Chapter 883

In the southeastern part of New York, on the roof of a tall building, several figures stood atop it, and behind them, past one shadow after another, stood several cameras.

At that moment, a chubby cameraman rushed forward with his camera, aimed the lens at one of the figures, gave a signal, and the figure immediately turned toward the lens, cleared his throat, and spoke:

"Good evening, New Yorkers! As you can see, the New Warriors team is back in action—this time, our target is a group of escaped convicts hiding in a chemical plant! Since fleeing from Raft Prison, they've been wreaking havoc in the surrounding area!"

"According to our prior intelligence, extremely dangerous criminals like Coldheart, Nitro, and Rampage are hiding here!"

"And we—the new generation of Warriors—will eliminate these criminals, and we'll do it better than those famous superheroes! Citizens, get ready for the New Warriors' performance!"

"

After speaking, several figures leapt from the building's roof, leaving only their stylish silhouettes in the camera's frame.

But Spider-Man standing on a distant skyscraper frowned deeply and spoke into his communicator: "Get over here—something's happened!"

All the Spider-Men rushed toward the location, and in their earpieces, the deep voice of the Amazing Spider-Man echoed:

"I don't know if this has happened in your universe, but in mine, one night, a young superhero team called the New Warriors caused a massive explosion during a crime-fighting operation… involving a criminal named Nitro…"

"In that explosion, 612 people died—the most horrific and brutal disaster of this century… but that wasn't the end."

"The public lost trust in superheroes, seeing us as terrifying ticking bombs—so Congress proposed the Superhero Registration Act."

Peter seemed to hear a trembling, almost tearful quaver in the Amazing Spider-Man's voice—he wasn't sure if it was his imagination—but he heard the voice in his earpiece say:

"Because of it, Iron Man and Captain America broke apart—the longest, most terrifying superhero war in history began."

"In that war, no one escaped unscathed—everyone was forced to pick a side—until I realized, in that war, there were no winners. Everyone lost."

"It was during that war that I abandoned my naive illusions and deeply understood: if I can only be a saint, I'll never stop the bullets from the shadows…"

Though the Amazing Spider-Man didn't say it outright, many Spider-Men who hadn't lived through it understood his implications—clearly, in his universe, the Civil War wasn't a simple event; behind it lay even deeper manipulators.

Peter pressed his earpiece and said: "In this universe, the Superhero Registration Act has been proposed—but unfortunately, it wasn't passed."

"Not passed?? Why?!

"The Amazing Spider-Man's voice rang out in disbelief.

"I'll tell you what happened after this is over," Peter replied.

"As for that terrible explosion you mentioned—we'll stop this tragedy from happening. New Warriors? I don't care where they came from—they won't cause chaos here."

Saying this, Peter swung down directly to the chemical plant's roof. Soon, several figures landed behind him—all the Spider-Men had arrived.

Peter tapped the device on his wrist and said: "JARVIS provided us with a detailed map—we'll enter through the rooftop door and take down the criminals before those kids storm in."

He led the way toward the rooftop door; the Spider-Men followed, descending through the door and sticking silently to ceilings and walls, closing in on the warehouse interior without a sound.

But as the Spider-Men hid in the shadows, a loud "bang" echoed—the warehouse door was kicked open. Peter's eyes widened as he saw a group of superheroes, clad in various tight-fitting suits, striding boldly inside.

He covered his forehead and said: "They're complete novices. Change tactics—stop them now!"

As Nightbird, the leader of the New Warriors, stepped forward, a sudden "snap" sounded—a web strand stuck to his shoe, halting him in place.

Instantly, everyone adopted defensive stances. Speedball shouted: "Who's there?! You evil criminals—come out!"

"I'm not a criminal. I'm Spider-Man."

Peter swung down from the ceiling in his classic pose, gripping the web, and glanced at the nearby camera: "New York Champs? Didn't you interview me before?"

The chubby cameraman rushed over: "Oh my god! Spider-Man! It's Spider-Man! Spider-Man, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, you're our cameraman now! You're supposed to film the New Warriors' heroics—not some outdated hero like Spider-Man!" Speedball raised his voice sharply.

"Listen, reliable reports say there's a group of extremely dangerous criminals inside this warehouse. Charging in like this could provoke them—there are civilians in the surrounding homes." Spider-Man looked at the New Warriors' leader.

"Hey, is this the legendary Spider-Man? A coward who hides behind his fears! What 'dangerous' criminals? To the New Warriors, there are no dangerous criminals—only cowardly superheroes!" Speedball fired off like a machine gun: "Coward! Get out of the way! Watch us!"

"Step back."

Spider-Man's tone grew heavy. When he stopped speaking with his usual lightness and speed, an aura—composed of many traits—radiated from him.

