"Would you like some coffee?"
Betty invited Charlie and the other two inside.
"I only drink milk." Lizard Parker instinctively hid behind Charlie, always on guard against Peter Parker.
Betty didn't notice this. She looked at Charlie, "What about you?"
"I'll have juice, two glasses."
"Uh, just a moment."
Betty went into the kitchen, while Charlie squatted down to tease the American Shorthair cat at his feet.
"He's also my friend," Peter Parker introduced with a silly smile.
Charlie thought for a moment, "I think you'd prefer a big rooster."
"No, I like cats."
Peter Parker sat on the floor and continued playing with the cat.
Even though the cat didn't want to play with him.
Lizard Parker leaned close to Charlie's ear and whispered, "Is it really him? He doesn't feel like it."
Charlie nodded, "Indeed he doesn't. Otherwise, when we found him, neither cat nor human would still have their heads."
"Let me try something else."
He took out the spider emblem and offered it to Peter, "A gift for you."
"Gift?" Peter Parker looked pleasantly surprised.
"Thank you."
He released the struggling cat and held the spider emblem in both hands.
Seeing that the symbiote cells inside the nano-suit didn't react, Charlie was even less certain.
"What did you do?" Lizard Parker asked.
Charlie shook his head, "Nothing. Maybe this guy isn't the Peter Parker we know."
With that, he took back the spider emblem.
"That was my gift," Peter Parker said, looking wronged.
"I changed my mind."
Lizard Parker: "…"
No shame at all.
"He seems to have lost his memory." Lizard Parker gradually let down his guard.
Charlie nodded, "Yes, that's why he ate the customer's pizza."
"Don't mention that, or I'll want to beat him up."
"Then let's take him away first."
"Why?"
"Because that half-month's pay is with him."
"Right, not a single cent less!"
"What are you talking about?"
At this time, Betty came over with milk and juice. Lizard Parker quickly put on a smile.
"Nothing. Our poor younger brother has bothered you for too long. It's time to take him home."
Betty frowned, "Back to your place?"
"Any problem?"
"Your room is too messy and too small. That won't help his condition." Betty looked worried.
Lizard Parker thought of his "kennel" and then looked at this spacious apartment. His heart began to ache faintly again.
No one around him was poor.
Seeing this, Charlie said, "He'll stay with me for a while."
"Your place? Where is it?" Betty asked.
Charlie pointed upward, "Upstairs."
Betty thought for a moment and suddenly understood.
"Oh, I remember now. A beautiful girl lives upstairs. You must be her boyfriend."
"No, he's not worthy!" Lizard Parker said excitedly.
Betty was puzzled, "Not her boyfriend, then are you…"
"You guessed right, she's keeping me," Charlie said, expressionless.
Lizard Parker: "…"
No shame at all!
Betty: "…"
Peter's older brother also seemed a bit crazy. Fond of daydreaming.
She was not at ease, but had no reason to keep Peter Parker any longer.
"Alright, take him away. I'll visit him often."
"You're welcome anytime."
With that, Charlie signaled Lizard Parker to take Peter Parker away.
"By the way, I don't know your names," Betty asked.
"Charlie Parker."
"Peter Parker."
"Peter Parker?" Betty froze for a moment.
"No, he's Lizard Parker," Charlie clarified.
Lizard Parker: "????"
"Oh, what a strange name."
"I think so too."
Before leaving, Charlie didn't forget to down the two glasses of juice in one go.
"Thanks for your hospitality, Miss Betty."
——
Not long after, Charlie and Lizard Parker brought Peter Parker back to Gwen's new home.
"Brother, I'm hungry," Peter Parker said softly.
"What!!"
Hearing this, Lizard Parker suddenly recalled the terrifying scene in the cave, and his scalp went numb.
He dashed behind Charlie, "He says he's hungry."
"I want pizza." Peter Parker grinned foolishly.
Seeing this, Lizard Parker sighed in relief.
"I almost forgot, this guy isn't that guy."
Charlie shook his head, "Not necessarily. That guy might be this guy, but we just can't tell if this guy is that guy."
"Stop talking, my head's spinning."
"Call and order delivery, I want a beef pizza."
"I have no money."
"I do. Order it from your old boss's place and make him deliver it personally."
"Haha, good idea."
