Chapter 93: The League of Guardians (Part 1)
The look in Harry Osborn's eyes felt almost unfamiliar to Peter.
It was the kind of unwavering determination that only came from finally finding a purpose in life.
Peter took a deep breath.
"There's something important I need to tell you too."
Harry paused, clearly not expecting Spider-Man to react this way after he had revealed his identity.
Still, he nodded, signaling that he was listening.
"Actually, I'm Peter Parker."
At first, the name did not register with Harry at all.
"I'll remember that. Peter Parker."
Two seconds later, something suddenly clicked.
"Wait. Can there really be a coincidence like that?" Harry blinked, sounding uncertain. "You have exactly the same name as my best friend."
Peter did not answer.
Instead, he raised his right hand and opened the Iron Mask.
With a click, Peter's face was revealed before Harry Osborn.
Harry's pupils widened sharply.
For that instant, his thoughts seemed to stop completely.
Every idea vanished from his mind at once, leaving it utterly blank.
Peter Parker?
It really was that Peter Parker.
The Peter Parker who greeted him in the hallway every morning.
The Peter Parker who always let him copy his homework, then complained when he copied every word exactly.
The Peter Parker he could open up to completely, the one he could share his secrets with.
Harry opened and closed his mouth, his expression shifting between confusion, shock, and disbelief.
Even the surface of his black suit began to ripple faintly.
His heart rate had risen so quickly that even the Venom Symbiote was reacting to it.
"Peter, how can you possibly be Spider-Man?"
Peter placed both hands on Harry's shoulders, trying to calm him down.
"Listen to me, Harry. My powers came from a Mutated Spider, and that Mutated Spider came from an Oscorp laboratory."
"That's why I've been investigating Oscorp all this time. The moment you knew I was Spider-Man, you'd be forced to choose between your best friend and your father."
"No matter which side you chose, you'd end up getting hurt. I didn't keep it from you because I didn't trust you. I just didn't want to put you in the middle."
Harry said nothing.
His breathing gradually steadied, and his pupils returned to normal.
"I understand." He nodded. "If I were in your position, I probably would've made the same choice."
Peter looked him in the eyes.
"I'm glad you see it that way. I was worried you wouldn't be able to accept it."
Harry paused, then smiled.
"How could I not accept it? My best friend is Spider-Man, the most popular Superhero in New York."
He raised his fist and gave Peter a firm but not overly hard punch on the shoulder.
"Do you know how many people would kill to know your real identity? Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Don't tell me I'm the first person to find out."
Peter rubbed the shoulder Harry had punched, then spread his hands with a shrug.
"Strictly speaking, you're not the first. Gwen found out a week before you did."
"Oh my God, even Gwen knew before me? Okay, now I'm actually hurt!"
Harry clutched his chest and pretended to be heartbroken.
After learning that Spider-Man was Peter Parker, Harry relaxed considerably and no longer seemed as tense as before.
Peter looked at Harry, who had already recovered from the shock enough to joke around, and finally felt a weight that had been pressing on him for a long time lift completely.
From now on, they would share more than just their bond as best friends.
They would also be comrades who could fight side by side and trust each other with their backs.
Peter lowered the Iron Mask again and patted Harry on the shoulder.
"Come on. I want to show you something."
The two fired their webs one after another and swung away from the abandoned shipyard, crossed the evening streets, and finally landed on the rooftop of Midtown High School.
By then, most of the sky had already darkened, and the streetlights below were lighting up one by one.
Peter walked to a corner of the rooftop and pressed a button on his Web-Shooter.
A faint ripple of light suddenly spread through the air.
The next moment, the silver-gray steel beast was fully revealed.
Harry instinctively took half a step back.
Then he recovered and quickly walked over to the Spider-Cycle, examining it closely.
"This is seriously extravagant! A flying motorcycle with dual Arc Reactors? How long can this thing keep running?"
"More than six months. It's also designed for land, sea, and air, with a top flight speed of two thousand kilometers per hour."
Peter climbed onto the seat, turned toward Harry, and tilted his chin.
"One of the perks of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hop on. I'm taking you to meet the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. right now."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has perks this good? Does that mean I'll get one too?"
Harry climbed onto the rear seat and gripped the handles on both sides, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.
He never could have imagined it.
Just one day ago, he had been lying around in a hospital bed with nothing to do.
Now, only a day later, he was riding Spider-Man's flying motorcycle to meet the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Could a Superhero career possibly have a more unbelievable beginning?
"You'll have to ask the bald guy in black about that. Hold on tight. We're taking off!"
Harry did not even have time to ask who the so-called bald guy in black was before a powerful force slammed him back into the seat.
HUM!
The Spider-Cycle became a streak of silver-gray light and shot straight into the sky with both of them aboard.
A thousand meters of altitude passed in the blink of an eye.
By the time Harry adjusted to the crushing acceleration, they had already pierced through the clouds and entered an entirely different world.
A world above the clouds.
Far in the distance, the setting sun hung between the sea of clouds and the star-filled sky.
It was a breathtaking sight unlike anything Harry had ever seen.
For a moment, he could not help but feel just how small humanity was compared to nature.
But soon, something else captured all of his attention.
Above the sea of clouds appeared a colossal man-made structure that seemed far beyond the technology of the age.
A S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
"This..." Harry's voice came out haltingly. "Is this S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters?"
"You can think of it that way. More precisely, it's called the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier."
Peter slowed the Spider-Cycle and gradually descended onto the deck of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
"You'll be coming here often from now on, so get used to it."
Peter waved to the approaching S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel while pulling Harry toward the interior of the Helicarrier.
By now, Peter no longer needed anyone to guide him.
He could navigate the maze-like steel corridors on his own.
...
Chapter 94: The League of Guardians (Part 2)
Nick Fury's office.
The moment Harry saw Nick Fury, he immediately understood who Peter had meant by the "bald guy in black."
It was none other than the stern-looking Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. sitting before him.
Nick Fury sat behind his broad desk with his hands clasped beneath his chin. From the moment Harry entered, his single eye remained fixed firmly on him.
