"Jarvis, scan the spaceship."
"Analyze the best entry point!"
"Understood, sir!"
Before Tony, the spaceship's structure quickly appears in a hologram, with the optimal entry marked clearly.
"Alright, let's do this."
The Mark 6 suit surges forward at top speed, heading straight toward the optimal entry point.
"Looks like I should keep some distance…" Tony mutters, lifting his repulsor cannon and blasting the hatch. The door warps instantly from the impact.
He grabs onto the door, pulling it off in one swift motion. The sudden difference in pressure between the interior and exterior of the spaceship creates a fierce gust of wind. If not for the Mark 6, Tony would have been blown away instantly.
"Sir, this is the storage compartment. If you go through the next door, you'll reach the control room," Jarvis quickly guides him.
"Alright. I hope Reed and the others are okay."
---
On the ground:
Gwen swings through the air on her webbing, saving people stranded on their own, but the sheer number of people in need overwhelms her.
Seeing the crowds below and then glancing at the spaceship above, she knows that the key to solving the problem lies up there.
"If only I could contact Tony right now…" she sighs to herself.
The AI, Red Queen, responds immediately, "No problem, Miss Gwen."
"I can establish a communication network with Tony."
"Great! I want to ask him about his plan and see if he needs help."
"One moment, Miss Gwen."
As she waits for Red Queen to set up the connection, Gwen's rescue efforts don't slow down at all.
Meanwhile, the spaceship above continues its descent along its original trajectory.
In the control room, Tony forcefully pulls open another hatch. Without energy from the power source, every door on the ship must be operated manually.
Tony opens the control room door. Inside, it's pitch-black, but this doesn't hinder his vision. Jarvis quickly marks the four individuals seated at the controls and checks their vital signs.
"Sir, Dr. Reed and the others are only unconscious, no serious injuries," Jarvis reports.
Tony lets out a breath and teases, "You guys have it easy. It's chaos outside, and here you are, sleeping."
Despite the banter, he quickly issues his next instruction, "Jarvis…"
Just then, an unexpected voice interrupts him.
"Hey, Iron Man! What's the plan, and let me know if there's anything I can help with."
Tony pauses, recognizing the familiar voice.
"Spider-Woman?"
"Yeah, it's me!"
"How did you hack into Jarvis's…?"
Tony doesn't bother finishing the question; there are more important matters to attend to.
"I'm planning to use the Arc Reactor as a backup power source for the ship. I'll restart it so we can change its descent trajectory and have it crash somewhere else."
As Tony explains, a thought crosses his mind. He remembers the webs on Iron Monger, which he had studied. The web's resilience was almost unbelievable.
In Jarvis's digital simulations, with a sufficient quantity, it could even halt a high-speed train.
After hearing Tony's plan, Red Queen calculates its success rate on Gwen's end and shares the results.
"Good plan. Anything I can help with?"
"I wasn't going to ask for help, but now that you're here…"
As Gwen swings from her webs, helping clear the crowd, she says, "Tell me, Tony."
"I've located the power source compartment and am installing the Arc Reactor now. Once it's powered up, the ship will fall in an unpopulated area."
"But there are still four people on board with me. To prevent the ship from disintegrating on impact, I'll need you to spin a massive web."
Gwen quickly understands Tony's idea and replies, "Got it. I'm on my way."
"Do you know where the ship will crash?" Tony asks, surprised, since he hasn't even mentioned it.
"Of course, in the mountains outside the city."
"It's the nearest uninhabited location and the only viable place to change its trajectory."
Tony nods, impressed. "Looks like I underestimated you."
In the control room, Tony's faceplate retracts, revealing a complex network of circuits in front of him.
"Spider-Woman, let's get started."
He removes the Arc Reactor from his Mark 6 chest piece, allowing his suit's secondary unit to replace it. Then, he quickly connects the Arc Reactor to the ship's backup power supply.
