New Mexico.
A brilliant rainbow fell from the sky once more.
After the light faded, Ben was left standing alone on the strangely shaped sandy ground, gazing out at the wilderness.
"I wonder what month and day it is now."
Some time passed, and New Mexico, which had been lively for a short while because of the Hammer of Thor, had returned to its peaceful state.
The first thing Ben did upon returning to Earth was transform into Diamondhead and retrieve the Casket of Ancient Winters from several kilometers underground.
"It's fine that the Destroyer's broken armor is stored on Sakaar, but keeping the Casket of Ancient Winters on Earth always feels like a security risk..."
He sighed.
Earth didn't have a very powerful security system, and the Casket of Ancient Winters was incredibly potent. If it continued to release its power, it could freeze the entire planet. It was a weapon capable of destroying the world, so he couldn't just hide it anywhere.
"Forget it, I'll just carry it with me. The weather's so hot, at least I can make some ice cubes."
After much consideration, Ben stuffed the item into his backpack.
If King of the Frost Giants Laufey knew that his race's most sacred weapon was going to be used by Ben to make ice cubes, he didn't know what he would think.
But regardless, this matter also served as a reminder for Ben.
"I need to invent a cross-space teleportation device quickly."
The distance between Sakaar and Earth was incredibly vast. If not for the Bifrost, even an engine built by the Tetramand would take a considerable amount of time to arrive.
The best solution, of course, would be to invent a spatial teleportation device that could stably open wormholes.
"Sakaar's space is inherently extremely unstable, with countless wormholes swirling around the planet. It's very convenient for research," he mused.
But this wasn't urgent.
He hadn't forgotten about Primus on Earth, which had only recently been established.
"After so much time has passed, the sale of the Self-Healing Serum should be on track. Harry's phones are probably in production by now too."
Smartphones were considered child's play among child's play in the Marvel Universe; he had all the technology. Once the production line was set up, they could be made quickly.
The ideal scenario was for Primus to first make an appearance with Osborn regarding the Self-Healing Serum, and then, leveraging that momentum, immediately promote the new phones.
If luck was on his side, Primus might have already accumulated a significant amount of capital through the Self-Healing Serum.
Honestly, there was no shortage of buyers for this serum. Orders from ordinary people were a small part; the truly large orders came from S.H.I.E.L.D. or the military.
Ben didn't go to the airport. Instead, he transformed directly into XLR8 and ran all the way back to New York.
New York City was another peaceful day.
Of course, except for the Green Goblin, who was riding a flying device, weaving through the skyscrapers while laughing maniacally, and Spider-Man, who had his webs stuck to the flying device and was being dragged through the air...
Not long after Ben returned to New York, he saw Peter shouting in the sky above the city.
However, compared to Peter, Ben was more concerned about his opponent.
"Is that the Green Goblin?"
"What's going on?"
He frowned.
Logically speaking, Norman Osborn's genetic disease had already been cured by him, and the Osborn Corporation was thriving. Neither Norman nor Harry had any reason to turn into the Green Goblin.
Yet the enemy confronting Spider-Man at this moment was undeniably the Green Goblin.
"I've only been gone for a month, what happened?"
He slapped his forehead. His initial thought of going straight home was abandoned. With a flick of his roller skates, Ben left a blue-black shadow among the skyscrapers.
However, he didn't immediately go to help Peter pursue the Green Goblin. Instead, he took a detour and returned to Primus.
Seeing Ben, Dr. Connors seemed very surprised. He was holding two bottles of pale green liquid, and a small lizard was slowly crawling on his shoulder.
"Your trip is over?" Connors asked, then put down what he was holding and brought the small lizard close to Ben's eyes, saying excitedly, "Look, this is the first generation of mutant lizards cultivated using the Variometer. With it..."
"Wait, Dr. Connors," Ben interrupted Connors' likely hours-long explanation and vision for the future, and asked, "What's going on with that Green Goblin? How is Osborn?"
He quickly skated over to the lab's computer. Eunice had thoughtfully brought up the scene currently unfolding in the skies above New York City.
Connors suddenly understood.
"Ah, you're referring to the Green Goblin's attack on Osborn earlier?" Connors said. "Norman has wanted to tell you for a long time, but they couldn't reach you."
"My phone's broken, wait..."
"The Green Goblin attacked Norman Osborn?"
Ben retorted, his expression looking somewhat comical.
He understood every character in this string of text individually, but when put together, it was so bizarre.
Did I kill myself?
"So Norman isn't the Green Goblin?"
"How could Norman be the Green Goblin?" Connors countered. He thought for a moment and continued, "Actually, Norman and I both suspect that the Green Goblin's identity is likely Mendel Stromm."
"Who?" Ben scratched his head.
"Don't tell me you don't remember him? You bought most of Primus's equipment from him."
