Tuesday was an ordinary day; even the detective agency had no activities. Peter arrived at school, his new backpack camouflaged as ordinary fabric by optical camouflage.
Today was also special because last night Peter had told Harry that he had something to tell him after lunch. Amadeus could wait; it wasn't about special treatment, but because Harry needed to discuss Norman Osborn. After all, only Peter knew Harry was Norman's son, and at school, Harry still introduced himself as "Harry Lyman."
And that was why Peter needed to talk to Harry alone.
"I once thought that perhaps the seniors in the detective club were actually holding their club activities at noon to avoid us newbies."
Harry walked into the club room, closed the door, then watched Peter put down his backpack and take something out. He looked at him curiously: "What are you doing?"
"I'm setting up equipment to cut off our phone signals, to prevent eavesdropping, and to check for any cameras in the club room. None. Looks like the detective club truly is a huge blind spot. No one would think there are criminals hiding in a detective club, haha."
That "haha" was ambiguous as to whom it referred, but Harry looked at Peter strangely: "Are you okay, buddy? Did you do something wrong? Like hack into some big company's data?"
Peter was stunned by Harry's guess, then turned to look at Harry: "Of course not."
"Then why are you being so mysterious?"
"Alright, I'm going to tell you something now. Don't be surprised after you hear it, because I have something even more important to tell you."
Harry nodded, waiting for his brother to drop some earth-shattering news. Then he saw Peter Parker tell him very seriously:
"I am Spider-Man."
Oh.
Peter looked at the unreactive Harry, puzzled, thinking Harry already knew he was Spider-Man. But that wasn't it. Harry turned and said, "Is there some sort of comic convention recently? Or are you planning to..."
Peter sighed and let Venom cover him. In an instant, the black and white suit covered Peter entirely. Seeing this, Harry gasped, clutching his chest, looking at Peter in disbelief.
"You're Spider-Man?"
"I just said so."
"I know." Harry took a deep breath of disbelief, then nodded. "You're Spider-Man?"
"...You just said that too."
Harry took a few more deep breaths to compose himself, then sat down. Peter, meanwhile, put away his black and white suit, waiting for Harry to recover. After a moment of silence, Harry finally reacted: "My best friend is a superhero, even an Avenger! Oh my god."
"And you actually told me!"
"Yeah... there's a reason for it. I got my powers because I was bitten by a genetically modified spider from Osborn Industries."
Osborn Industries. Hearing that name, Harry understood something and looked at Peter. He then took a deep breath and nodded. Now he finally understood why his dad, who was never satisfied with any friends he made, was so amiable to Peter last time.
"My dad must have said something to you... about it being Osborn Industries' property or something, right?"
"Actually, what he told me was that he hoped Osborn Industries could sponsor Spider-Man's activities and provide me with technological support." Peter didn't reveal his true reason for wanting Osborn as a backup: who could have imagined that a bunch of Spider-Man villains would emerge from that company?
In a way, Osborn Industries could truly be considered the source of all evil in the Spider-Man series.
Harry seemed to understand something else, pondering whether Spider-Man needed Osborn Industries for technological assistance. It seemed unnecessary since Spider-Man had the Avengers backing him, with Tony Stark providing technical support. But then again, since that spider was a creation of Osborn Industries, perhaps Osborn Industries could provide more specialized help to Spider-Man.
Harry was still debating, but he didn't realize that Peter Parker had already thought of everything for him.
"After I saw your dad that day, I went home and looked up Dr. Emily Lyman. She's a great scientist, researching technologies that yield almost no immediate returns but are crucial to humanity. This might be an opportunity, Harry, a chance to inherit your mother's legacy."
When his mother was involved, Harry's mind suddenly seemed to light up. He looked at Peter and asked, somewhat uncertainly, "You mean combining Osborn Industries' support with my mother's experimental projects? Spider-Man's identity is a secret, so he definitely can't reveal the location of any secret base you arrange. You need a lab with a legitimate cover... Do you mean this is a chance to restart my mother's experimental projects?"
Harry suddenly understood. Of course, he didn't have the ability to restart these projects yet, as he didn't understand the specialized knowledge. But as long as these projects of his mother's were preserved, then everything would be possible. The key was to preserve them first, to prevent them from being abolished by his father or the Osborn Industries board.
Harry excitedly stood up, hugged Peter, then released him.
"You don't know... I can't express how grateful I am, Peter." Harry chuckled incoherently. "I... I've always wanted to preserve my mom's research. Anyway, thank you."
"It's far from a done deal. Your father still has to agree."
"He'll definitely agree. That greedy old man certainly sees a profit, that's why he wants to sponsor you."
Harry laughed, then realized something: "Wait, who else knows you're Spider-Man?"
"Gwen. She found out. And..."
"What about Amadeus?" Harry felt like Peter was about to reveal some big secret and quickly tried to stop him. Peter just shrugged: "He should be here soon, I told him. Amadeus might be smarter than we think."
Just then, Amadeus Cho opened the detective club door. Once he closed it, Peter once again demonstrated the miracle of instant costume change: "I am Spider-Man."
"Oh, oh~ This is truly... unexpected. You really..."
Before Amadeus could finish, Harry added, "Actually, my last name is Osborn. I'm Harry Osborn."
"Oh, I already knew that."