Because of Oscorp's inability to extract the true power from Richard Parker's genetically modified Araneus Oscorpeus spiders, the incubation lab was essentially functioning as an industrial silk farm.
The entire room was absolutely covered in ultra-resilient bio-cable webbing.
Tobey let out a cold scoff.
In his eyes, deciding to assassinate the lead scientist before fully cracking the genetic code behind the spiders was an act of supreme stupidity. Norman Osborn's inherited genetic disease must have completely rotted his brain.
Leaving these super-spiders in Oscorp's hands was a monumental waste!
More importantly, Oscorp had absolutely no right to possess the intellectual property of the Parker family.
A chilling light flashed in Tobey's eyes.
Pressing his left fingers against his right wrist, a faint thwip echoed through the room. Over a dozen strands of webbing—much thinner and more precise than his usual combat webs—shot out, perfectly enveloping a dozen super-spiders.
With a sharp pull of his wrist, the captured spiders were yanked back through the air. By the time they landed in his hand, they had been tightly bound into small web-spheres roughly the size of marbles.
Because he had intentionally left microscopic gaps in the webbing for airflow, Tobey wasn't worried about the spiders suffocating in the short term. He casually dropped the spheres into the deep pockets of his coat.
Next, Tobey fired a rapid succession of web balls toward the ceiling, precisely plugging every single fire suppression sprinkler in the room.
Finally, he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a custom-made incendiary grenade. It was housed in a specialized, non-metallic shell specifically designed to bypass corporate security scanners.
Using only his thumb, he casually popped the pin.
Clink. Clatter.
As the pin hit the floor, Tobey casually tossed the incendiary grenade into the center of the web-choked incubation room.
The moment the blinding white thermite flames made contact with the highly flammable bio-cable webbing, the fire erupted explosively. The blaze instantly spread across the entire room, turning the remaining super-spiders into ash.
Listening to the faint, high-pitched screeching of the burning arachnids, Tobey turned and walked out of the lab without a shred of emotion.
Oscorp did not deserve these spiders. And Tobey absolutely refused to let anyone else have them.
Even if the probability was astronomically low, he wasn't going to risk the chance that someone else might eventually crack the genetic lock and obtain Spider-Man's powers.
Therefore, every super-spider in the world that wasn't currently sitting in his pocket needed to be erased from existence.
The world needed Spider-Man, but it definitely didn't need an army of them.
By the time Tobey strolled out of the incubation sector, piercing fire alarms were already blaring throughout the entirety of Oscorp Tower.
Because he had neutralized the fire sprinklers, the blaze inside the lab had raged completely out of control. Having incinerated all the spiders, the fire was already beginning to spread into the adjacent corridors.
Tobey paid the chaos no mind. He casually blended into the panicked crowd of evacuating employees and interns.
Spotting Peter moving with the evacuating intern group, Tobey silently slipped up right behind his cousin.
He extracted one of the super-spiders from its web casing and discreetly dropped it straight down the collar of Peter's shirt.
He then vanished back into the crowd like a ghost.
A moment later, he appeared beside Gwen, who was anxiously looking around the chaotic lobby trying to find him.
Tobey wrapped his arm securely around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. Using his massive frame to effortlessly shield her from the frantic crowd, he forged a clear path toward the exit.
The moment Gwen breathed in the familiar, faint scent of wood-smoke clinging to Tobey's shirt, an overwhelming sense of safety washed over her.
She leaned her head against his broad chest, entirely willing to let him carry her out of the burning building.
And "carry" was quite literal. Because of their massive height difference, the moment Tobey wrapped his arm around her waist, he effortlessly lifted her off the ground. She didn't even have to take a single step.
By the time they emerged from Oscorp Tower into the fresh air, Gwen was practically intoxicated. She looked like a cat that had just huffed a massive pile of catnip.
Her face was flushed completely red, and she looked utterly unwilling to leave Tobey's embrace.
However, her romantic haze was abruptly broken when she spotted someone looking even more intoxicated than she was.
Peter.
Peter was currently crouched on the pavement, clutching his head in visible agony. Dr. Connors was standing beside him, looking completely panicked.
Seeing this, Gwen's dizzy, lovesick brain instantly cleared. She grabbed Tobey's hand and pulled him urgently toward the two.
"Oh my God! Dr. Connors, what happened to Peter?" Gwen asked, looking at Peter's dangerously flushed face in alarm.
Dr. Connors looked just as confused and anxious.
"I have absolutely no idea! Peter and I had just started running simulations on the new algorithm when the emergency evacuation alarms went off. We evacuated with everyone else."
"But halfway down the stairs, Peter suddenly yelled in pain. A few minutes later, he started acting incredibly disoriented and complained of severe dizziness. I was just about to call for an ambulance."
Hearing this, Tobey stepped in and gently pushed Dr. Connors's phone down. He reached down with one hand and effortlessly hoisted the semi-conscious Peter to his feet.
He shook his head calmly.
"It is too chaotic out here. With the fire, an ambulance might not be able to get through the traffic in time. I drove here. I will take Peter straight to the hospital myself. Don't worry."
Seeing Tobey take control with such calm authority, both Dr. Connors and Gwen let out a collective sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.
Since Tobey's Audi R8 was a strict two-seater, Dr. Connors and Gwen obviously couldn't go with them. They could only urge Tobey to call them the second he had an update on Peter's condition.
Tobey agreed immediately. Supporting his half-unconscious cousin, he walked Peter over to the R8 parked down the street and strapped him into the passenger seat.
However, once Tobey started the engine and drove off, he completely ignored his promise to take Peter to the hospital.
Instead, he drove straight back to Queens.
Tobey knew perfectly well that Peter wasn't sick.
His entire genetic structure was currently undergoing a violent, fundamental rewrite. No ordinary doctor on earth could diagnose or treat that.
And even if they could, Peter didn't need a cure.
This was not a tragedy. This was a divine ascension.
When Tobey carried the deeply unconscious Peter into the house, he noticed that Ben and May were not home.
It was the weekend, and they both had the day off.
Tobey figured the old man was probably out taking his brand-new Ford Raptor for a joyride with May riding shotgun.
They might not even come home until late tonight.
Which was perfect. It saved Tobey the headache of inventing a medical excuse to explain Peter's violently fluctuating fever to them.
After dropping Peter onto his bed and pulling the covers over him, Tobey left him alone.
There was nothing left to do but wait for Peter to finish his metamorphosis.
He would explain everything to the kid tomorrow morning.
Just as Tobey predicted, Ben and May had no intention of coming home early. Ben eventually called, telling Tobey that he and Peter would have to sort out dinner themselves, as the two of them were busy and wouldn't be back until the next morning.
Tobey hung up the phone, sincerely hoping the old couple wouldn't end up giving him a baby brother tonight.
Actually, the Ben and May of this universe weren't elderly like the versions from the first two Spider-Man film franchises. They were much closer in age to the Aunt May from the Tom Holland era.
They were in their early fifties. While not exactly young, they certainly weren't ancient.
Furthermore, because Tobey had spent the last two years constantly flooding the house with top-tier health supplements and organic foods, the couple looked as healthy and energetic as people in their early forties.
So... an unexpected second spring was entirely within the realm of possibility.
Pushing the horrifying thought of having a younger sibling out of his head, Tobey carried his stolen super-spiders down to his private underground gym.
After safely depositing them into a high-end terrarium he had prepared the day before, Tobey went upstairs to cook himself a highly nutritious, genuinely delicious dinner, fully liberating his taste buds from the horrors of Aunt May's cooking for one glorious night.