Extremis?

His flesh-and-blood body was flying at Mach 15 and still accelerating. Lin Yi's physical capabilities had long since surpassed anything human.

With that kind of fighting power, JARVIS was right: if Lin Yi stayed to fight the Aberrants, he could buy himself more breathing room.

But was it really that simple? No. If there were hundreds or thousands of Lin Yis, perhaps. With only one, he couldn't take that risk!

Seven hundred kilometers away, a massive fireball fell from the sky and slammed into the only road.

Boom!

A small mushroom cloud rose, throwing up countless plumes of dust. A sonic boom raced toward the distant Bamok Special District and would clearly reach it.

But that no longer mattered. No humans lived in the Bamok Special District anymore.

As the dust gradually cleared, a bloodcurdling monster's roar came from the enormous crater the fireball had left.

A monster roughly five meters tall climbed out of the crater. It wasn't bulky; it was almost gaunt. Yet its very presence stirred a primal fear of a deadly threat.

Its hideous head resembled a praying mantis's, and dense black-purple veins covered its body. The veins seemed to be fading, twisting as they slowly dissolved.

The Cosmic Virus isolation device was working.

Morgan stared at the monster as it climbed out. She would never forget that deathly gray-green, hardened skin.

"JARVIS! Open fire!"

Morgan's armored suit unleashed everything it had at her furious command, raining ammunition down on the monster.

Flying Morgan away at full speed would do no good now. Aberrant 78 could fly faster than her suit's maximum speed and accelerate faster too.

Anomalies prioritized killing living beings that tried to flee. Escape was no longer an option.

The state-of-the-art suit Tony had armed Morgan with, equipped to the teeth, sprang into action.

As the barrage continued, two Spider-Men sprinted forward, each carrying a disc.

The discs were called Coronas. Of the anti-personnel weapons Stark Industries currently mass-produced, they packed the most destructive power. They could release an immense, focused energy blast in an instant, reaching temperatures high enough to vaporize steel.

Boom!

Using the dust kicked up by the barrage as cover, the black-suited Spider-Man charged ahead and threw his Corona while Aberrant 78's vision was obscured.

"Peter!"

"Woo-hoo!" The red-suited Spider-Man let out a whoop and rushed in to draw its attention. The monster swatted him away with a smack, but he managed to stick his Corona to 78's arm.

"Fall back!"

"Miss Morgan!"

Morgan nodded. "Activate the Coronas!"

Boom! Boom!

"Roar!"

The violent energy blasts whipped up a storm, and the searing force made the monster scream inside the dust cloud.

"Good!" The two Spider-Men returned to Morgan and took defensive stances, though the red-suited one was limping.

"Good thing that was just a reflexive swipe. Otherwise, I might not have gotten back up."

"Miss Morgan, don't forget you promised to get us suits when we get back!"

"Of course! According to JARVIS's analysis, the upgraded Coronas can punch right through these monsters' defenses! I don't know what that old man Tony's so afraid of!" Morgan thumped her chest, then glared fiercely at the dust raised by the blasts.

Two Coronas weren't nearly enough to vent Morgan Stark's rage. She was going to kill Number 78 today and avenge Mommy!

But the two Spider-Men weren't much older than she was. The three of them were children.

They had badly underestimated the strength of the alien monsters they had only ever encountered while under protection.

"Miss Morgan, I recommend immediate retreat. New information has identified the alien monster as Aberrant 78."

"Aberrant 78 is still combat-capable. Mr. Lin Yi is approaching the battlefield at high speed. I recommend retreating at full speed in the opposite direction and meeting up with him as your first priority!"

"Lin Yi?" Morgan cried. A map appeared inside her visor, showing Lin Yi's signal closing in at an unbelievable speed.

At the same time, Tony's shout rang through her helmet.

"Morgan, what are you doing? Run! Get to Lin Yi! He can protect you!"

Morgan had been wavering over whether to retreat, but hearing Tony's voice stirred a sudden defiance in her.

She had already hurt Aberrant 78. Why did the old man still have no faith in her?

"No! I'm going to kill this monster and avenge Mommy! I've already hurt it. Daddy, you should have more faith in me!"

Tony was nearly out of his mind.

"Listen to me, Morgan! Number 78's life signs haven't weakened at all. Your attacks did no meaningful damage!"

"How is that possible?" Morgan clearly didn't believe him. She looked toward the thinning dust.

A moment later, the monster reappeared before the three of them.

Its skin was torn and raw where the Coronas had struck, but it was healing before their eyes.

It wasn't that the attacks had done no damage. The damage simply had almost no effect on Number 78.

No—there was one effect. Number 78 was visibly furious!

"Roar!" With a bellow, Number 78 stamped the ground hard enough to crack it, broke the sound barrier in an instant, and bore down on the three of them in a storm of rage.

It moved so fast that Morgan saw only a blur.

"Oh, no!" Spider-Sense had been screaming a warning since 78 began gathering strength. The black-suited Spider-Man reacted instantly, grabbing Morgan and shifting her out of the way at the last possible moment.

The black monster swept past with a violent gust, sending all three of them flying.

Thud! After tumbling dozens of meters, the three scrambled to their feet. Morgan's suit had kept her from being injured, but the impact left her nauseated.

"It's stronger than before?" Morgan realized at once, uncertainty flashing through her eyes.

That was the flaw in their plan. They had no next step; they had prepared only for the fighting strength they had seen Number 78 display before.

When they happened to encounter it today, Morgan had been thrilled. She had thought she could avenge Mommy.

The original data showed that several strikes from the latest Coronas in succession would be enough to kill Number 78.

But now Number 78 was more than twice as strong as when they had last seen it.

Morgan pressed her lips together and pulled out two more Coronas.

"Little Black, Little Red, plant another pair of Coronas. We'll use the opening to retreat!"

Morgan wasn't foolish, and she wasn't going to stubbornly charge down a dead-end path. Something was clearly wrong with the monster's data. Taking it head-on now would put them at a disadvantage!

She made her decision in an instant and handed out the two Coronas.

But before the two Spider-Men could take them, the black-suited Spider-Man cried out sharply.

"Watch out!"

Morgan suddenly felt weightless as the black-suited Spider-Man scooped her up and leaped aside again. A laser beam as thick as a barrel swept through the spot where she had just stood.

"Keep moving! Don't stop!" The red-suited Spider-Man snatched a Corona and charged toward 78.

In speed, durability, and attack frequency, Number 78 far surpassed its former self.

Bang!

The red-suited Spider-Man's failure seemed inevitable. 78 was faster and reacted more quickly than he did. One blow sent him flying, and it followed up with a laser blast.

The laser came from its chest, where its energy-concentrating organ sat.

Then, without giving the remaining two a chance to react, Number 78 darted forward, whipping up another gale.

The black-suited Spider-Man saw the claws coming. This time, he couldn't dodge. He could only clutch Morgan and try to shield her with his back.