"Oh, oh."
"I'm not dead!"
"Thank goodness, I thought I was done for."
"After getting hit by that lady, I thought I was definitely dead this time."
"Luckily I'm still alive. That's great."
"Where is this?"
Inside the magic prison, the Amazing Spider-Man felt all over his body and, after confirming that he hadn't lost any "parts," finally let out a sigh of relief.
The first-generation Spider-Man looked around, "I wish I knew."
"This is beneath the Sanctum Sanctorum."
A voice sounded from outside.
The two Spider-Men saw a graceful man wearing a red cloak walk out.
Doctor Strange, Stephen Strange, walked out.
Looking at the two Spider-Men in the magic prison, he said,
"Incredible."
"There's a Spider-Man in other universes too?"
"The multiverse really is amazing."
The first-generation and Amazing Spider-Man exchanged a glance, then asked at the same time, "Who are you?"
"Stephen Strange."
"A surgeon."
"And…"
Doctor Strange shrugged, "A magician."
Compared with the first-generation Spider-Man, the Amazing Spider-Man was younger after all. Hearing this, he smiled.
"That's pretty cool."
"You're a surgeon during the day and a magician at night?"
Doctor Strange shook his head, "No. Actually, I haven't been a surgeon for a long time."
"Don't you have someone like me in your universes?"
"Is there another Stephen Strange?"
The Amazing Spider-Man shook his head, "Not in my universe, at least."
The first-generation Spider-Man added, "The only time I see a magician in my universe is at birthday parties."
"Okay."
Stephen Strange fell into thought, "So not every multiverse has a Stephen Strange."
"In other words, there may be similarities between universes in the multiverse, but they won't be completely identical."
"Excuse me."
The Amazing Spider-Man put on a friendly smile, "Mr. Magician, can you let us out of this cell?"
"Probably not."
Stephen Strange raised his head, "I have to gather you together. I mean, the visitors who came from other universes. Only then will I have a way to send you back."
"I don't dislike you. At least you seem much better than a certain brat."
"As far as Spider-Men go, that's certainly true."
"But I have a responsibility, and a duty, to protect the safety of this universe."
"Your arrival has caused the boundaries between the multiverse to become blurred."
"That isn't a good thing. If it isn't stopped, other universes might seep into ours."
"Then they could overlap, or even collide."
"To make sure that doesn't happen, I have to ask you to stay in there."
"But don't worry. This will be over soon."
The first-generation Spider-Man cleared his throat, "Well, the Peter Parker from this universe, we want to help him."
"He just lost the person closest to him."
"He's in pain right now."
"We know what he wants to do, and we also know that we have to stop him. Otherwise, he'll trap himself in the darkness."
Doctor Strange looked at them, "Believe me, I'll help him."
"Even though he's caused me so much trouble."
"Yes, I'll still help him."1
"Because I know he meant well. He just did something bad while trying to do the right thing."
"So don't worry. After this is over, I'll help him walk out of the darkness."
"As for now, I'm sorry, but I can't let you out."
The two Spider-Men exchanged another glance, and both could see the helplessness in each other's eyes.
They had done everything they could.
They had faced many powerful people.
But it was obvious that there were too many incredible things in this universe.
For example, that woman whose body gave off flames and who could fly through the air.
And now, this magician who claimed to be a surgeon.
"So we can only trust him?", the Amazing Spider-Man whispered.
The first-generation Spider-Man gave a bitter smile, "We can only trust him."
———
It was already deep into the night.
J. Jonah Jameson got out of his beat-up car. He shut the door, and the car shook as if it might fall apart at any moment.
"Once I've made enough money, I'll buy a new car."
"Soon," He said.
He was a reporter who specialized in covering Spider-Man.
Ever since Spider-Man's identity had been revealed, he had been relentlessly going after Spider-Man.
The reason was simple. Spider-Man could bring him traffic, and in fact, that was exactly what happened.
Before reporting on Spider-Man, he had just been a nobody at the Daily Bugle.
But tonight, thanks to his excellent news instincts, when Spider-Man began fighting those monsters in the apartment building, J. Jonah Jameson was the first reporter to arrive at the scene and captured a large amount of valuable footage.
