Restart, Spider-Man!

Merry Christmas!

---

Egged on by Lizard Parker, Connors found himself chased by a swarm of modified soldiers.

Meanwhile, Lizard Parker slipped back into the group assaulting Spider-Man.

"Stupid bug! I'm going to tear you apart!!"

Lizard Parker lunged, only for Xia Luo to sling a web at him, flinging him high into the air.

"Vulture! Catch me!"

Lizard Parker yelled in mock panic, and sure enough, the green-suited Vulture swooped down and caught him.

"Thank you, you balding buzzard."

"What?"

Vulture's eyes widened just before Lizard Parker tore off one of his wings.

"You… you faker!"

Before Vulture could expose his less-than-heroic antics, Lizard Parker clamped a hand over his mouth as they both tumbled into the crowd below.

"Oh no!"

As they landed, Lizard Parker fell to his knees in mock agony.

"No! Spider-Man is too strong! Vulture has fallen… I must avenge him!"

With a dramatic wail, he launched himself back toward Xia Luo.

Xia Luo's mouth twitched in exasperation. He could only repeat the trick, tossing him in the direction of Scorpion.

"Oh no! Somebody catch me!"

Lizard Parker screamed as he hurtled through the air, only to be caught mid-flight by none other than another lizard—a furious Dr. Connors.

"You fraud! You're dead."

"Erm… Professor Connors, let me explain—"

"I'm going to tear you apart!!"

"Then I'll tear you apart first!"

And with that, the two lizards lunged at each other, wrestling furiously.

Boom!

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, a towering dust storm began to swirl. A massive sand foot stomped over them, making a beeline for Xia Luo.

"Spider-Man! Die!!"

The booming roar echoed across the arena as a towering Sandman, over a hundred feet tall, thundered down. With a monstrous stomp, he sent tremors through the earth.

Boom!

The impact left a vast crater, sending waves of sand and dust into the air, shrouding the battlefield in a thick, gray haze.

Zzzt!

Suddenly, arcs of lightning soared into the sky, followed by a burst of magical sparks. An endless torrent of seawater rained down, washing over the chaos below.

"No!"

Water gushed into the arena, flooding everything in sight. The colossal Sandman began to crumble as seawater eroded away his form, and the ranks of modified soldiers were thrown into disarray by the deluge.

As the portal's diameter expanded, even more water surged into the arena.

Woosh!

Mist filled the air, and a faint rainbow arched across the sky.

From the cascading waterfall above, countless sea creatures spilled into the arena along with the water.

Splish, splash

"Oh my gosh—is Spider-Man… Aquaman now?"

On a drifting plank, Wade—who'd recently sprouted a new head—paddled leisurely over the underwater dunes, pausing to haul a floundering Lizard Man onto his makeshift raft.

"How're you holding up, Peter?"

Lizard Man's pupils narrowed, his tail whipping around to send Wade flying.

"I'm Connors, not Peter!" he cackled.

Wade shrieked dramatically from the water.

"No! You broke my heart—glub glub glub…"

With a spray of bubbles, Wade's head vanished beneath the waves.

Slash!

Moments later, a set of razor-sharp metal claws sliced through the plank, neatly bisecting the Lizard Man.

Crack, crack

Under the weight of the water, the walls of the arena began to fracture and crumble, finally giving way in a tidal surge.

At the breach, Old Man Steve was riding his shield like a surfboard, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Oh-ho! Hey, Spider, what do you say we open a waterpark when this is all over?" he yelled excitedly.

"You won't live to see it, old man!"

Before Xia Luo could respond, a mass of blood-red tentacles erupted from the water below.

Sploosh!

Spraying water everywhere, the tentacles shot up like some deep-sea leviathan, coiling around Old Man Steve.

As Hydra Steve unleashed his crazed assault, Old Man Steve kicked off his shield, sending waves crashing outward as he launched himself into the air.

Under the rainbow's arc, Old Man Steve spread his arms to embrace the "sea breeze," a serene smile on his face.

But behind him, the sprawling blood-red tentacles surged upward, casting a dark shadow over him once more.

Simultaneously, another shadow fell across Hydra Steve, hanging mid-air.

"What?"

Hydra Steve instinctively turned his head, terror spreading across his face as he looked into the shadow.

"Oh… shi—"

Splash!

The monstrous creature of the deep devoured Hydra Steve in one gulp, then plunged back into the water with a colossal splash.

Moments later, a horrific, scale-covered behemoth—bearing massive, jagged teeth—found itself beached on the nearby wetlands, stranded by the retreating tides.

Xia Luo stared at the creature, utterly dumbfounded.

"Where on earth did this thing come from?"

