Chapter 88: The Tablet of Life and Time (Patreon)

Late afternoon, we finally got a chance to see the tablet. Since we'd already decided to go together, the whole group met up at the agreed-upon spot before heading to the exhibition hall.

As we approached the hall, I noticed Peter frowning.

“Yo, Pete,” I called. “What’s wrong? Still hung up on what happened earlier?”

“Not really.” Peter sighed. “I was just looking at the building and thinking it’d be a shame to turn the whole thing into housing for visiting alumni. If they’re going to repurpose it anyway, turning it into affordable student housing would help a lot of people. I wonder why they’re not doing that.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Liz said disdainfully. “They want to keep the rich alumni happy, so they'll donate more money, and then they can line their own pockets.”

“You really think that’s the only reason?” I asked. “That the dean and the board are just a bunch of villains who don’t give a shit about the students and only care about their bank accounts?”

Liz frowned. “Then you think there’s another reason?”

I shrugged. “Do you really think tuition alone is enough to run a university?”

Harry took one look at Liz and immediately opened his mouth to stop her. But before he could stop her, she said, “Of course. With how much we pay in tuition, the university has to be making a fortune.”

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. Beside me, Marko and Felicia snickered. Liz glared at them, clearly not understanding what was so funny. Meanwhile, Gwen, Peter, and MJ looked confused. Judging by their expressions, Gwen, Peter, and MJ didn't see anything wrong with what Liz had said either.

I didn’t really blame them for not knowing. Most university students never bothered to learn how university finances actually worked.

Still, ignorance wasn’t an excuse to take things at face value without looking for deeper reasons.

“Make a fortune?” I scoffed. “You seriously think tuition alone covers everything it costs to run this place?”

Disbelief flashed across their faces, but Liz looked downright skeptical.

“Look around you. Cutting-edge labs, expensive equipment, research projects—where do you think the money for all that comes from? You think some of the best researchers in the country work here at a discount? They need salaries and research budgets. Where do you think financial aid and scholarships come from? And that brand-new athletic center they opened earlier this year wasn't free. All of that needs money.”

Peter and Gwen fell silent, thinking it over.

“But building a new facility for alumni doesn’t guarantee they'll donate more, does it?” Peter asked.

I smiled. “Nope. No guarantee at all.”

Gwen frowned. “That means it’s possible?”

As expected of the smartest two kids in our group.

My smile widened. “Yep.”

“Are you listening to yourself?” Liz interrupted. “You just said it wasn't guaranteed, and now you're saying it could happen. Do you really know anything, or do you just like listening to the sound of your voice?”

I rolled my eyes and turned to Peter. “Pete, say you go to a charity event planning to donate a hundred bucks. But the organizers spend the whole night kissing your ass, making you feel important, making sure you have a great time. Is it guaranteed you'll donate more? No. But could you walk out feeling generous and throw in another fifty? Sure.”

Judging by their expressions, they finally understood what I meant.

“Of course, I’m not saying the students are wrong,” I added. Right was right. “What they're asking for isn't unreasonable. Affordable housing would obviously help the students. But just because their cause is good doesn't automatically mean everyone who disagrees with them is wrong.”

I looked back at Liz. “The world isn't black and white, Liz. Two sides can want different things without either one being evil.”

Liz fell silent after that. She clearly wanted to argue, but once again, she held herself back because of the group she was with. Otherwise, there was no way she'd let someone she still considered a “loser”—not a star athlete like Flash, a prodigy like Peter, or filthy rich like Harry—mansplain something to her.

The discussion was over, and we were about to head inside when a voice came from behind us.

“Nice explanation, young man.”

We turned toward the voice and saw a man in his late thirties.

“A little blunt, perhaps, but you got to the heart of the matter,” he continued.

“Professor Warren.” Gwen greeted him with a smile.

Ah, so he is Miles Warren—the future Jackal.

“Hello, Gwen.” Miles smiled. “I see you're here for the clay tablet.”

“Yes, Professor,” Gwen said respectfully.

“Good, good. Don't let me keep you,” Miles said. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he added, “Oh, Gwen, stop by my office tomorrow after class.”

“Is everything all right, Professor?” Gwen asked, a hint of concern entering her voice.

“Nothing to worry about,” Miles said, waving a hand. “A research assistant position just opened up, and I was thinking of offering it to you. Think it over, and we can discuss the details tomorrow in my office.”

Gwen's face lit up. “Really, Professor?”

Miles chuckled. “Yes, Gwen. Now, don't keep your friends waiting. We'll talk tomorrow.” With that, he walked away.

The entire time, he'd looked like nothing more than a respectable college professor looking out for a gifted student. Though I wasn't sure that was actually the case, or if he was already smitten with his student.

