Alright, it had to be admitted.
The fact that Hulk's underwear could survive this much abuse made it an artifact-level weapon.
It was not just durable. Its toxic effect was even more terrifying.
Who knew how many years it had been since Hulk last washed those things?
Once Hulk's underwear got yanked over the Ultimate Green Goblin's head, no matter how much fire the monster blasted from his eyes, the underwear would not burn. If anything, because of certain gases trapped inside, the Ultimate Green Goblin was basically roasting his own head.
"Oh, damn you, Spider-Man! Get this thing off my head right now!"
The Ultimate Green Goblin struggled desperately, and the dozens of web strands wrapped around him began snapping one after another.
These were high-tensile webs with incredible elasticity, adhesion, and durability, but this monster's raw strength was just too overwhelming.
"Harry!"
"Leave it to me!"
Little Goblin Harry nodded, stepped on a switch on his glider, and launched the green serum injector like a projectile straight at the Ultimate Green Goblin.
The instant the needle hit him, the Ultimate Green Goblin shuddered violently, then his whole body began convulsing. His massive frame rapidly shrank, shrinking from ten feet tall back down to five-foot-ten. He slipped free of the webbing and reverted to Norman once again.
Back in human form, every harmful side effect in Norman's genes had been purged. Even that insane second personality vanished in an instant.
Norman pulled the underwear off his head and wore a blank, almost foolish expression. But when he saw the destroyed buildings around him, the smoke rising everywhere, the cratered ground, and even a few bodies lying nearby, he looked both lost and guilty.
"What did I do... that thing came out again, didn't it?"
"Don't worry, Norman. You won't be controlled by that madness ever again. From now on, you can use your abilities without fear."
"And honestly, if these people hadn't been standing around watching, they wouldn't have gotten caught up in it."
Peter said it casually, but the moment he finished speaking, pain ripped through his body. Now that he had relaxed, his muscles were no longer locked tight, and the mangled flesh on his back started bleeding again.
"You don't look good, kid. This is all my fault..."
Norman knew perfectly well that Peter's injuries had been caused by him, so his guilt was only natural.
"I'm used to it. Once you choose to be Spider-Man, you stop expecting to stay unhurt."
Then Peter continued, "Norman, join my Antihero Dimensional Squad. You might have a chance to see your Harry again. I can't promise it one hundred percent, but the chance is there."
"What is this Antihero Dimensional Squad?"
"It's hard to explain exactly, but I can tell you this. The reason you've changed for the better is connected to it."
The system was Peter's greatest advantage. There were far too many dangerous people in the Marvel universe, so he could never expose it directly. That was why he kept his explanation vague.
"If there's really a chance to see my Harry again, then I'm willing to join."
Now that he had fully regained his senses, Norman answered without hesitation.
He knew very well what would happen to the world once the quantum collider created a black hole. At the time, though, both of his personalities had been active, so he had not cared.
At his core, he was still a scientist, and fundamentally a good man. If there had been a better path, who would have chosen the extreme one?
[Ding. Congratulations, Host. Norman Osborn of Universe 1061, the Ultimate Green Goblin, has successfully joined the Antihero Dimensional Squad!]
[Antihero Bond activated! When three squad members are present at the same time, defense increases by 50%, attack speed increases by 15%, and attack power increases by 10%.]
[Ding. Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a Level 5 Treasure Chest, the Perfect Super Serum, and 500 Skin Points!]
[Perfect Super Serum: A superhuman serum that slows aging while granting the perfect strength of humanity, evolving the user into a superhuman. Can only be used on ordinary humans. Mutants cannot use it...]
Enduring the pain, Peter pulled up the system panel in his mind and checked his updated information.
[Host: Peter Parker]
[Age: 17]
[Class: Antihero]
[Organization: Antihero Dimensional Squad (Bond active)]
[Skins: Spider-Man Dark Suit, Classic First-Generation Suit (destroyed, cannot be repaired)]
[Abilities: Super Strength, Super Endurance, Super Senses, Spider-Sense, Adhesion, Healing Factor, Webbing (2/5 Tobey Spider peak abilities), Perfect Combat]
[Passive Ability: Bloodthirsty Slaughter]
[Items: Spider Arm Blades, Electronic Pulse Device (not equipped), Level 5 Treasure Chest, Doctor Strange's Scalpel, Hulk's Underwear, Perfect Super Serum]
[Skin Points: 700]
Looking at it like that, Peter really had accumulated a lot of stuff.
