The pale blue stabilizer slowly seeped into the Sandman's semi-solidified palm, gradually stabilizing his body, which had been constantly collapsing and reforming.
The gentle energy that was restless, adrift, and on the verge of collapse was soothed.
Flint Marko exhaled a deep breath, a long-lost sense of peace washing over him.
Since becoming Sandman, he has lived in constant fear that he might vanish, get out of control, or harm innocent people.
His body no longer belonged to him, his power was beyond his control, and his only obsession remained with his daughter.
He raised his palm, watching the condensation form in his hand, his eyes swirling with complex emotions—a mix of relief, guilt, and above all, gratitude.
"It's stabilized."
Tobey's Peter looked at him quietly, his tone calm and carrying the wisdom of someone who had been through it all, "The potion can only temporarily stabilize your form and prevent you from completely dissipating."
"I understand. I absolutely won't cause you any trouble. As long as I can save Emily, as long as I can go home, nothing else matters."
The three Spider-Man, along with Flint, formed a formidable four-person team, using the skyscrapers for cover as they swiftly traversed the city skyline. Three nimble, precise Silk- swinging maneuvers, combined with Tobey's Peter's casual yet skillful movements and Garfield's Peter's steady, composed agility, propelled them towards the SSC headquarters in the city center.
The route passed through bustling city streets, with heavy traffic, lively crowds, and everyday life.
Flint gazed at this unfamiliar yet peaceful city, his heart filled with a sense of melancholy.
In just over ten minutes, the group arrived at the SSC headquarters building.
The building's intelligent recognition system instantly detected the four figures, and the high-altitude surveillance radar quietly scanned and confirmed their identities without sounding any alarms.
JARVIS had already updated his temporary permissions the moment Lynn issued the monitoring order.
A transparent elevator leads directly to the exclusive isolation area on the top floor. This spacious and bright area is fully equipped and does not feel like a depressing prison. Instead, it feels like a quiet sanatorium. The temperature and humidity-controlled environment, the real-time particle monitoring instruments, and the soft rest facilities are designed to best suit the special physical condition of the Sandman.
"You can rest here for now."
Little Peter pointed to the smart screen on the wall and carefully instructed, "Meals and daily necessities will be delivered on time. You are free to move around, as long as you don't leave this safe area."
Flint looked at the well-equipped facilities, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, and bowed deeply in gratitude. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
After settling the Sandman, we confirmed that the monitoring system was operating normally.
Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man spoke first, "You go ahead and take care of what you need to do. I'll keep an eye on things here. If anything unexpected happens, I can calm him down immediately."
He had witnessed the Sandman's loss of control and was most familiar with his abilities, characteristics, and emotional changes, so staying to guard him was the safest option.
"Okay." Little Peter didn't refuse, turning to look at him. "Thank you for your trouble. I'll be back soon."
After giving his instructions, Little Peter turned and walked alone toward the CEO's office on the top floor. Garfield's Peter, on the other hand, went to the rest area to rest.
The atmosphere in the top-floor office remained quiet and peaceful.
Tony leaned back in his office chair, slowly flipping through the industrial transformation plan, while Natasha had already left to handle base affairs.
Hearing light footsteps at the door, Tony didn't even look up, his tone lazy and casual. "A rare guest, Peter. Just finished your big event?"
Little Peter paused, a wave of bitterness and guilt washing over him.
Tony's casual remark made him realize that "everyone knows."
He took a deep breath, suppressed all his anxiety, walked straight to the desk, stood up straight, and showed no hesitation, his posture exceptionally candid.
" Mr. Stark, I need to be honest with you."
Tony finally put down the documents in his hand and looked up at the boy in front of him.
He could clearly see the weariness, self-blame, and heaviness in Peter's eyes. He had lost his former lightheartedness and liveliness, and gained a maturity and restraint that did not belong to his age.
A flicker of heartache crossed Tony's eyes, but he neither pointed it out nor interrupted. He simply raised his hand and said, "Speak, I'm listening."
Little Peter didn't hide anything and slowly recounted the whole story.
