According to the law of "Peter Parker luck," no matter what Spider-Man set out to do, all sorts of complications would inevitably arise to get in his way. Though he usually managed to resolve the crisis in the end, the chaotic process always left him thoroughly exhausted.
But today was different! Today, there were three Peter Parkers!
Fat Peter pushed open the side door and was instantly overjoyed. He saw a circular portal manifesting right in front of him, and on the other side of the gateway lay a perfectly safe street.
"Oh my god, just how many more surprises do you have that I don't know about?"
Fat Peter muttered to himself as he urged the hostages to evacuate immediately. J. Jonah Jameson, waiting for his employees to leave first, cast a wary glance at Spider-Man and then at the portal. "What kind of evil conspiracy are you cooking up this time, Spider-Man?"
"A conspiracy? Right now, my biggest conspiracy is to find a regular job so I don't end up homeless, while still figuring out how to be a friendly neighborhood hero and whatnot... Seriously, does anyone these days actually still believe in a friendly neighborhood hero? Huh, seems like it's just me."
In that brief instant, Jonah Jameson found this Spider-Man both familiar and strange. However, he soon ran out of time to exchange old memories, as Scorpion had already discovered this location and was calling over the rest of the Sinister Sixteen. It wouldn't be long before they noticed their ranks had already been thinned out by two.
Oh, actually, that wasn't quite right. When the reinforcements arrived, they would discover they had already lost five teammates—Vulture, Mister Negative, and Venom were nowhere to be found, while Doctor Octopus and Scorpion lay defeated right on the floor.
"Damn it, since when did Spider-Man get this strong?! How did he take down five of us so quickly?"
Shocker, who had just rushed into the room, realized things were looking bad and immediately bellowed. Facing a total of eleven enemies ahead, Fat Peter took a deep breath. It was fine; it wasn't like he hadn't fought them before. Every single person standing in front of him was someone he had already defeated in the past. They weren't exceptionally difficult opponents to deal with, and besides, he had new gear on hand.
Alright, time to take them all down!
With a fierce roar, Fat Peter lunged forward, instantly throwing himself into a brawl with the villains to cover the hostages' retreat. But he wasn't the only one paying attention to the hostages. The other villains noticed them as well and intended to use them as a means to weaken Spider-Man. Leading the charge as the fastest was the Green Goblin, who steered his glider and hurled a barrage of Pumpkin Bombs toward the fleeing civilians.
Yet in that split second, a strand of webbing snagged a Pumpkin Bomb and yanked it right back, tossing it squarely onto Rhino. The resulting blast left Rhino completely dazed and disoriented. Startled by this sudden turn of events, the crowd turned their eyes toward the source of the counterattack.
Simultaneously, a stream of webbing splatted directly onto the Green Goblin's face, followed by the appearance of a new figure who delivered a solid punch right to the Goblin's jaw.
"Aha! The Scarlet Spider has arrived!"
The one who had charged into the fray was another Spider-Man, though his suit looked a bit too hastily put together. It was essentially a standard Spider-Man uniform completely repainted in solid red, fastened with a utility belt, topped off with a blue sleeveless hoodie, and featuring a spider emblem drawn squarely on the chest.
"Another Spider-Man?!"
Witnessing this scene, J. Jonah Jameson patted his balding head, utterly dumbfounded by the sight. He wasn't the only one shocked; the villains were equally stunned. It was supposed to be an eleven-on-one fight, and they felt the odds were entirely in their favor. Now, it had become an eleven-on-two match, and Spider-Man was a hero known for successfully taking on the Sinister Six all by himself.
"Attack! Do you think we have any way out at this point? All of you, charge!"
The Green Goblin's enraged roar seemed to trigger a psychological switch, causing the members of the Sinister Sixteen to lose their self-awareness instantly as they surged toward the two Spider-Men. The Scarlet Spider took a deep breath. "Have you ever dealt with a situation like this before?"
"What? No, never. Jeez, my fans have never been this enthusiastic. By the way, nice outfit, though the smell of spray paint is a bit strong."
"Couldn't be helped. I went to dye my hair first, and having enough time left over to throw this together was already pushing it."
The two exchanged banter as they watched the enemies rush them, showing absolutely no fear. They swung their fists in perfect synchronization, engaging in combat. Two Spider-Men with virtually identical combat experience were fighting enemies whose minds were still stuck in the moments of their respective deaths, resulting in an absolute stomp. Very quickly, one villain after another was subdued over the course of the battle.
Meanwhile, the Green Goblin, who had watched his teammates charge ahead, began to quietly beat a retreat. He merely loitered around the absolute periphery, half-heartedly throwing a few Pumpkin Bombs to keep up appearances while calculating the time, ready to flee at any moment. He was deeply perplexed and terrified by another matter: if two Spider-Men were present right here, then why hadn't Venom and Mister Negative shown up yet?
If they hadn't arrived because someone had stopped them, then who on earth was blocking them, and who could possibly possess the power to hold both of them back?
At that very moment, near the sling ring portal on the other side, Peter had already wiped out the minions created by the Earth-1616 versions of Mister Negative and Venom. The host of Venom—a clone of Eddie Brock, whom Peter had never met in Earth-616—was currently staring at him in sheer terror. Peter, clad in his white Anti-Venom suit, held Mister Negative tightly by the throat with one hand.
This Spider-Man... what was the deal with this Spider-Man?! How did he take down Venom in a single instant?! How did Mister Negative fail to last even two rounds?!
"There's actually something I'm curious about. Do you guys have any idea that you are actually clones?"
The hand Peter used to grip Mister Negative began to radiate an orange hue. He asked with a hint of uncertainty, as if inquiring about a matter of grave importance. Hearing this, Eddie's face grew pale with horror. "You... how do you know..."
"Do you know that your cellular structures are extremely unstable, and that you barely have any active lifespan left?"
Peter sighed as he spoke, gently lowering Mister Negative onto the ground. "In three to four minutes at most, your cells will completely break down and disintegrate. At the very least, it could happen at any second."
"How... how is that possible?!"
Eddie roared in fury at Peter. "He actually lied to us?! He said we would gain eternal life..."
His voice cut off abruptly because his body began to collapse, dissolving away like fine sand.
Peter turned his gaze toward the broadcasting studio, where the battle was still raging.
It wouldn't last much longer either.
Gwen walked up to Peter's side, delivering a piece of good news. "Basically everyone has evacuated. Hmm? Where are the two guys you were dealing with?"
"It's nothing, they just... their time was up. And we need to hurry up, too."