As Gabriela harbored her doubts, a room with a sign that read "Storage Room" appeared at the end of the corridor.
"Mr. Spider-Man, we're here. This is where your suit is kept."
"Is it? Thank you very much! I can finally wear my suit again, the one that perfectly matches my mask!"
The storage room door was easily opened by Peter.
His suit lay in an open locker, somewhat torn and dusty on the arms and chest, but the embossed spider logo woven from black nylon rope remained striking.
Peter gently touched the spider logo, as if he had found an old friend who had been missing for many years.
Without any hesitation, he quickly took off the borrowed tactical suit, folded it neatly (even patting off the dust), stuffed it into a bag he found, and stuck it to his waist with Silk, then deftly put on his red and blue suit.
When the last bit of the suit's fabric adhered to his skin, he let out a soft breath, as if some power had completed a closed loop.
No matter what had happened, no matter how he had changed, or whether he had memories of a past life, this suit was still a part of him.
Spider-Man in his suit was invincible, and the corridor ahead became his personal showground.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The mercenaries who had arrived as reinforcements were caught in White spider webs before they even clearly saw a Shadow, screaming as they were flung onto the ceiling, becoming new decorations.
It was a simple, one-sided crush, and by the time the corridor ceiling was covered with whimpering prey, the two had reached the heavy metal door where the children were being held with almost no obstruction.
Gabriela was a Nurse at the institute and had long planned to help the children escape, so before Spider-Man could even use his genius mind to decrypt the alloy door's password, she swiped a secretly stolen key card on the sensor to the right of the door.
Creak!
The alloy door slowly opened to both sides, and the sight behind it made Peter briefly hold his breath.
Dozens of children were crowded into a room that seemed to be filled with training equipment. Most of them looked to be only around ten years old, with a pallor from long-term lack of sunlight, dressed in uniform White prison clothes, and their eyes filled with fear of the unknown.
But when they clearly saw who had arrived, the fear in their eyes receded, replaced by a look of joy.
"It's Spider-Man! Ms. Gabriela found an impersonator of Spider-Man, that's so cool!" a Little Boy with a missing front tooth shrieked.
If the armed guards and researchers in the institute only brought fear to the children, then Ms. Gabriela, who usually treated them kindly, was an Angel who brought hope.
"He looks exactly like the one in the comic book you brought last time!" a Little Girl timidly pointed at Spider-Man. "I recognize the spider logo on his clothes, it's really exactly the same."
The children swarmed forward, instantly surrounding Peter, chattering excitedly. Their pale little faces flushed with excitement, and the vibrant breath of life rushed over them, diluting the dark and deathly feeling in this laboratory.
Especially when they learned from Gabriela that the person in front of them was not an impersonator of Spider-Man, but the real Spider-Man, the joy at that moment reached its peak, no different from seeing the X-Men come to rescue them in person.
"You were sent by God to save us, right?" a child stared at Spider-Man, his eyes full of hope.
"Children! Quiet! Listen to me!" Gabriela tried to raise her voice. "Spider-Man is here to save us. Now everyone, don't make noise, and check if anyone is missing."
Gabriela had high prestige among the children, and they were all willing to listen to her words. They looked at each other, then shook their heads, indicating that all their friends were there.
Behind these children, there was a blonde girl holding a comic book who was particularly different. She was probably also eleven or twelve years old, with an unshakeable indifference on her delicate face, even when the children discovered it was Spider-Man and swarmed over, she remained unmoved.
With his excellent eyesight, Peter could clearly see the X-Men logo on the comic book cover, especially Wolverine in his X-suit, who was particularly striking on the cover.
"Uncle Spider-Man, did you really come all this way to save us?" The timid Little Girl from earlier tugged at Peter's finger.
"Of course, I will take you out." Peter very politely stroked the Little Girl's head, then reminded her in a humorous tone, like asking a question in class: "Actually, I'm still a student, so I'd be happier if you could call me Big Brother Spider-Man."
Spider-Man, who had caught countless bad guys, was still a student?!
Gabriela paused, then corrected the children: "Yes, Big Brother Spider-Man!"
"Everyone must follow us closely later, don't get separated. We will definitely get out safely, and then you will be able to see what the outside World is like."
"That's right, children! Gabriela is correct."
Peter, now the spiritual pillar of the children, appropriately raised his hands in agreement.
The gesture of raising his hands was a bit awkward, but it didn't deter a curious child from trying to flip his wrist, presumably looking for a Silk shooter. But as a Spider-Man like the first generation, he didn't use a Silk shooter at all.
"Thank you very much for your affection for me. If we weren't here, I really wouldn't mind letting you all experience what it feels like to be Spider-Man, but this is not a good place. We must leave quietly and quickly, understand?"
As he spoke, he was thinking that he should call the X-Academy or the Brotherhood or something. There seemed to be at least forty Mutant children here, and even if he could save them, he would need to find a place to settle them.
After all, he wasn't a Mutant, so he couldn't just have forty-plus children follow him.
"I hope the signal isn't jammed, and my phone can still make calls." As Peter muttered to himself, his gaze inadvertently flickered to his wrist, and he suddenly froze.
He saw a flash of White light suddenly appear at the spot where he had been bitten by the spider in the past. The White light was so dazzling, then gradually retracted and transformed into a virtual X shape.
What's going on!!
Golden Finger! Cheat!!?
But from the looks of others around him, they didn't seem to notice anything unusual about him. To prevent it from being a hallucination, Peter blinked hard and even raised a hand to wipe the mask's eye lenses.
He looked again.
The X symbol was still there, and it became even more solid. In addition, several light spots, like fireflies, emerged from the children's heads and converged on the X symbol on his wrist.
After absorbing the light spots, the X symbol became even more solid, finally seeming to come alive and drilling into Peter's body.
"What the—?!" Peter's body suddenly shook!
An indescribable feeling instantly flowed through his entire body! It was as if some dormant genetic switch had been violently flipped! He felt... metal! All the metal around him! The door frames, the handcuffs, even the zippers on the children's clothes! They were no longer cold, lifeless objects; they seemed to have come alive, whispering to him, expressing intimacy and obedience!
No way!!
He raised a finger in disbelief, and following his feeling, he hooked his finger at a rivet on a training table in the distance. As a result, without anyone noticing, the rivet trembled, swaying... and floated up!
It floated silently in the air where his fingertip pointed!
Beneath the mask, Peter Parker's mouth formed an O shape. He had become Magneto!