Marvel’s Spider-Man: Across the Multiverse

As Electro-Man and Peter were about to clash, on the other side, Venom-Lizard had finally recovered from his shock at seeing Spider-Man again.

His eyes remained locked onto Gwen, a strange sensation stirring within him.

Was it… hunger?

Or perhaps, a desire to merge?

Whatever it was, it awakened something primal in Venom-Lizard.

He craved her.

Driven by instinct, Venom-Lizard lunged at Gwen with terrifying speed!

But Gwen was no longer the same as before—how could she possibly fear him now?

The two instantly engaged in battle.

Venom-Lizard possessed immense strength and incredible speed—Venom had greatly enhanced his already monstrous physical abilities.

Dr. Lizard had always been a fusion of power and speed, with an extraordinary healing factor on top of that.

But he had a weakness.

Agility.

His speed was explosive but only in a straight line, an extension of his brute force rather than true nimbleness.

Gwen, on the other hand, was already one of the most agile Spider-People, and with her symbiote suit amplifying her abilities even further, her agility had reached a whole new level.

She danced through Venom-Lizard's vicious strikes like a butterfly gliding through a field of flowers, weaving effortlessly between his slashes and tail whips.

And her counterattacks? Not to be underestimated.

Her strength might be considered "weak"—but only by comparison.

In reality, at full force, her punches carried tens of tons of power!

Each blow she landed left deep craters in Venom-Lizard's body.

Unfortunately, his regeneration was absurdly fast. Wounds that would cripple most beings healed in mere moments.

The two were locked in a fierce struggle.

The only real victim? The surrounding buildings.

One after another, both occupied and abandoned structures crumbled under the collateral damage.

Even the most efficient demolition crews would be envious of their destruction speed.

Realizing the danger to civilians, Gwen intentionally lured Venom-Lizard toward an uninhabited area.

Peter, on the other hand, was also consciously leading Electro-Man away from the populated zone.

And to his surprise, it was working perfectly—because Electro-Man was doing the exact same thing.

The two seemed to share an unspoken agreement: strike, move, repeat.

Peter found Electro-Man's behavior strange.

Something about him felt… off.

He wasn't acting like the Electro-Man Peter had expected.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"Hey, Max, how about we talk for a second?" Peter finally spoke up as they approached another district.

Electro-Man glanced at him but continued flying ahead, ignoring him.

"Tch." Peter clicked his tongue but decided to take the silence as agreement.

Without warning, he stopped atop a rooftop and extended his hand, tracing a circle in the air.

A quantum portal opened.

And from it, a figure emerged—soaring into battle.

"Boss, what are your orders for explosions?"

The Parchment Vulture made his dazzling entrance, his gemstone-like eyes gleaming with excitement as he eagerly looked at Peter.

There was no concept of time in quantum space, but for any living creature, being trapped in one place for too long was unbearable.

Even though the Parchment Vulture was an unusual being made of "parchment," he was still a living entity, and naturally, he had emotions.

Finally getting a chance to stretch his wings, he was like an unleashed, hyperactive husky.

Peter glanced at him.

The Parchment Vulture immediately stuffed the bomb he had pulled out back into his pouch.

Peter sighed. "That building is full of lizard monsters. Kill them all, but don't harm any civilians, understand?"

"Got it! Got it!" The Parchment Vulture nodded rapidly but remained standing there, unmoving.

"Something else?" Peter asked.

The Parchment Vulture hesitated before asking, "Can I pull them out first… then blow them up outside?"

Peter: "…?"

"As long as you don't harm civilians, do whatever you want."

"Roger that!" The Parchment Vulture let out a strange, cackling laugh, spread his massive wings, and soared toward the street from earlier.

At that moment, Electro-Man came to a halt as well, hovering about seven or eight meters away from Peter.

"You're not the original Spider-Man, are you?"

Peter shrugged. "Nope. Never said I was."

"So, there are two Spider-Men in this world?" Electro-Man asked.

"No, I'm from a parallel universe," Peter explained. "Carnage ended up in my world, and my team and I took him down. That's when we learned about this world's situation, so we came here."

"You came to save this world?"

The electricity crackling around Electro-Man's face faded, leaving only his hands and feet still ionized, keeping him afloat.

Peter shook his head slightly. "Save the world? No, I'm not a savior, and this isn't my world. This world's fate should be decided by its own people. Besides, the greatest evil has already been eliminated. So why hasn't this world stood up for itself yet?"

"That…"

Electro-Man was momentarily stunned, but it was clear Peter's words had struck a chord.

After a brief hesitation, he landed near Peter.

Seeing that he wasn't preparing for an attack—and with no warning from his Spider-Sense—Peter was surprised but didn't stop him.

"Looks like you're a righteous Spider-Man in your world as well," Electro-Man observed seriously.

Peter, however, shook his head slightly. "My world…"

For a moment, his thoughts drifted back to that distant home.

He had been avoiding thinking about it.

Because maybe, from the moment he arrived in this world… he could never go back.

They say that when a Spider-Man gains power, he must also lose something.

On the surface, it seemed like Peter had lost nothing.

But perhaps… what he lost was his entire world.

A wandering soul, exiled in a foreign dimension.

But at least he had met so many wonderful people. People he loved, and who loved him in return.

That was the only solace for his heart.

Thinking of this, Peter couldn't help but smile—though Electro-Man couldn't see it.

"Yeah, I've always been striving to be a true Spider-Man. Nice to meet you again—my name is Peter, but my codename is… Space-Time Spider-Man!"

"Space-Time Spider-Man?" Electro-Man frowned slightly. "Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Max Dillon, but they call me Electro-Man. I want to ask for your help—I'll pay you."

"What kind of help?" Peter asked.

"Defeat Dr. Lizard. Save this district!"

Peter frowned. "Why?"

He had seen Electro-Man kill before. No matter the reason, it meant he had a conflict with these people. So why was he trying to protect them now?

"Because… it's a promise I made to someone."

(To be continued…)

Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon

https://patreon.com/Glimmer09