Charlie pried apart the bus frame blocking him. "Wrecking a bus? Minus ten points."
As he spoke, an invisible force enveloped him.
Susan, quickly dressed, smirked. "Catching the criminal worth ten points?"
"Of course."
Charlie shrugged. "My role's a regular superhuman. I can't break your energy shield. But you missed something."
"What?"
"This is a team heist."
With that, blinding lights flashed on the bridge, and Wade, armed with guns, made a dramatic entrance.
"Avengers scum, you're done for."
Wade cackled, his pulse guns blasting the scene.
Pop, pop, pop~~
Energy surged chaotically. Susan ducked behind the stone man.
"You okay?" she asked.
Ben swayed slightly. "This attack's nothing to me," he said confidently.
"Yep, nothing to us."
Reed dug through his pierced rubber body, pulling out a gleaming ring.
He knelt before Susan. "Darling, marry me."
Susan, touched, gasped, "Oh, so unexpected."
Ben clutched his face. "So romantic!!"
Bang!!
Shrapnel flew, and the ring dropped.
Charlie emerged from the rubble. "Enjoy your last romantic moment, soon-to-be reserves!"
As he spoke, Wade leapt into the air, dual guns firing.
"It's over—whoa!"
With a yelp, Reed snatched Wade's guns, and Ben charged.
Thud, thud, thud~~
The bridge trembled under the crushing force.
"You take this."
Charlie yanked Wade in front, and Ben's savage charge sent Wade flying. Charlie slid under.
BOOM!!
The impact hit. Ben collapsed, clutching his groin, eyes rolling back.
"It's… shattered…"
Ben Grimm crumpled, twitching.
Johnny, airborne, roared, "Shit, your role doesn't include that kind of strength!"
Charlie flicked his hand. "You stalled too long. Role upgraded."
"Jerk, he's doing it on purpose!"
Johnny cursed, flames flaring again.
BOOM!!
Scorching fire dove down, engulfing Charlie. Susan raised an energy shield around the flames.
Inside, the heat soared, but purple veins pulsed on Charlie's skin. His muscles swelled—Titan form, stage two. Ordinary flames couldn't touch him.
"What?"
Johnny's face fell inside the shield.
"How?!"
Charlie grinned. "This is what happens when you don't take the test seriously. The enemy's gone berserk. Your mission's a total bust."
"No!"
In Johnny's horrified gaze, purple hands tore the shield apart and grabbed his throat.
Instantly, Johnny's flames died, forcing him out of fire form.
"What?!"
Susan fired energy beams, but Charlie swatted them away.
Boom~
Scattered energy hit nearby cars, the fight causing a massive traffic jam.
Agents rushed to evacuate civilians.
"Agent Hill, situation's escalating," one reported.
"Copy."
Hill raised her communicator. "Dr. Reed, it's escalating. Draw the enemy to an unpopulated area."
"Got it."
Reed's face darkened, his arms stretching into coils to bind Charlie.
"Johnny, hold on."
"What?"
BOOM!!
Reed flung Charlie, but Johnny, struggling, reignited his flames.
Boom
Charlie tossed him, and Johnny's body streaked like a comet, crashing toward a downtown skyscraper.
"Disaster!!"
Agents gasped.
Coulson's face sank. "We're screwed. It's just a routine test. If this blows up, we're all on the hook."
Hill stayed calm. "Relax. Spider-Man's using a live test. He's got a plan."
Sure enough, as Johnny neared the building, a bolt of lightning shot from the void.
Zzzzt~
BOOM~~
Fire and lightning clashed, flames bursting. The lightning carried Johnny to the street.
"Rookie, you failed," a mysterious black-robed figure said coldly.
"Who are you?"
Johnny, seeing the figure shrouded in a cloak, froze, then protested loudly, "No way, that was a fluke! I don't accept this!"
The figure ignored him, vanishing in a flash of lightning.
Meanwhile, Charlie free-fell into an abandoned coastal factory.
BOOM!!
Like a meteor, the factory collapsed.
Susan, flying, carried Reed into the ruins, only to face Carter's icy stare.
"Enough."
Carter held the assessment files, shaking her head. "From this test, Ben was useless, Johnny can't control his impulses, and you didn't take it seriously.
Not everyone can be Spider-Man, cracking jokes while handling major incidents. You overestimated yourselves.
Sorry, you're headed to the reserves."
Susan and Reed exchanged helpless glances.
"What about my research funding?" Reed, the broke scientist, clung to hope.
"That'll need careful consideration," Carter said, then added, "Next assessment's in a month. Work on your teamwork. I expect you to make the main roster."
Relieved, they nodded. Another chance wasn't too humiliating.
As agents arrived, Carter handed the cleanup to Coulson.
She left the factory, finding Charlie at a nearby lighthouse.
"You used clone magic," Carter said.
Charlie nodded, silent.
"You knew they'd fail?" she asked.
"Yup."
Charlie gazed at the sea, smiling. "Your concerns were right. They've got potential, but they're not ready for Avengers work.
Deploy them now, and the fallout will drive you nuts."
"Then I owe you one."
