Superman's Saiyan little brother

The aftermath of the Spider-Man incident faded quickly and unexpectedly. Neither the Avengers nor Tony Stark and Steve Rogers anticipated that Robert would resolve the situation so effectively. Stark and Rogers were prepared for prolonged verbal battles with the government agencies. 

Initially, the agencies only inquired about Clark's whereabouts and whether the Avengers were involved. When Stark and Rogers firmly dismissed these questions, there was no further follow-up.

At first, Stark and Rogers were puzzled, unable to understand what had happened. But they soon learned about the Beastmen from various sources.

Given their awareness of Robert's ability to transform, neither Tony Stark nor Steve Rogers was particularly surprised by his strategy. They were impressed by how astutely Robert had played on the greed of the official agencies.

Soon, Stark and Rogers began their own countermeasures. Instead of trying to erase any traces of Robert's involvement, they worked to further confuse the trail of the Beastmen by planting more evidence suggesting their existence in various locations.

Robert had done an excellent job, but there was a critical issue: he was just one person. No matter how many Beastmen he transformed into, he couldn't be in multiple places at once.

Currently, the official agencies hadn't noticed any inconsistencies because they weren't sharing information amongst themselves. They couldn't compare the exact times or footage of each Beastman's appearance.

However, over time, as more footage emerged, these agencies might start collaborating. If they did, they might notice the discrepancies in the timing and appearances left by Robert's transformations.

Although it was unclear how long it would take for the agencies to piece this together, and given their bureaucratic nature, it wasn't likely to happen quickly, delaying their discovery was still preferable.

This wasn't just to protect Robert from exposure; even if the footage revealed inconsistencies, there would be no direct evidence pointing to Robert.

The Spider-Men were the ones who stood to suffer the most. They had finally gotten a respite from constant capture. If the agencies detected any flaws in the cover story, they might redirect their focus back to the Spider-Men.

Thus, to ensure these innocent victims of extraordinary events could live more comfortably, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers decided to help. After all, it shouldn't always be up to Clark, Robert, and Kara to act alone.

On the other hand, Clark could finally take a well-deserved break. He noticed that the agencies had shifted their focus away from the infected Spider-Men, meaning these individuals wouldn't be under heavy scrutiny for the time being.

As for future incidents, Clark resolved to intervene again if the government tried to capture and experiment on the Spider-Men once more.

After the incident, Clark didn't rush to thank Robert but instead went home to spend some quality time with Lana. He knew that Kara and Robert needed their own time together as well, especially since he had already delayed their reunion.

Kara, following the end of the ordeal, immediately sought out Robert. Despite the recent hectic events, she showed no signs of fatigue. They sparred for a bit and then engaged in a more intimate battle, leaving Kara content to return to school.

Back at school, Peter Parker had resumed his studies. After parting ways with Wade, Peter had noticed something odd about his body. Initially, he thought it was a lingering effect of being controlled and decided to rest at home to monitor his condition.

Upon waking up, Peter felt stronger than before. Suspicious, he went to the Avengers' base to have JARVIS run a thorough check-up.

The results showed no abnormalities. JARVIS reported that Peter's body was in excellent condition, with each cell brimming with peak energy.

In this state, Peter might not match the power he wielded under Naxia's control or with Mjolnir, but he was significantly stronger than the previous day.

While Peter still had lingering doubts, he attributed his newfound strength to residual power from when he was controlled. He figured the initial discomfort was due to this power not being fully absorbed yet.

After returning to school, Peter felt everything was back to normal. As for Harry Osborn, he didn't show up at school because he was busy negotiating business deals with Stark Industries. Tony Stark and Harry Osborn had formed a clandestine company to discuss trade secrets and collaborations, keeping Harry preoccupied and leaving him little time to explore his newfound abilities.

"Hmm?" When Kara and her friends reunited with Peter at school, they were taken aback. They sensed something subtly different about him. It wasn't easy to pinpoint, but Peter had changed in a way that wasn't immediately obvious.

