"Catch him!!"
"Where is he? I can't see—he's too fast!"
"There!"
A swarm of agents scrambled into action, Coulson leading with a scanner locked onto the island's edge, where the aircraft lot sat.
Boom~
An aircraft began to lift off, only to wobble and crash back down seconds later.
Pop, pop.
Sparks erupted from the aircraft's tail. Amid the smoke, Wade yanked his dual katanas free, black fumes seeping from the mouth of his mask.
Cough, cough "This motor oil cigarette's not my vibe."
Choking, he tapped the window. "Hey, buddy, I've got my eyes on you. Can I borrow your little buddy for some fruit-slicing practice?"
In the driver's seat, Pietro's eyes flashed with exasperation.
"Shit, what is this freak?"
He opened the window, the Time Tablet strapped to his back, and blurred into a streak of silver, zipping past Wade.
The next moment, Pietro screeched to a halt, a katana's tip nearly impaling him.
"Oh, my baby blades almost got you. Such a shame."
Wade kissed his blade. Pietro's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How?!"
Buzz~
Stunned, Pietro spun to accelerate again, but Wade, quick as a flash, drew a dagger from his thigh.
Stab!
"OHHH!!"
Blood sprayed as Pietro clutched his rear, shrieking.
"Oh no! I'm hit again—I'm gonna die…"
His sprint cut short, he stumbled and collapsed, wailing in terror. Wade dug at his ear.
"Just a kid, huh."
He used his blade to lift the backpack. "No experience, and you're out here playing villain? Rookie mistake. You should've boarded the aircraft after your buddy distracted us. Then you hide in a corner, wait till we're gone, and slip away clean.
You do have a partner, right?"
Wade crouched beside Pietro, shaking his head. "Poor little thief."
With that, he yanked the dagger out and plunged it into Pietro's other cheek.
Stab!
"OHHH!!!"
Pietro, sprawled on the ground, screamed, his agonized expression making Wade clap gleefully.
"Perfect. Now you're extra pitiful."
"Pitiful's you."
Scarlet energy surged from behind the aircraft, a crimson wave crashing down, tearing Wade's body in half.
Snap!
The dragonbone fossil hit the ground. A long-haired girl approached, crouching to pick it up.
"So this is it. No wonder he kept up with your speed."
Wanda spoke, grabbing the backpack and helping Pietro up. She glanced at the charging agents, her eyes dripping with contempt.
But as a swarm of drones zoomed in, her expression grew serious.
Times had changed. These weren't old-school guns—their firepower could kill superhumans.
And there were a lot of them. Even Wanda didn't dare underestimate them.
Her fingers curled, scarlet energy manipulating the aircraft to crash into the drones. Seizing the chaos, she yanked Pietro and leapt off the sky island.
"AHHH~~~ Slow down, my blood's spraying again!!" Pietro wailed.
Wanda sighed. Mid-air, she used her scarlet energy to seal the wounds on Pietro's rear, the searing pain amplifying his screams.
His cries echoed through the night as a burst of dazzling sparks bloomed.
Buzz~
Zzzzt~
From a portal, electric arcs shot out.
"Hey, pretty lady, that thing in your hand's mine," Charlie grinned.
"Spider-Man!"
Wanda's face shifted, and without hesitation, she unleashed scarlet energy to envelop herself and Pietro.
Zzz~
Pop, pop, pop
Electric arcs clashed against the scarlet energy, each impact canceling out a portion of both forces.
As her energy thinned, Pietro shouted, "Use the dragonbone fossil!"
"Got it."
Buzz~
A faint golden glow merged with the scarlet energy, and the duo's speed exploded, transforming into a crimson meteor hurtling toward the city.
"Whoa, that's spicy," Charlie said, shooting a web to anchor himself in the void. Unfazed, he drew a circle.
Buzz~
He dove through the portal, reappearing atop a city skyscraper.
