The clang of steel rang through the Avengers Compound's training hall as Otto Octavius executed his final set of weighted push-ups, his mechanical arms retracting fluidly into his back. Shirtless, his lean, muscular frame gleamed under the sterile lights. The wolf-cut hairstyle he now wore gave him a mature, almost tactical edge — not quite Peter Parker anymore, but not fully detached from that shadow either.
His black-and-red Iron Spider suit, currently stored in the sleek necklace at his collar, pulsed gently with a white spider insignia — a constant reminder of purpose and identity. His workouts were not merely physical discipline but calculated optimization: enhanced reflexes, stabilized core strength, and neural link calibration with his AI, Adele.
As Otto reached for a towel, the sliding door hissed open. Tony Stark leaned in, holding a tablet and what looked like a protein smoothie he clearly had no intention of drinking.
"Nice form," Tony said, squinting at Otto's routine. "You ever heard of breaks?"
"Breaks are for the inefficient," Otto replied, toweling off. "What do you want?"
Tony tossed him the tablet. "Hydra. Slovakia. Bavarian Alps. You're going on a field trip."
Otto's eyes narrowed as he scanned the satellite feed. "Two operational facilities. Tightly shielded. No pattern in supply drops. Biological signatures erratic."
"Exactly," Tony said. "That's why I'm sending you. Wanda's already prepping. I need precise, surgical destruction. No grandstanding, no flaming logos in the sky."
Otto gave a curt nod. "Understood."
Tony started to leave, but paused. "One more thing. If you see any... off-the-books Avengers? Pretend you didn't. I don't need another lecture from Cap about privacy."
That gave Otto a moment's pause. "Noted."
Three Hours Later – Slovakia Mountains
The snow-covered peaks glistened beneath a moonlit sky as Otto and Wanda Maximoff approached the Hydra facility, cloaked beneath rock and frost. The air was unnaturally still.
Wanda hovered slightly, red wisps of magic drifting from her fingers. "This place gives me the creeps."
Otto adjusted his gauntlet. "Hydra does tend to decorate in trauma."
A sharp rustle behind them. Otto turned, instantly deploying two mechanical limbs — only to stop short as a familiar voice muttered, "Easy, claws."
Sam Wilson, wings retracted, stepped out of the shadows in a matte-gray suit. "Didn't expect company."
Otto frowned. "This was a Stark-authorized mission."
"Yeah, well, not everyone waits for permission." Another voice chimed in.
Black Widow, face partially hidden by her stealth cowl, emerged beside Sam. "We've been tracking this base for weeks. Hydra's moving bio-weapons through here."
Otto's tone flattened. "Why wasn't I informed?"
"Because you work for Stark," Natasha replied coolly. "And I don't."
Before Otto could fire back, a third figure slid effortlessly from the shadows, landing beside him with a playful smirk.
Felicia Hardy — Black Cat — eyes glinting behind night-vision goggles. "Hope you don't mind, Superior. I do love a surprise reunion."
Wanda blinked. "What is she doing here?"
Felicia shrugged. "I like explosions. And bank accounts full of Hydra data."
Otto rubbed his temple. "This was supposed to be simple."
Sam stepped forward. "It still can be — if we coordinate. Hydra has two tech convoys inside. If they get out, that's a global problem."
Otto's mechanical limbs twitched with restraint. "Fine. But I lead."
Natasha arched an eyebrow. "We'll pretend you do."
Inside Hydra Facility Perimeter – 11:03 PM
The team moved with silent synchronicity, despite their ideological friction. Otto hacked infrared scanners, Wanda clouded psychic sensors, and Falcon provided aerial overwatch from the mountain ridge.
Inside the icy corridor, Black Cat pried open a control panel. "Who designs hallways with six-digit firewalls?"
Otto muttered, "People afraid of me."
Felicia shot him a grin. "Cute."
The walls pulsed faintly with green light, emanating from reactors beneath the floor. Otto paused. "This entire base is powered by a modified Tesseract fragment. Dangerous and unstable."
Wanda frowned. "Why here?"
Otto answered coldly, "Because nobody looks for nightmares in the snow."
As they breached the outer lab, Otto's HUD blinked — something... wrong.
"Movement, four o'clock," he hissed.
A dozen figures emerged — twisted humanoids with cybernetic limbs and Hydra insignias burned into their skin. Their eyes glowed faint green — controlled.
"Bio-synthetics," Natasha whispered. "They've made soldiers out of scavenged Kree organics."
One lunged.
Before Otto could react, Felicia kicked a lab table into the creature, while Wanda blasted another with a surge of scarlet energy.
Otto vaulted forward, deploying two arms and slamming a brute into a cryo-pod, shattering it into frozen shards. Another beast charged — and Otto fired a webline, pulling it mid-leap and redirecting it into a wall-mounted generator.
Sam swooped down, launching a micro-grenade into the final assailant. "Okay," he said, exhaling. "So much for stealth."
Otto moved quickly, scanning one of the unconscious bodies. "There's something else here. These aren't prototypes — they're proof of concept. Hydra's testing integration, not just enhancement."
Natasha scowled. "Then we're too late."
Felicia crouched beside Otto. "Not quite. These systems are still uploading something — project schematics, probably. I can crack it."
