15 Chapter 15: Temperance II

Monday afternoon. Duncan stood in the middle of a crowd of his classmates as they were hustled through the Stark Industries headquarters in New York. The guide in front of them was teaching the class about the history of Stark Industries and how it got formed, which Duncan found very boring.

Meanwhile, Duncan was staring at the girl next to him. Gwen Stacy was captivated by her surroundings, as if she were a primitive woman joining a modern culture. She made it a point to jot down everything the guide said in her notepad.

"You seemed excited." Duncan spoke up abruptly.

"Of course I'm excited; I mean, it's Stark Industries," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And Duncan, please pay attention to the guide; we're supposed to write a report after this tour."

"Yeah, yeah, just text me where we are going to write it." Duncan made a hum.

"How about my house?" Gwen made the proposal. "This time it's your turn to come to my house."

"Your house?" Duncan smirked. "I'll pass."

"Well, that's just not fair." Gwen laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, I don't want to see Officer Stacy again after the last two weeks." Duncan stated.

"Well, he's rarely home, so you're safe." The girl mumbled, and she looked quite down after that.

When Duncan noticed this, he decided to change the subject. "Anyway, why are you so interested in Stark Industries? You're staring about like a cavewoman."

The girl snorted, having already forgotten the prior conversation. "Well, I'm hoping to work here someday."

"You wanna work here?" Duncan laughed. "You wanna work for Tony Stark?"

"Well, not directly," the girl rolled her eyes. "Their biotechnology department is quite interesting."

"Biotechnology?" Duncan was perplexed. "Stark Industries has that?"

"That's why I told you to listen to the guide, Duncan," lamented the girl. "They have a biotech department."

"What exactly do they do?" Duncan wondered.

"Mostly, they study how to turn nature's wonders into a resource that humans can use."

"Example?"

"Hmm… Take, for example, spider silk. They're now researching methods to mass-produce spider silk. Because, you know, spider silk is—"

"Five times stronger than steel and flexible as fuck, I know." Duncan made a hum. His gaze then shifted to Peter Parker, the seemingly average child in the midst of the crowd. "So you'd like to work there? Why?"

"Why not?" asked the girl rhetorically. "I like biology, the pay is good, and it's Stark Industries; the owner is literally Iron Man."

"But doesn't that make it more dangerous?" Duncan stated. "He's part of the Avengers; if a guy like Loki reappears, Stark Industries will most likely be the first to be targeted, and remember, Stark Industries was originally a weapons manufacturer, and Tony Stark was literally called the merchant of death before he became Iron Man; he's made a lot of enemies these past few years."

"Well, true…" Gwen spoke haltingly. "But the progress of science will always have a bumpy road."

Duncan laughed. "Yet you don't like the fact that your father is a cop."

"That's different." Gwen insisted.

"Of course it is." Duncan just shook his head.

The group then moved into another part of the building. When they entered, it appeared completely different from the remainder of the section they had previously visited. There are many insects trapped in the clear glass. Duncan could see from a distance that certain avians and animals were being kept in cages.

"PETA must not like this place," the boy whistled.

The guide began to describe the complexities of the projects they had been working on as she stood in front of those clear glasses containing the insects.

"So, here is Stark Industries' Biotechnology Department," the woman continued. "As I previously stated, instead of looking for and creating our own technology, we mimic and explore what nature has to give. It's all here, whether it's making medication from plants, replicating chameleon morphology, studying lizard regeneration, or even manufacturing spider silk."

One of the students promptly raised his hand. "So you've discovered how to regenerate like lizards now?"

The guide simply chuckled. "Not quite. The research is still in its early stages, but in terms of outcomes, some of them have at least met their objectives."

The instructor then led us to a clear glass with a solitary spider inside.

"This is a genetically altered spider that we created," the guide explained. "It can create 100 times more spider silk than any other spider in the world. While we are not yet ready to farm these silks, we are getting close."

