Restart, Spider-Man!

10:00 p.m., Stark Tower.

"Captain, all set."

"Good. Stand by for my command."

From a nearby hotel, Carter kept a close watch on Stark Tower through the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Whoosh~"

The next second, a thread of webbing swung down as a familiar red-and-blue figure appeared, hanging upside down and tapping on the glass.

Knock knock.

"Hey, Captain. You called?" he asked.

"Use the front door next time."

With an expressionless face, Carter opened the balcony window.

Xia Luo swung inside, landing smoothly. "Sorry, first time you invited me to a hotel, so I thought I'd go incognito. Since everyone knows we're family, rumors could get awkward."

With that, he retracted his nano-suit and began removing his jacket.

"What are you doing?" Carter's face darkened.

Xia Luo paused. "What else am I here for?"

Carter clenched her teeth. "I called you here for official business. Cut the nonsense."

Xia Luo scratched his head. "What nonsense?"

Then he made his way to the bathroom. "You didn't use up the hot water, did you?"

"No," she answered, standing awkwardly by the door.

It wasn't until Xia Luo emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel that Carter took a deep breath.

"We still have time," she said. "Hurry up and don't waste it."

Xia Luo: "???"

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"You were the one implying something," she replied, confused.

"No way, you thought I meant that?" he said, exasperated.

"Wasn't it?"

"Oh, wow. I'm shocked. You really thought that of me?"

She gave him a deadpan look. "And you expect me to believe you, after that little tournament stunt you pulled?"

"Oh, come on! I was forced into that."

"Like I'd believe that," Carter muttered. "Now that I've humored your ridiculous act, let's get to the main reason I called you." She got up, back to business.

"Actually, this time I'm being serious," Xia Luo said.

Carter stopped, looking skeptical.

"You… you're serious?"

"Of course." Xia Luo walked over, leaning close to whisper in her ear. "I haven't showered in three days. I had to take advantage of a five-star bathroom."

Carter: "…"

Her face darkened with barely controlled frustration.

"Xia Luo Parker!"

"Yes?"

Wham!

A powerful gust hit as Carter's shield swung at him. Xia Luo caught it with a raised hand, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Not bad. Forty tons of force combined with your shield—if Hulk shows up again, you could actually hold your own."

Carter huffed. "I called you here about Adrian."

"The Vulture?" Xia Luo's face turned serious. "Has he resurfaced?"

"I've been tracking him. He's been active every night."

Carter's gaze shifted toward Stark Tower. "Each time he appears, he drains some passerby's life force. I've mapped out his movements, and it seems like he's circling Stark Tower."

"So he's not targeting random bystanders. He's after Stark Tower."

Xia Luo's eyes focused on the tower's top floor. "Tony, then?"

"Draining random lives wouldn't be different from draining Tony's," Xia Luo noted.

Carter shook her head. "It's unclear, but I've warned Stark. He should be prepared."

She turned back to him. "If Adrian shows up tonight, think you're up for it?"

Xia Luo gave her a sidelong look. "You're not exactly weak. Do I have to be your backup?"

"Of course. I'm slower than you; there's no way I could keep up with him."

"Tony's suit isn't exactly slow, either."

"I ran the numbers. Tony's suit isn't fast enough. He won't catch him."

"No problem. I already talked to Tony. He promised to make me an anti-Vulture suit."

"An anti-Vulture suit?" Carter raised an eyebrow. "Then there must be an anti-Hulk suit, too?"

"Of course," Xia Luo said, crossing his arms. "And not just anti-Hulk—he's got an anti-Spider-Man suit, too."

Carter blinked in surprise. "Aren't you two friends?"

"Which is exactly why he'd make an anti-Spider-Man suit." Xia Luo shrugged. "It's his style."

Just then, Carter's earpiece beeped.

"Captain, Adrian spotted."

Perched on a rooftop, Hawkeye had an arrow trained on a massive green figure soaring through the night sky.

"He's here," Carter said, raising her shield. "Let's move."

"Got it."

Xia Luo tapped the spider emblem on his chest, the nano-metal instantly encasing him.

