Madame Viper initiated a five-minute self-destruct countdown, but in less than two minutes, the four modified Serpent Society members under her command were effortlessly thrashed by Spider-Man and tossed aside.
"I can understand why you call yourselves 'Serpents' to sound menacing, but you really didn't need to turn yourselves into actual snakes," Peter remarked, pulling Viper's large tail and tangling it with the others, tying them into a knot. These guys had modified themselves so much that their bodies were incredibly flexible, making them perfectly suited for getting tied into a large knot.
Just as Peter bundled the Serpent Society members into a heap and threw them aside, a tremendous crash echoed from a nearby room. Then Felicia nimbly darted out, tossing a glass jar towards Peter. Peter instinctively entangled it with his web, caught it, and looked at the ferocious creature inside, momentarily stunned.
Isn't that Venom?
"Where did you get this... oh!"
Chasing her out of the room was a four-tentacled monster confined within a life-support pod. He shoved four jars containing symbiotes onto a drone for extraction, then picked up a nearby forklift and hurled it at Felicia. Felicia dodged while looking back, calculating where to jump for safety. But it was clearly unnecessary; Peter sent the forklift flying back with a kick, simultaneously tossing the glass jar back to Felicia.
"Don't drop it! It's a very dangerous bio-weapon inside," Felicia explained as she caught the jar. Peter nodded in agreement; he was probably the most familiar with symbiotes in this world—oh, if this universe had Knull, then he'd be the second most knowledgeable about symbiotes.
"So why did you steal this thing?"
"Who knows? Last time it was the super-soldier serum, this time it's this. We always have to take something from them."
Felicia smiled, omitting the word "Hydra."
This was still a pre-arranged understanding between Peter and the others. Although they now knew their enemy was Hydra, the organization itself was in deep cover. Therefore, it was best not to reveal that they knew Hydra was behind it, limiting the conflict to them versus the US military and the American government, allowing for more room to maneuver. If Hydra found out they knew, it might lead to a relentless, no-holds-barred conflict.
Ultimately, even Peter wasn't sure of the full extent of Hydra's infiltration in America or how deeply it had penetrated. If they couldn't root out all of it at once, or at least completely cripple most of the Hydra organization, they might just alert Hydra and cause even greater destruction.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Doctor Octopus, whom they were currently facing.
"SPIDER-MAN!!!"
Seeing Spider-Man ruin his plans once again, Doctor Octavius felt his world crumbling. He simply couldn't understand why Spider-Man kept hounding him, why Spider-Man had to obstruct everything he tried to do. So, Octavius used his mechanical tentacles to rip an entire section of the floor and hurled it at Spider-Man. The base was about to self-destruct anyway; might as well use it.
Peter finally met this universe's Doctor Octopus. He told Felicia, "Go find survivors!" then leaped into the air, soaring over the metal floor and sticking a web onto Doctor Octopus's face.
"Long time no see, Doctor Octopus!"
Watching Doctor Octopus rip the web from his face with his tentacles, Peter observed this version of Doctor Octopus: he somewhat resembled the one from the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, but in a much worse state. He had completely encased himself in a life-support pod, his limbs retracted inside, and his voice had a distinct electronic, synthesized quality. Undoubtedly, Doctor Octopus's vocal cords were no longer functioning normally.
"Considering your determined spirit despite your condition, how about you just surrender?"
Peter spoke as he dodged the tentacle attacks. It seemed because Doctor Octopus was truly paralyzed, his control over the tentacles was even stronger than that of the female Doctor Octopus from Earth-700. Even with metal arms, these tentacles were agile, and even if Peter managed to quickly grab and knot them, Doctor Octopus could unravel them remarkably fast.
However, Spider-Man had an ability that even Doctor Octopus couldn't defend against.
He disappeared.
Doctor Octopus, who had already suspected something, now grew even more agitated. He had begun to suspect that Spider-Man's abilities had undergone a secondary enhancement, and now it was confirmed. Invisibility and bio-electricity were new abilities he hadn't seen before, and he hadn't upgraded himself to counter them. He was no match for Spider-Man.
As for Peter, he could quickly take down Doctor Octopus, but the problem was that Doctor Octopus had encased himself in a life-support pod. What Peter was truly worried about was... what if he accidentally killed him with too much force?
Although Doctor Octopus had clearly committed many bad deeds, on one hand, in most Spider-Man works, Doctor Octopus isn't beyond redemption. On the other hand, in many cases, Doctor Octopus and Norman Osborn have intricate connections. If he could glean some information from him, it would be crucial.
After all, sometimes, killing a villain is simple and satisfying, but the messy things behind them would remain unknown. As Spider-Man, Peter Parker still had to handle things cautiously. If you kill a villain on the spot and don't know what bombs they've planted, it would be your fault if more people died later.
Of course, this doesn't apply to those who don't care about such things and would feel no responsibility even if bombs killed people.
As Peter tried to tear off one of Doctor Octopus's legs, his spider-sense blared. Then a massive battle tank rolled out, and a woman stood on its roof, directing the tank to open fire before looking at Doctor Octopus.
"Doctor Octavius, execute the retreat order."
"But Symbiote Sample One..."
"Your importance as a scientist is more valuable than a sample." Madame Viper watched Spider-Man constantly dodging artillery fire and issued a direct command: "Retreat immediately, Doctor Octavius."