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Obadiah stared intently at the two vials in front of him, a flicker of curiosity flashing across his face.
"These original serums can give a person incredible power," the bald man explained, "but the side effects are terrifying. Anyone who injects it turns into a mindless, bloodthirsty monster driven by rage and violence."
"But," he continued, "our improved version still causes violent tendencies, but it doesn't completely erase human consciousness. And the side effects are manageable."
"Of course, this isn't my final version. I'm still working hard to eliminate the side effects completely."
After giving Obadiah a full rundown, the bald man added his reassurances once again.
"No, we can't stay here. They're onto us," Obadiah said, his expression darkening as he made up his mind. "We need to move everything to a safer location. Now."
"Give me one vial of each serum. I'll leave first. You pack everything up and get ready to relocate."
Without another word, Obadiah pulled one of each serum from the safe, tucked them away, and prepared to leave.
"Yes, sir. We'll start packing—"
"Who's there?!"
Just as the bald man was closing the safe and getting ready to move, a silver-white web suddenly shot down from above and stuck itself right onto the safe.
"No!"
Before the bald man could even react, the safe was yanked into the air and went flying.
Everyone looked up in shock—perched on the ceiling above them was someone in a spider suit.
"Damn it, it's that annoying Spider-Man!"
In an instant, the security team snapped out of it and raised their guns, opening fire on the figure without hesitation.
RATATATAT!
The lab was instantly filled with the deafening roar of gunfire. The scientists screamed and ducked under tables.
Obadiah also dove for cover—right next to the bald man, by coincidence.
"This is bad… the gunfire's slowing down. That damn freak is tougher than I thought."
Obadiah could tell something was wrong. The gunfire was growing weaker and more sporadic.
Then came a series of loud bangs, followed by screams… and finally, silence.
"…Sorry about this."
Obadiah's eyes hardened. He slowly pulled out the green vial he'd taken earlier—and without hesitation, jabbed it into the bald man next to him.
"M-Mr. Stane… you…"
The bald man's eyes were full of disbelief as his consciousness faded.
And in his place… emerged a savage beast.
"Hey! You don't have to hide anymore—you're already surrounded!"
Gwen had just finished webbing up the last of the armed guards, sticking them to the walls or ceiling like oversized bugs.
Now she was casually strolling toward the area where the scientists were hiding.
"Huh? What's this feeling…?"
But as she got closer, her Spider-Sense suddenly flared to life.
The next second, a heavy metal table was flipped straight toward her, flying with ridiculous force.
"Whoa, what the hell?! They made another monster?!"
Gwen leapt several meters into the air, twisting into a graceful backflip to dodge the incoming table.
When she landed, she finally saw what had been hiding under it—a creature that looked disturbingly familiar.
"Wait a second… isn't that the same monster Superman fought…? No—this one only has two arms. And it's a bit smaller."
The moment Gwen saw the thing, she remembered a not-so-fun memory.
Back then, she'd been absolutely crushed by a four-armed monster. If Superman hadn't shown up…
ROARRR!
The creature suddenly let out a thunderous roar. Its huge frame trembled with sheer power, its face twisted into a beastly snarl.
Slimy saliva dripped from its mouth, and its bulging eyes were bloodshot and crazed.
Then, its gaze shifted—from Gwen to someone behind her.
It was Obadiah, tiptoeing backward, trying to make a sneaky escape.
"Oh, come on! Go after him, not me!"
Even Obadiah's knees started to go weak under the creature's crazed, murderous stare.
ROAR!
Somewhere deep in its twisted mind, a fragment of hate must've remained—because the creature howled in fury, raised a leg as thick as a barrel, and kicked at Obadiah with full force.
"No!"
Seeing the monster about to smash someone right in front of her, Gwen shot a web at its leg in a split second.
But the monster was insanely strong—so strong that the force almost yanked her off balance and sent her sprawling.
WHAM!
Obadiah, on the other hand, was kicked like a soccer ball, flying over ten meters through the air before slamming into a metal wall with a loud crash.