"You think I'm scared of you?" Speedball blinked. "What's so special about Spider-Man? Just a coward afraid of criminals. Move!"

He stepped forward—but then heard a soft "whoosh-whoosh-whoosh." He saw layer upon layer of dark shadows descending from the ceiling, and as dozens of spider eyes glowed in the darkness, everyone stepped back in unison.

Fear of spiders is written into human genes—but nothing is more terrifying than dozens of Spider-Men.

"I said step back. You shouldn't be here," Peter narrowed his eyes at them. "Being a superhero isn't a performance. Acting without considering consequences—you'll regret it."

"Who are you to lecture us?!" Another female hero stepped forward. "You're just a sidekick to the Avengers! Without Captain America and Iron Man, no one would know you!"

"I don't need anyone to know me," Peter said. "Iron Man is Iron Man. Captain America is Captain America. I'm just Spider-Man. I'll say it one last time: leave. I don't want to fight you."

The leader at the front, clad in a black bodysuit with red stripes, was Nightbird—the founder and leader of the New Warriors. He said: "You're a superhero. So are we. This is our mission. Move aside."

Spider-Man landed on the ground. The New Warriors stood their ground. As tensions flared, several figures burst out from inside the warehouse—they were the New Warriors' targets, the escaped convicts.

"They're here! Grab them!" Speedball shouted first.

Without heeding the Spider-Men blocking them, the New Warriors charged toward the criminals. The female leader roared: "You filthy, disgusting criminals—you're dead!"

"

Peter narrowed his eyes and said: "I'll lead a flanking maneuver—redirect their pursuit. Amazing Spider-Man, lead the evacuation of civilians…"

The Spider-Men said nothing—they split into two teams. Peter led a few to chase the New Warriors.

As they swung, their view was higher than the running New Warriors and criminals, allowing them to adjust positions and force the fugitives to flee in the direction they wanted.

Gwen, swinging highest, shouted: "Run east! There's an undeveloped wasteland there—no one around!"

Peter immediately dropped lower and kicked the running criminal in the back, forcing him to change direction.

"Damn Spider-Man! Stop interfering with our chase!" Speedball yelled as he ran.

As Gwen and Peter brushed past each other, she frowned: "Are those New Warriors really superheroes? Why are their mouths so filthy? Everyone's swearing—are they insane?"

Peter, gripping his web, listened to the curses below and said: "We have to stop them. Super-criminals lose control when provoked—I made that mistake before…"

Spider-Man 2099 swung past Peter and said: "Clearly, they're imitating you—or us."

Peter looked down and knew Spider-Man 2099 was right—their tactics were exactly his old style: constant verbal provocation to disrupt the enemy's actions.

And every single one of them used this style—clearly trained specifically for it. As for whose videos they trained on, Peter didn't want to know right now.

But now he knew: this tactic isn't always appropriate—especially against super-criminals who can't control their powers. If they're provoked and lose control, the consequences will be unimaginable.

As he thought this, his spider-sense tingled. He looked toward the front of the fleeing group—a man with red skin—and saw strange light flickering across his body. Then, two blonde figures flashed past a distant rooftop.

Seeing the sports camera strapped to Speedball's neck, Peter suddenly realized: this was a two-pronged scheme—to frame mutants and smear superheroes.

He looked again toward the distance—the wasteland Gwen mentioned was still far off. Nearby, scattered homes still glowed with lights—civilians were inside.

"He's going to explode!"

"…No! No! Peter!"

"Don't go near him!" Gwen screamed.

In Gwen's view, Peter released his web and plummeted straight toward the criminals.

His spider-sense screamed louder than thunder—but Peter knew he couldn't follow his instinct now.

Fear, panic, despair—every emotion flooded his mind in seconds.

The spider-sense shrieked like a dying thing—but Peter's next move was to grip the exploding Nitro tightly.

Using his immense strength, Peter pinned Nitro to the ground and smashed his fist into his skull—but the unleashed power was irreversible.

"Boom!" A massive explosion erupted over New York's skyline, a mushroom cloud rising—everything within hundreds of meters was blasted away.

At the instant of the explosion, the alarm in Peter's mind ceased—the searing pain overwhelmed his nerves, leaving no capacity for warning.

In his final thought before death, Peter realized: death isn't painful—or rather, the pain is fleeting. Once the nerves die, there's only nothingness.

It felt like an eternity—or perhaps only an instant.

When his awareness returned, Peter saw a hazy white light. He blinked, dazed.

Then he saw three figures with halos above their heads: Nick Fury, Coulson, and Dr. Dora.

Then he heard a familiar voice—the voice of Dr. Schiller, whom he hadn't seen in ages:

"You're awake? Welcome to heaven."

"You're awake? Welcome to heaven."