Somewhere in New York, a gigantic steel beam was falling from above after the crane carrying it malfunctioned.
The massive piece of metal swung violently through the air, its weight pulling the damaged crane apart as pieces of machinery crashed against the construction site below.
The civilians nearby immediately realized what was happening.
"Run!"
"Get out of the way!"
"Look out!"
People scattered across the street as quickly as they could. Some grabbed their friends and pulled them away, while others stumbled over their own feet in their panic. Screams filled the streets as the massive steel beam continued to descend, its shadow growing larger over the people below.
The beam was only seconds away from crushing everything beneath it.
ZAP!
A powerful surge of electricity suddenly ripped through the area.
Blue electrical energy raced across the nearby structures before converging toward the falling steel. The air crackled violently as a figure made entirely of electricity shot forward.
Electro had arrived.
"Whoa!"
"Look! It's Electro!"
"Electro! Electro! Electro!"
Max Dillon formed himself out of the swirling electrical energy, his body becoming solid as he reached the falling steel beam. He thrust both hands upward.
"Got you."
Electricity exploded from his body.
The massive beam suddenly stopped in midair.
Max gritted his teeth as he struggled to hold its enormous weight. Blue energy continuously flowed from his hands and wrapped around the steel like a glowing current. His feet slid backward slightly from the force, but he planted himself firmly and refused to let it fall.
"Easy... easy..."
He took a deep breath and steadied himself.
"Just like Peter taught me."
Max slowly shifted his hands.
The steel beam moved with him.
With one final burst of electricity, he redirected the massive piece of metal away from the civilians and toward the designated safety zone of the construction site. The beam crashed onto the ground with a tremendous metallic boom, kicking up dust and sending a vibration through the nearby pavement.
Max remained still for a moment, making sure nothing else was about to collapse.
Then he looked toward the civilians.
"Is everyone alright?" he called out. "Anyone hurt?"
People looked around at one another.
Nobody was trapped.
Nobody was injured.
There were no casualties.
Max's expression softened with relief.
"That's good," he muttered. "That's good."
The crowd suddenly erupted into applause.
People cheered and shouted his name.
"Electro!"
"Thank you!"
"You saved us!"
"Electro! Electro! Electro!"
Max stood there, surrounded by the cheers.
For a moment, he simply stared.
This was what he had always wanted.
Attention.
Respect.
Recognition.
For so long, people had feared him. They had looked at him like he was some kind of monster whenever his powers appeared. Max himself had barely understood what was happening to his own body, and every mistake only made people more afraid of him.
But now, things were different.
They weren't running from him.
They were cheering for him.
Max smiled.
Finally, they saw him.
And he had Peter to thank for that.
Peter had helped him understand his abilities as Spider-Man, teaching him how to control his electricity, focus his power, and, most importantly, keep a calm and cool head when things became chaotic.
Max wasn't just some dangerous man with electrical powers anymore.
He was learning to become a hero.
An Avenger in training.
And thanks to his powers, his body had also changed in ways he never expected. His appearance had become slightly younger, and the hair he had once lost had completely grown back.
For once in his life, Max Dillon actually felt good about himself.
Later, Max Dillon sat comfortably on the rooftop of a nearby building, overlooking the streets of New York. The city continued moving below him, cars passing through the streets while pedestrians went about their daily lives.
He held a container of spaghetti and meatloaf in one hand and took another bite.
His sister and his girlfriend had made the meal together for him.
Max chewed slowly before smiling to himself.
"Man... this is good."
He leaned back slightly and enjoyed the quiet moment.
Author: Don't ask. I still feel bad about how he was written in TASM 2 and the game.
Suddenly, his phone began ringing.
The ringtone was none other than Spider-Man's theme song.
Max raised an eyebrow.
"Who's calling me now?"
He wiped his hand before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. The moment he saw the caller ID, his expression immediately brightened.
"Peter."
He answered the call.
"Yo, Spider-Man. How are you?" he asked.
At the same time, back at the mutant school, Deadpool remained tied up while everyone tried to figure out what they were going to do next.
There were plenty of problems to deal with, especially with Apocalypse and Magneto having escaped, but the children were their first priority.
The students had to be kept safe before anything else.
Back on the rooftop, Max continued eating his lunch while listening to the phone.
"Hey, Max. Sorry if I'm disturbing you or anything," said Spider-Man over the phone.
"Nah, man. Go on. What do you need?" Max replied, taking another bite of his food. "Anything for you."
Spider-Man paused for a moment before getting straight to the point.
"I need your help on getting every last bit of information on Max Eisenhardt."
