Interrogation

Peter and Cindy saw and heard the men plan some more before they eventually concluded their meeting. Unfortunately, the two wall-crawlers only learned that they planned to attack Oscorp, but not in what way, when, or why.

However, they both agree that making certain these criminals didn't know they were here was critical if they wanted to gather more information so they wouldn't risk getting themselves caught. They did this to avoid provoking a confrontation and relocating their hideout to a location where they would remain undiscovered, thus leaving them in the dark.

They had powers, but they weren't comfortable taking down so many people with guns. Moreover, showing their faces to at least one of them could expose their identities and jeopardize their family's security.

Thinking about this, Peter decided that the best person to gather more information from was none other than his uncle's killer. Interrogating him would be like killing two birds with one stone.

With this in mind, Cindy and Peter waited until his uncle's killer, someone named Johnny, would leave, and they would follow him somewhere else, so as not to be shot at with those assault rifles.

As Johnny ascended the spiral staircase, he soon left through the same door he had entered. Cindy and Peter, with Peter exiting through the vent ahead of Cindy, continued to follow him back to the entrance of the railroad tunnel.

Taking a cigarette and lighting it, Johnny kept smoking by the entrance until it was down to the butt of the cigarette. After dropping it, the man walked around the city with his hood up. As Cindy and Peter continued to follow him through the rooftops, Cindy came across a store that sold Halloween costumes, given that it was three weeks before Halloween.

"Peter, I think we should cover our faces before we question him. I'll go get us some masks. Follow but don't question him until I come back." Cindy warned him before leaving.

Seeing her leave, Peter continued to follow Johnny for several minutes. Peter would jump across roofs, climb through fire escapes, and climb to even higher rooftops, all just to keep following Johnny.

However, Johnny soon walked up to an apartment building, and Peter was across the street when he lost sight of him. "Is this where he lives? If so, why would he come back to his house after committing two crimes that were only a day apart? I'm not sure if this guy is confident or arrogant. Either way, we caught him." Peter asked and told himself before quickly following him into the building, though calmly so as not to attract attention.

Meanwhile, Cindy was looking at the masks in the store, which were filled with several costumes, masks, wigs, paint, decorations, and more. She was currently standing near the mask section with several masks hanging from a wall, and she had to pick two up in a hurry. If she didn't, she feared Peter might act rashly.

"Hmm, he likes Star Wars, right? I'll pick this one." Cindy picked up a Yoda mask before deciding on a witch mask for herself. Walking up to the register, Cindy placed them on the counter before using her phone to pay for the masks.

Cindy noticed that the clerk had placed the masks in a plastic bag and attempted to place the receipt there, but she quickly informed them that she didn't need it. Quickly taking the bag holding the masks, Cindy rushed out of the store before calling Peter to see where he was.

Yet, when she kept calling his phone, Peter never picked up. She called again and again. Becoming frustrated, Cindy called him one last time before he finally managed to pick up. Before she got the chance to berate him, he did something that she never expected.

Over the phone, she heard Peter say, "Hey, babe. I'm walking up to my apartment now."

Cindy felt unsettled for a split second before she found her bearings again. She raised her eyebrow and said, "Did you just call me babe? What are you—"

She heard Peter laugh and say, "Why don't you come over and we can Netflix and chill? Here, I'm sending you the address now. You better hurry~!"

Cindy then saw that Peter had ended the call before sending her an address. "What on Earth is happening?" Cindy went to the address a few minutes later and saw an apartment building.

"Is this where Johnny is?" Cindy asked herself before spotting Peter on the roof, waving his hand, and beckoning her to climb up. Walking into the alleyway, she climbed up the wall and met up with Peter.

"Here's the mask. And what was that over the phone?" Cindy had to ask because she hadn't expected Peter to say something like that. It shocked her, but it also evoked another emotion.

Knowing what she was talking about, Peter shook his head before explaining, "I was following him up the stairs, and when you called, I didn't want to appear suspicious. I just said whatever the first thing that came to mind was."

Seeing him put on the Yoda mask, Cindy put on hers too. She wanted to question him further, perhaps tease him a bit, but she saw how serious he became when he started wall-crawling down the building to the desired window. The window belonged to Johnny's apartment unit.

Peter and Cindy carefully pulled down the upper sash of a window, climbing through and crawling up a dirty bedroom's ceiling. After closing the upper sash, they looked around, viewing the room cautiously, especially everything along the brick walls and hardwood floors. Seeing how messy the room was, including the disgusting sight and smell of mold and mildew, Peter and Cindy's faces cringed.

"Okay, let's wait until he enters his room so we can launch a surprise attack." Peter whispered to Cindy, who agreed to that plan. They both waited for several minutes to a half hour before Johnny eventually entered his room.

As they waited for him to close the door, they heard him say, "Man, the world will go crazy when they see what we're going to do. I just hope—"

Before Johnny had the chance to finish his sentence, Peter and Cindy dropped from the ceiling and pinned his back up against the brick wall, surprising him greatly. "W-Woah, who the hell are you, and how the hell did you get in here?!" Johnny yelled at the two masked individuals who were pinning him to the wall with astonishingly great strength.

