"Mr. Osborn? Why is it you?" Peter asked, joining the "UC Shock Department" as he watched Norman Osborn, still lively despite having only his upper body intact.
"Why can't it be me? You pitiful fools, just obediently act as my spatial anchor. That way, at least I can grant you eternal life!" Norman snarled as he struggled.
"Eternal life?" Gwen's voice was full of disdain. "In the form of a foul-smelling corpse?"
"Of course! That's the price of 'eternal life'!"
If he could still reflect and repent, he wouldn't be one of the most infamous villains in Marvel history. While Peter could somewhat sympathize with Harry's evil to a degree, Norman's malice was truly unbearable for him.
Norman tried to fight back, even pulling out a poison needle from a hidden pocket on his shoulder and aiming it at Atreus. Atreus drew his twin blades, and in a knockoff version of "Starburst Stream," easily sliced Norman's arms into 18 pieces in an instant.
As the scattered, stiff chunks of meat rained down like a small meat shower, the two Spider-Men didn't feel disgusted; instead, they felt a strange satisfaction.
"You scum! How dare you do this to me? I will be the immortal king of this world! Kneel before me now..."
Before Norman could finish, Atreus silenced him with a canister of thermite.
intense heat allowed this guest from the zombie universe to fully experience the "warm" hospitality of the local residents.
"What... exactly is going on?" Peter was full of confusion.
"It's simple. A parallel universe similar to ours was destroyed by a zombie virus. All the heroes and villain you know have turned into flesh-eating zombies. Now, they're constantly crossing dimensions, invading our world, trying to turn all of us into zombies," Atreus explained calmly, revealing the terrifying truth. Peter was shocked.
"It's true. I even teamed up with Kratos to take down your zombie counterpart earlier," Gwen confirmed.
Peter forced a wry smile. "Looks like we've got a lot of work to do."
Atreus sheathed his blades. "Even though I handle things differently than you, at least we share the same goal: the interests of all living beings."
The two Spider-Men nodded in agreement.
Atreus glanced at the battered Peter. "You two should go home and recover. My assistants will clean everything up here."
Peter was taken aback. "You don't plan to make this public?"
Atreus replied coldly, "In the face of zombie Superman, whose power could destroy the world, human efforts are meaningless. Revealing the truth will only cause unnecessary chaos. I don't know if zombie Superman will invade, so I have to prepare for the worst."
The two Spider-Men froze, recalling the overwhelming power of Superman they'd seen on TV, and they fell silent.
Superman stood at the pinnacle of Earth's extraordinary beings. Considering the heroes who had appeared so far, none could even come close to matching him.
Atreus had the Lance sisters cover the retreat of Peter's three women. With Captain George Stacy secretly helping, there was no trouble in evacuating the civilians.
As Peter and Gwen disappeared into the distance, Atreus refocused on the projection on his retinas.
Taking down the Green Goblin brought no surprises.
Given the Green Goblin's physical limitations, just earning a "+1 to Perception" and "+3 to Will" wasn't a bad outcome.
As for the "Pumpkin Bomb Formula," "Green Goblin Venom," and "Demon Glider Blueprints," Atreus casually accepted them.
He had no intention of using the bombs or poison, but the glider as a mode of transport? That was something he could consider—maybe Tony could work on it when he had time.
What Atreus didn't notice was that after Peter left, a small tail followed behind.
Earlier, the Parkers had been escorted to the police station to give statements, and after Gwen had taken Peter home, the Lance sisters dropped Liz off and finally escorted Mary Jane and Michelle to Peter's doorstep.
"Besides Peter, there's no one else inside," said the sisters, wearing egg-shaped metal masks.
Was this deliberate? Or accidental?
No!
It was deliberately accidental.
As the two women stared at Peter's ajar front door, their breathing became rapid.
In this situation, if it had been Liz, who had just lost her father, she might have been deeply conflicted. But Mary Jane, bold and carefree, had no reservations. In front of Michelle, she confidently opened the door.
"Wait! Peter's injured. Is this really..." Michelle protested.
"They said Peter is fine. Besides, after tonight, we might not get another chance."
Michelle fell silent.
"I don't care! If I don't do something tonight, I'll never forgive myself. If you have a problem, try and stop me. Or better yet, join me."
Michelle gritted her teeth. "Hmph! A good man needs to be fought for. Peter's not even married. And even if he were, so what?"
Under the mischievous gaze of the Lance sisters, the two women boldly charged in.
Sarah chuckled. "No mortal woman can resist a true hero..."
Peter was heavily injured. After returning home and gorging on food, he managed to devour half of the fridge's contents and could feel the muscles in his back regenerating.
The new skin and muscles were still delicate and would take time to fully heal. For now, it was all just surface-level.
As he let out a satisfied burp and collapsed on his bed, two women, who he couldn't possibly refuse, stormed into his room...
"No! Wait! This isn't right." Peter was dumbfounded.
"Oh—our Peter, you're so handsome and charming tonight."
"Don't feel any pressure. This is just our way of thanking you."
Peter ultimately didn't resist. In fact, he felt incredibly conflicted. Liz's dad had died, and he felt guilty about it. But when he returned, Gwen had told him that Liz's father wasn't as innocent as he seemed—Adrian had several henchmen who were registered criminals at the police station.
Peter was confused.
And at that moment, his destined one, Mary Jane, arrived. Peter found himself without much will to resist.
As for the two women, after experiencing intense fear, Peter was the only one who could give them a sense of security.
And so, high schooler Peter... lost his morals!
That night, many things happened.
Caught in a swirl of pink emotions, Peter remained unaware as the TV continuously broadcast news about the Osborn Corporation.
"The infamous Norman Osborn, the largest shareholder of Osborn Corporation, along with his son Harry Osborn, have been identified by the police as the masterminds and culprits behind the Empire State Building terror incident. They held innocent civilians hostage, forcing Spider-Man into a confrontation. In the process, they cruelly killed more than 50 innocents, including the building's security personnel."
The screen showed footage from inside the Empire State Building, clearly depicting Harry killing a security guard without hesitation.
"Recently, Osborn Corporation has been embroiled in multiple illegal human bio-modification scandals. From Dr. Connors, the Lizard who wreaked havoc on the Golden Gate Bridge, to Electro, who recently attacked power plants, and now to the kidnapping and murder at the Empire State Building, all the evidence points to the Osborn father and son..."
(End of Chapter)