Harry: "???"
A split second later, he realized exactly what was happening and hurriedly put on a warm, friendly smile.
"Hello!"
Then he quickly said goodbye to Wanda and the others.
"Now that Hydra's Supreme Commander is gone, Hydra's strength has dropped dramatically. You should be able to handle the rest.
"I've got something important to deal with here. I'll contact you later!"
The moment he finished speaking, the immense tide of chaos magic inside Wanda's body receded like the outgoing sea.
The sudden shift from swollen fullness to emptiness left Wanda with an odd sense of loss. A little resentment bubbled up in her chest too. She had no idea what had happened on Harry's end, only that he had just pulled the classic move of becoming a heartless man the second he was done.
Once he had withdrawn all of his consciousness and power from Wanda's body, Harry calmly turned his attention to the mysterious man in front of him.
The man's entire body was a pale, bleached white.
That unnatural color covered everything, his face, neck, arms, legs, every inch of him, making him look completely unlike an ordinary human, like some being that had crawled out of another world.
His face was gaunt, his chin a little sharp, his cheekbones prominent. Even the way he moved looked twisted, frantic, and lost.
After studying him for a moment, Harry decided the man was a little like Loki, like some ruined little prince who had lost everything.
But the reason Harry was taking him so seriously had nothing to do with that.
It was because the mysterious man's upper body was currently sticking out of a portal.
And if Harry's senses were right, that portal led to a special spatiotemporal domain that connected to the entire multiverse.
This was exactly the kind of ability he had been dreaming about, a way to physically cross the multiverse.
So Harry studied the portal behind the stranger with open curiosity and asked, "Hello. What exactly is that behind you?"
The Spot, whose real name was Johnathon Ohnn, had once been an ordinary man. After a particle-collider accident, he absorbed dark matter and became a superhuman.
He lost his face, his family, his career, everything he used to have.
And the one to blame for all of it was that damn Spider-Man.
So he had made up his mind, he was going to use his powers to get revenge.
But just when he had finally found Spider-Man and rushed at him, he had tripped straight into one of the portals that kept appearing from his body.
That was how he entered the strange dimension inside himself, where he discovered that he could move through parallel universes at will using the holes in his body.
Just a moment ago, he had opened his first portal, scared an old lady half to death, and gotten smacked back through it with her purse.
Now he had appeared in front of this man, who looked like some kind of sorcerer. He seemed to use magic, and only moments ago he had been wrapped in crimson light.
After hearing Harry's question, The Spot thought for a moment and answered, "It's my power. I can use it to go anywhere!"
Harry's eyes lit up. This was someone he could actually talk to.
So, with visible excitement, he said, "Then can you let me take a look at the dimension you were talking about?
"To be honest, I'm a wizard, and... well... I might be able to turn you back into how you used to look. Assuming you do want to become human again, of course."
The Spot's eyes widened.
How could he not want that?
He dreamed of it.
But even as a highly educated scientist, he still had no solution whatsoever for what had happened to him. Otherwise, he never would've been desperate enough to throw his life away trying to take Spider-Man down.
A year ago, he had still been a very timid man.
After only a brief hesitation, The Spot made his decision.
The man in front of him was a wizard, and magic was a completely different system from science. Maybe, just maybe, he really could fix him.
The black holes across The Spot's body slowly contracted. They no longer gave off that same unsettling aura. Instead, a faint, soft glow rippled around them.
The empty holes on his face arranged themselves into a stiff, awkward smile, and when he spoke, his voice trembled with hope and nerves.
"Really... really? You can? If I can go back to the way I was before, I'd... I'd do anything!"
He quickly raised a hand and drew a black portal in the air. Strange starlight shimmered inside it, along with fragments of ruined buildings drifting in the void.
"Please, come in! It's dangerous in there, but I'll protect you! As long as you can heal me, I swear, anything you ask me to do after that, I'll do it!"
Harry lightly brushed his wand with his fingers, a confident smile curling at the corner of his mouth. Green curiosity danced in his eyes.
"Relax. I've been through things a lot more dangerous than this. Maybe even nastier than your little dimension.
"Come on. Let's see whether magic and science can make a miracle together."
He stepped toward the portal, the hem of his robe stirring under an unseen force.
After crossing through and entering a place without any real up or down, left or right, a vast space filled everywhere with black portals, Harry showed no fear at all. Instead, he immediately began observing the surroundings through observation runes.
In only a short time, his understanding of space rose at an astonishing speed. If he could stay here and study for a while, he would absolutely be able to master portal technology that could move back and forth across the multiverse.
