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As night fell, Peter slipped into his red-and-blue Spider-suit and swung effortlessly through the buildings of Queens.
By the time he reached the abandoned warehouse they agreed on, a few familiar faces were already there under the dim lights.
[Daredevil Nearby]Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, leaned against a wall. His sharp hearing had already picked up Peter's light footsteps.
"You're here, Spider-Man," he said without even lifting his head.
"What the hell is going on?" Peter landed lightly on top of a shipping container. "That so-called Supreme High School Team is basically just beating people up in the streets!"
"It's worse than we thought," a deep voice came from the shadows.
Peter turned toward it. Luke Cage stood by a rusted shipping container, arms crossed, muscles bulging. It was him who'd just spoken.
Jessica Jones was perched on a pile of crates, holding half a bottle of whiskey, looking totally exhausted.
Iron Fist, Daniel Rand, sat cross-legged in a corner, hands resting on his knees, a faint Kunlun aura flowing around him.
Moon Knight, Marc Spector, leaned against a wall, his figure partially hidden under his white cloak. His voice was low and a little… off.
[Spider-Man Theme Restaurant]"They're coming. The moon told me they're coming."
White Tiger, Ava Ayala, crouched on a high beam like a cat, her pupils narrowing in the dark.
Peter blinked. "Uh… so, is this like… a secret meeting of the non-registered heroes?"
Luke Cage snorted. "No. This is the 'we're not letting the government walk us like dogs' alliance."
Jessica took a long swig. "Basically, we don't have Stark's tech, or mutant mind-control powers, but still…"
"But we're sure as hell not letting them slap handcuffs on us," Daredevil finished calmly.
Just then, the warehouse doors were kicked open!
Frank Castle, the Punisher, stormed in with a modified assault rifle slung over his shoulder. Blade followed close behind, pushing up his sunglasses.
"Heard you guys were planning to resist the government. Count me in," Blade said.
Iron Fist got to his feet, his fists glowing gold. "So what's the plan?"
[Daredevil Nearby]"We fight," Daredevil replied.
Moon Knight let out a low laugh. "The moon says yes."
Suddenly, Peter's Spidey-sense flared—and everyone else's heightened senses or instincts kicked in too!
"BOOM!!"
The warehouse roof was ripped clean off!
Speed Demon floated in mid-air, laughing wildly. "Found you, you little rats!"
Owlman dangled upside-down from a shattered steel beam like a bat, twirling a short blade in his fingers. "According to Article 7 of the Superhero Act… you're all criminals now."
Power Princess dropped to the ground with a crash, plunging her longsword into the concrete. "Surrender… or die."
Peter gulped and took a fighting stance. "Uh, guys, shouldn't we maybe—"
"—start fighting?" Click! The Punisher cocked his rifle.
Luke Cage cracked his knuckles. "I've been waiting for this."
Jessica smashed her bottle on the ground. "F**k it! Nobody's walking away clean tonight!"
Luke roared and charged Power Princess, swinging a steel-hard fist right at her face!
"BANG!"
She didn't even use her sword—just caught his punch with one hand and slammed her elbow into his chest!
"CRACK!"
Luke spat blood as he flew backward, smashing through a truck before he finally stopped.
"That's it?" Power Princess scoffed, shaking out her wrist. "This is what you call 'invulnerable'?"
Meanwhile, Speed Demon became a blur, zipping crazily around Spider-Man.
[Spider-Man Theme Restaurant]
"Too fast!" Peter dodged desperately, his Spider-Sense blaring like crazy—but it wasn't enough. A punch slammed into his gut, folding him in half and sending him flying.
"Your speed looks like slow-mo to me," Speed Demon sneered, stomping down on Peter's wrist.
"Ever consider surrendering? Get registered—you might just live a little longer."
On the edge of the battlefield, Nite Owl weaved in and out of the chaos, his short blade flashing and slicing, leaving trails of blood behind.
He casually flicked the blood from his blade and locked eyes with White Tiger.
Jessica Jones grabbed a steel bar and swung it at Doctor Spectrum, but the energy shield deflected it without a hitch.
"Boring," Doctor Spectrum yawned, raising a hand. A blast of violet energy hurled Jessica through the air.
Iron Fist barely finished gathering his golden chi when Arkham's spell shattered it—an eerie green skull bit down on his arm.
"Die!" Danny snarled, swinging back with a punch.
Moon Knight's white cloak was already soaked in blood. He panted, staring at the floating Hawkwoman.
"The moon says we won't last five more minutes."
"Then let's take some of 'em with us!" Punisher roared, unloading the last magazine of his rifle—but Hawkwoman's metallic wings deflected every bullet like nothing.
Blade finally managed to stab at Speed Demon's shoulder with his silver blade—only for the speedster to twist around, grab him by the neck, and lift him off the ground.
"A vampire?" Speed Demon tilted his head. "The law doesn't say we gotta take your kind alive."
But Blade broke free with brute strength and lunged back into the fray.
The street-level heroes were totally outmatched.
Jessica was kicked by Power Princess and smashed through multiple walls before collapsing, blood trickling from her lips.
Punisher's custom rifle was sliced clean in half by Nite Owl's blade, and Blade's sword was sent flying by Doctor Spectrum's shield.
Spider-Man's web got ripped apart effortlessly by Power Princess, and he was flung into the sky, crashing down hard onto a police car—right in front of a Spider-Man-themed diner.
"That's all you've got?" Power Princess laughed coldly, pointing her sword at the group."I expected a little more fight from you losers."
BOOM!!!
A beam of energy blasted down from the sky, slamming Nite Owl straight into the ground!
Everyone looked up.
Iron Man hovered in the air, his palm cannon still glowing. "Sorry to crash your party."
Adam floated beside him. "Looks like we got here just in time."
Power Princess narrowed her eyes. "Finally, some real opponents."
A furious roar echoed in from the distance.
"Now it's a real fight." Natasha's voice came from the shadows. She and Hawkeye stood on high ground, bow and gun locked on target.
The once-defeated street heroes found their hope rekindled. Their eyes lit up with fire again.
A green figure smashed down from above, landing right in front of Doctor Spectrum!
The impact cracked the asphalt across the street. Hulk's snarling face emerged through the smoke and dust.
High above, Hyperion's eyes darkened with seriousness. "I thought you'd be too scared to show up."
Just then, a golden portal swirled open at the center of the battlefield.
Jiro, Kara, and Wanda stepped through.
Kara's golden hair blew in the night wind, and her eyes glowed red. "I heard you were looking for a Kryptonian?"
Wanda's chaos magic spread like wildfire. "New game, new rules."
Jiro hovered high above, arms crossed, surveying the battlefield like a god.
The street-level heroes regrouped behind Iron Man. In an instant, the tides turned.
"Tonight, we change the rules," Tony said as his helmet snapped shut.
"Attack!" Jiro waved his hand.
"....."