And so, their team inexplicably gained a new member.
While waiting for the pizza, Charlie turned on the TV.
"Hello, dear viewers. I'm your old friend, J. Jonah Jameson."
Seeing a familiar face on TV, Charlie rubbed his temples.
"Why does he show up everywhere?"
"I know him. He's Spider-Man's nemesis," Lizard Parker said.
Next, Jonah animatedly introduced his Daily Bugle, then got to the main point.
"Look carefully, this person in costume is Spider-Man. She got into George's police car, and they hugged each other. I believe they must have some unspeakable secret.
I suspect Spider-Man sold her body to avoid police interference!" Jonah declared confidently.
Lizard Parker: "????"
Charlie: "…"
The two looked at each other and quietly turned off the TV.
They didn't discuss this topic.
It felt weird.
Soon, the pizza was delivered. After lunch, the three didn't go out again.
Until evening, Elderly Steve and the others returned.
"Little Spider, you'll never guess who we took down… Who is he? Peter Parker?"
Elderly Steve looked at the two extremely similar guys, rubbing his eyes.
Charlie shrugged, "Yes, Peter Parker. Should also be a contestant."
"What do you mean 'should'?"
Gwen curiously observed Lizard Parker and Peter Parker, and from their demeanor, she identified the difference.
"I think you're the Peter I know, right?" she said to Lizard Parker with a smile.
Lizard Parker was moved, "Yes, you can recognize me at a glance. I'm so happy."
"Your aura of poverty can't be hidden. Of course I recognize you at once."
Felicia mocked mercilessly, drawing angry glares from Lizard Parker.
Elderly Steve wasn't interested in their chatter. He came to Charlie's side.
"We found this world's Norman Osborn near Oscorp and took him out."
"Went smoothly," Charlie noted thoughtfully.
Elderly Steve nodded, "Yes, if it continues smoothly, we should be able to wipe out the entire Sinister Six soon."
"Actually, we shouldn't have killed Norman," Gwen came over, looking a bit guilty.
Carter set down her shield and exhaled, "I know what you're thinking, but they're not innocent. For everyone's sake, you shouldn't harbor any illusions. Their sickness is incurable."
Gwen knew this was true, but still felt uneasy.
However, she didn't dwell on it too much.
After all, the Green Goblin was killed by Old Captain Steve.
He said he had experience.
Charlie didn't continue the discussion.
Then everyone gathered around the table, and Carter spread out a map, marking several red X's.
"Norman Osborn is dealt with. From his suit's computer, we found traces of the others. I noticed their locations are very close, right here in Manhattan."
The place circled in red on the map was—Hell's Kitchen!
Gwen frowned, "Hell's Kitchen is Kingpin's territory. So he really orchestrated the Sinister Six's prison break."
"The largest underground emperor in New York, he has many subordinates. We need a thorough plan," Elderly Steve said.
Charlie glanced at him, "After all these years, has any of your plans ever succeeded?"
"No."
Elderly Steve touched his nose awkwardly, "We can skip executing the plan, but we must have one."
"I agree."
Carter pointed to the area near Hell's Kitchen, "Over the next few days, we need to find out how many people Kingpin has. If necessary, we'll need George's cooperation."
"No problem. I'll talk to my father. He's wanted to take down Kingpin for a long time," Gwen said.
Carter nodded, "Good. Now, as for…"
Everyone discussed the plan until late before resting.
Over the next three days, under Carter and Elderly Steve's guidance, Lizard Parker and the others learned many professional spy skills.
They also figured out the personnel distribution in Hell's Kitchen.
On the fourth night, they officially launched their operation.
"Peter, you stay at home," Gwen said to Peter Parker.
She had bought him a cat. He hadn't shown any strange behavior, so everyone gradually lowered their guard around him.
"I stay home?" Lizard Parker shook his head, "No, I want to go with you."
Carter frowned, "You think you're funny?"
Seeing Carter's impatience, Lizard Parker wisely lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
Then Charlie took out the Black Order's weapons from the room.
"Carter uses the Glaive, Old Man uses the Giant Axe, and I'll take the Trident."
He wrapped the weapons in cloth, "A truck downstairs will help deliver these weapons into Hell's Kitchen. Peter, you drive."
"I can't drive."
"I say you can, so you can."
"Uh, okay!"
