"Oscorp Industries, huh?" Logan grunted, leaning back in his chair as he settled into the Wing Chun Martial Arts Academy for the morning. He had brought Yukiko along, and the group was currently huddled around a steaming hot pot for breakfast—a morning ritual that was becoming a staple of their life here.
Logan's casual mention of the bloodbath he'd investigated at the Oscorp labs caused Huang Wen's chopsticks to pause mid-air. One eyebrow arched upward, a clear sign that his mental gears were spinning faster than usual.
"Something's bothering you?" Belle asked, glancing at Huang Wen with a mix of curiosity and concern. "Do you have some history with the people over at Oscorp?"
Huang Wen shook his head, dipping a piece of thinly sliced beef into the spicy broth. "I don't know a soul there. But when a major tech conglomerate starts having 'accidents' that involve doctors jumping out of windows and chairmen vanishing into thin air, it's a sign. The peace we've been enjoying? Consider it an endangered species."
He looked around the table, his gaze sharpening as he addressed the disciples and friends gathered there. "Listen up. Things are going to get messy. If you see anything out of the ordinary—and I mean anything—don't try to be a hero on your own. Use the link to Silly Girl immediately. I need to be in the loop before the bodies start stacking up. Understood?"
"Understood, Sifu," Reese Fisk said instantly. He was the most disciplined of the bunch, his loyalty to Huang Wen absolute. The others followed suit, nodding solemnly, even if they didn't quite grasp the gravity of the shift Huang Wen was sensing in the city's "vibe."
Huang Wen didn't waste time. He had Silly Girl broadcast a high-priority alert to all his students who wore the specialized watches. He knew his disciples were talented, but he also knew they had a tendency to rush into a fight they weren't prepared for.
With the serious talk out of the way, Huang Wen softened his expression, turning back to Belle. "Your summer break kicks off next week, right? Any big plans, or are you just going to hide in the basement with a stack of scrolls?"
Belle's eyes brightened, a small, genuine smile tugging at her lips. "Actually, I've already used Silly Girl's processing power to map out several restricted library archives in New York. There are some ancient manuscripts on energy flow that I haven't gotten my hands on yet."
Huang Wen chuckled. He should have known. "A literal bookworm. Fine, I'll be your chauffeur. We'll make a trip of it."
After dropping Belle off at her school, Huang Wen returned to the academy. The air felt heavy today. He sat in his office and tapped into Silly Girl's interface. "Silly Girl, I need everything you can pull from the Oscorp internal servers. Focus on the 'Cross-Species' projects and anything involving the Green Goblin or Lizard-related keywords."
As the data scrolled across his vision, a pattern emerged. "So, Curt Connors has already transformed, and Norman Osborn has likely taken the plunge into the serum as well. But what about the kid?"
He checked the attendance records for Midtown High. They'd been at a spider exhibit just yesterday. "A bite from a genetically modified arachnid... If the lore holds, Peter Parker should be feeling a bit 'sticky' right about now. Wait, wasn't Huang Liang talking about a Peter Parker in his class?"
A smirk played on Huang Wen's lips. "I'll have to squeeze the truth out of that boy when he gets back from school."
Meanwhile, at Midtown High, the atmosphere was decidedly less analytical. Peter Parker was vibrating in his seat. He felt like he'd drunk twenty espressos, but without the jitters. Everything around him felt slow—the ceiling fan was lazily spinning, the teacher's drone was a low-frequency hum, and the fly buzzing near the window looked like it was moving through syrup.
He leaned over toward Huang Liang, his voice a frantic whisper. "Liang, I'm telling you, I think I'm a mutant! It happened yesterday after that spider bit me. I woke up today and my glasses were making me go blind because my eyes are perfect now!"
Huang Liang didn't even look up from his notebook. "Peter, buddy, give it a rest. You probably just finally got a decent night's sleep. And quit it with the contact lenses; they don't suit you. Did you actually get those photos of Mary Jane for the yearbook or were you too busy shaking?"
"This isn't about MJ! Well, it is, because I can actually see her from across the football field now, but look!" Peter rolled up his sleeve, flexing an arm that was surprisingly defined. "I have muscles! Real ones! I feel like I could punch a hole through a brick wall!"
