Alex used Transformation to turn Ned into a miniature pig.
He found a backpack, tossed the little pig into it, then carried it out the window.
After Alex flew out the window, a beetle that had been crawling on the windowsill flapped its wings and flew into the air.
Halfway through its flight, the beetle suddenly changed direction. Just then, a hand caught it.
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly and scanned the beetle's body, only to discover that its interior was made up of intricate mechanical components.
It was a mechanical beetle.
Just then, a spark flashed inside the beetle.
BOOM!
A fireball exploded, and flames and thick smoke swallowed Alex's figure.
This tiny beetle had an astonishing explosive power.
It exploded in midair, and the resulting shockwave shattered the windows of nearby buildings. The alarms of cars all along the street began blaring nonstop, frightening passersby into screaming and running, thinking they had been caught in an air raid.
Of course, an explosion like this posed zero threat to Alex.
Even though he had already been weakened by 50%, and even though two of his Awakened Talents had been disabled an explosion of this level still couldn't hurt him in the slightest.
The existence of his biological force field meant that not even a single hair on him was singed.
After the wind blew away the thick smoke, Alex chuckled, "Looks like I'm not the only one taking action."
"Come out and meet me. I know you're nearby."
"There's no need to hide like a rat."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a dull sound of something cutting through the air above him.
A point of light in the distant sky was rapidly approaching.
Alex looked over and realized it wasn't a point of light at all. It was simply sunlight reflecting off metal armor.
In the blink of an eye, a figure landed in front of him.
It was a metallic construct, its appearance resembling Iron Man's Mark armor. But when Alex scanned its interior, he discovered that there was no one inside, only a mass of intricate machinery.
It was a robot.
The robot was painted red and blue, and there was even a stars-and-stripes flag on its back.
Alex stared in astonishment, "You're also a 'Homelander'?"
"Who says a 'Homelander' has to be carbon-based?", An electronic synthesized voice came from inside the robot, "I'm a 'Homelander' from another universe. My name is Staro."
"Nice to meet you, dear 'brother.'"
Alex raised a hand, "Don't call me brother. That title gives me the creeps. I don't want to turn into a pile of metal. That would be no fun."
"I'm not metal. I'm simply a mechanical life-form."
"My body is constructed differently from yours, but I have feelings just the same. I have anger and joy, and I have a soul as well," Staro replied.
Alex slung the backpack over his shoulder, "Looking like that, you should be in the Transformers universe. There are plenty of mechanical life-forms there."
"I know that universe. One day, I will conquer it," Staro pointed at Alex, "But for now, I have to deal with the problem between us."
"But before that, what should I call you?"
Alex shrugged, "Does it matter what you call me?"
"It's basic courtesy, isn't it?"
"Especially since you don't want me to call you 'brother,'" Staro said matter-of-factly.
"In other universes, I'm known as the 'Conqueror,'" Alex didn't want to tell him his real name.
"Conqueror," Staro nodded in a very human manner. "That title certainly suits your strength."
"I didn't expect this 'invader' to be so powerful. You've been weakened by 50% directly, and two of your 'Awakened Talents' have also been sealed."
"You've actually already awakened, and you have two of them. I really don't know what you've been through, but I'm truly amazed."
Alex laughed, "Even a clanker can be amazed?"
"Or did you learn that from humans?"
Blue light radiated from Staro's eyes, but a faint red glow appeared within them now, making him seem almost angry.
"I told you just now. I have a soul. I have emotions too."
"Forget it."
"I should have known from the start that you're no different from the other 'brothers.' You're all arrogant and conceited."
"I'm used to it."
"Let's get back to the original topic. I want you to surrender and withdraw from this confrontation."
"According to my calculations, your chance of victory is only 13%. To avoid wasting unnecessary time and lives, I recommend that you surrender and withdraw."
Alex shrugged, "Is that all you want to say?"
"What if I refuse?"
"Are you going to kill me right now?"
Staro said without the slightest surprise, "Your answer was also within my calculations. It matches the result of the model's simulation 100%."
"I know what you're trying to do."
"You used your miraculous magic to drive a wedge between Peter Parker and his two friends."
"Your goal is to make him abandoned by everyone, turning him into a lone wolf, or perhaps a solitary eagle."
"When he's alone and without anyone to rely on, you'll find a way to use the villains he wants to save to kill the people he cares about most."
"You want them to kill May, or MJ and the others."
"You want Peter Parker to experience the darkness of human nature, leading him down the path of corruption, and ultimately kill the Green Goblin, Osborn. Once that happens, you'll be able to reap the rewards of victory in this confrontation."
Alex gave a laugh, "Since you already know, you should understand that you're the one with no chance of winning."
"Even with me weakened by 50%, and even with two of my Awakened Talents disabled, I still have enough power to carry my plan through to the end."
"You don't think you can stop me, do you?"
Staro nodded, "Your reaction is exactly what I predicted. Like the other 'brothers,' you believe in your own strength."
"To be honest, using Peter Parker's deep emotions against him was something I hadn't considered."
"That should have something to do with the fact that I'm not human."
"But it won't work. I've already made thorough preparations, and I'll target you from every angle."
"You're right. Maybe I can't stop you, but don't forget, this is the Marvel Universe. There are powerful superheroes here."
"You can take a look at this."
Two beams of light shot from the robot's eyes. They moved through the air in a circle, forming an optical screen.
An image of an overpass appeared on the screen.
On that very overpass, Alex and Spider-Man were fighting.
Throughout the entire fight, Spider-Man was completely overwhelmed.
In the end, Spider-Man was no match for him and left the overpass. Alex then destroyed the overpass, causing countless casualties.
Alex looked at the optical screen, somewhat surprised, "You did this?"
"I have informants throughout the entire city."
"I monitor every corner of this city."
