Marco had long lost count of how many times he'd shredded through the sticky webbing that clung to him.
The stuff might not be lethal—but damn, was it annoying. And tougher than it looked.
Bang!
Marco swept his arm forward, unleashing a hail of sand bullets. He'd picked up that trick after being trapped in Spider-Man's webs—turns out it was a pretty effective way to rip the stuff apart.
The whistling barrage made Gwen's eyes widen. Those weren't just bits of sand—they hit with the force of live rounds. And she had zero defense against that.
Her only option was to dodge—her movements a blur of acrobatics and spider sense reflexes. Somehow, she managed to avoid every single shot.
"Naïve!" Marco roared.
Suddenly, sand surged from beneath Gwen's feet. It twisted and gathered into a massive hand that clamped down on her ankle.
Before she could react, sand crawled up her legs, her torso, her arms—wrapping her entire body in a crushing grip.
"Let's see you dodge this!" Marco sneered, closing his fist.
The sand around Gwen constricted violently.
"Ahhh—!!"
Bones creaked. Gwen's whole body screamed in pain. She could barely breathe, the pressure so intense that veins bulged along her forehead beneath the mask.
Marco tightened his grip even further. The web shooters on Gwen's wrists cracked under the pressure, spilling strands of liquid web fluid that mixed uselessly into the sand.
Then—Bang! Bang!
Two sharp gunshots rang out. Bullets struck Marco square in the chest—only to be pushed out harmlessly as his body rippled into sand.
Marco turned. There stood Captain George Stacy, pistol raised, smoke still curling from the barrel.
"Foolish," Marco growled.
He swept his hand, and a storm of sand bullets erupted toward George.
The police-issue vest might stop small rounds—but not this. At this range, it was practically a death sentence.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Suddenly, a wrecked car skidded in front of George, taking the full brunt of the barrage. Sand rattled against the metal like a hailstorm.
Then, with perfect timing, a red-and-blue figure landed atop the car—Spider-Man.
"Captain Stacy! You okay?" Peter called, gripping the crumpled hood.
George blinked, surprised but unharmed. "I'm fine. You showed up just in time."
Peter nodded. "Good. Then please—help evacuate the civilians. Leave this guy to me."
He flipped backward, webbing himself toward a still-bursting fire hydrant.
Planting both feet, Peter jammed one end of a fire hose into the hydrant and gripped the other end tightly.
"Hey, Marco!! You know what happens when sand meets water?" he yelled.
A blast of high-pressure water burst out, nearly knocking Peter off his feet.
The effect was immediate—Marco's sand body began to collapse. His once-granular form turned into a sticky, muddy sludge.
"Damn you, Spider!" Marco roared, struggling to maintain control. But even his hands melted away into muddy paste, unable to hold shape.
With Marco's grip failing, the sand around Gwen disintegrated, freeing her. She collapsed to the ground, gasping, every nerve in her body screaming.
At that same moment—
Lucas arrived.
He'd been racing toward the battle ever since the alert came through, and just as Gwen broke free, he came sprinting in, green energy faintly pulsing in his eyes.
He dropped to her side and scooped her up in a bridal carry.
"You okay? Are you hurt badly?"
Gwen looked up, still breathless. Seeing Lucas's face, her tension melted.
"I'm fine… just sore all over," she whispered, leaning weakly against him. Her body's natural healing was already kicking in.
Lucas smiled softly, then set her gently aside before turning his gaze toward Marco.
Gwen blinked and finally noticed—Lucas had a sword strapped across his back.
"Wait—you carry a sword now? Since when?"
"Oh, this?" Lucas grinned, patting the weapon's hilt. "My personal gear. You're Spider-Woman, after all. I can't let myself fall behind, can I?"
Gwen tilted her head. "Don't tell me… you've got powers too?"
"Not powers," Lucas said with a playful wink, lifting a finger. "I prefer the word—magic."
A faint emerald glow shimmered across his eyes.
"Now, sit tight. This guy happens to be one of my bounty targets."
With that, Lucas strode straight toward Marco.
---
Meanwhile, in S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, the whole operation room was watching the fight unfold through satellite feeds.
Agents had already cordoned off the area—some evacuating civilians, others forming a wide perimeter to prevent escalation.
"Where are Barton and Romanoff?" Fury asked, his tone sharp as ever.
Coulson's voice came through the earpiece. He was on-site, leading the field team himself.
"Director, Barton's in position. Romanoff's right beside me."
He handed Natasha a fresh bone-conduction earpiece.
"I can hear you, Director," Natasha confirmed as she pressed it behind her ear.
Up on a nearby rooftop, Hawkeye crouched with his high-tech bow ready, a full quiver of trick arrows glinting behind him.
"No one engages unless ordered," Fury's voice commanded over the comms. "Primary objective—record and analyze the power levels of all four individuals: Spider-Man, Ghost-Spider, Marco, and Lucas. Assess their threat levels.
With the exception of Romanoff, none of them should know we're here."
His one good eye was locked on the live feed. The power readings from both Spider-Men and Marco were nearly complete—but Lucas remained an unknown.
All they knew was that he'd once created a small-scale tornado. How powerful he truly was… that was about to be revealed.
Fury leaned closer to the monitor. "Let's see what you've got, Lucas Norman."
---
Back on the battlefield—
The ground suddenly trembled.
From every direction, sand surged inward. The air thickened, visibility dropping as a violent sandstorm swallowed the entire street.
"Raaaaghhh!!"
A monstrous roar erupted from its center.
Sand piled higher and higher, swirling faster, collapsing into itself.
Then—a massive hand, ten meters wide, burst from the storm, slamming down toward Spider-Man.
"Oh no—!"
Peter dropped the hose and dove aside, firing webs in rapid succession to swing clear.
BOOM!!
The ground where he'd stood exploded into a crater several meters deep.
The hand rose again—followed by an arm, a shoulder, a torso…
And then, from within the churning storm, a colossal sand giant emerged, dozens of meters tall.
It bellowed furiously and swung its massive arm, smashing an entire building into rubble with a single blow.
The entire street trembled under its rage.
And Lucas stepped forward, eyes glowing green.
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