Cindy was sick.
This was something that genuinely caught Peter off guard. Ever since he had been bitten by the radioactive spider, it felt as though he had completely parted ways with the word "sick." Even back when he wasn't yet accustomed to fighting and would end up with broken bones all over his body, all he needed was a good night's sleep or two to fully recover.
Therefore, when he heard the news of Cindy falling ill, he was indeed quite shocked. After pondering for a moment, he decided to go pay her a visit.
"According to Fury, Cindy just has a common cold and a fever, and a doctor has already seen her—though it's hard to say whether it was a regular family doctor, a hospital doctor, or a S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor. The last one feels especially untrustworthy."
Peter thought to himself as he swung from a web line. Nearby, JJJ was broadcasting new updates regarding the Roxxon-Stark war: "According to the latest reports, the war between Roxxon and Stark is no longer confined to the mere pricing of electricity. Tony Stark has announced that he will host the Stark New Energy Tech Expo this December, where he will demonstrate the full advantages of new energy and new electricity, and explain why Roxxon's historical garbage will be swept into the trash bin of history. Ha! Classic Stark big talk, as always."
"I'm glad your attention isn't on Spider-Man right now, Jonah; you look much more pleasant and kind this way. Uncle Ben always says that being angry is bad for your health, I really hope you can take that to heart."
Swinging on his web, Peter landed near a bookstore. Initially, he had planned to bring some food for Cindy, but then he realized he truly had no idea what she liked to eat.
He had even, in a moment of utter madness, sent a text to Fury to ask, only for Fury to leave him on read—presumably because Fury didn't know how to reply to that either.
So, in addition to some fruits, Peter planned to bring two books for Cindy. At the very least, he still knew what genre of books she enjoyed.
When he stepped inside the bookstore, he noticed that the television inside was also broadcasting news about the Roxxon-Stark war, and quite surprisingly, it was actually a serious news segment.
"Latest update: Tony Stark has acquired a stake in Marvel Comics Company, buying up 65% of the company's shares. The company is one of the earliest comic book publishers in the United States and the second-largest comic copyright company in the nation. It once obtained the comic book licensing rights for Captain America during World War II, and later secured comic rights for IPs including Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian, and Transformers, as well as the rights to adapt the adventures of the Fantastic Four into comics back in '03."
"According to currently available sources, following Tony Stark's acquisition of Marvel, the company will launch a series of Avengers comics. Whether unresolved mysteries such as Spider-Man's true identity will be revealed has currently become a matter of widespread public interest."
Peter blanked for a moment. He really hadn't expected Earth-616 to actually have a Marvel Company. Although they weren't drawing superheroes anymore, they seemed to be doing pretty well for themselves.
"So this business war has escalated from a price war to a war of public relations and propaganda? Talk about intense."
Peter muttered as he bought two books. Hearing his words, the bookstore owner nodded quite in agreement and chimed in, "Who cares? Right now, I can save a chunk on my electricity bill every month, which adds up to a lot of money in a year. It's a good thing they're fighting. As long as they don't try to reclaim those electricity fees after the fact, it's all the same to me."
"Maybe once they finish fighting, the electricity rates will just stay right where they are now."
The bookstore owner watched Peter leave with a look that seemed to pity the naivety of the youth. Clutching the book bag in his hand, Peter found a deserted corner completely devoid of surveillance cameras, completed a one-second costume change, and quickly took off. He knew exactly where Cindy's house was, so heading straight there was easy enough.
Not too far away, sirens began to wail. Peter immediately swung over, spotting a swarm of police cars pursuing someone in the distance. He promptly patched into the police network.
"Let's see... Woah, Blizzard Shooter. And he's carrying automatic weapons, that's pretty dangerous for the cops, better go check it out."
Peter closed in rapidly, intending to intervene, but he suddenly came to a halt. The road-raging Blizzard Shooter had been intercepted by Power Man Luke Cage, who had blindsided the criminal. Braving the enemy's hail of bullets, Luke used his own body to plow head-on into the oncoming vehicle, causing the entire car to flip into the air.
It looked like his help wasn't needed after all. After a brief thought, Peter fired a web line and continued his journey toward Cindy's house.
Consequently, he heard JJJ's roaring voice again along the way.
"Citizens! Are you aware of the latest news?! Tony Stark has acquired Marvel Comics and has even demanded they release a set of Avengers comic books! Haha! We are finally going to find out exactly who that wretched bug really is! Of course, he might be using a fake identity or a fake name, but it doesn't matter! We are going to see exactly what kind of attitude the Avengers have toward Spider-Man!"
Peter sighed helplessly. Whenever Spider-Man was involved, JJJ would start lashing out like a madman. Granted, the JJJ of this universe was already considered one of the better ones.
Peter didn't bother wasting energy on him. He located a supermarket, bought some fruits for Cindy, and then took to the webs again, arriving at Cindy's front door without wasting much time.
Peter knocked on the door of Cindy's house. Moments later, Cindy's father, whom he had crossed paths with once before, opened the door and greeted him with a smile. "Hello, how can I help you..."
"Oh, I'm Peter Parker, a classmate of Cindy's." Knowing that Cindy's parents had absolutely no idea who was behind his mask, Peter nodded and explained his visit. "I'm here to visit Cindy."
"Oh, wonderful. Please, come on in."
Peter followed Cindy's father into the house, which didn't seem to have changed at all since the time the Scorpion caused a massive scene here.
Wait, it hadn't changed at all?
In an instant, Peter began to feel suspicious. The incident with the Scorpion previously had been an incredibly severe provocation against S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence network, yet Cindy's home looked no different than it did before they ever encountered the Scorpion?
Peter activated the imaging display of his nano-suit, and the target instantly became clear. These family members of Cindy's weren't actually her real family at all; they were LMDs, and rather older models of LMDs at that, not the advanced ones Fury had given him previously to mimic Elektra.
In other words, Cindy was currently sick, but the so-called family members staying by her side weren't even real humans. Peter froze in stunned silence for a brief moment, before shaking his head.
On the other side of the room, Cindy's "father" introduced Peter to her "mother," and subsequently relayed the news of Peter's arrival to Cindy. Peter caught the sound of a voice, and was subsequently invited in by the LMD.
"Alright, the child is resting in her room."
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