Universe 14512.
Under the night sky, Neon New York buzzed with vibrant lights and bustling streets.
Beneath the glow of colorful neon, a massive silver glass sphere slowly rose into the air.
"Hahaha, descend into madness!!"
A maniacal laugh echoed from inside the sphere. Then, two mechanical arms extended from the glass, releasing a flood of green gas from their palms.
"WHOOSH~"
In an instant, the mysterious gas spread, and the citizens enveloped by it quickly fell into chaos.
"Ah!! What is this?"
"My God, what a terrifying thing!"
"Stay away from me, you ugly freak!"
"Don't eat me, no!!"
As a couple began pummeling each other, the surrounding crowd, under the influence of the hallucinogenic gas, mistook those around them for monsters.
"Ah! Run!!"
"The monster's here!"
"Please don't eat me…"
"Don't come closer!!"
The panicked crowd scattered like headless flies. As the gas spread rapidly, severe stampedes erupted across the streets.
Amid the chaos, a short-haired girl ran against the crowd, heading toward the glass sphere.
"Weird guy, I'm not letting you off this time!"
"Go for it!"
With a fierce leap, the girl donned a red-and-blue mech suit that gleamed under the moonlight. The cockpit opened, and she flipped inside.
A small black spider bit her hand, instantly forming a psychic connection.
"SP//dr, activate!"
"CLANK~"
The mech's inverted triangular eyes snapped open.
A virtual interface appeared before the girl. With rapid taps, the mech raised its arm, launching missiles.
"BOOM!!"
The red-and-blue missiles streaked toward the sphere, which didn't dodge. It took a direct hit.
"KABOOM!!"
A terrifying heatwave, laced with explosive fire, swept outward, shattering nearby building windows in an instant.
But as the flames cleared, only a massive crater remained—no trace of the glass sphere.
"What?"
Peni Parker's expression shifted. She popped a piece of bubblegum into her mouth, rallying her spirits.
"This time, I won't lose to you."
Her eyes burned with determination. She tapped the interface, activating infrared scans of nearby buildings, finally spotting the sphere hiding at a street corner.
"Peni, the crowd's been evacuated. Go all out!" Aunt May's voice crackled from the command center, cheering her on.
Behind her, Norman Osborn's face was grim.
"Still no antidote for the hallucinogenic gas?" he asked.
Ben Parker shook his head helplessly. "No, it'll take time."
Norman exhaled. "It's up to Peni now."
"She'll pull it off."
"Damn, the infrared scan locked onto a decoy! The gas tricked Peni!" Aunt May exclaimed.
On the screen, the red-and-blue mech crashed into a building under the sphere's impact.
"CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH~"
Amid flying debris, the sphere vanished into the void again.
Peni's mech sparked with arcs of electricity, its chest armor heavily dented.
"Damn it, that thing's too big. Our mech's only four meters tall. We can't match its power," Aunt May said, face darkening.
Ben rushed to the screen, gripping the communicator, voice tense.
"Peni, can you hear me? Don't use your eyes—the gas messes with your judgment. Feel it with your heart."
Aunt May scoffed loudly. "You've watched too many movies. Feel with your heart? How? Without her eyes, Peni'll get crushed!"
Ben shrank back. "But there's no other way."
"Call Peni back!" Norman stepped forward, taking a deep breath. "No pointless sacrifices. That guy will leave soon.
Until we have an antidote, Peni can't keep piloting the mech."
"But…"
Aunt May started to protest but was cut off by Ben's shout.
"Why're you yelling so loud? You're hurting my eyes!" Aunt May snapped, exasperated.
Ben pointed at a figure on the screen, ignoring her menopausal outburst.
"Look, what's that?"
"What?"
Seeing a red-and-blue figure appear on the street, Aunt May's eyes lit up.
"It's Spider-Man! Peni's friend from another universe!"
"Spider-Man?"
Norman's eyes narrowed, then he shook his head. "Didn't expect Spider-Man in this world, but it's no use. Mysterio's sphere is too massive. Peni couldn't beat it, and Spider-Man without a mech stands no chance."
"Not necessarily," Ben said, staring at the figure. "Peni said there's more than one Spider-Man, and one's insanely strong. If it's him…"
He trailed off, but his eyes brimmed with hope.
Meanwhile, on the wrecked street, the red-and-blue mech crawled from the rubble.
"CLANK~"
The smoke-covered mech knelt, and Peni, in the cockpit, spotted the approaching Spider-Man.
"That's… the metal suit. It's him!!"
Hope sparked in Peni's eyes.
On the other side, the massive, dozens-of-meters-wide glass sphere descended from the fog.
"A mini-mech?"
In the cockpit, the old man sneered at the red-and-blue figure.
"This flimsy metal shield's supposed to stop me? Using this off-the-shelf suit against me? Too naive."
With a cold laugh, he steered the sphere, crashing toward the tiny figure.
"BOOM!!"
A howling gust followed, like a meteor plummeting.
On the sphere's smooth surface, Charlie saw his reflection distort.
"This world's Mysterio? Interesting."
Charlie chuckled, moving unhurriedly. He raised a hand, summoning a small spider from the void.
"CHOMP!"
"CLICK~"
The spider's fangs pierced his skin, dazzling magical light erupting.
"What?"
As the sphere bore down, the nano-suit's web patterns glowed with intricate magical lines.
"One punch to finish you!"
With a shout, the red-and-blue figure threw a punch. The concrete beneath cracked into a spiderweb pattern, debris vibrating into the air.
