"Who's Spider-Man?" the mage asked.
Charlie raised his hand, but Wade hopped forward first.
"Hey, I'm the legendary friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. You looking for me?" He leaned against the wall, one hand on his hip, regretting his missing leg—otherwise, his pose would've been cooler.
The chubby mage, Wong, eyed them suspiciously.
He pointed at Charlie. "But his suit has a spider emblem."
Wade: "…"
"Fine, you got me. I'm actually Batman." He shrugged, his single leg tilting him sideways.
Wong shook his head, turning to Charlie.
"Hello, I'm Wong. The Ancient One sent me to take you to the Kamar-Taj sanctum to learn magic."
Charlie nodded. "Hi, I'm Charlie Parker. Been waiting for you."
"Good, Charlie Parker, follow me."
Wong drew a circle, golden sparks forming a portal.
"Wow, that's a cool teleportation device," Wade exclaimed, propping his chin on the ground.
"It's magic," Wong clarified, stepping through.
Charlie followed.
"Wait for me!"
Wade scrambled up, hopping after them.
Through the portal, they entered a village in ruins, shrouded in smoke and war.
Houses smoldered, debris mixed with blood, and claw marks meters long scarred the floors.
Under a gloomy sky, mages huddled in groups, exhausted, bandaging wounds and casting healing spells.
"What's this?" Charlie frowned. "What just happened here?"
Wong's eyes held sorrow. "An evil beast from another universe appeared. The Ancient One led us in a desperate fight, but it could split itself with magic. We were no match.
In the end, she sacrificed herself to seal it."
As he spoke, the portal closed, catching Wade mid-transit. His lower half was severed.
Bang~
Wade's upper half hit the ground.
"I knew it—every teleportation method leaves me a broken man," he shrugged.
Wong: "…"
"Sorry, I'll heal you—"
Charlie patted Wong's shoulder. "Don't bother. He can't die."
"Can't die?"
Wong paused, then nodded thoughtfully.
"I get it. You wear matching suits. He must be some kind of Spider-Man with immortality."
Charlie: "…"
"Fine, you're right."
He hopped to a claw-marked pit, inspecting it.
"What kind of beast could force the Ancient One to sacrifice herself to seal it?" he asked gravely.
"A crocodile. A giant crocodile!" Wong's face darkened. "It called itself the Nine Realms' greatest sorcerer, an untouchable god."
"Crocodile Loki?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow, recalling Loki's absence in the last Resurrection Match.
"Loki landed in Kamar-Taj. So last time, he was probably far from New York."
But something felt off.
If Loki was the Nine Realms' top sorcerer, he wouldn't have been taken out by a dragon Thanos.
Yet, if he wasn't powerful, the Ancient One wouldn't have needed to sacrifice herself to seal him.
He nearly destroyed Kamar-Taj.
Unless Shiba Inu Thor lied!
Charlie's curiosity grew.
But learning magic was the priority.
Mastering portal magic would secure this Resurrection Match.
He turned to Wong. "The Ancient One knew I'd come to learn magic. What else did she tell you?"
Wong's eyes turned odd. "She said if you learn magic, you can save her."
"Hm?"
Charlie's heart stirred. Did the Ancient One know about restarts?
No, her case differed from Professor X's.
Her prophecy was vague—she might not know about restarts.
Even if she did, she couldn't resist their power.
Except for the half-bodied guy.
He glanced at Wade, then told Wong, "Let's start."
Wong found a quiet spot, pulling a magic tome from his robe.
"The library's destroyed. This is my only book. Study its magic knowledge before learning basic spells."
Charlie rubbed his chin. "How long does it take to prepare for basic magic?"
"Three years."
"Too long."
Charlie said, "I need to learn portal magic in twenty-four hours."
"Impossible."
Wong shook his head. "Portals don't require deep knowledge, but even the fastest mage in history, besides the Ancient One, took a week."
Charlie mused, "If I said someone learned portals instantly upon touching magic, would you believe it?"
"Of course not."
Wong stood firm. "It's impossible."
"Fair enough. I wouldn't either."
But Charlie thought, I have to believe.
In the movies, chubby Ned pulled it off, creating the iconic three-Spider-Man scene.
Wong handed Charlie a dark gold ring.
"If you only want portal magic, here's the Sling Ring. Focus, picture your destination, and it opens a path.
But you need some magical talent. It won't work the first time, though with more knowledge and auxiliary arrays, your odds improve—"
Before he finished, red-and-blue sparks formed a dazzling portal, revealing a New York flattened by ultimate weapons.
To save time, Charlie had Wade teleport them to the Himalayas to find Kamar-Taj's mages.
"What?"
Wong gaped as Charlie opened a portal on his first try.
"How? You meant yourself?"
"Uh, no, that guy's not a Spider-Man."
Charlie stared at his hands and the red-and-blue-tinted Sling Ring, stunned.
He hadn't expected to master magic so easily.
Looking down, his spider totem glowed, and he understood.
