Peter’s Soft Ears

Peter finally failed to convince Director Garrett and was instead convinced by him.

After leaving the S.H.I.E.L.D. building, Peter looked up at the sky. The stars were brilliant, but what fell into his eyes was only the dark void beyond them, making him feel exceptionally oppressed.

He suddenly felt utterly useless, powerless in the face of so many things.

Back when he had been Thor, everything had gone smoothly, as if nothing in this world could possibly stump him. Especially when he could effortlessly complete missions that entire teams of other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents couldn’t handle—the sense of accomplishment was far more satisfying than studying at school.

After thinking it over again and again, all he could do was sigh. If only everything in the world could be solved with his fists!

He returned home dejectedly. He had no appetite, so he simply collapsed onto his bed and emptied his mind.

The phone rang, but he couldn’t be bothered to answer it.

The phone rang persistently. Lazily, he reached out and picked it up for a glance. It was an unfamiliar number. He casually hung up and tossed the phone aside, but it rang again.

Peter frowned, reached out to answer it, and asked lazily, "Who is this?"

A sinister voice came from the other end. "Hey, Peter, remember me? It’s your Uncle Thomas…"

"FUCK!" Peter swore loudly and sat up in bed.

"Peter, how have you thought it over? When are you planning to return to Hydra’s embrace?"

"Go to hell! You and your Hydra!" Peter wished he could crawl through the phone and beat him up. All the trouble between him and his relatives and friends had been caused by this man.

"Heh heh, don’t say that, Peter. You were born to be Hydra. Sooner or later, we’ll be as close as family."

"Keep dreaming! You’re like a rat crossing the street now, too afraid to even show your face. And all the people your Hydra recruited over the years have been arrested one after another. Sooner or later, you’ll end up just like them. Prison is your only destination!" Peter viciously hurled his curse at him.

Thomas suddenly let out a strange laugh. "Heh heh heh… Peter, who exactly are you referring to when you say they’ve been arrested? George Stacy? Or Gwen Stacy? Or perhaps Ben Parker and May Parker?"

"You… what do you mean?" Peter suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Peter, do you remember what I told you the last time we met? You must carefully consider the consequences of leaking information. If you don’t make a decision soon, before long, your Uncle Ben and Aunt May will become our companions too!"

Peter was shocked. "What nonsense are you talking about? Uncle Ben and Aunt May aren’t Hydra!"

"Whether they are or not isn’t for you to decide. It isn’t for them to decide either. Only I get to decide!" Thomas’s malicious voice came from the other end of the phone, stabbing Peter so deeply that he trembled all over.

"Y-you fabricated the evidence and framed George Stacy?" Peter asked in a trembling voice.

"Take a guess." Thomas neither admitted nor denied it, deliberately toying with Peter’s emotions.

Peter felt ice-cold all over, as if a bucket of icy water had been poured over his head. Thinking back to his conversation with Gwen, he now felt that he had been a complete idiot.

"You ordered Hydra’s members to frame Gwen’s father! Their testimonies were fabricated by all of you together!" Peter said resentfully.

"Peter, how do you still not understand? We know S.H.I.E.L.D.’s methods far too well. They only look at the evidence. In other words, whoever I want to be Hydra is Hydra. Likewise, whoever I want not to be Hydra isn’t Hydra!"

Thomas continued to cackle grotesquely, his words like knives stabbing repeatedly into Peter’s heart.

"Peter, S.H.I.E.L.D. only recognizes evidence. Nothing you say will help. As long as you continue believing in S.H.I.E.L.D., everyone around you will become Hydra. I guarantee it!"

"Come on, Peter. What’s so good about a rigid, boring place like S.H.I.E.L.D.? Once you join Hydra, you’ll discover that this is the place most suited to you. You can run wild, act without restraint, and no matter how far you go, no one will blame you for it."

"Of course, most importantly, no one will know that you’re Hydra. You can still be Thor, still be your superhero, dazzling and walking beneath the sun. Your relatives and friends will remain safe and sound. George Stacy can return to being a director, and you can win back the woman you love and hold her in your arms."

"What’s more, if you want, you might even enter politics someday and follow the path Captain America once took. Maybe you’ll be the next President of the United States!"

Thomas’s words were like the poisonous serpent of Eden, tempting Peter to fall bit by bit.

But Peter’s will remained firm. He shouted into the phone, "Keep dreaming! I’ll never submit to evil! I’ll find you and send you to prison! Wash your ass and wait!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone and then set out for S.H.I.E.L.D. again.

It was already late, but Director Garrett was still working overtime there. After hearing what Peter had said, Director Garrett’s spirits lifted. He reached out and asked, "Where’s the recording?"

"…What recording?" Peter froze.

"Didn’t they tell you during S.H.I.E.L.D.’s introductory training? In special situations like this, use your phone to record the conversation."

Peter was dumbfounded. He had been too busy cursing Thomas at the time to remember to start recording.

"Peter, what am I supposed to do with you?" Director Garrett sighed, looking at Peter with exasperation. "You can’t expect me to release someone just because you wagged your tongue, can you?"

"We’re a legitimate organization. Everything has to be based on evidence. Even if I believe George Stacy was framed now, what good does that do? The evidence is conclusive and impossible to refute!"

"Director, Hydra knew how S.H.I.E.L.D. operated, so they deliberately ordered their subordinates to frame George Stacy. Those Hydra members, meanwhile, were brought into the Witness Protection Program and exempted from prosecution because they signed plea agreements. That’s completely unfair! We can’t just let Hydra slander innocent people like this!"

"Peter, you’re still too naive!" Director Garrett sighed and said, "Why are you so certain that George Stacy was framed? On the strength of one sentence from Thomas?"

"Have you ever considered that George Stacy might really be Hydra, and that Thomas deliberately used you to get him released and protect his fellow members?"

"Witnesses can lie, but what about the physical evidence?"

Peter, who was too easily swayed, was rendered speechless by Director Garrett’s rebuttal, and his convictions wavered once again.