Restart, Spider-Man! [192]

To avoid being skewered into a porcupine Spider-Man, Xia Luo shot spatial webs and flipped backward, dodging the incoming spikes while countering with a barrage of synthetic spider silk.

Splat, splat, splat~~

The webs flew toward Ivan Vanko, who smirked in disdain.

“Get lost!!”

With a thunderous roar, an invisible shockwave erupted, scattering the webs in midair.

“Die!!”

The electrified whip lashed out again, tearing through the air. But this time, Xia Luo caught it with a single hand.

Crackle~~
Boom!!

Electric currents surged down the whip, accompanied by the blood-red mist. Xia Luo shuddered slightly but quickly steadied himself.

“Not bad, but still too weak.”

He grinned, his triangular, pale-blue eyes glowing brighter.

“Let’s go!”

His muscles tensed, and with a burst of impossible strength, Ivan Vanko found himself yanked off his feet, hurtling toward Spider-Man.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Is the Friendly Neighborhood guy stealing the spotlight again?”

Before Xia Luo could act further, the crowd erupted in another round of gasps.

Boom~~

A blazing motorcycle streaked across the sky. In an instant, Johnny Blaze, now transformed into Ghost Rider, snatched Ivan Vanko mid-air, leaving a fiery trail behind.

“Wait, he can fly?” Xia Luo blinked in confusion.

“His riding skills are impressive,” Tony remarked.

“Impressive, my butt!” Xia Luo scowled. “He’s going to kill that guy!”

“So?”

“So I’ve got to stop him.”

Without hesitation, Xia Luo conjured another glowing portal.

Whoosh!

He appeared directly in front of the flaming motorcycle.

“Fire Guy, you’re causing me trouble here.”

“Spider-Kid, don’t give me any trouble either.”

The flames on Johnny Blaze’s skull flared higher as he revved his bike, accelerating toward Xia Luo.

“No, no, no! You’re about to lose your license!”

Xia Luo leaped out of the bike’s path, plunging his hand into another portal.

Whoosh!

An instant later, Ivan Vanko—charred and smoking from the hellfire—was pulled into Xia Luo’s grasp.

“Spider-Man, why are you saving me?” Ivan asked, his expression conflicted.

Xia Luo scratched his head. “This feels familiar. Where have I heard that before?”

Boom!!

Before he could ponder further, the flaming motorcycle pivoted in the air and charged at him.

“Hand him over.”

“Not happening.”

“Then pay me back.”

“I already transferred the money.”

“In that case, I’m good.”

Johnny’s skeletal face twisted into a smirk as he cranked the throttle, the bike’s speed surging to its fiery limit.

“Geez! You’re going to end up friendless at this rate,” Xia Luo muttered, tossing Ivan aside.

With a quick bite to his hand, magic energy coursed through his suit.

“Your Friendly Neighborhood—”

Boom!!

The blazing motorcycle slammed into Xia Luo, enveloping him in hellfire, hurtling them both toward the stands.

“Oh no!”
“Run!!”

The crowd scattered in panic. With a deafening crash, rows of seats were reduced to ash under the roaring flames.

Boom!!

Seconds later, the flaming motorcycle was hurled backward by a massive force. Johnny Blaze found himself suspended in midair, gripped by the throat.

Xia Luo, his body glowing with magical energy, stood firm. The hellfire licking at him was swiftly extinguished by the radiant magic.

“Violence doesn’t solve problems. At least, not here,” Xia Luo said calmly.

“I’m no hero, Spider-Kid. I’m vengeance. Your lectures mean nothing to me,” Johnny retorted, pulling a flaming chain from his back.

Clink, clink, clink~~

Hellfire surged along the chain as Johnny swung it downward.

Boom!!

A fiery crevice split through the stands. But before the flames could engulf anything further, Xia Luo vanished into a portal, reappearing behind Johnny.

Swish!

Thick spider silk looped around Johnny’s neck. Xia Luo pulled it tight, causing the flames on Johnny’s body to dim slightly.

“Stronger webs slow down decomposition. Your fire’s going to need some time to burn through this,” Xia Luo remarked as he applied more pressure. Johnny’s skeletal neck cracked ominously under the strain.

“Who taught you to choke a skeleton?”

