Osborn Castle, underground base.
"Madame, Peter Parker's brought Spider-Man."
"Peter Parker? Who's that?" Ophelia didn't bother remembering small fry.
Cindy explained, "The guy we stole the symbiote from. He wants to trade Spider-Man for his partner."
Ophelia snorted at that.
"Calling a dangerous symbiote a partner? Can't tell if that's naive or just plain dumb."
"Fine, let him in. I'm curious what's so special about a Spider-Man from another universe," she added.
Cindy hesitated. "Another Spider-Man might not be affected by the gene toxin. What if—"
"What if what?"
Ophelia's smile was sly. "You mean what if Spider-Man's using this to get close to me on purpose?"
Cindy nodded. "Exactly. Spider-Men are crafty. We can't let our guard down."
"There's nothing to guard against."
Ophelia flicked the gauze curtain aside, her grin playful.
"For them to zero in on me this fast—it's beyond what I expected.
Rather than letting them scheme behind my back, I'd rather face them now. Here, I hold all the cards."
Seeing Ophelia's resolve, Cindy didn't push further.
Soon, Lizard Parker marched in, hauling a limp Charlie over his shoulder.
Behind him, Felicia scoped out the room, wondering where Charlie's so-called energy shield device might be hiding.
Ophelia, already in her python-patterned robe, eyed Lizard Parker coolly.
She didn't bother unleashing her charm powers—yet he wasn't instantly smitten anyway.
He fidgeted in place. "Uh, lady, Cindy says you're the fanciest queen around here. Do I gotta kneel or something?"
Charlie: "…"
Felicia: "…"
Ophelia: "…"
No wonder he'd buddy up with a monster. Pure, unfiltered innocence.
"Up to you. I just want to know if that's Spider-Man on your shoulder," she said.
Without a second thought, Lizard Parker dumped Charlie onto the floor.
"Yup, that's him—Spider-Man."
Charlie: "…"
This jerk did that on purpose!
"How do you prove it?" Ophelia asked.
Lizard Parker fished a spider emblem from his pocket. "Got his suit right here. I'll put it on him."
"No need. I was kidding."
Ophelia had no patience for his antics. She crouched down, her slender fingers brushing Charlie's cheek. Her snake-like tongue flicked, sampling his genetic code.
"Excellent. Compared to the feral lab rats, he's clearly a cut above."
Seeing her get so cozy, Lizard Parker swallowed hard.
Should've swapped roles with him if it was gonna be like this.
But he didn't lose sight of his mission.
"Ahem, I wanna trade him for the symbiote," he said.
Ophelia shook her head. "Not happening."
"Uh, can't we negotiate?" Lizard Parker's eyes widened, his expression comically over-the-top.
Felicia couldn't take it anymore.
Stepping forward, she said, "Honestly, the second we walked in here, I knew we were toast."
"Oh? Do tell," Ophelia said, intrigued.
Lizard Parker leaned in, whispering to Felicia, "You messed up your line."
"Nope."
Felicia pointed at Charlie and Lizard Parker.
"They're a team. Or, more accurately, we were a team before stepping in here."
"Big kitty, what're you getting at?" Lizard Parker's gut twisted with a bad vibe.
"Don't call me kitty—it's gross," Felicia snapped, wrinkling her nose. "Can't you see? Charlie played us."
"What?!" Lizard Parker jolted.
Before he could speak, Felicia pressed on. "Even if we helped him take down Madame Viper, we'd never make it out alive.
And I bet the Madame's already clocked our plan, right?"
She locked eyes with Ophelia, taking a deep breath.
"I thought this was just a simple hit job. But walking through this place? I've seen too much freaky stuff.
I don't wanna die. So, Peter, sorry—I'm not going down with you."
She stepped back, drawing a line between them.
"Madame, I spilled the beans. Can I live?" Her eyes pleaded.
Ophelia nodded, pleased. "I like smart women. Help me out, and I'll let you stick around."
"Thanks." Felicia exhaled in relief.
Lizard Parker, meanwhile, mulled over her words instead of calling her out for flipping.
His gaze bounced between Charlie and Felicia, and it clicked.
"That liar almost suckered me again!"
He glared at Charlie. "Quit faking it! They've seen through you. You were gonna use me again, and you didn't even care if I got out alive, did you?"
"He can only keep up the act," Ophelia said, smirking at the still-motionless Charlie.
"No Spider-Man can resist the gene toxin. You made the right call."
"Gene toxin?"
Felicia and Lizard Parker blinked, clueless. Charlie hadn't clued them in.
Ophelia didn't bother explaining. She waved a hand. "The moment he chose to walk in here, his fate was sealed."
"Cindy, take them away. I've got some quality time planned with this perfect Spider-Man."
"Wait."
Lizard Parker wasn't so sure. "What're you gonna do to him?"
Ophelia raised an eyebrow. "You seem awfully worried about him. Not even asking what I'll do with you."
"No way!"
Lizard Parker huffed. "I just wanna know how he's gonna bite it." Total denial.
Sure, Charlie Parker had tricked him a bunch, but part of him—buried deep—actually cared if the guy got hurt.
He hadn't even noticed that tangle of feelings himself.
Ophelia burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Too funny. You really got played, huh? But you can't fool yourself—you care about your buddy. Too bad you already picked a side."
"That's not it! I really just wanna know how he's dying!" Lizard Parker doubled down.
Ophelia chuckled. "Alright, you're entertaining enough that I'm in a good mood. I don't mind chatting."
She grabbed Charlie's leg, dragging him slowly toward the bed.
Charlie: "…"
No way—not with an audience!
Lucky for him, Ophelia wasn't into spectators either.
