On the rooftop of the teaching building at Midtown High School, Homelander was enjoying the breeze.
Using Transformation, he had turned himself into Spider-Man.
"I really have to thank Loki for this magic."
"No wonder that God of Mischief could get so far in the Marvel world despite having such terrible combat power."
"This Transformation spell is really useful."
"Even fooling Captain Marvel depended on it. It's practically a divine skill."
As he spoke, Homelander touched his face, "But speaking of which, it's already been a day and a night. Maybe the Transformation spell has already worn off."
Several streams of information extended from his fingertips. They connected to the nearby network, then rapidly entered the Avengers' communications base.
Homelander had tampered with the artificial intelligence at that base. Normally, he should have been able to connect to the Avengers' system very quickly.
But he discovered that the Avengers' base system had already been updated, with many firewalls added, so he couldn't successfully break into it for the moment.
But this alone was enough to tell him a lot.
"As expected, Captain Marvel has discovered that I'm not at the base."
"Given her personality, she should be searching for me all over the world right now."
"Although I'm not afraid of her, I've been weakened by 50%, and two of my awakened talents have been sealed."
"In this condition, it's not impossible to defeat Carol, but getting her to stop hounding me won't be so easy."
"Being popular really is a headache."
"Is there anywhere on Earth that can temporarily trap Carol?"
"It doesn't need to be for long. About a day should be enough."
"After all, according to the plot, Peter Parker will have his final battle with the villains tomorrow."
"Wait…"
Homelander smiled, "I think I know a place that can give Carol some trouble."
Just then, he sensed two mental lights approaching.
The "Mental Domain" ability was also very convenient for detecting enemies. Of course, it had its weaknesses. For example, against a mechanical life-form like Starro, the "Mental Domain" was completely useless.
Even though that guy repeatedly claimed to possess a soul and will, Homelander had never detected any mental light from him.
However, it was also possible that this wasn't Starro himself, but a robot similar to the ones disguised as Spider-Man's friends.
Two mental lights appeared nearby.
Homelander immediately jumped up and looked toward the tower ahead.
Above the tower, the stars in the night sky were dim, thick clouds covering the moonlight. But under the faint moonlight, two figures could still be seen on top of the tower.
One was crouching, while the other was clinging sideways to the outside wall of the tower.
'They're here!'
Homelander thought.
These were the original Spider-Man and the Amazing Spider-Man, the two "spiders" from other universes.
At the same time, their arrival also confirmed one of Homelander's guesses.
Starro had definitely contacted these two Spider-Men.
After all, Ned was currently being left in a warehouse at the docks by him, while MJ had already left New York with her parents.
No one would be coming to find reinforcements for Spider-Man.
So now, if there was anyone else in New York who was "worrying" about Spider-Man, it had to be the "Homelander" of another universe, Starro.
At this moment, the two Spider-Men had already come down from the tower. They landed easily on the ground, keeping a certain distance from Homelander.
Homelander put himself into Spider-Man's role, raised his hand, and showed an incredulous expression.
"What the hell."
"What's going on with you guys?"
He looked at the Amazing Spider-Man, who was wearing a red-and-blue Spider-Man suit.
The original Spider-Man, now middle-aged, sighed softly, "I'm sorry, Aunt May is gone."
"Yeah, it's really sad," The younger Amazing Spider-Man stepped forward, "I can understand how you feel."
Homelander felt that he could probably win an Oscar for Best Actor. He shook his head and said with a complicated look, "Don't tell me you understand how I feel."
"She's gone. It's all my fault."
"You have no idea what I'm feeling right now."
"She died for nothing."
"I shouldn't have been so naive from the beginning."
"Some people simply aren't worth saving!"
The original Spider-Man looked sorrowful, "Peter, listen to me."
"No!"
Homelander pointed at him, "You two don't belong here. I'm going to send you back too."
"It's over. Everything should be over."
"They came from your universe, didn't they?"
"So I leave them to you."
"Whether you kill them or let them go, that's your business."
"I don't want to get involved, and I won't get involved again."
"But there's one exception."
"Norman Osborn. I'm going to snap his neck with my own hands!"
