"That nonstop chatter really is familiar. Brings back memories... Hahahahahaha..."
Otto Parker's body trembled slightly as he let out a manic laugh.
Ever since taking over Spider-Man's body, he had realized he was becoming less and less like himself. Some of his actions had even started resembling Peter's.
Probably because of those damned memory fragments still lingering inside the body.
He had found himself unable to resist upgrading his equipment and becoming a new kind of Spider-Man who saved civilians.
What truly pushed him into becoming Spider-Man, though, was the moment after he killed a criminal and the little girl he had rescued gave him a doll. He had never experienced anything like that warmth before.
After resolving that incident, he had originally planned to return to Peter's little apartment and continue researching his equipment. He had already come up with the idea of replacing the tentacles on his back with spider-legs. But then a crack filled with lightning tore open in the world, and when he approached it out of curiosity to study it, the pull from that fissure dragged him into this universe.
That was right.
This should have been one of the side effects caused by Doctor Strange's failed spell. It had drawn him into this world.
But the way he arrived was different from Peter.
Peter had stepped through a magical portal.
Otto Parker had been forcibly dragged in by the magical energy of this world.
There was a fundamental difference between the two.
"I'll take him."
Peter cracked his fingers, and a sharp popping sound followed. Suddenly, he felt a strong urge to fight.
After all, he had never really had a serious battle against another Spider-Man before. The earlier clashes had all been minor, and he had relied on the Dark Suit's power then. This time, Peter wanted to try beating the other side with his own strength.
[Ding! Temporary mission issued: Defeat Otto Parker and recruit him. Reward: Three Spider-Legs, 200 Skin Points, Level 4 Chest!]
A Level 4 Chest?!
Just judging by the reward, Otto Parker had to be very strong.
And those three spider-legs were incredible. Earlier, when Peter had transformed into Kamen Rider Killbus and used a similar setup, it had felt amazing. This basically meant three extra arms in a fight.
"If you want to reminisce, do it later. If you came to this world looking for Peter Parker so you could prove you do things better, then fight Spider-Man properly."
The corners of Peter's mouth lifted slightly. The spider arm-blades on his wrists snapped out as he looked calmly at the man towering above him.
"Whoa, these two Spider-Men even have similar suits. I wonder which one is stronger?!"
"Hey, man, this isn't really the time to take pictures, is it?!"
"What do you know? Spider-Man versus Spider-Man is pure headline material! I'm selling this to Jameson..."
"So there are already three Spider-Men now? Since when were there this many?"
"Isn't having more Spider-Men a good thing...?"
"Then tell me this. Does either of these two actually look like a good guy to you?!"
Fair enough.
One stood there radiating menace through those mechanical arms.
The other had spider arm-blades out and looked like he was itching to kill someone.
Nobody in their right mind would look at either of them and think, Yes, clearly a trustworthy hero.
"Fine! I'll prove that I'm the strongest Spider-Man! I am the Superior Spider-Man!"
Otto Parker grinned.
"How superior can you really be? Take my advice and change the name. That title's too big for you."
Peter was starting to wonder whether the name itself was cursed. Maybe that was why the Superior Spider-Man kept getting attacked and eventually got thrown out of the Avengers too.
"Shut up already!!! Aren't you sick of hearing yourself?!"
Otto Parker roared and lowered himself to the ground with his mechanical arms. Then one arm shot forward and grabbed at Peter.
Whoosh!
The arm stirred up a gust of wind, but to Otto Parker's surprise, the Spider-Man in front of him did not dodge like before. Instead, Peter met the strike head-on with his fist.
Now that was more like it.
That was proper respect.
With Otto in Peter's body, he naturally had access to Peter's old memories. He knew that Peter had always held back in their fights because he did not want to seriously hurt him. Otherwise, Otto really could have died.
He understood it, sure.
But his pride had still felt insulted by it.
He had always wanted to fight Spider-Man properly one more time.
Too bad he had become Spider-Man himself, so he could hardly fight his own reflection.
Still, this strange universe had given him another chance.
Boom!
A heavy impact rang out. The collision of force made the ground tremble, and dust shook loose into the air.
"What?!"
Otto Parker's lenses reflected the sight of Peter catching the mechanical arm with one hand. His eyes widened in shock.
His instincts told him immediately that this Peter Parker was very different.
No sympathy.
No mercy.
Not even guilt.
It was as if he did not care whether enemies died, and if bystanders got caught in the middle, that did not matter much either.
Gripping the mechanical arm, Peter said with amusement,
"You're already Spider-Man, and you're still using weak junk like this? Where'd your genius brain go? Did switching bodies make you dumber?!"
"Because as far as I know, Peter Parker is supposed to be smarter than Doctor Octopus, Otto."
As soon as he finished speaking, Peter swung the spider arm-blade down from his wrist.
Szzzt!
A trail of sparks and crackling light followed the strike as one of the mechanical arms was sliced clean off.
Now there were only three left.
"Call me Otto Parker!"
Otto Parker climbed up the side of a building with the remaining arms and shot webbing down at Peter.
Peter dodged nimbly, then looked at the ground where the webbing had landed and started corroding the pavement.
His eyes widened, and he shouted up at him,
"You actually made corrosive web fluid?! How'd you do that? Teach me!"
"Sure. I'll teach you something real fun."
The claws at the ends of Otto Parker's three mechanical arms began glowing red, gathering energy.
Peter's Spider-Sense exploded with warning. He was certain that if he failed to dodge that attack, losing an arm would be the best-case outcome.
So Peter did not hesitate. He gathered the upgraded Electro-Pulse Cannon in his palm, and the two of them launched their blasts at the same time.
Boom!
The energy cannon collapsed part of the ground, sending broken stone flying everywhere.
Meanwhile, Peter's Electro-Pulse Cannon punched straight through a building, and the resulting explosion sent chunks of masonry raining down. People below screamed and scattered in panic.
"What the hell?! Could you two not take fighting this seriously?!"
"Seriously! Scared the hell out of me. If I'd known it was going to be this bad, I would've stayed home messing with your wife instead, Jimmy!"
"Screw you, Tom! You're still running your mouth at a time like this?! Hurry up and pull me out, I think my legs are going numb..."
"Wait, did you wet yourself?!"
"Pull me out, idiot!"
New Yorkers really were built differently. Even in the middle of total chaos, they still found time to crack jokes and curse each other out.
Though the way they were cursing each other sounded weirdly familiar.
Well, Captain Sharp-Tongue, this world really had become exactly what you wanted.
Otto Parker was completely stunned.
"That counts as something a Spider-Man can do?! I thought I was already pretty high-tech. Why did I have to run into these two monsters...?"
Nearby, the Dutch kid was equally shell-shocked. One had a palm cannon, the other had an energy-piercing blast. Since when were those standard Spider-Man abilities?
Suddenly he felt like an idiot.
Why had he never thought of stuff like that?
(End of Chapter)
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