Honestly, a minor character like the Green Goblin was something Ben could easily handle.
He defeated the enemy in one move, slamming him directly into the wall. The immense force shattered the Green Goblin's helmet.
Beneath the mask, it was indeed Mendel Stromm.
However, his appearance was vastly different from how Ben had seen him over a month ago.
While he hadn't grown scales, his skin had turned a pale green, and his previously obese physique was now lean and powerful.
If anything, Mendel Stromm's peak strength at this moment was probably around ten tons. Combined with his high-tech gear, it was no wonder Peter always struggled against him.
But Ben wasn't like Peter.
When he first gained his Spider-Man superpowers, the difference wasn't as pronounced, but now, his stats in every aspect were superior to Peter's.
The genetic optimization from the Little Broken Watch was incredibly effective.
It could be said that in his current normal state, his strength already exceeded fifty tons, and this strength was still growing over time.
He didn't know the limit of this growth yet, but like the original Spider-Man, he could probably stop a tram.
"If only I could be as strong as Four Hundred Aunt, then I'd be invincible."
That possibility was very high.
Ben set aside his thoughts about the future. He stood at the top of the building, one hand holding the unconscious Green Goblin, waiting for Peter to return.
He felt no sympathy for the Green Goblin.
The guy had brought his current predicament upon himself. He had founded the company with Osborn, only to collude with other shareholders and kick Osborn out.
Of course, if it were just that, it wouldn't be a big deal. Business was a dog-eat-dog world, and after Norman was ousted, he hadn't done anything to Mendel.
But conversely, Ben and Norman's actions to reclaim Osborn were entirely legal. Yet, this time, Mendel refused to admit defeat, using stolen serum and equipment to launch attacks!
If Norman hadn't happened to have the Self-Healing Serum with him at the time, Ben might have actually died at his hands.
Even so, Ben didn't kill him immediately.
It wasn't out of soft-heartedness; it was simply more useful to keep Mendel Stromm alive than to kill him outright.
"Even with the Self-Healing Serum, the impact of the Lizard Monster Norman created hasn't completely faded. If this isn't resolved thoroughly, the media will keep harping on it no matter what," he thought.
Putting aside Norman Osborn's help and his friendship with Harry, purely in terms of self-interest, Ben also held a 25% stake in the Osborn Corporation.
Now, with the Green Goblin in his hands, as the main culprit behind this series of events, he could perfectly clear the stains for the Osborn Corporation, Norman, and Connors.
When all the truth was revealed, people would see a pitiable figure who worked hard to start a business, only to be kicked out by capital. They would also see a disabled but determined Dr. Connors, who aspired to contribute to human health, voluntarily risking himself to prevent innocent civilians from becoming test subjects...
In this way, perhaps Connors wouldn't even need his current false identity.
Primus could simply announce that he had been cured and his arm had regenerated, serving as an advertisement for the upgraded Self-Healing Serum.
All good things were happening at once.
Now Ben finally understood why Norman had been so happy after being attacked.
Once Mendel Stromm became the Green Goblin, all the stains and blame from the former Osborn Enterprise could be dumped onto him.
After all, he was a supervillain; who would listen to his defense?
Of course, Ben didn't plan to send him to prison only for some ambitious individual to bail him out, allowing him to make a comeback.
He knew that parts of the New York police force had been infiltrated by Kingpin. As the emperor of the underworld, being purely criminal wasn't enough.
"Fortunately, I have this."
He took an Obedience Disk from his Web Shooter, sliced open the Green Goblin's skin, and inserted the disk.
The principle of the Obedience Disk was Neurotoxin, a poison so potent that even the physique of an Asgardian would struggle to withstand it.
Most of the time, the Red King used it to control slaves, so he wouldn't let the toxin get out of control. However, it was actually very easy to use it to kill someone.
Ben would wait until the Green Goblin had taken all the blame before ending his life.
As he was thinking this, Peter, clad in his red and blue battle suit, descended from the sky.
"You caught him?" he asked loudly.
While relieved, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment. Even as Spider-Man, Ben was better than him.
"I let that person get away..."
Ben patted Peter's shoulder and said, "I guess you'll meet him again."
He had already noticed that the assassin was Bullseye. As a professional killer, Bullseye was very skilled at concealing himself during retreats. Peter, who had only been a superhero for a little over a month, still had a lot to learn.
"Where have you been this past month?" Peter asked. "Your phone was unreachable. If I didn't know you had spider superpowers like me, I would have been worried sick."
He chattered on.
"Do you know Mary Jane comes every night to ask if you're home? And Felicia Hardy, she's been here a few times too..."
"Oh, right. Uncle Ben and I haven't told Aunt May yet that you're doing research with someone. Don't let it slip..." Peter said, hoisting the Green Goblin onto his shoulder.
After a long while, he finally stopped, giving Ben a chance to speak.
"It's a long story."
"Then make it a short one."
"I went and conquered a planet."
Peter: ???
Hearing this, Peter's spider-brain almost spun out of control. He had expected Ben to tell a story about his vacation on the Gold Coast.
Maybe he met some sexy bikini beauties and had some… deep interactions…
Or perhaps he went surfing or boating in the ocean…
His impoverished, uninspired mind conjured up the most luxurious fantasies of Ben's month-long happy life, believing it must have been incredibly thrilling.
Now, it seemed, It was still thrilling, perhaps even a little too thrilling.
"An alien planet! That's so cool! Why do you get to be a hero on other planets while I'm stuck in little old New York fighting gangsters who rob old ladies?" Peter complained habitually.
But he quickly snapped out of his funk and said, "Okay, at least you have two big problems to deal with. Let's take the Green Goblin to the police station first."
Peter walked to the side of a building and was about to shoot his web when Ben called out to him.
