Marvel’s Spider-Man: Across the Multiverse

"Hahaha! Max, do you understand now? To them, your existence has always been dispensable! They can abandon you at any moment just to save their own lives!" The Mutant Lizard Doctor laughed wildly.

Electro stared at the bearded Lafayette in disbelief. "Lafayette, are you serious about what you just said?"

Lafayette looked into Electro's eyes, where electric sparks flickered, and his heart was filled with fear.

Before this catastrophe, he had been just an ordinary officer in a police station in Queens, New York—a lazy one, at that.

By sheer coincidence, his wife had come across a wounded Max Dillon, helped him treat his injuries, and given him food.

From then on, Max Dillon regarded him and his wife as benefactors, obeying their every command.

His wife was a kind-hearted woman.

She had always admired the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Even after Spider-Man inexplicably became Carnage, she still firmly believed that he had merely fallen into darkness and that one day, he would return to his senses.

With this belief, she pleaded with Max Dillon to protect the entire neighborhood.

In this lawless and crumbling world, their small community became a rare safe haven.

Though from time to time, some daring criminals or Carnage's subordinates would invade, as long as Carnage himself did not come, the small fry were no match for Max Dillon's electric blasts.

Thus, after a series of victorious battles, Max Dillon earned his heroic title—Electro!

And because Electro listened to the Lafayette couple, they naturally became the community's de facto leaders.

Up to this point, everything had been fine.

Electro mostly listened to Lafayette's wife, and only secondarily to Lafayette.

Because of this, Lafayette never dared to defy his wife.

And his wife had always worked hard to maintain the stability of their community.

Until one tragic accident took her life.

Power then fell into Lafayette's hands.

And gradually, his true nature began to surface.

Still, out of fear of Electro, he didn't make his ambitions too obvious.

But at his core, he was nothing more than a cowardly, selfish, and opportunistic man.

Lafayette opened his mouth, struggling to explain himself.

But the Mutant Lizard Doctor's firm grip on his hand, along with the terrifying aura radiating from him, left Lafayette's mind completely blank.

After a long, dazed moment, he subconsciously nodded.

BOOM—

Fury erupted across Electro's face, and in the next instant, dazzling blue electricity surged violently from every inch of his body.

The raging electric currents engulfed everything within a ten-meter radius.

All the uniformed fighters who had been battling there were instantly reduced to charred remains!

That included the bearded Lafayette!

The only living being left at the scene was the Mutant Lizard Doctor.

However, his appearance had undergone a dramatic transformation.

His previously yellow-green, bumpy skin was now entirely covered in a layer of black substance.

His head, once an eerie oval shape—neither fully human nor fully lizard—had transformed into something even more terrifying.

A gaping maw lined with razor-sharp fangs now stretched across his face, and above it, two long, narrow white eyes gleamed menacingly.

"Venom!!!"

Peter and Gwen landed simultaneously on a nearby rooftop, their faces filled with shock.

The Lizard Doctor's new form bore an uncanny resemblance to Venom!

The only difference was that, since he had Lizard Doctor as his "base," this version of Venom had an elongated tail and a bulkier, more muscular build.

But in both appearance and coloration, there was no denying—

He was now one with Venom.

Perhaps he should now be called: Venom Lizard Doctor!

The arrival of Peter and Gwen also snapped Electro and Venom Lizard Doctor out of their thoughts.

Venom Lizard Doctor turned his head toward them, flicking out a forked tongue. "Who… who's there? A scent I don't recognize… but it smells strong. And exciting? What is it?"

Meanwhile, Electro reformed in mid-air.

From his vantage point, he could clearly see Peter and Gwen.

Peter's suit was unmistakable in this world where Spider-Man had once existed—it stood out like a sore thumb.

Electro recognized him instantly.

"Spider-Man? Are you Spider-Man? You've come back?"

"What?" Venom Lizard Doctor was stunned by Electro's words.

"Electro? Max Dillon?" Peter also recognized him.

This Max Dillon looked incredibly similar to the version in Spider-Man: No Way Home—whether he was handsome was subjective, but at the very least, he wasn't bad-looking.

"No matter if you're Spider-Man or Carnage, everything you did in the past is unforgivable!" Electro roared, transforming into a streak of lightning as he lunged at Peter.

Yet, Peter remained unfazed.

After all, he had plenty of experience dealing with Electro.

—Not in real life, of course, but in video games.

In the Marvel's Spider-Man game on PS4, Electro—also called "Electro King" in some versions—was one of the villains players had to battle alongside Vulture. And back then, Electro was perched on power grids, constantly unleashing AOE attacks.

That fight was way harder than dealing with the guy in front of him.

Peter extended his hand, shooting quantum webs to pull a massive concrete slab from the nearby ruins, positioning it right between himself and Electro.

The electricity crackled against the slab and dissipated instantly.

Then, Peter gripped both sides of the slab, planted his feet against it, and with a powerful push, sent Electro flying backward.

BOOM!

A thunderous crash erupted as dust billowed into the air.

The concrete slab shattered into several large pieces under Peter's feet, but he remained standing firmly in place.

Electro, however, had dispersed into pure electricity just before hitting the ground, reforming in the air on the opposite side.

"You're not Carnage. Who are you?" Electro demanded.

"I'm Spider-Man," Peter replied.

"No, you're not Spider-Man!"

"I am Spider-Man!"

"You can't be Spider-Man!"

"And why not?"

"Because Spider-Man is dead! He died years ago!" Electro roared before once again surging toward Peter as a bolt of lightning.

Peter had no time to think.

After all, in every world he knew of, Electro was a villain—it only made sense that he was hostile toward Spider-Man.

And it wasn't like Peter was blind—he could see the charred bodies all around them, couldn't he?

(End of Chapter)

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