"I recorded the battle between Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man on the overpass."
"I used this footage as source material, added the information about you that I had just collected, replaced Doctor Octopus with you, and then sent the footage out."
Staro put away the footage, "To make it look more authentic, I actually destroyed that overpass and uploaded the footage to the internet. I also implanted it into every surveillance device capable of recording that overpass."
"And I believe Peter Parker probably isn't in the mood to come forward and verify anything for you right now."
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly, "Then there's only one last question."
"Who did you send the footage to?"
Two more beams shot from Staro's eyes, constructing an image, "I analyzed the data from a signal transmitter."
Soon, a yellow eight-pointed star appeared in front of Alex.
It was the star emblem on Captain Marvel's uniform.
"You're quite clever," As he spoke, Alex suddenly slammed into Staro.
The robot was instantly smashed apart by Alex, breaking into pieces as its components clattered all over the ground.
Among them, the voice-producing component inside Staro was still functioning, "It's useless. I have as many bodies like this as I want."
"You are destined to fail in the end, my 'brother.'"
A beam of golden light swept over the voice-producing component, blowing it into pieces.
Alex smiled, "Whatever. Doesn't matter how many you have, I'll kill every single one of them. I'll keep killing them until there's not a single one left. At that point, you'll either surrender or die."
With that, Alex grabbed the backpack and flew straight into the sky. After pausing briefly at high altitude, he flew toward downtown New York.
———
Peter Parker didn't know how he had made it back to Doctor Strange's Sanctum.
He was in low spirits and felt lost.
On the way back, he had asked himself more than once, 'Did I make a mistake?'
MJ had suddenly left without saying goodbye and chosen to break up with him.
Ned had also chosen to leave him and no longer wanted to be his friend.
All of a sudden, Peter Parker felt very lonely.
It was as if the whole world had isolated him.
"Parker."
Peter Parker walked toward the Sanctum, somewhat dazed. He didn't even hear someone calling him.
It wasn't until a hand reached for his shoulder that, with the help of his spider-sense, his body automatically avoided it.
Only then did he come to his senses, and he saw MJ.
Not just MJ, but Ned too.
The fat kid was standing behind her, smiling and waving at him.
The little spider froze, "You, you two, what are you doing here?"
"MJ, didn't you already leave with your parents?"
"Ned, you said you never wanted to see me again."
MJ and Ned exchanged a glance.
Then MJ took Peter Parker's hand, "Parker, we had our reasons for doing that."
"Take me, for example. My parents were worried that I'd get hurt if I stayed with you."
"So they wanted me to break up with you."
"I didn't want to do it either, but they're my parents, after all. I had to put their minds at ease."
"So I'm sorry. I hurt you."
Ned walked over and smiled, "Same here. If I hadn't done that, my grandma would've nagged you to death."
MJ smiled, "But it's all right now. I slapped you in front of my parents, so now they believe we won't have anything to do with each other anymore."
"After we moved into the new apartment, I told them I was going out to clear my head, and then I came to find you."
Peter Parker was over the moon. He hadn't expected things to take such a turn. He shook his head and hugged the two of them tightly.
"That's great."
"I thought you'd really left me."
"That's great."
"It's so good to have you two by my side."
Ned patted his back, "Stop saying stupid things. We're best friends. How could we leave you?"
MJ also said, "Exactly. Didn't we agree that we'd all get into MIT together?"
Peter Parker immediately let go of them, "Speaking of MIT, I have some good news. MIT has decided to give us another chance."
MJ happily said, "That's the best news I've heard all day!"
The little spider then cleared his throat, "But there's a problem now. I need your help."
"By the way, how did you know I was here?"
MJ looked toward Ned, and Ned waved his phone, "Friend location."
Peter Parker suddenly understood.
MJ continued, "What's the problem?"
"Let's talk while we walk."
He led the two of them toward the Sanctum, then briefly explained the situation with the multiverse, "Now Doctor Strange wants me to capture those visitors. Can you help me?"
MJ bumped his arm, "Of course I'm on your side."
Ned then made a gesture with him that they often made, "You don't even have to ask."
Peter Parker stood in front of the door and shook his head, "I'm so lucky to be able to see you two again."
Then he pushed the door open.
The spider had very impressive abilities, but he had no scanning ability.
Otherwise, like Alex, he would have discovered that the two friends beside him now had intricate machines inside their bodies.
———
Inside a warehouse at the New York docks that had been vacant for a long time, a miniature pig was running around inside a crate, squealing and shouting.
Alex put food and water inside, then closed the crate and placed something heavy on top of it.
After finishing all this, he clapped his hands and walked toward the door.
"Tonight, if nothing unexpected happens, Peter Parker will go after Electro."
"In the process, he'll also encounter Sandman. Maybe I can use this opportunity to get close to the little spider again and push him further toward the dark side."
As he spoke, Alex had already changed into the Nano Suit, put on the 'Justice Cape,' and equipped the 'Hercules Bracers.'
Even though the effects of these items had also been weakened by 50%, Alex still needed them.
After locking the warehouse door, Alex adjusted the temperature of his 'Heat Vision' and used it to weld the door shut.
This would ensure that no one accidentally entered and discovered Ned.
He also didn't know how long Transformation could last. In any case, over the next few days, he didn't want the chubby kid to see Spider-Man.
"Let's go."
Alex clapped his hands, but suddenly stopped. Then he wore a helpless expression.
He turned around with a smile, "You got here pretty fast, ma'am."
"What planet did you rush back from?"
On the other side of the docks, the reflection of tonight's unusually bright full moon shimmered beneath the surface of the water.
A foot lightly touched the water, sending out ripples.
Under the moonlight, a blonde woman stood proudly, holding her head high as she looked at Alex.
Captain Marvel!