Restart, Spider-Man! [45]
"Well, well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of Titan. I'm your good friend, General Rhodes, and now we're going to play a little guessing game. Can you guess where the next explosion will happen?"
"Oh, right here! You guessed it! We're filming Prison Break."
In an instant, the black Iron Man suit flew over a suburban prison, launching mini-missiles that bombarded the complex.
"Technically, he's only a colonel," Tony remarked confidently.
"Sir, that armor looks just like yours…" the shopkeeper, his face covered in octopus-like tentacles, muttered uneasily. He instinctively took a step back, his appendages twitching nervously as he realized something unsettling—that these dangerous individuals might be the same species as the criminals wreaking havoc.
And they were right in his shop.
Noticing the shopkeeper's nervous demeanor, Infinite Tony shrugged without offering any further explanation. Carter let out a sigh of relief.
"At least this time, they're bombing a prison and not attacking innocent civilians," she said.
"But a lot of people in prison don't deserve to die," Old Steve pointed out.
"This is still the best outcome we could have hoped for," Carter countered.
Lizard Parker, eager to start, cracked his knuckles and grinned menacingly.
"Let's do it right here. I can feel it," he said to Tony.
"No problem."
Infinite Tony tapped his wrist device, beginning to record a video.
Xia Luo clapped the slate board in front of the camera. "Action!"
Lizard Parker's grin turned even more wicked as his body expanded in size. He grabbed the shopkeeper, locking his claws around the poor man's throat. With just a simple motion, he radiated pure evil.
"Gahahaha! Citizens of Titan, tremble in fear! Everything happening here is under our control. Release Thanos, or I will blow up all of Titan!"
But halfway through, Lizard Parker's smile froze.
"Imposter, what's the next line again? I forgot," he whispered.
Xia Luo rolled his eyes. "Cut. We'll edit it in post."
"No problem."
Infinite Tony paused the recording while Lizard Parker quickly released the terrified shopkeeper and crouched down to rehearse his lines. The shopkeeper huddled in the corner, trembling, utterly confused about what was happening.
Carter tried to comfort him. "Don't worry. We're not going to hurt you."
Xia Luo pulled Carter aside. "Telling him that won't make him any less scared," he pointed out.
Carter blushed slightly, realizing her mistake. "So, what should we do?"
"Leave it to me."
Xia Luo then walked over to the shopkeeper's safe.
"No!! Please don't! I beg you, don't do this!" The shopkeeper collapsed to his knees, wailing and sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face. Director Steve grinned in satisfaction.
"Yes, yes, that's the emotion I'm looking for! Keep it up. You've got this!"
Carter just stood there speechless. What a bunch of devils.
After a while, Lizard Parker looked up, frowning. "There's too many lines. Can't we just use a teleprompter?"
"That's doable." Infinite Tony resumed recording, pointing the camera back at Lizard Parker.
"Gahahaha! I am your best frie—no, wait, I am your worst nightmare!"
"Cut! One more time."
"Gahahaha! Citizens of Titan, I'm going to tear you all apart!"
"Perfect, that line was flawless."
"See? That's called professionalism," Xia Luo praised.
About thirty minutes later, the Titan Guard arrived at the scene, and Xia Luo and the others were tasered into unconsciousness, content with their performance.
Who knows how much time had passed before they gradually woke up, finding themselves in an unfamiliar environment. On their wrists were restriction bands, sensitive enough to sound an alarm with the slightest movement—clearly designed to control beings with extraordinary powers.
"Did we succeed?" Lizard Parker asked.
Xia Luo searched himself but found no trace of his nanometal Spider insignia.
"We didn't succeed. My nano-suit has been confiscated," he sighed.
This round had been a miscalculation.
Infinite Tony, too, had no luck finding his arc reactor.
"My reactor's gone too," he said, shaking his head.
He had long since solved the problem of needing the reactor to sustain his heart, having converted it into an external device. But without it, he lacked the nanometal armor essential for combat.
Even if they had managed to join the Exile Journey, facing what lay ahead without their gear would be a huge challenge.
Old Steve was also missing his shield.
Carter, who hadn't brought any gear, didn't seem to mind, though Xia Luo still had no clue what her abilities were. Meanwhile, Lizard Parker had been given a new pair of underwear to cover up.
Soon after, a towering Titan entered the room.
"I've reviewed your identification: Xia Luo Parker, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers..." He read through their names, confirming their identities before making an announcement.
"I, Forldred, hereby declare you guilty. You are sentenced to life imprisonment, effective immediately."
"No! We killed so many people—we should be exiled instead!" Lizard Parker roared.
Forldred glanced coldly at Lizard Parker. "Hmph. You're merely Thanos' lackeys, insignificant grunts. Even Thanos himself denies any association with you. You aren't worthy of exile."
"I'd like to ask—besides murder, what else would make us eligible for exile?" Xia Luo asked seriously.
The shopkeeper, being an ordinary citizen, didn't know much. To learn more, they had to engage directly with those in power on Titan.
Forldred looked at Xia Luo with a mix of surprise and confusion. He had never encountered such a polite criminal before.
And certainly never heard such a ridiculous question.
"Scum. I won't waste my time answering your trivial queries…"
But before he could finish, a guard rushed in, reporting urgently.
"Sir, someone has bombed the temple!"
"What? Those damn fools! I won't let them get away with this!"
Forldred stormed out of the room in a fit of rage, while Lizard Parker shouted after him in frustration.
"You purple idiot! I want to be exiled! I'm the one who did it! I'm the bad guy, can't you see that?"
Forldred vanished without a backward glance, ignoring everything behind him.
"We blew it. We're going to miss out on the Exile Journey," Lizard Parker mumbled in dejection.
Xia Luo thought for a moment. "Actually, we could try bombing the temple ourselves."
Old Steve looked at him. "Kid, we're out of options now. Why don't you use your superpowers to sense where the nearest toilet is? I need to take a dump."
Xia Luo glared. "Can you please forget about that?"
"Sorry, that incident left a lasting impression."
"You really deserve to die."
"I already did."
Ignoring Old Steve's nonsense, Xia Luo quietly waited in the room.
Sure enough, soon there were sounds of more commotion outside—another group of contestants had been arrested.
Were they the ones who bombed the temple?
With his enhanced hearing, Xia Luo picked up on a few key words, including "exile."
His eyes lit up. They still had a chance!
Then, the system's elimination message appeared.
[You have been eliminated and cannot earn a revival slot. Reward: Primal Web Mode +1.]
[Remaining restart chances: 9. Restart?]
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