Spider-Man felt the suit lock into place. A low hiss indicated the system sealing around him.
"Hn."
He glanced at his reflection. The Superior Suit and its sleek, aerodynamic lines looked perfect for his plan. Those lines were roads that drove and carried along nanotech. The actual nanobots were contained in the box at his back. The web-wings were a manifestation of nanotechnology, made of a semi-transparent, durable fabric composed of nanobots. A unique technology.
Detective Mode projected data onto the interior of his mask. "All right," he muttered. "Math, math, math…"
From his lenses to the space in front of him, he brought up a holographic map of the United States. By absorbing JARVIS, he gained access to secret Stark tech, including his design for holograms. All Spidey had to do was understand the blueprints in a couple minutes and then execute via nanotechnology. The Superior Suit manifested web-wings through nanobots. The lines were the roads and connected to the arms, the legs, and the lenses. Therefore, it was not out of the question for the nanobots to replicate Stark's holographic technology with the lenses acting as the output.
The holographic image pinpointed his current location in the Santa Cruz Mountains and his destination: New York City. The distance? Approximately 2,900 miles.
"At Mach 1…" he trailed off. "Herbie, how much?"
Herbie's voice chimed in. "The speed of sound at sea level is approximately 761 miles per hour. At that rate, it would take three hours and forty-seven minutes to reach New York, assuming no interruptions or deceleration."
"Three hours and forty-seven minutes? I need to go faster. Mach 6."
Herbie did not immediately supply him with an answer, "I must advise caution, Dr. Faeth. Sustained speeds at Mach 6 will require immense precision in trajectory and will put the suit's endurance to its ultimate test."
Felix grunted and did the math himself. "Mach 6—roughly 4,600 miles per hour—I'll cover 2,900 miles in about 38 minutes." From Mach 1, supersonic to Mach 6, hypersonic.
He adjusted his calculations, taking into account the air resistance, the gravitational pull, and the ideal slingshot height. Felix figured he could web-sling himself up to 2,000 feet using the Rustbucket's launch catapult and propel himself forward with a burst of bioelectricity and the web-wings. The trick was to maintain the speed of sound once airborne.
"To maintain Mach 6, you'll require an initial velocity of approximately 10,750 feet per second, with minor boosts every 30 miles to counter air resistance. Your initial altitude will also need to peak at 2,090 feet for maximum efficiency. Bioelectricity will be a must to reach any of these heights and speeds.'
"We've built all our suits to handle electricity after that encounter with Mr. Negative. We'll be fine. Once I get that high, it's a matter of maintaining it. I've got web-wings and bioelectricity to boost me along the way. As long as I keep calm and don't hit a plane, I should be fine."
Herbie interjected. "There's a 12% chance of significant turbulence at that altitude. Shall I adjust your suit's stabilization systems via the nanobots?"
"Do it," Spider-Man said. "Change it to something close to the properties of titanium."
The plan was set. Time to go.
The Rustbucket's retractable ceiling opened, exposing a clear night sky filled with stars. Felix jumped on. The custom-built launch catapult was really two antennas made of military grade steel. If he did this with trees, the trees would snap.
Thwip! Thwip!
The webs were connected. The RV was not long enough for what he was about to do, so he jumped off. He walked back, back, back…
The tension built like a bowstring. He was almost ten feet back now. The angle was a bit off. He took two steps to the left and walked back further. Fifteen feet. The antennas groaned.
His hands pulled back on the webbing. He ran a diagnosis on the suit's flexibility one last time. "All right," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. "Let's see if this crazy theory works."
CONFIRMED ANGLES. DISTANCE AND POWER CALCULATED. YOU ARE FREE TO LET GO.
The release was instantaneous. The webbing snapped, flinging him into the air like a bullet from a gun. The web-wings extended and caught the wind as he rocketed upward. The pressure built against his body as he climbed higher, the Superior Suit's nanotechnology adjusting to keep him stable.
At 1,000 feet, the suit's onboard system pinged. "Altitude reached. Activating hypersonic mode."
The titanium element was added to his suit. He became more aerodynamic and on top of that—
Bioelectricity. He burst himself and the suit with it and flew even higher. Faster.
Boom, boom, boom! Behind him, waves of sonic booms followed. They had always been there but before, he could hear them. Now he couldn't. Now, he was too fast.
This was it. This was the fastest he had ever gone.
The world blurred around him as he shot upward at breakneck speed, the force pressing against his chest like a sledgehammer. His web-wings handled the increasing pressure until finally…
"Haah…!"
2,000 feet.
He leveled out at the planned altitude. The HUD in his mask adjusted, calculating his speed—10,000 feet per second, right on target. He was slowing down, of course, but that was all according to plan.
The rush was exhilarating. The cold wind whipped around him, but Extremis and his body's natural adaptive temperature control kept him comfortable. That left his nanobots to focus solely on granting better air resistance. The ground below was a blur of lights and shadow as he soared through the night sky. His bioelectricity gave him intermittent bursts of speed, propelling him forward whenever air resistance threatened to slow him down.
For the two minutes, everything went perfectly. He cruised above the country, his thoughts oscillating between the destruction in New York and the surreal nature of what he was doing.
Then he remembered that thing and the streets it crushed.
'What the hell is that thing? Why now? Why right after I left?'
Think, think, think!
'Don't tell me this is the Chameleon's doing! Did she know? She had to! One week…one week and she said everyone would die! But something like this…'
Felix Faeth was a realistic man. He investigated everything the Chameleon had done and on top of that SHIELD was on the case. If there was a bombing, Captain America would handle it. She was no slouch. Out of everything she could have done, unleashing a fucking kaiju was not one of them. Not at all.
"Pull up the newsfeed! I want to see this thing!"
"Accessing live newsfeed," Herbie chirped back. "Connecting now."
A display popped up in the corner of his visor. Christine Everhart's face filled the screen. Her tone was tense, professional, but with an edge of barely concealed terror.
"We're coming to you live from New York City once again!" Christine reported. Behind her, the feed showed the massive, hulking figure of the kaiju. "The NYPD has officially named it Creature Z, as it had been officially named by the NYPD."
Felix's eyes narrowed, his heart skipping a beat. "Herbie, zoom in on that thing."
The feed zoomed closer, giving Felix a better view of the creature. It was horrifying. The monster stood over 1,700 feet tall, its massive frame towering over the New York skyline like a grotesque god. Its rough, scaly skin was blackened with patches of sickly green, glowing faintly with gamma radiation. Jagged spines ran along its back, each one pulsating like veins filled with liquid light. Its elongated snout snapped and snarled, revealing rows of jagged teeth that could crush buildings.
The monster moved with terrifying casualness. Each step sent shockwaves through the ground, leaving craters the size of small neighborhoods. Buildings crumbled like sandcastles beneath its weight. Its massive tail swung lazily, but even that slight motion was devastating—it struck a nearby NYPD helicopter, sending it spinning into the side of a skyscraper before—
BOOM!
It exploded in a fiery bloom.
Felix's heart had never dropped so hard. How many officers were in there? Oh god…!
Christine gasped, panting heavily and afraid. The helicopter went back, keeping a safe distance. "C-Creature Z is unlike anything we've ever seen. Its size—"
The camera went up, up, up. This thing was fucking huge.
CALCULATING…CALCULATING…CREATURE Z'S HEIGHT IS APPROXIMATELY 1,700 FEET.
Whether it was Christine high up in the helicopter or the innocent people down below, all they could do was gawk at it.
"I-it's bigger than the tallest skyscrapers in New York. No doubt, that makes it the largest land creature in recorded history. Gamma radiation levels emitted by the monster are off the charts! S-see here?" The camera went toward another reporter in the helicopter with a Geiger counter. "T-The NYPD has issued a strict evacuation order, warning all civilians to remain at least one hundred feet away from it at all times! The radiation is so intense that it's interfering with phone signals, GPS systems, and other forms of tech—"
The feed cut.
