LOUD MOUTH → PETER PARKER ✓

Chapter Thirteen: The Captain and The Doctor

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍: THE CAPTAIN AND THE DOCTOR

               Callie and Peter left campus with Callie mumbling worriedly about how bad it would look if the class president were sneaking off campus in the middle of the day. Her hands fidgeted the entire way to the Oscorp building, never once asking why they were going there.

Once inside, they realized the lab was completely deserted. The lights were off and there wasn't a single person in sight. They stepped into Doctor Connors' office, his desk strewn with open books and papers.

"Hello?" Peter called, to no response.

A glint of silver caught Callie's eye and she picked up what appeared to be some sort of injection device off the table. It was cold to the touch. Most interestingly, it was clear that whatever had once been inside the vial had been emptied. She showed it to Peter, holding it up to the light.

"It's not nice to snoop." said a deep, english voice. Callie jumped and turned to see Doctor Connors standing in the corner of his office. "I gave everyone the week off."

"That-that's nice," Callie stuttered. "I me-well, that's a-a nice thing to do for . . the people who work for you . . or with you, I guess."

Connors fixed his eyes on her, clearly not recognizing her. Callie realized that he probably hadn't seen her that day―or if he did, he probably knew her as Gillian Morris.

"This is Callie," Peter introduced. "She's my, um . ."

Before he could finish, Connors interrupted. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

Callie had barely heard the question because her neck had snapped up to look at Peter when he stuttered. What was he going to say?

"No, we had a free track," he explained. "I wanted to ask you a question. Well, we did. For a science project." he lied quickly. "How would a predator track a reptile?"

"They don't." Connors answered simply. "Most reptiles are at the top of their respective food chain. Kings of their domain."

"Yes, but they have to have some vulnerabilities." Callie said. "Some sort of weakness?"

"Why the sudden interest in the cold-blooded?" Connors asked lowly, his voice becoming the slightest bit interrogating.

"It's like we said, Doctor Connors." Callie said. "Science project. Biology profiles, that sort of thing."

She was surprised she could talk and lie like this so easily―normally she stuttered in situations like this. But something about the way Connors was acting made her uneasy. He seemed like he was hiding something, and it made her nervous.

"So because of the cold blood, would they react to  sudden changes in temperature?" Peter continued with the questions.

"Well, you'd have to catch one first." Connors said, clicking the injection device Callie had picked up. Something about the way he said it made her feel even more uneasy. "Did you know, there's a rumor of a new species in New York. Beautiful, and quite large."

Now Callie was feeling sick to her stomach. Connors consistently dark tone made it seem like he was threatening them with every word. She moved closer to Peter, feeling her heart start to pound faster.

Peter noticed and discreetly took her hand. He continued to ask Connors questions. "What do you know about it? Have you seen it?"

"No, it's not yet classified." Connors dismissed. He suddenly looked up at them through his glasses and Callie felt her throat constrict. "But it can be aggressive if threatened."