"Let me in!!!"
"Miss, you don't have the authority for that."
"PETER, SAVE MEEEEE!!"
Gwen was crying, clinging to my leg while the police tried to pull her off.
She really had no shame...
"Gwen, I'll be out in a bit, just wait—"
"No!"
"If you're good, I'll—"
"No no no!"
Why was she so stubborn today??
"Miss! If you want in, you needs a Stark Industries badge. You can't just assume it's okay because he works there!" The officer said it so logically—rare for America.
I hoped he'd keep up the good work and get promoted.
"NOOOOO!!!"
"Come on, Gwen..." I sighed, patting her head.
Then I handed her my phone.
"?" Gwen took it, looking confused.
"The password is my birth year. There's not much on it, but... do whatever you want, just don't break it."
"Really?!"
"Yeah."
"Awesome! I'll brag to everyone that I get to use Peter's phone! Hierarchical relationship!!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Officer, please... watch this girl. She's a bit dumb and crazy..."
"Uh... I'm used to it."
...Why did it feel like he'd dealt with worse than her?
"Remember, okay? Be good, Gwen!"
She nodded furiously, already tapping away at the phone.
A kid trapped in an adult's body... That phrase really fits her.
I entered the police station and headed to where Mr. Stark had told me.
Opening the door, I saw a few people examining evidence from the crime scene. They greeted me when I arrived.
"You're the kid Mr. Stark mentioned, right? Nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
I walked over to the small evidence bags.
"Please don't touch; we don't want to lose fingerprints."
"Got it."
There were only two items in front of me—pretty sparse.
"Actually, there were five pieces, but three tested irrelevant, so just these two are suspicious."
A strand of hair and a syringe.
Hair?
"This hair came from the victim's daughter."
"So can you tell me what's the problem with it? If you don't want to said anything then It's alright."
"You're so polite. This strand would've been discarded... if it wasn't so hard."
Hard?
"What do you mean?"
"Wait—Jared! Do the thing!"
"The thing?"
"Yes! The thing!"
"Okay!"
Jared came over with an axe.
"??"
Confused, I watched him place the hair on the table and swing the axe down hard.
Then he picked it up and showed me.
The hair was fine... but the axe was cracked.
"...Diamond?"
"Not diamond-hard, but incredibly tough."
What the hell was going on?
"This is extremely anti-scientific... until I remember Mr. Stark made a suit with even more anti-scientific features."
"So this thing... why is it like that?"
"Not sure, but I can tell you one thing." He looked at me.
"It reminds me of the war against the Nazis. Back then, Captain America used to glue his hair together and turn it into an amazing assassination weapon."
That sounded ridiculous.
"Anyway, those were dark times. Cap killed Nazis like it was nothing—like a bloodthirsty beast."
Really? I thought Cap was a pacifist. What else is the government hiding?
"Alright, what about this?" I pointed at the syringe.
"This one... it's likely the reason the hair is so tough," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not entirely sure... but it contains a strange solution. It looks like... serum."
Serum?!
"But that's just my theory. The super-soldier serum formula was lost long ago, and this liquid has been altered—probably intentionally to avoid formula detection."
"..."
I had a bad feeling.
"Thanks for the info."
I stepped outside, lost in thought.
'No way... I don't want to believe it, but...'
Emma's hair and the serum.
Her hair had been enhanced.
Which means... she probably became a super-soldier.
That sounded okay—even cool. Emma now had Cap-level strength.
But... the crime scene... Did she really brutally kill her own father?
I didn't want to believe it, but... I couldn't prove it wrong.
I walked out of the station and saw Gwen fighting the cop.
"SAY THAT AGAIN!! WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
"I JUST SAID I LIKE LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD MORE THAN ALICE IN WONDERLAND!!"
Oh great, she'd started another fight.
"WHAT?! YOU SAID YOU LIKE RED HOOD?! ANYONE WHO LIKES RED HOOD IS MY ENEMY! DIE, SHOCKER!!"
One punch to the head made Gwen clutch it and turn around.
"Peter..." She was about to cry.
"No hitting innocent people."
"But he likes Little Red Riding Hood more than Alice in Wonderland! I can't accept that!"
"You asked for his opinion. Anyway, I like the Three Little Pigs better."
"Then those three pigs are my dinner!!"
I sighed and apologized to the officer.
Leaving Gwen alone meant chaos. Was this her personality, or was it Nya's influence?
[I don't claim her.]
So it was just her personality. That's rough.
"Alright, let's go, Gwen. I got the info."
Now I had to find Emma before something worse happened.
"Okay!"
"Sigh... I hope someone's looking out for me... Wish today wouldn't have any more bad luck—"
BOOM!!!
Rocks flew everywhere, flames burst out, and light exploded from behind like never before.
"..." Gwen and the officer froze.
I slowly turned around.
The police station... was engulfed in raging fire, heavily damaged.
"..."
I hate my luck.
***
Earlier...
"Honestly, whoever made this stuff is completely insane," he said, slipping on gloves and picking up the syringe.
"For real, Tim?"
"What else, Jared? I called it 'serum' to soften the blow. This thing's no different from a lethal poison; one injection and you're dead."
"Huh? Then why'd you lie to that kid?"
"Of course I didn't. It's poison, sure, but it's still a serum. No idea how, but if someone survives the toxin, they'll definitely turn into a super-soldier." Tim shook his head.
"I see..." Jared turned back to his work.
But then he spotted someone at the door. The glass was specially designed; only people close to it could be seen from inside.
"Who's there?"
Jared walked over and gently opened the door.
SLASH!
"!?" Tim jolted, eyes widening at the sound.
Jared, his colleague, had just been cleaved straight through the head with an axe.
"WHAT THE—?! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
Knives flew toward Tim, embedding in his arms, legs, and shoulder.
"Argh!"
He collapsed, staring in agony at the figure before him.
Slender build, hair down to their feet, wearing clothes completely wrong for the season.
Even so, he recognized the face.
"Y-You're—!"
"Say goodbye to your family."
A punch slammed into his face with such force his skull shattered and his eyes nearly popped out.
Tim was dead.
After killing both, the figure pulled out a gasoline can and poured it everywhere.
Then they took a match, struck it, and flicked it into the fuel.
Instantly, flames spread across the room.
The intruder's eyes glowed in the raging fire as they glanced toward the main entrance.
There, a young man had just walked out, talking to a blonde girl.
"..."
The figure slipped away.
Moments later, the station exploded.