Of course, Naxxi's army of Spider-Men wasn't completely useless. Initially, these Spider-Men weren't just created by infecting each other; they were manufactured by the small spiders. Finding Spider-Men was quite straightforward, but locating the small spiders wasn't as easy. Especially since these small spiders didn't look much different from Earth's spiders, not even Clark or Kara could carefully examine each one.
In the end, the number of Spider-Men reached a relative equilibrium. They weren't entirely eradicated by the Avengers and Clark's team, nor could they effectively bolster Naxxi's power to battle Robert's forces.
Aside from the Spider-Men army, Peter Parker and Harry Osborn didn't accomplish much for Naxxi either. After disappearing from the Avengers' sight, they split up, each leading a portion of the Spider-Men to infect more ordinary people, turning them into new Spider-Men.
Both Peter Parker and Harry Osborn were under Naxxi's control, functioning as puppets. Naxxi's control over them was even stronger than what Richard Parker had previously achieved. Therefore, Peter and Harry were very earnest in carrying out their tasks.
Unfortunately for Naxxi, Clark quickly knocked Peter Parker out and detained him at the Avengers' base. On JARVIS's advice, Clark also captured Harry Osborn. This thwarted Naxxi's plans to use them to lead his operations.
In the mirrored dimension, Naxxi was unaware of what was happening outside. He was puzzled as to why his power hadn't increased as he had expected and still had to rely on his true form to supply him with energy, contrary to his initial plan.
Despite this, Naxxi's influence was significant. Tony Stark and the others were trying to restore Peter Parker and Harry Osborn. If they could recover Peter and Harry, they believed they could also cure the others more easily.
However, technology offered little help in resolving the state Peter and Harry were in. Neither Tony Stark, Mobius, nor Barry Allen could find a solution. Susan Storm and Lorna also tried using their powers to help Peter and Harry, but even though their abilities had some connection to mental and telekinetic energies, they couldn't restore them.
The Avengers had to repeatedly knock Peter and Harry unconscious whenever they woke up and struggled, as their modified bodies were resistant to sedative gases and other measures. Handling Peter and Harry was troublesome, and dealing with the ever-growing number of Spider-Men was even more challenging. These Spider-Men, although not as strong as Peter Parker now, were not far off from Peter's capabilities right after his transformation.
The Spider-Men had high resistance to drugs and their numbers were growing, making the Avengers' efforts increasingly strained. The Avengers began to miss the simpler enemies like the Shadow Soldiers, who could be killed without hesitation. The Spider-Men, on the other hand, were ordinary people transformed and potentially could be saved, so the Avengers couldn't just kill them all.
Eventually, Tony Stark decided to abandon the idea of waking up Peter Parker and the Spider-Men and instead focused on finding ways to keep them in a prolonged state of sleep, hoping they could recover during this period and prevent further complications.
"All we can do now is wait for news from the Saiyans. The source of this transformative power is that dimensional being. If we can eliminate him, the source of these powers might disappear, and they could recover..." Tony Stark said helplessly, looking at the rows of sleeping Spider-Men.
Tony had recently built a new batch of robots to help manage the situation. Otherwise, it would be impossible to take care of so many sleeping Spider-Men, especially with Clark and Kara continuously bringing in more.
"But what if they don't recover?" Mobius asked, his gaze flickering. As someone who had been transformed into a vampire, Mobius had longed to return to normal, only to find it extremely difficult to eliminate his thirst for blood. With so many people infected, Mobius doubted they could all be cured. Even if Naxxi was eventually killed by Robert, what if the transformation was irreversible?
"If they can't recover, that would be a big problem," Tony Stark admitted, frowning deeply. "But their minds should be able to return to normal, like Peter Parker before. Even so, that's still a significant issue. We can't forcibly keep everyone here..."
"However, it's also impossible to ignore them. Their strength makes them incredibly dangerous among ordinary people. If they don't control their power, they could easily kill someone accidentally, just like squashing a chicken."
Tony Stark was overwhelmed with worry. Faced with this vast, superhuman crisis, he didn't know how to handle it perfectly.