Harry had already prepared himself mentally, but being stared at for so long by that piercing gaze, which seemed capable of seeing straight through him, was still deeply uncomfortable.
"Harry Osborn."
Nick Fury's voice was flat, giving away nothing about what he was thinking.
"According to Spider-Man, you have complete control over the Symbiote suit on your body?"
"That's right."
Harry did his best to match Nick Fury's calm tone.
"I can completely control... well, what you call the Symbiote."
Nick Fury gave a slight nod and did not press the matter any further.
Dr. Connors would be testing Harry soon anyway. For now, this was little more than a formality.
"The establishment of the Superhero team has been officially approved. Once the members' files are entered into the system, the team's logistical support will be incorporated into Spider-Man's existing support network."
Nick Fury went through the standard details of the new Superhero team with Peter and Harry.
Then he suddenly turned toward Peter, who had remained silent the entire time.
"So, have you decided on a name for your team?"
Peter was silent for a few seconds, apparently considering his options.
"I have. The League of Guardians."
The League of Guardians?
A faint gleam flashed in Nick Fury's single eye.
He did not respond immediately. Instead, he silently repeated the name to himself before slowly nodding.
"The Guardians. Not bad. Much better than the Avengers."
"You can head to the combat training room now. Your team's third member is already there. She's been training for an hour, and if nobody goes in and stops her soon, she's going to dismantle every training robot we have."
A third member?
Harry was surprised by the news.
Judging from Nick Fury's words, this third member seemed to possess frightening combat ability.
Who could it possibly be?
Harry was extremely curious.
...
Peter led Harry to the fourth deck of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and into a circular corridor.
The entire left side of the corridor was made up of a massive tempered-glass wall, while the right side held a monitoring station.
Several screens displayed real-time data from inside the training room.
"This is the combat training room."
Peter walked up to the glass wall and gestured for Harry to look inside.
"You're going to spend a lot of time here. You have almost no combat experience, so you'll need plenty of training."
Harry nodded and looked curiously into the training arena.
The training room was a circular enclosed space roughly forty meters in diameter.
The wreckage of several spherical robots lay scattered across the floor, each one cleanly sliced in half.
At the center of the arena, a blonde girl wearing ornate magical armor was fighting the final four spherical robots.
The robots were about the size of basketballs, painted black and hovering in midair.
Each one was equipped with two machine guns and two mechanical arms capable of extending and retracting freely.
Chainsaw weapons were mounted at the ends of those arms, giving the robots considerable combat capability.
But the blonde girl in magical armor was far more dangerous than the robots.
Faced with a blazing barrage from all four robots at once, she swung the golden Soulsword in her hand and forcibly carved an opening through the incoming fire.
Then the blonde girl charged forward.
Harry saw only a flash of blue before she vanished from sight.
Before he could even say anything, she reappeared behind one of the spherical robots.
The Soulsword swept mercilessly through the air, leaving behind a brilliant trail of golden light.
The robot split cleanly in half.
The nearly melted edges of the cut alone were enough to show just how terrifying the Soulsword's power was.
"My God, is her ability Teleportation? No wonder she was chosen as the third member."
Harry watched the blonde girl fight with great interest and could not help voicing his amazement.
Peter gave a faint, wry smile beside him.
"You're only half right. Nick Fury didn't make her join us because of her abilities."
"Then why?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
While Peter and Harry were talking, the blonde girl's combat training was already coming to an end.
The remaining three spherical robots were all sliced cleanly in half.
They were so thoroughly destroyed that sending them back for repairs would have been pointless.
No wonder Nick Fury wanted to find something else for Magik to do instead of letting her spend all day in the combat training room.
Even with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, it could not afford losses at this rate.
After the battle ended, the blonde girl straightened and gave the Soulsword a graceful flourish.
Her magical armor and the Soulsword vanished at the same time.
Then she turned around.
Her gaze passed through the tempered-glass wall of the training room and settled on Peter and Harry.
Harry's eyes immediately widened as though he had just seen something impossible.
"Wait."
He almost pressed his face against the tempered glass, his voice unconsciously rising.
"Isn't that... isn't that the transfer student in our class? The one who transferred in last week? Her name was..."
Harry's mind raced as he dug through his memory for the somewhat difficult name.
"Illyana Ras..."
"Illyana Rasputin."
Peter patted Harry on the shoulder and supplied Magik's full name.
"Right, right, that's her! Why is she here?"
Harry was completely bewildered.
"That's a long story. I'll explain it properly later. Also, Phil Coulson, the new principal of Midtown High School, is actually a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
Instead of clearing up Harry's confusion, Peter had just dropped another bombshell.
Harry froze in place and needed several seconds to recover.
He looked at Peter with a strange expression, as though his entire understanding of the world had just been overturned.
"You're saying our school... Midtown High School... is basically a branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. now?"
"I really don't want to admit it."
Peter tilted his head, looking somewhat helpless.
"But honestly, I guess that interpretation isn't wrong."
Chapter 95: The Guardians Make Their Appearance; The Dragon Man Attacks
Harry actually felt that it was perfectly natural for Midtown High School to have effectively become a S.H.I.E.L.D. branch.
After all, with Harry, the newest rookie, joining them, there were now four S.H.I.E.L.D.-affiliated personnel at Midtown High School.
Especially since even the principal was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Calling the school a S.H.I.E.L.D. branch was hardly an exaggeration.
Click!
The gate to the combat training room opened.
Magik walked out, having already deactivated her combat mode. She was dressed in a simple dark gray training uniform and carried a bottle of sports drink in one hand.
She approached the two people waiting outside, nodded to Peter first, then turned toward Harry, who was still struggling to process everything he'd just learned, and looked him up and down.
"Is he the Black Spider-Man Fury was talking about?"
Magik's tone was as flat as ever, though there was a faint trace of curiosity in her voice.
"That's right. This is a good chance for you two to get acquainted. From now on, you'll be fighting together as teammates."
Peter began introducing them.
"Harry, this is Illyana. You can also call her Magik."
"Illyana, this is Harry Osborn. We're all in the same class, so you should remember Harry, right?"
A thoughtful look appeared in Magik's eyes before she nodded.
