Chapter Text
Narration:
The plan was set, a madness born of science and raw power. There was an almost mathematical beauty to the idea: using the perfection of the cage's defense system against itself. For an instant, the two looked at each other—the technological hero and the elemental warrior—and a silent understanding passed between them. Hope, however faint, had returned.
Spider-Man (Thoughts):
Okay, Parker, no pressure. You just have to build a Manhattan-sized energy-conducting web that can withstand the power of a small sun, while trapped in an alien cage. And your lab partner is a kid who can literally blow up planets. Right. Piece of cake. At least I don't have to worry about rent here.
Goku (Thoughts):
His web. It can hold my energy. That's a smart idea. He thinks in a different way. Not just about how to hit harder, but how strength works. He reminds me a little of Gohan, but... quicker with the jokes. This can work. It has to work.
Spider-Man: "Alright, Goku. I'm going to need some space and a lot of web fluid." He tapped the cartridges on his belt. "Luckily, I always come prepared for the worst, which usually means having enough web fluid to gift-wrap the Chrysler Building. I'm going to start weaving the main framework. I need you to stand guard. If any of those angry critters show up, just... scare them off, okay? We don't need a bear-becue."
Goku: "You got it," he said with a serious nod. "No one's going to interrupt you."
Narration:
And so, the work began. What followed was one of the greatest feats of engineering and endurance Peter Parker had ever performed. He began to swing in a methodical pattern, not to travel, but to build. The signature thwip of his web-shooters became the steady rhythm of the silent dimension. He shot out long anchor lines, fixing them to the invisible barrier. The webbing held, the physics of the prison allowing it to stick as if to solid concrete.
He wove a hexagonal grid, the strongest, most efficient shape. Line after line, he went up, down, crisscrossing like a true spider weaving its home. Below, Goku watched, a silent, golden sentinel, occasionally moving to let loose a small ki blast near any animal that got too close, sending them fleeing in terror.
Spider-Man (Thoughts):
(Hours later, while swinging, muscles burning)
My wrists are screaming. I'm almost halfway through my reserve cartridges. The scale of this... it's insane. Every line has to have the perfect tension. If a single filament is too weak, Goku's energy will rupture it, creating a cascade failure. Too strong, and it won't conduct the energy efficiently. It's a balancing act on a miles-wide scale. Reed Richards would love to see this. He'd probably give me a B-, pointing out a flaw in my polymer distribution.
Narration:
From the ground, Goku watched the structure take shape above him. A dome of gleaming white lace was slowly covering the illusory purple sky. He could feel Peter's energy in every strand, a signature of determination and fatigue.
Goku (Thoughts):
He's getting tired. His energy is dropping. But he doesn't stop. It's like when Master Roshi built that wall on the island, brick by brick. Strength isn't just about power. It's... this. Not giving up. He has a good fighting spirit.
Narration:
Finally, after what felt like days, the last line was in place. Above them, a perfect geodesic dome of webbing covered the entire visible prison, each intersection glowing softly in the alien light. Peter landed next to Goku, his body trembling with exhaustion.
Spider-Man: "The... grid... is up," he gasped, leaning on his knees. "Biggest DIY project of my life. Now... your part."
Goku nodded, his expression shifting from patient observer to focused warrior. He flew to the center of the dome, hovering in the air.
Goku: "I'm ready."
Spider-Man: "Okay, listen carefully. Don't dump it all at once. Start slow. Let the web absorb your energy. I need it to spread evenly. Think of it like filling a swimming pool, not bursting a dam. I'll tell you when it's fully charged. My spider-sense... it's connected to the web. I'll feel it."
Narration:
Goku closed his eyes. A soft golden aura enveloped him. He held out his hands, and a steady stream of pure energy began to flow from his body, not as a beam, but as a river. The energy hit the web above him, and the web responded. The central filament began to glow with an electric blue, and the glow began to spread, racing along the connecting lines, moving outward in a wave pattern, lighting up every junction, every strand, until the entire web dome above them was alive, a crackling constellation of contained power. The air smelled of ozone and the sound was of a million electric insects buzzing in unison.