"We just have to wait and see..." Tony Stark sighed, turning away from the base and controlling his suit to continue searching for new Spider-Men, hoping to find the elusive small spiders.
Meanwhile, in the mirrored dimension, the battle between Robert and Naxxi continued. This fight was more intense than any previous encounters in the mirrored space, mainly because Robert aimed to kill Naxxi completely this time. The violent energy surged throughout the mirrored dimension, creating more pressure than ever before.
In this furious state, Robert's combat power was rising even faster than when he was driven purely by battle intent. This rage-fueled state aligned more closely with the Saiyan nature and the power of the Great Ape's fury.
Thus, as the battle progressed, Naxxi, who had recently received new power from his true form and initially had a slight edge over Robert, was shocked to find that Robert not only didn't weaken as the fight went on but became increasingly fierce.
Naxxi had initially managed to suppress Robert with his newly gained strength. However, as time passed, Robert began to overpower Naxxi. Each of Robert's punches grew faster and stronger, and most importantly, his fists had become incredibly resilient.
When Naxxi first received the true form's power, his claws were sharp enough to break through Robert's aura and injure his fists. But now, Robert's fists could even numb Naxxi's claws on impact.
Robert shattered the old notion that two fists couldn't beat four hands. He was directly using his two fists to fight against Naxxi's eight claws, breaking them one by one in the process.
This relentless battle started to shake Naxxi. Despite traveling through dimensions and seeing countless civilizations and powerful beings, Naxxi had never encountered an opponent like Robert.
The intensity of the fight didn't fatigue Robert. The pain and injuries from each clash only fueled his growth in combat strength, pushing Robert's power to new heights.
This terrifying nature, as if Robert was born purely for battle, filled Naxxi with increasing dread. He began to contemplate retreat, feeling reluctant to continue fighting Robert, as he couldn't envision a scenario where he emerged victorious.
"Boom!"
"Crack!"
Amidst the fight, Robert's relentless attack caused Naxxi to lose focus for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, Robert landed a powerful punch on one of Naxxi's claws, breaking it off completely.
"Damn it!" The intense pain snapped Naxxi back to reality. Unlike when he borrowed Richard Parker's body, Naxxi's current form, infused with his true form's power, was his actual body on Earth. Every bit of pain was transmitted to his consciousness.
For a spider-like being like Naxxi, his eight spider legs were crucial body parts. The injury was far more excruciating than the previous times when he was in his half-spider form.
"Swish!" Before Naxxi could curse further, Robert appeared beside him again, delivering a punch to Naxxi's only human-like face.
"Boom!" Naxxi was sent flying. His face, though, was sturdier than his claws—perhaps because his skin was thicker. Robert's punch didn't inflict much damage on Naxxi.
But this attack was just the beginning. As Naxxi's body was flung away and began to fall, before he could stabilize himself with his energy, Robert's next wave of assaults arrived.
Robert's body moved faster than Naxxi could retreat. First, he kicked Naxxi towards the ground. As Naxxi's body plummeted, Robert appeared on the ground, delivering a baseball-style strike, sending Naxxi flying again.
One strike after another left Naxxi no time to recover. Robert launched an air combo, keeping Naxxi perpetually off-balance and unable to fight back.
Naxxi's body was too damaged to gather enough strength to counter Robert's onslaught.
"Maybe... I should just give up? With this monster around, unless I can bring all of my true form's power down or drag him into the dimensional void, there's no way to defeat him..." As Robert's relentless attacks continued, Naxxi began to lose hope, contemplating surrender. He couldn't think of any other method to deal with Robert.
"This universe is just too troublesome. It's no wonder it's a composite universe. Despite all the energy I've poured into my plans here, I haven't succeeded. I don't even know what's happening outside the mirrored dimension. My Spider-Men haven't given me much feedback, which suggests something unexpected has occurred. In this situation, there's no point in investing more resources. I need to cut my losses and move on..."
With these thoughts, Naxxi decided not to resist further. The energy he invested here would be a loss he had to accept. It was better to quit now and avoid more significant losses.
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