"From now on, the three of us are on the same team. Our mission is simple: maintain peace in New York City and stop crimes whenever they occur."
Peter looked at Magik. "Your Teleportation Ability gives you a natural advantage for this kind of mission. I assume Fury has already explained that to you?"
Magik gave him a thumbs-up, indicating that she would follow the arrangements.
"All right. Since nobody has any objections, I'll skip the unnecessary talk and get straight to the point."
"I'm going to teach you everything I've learned from my past few months of experience as a Superhero."
"We'll start with theory, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both your abilities. After that comes hands-on training..."
Peter folded his arms across his chest, and his tone changed slightly.
"I'll be your opponent for one-on-one combat training."
Harry and Magik immediately looked eager to begin.
For both of them, getting to train against Spider-Man was a new and exciting experience.
Of course, if they'd ever had the good fortune of meeting Andrew Spider-Man, they probably wouldn't have been quite so enthusiastic.
...
By the afternoon of the third day of combat training, Peter was standing at the control console of the training arena, watching Harry and Magik alternate between covering each other and advancing through the simulated city streets.
They were currently running a simulated hostage rescue exercise.
The objective was to rescue the hostages without triggering a large-scale armed confrontation.
Harry had improved remarkably fast.
Three days ago, he'd still been a rookie who knew nothing except how to throw punches with all his strength.
Now, he could sneak up behind an armed criminal without alerting anyone and neatly knock them unconscious with a palm strike.
Magik's progress was just as noticeable. Instead of relying entirely on teleportation, she had begun mastering more advanced weapon techniques.
That, in turn, allowed her to wield the Soulsword with far greater skill.
Before long, through their combined efforts, the two of them rescued every hostage without causing much of a disturbance throughout the entire operation.
Peter, standing by the control console, was quite satisfied with his teammates' performance.
He was just about to raise the difficulty of the simulation again when Nick Fury's voice suddenly came through the speakers mounted on the ceiling of the combat training arena.
"Spider-Man, halt the training."
Peter looked up. Harry and Magik stopped at the same time, and every projection in the training arena instantly vanished.
"We've just received an emergency alert from the State University of New York. An artificial mechanical creature escaped from their engineering laboratory and is moving rapidly toward Manhattan along the Hudson River."
"This thing poses an extremely high military threat. If it starts rampaging through a densely populated area, the consequences could be catastrophic."
"You need to contain it before it can cause widespread destruction, no matter what it takes."
The holographic projection automatically switched to real-time satellite footage.
A projection of an entirely metallic mechanical creature appeared in the open area of the training ground.
It was a mechanical construct shaped like a Dragon Man, nearly five meters tall, its overall form somewhere between a human and a dragon.
Its torso was humanoid and covered in scale-like composite armor plates.
Its limbs, along with the wings and tail extending from its back, had the standard features of a Western dragon and were all made from silvery-white metal.
Countless intricate Alchemy Circles were etched across the surface of its body, with mysterious light flowing through the depths of every pattern.
The Dragon Man mechanical creature was currently flying low along the Hudson River shoreline.
As it passed the docks, it casually sent shipping containers flying.
Its tail merely grazed a sightseeing yacht moored by the river, yet the deck tore apart as though it were made of paper.
"The NYPD has already evacuated three blocks along the river, but they don't have the capability to intercept a target like this. Stark isn't in New York right now, and the rest of the Avengers won't be able to arrive for at least twenty-five minutes."
Nick Fury paused for a second.
"Right now, the only people who can stop this thing are the three of you. I want to see a clean victory."
Peter looked at the rampaging Dragon Man mechanical creature, then glanced back at his two teammates, both of whom were brimming with fighting spirit.
He clapped his hands together.
"The Guardians' debut battle."
His voice was unusually serious.
"Fury's right. We need to win this one in spectacular fashion."
Harry pulled his gaze away from the satellite feed.
The white eye motifs on his black suit narrowed into two slender arcs.
"Understood. I'm ready to fight whenever you are."
Even Magik's normally calm eyes now held a clear fighting spirit.
Back in the Ruins Universe, she had long since grown accustomed to a life spent fighting all kinds of powerful Mutants. After arriving in Peter's universe, life had been peaceful and colorful, but that very peace had left Magik feeling lonely and out of place.
Now that she finally had a chance to return to a life of battling powerful enemies, she had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.
"Give me the exact coordinates. I'll teleport us straight there."
Peter immediately pulled up the map data and marked the Dragon Man's current route with a red dot.
The three of them then stood shoulder to shoulder. A brilliant blue light flashed around them, and they vanished from the training ground in an instant.
Inside the Director's office, Nick Fury had his feet propped up on his desk, his single eye fixed intently on the satellite feed monitoring the section of the Hudson River where the Dragon Man mechanical creature was located.
Now he was going to see whether this newly formed team of superheroes could truly live up to his expectations.
Chapter 96: Venom and Its Four Offspring
Dragon Man was an artificial creature created by Professor Grayson Gilbert of the State University of New York and brought to life by the alchemist Diablo.
Its intelligence wasn't particularly high, roughly comparable to that of a sheepdog.
Dragon Man was originally created for academic research in the field of alchemy.
However, Professor Gilbert underestimated just how dangerous alchemy could be. Dragon Man soon escaped his control and became a major threat to the people of New York City.
As for Diablo, the alchemist who had collaborated with Professor Gilbert, he had already vanished without a trace. Clearly, he had no intention of cleaning up this mess.
At that moment, more and more people were gathering along the banks of the Hudson River.
They poured out of shops and office buildings in the riverside neighborhoods, holding up their phones and pointing them at the enormous mechanical figure on the river.
The NYPD's cordon was practically useless.
It couldn't stop these New Yorkers who were willing to risk their lives just to watch the spectacle.
Dragon Man was sprawled across the wreckage of the sightseeing yacht it had torn apart.
Its silver metal tail swayed lazily from side to side, as though it were resting in its own territory.
Before long, however, the commotion from the riverbank caught Dragon Man's attention.
It raised its metal head, which closely resembled that of a Western dragon, and its dark red eyes locked onto the crowd gathered along the shore.