That made his report tonight popular throughout the city. Just now, the head of New York's biggest television station had personally invited him to join them.
But J. Jonah Jameson's ambition didn't stop there. He wanted to attract even more attention.
Even if it meant turning Spider-Man into the enemy of the entire city, he wouldn't hesitate.
It was already very late.
J. Jonah Jameson quickly stepped into the elevator.
The elevator doors closed. He hummed a tune, thinking that once he got home, he would first open a bottle of ice-cold beer to celebrate.
Then he heard a soft cough behind him. Late at night, in an elevator where he was the only person.
Yet another person's voice suddenly sounded.
J. Jonah Jameson jumped in fright and turned around screaming, only to see Spider-Man, dressed entirely in black, hanging upside down.
The little old man cried out repeatedly in fright, "What are you doing?"
"What are you going to do to me?"
"I didn't say anything wrong. I didn't make up any false reports. You really are a disaster."
"Wherever you go, disaster follows, Peter Parker!"
The black Spider-Man was silent for a moment before saying, "Maybe you're right."
"Don't worry. I'm not here to cause you trouble."
"Do you want an exclusive story?"
J. Jonah Jameson immediately perked up.
'An exclusive story!'
'An exclusive story from Spider-Man?'
'Haha, I'm going to be famous!'
"What exclusive story?", the old man immediately asked.
"Help me make a citywide announcement."
"Tomorrow night, when the sun goes below the horizon, I'll appear on the Statue of Liberty."
"I'll bring the 'Soul-Returning Artifact' and send those monsters back to where they came from."
After the black Spider-Man finished speaking, he rose to the top of the elevator car and disappeared into the darkness above.
"Wait, what is the 'Soul-Returning Artifact'?"
"Where did those monsters come from?"
"Peter Parker?"
J. Jonah Jameson shouted, but Spider-Man was already gone.
"He looks a little different."
"He seems more serious than before."
"Whatever. As long as I have news, an exclusive story beats everything!"
The little old man immediately pulled out his phone. As he walked out of the elevator, he shouted, "Annie, it's me, Jonah. I've got an exclusive story. It's about Spider-Man…"
———
Dawn arrived.
Alex was eating fried chicken and drinking Coke in a fast-food restaurant.
This was a 24-hour fast-food restaurant. Last night, Alex had changed identities several times in a row. After making sure he had shaken off Captain Marvel, he had stayed here until now.
The fast-food restaurant employees looked at him as if he were a homeless man, until he pulled out some US dollars.
Before long, he had finished half a fried chicken and happily picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth.
The fried chicken tasted pretty average, but the portions were generous. The only problem was that there was a little too much ice in the Coke.
But considering how cheap everything in this fast-food restaurant was, those flaws were completely tolerable, even ignorable.
The long line that had already formed in front of the counter early in the morning made it clear that this fast-food restaurant was quite affordable.
As he drank his Coke, Alex began to think, 'The first-generation and Amazing Spider-Man have probably already been captured by Captain Marvel.'
'Having them fight Captain Marvel is really asking too much of them.'
'Being able to hold her off for five minutes would already be pretty impressive.'
'I wonder how many dimensional visitors Captain Marvel has captured by now.'
'Hopefully Norman Osborn is smart enough. Otherwise, just to make sure there are actors on the stage, I'll have to go rescue him.'
'But even if everything goes smoothly, in the final, most crucial battle…'
'There will still be two unstable factors.'
'One is Starro.'
'The other is Carol.'
'If Starro gets captured by Captain Marvel too, that would be great.'
'But my experience tells me things won't be that simple.'
'The protagonist always has to go through countless difficulties before completing the mission.'
'I bet the Administrator is watching from above right now. If Starro gets locked up, there's a good chance the plot will be corrected.'
'This feeling really sucks.'
'People really are happier the less they know.'
'Let me see how I can reduce these unstable factors.'
'Starro can be left alone for now.'
'Compared with him, Captain Marvel is more troublesome.'
'Maybe I'll have to use that plan?'
Just as Alex was thinking about a countermeasure, a morning news report began playing on the television in the fast-food restaurant.
["Hello, everyone. This is the Daily Bugle. I'm your friend, J. Jonah Jameson."]
