The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics

"We're here, this is the place." Yang Le pointed to the warehouse ahead.

Gwen glanced at the warehouse, which had already half collapsed, and said, "Wow, the owner of this warehouse must be desperate to find you for compensation."

"Then he should go find the person who turned Peter into the Lizard," Yang Le said, heading towards the ruins without looking back.

It was now the next morning. As they had discussed the night before, Yang Le brought Gwen, who had skipped the homecoming festival, to the warehouse where Peter had transformed into the Lizard, intending to use Clockwork's abilities to unravel the mystery.

Although it was largely symbolic, the warehouse owner had still closed the dilapidated gate. Looking at the leaky building and the gate, stubbornly representing the owner's resolve, one couldn't help but feel a sense of Maginot Line-esque beauty, a strangely touching sight.

Wiping away nonexistent tears, Yang Le reached for the gate, intending to give the warehouse owner the most basic respect.

"Creak, bang!"

With a gentle push from Yang Le, the dilapidated gate completed its mission, collapsing to the ground and stirring up a cloud of dust.

"When you're up to your neck in debt, what's a little more?" Yang Le shrugged and stepped over the gate, entering the warehouse.

"Gwen, keep watch for me!"

"Okay!"

Yang Le shouted towards the outside. After receiving Gwen's response, he finally felt relieved and began to transform.

With a flash of white light, Clockwork made his reappearance.

"Okay, now let's see who's up to no good." Rubbing his hands together, Clockwork's key on his head began to spin counterclockwise at an extremely fast speed, looking like Doraemon's bamboo-copter.

Immediately afterward, the key shot out a beam of white light that covered the entire warehouse. The entire warehouse seemed to have been put in reverse, slowly returning to the state it was in when the incident occurred.

This was one of Clockwork's abilities. Simply put, he turned time into a film reel and played it back using the key on his head; it wasn't a true reversal of time.

Looking at the familiar chair in front of him, Yang Le knew that the time he had reversed was just right.

Yang Le turned to face the direction of the gate and indeed saw Peter, fast asleep, being dragged in from outside the warehouse.

The person dragging Peter was petite and about the same height as Gwen. They wore a large hoodie, covering their face completely, and carried a sporty sling bag on their back.

The two got closer and closer to Yang Le until they passed through Yang Le's body. Yang Le turned around just in time to see the masked person place Peter on the chair.

The masked person took out ropes from the bag and began to tie up Peter. From this angle, Yang Le could clearly see the masked person's face.

Sure enough, the face under the hood wore a mask. Yang Le could only see the person's partial face, with black hair and black... no, brown eyes, and a somewhat delicate appearance. It should be a girl.

This partial face gave Yang Le a sense of familiarity. It should be a character from Marvel, and one he was familiar with.

However, he really couldn't recognize who it was. He couldn't be blamed for this; after all, Marvel was a large company with countless comic artists, each with their own unique style.

There were even some artists whose characters he wouldn't recognize if they weren't labeled.

This always gave him a familiar yet strange feeling when he saw characters who weren't wearing uniforms in the comics.

"A female character with black hair and brown eyes..." Yang Le stroked his metal chin, confidently pondering who this character was.

One thing he could be sure of was that this character's kidnapping of Peter wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. To be worthy of her identity, she must have some kind of scheme.

While Yang Le was thinking, time continued to flow. At this time, Peter had woken up and was struggling desperately. The masked person took out a syringe from their bag and stabbed it into Peter, without even disinfecting it—not hygienic at all.

After doing all of this, the stranger took a few steps back, hiding in the shadows of the warehouse, quietly watching Peter's transformation.

After that, it was his appearance as Fasttrack, followed by Diamondhead fighting the Lizard, while the masked person quietly slipped away while he and Peter were fighting.

Clearly, there was no more useful information here. Seeing this, Yang Le deactivated his ability, and the warehouse once again became a pile of ruins. A touch of gold appeared at the warehouse entrance.

"Is it over?" Gwen asked again after seeing Yang Le nod.

"So, did you find anything?"

"I saw the mastermind, but she was wearing a hat and mask, so I could only see half of her face. It should be a woman," Yang Le deactivated his transformation and walked towards the door. "The other person has black hair and brown eyes, and is about your size."

"What do you think? Do you recognize anyone like that?"

Gwen thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "That's too common a description. There are many people who fit that description at Midtown High, let alone all of New York."

Yang Le was just asking casually. It would be best if he could get a clue, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't.

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Black hair, female—Yang Le's brain began to search using these two keywords. However, he couldn't think of anything useful for the moment.

If he could have a few more brains, he might be a little smarter. Wait! A few more brains...

"That's right!" Yang Le had a flash of inspiration, grabbed the confused Gwen, and returned to the warehouse.

"Speaking of having more brains and being smarter, then of course we have to rely on that guy." Back in the warehouse, Yang Le excitedly activated the Omnitrix. After finding the alien hero he wanted, he gently pressed the transformation button.

The blinding white light dissipated, and a short, thin figure appeared in front of Gwen.

"Grey Matter!" Yang Le raised his hands and cheered, then said with a look of disgust.

"Oh, that action was stupid enough, very fitting of my dorky self when I'm human."

"Wow, Hubie, you've gotten smaller," Gwen said, squatting down and curiously looking at Yang Le in his Grey Matter form, even reaching out a finger to poke him.

"I thought all your aliens were the strong type."

"Oh! God, stop! Stop!" Yang Le resisted Gwen's demonic claws.

"Don't lump Grey Matter in with those muscle-bound types. This is the smartest race in the entire universe! Even the famous dorks in this race are several times smarter than the scientists on Earth! And haven't you seen Upgrade before?"

"Oh, right, I forgot about him!" Reminded by Yang Le, Gwen remembered the red little imp.

"Your equipment was all made by Upgrade!" Yang Le looked at Gwen in disbelief.

"Ahem! Let's not talk about that," Gwen said with an awkward cough.

"So, that means your brain is very smart in this form, right? And you're going to use this smart brain to lead us to the answer?"