In an instant—Spider Telepathy activated.
Faced with a sudden assault, Alex rolled to the side, narrowly evading the barrage of attacks.At the same time, he raised his hand—Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!Cobweb spheres fired out one after another.
Screams erupted as several weapons clattered to the floor, disarmed.Alex surged forward.Fists and knees landed with precision—Bang! Bang! Bang!Several soldiers crumpled to the ground, groaning and vomiting from the impact.
The colonel looked up, trembling. "Who... who are you?"
Bang!Alex delivered a swift kick, knocking the man unconscious.
"The rest of you—do not look up," he ordered.
The warden, flattened against the table, buried his head deeper, not daring to move.
Alex opened the box on the table.Inside, a hard drive.
He tapped the warden, who flinched.
"This Carl's research data?"
The warden nodded frantically, banging his forehead on the table. "Yes, yes!"
"Is it complete?" Alex's voice dropped low.
"Yes! It's all there! I don't cheat—never have!"
Satisfied by the warden's breathing and heartbeat, Alex nodded.
Silence fell.Only the sound of breathing remained.Time dragged.No one dared to move.
Eventually, sensing something off, the warden peeked up.Nothing.
The window nearby was open, curtains fluttering gently.
He bolted—Only to be slammed to the ground by soldiers who pinned him down.Thud!The warden screamed in pain.
Later – in a secret execution room
The warden, bound to a cross, was covered in whip marks, bloodied and broken.He howled in agony as a soldier cracked a whip beside him.
In front of him sat an old man, calm and cold.The soldier demanded, "What's your connection to the man who broke in?"
"I—I don't know him! I swear!" the warden sobbed."I made a mistake, please—don't kill me!"
Crack! Crack!More lashes.
"If you didn't know him, how did he know about Carl's hard drive? Or where the trade would happen?"
"I only arranged it with the colonel! I told no one else!"
Crack!
Just then, the door opened.A soldier whispered to the old man.
The man stood. "Continue."
He exited. Behind him, screams echoed and whips lashed.
Soon – inside an intelligence room
The old man—General Ross—entered.All stood. "General."
Ross nodded.A soldier pulled up security footage.
"This is from the prison lab, one hour ago. Someone infiltrated to steal Carl's data."
On screen: a masked figure fired webs, neutralizing two guards.
Ross narrowed his eyes. "Who is this?"
"Likely Spider-Man, sir," an agent replied. "There's also a Ghost Spider, but based on build, this one's a man."
"Capture him. Secretly," Ross ordered. "And recover the data."
"Yes, sir!"
"And continue searching for Carl. More experiments are needed."
"Yes!"
Another soldier approached. "General Ross, Director Fury wants to see you."
Ross nodded. "Let's go."
Elsewhere – Aunt May's house
Peter Parker was eating with Ned.
Suddenly—"Ah-choo!"
Ned laughed. "Someone talking about you?"
"Maybe," Peter shrugged. "Could be Laura."
Ned grinned. "Still crushing on her?"
Peter blushed. "Shut up."
Unbeknownst to Peter, he had just become the scapegoat for Alex's infiltration.An invisible weight had shifted onto his name.
In the skies – a flight from Russia to New York
Madame HYDRA reclined in first class, gazing at a grim image on her tablet—a war-torn canyon under stormy skies.
A flight attendant passed. "Cool special effects. Something to drink, ma'am?"
"Champagne," she replied with a smile.
She sipped slowly, eyes never leaving the screen.
"I know you're in New York," she whispered."That technology... belongs to me."
On the ground – speeding toward New York
Convoys full of mechanical soldiers drove fast.
Their directive:Find Alex. Do not let anyone else acquire the technology.
Inside a moving car
Kurt drove silently.Alex sat in the back, spinning the hard drive in his hands, watching the world pass by.
He murmured, "We're kind of like Bruce and Alfred, aren't we?"
Kurt blinked. "Who?"
"Superhero and his butler."
Kurt chuckled. "Never heard of 'em."
Alex just smiled and looked away.
Soon, they reached a safe house.
Alex shed his coat, sunglasses, and hat. "Get rid of these."
"On it, boss."
He placed the hard drive in his pocket and went inside.
In the basement
Darkness.
Klaue and Elizabeth were already asleep.
Alex descended and murmured:"The military tried reviving the Super Soldier Serum many times. Hulk, Abomination, Luke Cage… All 'failures' that became something far stronger than Captain America."
He examined the hard drive again."I've got Luke Cage's data now. I want to know what made his skin like steel."
His body may possess Spider-Man's strength, but not his durability.
"In the comics, Peter Parker still gets stabbed and shot. I don't want that."
On a nearby table, Little Spider-Man was studying English.Red string tied to its head, eyes wide and focused.It traced letters with its legs, copying lessons from a phone.
Seeing this, Alex smiled.
"Well done, my little Spider-Man. Keep learning."
The spider turned happily, spinning in place like a top.
"Alright, study hard. Rest when needed. Training tomorrow."
Alex patted its head.It saluted with a leg, then dipped it in water and scribbled on a paper: little Spider-Man.
It looked up, beaming with pride.
Alex chuckled. "Excellent. You'll be my right hand one day."
The spider nodded solemnly and turned back to study.
Alex watched it for a moment, then turned to work.
The data on the hard drive was limited.Luke Cage had escaped soon after the procedure.
Still, there was enough to work with.
Reading the flawed serum formula, Alex murmured:
"This is defective—likely reverse-engineered from Captain America's blood, already mutated by integration."
He analyzed the experimental parameters.
Soon—293 outcomes. All led to death.
Only someone like Luke Cage, with unique genes and variables, had survived.
Alex narrowed his eyes.
"If I get Luke Cage's full biological data, I can recreate the serum reaction—replicate the process."
He pulled up surveillance.
On screen: Luke Cage, working at a humble restaurant, serving low-income customers.
Nothing actionable yet.
Over the next few days, Alex trained harder.
His strength jumped from 17 tons to 23.
Just one ton more, and he'd unlock powerful electric attacks.
Late one night, as Alex studied, Kurt burst in.
"Boss! Trouble!"
"A gang brought an army to Luke Cage's place! He's about to be taken!"
Alex's pupils contracted.
He bolted out the door.
He needed Luke Cage's data.
And he was running out of time.