A low growl rumbled from deep within its throat.
It had only recently been born and had yet to establish its place in the food chain.
Its instincts as a predator told it that only by hunting enough creatures could it determine where it stood in that food chain.
So the noisy group of bipedal creatures in the distance happened to be the perfect targets for testing its position.
Boom!
The wreckage of the sightseeing yacht beneath Dragon Man's feet exploded apart.
Its massive metal body shot into the air, becoming a blur as it charged toward the riverbank.
Just as Dragon Man flew toward the shore, blue light tore through the air above the Hudson River.
Peter, Harry, and Magik appeared in midair.
"Magik, teleport me right in front of that thing."
Peter tracked Dragon Man's trajectory and immediately gave Magik a new instruction.
Magik said nothing. She simply grabbed Peter by the arm, and blue light flashed around her once more.
In the next instant, Peter and Magik appeared directly in Dragon Man's path.
Peter used his left hand to push Magik toward the riverbank. At the same time, he clenched his right fist and drove it straight into the oncoming Dragon Man.
Boom!
A thunderous collision echoed over the Hudson River as a powerful Shockwave burst outward.
Dragon Man's massive mechanical body was blasted backward by the punch.
The recoil sent Peter flying in the opposite direction as well. He finally stopped himself by firing webs onto the buildings on either side and pulling himself to a halt.
"Harry, bind its legs."
Peter's voice came through the micro communicator in Harry's ear.
Black Spider-Man had already dived down from above, firing black webs from both wrists at once.
The continuous streams of webbing quickly crossed and intertwined into a net.
They wrapped precisely around Dragon Man's ankles.
Dragon Man swung its claws, trying to cut through the sticky black webs binding its feet.
But before it could strike, Peter fired two strands of webbing onto its back and yanked hard, throwing it off balance again.
"Let's throw it over to the docks!"
Peter and Harry pulled at the same time. Caught between two opposing forces, Dragon Man completely lost its balance.
Using Dragon Man's own momentum, the two Spider-Men hurled it away from the river. Its massive body traced an arc through the air before crashing heavily into a stack of shipping containers at a nearby dock.
The crowd of thrill seeking onlookers erupted into excited cheers.
Two Spider-Men appearing at once, along with a blonde girl dressed in dazzling armor, made the whole scene look like an incredibly realistic effects heavy blockbuster unfolding before their eyes. The sight was enough to get anyone's blood pumping.
By the time Dragon Man struggled out of the pile of shipping containers, Peter and his two teammates had already surrounded it.
Peter charged straight at it and slammed a fist into its chest, sending Dragon Man sliding several meters backward.
Dragon Man immediately retaliated with a sweeping backhand claw strike. Peter leaned backward and narrowly avoided it.
Harry seized the opening and came in from the side, driving both feet into Dragon Man's left knee joint. Dragon Man let out a pained roar and dropped to one knee.
In the next instant, Peter and Harry both leaped onto Dragon Man's back, each grabbing one of its arms and twisting it behind its body.
"Magik, cut through the Alchemy Circles on its body!"
Almost the instant Peter finished speaking, Magik was already soaring into the air with the Soulsword raised high. She brought it down in a powerful slash across Dragon Man's body.
Screech!
Blinding sparks erupted as the Soulsword carved a deep, straight gash across the front of Dragon Man's body.
The patterns of the Alchemy Circles were completely severed. Dragon Man's dark red eyes instantly went dark, and its body became nothing more than a cold steel statue.
"Nice work, guys."
Peter raised his hand and exchanged high fives with Harry and Magik.
The entire scene was also captured by the countless cameras along the riverbank.
Before long, news that Spider-Man had formed a new superhero team and defeated a powerful Villain like Dragon Man in their very first battle was appearing on television screens in homes across the country.
Click!
A mechanical Octopus Tentacle gleaming with a cold metallic sheen used a remote control to switch off the television.
Doctor Octopus sat before the main control console of his undersea base, his expression dark as he muttered curses at Spider-Man.
"Damn it. Now there's another masked Spider-Man. And what's going on with that Black Spider-Man? How can he control the Venom Symbiote?"
As the actual developer of the Venom Symbiote, Doctor Octopus could tell at a glance that the black suit was formed from the Venom Symbiote.
"But none of that matters anymore. The Venom Symbiote is already outdated. It'll be replaced soon enough."
Doctor Octopus used his mechanical Octopus Tentacles to support his body as he made his way to the laboratory.
Four new cylindrical glass culture chambers had been installed inside.
Each culture chamber was filled with culture fluid, with a differently colored mass of symbiote floating inside.
A metal nameplate was fixed to the bottom of each of the four chambers, each bearing a different name.
From left to right, they were:
Riot, Phage, Agony, and Lasher.
The Riot symbiote was dark gray.
The Phage symbiote was black and yellow.
The Agony symbiote was purplish red.
The Lasher symbiote was grayish green.
All four were New-Generation Symbiotes created by Doctor Octopus after making extensive adjustments and optimizations based on the genetic structure of the Venom Symbiote.
So, in theory, these four symbiotes, each possessing different traits, were all descendants of Venom.
Ever since the previous incident in which the Venom Symbiote escaped, Doctor Octopus had shifted the focus of his research toward developing New-Generation Symbiotes.
The results he had achieved now proved that his research direction had been correct.
The Symbiote Gene Pool was not fixed. Even the slightest adjustment could potentially give rise to an entirely new symbiote.
...
Chapter 97: The Symbiote Uprising (Part 1)
Doctor Octopus stood directly in front of the incubation chambers, his mechanical Octopus Tentacles folded behind him as he stared unblinkingly at the four New-Generation Symbiotes, each constantly shifting between stillness and motion.
His lips moved faintly, as though he were whispering to the perfect creatures he had created.
Light from the bottoms of the incubation chambers illuminated his face, casting broad, flickering shadows across it.
Suddenly, the laboratory's steel gate slowly opened behind him.
Norman Osborn walked in.
He still looked every bit the business tycoon in his tailored suit, his hands tucked into his pockets as his custom-made alligator-skin shoes clicked sharply against the metal floor.
