At the start of the quiz game, Erik had boldly declared that he would lead his team to victory. But after several wrong answers, not only had their score not increased, it had dropped into the negatives. Now, Erik was feeling the sting of embarrassment.
Sensing an opportunity, Charles took charge. "Erik, you've been too biased against Peter. I think we should start listening to my suggestions. You don't want to get hit with another electric shock, do you?"
Logan immediately sided with Charles, nodding. "Agreed. I've already been shocked once, and trust me, it sucked. I'm not getting hit again."
Erik rolled his eyes but didn't argue. After all, their previous mistakes had been largely his fault.
"Fine. Let's just watch the video."
Their attention shifted back to the screen as the video resumed.
—
In the footage, Peter was unceremoniously thrown out of the Sanctum by a very angry Stephen.
It was only at this moment that Peter finally realized he should probably talk to MIT's admissions office before trying to rewrite the memories of the entire planet.
After asking around, he found out that an assistant dean was handling admissions. Wasting no time, he put on his nano-suit and swung off to find her.
However, as soon as he reached a bridge, a helicopter began following him.
At this point, Peter was basically a walking news sensation. No matter what he did, the media hounded him. But he didn't have time to deal with reporters—he had to find the assistant dean.
He soon located her in a car stuck in traffic. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on her window.
Peter had obviously rehearsed this in his head, but when it came time to actually speak, nerves got the best of him. He stumbled over his words like a student giving a poorly prepared class presentation.
Watching this, Stephen shook his head. "Okay, I get it now. Talking to people is way harder for you than fighting monsters."
Despite being a chatterbox around friends, Peter was still awkward and shy when dealing with authority figures.
Just as he was about to try again, his Spider-Sense flared.
His expression instantly turned serious. He jumped onto the car's roof, scanning the surroundings. Something wasn't right.
Sure enough, something massive was pounding against the underside of the bridge. Small chunks of concrete began dislodging. Then—
Metal tentacles burst through the bridge, smashing into the road!
Panicked screams filled the air as pedestrians scattered.
Peter immediately suited up and told the assistant dean and her driver to get out of the car.
The driver bolted.
The assistant dean, unfortunately, was stuck.
That was when the owner of the mechanical arms revealed himself.
Wearing round sunglasses, a sinister smirk on his face, the man loomed over Peter, his four metallic appendages writhing menacingly.
"Hello, Peter."
—
Outside the screen, Stephen frowned. "Wait… this guy… If I'm not mistaken, he's Doctor Octopus from the other Spider-Man's universe. How the hell did he get here?"
Pietro recognized him too. After all, they had already seen footage of the other Spider-Man (Tobey's version).
"That has to be some kind of multiversal breach," Pietro said, intrigued. "Hey, do you think this is related to that magic of yours?"
Stephen rubbed his chin. "You mean the Runes of Kafka? It's… very possible. If the spell malfunctioned, it could've disrupted the boundaries between dimensions…"
He sighed. "Damn it, Wong was right. That spell is dangerous."
—
Meanwhile, in the video, Peter and Doctor Octopus were already fighting.
Because they were on a heavily congested bridge, Doc Ock had plenty of ammo. Using his mechanical arms, he began hurling cars at Peter like they were toys.
Peter dodged nimbly, but he was also forced to rescue the trapped drivers, which meant he couldn't fully focus on attacking.
The assistant dean, still trapped in her car, screamed as her vehicle teetered on the edge of the bridge.
Peter went to save her—
And Doc Ock took full advantage of his distraction.
In a split second, he snared Peter with his mechanical limbs, yanking him off the ground. His metal claws ripped at Peter's suit, causing the nanotech to spill onto his tentacles.
He squeezed Peter tightly, completely restraining him.
Then, one of his metal claws extended a razor-sharp blade—aiming directly at Peter's exposed chest.
If that hit, Peter would be either dead or seriously wounded.
Luckily, his nanotech reacted just in time.
The mask of his suit dissolved, shifting its nanites to repair the damaged section over his chest—blocking the lethal stab.
However, this left his face fully exposed.
When Doc Ock finally got a good look at him, he froze.
"You're… not Peter Parker."
Peter, too busy trying to breathe, didn't respond.
But then, he noticed something—
Because Doc Ock's tentacles had absorbed the nanotech from his suit… their operating system had been hijacked.
Peter could now control them.
Realizing this, he quickly turned the tables.
First, he used the mechanical limbs to safely pull the assistant dean's car back onto the bridge.
Then—he locked down Doc Ock's own tentacles, rendering him completely immobile.
At that moment, Peter had won.
Even better, the assistant dean was impressed.
Finally, she agreed to reconsider his and his friends' applications.
Peter was thrilled.
But before he could celebrate—
A sinister laugh echoed through the air.
A figure on a glider swooped down from the sky.
Clad in metallic green armor, he grinned wickedly before tossing a pumpkin bomb directly at them.
----
Translator's Note
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