"My God!"
Miles shouted as he was dragged away by Thor.
"Indeed."
Thor assumed Miles was calling out to him and responded accordingly—after all, even though he had lost his godhood, he was once a deity of Norse mythology.
"You—you're—you're Thor!"
As a die-hard fan of the Ultimate Team, Miles could hardly believe he was actually speaking to Thor, the God of Thunder.
"No need to thank me."
Thor assumed Miles was trying to express his gratitude, so he politely declined it.
But in truth, Miles was simply in disbelief that he was interacting so closely with Thor.
This alone had completely stunned the young Spider.
When Thor finally brought Miles in front of the Ultimate Team members, Miles realized they were all present. Not just them—members of the Fantastic Four were also there, including the white-suited Spider-Woman who often appeared in his dreams.
"Brave move, kid," Captain America commended Miles.
"There's a difference between bravery and stupidity, Cap. You almost got swallowed whole by that thing," Ben Grimm (The Thing) clearly didn't agree with Cap's assessment. In his view, what Miles had done was practically a death wish.
"Guys, I need to process this new intel and formulate a new plan!"
Stark didn't linger—he turned and flew straight toward S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Bat Prison.
At that moment, Susan looked hesitant.
She turned to Captain America.
"Is there really a way to stop this? Is there any way to deal with… whatever that thing is, and everything it's done?"
But no one could answer her question, because none of them knew what the outcome would be. It was entirely possible that the end of Earth was upon them.
"Everyone, put on your headsets—we're going to the streets! The civilians are in deep trouble right now!!!"
Captain America wasn't about to waste any more time. Especially now—beneath their feet, in the city of London, who knew how many citizens had already been buried under rubble by this sudden disaster?
Their task was clear: rescue those people.
"Stark, I hope you've got some good news for us. And what's that bat guy doing now?" Captain America asked over comms as they landed and began rescue operations on the ground.
"I'll be blunt. The reason I told you all to stand down and stop attacking that thing—nothing we do has any effect. It's not just some big monster. It's a being—a cosmic-level entity made of pure energy," Stark replied as he sped toward the Bat Prison with Reed.
"I've never seen energy like this before. Our current military capabilities don't work against it. If I had to guess—and it's just a guess—I think it's feeding on us."
"Feeding on what, exactly?" Captain America asked, still unsure what exactly this entity survived on.
"Best guess: it uses some sort of mechanism to extract and convert our core energy."
"To where?"
"Maybe into itself. Maybe to its mother. We don't even know what this thing really is," Stark said as the prison came into view. "But here's the good news—we've identified the universe it came from."
To the group, that definitely counted as good news.
"Can we send it back?"
"I'm about to ask someone from that same universe. See if they had a way of dealing with this kind of entity." Stark had now arrived outside Mysterio's cell.
"I believe Spider-Man knows about their origin—Peter Parker. Not Spider-Woman. Spider-Man."
"Me?"
"Him?"
It wasn't just Miles who was confused—even Ben Grimm found it baffling. Meanwhile, they were busy rescuing civilians trapped under rubble and inside cars.
Jessica and Gwen seemed to have a sense of what was happening—after all, everything in the Batcave was recorded, including all of the Bat's movements.
And anything related to Spider-Man had certainly left an impression on them.
"There was a minor rift once. Peter Parker—Spider-Man—the original one, though from a different dimension, accidentally entered our world," Stark explained as he reached Mysterio and opened the cell.
"I swear, I understood every word you said, but when you put them all together, I honestly question if you're speaking a human language," Ben muttered irritably, unable to make sense of what Stark was saying.
"That doesn't matter. What matters now is getting some answers from someone from another dimension. Just what is that thing?" Stark demanded, projecting the image of Galactus's head from his armor in front of Mysterio.
"Mysterio, tell me what this thing is."
Stark's tone was urgent, but the prisoner didn't seem to care. After all, he was already locked up—why would he concern himself with anything else?
"Call me Quentin," Mysterio replied casually.
"I don't care what your name is. What is this thing?"
Only then did Mysterio look up at Stark's projection.
"What… what is that?" Mysterio looked genuinely shocked, as if he had no idea what Stark was showing him.
"It came from your Earth—your world."
"My Earth? Who even talks like that—'my Earth' and 'your Earth'?" Mysterio clearly had no intention of answering Stark's question. He even smirked as he spoke.
"You were the only one who discovered the dimensional rift and tried to use it to defy natural law! You're in this prison because of your own actions!" Stark had lost all patience. He walked straight through the energy barrier into the cell. "Let me tell you something—if you ever want to see your Earth again, then tell me what this thing is!!!"
"Cut the crap. You never intended to send me back. You plan to keep me here, drug me until I rot, then dissect my corpse." Mysterio looked at Stark with a mocking grin. He didn't believe a word Stark said—just as he had never believed in the heroes of his own world.
"So, are you trying to get me to call the Bat over to talk to you?"
