The launch device was under construction.
Once the symbiote cells were unleashed, their evolution would outpace even Ophelia's wildest imagination.
If a variant emerged that could ignore her gene toxins, her entire plan would collapse—potentially backfiring on her.
By then, not only would she fail to conquer the world, but she'd turn Earth into a symbiote playground.
That would be the true endgame.
But Charlie couldn't wait around for the apocalypse.
As Ophelia slowly drew the gauze curtain shut, Charlie blinked—and when his eyes opened again, he was back in the cosmic web.
The fourteenth round of the resurrection gauntlet.
This time, he needed to figure out how Old Man Steve and his crew got taken down by Ophelia.
His gene toxin resistance had climbed to 13%. Under Ophelia's venom, Charlie's sight and hearing had fully returned, and his other senses were partially restored—but his body still wouldn't budge.
Maybe at 20% resistance, he'd regain some mobility.
But there was no guarantee he'd hit peak fighting form again.
That thought left Charlie feeling a pang of frustration.
"Little spider, you seem a bit down," Old Man Steve said, his sharp senses picking up on Charlie's mood as they stood in the forest near Osborn Castle.
Charlie shook his head. "It's nothing. Just… tired."
Heart-tired.
Every world seemed to have it out for Spider-Man.
The experience was beyond unpleasant.
He exhaled slowly, turning his gaze toward Osborn Castle.
"They've got a gene toxin tailored to Spider-Man's powers. If I get near any of them, I'll lose everything. So for the raid, old man, you'll need to carry me on your back. I've got to uncover more of their secrets."
"Carry you?" Old Man Steve gave him a weird look.
"You sure about that?"
"Positive."
"Feels odd. Like you're my kid or something."
Charlie's face darkened. "Do you even have one?"
"Nope."
Old Man Steve sighed. "Call it a side effect of the Super Soldier Serum. Carter and I never had kids. It's our lifelong regret."
Carter shot him a sidelong glance. "You'd better clarify which Carter."
"Alright, my bad," Old Man Steve said, quickly steadying himself.
Felicia, standing nearby, quirked an eyebrow.
"Kingpin said he wanted Charlie as his kid too," she remarked, recalling events before her near-death moment.
"What?"
Old Man Steve gripped Thor's hammer tighter, teeth grinding. "That bastard's trying to steal my son? If I ever meet him—"
"Cut the chatter. The longer we wait, the more prepared they'll be," Charlie interrupted, not in the mood for Steve's humor. He scanned the group.
Carter. Felicia. Lizard Parker.
He'd refused Gwen's help this time—she'd be useless here.
The trio held weapons looted from the Black Order.
Yep, before coming here, Charlie had made a pit stop in Brooklyn to take down Ebony Maw, then swiped gear from Cull Obsidian, Corvus Glaive, and Proxima Midnight—without killing them.
With the Black Order's artifacts in hand, the team's firepower spiked, boosting their odds.
He'd also taken out Hydra Steve and Bucky beforehand to keep Ophelia in the dark about the resurrection game, preventing her from bolstering her defenses.
"Stick to the plan. Move out."
The moment Charlie waved, Old Man Steve leapt up, his uniform bursting at the seams from exaggerated muscles. Transforming into a Devil Hulk-like figure, he offered his back.
"Little spider, hop on!"
"On it."
Charlie webbed himself to Steve's back. Thor's hammer flared with blinding light, and a surge of wild thunder propelled them crashing into the castle.
"Who's there?!" armed guards shouted.
"Senior citizen!"
Old Man Steve swung the hammer, unleashing torrents of lightning that ripped through the castle.
BOOM!
Thunderbolts flashed, and guards screamed as they smashed into walls.
CRASH!
Walls crumbled as Old Man Steve barreled forward with Charlie in tow, ignoring the grunts and beelining for the underground base entrance.
"Watch out—they're coming," Charlie warned, feeling weakness creeping into his body.
Old Man Steve grinned. "Relax. Your Spidey-Sense plus Thor's hammer? I'm unstoppable."
"It's not Spidey-Sense—it's my body screaming at me," Charlie grumbled.
Whenever a Cindy showed up nearby, the gene toxin hit him, and his spider-senses fizzled out fast.
Ophelia had hidden the toxin perfectly in every Cindy clone. It bypassed his nano-suit's defenses, hitting him directly with no counter.
Soon, as Old Man Steve charged into the underground corridor, a swarm of Cindys rushed them. Charlie's powers shut down completely.
But thanks to his growing toxin resistance, he could at least still talk.
"Behind you—four octopus arms, three pumpkin bombs!"
"Got it."
BOOM!
Lightning erupted as Old Man Steve spun, slamming the hammer into the floor. Thunder exploded outward, blasting the sneaking Cindys away.
"Don't waste time—go straight for Madame Viper," Charlie urged.
"No problem."
More Cindys poured in—dozens in a blink.
Old Man Steve knew he couldn't outfight the numbers. He swung Thor's hammer, using its flight power to soar past the blockade.
WHOOSH!
Winds howled as they zipped through the gene factory with the hammer. Octopus tentacles lashed out, locking onto them, while waves of Cindys tried to intercept.
But Old Man Steve didn't care—he just kept swinging.
As long as the hammer flew, nothing could stop them.
The underground base turned comical.
Their bodies were tangled in octopus arms, dragging a chain of Octo-Cindys behind them like reluctant kites.
"Oh yeah, they're too weak!" Old Man Steve whooped.
Charlie watched the tentacles twist and snag more Cindys along the way, his eye twitching.
Both he and Steve had superhuman durability far beyond normal humans.
