"Director Fury originally wanted me to tell you that nothing would happen even if you left New York for two days," Coulson said, watching Peter prepare to leap from the airbus. "But unfortunately, on your first day away, the rate of violent crime in New York increased by 2%. By the second day, when they confirmed you were gone, it rose another 7%."
"Tell Fury to listen to Spider-Man, or they'll regret it," Peter quipped, ready to jump. At the same time, he gave Coulson a heads-up: "When I passed your Agent Ward, my spider-sense tingled a bit. Does he have a problem with me?"
"I believe you have no personal grudges," Coulson said, seemingly understanding, and opened the door. Peter cheered and plummeted from the sky. The city once again welcomed its friendly neighborhood hero, this time fully recovered and more formidable than ever.
Coulson watched Peter descend, then turned to Cindy, who was approaching, and asked the agent he had trained: "What kind of person do you think he is?"
"Kind."
Coulson smiled at Cindy. Cindy was a woman of few words, always had been, but rarely had she been so concise and resolute. He couldn't help but ask, "That's it?"
"That word might be enough."
Coulson watched Cindy jump out as well, and couldn't help but smile. A few minutes later, the airbus landed on the plaza of the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The X-Men looked at the dilapidated academy with mixed emotions, and even Logan couldn't help but remark, "We'll have to do some serious cleaning."
"Yes, it needs a good cleaning." A voice said, and Angel, Warren Worthington III, walked over in a sharp suit. "Worthington Group will handle the academy's renovation. Once the teachers and students arrive, it can be put to use."
"Aren't you coming back?"
"No, Bob." Angel shook his head, then looked at Emma. He had a contract to sign with her, but that wasn't urgent. He wouldn't return to the X-Men because he could be more effective at Worthington Group. From there, he could use his financial resources to support the X-Men, the Academy, and other mutants.
However, he was here for another matter.
"How's the Professor?"
Cyclops and Beast exchanged glances, finally focusing on Emma.
A few minutes later, in the basement of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Cyclops led the X-Men into a room. In the center of the room, inside a life support chamber, lay an old man in his seventies, frail and aged. The life support machine displayed faint vital signs.
"I thought... Charles Xavier was dead," Emma expressed her surprise, and Beast answered her.
"Indeed, the Professor is dead. This life support system we built can only ensure that the Professor's body doesn't decay, that his bodily fluids circulate normally, and his heart continues to beat. We once believed the Professor would awaken, but..."
As the world's most powerful telepath, if his body hadn't lost vitality, his consciousness should have been able to return. But now, the Professor still lay there, motionless. Regardless, this was the reality they had to accept.
The X-Men, only they remained.
"Spider-Man is back."
Looking at the footage sent back by his Octobot, Otto Octavius turned to Mac Gargan. He not only survived but was doing quite well. The bullet Gargan himself fired had pierced his spine, causing permanent paralysis in his lower body, but luckily, among the high-tech items Thriller had stolen earlier was a prototype of an exoskeleton spinal nerve connector, allowing Gargan to walk normally again.
Later, based on some of his own research in neural interfaces, Octavius had made certain modifications to Gargan's exoskeleton spinal nerve connector. At this moment, a metallic tail emerged from the bare-chested private detective's back. He wiped the sweat from his face, concluding another day of training.
"It doesn't matter if he's back. I still need to train hard and master the power I've gained."
Gargan said this while punching a sandbag. Whether by luck or fate, his genome was incredibly compatible with the genetically modified scorpion Mysterio had stolen. Although Otto wasn't an expert in genetic programming, he still managed to complete the surgery thanks to Gargan and the scorpion's genetic compatibility, and finally, developed the first enemy capable of rivaling Spider-Man.
Gargan punched the specially made sandbag. Data was transmitted back to the computer in real-time. His strength exceeded 30 tons, and his speed and agility were on par with Spider-Man's. If he only had to deal with one Spider-Man, he could certainly take care of them, but unfortunately, now there were two spiders, so other issues needed to be considered.
After all, in Otto's calculations, once Gargan had to face two Spider-Men, his chances of winning would significantly decrease.
On Otto's computer, a green titanium alloy battlesuit had already been designed and was ready for manufacturing. Thriller's battlesuit had provided him with much help, Mysterio had helped him test Spider-Man's abilities, and Osborn Industries' scorpion had brought the final piece of the puzzle to defeat Spider-Man.
"Your training will probably take several more days to complete, Mr. Gargan," Otto said unhurriedly, watching Gargan pick up a water glass with his tail. The latter was already very skilled at using the mechanical tail. And this special tail was Otto's personal gift to Spider-Man.
"And we all know that Kingpin doesn't like to waste time. Yes, he allowed me to stand up, to get revenge on Spider-Man—both Spider-Men."
Gargan said, putting on his clothes and covering his tail with a coat. "But luckily, finding and retaliating against them doesn't necessarily have to be through combat. Although I never thought Chameleon's idea was right, however—"
There were indeed other ways to defeat and deal with Spider-Man.
Don't forget, Mac Gargan was a detective, one of New York's finest private investigators. Of course, also one of New York's most notorious and unscrupulous detectives.
And what he intended to do was to use his skills and knowledge as a detective to uncover the Spider-Men's true identities, and then, when their families became targets of threats.
Even the most powerful enemies would become utterly helpless.
Unfortunately, the Zombie Universe will have to wait a while, as Reed still needs time to develop the multiverse traverser. After all, for now, he can only conduct multiverse communication.