Once connected, Tony pulls the lever beside him. Instantly, lights and electronics flicker on throughout the control room.
"Jarvis, it's all up to you now!"
"Understood, sir."
With the ship's system fully under Jarvis's control, it begins to execute the plan precisely as needed. Tony, however, can't leave immediately; if something goes wrong, all their previous efforts will be for nothing.
As for taking Reed and the others with him now, that's even more impossible. With the extreme heat generated by the ship's friction with the atmosphere, Reed and the others would be charred in an instant.
---
"Chief, look," a detective says to George, pointing to the sky.
"Spider-Woman took off!"
George looks up, seeing Gwen swinging away on her webs. Though his expression is conflicted, he quickly regains his composure.
"Spider-Woman wouldn't run away. She must have thought of another solution."
"Focus on the evacuation and keep the crowd moving," he instructs firmly.
Under George's steady leadership, the detectives say no more and continue their duties.
However, in the crowd, several people notice Gwen swinging away.
"Look! Spider-Woman is running!"
The shouts of a few catch the attention of more New Yorkers, and they all turn to see Gwen swinging overhead, moving away from the scene.
"I knew it! She's afraid, abandoning us!"
"All that 'friendly neighborhood' stuff—she's just another coward, saving a few people and then fleeing!"
"Some Spider-Woman! Just another mutant trying to atone for their crimes!"
"Spider-Woman would never do that! She saved me once!"
"Oh, come on, you saw her leave, didn't you? She's a joke!"
And so, the crowd murmurs and opinions spread, doubting the very hero who had been there to save them.
....
Though a few voices rose to support Gwen, they were quickly drowned out by angry shouts. These people didn't care what Spider-Woman had done in the past to protect the city.
They only focused on what they were seeing now, voicing their darkest thoughts. To them, as long as they hadn't yet been rescued, it didn't matter why Spider-Woman left. In their eyes, Spider-Woman was at fault.
Swinging away on her web, Gwen was unaware of the harsh judgments coming from the crowd below.
However, Alan, standing on a nearby building, heard it all clearly. His face showed no anger, only a calm gaze directed at those criticizing Spider-Woman. Under their lead, more people were swept up in the rising tide of discontent.
George, managing the situation below, noticed the dissenting voices among the crowd. Yet, he knew Spider-Woman was not someone who would abandon them.
Even George himself didn't know when his view of vigilantes had completely changed, but now he had an unshakable trust in Spider-Woman. He believed that even if the whole world turned its back on her, Spider-Woman would remain loyal to her mission.
At that moment, a sleazy-looking man with a hunched posture pushed through the crowd, grabbing a detective by the collar.
"Are you detectives seeing this?" he sneered. "That coward Spider-Woman ran off! Aren't you going to go after her and bring her back? She abandoned us!"
Caught off guard, the detective looked stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.
But George charged forward, his face full of fury, and without hesitation, he kicked the man away. The sleazy man flew backward, crashing into a nearby water fountain.
Struggling to get up, he glared at George and opened his mouth to shout, "Police brutality–!"
But before he could finish, George strode over with an imposing presence, yelling, "Now, get lost!"
"Spider-Woman doesn't owe you anything. She doesn't owe anyone."
"New York owes her!"
George's powerful voice drew the attention of several people nearby, who paused to watch despite the evacuation efforts. People are naturally drawn to unexpected events, and this was no exception.
Seeing the eyes on him, George continued, "Spider-Woman would never run. I trust her – she would never run!"
His words quieted the crowd, which had been buzzing with complaints. At that moment, a little girl in the crowd clutched a Spider-Woman doll in her hand, standing behind George. She hugged her toy tightly and said, "I believe in Spider-Woman too."
"Me too…" another voice echoed.
"It was Spider-Woman who brought me down from the 11th floor when everyone else left me behind! I know she wouldn't run!"
"Last time, when I was at the bank, robbers showed up – and Spider-Woman saved me."