From the indelible self-doubt that followed the end of Quentin Beck's hoax, to the constant struggle and yearning for transformation, to no longer wanting to drag SSC down or anyone around me.
From going alone to the Sanctum Sanctorum to plead with Strange, to subconscious obsessions interfering with magic and altering spells.
He candidly expressed his conflicting feelings: he longed to take on responsibility while subconsciously wanting to escape pressure and return to an ordinary life. He also frankly admitted that it was his own fault that caused the magic to go out of control.
"I just wanted to grow faster and not let everyone down. But I completely messed everything up."
Little Peter lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, all this trouble is my fault."
A brief silence fell over the office.
Tony looked quietly at the boy who had sincerely admitted his mistake, his eyes filled with tenderness, without a trace of blame.
Lynn had already learned the whole story when he arrived, and he knew that Peter's original intention was pure and honest, but the price of growing up was too heavy.
The boy was never willful or reckless, never selfish or foolish; he simply wanted to improve and become someone who could stand on his own.
He deliberately pretended to know nothing, just to give Peter a chance to "take the initiative to be honest and face his mistakes."
Growth is never about making mistakes, but about losing the courage to face those mistakes and to get back up after falling down.
After a long silence, Tony sighed softly, leaned forward slightly, and broke the silence. "Are you done?"
Little Peter nodded solemnly, his eyes filled with remorse. "I'm done. It's all my fault. I will do my best to make amends, send everyone back to their original universe, and resolve all the problems that arose."
Tony looked at his tense expression and suddenly chuckled, " Peter, do you know what makes me most gratified?"
Before Peter respond, he continued, "It's not that you never make mistakes, but that you always dare to face them and always dare to take responsibility for your choices. You've made a huge mistake this time, that's true, but your initial intentions were never wrong."
"You're not being willful or unreasonable; you're just too eager to grow up, too eager to shed your immaturity and take on responsibilities."
Peter looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with astonishment, and his eyes slightly warm.
He was prepared to be criticized, but he never expected Tony to understand him this way.
Tony raised his hand, lightly tapping the authorization screen on the table with his fingertips, his tone firm and resolute. "Listen, son, from today onwards, I grant you supreme full authority over Stark Industries, SSC headquarters, all laboratories, and all strategic resources."
"Armor modifications, drug dispensing, equipment allocation, combat supplies, medical resources, aircraft scheduling—everything you need is entirely at your disposal. No reporting, no requests for instructions, no approval from anyone is required."
Little Peter was completely stunned, staring blankly at Tony, unsure of what to say for a moment.
After making a mistake, there was no punishment, no restrictions, no lecturing; instead, there was complete empowerment and trust.
Tony looked him into the eyes and said earnestly, "Then follow your own ideas, go for it, take the plunge. Don't be timid, don't doubt yourself, and don't be afraid of making mistakes."
" Lynn, the entire SSC, and I are your support. You can make mistakes, but you absolutely don't have to shoulder everything alone."
The warmth instantly enveloped Peter's tense heart, and the self-blame, depression, and self-doubt of the past few days dissipated in that moment.
He finally understood that he was never alone, never a burden to everyone, and that everyone around him had always been silently embracing him, protecting him, and patiently waiting for him to grow.
As for the Sandman.
Tony changed the subject, his tone regaining its composure and confidence, " JARVIS has taken over the monitoring of him entirely, tracking his vital signs, particle fluctuations, emotional changes, and energy stability 24/7. There will absolutely be no accidents."
"You don't need to stay behind, you don't need to worry about the rear, just focus on solving the problems at hand."
Little Peter nodded emphatically, "Thank you, Mr. Stark."
You're welcome.
Tony waved his hand. "Remember, kid, a hero's journey is never smooth. Go, take your companions, and do what you must do."
Peter bowed deeply, feeling a sense of relief, then turned and strode out of the office.
Public recreation area of the base.
The warm yellow lighting is soft and inviting, and the clean counter is set with various light meals, drinks, and fast food—SSC's go-to emergency supplies, simple yet enough to fill you up.
