Chapter 543: Chitauri in Trouble (Part 1) (Patreon)

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"What are you doing?!"

A furious shout from Lady Loki came through Stark's communication device:

"Didn't you say you wouldn't get involved? If you join in, you'll beat more Chitauri than they can handle!"

"No, I didn't..." Stark denied somewhat guiltily. He continued, "There was a little unexpected incident with the plan, and Peter... he might be sleepwalking..."

"I don't care what he's doing. Now, the battleship's gone. What do you plan to use as a whetstone for Earth?" Lady Loki replied, clearly annoyed.

"Can't you provide more reinforcements?"

Lady Loki took a deep breath and said, "Do you think a spaceship is something you pick up on the beach like a pebble? Chitauri may not be a highly advanced civilization, but spaceships are still crucial to them."

"Aren't you the self-proclaimed God of Mischief? You've already tricked three ships here; can't you trick three more?"

Lady Loki scoffed and said, "Only because of you... just wait!"

The communication device fell silent. Stark pondered for a moment and then took out his mobile phone, calling Strange.

"Hurry and find a way to get Peter out of there! That Grey Mist... Schiller is there too, I knew it! Get them both out of there quickly, don't delay my plan!"

"Easy for you to say," Strange replied, looking at the battleship that had exploded into a mess of cigarette-like flowers just moments after appearing. He continued, "Are you asking me to engage in a fight with them in near-Earth orbit?"

"You're a master of magic, aren't you?" Stark retorted confidently. "Who told me that the Supreme Sorcerer can do anything?"

Angrily, Strange hung up the phone, but despite his frustration, he knew he had a job to do. As the Supreme Sorcerer, he understood that Kamar-Taj was a part of humanity's civilization, and both sides prospered or suffered together.

In the past, Kamar-Taj had followed a policy of non-interference in human society because, from a microscopic perspective, Earth's affairs were intricate and complex, and any supernatural intervention could lead to adverse consequences.

However, from a macroscopic perspective, considering human civilization as a whole, Kamar-Taj had a responsibility to help humanity take this step forward.

Strange sighed, picked up his cloak, gemstones, and bindings, and with a determined air, he arrived at the location where the spaceship had exploded.

By now, Peter had awakened and found himself in pitch darkness. When he turned his head, a blinding light assaulted his eyes, and when he turned again, he saw his beautiful home, Earth, beneath his feet.

"Ah!" Peter screamed in terror.

Suddenly, he realized that if he were outside of Earth right now, how could he be breathing? How could he make any noise?

Thinking about this, Peter quickly covered his mouth, his face contorted with fear.

The symbiote Red Bee inside him said helplessly, "Buddy, what's wrong with you? Your body was moving uncontrollably just now, and I didn't know what was happening, so I didn't dare to act. Fortunately, you're back."

Peter finally remembered that he had an alien symbiote inside him that allowed him to move in space environments. He stuttered, "Um... ever since I was bitten by that spider, if I sleep too deeply, I tend to sleepwalk..."

"Before, this symptom wasn't too severe, so I didn't pay much attention to it. But it seems like this time I slept too deeply, and I ended up sleepwalking outside of Earth."

"Let's go back. It's already very late, and if we make a commotion, Doctor Schiller will be very angry."

Red Bee remained silent for a moment, seemingly unsure of how to explain what had just happened to him. Red Bee had witnessed the whole process, and he was afraid that if he recounted it to Peter, Peter might just run off to the moon.

Meanwhile, Peter also noticed something was amiss. He looked around and said, "What are all these fragments? I don't remember any recent plans for launching large satellites."

"What's this? Why does this person look so strange?" Peter turned his head and saw the Chitauri commander, who hadn't died but was helplessly floating next to a piece of debris.

Chitauri civilization had advanced enough to allow for solo space combat, but their physical bodies were not suited for it, requiring external bone-like combat suits.

At this moment, the Chitauri commander's combat suit had been damaged by Peter's sleepwalking antics. Fortunately, the oxygen system was still working, preventing his immediate demise, but he couldn't move.

Peter paused in mid-air, and a red, viscous substance covered his combat suit. With this red Spider-Man suit, he had the ability to operate in space. The symbiote propelled him forward in the vacuum, and he reached the other Chitauri commanders.

"What happened to you? Do you need help?"

"Don't come any closer! Monster!"

The commander screamed. He had watched in horror as what appeared to be a human-like monster had turned a battleship into a pincushion with torpedoes in just a few minutes.

Peter stared for a moment, unsure why the commander had such a hostile attitude. Nevertheless, he patiently said, "Don't be afraid. I am humanity, I mean..."