Watching the descending scarlet energy, Charlie formed hand signs. The spider emblem on his chest flickered, his figure blurring instantly.
Buzz~
In a flash, Charlie's form solidified, and one by one, "Spider-Men" peeled off his body.
Clone technique!
"Hey, you dashing, charming Spider-Men, let's roll!"
"Oh-ho~ The invincible Spider-Man's here!"
"Wait for me!"
"Hit 'em with the Friendly Neighborhood Electro Dragon Drill!"
"Nah, I'm going for the Friendly Neighborhood Nuclear Kick!"
"Man, you're such a loner."
"Quit yapping, you almost crashed!"
"No, I almost kissed you."
"No biggie, we're all family here—no judgment."
Seven ultra-chatty "Charlies" surged forward as arcs of electricity, leaving the real Charlie momentarily stunned.
"Something's off with this vibe."
As he spoke, the night sky crackled with electric arcs and dazzling magic. Wanda, besieged by seven Spider-Men, looked grim.
"Damn Spider-Man, why so many bugs?!"
BOOM!!
Before she could escape, magic energy erupted again, scarlet and vibrant magic bursting like fireworks in the night.
"NO!!"
As the electric drill pierced her thinning scarlet energy, Wanda and Pietro crashed onto a web strung between skyscrapers, screaming.
"My blood's flowing again!" Pietro yelped in panic.
Wanda tore a strip from her clothes and handed it to him. "Make do."
"Is it sanitized?"
"Sanitized with premium detergent."
Wanda glanced at the sky.
Seeing the seven Spider-Men vanish into the void, she frowned.
"A Spider-Man who knows clone magic. The rumors were true."
Every death makes Spider-Man stronger!
Pietro, sweating, stuffed the cloth into his wounds. "So that lord was right. We can't kill Spider-Man—he'll just get stronger, until he's truly invincible."
Wanda took a deep breath. As the red-and-blue figure approached, she raised the backpack, her expression unreadable.
"Looks like we're not taking the Time Tablet today."
"Then we follow his plan."
"Understood."
Wanda nodded, tossing the backpack into the night sky.
Charlie, ignoring the Time Tablet, landed on the web and fired webs to bind them.
"The Time Tablet's over there," Wanda said, glancing at it.
Charlie shrugged. "The invincible Spider-Man's not falling for it. That backpack's gotta have a secret weapon—get close, and it'll blow."
Wanda: "…"
Pietro: "…"
Soon, the backpack plummeted to the street below.
Bang!!
Crack~~
Shards spilled from the backpack's seams—the Time Tablet shattered.
Charlie: "…"
He looked at them. "No secret weapon?"
Wanda turned away, ignoring the smug jerk.
Pietro forced a smile. "Our mission was to steal the Time Tablet. If we couldn't, we'd give it back. We can always try again."
Charlie's face darkened. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I thought you'd catch it."
"But I didn't."
"That's your problem."
"No, it's yours."
Charlie, fuming, tapped his nano-device. "Commander Carter, Wanda and Pietro smashed the Time Tablet."
Wanda: "…"
"Shameless!" she finally snapped.
Charlie raised a brow. "They also called S.H.I.E.L.D. trash," he told Carter.
Pietro: "…"
"Slander! Spider-Man's slandering me!!" he shouted.
"I hung up. She can't hear you."
Charlie grinned wickedly at them.
Wanda and Pietro exchanged glances, then lowered their heads in defeat.
"Spider-Man, thanks for saving Pietro last time," Wanda said suddenly.
Charlie blinked. "How you gonna repay me?"
Wanda thought, her eyes flaring with deeper scarlet light.
"I'm broke, so a verbal thank-you's all you get."
Spider-sense flared. The red-and-blue figure flipped onto the skyscraper's wall as the web was shredded by icy scarlet energy.
BOOM!!
As energy surged, the faintly glowing dragonbone fossil shattered. Amid the sprawling scarlet energy, Wanda floated, hair billowing, her aura so powerful it shook Charlie.
