radicalducati Chapter 19: Escape from Death?
Chapter 19: Escape from Death?
Chapter 19: Escape from Death?
"Are...are there still people...who haven't been evacuated?"
Peter Parker's voice trembled, each word seeming to be squeezed out of his lungs. His arms and back bore unimaginable weight—a section of viaduct weighing four or five hundred tons was pressing down on him, and even though not all the supporting pillars had collapsed, he felt as if the whole world was trying to crush him.
Peter had never tested his limits, but now he felt he had reached them. He felt that even a single pigeon landing on the bridge could cause him to collapse. His blood roared in his veins, and his eardrums bulged as if they would burst. His vision blurred, leaving only blinding flashes of light and darkness. He couldn't even hear his own heartbeat; only a dying buzzing echoed in his head.
He wasn't sure if anyone hadn't evacuated safely because he couldn't sense anything anymore and could only issue the only warning.
"Is there still anyone who hasn't left?"
It sounded like someone was answering him, but he heard nothing. The metallic taste in his throat was the only thing he could feel—no, there was something else: intense, rapid vibrations in his arms and back. Even without sight and hearing, Peter could still feel something—
That means the subway is about to arrive at the station.
A tremendous sound seemed to ring in his ears, and Spider-Man stood there, seemingly about to collapse. A crowd gathered outside the overpass, watching Spider-Man struggle to stay afloat, then, as if noticing something else, turned to look.
Peter Parker suddenly felt his vision filled with crimson, and he could no longer feel any weight on his hands and back. The sudden lightness caused him to lose consciousness, collapsing into the crimson expanse.
That wasn't blood; it was a giant red hand.
"I caught the kid. Tony, we need your MK38 here."
Watching the giant Ant-Man, seemingly straight out of an Ultraman movie set, cradling the unconscious Spider-Man in one hand and supporting the broken bridge with the other, the subway roared past unscathed. The crowd erupted in deafening cheers, celebrating the Avengers' rescue of the city once again.
Immediately afterwards, a blue streak of light pierced through the dust, and the heavy steel armor crashed to the ground. The MK38 armor "Ego" took over from Spider-Man and stood on the cross-section of the support pillar. The hydraulic jacks in the spine unfolded with a "clang," and as Ant-Man slowly lowered his hands, the MK38 steadily held the bridge in place.
After Ant-Man shrunk down along with the unconscious Spider-Man in his palm, he carried the child on his back and rode away from the scene on a flying ant, finally having time to conduct the next communication.
"I'm taking this kid back to Avengers Tower. Herman? Tony?"
"Uh, the captain and Little Hornet are chasing him, I'm keeping watch from the air."
Dehydration, high temperature, and a broken cooling system—his terrifying escape was terrible. He stumbled and glided through the air, not even noticing how the shield defied the laws of physics, launching itself at an odd angle and slamming into his back, sending him crashing to the ground with sparks flying.
"It's over, Hermann Schulz."
Captain America stopped his motorcycle in front of Herman: "You don't understand how dangerous your actions and weapons are. Now, disarm immediately!"
"Yeah, just surrender to the Avengers." The Wasp suddenly appeared and stabbed him in the back of the neck with her bioelectric stinger—but unfortunately, not even a spark was generated.
"I have no idea……?"
Herman, who had only intended to escape, was so enraged that he laughed, his laughter hoarse like sandpaper scraping. He didn't even stand up; he just clenched his fist, and powerful shockwaves began to spread outwards in waves. The ground beneath his feet began to collapse little by little, the air distorted visually due to changes in density, traffic lights, utility poles, and fire hydrants all began to deform severely, and the captain and Little Hornet began to sway.
As it continued to release vibrations, it stood up and finally let out a roar.
"I know how powerful my invention is!" Herman roared as he stood up. "Powerful enough that the Avengers need to be called in!"
Just as the captain seized the opportunity to pounce, the ground collapsed again. The captain leaped into the air and planted his shield in the concrete to avoid falling, while the freak had already used the vibration wave to jump and escape once more.
"Where are you going, Herman? You have nowhere to run!"
The seemingly insignificant little wasp had somehow caught up with the horror, following him closely and continuously firing electric stings. The damage wasn't significant, but Herman couldn't run away with a tail, so after another jump, he turned and aimed at the little wasp, which was barely visible in his line of sight.