The moment this sentence was uttered, a noticeable change came over Mysterio.
Just hearing the word Bat made Mysterio tremble all over, his eyes filled with pure fear.
No one really knew what the Bat had done to him back then, but everyone understood one thing clearly—this guy had a serious psychological shadow when it came to the Bat.
"Alright, alright! God, I'll tell you everything, just don't bring the Bat here, okay?" Mysterio gestured for Stark to calm down, promising to explain everything.
"I only know a little about him. First of all—where did this footage come from?"
"Live broadcast."
"If this thing made it here, then I think you need to talk to Reed Richards," Mysterio said.
At those words, both Stark and everyone else who heard them instantly wore twisted expressions.
Stark even raised the energy cannon in his hand and pointed it at the man who had already been crumpled into a ball—Reed Richards.
"He did this?"
"No, no, no. I'm flattered that you respect me so much, even comparing me to that big guy. But I must tell you, I'm just a former stuntman who once used some unstable chemical elements. And in my world, if not for Reed Richards, it's likely that our Earth would've been devoured years ago."
Mysterio rambled on, but right now, what Stark cared about most was—where exactly did that purple brute come from?
"Was he created by your Reed Richards? Or did Reed Richards save you from him?" Stark grabbed Mysterio by the collar, demanding a clear answer.
"Created him? No, come on—that's Reed Richards we're talking about, man. The leader of the Fantastic Four. He was one of the hottest geniuses at the time. I've never admired anyone, but I admired him. He was always saving us from one kind of madness or another. Tell me—do you have a Reed Richards here?" Mysterio had already been released by Stark but didn't stop talking. "If not, then you really should have a talk with my Reed Richards—the one from my world."
Stark pointed to the ball-shaped man nearby whose face was still visible.
"That's our Reed Richards."
Looking at this tragic version of Mr. Fantastic, Mysterio suddenly felt like his own situation wasn't so bad after all.
"Pretty tragic, huh."
Without another word, Stark left the cell, dragging the balled-up Reed Richards with him. At the same time, he informed all members of the Ultimate Team to return to Alpha One.
They needed to travel to another world—to talk to another world's Reed Richards.
"Why don't you go ask the Bat?" the balled-up Reed called after Stark. "If I were you, I'd definitely go ask that Bat. I've got a feeling he's hiding something from us—something important."
Hearing this, Stark came to a halt.
But after a moment's pause, he still decided to return to Alpha One first.
Europe, Present-Day City
With the city's assistance, Bruce had successfully completed a one-way ticket—one that could send the Planet Devourer away.
But this ticket's destination wasn't the devourer's original universe. Instead, it was a place that had already long since vanished.
"We've succeeded, but no one has been able to deliver the ticket to that thing. Not even Thor and Hulk together could manage it." During this period, the city had also been collecting information on the Planet Devourer. Based on its calculations, the devourer's energy level had long since surpassed the combined power available on Earth.
Bruce didn't respond to the city's comment. "Find me an empty room."
Though the city didn't know what Bruce intended, it still guided him to a vacant space.
Entering the room, Bruce immediately closed his eyes and entered the prison inside his mind.
Bruce walked into the mental prison.
"Need my help this time?" Barry Allen cheerfully zipped over to the prison gate, waving at Bruce. Previously, Bruce had allowed him to feel the joy of running freely once more, and clearly, now was another such chance.
Bruce simply shook his head at Barry and walked further inside.
"You're not going to see him, are you? That guy is not easy to deal with. He might tear you apart the moment he gets out. Don't—"
Flash was still trying to dissuade Bruce from going any further.
But Bruce had already stopped in front of the Ravager's cell.
"Well, well, look who's here," the Ravager growled. His hideous face pressed up against the bars, and his breath reeked of green kryptonite fumes.
"Our little Bat. Remember what I told you before? You'd come looking for me."
The Ravager was clearly excited. Just like he said, the Bat had returned—and this time, he needed the Ravager's power.
Bruce stared at the twisted monster before him—his eyes glowing red, his mouth surrounded by misty, emerald green vapor.
"Didn't you hate superpowered beings?" Bruce didn't respond directly but asked him a question instead.
"What, are you saying you'll let me out so I can kill them all? Then I'd say—you've finally grown up."
The Ravager grinned, but given his face, his grin wasn't what one would call pleasant.
In fact, it was downright terrifying.
"No. You can only kill one."
"Oh? And how are you so sure I'll help you kill that one?"
"Because he's just like Superman—one of the most powerful beings in this world." Bruce locked eyes with the Ravager's crimson gaze.
The Ravager's interest was clearly piqued by that statement.
"City, open the door."
Bruce stepped out of the empty room.
But the city couldn't shake the feeling that something about this Bat had changed. Yet even after scanning him, it detected nothing unusual.
Still, Bruce now felt like a beast unleashed.
"Are you alright?"
"Relax. I'm great. Never been better."
(End of Chapter)
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