Outside the Barrier of the Abandoned Warehouse
A large number of heroes had gathered outside the place, including the Avengers, Julia Carpenter, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four (except Reed), the Defenders, and the four X-Men members who were nearby.
"Captain, you said we needed Strange to get Spider-Man out of that barrier. At the time, I thought it was a good idea—after all, we couldn't breach the force field even when the miniature cosmic power tried to break it. But now I know it was a terrible idea. If the miniature cosmic power couldn't do it, how could Strange?" Tony's voice echoed across the area, further angering an already furious Susan over the nickname he had given her son.
"Tony, I'm warning you—I'm not in the mood to hear your disrespectful words about my son. So watch your little mouth when you talk about any member of my family." Susan's furious tone reminded Tony that he was crossing a line.
"Susan's right, Tony. You can't just insult people over failure. We need to work together to free Peter from that predator demon." The Captain glared at Tony, reprimanding him for his behavior before refocusing on leading the team.
"Alright, we can't open the barrier surrounding this place without using firepower. So, I want to know what you all think—should we use firepower, or should we wait to confirm if Spider-Man is really here?"The Captain spoke loudly so everyone could hear and voice their opinions.
"We can't just bomb this place recklessly. We're not even sure if Peter is here, and we risk the feds accusing us of terrorism if we launch attacks here. The best course of action is for Strange to locate Spider-Man with his magic, confirm his exact position, and then act accordingly." Rogue, despite not being particularly fond of Spider-Man in his new superhero persona, gave her opinion to those present—secretly hoping to avoid public outrage and prevent mutants from being blamed for any potential disaster caused by bombing the area. Though it was far from where most New Yorkers gathered, it was still part of the city.
"I understand your point, girl, but I have reason to believe Spider-Man is here. All my methods led me to this place." Strange simply shook his head, dismissing the mutant's idea.
"So the chance that Spider-Man is here is very high, right?" Daredevil turned his gaze toward Strange, sensing his agreement through the slight movement of his head.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's start breaking this barrier so we can save Spider-Man!" Logan growled, already flexing his claws, ready to tear into the barrier.
"We can't act yet. We don't know for sure if Spider-Man is really here, so we're waiting for confirmation before attacking." Strange spoke as he began distancing himself from the group. He had only come because he sensed an abnormally large disturbance in Spider-Man's destiny. Whether this change was good or bad didn't matter right now—the only thing that mattered was ensuring Spider-Man survived to keep the multiverse stable.
The people gathered here to save him might not know it, but Strange knew Spider-Man was the reincarnation of a cosmic entity—the Spider, the representative of the Web of Life and Destiny that held the entire multiverse together. The multiverse wouldn't die just because Spider-Man disappeared, but it would become unstable and could even collapse.
The heroes simply began chatting among themselves as they waited for confirmation of Spider-Man's location.
Not far from where Tony had been hurling insults, an enraged Gwen Stacy and Jessica Drew were tearing into Julia for failing in her duty and not protecting one of the most important things entrusted to her.
"I can't believe you, Julia. You still have the nerve to show your face here. If we didn't need all the help we could get, I would've smashed that damn face of yours to match your shattered eyes." A furious Jessica glared at Julia while Gwen struggled to contain her own rage.
"You don't understand—it was supposed to—" Before Julia could finish, Gwen cut her off.
"Supposed to? That's always your excuse, isn't it? You can't even do your damn job right, even with your spider-vision foresight. You don't intervene when you're supposed to, when Peter's life is in real danger. Instead of Julia Carpenter, they should call you Idiot Carpenter. You know what? Get out of my sight. I can't stand having someone as useless as you around." Gwen's furious cursing quickly drew the attention of the other heroes, but before they could ask what was happening, Susan's children called out.
"Mom, come quick!"
"Kids, what's wrong?" Susan was the first to reach them.
"Mom, it's Uncle Peter! Look!" The children urgently pointed at the television.
On the screen, Peter—dressed as Spider-Man—emerged from the darkness and approached the spot where Solus stood.
"It's Peter! It really is him! He's still alive! Quickly, start bombarding the barrier—we're sure he's inside, and we don't leave our comrades behind!" The moment the Captain finished speaking, all the heroes sprang into action.
When the heroes saw the figure standing before what was clearly a villain, they immediately rushed toward the barrier and began bombarding it, while Tony had his AI project a hologram of what was on the children's television.
"It's impossible. No matter how hard we try, we won't break this barrier." Strange's voice cut through the chaos.
"What do you mean?" the Captain asked.
"This barrier couldn't be broken even with Franklin's power and mine combined. You have no idea how strong it is. I didn't want to discourage you earlier, but… we're too late to help Spider-Man."
Just as Strange finished speaking, Tony called out.
All the heroes turned—only to see the villain standing with Spider-Man speak.
"It seems, just as I suspected, you won't surrender… Mr. Insect." Solus's voice was cold.
As the man called Solus spoke, the heroes were met with an image they would likely never forget for the rest of their lives.
Spider-Man—their friend, comrade, lover, and family—had his entire chest torn open.
And as his heart was exposed, Solus reached out, gripped it in his hand, and held it while immobilizing Spider-Man in place with some kind of psychic power.