Chapter 703

"Doctor Octopus? Who's that?" Peter asked as he swung after the Amazing Spider-Man.

"You don't know? He's one of the Sinister Six!" The Amazing Spider-Man shot webs rapidly, swinging between New York's skyscrapers until he reached the rooftop near Doctor Octopus.

"The Sinister Six?" Peter frowned. "Who are they? Why don't I know them?"

"You…" The Amazing Spider-Man paused, staring at Peter. "How long have you been a Spider-Man?"

"Almost two years. Why?"

"Then haven't you ever faced Sandman, Electro, or Doctor Octopus? Who have you fought since you started? Did you ever take down Green Goblin? Or the Lizard?"

Peter pursed his lips, recalling his nearly two-year career as a superhero—and realized he'd rarely faced villains alone.

The Lizard was fought alongside Stark; Target, one of Kingpin's men, was captured by him alone—but even that had been guided by others. In truth, he'd never handled an entire operation—from discovery to investigation to pursuit to arrest—by himself.

Peter explained his situation. The Amazing Spider-Man's eyes nearly popped out. "So what the hell have you been doing these past two years?"

Peter thought again. His mind flooded with experimental data. At first, he joined the Cryogenics Project team—developing cryogenic weapons, civilian applications of cryogenic devices, cost reduction, and so on.

Later, he joined Dr. Connors' Lizard Serum research, focusing on limb regeneration. Then he was reassigned to Materials, developing new alloys like molten steel. When the Solar System Development Plan heated up, he shifted to astronomical observation work.

Over these two years, Peter mastered every field: cryogenics, biology, physics, chemistry, materials science, astronomy.

He lived a three-point routine: school, lab, home. Only during commutes did he occasionally patrol, stopping random robbers. He'd never had time to focus on any single enemy.

"Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, and Kraven—these six are the Sinister Six. They're my primary enemies. I spend every day hunting them down. Remember: if you encounter them, capture them at all costs. Otherwise, they'll endanger New York." The Amazing Spider-Man warned.

Peter nodded vaguely, though he hadn't even remembered their names. Seeing this, the Amazing Spider-Man shook his head and shot another web, swinging down.

"Hey! Doctor Octopus! Look here! Spider-Man's here to teach you a lesson!"

The Amazing Spider-Man swung beneath one of Doctor Octopus's massive tentacles and kicked the side of another.

At that moment—*whoosh! —another figure darted past beneath the tentacle. Iron Man shouted: "Peter! What's wrong? Are your combat maneuvers rusty?!"

"Hey! Stark! I'm right here!" Peter shouted, annoyed, as he landed.

Iron Man had just flown past the tentacle when he fired a blast. The tentacle dodged—but collided with Peter's flying kick. *Boom! The tentacle was knocked off course. Iron Man executed a flawless midair maneuver, spinning 180 degrees and smashing his elbow into the tentacle.

"Nice!" Peter yelled.

"Hey! Wait! There's a misunderstanding!" Another Spider-Man swung in from the horizon.

But one tentacle swung toward him—he had to twist midair to dodge, shouting as he did: "Stop! It's a mistake, Dr. Otto! I shouldn't have left early…"

"Doctor Octopus! Your luck's run out!" The Amazing Spider-Man roared, punching the base of a nearby tentacle. Sparks erupted—and the tentacle began thrashing wildly.

"Stark! Hit the tentacle bases!" Peter shouted.

At that moment, struck at the tentacle roots, Doctor Octopus screamed in pain and went berserk—his limbs convulsing violently.

Iron Man tried to pull back for a better view—but the Amazing Spider-Man pressed the advantage, sticking a web to the tentacle closest to him.

The tentacle yanked toward him. Seeing this, Peter moved to follow up, flying toward the Amazing Spider-Man—just as the last arriving Spider-Man, apparently trying to mediate, also flew toward the same spot.

Iron Man tried to retreat—but his escape path was blocked by two approaching Spider-Men. Doctor Octopus strained to break free from the web, pulling hard in the opposite direction.

In the instant he snapped free, the tentacle whipped backward—slamming straight into Iron Man, who was calculating his flight path.

*Boom! Iron Man embedded himself in the wall. All three Spider-Men shouted and swung toward the building, clinging to the surface like spiders, crawling toward him.