"I believe in Spider-Woman!"
"Just a moment ago, Spider-Woman had saved my child, and she even gave a lesson to the guy who threw my kid!"
One after another, people started to speak up, each voicing, "I believe in Spider-Woman."
Realizing he was now the target of public scorn, the sleazy man quickly slipped away. Those who had been disparaging Spider-Woman moments earlier now fell silent. They'd enjoyed the thrill of riling up the crowd, but when faced with the responsibility of their words, they all fell mute.
George and the other detectives looked around with relief. Supporting Spider-Woman seemed to have sparked an unexpected sense of pride among the people. Some even took it upon themselves to help with the evacuation.
"Red Queen, did you record all that?" Alan asked, a smile on his face as he looked at George.
"Yes, Master. I can show it to Miss Gwen when we return."
"I think she'll be very happy to see this."
---
Meanwhile, on the other side of New York City, a green figure flew rapidly through the sky. As the distance closed, the Green Goblin's enhanced eyesight began to make out what was falling.
"Haha! Looks like Reed's experiment failed. NASA's spaceship is crashing down."
"Oh, the fireworks this'll make when it hits New York… can't wait to see that!"
Back at Tony's party, Norman had overheard Reed talking about their spaceship model and launch time. Now, seeing the ship plummeting, the Green Goblin immediately realized it was Reed's.
Before long, the Green Goblin reached the skies above the city, staring down at the evacuating crowds below.
An evil, thrilling thought immediately surfaced in his mind.
"So many people... If they were all frozen into ice sculptures in an instant," he mused, "and then, when Reed's spaceship crashes down—the beauty of that scene..."
The Green Goblin stroked his face with a twisted, delighted expression. Just the thought of blood and flesh splattering everywhere filled him with an indescribable pleasure.
Acting on impulse, the Goblin reached into his waist pouch, pulling out a handful of pumpkin bombs. He dove toward the crowd.
"Before I freeze you all, let me hear your screams of agony!"
He knew that just by diving down like this, he could trigger mass panic. In the ensuing chaos, people would trample each other in a desperate frenzy.
But as the Green Goblin dived with glee, a sudden voice interrupted him.
"Hey!"
Standing with one foot on the edge of a rooftop, Alan glared at the troublemaking Goblin.
Irritated at being interrupted, the Goblin whipped his head around. "Who dares—!"
"E… E… Emperor…"
Upon seeing the Emperor atop the building, all excitement drained from the Green Goblin. In its place was a chill that froze him to the core.
That night, the memory of being repeatedly dismembered by the Emperor was still fresh in his mind.
Why… Why was the Emperor here?
Escape! He had to escape—immediately!
Without hesitation, the Goblin transformed his pumpkin bombs into smoke bombs, crushing them all at once. Thick green smoke exploded around him, hiding him from sight as he sped away on his glider at maximum speed.
Clearly, Alan had left a deep shadow over him.
Watching the green smoke fill the air, Alan waved his hand, conjuring a gust of wind that instantly blew the smoke away. The Goblin was already nowhere to be seen.
"Am I really that scary?"
"Every time he sees me, it's like he's seen a ghost..."
On the ground, George looked up, his expression serious, noticing the sudden appearance of green smoke.
"The Green Goblin... At a time like this…"
The next moment, he watched the smoke dissipate, and saw no sign of the Goblin. Relieved, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of suspicion.
"Could it be..."
"The Emperor is here too..."
Above the Osborn Industries building...
The Green Goblin was panting heavily, his arms shredded, his body covered in cuts and bruises. Although the pumpkin bombs had transformed into smoke, the blast's fragments still packed a powerful impact, leaving his body in tatters.
"Thank… goodness I got away…" he muttered.
"Emperor, just you wait," he hissed, his eyes gleaming with a sinister red light. "When the master returns, you'll pay the price…"
Gradually, the sinister glow faded as he returned to his form as Norman…
...