Mac Gargan, clad in his Scorpion armor, loyally guarded Norman Osborn, standing motionless by the laboratory entrance.
Doctor Octopus heard the footsteps but did not turn around immediately.
After several seconds of silence, he stepped back twice, clearing the space directly in front of the incubation chambers.
Norman Osborn took the spot Doctor Octopus had vacated.
He pulled his hands from his pockets and clasped them behind his back.
Tilting his head up slightly, he gazed at the four Symbiotes continually changing shape within the culture fluid.
A look of joy appeared on his face, the kind that came from something suppressed for far too long finally being released.
"It's been so many years."
His voice echoed through the vast laboratory.
"From the Human Enhancement Serum to the Symbiote Project, every step has been more complicated and difficult than I ever imagined. But now, the results are finally right in front of me."
Doctor Octopus stood two steps behind Norman Osborn without saying a word, as silent as a statue.
Norman Osborn composed himself, turned around, and addressed Doctor Octopus.
"Begin animal testing on this batch of Symbiotes. Once we've confirmed that they can be completely controlled, I'll sell them to General Ross. When that happens, your work will be finished."
Doctor Octopus remained silent for several seconds before answering. His voice was unusually cold, nothing like the tone one would normally use with an employer.
"This batch of Symbiotes won't undergo animal testing. They'll proceed directly to human trials."
Norman's expression changed instantly.
He stepped up to Doctor Octopus, his voice rising sharply.
"Human trials? Do you have any idea what you're saying? Human trials conducted without IRB approval are illegal. Even if the experiments succeed, we still won't be able to sell the results!"
"Every stage of this project has to go through my channels before it can become legal. If you skip every procedure and jump straight to human trials, you're throwing all of my funding into the ocean!"
"This isn't a project where you get to make every decision yourself. Know your place, Otto!"
The corners of Doctor Octopus's mouth slowly curled into an unsettling smile.
"In that case, our employment relationship ends here."
Norman's brow furrowed deeply, making him look like an enraged old lion.
He stopped paying attention to Doctor Octopus and casually moved farther away from him before turning toward Mac Gargan.
"Scorpion, take care of him. Then drop him off outside the New York Police Department and stick a note on him while you're at it, just like Spider-Man always does."
"It seems this undersea laboratory needs a new owner."
Scorpion's dark green metal armor gleamed coldly beneath the lights.
He nodded, then strode toward Doctor Octopus.
Strangely, Doctor Octopus made no attempt to dodge.
He did not even raise the mechanical Octopus Tentacles behind him.
He seemed completely defenseless.
Then Scorpion stopped, not in front of Doctor Octopus, but beside Norman Osborn.
His mechanical scorpion tail whipped through the air in an arc and struck Norman Osborn squarely on the back of the neck.
Norman Osborn did not even have time to grunt before pitching forward.
His suited body collapsed onto the cold metal floor and lay completely still.
The steel gate on the opposite side of the laboratory slowly rose.
An elderly white-haired man wearing a white tailcoat and carrying a cane walked in.
"Mr. Drake, welcome."
Doctor Octopus respectfully greeted the white-haired old man, whose presence was remarkably imposing.
The man's full name was Carlton Drake, founder and CEO of the Life Foundation.
A perfectly measured smile rested on his face, as though he had just closed a highly profitable acquisition.
The Life Foundation was a special organization dedicated to protecting the wealthy from large-scale global disasters.
Simply put, the Life Foundation existed to help rich people live better and live longer.
And Carlton Drake, as the founder of the Life Foundation, was here entirely because of Doctor Octopus.
Back when Doctor Octopus was still pursuing his Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carlton Drake had already extended an offer to him.
Unfortunately, Doctor Octopus had turned Carlton Drake down at the time.
It was only many years later that Doctor Octopus sought Carlton Drake out again and told him about the existence of the Symbiote.
That immediately caught Carlton Drake's interest.
Later, after Doctor Octopus successfully created the New-Generation Symbiotes, the Life Foundation became his new financial backer.
Norman Osborn had been ruthlessly betrayed by Doctor Octopus.
Doctor Octopus pushed his black-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose, turned around, and kicked the unconscious Norman Osborn.
The hatred in his eyes was completely undisguised. He was clearly taking the opportunity to get revenge for Norman Osborn's earlier verbal abuse.
"I knew from the beginning that you'd never agree to human experimentation. You were never truly interested in uncovering the secrets of the Symbiote. All you ever wanted was to use it to make money."
"But I'm different. I'm after the ultimate mystery hidden within the Symbiote's genes. That's why I found a partner far more suitable than you."
As he spoke, Doctor Octopus turned his gaze toward Scorpion, Mac Gargan.
"And I also found someone willing to betray his former employer for enough money."
Scorpion Mac Gargan gave a dismissive smile, showing no guilt whatsoever over knocking Norman Osborn unconscious.
For a former homicide detective who had been willing to fabricate evidence for money, betraying his employer for money was hardly a difficult choice.
Carlton Drake slowly approached the incubation chambers and placed his palm against the tempered glass, as though he wanted to reach through it and touch the New-Generation Symbiote inside.
"Dr. Otto, the high-quality test subjects you requested are ready. When can we begin the experiment?"
Doctor Octopus moved forward on his mechanical Octopus Tentacles until he reached Carlton Drake's side.
"As long as the high-quality test subjects are here, we can begin at any time."
"Excellent. I like how efficiently you work. It's a shame you didn't choose to join the Life Foundation back then, but it's not too late now."
Carlton Drake then waved toward the other entrance he had just come through.
A group of soldiers wearing full-body biohazard suits pushed four upright, specialized blast-proof transport pods into the laboratory.
Three men and one woman were confined inside the pods.
All four wore restraint suits, with their eyes blindfolded and their mouths covered. They looked as though they were extremely dangerous super-criminals being transported under maximum security.
Doctor Octopus looked at the four of them, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
They were exactly the high-quality test subjects he had requested, the hosts for the New-Generation Symbiotes!
Chapter 98: The Symbiote Uprising (Part 2)
Doctor Octopus stood before the main control console, his four mechanical Octopus Tentacles fully extended behind him.