"Cough… Damn it…"
Somehow—either because he was tough or Gwen's web slowed the impact—Obadiah wasn't knocked out. But he did spit out a mouthful of blood.
ROAR!
The monster turned back to Gwen, now seeing her as the bigger problem.
With a wild scream, it charged, swinging fists the size of punching bags straight at her.
There was no way Gwen was gonna try to tank that. Instead, she relied on her agility, weaving through the lab full of cluttered equipment, dodging for her life.
She kept shooting webs, swinging heavy objects around and smashing them into the monster's head.
"This one's not as strong as the last one," Gwen noted, dodging and countering its attacks.
The monster looked crazy, but its strength wasn't that much more than hers—maybe equal to two of her, max.
"Okay… if I time it right, I can totally take this thing down."
Her mind raced as she weaved through attacks, looking for the perfect opportunity.
BOOM!
Thanks to her Spider-Sense, Gwen just barely dodged another one of the monster's massive punches.
But that punch—easily carrying tens of tons of force—slammed into a load-bearing wall in the lab.
Cracks spread like a spiderweb through the concrete, and the whole place shook violently.
"Nope. Gotta lure this thing out of here before it brings the whole building down."
Feeling the tremors under her feet, Gwen made a quick decision.
ZZZZZZT—BOOM!
Just as she was about to lead the monster to a safer location, a searing laser beam sliced clean through the lab's ceiling.
A huge metal panel crashed down, slamming into the monster and pinning it to the ground behind her.
"What the hell… another monster? Some kind of tin man?"
In total shock, Gwen looked up and saw what looked like a robot slowly floating down into the lab.
"Hey, bug girl, you seen a big bald guy around here? Maybe with long hair, like that Lebowski dude?"
The robot's helmet opened—and the face underneath left Gwen totally speechless.
"Wait… you're Tony Stark?!"
Gwen's jaw practically hit the floor.
"Yeah, yeah, no need to freak out. Just answer the question."
Tony looked at her like she'd never seen a celebrity before. He repeated his question, more annoyed now.
"Uhh… you mean Mr. Obadiah Stane? The guy from Stark Industries?"
Gwen didn't quite get Tony's weird comparison, but she figured out who he was talking about.
"Bingo. Where is he?"
Tony's eyes lit up with urgency.
"He just got kicked by that monster. He's in the back of the lab—"
Before she could finish, Tony rocketed across the lab in a blur of metal.
A few seconds later, he came flying back.
"He's gone."
"J.A.R.V.I.S., pull up the satellite feed. I want him found, now."
Tony's tone went cold.
"Sir, I've located Mr. Stane's car. It's heading toward the city."
"Later, bug girl…"
Tony's helmet snapped shut, and with a blast of his thrusters, he shot up into the sky.
"So cool! If someone gave me that kind of suit, I'd call them Dad…"
Watching him fly off like Superman, Gwen couldn't help but stare in awe.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a loud crash snapped her back to reality.
The monster that had just been flattened… was back on its feet.
It picked up the massive steel plate and hurled it straight at her.
"Seriously? Why am I always the one getting smacked around?"
Dodging again, Gwen sighed in frustration.
ROOOAAARRR!
It was like the monster couldn't take being constantly messed with by a "puny little bug." Enraged that it couldn't land a hit, it suddenly leapt—soaring dozens of meters—straight through the hole in the ceiling.
"Oh no. Please tell me it's not heading downtown…"
Seeing it escape, Gwen felt a jolt of panic.
Without a second thought, she shot out a web and swung after it, leaving the lab behind.
Moments after they were both gone…
Another figure suddenly appeared in the sky above the lab.
"Tony Stark… Spider-Man? Heh heh heh…"
With a sinister laugh, the figure darted off in the same direction.
Meanwhile, just outside the city, a luxury Rolls-Royce was speeding down the road.
"Cough, cough… Spider-Man… and that guy… damn them both!"
Obadiah Stane spat out more blood, hatred burning in his eyes.
But right now, survival came first—he had to get to a hospital, fast.
"Whoa! Hey, look up there! What is that?!"
"Is that… Superman?!"
"....."