The person who arrived was none other than Spider-Man Noir. After his opening line, he quickly entered the fray. With the addition of this powerful fighter, the pressure on Peni and Peter instantly eased.
Spider-Man Noir was truly a "Peter Spider," with his verbal combat skills fully leveled up. Through his running commentary, Peter and Peni quickly understood what had happened on the other side. Although Noir and Spider-Ham had to deal with dozens of heavily armed thugs, they faced no true BOSS-level characters. Using their high combat proficiency, they quickly subdued or neutralized every single one of them. Afterward, the two split up. Spider-Ham went to assist the endangered Middle-Aged Peter, and Noir came to help Peter (Earth-616) and Peni.
"Where's Gwen?" Noir asked curiously, deftly weaving through the Green Goblin's flailing limbs. Peter replied: "She was injured and is resting."
Spider-Man Noir nodded, not replying further.
ROAR! The Green Goblin was enraged by the sudden new opponent. Crucially, this opponent was far too similar to the Peter he hated most! The same voice. The same relentless banter! The verbal harassment, which was even more frequent than his physical attacks, left the Goblin dizzy and confused. He even made several obvious mistakes in his attacks!
Madam Octopus needed meticulous observation and probing to pinpoint The Prowler's weakness and drive him to a rage. Peter Parker only needed a few simple sentences to enrage The Green Goblin. This was Spider-Man's trump card—terrifying indeed!
Peter (Earth-616) watched from the side, clicking his tongue in amazement. He never appreciated the usefulness of Spider-Man's constant chatter in the movies; now, he saw its massive tactical value.
ROAR! The Green Goblin roared, violently flapping its massive wings, generating a huge gust of wind as it flew toward Spider-Man Noir. Noir seamlessly dodged the enraged attack.
Compared to Peter (Earth-616), Noir's movements were infinitely more economical and precise. More impressive was his combat experience. Compared to the novice Peter and Miles, and the more experienced but still junior Gwen and Peni (who also hadn't been Spider-People for long, canonically), Noir's combat experience was staggeringly vast. The Green Goblin, who took the combined efforts of three heroes to contain, was now being toyed with by Noir.
Suddenly, Noir swung high up. The Green Goblin, having been completely fixated on him, immediately followed. Just then, Noir executed a sharp turn, using both hands to fire multiple streams of web consecutively into the Goblin's eyes, ears, and various parts of its body. Simultaneously, he used a wall-run kick to propel himself off a wall, changing direction rapidly, and landed squarely on the Goblin's head.
The Goblin was thrashing, desperately tearing at the webbing covering its face and ears, temporarily blinded and deafened. Noir, however, pulled a revolver from nowhere and shoved the barrel directly into the Goblin's ear canal.
BANG! A muffled shot. A flash of fire erupted from the Goblin's head. The Goblin's massive body froze in mid-air, then, like a wounded eagle, plummeted toward the ground.
Noir, hanging onto a webline with one hand, turned back and gave Peter and Peni a thumbs-up. Peter and Peni returned the gesture. That sudden, explosive move was brilliant! The Green Goblin went from fully operational to neutralized in the blink of an eye!
Having witnessed Noir's combat prowess, Peter finally grasped the huge gap between them. It was no wonder Spider-Man Noir was angered by his earlier self-congratulatory attitude.
PLOP! Noir landed in front of Peter and Peni: "So, was that cool or what?" "Cool, incredibly cool!" Peter gave another enthusiastic thumbs-up. Peni was also unreserved in her praise: "Mister, you're so awesome!"
Spider-Man Noir's face immediately darkened: "Mister... Uncle?!" The SP//dr mech's screen showed a puzzled face, betraying Peni's confusion: "Huh? I'm only 14. Aren't you an uncle?"
Spider-Man Noir: ... "This is why I don't like children," Noir muttered to Peter. Peter laughed heartily.
"Alright," Noir said, getting serious after the brief jest. "Where is Gwen? We need to regroup, assist the others, and eliminate Kingpin. We only have about one minute, and fifty seconds left before the Particle Collider's safe operating window closes!"
Peter immediately looked toward the platform where Gwen was resting.
WUM— Just then, his Spider-Sense screamed!
"Agh—" A cry of pain came from below.
"Oh no, it's Gwen!" Peter's face changed instantly, and he leaped down. Spider-Man Noir and Peni followed without hesitation.
Swinging through the metal beams above, the scene below revealed itself to the three heroes. The Green Goblin, whom they believed was neutralized, was now closing in on Gwen! Gwen had been severely injured by the Goblin earlier, and even with her enhanced healing, she hadn't recovered that quickly. She was struggling to stand and shuffle backward. But her speed was agonizingly slow. The Goblin's hand was almost on her!
"Impossible! He was shot in the vulnerable ear canal, and he's still alive???" Noir exclaimed in shock. Although shooting the ear might not be as immediately fatal as the temple, Noir chose the ear because the Goblin's skin was so thick, he feared the bullet might not penetrate elsewhere. The ear canal leads directly to the anterior part of the brain, making it a critical vulnerability. Given the kinetic energy of his revolver bullet, he was certain it should have penetrated. Yet, The Green Goblin was still functional! How was this possible?
Peni pointed at the Goblin's ear and shouted: "Look, his ear is bleeding!" Blood was indeed flowing profusely from the Goblin's ear, mixed with some white matter. This confirmed that his head was injured, but the wound was not fatal!
"That damned monster!" Noir cursed, then swiftly shot a web and swung down.
However, someone was faster than him. Peter Parker (Earth-616)! Seeing Gwen being hunted by the Green Goblin, a surge of fiery protectiveness seemed to ignite within Peter's body, triggering an intrinsic quality within him.
The next instant, a miraculous thing happened. Peter's figure suddenly vanished right in front of Noir and Peni, and then abruptly reappeared directly over The Green Goblin's head. In a single instant, he had traversed dozens of meters!
THUD! Even Peter himself hadn't registered what happened. His body collided violently with The Green Goblin.