Chapter 372: Teacher Klein Arrives!
Peter's lip twitched. Of all people Toomes could have chosen, he chose Silas. Didn't he know that Silas was the strongest one in the Parker family?
"How about it? Scared?" Toomes chuckled deviously, finally feeling like he had found Spider-Man's Achilles' heel.
"What are you going to do?" Peter asked curiously.
"What am I going to do?" Toomes patted Peter's shoulder. "That depends entirely on your performance."
"I hope nothing happens to you, Mr. Toomes," Peter said before turning and walking away without a second thought.
He left Toomes standing in the living room, completely baffled. What just happened? Wasn't I the one threatening him?
"Is he not Spider-Man?" Toomes started to doubt his own deduction. But then he thought of the video footage—it couldn't be fake.
Outside
Please be more careful in the future, Peter. Peter checked his phone and saw a message from Gaia.
Sorry, sorry! I wasn't paying attention this time, Peter quickly replied.
When he first stepped out, Peter suspected Toomes might have eyes around the neighborhood, so he had Gaia scan for nearby surveillance devices. Sure enough, the area was saturated with Toomes's cameras. To prevent his identity from leaking, Peter had Gaia hack the systems to find and delete any footage of himself.
Gaia had indeed found the video of him gliding down. No wonder Toomes was so certain. But now that Gaia had scrubbed the files, Peter didn't have to worry about his secret identity being exposed for the time being.
"Peter, why did it take you so long to get your phone?" Gwen teased as he finally caught up.
"Sorry, I got caught in a chat with Mr. Toomes," Peter gave her a sheepish smile and hurried to Silas's side.
"What's up?" Silas knew Peter had something to say.
Peter hesitated, then whispered, "You might need to get involved in my next move."
"Action? What action?" Silas asked, puzzled. Hadn't he said he wasn't going to get involved with the Vulture? Besides, he was busy helping Tony and Wanda.
"Don't worry, someone will come looking for you soon," Peter said, playing it mysterious. Since Silas was so strong, Peter figured he wouldn't mind a little extra work.
"You're being incredibly vague," Silas noted.
"What are you two whispering about?" Felicia asked, leaning in.
"Nothing, just daily stuff," Peter explained quickly before heading back to Gwen's side.
Felicia looked at Silas skeptically. "Is that true, Silas?"
"What do you think?" Silas countered.
"I don't believe you," Felicia stated.
"Fine by me," Silas shrugged. Felicia felt like she was going to go crazy—he asks her if she believes him, she answers, and it changes nothing!
Night
After a full day of fun, Silas and Peter returned to Queens.
"Bedtime. We've still got three days of vacation left," Peter said at his bedroom door.
"Hold on. An old acquaintance has been waiting for us in my room for quite a while," Silas said, stopping Peter.
"Waiting for us?" Peter was surprised.
Silas opened his door to reveal two glowing red lantern-like eyes in the dark. Click! The lights came on, revealing the visitor.
"Teacher Klein?!" Peter gasped.
"Long time no see, Peter, Silas," Klein chuckled.
At night, he naturally reverted to his monstrous form. However, he looked different now. Previously, Klein had looked like a giant insect. Now, he had evolved into a more humanoid shape. His arms featured serrated scythes that could retract at will. His head was encased in a hard shell, leaving only his large compound eyes and a retractable mandible visible. A pair of meter-long green wings grew from his back, and his beastly fur had been replaced entirely by a chitinous exoskeleton.
If Silas hadn't warned him, Peter might have screamed "Monster!"
"Teacher Klein, how did you change so much?" Peter asked, quickly closing the door. Silas was also curious; he hadn't kept tabs on Klein for a year.
"It's a long story." Klein rubbed his stomach sheepishly. "Actually, I'm here to scavenge some food, Silas."
Silas's lip twitched. He didn't expect Klein's first request to be for a snack, but that was an easy fix. He clapped his hands, and a group of Shadow Ninjas appeared, carrying steaming plates of Chinese cuisine. They had simply taken a dish from various restaurants across the city—fresh and hot.
"Thank you." Klein wasted no time, grabbing a roast duck and chewing with his insectoid mandibles.
"Smells great~" Peter couldn't resist joining in.
What was supposed to be a reunion turned into a midnight feast. Between bites, Klein explained his transformation.
"I discovered that my body can devour various animals to trigger evolutions. I went into the deep forests to hunt, and slowly, I became this," Klein explained.
"Cool~ Evolution," Peter's eyes sparkled. It was just like playing Ark: Evolved—another global hit game released by Parker Industries.
"I didn't expect to end up like this, but it's much more convenient to move around now," Klein said, stretching his arms. He was smaller than his previous form but far more agile. His strength and speed had both increased dramatically.
"By the way, Teacher, I heard you resigned?" Peter asked.
"Yes. They didn't need me there anymore," Klein said, extending a sharp claw. "But society does. My mother and I are living in Hell's Kitchen now, dealing with the punks who don't know any better."
"That's awesome! We can fight side-by-side again," Peter said excitedly.
"Of course, Peter. But actually, I need a favor." Klein got to the point. "I heard your Uncle Ben is the lead maintenance supervisor for Parker Industries' machinery, right?"
"Yeah, that's right," Peter nodded.
"I'd like to get a job at Parker Industries. Life costs money, as you know," Klein sighed. Even superheroes with special powers were just regular people who needed a paycheck once they took off the mask.
"Well..." Peter hesitated. "I'll do my best, Teacher, but I don't really know how things work inside the company."
"Thank you so much, Peter!" Klein gripped Peter's hand. He just needed a foot in the door.
Silas smiled to himself. Little did they know that the actual owner of Parker Industries was sitting right next to them.
"Why Parker Industries?" Peter asked.
"Their employee benefits are legendary," Klein grinned. It was true—Parker Industries was known as the best company to work for, especially for entry-level and blue-collar staff.
"Actually, I want to join too," Peter admitted. He planned to intern at the Parker Industries News Department over the summer.
"That's great, Peter. I think Parker Industries might even surpass Stark Industries soon," Klein praised.
If Tony Stark heard that, he'd probably lose his mind.
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