Nijika and Ryo burst out of the service tunnel, gasping for air. The cool night breeze felt so good on her face after the stale, damp air inside. Behind them, the other kidnapped passengers stumbled out, blinking in the dim light of the industrial district.
Sirens wailed in the distance. They grew louder fast.
Soon, police cars and ambulances, their lights flashing red and blue, swarmed the area. The grim, concrete space became a blur of activity. Officers helped the dazed passengers, guiding them to safety. Nijika watched, a wave of relief washing over her.
Everyone is safe.
She pulled Ryo aside, away from the flashing lights and the frantic questions. Her vermilion eyes kept darting back to the dark tunnel entrance. Spider-Man. She couldn't shake the image of him, standing alone against those scary Ninders and that terrifying chrome monster.
A deep ache settled in her chest.
Is he okay? Did he make it out? Is he still fighting?
Ryo stood beside her, unusually quiet. Her yellow eyes were fixed on the tunnel's mouth too.
"Do you think he escaped?" Ryo's voice was soft, laced with a rare concern that mirrored Nijika's own.
A deep rumble vibrated through the ground beneath their feet. The police and emergency workers stopped, looking around with confused expressions. The industrial lights above flickered, casting erratic shadows across the concrete.
A low, grinding sound echoed from the depths of the substation tunnel.
Nijika gripped Ryo's arm. Her vermilion eyes widened, a fresh surge of alarm hitting her. The ground shook again, more violently this time. Tremors went through the asphalt.
What was that?
A colossal form began to rise from the gaping maw of the service tunnel. Concrete around the opening cracked and splintered. Dust and debris showered down like rain. Nijika and Ryo, along with the other rescued passengers and emergency personnel, watched in stunned silence.
The chrome body of Silvermane, previously defeated, now stretched upward. It grew to an impossible height.
No way. This can't be happening.
The giant robot burst through the substation ceiling, tearing through rock and metal. It reached for the night sky. Silvermane continued to grow, its massive form eclipsing the surrounding buildings. It became a sixty-meter-tall giant against the Tokyo skyline. Its red visor eyes flared, burning with power.
Nijika's jaw dropped. Her vermilion eyes were wide with disbelief. It was too much, too big, too ridiculous.
"Is this… a new movie?" a police officer beside her stammered, his voice laced with comedic disbelief.
Ryo, ever the pragmatist, simply stared. Her face was a mask of utter, unshakable shock.
"Ngh…" Ryo managed, a faint, incredulous sound that was more a squeak than a word.
Everyone stood frozen. They watched the absurdity unfold before them.
* * *
The ground beneath Spider-Man's feet cracked. A wave of force pushed him back, making his vision swim. He stared up, frozen, as the ruined substation ceiling peeled back like a flower, revealing Silvermane. The robot swelled to an impossible size, filling the entire opening.
Amazoness's laugh, chilling and distorted, echoed from somewhere above.
This isn't happening.
His Spider-Sense shrieked, a raw, primal alarm that vibrated in his teeth. It was not just danger; it was dread. He felt like a tiny ant before a mountain, the impossible scale of the threat crushing his spirit.
This is a joke.
His previous victory, the punch to Silvermane's chest orb, felt like a distant memory. It was useless now. Everything he knew, everything Garia taught him, felt meaningless.
How can I even fight that?
He clawed his way up, scrambling over twisted rebar and broken concrete. The hole Silvermane made was a jagged tear in the substation's roof. He scrambled through it, landing heavily on a nearby rooftop. The city skyline stretched before him, its familiar buildings now looking like toys.
They were tiny.
Silvermane roared. The sound vibrated through the air, shaking the rooftop where Spider-Man stood. The robot was now a sixty-meter giant. Its red visor eyes burned with power.
Sixty meters. That's a building. A whole building.
The sheer size of it made his earlier win feel like nothing. His agility, his strength, his webs—all of it felt utterly useless against such a foe. This was David facing Goliath, only David had no sling, and Goliath had plasma cannons.
I can't do anything.
His Spider-Sense screamed, a relentless alarm in his head. It was not just danger; it was pure, overwhelming terror. He looked at his hands, then at the towering Machine BEM. The red and black of his suit seemed so small, so insignificant.
A cold dread settled in his gut.
I failed. I got Nijika and Ryo out, but I can't stop this thing.
He remembered Garia's words, his father's face. He remembered the promise he made.
But how?
Spider-Man launched himself toward Silvermane. The colossal robot filled his entire field of vision. He web-zipped and swung, a tiny blur against the giant's silver chrome. He darted around, looking for any weak point, any crack in that massive armor.
There has to be something.
He fired webs at Silvermane's glowing red visor eyes. The sticky strands splattered against the metal, harmless and useless. They just dissolved. He landed a punch on the robot's knee. It was like hitting a brick wall, not even a dent. He kicked at its ankle. Nothing.
The blows felt like pebbles against a mountain. They did not register.
Silvermane moved with slow, deliberate motion. A massive hand, large as a car, swept down. Spider-Man tried to dodge, but the speed was deceptive. He caught the blow, a bone-jarring impact that sent him spinning.
