Heart-Stabbing Moments

"Boom!"

"Ahhh!!"

Ned was blasted off the glowing body of Electro the moment his hand touched him, the currents flowing across Electro's body sent him flying.

"Ugh... cough, cough..."

Suspended in mid-air by his Cloak of Levitation, Ned coughed out a puff of black smoke. His hair, now completely frazzled, stood on end.

Electro had absorbed the entire power grid of New York City, and then the full-powered assault from an Iron Man suit. The sheer energy coursing through him was beyond anything a mere mortal body like Ned's could endure.

Still, the plan worked. Ned lifted his gaze toward Max Dillon, who floated in the air, looking around in horror. A smirk crept across Ned's face.

Electro's physical body now lay limp on the ground, powerless. That meant Ned didn't have to worry about Max pulling a Spider-Man-like stunt and returning to his body. Judging by Max's bewildered expression, he hadn't even processed what was happening.

"Maybe you were a good guy once. I'm no judge of whether you're a sinner now, but... damn you, I didn't even get to finish my dinner!"

With his victorious declaration, Ned activated his magic. The eyes on his mask flashed red, and Max's spirit began twisting violently. His expression shifted wildly between fear and despair before his spirit contorted one final time and vanished into nothingness.

"Whew..."

Ned exhaled deeply. There was no denying it—Electro was insanely strong. He'd even given Ned a fresh taste of what it felt like to be electrocuted into a Nick Fury lookalike.

"Hey, Spider-Man! We're done here! It's all on you now!"

Ned shouted at Peter, who was still locked in combat with Rhino down below.

"Almost there!!"

"Almost!"

Peter shouted back, agilely dodging Rhino's relentless attacks. But no matter how nimble Peter was, it was clear he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Die, Spider-Man!"

Inside the Rhino suit, the pilot remained blissfully unaware that his allies had already been sent to meet their maker. He reveled in the thrill of chasing Spider-Man, wildly firing missiles and unleashing a barrage of bullets from twin machine guns.

Peter wasn't slacking—it was just that Rhino's relentless assault was downright overwhelming. The fact that Peter was still alive, flipping and dodging amid the chaos, was a testament to his reflexes and Spider-Sense.

"Peter! Wrap him up. I'll take it from there!"

Ned called out after watching for a while. Letting Peter continue like this would take forever.

"Got it!"

Peter acknowledged and immediately put his speed to good use. In no time, he had Rhino bound tightly with webs. Although, knowing Rhino's brute strength, it was only a matter of time before he broke free.

But then...

"Slash!"

A portal opened right in the middle of Rhino's body. As it closed abruptly, the suit was sliced in half, and the man inside fell silent for good.

"Whew..."

Peter, exhausted from the night's events, heaved a heavy sigh of relief as the battle finally ended.

"Slash!"

Ned opened another portal and said, "Let's go, Peter."

"Yeah."

Peter nodded, following Ned out of the Mirror Dimension.

"Whoosh!"

"Holy sh—!"

Just as they emerged, a missile came hurtling toward them with a deafening roar. Startled, Ned cursed loudly and quickly conjured a magic shield to protect himself and Peter.

"Boom!"

When the smoke cleared, Ned and Peter looked up to see yet another Green Goblin engaged in a mid-air battle with an overly muscular Iron Man suit.

Neither of the two combatants seemed to have any real combat experience—they were merely trading missiles and lasers while flying at high speeds to dodge each other's attacks.

Not far from where Ned and Peter stood, a terrified white woman dangled precariously from the clock tower.

"Gwen!!"

Peter, with his sharp eyesight, immediately recognized his girlfriend. Without hesitation, he ignored the strange Iron Man suit and dashed toward the clock tower.

His panicked shout, however, drew the attention of the Green Goblin in the sky.

"Peter... Parker!"

The Goblin's voice dripped with murderous intent as he called out Peter's name. Peter froze momentarily, standing atop a tall building and staring at the Goblin on the glider.

"H-Harry?" Peter muttered in disbelief.

"You tried to take away my hope, so I'll take away yours!"

Harry Osborn roared before launching his glider toward Gwen at breakneck speed.

"Harry, no!!"

Peter screamed, swinging toward the clock tower.

The Iron Man suit, which had been fighting Harry, charged up a repulsor blast to intercept him. But before it could fire, a golden magic whip suddenly lashed out and yanked it down.

"Didn't I tell you to stay home?"

Ned, holding the magic whip that restrained the suit's wearer, said sternly, "What part of that didn't you understand?"

"Let me go! Gwen's in danger!" the pilot, Huang Xiwen, shouted while struggling in her suit.

"Little AI is already on her way. You showing up or not won't make a difference," Ned said calmly. Then his tone turned serious. "I've warned you before—this suit isn't enough to make you a superhero. If you keep pushing, I'll have no choice but to take it back."

"But if I hadn't shown up, Gwen would already be dead at Harry Osborn's hands!" Huang retorted, unwilling to back down. "And I've followed your advice—I haven't taken a single hit this entire time."

"I think I can handle this."

"That's only because Harry doesn't know how to fight," Ned replied coldly. "He's just a spoiled rich kid who's barely tapped into his newfound powers. Can you really use him as a benchmark?"

"If you want to keep playing hero, you'll face hardened criminals, trained ex-soldiers, assassins... or worse, other superpowered beings. They won't be as clueless as Harry. They're battle-hardened and ruthless."

Ned gripped her suit's shoulders and looked her in the eye. His words were sharp, but his tone carried genuine concern.

"I..."

Huang Xiwen hesitated, unsure of what to say. Deep down, her desire to use her suit to help others hadn't wavered.

"Hey? What's with the soot on your face? And your hair—what happened to it?"

Just as Ned thought his words had hit home, Huang's voice came through the suit, laced with amusement. She couldn't hide her giggles.

"When did you change your hairstyle?"

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T/N:

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