The accident was sudden, and it felt strange—like something out of a nightmare. Spider-Man had been standing perfectly still, the ground beneath his feet solid. Yet, somehow, he slipped right through it as if the ground had vanished.
Logically, there shouldn't have been any gravitational pull in this part of outer space. But a strange force seemed to emerge from the core of this floating island, pulling him down as if there were gravity inside.
Still, Spider-Man wasn't one to panic easily—especially now that he was in his Iron Spider suit. With this advanced armor, he was more than prepared. Even without it, he would have managed. As he fell, he curled his body, executed a controlled roll in mid-air, and landed lightly, dropping into a classic superhero pose with one knee down and one hand bracing himself.
"Well, I guess I'm really here to pay you guys a visit," Spider-Man said, looking around. "Hello? Anyone home?"
"The gravity is stable. Oxygen levels are normal," the armor's internal system announced in a calm, automated voice.
"Oxygen levels in the suit are still at 90%. Switching to external air supply," it continued, activating the suit's built-in air filtration system.
Spider-Man took a deep breath, testing the air. "Huh…it actually feels just like Earth," he muttered, surprised by how normal it felt.
But his relief was short-lived. Suddenly, his spider-sense kicked in, warning him of danger. At the same time, his armor's sensors flashed a thermal warning. Multiple heat signatures were appearing in his field of vision. The suit's scanner continued marking new heat sources, and the dots multiplied across his display in rapid succession.
One, two, three…until there were too many to count. A vast horde was surrounding him in this dark, eerie space, seemingly endless.
It was as if an entire army had been lying in wait inside this floating island, hidden from any outside detection.
A leader stepped forward, emerging from the shadows. As it came closer, the suit's visual enhancement zoomed in, revealing the creature's disturbing details.
It was hideous. Its pale, hunchbacked body was grotesque, with a raised back that almost looked like a camel's hump. Its face was nightmarish—no eyes, no nose, just a flat surface filled with rows of jagged teeth in the lower half of its face. It had no neck; its head seemed attached directly to its back. The sight was both unnatural and terrifying.
And there were dozens more creatures just like it.
Spider-Man gulped, feeling a chill under his mask. "Uh… wow. Nice teeth you got there," he said, trying to sound confident, though his voice wavered. "But, uh… let's agree that you don't lay any eggs on me, okay?"
The creatures made a deep, rumbling noise, unlike any sound he'd ever heard from any Earth animal. Even though it was a foreign, monstrous sound, he could somehow feel the mockery in their voices. It was as if they were sneering at him, enjoying his discomfort.
The lead creature lunged forward, breaking the stillness. The others held back, watching from the shadows, as if this were some kind of sport to them. They seemed entertained, waiting to see what would happen.
"Yikes!"
Charlie, who was controlling Spider-Man from the game interface, felt the panic too. This version of Spider-Man was still a high school kid, fresh to the world of superheroes. Although the suit made him powerful, he was still a rookie, prone to fear. In a burst of adrenaline, Spider-Man kicked forward, putting all his strength into the move as he struck the creature's chin.
The force was overwhelming. How much did Iron Spider-Man's armor weigh? Charlie didn't know, but he knew it was enough to cause serious damage. The alien's head shattered on impact, cracking open like a dropped vase. The creature's body was hurled backward, slamming into the ceiling and sticking there, leaving a splattered mess in its wake.
The aliens surrounding them fell silent, their shock evident even without expressions. °)w
The aliens: ? ? ? ? ?
These aliens were known as the Cantel in their own language. They were fierce in battle, but they were essentially mercenaries, hired by the envoy to help complete his mission. The envoy's task was to retrieve the descent core and summon a powerful god to Earth. But when he arrived, he quickly realized that Earth's defenses were stronger than he'd expected and that he couldn't succeed on his own.
