One hour later, Charlie returned to his own world, his own room.
Staring at the already disconnected phone, Charlie thought for a moment, then redialed.
"Hey, it's me."
"I know."
Late at night, Carter was still waiting for Charlie's call.
She yawned, then asked, "What happened?"
"I became a summoned hero."
Carter: "..."
"Speak properly."
"Lizard Parker summoned me in his world."
"Uh, you're not joking?"
"Of course, Spider-Man never jokes."
Charlie said seriously, "It's a reward from the Resurrection Match, you know, former teammates now have the ability to summon Spider-Man."
"That's a good thing."
Charlie: "???"
Carter continued, "If you die in another universe, I won't have to deal with your funeral.
Even if you mess with dangerous enemies, it won't drag us into it."
Charlie thought about it, his eyes lighting up.
"You make a lot of sense, so I can do whatever I want."
"Yes, the trouble you cause elsewhere won't affect your family or friends. Congrats."
As Carter finished, Charlie heard Agent Hill's voice from the other end of the line.
"Commander, another mutant's appeared. Fire-based powers. That guy's already blown up two banks."
"Ugh, what a hassle. Working late like this will age me fast."
Carter's tone was无奈, "Spider-Man, you heard that. I've got work to do. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Charlie hung up immediately. A mature Spider-Man never bothers friends when they're working hard.
In the office, Carter, annoyed that Charlie hung up so quickly, fumed.
"That guy, I hinted so obviously, and he didn't even offer to help share the load. What a jerk."
Agent Hill hesitated, "Uh, Commander, you should've just said it directly."
"No, I want him to take the initiative. I care about his attitude."
Carter stood, "Good thing Max's speed can help us. We've got just enough manpower now. Let's move."
"Yes, ma'am."
Late at night, S.H.I.E.L.D. sprang into action, while Charlie stepped into the bathroom for a hot shower.
In the shower, Charlie wiped his face, letting the water cascade over him.
Thinking about the extra reward from this Resurrection Match, he sighed, realizing good days might be over.
Thankfully, he didn't have too many teammates in that match, mostly "connections" from his world, not many competitors.
Lizard Parker, Logan, Professor X, and some unlucky Deadpool who didn't show up, plus Old Man Steve.
There shouldn't be a "summon Spider-Man event" anytime soon.
Lost in thought, Charlie reached for the shampoo someone handed him and started washing his hair.
Wait, I already washed my hair.
Realizing this, Charlie froze, a bad feeling creeping in.
Turning, he saw Old Man Steve, covered in chest hair, giving him a friendly smile.
"Scrub my back."
Charlie: "..."
Mid-shower, he'd been summoned by Old Man Steve.
"You summoned me for this?"
"What else?"
"You're insane!!!"
With a roar, Charlie launched a flying kick.
Bang!!
In an instant, debris flew as the naked old man crashed through the bathroom wall, then smashed into the stairwell, tumbling all the way to the villa's living room.
In the living room, Barton, wiping down his quiver, looked surprised.
Nearby, Natasha was fixing her agent gear.
By the coffee machine, Pepper held a cup, preparing to greet a guest.
Next to her, Morgan turned, burying her face in her mom's skirt.
"Shame, shame, shame~" she mumbled, rubbing against Pepper's dress.
Rhodes, admiring a mural, turned to see Old Man Steve sprawled on the floor. He blinked.
"Old Cap, is this performance art?" he asked.
Hearing this, Old Man Steve couldn't keep pretending to be unconscious.
He quickly grabbed a tablecloth to cover himself, his old face flushed.
"Sorry, just a little accident." He picked up his shield to cover his lower half.
Natasha chuckled, "You said that world's Spider-Man would show up. Where is he?"
"Right here."
Dang dang dang dang~
Mimicking Spider-Man's iconic entrance music, Charlie, in his nano-suit, slid down the staircase railing, landing with a flip in front of everyone.
"Hey, long time no see."
