"Did they really teach you to use this..." Tobey-Spidey raised his fist, gesturing, "to solve problems?" His face was puzzled.
Peter jumped out of a hole onto the ruined church roof, facing the airborne Green Goblin II, and said without turning: "Of course!"
"But solving problems with fists just feels strange," Tobey-Spidey stood beside Peter, looking at his own hand.
"Do you know, in our Eastern world, a great educator once said something that means roughly the same thing as what the other Spider-Men taught me," Peter said, still analyzing Green Goblin II's appearance and gear.
"What did he say?" Tobey-Spidey was intrigued.
"The Master said: 'If one learns the Way in the morning, one can die in peace in the evening'," Peter recited.
"What does that mean?" Tobey-Spidey asked.
"It means the Master said: If you know the path to your enemy's house in the morning, you can take them out by nightfall. It teaches us that you must never be soft-hearted toward the enemy, nor intentionally delay, because delay invites change," Peter [seriously] explained.
Tobey-Spidey realized: "So that's it! That educator, 'The Master,' is truly great!"
Peter continued: "If you're interested, you should read his work. It's called Lun Yu (The Analects)."
"Lun Yu?" Tobey-Spidey mused. "I remember seeing a book called Lun Yu. Is it related?"
"Pretty much. One is about conquering with reason, the other is about conquering with morality," Peter explained vaguely. (Peter is joking with the word Lun 论—meaning discourse—and Lun 抡—meaning to swing or wield a big object, suggesting the 'Way of the Swing.')
"Oh!" Tobey-Spidey finally understood, resolving to read Lun Yu when he had time. He believed Peter's incredible skill must be related to reading it often!
Peter was unaware that his casual joke had completely bamboozled Tobey-Spidey. In reality, Peter was busy assessing Green Goblin II. He was puzzled by how "green" the Goblin looked. Beyond the armor, his eyes were actually green. If the eyes could be explained by special lenses, the green tint on his exposed lower face could not be explained by technology.
"This is Green Goblin II who drank the serum!" Peter realized, slightly shocked. The plot deviation was greater than he expected. Harry, who was supposed to struggle with the serum months later, had somehow successfully "evolved" into the true Green Goblin today! (Peter notes that the cinematic version of Harry in Spider-Man 3 used a serum that was unstable; here, it is stable and effective.)
One should not underestimate the Green Goblin. He is a formidable foe. He had high-tech equipment and was enhanced by a super-serum. He was strong both externally and internally.
Peter recalled the Andrew-Spidey version of the Goblin had killed the hero's first love. Peter resolved to visit that universe soon to try and prevent that tragedy.
"Spider-Man! You miserable crawling..." Green Goblin II, seeing Peter emerge first, immediately roared. His roar was cut short when he saw the second Spider-Man. "Why are there two Spider-Men?" Green Goblin II's mind couldn't process the anomaly.
BOOM! Two mechanical tentacles shot out from the floor, one attacking Peter and the other Tobey-Spidey. Doctor Octopus didn't want the Green Goblin II to waste time socializing.
Guided by their Spider-Sense, Peter and Tobey-Spidey instantly leaped out of the way.
Green Goblin II, seeing the fight begin, immediately tossed all questions out of his emotion-fueled brain. He drew his arm, revealing a row of blades (arm blades), and accelerated his glider-board. In seconds, the glider-board was traveling over a hundred meters per second. Green Goblin II became a blur, lunging at Peter.
Peter was annoyed. Just because I came out first, am I the primary target?
Though annoyed, his actions were swift. Peter didn't resort to big moves. He simply kicked up a piece of broken wooden plank near his foot and launched it toward Green Goblin II. Green Goblin II slashed his arm, cutting the wood in half. But that wasn't Peter's goal. The moment the wood shattered, the fragments, violently hit by the high-speed Goblin, turned into a cloud of debris. Despite his visor, the debris momentarily obscured his vision.
Seizing the opportunity, Peter leaped high into the air and executed a mid-air Spinning Sweep Kick. This move was the result of a rapid calculation of the Goblin's speed and his own trajectory. Just as Peter expected. When his leg completed the 90-degree horizontal sweep, Green Goblin II appeared right in front of him.
WHAP!
WHAP!
With a loud impact, Green Goblin II was instantly swept off his glider-board and slammed into the frigid seawater nearby.
Meanwhile, Tobey-Spidey was already engaged in a fight with Doctor Octopus. The cunning Doctor Octopus used his first two mechanical tentacles as a feint, keeping a third hidden. As Tobey-Spidey finished dodging the initial attack, the hidden tentacle struck, gripping his leg and yanking him into the church for a brutal beating.
Just as Peter's (Earth-616) fight temporarily concluded, he saw Tobey-Spidey thrown out of the church. "Hey, buddy, need a hand?" Peter shouted. "Oh! I'm fine! I can handle it!" Tobey-Spidey shouted back mid-air, full of vigor. Seeing that Tobey-Spidey sounded strong, Peter felt reassured.
Tobey-Spidey shot a web at a nearby lamppost. He used a full 360-degree swing to reverse his momentum and came flying back toward the church.
SPLASH!Green Goblin II surfaced, his glider-board retrieving him. He was panting slightly, staring at Peter. The icy seawater had managed to cool him down somewhat. He knew from the brief fight that he lacked the combat training to defeat this Spider-Man, so he decided to use his advantage: distance and weaponry.
Thinking this, Green Goblin II pulled out several Razor Bat Grenades. These grenades looked similar to the Pumpkin Bombs but contained no explosives. Instead, they housed a tracking device. Upon being thrown, the outer casing would partially explode, revealing sharp alloy blades that spun at high speed, making them lethal cutting weapons. Because of the rapid spinning, they made very little noise—perfect for assassination!