Faced with a choice between two rewards, Charlie didn't hesitate to pick the first.
A free Resurrection Match without dying? One word.
Thrilling!
Charlie reined in his meme-worthy expression and waved a hand, opening a portal.
In Westview, he found old man Steve and the others.
"What happened in the symbiote universe?" he asked Gwen.
She seemed oddly disappointed.
Does he have to rush into work mode?
She spoke slowly, "After returning to our world, a strange force summoned me to the symbiote universe. A voice told me to use the Necrosword to conquer it, extinguish light, and return the world to darkness."
She exhaled, guilt clouding her face. "I don't remember much after that, but I bet I got a lot of innocent people caught up in it."
Charlie reassured her, "It's not that bad. Those possessed by symbiotes at least had their lives preserved. The world's chaos mostly came from human evil being amplified, making wicked people act without restraint.
Even without symbiotes, they'd have snapped eventually."
Old man Steve nodded. "Yeah, I've seen it. The survivors were long possessed, but stronger symbiotes kept the weaker ones and their timid hosts in hiding.
Killing a symbiote with another isn't easy. As long as their symbiote stays, they don't die."
"So the apocalypse is just surface-level?" Takuya scratched his head. "Giving humans resilient life might be a good thing."
For humans, immortality was an unreachable dream.
Only gods achieved it.
For Spider-Man especially, if no one died, loved ones could live on.
A scene every Spider-Man dreamed of.
Family, friends, lovers—never leaving Spider-Man. The world's greatest gift.
Charlie understood Takuya but knew what else symbiotes brought besides immortality.
"Takuya…"
"You called my name right for once, but I'm Takuya, not Takumi."
"Sure, Aunt Four Hundred."
Ignoring Takuya's resentful look, Charlie continued, "If humans can't die, they become machines for infinite resources. You know what I mean."
Takuya shuddered, getting it.
He wasn't naive; he'd seen darker things than Charlie could imagine.
He'd witnessed the Iron Cross Army kidnap humans, experimenting on their bodies.
Keeping subjects alive, they cut them apart, harvesting valuable parts.
If victims never died, endless pain and darkness awaited.
Immortality, with humans as prey for cosmic races, meant slavery.
Humans were complex.
Kind people, possessed, might not stay kind.
One trigger, and evil would fester.
Without death, they'd lose primal fear.
Recklessness would become the norm.
They'd chase greater desires, seeking thrills to prove existence.
The world wouldn't improve—it'd worsen.
For most races, immortality was a curse.
Takuya thought he shouldn't be so pessimistic, but nor should he idealize this world.
His selfishness could lead to dire consequences he couldn't bear or fix.
So he shut up.
Charlie nodded slightly. "Takuya, good you get it."
"I'm Takuya."
"Sure, Aunt Four Hundred."
Turning to Gwen, Charlie asked, "Can we recall those symbiotes?"
Gwen nodded. "Yes. These symbiotes are different from normal ones. They're nearly mindless, driven by instinct, spawned from the Necrosword.
Use the Necrosword to call them back, and everything resets."
Charlie pondered. "What happens if we don't complete Knull's task?"
Gwen shook her head. "No idea, but probably no bad outcome—for now."
She sensed Knull was sealed, or he wouldn't rely on the Necrosword to control hosts and darken universes.
His efficiency would be higher in person.
So Knull likely wouldn't appear soon.
Charlie thought the same, brushing it off.
If slaying a Celestial earned a free Resurrection Match, he was confident for when Knull broke free.
One word: Fight!
Snapping back, Charlie opened a portal, returning to the symbiote universe.
High above, he raised the Necrosword, slashing the sky. A massive black hole erupted, its suction targeting only symbiotes.
Agonized screams echoed from cities. Humans collapsed, roaring, as symbiotes were ripped from them, becoming black liquid streaming toward the sky's dark figure.
Soon, all symbiotes were recalled, the Necrosword glowing eerier.
Its power grew.
Charlie squinted, sensing his Necrosword differed from others.
Could it be…
Nah, too coincidental.
Shaking off the thought, he glanced at a prompt.
[As Multiversal Good Neighbor, you saved the world again, earning 100 retries.]
"Jackpot!" Charlie grinned, diving into a golden portal to Asgard to recall symbiotes from its soldiers.
In the city ruins, the Avengers watched, stunned, exchanging glances.
"Is it him?"
"Yeah, black Spider-Man."
"No, I mean, that guy?"
"No mistake. Red Spider-Man absorbed all symbiotes, sacrificing himself to save the world."
