The battle between Excalibur and the Elementals continued. After Captain Britain made his move, another member of the team, Meggan, transformed herself into sentient water and began wrestling with Hydro-Man for control over the water body. The battle instantly fell into a stalemate. Meanwhile, the students who had arrived in Naples were treated to a direct view of a clash between local European superheroes and supervillains.
If one counted the British as European, that is.
Spider-Man, while keeping an eye on the battle, followed the pre-arranged plan and arrived at the Wild Pack's temporary base. He took out his custom Velocity Suit and put it on. Since he had dealt with Molten Man last time, he planned to face Cyclone this time.
Just as Peter was donning his gear, his Spider-Sense suddenly flared. He looked around, pulled off the Velocity Suit, walked out, and found Silvia, who was taking a coffee break.
"What is it? Ready to head out?"
"No, quite the opposite. There's something happening on your ship. There might be trouble with Molten Man."
Spider-Man's words put Silvia on high alert. She immediately led Spider-Man toward the room where Molten Man was being held, while simultaneously calling for all Wild Pack personnel to go on alert and notifying Silk and Black Cat.
Then, she looked at Spider-Man.
"Thanks for the tip. Honestly, you're trusting us a bit too much."
"I'm not trusting you, Spider-Man. Besides, even if nothing happens in the end, it's just a bit of extra work for everyone. The important thing is ensuring the prisoner remains secure."
At that moment, Molten Man, confined within the cell, was contemplating his life. This magically reinforced cage kept his spiritual form in a translucent, visible state. Every day, members of the Wild Pack would come to interrogate him for intelligence, but no matter what they asked, he wouldn't say a word.
Now Silvia knew why Molten Man remained silent. He must have had some sort of silent agreement with the mastermind to ensure he would be safely rescued. Thinking of this, Silvia raised her guard to the maximum.
At the same time, Felicia, who had received the message and was heading toward the hold where the cage was located, suddenly heard a very ominous sound coming from the side of the hull. She immediately leaped back to dodge, watching as the cabin wall was punched through by a fist and then ripped open. A muscular man in a blue-and-black skintight suit stepped inside. As Felicia stared at the others following him in, she was surprised to see a familiar face.
Sidewinder.
"Serpent Solutions? I thought you guys were in the legitimate security business!"
As Felicia spoke, she slid off to the side. She knew she couldn't guarantee a victory against this group alone, so her priority was to slip away, regroup, and tell Spider-Man that the attackers were the Serpent Society.
Of course, there was no real need for words. Simultaneously, a large number of the Serpent Society's augmented humans had entered the ship from various corners using their respective methods. Silvia soon received notifications and intel.
However, an even bigger problem stood right before them. Accompanied by a burst of green smoke, a group appeared in front of Silvia and Peter. Peter was quite surprised to see the newcomer, though in hindsight, it felt perfectly logical: "Madame Hydra. I didn't expect you to be involved in this."
"Long time no see, Spider-Man. Our company closed a... deal. After all, to deal with a security company of extraordinary combat capability, one must hire another security company." Madame Hydra flashed a smile. "I'm truly sorry, but many people are eyeing the Super Soldier project. You know that better than anyone, don't you?"
Even now, the Serpent Society had no intention of revealing themselves as the front for Hydra, even though their involvement in illegal human experimentation had basically been confirmed during the previous Super Soldier Serum incident. But that was a matter for the Pentagon. As long as they wore the veneer of the U.S. government, they could package themselves accordingly.
This time was likely the same.
"So this is just a case of Americans fighting amongst themselves?"
Silvia added a comment after hearing the explanation, aiming her gun at the woman in front of her and the seven or eight grotesque augmented humans behind her. "I hope Nick Fury can reimburse us for the repairs to this ship."
"Serpent Society, rescue our 'client'!"
Madame Hydra snapped her whip against the floor. Immediately, the group from the Serpent Society charged. Only a few Wild Pack soldiers and Spider-Man were there to defend. Peter lunged forward first, coming face-to-face with an old rival: "Oh, hey, I remember you. You're called... I forgot."
Looking at the woman with metal blades installed on her hands, Peter stuck a glob of webbing onto her face, yanked her up, and slammed her into another Serpent Society member. Then, a member he had never seen before rushed forward; he began to enlarge himself like Ant-Man, growing from nearly two meters to about three meters, before swinging a fist at Peter.
Peter leaped back and used a web line to stick to the opponent's body. The man's fist slammed into the floor, leaving a fist print in the steel hull, while corrosive gas was released from around his body.
"Face me, Spider-Man! I am Puff Adder!"
"What? Sorry, I couldn't hear you!" Bio-electricity surged through the webbing attached to Puff Adder, releasing a massive amount of current that knocked him unconscious instantly. "Your mic is peaking, pal. Next time, try an effect with a better current."
"Stop her from releasing Molten Man!"
Silvia made a split-second decision. As she spoke, she moved toward Madame Hydra, who was heading to release Molten Man. The woman was carrying a metal case; it wasn't hard to guess it contained the liquid metal used to reshape Molten Man's body.
She could not be allowed to succeed. Molten Man's threat was greater than all these augmented humans combined. However, a Serpent Society member whose legs had been modified into a snake tail coiled around Silvia like a serpent.
"Hello there, gorgeous. You plan to—AAAAAAAH!"
The Wild Pack's armor released a high-intensity electric shock, leaving the "snake" slumped on the ground. Silvia looked toward Madame Hydra without ceremony: "Ma'am, I suggest you stop immediately. Otherwise, you won't get anything you want."
"Is that so?"
Madame Hydra turned to Silvia with great interest, green magical energy appearing in her hands. "And how do you plan to stop me, little girl?"
Silvia raised her gun, aimed it at Madame Hydra, and pulled the trigger.
The gun didn't fire, but Molten Man's cage emitted a brilliant radiance. Then, Molten Man let out a harrowing wail. Madame Hydra looked at Silvia in surprise, but her hand didn't stop; she placed it directly on the cage door and swung it open.
Silvia was faster than her; the radiance had already completely eradicated Molten Man's spiritual form.
"You're more decisive than I thought, little girl."
Madame Hydra pulled back her hand, which was severely burned, and flashed a smile. "I'll remember you."
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi