In front of him, a scruffy Peter Parker picked at his nose.
"Peter, you gotta watch your image," Miles reminded.
"I'm trying."
Scruffy Peter wiped his booger on Miles' back. "There, clean now."
Miles' face darkened. "Gross."
Nearby, a Spider-Man clad in a black trench coat, shrouded in darkness, removed his black fedora as a sign of respect to the strong.
"I'm Peter Parker," he introduced himself.
A manga-style schoolgirl with a backpack squinted and smiled. "I'm Penny Parker." She patted the spider robot beside her.
Lastly, a red-and-blue pig from the animal universe stepped forward.
"I'm Peter Porker, Spider-Ham."
The short-statured Peter Porker stood with hands on hips, his pig ears looking like twin boomerangs.
"I heard you stole Thor's hammer," he said.
Charlie's mouth twitched. "No, an old guy stole it."
Peter Porker's eyes sharpened. "Thor knows you put the old guy up to stealing his Mjolnir."
Charlie looked embarrassed. "It's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."
Running into familiar faces everywhere—Resurrection Matches were getting tough.
He turned to Gwen. "You guys still haven't found a way back?"
Gwen replied, "We had it. Miles stole a USB drive from Doc Ock with our worlds' coordinates, but after you left, some weird guys stopped us.
To keep the particle collider safe, we bailed."
Lizard Parker added, "At this world's Peter Parker's place, we found this."
He turned, and the dark room lit up, revealing rows of Spider-Suits.
"And us," Shadow Spider stepped forward. "Maybe it's fate guiding us here."
Penny Parker's big, watery eyes sparkled as she gripped her backpack straps, exuding manga vibes.
"Mhm, good thing they didn't leave early, or we might've been stuck forever," she said nervously.
Charlie clutched his chest, feigning pain.
"What's wrong?" Gwen frowned.
Charlie pointed at Penny, his hand trembling.
"So darn cute!"
Gwen: "..."
Charlie turned back. "Scaly trash, you didn't summon me just to deal with those loser villains again, did you?"
"Losers?"
Lizard Parker gritted his teeth. "They're tough."
"So what?"
Charlie side-eyed him. "Makes a difference to me?"
Lizard Parker: "..."
"No difference." He sulked, squatting in a corner to draw circles.
Watching Charlie's back, Penny Parker opened her mouth, eyes full of curiosity.
"They say you beat Kingpin. In my world, Kingpin's a super ferocious beast. You're amazing!"
Her soft, adorable voice hit Charlie right in the heart. He flashed a grin, crouched down, and patted her head.
"Yup, I'm super amazing."
As he spoke, a spider totem glowed on his chest.
"What are you doing?" Gwen's expression shifted. "You're even targeting kids!"
Charlie's face darkened. "What are you thinking? I'm a legit Spider-Man."
As he finished, a mech-style spider totem appeared on Penny's chest.
Other than that, Penny showed no reaction.
Gwen relaxed at the sight.
Lizard Parker leaned in. "She's a little girl, not even developed yet, unlike you… cough, my bad."
Under Gwen's threatening glare, Lizard Parker quietly squatted back in his corner, drawing circles.
Through his probing, Charlie found each Spider-Man had their own spider totem.
"Great, this makes things simple."
He stood. "Time's short, so I'll cut to the chase.
To protect yourself and those around you, you need enough power."
He raised a hand, dazzling magical energy flickering in his palm.
"Spider-Man-exclusive magic. You all deserve it. Whether you can break free from Spider-Man's tragic fate depends on you."
"Magic?"
Spider-Ham shook his head. "Not interested in magic."
Shadow Spider pondered. "Magic with firearms could be interesting."
Penny Parker clapped excitedly. "Yay! I wanna learn magic. It looks so pretty!"
Charlie's forehead twitched. "That's your reason for learning magic?"
Penny's big eyes shimmered with tears, her lips trembling like she might cry.
Seeing this, Charlie clutched his chest again, grimacing.
"Hit by cuteness again?" Gwen asked.
Charlie shook his head. "No, this kid's got some serious scheming."