Spider-Man (Thoughts):
My spider-sense is screaming. No... it's singing. I feel every pulse, every electron racing through the fibers. It's like the web is an extension of my nervous system. The amount of energy... it's like holding lightning in a bottle. One mistake, one miscalculation, and this super-heated web will slice us like cheese. Trust your math, Parker. Trust your science.
Spider-Man: "It's almost there, Goku! Saturation is at 90%! Just a little more!"
Goku: "HAAAAA!"
Narration:
He released one last, powerful surge of energy. The web flared brightly, turning from blue to a blinding white. The entire dome sang with a single, high-frequency tone.
Spider-Man: "NOW! IT'S CHARGED!"
Goku: "It's all you, Spider-Man!"
Narration:
This was the moment. The point of no return. Peter took a deep breath, ran toward the invisible wall, and with a shout that was part challenge and part prayer, he pressed both palms flat against the barrier.
The instant his body, the trigger, made contact with the cage wall, the circuit was completed. The colossal energy stored in the web-grid had nowhere to go but to the discharge point. Thousands of arcs of energy, one from every node in the web, converged on Spider-Man's body and, through him, were dumped into the barrier in a single, cataclysmic instant.
There was a symphony of controlled destruction. The illusion didn't flicker; it disintegrated into a million pixels of purple and blue light. The metal wall beneath flashed white-hot, and then, with the sound of a million panes of glass shattering at once, it shattered. It didn't explode outward. It folded inward on itself and broke apart into shards of metal that dissolved into nothingness.
A vacuum pulled them forward. They passed through the broken boundary of their prison and tumbled, not onto a field of flowers, but onto cracked, soot-covered asphalt.
Narration:
They were out. The air tasted acrid with smoke and ozone. They were on a wide street, surrounded by the skeletal husks of skyscrapers that clawed at the purple sky. Fires burned in dozens of windows, with no one to put them out. They were in the city that was once just a distant painting.
Spider-Man: (getting to his feet, dusting himself off) "It worked..." he whispered, disbelief and relief making his voice hoarse. "It actually worked."
Goku: "I knew it would," Goku said, a tired but triumphant grin on his face. "It was a good plan."
Spider-Man (Thoughts):
We're out. We're free. Step one: get out of the cage. Check. Next step: find out where we are and how to get home. And find Felicia...
Narration:
Their relief was cut short by a sound. A sound Peter knew all too well. The sound of metal scraping on concrete. From all sides. From the side streets, from the dark alleyways, from the entrances of crumbling buildings, they emerged. Dozens of them. The same insectoid robots Felicia had faced, their red lens-eyes fixed on the two newcomers. They surrounded them, forming a circle of blades and chrome, blocking every escape route.
Spider-Man: "Oh, come on!" he exclaimed, dropping into a fighting stance. "Out of the frying pan and into... an industrial deep fryer full of murder-bots!"
Goku: "More enemies?" He grinned, and this time, there was no tiredness in it. Only the pure joy of a warrior. "Great. I was starting to get bored."
Hunter's Point of View:
Far away, atop the tallest intact building, the Hunter watched. He had felt the energy overload from the dome, an anomaly that had made him turn from his search for the turtles and the cat. He saw the dome shatter and two new beings emerge. A quick scan from his optical visor revealed the power levels. One was negligible, but intelligent. The other... the other was an anomaly. The peak energy it released to break the dome was... noteworthy.
Hunter (Thoughts):
The containment field has been breached. The test subjects are out of their observation cage. Interesting. They collaborated. One with intellect, the other with raw power. A potent combination.
His visor flickered, detecting other energy signatures appearing in his arena. The four turtles and the cat. The entity who employed him was bringing in more players. The board was getting more crowded. The hunt was evolving.
Hunter: "The Entity is adding more pieces to the game," he said to the empty air. "The quality of the prey is increasing. The fun... is just beginning."