At this stage, if Sandman wanted to completely and most safely eliminate Spider-Man, there was only one way left.
"In the air. While the plane is in flight, he could use his ability to directly destroy the engines with sand or tear the aircraft apart. It's the simplest method with the highest success rate. If I were Sandman, I would definitely choose this approach."
Hearing Peter's analysis, both the members of Excalibur and Silver Sable expressed their agreement. Captain Britain scratched his head, finding the situation troublesome. "If he just ruins the engines with sand, it's fine; I can use my force field to support the plane and guide it to the ground. But if he chooses to shred the aircraft..."
Even the incredibly powerful Captain Britain found this tricky. Unless he could guarantee the precise neutralization of every single grain of sand, there really wasn't a particularly good counter-strategy for that move.
"So, our best bet is to deal with him in advance. Even if we're prepared, the cabin is too cramped; we wouldn't be able to fight at full strength. That would certainly put us at a disadvantage."
Psylocke could sense his presence through telepathy, and Meggan could transform into the corresponding elements to eliminate him. But no matter how great their advantage, fighting an enemy on a plane would be a nightmare due to the terrain.
Since they had determined ahead of time where the opponent was most likely to strike, Peter's plan was naturally to catch Sandman before the plane took off, avoiding any potential catastrophe.
It was almost certain that Sandman would enter the plane during the boarding process. That would be their best—and perhaps only—opportunity to capture him.
However, considering the immunity Hydro-Man had shown against the Wild Pack's specialized equipment, Peter had reason to suspect that Sandman had also been buffed by Arnim Zola, rendering their previous specialized gear ineffective.
"That is very likely. After all, our enemies won't just sit around and wait for death. But it's too late now to manufacture a batch of emergency equipment."
Silver Sable agreed with Peter's viewpoint and then asked, "So, do you have any other ideas?"
"You might not believe it, but I actually do. Back in New York, I was brainstorming how to deal with the Elementals. Besides confirming they were spiritual entities, I also prepared methods for handling them in physical form."
Peter looked at everyone and shrugged. "So, the current situation is: how do we deal with Sandman?"
"It's best if Excalibur doesn't show up. I only need Psylocke to report Sandman's position to me. If Excalibur appears, Sandman might be too scared to approach, and then he'd be an even bigger threat later. We can't gamble on whether he can wait for us mid-air or if his flight speed is slower than the plane." Peter thought through the feasibility of the entire plan.
"So, it's best if I handle Sandman alone."
After a moment of silence, the others exchanged glances.
A few days later, as this long month-long journey essentially drew to a close, the students from New York began their trip back home. Almost everyone was chatting and laughing about the events of the trip.
Peter walked near the very back of the group, wearing headphones and listening to the reconnaissance results from Excalibur. Psylocke's telepathy had already located Sandman; he was hiding inside the plane, preparing to take off with the aircraft.
"Alright, time for Spider-Man to move out!"
Sandman, William Baker, was hiding inside the plane, waiting for the final result. He was currently filled with regret—immense regret. He hadn't expected to end up on a suicide path: either be killed by Hydra's curse or kill Spider-Man. But looking at the previous encounters, killing Spider-Man seemed unlikely. Spider-Man knew magic; even if his physical body died, his soul would probably live on.
Would he even survive this?
William Baker sighed. He hadn't expected Hydra's collapse. As a former soldier of the French Foreign Legion, he had come into contact with Hydra during a mission. At the time, Hydra seemed like an incredibly powerful organization that had even heavily infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. And the result? It had vanished in an instant.
What was even more infuriating was: why could Taskmaster surrender but I can't? Did Taskmaster really know less than I did?
The more Sandman thought about it, the angrier and more aggrieved he became, until his fury reached a boiling point. He couldn't completely defy Hydra's orders to surrender or run away, but he didn't have to follow them to the letter. Hydra wanted him to destroy the plane mid-air? He refused!
What would acting mid-air achieve? Just charging up Spider-Man's rage meter?
Thus, the students waiting in the terminal witnessed a terrifying scene. Flash was the first to notice; he was buying a drink at a vending machine when he suddenly saw a massive sandstorm rising in the distance. The scene felt incredibly familiar. He twisted open his drink, took a sip, and remarked that having an ice-cold beverage on a March day was indeed satisfying.
"Guys, that Sandman guy is back! I bet Spidey is going to finish this punk for good this time!"
"I'd appreciate it if you guys had a little more of a sense of crisis," Peter muttered under his breath.
Standing on the roof of the terminal, looking at his classmates pressed against the glass watching the giant sand titan, Peter couldn't help but complain. In front of the terminal, the massive Sandman had appeared, which was sooner than Peter expected. Though surprising, it made his movements easier. Peter narrowed his eyes, leaped off, and deployed the wings of his stealth suit, gliding toward Sandman.
Seeing Spider-Man charging toward Sandman, Flash Thompson shouted excitedly, "Look! It's Spider-Man!"
Jessica, sitting in a chair and unable to move easily, watched the scene and became even more certain that Spider-Man was a student in this travel group. But who was it?
Should she start investigating Felicia's social circle? Or should she stop looking? But she was truly curious...
Spider-Man glided toward the massive Sandman, who raised his fist to crush him. In an instant, a flash of powerful white electricity signaled the start of the battle.
The massive sand giant was struck directly by a powerful bolt of lightning, causing a large amount of quicksand to scatter across the ground. At the moment of impact, Peter reversed the magnetic field, dispersing fine iron filings he had brought along into the area controlled by Sandman. Coupled with the electric current, he unleashed a magnetic rotation. The sand grains inside Sandman's body began to tear at each other due to the external force, and he quickly reached a state of near-collapse.
After that, the formal battle between the two began.
As for the outcome of this battle, it seemed to have been decided the moment Sandman chose to fight.
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