Peter asked first, "Tell us everything you plan to do at Oscorp! Tell us what you're planning on doing, how you're going to do it, and when! Don't leave anything out!"

Johnny realized that these two people know a lot that they shouldn't, and he feared that if he told them anything more, he'd be killed by the people he works for. If not them, then someone else.

Thinking this way, Johnny shrugged with a straight face and tried to play stupid. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a regular guy who makes sandwiches for a living."

It was Cindy's turn to rebut his words. "Cut the bullshit. You're planning on doing something to Oscorp, and we know that it requires floor plans, which you stole from earlier!"

To avoid giving him the wrong idea that they'd just play safe with him, they pinned him against the wall even harder, causing quite a bit of pain to his body, but not enough to kill or seriously injure him.

Gritting his teeth, Johnny knew that playing dumb wouldn't get these guys to relent. They seemed pretty adamant about discovering his gang's plans. Nevertheless, he found himself at a crossroads.

If he reveals their plans, he will undoubtedly die by the people he works for. However, if he doesn't tell them, he might die at the hands of the people in front of him.

Johnny switched his glances between the two masked individuals and said, "Look, if I tell you everything you want to know, then I'm as good as dead. The people I work for don't care about me, and once they've finished with me, they'll hunt you too."

When Peter heard this, he became enraged and pulled him up into the air by his clothes. "You know, you're awfully concerned about your life, but you don't mind taking the lives of innocent people. Whatever your plans are, it involves getting revenge for what they did to you, your family, and your friends, right? And yet, yesterday, you killed an innocent man for what?"

In the midst of being scared, Johnny remembered what this guy, who wore a Yoda mask, was talking about. "You mean that old man? Hell, he saw something he shouldn't have! It wasn't my fault; it was his! He was at the wrong place at the wrong time!"

Cindy couldn't believe what she heard, and when she looked at Peter, all she saw and heard was nothing but silence. Whatever Peter was thinking after he heard Johnny's explanation couldn't be good.

As she tried to calm him down, Peter grabbed Johnny by the neck and brought him closer to his face. "It was his fault, huh? Really? Alright, then. It just so happens that you're pissing me off, making it your fault."

Scaring both Johnny and Cindy, Peter punched a hole through the wall. "You'll tell me your plans, and if I have to break every bone in your body, I will—"

Just as Peter was about to conclude his warning, a sudden flashback flooded his mind. The flashback was when he was sitting in the kitchen with Uncle Ben, and they were talking about him not seeming like his usual self, as Uncle Ben had told him. 'Peter, you have a good head on your shoulders. However, if you ever find yourself in trouble, and when you have the ability to do something great, you also have the responsibility to use that power wisely and for the benefit of others. Never forget, with great power comes great responsibility.'

After the flashback had ended, and now seeing what he was doing and what he was about to do, Peter didn't even recognize himself. Dropping Johnny to the floor, Peter looked at his shaking hands, questioning if this was the right approach. Was wanting to hurt Johnny something that he really wanted? Was it something that Uncle Ben had wanted?

Peter took a deep breath to calm himself, and as he did, he finally heard Johnny trying to catch his breath. "W-We plan on attacking Oscorp on Halloween! That old man saw us transporting a bioweapon we planned on using to flood the building with poison, killing everyone in the Oscorp Tower for what they did. They conducted chemical experiments on the homeless and the poor, deceiving them into believing they were safe and would receive payment. Yet, they got sick, and some of them even died—my family had been killed by those bastards!"

Peter looked at the man on the floor who he thought was just Uncle Ben's killer, but he was also a broken man consumed by revenge. Peter wondered if he'd be satisfied with killing him. 'When will the cycle of hatred and killing end if I don't put a stop to it? Right here, and right now.'

Sighing, Peter looked at Johnny with a serious expression, even though he was wearing a mask and Johnny couldn't see his face. Peter spoke in a non-defiant tone. "You will turn yourself in. You'll explain everything you told us to the police about your plans, the break-in earlier today, and Ben Parker's murder. Call them right now, and we'll try to make sure your safety is secure."

Seeing them stand over him after witnessing their mighty strength and determination, Johnny had no choice but to comply with their demands. He was afraid that if he didn't, then he might find himself in another round of getting choked by Yoda.

Pulling out his phone, Johnny dialed 9-1-1 and confessed that he was the guy responsible for Ben Parker's murder and the break-in this morning. He also said that he had some information that he wanted to confess and that they could arrest him at his address.

When Peter heard this, he nodded to Cindy, and they both sensed that Johnny wouldn't try to flee. He was too busy sobbing while whispering his family names, one after another.

It felt good to catch Uncle Ben's killer, but Peter felt even better that he didn't cross a line where he'd never recover. Cindy, too, felt relieved that Peter managed to catch himself before doing something horrible.

"Come on; let's get out of here." After saying this, Peter used the sleeves of his hoodie to open the window, making an effort to leave as few fingerprints as possible. Johnny then saw, to his surprise, that the two of them jumped out of the window and fell to the ground behind the building.

"W-What...?"