Restart, Spider-Man!

"Don't worry about it. Keep the hammer safe—he'll come to us himself." Xia Luo said.

Old Man Steve raised Mjolnir, which trembled slightly in his grasp, and frowned.

"Isn't it a bit…inappropriate to be hogging his favorite hammer like this?"

Xia Luo rolled his eyes. "Have you done anything good lately?"

Steve grinned. "Nope."

"So, what're you hesitating for?"

"I'm worried he'll get mad and take it out on me."

"He can't even get the hammer right now; something's clearly wrong with him. What're you so scared of?"

Ignoring the suited men around him, Xia Luo casually picked up the enormous Wilson Fisk, hauling him off like a mountain on his shoulder as he left the scene without a word.

The men in suits watched in silence, powerless to stop him as they watched their boss's body being carried away.

They'd all just witnessed what had happened: even a bomb couldn't take out Spider-Man, so their little handguns stood no chance.

As Xia Luo took Fisk's body away, Carter and the others exchanged curious glances but chose not to speak up.

The group left one after another, with Gwen staying behind as usual to assist George and the police in securing the scene.

Later that night, Xia Luo and his companions returned to Gwen's spacious apartment.

He tossed Fisk's body to the floor. "Peter, it's all yours," he said to Lizard Parker.

Lizard Parker nodded and pulled a strange circular device from his pocket, pointing it at Fisk's body.

Bzzzz~

Immediately, a brief flicker like a TV screen glitch passed over the scene, and, to everyone's surprise, Fisk "came back to life."

"Mmmmf…"

Fisk lay on the ground, bound in glistening spider silk. The moment he moved, the sharp strands sliced through his suit, digging into his flesh and creating a searing pain that held him still.

Mouth taped shut with webs, he could only glare at Xia Luo with a fury that practically screamed of vengeance.

"What's going on here?" Carter asked, startled.

Before Xia Luo could reply, Lizard Parker held up the device with a smug look.

"I found this gadget on Mysterio's body. It projects a completed hologram. Sadly, I couldn't retrieve his hallucinogenic mist to fool the sense of touch." He sighed, disappointed.

Old Man Steve gave a thoughtful nod and turned to Xia Luo. "So, you let them witness you 'killing' Fisk on purpose?"

Xia Luo nodded. "Of course. Fisk's death wouldn't help us. We still need intel from him."

Carter's eyes lit up in realization. "So that's why only Trident didn't disappear. I was beginning to wonder if they were actually dead, but it was just a mirage."

"No need to wonder; they're dead for real."

Xia Luo crouched down, tearing away the web covering Fisk's mouth.

"Mr. Fisk, you're officially dead. Now, if you tell me what I want to know, I wouldn't mind letting you 'live' on in this way." He smiled.

Fisk had been ready to curse him out, but he fell silent at this.

"Not that it would matter much if you hadn't. I don't think I would've died either way," Fisk replied coldly.

Xia Luo shrugged. "Really? I can just let you go, then."

"Wait."

Fisk took a deep breath. "Alright, I admit it. Yes, if the mission fails, I might be killed, but I still have some value. The boss might spare me.

But since I've been captured, even if you let me go, I wouldn't be able to explain myself."

"That's right." Xia Luo smirked.

"Your smile's downright sinister."

Fisk shot him a sharp glare. This guy had singlehandedly shattered his plans.

Hearing this, Carter started to understand why Xia Luo had acted as he had.

"Have to admit, Xia Luo is clever. This is the simplest way to get Fisk to tell the truth—he's out of options." She sighed.

Old Man Steve stroked his chin. "True. If we forced him, he wouldn't necessarily be honest."

Lizard Parker glanced at the two of them. "Aren't you forgetting to praise me? I figured out the hologram tech so quickly—I'm the real genius here." He pouted.

Carter shot Lizard Parker a look. "The actual challenge is creating a convincing hologram from scratch, not operating a simple device."

Lizard Parker opened his mouth, rendered speechless.

Damn you, Mysterio. Couldn't you have added a few more steps to make it tricky?

He cursed inwardly.

Meanwhile, Fisk seemed to accept his fate.

Turning to Xia Luo, he asked, "What is it you want to know?"

"What can you tell me?" Xia Luo shot back.

Fisk hadn't expected that answer.

After a pause, he admitted, "My task was to keep you occupied, to keep you so busy you couldn't chase after your clues."

Old Man Steve raised an eyebrow. "Seems like you weren't trying to 'occupy' us. You were planning to make us disappear."