Gwen: "..."
Over the next moments, Charlie taught Spider-Magic to Shadow Spider and Penny Parker.
Whether they'd master it was up to them.
With the Inheritors' emergence and Gwen's universe interfering, the Spider-Man multiverse was clearly in motion.
The Web of Life and Destiny had already tightly bound all Spider-Men's fates together.
Plus, with the main world's mutant progenitor eyeing him, long-dormant pressure surged back.
To get stronger fast, he'd need the Resurrection Match.
But where could he find death?
The main world's Apocalypse didn't seem ready to kill him yet.
Being summoned to the multiverse meant facing opponents who weren't strong enough.
Charlie could act reckless, but he couldn't seek death outright or off himself.
Who knew what the exact conditions for entering a Resurrection Match were?
If he messed up, there'd be no retries.
With that, Charlie's figure vanished from the dark room.
…
In the main world, sunlight streamed through the window onto Charlie's face, its warmth easing him.
Opening the window, Charlie breathed in the cool air.
He closed his eyes slightly, spreading his arms to embrace the world.
"Ah~ Another beautiful day."
Whoosh~
A breeze blew by, and a nutritious breakfast mysteriously appeared in his hand.
Charlie: "???"
He poked his head out and saw Pietro waving from the street, grinning.
"Spider-Man saved me, so I'm handling your breakfast from now on. Oh, and I'm your new bodyguard."
Charlie blinked. This guy was thoughtful—way more considerate than the other two.
But being this nice to Spider-Man? Was he risking his life?
Then it hit him.
Under the influence of seven spider totems, things had been oddly calm lately.
No one close to him had been hurt because of him.
Could it be… something big was brewing?
Charlie didn't get it and had no way to prepare.
He'd already put trackers on his friends and family. If anything happened, he'd portal to them instantly.
That thought eased his mind a bit.
After breakfast, Charlie saw Wade and baby Kingpin still passed out on the living room couch and shook his head.
"Eat, sleep, sleep, eat. Two pigs."
Frustrated, he aimed a kick at Wade's butt, only to find Wade and baby Kingpin dissolving into light.
"Hm?"
Charlie frowned. Those two slipped away?
He was surprised.
They didn't actually go shoot a movie series, did they?
Kinda intriguing.
After washing up, Charlie changed into clean clothes.
He raised a hand, drew a circle, and a portal appeared.
Empire State University.
At a corner of the park lake, Charlie stepped through the portal, heading quickly to Professor Connors' lab.
Professor Connors' condition had stabilized, the lizard scales on his forehead gone, so he'd left Carter's villa to resume his teaching career.
In the lab:
"Hey, Professor Connors, how's it going?"
Hearing Charlie's voice, Professor Connors smiled.
"Long time no see, Charlie."
"Yeah, what've you been up to?"
"I'm developing a gene recombiner."
"What's that?"
Under Charlie's curious gaze, Connors showed him an unfinished mechanical arm device.
"The gene recombiner targets abnormal genetic changes, suppressing them to some extent."
Charlie got it.
Connors was worried about turning into the Lizard again, so he was preparing the gene recombiner in advance.
"Got enough funding?" he asked.
Connors smiled. "Of course, don't worry. Harry's sponsoring the project. The gene recombiner could potentially treat their family's hereditary disease."
"Oh~ Should've known."
Charlie grinned. "Congrats in advance, Professor. I heard from Harry that Oscorp's been nailing a ton of projects lately. Plenty of funds."
"Yeah, Harry's a good kid."
"But you used to think he was an unreliable rich kid."
"Did I say that?"
"You did."
"I forgot. Don't slander the elderly."
"Heh, you remind me of an old friend, acting all high and mighty."
"So?"
"So I beat him up."
"Charlie, that's not right."
As they chatted, Charlie sensed something and glanced at the door.
"Hi, Professor Connors, here's the data you wanted."
Gwen walked in with a stack of files, giving Charlie a simple nod.
Connors took the files. "Thanks, Gwen."
Noticing they seemed distant, he advised, "Young people, don't get stuck on small things. Sit down, talk it out. Everything passes."
