The Avengers in Europe had failed to complete their original mission. They had not found the Winter Soldier, and now, they were receiving two pieces of extremely troubling news.
One was that Manhattan had fallen, with Spider-Man's status unknown. The other was that Kang the Conqueror's fleet had appeared in near-Earth space, threatening the entire world to accept his rule.
There was even a clear divide among the Avengers regarding their next course of action.
"We can't just leave that kid in Manhattan; he needs us!" Tony looked at Captain America, unable to fathom why the Captain was still hesitating. "What are we still waiting for?!"
"They have an entire city held hostage, Tony. Moreover, we cannot be certain that Spider-Man has truly failed. He might have made a tactical retreat, but that doesn't mean he's defeated," the Captain analyzed calmly. Tony, however, couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Against a ball of lightning? Just have Thor go in and ground him."
"I'm afraid what New York is facing now is more than just a ball of lightning, Tony." Pym handed a tablet to Tony with a worried expression. "Setting aside the possibility of Mysterio using a Cerebro-type device to interfere with Thor, look at this."
Tony Stark took the tablet. It displayed Stark Industries' satellite imagery of New York's current situation. Swarms of octopus-shaped robots, varying in size, had appeared in every street and alleyway of the city. Without question, they were equipped with lethal weaponry. Occasionally, the satellite captured the Defenders and other scattered superheroes putting up resistance against these robotic octopuses.
No one knew when these machines had been designed or built, but the sheer volume of them, coordinated with the Sinister Six, was holding all of New York hostage.
Furthermore, a more critical point remained: they were facing a far more formidable enemy. Kang the Conqueror and his future army were already stationed in low Earth orbit. A massive armada awaited any move by the Avengers. Nick Fury had just sent a message; he was secretly assembling a small strike team to enter Manhattan and deal with the Sinister Six, and he revealed the news that Spider-Man was not yet dead.
Along with that came another piece of bad news.
"The X-Men went missing on their way to support Spider-Man. Judging by the timeline, we can make a reasonable deduction: the Sinister Six actually has the support of Kang the Conqueror. They are attempting to scatter our forces."
Aside from Kang, there was likely no one else capable of making the majority of the X-Men vanish completely without a trace. Currently, the entire Xavier Institute was left with only Wolverine and Rogue as teachers, along with a group of students.
Simultaneously, even worse news arrived: the Fantastic Four were also missing.
"Reed was tinkering with time travel specifically to counter Kang the Conqueror." Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "But the Baxter Building is currently unresponsive. They've surely been dealt with by Kang as well."
The reality was indeed so. The Fantastic Four's time travel had gone smoothly; they had successfully arrived in the early Cretaceous period, watching dinosaurs bare their teeth. Then, Kang the Conqueror had secretly traveled back and bombed their Fantasticar along with the time-displacement device, trapping the Fantastic Four in a prehistoric era devoid of high technology.
Unless Reed Richards could somehow manufacture a time travel device out of Cretaceous raw materials, he was staying right there!
The Avengers, unaware of these specifics, had received Nick Fury's briefing. Due to the total fall of Manhattan, the United Nations had summoned world leaders to Shanghai for an emergency summit to discuss how to handle Kang the Conqueror.
No nation would voluntarily dissolve its government and hand the world over to a man claiming to be from the future who arrived with thousands of space warships. They needed to coordinate a strategy.
It was clear that under conventional warfare, the military strength of any nation was currently incapable of opposing these behemoths capable of interstellar travel. Therefore, the only solution they could devise was to replicate the Battle of New York—uniting all super-powered organizations from around the world to launch a joint strike against Kang.
The Captain was somewhat skeptical of this plan, but he still insisted that the Avengers head to Shanghai for the meeting first.
"Nick Fury said he has a plan, so we have to trust him."
"My god, Cap." Tony rolled his eyes again. "Nick Fury? You trust him?"
"I don't trust Fury's words, but I trust his capabilities. And we have to trust that kid. Let's go."
Queens, the Parker residence.
Although there was no actual footage showing how the Sinister Six had defeated Spider-Man, their unchecked rampage through New York heralded a grim fact: they had indeed overcome him.
"Though I despise that wall-crawler, I am certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that Spider-Man fought until the very last moment. At the very least, he was still fighting when the Daily Bugle's helicopter went down."
Jonah Jameson had resumed reporting on the incident after Electro restored the city's power. Having lost all employees on one of the Daily Bugle's helicopters, his eyes were bloodshot, and he had unexpectedly sided with Spider-Man.
"I am certain that as long as Spider-Man is alive, he will choose to fight to the end. He may be injured and in need of rest, but he will definitely step up!"
"J. Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle will also—"
Before Jameson could finish his sentence, a violent explosion tore a massive hole in the Daily Bugle's broadcasting studio. Scorpion of the Sinister Six stormed in, a cruel smile on his face.
"Hello there, Mr. Jameson..."
Gwen stood in the Parkers' living room, watching Uncle Ben and Aunt May, who were too frightened to look but too anxious to turn away from the television. She checked her phone irritably; Peter still hadn't answered any of her calls. Not just Peter, but her father hadn't picked up either.
Was it possible he was worried about exposing his location? How was he doing now...
Gwen suddenly thought of something. She stepped away from the living room and dialed another number. The call was picked up quickly.
"Hello, Cindy? When will you arrive... Are you sure...?"
"I'm sure. He's alive, but he's not in good shape." Cindy paused on the other end of the line. "I'll be there soon."
"Oh my god, is that Peter? He's alive?"
Hearing this, Gwen returned to the living room and saw a startling scene on the television: Spider-Man, clad in a black suit, burst into the studio. He clashed with the Scorpion who was threatening Jameson, and the two of them tumbled out of the building together.
That spider-suit looked like tactical armor, with many plate-like structures. And... for some reason, Gwen felt that it wasn't Peter.