Fisk reluctantly nodded. "Yes. I figured that eliminating you would prove my abilities better than dragging it out."

"I'm guessing you weren't the only one who thought that way, huh?" Xia Luo said, pulling a chair over to sit down.

Fisk eyed it enviously. "I'd like a seat too. And a cold beer."

"You're a prisoner. Act like one." Xia Luo smiled back, unyielding.

Fisk sighed. "Fine. You people really aren't what I expected. At least heroes don't mistreat their captives."

Unfazed, Xia Luo said nothing, and Fisk swallowed hard before continuing.

"You guessed right. That Steve wasn't satisfied with stalling; he wanted Spider-Man dead."

He fixed his gaze on Xia Luo. "I'd say he meant you, not the girl."

"Yeah, he's petty. Just because I killed him a few times, he can't let it go. His outlook is so small." Xia Luo muttered.

Fisk: "…"

In his mind, Spider-Man shouldn't act like this...jerk.

Yet, he found himself preferring this Spider-Man to the one in the press.

Spider-Man was still human, after all, and people are often ugly inside.

This Spider-Man felt…real.

The one the public adored was just a myth—something Fisk despised from the core.

His tone softened, and a small smile appeared.

"You probably want to know who sent me after you. Sorry to say, I don't know. The man is a mystery. Maybe that Steve knew, but he's dead."

Xia Luo took this in without disappointment.

"One last question—where's Felicia? The girl Chameleon impersonated."

"She's dead," Fisk answered bluntly.

"Dead?"

Carter frowned. "Didn't you want to keep her around to threaten us?"

Fisk glanced at Carter. "I remember Steve mentioning you. He had a fondness for you, so he had Mysterio make a hologram. It was the only way to keep himself from seeing your face…and repeating his past mistakes."

"Delusional," Old Man Steve muttered.

Carter remained unfazed. "Answer my question."

Fisk smirked. "You must be a movie fan."

Before Carter could respond, he continued. "Times have changed. Hostages are a liability. They mess with your judgment. I had high hopes for this plan. Hostages weren't needed.

So, I had Chameleon kill her, the body's probably…"

"Spare us the details. It's been too long; the body's decomposed by now." Xia Luo cut him off.

He showed no sadness over Felicia's death.

After all, they barely knew each other.

Besides, she was just dead. Nothing worth getting hung up over.

Better not to have her image tainted by the sight of her corpse.

If he ever saw the sultry, lively Felicia again, he wouldn't be able to face her.

Fisk was beginning to appreciate Xia Luo's cold and merciless demeanor.

"Impressive. You've bested me. If only…"

His eyes grew distant, sadness surfacing.

"My child, my wife…they're lost to me forever."

He looked at Xia Luo's face, a moment of reverie passing over him.

"If only you weren't Spider-Man…" he smiled wistfully.

Old Man Steve looked curious. "If he weren't Spider-Man, what would you do?"

"I'd ask him to be my son…"

"Shut up!"

Xia Luo glared, webbing Fisk's mouth shut.

He swore he'd never let Fisk say something so sickening again.

Old Man Steve just smiled wryly, clearly amused.

"What're we doing with this guy?" Lizard Parker asked.

Xia Luo waved him off. "Take him back to his room."

"Me?"

Lizard Parker looked Fisk up and down. "He's…heavy."

"You can transform."

"I can only transform once a day."

"And it lasts how long?"

"Never tested it."

"Wow. Pathetic."

Fisk stretched his stiff muscles, shaking his head. "Don't worry. I won't do anything reckless."

"Great. Peter, take him."

"Fine, big guy. Follow me."

Lizard Parker led Fisk away, passing Peter Parker playing with the cat. Fisk gave them a curious look.

"Are you twins?"

Lizard Parker shrugged. "Something like that."

"No, triplets," Peter Parker corrected, looking serious.

Fisk looked confused. "Triplets? Where's the third?"

Peter pointed at Xia Luo. "He's our older brother."

Fisk thought for a moment. "Maybe we should get a paternity test. Remember, real men face the truth—it's not your fault." He said, giving Lizard Parker a solemn pat.

Lizard Parker: "…"

What is he even talking about?

Swish~

A small figure swung in through the window.

"Fisk? You're alive?" Gwen gasped, surprised to see him.

Lizard Parker quickly reassured her. "Don't worry, it's a hologram—thanks to Mysterio's tech. We never planned to kill him."

"And those weirdos? They're alive too?" Gwen's eyes sparkled with hope.

"Dead. Very dead."

"But their bodies vanished."

"They're defeated, so they vanished."

"You said the same last time."

