I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 71: Who Is Spider-Woman? (Patreon)

Thompson gave it some thought, then turned to Harley. "If being a superhero takes money... Wait, Harley, are you Spider-Woman?"

For two seconds, nobody said a word. Harley glanced down at her chest and muttered bitterly, "I wish."

"Well, Oscorp Tower certainly has plenty of advanced technology," Gwen said. "Osborn Enterprises is one of the world's leaders in cutting-edge research!"

No wonder so many people dreamed of working there. An Oscorp job practically guaranteed wealth, prestige, status, and a promising future.

Only Peter knew that some truly terrifying supervillains and superheroes would also come out of that place.

Osborn Enterprises had produced enough monsters to field an entire soccer team.

"Anyway, tomorrow we're going to the Daily Bugle to pitch our wildly popular comic and see if we can make some money," Peter said.

"Can I come?" Thompson immediately asked. He loved The New Batman, and he'd gladly do whatever he could to put it in front of more readers.

"Sure, Thompson. Just don't expect it to be exciting," Peter said. "Then the day after that, I need to get my car repaired. The sooner it's running again, the better. The modifications can wait.

"Over the following couple of days, maybe we can hang around school, read, goof off, and get some work done on the school paper. You haven't forgotten we're still on the newspaper staff, have you?"

"Give me a break, Peter. I'm exhausted," Gwen groaned. "I've got a performance this weekend, and it's my debut! You heard the ultimatum Mary Jane gave me. I can't miss another rehearsal this week."

"And keep Sunday free," Peter added. "We agreed to go fishing, assuming I manage to fix the car."

"You forgot you're supposed to help Dr. Otto, too."

"Oh, God, Gwen. Please don't remind me."

Harley watched them trade complaints, speechless. "How do you two have so much to do?"

"It's called having a full life," Peter said. "Still, I'd prefer it if nothing else unexpected happened. You know, Harley, I really don't want to run into a giant lizard every day. That can't be a good omen."

"Same here. I'd rather New York stay nice and peaceful," Gwen agreed.

"I thought it was awesome," Thompson said. "Was it some prehistoric creature, or something that mutated?"

"Who cares? It's over, and that's what matters." Peter waved the question away.

Knock, knock, knock!

A sudden knock interrupted their conversation.

"Come in," Harley called.

Martha poked her head through the doorway. When she spotted Peter, she asked, "Peter? Do you have a minute?"

"Oh, sure." Peter turned to Harley. "Could you keep an eye on the stove? She's our new tenant. Probably something wrong with the room."

"I'll come help," Gwen offered.

"All right." Harley shrugged and headed into the kitchen.

Peter and Gwen followed Martha to the Connors' room. Curt looked distinctly nervous.

"Otto told me Norma is looking for me," he said.

"Norma? She's trying to find you?" Peter asked.

"Yes. She asked Otto whether he had any way to contact me. He found somewhere safe to reach me and check how I was doing."

Peter and Gwen exchanged a glance. "And what do you want to do?"

"I... I don't know what she's after. Maybe she wants compensation, or something else entirely." Connors rubbed his head. "This is giving me a terrible headache."

After a moment, he added, "Perhaps I should meet her."

"That isn't safe, Curt," Martha said, her voice full of concern.

"But we can't hide here forever, Martha. I've already caused Peter and Gwen more than enough trouble. I want to at least try."

"Dr. Connors, do you still have enough inhibitor?" Peter asked.

"Of course. There's enough to last quite a while."

"Then what if you administered it slowly? Keep the dosage just high enough to hold you right at the brink of transforming. If there's any danger, stop the flow."

"And then... I'd turn into that monster," Connors said.

"Which would keep you from being helpless, whatever happens," Gwen pointed out. "You could even wear a timer that automatically gives you another injection after a set interval, so the transformation stops."

"Too risky. Once I transform, I might smash the injector without even realizing it," Connors replied. "But you've given me an idea. I could put the inhibitor in a capsule and calculate exactly how long its coating would take to dissolve."

Nobody knew why Norma wanted to see Connors. Still, that precaution might give him a way to escape if the meeting went badly.

"When do you think we should do it?" Connors asked.

"Tonight," Peter said with a resigned sigh. "I've got plenty to do tomorrow. Once I've finished making dinner, I'll give you remote technical support, Dr. Connors."

"Then I'll contact Spider-Woman," Gwen said.

"Oh, you can still get hold of her? I thought she'd only given me her contact information."

"Uh, she was worried she might not be able to reach you," Gwen improvised quickly. "And she thinks I'm a pretty great girl, too."

"She isn't wrong," Peter agreed with a nod.

"Thank you, both of you," Connors said earnestly.

Peter finished preparing dinner upstairs, then came up with an excuse to leave. After eating, Gwen changed into her suit, locked her bedroom, and slipped out.

She crawled along the corridor until she spotted Peter waiting in the alley below. Then she lowered herself on a strand of web and came to a stop directly in front of him, hanging upside down.

"Hi, Peter."

"Whoa!" Peter nearly jumped out of his skin. "I thought... uh... Good evening, Spider-Woman."

"All right, Gwen explained everything. We just have to keep an eye on Connors, right?"

"That's all. Doesn't hanging like that get tiring?"

"Not at all."

Peter nodded and glanced a little higher. "You know, I think a chest binder might be a good idea."

Gwen froze. A moment later, she realized what he was getting at. Hanging upside down could give someone a rather revealing view if there was enough to see.

"You pervert! I'm telling Gwen!" Spider-Woman dropped to the ground and covered her chest with both hands.

"Whoa, hey, don't get mad," Peter said. "You've got a nice figure, haven't you? Besides, telling Gwen won't accomplish anything. She's not my girlfriend."

"Then I'll tell Mary Jane!"