They sighed, moved by Spider-Man's selfless act.
Behind them, old man Steve scoffed. "Little Spider wants to be everyone's white moonlight?"
Gwen hesitated, then said softly, "Isn't he?"
Steve: "…"
Fair point.
Charlie returned, eyeing Steve and Gwen, puzzled. "Where's Takuya?"
"Oh, he left in a hurry," Steve said, arms crossed. "Said the Iron Cross Army's gone, but season two's Bronze Cross Army crisis awaits."
Charlie's face darkened. "Bronze Cross Army? What's next, Silver and Gold?"
Then it hit him. "Wait, he left on his own?"
Steve shrugged. "Who knows?"
Charlie facepalmed. "Whatever. If he's in trouble, he'll find me."
Steve nodded. "If a Diamond Cross Army shows up, he's toast."
...
Main World.
Charlie first checked Earth's core for a Celestial seed.
As expected, he found a developing embryo.
He didn't act, quietly returning to Stark Tower.
"Well?" Infinity Tony and old man Steve asked, tense.
Charlie's face was grim. "There's a Celestial seed. Far from mature, but a ticking bomb."
"Kill it now?" Gwen asked.
Charlie shook his head. "Too risky. Without Infinity Stones, fighting it would destroy Earth."
"Any Infinity Stones here?" Steve asked.
Charlie shook his head. "Unclear, but no trace so far. Not hopeful."
"So we tackle our universe's Celestial first?" Infinity Tony said.
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, but the cinematic universe's Stones were destroyed. It's tough."
Infinity Tony mused, "Guess we use Pym Particles to time-travel for the Stones again."
Mention of Pym Particle time-travel sparked an idea in Charlie.
"Can we try it here?" he asked.
Steve's eyes narrowed. "You want to go back?"
"Why not?"
"You can, but you can't change anything."
"I know. I just want a secret."
"Fine," Infinity Tony agreed, planning to build a time-travel device.
Pym Particles were no issue for Charlie.
He could grab some from the multiverse.
Three days later, three Tonys finished the device.
"Hard to believe Pym Particles enable time-travel," Tony marveled.
Symbiote Tony's expression was complex. "I'll try it back home."
He wanted to see his parents.
Even if he couldn't reveal the truth, he'd urge Howard to do a paternity test with young Tony.
I'm really his son!!
Infinity Tony, sensing his thoughts, leaned in. "Don't."
"Why?" Symbiote Tony frowned.
Infinity Tony sighed. "I recently figured it out.
We meet Dad in the past, even briefly. He'll remember our face.
When young Tony grows to look like us, what'll Dad think?"
Symbiote Tony's face darkened. "Oh, crap, that's how it is.
Wait, if we skip time-travel, that doesn't happen…"
He paused, confused. "No, I still remember this, so I'll end up time-traveling to meet Dad. It's inevitable."
In those three days, Charlie had collected six Infinity Stones from his universe, slaying its Celestial.
No Thanos invasion now.
Without that crisis, why time-travel?
He couldn't figure it out.
Infinity Tony, aware, shrugged. "Good luck."
"Inheriting the fortune's lucky enough."
As they chatted, Charlie's group grew: Carter, Harry, Gwen, old man Steve, and G'iah, wearing Mary Jane's face, now with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Charlie's smile froze. "I asked for a grand send-off, not for you all to join."
After slaying Symbiote Tony's Celestial, he earned another free Resurrection Match.
But even that couldn't handle his Spider-Man friends' recklessness.
Was the spider totem acting up again?
Charlie sighed.
Stop them now, they'd try again.
Fine, let them die!
At least he'd get some peace.
Carter saw through him, glaring. "Not inviting me to this fun? Selfish."
Charlie: "…"
"When do we start? I want to tease young Charlie," G'iah said, eyes gleaming.
Charlie: "…"
Harry, serious, said, "Don't worry, I know the rules. I just want to see my mom."
Steve slung an arm around Charlie, grinning. "Where you go, I go. Best partners."
Charlie side-eyed him. "Think I'll be touched?"
"Not?"
"Don't play innocent."
"Fine, I'm still the kind old Captain."
"Whatever."
Charlie looked at Gwen. "You?"
"I…" Gwen lowered her head. "I want to see my mom too."
Charlie took a deep breath. "Good luck."
"Yeah." Gwen nodded, glancing at "Mary Jane," her expression complex.
If she could, she'd rather not know Charlie.
A love triangle with no place for her.
