Darkness gave way to blinding light.
Dust swirled in thick, choking clouds where the ceiling used to be. Jordan Evans and Gwen materialized in the center of the massive underground cavern, surrounded by a crater of pulverized concrete.
"Infiltration successful!" Jordan announced, his synthesized voice chirping cheerfully. "Zero stealth detection triggered."
Technically true. You can't raise the alarm if you are buried under four tons of reinforced steel and drywall.
Gwen stared at him, her mask lenses wide. Her entire worldview of "stealth" was reeling from this absurdly violent entry method. The dust cleared, revealing the enormous particle collider in all its ominous, reality-warping glory.
"Forget it." Gwen shoved Jordan's armored shoulder. He didn't budge an inch. "Put me down! Incoming!"
Jordan obliged, releasing her into freefall.
ROAR.
A massive fireball, hot enough to melt tank armor, screamed past the spot where she had been a second ago. Jordan sidestepped casually, the heat washing harmlessly over his force field, then engaged his thrusters.
The Green Goblin—a hulking nightmare of scales and madness—hurtled toward him on demonic wings.
Jordan didn't dodge. He routed power to his right arm.
CRACK.
The gauntleted fist met the creature's face with the force of a freight train. Norman Osborn's giant form was launched backward like a swatted fly, breaking the sound barrier before he slammed into a distant support pillar.
"AWOOOO... Awoo?"
The Green Goblin crashed hard, shaking his massive head. The Oz formula made him incredibly resilient; two seconds after taking a hit that would have decapitated a normal man, he was already scrambling to his feet, eyes burning with hate.
Gwen swung past in a blur of white and black. Thwip. She slapped a web-grenade straight across his face, sealing his mouth and nose in a suffocating mask. By the time he ripped the webbing free, she was already gone, pulling herself away on a silk line.
Enraged, the Green Goblin spread his wings and launched into pursuit.
"Big guy's mine!" Gwen called back, diving under a catwalk. "You handle the entourage!"
Jordan glanced over. Scorpion, Tombstone, and Doctor Octopus were ignoring Gwen, their eyes locked on the golden armor. Doc Ock wiped blood from her mouth, her mechanical tentacles clicking menacingly.
Jordan nodded. Tank pulls aggro. DPS flanks. Classic.
He drifted forward, blocking their path to the collider. The three villains fanned out, surrounding him with murderous intent.
Jordan held up an armored hand. "Real talk, guys. How much does Kingpin pay you monthly? Is it competitive?"
"It's not about the money—" Tombstone growled.
"I mean, seriously," Jordan interrupted, his voice dripping with corporate sympathy. "You're making what? A few million? And you're fighting an interdimensional collapse? The benefits package must be insane."
Scorpion and Tombstone hesitated. Doctor Octopus opened her mouth to retort, but the spider-armored figure shook his head sadly.
"It's not worth dying for, trust me."
The villains exchanged a glance. Wait, does he have a point? No. Kill him.
"Enough!" Doc Ock screamed.
Scorpion lunged. His mechanical tail whipped forward, the stinger aimed right at Jordan's arc reactor.
ZKZKZK.
Yellow lightning erupted around the Iron Spider Armor. Jordan vanished in a crackling blur.
To Scorpion, Jordan didn't move. He simply ceased to exist in front of him and reappeared instantly within his guard.
Scorpion's thorn-covered face froze in terror.
"Too slow."
Ultimate Technique: Slicing Maelstrom!
Blue lightning exploded outward. It wasn't just a spark; it was a localized storm. The area of effect engulfed all three villains simultaneously. High-voltage currents locked their muscles, frying their nervous systems.
Scorpion and Tombstone seized up, paralyzed by the EMP blast.
At the heart of the storm, Jordan Evans drew a deep breath. His force field-wrapped fist pulled back, his body coiling like a drawn bow. The lightning condensed around his knuckles, shining with the brightness of a miniature sun.
Time seemed to freeze.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!"
(゜ロ゜)=3━━━━━━
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!!"
