The streets of Manhattan were an improvised battlefield. Overturned cars blocked the avenue, shop windows were shattered, and a terrified crowd ran in all directions seeking a safe place.
In the center of the destruction, a colossus covered in thick gray skin moved forward like an unstoppable locomotive: Rhino. Each of his steps cracked the asphalt, raising a cloud of dust that mixed with the distant sirens.
Above him, Jewel flew back and forth, holding up chunks of concrete falling from damaged structures and pushing cars out of civilians' paths. Around her, chaos reigned, but her attention was focused on minimizing damage and preventing anyone from getting hurt.
In front of the monster, the wall-crawler swung from pole to pole, shooting thick web lines to anchor the villain's feet.
"Hey, Rhino!" Spiderman shouted, swinging right in front of the giant. "What's the matter, escape from the safari? Tell me, how much is the ticket to ride you?"
The brute paused for a second, snorting with fury.
"Damn meddling insect! I'm gonna crush you like a cockroach!"
Spiderman, dodging a swipe that almost took his head off, hung from a lamppost and replied calmly, teasingly, "Technically, spiders aren't insects. We're arachnids. You know, eight legs, way more style…"
"SHUT UP!" Rhino growled, charging at him again. "I WON'T BE LOCKED UP AGAIN, NOBODY CONTROLS RHINO!"
Jewel, barely managing to deflect the brute so he wouldn't smash into a building, huffed in frustration. "Please! Are you really going to give him a biology lesson in the middle of this?"
"Of course! Education is power, Jewel," Spidey answered, flipping through the air and launching another burst of webbing.
"Damn spider! Can you focus on stopping him for once?!" Jewel shouted, exasperated by the constant jokes in the middle of the chaos.
"Hey, everyone has their own style!" Spiderman said, raising an eyebrow under his mask.
Rhino slammed his foot into the ground, breaking the webs restraining him, and charged forward like a rampaging bull. His silhouette was unstoppable, barreling toward a row of buildings.
But just before he could collide, a red, muscular shadow fell from the sky, blocking his path.
The ground trembled as Four Arms appeared, planting his feet firmly on the asphalt and raising all four hands in resistance.
The initial clash between Rhino and Four Arms was like two trains colliding head-on. The ground cracked beneath their feet, and the shockwave rattled the parked cars nearby.
"Hff…! You're tougher than you look, big guy!" growled Four Arms, bracing the charge with all his muscles tensed. "But sorry, compared to Hulk, you're like a soft pillow."
Rhino threw back his head and let out a guttural roar. Suddenly, he twisted his neck and slammed his horn into the red hero's shoulder. The impact made him stagger just a step back, enough for Rhino to shake free.
"No one stops me! I'm unstoppable!" he bellowed, tearing webs from his arms and throwing chunks of concrete as projectiles.
Spiderman narrowly dodged one piece. "Hey, careful! Do you know how much dental work costs in this city?"
Jewel descended in a tight aerial spin, striking Rhino's jaw with a powerful punch. The villain staggered back.
"Focus!" she shouted. "If he keeps moving, he'll destroy the entire street. Hold him!"
"Got it!" Four Arms leapt onto Rhino, grabbing his shoulders with two arms and pounding his upper fists against the brute's torso with a hammering blow that echoed like a jackhammer.
Rhino shook violently, ramming into a wall to try and crush the red hero. The wall cracked, but Four Arms held firm, using his lower arms to trap the villain's wrists.
"Now, Spidey, tie his legs!" he roared.
Spiderman immediately responded, shooting multiple web lines, weaving a tangled net around Rhino's ankles and sticking him to the ground. "Easy there, Big Horn. Time for someone to put a muzzle and leash on you!"
The villain bellowed, flexing his muscles and breaking part of the webbing with brute force.
