Gwen stared blankly at the red and blue figure before her, finally able to breathe again. The red-and-blue metallic suit—it had to be him.
Wait, who was that who had just called out Spider-Man's name? She suddenly realized.
In front of her, Charlie casually held back a steel fist with one hand, peering out to look at the Rhino.
"Hey, Big Rhino, is it the rainy season or the dry season in the African savanna right now?"
"Idiot, how would I know that?!"
Alexei snapped back to his senses and immediately controlled the Rhino mech to unleash another burst of strength, this time several tons of force.
Vroom~
The engine roared, mechanical sounds whirring rapidly, yet Charlie remained nonchalant, blocking the force with just one hand.
"Alright, I guess you didn't like watching nature shows when you were a kid."
With that, Charlie shifted his body away from the steel fist, sliding skillfully to the back of the mech.
"What?!"
Before the mech could move again, Charlie leapt onto its massive structure, climbing nimbly over the metal plating. Alexei lost sight of his target.
"Damn it, get down here!!"
Alexei tried to swat the pesky bug away with the mech's iron arms, but the clumsy machine couldn't even touch a hair on Charlie's head.
Probably because he was wearing a mask.
Crack, crack, crack!
In an instant, Charlie flipped and landed gracefully on the ground, yanking the webbing in his hands taut.
Snap, snap, snap!
The Rhino mech's metallic armor sparked under the tension of the web trap, shuddering violently as it became entangled, losing the ability to move freely.
"Damn it, what have you done to me?"
From within the mech came Alexei's frantic curses. The more he struggled, the more the mech became entangled in the web.
As the webbing sliced through layers of metal, Alexei realized what was happening.
He had seen similar footage online—back then, that giant red octopus was defeated using the same move.
It was the webs! The black Spider-Man must be him too.
Seeing that the Rhino had stopped resisting, Charlie turned around and smiled. "If you don't have a reactor, you shouldn't try using a suit. It's just not challenging enough."
Though the Rhino mech was huge, it was too slow. Its punch strength was around a dozen tons, but it lacked advanced weaponry.
At best, it could bully some mutants.
Meanwhile, with the Rhino mech restrained, Gwen and Mary Jane finally relaxed.
"Spider-Man, thank you."
"It's too early to thank him."
The voice from inside the Rhino interrupted their gratitude. The mech's chest compartment door creaked open slightly, only to be held shut by the webs.
"Spider-Man, sorry to bother you, but I'd like to step out now," the bald brute said gruffly.
Charlie blinked. "Pretty polite, actually."
A second later, he yanked the webbing hard, sealing the hatch shut.
"You're better off staying inside."
With that, Charlie tapped a device on his wrist.
"Captain, I've got a situation here. Track my location and send a team over."
"Understood," came Carter's immediate reply on the other end.
After ending the call, Charlie ripped open a piece of the cockpit's metal plating, revealing Alexei's head.
"Tell me, why are you after those mutants?" he asked.
Alexei stuck his head out through the hole in the cockpit, looking around.
He grunted. "To deliver them to Kingpin, of course."
"And then what?" Charlie pressed.
Alexei retreated back into the cockpit, fumbling for something inside.
"I'm just a thug. I don't know much."
"Will you tell me?"
"I heard they're extracting something important from their bodies, but that's all I know."
"You're surprisingly honest."
Charlie had thought this guy wouldn't say anything.
"Got it."
Suddenly, Alexei let out a laugh from inside the cockpit. "Hahaha, Spider-Man, your doom is near."
"Huh?"
With his spider-sense flaring, Charlie leaped from the treetops without hesitation, the webbing trap slicing through the Rhino mech.
Boom~
Crack, crack, crack!
Sparks flew, debris scattered, and Alexei's body, exposed from the wreckage, was tightly bound by the shimmering web.
But it seemed too late.
Alexei, with a manic grin, held half of a mutated spider's body in his mouth. As he slurped it down, the entire spider burst into a thick, protein-rich goo that he quickly swallowed.
"What?!"
"He actually ate the mutated spider!!"
Gwen and Mary Jane stared in disbelief.
But Charlie's spider-sense went wild.
Without waiting to see what would happen next, Charlie's muscles tensed, and he tightened the web trap, attempting to crush Alexei's body.
Squelch!
"Ahhh!!"
As the web cut into Alexei's flesh, his expression turned grotesque. He roared in pain as his body swelled and mutated rapidly, bones cracking as his blackened blood dissolved the shimmering web.
Crack, crack, crack!
The mutation continued, his mouth splitting open to reveal a disgusting spider maw. His limbs twisted grotesquely, while his skin sprouted dense black bristles, and jagged spider legs burst from his back.
A terrifying spider-monster was born.
Fear and malice radiated from him.
Seeing the horrifying creature before them, Gwen and Mary Jane stumbled back, their faces pale, while Charlie's expression grew tense.
After devouring the mutated spider, Alexei's blood could melt the web trap—it was as if he had transformed into a creature specifically designed to counter Spider-Man's abilities.
"Hiss!!"
The monstrous Alexei shrieked at Charlie. "Spider-Man, let me devour you!"
Thwip, thwip, thwip!!!
As the words left his mouth, streams of white webbing shot from his maw, engulfing Charlie and several trees.
In response, Charlie switched to synthetic web mode.
Thwip!!
In burst mode, their webs clashed mid-air.
In just a moment's delay, Charlie swung to a nearby tree branch, avoiding the corrosive web.
Turning back, he saw Alexei's webs easily dissolve his synthetic strands and wrap around the trees.
Sssss~~
White smoke rose as the trees melted under the acid-like webbing.
"Wow, acid webs, huh?"
From his web slingshot, Charlie gave a thumbs-up.
Boom!!
The red and blue blur streaked past Alexei, gripping one of the spider legs protruding from his back.
"Time to fly~"
"No!"
In the night-shrouded forest, the spider-monster was hurled dozens of meters into the air, tumbling down in freefall.
"Damn bug."
As he plummeted, Alexei fixed his gaze on Charlie, sharp spider limbs poised to strike with deadly intent.
"You're a bug too, now."
Charlie shot back, launching himself from the web slingshot straight at the descending spider-monster.
"Die!" Alexei thrust his spider limbs downward.
"Sorry, not dying today."
Charlie's eyes gleamed red as black liquid spread over his body, forming four sleek spider-arms.
Clang, clang, clang~
In an instant, their spider-arms clashed in mid-air, sparks flying as shattered limbs and black blood fell.
With a dull thud, Alexei's body was sent hurtling skyward once more.
"Friendly Neighborhood Soaring Dragon Punch!"