"Alright, let's go," Infinity Tony waved.
Everyone suited up, standing at the device's corners.
"Buzz!"
Tony hit the button, and they triggered their devices.
"Whoosh!"
Light flashed, and Charlie entered a time tunnel.
Unlike multiversal tunnels, this one showed past events: Apocalypse, Captain Marvel, Hydra's shadow, Sinister Six, Doctor Octopus, Hulk, Hydra Captain, Green Goblin…
Charlie arrived at his preset timeline.
New York seemed livelier, but drizzling rain cast a gray haze.
Near Bleecker Street, Charlie watched a couple hurry past an alley.
The woman held a baby named Charlie Parker.
Back then, Charlie had no consciousness.
He hadn't crossed into this infant.
His expression shifted, following them from a distance.
Under night's cover, shadows surrounded the couple, metallic glints on their arms.
Winter Soldiers!
Led by Bucky.
Bucky's gaze was cold, raising a hand. "Give me the child."
"No, please, he's innocent," Richard pleaded, shielding his wife and baby.
"I'll give you the thing. Okay?"
Bucky's eyes narrowed, stepping forward. "You know I can't agree."
Richard shot webbing at Bucky's face, blinding him, then slung the baby to a high wall with webbing.
The woman's eyes sharpened, swinging up, hurling sharp glints that hit several Winter Soldiers.
"Pop pop pop~"
Blood sprayed, soldiers falling, crimson blooming at their foreheads.
Insect-like mouthpart weapons!
Richard was brute force, muscles bulging, charging Bucky, overpowering him, even disarming his vibranium arm.
"Bang!"
The arm hit the ground, signaling Bucky's failure.
Watching, Charlie raised a brow.
As expected, Spider-Men existed before him.
One reason Hydra targeted Spider-Man.
Interestingly, Richard and his wife were Spider-Men, as strong as any multiversal variant.
Yet Charlie's initial stats were pitiful.
He soon learned why.
After defeating the soldiers, the couple moved to retrieve the baby, but a graceful figure appeared on the wall.
"Ophelia!" Richard's face darkened. "Give me my child!" he shouted.
Ophelia stood tall, holding the baby, chuckling. "He's cute. He'll be charming when he grows up. Maybe he'll charm me."
"None of your business," Richard growled. "You want the thing? It's with me. Return my child, or you'll never get it."
"Oh?" Hydra Steve stepped from the shadows, half-revealed.
His star-spangled shield mocked honor.
"Richard, you injected yourselves with gene serum. Congrats, you transcended mortals."
Hydra Steve smirked. "One last chance: rejoin us, get everything you want."
"Never," Richard scoffed. "I'm a senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, not like you filth."
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Hydra Steve laughed. "I'll be a senior agent soon. No, I'll join Nick's Avengers."
"Nick won't trust you," Richard said, voice faltering.
The Kree-Skrull crisis had just ended. Nick Fury owed Carol for his S.H.I.E.L.D. role.
Frankly, Nick wasn't a match for Steve.
If Steve infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., it'd be a disaster.
A baby's cry rang from the wall.
"Wah wah~"
"Little Charlie!" Richard panicked. "Don't hurt him!!"
"Oops, too much force," Ophelia said, releasing the baby.
"My child!!" the mother dove, catching him.
Seeing black marks on his face, she paled. "What did you do?!"
"A little toxin. He won't die yet."
"Damn you, Ophelia. I should've killed you," the mother snarled.
"You were soft. Now you're out of chances," Ophelia laughed. "Decided yet?
Delay, and even if he lives, he'll be crippled."
The couple struggled.
Charlie, watching, understood.
His low stats? Poisoned.
But merging with the Titan body overcame it.
He adapted to Resurrection Match powers instantly.
No adaptation needed—he was meant for them.
These powers were his.
Still, he wrestled with it.
Going back, unable to change things, sucked.
Changing the timeline…
No, the timeline couldn't be changed.
Saving his parents now might unravel later time-travel, reverting everything.
Unless…
The outcome mattered, not the process.
If it didn't disrupt future events, his parents' disappearance could stay secret.
He thought of Tony's experience.
Tony's time-travel affected Howard's view of young Tony but didn't stop him becoming Iron Man.
Stealing Pym Particles ended Howard's partnership with Pym.
Time-travel's ripples didn't alter the world's path.
If Richard and his wife's absence was justified, details didn't matter.
Outcome over process.
Charlie felt confident.
As Hydra Steve and Ophelia moved, Charlie acted.