Jewel appeared from the side, kneeing Rhino in the ribs while shouting, "Stay still, damn it!" The impact made him bend slightly, opening his guard.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Four Arms crossed his upper arms, delivering a double hammer punch to the colossus's back. The ground trembled, and Rhino fell to his knees.
"Nice work, Red!" Spiderman exclaimed, shooting more webs around the enemy's head and arms. "Now let's wrap him up like a birthday present!"
"And I'll handle the bow!" Jewel lifted a huge slab of pavement and dropped it in front of Rhino, blocking his forward movement.
With one last combined effort, Four Arms held him like a living press, while Spiderman immobilized the legs with reinforced webs and Jewel kept pressure on the villain's torso.
Rhino thrashed, bellowing and hurling insults through clenched teeth, but the combined force gradually overcame him until he was lying on the ground, motionless, trapped in a tangle of muscles and webs, his mouth covered by nets.
"Language," Spidey commented, covering the villain's mouth.
Four Arms held him a few more seconds before letting out a triumphant roar. "Done! Sorry, buddy, but it's time to go back to the zoo you escaped from!"
Spiderman swung from a lamppost, swinging with satisfaction. "Well, there's nothing like starting the afternoon by stopping a guy dressed like a rhinoceros. Hey, wanna grab some pizza? My treat."
Jewel, disheveled but smiling, crossed her arms. "Extra cheese. I've earned it."
Four Arms nodded, finally releasing the restrained villain. "Sure, I'd love to. But where?"
Spiderman shot a web at a distant building. "Follow me, Joe's Pizza has the best pies in New York."
The crowd, who had been watching fearfully from a distance, erupted in applause as they saw Rhino subdued, cheering for the heroes while they walked away, Jewel flying behind Spiderman, and Legion leaping across rooftops following them.
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Already at the top of a building, I touch the Omnitrix on my shoulder and feel the strength and explosiveness of Four Arms leave me.
Spider-Man said he'd be back soon with the pizzas, while Jewel rested on the ledge of the building.
I adjust my helmet slightly, standing there, feeling a bit awkward about the situation.
What should I say? Hey Jewel, nice job back there. Hey, if you ever run into a purple-skinned guy, make sure to throw a really hard rock at him from a distance.
-"You're Legion, right? The one who transforms into monsters. I saw you at the invasion with that same Four Arms guy." She turns to look at me while fixing her hair.
-"The same one, yes, although I wouldn't call them... monsters." I step a little closer, my voice slightly modified by the helmet, my watch exposed on my arm. "They're aliens."
Jessica raises an eyebrow at the mention of "aliens" and moves her hands away from her hair.
I already know what she's going to say, so I speak before she starts.
-"It's the watch. It lets me transform into them, and no, I'm not an alien. I'm just a regular human being."
Lie.
She nods and crosses her legs, but before she can speak:
-"Aliens? Like the ones from last week?" Spider-Man appears with two boxes of pizza, his mask pulled up to his nose. "Wow, if there hadn't been an alien invasion, I wouldn't believe you."
-"Why not? You have super strength and can climb walls, I can fly, there's a guy who can control metal like clay. Would it really surprise you if aliens exist?" Jewel says as she takes a slice and a napkin.
Peter stops chewing and turns his head toward her.
-"Well… when you put it that way, you've got a good point. I guess I never really thought about it much."
Jessica smiles, shaking her head, and turns to me.
-"So, you have a device that transforms you into aliens. I assume, like many of us in our line of work, you won't be willing to say where you got it from, right?"
I take a slice of pizza and lean against the ledge, my helmet retracting at my mouth.
-"It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just that one day I woke up with this thing on my arm and suddenly—bam—I could transform into aliens. Over time, pieces of information came into my head, and after last week's incident with all that cosmic energy, I was able to understand a lot more."
-"Wait a second." Peter raises his hand. "Every time you transform, you have that symbol, right?" He puts his hand on his chin; if there were a sound, it would be like turning gears. "If you always have that symbol… don't tell me… you were that orange furball that ate Dr. Connors' arm?"
