"How is it? Are you getting used to this position?"
Artoria asked with a smile, looking at the slightly awkward Gwen. She had done it on purpose, transferring the girl to her side just to observe her expressions and satisfy a bit of her mischievous streak.
"Is this okay, Miss Artoria? There are many people talking behind our backs now."
As a novice intern who hadn't been on the job long, Gwen had been battered by rumors and gossip lately. She had even thought about resigning, but Artoria found her and, after some persuasion, she came to work as Artoria's assistant. After all, no one wanted to get a bad grade on their school evaluation; that would be troublesome after graduating college.
"Don't worry about those words. There are plenty of toxic people in this world. You can't argue with every single one of them. Their mouths are their own; you can't control them. If you really care, why not get a doujinshi notebook and record their names? When you hold a higher position than them, you can properly retaliate against their malice. That is true capability."
After feeding Gwen a dose of 'toxic chicken soup,' Artoria began to enter work mode. Regarding the blood obtained from Little Spider, Artoria had experts in biology study it alongside Maya. It looked like results would come out soon. Perhaps this girl could be tricked into wearing a bodysuit, Artoria thought as she glanced at Gwen.
"master, your brother has received a subpoena from the Supreme Court. As a family member, your attendance is very much required."
"Their greed is getting unsightly—these Military types and those blood-sucking politicians."
Artoria had also received clear indications that these guys wanted the technology in her hands. Before Artoria could even say anything, they were barked back by the legal team she kept. This kind of thing happened often; when people see you doing well, some jealous, greedy, and incompetent fools start jumping around.
This time, they were eyeing Tony's armor technology again, using such underhanded tactics and their clumsy acting. Artoria felt concerned for their intelligence. But on second thought, there must already be many Hydra members in high-ranking positions within the current political scene. Those guys were likely the masterminds, operating puppets to help achieve their goals.
"Saturday, collect videos of recent experimental weapons from the major arms dealers for me. Hack into their computers and transmit them, especially Hammer Industries."
As she spoke, Artoria revealed a smile. She wondered if the owner of Hammer Industries matched the movie setting. If so, it would be interesting. That guy was a total 'gay man'—yes, he was gay, especially with that hint of affection he seemed to have for Iron Man. This was going to be fun.
"Yes, master."
Saturday was already well-acquainted with such intrusive actions against others' privacy. She began her intrusion and obtained what she needed effortlessly, without the other party noticing at all. This situation made her motherboard throb with heat; something that couldn't be expressed with data was being born within her, and it felt quite good.
"Saturday, add another project for me: 'Spider-Man Creation Project.' I want to create another Spider-Man."
"Understood, master."
Artoria, who had intended to walk to the lab, suddenly thought of something and gave Saturday further instructions. This wasn't just a whim. From the moment she saw Spider-Man and collected his blood, Artoria had wanted to fulfill an old idea: Spider-Gwen. She'd had this thought in her previous life. If Spider-Woman and Spider-Man met, what kind of sparks would fly? Artoria was looking forward to that, especially since she had been researching a liquid spider suit lately, which showed she was playing for keeps.
"Dad! What happened to you?"
Returning home in the evening, Gwen saw the gauze wrapped around her father's head. Although she was mentally prepared because being a New York Police officer was a profession with the highest mortality rate, she still felt heartbroken seeing her father like this.
"While that weirdo was fighting the Giant Lizard, I was accidentally hit by a stone kicked up by their struggle. Luckily, the Knight appeared and drove the lizard away with one hit, so the casualties weren't that high. I'm fine, Gwen. How has your work been lately?"
Not wanting to talk about those frustrating matters, this tough father from the original story shifted the topic, not wanting his daughter to worry too much. But he didn't know that because of his words, Gwen's heart was undergoing a change.
"If only I had that kind of power, I could protect my family too."
Gwen glanced at her father, who was resting on industrial injury leave, and this thought suddenly intensified. If she were as strong as that Knight, knocking out criminals so they couldn't move, could she save more people and more families? As the daughter of the Police Director, she also knew internal information; the actual number of casualties from this incident was much higher than what was reported on TV. Thus, her desire to become stronger grew even more intense.
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