Restart, Spider-Man! [124] [DDD!]

December Double Drop!

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Old Man Steve blinked. "The Sinister Six? Sounds like a supervillain team-up. Pretty cool name."

Gwen explained, "It's the nickname people came up with for them. Every one of them was a major threat individually, and together they nearly destroyed New York a few times. If they're teaming up again, it could mean the end of the world."

Felicia asked, "Who's in this Sinister Six? We need to know as much as we can about them."

"I've got a lead on that," Lizard Parker said, digging through a pile of junk before pulling out a crumpled magazine.

It was an old issue of The Daily Bugle, featuring an article on the Sinister Six.

He held it out, but then seemed to think better of it, changing direction and handing it to Carter instead.

Felicia: "…"

Carter quickly skimmed the article and passed it around. Soon enough, everyone had read up on the Sinister Six, each with a similar look of bemusement.

"Honestly, from the way they're described here, they don't seem capable of global destruction," Old Man Steve commented.

Xia Luo nodded. "Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Lizard, Rhino, Chameleon, and Mysterio. Sure, they're formidable, but they'd need a lot more power to destroy the world. If anything, it's likely whoever's backing them that's the real threat."

He turned to Gwen. "Any leads on who might be helping them break out?"

"Yes," Gwen replied. "I suspect Kingpin. Recently, I've seen some unusual activity around his territory."

"Kingpin?" Felicia's eyes widened. "There's a Kingpin here too?"

Noticing her reaction, Gwen raised an eyebrow. "You have a Kingpin in your world as well?"

"Of course," Felicia said. "I've encountered Kingpin, Green Goblin, Lizard, and Rhino, but Doc Ock… well, he hasn't crossed over to the dark side yet."

She nodded toward Xia Luo. "He's the one who's dealt with most of them."

Gwen considered this, then looked at Xia Luo thoughtfully. "Seems like, across universes, Spider-Man is destined to have the same enemies."

She glanced at him, eyes curious. "I don't know much about parallel worlds, but it sounds like your world has its own versions of Chameleon and Mysterio too. I could share their weaknesses with you, just in case it's useful."

Xia Luo chuckled, holding up the magazine. "I appreciate the offer, but it might not be necessary. The villains here… well, their power level feels a bit underwhelming."

"Oh?" Gwen didn't take offense. Instead, her eyes gleamed with interest. She was curious to know what kind of villains Xia Luo's world had.

Before she could ask, Lizard Parker muttered bitterly, "He's not exaggerating. He's really strong. Even if the whole Sinister Six teamed up, he'd still mop the floor with them."

A thought seemed to cross Gwen's mind. "Peter, did Spider-Man here help you survive the last match?"

"Hmph, no way," Lizard Parker scoffed, crossing his arms. "I won my revival match fair and square. If anything, I'd have made it through faster if he hadn't been there."

Despite his grumbling, it was clear Lizard Parker didn't quite hate Xia Luo. That seemed to bother him more than anything.

Seeing the tension, Old Man Steve cleared his throat. "First of all—"

"Save the speech," Xia Luo interrupted with a grin, turning to Lizard Parker. "So, does that mean you're not interested in joining us?"

"Of course I'm… joining!" Lizard Parker huffed. "I'm not helping you, though. I'm helping Carter."

"And Gwen?"

"Well, I'll help her too," he said, slightly flustered.

Gwen couldn't help but smile. She knew Peter's feelings toward her weren't exactly romantic, even if he couldn't tell the difference himself. But she was surprised to find his taste was… unexpected.

Looking around at the cramped, dingy room, Gwen suggested, "Let's go to my place instead. It'll be easier to plan there. I have a lot more room."

She glanced back at Peter. "Peter, if we manage to save the world, I'll make sure my dad approves an operations stipend for you. That should cover your rent for a while."

Peter's eyes lit up at the mention of a stipend, though he tried to play it cool.

"Even without the stipend, I'd still help," he said earnestly.

Xia Luo rolled his eyes. "As a fellow member of the broke brigade, I pity you. Saving the world and all you want is rent money? Aim higher, man."

"What—" Lizard Parker's face went beet red. "Mind your own business!"

"Sure, sure."

"You're laughing at me, aren't you?"

"I didn't say anything."

