[Max provided detailed background information: "This is Dr. Curt Connors. When I was working at Oscorp Industries, he was one of the lead scientists there! A brilliant researcher with genuine talent! Later, he conducted illegal experiments on himself and transformed into a lizard creature. He wanted to turn everyone in New York City into lizards like himself! The man is completely insane!"]
[Dr. Connors immediately denied Max's characterization with passionate conviction: "I'm not crazy, Max! Lizards represent the true direction of human evolution! We could eliminate disease, weakness, and death itself!"]
[Ned witnessed this exchange and whispered in amazement: "That dinosaur can actually speak perfect human language!"]
[MJ corrected him with scientific accuracy: "It's a lizard, not a dinosaur!"]
[Connors and Max didn't notice the conversation between the two teenagers. Connors stared at Max with scientific curiosity and asked: "I have to ask you something important. What exactly happened to your appearance? I distinctly remember you had prominent gap teeth, wore thick glasses, and were completely bald! Did you undergo extensive plastic surgery? You know, with my genetic enhancement research, I could make you look completely new in ways you never imagined!"]
[Max complained with obvious disgust: "You want to turn me into a giant lizard monster!"]
[Connors smiled with disturbing enthusiasm: "Exactly! That's precisely what I want to do!"]
[Marko couldn't tolerate their bizarre conversation any longer and interrupted with his arms crossed defensively: "Will you two please shut up? I need to know where we are!" The latter question was directed toward Ned and MJ.]
[Ned opened his mouth uncertainly and admitted: "It's honestly very hard to explain this situation to you."]
[MJ responded with straightforward honesty: "We're in a wizard's magical dungeon!"]
[Max frowned with growing skepticism: "A wizard's... magical dungeon?!! Are you serious?"]
[MJ shrugged with casual acceptance: "That's the only way I can accurately describe this place to you! This is genuinely a wizard's dungeon with real magic!"]
[Max felt increasingly annoyed by the mystical explanations: "I don't care about your so-called magic! I just want to understand and feel this incredible new energy flowing through me!"]
[He examined his hands with fascination. When he had been at the military research institute, he could sense that the electrical energy in the high-voltage power lines was significantly stronger than anything in his previous universe, because it was enhanced energy from Arc Reactor technology.]
[As he concentrated and tightened his grip, the lights throughout the basement containment area were affected by his electrical field and began flickering ominously.]
[At this moment, MJ's cell phone rang urgently, and she immediately answered: "Oh! Peter! Hey there!"]
["Are all those interdimensional people on your side? There should be an electrical guy and a sand-manipulating guy!"]
["Yeah! They're all securely locked up here in the containment cells!"]
["That's great news! I have to stay here for a while longer to repair all the infrastructure damage caused by our fight, otherwise the authorities will blame me for the destruction again!"]
[Spider-Man surveyed the broken high-voltage cables scattered around the area. This reconstruction work was definitely not going to be an easy job!]
[MJ didn't seem concerned about the delay: "Okay! Take your time!"]
["Um... without your help, I honestly can't handle this massive situation alone. Thank you so much for everything!"]
["Yeah! You're absolutely welcome!"]
[At this moment, Ned, who had been carefully examining the mysteriously transported tree, suddenly asked: "Hey! Ask him - is this supposed to be some kind of tree monster? Or maybe a scientist who was transformed into a tree?"]
[Max sneered with dismissive amusement: "It's just a regular tree! Nothing more than an ordinary tree!"]
"Hahaha! This little guy actually thought that tree was transformed from a human being! I have to say he's got quite the imagination!" Ned's innocent question made Gwen burst into laughter.
2nd Gen Spider-Man shook his head, feeling genuinely overwhelmed by the situation. It was perfectly normal for Connors and Max to know each other, considering they had both worked for the same company. However, this version of Max looked completely different from the one he was familiar with!
