Paul and his friends showed up just in time. Balancer was able to get his hands on the cure, but Paul swiped it from him. Now, it's a fight to keep that cure safe. This is one fight thad the three of them can't afford to lose.

"Come on, Ling. You need to fight him." Paul said.

"Spider, forget about that." Lindsay said. "That's not the same generous, loving, and caring man that worked and ran the homeless shelter. It's his psychotic side coming out, and as long as he is, there's no getting through to him."

"She's right. Ling is gone and that is Balancer in control." Thomas claimed. They might think Ling is gone, but Paul doesn't. There has to be a way for him to get through to the same man he knows.

"It doesn't matter. None of you will be making out of here alive!" Balancer said as he unleashed some of his power on them. All three of them jumped out of the way as his power tore through the door. "Kill them, but get the antidote!" He ordered his men to attack that was just what they did. The three of them fought them off, but that wasn't much of a problem.

"Did you hear that? He wants the antidote in one piece!" Thomas said as he fought off his men.

"Yeah. Isn't he here to try and destroy the cure?" Lindsay said as she fought off.

"I don't know what the game is. All that matters is that we try to keep it away from him." Paul claimed. Fighting off the members of Librium weren't a problem, but Balancer himself was. Paul had to try and do something to get Ling free from himself. He shot a line at him and pulled himself straight to him. He flew at Balancer and kicked him back. "Ling, listen to me!"

"Get it through your head. Ling is gone, and he's never coming back!" Balancer claimed. He tried swinging his arm at Paul, but he ducked down and gave Balancer a strong uppercut. However, Balancer recovered quickly and tackled Paul. He pushed Paul and smashed him right against the wall. "Give me that!" He tried reaching the cure, but Paul grabbed his arm and kept him back.

"You're not getting this cure!" Paul said as he did his best to keep him back.

"I'll just take you instead!" Balancer said as he reached for Paul's head and grabbed a hold of it. "You're mine!" He declared with him using his powers and tried to take a hold of Paul.

...

Paul

Balancer has the ability to enter people's minds and try to manipulate them and control them from the inside. That's what he was trying to do with Paul now. When Paul could see again, he could see he the lab was black and white now. He looked around to see that everyone was gone.

"Nice try, Balancer. I'm not falling for your tricks." Paul said as he kept his guard up for Balancer. In this plain, Balancer is all kinds of powerful. "You've tried this before and it didn't work. You can't control me like you've done with others."

"I can't, can I?" Balancer said as he appeared behind him. "Do you honestly think you can win this war? The city is slowly dying and you can't stop it."

"Really? Is that the best you can do?" Paul said as he expected more out of Balancer. He leaped right at him and tried to hit him, but Balancer just disappeared.

"This way, Spider-Man." Balancer said as he went out through the door. Paul followed after him. He thinks he might be able to use this to get Ling to break out of Balancer's hold over him.

"Ling! I know you can hear me!" Paul called as he ran through the darkness. "You've got to fight whatever Balancer has done! You can't let him win!"

"You really think you can get through to my weaker half." Balancer taunted as his voice echoed around the area. "You have no idea what it was being locked away." The images changed with Paul soon finding himself at Ryker's and he was faced with Ling being restricted and locked up in a cage. "Ling was locked away, restricted, and could barely do much of anything. It was like that for as long as we were locked in there. Do you have any idea what that does to a person?"

"That was all meant for you!" Paul called. "You are a psychotic and twisted man! You are the very worst of what a good man like him was! Most people have their demons on the inside, but you are an actually demon that can come from the outside!"

"You can save Ling from me? I'm a part of him!" Balancer claimed. "Just take a look!" The area changed again to an apartment. Paul looked and saw two different people, a grown-up and a child. He took a look at the child and he looked a lot like Ling.

"Is... Is that Ling from when he was a kid?" Paul questioned.

"That's right. You never met our foster father, have you? His name is Martin Li. You would know him as Mister Negative." Paul looked at the other man and was getting a good look. "He too was a benevolent man...or at least that's what it looked like."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Paul questioned.

"Ling's parents were lost a long time ago and was living on the streets." Balancer said as the area changed again to the alleyways of New York. Ling was a child and was all alone, but Martin Li was with him. "Mr. Li found Ling and took him in. We assumed that was out of the kindness of his heart. Perhaps it was."

"So what brought upon the creation of you?" Paul questioned.

"It was when we started to see his true colors." Balancer said as the images changed again and showed Ling on an operating table with Mister Negative infusing some of his powers to him. "Mister Negative needed someone to continue on with his legacy and that became us. He gave Ling his powers, but Ling tried resisting. As a result, it resulted in the creation of me!"

"What are you trying to tell me with all of this?" Paul questioned.

"Ling hasn't had an easy life as you think! Being the son of a criminal carries a lot of baggage!" Balancer claimed. "Why do you think he legally changed his name! Of course, I didn't make his life any easier. He had all the powers, but I was the one that used it!" He showed more images of all the things Balancer did when he was in control. Paul saw Balancer attacking people, committing felonies, and just causing sheer destruction and havoc when and where he could. Paul felt like he was walking through a museum of the worst moments in Ling's life. "Ling feels constant guilt for all the things that have happened in his life. He feels like he has to constantly make amends for what he has done."