Max stopped chewing.
He slowly lowered his fork and stared ahead.
"Max Eisenhardt?"
He thought about the name for a moment before shrugging.
"Sure. Give me five minutes. I'm almost done with my lunch."
A confident grin appeared on his face.
"It's a piece of cake."
A few minutes later, Max Dillon sent the entire database containing information on Magneto, including his current route and other relevant details.
"Thanks, Max. You're the man," Peter said over the phone.
"Anytime, Spidey," Max replied.
The call came to an end.
Max lowered his phone and placed it beside his food.
"Alright, back to work," he said to himself.
Before he could take another bite, however, his phone rang again.
Max stared at it.
"Now what?"
He picked up the phone and looked at the screen.
An unknown number.
His eyebrows raised slightly.
"Hello?"
"Man, good to hear your voice, man."
Max froze.
He recognized that voice immediately.
"Aaron?"
There was a brief pause.
"Aaron Davis?!"
"WAAAZZZZAAAAATTTT!"
"WAAAZZZZAAAAATTTT!"
"Hahaha!"
The two immediately burst into laughter.
"Man, it's been ages!" Aaron said.
"Ooh, man. How are you, Max?" Aaron asked after finally calming himself down.
"I've been good. You?"
"Same, same. Except me, my bro, and his family are moving to New York!"
Max's eyes widened.
"Damn! What's the occasion, man?"
"My brother got a new job position with the police," Aaron explained. "And... with his son."
"Son?! No way! You're telling me this now?!"
"Haha! Told you it would be a surprise."
"Haha."
The two continued talking over the phone, catching up on everything that had happened since their college years. Despite the time that had passed, their old friendship seemed to return naturally, as if they had never lost contact.
Eventually, Max glanced toward the city below.
"Listen, man, I gotta head back to work. Meet you at dinner?"
"Cool. I'll send you the address," Aaron answered.
"Sounds good."
The call came to an end.
Max lowered the phone and stared at the screen for a moment before putting it away.
"Man... Miles Morales."
He shook his head with a grin.
"Aaron's brother got married to a Latina and has a son? Damn, Jefferson's got taste. Puerto Rican taste."
Max chuckled to himself.
"And at just five years old, too. Kid's gonna feel weird walking into a new chapter in his life, and in New York too."
Max looked out over New York for another moment before standing up.
"Well, better get back to work."
Electricity suddenly crackled around his body.
ZAP!
In a flash of blue energy, Max Dillon transformed into pure electricity and shot off the top of the building.
He headed back into the city, ready to continue saving people and making New York a safer place.
Back at the mutant academy, Peter and the remaining members of the X-Men team had gathered together after successfully sending the children to a safe location.
The atmosphere was tense.
Everyone knew they had only bought themselves some time.
Peter stood in front of a table while several pieces of information were displayed in front of him.
"Okay, let's see here..."
He quickly went through every piece of data Max Dillon had sent.
Location.
Movement patterns.
Known associates.
Previous activities.
Possible routes.
Peter's eyes moved rapidly across the information.
Then he stopped.
"Oh, man..."
He slowly stepped backward from the table before squatting down, his eyes fixed on the information as he tried to think of every possible backup plan.
There had to be something they could use.
Something they had missed.
Emma crouched down beside him after noticing the sudden change in his expression.
"Peter, what's wrong?" she asked. "What did you get from the data sent by your friend?"
Peter looked up at Emma.
His expression was worried, but there was something much more serious behind his eyes.
"Ms. Frost, you looked into my memories, right?"
Emma's expression changed slightly.
"Yes. Though I didn't do it intentionally. It happened by accident back at the entrance to Charles's main office."
She looked away for a moment, her mind briefly returning to what she had witnessed inside Peter's memories.
She had seen things she could barely understand.
Things that had not happened yet.
Things that suggested a war was coming.
She just didn't know when.
"Why?" she asked.
Peter continued staring at her.
"Are you sure?"
Emma frowned.
"Yes. What's going on, Pete? Did you find something?"
Peter looked down again.
His hand slowly moved toward his mask.
He pulled it away from his face slightly, allowing himself to breathe more freely.
Thankfully, they were alone in the room while the rest of the team remained busy elsewhere.
Peter took a slow breath.
"Emma, do you know anything..."
He paused.
"And I mean anything..."
Peter struggled to find the right words.
His lips quivered slightly.
He already knew the answer might be something he didn't want to hear.
History had repeated itself.
But this time, the cost had already been heavy.
Peter finally raised his eyes toward Emma.
"The Four Horsemen, Emma?"
---
Chapter 35 — End.