Peter, puzzled by their reactions, asked, "What's up? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

The group exchanged glances, recognizing that they all noticed the same oddity about Peter. After a moment of silence, Pietro spoke up first. "Peter, do you feel any different from the last time we saw you?"

Pietro and the others didn't know what had changed about Peter, considering he had just gone through significant events in his life. It was normal to undergo some changes, but they were concerned about the potential impact on Peter.

"You guys noticed? Is it that obvious?" Peter was surprised by their observation and looked at his friends in astonishment.

"The day after we parted, I went to the base for a check-up. I think some residual power from being controlled might have enhanced my body's strength. I felt stronger after waking up, maybe it's a blessing in disguise!"

"Is that so?" Pietro and the others nodded in understanding. Johnny Storm, intrigued, asked, "Did your strength increase significantly? If gaining power is that easy, maybe being controlled isn't so bad after all."

"What are you thinking?" Peter snapped at Johnny, annoyed. "It's just a minor increase in strength, and my cells are in peak condition. Overall, it's not a huge improvement. JARVIS's tests didn't show a significant boost in my capabilities."

"Ah, I see." Johnny's excitement faded, clearly disappointed. He had hoped for a more dramatic increase in Peter's abilities, but it seemed the change wasn't as significant as he had imagined.

Just as Johnny was losing interest, Kara suddenly thought of something and turned to Peter. "Peter, if your body's strength has increased, what about your Thunder Force? Remember how he said Qi is tied to the body? Since your Qi became Thunder Force, your enhanced body should make it stronger too. This means your power boost might not be insignificant after all."

"And since your cells are always in peak condition, your Thunder Force should regenerate quickly, allowing you to use it for longer periods than before!"

"Huh? Really?" Peter hadn't considered this. Hearing Kara's insight, his eyes lit up. He realized that his Thunder Force was a critical aspect of his combat abilities, far more important than mere physical strength.

If not for being at school, Peter would have tested his Thunder Force immediately. But he decided to wait until he could find a secluded spot or return to the Avengers' base to check his new limits.

The day passed uneventfully at school. After classes, the group headed to the Avengers' base, eager to see how much Peter's Thunder Force had improved.

However, something unexpected happened. Peter stood still, his eyes vacant and unfocused. There was no sign of Thunder Force around him.

"What's going on? Why is Peter just standing there?" Pietro asked, confused, glancing at his companions. Johnny and the others also shook their heads, not understanding why Peter seemed so out of it.

"I… I can't seem to sense my Thunder Force!" After a long pause, Peter broke the silence with a bitter smile, explaining to the perplexed Avengers.

His voice was tinged with frustration and confusion. When he tried to summon his Thunder Force, he felt nothing, as if it no longer existed within him.

Initially, Peter thought he might be mistaken, but he quickly recalled Kara's words about the connection between Qi and the body. He then attempted to sense his Qi, wondering if perhaps his Thunder Force had reverted to its earlier form.

Even if it had, Peter thought he could accept it as long as he still had some form of power. But to his dismay, after extensive sensing, Peter realized he couldn't detect his Qi either. He had reverted to a state before learning anything from Robert, possessing only his Spider powers.

"How could this happen?" Barry Allen and the others were shocked, unable to understand the sudden change in Peter's powers. "Let JARVIS check you again. He should have recorded your data from before. Maybe he can find out what's causing this."

"Okay…" Peter, feeling lost, followed their advice and had JARVIS run another scan. He held onto a sliver of hope, though anxiety gnawed at him.

"Sorry, Spider-Man. Your physical condition is identical to the scan from that morning. There's no difference from when you had your Thunder Force, except that your body is slightly stronger now…" JARVIS's voice soon echoed, delivering the disheartening news that Peter had feared.

"I contacted the Saiyan. He should be here soon." As Peter struggled with his confusion, Kara spoke softly, frowning in concern. "He might have a better understanding than JARVIS…"

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