Peter was assigned to New York. Rather amusingly, even though Avengers Tower was located in New York and the Avengers had fought there several times, they weren't particularly familiar with the city's terrain—especially Manhattan's.
What the Avengers spent most of their time doing was flying all over the globe to deal with atrocious supervillains, meaning their actual day-to-day operations in New York were quite limited.
On the other hand, the Defenders were far more familiar with New York's layout, but the problem was that their overall combat capabilities weren't quite up to snuff.
Precisely for this reason, Peter brought in an extra squad of reinforcements.
"Alright, our team might actually end up being the biggest," Peter said as he met up with Matt to discuss their strategy. "We currently have the entire Defenders lineup—including you, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Cloak and Dagger, and Mister Negative. On top of that, I brought Black Cat into the mix."
"And your Spider-friends. If I remember correctly, there are three Spider-Women?"
Cindy, Gwen, and Senior Jessica—it was indeed three. After a brief few seconds of silence, Peter chose to brush past the topic and continued, "Frank will definitely join in too. I also managed to contact Moon Knight, which brings us to twelve people. Keep in mind, there were only six Avengers during the Battle of New York."
At this point, Peter paused slightly before adding, "Besides, Fisk is bound to stand against Ultron. He won't want Ultron assimilating the entire world. Looked at from that angle, the pressure on us will be a bit lighter."
"But we lack heavy firepower. Neither the Fantastic Four nor the Avengers are in New York. How are we supposed to deal with the overwhelming swarms of robots that could flood the city?"
Matt raised the core problem. Peter fell silent for a moment before looking back at him. Even if they combined Fisk's men with the forces Peter assembled, their heavy firepower remained severely lacking. With far too many locations to defend, deploying enough personnel to guard every spot was an impossible task.
After raising this question, Matt asked tentatively, "Speaking of which, can Strange come? If the Sorcerer Supreme joins us, our pressure would be drastically reduced."
Peter could barely keep a straight face. One of the biggest issues right now was that Strange had zero intention of coming. This whole mess was clearly an internal human affair that had nothing to do with the mystic realm.
Not to mention, Strange had to keep a close eye on Mephisto—where would he find the time or energy to deal with Ultron?
After a moment's thought, Peter made a crucial decision: "No, we don't need additional heavy firepower. I am the heavy firepower. I'll handle clearing out large areas."
Matt looked at Peter with a hint of skepticism and curiosity. He certainly knew Spider-Man was formidable and always fought on the front lines, but the problem was that they needed massive, rapid area-clearing capabilities—and he didn't recall Spider-Man possessing anything like that.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Just trust me."
Matt nodded. If that was the case, he would trust Spider-Man. After talking through a few more details, Matt went off to contact the others. Being the most suitable person to negotiate with Fisk, only Matt going to Fisk directly could make the Kingpin realize just how dangerous the situation had become.
Meanwhile, Peter intended to find Gwen and Cindy to discuss the upcoming battle. Leaving Matt's law firm, he hadn't walked far before halting dead in his tracks. His Spider-Sense went off violently, ringing as though he had just crossed paths with a formidable enemy.
Peter scanned his surroundings before finally locking his eyes on a young man impeccably dressed in a sharp suit. The man sat at an outdoor table of a nearby cafe, gazing at Peter with a smile.
Peter approached cautiously. The man gestured for him to sit down. The moment Peter sat, he caught a faint whiff of sulfur. It instantly reminded him of Limbo, though the person before him was clearly not Illyana.
"That smell... Are you Mephisto?"
"Correct answer, Spider-Man." The young man leaned back in his chair with a smile and asked Peter in return, "I heard you've run into some trouble recently, haven't you?"
"Ultron was brought here by you, wasn't he, Mr. Mephisto? Why did you change your look? It's completely different from last time. Is it because you're too embarrassed to show your face?"
Mephisto burst out laughing, ignoring Peter's jab. Instead, he offered a earnest piece of advice: "I have a proposition, Peter Parker. If you need a definitive way to eliminate the digital specter you're facing, why not seek my assistance? A mutually beneficial agreement is all it takes for you to be rid of that artificial intelligence permanently."
"No, I won't be making any deals with you." Peter shook his head, already starting to grasp Mephisto's underlying angle. "If there's one thing I must keep in mind when dealing with devils, it's to flatly reject every proposal. Any contract from a devil could be a trap—especially yours, Mephisto."
"Oh, you break my heart, Spider-Man. I came here in good faith to offer you a solution."
Mephisto let out a sigh and shook his head, putting on a heartbroken facade. However, Peter had already notified Strange. Mephisto knew this, yet he seemed completely unbothered as he ordered a cup of coffee and continued to smile at Peter.
"I am quite certain you will achieve victory, Spider-Man. But victory demands sacrifice. My proposal can reduce a vast number of innocent casualties—won't you reconsider?"
"And what's the catch? Are you a philanthropist all of a sudden?"
"What if I truly am a philanthropist?"
Strange arrived on the scene in a hurry. Glancing at Mephisto, he shook his head. "This fellow isn't Mephisto himself—just a poor soul brainwashed by him. Still, your caution was right. Never enter into any agreement with Mephisto."
"Greetings, Sorcerer Supreme. My contract is actually quite reasonable. Feel free to take a look."
As Mephisto spoke, the two wielded magic right in front of Strange in broad daylight, yet not a single bystander noticed their actions. Strange scanned the entire contract before waving his hand in refusal. Mephisto let out a sigh, his head slumping sideways as his presence departed from the poor possessed host.
Curious, Peter asked, "Besides dealing with Ultron, what else did Mephisto's contract mention?"
"Mephisto offered to give up the multiverse and turn Hell into a pocket dimension of Earth."