Sensing something off with Old Steve, a sharp glint flashed in Charlie's eyes.
"You're not the old man!"
He shoved him back, his hands blazing with radiant magic.
In soul form, Old Steve felt a chill.
To survive, he unleashed a verbal torrent faster than a rapper.
"After you left we went to Strange he couldn't open an interstellar portal but he had a better way to open a hell passage to save Tony but only souls can enter Mephisto's hell so you're seeing my soul if you attack I'll die you should believe me by now okay I know your superpower senses shit!!!"
The last word burst out as a fist the size of a sandbag stopped at his nose.
Old Steve paled, wiping nonexistent sweat, exhaling.
"Any slower, and I'd be gone."
Charlie lowered his fist, his smile warm.
"That secret stays private. Next time I hear it, I'll send you to Jesus." His tone was soft.
Old Steve's mouth twitched. "Don't scare seniors. I might just lie down."
"Fine, but your speed's wild—no punctuation could keep up."
"Eh, practice makes perfect."
"You in love?"
"Nah, trained for it."
"Skipped the gym for rapping? No wonder your butt's less perky."
"I'm old."
"Fair. You saw earlier—I'm a tasty bug now. Any way to mask my scent?" Charlie asked.
Old Steve turned. "Follow me."
Charlie raised a brow, following.
"Just asking, but do you actually have a way?"
"Nope."
Charlie: "..."
"Strange knows tons of magic, and he's got nothing?" he asked.
Old Steve didn't look back. "We snuck in. The Sorcerer Supreme's keeping the hell passage open."
Charlie shook his head. "I know the rule: the more critical the moment, the busier the Sorcerer Supreme."
In short, slacking.
"By the way, what was with you earlier? Looked like you wanted to eat me," Charlie said.
Old Steve scratched his head. "Dunno, just thought you smelled good."
"The spirits think so too."
"Am I a spirit now?"
"Maybe I'm just that fragrant."
"Yeah, you're fragrant."
On the street, Old Steve glanced around. Wherever Charlie went, souls instinctively gathered, their greedy eyes ready to pounce.
"Wanna take out a few to set the tone?" Old Steve suggested.
Charlie rolled his eyes. "Am I some murder maniac? Don't make me sound violent."
He casually obliterated a nearby dog-headed spirit's skull.
Old Steve: "..."
The spirits, seeing Charlie's brutality, grew wary.
Before they could act, curses rang out.
"You vile spirits, scatter! This living guy belongs to the boss."
Alien apes with electromagnetic weapons shoved the spirits aside.
Soon, they surrounded Charlie and Old Steve.
Spotting them, the apes exchanged confused glances.
"They look familiar."
"Seen 'em somewhere."
Old Steve and Charlie glanced at each other.
"These are—"
"Chitauri soldiers!"
"Earth's superheroes!"
Both sides gasped. The Chitauri bolted.
"We're screwed… it's Spider-Man!"
"And that guy who caught Thanos' punch!!"
"Run!!"
Charlie leaped, firing magic webs to bind them.
Old Steve grabbed a Chitauri, demanding, "Where's Thanos?"
The soldier's eyes were terrified. "I-I don't know…"
"Then who's your boss?" Charlie asked.
"It's… it's…"
"Us."
A giant axe cleaved through the crowd. As the wind howled, Charlie caught it effortlessly without looking.
Thud thud thud~~
The ground trembled as Cull Obsidian stepped forward, sneering.
"Earth's heroes, you're here? Perfect, let's fight again." He grinned cruelly.
Behind him, Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, and Corvus Glaive appeared, sparking gasps from the spirits.
"The Black Order!"
"They just wiped out the city's guards and took over Bone City."
"Damn, if they act, we've got no shot at this guy."
"Quiet, or they'll target you."
"Let's go…"
Some spirits fled, others lingered, hoping for a stalemate.
Both sides were strong—if they took each other out, it'd be their chance.
Sadly, that chance was a fantasy.
Charlie eyed the Black Order, sensing they were different.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Ebony Maw, hands behind his back, was calm and elegant.
"Earth's heroes, forgetting us so soon? That hurts!"
He smirked, raising a hand to levitate bone structures, his power dwarfing the spirits' awe.
"You who used Pym Particles to time-travel got your karma, but it's not enough. For ruining Thanos' plans, you'll die again!"
His eyes turned cold.
Boom!!
Floating bone structures crashed down. Old Steve clenched his fists, his Captain suit tearing into rags.
As a muscle-bound beast, he roared, "Old Man's Serious Punch!"
Boom!!
The punch froze the air.
As the bones fell, a shockwave erupted, sand surging outward.
Charlie shot upward as an electric arc.
Dodging the bones, he saw Old Steve tank Ebony Maw's telekinesis, stunned.