His fists became a blur of gold. Hundreds of punches landed in a fraction of a second, battering Scorpion's armor until it crumpled like tin foil.
FINAL SMASH.
Thunder faded. Time resumed.
A green blur rocketed backward. Scorpion sailed through the air, unconscious before he even left the ground, and plummeted into the dark depths of the Brooklyn Station pit below.
Tombstone raised his hands in a boxer's guard, swallowing hard. His "unbreakable" skin felt very fragile suddenly.
Doctor Octopus, shaken by the electric discharge, twitched. Her mechanical tentacles writhed spasmodically behind her.
"One down." Jordan rolled his neck, the servos in his suit whining. "Two to go."
"My dear, you really are full of surprises." Doctor Octopus regained her composure, her eyes narrowing.
SNAP.
Her four tentacles shot forward like striking vipers, moving faster than the eye could follow. At the same time, Tombstone drew his high-caliber pistol, firing a rapid series of shots at Jordan's head.
"Now that's just rude."
Jordan didn't move. He simply extended his hand, fingers spread wide.
Absolute Territory: Deploy.
PING. PING. PING.
The bullets didn't ricochet. They stopped. Caught in the high-density AT Field, the kinetic energy bled away instantly. The lead slugs hung suspended in the air like frozen raindrops, then clattered harmlessly to the floor.
Doc Ock's tentacles slammed into the barrier. WHAM. They dented the geometric light slightly, straining against the invisible wall, but couldn't break through.
Both attackers froze.
We can't break his defense? How are we supposed to fight a god?
"Don't just stand there!" Doctor Octopus shrieked, turning to the control room. "Start the collider sequence! And someone shoot down that Spider-Man!"
In the control room, the researchers scrambled. The preheated collider roared to life, spewing twin streams of dazzling, glitching particles. Security personnel grabbed experimental energy weapons and opened fire on the floating golden figure.
Beams of blue and orange plasma filled the air.
Warning: AT Field Integrity at 85%.
"Okay, that stings."
Jordan began evasive maneuvers. The AT Field was strong, but it wasn't invincible. He darted through three-dimensional space, barrel-rolling through a barrage of laser fire.
Wherever he flew, a storm of energy attacks followed. He was pinned down.
On the far side of the cavern, Gwen was in trouble. She rode her momentum around a pillar, but the Green Goblin was relentless. His fireballs had virtually no cooldown, turning the battlefield into a furnace.
"Hey guys, are we late?"
A young voice echoed from above.
Everyone looked up.
Clinging to the smooth ceiling of the underground cavern were six figures. Upside down. Relaxed. Ready for war.
In the control room, Kingpin crushed the ballpoint pen in his massive hand, ink exploding over his fist.
On the ground, the hairs on Tombstone's neck stood up.
"One, two, three, four, five, six..." Doctor Octopus counted, a morbid fascination gleaming in her eyes. "Plus the two already here... that's eight Spider-Men. This is truly... magnificent!"
Jordan Evans dodged another plasma volley, shouting irritably at the ceiling. "Less posing, more punching! Little help here!"
"Spider-Man, assemble!"
The figures dropped.
The tide turned instantly.
It wasn't a fight anymore; it was a symphony. The Parkers from different dimensions coordinated naturally, calling out plays that transcend universes.
Peter B. Parker swung in low, webbing up two of Doc Ock's tentacles. "Miles, switch!"
"On it!" Miles Morales dropped from the ceiling, invisible until the last second. CRACK. He delivered an electric-charged Venom Strike to Ock's solar plexus.
Spider-Man Noir landed a haymaker on Tombstone's jaw. The invulnerable man staggered, spitting a tooth.
"Since the Incident, it's been nothing but solo fights!" Peter from the MCU laughed, swinging past Jordan and webbing a scientist's gun. "It's been a while since I was in a team battle this big!"
"Don't get cocky, kid!" Peter B. yelled, grinning despite himself.
The cavern echoed with the sounds of web-shooters and justice. They moved like a single organism, a web of chaos descending on Kingpin's army.