Inside Kingpin's palace, Jessica watched incredulously as Riley, filled with rage, swung his fists, pummeling Daredevil Matt - now transformed into a monster - into the floor.
Matt was embedded into the ground, the costly and robust flooring used in the palace's construction couldn't withstand Riley's anger. If it wasn't for Xu Shang-Chi holding him back, Jessica truly suspected that Riley would pulverize Matt into a bloody pulp.
Gasping for breath, Riley stood up from the ground, wiped the corner of his mouth with his hand, and said gruffly, "Damn it! Something must have taken control of him, I will make them pay, I will!"
Xu Shang-Chi patted Riley's back in an attempt to calm him. He understood that in the universe, Matt's influence on Spider-Men was profound. They rarely stayed under someone's care for long - those who once accompanied him either left or died.
This made them carry immense guilt, feeling as if they were harbingers of doom. Yet, in their universe, just thinking about how nobody could hurt them despite accepting Matt's care gave them a strong sense of safety, a peculiar form of imprinting in their minds.
The reason for Riley's particular fury was the visual of Matt being hurt, it triggered him. He related it to many tragic incidents from Spider-Man's life - most of those people had left, departed forever.
It took quite a while for Riley to calm down reluctantly. He drew in a sharp breath, looking at an unconscious Matt, said, "Whoever did this better hope I never find out, or they will pay."
"We're about to find out." Xu Shang-Chi slightly pushed Riley away and signaled Jessica. Jessica walked forward to share, "There was an explosion a couple of blocks away. It might have been a car, or someone fighting. We need to check it out."
Rubbing the corner of his mouth with his arm again, Riley glanced back at Matt laying unconscious on the ground and said hesitantly, "We need to find a way to secure him. Even if we lock him up, there are cages in the basement here. Follow me."
Riley and Xu Shang-Chi together carried Matt to Kingpin's basement and threw him into a cage often used to confine hunting dogs. While locking the cage, Xu Shang-Chi noted, "I thought you might object to doing this. After all, despite being a monster now, Matt was once a hero."
"I can't worry about that now!" Riley scowled, "None of us can be sure whether or not that terrifying attack will come again during the night. Therefore, we must act quickly, by whatever means necessary."
Xu Shang-Chi stood silent. He could empathize with Riley. A sense of urgency was rapidly spreading in his heart. As Riley mentioned, they didn't know when the heinous mental attacks might occur at night, even if not tonight, perhaps tomorrow night.
With the potential disaster looming each night, the daytime became extremely invaluable. Their horrifying experiences had purged all traces of leisure and laziness from them and replaced it with a rampant anxiety disorder trend.
They could not delay anymore, anything for that matter. Not being proactive in finding solutions and applying them could mean death, or something worse than death. Their survival instincts forced them to press on, unimpeded in any manner or form.
After securing the cage, Riley, almost dragging Jessica, hurried forward. The three swiftly arrived at the location where Jessica had heard noises. There lay a blown-up truck, its charred remnants scattered across the road, much like a freshly bloomed flower.
"There's someone over there." Xu Shang-Chi directed his energy to his eyes to improve his vision. He squinted towards the bottom of the truck. Jessica stopped them and readied her bowgun, slowly moving closer.
It's Captain America! He's a monster now and he's not dead!" Jessica yelled, "Step back!"
Riley and Xu Shang-Chi immediately went on guard. They could distinctly see a dark shape moving slightly beneath the scorched chassis of the truck. Xu Shang-Chi immediately shouted at Jessica, "Go knock him out while he's still disoriented!"
Grinding her teeth, Jessica stomped her foot, kicked away the remaining wreckage, and charged. She grabbed her bowgun and brutally smacked Captain America's head with the gunstock. As he convulsed, he fell to the ground, motionless.
Jessica heaved a sigh of relief. Riley and Xu Shang-Chi rushed over and saw Captain America's face horribly twisted, his fangs out, appearing insidiously evil. Catching sight of the tentacle-like things, Riley was left speechless. He just stared at them with a cold gaze.
"Should we try cutting those off with a knife?" Jessica asked uncertainly.
But both Riley and Xu Shang-Chi shook their heads. "That's not the problem. Their minds are likely also infected. They've not yet fully evolved and have also mutated into monsters. They were already powerful, so the resulting monster is too," Riley declared.
"He's got a wound on his chest." Xu Shang-Chi went over to Captain America and yanked at the suit on his chest. A deep cut was visible in the flesh underneath his torn uniform, shocking Riley.