After Iron Man left, Peter didn't linger long and soon departed Stark Tower.
Peter didn't take off his spider suit when returning. Instead, he simply "boarded" a bus while wearing it.
That's right, "boarded" the bus.
He found a bus headed to Queens and jumped directly onto the roof, catching a ride there.
The biological static electricity granted by his spider abilities allows him to easily cling to the surface of any object. Even if the vehicle accelerates, decelerates or makes sudden turns, it feels no different to him than sitting on flat ground.
Well, at most it's a bit bumpy.
Lying on his back atop the bus, Peter turned on the communication device on his web launcher.
Earlier, the AI lady in his spider suit reported receiving a text from an "unknown" number.
Peter opened it and glanced over it. Well, this "unknown" was obviously sent by Tony Stark.
It contained some relevant information about the "mission" he had just received at Stark Tower.
The intelligence agency didn't have much information. The main issue was a recent exchange of gunfire between several underground gangs in New York. Eyewitnesses captured videos showing energy weapons being used!
Due to the angle and distance of the recordings, the video quality wasn't high. But based on comparing appearances, the weapons resembled Earth's kinetic energy firearms.
What did that mean?
Someone had combined energy weapons and kinetic weapons to create a neutered version of energy weapons.
However, even in this degraded form, they were still energy weapons!
The powerful handheld energy cannons could turn a person into a pile of ash with a single shot, guaranteed to leave them unrecognizable even to their mother.
There were also cluster weapons that could easily slice through armor.
This exceeded gun legislation limits!
While the Constitution doesn't specify firearm types, the federal government and states have differing interpretations of gun regulations.
Purchasing fully automatic weapons, short-barreled long guns, silencers, weapons of mass destruction, explosives, and such require very strict local and federal review.
The power of energy weapons far surpasses kinetic arms, categorizing them as weapons of mass destruction.
Clearly illegal if undocumented.
Moreover, they exchanged fire in residential areas.
If careless, innocent civilians could be hurt.
However, through Iron Man's information, Peter also found potentially useful clues.
First, since these neutered energy weapons combined kinetic and energy weapons, it meant they had to have at least one manufacturing factory.
And the scale should be considerable.
Small workshops couldn't process and manufacture energy weapons.
So perhaps he should check some "abandoned factories" near Queens and Brooklyn first.
The factories were abandoned outwardly, but that appearance could be deceiving.
Someone with ill intent might secretly repurpose one into a weapons workshop.
After all, "abandonment" meant avoiding notice, tax exemption, and other conveniences.
Second, the energy weapons' source.
He could rule out self-development.
Why?
If they developed this tech themselves, there'd be no need to combine it with kinetic weapon shells.
With real capability, they could seek official cooperation or partner with big companies like Stark Enterprises.
No need for such secrecy.
Their behavior clearly stemmed from malicious intent.
So what was the biggest, easiest source of leaked energy weapons?
The Chitauri invasion!
During the shocking 2012 Battle of New York, many videos circulated.
Though young then, Peter had seen plenty.
The Chitauri's energy rifles, cannons mounted on their chariots - all manner of energy weapons.
But Peter had no idea where those ended up afterward, nor the fates of the Chitauri army remains.
He'd only vaguely seen someone cleaning up the cordoned area.
"Miss Karen, do I have permission to access some Avengers archives?" Peter asked.
"Authorization is needed. Do you want to apply?" Karen replied.
"Apply, of course," Peter said.
"Please wait a moment, awaiting Mr. Stark's confirmation." Karen paused, then spoke again, "It's been granted, Peter. You can now query information within your authority."
"Okay, thank you Miss Karen."
"You're welcome, Peter."
"Help me retrieve content from after the 2012 Battle of New York."
"Okay, Peter, pulled up," Karen said.
A projection appeared on Peter's watch displaying relevant information.
Peter browsed quickly, filtering out useful details.
After that year's Battle of New York, repair and cleanup in the city was taken over by the Damage Control Department, an agency jointly established by the US federal government and Stark Enterprises.
Over the years, Damage Control became an official agency, handling aftermath like the recent Sokovia incident.
This meant Damage Control possessed a lot of high-tech materials.
That mysterious weapons manufacturer likely obtained raw materials from Damage Control!
Unfortunately, though Iron Man advocated for and founded Damage Control, he later relinquished control of the agency.
So Peter's idea of checking if they had any records of missing items came to nothing.
But Peter wasn't discouraged.
He also found other pertinent information.
For example, right after the Battle of New York, before Damage Control formed, the New York City Council commissioned a company called "Bessman Salvage" to aid cleanup efforts.
Bessman Salvage was a scrap recycling company, previously focused on salvaging and some disaster cleanup work.
However, Bessman Salvage was subsequently dissolved.
The only detail found was that the company's original person-in-charge was named: Adrian Toomes!
That name sounded familiar to Peter!
In the Noir Spider-Man's world, the Vulture decisively killed by Peter after fusing with Noir due to attacking Aunt May - his original name was Adrian Toomes!
(End of chapter)