The black-red spider landed in his palm, absolute darkness descending.
"RUMBLE!!"
A dark vortex formed in the gloomy sky, red lightning crackling, destructive aura heralding a black-red figure.
"Buzz~"
A dark storm enveloped the area, the demonic Spider-Man stepping out.
Darkness and evil swirled, Ophelia and Hydra Steve kneeling under crushing pressure, sweating, pale.
Hydra Steve's Hydra power stirred but wilted under Charlie's blood-red spider emblem.
"What… is this…" Hydra Steve gasped, not daring to look up.
He sensed a greater Hydra power!
Time passed, then a voice from hell spoke.
"Hail Hydra."
Like thunder, yet a whisper in his ear.
Hydra Steve exhaled, elated. "It's… Lord Hydra!"
"Hydra's legend is real!!" Ophelia trembled, praying fervently.
Charlie nodded, satisfied.
Glancing at the terrified couple, his slit eyes flickered.
A wave of his hand tore space, swallowing them.
Only the baby remained before Hydra Steve.
"They betrayed Hydra and have been dealt with. You, my servant, the Spider-Man's power is useful to me. Send him to other kin, await his rise as the next Spider-Man."
Charlie gave orders, vanishing into darkness.
The vortex dissipated, Hydra Steve and Ophelia snapping awake.
"Steve, we must fulfill Lord Hydra's plan!" Ophelia said, devout.
Hydra Steve nodded firmly. "Right. Seal all Spider-Man intel, deliver the baby to Richard's brother, monitor him, ensure he becomes the next Spider-Man."
Ophelia smiled. "Don't worry, we have plenty of mutant spiders."
They exchanged a look, calling Bucky to leave.
Across the city, young Nick Fury donned his eyepatch.
He'd seen the dark vortex.
Its terrifying aura was suffocating.
Staring at his communicator, he pondered.
Carol was gone. He was on his own.
The Avengers plan was forming, but the vortex felt like a mountain overhead.
It wasn't enough.
He had to act faster.
Besides Carol, he had no Avengers candidates.
No, one.
Researching, he found records of a super-soldier Captain.
"Plane crashed in the Arctic," Nick muttered, eyes narrowing, summoning a team to search for Steve.
It might take years, but he'd try.
That night, Ben Parker and Aunt May heard a knock.
Opening the door, they found a swaddled baby, blue from cold.
"A child," Ben said, rushing him inside.
Checking him, Ben's face fell. "He's frozen dead."
Outside, Hydra Steve's heart sank. "Damn Ophelia, too much poison for a baby!"
He cursed, fearing Lord Hydra's wrath.
But May's joyful voice came. "He's alive, smiling, so cute… Look, a note—it's Richard's child!!"
"My God, why would Richard leave him here? What happened…"
...
In another universe, Charlie sent Richard and his wife, not revealing his identity.
Done, he remained in time-travel mode.
His theory was right.
If the world's path wasn't disrupted, the process didn't matter.
Thank the chaotic Marvel world—DC would've required a reboot.
Relieved, Charlie tapped his wrist device, using a Pym Particle vial to reach Harry's timeline.
"Buzz~"
Through the tunnel, he arrived under a clear sky.
Near Bleecker Street's school, Harry, now in a studded leather jacket, played delinquent, cornering young Charlie.
"Jie jie jie, kid, hand over your cash!"
Harry, in a wig, grabbed young Charlie's collar, expecting panic.
He was disappointed.
Young Charlie was calm. "Finally here?"
"What?" Harry blinked.
"I'm broke."
Young Charlie closed his eyes, ready to slack.
Ben, May, and new neighbor Mary Jane proved he was a Peter Parker variant.
As a future Spider-Man, he was destined to be poor and lose everything.
But before that, he wouldn't die.
Just a beating—no big deal.
Harry didn't know young Charlie's thoughts.
Impressed by his calm, he thought, Worthy future Spider-Man!
He scooped up young Charlie, sneaking to a nearby alley.
Charlie, face dark, followed.
He knew Harry's visit wasn't just to see his mom.
Sure enough, in the alley, a tearful young Harry shivered in a corner.
Harry had kidnapped his younger self.
Charlie: "…"
Harry's wealth made him a frequent kidnapping target—Charlie knew that.
But Harry kidnapping himself? Absurd!
He vaguely recalled meeting young Harry due to a random kidnapping.
So…
Harry did it on purpose!
Charlie was speechless.
Rather than let others kidnap and scare him, he'd do it himself.
Mm, very easonable.