As for how to deal with the Taskmaster—
Tony Stark decided to keep her detained here for the time being.
Because he discovered that the Taskmaster had undergone chemical modification similar to the Winter Soldier. Under that kind of alteration, the Taskmaster's control over her own body was almost completely disconnected from her conscious will.
To put it bluntly, the Taskmaster was essentially a robot wearing human flesh and bone on the outside.
As for the real controller, it should be General Dreykov lurking behind the scenes.
This situation made Tony Stark think of some truly unpleasant things.
His parents had been killed by the Winter Soldier, who was under someone else's mind control.
His close friend Steve Rogers had fallen out with him because of that very incident—if it had been just the Sokovia Accords, even if they argued, they would never have ended up at their current state of essentially never speaking again.
It was the issue of the Winter Soldier that escalated their conflict, pushing it to the point of no return.
And Tony Stark absolutely did not want to see the same tragedy happen to the junior he valued the most.
If one day, the family of that junior he cherished were killed by someone with dissociative programming, then what would he choose? Kill the murderer? Or forgive him—just because the killer was "not himself" at the time due to mind control?
No matter which he chose, it would bring excruciating torment.
Some say suffering creates heroes.
But if that suffering is built on the loss of loved ones…then such a hero is not worth becoming!
After Peter understood the whole situation and learned how the Taskmaster would be dealt with, his heart finally settled.
This way, he no longer needed to worry that any of this would threaten Aunt May, Ned, Betty, or the others.
So he took his leave from Tony Stark.
Once Peter stepped into the elevator—
Tony Stark looked toward a shadowed corner of the room."Thanks for the intel. You can go."
A graceful figure emerged from the darkness."Didn't expect he really is just a kid. He's so young, and you're throwing him onto a battlefield already?"
"Heh. Natasha, he's more reliable than you old-timers ever were." Tony Stark let out a scoff. "At the very least, he knows right from wrong, and he has his own moral compass."
The woman hiding inside the Avenger Tower penthouse—was none other than the officially wanted "Black Widow," Natasha Romanoff!
"Mm. He's a good kid. I even promised to teach him a few things," Natasha said.
Tony Stark gave her a sideways glance."He's fifteen. Keep your tricks to yourself. And you're a fugitive right now—I'm not letting you drag danger anywhere near him."
"But danger is already coming. General Dreykov won't let this go," Natasha replied.
Tony tossed her a key."Weapons and gear. That place is your nightmare too, isn't it? I'll stall things on this side."
"Thanks." Natasha caught the key, flashed a faint smile, and left without a trace of hesitation.
After leaving Stark Tower, Peter originally planned to go straight home.
But halfway there, he suddenly changed his mind and rushed toward Bleecker Street.
The state he experienced in Universe earth-96283 had made him suspect something.
If he could freely control this spell called "Astral Projection," and enter astral form at will, didn't that mean he could actually meet and communicate face-to-face with other Spider-Men?
As for whether he could learn it or not…He remembered the Ancient One personally saying his aptitude for magic was extremely high—high enough that if he trained as a sorcerer, his achievements wouldn't be beneath Stephen's.
(Though he honestly couldn't see what was so special about Stephen's magical talent. The guy was constantly getting beaten up.)
Still, effort makes the difference!
He had to try.
What if he succeeded?
And on top of that, the astral projection state might hold another meaning for him.
For example, he discovered earlier that when his soul left his body, his body would automatically enter a self-protective mode triggered by his spider-sense.
In that mode, his body could unleash even more power than when controlled by his rational mind.
So what if, during a fight, he entered astral form—letting his body automatically attack while he himself attacked from the astral state?
Wouldn't that be splitting himself into two?
A kind of… clone technique?
Though a normal clone technique creates two physical bodies, while this would be separating spirit and flesh.
But one thing was certain: if he really managed to pull it off, his combat ability would skyrocket.
Even though he hadn't yet encountered an enemy strong enough to force him to go all out, that didn't mean such foes wouldn't appear.
He was constantly traveling between parallel universes.
With so many universes out there, the chance of encountering a powerful enemy was pretty high.
And besides—his spider-sense had been giving him vague but persistent warnings, as if telling him:
A great battle is approaching in the near future.
If he didn't sharpen his skills now, the consequences would be severe.
Peter went through every clue he had, but he still couldn't determine what this "future battle" would be, where it would start, or what form it would take.
After thinking and thinking, the only thing he could do was grow stronger.
As long as he was strong enough, he could handle any crisis.
177A Bleecker Street—this was the New York address Stephen Strange had given him last time.
It was also one of the three great Sanctums built on Earth.
All three Sanctums were concealed by spells cast by the sorcerers. Unless someone was granted permission like Peter, they couldn't see them at all.
To ordinary people, this place looked just like it had the first time Peter visited—a totally ordinary residential building.
And normal people wouldn't question it.They wouldn't think, "Why is this building empty?" or "Should I break in?"
They would simply overlook it.
Only someone like Peter, with exceptionally sharp perception, could sense something unusual.
When Peter reached the door, it opened automatically.
He wasn't surprised. He knew sorcerers had all sorts of unusual means—Strange probably sensed him the moment he arrived.
This was Peter's first time stepping properly into this place known as the Sanctum Sanctorum.
He looked around with curiosity.
Before him was a long staircase, splitting into two curving corridors on the second floor. The first-floor hall was furnished with old wooden pieces that looked like they had centuries of history.
Aside from the later-added furniture, everything else seemed symmetrical, filled with a kind of aesthetic harmony.
A figure slowly descended from above, a red cloak billowing behind him, hair neatly styled into a sharp mohawk, giving him a surprisingly spirited look.
(End of Chapter)