Max stared at his alternate self on the screen with wide, disbelieving eyes, then touched his own severely balding head, wondering why his appearance was so dramatically different. Could it be that after gaining electrical superpowers, he could somehow give himself magical plastic surgery?
However, the perceptive Gwen had developed a new theory. She believed that Connors and the others appearing on the screen were the original versions from the timeline footage they had previously watched, not the current versions who had been observing their own lives through the screen.
[The sun rose over the city horizon, indicating that morning had arrived. The Green Goblin's distinctive mask was hanging on a trash can in a dark alley, while Norman Osborn was carefully covering his glider with a protective cloth.]
[The Green Goblin's sinister voice echoed from the discarded mask: "You pathetic piece of garbage! This entire new world is waiting for us to conquer and dominate! Your cowardice and weakness make me absolutely sick!!!"]
[Norman turned around and looked at the mask with genuine horror and revulsion: "Please let me go! Just leave me alone!"]
["You're crouching in dark corners like a frightened animal... not daring to face your true self and embrace your real power!"]
["No! I won't let you control me anymore!!!" Norman's lips trembled with fear and determination. He spotted a heavy stone at his feet and immediately picked it up with shaking hands.]
["There's no use in running away from what you really are!"]
[Norman didn't wait for the malevolent inner voice to finish its taunting. He smashed the mask into pieces with the stone, fragments scattering across the alley, then ran desperately away from the location, leaving only the Green Goblin's evil laughter echoing ominously in the empty space.]
[The little spider gracefully jumped down from the high-voltage power transmission tower. He had been using his spider silk to carefully stick the broken electrical cables back together throughout the night. He examined the results of his exhausting repair work and noticed that someone was calling his phone.]
[He pulled out his damaged smartphone, and saw it was Aunt May calling: "Hey! Aunt May!"]
["Hey there, Peter! I was here at work... and then the person you're looking for just walked in!"]
[Spider-Man's expression immediately became deadly serious upon hearing this alarming news.]
When Harry saw his father's tormented face appearing on the screen, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply with resignation.
The Green Goblin incident had always been a painful thorn embedded in Norman's heart, deeply rooted and seemingly impossible to remove completely.
This psychological burden was also the primary reason why Norman had remained unemployed and mostly housebound since his release from the mental health facility. He had to maintain a low profile to reassure the public and various oversight agencies.
But now that he had appeared on the screen again, the people whose attention had gradually shifted away would undoubtedly refocus their scrutiny back on him, Harry, and the struggling Osborn Industries.
This represented a huge test for both father and son. Fortunately, Harry had participated in several citizen rescue operations alongside 1st Gen Spider-Man, which had earned him considerable favor and public support, so their situation wasn't completely hopeless.
However, they would definitely need to maintain an extremely low profile for the foreseeable future.
[At the Homeless Support Association building, the Spider-Man poster on the front sign had a large X painted over it with green paint, and next to it was written in the same threatening color: "Mysterio was right!"]
[The little spider swung down rapidly on his web lines and rushed through the entrance urgently, shouting with panic: "May! Where is Aunt May?"]
[A concerned staff member looked at the obviously anxious little spider and immediately pointed him toward the kitchen area: "She's over there!"]
[Spider-Man ran through the building without stopping, fearing that if he was even a moment too late, something terrible might happen to Aunt May.]
["Aunt May!" Spider-Man burst into the kitchen area and discovered Aunt May sitting calmly at a table with Norman Osborn.]
[After seeing Spider-Man's dramatic entrance, Aunt May laughed with warm affection: "Ah! Here he comes! Norman, this is my nephew Peter!"]
[Spider-Man stared intensely at Norman with barely concealed suspicion: "Norman Osborn... I thought you were supposed to be..."]
[Norman provided a reasonable explanation: "I saw Spider-Man featured in the advertisement for this community center, and I thought he might be able to help me with my situation. But you're clearly not the Spider-Man I know from my universe."]
[Norman understood perfectly well that the young Spider-Man standing before him was not the same person he had encountered in his own reality.]
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