A golden-red figure hurtled towards them at supersonic speed. Iron Man slammed him back into the street, landing gracefully before pre-activating armor-piercing rounds on his arm armor: "Surrender, Herman. I don't know where your gold-titanium alloy came from, but I know your equipment can't withstand my fire."
Herman laughed as he was attacked one after another.
He suddenly realized that, besides killing Spider-Man, there was another way to become famous that was more suitable for him—that is, even if the Avengers came to arrest him, they would be defeated.
He raised his hands as if to surrender, but smiled as Iron Man approached.
Goodbye, Iron Man.
The armor-piercing round was fired the instant the words were spoken, but the floor beneath Terrifying's feet had already collapsed. Terrifying, fleeing into the sewers, caused a section of road more than ten meters to collapse, burying the entire sewer system. Avoiding any pursuit, Captain America, who arrived on his motorcycle, could only watch as Iron Man and Bumblebee stared at each other, bewildered by the collapsed road surface.
As for horror, he only has one place to go now.
Herman, clad in his battle armor, used his last ounce of strength and the kinetic energy of his battle to reach Otto's stronghold. This time, the stronghold didn't require his key; the door was already open. Before he could even step inside, a mechanical claw grabbed him and pulled him inside. Then, several tentacled robots slipped out, began cleaning up the traces, and closed the stronghold's door.
"I saw your performance." A synthesized voice came from the shadows. "You could have killed Spider-Man, why did you hold back?"
Herman took off his helmet, which was almost completely soaked with his sweat, and accepted a bottle of mineral water from the mechanical claw.
"I don't know. Maybe it's just because I've never killed anyone. Maybe it's because I believe Spider-Man can hold up that bridge, but if I were to kill someone intentionally... it would be a different story."
Herman, who was sitting against the wall, took a long time to speak before finally saying this. Otto remained silent for a long time before turning on the lights that had never been turned on in the base before.
As the soft white lights came on, Hermann finally met the mysterious "Otto".
It was a middle-aged man who appeared to have no mobility whatsoever, paralyzed in all four limbs, encased in a bulky mechanical life support device. He seemed to have difficulty even turning his neck, as some mechanical devices had pierced his throat, merging his vocal cords with an electronic generator. He wore goggles, seemingly unable to adapt to bright light, and his four flexible mechanical tentacles were his current limbs.
"A little light might make you more comfortable, my friend."
"I...I really didn't expect you to be like this."
Otto didn't care at all, and simply turned to the old computers to continue his calculations: "If you have an 'old friend' like Norman Osborn, then you're lucky to have achieved this."
Herman instinctively felt that Dr. Otto hadn't told him many things, but he didn't want to ask. Instead, after pouring the rest of the water over his head, he made his request.
"Could you help me get in touch with that 'big boss'? I believe he wouldn't refuse to work for someone who can open any lock."
Otto adjusted his glasses with his mechanical claw.
"Is this all you want to do? Get famous and then work for someone else? Find yourself a good job?"
"The next step is to take care of the Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America, Ant-Man, the Wasp..." Herman rationally avoided mentioning Hulk and Thor's names: "I want to tell them that my equipment, Herman Schultz's, far surpasses that of Tony Stark, Hank Pym, or anyone else. I am a true genius!"
Herman's fundamental desire is fame, and great fame at that, so the Avengers are his goal. To achieve this, he needs more money to upgrade his armor, especially to improve its heat dissipation capabilities and avoid the dehydration issues he's experiencing today.
So, he needed money, lots and lots of money. He had no savings left, and robbing a bank would likely result in him being caught by the Avengers before he could complete his plan. Therefore, Herman thought of Kingpin. Since Kingpin was willing to sponsor his armor-making, Kingpin would surely be willing to let him work for him after he demonstrated his abilities.
Otto doesn't intend to reject his new friend Herman, and he also needs someone of sufficient influence to investigate the strength of the Avengers and other superheroes in order to adjust his weapon manufacturing plans, but he has other problems.
"What about Spider-Man? You didn't completely defeat him, and it's over just like that?"
"He will come looking for me, but once I upgrade my armor, he will be no match for me."
(End of this chapter)