Or maybe it was both.

Gwen looked at me and said, “Professor Warren is my biochemistry professor. I'd been hoping to get an RA position under him. I can't believe he actually offered me one.”

I slipped an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and gave her a light kiss. “Congrats, babe.”

“Thanks, Kev,” Gwen said shyly.

This is much better because it shows Peter's discomfort rather than simply telling us he doesn't look at Gwen.

“Thanks, Peter,” Gwen said.

“Wait, you're getting an RA position as a first-year undergrad?” Marko's eyes widened. “Damn, Gwen. That's awesome.”

“Thanks, Marko,” Gwen said with a smile.

After everyone finished congratulating Gwen, we finally reached the room where the tablet was on display.

As expected, the moment we saw the tablet, Peter and Gwen started geeking out.

“So, this is the tablet,” Peter said. “No one's been able to translate the inscriptions yet.”

“I'd love to take a crack at translating it,” Gwen added.

The moment I saw the tablet, that nagging sense of familiarity grew even stronger. Then its System information appeared, and everything finally clicked.

Name: Tablet of Life and Time (Fragment)

Alias: Lifeline Tablet

Description: One of seven fragments of the Tablet of Life and Time, sister artifact to the Tablet of Death and Entropy. Inscribed by the ancient Homo mermani during the Hyborian Age. Contains the incomplete formula for a powerful healing serum known as the Lifeline Formula. All fragments must be collected to complete the formula.

If I remember correctly, doesn’t the formula have pretty amazing healing capabilities?

As for why no one had translated it yet, that wasn't particularly surprising. First, it was incomplete. More importantly, reading it required knowledge of the ancient Atlantean or Lemurian language, whichever language it had been written in.

Still, a Marvel super-genius could probably translate it given enough time and the right equipment. The fact that it was still untranslated probably just meant it hadn't landed in the hands of someone like that yet.

As I looked at the tablet, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that I'd received a message. It wasn't from any normal messaging app. Instead, it came through a heavily encrypted app I'd created and shared with only a select few.

LandsOnHerFeet: You want it?

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. She held her phone in one hand while looking at the tablet. She'd probably noticed how intently I'd been staring at the tablet.

Background_NPC: I do.

LandsOnHerFeet: Want me to?

Background_NPC: Not now.

We deleted the exchange and put our phones away.

I'd refused because now wasn't the time. If I remembered the event correctly, Kingpin would soon use the protest as cover to steal the tablet. Stealing it now would put us on his radar, even if we covered our faces. Moreover, Kingpin wasn’t the only problem. Another major player was involved in this mess, one who wouldn't reveal himself until later. Getting on his radar would be even worse.

I would have it, but not now.

While the others discussed the tablet, I opened the System notification that had appeared the moment I'd told Felicia I wanted it.

Mission: Lifeline Tablet

Description: Acquire the fragment of the Tablet of Life and Time currently on display at Empire State University.

Reward: The locations of the remaining six fragments will be permanently marked on the Map. Each marker will remain until its corresponding fragment is obtained.

—

While Kevin and the others examined the tablet inside, the protest outside was about to enter its next phase.

Josh surveyed the crowd. There were more than enough of them now. “Get everyone over here,” he told the other protest leaders. The protesters scattered across campus quickly began converging on the exhibition hall, signs held high and slogans echoing through the crowd.

“Listen up!” Josh shouted, raising his voice over the crowd. “If we want that building turned into a dorm, we need to make some noise. We need the news covering this. We need this all over social media.”

More heads turned toward him as the chanting began to die down.

“We need to put enough pressure on them that they can’t ignore us.” He pointed toward the hall. “And that means we take over the building.”

Cheers and shouts erupted through the crowd.

“Come on! Everybody inside!” Josh yelled. “Move fast, before they figure out what’s happening!”

Students surged toward the entrance.

“And we're not leaving until they give us that dorm!”

Led by Josh, Randy, and several other organizers, the protesters poured into the hall. Security around the hall had been increased because of the protest, but no one expected hundreds of students to rush the building suddenly. The guards tried to hold the entrance, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Unwilling to turn the situation into a brawl with unarmed students, they were quickly pushed aside as the crowd flooded through the doors.

One guard grabbed his radio. “Control, we have a large group forcing entry into the exhibition hall. Send additional security units.”

Within minutes, students had spread throughout the building. An uneasy standoff formed between the protesters and the overwhelmed security guards. Many students who had come only to see the exhibition pulled out their phones, recording the chaos or livestreaming it to social media.

Meanwhile, Josh, Randy, and several other protesters reached the room containing the tablet. Several guards stood between the protesters and the tablet's glass display case.