Nearby, Wade jabbed a knife into his stomach, allowing a torrent of seawater to pour out.

"Well, it's definitely not the Deep's girlfriend, so I'm betting it's from the depths of Atlantis." He quipped.

Xia Luo scowled. "Enough showing off your wall breaking abilities. Go check if there's anyone left alive and, if needed, give them a final stab."

"With pleasure! That's my favorite part of the job."

Wade hoisted his twin blades and began inspecting the aftermath of the battlefield.

Under Logan's claws, most of the Sinister Six had been wiped out, aside from the Sandman, who'd been washed away by the seawater.

Among the Black Order, only Ebony Maw survived, his telekinesis sealed by Professor X's powers, leaving him vulnerable to Wade's mercy.

Madame Hydra's venom had posed a serious threat, but fortunately, she hadn't joined the fight.

Six-Armed Spider-Man, after chomping down on Wade's head, had his own head chopped off by Logan.

Electro and the two Peter Parkers had vanished from the battlefield altogether.

Bucky was forced to self-destruct after being cornered by Carter, and Hydra Steve... well, he had been swallowed whole by the sea creature.

Throughout the chaos, Xia Luo had mostly been tasked with mopping up low-level grunts.

But the real MVP—the one who dealt the killing blows to the villains—was Wolverine.

With Logan and Professor X on the Spider-Man team, the outcome was almost a foregone conclusion.

Splat!

The beached sea monster's belly began to convulse, blood trickling from a gash as a mangled, bloody figure crawled out.

"Damn bug," Hydra Steve muttered.

Now stripped of his regenerative abilities, he staggered and collapsed, his body rapidly decaying. The blood-red tendrils at his back had dissolved, and his spine, corroded by the creature's stomach acid, could no longer channel Hydra's power.

Looking at Xia Luo, who was calmly approaching, Hydra Steve grinned through his cracked lips.

"Haha... congratulations on defeating me... yet again."

Shakily, he struggled to stand, chunks of rotting flesh dropping from his face.

"Even if I die, Hydra's artificial sun will conquer the world. So, in the end, I still win."

Xia Luo smiled faintly. "True, Hydra wins. But, unfortunately, the dead aren't eligible for resurrection."

"So what?" Hydra Steve sneered. "As long as I drag you down to hell with me, it's all worth it!"

"Nope, who said I'm going to hell?" Xia Luo crossed her arms, as Old Man Steve and others stepped up behind him.

Buzz.

A portal flickered to life, revealing the artificial sun radiating a blinding light on the other side.

Bathed in the glow, the Time Monolith was shrouded in golden energy, which slowly enveloped Old Man Steve.

Under Hydra Steve's and Wade's shocked gaze, the wrinkles on Old Man Steve's face smoothed out before his eyes. Within seconds, he'd regained his youthful form, looking exactly like Hydra Steve—identical in every way.

Carter raised an eyebrow. "Wade, you didn't know he was Steve?"

Wade shook his head. "I thought he was just a senior cosplaying as Captain America."

Carter sighed. "..."

The light faded, and now-young Steve ran a hand across his smooth face.

"Now I could fight all day!" he said, holding up his shield, visibly thrilled.

Hydra Steve's face darkened, witnessing the powers of the Time Monolith firsthand for the first time.

"Ha! So what if you're young again? You're still mortal," he scoffed.

Xia Luo shrugged. "Mission's over; we're all surviving this."

"What?" Hydra Steve frowned, an uneasy feeling building in his chest.

Sure enough, Xia Luo and the others broke into applause.

"Yay! We helped Hydra conquer the world. We won!"

"Yes, we did. But too bad our fearless leader's dead—no resurrection for him."

"And those delightful teammates." Wade gave Black Dwarf's severed head a little peck.

Hydra Steve: "???"

"What's the meaning of this?" he demanded, darkening.

Old Man Steve chuckled, "It's simple. We've all joined Hydra's team, Spider-Man included."

"Impossible! I don't accept your allegiance!" Hydra Steve yelled.

"But someone else does."

Xia Luo opened a portal, allowing Dr. Otto and Ruth to step through.

"Supreme Leader, you should remember how Hydra recruits its members," Ruth said, smirking.

At her words, Hydra Steve's face twisted with dread.

"Of course I know... members at level six or above have independent recruitment rights."

"I'm a level nine."

Hydra Steve's face fell. "..."

"No, you're cheating! This is unfair!"

He erupted into curses, "You traitors! I'm firing all of you!"

Ruth chuckled. "The only way out of Hydra is death, Supreme Leader."

"Can you kill Spider-Man?"

"Damn you, Spider-Man!"