The Cindys were a hassle, but unless they could hurt Steve enough to drop the hammer in a short window, this chaos would keep going.
No one could stop Thor's hammer!
BUZZ!
Suddenly, the path ahead vanished, replaced by a sea of fire.
"Mysterio-Cindy's illusion," Charlie said.
"I know the drill."
Old Man Steve slapped on Mysterio's glass helmet—looted earlier—to cut through the psychedelic smoke and see past the holograms.
BANG BANG BANG!
BOOM!
He swung the hammer again, charging into a narrow tunnel. The Cindys behind them clogged the entrance instantly.
CRASH!
Thor's hammer didn't slow. The packed Cindys couldn't squeeze through, and the relentless force snapped their octopus arms one by one. Old Man Steve broke free.
"Took care of 'em!" he laughed.
"Check the map—head to the innermost room," Charlie said.
"Roger that."
Steve kept swinging, bulldozing through guards and bursting into Madame Viper's chamber.
BAM!
The ornate retro door hit the ground hard, kicking up a gust that parted the green gauze curtains.
On the plush bed, Ophelia lounged in her python robe.
No panic—just a mocking smile.
"Steve Rogers. Didn't expect you to still be kicking. Shouldn't old friends share a drink first?"
Old Man Steve's face stayed stone-cold. Following Charlie's advice, he didn't hesitate—raising the hammer and smashing it down.
BOOM!
Thor's hammer unleashed a surge of electricity, shattering the bed. But Ophelia's figure vanished.
"What?"
Old Man Steve frowned. "She's fast—couldn't even track her."
"It's not speed."
As Charlie spoke, a wisp of green mist materialized before him, coalescing into Ophelia.
"You're poisoned. What you saw wasn't her."
"What?!"
Before Steve could react, his legs buckled. He collapsed, sweating bullets, trembling as he struggled to speak.
"Feels like… my body's hollowed out." He gasped, losing his grip on the hammer.
"I'd rather hollow out someone else."
Ophelia slinked toward Charlie, her tongue flicking across his cheek, her eyes glinting with delight.
"A more perfect Spider-Man. Steve, I owe you for this gift."
She flipped onto an intact sofa. "Tell me, Steve—how are you still alive?" Her green eyes shimmered.
"Seventy years ago, I'm certain I killed you myself."
Since Charlie had preemptively taken out Hydra Steve, she didn't yet know about the "missions."
Old Man Steve, pale and weak, rasped, "You tell me first—why am I like this?" He meant the poison.
Ophelia raised a hand, a swirl of eerie green curling at her fingertips.
"You don't get to bargain," she said with a cold laugh.
Steve shook his head. "If there's no deal, I'll just give up."
Ophelia: "…"
She blinked, then chuckled.
"Heh, clever. The older men get, the craftier they become. You've grown up."
"I'm older than you," Steve shot back, rolling his eyes.
"It shows."
Ophelia grinned. "You, with your Super Soldier Serum, should know—I didn't poison you back then because I didn't need to, not because your serum saved you."
Steve's eyes flickered. "If I hadn't taken the serum, would your toxin still work?"
Her face twitched, but she kept smiling.
"Looks like you've figured something out. Too bad—it won't matter.
I'm surprised your body's held out this long. Guess the dose was too light. Let me finish you off!"
Her fingertip flicked, and a streak of green sank into Steve's skin.
Instantly, his pupils dilated, and his body went rigid.
Charlie knew Steve wasn't dead—just as good as.
Ophelia wanted to study his "revival" secret.
This fight confirmed something else too.
Ophelia's toxins didn't just cripple Spider-Man—they could drop even a Super Soldier Serum-enhanced Old Man Steve.
And thanks to Steve's offhand comment, Charlie spotted her one flaw.
With her poisoning skills, she didn't need to spread mutant cells to control the world.
Normal people would be easier to dominate—why insist on turning everyone into Spider-Men?
Only one answer made sense!
Her toxins only worked on superhumans—useless against regular folks!
More precisely, Ophelia could only craft gene toxins targeting mutant cells.
It sounded ridiculous, but it tracked.
No power was invincible—especially not toxins. There was always a counter.
That realization fueled Charlie's confidence for the next restart.
But first, he'd have to endure a little longer.
"Heh, little guy, you're up next."
In the wrecked room, the wicked woman reached for Charlie with her claws.
Oh no—my sense of touch is back.
[You've been eliminated. No resurrection slot earned. Reward: Spider Mutant Gene Toxin Resistance +1%.]
[Remaining restarts: 16. Restart now?]
Fifteenth resurrection round.
In the room, Charlie turned to Gwen.
"Can you do it?"
Gwen frowned. "Peter's told me about your powers, but a full-on assault on Osborn Castle? That's next to impossible. You've got no proof it's an evil organization's base. Your plan won't get approved. George can't convince the higher-ups to back you either."
Old Man Steve nodded. "I've looked into their department. That kind of op takes time to greenlight. Unless you make a huge scene, they won't send armed forces."
"A huge scene?"
Charlie smirked. "That's not hard."
Carter shook her head, skeptical.
"If it's really Hydra, George's authority won't cut it.
And who knows what's up with the brass? The second the government moves, they'll hear about it. You get what I'm saying." She was dead serious.
Charlie nodded. "Yeah. Hidden this long, they've got deep roots. Counting on those guys is a bust."
He scrapped the idea of using official forces for a strike.
Too many moles.
This world had no S.H.I.E.L.D.—Ophelia could infiltrate the government with ease.
Too risky.
Time for the backup plan.