Then, using both hands and all four mechanical Octopus Tentacles at once, he began operating the console at a dizzying speed.
Under Doctor Octopus's control, dense streams of bubbles began rising inside the four culture chambers.
A chemical mixture from the bottom of the chambers was being pumped into the culture fluid along with air, awakening the dormant Symbiotes.
The laboratory was deathly quiet.
Everyone, including the soldiers in biohazard suits who had escorted the high-quality test subjects inside, watched the changes in the culture chambers with tense expressions.
Before long, all four masses of Symbiotes began to writhe at the same time.
Carlton Drake had originally been standing less than half a meter from the culture chambers, watching them closely.
But as soon as the Symbiotes began to change, he noticed something odd in the reflection on the glass. Scorpion, standing behind him, had made a strange movement.
Scorpion's mechanical tail had risen slightly, its tip aimed directly at the four culture chambers.
Carlton Drake frowned. Realizing at once that something wasn't quite right, he quickly retreated to the far end of the laboratory, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the culture chambers.
"Your friend doesn't seem to trust your Symbiotes very much."
Carlton Drake tilted his chin toward Scorpion.
"His scorpion tail has been kept at the ideal angle for an attack this entire time. It seems you left out a few details about the last time a Symbiote went out of control."
The remark was directed at Doctor Octopus.
"There's no need to be nervous."
Doctor Octopus stopped operating the console. Everything appeared to be ready.
"Scorpion staying on guard is simply second nature to him. But the flaw he's worried about no longer exists."
"Explain. I don't like my partners keeping things from me."
Carlton Drake remained cautious.
"The First-Generation Symbiote was an unprocessed sample isolated directly from Carl King's blood. It was extremely prone to losing control and going berserk. It could even be affected by the host's emotions."
Using one of his mechanical Octopus Tentacles, Doctor Octopus retrieved an ultra-microchip the size of a grain of rice from beneath the control console and held it up for everyone in the laboratory to see.
"One of these chips has been implanted into the core neural node of every New-Generation Symbiote. If a Symbiote refuses to obey my commands, the chip immediately sends an interference pulse through its neural network."
He carefully put the ultra-microchip away again, clearly placing great value on the specialized device.
"The interference pulse can instantly paralyze a Symbiote. If necessary, I can also activate the chip remotely, making the Symbiote more obedient and directing it to act more intelligently."
Carlton Drake stared at the pocket where Doctor Octopus had stored the chip.
"So essentially, you can control the Symbiotes remotely."
"Exactly."
A smug smile spread across Doctor Octopus's face.
"So there's nothing left for you to worry about, is there?"
Carlton Drake did not press him further about the chip.
"Understood. Begin."
Doctor Octopus turned and pressed the largest red button on the main control console.
Buzz!
The culture fluid in all four chambers began draining rapidly at the same time.
Soon, the four masses of Symbiotes dropped to the bottoms of their chambers, where circular openings appeared beneath them.
The Symbiotes began writhing together like liquid octopuses, moving faster and faster.
In the blink of an eye, they crawled out of the culture chambers and made their way toward the four hosts, who had no idea what was happening around them.
The instant each Symbiote touched its respective host, it flowed like water across the contours of the host's muscles and rapidly spread over their bodies.
Doctor Octopus watched the scene with satisfaction.
Every one of the chosen hosts possessed physical abilities at the very peak of humanity.
They were, respectively:
A SEAL Team sergeant, a top-tier UFC fighter, an Olympic gold medalist in swimming, and one of the world's finest rock climbers.
All four blindfolded hosts began struggling violently at the same time.
They seemed to instinctively realize that something terrible was happening to them.
Unfortunately, their struggles were useless.
Once the Symbiotes had completely covered their bodies, all four fell deathly still.
The Symbiotes were assimilating with their bodies.
And during that process, each Symbiote began displaying its own unique characteristics.
First was the Riot Symbiote. Its build was roughly comparable to Venom's, but it could transform its hands into a variety of different weapons.
Next was the Phage Symbiote. It wasn't as muscular as Venom and had a leaner frame, but sharp spikes constantly protruded from its body, and it could make those spikes move like chainsaws.
Then came the Agony Symbiote, the only female Symbiote. Her build was the closest to that of an ordinary human, while her long purplish-red hair seemed capable of extending endlessly.
Finally came the Lasher Symbiote. Its physique was unremarkable, but six vicious Symbiote Tentacles extended from its back, making it somewhat similar to Doctor Octopus.
Carlton Drake watched the entire assimilation process from beginning to end.
He was clearly delighted. Even the hand gripping his cane trembled slightly.
"What beautiful creatures! This is exactly what the Life Foundation has been searching for. Creatures this beautiful!"
Carlton Drake then turned toward Doctor Octopus.
"Doctor Otto, what do you plan to do next?"
Doctor Octopus said nothing. Instead, he turned the electronic screen back on.
The footage on the screen was still paused on the news broadcast from that afternoon.
Doctor Octopus zoomed in until Black Spider-Man filled the entire display.
"This is the First-Generation Symbiote. Next, I intend to retrieve it and test the combat capabilities of the New-Generation Symbiotes at the same time."
"If possible, kill that damned Spider-Man while you're at it. I need his corpse to create an even more powerful Symbiote."
Carlton Drake failed to realize that Doctor Octopus was simply taking advantage of the situation to get revenge on Spider-Man.
He nodded, indicating that he would fully support Doctor Octopus's next operation.
Norman Osborn, who was still unconscious, was then dragged away by Scorpion and thrown into an isolation chamber inside the undersea base, where he was imprisoned.
...
The next day, following the League of Guardians' debut battle, Peter and Gwen finally had a chance to eat lunch together in the Midtown High School cafeteria.
Peter had spent the past few days training Harry and Magik, so naturally, he hadn't had any time to see Gwen.
Today was a rare day off, so Peter and Gwen had arranged to meet in the cafeteria.
Peter also took the opportunity to finally satisfy Gwen's curiosity.
After finding a deserted corner and sitting down, he gave Gwen a brief account of everything that had happened over the past few days.
