Robert Reynolds—better known as Bob—was perhaps far more famous by his superhero mantle: the Sentry.
Possessing the power of a million exploding suns, he was a hot topic in vs-debates and second only to Galactus as a cosmic benchmark for power scales. He possessed an insanely high theoretical power ceiling, but also seemed to lack a brain of his own. Aside from his creator's solo run, he functioned across various comic storylines like a brainless living weapon, deployed wherever he was needed most.
Usually, he wasn't even our living weapon, but the enemy's. And whenever he did fight on the side of good, his performance was prone to bizarre fluctuations.
Regardless of all that, Peter had other pressing matters to attend to. He hadn't previously associated this place with the Sentry for a simple reason: no matter which version of the Sentry was involved, appearing at this point in time was far too early. Besides, the Erskine serum had its limits; Peter never imagined the stuff could actually produce the Sentry.
The fundamental nature of the Erskine serum was "enhancement guided by internal intent," inducing genetic transformations in the human body. For instance, Captain America, Luke Cage, Cloak and Dagger, and Mr. Negative derived their powers from their inner desires. Meanwhile, figures like the Lizard, Superior Octopus, and Peter himself were guided by the animal DNA from Project Wild Power.
Beyond a doubt, Bob had nothing inside him except a specialized version of the Erskine serum rumored to be a thousand times more potent. But surely you couldn't just stack a thousand Captain Americas together and get the Sentry, right? That was absurd.
"Uh, so what happened? How did I end up here? Am I in some kind of trouble?"
"To put it simply, you were tricked. You didn't join a medical study; it was a Hydra human experimentation project. You're the sole survivor."
Bob stood up blankly, pointing at himself. "Does that mean I'm stronger now? Uh, I don't think I grew any taller, and I don't feel like I have superpowers."
Peter noticed another problem. This Sentry didn't resemble the one from the comics; he felt much closer to the version from the Thunderbolts movie. Completely ignorant and utterly unaware of the power within him, let alone how to use it.
Peter sighed. He had originally hoped the Sentry would unleash his divine wrath and wipe out the incoming Hydra soldiers. Instead, it was obvious this guy needed psychological counseling far more than a fight, as he had no idea what had happened to his body. Shaking his head, Peter pulled out his Sling Ring, planning to transport Bob to the Avengers compound first before returning to deal with the Hydra troops himself.
He failed.
Peter stared in disbelief as he drew circles in the air, yet no portal opened. Bob watched him in surprise. "Oh, uh, Spider-Man, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to open a portal with magic, but for some reason it's not working. Is something interfering with me here..."
"I... I didn't know you could do magic," Bob stammered, chuckling foolishly before pointing toward the exit. "Can't we just walk out the front door?"
"We're hundreds of meters underground, and there's a squad of Hydra soldiers outside preparing to breach. I need to guarantee your safety first, Bob, so that's probably a no-go."
Peter gave up on forcing a portal open. He motioned to Bob, "Find a place to hide. I'll go clear out those guys."
"But... I survived, right? Maybe I am a super-person now. Maybe I can help you, Spider-Man."
Peter looked at Bob helplessly. "Do you even know how to use your 'superpowers'?"
"Uh... get shot, maybe?"
Surprisingly, that was probably accurate. Still, Peter shook his head and stepped out of the stasis chamber toward the central control room—because aside from the remote command Ultron had severed, Hydra's self-destruct mechanism had a physical manual override located there. As Peter walked, he brainstormed ways to handle the hostiles, only to glance back and see Bob tailing right behind him.
"It's nothing, I just... I feel like I'm safer being close to you, Spider-Man."
"Fine, but remember to take cover when they show up. They're almost here."
Bob hastily hid himself. Moments later, Peter spotted a line of five Hydra agents encased in heavy, dark-green iron armor rushing toward him. Taking a deep breath, Peter turned invisible on the spot. A massive web instantly stretched across the corridor; the armored Hydra soldiers pulled up short, scanning the barrier warily.
"Spider-Man is here!" the squad leader shouted, quickly adding, "Everyone stay alert, watch out for Spider-Man—?!"
The giant web woven across the hall suddenly lurched forward, enveloping them entirely before a surge of white electricity blanketed the whole unit. Peter had already maneuvered behind them, enhancing his bio-electricity with Qi to unleash a charge far stronger than before through the web. With a heavy yank, the electrified net overloaded their suits' circuitry in an instant, dropping them all to the ground.
"I bet Stark won't be thrilled when he learns Hydra was the first company to copy his technology."
Peter deactivated his camouflage, stepping onto the squad leader's armor. He reached down and ripped the arc reactor right out of the suit's chest, then repeated the process for the others. Deprived of power, the suits were reduced to immovable hunks of metal.
Bob watched the scene and grinned happily, running over to the fallen soldiers. "Oh, I didn't expect... you're way tougher than the news makes you out to be, Spider-Man."
"J. Jonah Jameson usually leaves out the part where I win," Peter shrugged. Then, he sensed more armored troops approaching. "Alright, if we want to get out of here, we need to end this fast. We can't afford to get bogged down by Hydra. I'll have to carry you."
Bob looked hesitant. "But... won't I slow you down in a fight?"
Peter stared at Bob for a moment.
Dozens of seconds later, a second Hydra armored squad charged into the underground facility, only to be met by the sight of Spider-Man sprinting straight at them—with a man strapped to his back.
Viper, watching the live feed through the network, was on the verge of a total breakdown.
How on earth was there another survivor in that base?!
"Who is that guy?!"
"I don't know!" the squad leader answered honestly. "All I know is he's charging at us while riding Spider-Man!"
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