"Ah, it's him."
Ben remembered now.
Connors continued, "The glider the Green Goblin uses is actually an Osborn product, and only an original shareholder of Osborn could get their hands on it. Furthermore, we all suspect Mendel secretly injected himself with the Lizard Serum."
The first flawed version of the serum was taken away by Osborn's higher-ups. After Lizard Man caused chaos on the Williamsburg Bridge, they abandoned the idea of bringing the serum to the Brooklyn military hospital.
But the serum disappeared.
"I guess someone must still be researching it in secret. There would be plenty of people willing to pay for it."
The Green Goblin didn't exhibit many lizard-like traits, so Connors suspected Mendel Stromm had modified it when he injected himself with the serum.
"He originally thought the Osborn Corporation was finished, so he immediately sold his stocks. But after the Self-Healing Serum was released, it made him realize he'd been tricked..."
"Classic plot."
Ben quipped.
Just like many villains, the birth of this new Green Goblin was quite classic, almost like going through a checklist.
However, he wasn't particularly interested in the other party's origin.
"What about Norman and Harry? Are they okay?"
"They're fine. No, I mean, they are sort of okay..." Connors corrected himself, unsure. "Norman's gone absolutely wild with joy. Mendel Stromm's surprise attack was the best advertisement."
"Everyone saw Norman Osborn, the head of the Osborn Corporation, severely injured and on the verge of death. Then he injected himself with a dose of serum, and immediately pulled himself out of critical danger, even able to stand up and act like a normal person."
Connors recalled the news from those days. The newspapers practically hailed the Self-Healing Serum as a divine elixir.
But he knew that the serum sold on the market wasn't as effective as what Norman used, and the upgraded version hadn't been released yet.
Regardless, the serum's reputation was established. Therefore, Norman should be thanking this Green Goblin.
That being said, it was still a fact that the other party stole Osborn's previously researched equipment and serum, and attacked him.
It was a shame that although he had a guess about the Green Goblin's identity, he had no proof.
"Alright, as long as he's okay."
Ben transformed back and walked towards his laboratory, preparing to make a new suit.
No matter what, the Green Goblin was a troublemaker, especially since if he clashed with Spider-Man, the Parker family could be endangered.
Ben had no reason to keep him around.
"I think you have another problem," Connors said.
"The daughter from the Hardy family came looking for you. It was the day after the serum was released."
"Felicia?"
Ben asked while operating an instrument.
It wasn't strange that Felicia knew Primus's location. After all, she was the one who helped him buy Osborn's equipment from Mendel Stromm at a low price back then.
"I think you have plenty of problems."
Connors said with a smile.
Ben had been missing for a month. Felicia wasn't the only one worried about him.
Besides her, Aunt May and Uncle Ben had also sensed something was wrong. How could someone go on a trip without even making a phone call?
Peter could only desperately cover for him, saying that he had coincidentally met a famous scientist during his travels, and Ben was conducting research with him, so he couldn't check his phone for a while...
Honestly, that excuse was ridiculous.
However, Uncle Ben and Aunt May, who weren't highly educated, actually believed it.
And Mary Jane visited every few days, asking if he was back.
"It's not that much of a problem."
Ben shrugged.
Compared to what he experienced on Sakaar, these were mere child's play.
Besides, he was only gone for a month.
There might be even longer periods of disappearance in the future.
The printer whirred, weaving a new suit. Connors glanced at it.
"Changed the style?"
"To avoid overlapping with Peter's."
It was one thing to be mistaken for someone else in the sewer last time, but Ben didn't want to keep being mistaken.
Mainly because his methods were different from Peter's. If he were mistaken for Peter, Spider-Man's already questionable reputation would be further harmed.
In addition, the new suit also incorporated some alien technology from Sakaar.
Ben changed into his battle suit, and in an instant, a Spider-Man that looked incredibly evil, as if coated in a symbiote, appeared before Connors.
It had black as its base color, with white stripes interwoven into a spider pattern. Additionally, black chains were wrapped around his arms.
Connors pointed at Ben's wrists and asked, "What are those chains for? Doesn't Spider-Man use spider silk? Is this new technology?"
"Decoration," Ben replied.
Then he took out several small discs and attached them to the web shooter slots.
"This is new technology."
The Red King's patented neurotoxin.
Although Ben wasn't as soft-hearted as Peter, not every criminal was beyond redemption.
"Alright," Connors nodded and took a step back, clearing a path for Ben.
However, Ben clearly didn't intend to use the door. He opened the window and stepped onto it.
Before leaving, he heard Connors ask another question: "So, what do you call yourself now?"
He turned his head and looked back.
"Hacker Spider-Man."
The air conditioning at home is broken. My head feels like it's on fire from writing today, and it's almost midnight and no one has come to fix it. I'm seriously dying of heat.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com