After a long while, Tobey-Spidey finally stopped stirring. He then took his tattered suit and, like applying plaster to a wall, used the stick to spread chunks of the "Peter-Style Processed" webbing onto the damaged areas. The suit was quickly patched up. Next, he dragged several cans from under his bed. Opening them, he revealed waterproof dyes. Carefully applying the different colors, he spent another ten minutes. Finally, after about an hour in total, Tobey-Spidey had finished repairing his suit! Looking at the freshly renewed Spider-Suit, Tobey-Spidey's face was filled with a sense of achievement. He turned, proudly holding up the suit to Peter.
"Well? Doesn't it look great again?" Peter gave him a thumbs-up. "It certainly is great!" Peter admitted that his ingenuity was impressive. The webbing material was excellent—though the method of production was bizarre, its performance was outstanding. From Tobey-Spidey's description, Peter now understood why the outwardly simple Spider-Suit was so resilient: it was due to the material itself! As for why it sometimes got tattered, it was either due to attacks exceeding its tensile limit, or simply the "aging" of the webbing material over time. The material, processed or not, still degraded; the processing simply extended its lifespan. If it wasn't severely damaged, Tobey-Spidey just needed to perform occasional maintenance to keep it durable.
After his brief moment of bragging, Tobey-Spidey put the suit away and quickly put it on. "Let's go, we need to save MJ!" Tobey-Spidey's gaze was determined. "You know where she is, right?"
"Of course. Doctor Octopus set up his new lab in the abandoned church out on the water. We'll find Mary Jane there," Peter confirmed. "But... Do you really want to save her?"
"What's wrong?" Tobey-Spidey turned back, confused as he adjusted his mask.
Peter shrugged: "From what I know, Mary Jane is quite fickle when it comes to romance. Why are you so obsessed with her?" Peter's reasons for knocking out Doctor Octopus earlier and not pursuing the chase were twofold: the autonomous tentacles surprised him, and he genuinely disliked this version of Mary Jane from the first film series.
If she were the comic-accurate Mary Jane, Peter would definitely prioritize saving her. The comic version was never just a trophy or an accessory to the hero; she was strong and courageous. After learning Peter was Spider-Man, she took up martial arts to defend herself, escaped kidnappings by cunning villains, and often helped Spider-Man directly. It was understandable why Spider-Man was devoted to such an independent and loving woman. (This was also why Peter advised Middle-Aged Peter to reconnect with his MJ.)
But this version was different. This Mary Jane was emotionally unstable and constantly wavered between men. The classic "upside-down kiss" in the first movie occurred while she was dating Harry Osborn. Even now, she wasn't Tobey-Spidey's girlfriend; she was the fiancée of the Daily Bugle owner's son! She would later run out on her wedding to be with Peter, and she contributed significantly to the rift between Peter and Harry. In Peter's (Earth-616) view, her defining characteristic was her "fickleness." Peter felt that Tobey-Spidey was wasting his love on her when there were many other deserving women who were clearly devoted to him.
"I... uh..." Tobey-Spidey lowered his head, seemingly considering Peter's words. Peter waited but received no answer. Tobey-Spidey remained silent for a moment, then abruptly walked out. Arriving at the fire escape, he leaped off and shot a web, swinging into the distance.
Peter sighed, deciding to drop the subject. This was Tobey-Spidey's private life. Peter had offered his advice, fulfilling his obligation. Pushing the matter further would be unwelcome. Peter shot a web and followed closely behind Tobey-Spidey.
They quickly arrived at New York Harbor and located the abandoned church Peter had mentioned. The church was entirely built on pilings over the water, connected to land by only a single causeway leading to the main entrance. It looked like the building had been abandoned for years and was recently slated for renovation, but Doctor Octopus had beaten them to it.
Peter and Tobey-Spidey crouched on the dilapidated roof of the church, peering through a broken window. Doctor Octopus was awake and standing in front of his newly reassembled fusion reactor, holding the container of Tritium.
"Oh no! He got the Tritium again! Where did he get such a valuable element? Who is funding this dangerous experiment?" Tobey-Spidey gasped. Peter was unfazed by Tobey-Spidey's shock over Doctor Octopus's careful handling of the Tritium container.
It's a matter of era.Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, 3H. Naturally occurring Tritium is rare, formed when high-energy cosmic rays strike deuterium nuclei. The total natural supply on Earth is only about 25 pounds (≈11.34 kg). In this era, without artificial production methods, it was extremely precious.
However, in Peter's (Earth-616) era, humanity had mastered the artificial synthesis of Tritium. It could be mass-produced using reactor neutrons and specialized lithium targets. It was used in thermonuclear weapons, as a tracer compound in scientific research, and in consumer goods like self-illuminating watches and keychains.
"He can't be allowed to proceed with the experiment! His experiment will destroy all of New York!" Tobey-Spidey was desperate. Doctor Octopus's last experiment, using only a tiny drop of Tritium, created a miniature sun with a powerful gravitational field that sucked everything in and caused fatalities. The container he held now looked like it held several times the amount! If Doctor Octopus used all of it, the resulting gravitational field would increase exponentially!
"Alright, I'll go stop him, you go find Mary Jane," Peter said. "Good!" Tobey-Spidey instantly agreed.
The two quickly slipped through a hole in the roof. By the machine, Doctor Octopus was performing the final calculations before initiating his second experiment.