Johnny’s skull rotated 180 degrees, and his fiery eyes became whirlpools, dragging Xia Luo’s soul into a hellish dimension.

“Wow, a volcano!” Xia Luo exclaimed, now in his soul form.

The glowing spider emblem on his chest erupted with light.

Whoosh~~
Boom!!

A powerful shockwave burst from the emblem, propelling Xia Luo’s soul back to his body.

By the time he opened his eyes, Johnny Blaze had vanished.

“Where’d he go?”

Xia Luo turned to see Ivan Vanko, half-dead, subdued by Happy and other agents. He scratched his head in confusion.

“Did he feel guilty for cheating during the fight and leave out of shame?”

He fired a web to Ivan’s side, examining his condition. Once satisfied, he let out a breath of relief.

The hellfire had severely damaged Ivan’s soul, leaving him dazed and inert. Even with Hydra’s regenerative abilities, he wouldn’t be attacking anyone anytime soon.

“Take him to SHIELD. That’s where he belongs,” Xia Luo instructed Happy.

Happy glanced at Tony and replied, “Sorry, but Tony’s my boss.”

Xia Luo shrugged. “Fine, but SHIELD has gorgeous agents. You sure?”

“Of course, I’ll personally deliver him to SHIELD,” Happy said with a grin.

Tony: “…”

Removing his armor, Tony wiped the blood from his lip.

“How many does that make now?” he asked, pointing at the black spine lying nearby.

Xia Luo thought for a moment. “Fifth one, I think.”

“Four more to go for nine, then,” Tony said with a wry smile, clutching his chest as he signaled Pepper for his special drink.

“You’re not looking great,” Xia Luo said, frowning as he recalled the palladium poisoning from Tony’s reactor.

“I’m fine,” Tony insisted, waving him off.

With Pepper supporting him, Tony took a deep breath. “That guy mentioned my father. I think I know who he is now.”

Xia Luo surveyed the wrecked track and shrugged. “That’s a family matter. None of my business. I’ve got other things to do. Later!”

With that, he vanished into another portal.

Pepper watched him leave, her expression curious.

“He’s worried he can’t afford the damages,” she remarked.

Tony chuckled. “He probably doesn’t know I already bought the place.”

“You bought it?”

“Of course. Just a little hobby of mine.”

Tony smiled, but a shadow of concern crossed his face as he clutched his chest.

“Ms. Potts, I think it’s time I took a break.”

“You should.”

“No, I mean… I’m handing my shares to you. You’ll have complete control over Stark Industries.”

“What?!” Pepper’s expression turned from surprised to alarmed.

“What’s wrong? Don’t scare me like this,” she pleaded.

“Relax. I just want to try something new—like that bug-boy. See what it feels like to live off someone else for a change.”

—

Three Days Later

Gwen’s rookie evaluation concluded flawlessly.

At the evaluation site, Reed and the others watched Gwen pass with ease, their expressions a mix of awe and dismay.

“This makes us look even worse,” Reed muttered to Susan.

Off to the side, Ben Grimm crossed his arms and grumbled, “And we got shown up by a little girl.”

Johnny covered his face. “We’re never going to live this down.”

“That’s on you guys.”

Ben tapped his rocky face. “At least no one knows what I look like under here.”

“My friend, that joke wasn’t funny at all,” Reed said, exasperated.

“I need to figure something out. If I fail the next evaluation, my research funding will be cut completely.”

“You could talk to Dr. Banner,” Johnny suggested quietly. “I heard Carter’s been personally funding him to help with his recovery.

“Gamma radiation experiments don’t use up that much budget. Maybe you could borrow some. I’m sure Dr. Banner wouldn’t say no.”

Susan seemed thoughtful. “Your cosmic ray experiments do overlap with gamma radiation to some extent. This might actually work.”

Reed sighed. “I guess that’s my only option.”

He glanced toward Carter’s office and shook his head. “People always said getting resources from SHIELD was next to impossible. Turns out they were right.”

Ben grinned. “That was back when Nick Fury ran the place.”

“How is it any different now?”

“If Fury was still in charge, you wouldn’t have even gotten two chances.”

Reed: “…”

“No, I need Spider-Man. If we can get him to help during the next evaluation, we’ll pass for sure.”