In the Marvel universe, magic was a means of borrowing power from other dimensions' ancient gods, manifesting as spells to boost a mage's strength.
Mental strength, intelligence, physique, and luck affected how efficiently one could borrow divine power.
If chosen by a "god," the borrowed power far surpassed other mages'.
Charlie didn't know any ancient gods, but the spider totem's power seemed comparable.
The little spider amplified his combat strength with the totem's power.
With the Sling Ring, he easily tapped into the totem's magical energy to open portals.
But after a restart, he'd lose the ring.
Without it, he couldn't open portals.
He explained this to Wong, who replied, "With deeper magical mastery, you can cast without a Sling Ring.
But such mages are rare. Besides the Ancient One, I've never seen it."
Charlie patted Wong's shoulder. "You'll get there someday. Believe in yourself."
"Me?"
Wong shook his head, smiling bitterly. "My talent's nowhere near the Ancient One's. Impossible."
"Time will tell."
Charlie began studying the tome.
Complex arrays and cryptic incantations filled its pages. He occasionally asked Wong about unclear parts.
As night fell, Hydra bared its claws globally.
Charlie ignored it, repeatedly studying the tome.
Seeing his dedication, Wong smiled.
"The Ancient One never chooses wrong."
Someone tugged his robe.
Turning, Wong saw no one and frowned.
"Who's joking with me?" he asked, annoyed.
"Me."
Wong looked down, his face stiffening.
Wade had grown a baby lower half.
Little Wade swayed, mosaiced, startling Wong.
"W-what do you want?" he asked.
Wade looked up. "I need a diaper. I can't hold it."
Wong: "…"
The task time ended, and Charlie returned to the cosmic web.
Recalling the tome's contents, he frowned.
Though basic, the magic knowledge was as complex as the artificial sun experiments.
He barely understood either.
He needed a new approach.
The spider totem could replace an ancient god's power.
So something should replace the Sling Ring.
A spark of inspiration hit.
Restart!
...
Sixth Resurrection Match.
Atop the Empire State Building, countdown over.
Charlie summoned the little spider.
Chitter chitter
The spider bit his hand, magical energy surging.
Buzz~
Charlie drew a circle, opening a portal.
"It worked!"
The little spider was a magical tool for borrowing the totem's power!
Ecstatic, he dove through.
Meanwhile, at the TV station.
"Hahaha, awesome, I'm back—the terrifying demon's back—"
Norman's laugh was cut off as a dazzling meteor crashed through, sweeping him away.
The fleeing staff froze.
"What just happened?"
"Spider-Man, I think."
"Yeah, he saved us."
Queens, Bleecker Street.
Hydra Steve and Bucky leaped from a rooftop.
Onlookers gasped.
"My God, it's Captain Steve!"
"Wasn't he killed by Spider-Man?"
"Rumor is he's an evil organization's mole, but S.H.I.E.L.D. never clarified…"
Hearing the crowd, Hydra Steve smirked cruelly.
"We're back. Nice experience."
To Bucky, he said, "Charlie Parker's home is nearby. He'll pay dearly for what he's done."
Bucky frowned. "This method's too dirty. Sure about it?"
Hydra Steve snorted. "Compared to Spider-Man, you think we're dirty?"
Bucky thought. "Yeah, Spider-Man's more of a bitch."
They nodded, decided.
Before they could act, a dazzling portal bloomed overhead.
"What's that?"
Looking up, their confusion turned to horror.
"No, how'd he find us so fast…"
A meteor shot down, warping the sky.
"Friendly Neighborhood Nuke Kick!"
"No!!"
BOOM!!
Magic light exploded, two black spines landing in the flames.
"Carter, I've handled Hydra Captain. Pick up their black spines."
"What?"
Carter, receiving the message, blinked. "That was fast."
Charlie: "…"
"Don't slander me like that."
He closed the comms and opened another portal.
Empire State University rooftop. Gwen was just tied up by Mysterio.
"Gwen, what a pity. You're not Spider-Man, but no matter. I bet you're connected to him.
Catch you, and Spider-Man shows up." Mysterio's glass orb grinned wickedly.
Gwen paled but stayed calm.
"No use. I barely know Spider-Man. You can't threaten him."
"Oh?"
Mysterio sneered, toying with Gwen's phone.
Charlie Parker's name in her contacts confirmed his suspicions.
"Charlie Parker. I know him. He appeared briefly in my world. Steve told us he's Spider-Man."
Gwen's heart jolted.
"No way… Charlie's Spider-Man?"
She couldn't believe it, but something more unbelievable happened.
Buzz~
A dazzling portal appeared. Mysterio's orb device spotted a red-and-blue figure bursting out.
"Spider-Man!"
As the figure unleashed terrifying magical energy, Mysterio instinctively pushed Gwen off the roof.
"No!!"
Freefall hit, death's shadow looming over Gwen.
But she didn't despair.
She saw Spider-Man.
"Charlie…" Her eyes sparkled.
Charlie's gaze was resolute.
This time, fate would be rewritten!