Another student came up and raised his hand. "Is that the only one?"

"Well, no," the guide replied. A frown could be evident on her face as she gazed at the glass. "There should have been two here, but I guess the other one is just hiding."

Gwen lifted her hand unexpectedly. "Do you get into a lot of problems for experimenting on animals? Do you even have authorization?"

"I guarantee you, we have a license," said the guide. "We treated these animals as humanely as possible. People will always find something to complain about here, even if we don't do anything."

The trip then proceeded to other portions of the division. The audience got to see chameleons, lizards, and a variety of other species. At this point, the atmosphere is reminiscent of a zoo, where no one complains.

Duncan heard a voice behind him as they exited the department.

"Ow!" muttered the voice. When the boy glanced back, he saw Peter Parker itching his hand.

"You okay there, Peter?" asked Duncan.

"Y-Yeah, A sp- Something bit me," he anxiously stammered. Duncan could suddenly hear a feminine voice let out a voice as well.

"Oww!" exclaimed the girl. When Duncan turned to face the voice, he noticed Cindy Moon scratching her neck.

Duncan raised his brow and stared at each of them. Peter Parker appears to be extremely different from the movies as well.

—

Duncan was now inside the bus, which was making its way through the streets of New York towards Midtown. The students were exhausted and sleepy after the tour because much of it was just listening to the guide's explanation, which is comparable to just hearing the teacher talk in front of the room, but they were walking as they listened.

Duncan could hear Peter Parker complaining behind him. He could hear him say he's not feeling well and wants to go home as soon as possible; he could also hear Cindy Moon say she's not feeling well.

Duncan, on the other hand, did not sleep, nor did the girl next to him. Gwen Stacy handed him a piece of paper on which she had written before handing it to him. It was the assignment they were expected to turn in at the end of the week; they were instructed to summarize what they had learnt on the trip as well as respond to some questions from the teacher. So they must complete this task and write a report on it.

"Seriously? The tour just ended, Gwen; why are you already half finished with it?" questioned Duncan in annoyance.

"So we can submit it as soon as possible," Gwen replied.

"Why are you like this?" the boy frowned. "It's not like you're short of time or anything. We can do this tomorrow or another day."

"Well, believe it or not, I am a busy person." The young lady simply rolled her eyes. "I've already done the difficult part; all you have to do now is answer the questions."

"What makes you so busy anyway?" Duncan frowned and got his pen to fill out the questions. "Come to think of it, I never even see you at lunch."

"Practice," murmured the girl.

"Practice? What are you working on?" Duncan raised his brow, perplexed.

"Well, I'm in a music club," the girl shrugged. "I've been assigned to a band, and we'll have to perform on stage in December."

"That's still a couple of months away." Duncan stated.

"The problem is that I don't know how to play the drums." Gwen elaborated. "So I have to learn it as soon as possible."

"Wait a minute, what?" Duncan was perplexed. "You're in a music club, but you can't play any instruments?"

"Isn't that the purpose of the club? To learn things." Gwen responded.

"All right, whatever you say." Duncan made a hum. "So, when is this performance?"

Gwen's pupils constricted. "And why do you ask?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Duncan chuckled.

"No, no, no," the girl shook her head rapidly. "I will not allow you to see the performance."

"Why not?" Duncan queried, his expression amused.

"W-Well, I just don't want you to see it."

"OK, then you're not allowed to watch my games either." Duncan shot back.

The young lady snorted. "You talk as if you already passed the tryout."

Duncan only laughed at the girl's response. "Wanna bet? If I pass, I'm allowed to go to your "concert.""

Gwen only frowned. "What if you don't?"

"Then I won't come," he shrugged.

"You don't even know when and where it would be."

"I can easily ask around. I can even go to your music club."

The girl paused for a moment before sighing. "All right, deal."

Duncan could hear the sound of chains breaking in his thoughts as soon as she said that, and he just smiled at the girl.