"Old man, you're fearless!!" he shouted.
In the bone ruins, Old Steve stood defiant, his aura shocking the Black Order.
"What?"
"He's old, but still this strong?"
"Is he an Asgardian god?"
"Asgardians get stronger with age, that's it!"
Their eyes grew serious. Old Steve glanced at Charlie, exasperated.
"Thought you'd go hard," he said.
Charlie landed beside him. "Sorry, I run if I can. I'm super fast."
He formed hand seals, sprouting arms from his back.
"Strange's magic?" Old Steve lit up.
"Nope, Spider-Man exclusive magic!"
Clones split off, and the scene grew chaotic.
"It's hot, wet, and dark…"
"I'm first this time."
"Take me!"
"Alright."
"Good Neighbor Invincible Firewheel!"
Two clones leaped, spinning head-to-tail midair, forming a blazing firewheel that crashed down.
"What is this!!"
Ebony Maw's eyes widened. He raised bone ruins as a shield, but the dazzling magic energy made his telekinesis laughable.
Boom!!!
The firewheel hit, sinking the ground around Ebony Maw. The shockwave blasted the other three Black Order members away.
Zzzzt~~
"Big guy, look here."
An arc flashed by. Charlie extended two fingers.
"Poke!"
"No!! My eyes!!"
Cull Obsidian wailed, clutching his eyes as clones kicked him mercilessly.
"Help!!"
"Hahaha, scream all you want—no one's coming!"
On the other side, arcs flickered, disarming Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight.
"My weapon!" Proxima gasped.
"Here ya go!"
Charlie tossed it back, and Proxima froze.
Splurch!
Her trident pierced her as red beams, her body shattering into soul fragments.
Corvus watched his lover die, roaring in anguish.
"Why scream? Not like you haven't died before."
An arc swept through, slicing Corvus in half with his own blade, turning him to fragments.
In seconds, the Black Order was done.
The clones vanished. Charlie flicked his fingers.
"Done?"
Looking at the wreckage, he shook his head.
"Invincibility's so lonely."
Old Steve blinked. "That was awesome. Teach me?"
"Sure, if you become Spider-Captain."
Old Steve nodded. "Deal."
He raised his hand, slamming it down.
"First, never act rashly!
Second, never miss a single crime.
Third, the absolutely just Avenger elder, superhero Spider-Captain, reporting!"
He struck a cringy pose, earning a black eye from Charlie's punch.
"Ow! Why?"
"You grossed me out."
Charlie glanced at the vanished spirits.
"Let's go."
"Wait up."
…
Soon, a crowded, filthy settlement.
In a clearing swarmed with greedy spirits, Charlie casually dispatched a shark-man who couldn't control himself, then looked at Old Steve.
"Why here?"
"Natasha and the others are here. Crowded, easy to hide."
"Your spy habits need work here."
Charlie checked the time. "Half an hour left."
"Half an hour?" Old Steve froze.
"Yeah."
Charlie nodded. "This Resurrection Match gave me one hour."
"What?"
Old Steve's face darkened. "One hour's impossible to save Tony."
"So we hustle."
Charlie stood still as Natasha's group pushed through the crowd.
"We need a quiet spot," Barton suggested.
Charlie shrugged. "Any place with air works for me."
"I smell it," Natasha said, swallowing hard. "You're so fragrant!"
She reached for Charlie's pecs.
Charlie stepped back, wary.
"What're you doing? We agreed to stay just friends."
"Pity."
Natasha got his point.
Wherever he went, hungry ghosts followed. No quiet spot for business.
"Time's tight," Charlie said. "Tell me everything."
Natasha nodded, glancing at Peter Parker and Barton.
"We've been here three hours. This is Bone City. Chitauri souls showed up recently, and the Black Order took over, but we don't know if Thanos is here," she said.
Before Charlie could think, Barton added, "I scouted suspicious spots and listed places Tony might be."
"Give me the locations."
"Got it."
Charlie got the coordinates.
Then Peter Parker's turn.
He hesitated. "There's a hell arcade nearby. Wanna play?" he asked.
Charlie's face darkened. "So you've got no leads."
"Sorry," Peter said, embarrassed.
"It's fine. I don't expect much from you."
Charlie eyed his wrist display, thoughtful.
Time was running out. A retry would reset.
Maybe… worth a shot.
As he decided, the hell volcano erupted with dark matter, the sky blackening.
The darkness surged toward Bone City, sweeping up stray spirits and bones like an apocalypse.
"Crap, Lord Mephisto's pissed!!"
The spirits panicked, kneeling toward the volcano, praying to survive.
Charlie finally understood.
Why only one hour?
Because after that, Mephisto would notice him.
Under a multiversal demon's gaze, he had nowhere to run.
Might as well be dead.