"Huh? It's not just this universe that's peculiar; this Iron Man is also quite powerful. His armor hasn't evolved through many generations, yet its power far exceeds my expectations. Interesting! Turning Avengers like him into my children will be even more fun!" The energy blast from Tony Stark didn't trouble the dimensional creature. However, after dealing with Tony's energy beam, the creature seemed to discover something intriguing, and its voice grew increasingly excited.
"Phew! Thank you, my lord! Thank you for saving my worthless life!" Richard Parker, who found himself still alive, bowed humbly to the yet unseen dimensional entity. It seemed that, in Richard's mind, he truly considered himself no more than a dog kept by the dimensional being, showing no discomfort in his groveling gratitude.
"If you are so grateful, then offer your body to me!" Looking at the kneeling Richard Parker, the dimensional creature's voice carried an undeniable authority. Immediately, its consciousness descended upon Richard's body.
Richard had no intention of resisting. In his view, having his body taken over by the dimensional creature was an honor. If he could sacrifice himself for the creature, he felt it would be a death without regret.
With a hum, without any struggle or resistance, the dimensional creature took over Richard Parker's body directly. Now, he was Richard Parker with the power of the dimensional being, though control of the body was entirely in the creature's hands. After the takeover, Richard Parker's body underwent significant changes, especially his lower half, which transformed into a spider's form. Eight sharp spider legs now stood on the ground, elevating his body substantially, while his upper half retained a mostly human appearance.
This new half-spider form was even more peculiar and jarring than the familiar centaur or faun forms. The discordant look was unmistakable.
"What a weak body, possessing such little power. Your plan doesn't seem like it was interrupted by the Avengers; it looks more like it never started. Otherwise, I wouldn't have only gained this bit of power. I was planning to elevate your soul to my main body to work, but now, forget it!" The dimensional creature, Naxi, frowned in displeasure, feeling the weak power in Richard Parker's body. He directed a disappointed remark towards Richard's residual consciousness and then turned his gaze to the giant spider.
The giant spider was still in its cocoon, though it had been pierced through more than halfway, including the spider itself, extinguishing its life force.
With a hum, Naxi's eyes flickered slightly, and a surge of energy flowed into the giant spider's body. Instantly, the spider's body began to move.
"My child, how could you die before me? Your body will serve as sustenance to nurture more of your kind..." Naxi's tone was noticeably more gentle towards the giant spider, indicating it still had value.
As Naxi finished speaking, the giant spider's body moved more vigorously. However, it wasn't the spider reviving; rather, new life forms were emerging from within it.
With soft tearing sounds, a multitude of smaller spiders began to devour the giant spider's body. These sounds, like countless mice gnawing at something, echoed throughout the underground space.
This gnawing didn't last long, as the giant spider's body was soon completely consumed, leaving behind a dense swarm of small spiders moving within the remaining cocoon.
Unlike the giant spider, these small spiders were about the same size as regular Earth spiders. However, their sheer numbers would make even those without arachnophobia uneasy.
After consuming the giant spider's body, the small spiders ceased further action and collectively bowed towards Naxi, awaiting his next command.
"Good, you've grown using your mother's body. Now, go and help me cultivate a suitable army of followers. Also, find an opportunity to turn those Avengers into my children as well..." Naxi smiled, satisfied with the appearance of the small spiders. He looked up towards the surface, where the Avengers were apparently investigating why the underground space hadn't collapsed.
"The energy I just released vanished suddenly. Did the powerful entity behind this show up? Jarvis, did you find anything?" Tony Stark's voice carried a hint of concern as he asked.
"I haven't detected any new life forms. The giant spider's life signs have disappeared, but Richard is still alive... Apologies, sir, I've detected numerous life forms. They're not large individually, but they have extremely strong vitality..." After re-evaluating, Jarvis updated his findings, causing all the Avengers to become alert.