Charlie waved at Natasha, then scanned Barton and the others.
"You guys need me for something?
You've only got one hour, so make the most of my time.
Oh, Miss Pepper, two fresh-squeezed juices, please. Thanks.
And you, the little one hiding in your mom's skirt, you're Tony's daughter, I know. From the moment I saw you, I knew your only idol will be the invincible Spider-Man.
Hey, you, the guy who looks like he's fluffing cotton—yeah, you, I'm talking to you. Don't pretend you can't hear me; you're blocking the light.
And you, the archer who's mortal but matches gods, laugh if you want to. You're not young anymore; you don't get many chances to laugh."
Amid Charlie's chatter, everyone exchanged glances.
"I'm sure of it. He's Spider-Man," Barton said, shaking his head helplessly.
Natasha shrugged, "Yup, more Spider-Man than Spider-Man, but this isn't even his full strength."
Rhodes, behind Charlie, mimed a choking gesture. Pepper quickly shook her head.
She patted Morgan's head, "Sweetie, go do your homework. We're discussing how to bring Tony back."
Morgan nodded slowly.
"Okay, I'll be good. Tell me when Dad's back."
She glanced at the weird Spider-Man, then scampered off to her room.
"Kid, lay off the candy. Your front tooth fell out again," Charlie called.
"Pfft~"
From the corner, Morgan stuck out her tongue before disappearing from Charlie's view.
Charlie chuckled.
"Little rascal."
He turned to Old Man Steve, "Just these people?"
Old Man Steve looked out the window, frowning, "I also notified Peter. He should be here by now."
At that, Charlie silently looked up at the ceiling.
Outside, a young high schooler poked his head in, looking embarrassed.
"Yeah, I'm here."
Pepper waved, "Come on in."
Peter Parker's face turned red as he glanced at Charlie.
"Uh… he took my suit. I'm not wearing anything right now."
The other Spider-Man was strong and fast. Peter was no match and had to accept his bad luck.
Everyone's eyes grew stranger.
Seeing their gazes on him, Charlie nodded awkwardly.
"Haha, my bad. I thought you were just some passing Spider-Man. But, well, I'm not wearing anything either. Got a spare suit?"
Peter Parker covered his face, "I don't."
"Man, that's a bad habit. At least wear underwear next time so it's not too embarrassing."
Charlie plopped onto the couch, clearly not planning to return the suit.
Pepper, seeing this, went to find one of Tony's "pre-death" outfits for Peter to wear.
Soon, everyone gathered around a table, staring at each other.
"Who's first?" Charlie asked.
Old Man Steve coughed, "I'll start."
He looked at Charlie, "After the Resurrection Match, my body aged again, but thanks to the extra one-month lifespan reward, I'm standing here now."
Charlie nodded, "One month, nice. You'll be joining me in the Resurrection Match soon."
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," Old Man Steve said, expressionless.
Natasha facepalmed.
Steve was used to it, but she wasn't.
She turned to Charlie, "Steve said Tony won the Resurrection Match too, but we dug up his grave. He didn't come back."
Charlie had heard about this from the old man during the match but hadn't paid much attention then.
Now, though, he was very curious.
Charlie mused, "Tony died from snapping his fingers. That's very different from our cases. Maybe it's the Infinity Stones' special nature that kept him from reviving."
Barton added, "Yeah, we thought of that too, but the Infinity Stones are gone. We've got no leads."
Charlie rubbed his chin, "If we could find someone else who snapped, we might get some answers."
At that, everyone exchanged looks and said in unison:
"Dr. Banner!"
Old Man Steve stood, "I'll find him right away."
Natasha shook her head, "He's on a tropical island vacation, out of contact."
Rhodes added, "There's also his cousin."
"That's tricky," Old Man Steve frowned. "We need to find a way to reach Banner."
Charlie sipped his juice, checking the time.
"Time's almost up. I'm heading back. Call me when you've got more leads.
