Gwen's House
Peter was lying on the bed while Gwen used a study lamp to see clearly as she worked on his leg.
"Ouch," Peter winced as Gwen took the bullet out.
"That's it. You're fine now." She applied dicine and bandaged it up.
Gwen started cleaning the dical equipnt and packing it back into the bag.
"So when is George getting discharged from the hospital?" Peter asked.
Without stopping her work she replied, "In two days, this weekend."
Suddenly Peter rembered he had forgotten to ask how she figured out his identity.
"Hey, how did you find out I was Spider-Man that fast? Don't tell you suspected that quickly without any real evidence."
Hearing his question, she stopped what she was doing and looked at him.
"I had my doubts for a while. We both got sick after the Osborn building incident, and from that day you got more confident — you even stood up to Flash on your own for the first ti. Seeing how you were acting, I already had that suspicion. So when I saw you in the Spider-Man costu, it just confird it. Your voice, your height, everything matched."
"Stop, stop. I get it. You're a great detective." Peter looked genuinely devastated hearing how many clues he had left behind.
For a second neither of them said anything. Two friends. Sa school. Sa powers. That was a lot to process.
"I need to be a lot more careful or soone else is going to figure it out too." Gwen laughed at his expression, finished packing the dical equipnt, and set the bag aside.
"So how are you going to explain the injury to Ben or May? Looking at the condition, it could take a few weeks to fully heal," Gwen said, studying the bandaged leg.
"It won't take that long. After the spider bite our healing factor went up." He showed her his shoulder where Bullseye had cut him with the broken glass earlier — the scratch was already completely gone.
"So I think maybe a few days is enough for this one. It only hit the muscle."
"So what's your plan now? Keep going out as a vigilante, doing what we did today?" Gwen asked.
"Yes." Even though he got hurt on his first day, it hadn't changed anything for him. He had made up his mind.
"Then let's do it." They bumped fists.
"Alright, I'll head ho and get so rest. You coming to school tomorrow?" Peter asked, pulling his Spider-Man mask back on.
"Yep. See you tomorrow. Good night."
"See you tomorrow. Good night." Peter jumped out the window and disappeared into the night as Gwen watched him go.
While Peter and Gwen were settling into their new lives as heroes, on the other side of the world sothing very different was happening.
One of the HYDRA Bases — Europe Region
"Ahhhh!"
In a sealed room, a male adult in a prisoner's uniform was undergoing so kind of experint. Outside the glass, a group of scientists watched the monitors closely while others took notes from the machines.
After a few minutes it stopped. Several scientists in full protective gear entered the room, checked the prisoner, and took notes before handing a report to the man who appeared to be the lead scientist.
"Sir, Experint B-12 has hit its limit — sa as the previous subjects. No superpowers detected," he reported, choosing his words carefully.
The lead scientist looked over the report without any particular reaction.
"Move to the next stage. I don't believe they will all fail. One success is enough to prove I'm on the right track." The scientist said nothing more, though he knew better than anyone how many people had died in this base each month because of this man's experints. Whatever they were trying to create here, it was ant to be HYDRA's trump card once Project Insight was ready to launch.
The man walked down the corridor where a row of rooms lined the walls, each one with a person visible through the glass .
He stepped inside the eting room, where a large screen showed the other HYDRA leaders gathered for the live eting.
"Strucker, you're late," Mada Viper said, not hiding her impatience.
"Had an experint run a little long," Strucker replied flatly, taking his seat without apologising to anyone.
"Since everyone is present, let's begin," Zola said, starting the eting before anyone else could.
"I think everyone has so idea why we're here today," Pierce began. He was the kind of man who looked completely calm on the surface — senior S.H.I.E.L.D. position, clean image, trusted face. Nobody outside this eting would ever suspect him. Seeing only silence, he continued.
"A few days ago, so of my people — without my knowledge — attacked the alien and a senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. I want to know what everyone thinks about that." He looked at each face on screen, except Zola's, who had no face to read.
"What's wrong, Pierce? Can't keep your own people under control?" Strucker leaned back in his chair with a smirk, the kind of man who enjoyed other people's problems a little too much.
"Don't play gas with , Strucker. I have no doubt it was you who ordered that attack. You planted your people in my branch without my permission." Pierce's voice dropped. "And because of that stunt, Fury has been like a dog sniffing through every single departnt looking for traitors. I don't even know if he trusts anymore."
Mada Viper glanced between the two of them and said nothing, but the slight curl at the corner of her mouth said she found the whole thing mildly entertaining.
Strucker just smiled.
"You have zero evidence it was my people, Pierce. And frankly, throwing bla around doesn't suit soone in your position."
The two of them kept going, dragging up old grievances and poking at each other while the rest of the leaders just sat back and watched.
"SILENCE."
Zola's voice cut through the room and both of them went quiet.
"We are not here to fight amongst ourselves. Strucker — as punishnt for acting against the council's decision and attacking the alien, your budget allocation from the council this month is cancelled."
"Anyone opposed?"
Pierce said nothing, though he shot a sharp look at Strucker. The others stayed quiet too, and not just out of discipline — one person's cancelled budget ant their own shares increased this year. No one was complaining.
"I will say this one more ti," Zola continued, his voice cold and even. "We are in the final stage of Project Insight. I will not have HYDRA drawing attention to itself before it is complete. Everyone is advised to lay low. If sothing like Strucker's stunt happens again, I don't need to explain what follows." He let his gaze rest on Strucker for a mont longer than necessary.
Strucker's expression turned ugly.
Zola moved on, giving updates to each branch before closing the eting.
"HAIL HYDRA."
The mont the live eting ended, Pierce picked up the glass cup on the table and threw it against the wall.
"Strucker. How dare he."
He stood there for a mont, breathing, trying to bring the anger down. But every ti he thought about the faces in that room — the smirks, the silence, the way they all watched him — it ca right back up.
He thought about Project Insight. How close it was. How everything he had built was almost ready.
Just a little longer.
He laughed quietly to himself.
"Hahaha."
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