Reed looked around but quickly realized something was off.

“Where is Spider-Man?”

“No idea.”

“He was just here a minute ago.”

“And then he vanished.”

“It’s his portal magic.”

“I didn’t see it.”

“Maybe get your eyes checked.”

“You better watch your tone.”

“Hey, guys—oh my god, what is that?!”

Johnny pointed toward the sky, where a fiery streak was hurtling toward them. His face paled, clearly recalling the painful memories of their last encounter.

Susan’s expression darkened. “It’s him again.”

“Someone get Spider-Man!”

“Where is he?”

“We don’t know!”

—

In the MCU – Avengers Tower

Xia Luo stood before an older Steve Rogers and the rest of the group.

“Any news?” he asked.

The elderly Steve’s face was grim. “We spoke to Banner. After he snapped his fingers, he found himself in a strange dimension where he saw the souls of his deceased loved ones.”

Natasha chimed in, “If I had to guess, it’s tied to the Soul Stone.”

“The Soul Stone?”

Xia Luo frowned and turned to Barton. “When you brought Natasha’s body back, was it from the altar on Vormir?”

“It was,” Barton replied, his voice heavy with emotion.

Xia Luo looked at Natasha. “Did anything unusual happen on the altar?”

Natasha thought for a moment. “I remember drifting in a void for a long time, but I don’t know where exactly.

“I regained full consciousness only after seeing you and Steve.”

Xia Luo nodded. “Alright, I’ve got bad news to share.”

Taking the juice Pepper handed him, he said, “Tony’s soul was intercepted by Mephisto, which is why he can’t be resurrected.”

The room fell silent in shock.

“Mephisto?”
“The devil from Hell actually exists?”
“Come on, we’ve met Thor. Is it really that surprising?”
“Fair enough.”

Elderly Steve frowned. “So, to save Tony, we’d need to confront Mephisto?”

Peter Parker hesitantly raised his hand. “Um, if we’re talking about making deals with the devil, Mr. Strange is probably our best bet. We could ask him for help.”

Xia Luo glanced around at their worried faces and chuckled. “No need to stress so much.”

He turned to Steve. “Mephisto only intercepted Tony’s soul right before he could be resurrected. I don’t know the exact rules of this resurrection game, but if I were him, I’d definitely retaliate against such a challenge to my authority.”

Hearing this, Steve’s eyes lit up. “You mean—”

“Yes. There will always be an opportunity.”

“Then I’ll just die now!”

“Whoa, no need to be so hasty,” Xia Luo said, stopping Steve from rushing into his own demise. “Let’s take things one step at a time. If we’re dealing with Mephisto, we’ll need soul-related artifacts or relics to prepare.”

Steve paused. “Like what?”

Natasha took a deep breath. “The Soul Stone. That would be ideal.”

Barton shook his head. “The Soul Stone’s gone.”

Steve sighed. “I returned it to Vormir years ago. I even saw Johann—that guy was still guarding the altar. I was happy for him.”

Xia Luo’s mouth twitched. “Your sense of humor isn’t helping, Steve.”

“Sorry.”

Pepper, looking nervous, interjected, “Why not ask Scott? His Pym particles could help us travel through time to retrieve the Soul Stone from the past.”

“It’s been ages since we’ve heard anything about Scott,” Barton said thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t be surprised if his whole family moved into an anthill.”

“You’re funnier than me,” Steve muttered, shooting him a look.

Xia Luo glanced at his watch. “Well, my time’s up. Next time you summon me, please have freshly squeezed juice ready. This obviously has additives.”

He set down his cup and disappeared into the void.

—

Back in the Prime Universe

The moment Xia Luo returned, he was greeted by Carter with bad news.

“While you were gone for an hour, Ghost Rider broke into the prison and took the souls of Hydra Steve and Ivan Vanko,” Carter said.

“Huh?”

Xia Luo pinched the bridge of his nose. “So he didn’t give up after all.”

Then, as realization dawned, he tensed.

“Wait, his real target is the black spines!”

He immediately opened a portal.

“Where are you going?” Carter called after him.

“If his target is anyone with Hydra’s power, he’ll be heading for Dr. Otto next!” Xia Luo said as he stepped through.