"But I can hear it. You're mocking me."

"So what? You gonna rip me apart?"

"If I could actually take you, I'd do it in a heartbeat!"

As they argued, Gwen's phone buzzed, drawing her attention. She glanced at the screen, her face darkening.

"Trouble's here."

Carter frowned. "The Sinister Six?"

"No, it's four strangers acting suspiciously."

She held up the screen to show the others. "My dad just sent me this. Four… aliens, maybe? They're causing havoc near the Brooklyn Bridge. We need to go stop them."

Old Man Steve stared at the screen, eyes narrowing. "Thanos's lieutenants. Looks like they've joined the destruction team."

Xia Luo opened the window, glancing back at the group. "Then let's make quick work of them. That'll thin out our opposition."

With that, he shot a web and swung out into the night.

Inside the apartment, Old Man Steve's expression turned serious as he gave the others a final briefing.

"These guys are aliens, and they're powerful. Be careful of their weapons—any injuries they cause can't heal easily. And watch out for the creepy bald one who looks like Voldemort. He's a sorcerer."

"What's a Voldemort?" asked Lizard Parker, raising a hand uncertainly.

Old Man Steve shrugged. "He's from a story Xia Luo told me. I don't know much myself… but you could call him Squidward if that helps."

---

Brooklyn Bridge.

"Boom!!"

"Ah! Run!"

"The aliens are invading Earth!"

"Mommy, take me home…"

"Oh, my God, please save us…"

The bridge was in chaos. Cars were at a standstill as panicked citizens leapt out, fleeing in every direction. Behind them, car after car crumpled under an invisible force, erupting into flames that engulfed the bridge in a fiery glow.

Four strange figures were laying waste to everything in sight.

First, a hulking Black Dwarf, clad in armor with scaly, lizard-like skin and wielding a massive iron axe.

Next, Ebony Maw, skeletal and sinister in a black suit, his white hair thin and wispy, and with an eerie octopus-like appearance.

Then, the General of the Dead, Corvus Glaive, wearing his signature black and gold armor and brandishing his undead war blade.

And lastly, Proxima Midnight, with long green hair, twisted horns extending from her brow, and one side of her face covered in blue scales.

"Hahaha, these humans are so weak; it's too easy to destroy them!"

Black Dwarf smashed a car with his iron fists, letting out a roar of exhilaration. The thrill of being alive again was intoxicating.

With one hand clasped behind his back, Ebony Maw waved the other, effortlessly flinging stalled cars into the ocean with telekinetic ease. Casting a disapproving glance at Black Dwarf's fists, he sneered, "Already forgetting the lesson about losing that arm to a human sorcerer?"

Black Dwarf gritted his teeth.

"This time, I won't make the same mistake."

"Your mistakes are endless."

"If I recall, you were killed by a 'green coward' in a metal suit."

"That was… that was different," Black Dwarf stammered.

Proxima Midnight strolled elegantly along the bridge, her trident deftly tossing cars aside as she sought to create as much chaos as possible.

"Enough," she said icily. "Our targets will arrive soon."

Ebony Maw nodded, "Indeed. Once we draw them out and destroy them, we'll be free to ravage this world at our leisure."

"When this is over, I shall once again pursue Lord Thanos!" Corvus Glaive's eyes were filled with fierce loyalty.

Black Dwarf paused.

"Not me. I only served Thanos to protect my people. Now that I have a chance at freedom, I won't go back."

Corvus Glaive's face hardened, and he raised his blade, pointing it at Black Dwarf. "You would betray Lord Thanos?"

Black Dwarf raised his axe, sneering. "What of it? You betrayed your own kind. You have no right to judge me."

"Try me," Corvus Glaive laughed coldly.

"You think I fear you?" Black Dwarf snarled.

Ebony Maw shook his head in exasperation.

"Idiots. Our priority is to eliminate the opposition, claim a revival slot—not waste energy on in-fighting."

Proxima Midnight stepped beside Corvus Glaive, her trident pointed at Black Dwarf.

"This isn't in-fighting. It's eliminating unstable elements."

As Corvus Glaive's lover, she naturally took his side.

Ebony Maw looked away, turning his gaze to the abandoned cars scattered along the bridge.

"Wait. Hold on—someone's here."

