Peter was meeting Jessica's father, Jonathan Drew, for the first time. Jonathan was the one who took over the super-soldier project after Peter's own father. The closest Peter had come to learning about him was when he used his authority to search the Oscorp super-soldier program and saw Jonathan's name, along with his proposal to use spider genes to treat ALS—though Peter couldn't understand what spiders had to do with treating ALS.
On the other hand, since Dr. Jonathan had proposed this idea, it was likely that Jessica had already been diagnosed with ALS. However, based on her current condition, it didn't seem to affect her daily life.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Peter Parker. Honestly, I was quite surprised when Mr. Osborn told me that you were Spider-Man." Jonathan smiled as he extended a hand to shake Peter's. He was a rather young-looking man, at most in his early forties, with thick black hair for a researcher. Like Jessica, her father, Jonathan, was also of Latin descent—though the definition of "Latino" was a rather mysterious concept, Jonathan Drew's appearance, with his Caucasian skin, slightly indigenous facial features, and occasional Spanish words, marked him as a Latino.
Peter was a bit puzzled because Jonathan's words made it sound as if they had known each other before, but Peter was sure that they had never met.
"Excuse me, um, have we met?"
"Oh, no, we haven't. But I knew your parents. I was your father's student and his lab assistant. We worked together for more than a decade, right up until he left the Savage Strength project—the one that created the genetically modified spider." Jonathan revealed a connection between their families that Peter had never heard of, and Peter nodded in understanding.
Norman glanced at his watch and gave Peter a slightly apologetic smile: "Sorry, Peter, I wanted to stay longer, but I have a very important meeting, so I have to go."
"Wait, Uncle Norman."
Peter's words made Norman pause, and he asked in return, "Oh, wait, you called me 'Uncle'?"
"Um, yeah. You're Harry's dad, so I call you Uncle. Is there a problem with that?"
"No, none at all, of course not." Norman smiled happily. "Is there something you needed?"
"Don't you want to talk to Harry for a bit? He's really invested in all this, both the base and his mother's work."
Norman looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he shook his head. "No, it's okay. Harry wouldn't be very happy to see me. I'll get going now, sorry."
With that, Norman left the lab, and after a moment of silence, Peter suddenly remembered something he hadn't asked. "I forgot to ask him why those terrorists would want to rob a glider."
"Actually, I'm quite clear on that." Jonathan said with a smile, carrying a thermostatic container in his left hand. "Their real target should have been the radioactive materials used to create the genetic modification tools, but they got the intel wrong and hijacked the wrong truck. Oh, can I go in now?"
"No problem, Dr. Jonathan."
Peter led Dr. Jonathan into the web-state base. Once inside, Harry glanced at Jonathan and sighed. It wasn't because of Dr. Jonathan, but because Norman's last words had upset Harry. But Harry wasn't going to show it right now.
"Alright, kids, don't mind me. Mr. Norman just asked me to be the nominal head of this research center, after all, you're both still high school students. And since I was the one who directly modified the spider that bit Peter, I'm here to monitor his biological signs, and also..."
Jonathan said as he walked over to a machine and placed the thermostatic container on it. The machine quickly took the container inside, and then a whole terrarium was raised, revealing seven or eight spiders about half the size of a palm, moving around inside.
Seven or eight? Peter was a bit shocked and went over to the terrarium, asking in disbelief, "Are these all...?"
"Oh, no, they're just candidate specimens. We had to start from scratch after the glass in the exhibition hall broke more than six months ago. These are the results of our research so far, but it will take some time to reach the same level as the spider that bit you, Peter. It might take another year or two..."
Peter understood what Jonathan's muttered "year or two" meant.
"Alright, unless you feel any physical discomfort, you don't have to worry about me." Jonathan laughed, spreading his hands. "I'll just be here to study my spiders."
"What about the Savage Strength project? Did Oscorp abandon the military's super-soldier project?"
"The new Savage Strength project will be headed by my colleague, and also your father's student, Curt Connors. He will be developing a new project. I think he might be more suited for that kind of research."
Looking at Jonathan's smile, Peter couldn't help but shiver. What was that? Was the Lizard already starting to research genetically modified lizards? Although Oscorp was a big corporation, he probably wouldn't inject himself with a serum, right?
Regardless, Peter added the Lizard to his watch list, while Harry called him over and asked him in a puzzled tone, "How are you so familiar with the new scientist? What if he's a spy sent by my dad?"
"I don't think so. I think Dr. Jonathan is a good person."
"You can't just assume he's a good person because he developed the spider that bit you. That just means you're a good person."
Peter decided to explain. "He was also my father's student."
"Oh, I see." Harry looked like he was finally getting it. "So you two knew each other before?"
"Um, not exactly, but he is also Jessica's father."
Jessica's father? Hearing this, Harry was stunned. He never thought that their social circles were so small and that they would just happen to run into someone connected to them. Then, he suddenly thought of a question: "What if Jessica comes to visit? She's the head of our detective club."
"I don't think there'll be a problem... After all, Jessica doesn't even know her father is researching genetically modified spiders, and she never went to him for help, even though she's been investigating Spider-Man for so long."
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