Little Peter found the two who were resting. Seeing their slightly tired appearance, he smiled and said, "Let's rest for a bit, eat something simple, and replenish our energy before continuing."
Tobey's Peter from the quarantine area, had just finished his shift and nodded with a smile, "Perfect timing, I've been up all day, my stomach is really empty."
Garfield's Peter relaxed his tense body and casually found a table to sit down.
The three of them didn't opt for a fancy meal; they simply grabbed hamburgers, fries, cola, and a few hot dishes, putting together a simple meal.
"To be honest, I never imagined we would meet like this."
Tobey's Peter, biting into a hamburger, said with a touch of melancholy, "I used to think that my battlefield, my enemies, my regrets, belonged only to my own world. I never imagined that across a universe, I would encounter two identical versions of myself."
Garfield's Peter took a sip of his Coke, a hint of relief in his eyes. "Me too. I've always fought alone, shouldered all the troubles by myself, used to fighting alone. Only today did I realize what it feels like to fight side by side."
Little Peter was deeply moved as he listened to their reflections.
This catastrophe in time and space, which he triggered, brought immeasurable crises and troubles, but it also allowed three lonely heroes to meet.
They share the same responsibilities, the same perseverance, and the same helplessness, but also their own unique regrets and experiences. The pressure and grievances that others can never understand can only be empathized with by each other.
"After everything is over, after I safely return you to your respective universes."
Little Peter said earnestly, "I will definitely make up for this mistake."
"Don't say that." Tobey's Peter shook his head and smiled frankly. "It was just an accident; nobody wanted it to happen. Besides, this isn't the time to assign blame. If the three of us work together, we can clean it up."
Garfield's Peter nodded slightly. "Solving problems is more important than dwelling on mistakes. We're all Spider-Man; we should help each other out."
A few short, casual words completely dispelled the last vestiges of awkwardness and distance between the three.
A simple fast food meal, without grand vows or impassioned slogans, brought three teenagers from different eras together completely.
After finishing their meal, the three of them quickly tidied up the table. The short rest swept away their fatigue, and they were back to their peak condition.
"Are you ready?" Little Peter looked at the two of them, his eyes resolute.
Tobey's Peter his knuckles, his fighting spirit undiminished. "Ready to go at any time."
Garfield's Peter stood up straight, nodded calmly, and said, "Let's go."
The three walked out of the lounge together, the corridor lights falling on three sets of red and blue battle suits with different details, outlining three tall and resilient figures.
Little Peter raised his wrist to open the smart terminal and brought up the real-time monitoring data from JARVIS's Magic Compass. On the screen, several red dots were still wandering around New York City, with two of them having the strongest energy and the most destructive power— Electro and Green Goblin.
" The Sandman are currently under control, but the remaining people are all wandering around without a fixed place to stay, and accidents could happen at any time."
Little Peter quickly sifted through the intelligence. "The compass indicates that a target is currently active near the Queens power station, constantly strengthening itself using the city's electricity; its energy is still surging. The Green Goblin's signal is the most unstable."
Tobey's Peter grave. "That must be Electro. He gets stronger and stronger after absorbing electricity. If we leave him alone, he'll only get harder to deal with. We have to deal with him as a priority."
Garfield's Peter nodded in agreement. "Prioritize high-threat targets, proceed gradually, and resolve them one by one to avoid multiple crises erupting simultaneously."
The three quickly finalized their operational strategy, with clear division of labor and a well-defined plan.
The three of them walked quickly out of the SSC building. The evening breeze caressed their faces, and night quietly enveloped the New York sky. The city lights were dazzling, seemingly peaceful and prosperous, but countless restless crises lurked in the shadows.
Three red and blue figures soared into the air once more, using the cover of night to weave through the skies above the towering buildings of the city.
Behind them was a strong backing that placed absolute trust in them; in front of them lay a crisis that urgently needed to be addressed.
Three Spider-Man from across the multiverse join forces, facing unknown risks on a journey to clean up the mess and redeem everything.
Lynn stood quietly on the rooftop, watching the three figures moving about.
JARVIS's monitoring data is synchronized in real time on his glasses, and everything is under control.