"Jarvis, summon my army of suits!" Realizing the gravity of the situation, Tony Stark immediately ordered Jarvis.
Since they had hurried here due to Peter Parker's distress, Tony hadn't brought his entire suit army, only a few backup suits. Now, given the unknown enemy's potential to summon hordes of minions, he knew they needed more help. The Avengers alone might not be able to handle such a vast number of foes, especially without knowing their full capabilities...
Just then, a subtle rustling sound began around them, growing louder in the empty streets and echoing in the night. Even the Avengers felt a tinge of unease as their senses heightened.
"They're coming!" Pietro was the first to react, identifying the source of the sounds. "They're small spiders, and they don't look simple!"
Before Pietro could finish his warning, the spiders accelerated and vanished into the darkness. The Avengers could sense countless unseen eyes watching them, ready to strike the moment they let their guard down.
This situation reminded the Avengers of their previous encounter with Shadow Soldiers. Unlike the small spiders that hid in the dark, Shadow Soldiers could merge with the darkness itself, making them even harder to defend against. But this didn't mean the spiders posed no threat. The Avengers had some understanding of the Shadow Soldiers' capabilities, but these spiders were a complete mystery.
As the Avengers stayed on high alert, a shadowy figure lunged towards Susan Storm. More precisely, it aimed for Harry Osborn, who was protected by Susan's force field.
Harry Osborn was still unconscious, wrapped in Susan's telekinetic protection. Since Pietro brought back the unconscious Peter Parker, he'd also knocked out Harry to prevent any further trouble. This, however, made Harry and Peter burdens for the Avengers, who now had to protect and move them, especially during the spider assault.
Susan didn't react immediately, but Pietro's quick reflexes saved the day. His superhuman speed allowed him to outpace everyone, even a wounded Barry Allen, in response.
With a swift motion, Pietro flung a blade of energy from his hand, slicing through the attacking spider, causing it to explode. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that Pietro's energy blade resembled a feather.
This was an ability Pietro had developed after his powers evolved during his race with Barry Allen. He realized he had gained some traits from the winged creature, enhancing his combat capabilities.
"Watch out! They're poisonous!" Lorna's face suddenly changed as she generated an invisible force field around the Avengers. The air was thick with substances clashing against Lorna's field, which she managed to neutralize.
"How's the strain?" Pietro asked with concern, frowning.
He realized the small spiders were troublesome. Hiding in the shadows, they struck with poison upon death. If Lorna couldn't handle the toxin, their actions would be severely restricted.
Although most of the Avengers had some level of resistance to poison, it was clear these spiders' toxins were no ordinary substances. Even a few spider deaths could release more toxin than the Avengers could withstand. And Tony, relying on his armor with no personal resistance, couldn't guarantee his suit's ventilation system would protect him.
"There's some strain, but it's manageable. However, if all the spiders release their poison, I can't counteract it..." Lorna responded seriously, acknowledging her limits. She could handle a few spiders' toxins, but if all of them unleashed their poison, her energy would quickly deplete.
Susan's telekinesis could protect against physical spider attacks but couldn't neutralize the poison as Lorna's field could. This was a unique ability Lorna had developed after her powers advanced.
"Who are these two? X-Men? There sure are a lot of superheroes in this universe. Wait, they're not mutants? What's going on? I've only noticed the Fantastic Four so far. Why are they with the Avengers, and why are two members missing, especially the core one?" Hiding in the shadows, Naxi frowned, his interest piqued. Seeing Tony Stark, Pietro, and Lorna in action, he realized this universe's potential was far greater than he had initially thought.
Naxi had assumed the universe's peculiarity lay in its abundance of superheroes. But now, observing the unique powers of Tony, Pietro, and Lorna, he understood there was much more to discover. His own dimension could greatly benefit from talents like these, proving that a realm of spiders wasn't limited to mere arachnid abilities. With more diverse powers, his dimension could flourish even more.
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