Jewel frowns, slowly turning her head toward me.
-"You ate a man's arm?"
-"It's not what it looks like." I raise both hands defensively. "He was transformed into a two-meter lizard and kidnapped a woman… and, well, Wildmutt instincts are very strong and he was really hungry. I assumed that, since he's a lizard, his arm would grow back, so…"
-"So you ate his arm because you were hungry…" Jessica crosses her arms, disapproving. "What would you have done if your 'assumption' was wrong and something bad had happened?"
Shit, I can't tell her I knew nothing bad would happen.
-"You're right." I tilt my head in surrender. "I'll be more careful next time, okay?"
If I learned anything from my father, it's to surrender quickly in lost battles… usually arguments. No matter what I say, I'd lose—better to save the argument.
Jewel nods as she wipes her mouth with a napkin.
-"As long as you understand, it's our duty as experienced heroes to make sure the newbies don't make wrong decisions."
-"What are you talking about? You started a year and a half ago; you're new too." Peter laughs, resting his head on his chin. "If you say that, then I'm the oldest of the three."
-"Hey, you've just got a little more experience. You're not my superior." Jessica points at him reproachfully. "I—"
-"Then you didn't do a very good job, Spider-sensei. You still have a lot to teach him." I interrupt her.
-"Ah, Jewel-chan is very stubborn. This sensei must work harder." Spidey pats his apprentice like an old martial arts master. "You'll have to wax and polish again, young lady."
-"YOU GUYS!!!" The heroine's cheeks heat up with irritation and embarrassment.
We chatted for quite a while about the day, the new villains, the invasion, and some complications of heroism.
They already knew each other for a while, but between Peter's jokes and Jessica's questions, I felt surprisingly included.
They avoided mentioning very private things: family, friends, work, or powers.
Peter is classic Spider-Man: playful and joking behind the mask.
Jessica, not having gone through that traumatic event, also likes to joke—not as much as Peter—but she can make jokes and has small outbursts when Peter embarrasses her by telling stories about his first days, making her blush—a cheerful and positive girl, without deep traumas haunting her.
-"Can you believe it? An alien invasion happens and Jameson still finds a way to attack me. I don't know what I did to that man, I only made fun of his mustache once. Seriously, it wasn't that bad."
-"Well, that's the thing about having a secret identity. The man is very distrustful of anything without a public identity." I shrug.
-"Yes, I understand, but it seems he has his sights on me. He doesn't do that to Jewel or Daredevil. Trust me, give it time, and he'll forget about you to focus his energy on me again." Peter shakes his head while holding his temple.
Tu-tun… tu-tun… tu-tun…
Music interrupts the conversation. Jewel raises a hand apologetically while taking out a phone from a small belt at her waist, quickly frowning as she reads a message.
-"What happened?" The wall-crawler asks seriously, now lowering his mask to cover his entire face.
Jessica sighs and puts the phone away.
-"I've been working with some police officers for three days when several reports of missing persons suddenly came in from Chinatown and Hell's Kitchen."
-"How many?" I ask.
-"Sixty people." She frowns. "At first, we thought they might have been lost due to the evacuation… but the numbers haven't stopped increasing." She lowers her head. "And I just got informed the number rose to eighty people."
-"What the hell? Shouldn't there be a notice and increased security? Eighty missing people, and the FBI or SHIELD aren't aware of this?" Peter comments, annoyed, moving his arms to contain his anger.
-"Who do you think contacted the police to help them? Fury says his bosses refuse to investigate the case due to lack of resources, but he disagrees, so he asked me to help and try to find all these people and stop whoever is behind this." Jewel rises, beginning to levitate.
-"Do you think you can handle this alone?" I can't help but ask, trusting Jessica's abilities, but she's still a novice, not as seasoned as her other versions.
She looks away for a moment before answering.
-"At first, I thought I could. I wanted to prove I could be a reliable hero, but… this is getting out of hand way too quickly."