He flew across the cityscape, a red and black projectile. He crashed through a glass skyscraper, then another, metal and glass shattering around him like rain. He hit a third building, the impact knocking the wind from his lungs. Everything went white.
He landed in a heap of rubble, his body screaming with pain. A sharp, metallic tang filled his mouth. He lay there, his vision blurry, every muscle aching.
This is it. I can't do this.
Despair threatened to consume him. His Spider-Sense still shrieked, but it felt distant now, muted by the pain and hopelessness.
How? How can I possibly defeat him now?
Then, a voice echoed in his mind, clear and urgent.
Call for Marveller.
It was Garia. Takuya, disoriented and confused, struggled to understand.
Marveller? How could a ship help against this?
The voice repeated, Marveller. Now.
Despite his confusion, a flicker of trust sparked inside him. Garia would not lead him astray. He had to try. He reached for his left wrist, his fingers fumbling for the Spider X Bracelet. The red spider emblem pulsed faintly against his skin.
He found the hidden button.
"MARVELLER!"
Deep underground, far from the city's light, the Marveller pulsed with alien power. Its hidden systems hummed, a low thrum that vibrated through the earth itself. Above it, a section of the ground, disguised by centuries of natural growth, began to shift. Rocks groaned. Earth peeled back.
A silent passage opened.
The massive spaceship, sleek and dark like a hunter in the night, shot upward. It tore through the ground, a blur of speed and alien technology. It left a clean, circular hole in its wake, and then it was gone, a silent promise streaking across the night sky, headed toward the distant city.
Marveller.
Spider-Man lay in the shattered remains of the skyscraper. His body throbbed. The thought of fighting Silvermane again, of getting hit again, made his stomach clench. But Garia said Marveller. He had to trust Garia.
He found the Spider X Bracelet on his wrist. He pressed the hidden button again.
"SPIDER MACHINE GP-7!"
The red-and-blue sports car, the GP-7, appeared in the devastated street below, a blur of speed and color. He leaped into the cockpit, gripping the controls. The engine roared to life beneath him.
He pushed the GP-7 into flight, the car's nose aiming toward Silvermane, a colossal titan that now dominated the skyline.
Okay, big guy. Let's see how you like this.
He slammed his thumb onto the missile launch button. Two missiles streaked from the GP-7's hidden launchers, leaving twin trails of smoke. They hit Silvermane square in the chest, tiny sparks against its massive frame.
BOOM!
Silvermane did not even flinch. It barely registered the impact.
Worthless!
The giant robot merely raised a hand, its glowing red visor eyes fixed on the small, buzzing GP-7. A plasma blast, hot and searing, shot from its palm.
Too close!
He swerved the GP-7 hard, pulling up and away from the blast. The heat washed over the car, making the internal temperature rise. He could feel the scorching air through the cockpit.
His Spider-Sense screamed, a blaring alarm.
He's going to swat me like a fly if I don't move.
He pushed the GP-7 to its limits, aiming for the Marveller. The massive spaceship, a dark, sleek shape against the clouds, now streaked toward him. It was a beacon, his only hope.
Faster, faster!
He kept the accelerator pressed, a focused rage guiding his hands. The GP-7 shot into the Marveller's open hangar bay, the familiar hum of the spaceship's interior wrapping around him. He killed the engine. The sudden silence was deafening after the roar of the city.
He jumped out of the GP-7, his boots clanking on the metal floor. His steps were quick, purposeful. He ran toward the command room, his Spider-Sense tingling with a mix of urgency and strange anticipation. He burst into the command room.
Garia stood before the main viewscreen, his silver-blue eyes fixed on the towering Silvermane. The alien warrior's presence, calm amid the chaos, was a small comfort.
"What do I do now?" Spider-Man asked, his voice tight with anticipation. He looked at Garia, then back at the massive screen showing Silvermane tearing up the city.
Garia's silver-blue eyes were hard, focused. He never flinched.
"Marveller's true might must be unleashed," Garia said. "It is more than a vessel. It is a transforming battle robot, Takuya."
A robot? The ship?
He remembered the schematic he saw earlier, the shifting lines and changing shape. The giant robot on the screen, Leopardon.
"Marveller is Leopardon," Garia continued. "The ultimate weapon of Planet Spider. It is time, Spider-Man."
Takuya understood. He moved to the main command console, his fingers flying over the alien controls. The symbols glowed under his touch. His Spider-Sense tingled, not with danger, but with raw power.
He took a deep breath.
"MARVELLER! CHANGE LEOPARDON!"
The Marveller groaned, a sound that resonated deep within its structure. Metal panels across the ship's hull slid apart, revealing intricate mechanisms and glowing conduits.
The lion-head of the Marveller's forward section split open. A new, powerful head, gold-accented and sleek, began to emerge, forming the new robot's face.
The sides of the spaceship peeled away. They extended outward with a heavy, grinding sound, forming massive arms that stretched into place.
Boosters along the lower hull shifted, reconfigured. They folded and locked, becoming colossal legs that anchored the forming giant.
CLANG!
With a final, ground-shaking clang, Leopardon stood upright. It was a sixty-meter giant of gold, black, and silver. It stood against the Tokyo skyline, an awe-inspiring testament to Planet Spider's might.
This is it.