Chapter 93

Mark held Electro by the neck and landed on the ground.

At this moment, Electro had already reverted to his human appearance, but because the electricity he had absorbed had not completely dissipated, his body faintly shimmered with traces of electricity.

After placing Electro on the ground, Mark sighed with relief.

His brief ability to hover was not due to gaining the power of flight but rather the result of his self-quantization.

In this state, as long as he didn't use his time and space abilities, he wouldn't naturally traverse through time and space.

However, maintaining complete self-quantization still required a considerable amount of energy.

So, despite the fact that he had only been hovering and talking to Electro for less than a minute, the actual energy expenditure was enough to sustain him in a battle against several supervillains for several tens of minutes!

Moreover, this kind of short-term massive energy consumption was more exhausting than a prolonged battle.

Fortunately, his efforts were not in vain.

Judging from Electro's current condition, the probability of subduing him was quite high.

In reality, Electro was a pitiable individual.

Unlike the comic book version, who was selfish, greedy, and filled with destructive tendencies, the movie version was just a cog in the Oscorp machine.

He was unremarkable in appearance, even somewhat ugly. Despite designing a beautiful electrical diagram, it was stolen by his superior. Due to his position, he couldn't speak out. This was the tragedy of a small employee in the corporate world.

Being a nobody, he had no friends, and no one even remembered his name, so he yearned for recognition from others.

Harry Osborn could easily manipulate him into becoming his enforcer, exploiting Electro's vulnerability.

At this moment, Mark was also taking advantage of this aspect.

However, unlike Harry Osborn, who only wanted to use him for personal gain, Mark genuinely sympathized with Max and believed that he could be of help.

He provided Electro with what he needed, and in return, Electro gave him what he needed.

A mutually beneficial relationship.

This was the beginning of friendship.

Perhaps the starting point wasn't entirely pure, but in the world, truly selfless friendships, untouched by self-interest, were exceedingly rare. They probably only existed when everyone was still children.

"What happened to him?" Spider-Tom, who seemed to have sprung up from nowhere, approached Mark quietly and asked.

Mark shrugged and replied, "I'm not entirely sure. Let's give him some time to recover."

"By the way, I just encountered someone over there. A person? He seems to be from another world, probably the Sandman you mentioned," Spider-Tom pointed to the other side.

Mark raised an eyebrow. He had been wondering why Sandman hadn't appeared earlier, and he was a bit concerned that they had resolved the battle too quickly, causing Sandman to miss his chance to intervene.

But now, Sandman had shown up.

"Where is he, and why isn't he coming over?" Mark asked in confusion.

Spider-Tom shrugged and said, "I'm not entirely sure. Maybe the scene where you inserted your hands into Electro's body and then brought him down to the ground scared him off?"

Mark turned to look at Electro. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the sequence of events did make it seem like he had taken out Electro directly.

No wonder Sandman was scared.

But this was awkward!

Originally, Mark had thought that Flint Marko, the Sandman, was one of the few "normal" individuals among these supervillains and would be the easiest to communicate with.

For those who've seen the movie, they know that Sandman robbed banks to afford medical treatment for his daughter. Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man even forgave him because he was just too nervous and shot his uncle by accident.

So Mark had no reason to pursue him further. Moreover, Sandman's abilities were useful, making him a potential recruit.

So he hadn't paid much attention to Sandman at first, thinking that with some kind words and mentioning the opportunity to help cure his daughter's illness in exchange for cooperation, Sandman would be on his side.

Who would have thought that due to a series of misunderstandings, Sandman would be scared away because Mark seemed to have taken out Electro too decisively?

"This," Mark sighed. Finding Sandman wouldn't be easy. In the city, it would have been as simple as looking for flying sand.

But New York is surrounded by three sides of the sea, with a considerable coastline and plenty of beaches, not to mention areas intentionally left as woodlands for specific purposes. There are too many places for Sandman to hide.

Unless he shows himself voluntarily, it's challenging to find him.

But given the circumstances, even if it's awkward, there's not much that can be done.

Fortunately, there's still Electro as a backup plan.

After exchanging a few words with Spider-Tom, Mark walked back to Electro's side.

By now, Max had recovered from his dazed state. The main reason he was in that state was not only due to Mark's words but also because Mark had abruptly cut off the energy flow within him, causing electrical disruptions and a sort of "short circuit" in his brain.

Hearing Mark's footsteps, Electro lifted his head and looked at him.

Mark removed his nanotech suit, revealing his youthful face. He wore a sunny smile and extended his hand towards Electro. "I'm Mark, Max, feeling better? Can you stand up?"

The lights from the electric tower illuminated the scene. From Electro's perspective, it was as if he were looking at an angel of God - something sacred, warm, and enlightening. It illuminated his long-darkened heart.

"Ah..." Max instinctively raised his hand but then quickly withdrew it. "My hands are too dirty, I can't..."

Mark, however, bent down and lightning-fast reached out, gripping the hand Max had withdrawn, gently pulling him up from the ground. "We're friends, and friends don't have to worry about such things."

"Friends," Max repeated the unfamiliar word softly, then broke into a wide smile. "You're right, we are friends. Thank you, Mark, my friend!"

"You're naked now, but there are some clothes over there," Mark pointed to a nearby box beneath the electric tower.

The box contained a few specialized electrician's uniforms, likely used by maintenance workers for repairing circuits in this area.

Considering the trouble they had caused and to ensure their electrical reserves weren't entirely stolen, was borrowing a piece of clothing really excessive?

Mark used a strand of webbing to retrieve a set and handed it to Max.

Max took the electrician's outfit and quickly put it on. After dressing, he walked up to Mark and showed it off. "How do I look, my friend?"

"Not bad, it fits quite well."

A small smile appeared on Max's dark face, and he scratched his head. "Hehe."