"So this guy is Peter Parker?" Loren muttered to himself, his expression troubled.
"Yes, according to the captured footage, the masked man in black is Peter Parker."
"The next video shows him without his mask—it's 100% certain it's him," Alice replied.
"Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man too? That's unlikely," Alice added, immediately zooming in.
"Analyze the material of his black suit for me."
"Also, what organization do those people who fought him belong to? Find out."
Loren frowned, as if something had just occurred to him.
As a time traveler, he knew perfectly well that there should be only one Spider-Man in each Marvel parallel universe. The possibility of two Spider-Men coexisting in the same timeline was extremely low. If two did appear simultaneously, it would almost certainly indicate a crossover between parallel universes—which would be a very serious problem.
Yet if the multiverse were truly in chaos, the Ancient One of Kamar-Taj would have already intervened.
He has no right to fight others outside his designated reality!
"Okay, boss. Analysis in progress."
"Analysis complete. The black suit Peter Parker is wearing isn't made of any known textile—it appears to be some kind of organic organism."
"The identities of the group that clashed with him have also been confirmed: they're from the Life Foundation."
"An organic organism? The Life Foundation?" Loren's eyes narrowed. "Looks like I guessed right. He's probably been parasitized by a symbiote."
He should be in the Life Foundation's secret lab by now. Hopefully, he's alright.
As a time traveler, Loren had some knowledge of the Life Foundation. On the surface, it was a private organization dedicated to life sciences—but in truth, it sought extraterrestrial life forms. From there, they aimed to push humanity toward what they called "evolution."
Loren scoffed—not at the concept of human evolution itself, but at the absurdity of someone like Carlton Drake attempting to achieve it through symbiotes.
No one knew better than he how glaring the symbiote's weaknesses were: sensitivity to sound, fire, high temperatures, and more.
He didn't deny that symbiotes were fascinating alien life forms—but claiming they could be used to "evolve" humanity? That was laughable.
After pinpointing Peter's location, Loren returned to the living room. Gwen and Harry both looked at him expectantly the moment he walked in.
"So, have you found Peter?"
Loren nodded. "He's at the Life Foundation. Leave this to me. You two should go home and wait."
He was really saying this for Harry's sake—because once Gwen learned where Peter was, there was no way she'd stay put.
"What's the Life Foundation? Why is Peter there?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"I'm not sure yet, but I'll find out. Go home and wait for updates. I'll handle this."
The Life Foundation dealt with symbiotes—and Peter had now made contact with one. Loren didn't want to tell Harry too much. The fewer ordinary people who knew about this kind of thing, the better.
Hearing Loren say that, Harry didn't ask any more questions.
Now that they knew where Peter was, there was nothing to worry about—Loren had taken charge of the matter.
Harry knew very well just how strong Loren was.
After seeing Gwen and Harry off, Loren immediately turned his attention to 2B.
"2B, go to the Life Foundation right now and bring Peter Parker out. And while you're at it, bring back a symbiote too."
"Understood, boss. I'll get started right away."
Having received Loren's order, 2B didn't hesitate for a moment. She leaped into the air and sped directly toward the Life Foundation's location.
Shortly after she left, Gwen changed into her Spider-Man suit and headed for the Foundation's base as well.
Loren watched it all unfold.
Just as he'd expected, Gwen wouldn't stand idly by—but with 2B joining the fight, he had nothing to worry about.
---
Inside the Life Foundation's secret base…
Peter Parker, bare-chested and bruised, was locked in an iron cage like livestock.
Judging by the welts and open wounds covering his body, the past two days at the Foundation had been nothing short of hell—miserable didn't even begin to cover it.
When he first bonded with the symbiote Venom, Peter had believed he'd gained power rivaling that of any superhero.
My life's finally turning around, he'd thought. I'm about to reach the pinnacle of everything.
Emboldened, he'd donned a black suit and taken to the streets of New York as "Venom Spider-Man," determined to fight crime like Spider-Man or Iron Man.
But barely a month into his new role, he was ambushed by a squad of elite special forces soldiers.
Ordinary soldiers would've been no match for him—but these operatives knew the symbiote's weaknesses all too well.
He fought desperately, but they overwhelmed him. In the end, instead of defeating them, he was captured.
And that was when his nightmare truly began.
The moment he was taken, they forcibly separated him from the Venom symbiote.
Without its power, he was as helpless as a one-armed cripple—unable to fight back, even against ordinary guards, let alone trained soldiers.
Knowing this, his captors treated him not as a person, but as a lab rat.
Needles pierced his skin constantly—drawing blood, injecting strange compounds—until he felt like he was dying over and over again.
Two days had felt like an eternity. Only his iron will kept him from slipping into madness.
Outside the cage, a handsome young man watched him with cold detachment, his voice dripping with manic fervor:
"Peter Parker… what an honor it is for you to contribute to the evolution of all mankind."
"And I am the one who granted you that honor. You should be grateful—not glaring at me with such hatred."
"You'll disappoint me… and disappointing me comes at a price. Hahaha!"
Peter's eyes burned with bloodthirsty rage. Like a caged animal, he kicked and slammed against the bars, desperate to break free.
Just then—a deafening roar shattered the a
ir.
A black-clad figure blasted through the building's floors and landed directly in front of Peter.
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