Marvel: Hunter

Chapter 423: Big

"There's really only this much left—"

"Hurry, the webs won't hold much longer!"

Watching the countless strands of webbing between the two halves of the cruise ship snap and recoil one after another, little Spider-Man grew even more frantic.

"Is that really all?"

"Just imagine if Mr. Tony saw you like this—"

"What do you think he'd say?"

"And think about tomorrow's headlines—"

"'Spider-Man slices a cruise ship in half for personal reasons, causing countless casualties…'"

"Alright, stop talking!"

"I'll add another fifty!"

"Please—I really don't have anything more!"

It was clear little Spider-Man was on the verge of breaking down. Blaine decided not to tease him further. After all, what he said was true, and even the extra fifty he had just promised would probably have to come from Ned somehow.

In truth, Blaine hadn't intended to take advantage of the situation and squeeze him. He just wanted to vent his frustration. Earlier, he had offered his services, but little Spider-Man refused. Only now, when things had spiraled out of control, did he think of calling the Bounty Hunter. Naturally, that didn't sit well with Blaine.

Originally, there had been three missions. Aside from the massive one worth over a hundred billion—which Blaine had no way of completing for now—the remaining two weren't easy either. And when it came to little Spider-Man, the word "poor" truly applied. It left Blaine in an awkward position. After all, even heroes are powerless without money.

"Enough talk—get to work."

"Seriously, always cleaning up someone else's mess…"

While muttering to himself, Blaine's mind raced, searching for a solution. But after going through all his abilities, nothing seemed suitable for the situation at hand. Most of his skills were offensive, healing, or stealth-based. It wasn't like he could pull out a potion and splash it over the cruise ship to fix everything. Even if such a thing worked, the cost—billions—was something he couldn't bear.

It was a shame that during his last purchase, Blaine had spent all his savings. Just moments ago, he had even considered using a cloning technique—splitting himself into two, standing on either side, and forcibly holding the ship together.

"Mr. Hunter, please—do something!"

"The webs can't hold any longer!"

"I promise—I'll give you a hundred when this is over!"

Seeing Blaine still standing there, little Spider-Man assumed he was dissatisfied with the price.

But the truth was, Blaine had thought about it—and come up empty. It was a rare moment where even he felt embarrassed. He hadn't expected to be stumped over a mere hundred.

Suddenly, Blaine seemed to sense something and looked off into the distance. Little Spider-Man followed his gaze, but the sky was clear and empty—there was nothing there.

Just as he was about to ask, he realized Blaine had disappeared.

Or rather, he had vanished from beside him and reappeared far out over the sea.

"Heh—"

"Come on, let me see your mighty army."

The moment his voice fell, the entire scene seemed to dim.

No—not the whole world. Just the space above the two halves of the cruise ship.

It wasn't that the sky had changed, but that something had blocked the sunlight.

That's right—it was Blaine.

In an instant, his body expanded dramatically, towering like a mountain. His legs plunged straight into the sea, leaving only his lower calves submerged, as if anchoring the ocean itself. This was none other than the cosmic transformation ability Blaine had just learned.

At that moment, not only the passengers on the cruise ship, but even little Spider-Man were completely stunned. His jaw dropped as he stared at Blaine with wide eyes. If certain words were more common here, he probably would have unleashed a whole string of them to express what he was feeling.

"Oh—this is insane…"

"So this is what it feels like to be huge?"

"Ant-Man must love this…"

It seemed Blaine himself felt he had gone a bit overboard—perhaps he hadn't fully mastered the technique yet. His body gradually shrank again, stopping when he was only ten to twenty meters taller than the cruise ship.

Then, as casually as if he were handling a toy, Blaine brought his hands together and pressed the two halves of the ship back into alignment. At this scale, the massive cruise ship was nothing more than a slightly larger plaything in his grasp.

However, simply holding it together wasn't a long-term solution. Blaine couldn't fuse the ship back into a single intact structure, nor could he just stash it away in his Hunter Space—not in front of little Spider-Man, and not without creating more trouble about where to put it afterward.

Fortunately, his "reinforcements" had already arrived.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

From the sky, a swarm of small flying devices streaked in, spreading out like a cloud of mechanical locusts. Each one extended octopus-like appendages and latched onto the fractured hull of the cruise ship. Then their rear engines flared to life, pushing at full power and forcing the two halves back together.

And that wasn't all.

From the same direction Blaine had been looking earlier, a figure flew in—red and gold armor, arc reactor blazing.

There was no mistaking it. It was Tony.

Without wasting a second, Tony acted. His mechanical arms unfolded and reconfigured with a series of rapid clicks, transforming into nozzle-like tools. He aimed them at the massive gap in the ship and began spraying intensely.

They weren't weapons—they were welders.

In a remarkably short time, the entire cruise ship was fused back together.

As expected, Tony was still Tony. Experience proved once again that patching things together could never compare to proper welding. If anyone asked who had the best welding technology, Stark Industries would have the answer.

With all the "guardians" of little Spider-Man now present, Blaine's goal had been achieved. He reduced his size back to normal and, without waiting for Tony to approach or say anything, teleported away.

As for why Tony had arrived, it was obvious—Happy must have been reporting everything. And little Spider-Man… he was probably in for a scolding.

As the sun set, atop a tall building in Washington, little Spider-Man sat on the edge of a railing, his legs dangling.

Though he was still wearing his impressive new suit, his downcast expression made it clear—he wasn't in a good mood.

Standing beside him was another figure.

No—not a person.

Armor.

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