Hydra Steve glared at Xia Luo, spitting with rage. "Even if you found a loophole, once Hydra takes over, you'll be the first to die, you little bug!"

Old Man Steve cleared his throat and then, mocking Hydra Steve's tone, declared:

"I'm Steve Rogers, ordering all Hydra agents to cease targeting Spider-Man. Proceed with my plan."

Hydra Steve's face dropped, the truth dawning on him.

They were planning to replace him with another Steve to take control of Hydra from within.

"No... you'll never succeed! Hydra isn't just my voice alone." A flicker of hope crossed his face.

But Xia Luo was quick to extinguish it.

"If I'm not mistaken, your headquarters are in Sokovia, Eastern Europe. And if Steve's the only one left... well, who's in charge?"

"You—"

Hydra Steve coughed up blackened blood, collapsing limply.

"No... You won't get away with this... Dr. Zola has ascended to digital consciousness. As long as there's a network, he's eternal. He'll expose your schemes," he muttered, his gaze slowly dimming.

"Keep him alive," Xia Luo instructed, as Dr. Otto channeled Hydra's power.

Under the blood-red mist, Hydra Steve's decaying flesh steadied.

Pulled back from the brink, he regained consciousness, though too weak to speak.

Xia Luo grinned, satisfied.

"Perfect. Now he can't enter the revival rounds."

Noting this, Carter went off to prepare the next steps.

Both Norman and Hydra Steve would need immediate containment upon their resurrection.

Old Man Steve's face turned serious. "Little Spider, will this really work?"

Worry creased his face. "Once I'm gone, who's controlling Hydra?"

"And that Zola..."

Professor X spoke up. "He's a tricky one. Destroying his servers won't end him. His consciousness can spread to others."

"I know. But if we want to survive, we don't have a choice."

Xia Luo stomped, smashing Hydra Steve's virtual computer, and then stepped into the portal.

---

At Kamar-Taj.

"Are you going to talk or not? Are you going to talk?"

Beside a small pond, Crocodile Loki lay bound and tied up, while Felicia circled him, cracking a whip in her hand.

"No! I'll talk! Stop already!"

"Then talk!"

"What am I supposed to say?"

"You seriously don't know?"

Felicia lashed the whip again, and Crocodile Loki let out another tortured scream.

"Okay, okay, I'll talk!"

"Then hurry up and spit it out!"

"I don't even know what you want me to say..."

Watching the battered, near-broken Crocodile Loki, Xia Luo's expression twitched with mild exasperation.

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked.

Felicia looked over, noticing Xia Luo. She smoothed back a strand of hair and offered a smile.

"It tried to eat me earlier, so I'm simply waiting for an earnest apology."

Crocodile Loki: "…"

"I apologize! I'm sorry, truly! Please, have mercy! In the name of the gods, I apologize to the beautiful lady! Just spare me!"

Earth women were terrifying.

Why not just say what she wanted outright instead of making him guess?

Xia Luo shook his head. "Prisoners deserve fair treatment; what you're doing is hardly right."

He stepped forward and loosened Crocodile Loki's bindings. "Alright, it's your turn to perform, our captured crocodile guest."

"I've already done my part."

"It wasn't enough."

In Sokovia.

Hydra Headquarters.

High above, a portal opened, casting a spread of green light that scattered like an aurora across the sky.

Roar!

A dreadful beast began to take shape, opening its massive jaws to consume everything in its path.

"Dr. Zola, your servers..."

Inside a pitch-black chamber, static danced across a series of computer screens.

After a long silence, Dr. Zola's face appeared on one of the flickering monitors.

"This strange place has trapped my consciousness. I cannot complete my rebirth here." Panic crept into Dr. Zola's tone.

Up to his chest in a mysterious, thick liquid, Red Skull looked grim.

"How could this happen? We learned their plans through Steve's virtual computer. By all logic, we should've won."

Dr. Zola's expression twisted in frustration. "I assumed Spider-Man would use that bald fool against me. I never accounted for a crocodile—I miscalculated.

They were misleading Steve the entire time; they never intended to join us at all."

Red Skull took a deep breath. "It's alright. Once Steve enters the revival rounds, we'll be able to join him."

"The revival rounds..."

Dr. Zola shook his head. "You might, but I... I've been dead for a long time."

In the darkness, Dr. Zola let out a long, regretful sigh.

---

T/N: woooo world is savedd~!

I, WiseTL, in my infinite grace and generosity, have bestowed upon you an extra 2 chapters as my holiday gift. 🎁 Consider it a glimpse of my benevolence—cherish it well.

May your festivities be as golden as my treasury and as plentiful as my updates. Farewell, mortals, until the next chapter. 😉

Now, bow in gratitude. 🌟