The two jumped from the window in tandem.

"Catch!" Xia Luo tossed her a web shooter mid-fall, then shot a line of webbing upward to the rooftops.

"Hawkeye, support Spider-Man," Carter ordered.

"Copy that."

Hawkeye responded curtly, releasing an arrow that cut through the air with a low hum.

Whoosh!

Boom!

The arrow exploded in mid-air, casting a shockwave that made Adrian's form glow green as he shot forward to avoid the blast.

"What the—"

Hawkeye frowned. "Captain, he's too fast. I can't get a lock."

Undeterred, he let loose another volley, but Adrian weaved effortlessly through the air, eluding every shot.

"Haha! These primitive weapons are a joke!"

The Vulture laughed maniacally, streaking toward the top floor of Stark Tower.

Inside, Tony had already suited up.

Seeing the green blur heading his way, he remained unfazed. "Jarvis, initiate anti-Vulture protocol."

"Understood, sir."

Click-click.

Miniature missiles launched from Tony's shoulder, but Adrian dodged them with ease.

"Stark, your missiles are too slow."

"Oh, really?"

Tony smiled as the missiles abruptly changed direction.

"What?"

Adrian jerked upwards, flapping his wings as he soared higher, but the missiles tailed him, unrelenting.

"Wow, homing missiles? This is the anti-Vulture system?"

Spider-Man landed beside Tony, eyes wide.

"Not exactly."

With a snap of his fingers, a dozen more missiles launched from Stark's lab, locking onto Adrian from all sides as they converged on him.

"Now this looks more like it," Xia Luo remarked.

"Close, but… not quite." Tony lifted off, his thrusters roaring as he shot into the sky.

Boom!

He raised an arm, unleashing an arc pulse that set off the surrounding missiles prematurely.

Kaboom!

Instantly, the night sky lit up with fireworks as the exploding missiles released an electric net, forming a web that cut off Adrian's escape.

"Great. Now it's my turn."

Xia Luo bent his knees, prepared to launch an aerial assault.

But he quickly paused.

"Impressive. Not bad, Stark."

High above, the Vulture grinned, his green wings shimmering as he tore through the electrified net with ease.

"What?" Tony's face fell, but he quickly recovered his composure.

"You should've told me how much trouble this guy is. With a little more prep time, he'd have been nothing."

With that, Tony's thrusters flared as he closed in on Adrian.

Buzz!

Bam bam bam!

His repulsors fired in quick succession, but Adrian dodged each blast.

Before he could taunt Tony, the Mark suit's flight systems went full throttle.

Boom!

A blast of blue flame erupted from Tony's back thrusters, and he zipped over Barton's head with a series of sonic booms shattering the night's silence.

"What the—?"

Adrian's eyes widened in shock as Tony's Mark armor surged forward. He flapped his green wings furiously, pushing himself to the limit just in time to dodge Tony's charge.

"His speed just increased again," Tony muttered, frowning.

"Sir, the suit's overloading. I recommend shutting down full-power mode," Jarvis advised.

"I know."

As Tony retracted the thrusters, he felt a cold sweat break out across his skin.

"I can manage a few more tries."

He flexed his limbs, noting that the full-power boost wasn't putting as much strain on his body as he'd expected.

Re-engaging the thrusters, blue flames ripped through the air again.

Boom!

"Damn it, here he comes again!"

Adrian cursed, and with a desperate flap of his wings, he took off into the distance.

Tony was hot on his tail.

In no time, the two figures disappeared into the night.

"They're gone," Barton reported.

At Stark Tower, Carter swung onto the rooftop with the web shooter Xia Luo had given her.

"Care for some coffee?"

Pepper approached, holding two cups with a relaxed smile.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot."

Handing a cup to Carter, Pepper added, "Thanks for your help. I'll go grab some juice."

"Thank you."

Carter sipped her coffee, then glanced at Xia Luo.

"Stark's anti-Vulture suit doesn't seem all that effective."

Xia Luo shook his head. "He didn't have much time. Getting this far was already impressive."

