86 Chapter 86

Doctor Strange gave Spider-Tom a look that said, "What do you mean?"

Spider-Tom immediately raised his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, Mr. Stephen, that's not what I meant. I just think it's really cool to have a Spider-Man who can do magic!"

Doctor Strange turned to Mark and asked, "Are you the Spider-Man from another world?"

Mark nodded, "Of course, isn't it obvious? As the former Sorcerer Supreme, don't you sense my presence?"

Doctor Strange furrowed his brow, hesitating a bit. "I did sense a difference in you and this world before, but it seems to have disappeared now. What kind of existence are you?"

This was an unprecedented situation for him.

He even thought that his perception might have been off.

But when he turned to look at Doctor Lizard and Doctor Octopus, he could clearly "see" the distinct aura emanating from them.

So, it wasn't his perception that was off, but there was something wrong with the person in front of him!

Doctor Strange stared at Mark intently, his hands already preparing for magic.

Mark took a step back.

Whoosh—

His body instantly appeared in the magical prison.

Then, in a flash, he appeared before the two again.

"As you can see, I am a legitimate dimensional traveler, guided by destiny."

Mark put on a mysterious and inscrutable expression.

But his revealed ability truly added a touch of mystery and greatly increased the credibility of his words.

"A legitimate dimensional traveler?" Doctor Strange looked at Mark, seemingly hoping to find traces of panic on his face.

But it was evident that he failed.

Mark's face only showed confidence.

He nodded and reaffirmed, "My codename is the Space-Time Spider-Man, and I serve destiny. When different timelines or Spider-Men face crises, I follow the guidance of destiny and appear before them."

The power of destiny resides within me, so I serve myself and follow my own guidance, shouldn't that be a problem?

Mark thought confidently, holding his ground, so even though Doctor Strange continued to scrutinize him and even tested him with magic, he remained unfazed.

"What kind of crisis will I encounter?" Spider-Tom asked curiously.

Unlike Doctor Strange, who still had doubts, the young Spider-Tom quickly accepted Mark's explanation and became curious about what he had to say.

In fact, he originally wanted to ask why Mark hadn't appeared during his previous crises, but then he realized that although those situations could be considered crises, he had managed to resolve them without much trouble. Perhaps they weren't significant enough to warrant someone crossing time and space to help him.

So, does that mean this crisis is of an unprecedented scale?

After imagining the possibilities, Spider-Tom's expression turned fearful.

"You've disrupted Stephen's magic, causing rifts between dimensions," Mark explained confidently, sensing that Doctor Strange's probing magic had dissipated. A faint smile played at the corner of his mouth. He knew that he had passed Doctor Strange's test for the most part.

Mark continued, "These rifts have opened portals to this universe from various parallel universes, bringing forth many supervillains. As far as I know, there are six of them."

"Woah?! Six!" Spider-Tom's eyes widened.

"That's right. The one who looks like a mini version of Godzilla is called the Lizard, his real name is Curt Connors. You can also call him Doctor Lizard because he's truly a doctor in cross-species genetics. It was his own experiment that turned him into this monstrous form." Mark pointed to the Lizard Doctor in the first magical prison and introduced him.

Spider-Tom exclaimed in amazement, "Thank goodness the spider that bit me didn't turn me into a spider monster."

"Oh, in many worlds, there are indeed examples of Spider-Men turning into monsters," Mark casually remarked.

"WTF? Are you serious?"

"Of course."

Spider-Tom anxiously felt his own body, wearing a worried expression.

"Alright, stop pondering and let's move on to the second person," Mark looked at Dr. Octopus, who was eavesdropping on their conversation, and said, "This is Dr. Octopus, full name Otto Octavius, a nuclear physicist."

"The third person is the one we saw on the bridge earlier, the demon wannabe in green armor. His name is Norman Osborn, also known as the Green Goblin. They both know him and have worked for him," Mark pointed to the Lizard Doctor and Dr. Octopus.

Doctor Strange gave a probing look.

Dr. Octopus remained silent, clearly giving his consent.

"The fourth person is called Electro, real name Max Dillon. He used to be an electrical engineer and also an employee of Osborn Industries. He has the ability to control electricity."

Spider-Tom finally snapped back to reality. "This Osborn Industries is really terrifying, creating so many monsters."

"Roar!" The Lizard Doctor let out a furious roar, startling Spider-Tom.

Spider-Tom's voice abruptly stopped, and he quickly turned around to apologize, "Sorry, I was just condemning that Osborn guy."

"The fifth person is called Sandman, real name William Baker. Just like his codename suggests, he can manipulate sand and even absorb nearby sand to replenish himself when injured. However, he also has a clear weakness," Mark continued to explain.

"I know!" Spider-Tom exclaimed, "The main component of sand is silicon dioxide, and it melts and even turns into glass at certain high temperatures."

"Bingo!" Mark praised, giving a thumbs-up. "So, when the time comes, find a way to heat him up, and you can take him down."

"Uh, are you saying... kill him? Like, kill him?" Spider-Tom was surprised.

"Well, how else do you plan to cure him?" Mark asked, puzzled.

"But killing someone seems a bit too much, right?" Spider-Tom was conflicted.

"Alright, I was just messing with you," Mark laughed.

He didn't insist on changing Spider-Tom's mindset like he did with Spider-Andrew.

Spider-Andrew was too soft, partly due to his short time with the powers and lack of guidance, so he only realized the consequences after losing them.

But Spider-Tom had already gone through a lot, and even from an outsider's perspective, his experiences seemed more extensive than Mark's.

Moreover, he had Iron Man as his mentor, almost like a father figure.

Despite Iron Man's seemingly indifferent attitude towards him, he genuinely cared.

For example, adding a tracker to his suit, contacting official authorities after hearing Spider-Tom's complaints, and even rushing back from the other side of the Earth to clean up Spider-Tom's mess (repairing the ferry), and so on.

So, Spider-Tom should be the most aware and knowledgeable among the three versions of Spider-Men.

It's just that Mark, having seen the "plot," had a clearer understanding of the future development of events, allowing him to provide some advice from an outsider's perspective.

And all he needed was just these small suggestions.

°°°

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