"This time, it's for real."

After the fierce battle, the tired crew soon returned to their rooms to rest.

Old Man Steve and Xia Luo, however, stayed in the living room, watching TV.

Mjolnir trembled occasionally in Steve's grip, as if searching for something.

Old Man Steve tightened his hold on it and muttered, "Where's Thor? My hand's starting to sweat."

Xia Luo, lounging on the couch, casually passed him a mug of warm milk.

"Drink some milk—it'll help you sleep."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Sure. You were asking what exactly this 'world crisis' is that we're supposed to solve, seeing as we haven't found any clues yet. Think we're getting pranked?"

"I don't drink milk."

"Fisk's snoring is ridiculous. I can hear it from here—hand me your earplugs."

"I want coffee."

"Anyway, old man, I have this weird feeling about the resurrection matches. I think we're being misled, but I can't figure out how."

"I want coffee!"

"The doorbell's ringing. I'm guessing it's Thor."

"Thor wouldn't come through the front door."

"Maybe it's that delivery you ordered on the sly."

Xia Luo ignored Steve's remark and approached the door, peering through the peephole.

"Nobody's there." He turned back to Old Man Steve, a hint of fear on his face.

"Don't try to drag me into one of your childish games."

The doorbell rang again, and Steve, unimpressed, got up to join Xia Luo by the door.

He peered through the peephole himself and saw…nothing.

"There really is no one." He frowned.

Ding-dong…

The bell chimed once more, and Xia Luo checked again.

"Still nobody." He swallowed nervously.

Ding-dong… ding-dong… ding-dong…

The doorbell's rhythm suddenly became erratic, punctuated by strange knocking sounds.

Steve's face went pale. He had his eye glued to the peephole, yet no one was in sight.

In an instant, he felt chills crawling down his spine!

He took a cautious step back, his throat tightening.

"Should…should we open it?" he asked.

Xia Luo, also retreating, hid behind Steve, his voice trembling. "Old man…you ever seen a ghost?"

Steve's forehead started to sweat.

"It's the age of science, Xia Luo. This kind of stuff can't scare people anymore."

Xia Luo suddenly clamped a hand down on Steve's shoulder, leaning in with a low, ghostly tone.

"You believe me when I say I have."

"What?"

Steve froze, sweat gathering on his brow.

"Don't mess with me. There are no ghosts. When did you supposedly see one?"

"Every day."

"You—"

A shiver crept up Steve's back.

With a dry mouth, he forced himself to swallow, then slowly turned.

In that instant, he saw the eerie smile spreading across Xia Luo's face.

"You little spider…"

"Hahaha, that's right. Now you've seen a ghost too."

Xia Luo flicked on the light, flooding the room with brightness.

"Coward!!" he laughed, pointing at Steve.

Old Man Steve: "…"

"You…bastard! I can't believe I fell for that nonsense!" Steve ground out.

Xia Luo smirked. "Well, who told you to keep watching TV in the dark? I'd be a fool not to take advantage of this mood!"

"You're really something."

Steve exhaled, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

But when he looked at Xia Luo again, his face went pale once more.

"Y-y-you…"

"What now?"

"Behind you…"

"Behind me?"

Xia Luo glanced back and found himself face-to-face with a terrifying ghostly figure that had materialized out of nowhere.

"Ahahaha…"

The ghastly mouth gaped at him. Xia Luo's expression twisted, then he rolled his eyes.

"Enough with the games."

He turned, giving Lizard Parker a deadpan look where he lurked in the corner.

"Er, you caught me," Lizard Parker said, scratching his head and quickly stashing Mysterio's hologram device.

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd join in on the fun."

Seeing this, Old Man Steve scowled, rolling up his sleeves.

"Perfect. Let's play something a little more…entertaining." A wicked grin spread across his face.

"No! I'm sorry—don't come any closer!"

Lizard Parker's smile froze as he spun around, bolting for the door.

But the room was only so big, and there was nowhere to escape.

"You're dead!"

Before Steve could start his pursuit, the doorbell rang again.

Ding-dong…

"I am Thor, God of Thunder, here for the glory of the Northern Gods."

The electronic, synthesized voice boomed from outside, and Xia Luo shook his head.

"Peter, how many times do I have to tell you to knock it off?"

He opened the door, only to see…no one.

But then he looked down, and his face became an amusing mixture of shock and delight.

After all, in the Marvel multiverse, there is an animal universe…

---

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!

Posture and water check! Remember this is a fan translation!

If you wish to support me or read ahead here's a link! [patreon.com/WiseTL]