Renzo arrived at Peter's house carrying a bag of food. To celebrate Harry's recovery and discharge, Aunt May and Mary Jane had decided to prepare a party for him.
Naturally, buying the groceries had fallen to Renzo and Peter—but Peter had used work at the Daily Bugle as an excuse, leaving Renzo behind while he slipped out as Spider-Man to "uphold justice."
Renzo couldn't stand him.
"It's time to train Peter…"
As Renzo muttered to himself, the Mind Stone on his forehead suddenly flickered, and a sense of foreboding surged through him.
A moving car was abruptly overturned and smashed into a nearby shop, scattering would-be looters in panic.
"What a disaster," Renzo sighed, lamenting that this place was even more chaotic than the Avengers' usual battlegrounds.
He transformed instantly and shot into the air, scanning for the attacker.
A black figure silently crept up behind him, leapt down from above, and slammed him hard to the ground before hurling him away.
Renzo felt a tremendous force crash into his back, driving him into the pavement before sending him flying again.
"What the hell?" Renzo steadied himself midair and stared at the attacker in shock.
"Venom?!"
Venom turned to face him, rage surging in his chest. "You… you so-called superheroes… you took everything from me!"
Eddie's twisted will drove Venom's already chaotic mind into deeper madness. Black tendrils erupted from his body, lifting a nearby bus and hurling it at Renzo.
The attack was almost laughable. Renzo didn't even bother to dodge—he simply hovered there and let the bus split apart against his body.
"Easy…" Renzo said coldly, looking down at the frenzied Eddie. "Time to put you down. You're nothing but trash."
A beam of energy fired instantly, blasting Eddie away and carving a deep, bone-exposing wound into him.
"Ah!" Eddie roared in pain, fury blazing in his eyes. "You! You don't belong here! Go back to your universe!"
Renzo's expression changed. "What do you mean?"
A chill ran through him as he shot upward into the sky.
The moment his feet left the ground, a dark circular portal opened beneath where he had just been standing. If he had hesitated, he might have been sent somewhere unknown—perhaps even another universe.
"Magic? This Venom can use magic?" Renzo muttered, stunned. Everything was spiraling out of control.
"Eddie! I know it's you!" he shouted, scanning the darkness—but the black figure had already vanished, like a crow swallowed by the night.
"This is bad… Peter!"
...
"Hm…" Peter swung freely through the city skyline, enjoying the night breeze and the rush of passing traffic. It felt amazing to ignore his grocery duties for once.
He continued his usual patrol, greeting enthusiastic citizens with a grin.
"Woohoo! How's it going? Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is here!"
The moment he finished speaking, his spider-sense exploded into overdrive. It felt like an alarm clock had been crammed into his skull and set to ring nonstop.
A black arm suddenly lashed down from above, smashing into him and sending him crashing into the traffic below. Fortunately, Peter's reflexes were razor-sharp—he twisted midair and landed safely on the roof of a car.
"Sorry! Didn't mean to!" he called out quickly, before looking up at his attacker.
But the figure had already vanished without a trace.
"Same old New York…"
Peter shrugged it off. This kind of thing happened every year. Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, mysterious monsters… he was used to it.
He assumed it was just another newly empowered civilian trying to pick a fight with the city's most famous hero.
As Peter swung toward the Daily Bugle building, his spider-sense screamed again—louder, sharper, almost unbearable. It felt like his mind was about to split apart.
In fact, it almost did.
Eddie's eyes burned with hatred and jealousy. Merged with Venom, one of his arms morphed into a razor-sharp claw, stabbing toward Peter's back.
Peter twisted sharply, barely avoiding the ambush.
"Who are you?!" Peter demanded, dropping into a fighting stance, ready for anything.
"Spider-Man… what a hypocrite," Eddie snarled. "You took everything from me—my girlfriend, my job!"
"I swear, I've never even seen you!"
Peter leapt forward and kicked Eddie square in the face, sending him crashing into the rooftop antenna.
"That had some kick!"
Eddie rose without concern, brushing off imaginary dust and flashing a sinister grin.
"Let's make this fun."
...
"Dr. Otto! We've got a major problem!" Renzo connected to Otto's lab and called him.
"I've found a way home!"
"Where is it?!" Otto's disinterest vanished instantly, replaced by excitement. Technology capable of crossing universes was irresistible to any scientist.
"I don't know. It attacked me and then disappeared."
"Attacked? It?" Otto frowned. "Are you saying the method you mentioned… is a person?"
"…Yes," Renzo admitted, his tone grave. "And not a good one."
"We need to contact Peter immediately. I think I know who it is—and Peter is in serious danger!"
Hearing this, Otto abandoned his work without hesitation. No matter how remarkable Renzo was, he was still an outsider. Peter, on the other hand, was his student—one of the most brilliant minds he had ever seen.
Otto hung up, donned his combat gear, and activated the mechanical arms on his back.
"Where are you going?"
Flint sat on a sofa he had insisted on buying, claiming he needed somewhere to sleep.
"You're supposed to build that machine to cure my daughter," Flint said.
"I have to save my student first!" Otto snapped, cutting him off. "That spider boy is someone I'm incredibly proud of."
Flint fell silent.
"If you want to change how your wife and daughter see you, come with me. Save this city—and become a hero in your daughter's eyes."
With that, Otto smashed through the door and launched himself into the city, his mechanical arms propelling him forward.
Flint stared at his retreating figure, then turned his gaze to the unfinished machine.
A decision settled in his heart.
"If you're lying to me… I'll destroy you myself."
His body dissolved into a swirl of sand, rising into the air as he followed after Otto.
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