"Herbie, next!"
The feed cut to a NYPD squad car trying to intercept the monster from the ground. This was not a news report, it was bodycam footage. A small team of officers with shielded cars and shotguns. Before they could fire a single shot, the creature stepped on them.
From the glitchy black and white footage's perspective, it was a deathly stomp. Something so huge that it covered the light of their small world, despite it only being a foot. A leg. A step.
The shockwave alone killed the ground officers.
That wasn't a live feed, this was local footage the NYPD had managed to get, A miracle that they found through the heaps of death. Herbie switched back to Christine. She was back. "The NYPD has called in reinforcements from the governments. Currently, helicopters are being swatted out of the air. Streets are completely abandoned. There's a level of destruction here that defies comprehension. The military is reported to be here in ten minutes."
Ten minutes.
Fuck, could they hold out for ten minutes? Because the only person that could possibly take this thing on was—
"Hahaha! Find you, Spider-Man!"
Something slammed into his spine from above with with the same amount of force as Járngreipr. Felix felt the air leave his lungs as he hurtled downward, his web-wings folding instinctively to protect him. The world spun violently and he tried to turn himself. It didn't work. A hard fist crushed into his spine and he hurled down faster.
Boom!
His crash caused a crater.
He didn't know where he was. He didn't know why he crashed. All he could tell was that it was caused by an individual.
Dazed, Spider-Man tried to get up. He was not allowed to, however. weight pressed down on him, pinning him to the ground. His HUD flickered, recalibrating. He moved his head, only for it to be slammed by a foot.
Standing atop him was a figure. Tall. Imposing. A dark, tailored suit, complete with a high-collared shirt and a dark cravat adorned with a glowing red gem.
'A vampire….?'
Red eyes glinted with an otherworldly hunger. Whatever or whoever this was, they were not human.
The figure leaned down. "Hm…" He smiled, but it wasn't friendly. It was the smile of a predator. "You're not Gwen Stacy. You're…an Other."
He was being kept down by a leg and he was so fast that his Spider-Sense couldn't warn him in time.
"No matter. More lifeforce for me to devour."
He smirked. Slam! His foot came down into his skull.
"Don't know who I am? Or wait, are you already dead? I am Morlun, Spider-Man of Earth 65. I hunt your kind. I feed on your kind."
Silence.
"So dead," Morlun taunted. He leaned closer, his ember-like eyes narrowing. "That's fine. I prefer my meals quiet."
Wrong.
Bioelectricity surged from his heart and throughout his body and then to the villain, who was blasted back, his boot leaving Spider-Man's spine. Before Morlun could so much as laugh and enjoy the power, Spider-Man launched forward, delivering a devastating punch to Morlun's jaw, the bioelectric charge in his fists exploding on impact. The force sent Morlun flying through the air.
He stopped himself mid-air, panting. An instinct. The vampire villain felt like he had experienced a concussion. Morlun's head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock as he wiped a trail of blood from his mouth. "What the—?"
The Superior Spider-Man gave him no time to finish. He was already up there with him and rocked a fist into his skull. Crash! Morlun attempted to get up but a pair of strong legs slammed into his ribs.
Boom!
A white and black explosion of bioelectricity ensued.
They were on a mountain highway somewhere in Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest. It was dark and nobody was in sight.
Morlun was kicked away and bouncing on the road—
Bam, bam, bam!
Spider-Man appeared behind him, slamming an elbow to the back of his head, and then sweeping to his front for a horrific combo. Red and black bioelectricity crackled and sputtered. Red and black streaks of fists followed.
Nobody could see the beatdown he was giving him.
Spider-Man was alone and he was too fast.
Morlun gasped and evaded a direct punch to his nose. He retaliated with a punch that could level buildings.
His Spider-Sense warned him this time. Morlun's fist met nothing but air.
Spidey countered with a savage knee to Morlun's gut, lifting him off the ground before slamming an elbow into the back of his neck. The impact drove Morlun face-first into the pavement, cracking it beneath him.
