Chapter 188: The Time Lord Emerges

[Third Person's PoV] 

After his talk with MJ, Peter gave her one last kiss before heading home. After a quick shower, Peter rushed downstairs, phone in hand, and sat beside Uncle Ben.

Before Peter could say anything, Uncle Ben gave him a teasing look. "Someone was only supposed to make sure she got home safely. It seems they got distracted and didn't come home until this morning."

Peter glanced at Aunt May to make sure she wasn't looking, then held up three fingers toward Uncle Ben with a smug expression.

Uncle Ben tilted his head, confused by the gesture.

Peter emphasized the three fingers, shaking them a bit before bringing them together with his other hand.

Uncle Ben's eyes slowly widened as he processed the meaning. "Oh... Oh... OH!"

"Oh, oh, oh, what?" Aunt May laughed, amused.

Peter slapped Uncle Ben's shoulder for being too loud. "Oh, nothing, Aunt May. Uncle Ben's just surprised that the microwave-blender time machine actually works!"

"Huh? Really?" Aunt May asked, curious.

"Yeah, remember that old picture of me? Well, Aria got it because Felix contacted my future self using the microwave-blender! Which I'm still kinda mad about since I could've solved time travel when I was younger."

"Really?" Uncle Ben asked.

"Yeah, look," Peter said, showing him the picture on his phone and motioning toward the microwave and blender.

"Not that... the other thing," Uncle Ben gestured.

"Oh," Peter said, making an okay sign while biting his lip proudly.

"I don't know whether to be extremely proud of you or disgusted by how openly you share this stuff with me," Uncle Ben whispered.

"Just go with pride—"

"We have a situation!" Aria suddenly interrupted, appearing as a hologram over Peter's watch.

"What is it?"

"The Time Lord has appeared. We've detected a temporal anomaly in Times Square."

"Why is it always Times Square getting attacked? There are other places in New York," Peter grumbled, standing up.

"Sorry, Aunt May, Uncle Ben! I'll have to cut breakfast short," Peter said, grabbing his bag and rushing out.

Aunt May didn't even have a chance to respond as the door shut behind him. She could only sigh in disappointment.

As Peter reached the street, the door of MJ's house opened, and she came out hopping on one foot, trying to put on her shoes with a piece of toast in her mouth.

MJ, seeing Peter, looked both ways before jogging over. "Are you ready to go?" she asked, jogging in place.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Peter said as they both started running at a normal pace.

They turned into an alley and tapped their watches, suiting up. "I'm sorry, but this is really bothering me—was that toast dry?" Peter asked as his mask began forming over his face.

MJ, pulling down her red and white mask, nodded while chewing. "Aria called when I was holding it. I didn't have time, don't blame me—I was really hungry... still am."

Both Spider-Man and Scarlet-Spider leaped out of the alley and started swinging through the city. "Red, you know I love you, but what the hell is the matter with you? Who eats their toast dry?"

"I was hungry! I would've buttered my toast if I could!" she yelled, shooting webs as she swung.

Spider-Man ran along a building, holding his web. "Red, no matter how hungry I am, I'd never eat dry toast. Please, have some standards," he said, flipping off the building and swinging to the next.

"Yeah, my standards must be pretty shit if I'm dating you!" she shot back.

"Shots fired! I repeat shots fired! Man down! Man down! Where did this aggression come from?" Spider-Man asked, clutching his chest and pretending to fall mid-swing before catching himself.

"Then don't make fun of the way I eat my toast," she grumbled.

"What's this I hear about eating toast?" Ghost-Spider asked, suddenly appearing, undoing her invisibility as she joined them in their swinging.

"She was eating dry toast like a maniac," Spider-Man said, pointing at Scarlet.

Ghost-Spider turned to Scarlet. "What's wrong with you? Who eats their toast dry?"

"I DIDN'T HAVE TIME!!" Scarlet snapped.

"You guys seem to be having an interesting conversation," they heard Nightwing's teasing voice. They looked up to see him dangling in the air, hooked to Firestar by a black web as she flew ahead, as he was spinning around.

Firestar waved cheerfully. "Hey, guys!"

"Well, someone's having fun," Spider-Man teased.

"I just thought we'd 'fly by' upon hearing the news," Nightwing said with a smirk.

"Hey, that's my line! I'm the one that's flying here!" Firestar chimed in.

The group soon turned a corner, making their way toward Times Square.

"Roar!"

They looked toward the sound only to see Spider-Kat riding on Felix, who had transformed into his tiger form. She flashed them a smug grin. "Yippee ki-yay, mofos!" she shouted, flashing a peace sign with her tongue sticking out.

"Is that…" Nightwing asked slowly, not quite believing what he was seeing.