The Cantel were his last resort, his hidden card in this fight. They'd taken on the mission eagerly, expecting an easy victory. Earth seemed primitive and unadvanced compared to the other places they'd fought. They figured the locals would be weak, having never seen an alien before.
Then, they saw a human scream and kick one of their own into pieces.
The Cantel horde froze, stunned.
This was not what they had expected at all.
Weren't they supposed to be the unbeatable force here? Wasn't this supposed to be easy?
The Cantel hadn't just felt confident out of arrogance. They'd sensed fear in this human, and to them, fear was a sign of weakness. Strong beings didn't show fear.
So what was with this human? He was clearly powerful, but he seemed terrified. Was he pretending?
Despite Spider-Man's fear, his abilities were undeniable. And in reality, it wasn't even Spider-Man who was in control but Charlie, who wasn't going to back down from a fight. These strange, lanky aliens weren't going to scare him.
One of the Cantel let out a guttural yell, and the rest finally stopped watching. They surged forward, a dark wave of alien bodies rushing toward Spider-Man.
The Cantel were built in a strange way. They had long, slender arms, with joints that bent at odd angles, allowing them to move in unpredictable ways. Some of them bent their arms backward or twisted in mid-step, making them hard to predict.
But Spider-Man's abilities were more than up to the challenge. With his spider-sense, he could detect every movement they made as if they were in slow motion. His superhuman agility allowed him to weave around their attacks, dodging their lunges and swipes.
If he'd been a hero who relied on set moves and routines, these creatures might've thrown him off balance. But Spider-Man's approach was simple: he dodged, he punched, he kicked. And with his armor-enhanced strength, he could easily take down multiple foes at once.
Spider-Man raised his wrist and fired a spider-web bomb. It exploded, sending thick webs over a group of aliens, trapping them where they stood.
The Cantel, never having seen a spider before, were baffled by the webs. They struggled, but within moments, they figured out how to cut through the threads.
"Oh, come on! You broke out of my webs?" Spider-Man muttered, annoyed.
With his left hand, he punched a hole through an alien's chest, while his right foot delivered a powerful kick to another, sending it sprawling. He dodged a swipe from the left, sidestepped an attack from the right, and ducked under another lunge, moving as if he were made of liquid. Surrounded as he was, none of the Cantel could get a firm grip on him.
While he fought off the front-line attackers, a few more Cantel began to close in from behind, waiting for an opening. They had figured out that he couldn't block attacks from every direction at once.
But Iron Spider-Man had more tricks up his sleeve.
With a sharp click, a hidden compartment on his back opened, and three golden, titanium-alloy spider legs extended, each tipped with a sharp blade. The Cantel closing in from behind were taken by surprise—one was impaled straight through the head, while the other two were swiped backward, stumbling as they tried to regain their footing.
"Activating one-hit kill mode," the suit's AI announced.
"Yes! Finally, some serious moves!" Spider-Man cheered, feeling more confident.
The three mechanical legs responded to his thoughts, moving as naturally as his arms and legs. They protected his vulnerable points when he couldn't, and they attacked when he needed an extra hand. With these extra limbs, he was almost untouchable, perfectly defending himself while landing blow after blow.
He ducked, dodging a grab, then jumped high to avoid a low sweep to his legs. As he spun, he brought his foot down in a powerful kick, sending an alien flying backward into two more. The three collided, tumbling together in a chaotic pile of twisted limbs.
"No dance partners? You guys don't do waltzes?" he joked, feeling a surge of confidence as he darted between attacks.
He flipped backward, using his arms to push off the ground and swing himself out of range as three more Cantel tried to tackle him from behind.
He flipped upside down, sticking to the ceiling with his feet. The lenses on his mask narrowed as he scanned the scene below.
"...looks like I won't be finding a dance partner here."
The Cantel, who had seen their comrade kicked into a pile of goo, stared in horror. Their shock was palpable even without faces.
Was every human this strong? This was nothing like what they'd heard.
Were they… tricked?