When Josh looked at the guards protecting the tablet, something clicked.

“What if we hold onto the tablet?” Josh called to the others. “Think about it. They'd have no choice but to listen to us.”

Randy frowned. “I don't know, man. That's straight-up stealing.”

“Don't do it, Josh,” Peter called out. “Randy's right, and you know it.”

Josh ignored them.

“Clear the building!” Josh shouted. “Security, staff, visitors—everyone out! Only protesters stay!”

A commotion suddenly erupted near the entrance. It wasn't another group of protesters. Several armed men pushed through the crowd. Behind them walked a massive bald man in an immaculate suit. All of them wore masks.

The armed men forced a path through the confused students, pistols held where everyone could see them. Behind them walked Fisk, calm and unhurried despite the chaos around him.

“Back away,” one of the gunmen ordered.

The guards froze. Whatever authority they'd had over a crowd of unarmed students vanished the moment firearms entered the equation.

One of Fisk's men stepped up to the display case and smashed the glass.

CRASH!

Several students flinched at the sound.

The man reached through the broken glass and lifted out the tablet.

Amid the chaos, Felicia gave Kevin a subtle glance. He answered with the faintest shake of his head.

With the tablet secured, Fisk turned without another word. His men backed toward the exit, keeping their weapons trained on the guards and protesters until the group disappeared into the crowd outside.

Peter looked ready to intervene, but there was no way for him to stop a group of armed men without exposing himself in front of half the university—and probably thousands more watching the livestreams.

The moment they were gone, Peter slipped away from the others. Minutes later, Spider-Man was swinging after their SUV.

While Spider-Man pursued the Kingpin, the police finally arrived at ESU.

The circumstances immediately made the protest leaders look suspicious. The tablet had been stolen in the middle of their occupation, and just minutes before the robbery, Josh had openly suggested taking the tablet hostage to force the university to meet their demands.

With no way to know whether the timing was merely a coincidence, the police arrested Josh, Randy, and several other protest leaders on suspicion of being involved in the robbery.

Meanwhile, Fisk and his men had already reached one of his hideouts.

After securing the tablet in a safe, Fisk returned to the main room.

“Boss, I don't understand. Why'd we slow down? Why make it so easy for Spider-Man to follow us?” Louis asked.

“Because I want him to find me,” Fisk said coldly. “Why waste time hunting the wall-crawler when I can make him come to me instead? Tonight, I remove him from the board permanently.”

Louis hesitated. “The web-slinger is tricky, boss.”

Fisk slowly turned toward him. “Are you saying he can defeat me?”

“Of course not, boss,” Louis said quickly.

“Keep your eyes open,” Fisk told his men. “Spider-Man will be here any minute.”

As if on cue, a window shattered.

The moment Spider-Man came through the window, Fisk's men opened fire. His spider-sense screamed, and he flipped over the first volley, a web snapping out to yank one gunman's pistol from his hand. Another web glued two men's weapons to the floor. Seconds later, the first gangster hit the wall while another found himself hanging upside down from the ceiling.

“Let’s drop the guns, gentlemen,” Spider-Man said playfully as he snatched a pistol from yet another goon with his web. “They’re liable to give you calloused trigger fingers.”

Fisk watched his men fall one after another. He'd expected it, but that did little to improve his mood.

“Long time no see, KP.” Spider-Man turned toward him. “Sorry I've been neglecting you. Your cheerleading squad was surprisingly enthusiastic, though.”

“Laugh while you can, wall-crawler.” Fisk cracked his knuckles. “Let's see how much you laugh when I crush your neck with my bare hands.”

Spider-Man darted forward and threw a restrained punch. Fisk's hand shot up and caught his wrist. To Spider-Man's surprise, Fisk's grip didn't immediately give when he tried to pull free. Fisk bared his teeth in a grin and hurled Spider-Man toward the wall.

Spider-Man twisted in midair and slammed back-first into the wall hard enough to crack the plaster.

‘Okay. Definitely not just a fat guy in a suit,’ Spider-Man thought as he got up.

“Look at you. A puny parody of a superhero.” Fisk laughed.

Fisk charged. This time, Spider-Man didn't meet strength with strength. He ducked beneath Fisk's grasp, caught him, and used the big man's own momentum to send him crashing into the same wall.

Spider-Man had only gotten his powers a few months ago. Until now, his overwhelming strength, speed, spider-sense, and agility had been enough to carry him through most fights. He'd never needed much technique.

Fisk was different. He was strong enough that Peter couldn't simply dismiss his attacks, and unlike most of the thugs Spider-Man had fought, Fisk knew exactly how to use every pound of his massive body.

