Peter, You Were Born Hydra

"See you tomorrow, Peter." Gwen gently kissed Peter on the cheek, then bounced into her yard like a cheerful fawn.

Standing outside the yard, Peter watched Gwen turn back and wave goodbye before opening the door. He smiled and waved back, then reluctantly turned and headed home. His uncle and aunt were still waiting for him.

When Peter pushed open the door and entered the house, he discovered another guest in the room.

"Hey, Peter, this is Thomas. He was an old colleague of your father’s and used to come to our house often." Uncle Ben waved for Peter to come over.

"It’s nice to meet you, Uncle Thomas." Peter smiled as he came over and sat down on the sofa, politely greeting the guest.

He was a typical white man in his forties or fifties.

He wore a tailored suit and looked like he came from a well-off family.

"Oh, I recognize you, the famous Thor! So you’re Richard and Mary’s child. If they were still alive, they’d definitely be proud of you." Thomas stood up and shook Peter’s hand, speaking with a sigh.

Hearing Thomas mention his parents, Peter couldn’t help feeling a little gloomy.

Thomas quickly changed the subject. "You’re about to graduate from high school, right, Peter? Have you decided which college to attend? Perhaps I could write you a letter of recommendation."

"Thank you, Uncle Thomas. If I need one, I won’t stand on ceremony with you." Peter smiled politely.

"It’s getting late. I should be going." Thomas rose to leave, and Uncle Ben personally escorted him to the door.

When Uncle Ben returned, Peter asked in puzzlement, "Is Uncle Thomas a friend of my father’s? I don’t think I’ve seen him come to our house before."

"Thomas was sent overseas and only came back recently. He used to visit often when your father was still around, and he got along well with both your parents."

Peter shrugged and put the matter aside. After all, they hadn’t seen each other for more than a decade. Even the best relationships would have grown distant by now.

But he never expected to see Thomas again the next day.

Thomas suddenly appeared in front of Peter and Gwen, who were being lovey-dovey, and smiled at Gwen. "Young lady, could I borrow your boyfriend for a moment?"

Gwen glanced at Peter. Seeing him nod slightly, she smiled and said, "Of course." She then stood up and kissed Peter on the cheek. "Let’s have dinner together tonight."

After Gwen left, Peter turned around and asked, "Uncle Thomas, what do you want with me?"

"Let’s find somewhere quieter to talk." Thomas waved toward the car beside them and got in first. Peter had no choice but to follow.

The two of them found a café and asked for a private room.

Thomas ordered coffee and afternoon tea. Only after the waiter left did he ask, "Peter, would you like to learn more about your parents?"

"I already know a lot about my father from Uncle Ben." Peter instinctively felt that Uncle Thomas wasn’t a good person and tactfully refused.

Thomas smiled faintly. "I’m not talking about the things they showed to outsiders. I mean the real Richard and Mary, the parts hidden beneath the surface."

Peter’s heart jumped, and he had an ominous feeling.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know what your parents did?" Thomas slowly added sugar to his coffee, stirring it with a small silver spoon. The scraping sound against the cup was especially grating.

Peter swallowed and said uneasily, "They were both researchers at Osborn Corporation. I confirmed that with Uncle Osborn."

"That’s right. That was their public identity. Did Norman Osborn ever tell you how they died?"

Peter was startled and abruptly stood up. "My parents didn’t die in an accident?"

"Who knows? Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. But I do know that Richard and Mary died by accident only after stealing Osborn Corporation’s latest research."

"Impossible!" Peter flew into a rage and smashed the table apart with one slap.

The waiter outside came in after hearing the noise. Thomas handed over a few bills, then waved the waiter away.

Only then did he take a sip of the coffee he had been holding and say calmly, "This information is easy to look up. Aren’t you a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent now? Take some time to investigate it, and you’ll know."

Peter’s thoughts were in turmoil, and he rose and hurried out.

He no longer felt like having dinner with Gwen. Instead, he took a taxi straight to S.H.I.E.L.D., wanting to resolve the doubts in his mind as quickly as possible.

Peter was a newcomer, so he didn’t yet have sufficient clearance to access classified information. However, the records on Richard and Mary weren’t actually secret, and with his current authority, he managed to obtain their old paper files.

The files had been left in the archives to gather dust. The pages had yellowed from years of improper storage.

Peter blew the dust off the files, carefully opened them, and examined the records inside.

After reading them, he felt relieved.

So my parents were both CIA agents, not commercial spies. Thank goodness!

Although stealing information from Osborn Corporation was rather unethical, when done in the name of national interests, all moral judgments could be set aside for the time being.

Peter relaxed and carefully examined his parents’ résumés again. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s records were very detailed, even containing photographs of Richard and Mary from when they joined the CIA.

Looking at his parents in the prime of their lives, Peter sighed inwardly, closed the file, and put it back.

After leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., Peter had a new question.

Did my parents really die by accident?

Or were they silenced on Norman Osborn’s orders?

The investigation results recorded in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files marked their deaths as accidental, but as their son, Peter couldn’t help having doubts.

Besides, why had Thomas suddenly appeared at this time? What was he trying to do? Was he CIA too? Did he want to recruit Peter into the CIA to serve his country?

Peter was so preoccupied that he was distracted even while having dinner with Gwen that night.

"Hey, Peter, what’s wrong today? Did that man who came looking for you earlier say something to you?"

Peter took Gwen’s little hand and kissed it lightly before telling her what was troubling him.

"You really don’t need to worry about this. Your parents were only secret agents. Given the international situation back then, they were bound to have carried out various missions outside the rules. They were serving their country, not doing anything bad." Gwen gently stroked Peter’s cheek, comforting him.

"As for Uncle Thomas, now that he’s appeared, he’ll come looking for you again sooner or later. When that happens, you’ll naturally learn everything. You’re Thor now. The CIA couldn’t possibly use force against you in public!"

Peter smiled comfortingly, kissed his girlfriend on the cheek, and happily continued his dinner.

However, he was celebrating too soon.

Thomas came again the next day, and this time Peter refused to discuss anything further with him.

"Mr. Thomas, even if my parents were CIA agents, that doesn’t mean I have to join you…"

Thomas smiled faintly and interrupted him. "Peter, I’ve come representing Hydra. Your parents and I are the same. We’re all Hydra."

"Peter, you were born Hydra!"

Peter was dumbfounded when he heard that!