There was no rush to open the Level 5 Treasure Chest.
What mattered right now was healing his injuries.
His healing factor was working, but with only two-fifths of the full power, it still could not fully restore the damage to his back.
And he was losing enough blood that Peter honestly felt close to passing out.
At Norman's house, Peter sat shirtless on the couch while Gwen applied medicine to his back with great care.
His back, once smooth and unmarked, was now ruined. He had already forced all the shrapnel out of his body, but the burn marks from the explosion and the blood were still everywhere.
Nearby, Norman and Little Goblin Harry, father and son from different universes, were quietly talking. One was enjoying the fatherly love of another world, while the other felt deeply relieved for a son from another universe.
"Peter, when that happened just now, I really thought I was going to die. You know that? But I wasn't scared at all... I was just frustrated. Frustrated that I'm only an ordinary person."
Gwen spoke softly while applying the ointment, but what had happened moments ago had clearly shaken her. Looking at Peter's back now only made her feel worse.
"It's true. There are things the police in this world simply can't handle, and that's why people like us exist. So, Gwen, do you want to become superhuman?"
The serum the system had given Peter was useless to him, and the Gwen of this world was just an ordinary human. They had only known each other for two days, but the comfort he felt around her was too familiar. Naturally, he wanted her life to become a little easier too.
"If I could, who wouldn't want that?"
"But it would make life a lot harder. The greater the power-"
"The greater the responsibility. Honestly, how many times are you going to say that?"
Gwen shot Peter a look, but her hands remained careful and gentle as she continued applying the medicine.
"I do have a serum that could give you that kind of power, but I don't know exactly how much it would strengthen you. If you've really decided, I can give it to you."
"I don't need to think about it. Give it to me."
"But using the serum is incredibly painful. Ask Harry and Norman. The serums aren't identical, but the process is similar. Your cells amplify, break down, and rebuild themselves, and the tearing sensation is-"
Before Peter could finish, Gwen had already grabbed the blue serum injector from his hand and unscrewed the cap, ready to drink it.
Peter hurriedly stopped her.
"It's an injection. Are you trying to poison yourself?"
"Oh. Then maybe you should've said that first..."
Gwen quickly put it away, intending to use it later.
"Harry, you look strange. What's wrong..."
Norman's voice drew both Peter and Gwen's attention. When they looked over, Little Goblin Harry's body was beginning to distort and flicker with quantum instability before snapping back into place. The process repeated for nearly a full minute.
"What is that..."
[Ding. This is a state of quantum distortion, the result of rejection by universal will. Universal will rejects beings that do not belong to its universe, and the longer they remain, the more dangerous the effect becomes.]
The system's explanation left Peter confused. He didn't belong to this universe either, so why was nothing happening to him?
[Ding. The Host possesses Spacetime Stability and will not be rejected by universal will. This is equivalent to having legitimate cosmic documentation.]
Alright. So it was basically an interdimensional passport.
[The squad communication watch also provides a similar identification effect, and can later be used for dimensional travel. Its travel function is still under development and will become available after system optimization.]
Hearing that, Peter quickly activated Little Goblin Harry's squad watch. Instantly, Harry returned to normal, and the feeling of being rejected by the universe disappeared.
Meanwhile, in the cemetery in Brooklyn, the bloodstains on this world's Peter's grave marker had already dried.
But the damp soil over the grave was beginning to bulge.
A grayish-brown hand pushed through the dirt and started clawing weakly at the air. Moments later, the entire grave was forced open.
A figure in a suit stood in the hollow of the grave, caked in dirt, clutching a red-and-blue Spider-Man suit in one hand. Its skin was all grayish-brown, its eyes were a lifeless pale white, and its body moved stiffly as it climbed out of the pit, fingers twitching unnaturally while strange drifting energy and quantum radiation swirled around it.
It was the dead Peter of this world.
He had not been resurrected.
But the mutant energy within his body had been stimulated by the quantum radiation, causing a second mutation. Then, after coming into contact with the blood of another, older Peter, it awakened and revived.
What was he going to do?
Who knew.
(End of Chapter)
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