-"Then let me help you." Peter jumps and sticks to a nearby building. "After all, I'm your mentor. I can help you and teach you some old hero tricks."
-"You can also count on me." I press the dial; my body changes, transforming into Stinkfly. "I'm still a rookie, but I can help. Meanwhile, I can learn from my elders."
Quickly, the two cover their noses as Jessica's face contorts in disgust.
-"Buddy, you smell like rotten eggs and three-week-old trash had a child, and then that child bathed in a sewer." Peter comments in a nasal voice.
-"Don't exaggerate. It's not that bad." I smell my armpits as I fly to the same height as Jewel. "Are we going to do this or not?"
The two heroes look at each other and nod.
-"Alright, but you'll change back when we get near Hell's Kitchen. I don't want the locals throwing us out because someone smells bad. Follow me." The girl begins to fly, leaving Spider-Man and me behind.
I look at the hero.
-"Is it really that bad?"
-"A skunk smells better." He nods while swinging.
I smell myself again. Honestly, I have no idea what they're talking about, but Gwen and Max had the same reactions with Ben in this transformation. I guess I'm lucky I can't smell myself.
==============================================================
The echo of blows resonated throughout the tunnel—a metallic sound mixed with panting and hurried footsteps. Shadows moved at high speed, launching coordinated attacks, but each was anticipated and neutralized with almost superhuman precision.
A sai embedded itself in a leg; another disarmed an opponent before they could react. Every movement was fluid, lethal, calculated to the millimeter.
The ninjas fell one by one: some with precise cuts to limbs, others taken down with hand-to-hand moves, leaving them lifeless on the floor.
Blood stained the cold ground, but her expression remained impassive, focused solely on her target. Her eyes tracked every shadow, every leaf swirling in the tunnel wind, every attempt at ambush. Nothing escaped her control.
Finally, only one remained. Incapacitated, staggering, breathing heavily, as she advanced toward him.
One of her sais pressed against his neck, immobilizing him completely.
-"Tell me where your leader is." She ordered, her voice firm and sharp, the echo filling the tunnel.
The ninja barely looked at her, trying to muster courage, though his body shook with fear and pain. His lips moved with effort.
-"Y…you'll regret betraying the order, Elektra…"
A dry crack resounded as the pill in his mouth broke. His body tensed for a moment, then fell lifeless to the floor.
Elektra calmly sheathed her sai and began walking away, each step confident and measured, without looking back.
Silence returned to the tunnel, broken only by dripping water and the distant echo of fallen bodies.
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HOW ARE YOU GUYS? CALM DOWN, I DIDN'T FORGET YOU, BUT HONESTLY, I WASN'T REALLY IN THE MOOD TO WRITE. I STARTED LEARNING SIGN LANGUAGE AND IT'S REALLY ENTERTAINING ME. DID YOU KNOW THERE'S A WAY TO COMMUNICATE EROTICALLY WITH SIGNS? HONESTLY, IT NEVER CROSSED MY MIND.
ANYWAY, THIS IS WHERE THIS NEXT ARC WILL OFFICIALLY START. I WONDER WHICH OF YOU WILL GUESS WHO THE VILLAINS TO DEFEAT ARE AND WHICH HEROES WILL SHOW UP TO HELP?
I'M EXCITED, THAT'S FOR SURE. I'VE REALIZED THAT DIALOGUE IS THE PART I STRUGGLE WITH MOST. I TRY TO MAKE IT NATURAL AND NOT STIFF, BUT I'M STILL NOT FULLY SATISFIED WITH THE RESULTS. I'LL TRY TO IMPROVE THIS PART OF MY WRITING. IF YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE, I'D LOVE TO READ IT.
IF SOMETHING ISN'T CORRECT OR IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING THE SENTENCES, PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN FIX IT.
A BIG THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND COMMENTS.
TAKE CARE, GUYS.