"Sorry for dragging you two into this, but…"
He shook his head, using his excellent acting to perfectly portray Spider-Man's state of mind.
'The Oscars owe me a little golden statue.'
Homelander thought.
At this moment, the original Spider-Man spoke slowly in a sorrowful tone, "I had an uncle. Ben."
"He was murdered."
"It was my fault."
The Amazing Spider-Man also remembered the past.
"I lost Gwen. She… she was my MJ."
"I couldn't save her."
"I'll never be able to forgive myself."
He choked up as he said, "Even now, at night, in my dreams, I still dream again and again about that moment when I couldn't catch her hand and lost her."
"That's the past I least want to talk about."
Tears glimmered in the Amazing Spider-Man's eyes, then he smiled, "But I got through it. I'm still fighting crime and being everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."
"Because I know that's what she wanted."
"But even so, I still changed."
"I no longer hold back when dealing with criminals."
"I'm always angry. I live with bitterness."
"I just don't want you to end up like me."
"Peter, hatred is a fire."
"It will burn your soul."
"And even after you get your revenge, you won't find peace."
The original Spider-Man picked up the conversation, "The night Uncle Ben died, I tracked down the man I thought had killed him."
"I wanted him dead."
"And then I got what I wanted."
The original Spider-Man sighed, "But that didn't make me feel any better. It took me a very long time to learn how to walk out of the darkness."
"So, Peter, don't let the darkness swallow you."
Homelander shook his head.
"No. I'm going to kill him."
"I'm going to tear him to pieces."
"Even if it makes me feel worse."
"Even if it means I'll live in pain and anger."
"But if I don't do it, I'll never forgive myself!"
"Thank you both for sharing your life experiences with me, but I'm sorry. Norman Osborn must die!"
Homelander shook his head and said, "I can still hear her voice."
"After Osborn attacked us, she still said that we had done the right thing. Even at the very end of her life, she was still encouraging me."
"So I can forgive anyone, but not Osborn. Do you understand?"
The original Spider-Man and the Amazing Spider-Man exchanged a glance.
Before coming here, they had already prepared themselves for the difficulty of convincing Peter Parker.
After all, they were Peter Parker too. They knew what it felt like to lose a loved one.
They knew how painful it was.
So now, hearing Homelander's answer, they weren't surprised.
They still wanted to keep trying, when the original Spider-Man narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Are the stars particularly bright at night in your universe?"
The Amazing Spider-Man looked up and saw a point of light in the distant, dim night sky shining brilliantly.
Homelander, however, had a different sensation.
He felt an extremely powerful and brilliant mental light rapidly approaching.
It was approaching so fast that just as he sensed it, light was already spilling down from above.
He raised his head and, unsurprisingly, saw Captain Marvel.
Carol, her body rising with bright flames of light, saw the three Spider-Men on the rooftop and said, "Oh," Then she continued, "Looks like the Sorcerer really didn't lie to me. Kid, you've caused a lot of trouble."
From the way she spoke, it seemed she had gone to see Doctor Strange. Homelander coughed and introduced the other two Spider-Men for her, "This is Ms. Carol. She's the strongest person I've ever met."
The Amazing Spider-Man gave his trademark smile and waved at Captain Marvel.
The original Spider-Man simply gave a more reserved nod.
After greeting them, Carol said, "Mr. Parker, you need to come back with me."
Homelander, the original Spider-Man, and the Amazing Spider-Man all asked at the same time, "Where?"
Carol froze for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Your names are Peter Parker too?"
The original and Amazing Spider-Men awkwardly nodded, "Yes, ma'am."
Carol shrugged, "All right, that's fine."
"Either way, all three of you have to come back to the Sanctum Sanctorum with me."
"This is what I promised the Sorcerer."
Homelander vaguely guessed the answer, but still cautiously asked, "What did you promise him?"
"I'm looking for someone."
"But I have no leads, so I thought of the Sorcerer."
"I figured he should be able to help."
"But when I found him, he had just come out of some kind of space, and he told me that you had caused trouble. A lot of trouble."
Carol looked at Homelander, "So we made a deal."