"So, what now?"

"You're the captain—you're asking me?"

"I want to see if your powers have recovered yet."

"They have."

Xia Luo turned and called toward the house, "I'm off. Skip the juice for now."

With that, he fired a web and swung up into the air.

"Where are you going?" Carter asked.

"I don't think Tony's the real target," he said. "Tony doesn't have what Adrian wants. This is probably a diversion."

"Stark's in danger?" Carter's eyes widened.

"No, Adrian's just trying to draw our attention."

"Then what's his real goal?"

"Not sure. But if we check the opposite direction, we might find out."

With that, Xia Luo launched himself with a web-slinger slingshot, disappearing into the dark.

A moment later, Pepper returned with two glasses of juice.

"Where'd Spider-Man go?" she asked, confused.

Carter gestured in the direction Xia Luo had gone. "He had something to take care of, so he left."

Pepper's brow furrowed.

"That direction…"

"You know something?" Carter noticed the change in Pepper's expression.

Pepper shook her head with a laugh. "I'm probably overthinking it. No way a big bird would be interested in the main reactor."

Carter raised an eyebrow. "Main reactor?"

"Yes, Tony built a massive reactor to power all of New York's factories. It helps relieve pressure on the city's power grid."

At that, Carter felt a chill run down her spine.

"Got it. Adrian isn't after Tony. He's after the main reactor!"

She immediately contacted Xia Luo.

"You hear that? It's the main reactor!"

"Heard it—and I can see it."

From above, Xia Luo watched as a blinding blue light burst from a coastal power plant.

He felt a jolt of shock as he sensed the immense power pulsing within.

"What would the Vulture want with this much electricity?"

Carter considered it. "Adrian's speed seems to keep increasing. It must be connected to the Time Monolith."

"I figured as much."

Xia Luo swung down, landing on the factory grounds, where he immediately spotted the main reactor's core. Encased in intense light, a stone was sitting within, apparently charging.

"Looks like activating the Time Monolith requires immense energy."

For a moment, Xia Luo's mind flashed back to the pyramid.

Back then, the Time Monolith had only activated thanks to the unique energy within the pyramid.

With that energy now gone, Adrian would need enormous amounts of electricity to power the Stone and unlock even fragments of its ability.

As he pieced it all together, his spider-sense tingled, warning him of incoming danger.

Whirrrrr

Boom!

Xia Luo flipped away just as a rocket exploded beside him, the blast scattering fragments everywhere. He landed on a nearby glass walkway, only to hear a faint rustling sound.

Dozens of cybernetically enhanced soldiers emerged from the shadows, each one hefting a rocket launcher, apparently abandoning their metal arms in favor of sheer firepower to take down their arachnid target.

The Winter Soldiers had finally decided to team up for a long-range assault.

"Hydra?"

Xia Luo's brow furrowed as he shot a web and dove into the factory.

Boom boom boom!

Explosions erupted all around as Xia Luo swung upward, tossing his spider companion into the air.

Chirp chirp chirp!

Pew pew pew!

Magical webs shot down over the group, detonating in waves of energy that set off the soldiers' rockets in a chain reaction.

Boom boom boom!

In seconds, the entire area was engulfed in explosions, tearing the cybernetic soldiers to shreds.

At the same time, the main reactor's light began to flicker, its energy spilling out in an uncontrollable surge.

Crackle crackle

Boom!

Electric arcs shot out in all directions, blanketing the room. Xia Luo was caught mid-swing, unable to dodge the barrage of electricity, and was knocked out of the air.

Almost simultaneously, the immense surge of energy caused the stone in the center of the reactor to crack, sending fractures skittering across its surface.

Crack crack

Pow!

The stone shattered, disintegrating into dust under the powerful electric current.

Xia Luo narrowed his eyes at the sight.

"The Time Monolith was a fake!" he informed Carter.

Carter's expression turned grim. "This was the real trap. The main reactor's about to blow—get out of there!"

"No chance. They've timed this perfectly."

Xia Luo brushed off the dust on his hands, his voice relaxed.

