Spider-Man was dodging, his web lines emitting a faint burning smell from the intense heat. Luckily, it was just the webs singeing, not him.
But then again, what else could he do besides dodge? He was bitten by a mutated spider, not dropped into a volcano. Peter Parker hadn't gained heat resistance—even if he had, Johnny Storm's thousands, or even tens of thousands, of degrees of heat would be beyond his defensive capabilities, especially now that the guy thought he was Mysterio.
"Damn you, Mysterio! You're dead! I'm going to roast you to a crisp!"
"Johnny, I'm really curious what Mysterio told you—" Peter somersaulted, his web line latching onto a distant fire escape, pulling himself violently away from the inferno, "—but I guess you won't tell me, right?"
Gracefully dodging in mid-air, then swinging on web lines between skyscrapers, Peter didn't just rely on his self-made sonar system. As New York's friendly neighborhood hero, he had a muscle memory for the streets and buildings of Manhattan, allowing him to swing back and forth smoothly. In comparison, Human Torch seemed to have overshot several times, already crashing into walls.
However, Human Torch's rampage didn't last too long. Another "Mysterio" burst out of mid-air and grabbed him. Tony Stark's voice then came through his comms: "Alright, kid, I'll take care of this guy."
"Mr. Stark, I was thinking maybe—"
"Just do it! I need to go cool this kid down!"
Iron Man, now holding Human Torch, finally disengaged his speed limit and flew upwards at full throttle. The holographic display showed the current temperature and battle suit damage. Thousands of degrees of heat meant even the latest Iron Man suit couldn't withstand it for long.
[Sir, the suit is approaching its overheating limit.]
"I'm keeping an eye on it!"
Ignoring Human Torch's unbridled cursing, Tony broke through the limits of the night sky, ascending into normal daylight. Human Torch, held in his grasp, also began to dim due to the lack of oxygen at high altitudes, looking helpless as he stared at the Iron Man holding him.
"Do I need to tell Susan you almost roasted Spider-Man?"
"No, no, no, no, no, please don't tell my sister." Human Torch waved his hands repeatedly, "She'll give me a huge lecture, please, Stark, I know you two are good friends."
After descending a little, Iron Man released him. The re-ignited Human Torch heard an unceremonious lecture: "Then find a place to stay put. The last thing Manhattan needs right now is a human torch."
Watching Iron Man rush back into the night, Human Torch looked like he wanted to say something, but ultimately sighed and flew back towards the Baxter Building.
Iron Man, meanwhile, hovered at the boundary between night and day.
[No projection devices detected at this altitude.]
"So our circus ringmaster projected from the ground." Tony took out the small orb, scanned and analyzed it at high altitude, then transmitted the new projector data to Hank Pym, while also having Jarvis analyze it himself.
However, upon re-entering the night over Manhattan, Tony Stark found he couldn't see anything. He decisively had Jarvis disable all optical collection, relying solely on sonar imaging. At the same time, he turned off sound collection, isolating himself within the suit. He used a separate system to receive external messages, with only a small window in the bottom left displaying what he heard and saw.
"Tony Stark, a troublemaker, someone who will ruin my show."
Mysterio, with his arms crossed, floated before him, but according to the sonar imaging, there was actually no one there. Tony waited for his nonsense, but instead received a truly shocking piece of news.
"To deal with you, I specifically prepared some little gifts, Tony Stark."
"I don't like it when people hand me things."
"These aren't for you either."
A sudden attack slammed into him. The violent explosion threw the Iron Man suit back for several seconds before Jarvis finally transmitted a signal: [Sir, anti-aircraft missile response detected.]
"Truly impeccable timing, Jarvis."
"I know how you're ruining my show, Avengers." Mysterio appeared before Iron Man: "Sonar. But you should know better than anyone that weapons these days are faster than sound, it's quite simple."
The perspective shifted back to Earth. Watching another Mysterio ascend into the sky, Peter scratched his head and then chose to continue moving. While fighting Human Torch, he thought of Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman from the Fantastic Four. Though unsure, Peter felt that Sue's abilities might be able to deal with Mysterio, so he planned to go to the Baxter Building for help.
Also, even though Mysterio created a grand spectacle, there didn't seem to be many actual special effects, almost as if... he was waiting for something.
"Welcome, citizens of New York. Half an hour has passed. I hope everyone is safely hidden. Now, I shall add a new rule."
Mysterio's illusion appeared in various corners of New York, brazenly proclaiming his wicked plan and expressing serious dissatisfaction with the heroes' countermeasures.
"Some people have found ways to cheat and avoid my performance. I am very displeased by this, so I have found where the superheroes are located, and they are about to receive my gifts."
According to sonar, over a dozen drones were heading towards Peter. From his spider-sense, Parker felt no danger, but for some reason, he still felt he should dodge.
Those drones launched suicidal attacks, rushing forward. He dodged left and right, snagging drones with his web lines and slamming them into other drones. However, the drones that hit the ground all, without exception, emitted powerful electromagnetic pulses, covering the entire surrounding area.
Mysterio knew they were using sonar to avoid optical illusions, so he used drones equipped with small-range EMPs to disable their sonar devices. Iron Man wouldn't dare use a large-scale EMP to disable all of Manhattan, but Mysterio only needed to deliver EMPs to the superheroes.
But luckily, Peter Parker didn't solely rely on sonar imaging for combat. He stood his ground, took a deep breath, then suddenly leaped up, grabbed a drone flying towards him, slammed it to the ground, then instinctively shot a web line, stuck it to another drone, and threw it at another incoming drone. At the same time, he leaped, stepped on one drone, and directly ripped another drone in half.
His spider-sense helped him perfectly resolve this attack.
All of this was recorded by an octopus-like robot that had extended a camera from the sewer.
"Perfect. Such reaction speed, such agility. Even when deprived of all sensory aid, Spider-Man is still so powerful."
Otto Octavius adjusted his mechanical arms.
Since the spider is so powerful, what kind of surprises will the scorpion, the spider's natural enemy, bring?