When The Spot saw Harry standing there, scanning the place in silence, worry started creeping over him, and he cautiously asked, "So... can I still be saved?"
Harry answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Of course. Give me a week to study this, and I'll have a solution for you."
At that, joy spread across The Spot's face, and he said without a second thought, "Of course! I already managed to endure a whole year. One more week is nothing!"
Time flew by, and seven short days passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside The Spot's inner dimension, the observation runes that had remained active in Harry's eyes for seven straight days finally faded away. Then he rose to his feet and stretched.
The Spot, who had been growing worn down from waiting, instantly perked up. He floated over in a rush, the spots on his body trembling as he asked, "Harry, do you have an answer?"
Harry already understood his anxiety, so he immediately replied, "Relax. I've already found a way to solve the abnormal changes in your body."
Over the past week, Harry had completely analyzed the structure of this strange dimension. With a little modification, using it as a foundation and adjusting the architecture of its portals, he could create a portal capable of crossing the multiverse.
And if he could go even a step further and activate that portal with chaos magic, he might truly be able to reach other worlds.
The realization that he really might be able to return to something close to normal left The Spot bursting with excitement.
"Harry, then what's the solution? Hurry, hurry, tell me! I can't wait anymore!"
Harry organized his thoughts and gave The Spot two options.
"As things stand, there are two possible solutions for your condition.
"The first is to turn you completely back into a human, but that would mean losing your portal ability.
"At that point, you wouldn't be able to travel to parallel universes anymore, and you'd lose the chance to witness all those other worlds.
"The second option means you wouldn't be able to return completely to being human. Some mutated traits would still remain. But compared to the first option, the advantage is that those traits could all be hidden under clothing, and you'd retain most of your portal powers.
"You wouldn't be able to jump through parallel universes as casually as you do now, but if you prepared carefully and were willing to spend a large amount of energy, it would still be possible."
The black holes on The Spot's body twisted into something that looked uncannily like a grin, and his voice shook with barely contained excitement.
"The second one! It has to be the second one! As long as I can go back to living a normal life, that's enough. There's no way I can bear to lose the powers I have now. Becoming a complete ordinary person again, that's something I can't accept!"
Harry nodded slightly, completely unsurprised by the answer. If it were him, he would've made the same choice.
Then he asked, "Which portal leads to your home universe? We need to gather some materials first. That's the only way to help restore something close to your original appearance."
The Spot immediately yanked over a pitch-black portal. Excitedly, he stuck his head through it and urged Harry on.
"Harry, come on! I can't wait to see what I'll look like afterward!"
Harry followed The Spot through the portal.
A moment later, the world brightened before his eyes, and he found himself in another universe.
With only a quick glance around, Harry recognized the city immediately.
New York.
Unfortunately, The Spot had opened the portal in a terrible location, right in the middle of a busy street.
Suddenly, the shriek of brakes tore through the noise of traffic as a yellow taxi slammed to a stop less than two feet away from them, white steam curling up from the hood.
The driver stuck his head out the window, sunglasses crooked, and fired off a stream of profanity, only to go dead silent the moment he saw the black holes moving across The Spot's body.
Then he bolted from the cab and ran.
Harry watched him go, then gave The Spot a thoughtful look.
"You seem to have a bit of a reputation in this city. And not a very good one."
The Spot looked embarrassed. Afraid Harry might refuse to help him because of it, he hurried to explain.
"Sorry, Harry. For a while there, I was so broke I was practically starving, so I could only go borrow some food from convenience stores.
"But don't worry, I never hurt anybody. I was the one getting chased around by Spider-Man!"
"Wait. Spider-Man?"
"That's right, that annoying jerk. I just wanted something to eat, and every single time he had to show up and stop me.
"There are plenty of other shoplifters all over the city, and he doesn't seem nearly as interested in them, but he just had to make me his personal target."
The Spot kept venting his resentment, and from the look of him, he absolutely hated the Spider-Man of this universe.
At that moment, Harry lightly patted him on the shoulder, pointed into the distance, and asked, "Spider-Man... is that her?"
In that direction, a Spider-hero in a black-and-white skintight suit, with a graceful figure, was swinging toward them at high speed on webs.
Once The Spot got a clear look, confusion crossed his face.
"No, not him. The Spider-Man in this city is a young Spider-Man."
Harry said nothing.
He could sense something familiar from this spider-person, but there was also something different from the person he remembered.
So he decided to catch this little spider and ask a few questions properly.
Using the power he had just gained, he tried opening a portal next to the Spider-heroine.
But the moment he reached a hand through it, his expression changed.
Wait...
Why is it wet in there?
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