"You mean what you've done!" Paul shouted. "I can't blame Ling for something he had no control of!"

"How righteous of you, but Ling doesn't see it the way you do." Balancer said as he changed things around and was in the homeless shelter. "He devoted his life to help people, but he feels responsible because I am a part of him! Do you honestly think you can save him, let alone the entire city?!" He appeared right in front of Paul.

"Whatever your problem is, you can't let the whole city suffer!" Paul said.

"This is only the beginning! Holding the antidote is the leverage we have over everyone! Having the cure in our hands and not being able to do anything with it... With this much guilt, Ling will never recover!" Balancer claimed. "That is why I fight with Hydra. He will ensure that Ling is locked away inside me for good! The guilt will ensure of that. He is never coming back!"

"That's enough!" Paul said as he jumped right at him and fought back Ling's power.

...

Reality

"Get off!" Paul shouted as he was able to shove Balancer off him and resist his power. He gave him a strong kick and sent him flying back with him hitting the ground. "Listen to me, Ling! You have to fight whatever Balancer is doing to you!"

"Don't you get it?" Balancer said as he got back up. "Ling is gone, and I'm going to make sure it stays that way!" Balancer unleashed his power, but Paul jumped out the way and stuck to the ceiling. He kept moving to try and stop Balancer.

"Venom! Blite! I'll take care of Balancer! Get everyone out of here! No way he'll stop for his own men!" Paul said. They all certainly agreed to that. Balancer tried attacking him again, but Paul moved out of the way.

"Ling, you have nothing to feel guilty of!" Paul called as he kept trying to reach him, but Balancer kept unleashing his power at him. "You are not your foster father! You don't have to be like him! Balancer might be a part of you, but you've done so much good! That's the real you! You've worked so hard to keep Balancer from ruining your life!"

"Why are you even trying to save him? Ling is weak, but I'm much stronger!" Balancer claimed.

"Because Ling is a good man! He doesn't deserve to have his life ruined because of you!" Paul declared. "Ling is a good man who has helped people! He would have done more if you weren't the one ruining everything! Ling, you are not your faster father! You don't have to be like him!"

"Shut up!" Balancer shouted as he unleashed more of his power in a wide attack. Paul got hit hard by the attack and was sent flying until he hit the wall, but made sure the antidote was protected.

"Ling, if you are looking for redemption, now is your chance!" Paul called. "Don't let Hydra and Balancer destroy the city! This antidote is the cure the city needs! Just remember all the good you have done!"

"You think all the good he's done has outweighed all the bad that I've done? Have you forgotten about the lives I manipulated, the lives I killed!" Balancer said. "Ling blames himself for all of that! You can't save him!"

"Not with you yapping away." Paul said as he shot some webbing and it hit him right in the mouth to keep him quiet. "You have a chance to beat your demons! Fight it, Ling! Remember all the good you've done! Remember all the work you've put in so that he wouldn't ruin everything!" He's trying, but he can't even tell if Ling can hear him. "Sorry about this." Paul shot a web line at Balancer and pulled him in closer. He pounded Balancer around a few times and finished it with a good kick. However, Balancer ripped the webs out of his mouth. He tried blasting Paul again, but he jumped out of the way and avoided him.

"I've just about had it with you! This place will be your grave!" Balancer declared. "You think I'm a monster? Let me show you how monstrous I can be!" He was building power around him. "I'll bring this whole building down on our heads!" He was unleashing his power and it was damaging the structure of the building. The whole place was shaking and was going to come down if something isn't done.

"Ling, you can resist! There's no reason for you to hide away inside Balancer!" Paul called. "Remember Balancer's power! He can manipulate and control people by probing at their insecurities! He makes you feel depressed that you had to fall under his power! That's what he's doing to you! That is your body! It was yours before Balancer came around, and Balancer was only formed because of the powers your father gave you! You're just as strong, if not stronger than him!"

"It's pointless!" Balancer claimed.

"You think I don't feel guilt for all the people I've let down!" Paul said. "I feel like I have failed them, let them down, or disappointed them plenty of times! I feel great guilt, but I push on! You have to push through the guilt! Don't let your insecurities, your demons get the better of you! I know you can hear me somewhere in that dark mental prison that you are placing yourself in!"

"For the last time..." Balancer was about to bring the building down, but something stopped him. His head started hurting and his power was fluctuating. "Wha... What's happening?!" Balancer's power appeared to be collapsing on him. Something inside him was stirring and it couldn't be stopped. His powers imploded and caused a small explosion to go off. Paul shielded himself and the cure from the explosion. When he could see again, he saw that Ling was able to regain control.

"Thank you..." Ling said before he collapsed. Paul might have gotten through to him, but it's still up in the air. At least Ling fought back some.

"Is it good? Can we come back in?" Thomas asked as he, Lindsay, and Christoph were making their way back inside.

"Yeah, and we got the cure. Christoph, please tell me this thing is done." Paul said.

"It still needs tested, but that is the best result." Christoph said.

"Good enough because people need..." Paul didn't finish that sentence as they felt the room begin to shake. That was when something burst through the ceiling and Hydra descended down into the building.

"Oh, did you think it was over? It's far from over." Hydra said. Just when one madman was stopped, another one shows up.