Harry stared at the screen, his eyes wide with shock. He never imagined that the small cube Norman had given him was actually a physical key to Oscorp's darkest secrets. Though he'd had it for a while, he hadn't stumbled upon its purpose until now.
It was only after seeing the revelations broadcast on The Screen that Harry realized the immense value of the little device.
Without wasting a second, he sprang from his chair and placed the secret key onto the glass table. As expected, numerous classified documents appeared, mirroring what he had seen on The Screen. Eagerly, he began sifting through the files.
He uncovered blueprints for advanced armor, reports on clandestine experiments, and files detailing Richard Parker's research. The entire Connors incident was laid bare, along with files on Norman Osborn's degenerative disease, Spider-Man's genetic experiments, and even a dossier on Dr. Michael Morbius.
Harry browsed through each folder methodically. However, unlike The Screen, there was no file about Max Dillon becoming Electro—since Max hadn't been electrocuted in this timeline, that particular chain of events hadn't unfolded.
Meanwhile, McCann—the former Oscorp executive under investigation—also watched the broadcast with growing dread. He prayed that Harry wouldn't discover that the secret key had the power to restore deleted and modified data. Without concrete evidence, McCann's worst fate would be getting permanently ousted from Oscorp Industries. But if Harry unearthed the tampered files, McCann's situation would become far graver.
At the same time, Harry realized that The Screen had exposed everything Oscorp had tried to hide. He needed a new strategy to secure his access to these secrets. If the key fell into the wrong hands, it could create catastrophic consequences.
Harry also knew that global powers—including the White House—had likely already recorded the titles of these incriminating documents. Thankfully, mere file names wouldn't cause much damage, but the information within them could shatter Oscorp's standing.
["Welcome to Dr. Jarings' Science and Education Program! Today, we're diving into the world of electricity!" The cheerful voice echoed in the garage as Peter fiddled with his damaged web shooter, removing the scorched battery. To better understand what went wrong, he pulled up a popular science video on electricity.]
["Batteries! Insulators! Electromagnetic currents! Now, remember, batteries can handle a lot of incoming charge. The larger the battery capacity, the more it can store! But," the host's tone shifted, "if the input charge exceeds what the battery can release… BOOM!"]
[As the video played, Peter conducted his own experiments. He swapped the small button battery with a larger one, secured the transmitter, and fired a line of webbing, attaching it to a voltmeter to measure the current.]
[Wearing protective gear, Peter cautiously powered up the device. The moment the clamp touched the spider silk, the web glowed red-hot, the voltmeter spiked, and—just as the video predicted—the battery exploded. The detonation perfectly synchronized with the blogger's cheerful voice.]
["When doing experiments like this, please take proper safety precautions! You're not invincible!" the blogger quipped. Despite being mentally prepared, Peter still flinched from the blast, but his curiosity wasn't easily shaken.]
["I need a bigger battery," he muttered, determined. He strapped together several large batteries, wrapped himself in a makeshift cloak of insulating materials, and tried again. But just like before, the batteries exploded the moment power surged through them.]
[Peter sighed, staring at the shattered battery pack. Not ready to give up, he brought out a car battery. This time, the surge of electricity was even more intense. The force sent Peter flying across the garage, and seconds later, the car battery couldn't handle the load—it erupted in a fiery blast. The spider web caught fire, and the lights in the house flickered wildly.]
["Ahhh!!!" Peter shouted, scrambling for the fire extinguisher. He doused the burning webbing and sprayed the still-sparking car battery for good measure.]
"Hahahaha!!! Peter! Are you trying to blow up your old garage?" Gwen's laughter echoed from the doorway, her amusement unstoppable as she watched the chaotic scene. She even pulled out her phone, searching for the exact science video, despite knowing the information was already in their textbooks.
"Ouch!" Peter groaned, covering his face in embarrassment. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten the basic lessons from eighth grade. Gwen would never let him live this down—so much for being the top of the class.
Seeing her future son-in-law humbled, Helen Stacy chimed in, "Well, it's still better than the mess you made at home, Gwen! You ruined your father's and Peter's clothes, broke the door, wrecked the table, destroyed a pair of shoes, and let's not forget the hole in the wall that still hasn't been fixed!"
"Oh, Mom! I'm your daughter!" Gwen protested, shooting her mother a look of mock betrayal for exposing her embarrassing history.
Peter stifled a laugh, trying not to aggravate Gwen further. But seeing his shoulders tremble with suppressed amusement, Gwen huffed, turning away from him in mock irritation.
Peter quickly stopped laughing, leaning in to coax Gwen back into a better mood.
[The next morning, Peter was still fast asleep when his phone rang. Without opening his eyes, he instinctively fired a web shot—intending to pull the phone to him—but instead yanked a crowbar off a nearby shelf. It flew through the air and smacked him squarely in the head.]
["Ah!" Peter yelped, dropping the crowbar with a thud. Rubbing his forehead, he shot another web, this time successfully snagging the phone.]
["Hello?" he mumbled, still half-asleep.]
[Harry's voice came through the line, tense and urgent. "Peter! It's me."]
["Hey, Harry… What's up? What time is it?" Peter asked, groggy and disoriented.]
["Uh… evening? Morning? I don't even know anymore—I haven't slept all night. I need to see you, Peter. Now."]
[Peter instantly snapped to full attention. There was something wrong with Harry's tone. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.]
["No, Peter… I'm dying. But I think you can save me."]
[Peter's heart skipped a beat. He sat up in bed, his mind racing as Harry's desperate words echoed in his ears.]
[Later that day, inside Oscorp Industries, Peter and Harry sat side by side, watching a video of Richard Parker and Norman Osborn presenting their groundbreaking experiment.]
["What you're looking at now is the world's first hybrid of a human and a spider," Norman explained, his voice calm and authoritative. "Our original goal was to extract venom from their glands and develop medicine capable of healing diseased cells."]
[Richard Parker added, "If we can cure genetic disorders, think about the possibilities. Diseases like Alzheimer's, even cancer, could become relics of the past."]
[The video ended abruptly. Harry closed the file and turned to Peter, his expression grim.]
["They never made it to human trials," Harry muttered. "Fourteen years of research, and nothing to show for it. Except for this."]
[Harry stood up and slammed a stack of newspapers onto the table, each featuring headlines about Spider-Man.]
["Spider-Man?" Peter asked, feigning confusion, though his heart pounded in his chest.]
["He was bitten by one of those spiders and successfully mutated," Harry said, his eyes gleaming with a mix of desperation and hope. "I don't know how or why, but he's got all the abilities of a spider—including self-healing. I need to find him, Peter. I need his blood."]
[Harry's pleading gaze bore into Peter, who struggled to maintain his composure. The weight of Harry's words settled heavily between them, leaving Peter speechless.]
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