"But it's fine. This time, I won't die."

"Whenever you say that, you end up nearly dead."

"Not this time."

Xia Luo grinned. "You're my witness—Hydra's the one who blew this place to bits. Not my fault."

"What?"

"I mean, Tony can't pin this one on me."

With that, Xia Luo's hands formed a series of signs, and the spider emblem on his chest began to glow.

Bzzz!

A giant red-and-blue spider symbol spread out beneath his feet, casting a protective aura over the reactor.

Thanks to his revival tournament prize, he could finally summon the little spiders!

Teenage edition, though!

"Come on out—Arc Spider!"

Hum~

A burst of light erupted from the spider symbol, enveloping the reactor in a sphere of magical energy.

Moments later, a terrifying electric blast consumed the entire factory, leveling it completely.

Meanwhile, Adrian received the news as he was being chased by Tony. A look of pure joy crossed his face as he let out a crazed laugh.

"Hahaha, dead, he's finally dead!"

He glanced back at Iron Man with a smug grin.

"See you, richest man in New York. Once I have the full power of the Time Monolith, all that wealth of yours will be mine."

With a dark chuckle, he flared his green wings, rocketing forward at even greater speed, soon leaving Tony far behind.

"What?"

The glow from his back thrusters dimmed as Tony hovered in the sky, exhaustion weighing on him. Gasping for breath, he watched Adrian's silhouette vanish into the distance, a wave of helplessness surging through him.

"What kind of speed is that…"

With a sigh, he turned back toward Stark Tower, shaking his head.

Moments later, Tony touched down on the rooftop.

"Where's Spider-Man?" he asked Carter.

Carter shook her head. "I can't reach him."

"Can't reach him?"

Tony tried contacting him himself, but… nothing.

After a long pause, he looked at Carter.

"If that's the case, it could mean he's…"

As if on cue, Happy arrived, looking panicked.

"The main reactor exploded. They found some cybernetic arms at the scene, and… someone saw Spider-Man there too."

"What?"

Tony's face fell. "Given the power of the reactor's explosion, it'd be almost impossible for a carbon-based lifeform to survive."

"So Spider-Man's dead again?" He turned to Carter, a heavy expression on his face.

Carter shrugged. "If nothing unexpected happened, yeah, seems so."

Having just arrived, Harry caught the last part of their conversation and looked genuinely disappointed.

He'd rushed over right after finishing work, only to hear the news of Spider-Man's demise.

Too bad he hadn't been there to see it happen.

What a classic scene it would've been.

Beep beep~

Suddenly, his communicator went off. He answered the call.

"Hey, my friend! How's it going?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Harry's expression turned bewildered.

"Xia Luo?"

"That's me. Don't recognize my voice?"

Across town, Xia Luo chuckled. "Been busy these last few days, so I missed meeting up. How about we grab a drink after Dr. Octavius's artificial sun experiment wraps up tomorrow?"

"Are you… sure?" Harry's mind spun in confusion.

Spider-Man was dead.

So… who was this guy?

Oh crap, could I have been wrong all this time?

Thank goodness I never directly brought it up. Otherwise… awkward would be an understatement.

Actually, that would be beyond awkward. It'd be…

All this time, I'd been having my own little emotional drama.

This is so embarrassing. No one can ever find out about this.

Absolutely no one!

Xia Luo hung up, unaware of Harry's inner turmoil. His gaze turned toward Dr. Octavius's villa, deep in thought.

The Time Monolith required immense energy to fully activate, and Octavius's artificial sun would be the ideal source.

Eliminate Spider-Man ahead of time, and no one would be able to stop Adrian.

At least, not anytime soon.

Chirp chirp chirp

A blue electric arc skittered up onto his shoulder, drawing him from his thoughts.

Xia Luo patted the small creature on his shoulder, smiling.

"Tomorrow, I'm counting on you."

Chirp chirp chirp

The Arc Spider crackled with energy, while the other little spider in his pocket silently shed a tear.

The master adored a little spider, but that little spider wasn't me.

So love can fade away…

---

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