"You're not humanity!" the commander shouted again. Red Bee translated Peter's words in real-time based on genetic encyclopedia records, making the spoken words understandable to Peter while preserving the tone.

"I am humanity," Peter insisted firmly. "Can't you see it? I look exactly like a human. We both have hands, feet, and eyes..."

"Get away!" the commander yelled, struggling to move his limbs to hide behind the debris.

Peter was puzzled and glanced at the scattered fragments of battleships around. He suspected a conspiracy and immediately had Red Bee take him to catch up with the commander.

The Chitauri commander's exoskeleton was damaged, leaving him immobile and awkwardly moving, like an infant just learning to use their limbs. In contrast, the symbiote was incredibly agile and, in a zero-gravity environment, could almost fly, moving quickly.

The chase didn't last long before the Chitauri commander had a mental breakdown. To him, the being in front of him seemed to be torturing and mocking him.

He pressed his communication device and sent a final message before resolutely hitting the self-destruct button on his chest, causing the bomb attached to his exoskeleton to explode.

"Don't answer! Don't answer! Lady Loki! He's a fraud!"

As the explosion occurred, Peter, who had hastily moved away, stared blankly at the drifting corpse fragments. He scratched his head, feeling bewildered, then turned around, planning to return to Earth and inform the Avengers about the situation above Earth so they could strategize.

Meanwhile, in the control room, Stark removed his hand from a button, breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Lady Loki on the other end of the phone, "I intercepted the signal he just sent out. You can continue to deceive them."

Lady Loki coldly snorted and said, "In five minutes, three battleships will still arrive at their designated positions. You better get Spider-Man out of there quickly."

After ending the call, Stark called Strange and asked, "Why didn't I see you on the monitors? Haven't you left Earth yet?"

"Almost... very soon," Strange replied somewhat ambiguously. Stark didn't dwell on it and hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Strange looked at the ballpoint pen rotating slowly on his forehead. He raised his hands and, facing Schiller on the other side, said, "It's all Stark's doing."

Schiller crossed his arms and looked at Strange. "Is that so? What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to take a look at the scenery," Strange replied, gazing at the sky and the earth, avoiding eye contact with Schiller. Suddenly, his red cloak tugged him to the side forcefully.

Strange reached out to pull the cloak back, but it snapped into an arrow-like shape on its own and pointed in Spider-Man's direction, indicating urgency.

Faced with Schiller's deadly gaze, Strange awkwardly pulled the cloak back, revealing a fake smile. "Stark and I are complete strangers. Of course, I'm on your side."

Schiller snorted coldly, but before he could speak, he saw a golden spatial rift open not far away. A massive space battleship emerged from it.

Taking a deep breath, Schiller turned his head to Strange and said, "Go, give Spider-Man a slap."

"What?!" Strange looked at him in confusion. Schiller sounded impatient as he said, "Didn't you tell me before that you could use a single strike to knock someone's soul out? Go give Spider-Man a slap and then secure his soul."

"Why? Even if Peter threw your bed into space, you can't do this, can you? He's not even an adult. I can't..." Strange stopped himself from saying more as he watched the ballpoint pen getting closer and closer.

Strange took out a small vial with a teardrop-shaped design and adorned with golden patterns. Then, with a wave of his cloak, he opened a portal.

On the other side, Peter was shocked as he watched three battleships slowly emerge from the portal. Now, the third battleship had left the portal, which had closed.

Panicked, he felt the need to immediately inform the Avengers that there was an alien invasion. Red Bee carried him, flying swiftly toward Earth.

With a "sizzle," a familiar portal blocked his path. Strange flew out of the portal, leaving Peter stunned. He said, "Mr. Strange, what are you doing here? Oh, wait, you're here to deal with the aliens, right?"

"Stop them. We can't let those spaceships get close to Earth, or everyone will be in danger!" Strange smiled at Peter, who stared wide-eyed in confusion. Strange flew to the opposite side of Peter, and as Peter watched him move his wrist, he asked, "What are you going to do? You..."

"Bang!"

Strange struck Peter's chest with a palm, and a phantom soul flew out of Peter's body. Strange took out the small teardrop-shaped container, opened the lid, and sucked Peter's soul inside.

Closing the lid, Strange looked at Schiller, who had turned into Grey Mist, and then wrapped the unconscious Spider-Man with Grey Mist. In an instant, Grey Mist turned into the shape of a baseball bat.

"Rest... Bang!"

Grey Mist swung the bat, sending Spider-Man into the opening on the first battleship's hull. Three seconds later, they heard a series of "clatter," "bang," "boom," "ah"...

In the control room, Stark's mouth hung open as he watched the smooth torpedo-shaped battleship transform back into a sea urchin.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 544: Chitauri's Misfortune (Part 2)