Peter B. Parker's fist connected with the Green Goblin's jaw with a satisfying thwack, sending the winged monster spiraling into a support beam.
"And stay down!" Peter quipped, wiping sweat from his mask.
CRASH.
The glass wall of the control room didn't break; it exploded outward. A shadow the size of a vending machine plummeted from the upper level, landing with a tremor that shook the fillings of everyone in the room.
Peter B. spun around, reflexes screaming, and caught a massive fist just inches from his face.
"Oof." Peter's knees buckled under the pressure. "Hey, big guy. You're carrying a little extra holiday weight there."
"Damn you!"
Wilson Fisk tore away his usual cold, calculated facade. His face contorted with raw, grieving rage. He unleashed a brutal combination of strikes, moving with terrifying speed for a man of his size.
"Every single time! You crawling pests interfere at the crucial moment!"
WHAM.
A haymaker connected with Peter's jaw. Before the veteran Spider-Man could recover, Kingpin grabbed him by the throat and leg, using pure brute strength to press-slam him overhead and hurl him across the chamber.
Spider-Man's strength far exceeded ordinary humans. His mass, however, did not. Peter hit the far wall and slid down, groaning.
He shot a web line to the collider, catching himself before he hit the floor. He twisted his neck, vertebrae popping audibly. "Ever think about why we came to stop you? Maybe it's the whole 'destroying reality' thing?"
"You're confusing me."
Miles Morales dropped from the ceiling, landing in a crouch between Peter and the charging Kingpin. Electricity crackled violently around his black suit.
"Let me handle him," Miles said, his voice dropping an octave. "That's my responsibility."
Peter B. Parker looked at the kid, then at Kingpin, who was glaring murder at them both. "That tank? You sure, kid?"
Miles didn't speak. He just charged his venom blasts.
The two Spider-Men bumped fists—a passing of the torch—and leaped in opposite directions.
The particle collider was now screaming, a banshee wail of tearing spacetime. The closer one got to the center, the more the world looked like a fractured kaleidoscope. It was a time bomb ticking down to the end of New York.
The good news: Kingpin had lost control of the board.
Spider-Man Noir was systematically webbing up researchers, moving like a sepia-toned phantom. Miles was going toe-to-toe with Kingpin, his electric agility countering Fisk's brute force. The other Spiders were dismantling the Sinister Six with practiced efficiency.
Gwen, finding a gap in the chaos, launched herself toward the ceiling console, the override key in hand.
The raid was effectively won.
Which meant Jordan Evans's role shifted from "Main Tank" to "Loot Goblin."
He threw a few obligatory repulsor blasts to cover Peni Parker, then slipped away from the main brawl entirely. His thrusters carried him silently to the ground floor, toward a heavy reinforced door he had clocked earlier.
Target: Weapons Depot.
Obstacle: A Class-A Alloy Security Door.
Specifications matched a Federal Reserve vault.
"Knock knock," Jordan whispered.
He held out his hands. Two spheres of green, sickly fire condensed in his palms, pulsing with malevolent energy.
[Fantasy Card: Green Goblin Bomb] Type: Magic/Ability Card Origin: Looted from Norman Osborn (Earth-1610)
Blazing Flames: Projectiles explode on impact with high-yield thermal energy.
Achilles Tendon Ulcer: The fire is magical in nature; it burns longer, hotter, and is incredibly difficult to extinguish.
"Courtesy of Mr. Osborn."
Jordan pitched the firebombs. They struck the vault door in rapid succession.
BOOM. BOOM.
The green fire didn't just burn; it ate. The reinforced steel groaned, turned cherry red, and then crumbled like a wet cookie. A hole two meters tall gaped open, edges dripping with molten metal.
Jordan stepped through the flames, his HUD lighting up the dark room.
Rows of energy weapons gleamed on the racks.
"System," Jordan grinned. "Bag it all."
Blue psychic energy rippled outward from his body, enveloping every shelf and crate like a scanner beam.
Whoosh.
When the light faded, the room was empty. Not a screw was left behind. It was cleaner than if it had been scrubbed with bleach.
[Fantasy Card: Private Armory] Type: Item Card Description: A high-tech arsenal developed by Dr. Octopus and Kingpin. Even the Chitauri would be jealous.
Effect: Grants a mass-produced energy weapon arsenal sufficient for waging small-scale warfare.
"Loot secured."
Jordan returned to the main cavern just as the noise died down.
The collider was still spewing particles, but the villains were pacified. The Green Goblin was webbed to a pillar. Doc Ock was unconscious. Kingpin was pinned to the control panel, defeated by the new Spider-Man.
Miles stood panting, hands on his knees, then straightened into a classic hero pose.
"Where have you been?"
A white-hooded figure landed silently behind Jordan. Gwen pulled off her mask, her blonde hair spilling out. Her blue eyes were probing, suspicious but not hostile.
"Bathroom break," Jordan lied smoothly, retracting his faceplate. "Battle over?"
"Thanks to you. And everyone." Gwen gestured to the ceiling, where the other Spiders were gathering near the dimensional rift. "Come on. Everyone's waiting."
"Want a lift?"
"Hey, I haven't agreed to—"
Jordan grabbed her waist and shot skyward before she could finish the complaint.
They landed on the platform near the ceiling. Miles swung up a second later, greeting everyone with fist bumps. The adrenaline was fading, replaced by the heavy, melancholy realization of what came next.
"Gentlemen," Miles said, his voice soft. "It's time for you to go home."
"Yes. Time to go home."
Peni Parker stepped out of her battered SP//dr mech. The usually cheerful anime girl looked down, her expression heartbreakingly sad.
The air grew heavy. The scent of parting was stronger than the ozone of the collider.
Peter Porker scrambled up Spider-Man Noir's trench coat. "Don't be like that, folks! We'll all miss each other! But that's what makes the reunion sweet!"
"Right." Peter B. smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "We're a team now."
Jordan Evans, remembering the trailers for Across the Spider-Verse he'd seen in his previous life, couldn't help but crack a joke to lighten the mood. "Who knows? Maybe we'll have a chance to meet again sooner than you think."
"No way!" Peter B. threw his hands up. "I am not coming back to save the universe again! I need a nap!"
"That's too exhausting!" Peni agreed.
"Seriously!"
Laughter broke the tension. Miles manipulated the control panel. The beam shifted, the chaotic colors swirling into a stable vortex. A tunnel through the multiverse opened.
"Taking my leave now, everyone."
One by one, they dived. Noir tipped his hat. Gone. Ham saluted. Gone. Peni waved. Gone. Peter B. gave Miles a proud look, then fell backward into the stream.
"My turn."
Gwen nudged the distracted Jordan with her elbow. She turned to Miles, who looked like he was trying very hard not to cry. She smiled, a genuine, dazzling smile.
"I'll miss you guys. All of you."
"Yeah," Jordan said, looking at the portal. "See you later."
The contrast was stark. Gwen was saying goodbye to friends; Jordan sounded like he was leaving a convenience store.
Gwen rolled her eyes at him, helpless. Without further hesitation, she released her grip on the ceiling, twisted mid-air with graceful elegance, and let gravity pull her down. She vanished into the colorful stream of light.
Jordan Evans stood alone on the platform with Miles.
He snapped out of his thoughts. He was wrestling with a serious logistical problem.
How do I get back?
If he jumped into the portal now, the collider would spit him out in the Marvel Multiverse.
But he needed to go to the One-Punch Man universe.
He fingered the card in his pocket. [Black Box Fragment]. It was his ticket home, his personal dimensional door.