"What?"

They all froze, only to see a flash of red hair peeking from behind a car.

"Uh-oh. Busted. Guess I'm out of luck."

Xia Luo flipped up onto the car roof, waving casually. "I overheard you guys. Sounds like you're straight out of Infinity War."

"Infinity… what?"

The Black Order exchanged confused glances.

The time for quarrels was over; Black Dwarf shifted his focus back to the mission. Securing his revival slot was all that mattered.

"I know you—Spider-Man! You're the one who blocked my fist!" Black Dwarf laughed.

Xia Luo scratched his head. "Is that supposed to be funny?"

Ebony Maw raised his hand slowly, an array of cars floating above the bridge and merging together into a massive iron sphere under his telekinetic control.

"If you're alone… then good luck."

With a flick of his finger, the iron sphere plummeted toward Xia Luo like a meteor.

"BOOM!"

A thunderous crash reverberated as the bridge quaked, car parts scattered in every direction. Xia Luo swung away, using his webs to evade, landing on one of the bridge's iron cables.

"You can't escape."

Ebony Maw narrowed his eyes and gestured again, snapping the bridge's iron chains under his mental control, twisting them into a cage around Xia Luo.

Clang, clang, clang!

The chains clinked as they wrapped around him, but before they could fully trap him, four dark gold mechanical arms burst forth, tearing the chains apart.

Bang, bang, bang!

One after another, Ebony Maw hurled cars to shield himself, but Xia Luo's metallic arms punched straight through, heading directly for his face—a clear display of their raw power.

Vroom~

Ebony Maw's expression remained unfazed. His telekinetic force wrapped around the incoming arms, bending them with ease.

Screeching metal

Xia Luo's arms sparked and twisted, but before Maw could react further, the car shielding him exploded from the sheer impact.

That's when Proxima Midnight made her move.

Vroom~

She threw her trident, which split into three crimson beams that shot toward Xia Luo.

Sensing the danger through his spider-sense, Xia Luo immediately retreated, missing his chance to finish Ebony Maw.

Whoosh!

Xia Luo swung through the night sky, evading as the three red beams homed in on him, relentlessly pursuing their target.

This trident was a custom weapon from Thanos, designed to relentlessly chase its target until it struck a fatal blow.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh

In midair, Xia Luo twisted, letting the beams pass by his side.

The red beams veered, immediately redirecting their path toward him.

"This is a pain…"

He grumbled, continuing to dodge as he swung through the sky, trying to shake off the relentless trident beams.

In his last revival match, the Black Order had been just as powerful, but they'd gone up against the nearly invincible Dark Doctor Strange, reducing them to mere cannon fodder.

Now, with no such help, Xia Luo felt the full weight of their power pressing down on him.

Taking on all four alone was a stretch.

On the bridge, Proxima Midnight smirked, watching Xia Luo struggle.

"Just a bug. It won't be long before he's crushed."

Corvus Glaive frowned. "His webs are unusual, almost as if someone's guiding him."

"It's spatial magic," explained Ebony Maw.

"No… there's something else."

Black Dwarf gasped, as above them, a massive spider totem shimmered in the sky.

Vroom!

Chirp, chirp, chirp~

The tiny spider on Xia Luo's hand bit down, sending a surge of totemic energy into his body as luminous webs began wrapping around him.

"BOOM!!"

The spider totem exploded, lighting up the night sky with a burst of fireworks.

Whooosh

A violent wind whipped around as Proxima Midnight's trident embedded itself in the ground, trembling as it emitted a low hum.

The sight stunned them.

"The artifact failed. It didn't kill Spider-Man!"

"Damn it, this isn't the same bug we faced before!"

Proxima Midnight's eyes widened in shock as the enormous totem reappeared, shining brighter than ever.

Boom!

In an instant, the giant spider totem condensed into a single point. Xia Luo launched from his web-sling like a radiant comet, plummeting toward them with unstoppable force.

Watching the blazing streak across the sky, Carter, who had just arrived, looked on in disbelief.

Timid in the main world, punching hard in the revival match.

Why hadn't he used this move against Kingpin?

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T/N: RIDER KICCCKKKKKKKKKK!

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!

Posture and water check! Remember this is a fan translation!

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