Huang Liang sighed, finally closing his book. He looked at Peter with a mixture of pity and annoyance. "Look at you, getting all worked up. You're scrawny, Peter. You've always been scrawny." He reached out, intending to give Peter a friendly, slightly heavy-handed pat on the shoulder to knock some sense into him.
But the moment Huang Liang's hand moved, Peter's world shifted. He didn't think; he just moved. His body twisted with a grace he didn't know he possessed, causing Huang Liang's hand to swipe through empty air.
Huang Liang froze. His hand stayed extended, hovering over the space where Peter's shoulder had been a millisecond ago. He slowly turned his head, his eyes wide. "Wait... what was that?"
Peter looked just as shocked as his friend. "I... I don't know. I just felt a tingle in the back of my head and I knew where your hand was going to be."
Huang Liang's skepticism vanished instantly, replaced by the sharp curiosity of a martial artist. "You're serious? You aren't just messing with me?"
"I've been trying to tell you!" Peter hissed. "I'm terrified, Liang. What if the government finds out? What if I have to move to New Hope State?"
"Relax," Huang Liang said, his mind already racing. "You aren't going anywhere. Listen, after school, you're coming with me to the Wing Chun Academy. My Master... he knows people. Important people. We've got mutants living in the building, and he's even got a direct line to the guy who runs the mutant nation. If anyone can tell you if you're a spider-mutant or just a freak of nature, it's him."
Peter gulped. "Wait, your Master? Isn't he the guy who looks like he could kill a man with a toothpick? Won't he want to... you know... study me? Like a lab rat?"
Huang Liang laughed, clapping Peter on the back—this time, Peter let him. "Master Wen? Nah. He might make you do a thousand pushups, but he's not the 'slice-and-dice' type. Besides, I want to see what you can actually do. After lunch, we'll head over there. The break is long enough for a quick evaluation."
"Okay," Peter nodded, his excitement finally outweighing his fear. "Let's do it."
Back at the Academy, the mood was significantly darker. Bruce Banner looked like a ghost. He hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours, his skin was sallow, and his eyes were sunken. He spent most of his time staring at a wall, his mind a chaotic whirlpool of anxiety and suppressed rage.
Huang Wen watched him from the doorway, feeling a rare pang of sympathy. He knew where Betty Ross was. He knew she was currently under the "protection" of her father, General Ross, participating in an experiment that was supposed to make her "compatible" with Banner's condition. But Silly Girl couldn't hack the lab because it was an air-gapped facility.
"Master..." Banner's voice was a dry rasp. He didn't even turn around. "You're keeping something from me. I can feel it. You've been searching for Betty for days. You don't fail at things like this. If you haven't found her, it's because you don't want me to find her."
Huang Wen sighed, stepping into the room. He walked over and placed a hand on Banner's shoulder. "Bruce, I was trying to protect your peace of mind. If I told you where she was, you'd run headlong into a trap. And if the Other Guy comes out in a military base, nobody wins."
Banner stood up abruptly, his chair screeching against the floor. The air in the room suddenly felt electric. "Where is she? Is she hurt? Is Ross... is he doing something to her?"
"He's her father, Bruce. He's not hurting her, at least not in the way you think," Huang Wen said calmly. "But you need to listen. Betty went to him willingly. She's participating in a procedure to stabilize her own biology. She wants to be able to stand beside you without being crushed. She wants to be like you."
"What?!" Banner's pupils shrunk to pinpricks. The veins in his neck began to throb with a faint green glow. "She's with the military? She's trying to become a monster? No... no, I won't let him do that to her! I'm going to get her!"
He turned to bolt for the door, but Huang Wen's hand clamped down on his shoulder like a vice. "Stay put, Bruce. If you interfere now, you might kill her. The process is delicate."
"GET OFF ME!" Banner roared.
The transformation was instantaneous. His shirt shredded like tissue paper as his muscles expanded with a wet, tearing sound. His skin turned a deep, bruised emerald. The Hulk didn't just appear; he exploded into existence.
"ROAR!" The Hulk's voice shook the very foundations of the building. He turned his massive, baleful eyes on Huang Wen, his fists clenching into boulders.
Huang Wen didn't flinch. He looked up at the behemoth, his expression cold and unimpressed. "Listen to me, you big green idiot. If you tear this academy down, I will personally make sure you never see a drop of Betty's favorite perfume again, let alone her face. Sit. Down."