Peter looked with astonishment at Strange, who had gone in standing and come out lying down. He hadn't expected this outcome at all. "Even you aren't a match for the Juggernaut?"
"Do you think Cyttorak is a low-tier waste like Belasco? He is one of the few powerful magical deities who can stand on equal footing with the Vishanti. Cyttorak bestowed his own power upon his avatar, forging them into an indestructible, unstoppable force. He didn't just give them a robust physique; he granted them immortality and magical potency."
"Time magic doesn't work on them, and raw brute force alone cannot kill them. A magical field protects him, making him resistant to most spells. What did you call him, the Red Tank? He certainly lives up to the name—he's like a tank that never stops."
Peter looked at the Juggernaut, who had shattered the Mirror Dimension and was stomping toward them. The Juggernaut looked furious; there was no telling what Strange had just put him through.
"So? Does this guy have any obvious weaknesses?"
Despite having heard of the Juggernaut before, Peter knew nothing about the specifics of his abilities and couldn't help but ask. As Peter helped him up, Strange began to formulate a plan. "It's not as if he has none at all. The Crimson Gem of Cyttorak bestows immense power, but the power a single gem can provide is ultimately finite. Therefore, as long as one can contend with that power, defeating him isn't impossible."
Just say you need Hulk and Thor to show up and be done with it, Peter muttered to himself.
He glanced at the Thing, who still hadn't managed to get back up. At that moment, the Juggernaut charged at them. Strange waved his hand, using a Sling Ring portal to transport himself and Peter directly behind the Juggernaut.
"Don't you have, uh, some kind of super-prison for magical creatures? We could just send him there."
As Peter spoke, he wondered why the Fantastic Four hadn't stood up yet. They didn't look dead, so why weren't they moving? Were they just lying there slacking off?
Then Peter received a rather disappointing answer: "No, I don't. Generally speaking, the beings a Sorcerer Supreme deals with can't exactly be locked up. Even if you found an unclaimed dimension to imprison Dormammu, they—provided they were willing—could simply shatter that dimension and escape. Besides, I can't catch them in the first place."
Strange sighed. Truth be told, this guy didn't have any particularly complex powers. Cyttorak had given the Juggernaut only two things: immortality and incredibly high stats.
"That's why I need your help. Lend me Dragonfang for a moment." Strange reached out as he spoke. Peter blinked, then transformed the bracelet on his left wrist (which was integrated into his web-shooter design) into the sword Dragonfang and handed it to Strange.
Dragonfang was a unique magical weapon. While its effects were straightforward, aside from enhancing the user's swordsmanship, it had one primary attribute: magic penetration.
This meant that with Dragonfang in hand, Strange could pierce the magical field granted to the Juggernaut by the gem and attack the man himself. With that thought, Strange chanted an incantation and took flight, charging straight at the Juggernaut.
With extreme flight speed, exquisite swordsmanship, and the Juggernaut's own momentum as they collided, Dragonfang successfully slashed across the Juggernaut's chest—but it didn't leave so much as a scratch. Fortunately, that wasn't what Strange had intended. He used the sword as a conduit for a rapid spell, attempting to sever the connection between the Juggernaut and the Crimson Gem.
He succeeded. It was a powerful spell. He watched as the red armor on the Juggernaut's body rapidly faded away. Strange couldn't help but let out a smile.
Then, he watched in horror as the giant's height only shrank by a tiny fraction—hardly a change at all. The opponent reached out, grabbed Strange by the head, covered his mouth, and slammed the Sorcerer Supreme violently into the ground.
"Without a mouth, you can't cast more than half your spells, can you?"
As the Juggernaut spoke, he gripped Strange's head and began slamming him repeatedly into the pavement.
Peter immediately used his webs to pull at the giant's arm, only to find it useless. Even without the power of the Crimson Gem, this guy was currently stronger than him!
"Are you sure you aren't a mutant?"
The dazed Strange was tossed aside by the Juggernaut. The giant then grabbed the webbing with both hands and swung Peter away. Peter, nearly crashing into a wall, shook his head helplessly, realizing that communications had finally been restored. He immediately contacted the Captain: "Cap, how's the situation on your end?"
"Not great," the Captain sounded out of breath. "Aside from Ms. Marvel, everyone on the U.S.Avengers side has been compromised by A.I.M. We're doing our best to hold them off, but this Citizen V is a real piece of work..."
Citizen V?
Peter paused for a second before looking back at the Juggernaut. He asked, "Is that the Super-Adaptoid who can mimic other people's powers? Is he really that tough?"
"He even mimicked the Hulk!"
That'll do!
Watching the Juggernaut charge toward him again, Peter took a deep breath. "Whatever you're doing, Cap, I suggest you get out of the way immediately. I'm about to send the Super-Adaptoid a 'big gift'."
Captain America, who was constantly dodging in the speech area against a Super-Adaptoid that had integrated nearly every Avenger's ability, rolled his eyes helplessly.
He had been dodging the entire time!
Tony and Carol's advice was nonsense; the Super-Adaptoid didn't just adapt to the enemies in front of him. He was a machine with his own database. This resulted in the Captain, who was considered by many to be the weakest, actually fighting the strongest enemy.
And he only had a shield.
After another dodge, the Captain saw a portal snap open. A massive silhouette came charging out from the other side of the portal, slamming directly into the Super-Adaptoid, who had already assumed the Hulk's proportions. The two behemoths collided with a thunderous impact.
Peter hadn't opened such a precise portal; he couldn't open portals to places he hadn't been to yet. It was Strange—who had been pinned to the ground and pummeled until his hair was a mess—who had opened it. He stepped through the portal with Peter, looking exhausted, and nodded helplessly.
"You were right, Spider-Man. I really do need to get a prison."