However, the difference in their basic physical abilities was too great. And skill could only bridge so much of the gap.

Fisk swung again.

Spider-Man slipped aside.

This time, he didn't answer with another halfhearted tap.

His fist buried itself in Fisk's solar plexus.

The air was forced from Fisk's lungs. For the first time since the fight began, the giant man's expression changed completely. His knees buckled, and he folded around Spider-Man's fist before crashing to the floor.

Spider-Man left Fisk behind and went looking for the tablet.

He eventually found the vault, though calling it secure in the conventional sense would have been generous. There was no lock, keypad, or combination—just an absurdly heavy reinforced steel door. Anyone strong enough to move the door could open it. Of course, there weren't many people in New York who could. Coincidentally, Spider-Man happened to be one of them.

Meanwhile, the cops who were tracking Fisk finally arrived at the hideout and arrested him and his men. 

“Where's the tablet, Fisk?” one of the detectives demanded.

“There is no tablet here.” Fisk smiled mysteriously.

“Stop playing games, Fisk,” the detective snapped.

“But I’m not lying,” Fisk said. “Spider-Man has the tablet. I don’t know where he has taken it, but I’m sure he’ll come back to free me.”

“I knew it,” the detective said. “Jameson was right. We shouldn’t trust these masked freaks. That wall-crawler is nothing more than a criminal hiding behind the guise of a vigilante.”

“Easy, partner,” the other detective said calmly. “Fisk’s word isn’t evidence. We don’t know if Spider-Man had anything to do with the robbery.”

The first detective snorted. Because of his prejudice against masked vigilantes, he was more willing to believe Fisk than Spider-Man.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man retrieved the tablet and left the building through a window. He had already heard the police sirens, so he assumed that Fisk and his men were in custody by now.

Tablet in hand, Spider-Man, who was on the building’s wall, called out to a couple of officers standing near a patrol car. “Hey, guys! I've got something for you.”

Instead of the welcome he'd expected, the officers immediately tensed.

“It’s Spider-Man,” a cop said, pointing to him. “He’s here to free Kingpin.”

The cops quickly drew their weapons and pointed at him.

“Spider-Man, get on the ground and surrender,” a cop shouted.

“Watch out, there’s something in his hand,” another cop shouted hurriedly. “He’s gonna throw it at us.”

“Wha—” Spider-Man couldn’t complete that thought as his spider sense suddenly flared. He jumped to a nearby building as a bullet cracked past the spot where he had been standing.

“That was a warning shot, Spider-Man,” the cop shouted, his gun still trained on the wall-crawler. “Surrender, or the next shot won’t miss.”

One look at the guns trained on him told Peter that nobody was interested in explanations right now.

He was getting tired of this. No matter how many people he helped, there always seemed to be someone ready to assume the worst of him.

For now, it was better to leave and figure out another way to return the tablet.

Before the officers could stop him, Spider-Man fired a webline and swung away into the distance, the tablet still tucked securely under one arm.

*********************

Kevin’s Latest Status:

Name: Kevin Kolt

Rank: E2

Titles:

Third-rate Warrior

Apprentice Mage

Apprentice Order Mage

Novice Eromancy Mage

Attributes:

Strength: E1

Agility: E1

Constitution: F3

Endurance: E1

Vitality: E1

Intelligence: E1

Wisdom: E1

Perception: E1

Willpower: E2

Charisma: E3

Passive Skills:

Gamer’s Mind

Gamer’s Body

Observe

Second Wind

Driving (Expert)

Martial Arts (Apprentice)

First Aid (Adept)

Stealth (Expert)

Acting (Adept)

Silver Tongue (Adept)

Firearms (Expert)

Programming (Adept)

Throwing (Apprentice)

Parkour (Apprentice)

Danger Sense (Apprentice)

Dagger Mastery (Apprentice)

Sword Mastery (Apprentice)

Active Skills:

Brutal Strike (Apprentice)

Mark of the Hunter (Apprentice)

Curved Bullet (Apprentice)

Bullet Time (Apprentice)

Rapid Casting (Apprentice)

Mana Manipulation (Apprentice)

Magic:

Order Magic (Apprentice)

Eromancy Magic (Novice)

Martial Arts:

Rankyaku (Novice)

Tekkei (Novice)

Soru (Novice)

Kami-e (Novice)

Geppo (Novice)

Shigan (Novice)

Azure Dragon Sundering Cloud Sword Art (Novice)

Gunkata (Apprentice)

Main Missions:

Trial by Blood (Not Yet Started)

Party Members (5/7):

Frances Barrison

Felicia Hardy

Jessica Jones

Kara Killgrave

Wendy Wilson