Stark shook his head. "JARVIS, what's going on? Did I get a concussion? Why are there three Spider-Men?"

In his vision, three nearly identical Spider-Men leaned in, faces filled with concern. Stark waved his hand frantically—finally shooing them away.

He activated his armor, flying out of the wall, staring at the three Spider-Men. "Peter, what the hell are you doing? How are you three?"

Peter opened his mouth to speak—but the last arriving Spider-Man interrupted urgently: "Wait! I can explain. Doctor Otto isn't…"

But another tentacle lashed out. The three Spider-Men and Iron Man scattered. One kept shouting: "Stop! It's a misunderstanding!"

The other two Spider-Men: one attacked furiously, the other looked utterly bewildered. Three nearly identical figures darted between the tentacles. Iron Man hovered midair, covering his eyes. "Am I hallucinating from too many all-nighters? What is happening?!"

"Sir, scans indicate all three are Peter Parker."

"Peter didn't clone himself, did he?" Stark exclaimed. "I told him not to mess around with Connors' weird bio-tech! He split himself into three?!"

"Scans confirm these three Peter Parkers are not clones. They are distinct individuals," JARVIS replied.

But Doctor Octopus clearly wasn't letting Iron Man escape—he launched another long tentacle. JARVIS said:

"Scans indicate the tentacles are neural-linked. Neutralizing the core will disable them. Tactical recommendation: activate electroshock module…"

Instantly, electricity surged through Iron Man's armor. His arms retracted. He accelerated full speed, weaving through the chaotic tentacles. The space around him blurred—but the target's silhouette grew sharper.

Like a missile, Stark shot toward Doctor Octopus. He decelerated at the last moment, wrapping his arms around the man—and unleashed a full-body electric pulse.

Instantly, the four tentacles behind Doctor Octopus went limp. Sparks crackled, then fell. Doctor Octopus himself began to plummet.

Before he hit the ground, a Spider-Man caught him with a web and deposited him on the nearest rooftop.

The three Spider-Men gathered on the roof. Iron Man landed, arms crossed, scanning them. "Now. Explain. What is going on?"

"I'm Spider-Man!" Peter stepped forward, then lowered his voice. "They might be too…"

The Amazing Spider-Man shrugged. "Fine. I'm Spider-Man too—but not the one you know. Uh… you probably know me… I mean, in my universe. But…"

"Wait! Listen to me!" Another Spider-Man spoke up. "It's not what you think. Doctor Otto isn't evil—he just…"

At that moment, the fallen Doctor Octopus coughed twice and woke up. Slowly sitting up, the Amazing Spider-Man stepped back two paces, adopting a defensive stance.

Only now did Stark study the man with tentacles on his back. "Otto? You mean Otto Octavius? The nuclear physicist?"

"Yes." One Spider-Man stepped forward and helped Otto up. The Amazing Spider-Man shouted: "Hey! What are you doing? Why are you helping Doctor Octopus?!"

"Doctor Octopus? Who's that? This is Dr. Otto, head of the Joint Research Group for Nuclear Energy Projects. Uh… he just had a minor accident…"

Iron Man landed and walked over to Otto, scanning him. Otto's face was pale, with dark circles under his eyes. "What happened? How did you end up like this?"

Otto coughed violently. "You dare ask me that?! Tony Stark!"

"

Stark took a step back, staring at Otto. The bitterness in Otto's voice was like someone accusing him of stealing his girlfriend. Stark racked his brain—he hadn't been dating anyone lately. So why this venom?

"Dr. Otto, calm down. I know your work is hard, but…" the Spider-Man helping him said.

"Hard?" Otto whispered, then shouted: "Hard?! I'm exhausted! I'm dying!"

"You useless idiots!"

"You'd rather swing around over New York than come help in the lab!"

!"

"What's going on?" Stark asked Otto. Now he realized: Otto wasn't here to destroy. His mind seemed clear, and he showed no signs of wanting revenge. After all, those tentacles had been flailing over New York for hours—only shattered windows, no injuries.

Otto sighed deeply. The despair in his voice was crushing. He spoke:

"It all started when someone from the Solar System Development Project team came to me…"