"You're just going to hand him over like that?"
"What else?"
Peter scratched his head. Wasn't taking criminals to the police station all there was to it?
Did he need to do anything else?
"You take him to the police station, and then what? No one knows the Green Goblin has been captured. Anyone with a little influence can bail him out."
"No way…" Peter said uncertainly, "At least the police chief I know wouldn't do that."
"The police station isn't run by just one police chief," Ben said.
"Then what should I do?"
"You need to let the whole of New York know that Spider-Man defeated the Green Goblin. That way, if the Green Goblin reappears, the New York Police Department will be under immense public pressure."
Ben instructed.
Although the Green Goblin was destined to die, using him to help Peter grow was a good thing.
He didn't preach to Peter about eradicating evil completely because he knew Peter wasn't that kind of person.
In the comics, when Kingpin's assassins shot Aunt May, nearly killing her, Peter angrily vowed to kill Kingpin, but ultimately didn't go through with it.
"Do I have to go that far?"
Peter felt a bit awkward. To him, it felt like bragging about his achievements, like putting on a show.
But Ben immediately nodded.
"It's precisely by drawing everyone's attention that we can ensure the criminal receives the fairest trial. I suggest you carry the Green Goblin around the Daily Bugle and all the major newspapers, then take off his mask so everyone can see his identity."
"Wait, me?" Peter pointed at himself, "But you're the one who defeated him."
"I have other things to do,"
Ben shook his head and said.
He didn't care about fame. After all, operating as Spider-Man was just occasional fun for Ben.
After parting ways with Peter.
Ben swung on his webs and arrived at Osborn Manor.
Harry was sitting in his room, looking down at his phone.
In just this short time, the capture of the Green Goblin and blurry videos of a second Spider-Man had already been posted on YouTube, and their popularity was rapidly increasing.
"Dad, Spider-Man caught the Green Goblin." The moment Harry saw this news, he almost jumped up with excitement.
Norman, standing nearby, was overjoyed. He quickly walked over and snatched the phone from Harry to look himself.
However, since these videos were uploaded privately, their clarity was low, and the Green Goblin's true identity couldn't be seen.
But regardless of who the Green Goblin was, Norman knew he had to act quickly.
Just then, the butler hurried in and knocked on the door, saying:
"Mr. Osborn, you have a visitor."
"Tell him I'm busy right now."
The butler didn't leave immediately. His hand hovered over the old-fashioned door handle, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he said, "However, it's Mr. Ben Parker."
Swish!
Norman and Harry looked up simultaneously.
"Then why don't you let him in quickly? No, I'll go myself!"
Norman threw Harry's phone back and then walked out quickly. As he passed the butler, he added, "Next time he comes, no need to announce him. Just bring him in directly."
"Yes."
A few minutes later, Norman saw Ben at the door.
"Today is really full of good news!"
He said with a smile, as happy as if he had seen his own son.
This made Harry, who was following behind him, feel like he should be under the car...
"I've also brought even better news, Uncle Norman." Ben smiled slightly and pulled out a stack of documents from his backpack.
"What is this?"
"Evidence of Mendel Stromm's crimes."
Hearing this, Norman's smile grew even wider.
He immediately put his arm around Ben's shoulder and pulled him into the house. Turning to see Harry, he couldn't help but glare at him, thinking, Why isn't this brat a little girl?
Harry: ???
Ben didn't know what Norman was thinking at that moment. If he had, he would have told him that even if Harry were a girl, he still wouldn't have a chance with him. Peter was his true love!
The three returned to the house.
"Little Ben, you've surprised me as soon as you got back! Please sit down! Have dinner at my place tonight!"
Norman gestured for Ben to sit while telling the butler to prepare dinner. At the same time, he held the documents Ben had given him and began reading them word for word.
"I won't be staying for dinner. I still need to go home," Ben said quickly.
"Then why don't we have Ben, May, and Peter come over? Harry, call Peter..."
"No," Ben reached out and stopped Harry, who was about to dial. "I haven't been home since I returned to New York. Aunt May would be very upset if she knew my first act wasn't to come home."
Hearing this, Norman nodded.
"You're a good kid, Little Ben."
He said approvingly, "After everything I've been through, I've come to realize that family is the most important thing."
Ben agreed.
Then, he began to share his thoughts with Norman.
Clearly, Norman had the same idea.
"That's what I was planning too, but I have very little evidence. Stromm was very meticulous. I can't believe you managed to gather so much. You didn't happen to become a detective during the time you were gone, did you?"
Ben just smiled at this.
Norman thought he had spent a month collecting this evidence, but in reality, he had only started the investigation with Eunice after learning that Mendel Stromm might be the Green Goblin.
It had only been a few hours since the investigation began, but most of the evidence was already complete.
However, Ben thought for a moment and added, "Besides this, I think Mendel Stromm might have done some other things that are not widely known..."
He didn't elaborate, but Norman's face already showed a look of understanding.
Since they were unknown, they could be fabricated at will.
Mendel Stromm was like a bank robber. How much he stole was up to him, but how much the bank reported as stolen was not his decision.
More importantly, although Stromm had become the Green Goblin and lost his Osborn shares, his personal assets were still a considerable sum.
For one thing, Ben had paid quite a bit when he bought Osborn equipment from him!
So Norman nodded seriously and said, "Indeed, I remember there were some issues with Osborn's accounts during this period, and the amount of stolen property seems to be more than this..."
He casually calculated that what was originally lost was just a set of Green Goblin equipment and a few vials of defective serum, but now, the bill had suddenly soared to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Looking at the two people colluding, Harry, who had always admired his father, felt a filter completely shatter.
Thanks to book friend 2022027142933710 for the 00 reward.
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