"Andrew, did you know what happened last night?"

Gwen looked at Andrew in surprise. He nodded, "I knew since Mystique entered posing as you. And the Emperor take care of Magneto after that."

"The Red Queen didn't tell me either."

"I told her not to inform you afterward."

"You told her not to?" Gwen was puzzled.

Andrew explained, "Magneto's mutant power controls and manipulates magnetism. Your new suit is Vibranium, so you'd have no chance against him. That's why I told the Red Queen not to tell you."

Gwen wasn't unreasonable. Realizing it was for her own good, she nodded. But then asked, "If the Emperor hadn't shown up last night, would cousin Anna have been in danger?"

Andrew smiled, lightly flicking Gwen's nose. "No, I won't let any harm come to you or your family."

His words completely reassured Gwen. She didn't know when it had started, but she now fully trusted everything Andrew said. He seemed omnipotent in her eyes.

"Is there a way to upgrade my suit to be magnetism-proof? Although Magneto's dead, what if a mutant with the same power appears again?"

Gwen's preparedness made Andrew smile. "Don't worry, your new suit is already in development. But it uses completely new tech, so it'll take some time."

Gwen happily nodded, then loudly said, "Andrew, I'm hungry! I want to eat your dumplings!"

Seeing the foodie Spider-Girl before him, Andrew smiled knowingly. "Alright, I'll go make them now. You play with Pikachu, I'll be right back with food."

"Yay! Pikachu!" Gwen happily picked up Pikachu to play.

At the NYPD station, George shot up from his desk excitedly after Anna's call. "Are you serious? The test subject recovered and can testify in court?"

"That's great news! Okay Anna, follow your plan. Get him safely to the station, I'll send people to pick you up immediately!" After hanging up, George hit the intercom.

"Get some plainclothes men here now, discreetly. No one should see you all."

Since Ivan Vanko's prison escape, George had investigated internal moles. Though eyebrows were raised, no hard evidence was found yet.

Plus this was no trivial matter, it'd be problematic if Green Goblin got wind from loose lips. After getting ready, George briskly walked out and drove to the medical building.

Medical Building

After calling George, Anna returned to the ward and nodded at Peter. "Uncle George said he can arrange to return to the station. He's coming personally with men to discreetly pick us up."

"Let's get ready. Take John down to the garage, then leave in George's car." All to prevent Green Goblin or Oscorp from discovering John.

Peter nodded solemnly. "Understood!"

With a nurse's help, they moved John into a wheelchair and wrapped him in thick clothes, leaving only his eyes and nose exposed.

"Mr. John, if you feel discomfort, let me know immediately!" John's cloudy eyes nodded at Peter.

"Let's go!"

"Ready!"

The two pushed John out, praying nothing else happened en route.

Oscorp Lab

Norman wore a white coat, and a thin man was tied to the bed before him. Seeing Norman approach with a needle, the man looked terrified, vigorously shaking his head and whimpering in fear.

Clearly, he couldn't speak, only expressing fear with sounds. Seeing this, Norman had an intoxicated expression, as if the man's terror was an unparalleled delicacy.

"Don't worry sir. This is the recreated super soldier serum I made. It'll turn you into a powerful hero after entering your body."

Norman smiled as he sterilized the man, every action meticulous. If someone else was present, they'd think Norman was carefully treating the man.

After injecting all the serum into the man's arm, Norman stood by closely observing, muttering to himself:

"I tweaked some molecular reactions. The current serum has greater cell affinity. I think it'll succeed this time."

Norman clenched his fists, extremely nervous. Though the government had pulled support after previous failures, as a scientist he never gave up on the experiment. He firmly believed he could develop a serum rivaling Howard's.

Just then, Green Goblin's voice sounded in Norman's mind: "How boring Norman. The Master gave us such power, yet you still research this useless potion?"

"Why not focus on weapons research, and develop more destructive arms? That way, when we face the Emperor again, maybe we can kill him completely?"

"Put those thoughts away, Green Goblin." Norman sneered. "Together we're no match for the Emperor. Didn't the Master say he has it arranged?"

"Are you trying to act rashly?" After this, Green Goblin fell silent. But then spoke again: "Norman, what was that thin black stick the Master gave us before? Since fusing with it, our power grows daily."

Norman frowned, having no idea what it was either. Mephisto's revealed power was beyond his comprehension. After contemplating, he said:

"I think it must be some mystical weapon from the Master. But it's good we're getting stronger. Won't our odds be even better facing the Emperor in the future?"

"What..." Norman was jolted from the mental conversation by a painful scream. The thin man's body was now bulging with muscles, blood vessels swollen and straw-thick. His skin reddened, face twisted in agony.

Shockingly, the extreme pain seemed to have returned his ability to speak. He desperately begged Norman for help. But Norman just watched expressionlessly, awaiting the serum's continued effects.

Snap! A crisp sound came from the man's arm as a blood vessel burst like an inflated balloon, blood spurting out.

Frowning, Norman watched as more snapping sounds followed, the bed instantly drenched red. The man's body was rapidly mummified into a desiccated corpse.

Norman shook his head and waved his hand. A green flame enveloped the bed, instantly reducing it to white ash. Norman looked at the file in hand showing the man's headshot, labeled:

Experiment 004!

Flipping the page revealed a dark-skinned woman's photo next. It read: Experiment 005!

The Other Side of Earth

Phil Coulson rapidly sorted through documents, all records of new weapons developed from the Tesseract's energy overflow. But most were failures - either unable to withstand the huge energy and exploding, or injuring the user from energy leakage.

Some could only emit small energy bundles less lethal than a basic pistol. Sighing, Phil muttered: "Looks impossible to control the Tesseract's power for now."

"Even the Norse myth Thor is real, so is Jesus in this world too?"

Recently Phil had seen the Norse God Thor in the flesh. At the last moment, some verbal 'ally' agreement had been reached. But reporting to Fury, Phil found the director not as overjoyed as expected.

Instead, he was assigned to oversee this New Pegasus Project, evaluating new Tesseract weapons and whether they surpassed Thor's thunder. "He's still so suspicious."

Phil said resignedly. From his senses at least, Thor seemed not a bad entity...

Suddenly, Phil's movements froze. Even the lingering insects' wings stopped, suspended motionless in midair instead of falling.

At the door, a female agent stood ready to knock, frozen in action. In the hall, another agent was stuck mid-walk. The entire base seemed frozen.

Only the Tesseract remained active underground. Blue energy waves pulsed from its surface. At its center, a deeper blue flickered rhythmically.

Now the researchers were fixed in various poses. A red mist appeared by the Tesseract, condensing into Mephisto's huge face.

Materializing, he looked not at the cube itself, but at the flickering central spot within. "We finally meet, Space Stone..."

Mephisto seemed extremely excited. A small arm grew from the mist, gently pointing at the Tesseract's center. The flickering blue light instantly dimmed.

In Mephisto's palm, a streak of blue energy appeared, condensing into a small stonelike object. "This little space power will do. Unfortunately, I can't take you fully, or the Sorcerer Supreme would fight me."

"But you'll fall into my hands eventually. Hahaha..." His wild laughter faded along with him. The instant Mephisto left, all living things in the base resumed their actions, completely unaware.

Outside the universe, Ebony Maw muttered strange words. Beside him Loki stood ready, gripping a spectral scepter.

Suddenly Ebony Maw shouted: "Open!"

But only darkness lay before him. He shouted again: "Open..."

Yet nothing happened.

Loki: "..."

Ebony Maw: "..."

To be continued...