Spider-Man dodged the electricity-coated fist with a skilled lean and delivered a punch to Eel's stomach with enough force to send him through the fountain and through multiple walls on the far side.
"Revenge," he said, lowering his hand. The HUD flashed.
"Suit power at 15%," Cortana said.
"Argh." Wolverine crawled out of rubble nearby, pulling construction rods out of himself with no apparent ceremony. His clothes were torn and bloodstained but his body showed no wounds.
"That was not fun at all. What did I miss?"
"Stay still," Spider-Man said, holding up a hand. "This is my fight. I am about to finish it."
Eel was on his knees, vomiting blood, clutching his stomach. He was understanding now that this was not a joke.
The man in front of him could break bones with his hands as if they were branches, which had been a surprise because he had expected a result more like a balloon.
Eel wiped the blood from his mouth.
He looked at his hands. He looked up, and something in his eyes had reorganized itself into something considerably more dangerous.
"You hit well," he said, with a soft laugh that belonged in a specific category of film. "You almost had me."
He stood. "But this is not over yet!"
Electricity began crackling around his body erratically, building in volume.
"Cortana, scan him."
"Electrical production is reaching an unsustainable level," she said, clearly concerned.
"If this continues unchecked, the entire square will be destroyed."
"We cannot let that happen." He looked around quickly and understood what he needed to do.
"Wolve! Keep Sparky busy!"
"Grr." Wolverine extended his claws and ran at Eel, annoyed but running.
Spider-Man tore a lamppost from the ground, broke it in half, and drove both halves into the ground at a set distance apart.
While Wolverine kept Eel occupied, he pulled out two more lampposts and repeated the process, constructing the beginning of a hexagonal arrangement connected with webbing nets.
"Switch!" he called. Wolverine growled in recognition.
Spider-Man stepped in and punched Eel in the face, briefly stunning him, then turned and moved back.
Eel recovered, raised his hand to fire at Wolverine, and received another powerful punch to the face that forced him to his knees.
He shook his head, tried to stabilize himself. Spider-Man did not allow it.
He hit him again, kicked him, and sent him into the lamp-and-net structure he had built.
Eel stood, pointed his hand, and Spider-Man could see the violent current building in him.
He wrapped his arms in webbing and began attaching webs to the improvised lightning rod at multiple points.
When Eel saw the connecting web, he understood it still led back to Spider-Man and decided to redirect everything through it.
He sent the most powerful charge he had.
"Cortana. Ready?"
"Born ready, Chief."
"Absorb as much as the suit can handle and redirect the rest to the ground. Now!"
BOOM.
The electrical energy hit the lightning rod and Spider-Man simultaneously. Because the hexagon was not complete and the lamppost count was limited, he was serving as part of the ground pathway himself, somewhat like Andrew Garfield's Peter against Electro. All of Eel's stored electrical energy was absorbed through the combination. The effort of discharging at full capacity, combined with the electrical feedback through the incomplete circuit, was enough to drop Eel entirely.
When the discharge subsided, Spider-Man released the web and walked toward him.
"Suit energy at 100% capacity," Cortana said.
"That is outstanding. Good work, beautiful," he said, approaching Eel, who was still occasionally sparking but without any real power behind it.
Most of the unmasked side of his face was burned from his own electricity, the insulation having been on the mask he no longer had.
"Mission completed."
He cut the webbing trapping Eel and let him fall face down, then applied several more layers to hold him in place and prevent escape. He considered killing him, decided against it, and produced a small chip from his pocket.
"You only live for now," he said, forcing the chip into Eel's mouth and ensuring he swallowed it.
The device had been built from the nanotechnology data Cortana was still working to fully map.
A mini-bomb, detonatable at any time, useful for ensuring silence or compliance when the time came. "Watanabe?"
"Please tell me you are okay," Yuri said immediately.
"Just exhausted. I am okay."
"Thank God you are safe." She exhaled with audible relief.
Spider-Man winced while looking at his injury. 'Lies have a cost. I believe this is mine.'
"So, did we win?" She asked the question just as he found a good angle to deliver a firm kick to Eel's face, just to be certain.
"Yes," he said. "We won." He sighed and turned to Wolverine, who acknowledged him with a sound.
"What do we do with this idiot?" Wolverine asked, beginning to extend his claws. "We should kill him before he becomes a...."
"Yes," Spider-Man said, cutting in with a sigh, "I was thinking the same thing. But this has become too high-profile now. If we do something here that we should not, we will not have time to breathe before the consequences start. You will have no time for cigars or beer. I will have constant headaches."
"Grr. I do not like that." He sheathed his claws. "Fine.... We do nothing."
"Believe me, I am not happy about it either."
"Can the two of you please stop talking like complete psychopaths?" Daredevil said, walking toward them while holding his ribs.
"I prefer the term high-functioning psychopath," Spider-Man said.
"Mmph. I am not messed up in the head," Wolverine said.
"You are not exactly sane," Daredevil said.
"Go to hell."
"I thought I told you to go somewhere safe," Spider-Man said, stepping between a developing argument.
"I did.... I came back when I heard the fighting stop."
"I thought I told you far away."
"I can hear from very far away."
"Yes. I figured." He looked at him. "You should get yourself looked at. You look terrible."
"You should as well. I can hear your blood trying to push through the improvised bandage."
"And I thought I was the strange one for having enhanced senses," Wolverine said, under his breath.
"Listen to that," Spider-Man and Daredevil said, simultaneously.
"Well," Wolverine said, looking at Eel, spitting on his face with considerable accuracy, and turning to leave, "do whatever you want with the lightbulb. I am done here."
"It has been a genuine pleasure working with you, Spider-Man," Daredevil said, extending his hand. Spider-Man took it and shook it firmly.
"Likewise. Try not to get caught next time. I will not always be nearby to save you."
"I suppose you are right." He turned and began to leave. "Keep the weapons out of view from this point. Future heroes you encounter will not be as tolerant as I am."
"I know." A simple nod.
"See you later, bub," Wolverine said, a sideways grin, and started his motorcycle.
"Treat that wound as soon as you can. See you later," Daredevil said.
"Yes," Spider-Man said, and watched Daredevil disappear into the night and the motorcycle move away, and for a few seconds he looked at the moon.
"This was the longest and most messed-up day I have had in a long time."
....