"I'll help him take the visitors from the various universes back, and he'll help me find the person I'm looking for."
Homelander quickly asked, "Then did you find Norman Osborn?"
Carol spread her hands, "Who's Norman Osborn?"
The original Spider-Man smiled, "A crazy guy who flies around on a glider."
Carol shook her head, "I only found a guy who could turn into sand. Then I noticed you were here, so I came over to take a look."
"All right, enough chatting. I'm in a hurry."
"Please come back with me, okay?"
Homelander backed away, "I can't go back yet, ma'am."
"I have something I need to do. Please give me some time."
"I promise, once I've finished what I need to do, I'll go find Doctor Strange myself."
Carol smiled, "Obviously, that won't do, Mr. Parker."
"The Sorcerer is worried that you'll cause even bigger trouble. Although as far as I know, the trouble you've caused is already pretty big, just a little smaller than the Thanos incident."
"Just a little."
Carol indicated the amount with her hand, then said, "So now, either you come back with me."
"Or..."
She raised her arm. Several magic circles appeared around her wrist, while various magical symbols appeared on the sleeve of her uniform.
Clearly, Doctor Strange had engraved the spell that could teleport people into the magical prison onto Carol's hand.
Homelander shook his head.
"Sorry."
Then he turned and ran.
He immediately took a large step to the left on instinct, dodging the magical beam Carol fired.
"What are you trying to do, ma'am?"
"Please give him a chance."
The Amazing Spider-Man and the original Spider-Man shouted at the same time, and both shot webs at Carol.
The webs stuck to Carol, and the two Spider-Men worked together to pull her down.
"Don't..."
Carol raised her hand slightly and tore the webs off her body. She shook her head at the two Spider-Men, "I know you're good people, but don't force me to fight you."
The Amazing Spider-Man smiled, "We just want to help that kid. Give us a chance."
The original Spider-Man looked toward Homelander, "Don't let your anger control you, Peter!"
Homelander had already jumped off the rooftop. While Carol's view was blocked by the building, he immediately used "Mental Transmission," locating a passerby, and appeared on the street in an instant.
The passerby Homelander had locked onto was startled and screamed, "Spider-Man!"
"Peter Parker!"
"He's right here!"
"Oh God, aliens are coming! Monsters are coming! Help!"
Homelander used "Reality Distortion" to temporarily make his mouth disappear.
Then he ran into a dark alley. When he came back out, he had already used Transformation to become a short-haired woman.
He knew the two Spider-Men couldn't hold Carol back for long.
They simply weren't on the same level.
No matter how strong Spider-Man was, he couldn't possibly fight Captain Marvel.
All he wanted now was to get away quickly and avoid getting tangled up with Captain Marvel.
———
[On the rooftop of Midtown Science High School]
The Amazing Spider-Man used a web to anchor himself, circling Carol while constantly firing webs at her. In the blink of an eye, he had wrapped Carol in webs.
The original Spider-Man also raised his hand and shot webs, pulling Carol over and throwing her against the tower.
Then the two Spider-Men connected their webs, pinning Captain Marvel against the outside wall of the tower.
"Take a break here, ma'am," the Amazing Spider-Man said with a smile.
Carol smiled too, "If you want me to rest, that's nowhere near enough."
She didn't even need to activate her "Binary State." With both hands clenched into fists, she fired neutron streams from her fists, tearing apart the webs the original and Amazing Spider-Men had painstakingly set up.
"This is going to be difficult," The Amazing Spider-Man glanced at the original Spider-Man, "Do you guys have anyone this powerful?"
The original Spider-Man smiled bitterly, "The toughest guy I've ever encountered came from outside Earth. It was a real pain, but at least it couldn't fire lasers."
Carol winked at the two Spider-Men, "Now it's your turn to rest."
———
A moment later, inside the underground chamber of the Sanctum Sanctorum, in the magical prison, the original Spider-Man and the Amazing Spider-Man appeared one after another.
They had been captured.
[🎉 Shoutout to Pablo, N8tive and Ferocious_Beast for joining p@treon. Consider joining to keep the stories going. Thank you very much.🤗]