Seeing Dr. Connors struggling desperately to throw her off, Tohka firmly anchored herself on his back.
As for his flailing arms, they were completely blocked by Tohka's protective barrier—
No matter how much he flailed, he couldn't lay a finger on her.
But it didn't last much longer.
Standing on his back, Tohka felt his resistance growing weaker and weaker.
His body also gradually began shrinking in size.
Seeing this, she knew the serum Spider-Man had created was taking effect.
So, she immediately jumped off him.
Kidding aside, if Connors was about to turn back into a normal human, stepping on him too hard could accidentally kill him. That wouldn't be fun at all.
Not long after, a one-armed Connors appeared before Tohka.
At this point, he looked like a beggar—his clothes were tattered in multiple places.
But Tohka, being a hardcore otaku in her past life, had no reason to be embarrassed by the sight.
She grabbed him without hesitation and jumped off the rooftop, landing on a platform of the Oscorp Tower.
By now, the remaining lizards had all been cleared out thanks to everyone's efforts.
"Huff… huff… where… am I…?"
Thrown to the ground by Tohka, Connors slowly came to.
But his expression was grim—Clearly, he still remembered the crazy things he had done. Looking at the fallen lizard-men all around him and recalling his twisted plans filled him with dread and guilt.
"You are now under arrest. I hope you'll cooperate with us."
Seeing Connors lying there, Hawkeye didn't hesitate.
He immediately stepped forward and pulled him up.
"Wait a second—what are you doing?!"
But at that moment, Spider-Man couldn't just stand by.
Dr. Connors was his old friend, someone like family,
And seeing him treated like this was something he just couldn't accept.
However, before he could do anything, Tony stepped in and stopped him.
He shook his head gently at Spider-Man, signaling him to stay calm.
Just then, a flying vehicle descended.
A group of heavily armed soldiers rushed out and lined up on both sides, followed by Nick Fury stepping out of the vehicle.
"Long time no see, Cyclops."
Seeing Nick Fury, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and even Nova instinctively stepped aside.
But not everyone was so polite.
For example, Tony, who walked up and greeted him with that nickname.
"That's enough out of you. And you must be Spider-Man, right?"
Ignoring Tony completely (he knew all too well what kind of guy he was),
Nick Fury turned to Spider-Man and said:
"Nice to meet you. I'm Nick Fury, director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division—S.H.I.E.L.D. for short.
"I've had my eye on you for a few days now. How about it? Want to join us? I can help you become one of the greatest superheroes."
Fury had to admit—Spider-Man's performance today impressed him.
Especially that serum—it proved this kid wasn't just some brawler with spider powers.
So, he decided to recruit him.
Nova and the others might have power, but in terms of brains, Spider-Man clearly outshone them.
"Hey! Are you seriously ignoring me like that?"
Tony immediately protested.
"Don't pretend you don't know this kid's under my wing!
Look at all his gear—I provided that!
It's one thing to poach people behind my back, but doing it right in front of me—are you looking down on me, or what?!"
Ignoring the wary soldiers watching him, Tony stormed right up to Fury, clearly pissed.
Tony Stark was not a man who took being brushed off lightly.
"What about Dr. Connors? What are you planning to do to him?"
Unlike Tony and Tohka, Spider-Man had no idea what S.H.I.E.L.D. was.
He completely ignored Fury's invitation.
His attention was focused on Dr. Connors, who was being led away in restraints.
If anyone dared to harm Connors, he looked ready to jump into action.
"Even if your serum worked, can you guarantee he'll never revert back?"
Fury wasn't bothered by the rejection—he had expected it.
He had already figured out Spider-Man's real identity and knew that— at this point, he was just a regular teenager, so not knowing S.H.I.E.L.D. was understandable.
"Don't forget—this guy injected himself with large amounts of the serum.
And look around you—he's already committed serious crimes.
But don't worry, we won't harm him. He'll receive a fair trial.
Also, I'd appreciate it if you could make some more of that serum—
There are still quite a few lizard-men left to deal with."
Following Fury's gaze, Spider-Man looked around and saw that Oscorp's tower had been wrecked during the battle.
He fell silent.
As for Fury's invitation, he still hadn't made up his mind.
He preferred to act alone and didn't want any of this to affect his life or family—especially Aunt May and his Uncle Ben, who was still seriously injured and hadn't recovered.
"I understand. Let me think about it.
Also, here's the serum formula—you guys can manufacture it yourselves."
He gently turned down Fury's offer while handed over a USB drive.
As for profiting off the formula—that thought never crossed his mind.
After all, the formula was based on Connors' original research,
and he didn't feel right claiming credit for it.
Not to mention, it was only useful for suppressing mutations—not for anything else.
And deep down, he was still worried Connors might lose control again—
so having the formula readily available would help stop any future incidents.
"Alright then—we'll be going."
Hearing Spider-Man's response, Fury didn't push further.
Since they didn't know each other well, refusal was understandable.
He led his team back onto the aircraft, and they departed.
"Honestly, I think you should have accepted."
Tohka walked up to Spider-Man and said, watching Fury's vehicle fly away.
Joining S.H.I.E.L.D. would at least solve his financial troubles.
Looking at the future movies, Tohka knew how tough Spider-Man had it— a full-time superhero with a part-time wallet.
She didn't think he'd ever be able to give 100% to both hero work and normal life.
From her perspective, joining S.H.I.E.L.D. was clearly the best option.
Even Tony hadn't said anything this time, which probably meant he agreed it was a good idea.
"Whatever. I'll think about it… Also, we made such a mess of Harry's family building—I really hope Uncle Norman doesn't get mad."
Spider-Man didn't answer Tohka directly—this was something he needed time to consider.
But looking around at the wreckage of Oscorp and imagining Norman's stern face… he already had a headache coming on.