Chapter 99: The Riot Symbiote
"So you're saying... Harry is the Black Spider-Man, and he's joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and formed the League of Guardians with you and that new transfer student?"
Gwen clearly couldn't process such unbelievable news right away.
After staring wide-eyed for several seconds, she finally managed to accept it.
"Okay, I admit I'm a little jealous. Why didn't Spider-Man's powers ever show up in me?"
Gwen gloomily scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and put it in her mouth. It tasted completely bland, which only made her feel even worse.
Peter wisely chose to ignore Gwen's somewhat dangerous muttering and pretended he hadn't heard anything.
Who knew what might happen in the future? For all he knew, Gwen's casual remark today might actually come true someday.
Fortunately, Gwen soon stopped sulking and went back to chatting with Peter.
The two ate lunch while talking, and before they knew it, half an hour had passed.
Lunch period was almost over, so they stood up and began gathering their things to leave.
Suddenly, Peter frowned as his Spider-Sense kicked in.
This time, it came without warning, and the danger it signaled was moderately intense.
But there was a problem. The cafeteria was quiet, there weren't many students around, and everything looked completely peaceful.
There wasn't the slightest sign of danger anywhere.
Unless... the danger was coming from somewhere they couldn't see, such as underground or above them!
Peter reacted instantly. He tackled Gwen to the floor and shielded her with his own body.
"Peter! What are you..."
Gwen cried out in alarm.
But the next second, her words were cut off by a sudden deafening crash!
BOOM!
Without warning, a massive hole exploded open in the middle of the cafeteria floor.
Chunks of rubble flew everywhere as dust filled the air.
Small fragments of stone tore through the air with sharp cracks like bullets.
Everyone froze in shock at the sudden turn of events.
Then, a dark gray figure climbed out of the hole.
Through the swirling dust, Gwen could vaguely make out that the dark gray figure's hands were shaped like drilling bits. They weren't human hands at all!
"Peter! Look! That monster from the costume party is back!"
Gwen pointed at the dark gray figure, immediately giving Peter the most important information.
Peter spun around and saw the dark gray figure slowly emerging through the clouds of dust.
It wasn't Venom, but another Symbiote creature that shared the same origin as Venom.
The dark gray Symbiote looked extremely similar to Venom, so it was no wonder Gwen had mistaken the two.
By then, the students who had been stunned by the explosion were finally beginning to react.
Their first instinct was to hide beneath the cafeteria tables or drop to the floor with their hands over their heads.
That was the standard response to an unidentified shooting incident. Clearly, they thought a school shooter had attacked the cafeteria.
But once they got a clear look at the enormous, terrifying dark gray figure, memories of the recent costume party incident immediately resurfaced.
"Ah! That monster's back!"
"Run! That thing eats people's brains!"
"Call the police! Hurry! And everyone outside, don't lock the doors until I get out!"
The cafeteria descended into chaos as the students ran around like headless chickens.
Peter realized that the source of his Spider-Sense was the dark gray Symbiote, and he actually relaxed a little.
Most fear came from the unknown.
Once he knew where the danger was coming from, things became much easier to deal with.
Peter helped Gwen to her feet, then quickly checked her over to make sure she wasn't injured.
After that, he glanced back at the dark gray figure and saw its hands changing again.
The drill-like hands shifted into normal palms, then abruptly transformed once more into a pair of scythe-like blades.
With a single swing of those scythe-shaped arms, the nearby chairs were instantly shredded to pieces!
That small detail was enough for Peter to confirm its identity.
It was the Riot Symbiote, the one capable of transforming its hands into countless different weapons, and the final boss of the first Venom movie. Its combat power was terrifying!
"That's not the same monster as last time, but now isn't the time to explain."
Peter pointed toward the side door and told Gwen,
"Get everyone out through there. Move fast, and don't look back!"
Gwen looked at Peter without saying anything, then gave him a firm, quick nod.
The next second, she got up and ran toward the nearest group of students, pointing toward the side door.
"Evacuate this way! Follow me!"
At that moment, Gwen's voice and demeanor were far calmer than anyone would expect from a high school student.
Taking advantage of the brief confusion in the crowd, Peter sprinted behind one of the cafeteria pillars as fast as he could.
Three seconds later, he had fully equipped the Iron Spider suit.
Spider-Man had officially entered the scene!
Peter kicked aside the cafeteria tables and chairs blocking his way and charged straight toward the Riot Symbiote.
At that moment, the Riot Symbiote had turned and was heading in another direction.
From the moment it burst out of the ground to the moment it threw the cafeteria into chaos, it had never once looked toward Peter.
Clearly, the Riot Symbiote hadn't come here for Spider-Man.
That alone made this fundamentally different from the previous Venom Symbiote attack.
The distance between Peter and the Riot Symbiote rapidly closed.
That also allowed Peter to observe its movements more clearly.
It was looking for someone. Its eyes swept across the densest parts of the crowd at high speed, scanning face after face.
That detail immediately allowed Peter to confirm two things.
First, the Riot Symbiote's target was most likely Harry. The Venom Symbiote and Riot Symbiote shared a genetic connection, although it couldn't pinpoint an exact location and could only sense a rough general area.
Second, the Riot Symbiote's traits and behavior strongly suggested that it was a Second-Generation Symbiote bred from the Venom Symbiote.
According to the comics, Riot was Venom's offspring. The two had a father-son relationship.
That was completely different from the Venom movies, where the alien Symbiotes existed independently of one another.
'Damn it, what the hell is going on with this universe? The plot has already gone completely off track. It's nothing like the [Ultimate Spider-Man] universe I remember!'
Peter really wanted to complain about how badly this universe had diverged.
But he didn't have time to waste on that now.
Barely two seconds later, the Riot Symbiote seemed to pick up Harry's trail from the scent lingering in the air.
"This guy's nose is even better than a dog's. He can actually smell Harry from here?"
...
Chapter 100: Bullet Time Is So Useful
"I have to take this guy down before it finds Harry!"
The instant that thought crossed Peter's mind, the distance between him and the Riot Symbiote had already shrunk to five meters.