Otto studied her. "You'll take it for yourself."
"Maybe," she said sweetly. "Or maybe I want Hydra gone more than I want cash."
Reluctantly, Otto nodded.
From the corner, Wanda looked toward the corridor. "We've got more incoming."
Falcon checked his HUD. "Seismic activity on the west wing. They're activating something... big."
Otto stepped forward, armor unfolding and tightening around his body, red eyes glowing. "Then we destroy it."
Hydra Facility – West Wing, 11:17 PM
The tremor rolled through the mountain like a growl from beneath the earth. Otto's mechanical limbs steadied him as the floor vibrated. Cold air hissed through new fissures forming in the walls — the facility wasn't built to contain whatever was waking up.
Wanda's eyes flared with scarlet energy. "That's not a generator starting up. That's… alive."
From the distant corridor came a metallic shriek — deep, echoing, and wrong.
Falcon scanned his HUD. "Something's breaching through sublevel 6. Whatever it is, it's massive and giving off radiation spikes."
Felicia tapped furiously on the nearby terminal. "I'm almost done. I can lock down the data core, but I can't stop whatever's coming. This thing's on a pre-timed cycle."
Natasha drew her stingers. "Then we improvise."
Otto stepped forward, crimson light pulsing from the necklace as his black-and-red Iron Spider armor deployed across his body in a smooth cascade. Adele's voice crackled in his ear.
"Neural sync: 100%. Combat assist online."
"I'll intercept," Otto said. "Wanda, stay with Felicia. Sam, take the north tunnel — slow down anything trying to escape. Natasha—"
"I'll cover you," she said before he could finish.
He nodded once. They moved.
---
Sublevel 6 – Hydra Bio-Core
The room was enormous — a vaulted chamber of glass tubes, genetic vats, and humming coils of alien tech. Suspended in the center, encased in a chrysalis of glowing steel and sinew, was a massive figure: twelve feet tall, armored, and half-submerged in an organic fluid.
It opened its eyes — four of them — and let out a guttural scream.
"Hydra's idea of a god," Otto murmured. "Fascinating. Suicidal, but fascinating."
The creature lunged as Otto leapt into the air, mechanical limbs catching a hanging cable. Natasha fired a volley of stinger blasts, barely slowing the behemoth. Its skin absorbed energy, dissipating it across bio-mesh scales.
Otto's claws extended, striking fast — slicing across its arm, revealing a swirling fusion of Kree tissue and Vibranium veins beneath.
He turned on his comm. "Adele. Analyze."
"Subject: Bio-Weapon XZ-9. Enhanced strength, adaptive armor, minor telekinetic surge capability. Weak point: neural spine junction."
Otto smirked. "Then let's perform surgery."
He signaled Natasha — she dove left, throwing a stun disc to blind the creature temporarily. Otto launched over it, deploying all four mechanical limbs to anchor himself to its back.
"Hey, Frankenstein," he muttered, as his gauntlet surged with energy.
He plunged it into the junction at the base of the creature's skull — a white-hot explosion of volts tearing through its spine. The monster thrashed, screeching, but Otto held on.
"Now, Wanda!" he shouted.
From the upper floor, Wanda unleashed a controlled burst of chaos magic, amplifying the shock. The hybrid finally collapsed, crashing through the floor into a crater of its own making.
Silence returned — jagged and brittle.
Felicia's voice came through. "I've got the schematics. Uploading to Stark's servers now. You're gonna owe me dinner, Superior."
"I'd rather eat glass," Otto replied flatly.
"Spicy."
---
Outside the Facility – 12:34 AM
Snow blew across the smoking wreckage of the Hydra base. Otto stood with arms folded as a Quinjet approached, lights slicing through the mist.
Falcon touched down beside him. "That's the cleanup crew."
Wanda joined them, visibly drained. "Whatever they were building… this wasn't their endgame."
Otto looked to the horizon. "No. Just a test."
Natasha stood a few feet away, observing him. "You handled yourself well."
"I always do."
She tilted her head. "You remind me of someone."
"Let me guess," Otto said. "Cap's discipline, Tony's ego."
"No," she replied. "A weapon trying not to be."
Before he could reply, Felicia stepped between them, tossing him a flash drive. "In case Stark loses his copy."
Otto caught it without looking. "I won't forget this."
"I'm counting on it."
She winked, then disappeared into the Quinjet.
---
Avengers Compound – Next Morning
Tony stood in the War Room, footage of the mission playing in fragmented clips.
He saw Otto, wreathed in smoke and flame, tearing apart the hybrid weapon. Saw Wanda shielding civilians. Saw Falcon pulling three prisoners from the rubble.
And then, briefly, Natasha — blurry, untagged, unofficial.
Tony narrowed his eyes.
"You weren't supposed to be there," he muttered to the screen.
Behind him, Otto entered, still in armor, eyes steady.
"It's done."
Tony looked at him. "That wasn't the deal."
"No," Otto agreed. "It was better."
Tony turned off the footage. "You really are something else."
"I told you," Otto said, turning away.
"I'm not just Spider-Man."
He walked out, cape trailing slightly behind, the necklace pulsing once like a heartbeat.
"I'm the Superior Spider-Man."