Soon, they went downstairs.
"Vroom~"
The truck roared into the street. Lizard Parker's driving skills weren't bad.
In the cargo compartment, Charlie had already changed into his nano-suit.
The others also quickly changed into their combat gear.
"Your nano-suit is really convenient," Gwen said, full of envy.
Charlie nodded, "It's okay." He was more taciturn than before.
Felicia adjusted her grappling hook, "According to the plan, I'll lure Kingpin's men away. The Black Order weapons are too conspicuous, leave them here. I'll drive over to meet you later."
Gwen nodded, "I've informed my father. He'll support you."
"Mm."
They all closed their eyes to rest.
Two and a half hours later, the truck finally stopped.
"We're here."
Lizard Parker opened the cargo door. Felicia jumped out, fired her grappling hook, and disappeared into the nearby streets.
Not long after, as commotion arose in the nearby streets, a large number of men in suits rushed out into the darkness, chasing after the elusive figure.
"Catch her!"
"She stole something from the safe."
"Hurry!!"
As the black silhouette circled around, more and more men in suits were drawn out of the streets.
"That should be enough."
Carter operated a drone to observe the area, "According to the plan, we'll deal with the remaining guards, then regroup here at this warehouse in ten minutes. The Sinister Five should be inside tonight." She pointed to a red dot on the map.
"Got it."
Soon, everyone split up.
Under the night sky, muffled groans sounded one after another.
For Elderly Steve and the others, dealing with a few henchmen was as easy as pie.
Ten minutes later, everyone arrived at the warehouse on time.
Felicia drove the truck straight into the warehouse.
"Boom!!"
The warehouse doors were violently smashed open. Carter and Elderly Steve, who were on the roof, used webs to swing down, smashing through the windows and charging in.
In an instant, the spoils obtained from Norman—Pumpkin Bombs—were thrown in first, bombing the huge machine inside the warehouse.
"Boom!!"
Flames swept out, fragments flying everywhere.
At the moment the huge machine was attacked, the warehouse trembled slightly. Alloy pillars fell from the walls all around, caging Charlie and the others inside.
"Zzzt zzzt~"
Electric currents surged through the alloy cage. Charlie exclaimed, "Crap, we're ambushed."
"No need to shout so loudly. My ears are going deaf," Lizard Parker said, picking his ears.
Gwen's face darkened, "How did they know we'd act tonight?"
Carter's eyes flashed with a strange light, "There's no point discussing that now."
As she spoke, the warehouse walls collapsed with a thunderous roar, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Hahaha, Charlie Parker, we finally meet again."
Riding in an armored vehicle, Hydra Steve wore a sinister smile.
Beside him, Norman—who was already supposed to be dead—and the Black Order, were all present.
"What?"
Seeing this, Charlie clenched his fists.
"No wonder those weapons never disappeared. They weren't dead at all."
"How did you do it?" he gritted his teeth.
Hydra Steve jumped off the armored car, smiling slyly.
"I can't tell you that yet."
"Then what are you going to—"
"Pfft!"
Halfway through Charlie's sentence, a sharp pain came from his waist.
"Hiss!"
He sucked in a breath of cold air and turned to see Felicia sneering as she leapt back.
"Felicia!!" Carter roared, "What did you do?"
"Sorry, I'm not that lazy cat."
Felicia's voice turned rough, her face twisting into a colorful lizard head.
"Chameleon!" Gwen's heart sank, "Where is the real Felicia?" she demanded.
Chameleon tossed aside the syringe in her hand, "Aren't you going to worry about your friend first?"
"What?"
Gwen turned around to see Charlie clutching his wounded waist, howling in pain.
"It hurts, it hurts too much!!" He knelt down, screaming miserably.
Hydra Steve laughed loudly.
"Hahaha, I knew that as long as everything went smoothly, you wouldn't guard against those around you. A massive dose of gene destroyers will once again kill your mutated cells. This time, I've won!!"
Lizard Parker ignored Charlie's injury. He stepped forward thoughtfully, placing both hands on the alloy cage and ignoring the strong electric current.
"If this is your entire plan, then I'm relieved."
With that, his muscles swelled, and strange purple patterns spread across his skin.
"Boom!!"
Unimaginable power burst forth, twisting the alloy cage completely out of shape.
"What!!"