Charlie: "..."
Gwen: "..."
They exchanged a glance and left the lab together.
"What was he on about?" Gwen asked.
"He thinks we had a fight."
"He thinks he's been there, done that."
"So funny."
They strolled by the park lake, chatting.
"Actually…"
"Actually…"
They spoke in unison, then froze.
"You go first."
"You go first."
"Alright, I'll go."
"I'll go—"
This time, Gwen shut her mouth, hands behind her back, awkwardly picking at her nails.
Charlie laughed.
"Fine, I'll go first.
I already know what you know."
Gwen thought for a moment. "Tell me, what do I know that you know I know?"
"Kinda wordy, but I'm good at this. You sure?" Charlie said.
Gwen covered her mouth, giggling. "Alright, no more games."
Charlie pointed to a bench by the lake.
They sat, and Charlie gazed at the shimmering water, speaking slowly.
"Symbiotes are fascinating creatures. Every time they bond with a host, they copy some of their abilities and part of their memories."
Gwen's smile faded.
"So it wasn't a dream. You're him."
She looked at Charlie's profile, opening her mouth but unsure what to say.
Her expression grew complex.
Charlie glanced down, seeing no reaction from his spider totem, and understood.
This world's Gwen had no spider totem. The Inheritors likely wouldn't care about her.
Safe for now.
Buzz~
Suddenly, his spider totem flickered.
Charlie fell silent.
Gwen noticed a subtle change in her body.
"What's this?"
She pointed at her chest but immediately felt awkward.
Not a graceful move.
Charlie explained anyway.
"Spider totem. With it, you become a true Spider-Man."
"That's good," Gwen said, excited.
Charlie sighed. "No, it's not."
Under Gwen's puzzled look, Charlie stared into the distance, his tone tinged with inexplicable sadness.
"Spider-Man's fate is tragic, destined to be a lonely hero. From the symbiote's memories, you should know."
Gwen went quiet.
After a long pause, her face turned bitter. "Yeah, Spider-Man brings misfortune to those around them. That's why you're avoiding Mary Jane, right?"
Charlie's mouth twitched. Girls and their gossip.
"Yeah, she's my friend."
"What about Harry? Your family?"
"I'm keeping my distance as much as I can."
"Me too."
Under the sunlight, Gwen's shadow stretched longer.
She said, "The day after I became Spider-Man, George got hurt. It was just a routine arrest."
Charlie shook his head. "The Web of Life and Destiny decides Spider-Man's fate, but I don't think it should end in tragedy. Something's wrong."
"Web of Life and Destiny?"
Gwen had never heard of it.
"Yeah, a mysterious force that shapes Spider-Man's fate."
Charlie's expression was unreadable. The Web of Life and Destiny was controlled by the Master Weaver, but since the Inheritors could track Spider-Men across the multiverse through it, the Master Weaver must be under their control.
To change Spider-Man's tragic fate, the Inheritor family was an unavoidable hurdle.
More importantly, why would the Master Weaver craft such a tragic fate for Spider-Men?
Maybe… they were just bored.
Gwen suddenly said, "Since we both have spider totems now now, you don't have to avoid me anymore."
Charlie thought about it. "You sure?"
"Of course."
"Alright."
Before Charlie could activate his spider totem to teach Gwen a lesson, liquid writhing on her body formed a demonic face that lunged at him.
"Hahaha, I'll eat you!!"
"No!"
Gwen gasped, but Charlie grabbed the "throat" of the creature.
"What a ferocious symbiote!" His expression shifted.
"Eat you!"
The demonic face surged again, its long tongue curling into a heart shape.
"You can eat me too," it said coyly, its narrow eyes turning pink.
Charlie's eyes filled with terror.
He saw the shadow of Venom Girl.
Gwen hurriedly stuffed the demonic face back into her body, cautiously checking around.
"Sorry, Abby's emotions are a bit unstable," she apologized, embarrassed.
"What?"
Charlie jolted. "Its name is… Abby?"
"Yeah, that's what I named it."
Charlie: "..."
It really was her!