Alex raised his head and saw a man who looked exactly like the newspaper owner from the first-generation Spider-Man universe speaking with a triumphant expression.
["I've brought you another piece of news about Spider-Man."]
["Last night, Spider-Man found me. He hoped I could help him make a citywide announcement."]
["Originally, I didn't want to. After all, he's made a complete mess of our entire city."]
["But seeing how he was crying his eyes out and so sincere in his attitude, I reluctantly agreed to help him."]
["Now you must be wondering what Spider-Man actually wants to say."]
["Don't worry. I'll tell you right away."]
["Mr. Peter Parker wants to use our Daily Bugle, through me, J. Jonah Jameson, to tell those dangerous guys…"]
["This isn't what I said. This is what he said, and he put it much more harshly, so I hope those 'gentlemen' won't take it out on me."]
["In short, Mr. Peter Parker wants to tell you this."]
["After the sun sets tonight, he will appear at the Statue of Liberty."]
["At that time, he will bring the 'Soul-Returning Artifact' and send those dangerous people back to where they belong."]
["Mm, that's what he wanted to say."]
["I don't know what kind of nonsense he's talking about, but one thing is certain: Spider-Man is going to cause more destruction again, and this time it's the Statue of Liberty."]
["My God, how much more does he have to destroy before he's satisfied…"]
The mustached man began talking nonsense at length, stirring up public opinion and pushing Spider-Man toward becoming the enemy of the entire city.
Alex stood up.
The "finale" would be tonight, so before then, he had to deal with some unstable factors.
For example, Captain Marvel.
At the very least, he had to make sure Carol couldn't attend the party tonight.
———
In the sewers, a radio crackled with electronic interference, but J. Jonah Jameson's voice could still be heard.
"After the sun sets tonight, he will appear at the Statue of Liberty."
"At that time, he will bring the 'Soul-Returning Artifact' and send those dangerous people back to where they belong."
A figure suddenly burst out of the darkness.
It was Professor Lizard, Curt Connors.
He picked up the radio, listened to the end, then crushed it to pieces.
"No. I absolutely will not go back!"
"In that case, there's only one choice."
"You have to die."
"Peter Parker!"
———
At a construction site outside New York City, a worker was watching the morning news on his phone.
"Spider-Man is going to cause more destruction again, and this time it's the Statue of Liberty."
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
Behind him, the sound of sand rolling suddenly came from somewhere.
The worker turned around, but saw nothing.
However, he looked suspiciously at the pile of sand.
The pile seemed to have lost a lot of sand.
———
[Power Station]
In the guard room, several guards were all watching the television.
On the television screen, the Daily Bugle reporter was speaking dramatically.
"Tonight, if you don't have anything to do, don't go to the Statue of Liberty."
"It's too dangerous there."
Several guards looked at one another.
One of them said, "I used to really like Spider-Man. How did he become like this?"
"My child really worships him, but now he's setting a bad example," another older guard said, shaking his head.
A guard in his twenties shrugged, "He really has done a lot of things lately that are hard to understand, but he has helped us before. Wouldn't it be a little too much for us to treat him like this now?"
The other guards fell silent.
At that moment, one guard said, "Huh? Why has the power in Zone 4 dropped so much?"
———
[In New York City]
[Inside a University Laboratory]
Norman Osborn used the materials here to make several extremely powerful bombs.
The door suddenly opened, and the university instructor who walked into the laboratory froze.
"Who are you?"
"You can't be here."
Norman Osborn pointed at a computer screen in the laboratory, where the morning news was playing.
"I'm that dangerous guy."
Then he threw a bomb at the instructor.
Just then, a hand caught the bomb and then threw it back at Osborn.
Boom!
The violent explosion caused part of the laboratory to collapse.
Through the billowing smoke, Osborn flew out on his glider.
He looked back, "What just happened?"
Then a voice came from above his head.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Osborn turned around and saw a woman hovering above him.
Her short golden hair gave off a dazzling glow in the morning light. Her blue-and-red suit was outlined by the morning light.
The confident, spirited woman looked down at Osborn and said, "You're a multiversal visitor too, aren't you?"
Osborn gave a crazed smile.
"And who are you, ma'am?"
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