Oh, and don't summon me when I'm in the bathroom," he warned the old man.
Old Man Steve shrugged, "How would I know what you're doing?"
"Then find a private spot and set up some safeguards."
"No problem."
"Alright then."
Charlie stood, his gaze landing on Peter Parker.
"Besides me, know any other Spider-Men?"
Peter blinked, "What're you talking about? I don't get it."
"Cool, I know what's going on now."
Charlie glanced upstairs, "Later, grab your nano-suit yourself. If you've got time, take Ned to Kamar-Taj. Let him learn some magic. He's more reliable than you in a pinch."
With that, his form flickered into an electric arc and vanished.
Everyone sighed in awe.
Barton squinted, "Definitely a powerful Spider-Man."
Natasha sighed, "If he'd been on the battlefield back then, we might not have lost."
Old Man Steve took a deep breath, "If I face Thanos again, I could hold him off for a whole day."
Peter Parker, meanwhile, mulled over Charlie's words.
"Ned's an idiot. He can't even handle math. How's he supposed to learn magic? More reliable than me?"
He shook his head. No way that's possible.
"Alright, the issue now is how to find Dr. Banner," Pepper said.
"If we can't reach him, try his cousin," she suggested, looking at Barton. "Who's his cousin?"
"A lawyer."
"Perfect. Lawyers are never out of reach."
Pepper sprang into action, assigning Happy to handle it.
Finally, she turned to Peter.
"Because of Mysterio, everyone knows your identity now, but Steve reminded me of something I think you need to hear."
"What?" Peter Parker looked confused.
Old Man Steve's face grew serious.
"Peter, Spider-Man's potential is huge, but you're young. Some consequences you can't handle."
"What are you guys talking about?" Peter still didn't get it.
Old Man Steve continued.
"That Spider-Man earlier was Charlie Parker. I fought alongside him in tons of Resurrection Matches. He told me a secret."
"His powers?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.
Old Man Steve glanced back nervously, "No, it's not about his powers."
He said seriously, "Spider-Man's fate."
"Fate?"
Peter's eyes widened, intrigued.
Old Man Steve patted Peter's shoulder, "Spider-Man's destiny is tragic and lonely. If you're not careful, you'll lose your only family."
"What!!"
Peter's face was full of shock. "No way, why would that happen?"
Old Man Steve shook his head, "Little Spider said in the multiverse, almost every Spider-Man loses their Uncle Ben, then their love, their friends, and ends up a lonely hero."
"But my Uncle Ben died years ago."
"Exactly, so Little Spider wasn't wrong."
"That guy doesn't seem reliable. I don't really believe it."
"You have to believe. Of all the Spider-Men I've met, except Charlie Parker, the others had pretty miserable endings."
Old Man Steve tried to fully convince Peter.
Behind him, Rhodes and Barton exchanged a glance.
"The multiverse is wild," Rhodes said.
"Yeah, all those Spider-Men and not one Uncle Ben to spare," Barton added.
"Too tragic."
…
Back in the main world, Charlie finished his shower and finally lay in bed.
"Here's hoping I don't wake up to any more nonsense."
After praying to the Spider-Goddess, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
He didn't know how long had passed.
Until whispers reached his ears, his Spider-Sense tingled, and Charlie snapped his eyes open.
"Damn you, you scaly trash! You're messing with me again!!"
In his red-and-blue pajamas, he roared at Lizard Parker.
"Uh, calm down, I've got real business," Lizard Parker said, wiping spit from his face.
Charlie stood, grabbing Lizard Parker's collar, "I want to sleep, SLEEP, got it?"
"Got it, chill out. Someone's here."
"Someone?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow, then slowly let go.
"Haha, just kidding. Bet you thought that was funny."
He casually fixed his bedhead, turning with a smile.
"I'm Charlie Parker, the invincible Spider-Man, that's me."
Spider-Man's gotta keep his image sharp at all times.