"Felix, yeah," Spider-Man muttered, shaking his head. "She's riding a tiger... I wanna ride a tiger."

"White Fang," Winston said, appearing next to Aria, who was sitting calmly.

Seeing Spider-Man's confused expression, Winston elaborated, "Felix's hero codename. It's The White Fang."

"I'll keep that in mind," Spider-Man nodded. "Alright, since everyone's here, let's pick up the pace."

Blue lightning crackled across Spider-Man's body as he blitzed ahead. The rest of the group quickly followed suit, accelerating toward Times Square.

In Times Square, a swirling grey portal had materialized in the middle of the street. Pedestrians on their way to work paused, phones out, recording and wondering what was happening.

"Everyone, make way! Super-duper Spider is making a landing!"

The crowd quickly stepped back as Spider-Man dropped from the sky, landing with one knee and fist to the ground, the road cracking beneath him from the impact.

Behind him, Ghost-Spider and Scarlet-Spider landed in classic Spider-Man poses. Ghost-Spider stood up with one hand on her hip, while Scarlet-Spider slowly rose, placing both hands on her hips.

Spider-Kat jumped off Felix, doing a front flip with her arms extended, and landed gracefully. "As they say, a Kat always lands on her feet," she quipped.

Nightwing released his web as it disintegrated in midair, pulling out his Escrima sticks while landing on one knee. Green static flickered between the weapons as he rose into a martial arts stance.

Firestar circled above them, leaving a fiery trail behind her before stopping mid-air, her fists glowing brightly.

As for White Fang, his transformation reversed, revealing his bipedal form in full for the first time. He now wore a black-and-white bodysuit, the web-like lines replaced with tiger stripes, all pointing toward the Spider-Man symbol on his chest. His suit had a white hood and a fur collar around his neck and wrists.

The group assembled in front of the grey portal, which swirled ominously before them. Spectators snapped even more photos.

"Please get away from here! We don't know what dangers could come from that portal at any moment!" Spider-Man warned firmly.

"We won't be able to help you all if you just stand there," Spider-Kat added bluntly.

Before anyone could react or move, the portal's movements became erratic, swirling and warping chaotically, heightening the tension in the air.

Slowly, a leg stepped through as a figure materialized from the portal. He was wearing a green three-piece suit with a monocle and a top hat, with a clock embedded at the center.

In his hands was a pocket watch. "In the nick of time, if I do say so myself," he chuckled.

White Fang was taken aback upon seeing the Time Lord. Before he was an older man, but now he appeared as a teenager and no older than them.

However, White Fang didn't care about that. He shot forward, the ground splintering under his strength as he appeared before the Time Lord, his leg already in motion to kick him square in the head.

A magic circle appeared before the Time Lord's hands, and Felix froze in place, time itself holding him still.

"Is it me, or have you gotten slower?" the Time Lord teased.

He then turned toward Spider-Man and made a mocking, stunned expression. "Oh my, oh my! If it isn't The Amazing Spider-Man!" the Time Lord exclaimed, taking off his top hat, placing it over his chest, and giving an exaggerated bow. "I'm a huge fan! It's an honor to finally meet you!"

Clearing his throat, the Time Lord continued, "I suppose it's time I introduce myself to the audience, isn't it?"

"Ladies and gentlemen of New York City, I am known as the Time Lord!—"

Nightwing, uninterested in the theatrics, rolled his eyes and was about to lunge at him.

"Don't," Spider-Man stopped him, placing a hand on his chest.

"What? Why?"

"Because every time we attack, we get frozen in time…" Spider-Man stated solemnly.

"Even with your speed?" Ghost-Spider asked in surprise.

"For some reason, he's—"

"It's not 'for some reason,' it's because I'm stronger now!" the Time Lord interrupted with a large grin. "I'm better! I can see what you'll do before you even make a move!"

His eyes began glowing a green hue. "After being stuck in the time stream for so many years, experiencing the memories of my future self, I've mastered Time Magic! And after seeing the future ahead of me, I realized something: if I truly want to be free, I have to kill you before you grow any stronger!"

"I see, so you're a coward," Spider-Man nodded, as if in understanding.

"Wha—"

"I mean, even though you've said you've grown stronger, it seems like you're still too scared to face the future me, so you picked a time when I'm still in my growth phase."

Seeing Spider-Man's tactic, the others joined in. "Oh man, I thought we were finally going to face a real challenge, but it turns out to just be a cowardly villain. What a shame," Nightwing said, shaking his head in disappointment.

As they all began making similar remarks, the Time Lord's expression darkened. "I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer…"

Spider-Man shrugged. "Doesn't make you any less of a coward."

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