5:00 PM.
New York City.
John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Captain George Stacy of the NYPD's 19th Precinct paced restlessly near the arrivals exit.
He felt like he was losing his mind.
After years of carefully raising his daughter, someone had finally shown up to steal her away.
And not just anyone.
Some random guy.
But that wasn't even the worst part.
From what George could tell, it seemed like his daughter had gone looking for the guy herself.
George still couldn't wrap his head around it.
Right now, only one thought dominated his mind.
He wanted to shoot the idiot responsible.
At that moment, passengers from a flight arriving from Maryland began exiting the terminal.
George stopped pacing and took a deep breath as he focused on the doorway.
Then he saw them.
And his breathing instantly sped up again.
Jesus Christ.
There was his daughter.
Walking out of the terminal.
Holding hands with some tall, handsome—
George's face darkened instantly.
The people waiting nearby seemed to feel the cold tension radiating from him. Several instinctively moved a few steps away.
Meanwhile, the couple approaching the exit felt the same chill.
Gwen turned her head toward the source.
Then she froze.
"Oh—shit. That's my dad."
She immediately let go of Lucas's hand.
Lucas Kane had already noticed him.
Standing near the exit was George Stacy, dressed in a black suit, radiating the unmistakable authority of a veteran police captain.
Their eyes met.
Lucas could clearly see the suspicion—and scrutiny—in George's gaze.
Which was understandable.
If Lucas had a daughter who disappeared without warning and then came back with some random guy…
Breaking that guy's legs would probably be the mild response.
Of course, in this scenario—
Lucas was the guy.
Fair enough.
Still, Lucas found himself slightly puzzled about how things had escalated to the point where he and Gwen were walking hand in hand.
His memory of the past few days felt oddly chaotic.
But one thing was clear.
He was happy.
Lucas had never ruled out the idea of dating.
Especially someone like Gwen Stacy.
But before his Cosmo Awakening, he never felt confident enough.
Now he did.
And that confidence would only grow stronger.
Especially once he gathered the materials he needed to forge the Phoenix Cloth—meteorite metal and vibranium from Wakanda.
For now, though—
Lucas walked calmly toward George.
Gwen had already hurried ahead and grabbed her father's arm.
Lucas stopped in front of him and extended his hand.
"Mr. Stacy. I'm Lucas Kane."
"Sorry for making you worry."
George didn't respond.
He didn't shake the hand either.
Instead, he simply glanced at Lucas once before turning to Gwen.
"Let's go," he said. "Your mother's waiting."
"Dad—!"
"It's fine," Lucas said gently.
He withdrew his hand without any sign of irritation.
"Go home with your father."
He understood George's reaction.
If George decided to punch him right now, Lucas would probably just dodge and let it go.
After all—
Lucas was technically the "wild boar" in this situation.
So he stepped aside and smiled at Gwen.
"See you later."
Then he nodded politely to George.
"Good evening, Mr. Stacy."
And walked away, leaving Gwen out of the awkward confrontation.
An hour later, Lucas returned to his apartment near Queensbridge Park.
He switched on the lights.
After more than twenty days away, he expected the place to be covered in dust.
Instead, everything looked clean.
Even the pair of shorts he had left hanging outside the window had been folded neatly and placed on the couch.
On top of the folded clothes sat an envelope.
Lucas picked it up.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
A recommendation from Curt Connors addressed to New York University.
Lucas blinked.
"Oh wow."
"That's… actually a big deal."
Connors had earned his doctorate from NYU, which meant the letter carried real weight.
In Western academia, recommendation letters were essentially professional favors.
They opened doors.
If Lucas had received this before awakening his Cosmo, he would have been ecstatic.
Now?
It mattered less.
Lucas still planned to attend school.
But his outlook had changed.
If things worked out, great.
If they didn't…
He had already glimpsed a far larger future.
Still, the gesture deserved appreciation.
Lucas flipped the envelope over.
Gwen had written Connors's phone number on the back.
He reached for his phone—
Then laughed when he saw the dead screen.
Right.
Twenty days without charging it.
Lucas plugged the phone into a charger in his bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed while it powered up.
As he waited, he noticed something.
The photo frame on his nightstand had been moved slightly.
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
He adjusted it back into its usual position—angled toward the pillow.
He slept on his side.
Positioned like this, there was about a seventy-percent chance that the photo would be the first thing he saw when he woke up.
Perfect.
His phone finished booting.
Lucas dialed.
The call connected quickly.
"This is Curt—"
"Dr. Connors, it's Lucas Kane."
Lucas explained that he had been traveling recently and had only just returned, which was why he hadn't seen the letter sooner.
Connors sounded pleased.
They chatted briefly.
Then Lucas asked casually, "You sound pretty happy, Doctor. Did an experiment finally work?"
Connors laughed.
"Not yet," he said. "But one of my test subjects is giving me real hope."
Lucas smiled.
"Well, congratulations in advance."
"Thanks. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work."
"Of course. Have a good evening, Doctor."
The line clicked off.