Carter wasn't disappointed. She glanced around. "What's this surprise you mentioned?"
"Over there."
Charlie pointed to a distant skyscraper.
Carter frowned. "Johnny almost crashed into it."
"Exactly."
Charlie raised his hand, an electric spider crawling into his palm. "Fate's gears are turning again. Can't avoid it. Time to get to work."
"I'm with you."
"Cool."
Lightning wrapped Carter, zipping toward the skyscraper.
Along the way, Carter trembled. "T-t-tingling~"
Soon, they reached the building's basement.
Acrid smoke filled the air. Charlie's nano-suit kept him unfazed, but Carter covered her nose, frowning. "Circuit issue. Something's burning."
"There."
Her eyes locked on a puddle where electric eels writhed.
Among them, a figure twitched, blue arcs crawling over their skin.
"He's mutating," Carter said, her frown deepening.
Charlie nodded. "Yup. This world's Electro, Max. Couldn't escape his fate."
"Electro?"
Carter looked at Charlie. "Another of Spider-Man's fated foes."
"Nah, he's no enemy."
Charlie grinned, firing webs to pull the mutating Max along. "Here's your surprise."
"I'm intrigued."
They left.
Half an hour later, S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital.
On the bed, Max stirred, spotting two faint blue, inverted-triangle eyes.
"Spider-Man!!" Max beamed.
But as joy hit, arcs sparked from his body, flickering lights and sparking equipment.
"What's happening to me?"
Max panicked, noticing his translucent hands, his blue pupils shrinking. "No!! My body…"
"Calm down."
Charlie soothed Max. "Relax, listen."
He patted Max's shoulder. "I gave you unemployment aid. Why'd you go back to that job?"
Max shrank under Charlie's gaze.
He'd been a lowly office drone, his life consumed by work.
Then Spider-Man entered his world.
Spider-Man urged him to reclaim his life, stand up to workplace exploitation, and gave him a hefty unemployment payout.
With Spider-Man's help, he tasted a new life.
He was grateful, cherishing his only friend.
He didn't want to let Spider-Man down.
He tried hard to find new work, but the city offered few options.
His old company had a circuit issue their new electrician couldn't fix, so they called him back with a good paycheck.
Knowing Spider-Man wasn't rich, he wanted to earn money to ease his friend's burden.
But he slipped, falling into a strange eel tank at work, nearly dying. Guilt and fear hit hard.
He'd promised Spider-Man to resist exploitation, yet he went back.
He felt he'd betrayed Spider-Man.
Under Charlie's questioning, Max stammered, "They… offered me money to fix the basement wiring."
Charlie shook his head. "Alright, Max. You're not normal anymore. Remember what I told you?"
Max's heart raced. "With great power comes great responsibility."
"Exactly. So, Max, join Spider-Man in glorious evolution—er, become a superhero!"
An hour later, Charlie calmed Max.
Outside the room, Carter waited. "This is your surprise?" Her look was odd.
Charlie nodded. "Yup. Professor X gave me a ton of intel, so I found my fated enemies early.
When they were at their lowest, I used my money to help them, became their friend."
Carter's lip twitched. "Congrats, Spider-Man. Your network's growing."
"Yup."
Charlie grinned. "Max agreed to your training. He'll master his powers fast—more reliable than those four."
Carter had concerns. "Even if you saved him, fate's enemies might lose control. You sure about this?"
"Captain Carter," Charlie said seriously, "It's not others who make them villains—it's your prejudices, crushing them like a mountain."
Carter froze, thinking of Steve.
If Steve hadn't been ostracized, would things have been different?
"Your words are always so profound," she said, snapping back, wistful.
Charlie grinned. "I cribbed it."
Carter: "…"
"Alright, no more chat. I'm off to save the next villain. Bye~"
Charlie turned into lightning, streaking across the night.
Stark Tower.
Below, a disheveled Quentin Beck stumbled out, escorted by security, leaving the city of dreams.
By the fountain, mist revived his numb gaze.
He looked up at the tower's top—Tony Stark's penthouse.
An untouchable figure wouldn't meet a nobody like him, a special effects artist.
His dreams could only live in his sleep.
This was his last shot.
And he blew it.
In despair, he began to hate the world.
Why did some have everything from birth?
While others, no matter how hard they tried, couldn't even touch what others discarded.
Even their trash was out of reach.
Unfair!
If fairness didn't exist, then any means necessary…
Resentment burned in his eyes, but a crowd's cheers snapped him back.
"Spider-Man!"
The red-and-blue figure swung down before him. Quentin froze.
He remembered—weeks ago, Spider-Man approached him, promising sponsorship.
He hadn't taken it seriously.
Everyone knew Spider-Man was broke.
"Hey, New York's coolest effects artist, remember me?" Charlie waved.
Quentin snapped back, face lighting up. "Mr. Spider-Man, you were serious?"
"Of course."
Charlie spread his hands. "Ask any Spider-Man pal—I don't lie."
Better Mysterio becomes a Hollywood star than a villain.
They could split cash instead of fists.
And he'd help against other foes.
That's networking!