Peter accelerated again, his entire body turning into a red-and-blue blur.
As he charged forward, Peter sprang lightly into the air and fully extended his body into a textbook flying kick.
He had learned this move from Andrew Spider-Man, and it was nearly perfect in terms of power generation.
Whoosh!
Boom!
Peter tore through the air with a sharp whistle, followed by a heavy impact as his flying kick slammed into the Riot Symbiote's lower back!
The terrifying force of dozens of tons, combined with the momentum from his acceleration, sent the Riot Symbiote flying away in an awkward posture.
It smashed straight through the cafeteria wall and crashed into the deserted hallway outside.
Then it skidded more than ten meters across the tiled floor before finally coming to a stop.
One second later, Peter landed and leaped through the hole in the cafeteria wall into the hallway.
His eyes, hidden beneath the steel mask, remained alert and wary.
Peter knew the Riot Symbiote wasn't some run-of-the-mill Symbiote he could deal with casually.
It was even stronger than Venom. The offspring had completely surpassed its progenitor.
Sure enough, events unfolded exactly as Peter expected.
The fallen Riot Symbiote rose back to its feet in an eerie manner.
Its knees remained completely straight, making it look as though the Symbiote covering its body had physically propped it upright.
Then its head stiffly rotated a full 180 degrees to face Peter.
Peter frowned. That kind of movement showed that the Riot Symbiote's control over its Symbiote cells was nearly flawless, with no wasted motion whatsoever.
But that behavior made it seem more like a cold machine than the violent, hot-tempered Symbiote creature it was supposed to be.
"This is way too weird. If this thing weren't obviously covered in a Symbiote, I'd almost think someone was remotely controlling a robot to cause trouble."
Peter frowned as he muttered to himself.
What Peter didn't know was that everything the Riot Symbiote was seeing at that moment was being transmitted in real time to the undersea base.
...
Inside the laboratory of the undersea base, Carlton Drake had already left with his soldiers.
Doctor Octopus was the only person remaining in the enormous laboratory.
An electronic screen in front of him displayed the live feed being transmitted from the Riot Symbiote's point of view.
The instant Spider-Man appeared on screen, a terrifying murderous intent flared in Doctor Octopus's eyes!
Spider-Man had humiliated him countless times before. Now he finally had a chance to get his revenge.
If Doctor Octopus had to face Spider-Man personally, he might still have had some reservations.
But with the Riot Symbiote acting as his proxy, he had nothing left to fear.
Doctor Octopus's method of controlling the Riot Symbiote was somewhat similar to the way the Umbrella Corporation controlled the Tyrant in Resident Evil.
Doctor Octopus only needed to assign a mission objective, and the Riot Symbiote could autonomously carry it out. At the same time, Doctor Octopus could monitor everything happening to it and change its objective whenever he wished.
For example, the instant Doctor Octopus saw Spider-Man, he changed the Riot Symbiote's objective from searching for the Venom Symbiote to hunting down Spider-Man!
Until that objective was completed, the Riot Symbiote would pursue Spider-Man wherever he went.
The Riot Symbiote, now back on its feet, brought its hands out from behind its back.
Its hands were no longer shaped like the scythes from earlier. Instead, they had transformed into shields.
It turned out that a split second before Peter's attack connected, the Riot Symbiote had already transformed both hands into thick shields and crossed them over its back.
Peter's flying kick had ultimately been blocked by a reflex honed into muscle memory.
That kind of muscle memory could only be developed through hundreds, if not thousands, of real combat training sessions.
The body would automatically perform the defensive movement before the mind had even finished processing the threat.
That meant the host of this Riot Symbiote was definitely a professional.
Either a special forces operative or an expert fighter.
Peter leaned toward the former.
Judging by how proficiently the Riot Symbiote handled so many different weapons, a special forces operative trained in both armed and unarmed combat was clearly the more likely answer.
And this probably wasn't an ordinary special forces operative either, but one of the absolute elite.
Dense ripples suddenly spread across the surface of the Riot Symbiote's body.
Then both its hands transformed at once. Its ten fingers merged together, and the ends of its arms stretched outward, forming a massive axe nearly as tall as a person.
The axe blade had a dark gray metallic sheen, with fine patterns covering its surface. Several irregular spikes protruded from the back of the axe, giving it a brutally primitive appearance.
The Riot Symbiote raised the massive axe overhead with both hands and charged straight at Peter, leaving dents in the floor with every step.
Peter charged forward to meet it, and the two collided in the middle of the hallway.
Whoosh!
The massive axe came crashing down.
Peter focused his mind.
Bullet Time activated!
The descending axe slowed by more than ten times.
Peter merely shifted slightly to the side, and the blade grazed past his shoulder before burying itself deep in the floor.
But the Riot Symbiote didn't need to pull the axe free.
The entire weapon simply melted and reformed before slashing horizontally toward Peter.
Bullet Time was still active.
Peter moved like a dancer weaving between blades. He leaned back into a flip and evaded the attack perfectly with only a few millimeters to spare.
But the Riot Symbiote's third attack followed instantly.
Its right foot transformed into an axe and swept upward from below.
This time, Peter didn't dodge.
He brought both hands together in front of him and caught the axe blade between his palms the instant it struck.
"You blocked one of my attacks earlier."
Peter stared at the Riot Symbiote in front of him.
"Now it's my turn."
In the next instant, high-voltage arcs of electricity erupted from both of Peter's hands and traveled through the axe blade into the Riot Symbiote's entire body.
Blue-white arcs illuminated the hallway in violent flashes as the Riot Symbiote convulsed under the electrical assault.
Fortunately, Doctor Octopus had already prepared countermeasures based on Spider-Man's abilities.
The ultra-microchip used to control the Symbiote had been insulated, preventing electrical attacks from damaging it.
Even so, Spider-Man's performance still left Doctor Octopus deeply unsettled.
Had Spider-Man somehow grown even stronger in such a short amount of time?
He was a monster!
"Since one isn't enough, I'll send in another."
Driven by a tangled mixture of hatred and faint fear, Doctor Octopus issued a command to the second Symbiote.