She turned. "Years ago, I hatched a plan. I wanted a child—a perfect, powerful child."
Lizard Parker: "???"
"What's that got to do with this loser?" he asked.
Ophelia hauled Charlie onto the bed. "A perfect Spider-Man plus a perfect Madame Viper—what do you think it means?"
"What?!"
Felicia gasped. "You don't mean—"
Ophelia nodded. "Yep. I've been waiting for the ultimate specimen. Shame the best match for mutant genes was a woman—gene tech's limits gave me pause.
No matter how advanced the science, nothing beats the old-fashioned way for perfection.
I've waited ages for this. No more delays.
You brought him to me, and I'm thrilled. I'll spare you for that—you should be grateful."
With that, she yanked the gauze curtain shut.
"Get out before I change my mind."
As her silhouette slithered over Charlie, Lizard Parker's eyes welled up with jealous tears.
"Why?! Why does he get this kind of luck? I thought he'd die horribly—I'm so mad at myself! If I get another shot, I'm picking the riskiest role. This is so my vibe."
He clutched his chest, gutted.
He was jealous-crying.
"Let's go—don't interrupt them," Felicia urged.
Lizard Parker turned, wiping his face. "My heart hurts. It hurts so bad…"
They shuffled out. Cindy, waiting by the door, sneered.
"You don't seriously think Spider-Man's walking away from this, do you?"
"What's that mean?" Lizard Parker froze.
Cindy led them off, explaining as they went.
"Madame's the most perfect woman alive—and the most vicious. Spider-Man's not surviving."
Lizard Parker's face shifted. "No way! He's her man—she wouldn't—"
"Why wouldn't she?"
Cindy stopped, turning with a cold laugh.
"Here's the truth: Madame's the deadliest woman alive not because she's cruel, but because her body's a walking toxin factory.
Her gene toxin's an unbreakable curse. No man escapes it—not even Spider-Man."
"So Charlie's toast?" Lizard Parker started to worry.
That jerk was annoying, sure, but… sometimes he wasn't half bad.
Wait, was he?
Lizard Parker pondered. Not great, but not awful either…
"What're you planning?"
Felicia cut in, nodding at the Cindys around them.
"Even if you're having second thoughts, it's done. You can't save him."
Lizard Parker took a shaky breath, trembling.
"But he pulled me into this resurrection game. That's real too. If I just leave, I'll have nightmares."
Felicia shrugged. "Good luck then."
She stepped back, watching as Peter transformed into Lizard Parker and charged the crowd.
The guy's not even really dying—what's he fighting for?
Is this some guy-friendship thing?
She didn't get it.
Inside the room, Ophelia paused at the commotion.
Glancing toward the door, she frowned. "Looks like your pal's having regrets."
"I know. He's a good guy," Charlie said.
Ophelia didn't bat an eye. From his genetic data, she knew this Spider-Man wasn't fully under her toxin's grip.
But it didn't matter—he couldn't fight back.
Charlie peeked at the door, shaking his head slightly.
"My original plan was for them to take you out."
"Oh?"
Ophelia kept going. Charlie sighed.
"Besides slobbering all over me, what else can you do?"
Ophelia: "…"
"Shut up!"
"Hurry it up—I'm on a clock."
"Me too."
Pain flickered across Ophelia's face, but she pushed harder.
Her dream was so close.
Born with scars marring her face, she'd hated the weird looks people threw her way.
She was insecure, weak, scared.
She craved beauty, perfection—humans were visual creatures, drawn to pretty things.
The older she got, the clearer it became: perfection defined a woman's worth.
In her naive youth, chasing that ideal landed her in an experimental lab.
Hydra's human trials.
It worked—she got a flawless figure, a stunning face, and a lifespan normals couldn't fathom.
But it flopped too—her body became a toxin vat. No one wanted to befriend the perfect yet "venomous" girl.
Everyone feared her.
She tried explaining her gene toxin didn't harm regular folks.
No one bought it.
Even perfect, she stayed insecure, weak, scared.
Until she found a new goal.
Power!
A perfect woman couldn't just look perfect—everything had to be flawless.
Using her gene toxin, she crushed rivals, climbing toward ultimate perfection.
In a covert op, she took down Steve—Hydra's biggest headache.
That feat shot her into Hydra's inner circle.
With power and beauty, she was more perfect than ever.
But it wasn't enough.
A woman's worth wasn't just career and looks.
It was kids too!
She set off on her next perfection quest.
But the men's genes were too rough.
Even Captain America's DNA was a mess in her eyes.
She wasn't settling—so she waited.
Better none than subpar.
She needed a man with perfect genes.
Years passed, and she came up empty.
So she decided to craft her own perfect kid.
A flawless, unstoppable being.
Thus, the Spider-Man project was born.
But the best mutant-cell match was a woman.
That threw her off.
She'd proven gene-tech kids weren't perfect enough.
She didn't trust God, but God dropped a gift in her lap.
Charlie Parker—a perfect Spider-Man—walked right up to her.
She was ecstatic, raring to go.
Finally, her wish came true.
But it still wasn't enough.
Hydra was fading from the world's memory.
Her shrinking power made her less perfect.
Time to make the name Ophelia ring globally.
It'd stand for the ultimate perfect life.
The most flawless looks, the highest power, the most impeccable offspring.
Ophelia would own every perfect thing.
No one would recall the ugly duckling of old.
Never again!
She went wilder. Charlie knew it was time.
After all these restarts, no way he didn't have a backup.
He loved Felicia's improv and knew Lizard Parker sucked at acting.
No chance they'd fool Ophelia on their own.
His real backup? Shiba Thor and Croc Loki.
But his team's "betrayal" sparked a new idea.
If people could turn, why not the gene toxin?