Dr. Connors thought Peter was trembling in anger.
Gwen thought Peter was trembling in sorrow.
Only Tobey knew the truth. Peter was just incredibly anxious and socially awkward.
Unlike the canon timeline, where Peter stumbled upon his father's hidden briefcase much later in his life, Tobey's presence as a butterfly in this universe had subtly shifted several events.
One of those changes was the timing of Peter receiving his father's belongings.
With Tobey—a cousin exactly his age—by his side growing up, Peter hadn't suffered the profound isolation he experienced in the original story. Consequently, his personality was much more resilient and optimistic.
Because of this, Ben hadn't felt the need to hide Richard's belongings out of fear it would trigger Peter's trauma.
Instead, years ago, Ben had simply handed Richard's old briefcase over to Peter.
Thanks to the documents and photos hidden inside the briefcase's lining, Peter had long known that his father and Dr. Connors were close colleagues and friends.
This was precisely why Peter had developed such a strong childhood interest in Dr. Connors, idolizing his work in cross-species genetics.
As far as Tobey could tell, Peter's extreme desperation to attend this Q and A session wasn't just to meet his idol. It was to personally ask Dr. Connors about his father's past work.
Sure enough, when Peter finally raised his head, there was no anger in his eyes. Instead, he looked at Dr. Connors with an expression of profound embarrassment and guilt.
"No, Dr. Connors, I'm the one who should be apologizing. This was a project you and my father shared. Because of what happened to him, you've been trapped working on this alone. I should be the one apologizing on his behalf."
Dr. Connors stared blankly at the teenager.
"You don't blame me?"
Peter awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"You didn't do anything wrong. Why would I blame you? My father died in a tragic accident. That had nothing to do with you."
Dr. Connors felt as though a heavy weight had suddenly slammed into his chest. He looked at Peter, completely speechless.
He had spent his life wrapped in the pride of being the world's foremost authority on cross-species genetics. Yet, when it came to emotional maturity, he was apparently vastly inferior to two young kids.
Richard... not only were you brilliant, but you raised an extraordinary son, and you have an extraordinary nephew...
Seeing Dr. Connors lost in his thoughts, Peter suddenly pointed toward a large chalkboard mounted on the lab wall.
"Dr. Connors? May I borrow that for a second?"
"Please. Be my guest."
Although Dr. Connors had no idea what Peter intended to do, he was completely disarmed by his own guilt and agreed immediately.
With permission granted, Peter grabbed a piece of chalk and began rapidly writing on the board.
Standing behind him, Dr. Connors watched the sprawling algorithm take shape. The longer he looked, the more intensely familiar it became.
He recognized it almost immediately.
It was the decay rate algorithm for the reptilian cellular regeneration serum.
The exact formula he had spent ten grueling years trying to solve, only to fail time and time again.
Yet now, in less than a single minute, Peter had written out the complete, flawless algorithm, effortlessly surpassing a decade of Connors's agonizing labor.
"This... this is..."
Dr. Connors's voice trembled violently with uncontrollable excitement.
Tap.
With a final, sharp tap of the chalk against the board, Peter finished the equation. He turned back to Dr. Connors and nodded.
"That's it. That is the final decay rate algorithm for the lizard regeneration serum. My father actually finished it before the accident... he just never got the chance to give it to you."
Dr. Connors slowly walked up to the chalkboard. He stared at the completed algorithm that had haunted his nightmares for a decade, his eyes swirling with complex emotions.
"Richard," he murmured softly. "It has been ten entire years, and yet you still managed to teach me one final lesson. You brilliant bastard..."
After a long, emotional sigh, the flames of scientific hope reignited in Dr. Connors's eyes. He spun around to look at Gwen.
"Gwen, could I ask you a massive favor? Please go tell the interns that a critical, time-sensitive research development has occurred. I have to postpone the Q and A indefinitely. Can you take over and guide them through the rest of the tour?"
Gwen naturally understood that with a decade-long scientific blockade finally broken, Dr. Connors had absolutely zero interest in giving a basic lecture to college students. She immediately agreed.
Next, Dr. Connors turned to Peter, a warm, inviting smile on his face.
"Peter. Would you be interested in taking your father's place? Will you help me finish this monumental research?"
Peter pointed at himself, his face a mixture of shock and overwhelming joy.
"Me? Really? Are you serious?"
"Absolutely," Dr. Connors replied smoothly. "I'll immediately register you as an official laboratory assistant. You'll even be on the payroll."
Hearing this, Peter's neck flushed bright red with excitement. He wanted to scream 'yes' right on the spot.
But before he officially agreed, he quickly turned to Tobey.
"Tobey? Is this okay?"
He hadn't forgotten that Uncle Ben and Aunt May had strictly forbidden him from taking any part-time jobs so he could focus on his studies.
But if Tobey gave him the green light, he knew Tobey would easily be able to talk the old couple into letting him do it.
Tobey replied in a flat, even tone.
"It is your life. You make your own decisions. Just remember, whatever you choose, I will always be standing right behind you."
Peter entirely missed the deeper, darker implication behind Tobey's words. Assuming it was a standard vote of confidence, Peter eagerly turned back to Dr. Connors. The two of them immediately dove headfirst into analyzing the regeneration serum.
Tobey shook his head faintly. Deciding not to disturb them, he walked out of the laboratory with Gwen.
Although the original plan of physically leading Peter to the super-spiders had hit a snag, it didn't really matter.
He was planning to steal a batch of the super-spiders anyway. He could just take an extra one home and find a chance to let it bite Peter later.
The end result would be exactly the same.
Once out of the lab, Tobey used the classic "I need to use the restroom" excuse. Instead of following Gwen to the intern orientation, he slipped away entirely.
Once alone, Tobey navigated the halls of Oscorp Tower with practiced ease, heading straight for the super-spider incubation lab.
Since he had planned to steal the spiders today, he obviously hadn't come unprepared.
Just yesterday, he had tasked Kingpin's intelligence network with acquiring Oscorp's structural blueprints, along with the genetic pattern passcode for the incubation lab.
After expertly evading several high-risk security cameras, Tobey soon arrived at the heavily secured super-spider facility.
Using the stolen genetic pattern code, he effortlessly bypassed the biometric lock and strolled right inside.
According to Kingpin's intel, there were absolutely no internal security cameras inside the incubation room itself, so he had nothing to worry about.
Inside the massive glass enclosures, the genetically modified spiders created by Richard Parker continued to thrive.
Because Richard had locked their genetic coding specifically to his own DNA, Oscorp had been entirely unable to replicate their true abilities. The corporation could only harvest their ultra-resilient bio-cable webbing, completely cut off from the true power locked inside the spiders' venom.