The massive sphere shuddered, its smooth surface fracturing into countless shards under the unrestrained magical energy.
"CRACK~"
Silver fragments scattered like glittering stars under the magical glow.
Peni stared, awestruck, at the beautiful yet shattered scene.
"He got stronger!"
In the command center, Aunt May and the others were incredulous.
"How's this possible? That tiny body unleashed such terrifying power. It's not scientific!"
"What's that glowing energy? How's it in his body?"
"My God, unbelievable."
The command center buzzed with astonished scientists.
On the broken street, as Charlie retracted his fist, the sphere shed its defensive layer, shrinking to a ten-meter device and vanishing into the hallucinogenic fog.
Charlie frowned. Not destroying it in one punch? He wasn't pleased.
In the fog, the old man gritted his teeth.
"Damn pest, you can't beat me."
He tapped the interface, releasing denser fog that engulfed Charlie.
"Careful, that stuff messes with your visual nerves!" Peni shouted.
Charlie shrugged, the faint blue glow in his eyes dimming.
His head drooped, steps faltering, as if he'd collapse any second.
"Hm?"
Everyone watching was puzzled.
"What's he doing?" Aunt May frowned.
Ben mused, "He's probably asleep."
Aunt May glared. "Don't make me deck you right here."
Ben shrank back. "Thanks for sparing me, dear."
Norman glanced at spineless Ben, then focused on Spider-Man.
"I bet it's some special ability."
"Special ability?"
"Damn, he's back!"
As the group exclaimed, massive glass spheres rained down like a meteor shower.
In this apocalyptic scene, Peni's face paled.
"Dodge, quick!" she yelled.
With so many spheres, no one could tell which was Mysterio's real one.
If hit without a mech, Spider-Man would be pulped.
But as the spheres crashed down, the onslaught vanished. They sank into the ground—one after another, illusions.
Charlie's body didn't react.
But like this, he'd get hit eventually.
"BOOM!!"
A massive crash echoed. The real sphere landed, debris flying, shops obliterated.
"He's hit!"
Norman and the others grimaced.
But Aunt May shot up.
"No, he's fine! I saw it—he dodged!"
"What?"
"No way, he dodged that…"
The command center erupted.
As the footage cleared, beside the sphere embedded in the street's rubble, the red-and-blue figure stood, head still bowed. No one knew how he evaded that terrifying attack.
"My God, unreal."
Aunt May and the others marveled.
Peni's eyes flickered.
"He closed his eyes, feeling it with his heart?"
Ben was right.
Meanwhile, Mysterio, in the sphere, went berserk seeing Spider-Man unscathed.
"Damn bug, how? Why…"
Mid-sentence, the sphere shuddered violently.
Charlie's eyes flared blue, his soul returning. He tapped his wrist device, and Scott's Pym Disc glimmered.
"BUZZ~"
"BOOM!!"
In everyone's shocked gazes, the red-and-blue figure expanded rapidly, becoming a fifty-meter giant.
"ROAR!"
Under the night sky, the red-and-blue giant raised a fist, its nano-metal gleaming under the neon.
"What's that…"
On a distant balcony, Jonah Jameson, cigar in mouth, was yelling at his staff over the phone.
But the giant figure caught his eye.
"Oh my God, is that Osborn's new mech?"
Jonah's eyes widened, his cigar falling unnoticed.
He shouted into the phone, "Quick, overtime tonight! I want to know who's piloting that mech!"
"Boss, it's late."
"You're getting overtime pay."
"We're on it."
New York's reporters mobilized.
Meanwhile, the giant's fist slammed down, embedding the sphere deep into the ground.
"No!!"
"KABOOM…"
"BEEP BEEP~ Alert! Alert!"
"Unit damage at 50%."
"Unit damage at 70%."
"Unit damage at 90%."
"System failure. Evacuate immediately."
Amid relentless alarms, the buried sphere twisted, sparks and arcs flashing. The escape pod shot out, crashing to the ground. A bloodied old man stumbled out, gasping at the pod's hatch.
"Too terrifying, too terrifying…"
Gazing at the red-and-blue giant, the old man muttered in fear, the sphere's lingering gas seeping into him, trapping him in endless terror.
"CLANK CLANK"
The red-and-blue mech's cockpit opened, and Peni rushed to Mysterio.
"It's him!"
Seeing the old man, Peni was stunned.
One of her obsessive fans. She remembered him.
He wanted revenge because she refused a photo?
Peni facepalmed. This was ridiculous.
The giant shrank back to normal size in a flash of light.
Charlie eyed the striking girl, surprised.
"If I remember right, last time we met, you were still in elementary school, yeah?" he said.
Peni gently stroked the black spider, smiling slyly.
"Yup, Uncle Charlie, I'm in high school now."
Charlie: "…"
"I'm barely older than you," he said, face darkening.
Peni kicked the old man aside, stepping forward, puzzled.
"But I remember you're ten years older."
"You didn't call me uncle before."
Charlie tapped the spider emblem on his chest, the nano-metal retracting to reveal his youthful face.
"This universe's time flow seems fast. It's only been a few months since we last met."
"Wow, you're still so young."
Peni curiously pinched Charlie's face, blinking her big eyes.
"So cool!"
Charlie swatted her hand away. "No manners. Let Uncle Charlie check your body."
"Ah!! Pervert!!"
"Don't get the wrong idea, I just thinking—"
"No thinking allowed!"