Morlun roared, pushing himself up. "You insolent—"
Felix grabbed him by the collar and flung him into a tree twenty feet away. He crashed through one, two, three, four of them. Morlun, buried in heaps of trees, rose and groaned. He never thought he could feel a concussion with his immortality.
"How…?" he muttered, blood dripping from his split lip. "How are you doing this? You're just another Spider-Man—"
The hero cut him off with a webline to the chest, yanking Morlun toward him. In a single motion, he spun and delivered a brutal kick to Morlun's face, sending him flying backward again. At first, the bioelectricity had been black and white, then black and red, and now…it was the colour of a pure rage. A scarlet which turned into an Adamantium wrecking ball.
What was this new colour? Was it simply an evolution or a new type?
Spider-Man did not care other than it worked. It made him strong enough to pummel this obstacle. Because that was what this man was—an obstacle. Nothing more, nothing less.
Morlun staggered to his feet, his crimson eyes blazing with fury. "I've killed Spider-Men stronger than you! Do you hear me? You are nothing—"
Felix didn't let him finish. Another bioelectric punch struck Morlun's ribs, followed by a rapid series of blows to his torso. The crackling red energy surged through Morlun's body, disrupting his regenerative abilities. His wounds, which would usually heal instantly, remained open and raw.
Desperation flickered in Morlun's eyes as he took to the air, his body rising above the battlefield. He thought he could escape. Thought wrong.
A webline shot out, wrapping around Morlun's ankle. With a powerful tug, the hero yanked him back down, and slammed him into the pavement. Morlun grunted as his lethal opponent leapt on top of him.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
He delivered punch after punch. Bioelectricity imploded and spread. Blood sprayed from Morlun's mouth as his once-pristine appearance became a mess of bruises and broken skin.
'He's regenerating slower,' Felix noted. 'Extremis. My body is in a state of panic and so it must have quickly adapted my bioelectricity to counter his regeneration, hence the red colour.'
That was it.
That was all he needed to stop to think about. Everything else was instinct.
Morlun swung wildly, trying to claw at Felix, but the Superior Spider-Man back-flipped and then propelled into the struggling villain.
His heart and his blood boiled from the heat of bioelectricity. He would have been sent flying again if not for—
Thwip!
Webbing him back into a punch and onto his feet.
"This…this is impossible!" Morlun choked out. He was dazed, hardly able to keep a step. Spider-Man did not immediately strike him though.
That left Morlun to punch him.
It was his first hit, desperate and full of rage.
Spider-Man did not even flinch. It did not move him. It did not faze him.
"Haah…haah…" Morlun staggered backward, his vision blurry, his once-arrogant demeanor shattered. Somehow, it was him that was bleeding. His fist that got hurt. "W-what are you…?"
In his left hand, he was collecting a surge of red bioelectricity. He still did not speak or answer. He grabbed Morlun by the throat with his other hand and hoisted him up. The bioelectricity from his left hand surged, arcing across Morlun's body like a lightning storm. The villain's screams echoed through the empty highway as the energy overwhelmed him, his body convulsing violently.
Spider-Man didn't stop. His grip tightened, the electricity intensifying. Morlun's immortality, his so-called invincibility, meant nothing in the face of this raw, unrelenting power.
For the first time, Morlun felt true fear. This wasn't a Spider-Man who quipped and joked. This wasn't someone he could taunt or toy with. This was something else entirely—something ruthless, silent, and unstoppable.
Spider-Man slammed Morlun into the ground one final time, the impact leaving a crater in the pavement. That left hand of his still had not struck, was still collecting and growing until around his palm like a storm.
BOOOOOM——!
In a single strike, a punch of utter rage, he unleashed the full force of his power. Morlun was incinerated in a blinding flash of red light.
When the red light faded, Spider-Man stood over the smoldering remains of what was once Morlun. His suit's lenses glowed faintly in the night.
Spider-Man wasn't here to play games. The multiverse? Absorption? He didn't care. He wasn't here to entertain villains or waste time with theatrics. He was here to save people.
He was the Spider-Man of Earth 65.