"Chaos magic?" Charlie's face shifted, on guard.
Wanda, holding Pietro, her scarlet eyes flickering, said, "As thanks, I'll give you a heads-up. That lord has awakened. The era of mutants has begun. Immortality means nothing to him, but you're different. Your body's a priceless treasure. Protect it."
With that, scarlet energy stormed across the night, and Wanda and Pietro vanished from Charlie's sight.
Staring at the fading scarlet energy, Charlie mused.
Wanda hadn't fully awakened her chaos magic, but her strength was already formidable.
As for that lord…
The era of mutants?
Charlie rubbed his chin, faint blue light glinting in his eyes.
The Ancient One was right—the world's trajectory had veered unpredictably.
He swung down to the street, grabbed the backpack, and stepped through a portal.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Amid waiting agents, Charlie emerged from the portal, tossing the backpack to Coulson.
Coulson opened it, grimacing at the countless shards of the Time Tablet.
"It's completely shattered," he reported to Carter.
Carter glanced at Charlie, then told Coulson, "See if it can be restored."
She motioned for Charlie to follow her.
In her office, Charlie said, "Look up a guy from last century—Max Eisenhardt, alias Erik Lehnsherr."
"Is this tied to the Time Tablet theft?" Carter asked, already pulling up the internal system.
"Found him. Records say he died in the war."
"What about Charles Francis Xavier?"
"Also in the records. War buddy. Also dead."
"And Logan?"
"Logan?" Carter raised a brow. "The guy with the metal claws?"
They'd crossed paths in the Resurrection Match.
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, Logan Howlett."
"Dead too," Carter said, clicking through.
She looked at Charlie. "Are these guys connected to this?"
Charlie shook his head. "Not sure, but in Wanda's 'era of mutants,' Magneto, Professor X, Wolverine—they're the main players.
This world has no mutants, so how are they kicking off this era?"
"Mutants are like superhumans, right?" Carter caught on quick.
"Yeah, but their system's way more complex than you'd think."
"A system?"
"Like a hierarchy of power levels."
"Oh, that sounds fun."
Seeing Carter's relaxed vibe, Charlie palmed his forehead. "You don't seem worried."
Carter shrugged. "Why would I be? Unless it's some weird anti-Spider-Man weapon, no superhuman's your match."
Charlie shook his head, sitting across from her, dead serious. "If a mutant shows up who can control all metal and Earth's magnetic field, we've got no shot."
"Control metal and magnetic fields?"
Carter, hearing of such a power for the first time, frowned. "Could someone like that exist?"
Charlie nodded. "Yup. And you've already seen how scary Professor X's psychic powers are."
Recalling that terrifying bald guy, Carter's face grew grave. "But we've got no leads. How do we find them?"
Charlie thought for a moment. "Guess we need that guy's help."
"Who?"
"That guy."
…
"What? You want me to help you dig up graves?"
At Eisen's apartment, Wade, newly regrown lower half and all, stared at Charlie, eyes wide with shock.
"Those guys have been dead for years. How would I know where their bodies are buried?"
Charlie poured him a mug of hot milk. "You'll figure it out," he said with a grin.
Wade thought, patting his time-travel device with a sleazy smirk. "You really get me. But I'm still growing. You gotta wait till I'm fully grown to move." He pointed at his "infant" lower half.
"No problem. You'll grow fast."
Charlie flicked on the TV, queuing up an indescribable movie for Wade.
"Men grow up easy."
Wade's eyes lit up. "Gimme the remote—I need to fast-forward."
"Here you go."
Charlie handed it over and headed out.
"Call me when you're grown."
"Where you off to?" Wade asked. "Not joining me?"
"Thanks for the special invite, but I've got stuff to do. Enjoy."
"No worries, I'll grow in no time. Gimme three minutes."
"That fast?"
"I can be faster."