and a stream of pink water enveloped Ben.
Although wrapped in the water, Ben could still breathe. Calming down, Ben curiously examined the pink stream.
Whoosh!
A flat, slender figure flashed before Ben's eyes. Ben frantically looked around, trying to see what it was. But it moved too fast; Ben's vision couldn't keep up.
It wasn't until the figure stopped in front of him that Ben could finally make out what it was.
After staring at each other for a moment, a voice entered Ben's ears.
"Sign the Contract!"
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
" Marvel Rise of the Spider-Verse "
" Marvel: The Multiverse Wanderer "
" Marvel: Wrath of the Dark Superman "
" Marvel Rebirth of Doomsday "
" Marvel's Divine Game Producer "
"Marvel's Gravity God Shinra Tensei From the Start"
" Marvel: Hyperion Journey "
"Marvel Starting from Spider-Man No Way Home"
many more are available
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/SuperTL
(End of Chapter)