NABC Chapter 174 Okay, let's call it Craven.
Chapter 174 Okay, let's call it Craven.
Chapter 174 Okay, let's call it Craven.
As it turns out, Craven wasn't actually a villain. His public identity was that of a Russian parliamentarian, so there was no need for him to go to such lengths to play the villain.
He even invited Peter and Felicia to his study for a long talk.
"I received a message from New York while I was in Russia saying that my half-brother had been killed by Spider-Man."
Craven entertained the two young men in his study and poured each of them a glass of wine: "Perfect timing. I had some business to attend to in New York, so I took the opportunity to inquire about something. According to the information I received, Spider-Man has no record of killing any criminals."
Actually, there are some, if you include Karkin.
Felicia was slightly confused after hearing this. Who was Craven's brother?
"But you should have been there, so you can tell me, my brother—or perhaps 'Chameleon' would be a more fitting name—how he died?"
"Are you planning to avenge your brother?"
Craven paused for a moment, then handed the two glasses of wine to the two men. After Peter took the wine, Venom drew his conclusion.
[It's not poisonous, it's vodka.]
"I don't drink, thank you..."
"Not poisonous."
"I know, vodka is still too strong."
After declining the Russian special offer, Craven accepted the glass himself with a hint of regret. Felicia took a small sip out of curiosity, then put it aside with disdain.
How can the liquor be so pungent?!
"As for revenge, it depends on the situation. My brother betrayed his country. If he was killed by an agent of the Foreign Intelligence Service, I wouldn't say anything. If he was killed by the CIA or other American law enforcement agencies because he committed some crime in the United States, I would wonder if he would feel remorse."
Craven downed the glass of vodka Peter hadn't drunk, then added the last possibility: "But if he was killed by someone else, I want to know who that person was and why they killed him."
If it were for money or to silence witnesses, Craven might seek revenge, but not now.
Without mentioning the Punisher, Peter recounted the Chameleon's actions—disguising himself as an ordinary person to carry out an assassination mission, which resulted in the ordinary person being killed instead.
And so, a chase across a thousand miles began.
Craven remained silent for a long while after listening, then simply drank another glass of wine before looking at Felicia: "So, what is the purpose of your visit to me...?"
"I……"
"I want to know about the super-soldier serum from the former Soviet Union."
Felicia interrupted Peter, staring intently at Craven: "Was the super-soldier serum you injected developed by the Soviet Union, or...?"
"This is a state secret, miss. If I may be so bold, even if you weren't working for the U.S. government, I couldn't tell you."
Craven paused to think for a moment, then tentatively said, "However, I do know someone who once tried to steal the Super Soldier Serum from my country, but unfortunately, he failed."
Felicia straightened her body, while Peter sighed. Wasn't this just blatantly telling people that you had a relationship with the spirit cat?
"But it seems he did manage to steal some super-soldier serum that was nowhere to be found, right?"
Craven laughed, then seemed to be thinking about something. However, after a long silence, Felicia actually revealed a clue.
"He didn't steal the super-soldier serum from the Soviet Union; he stole it from Hungary."
Hungary was a Soviet satellite state during the Cold War, but that doesn't mean the Soviet Union would have stored its super-soldier serum in Hungary; this is clearly suspicious.
Kraven noted this down, then looked at Peter. He knew why the thief had come, but what about Spider-Man? What was the reason for an Avenger's invasion?
"I unexpectedly saw you at the Fisk Museum of Natural Art a couple of days ago while I was fighting crime. Then, there were records in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files about your connection to chameleons..."
Kraven nodded again, meaning that Spider-Man was worried that he was there for revenge, so he came to scout the place beforehand. Of course, he didn't consider himself an enemy, otherwise there would have been no need for the two of them to talk.
Craven frowned, pondering the seemingly reasonable words the two had spoken. These were actually crucial pieces of information; the key was how to utilize them.
Craven thought for a while, but Peter asked first, "So, Craven, what about you? Why did you come to America?"
Craven paused for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and began to explain.
"Part of the reason is, of course, for my brother Dmitri. But another part is for work and the children."
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"I came here for you, or more precisely, for the Avengers."
Craven poured himself a third glass of wine: "In this day and age, superpowered individuals are commonplace, and everyone needs them. Especially you, the Avengers. You've formed the most powerful superpowered organization since World War II, and not for any racial equality. Do you know how much of an impact this has had on the world?"
"perhaps?"
"It's like this: suddenly the United States had the world's most powerful superpowered team, and then S.H.I.E.L.D. launched a second one. This kind of thing greatly shocked countries, and almost every country with a little influence was creating its own Avengers."
"The great Eastern power is preparing the Skybreaker team, we Russians plan to set up a Winter Guard, and even the British have begun developing a project called Holy Sword, wanting to have a superpowered team."
Peter retorted almost without thinking: "But the Avengers aren't an American team..."
"Then you should tell them that the Avengers do not represent America, and see if they believe you."
Craven shrugged. It was true; nobody cared that there was an African king in the Avengers. This was an American team, and everything was controlled by the US government.
Kraven came to New York with only one purpose: to figure out what the Avengers are, how their team operates, and what he can learn from them.
Upon hearing this, Peter suddenly had an inspiration, and a bold solution that could solve both of their problems appeared in his mind.
"I have a suggestion, Mr. Craven, that might satisfy both of us."
Peter gave a surprising answer: "Do you plan to visit Avengers Tower?"
Please forgive my poor writing.
(End of this chapter)