The entire world seemed to rewind in an instant.
Steel beams floated back into place.
Concrete walls lifted and sealed themselves together.
Dust that had hung heavy in the air flowed backward, filling cracks and gaps in the structure.
The Spider-Men stared in stunned silence. To their eyes, it was as if an invisible hand had wound back the clock itself. Within moments, the twenty-meter-high collider laboratory stood completely restored, glass panes flawless and transparent once more.
On the other side, the moment Malrick began casting, Deadpool's eyes widened beneath his mask. He struggled furiously in the webs binding him, shaking his body and twisting his hips in an effort to shout something out. But time ran out.
Just as the Adamantium plating sealed in the building materials—and him with it—the younger Spider-Men yanked him free with their webs. He flew across the room in an awkward arc, crashed headfirst onto the ground, and rolled over in a heap.
Tearing the webs off, Deadpool gasped.
"Oh my god! Did I just see what I think I saw? We've got ourselves a Harry Potter in the Marvel Universe!"
He flipped onto his back with a sickening crack, his spine clearly broken—yet he still raised a finger to point at Malrick.
"Wait… don't tell me… You're actually Peter Harry Potter Parker!"
"I'm no magician," Malrick replied calmly, "I'm a wizard. And I'm not Peter."
The Spider-Men gathered around, eyes wide in amazement.
"You just restored the whole lab, right?"
"Can you do that again?"
"I've never even seen Doctor Strange use magic like that."
"Wait, maybe he skipped that lesson at Kamar-Taj!"
"Where's your wand? Wizards need wands, don't they?"
They surrounded Malrick like an orchestra tuning up—voices rising and falling in chaotic harmony. Gwen and Spider-Ham even lifted his sleeve to check if he had a wand strapped underneath.
"Enough already! How are you any different from Deadpool?" Malrick exclaimed in exasperation.
Instantly, silence. The thought of being compared to Deadpool sent a shiver down their spines.
Before the quiet could settle, Deadpool let out a groan, straightened his broken spine with another audible crack, and ran toward the group with arms wide open.
"I approve of Harry Potter! Peters, listen—if our Deadpool sword and Spider-eggs ever meet, you'll see we're a perfect—"
Splat!
A ball of web plastered across his mouth. Then another. And another.
Within seconds, every Spider-Man had fired their webs, burying him completely beneath a sticky white cocoon.
At last, the collider lab was quiet.
Spider-Man of Earth-616 lowered his hand from Malrick's shoulder, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
"…Thanks to Malrick for repairing the collider. I think we can start it up now, don't you agree?"
"Exactly."
"I agree."
"Let's go—I still have homework waiting."
The younger Spider-Men scattered into action. Geniuses, each of them, they had the collider back online in under ten minutes.
Meanwhile, Gwen and Spider-Man Noir lingered behind to say their goodbyes.
"I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. I feel like I wasted this whole week doing nothing," Gwen admitted with a sigh.
"Think of it as a vacation," Spider-Ham said, hefting Mjolnir. At that moment, he was busy bashing Deadpool's head with the enchanted hammer, keeping him down.
Deadpool, who had already tried to cut his way free and surprise-hug Spider-Ham, lay beneath the blows making muffled noises that sounded halfway between agony and delight.
"Gwen," Spider-Ham grunted, "just… ignore him."
"I'll miss you all," Gwen said sincerely. "Back home, I won't have anyone else who knows my identity."
"Then why not tell your dad?" Little Peter asked. "I would have told Aunt May already, and Sherry helps me keep secrets at school."
Gwen chuckled, flicking his forehead gently. "That's different. If you get into a fight at school, would you really tell Aunt May?"
Little Peter thought about it, then shook his head. "No."
"Wait, wait," Malrick interrupted. "Why are you encouraging him to think about fighting?"
"Sorry!" Gwen stuck out her tongue, then quickly added, "Don't fight at school, Peter. That's wrong."
"Not just wrong—irresponsible," Malrick said, crouching down to look Little Peter in the eye. "Listen, if you ever fight, you can't leave evidence. Find an empty corner, hit hard, and if you're losing, call Sherry. Just don't lose."
"Uh… isn't that worse?" Little Peter stammered, eyes wide.
"Malrick!" Gwen groaned, slapping her forehead. "Are you seriously teaching him that?" She wagged a finger at Peter. "Don't listen to him. With great power comes great responsibility. Superheroes protect people. Got it?"
"Yes! I want to be a real superhero, just like everyone else!" Little Peter's eyes shone.
Malrick smirked. "Really? Then tell me, what's the best part about being Spider-Man?"
Peter thought hard. "You can deliver food really fast?"
"Genius!" Malrick gave him a thumbs up.
"No!" Gwen shot him a look. "It's about saving lives."
Before she could continue, a loud crash echoed from above. The control room walls shook violently.
Malrick's gaze snapped upward—his vision cutting through the wall. Kingpin had forced his way in with an army of thugs.
The Spider-Men's senses all went off at once.
"Oh no, danger!" Gwen cried. She fired a web to the wall and another toward Malrick and Peter, trying to pull them all to safety.