Zzzzt~~
Electric arcs flickered as Charlie dodged various strange creatures floating in the sky, finally landing beside Thanos.
"You good?" he asked.
Thanos glanced at Charlie. "I'm helping you this time, but don't forget your promise to me."
"Of course, I'll bring Gamora back," Charlie said with a smile.
Thanos' condition was simple, and Charlie figured it wouldn't be too hard to fulfill.
Looking up, Venom Parker and Scott descended into this world one after another.
Lastly, Peter Parker glided down using the web-wings built into his suit.
This time, Infinite Tony personally caught Peter.
"Unfair! We're Spider-Man too—why don't we get that treatment?"
Venom Parker, covered in dust, approached, his demonic face extending from his back, loudly complaining.
Infinite Tony patted Peter's shoulder, then turned to Venom Parker.
"Keep your pet in check, thanks."
Venom Parker: "."
Venom: "."
"I'm not a pet—I'm Parker's partner!!"
Venom was furious, but Infinite Tony had no interest in entertaining the creature.
Soon, the group gathered.
Old Steve shoved a green, squishy plant into his mouth, chewing.
"Want some? It's nutritious," he offered, holding it out to Charlie.
Charlie grimaced. "No thanks, enjoy it yourself!"
He checked the time and smiled in satisfaction.
The display showed over an hour had passed, yet he hadn't returned to the Cosmic Web.
The Quantum Realm had no concept of time or space, rendering the one-hour mission limit meaningless.
Big win.
With that thought, he glanced at Old Steve's rapidly swelling stomach, his brow twitching.
"Are you pregnant?" he asked.
"What?"
Old Steve looked down, panicking as his belly expanded.
"What's happening? I… I think I'm—"
"It's that thing you ate."
Infinite Tony facepalmed. "At your age, stop eating random stuff—it's dangerous."
Old Steve hurriedly tossed the plant aside, clutching his stomach in embarrassment.
"Will I give birth?" He looked at Charlie, horrified.
Charlie shrugged. "Who knows!"
The demonic face extended, and Venom grinned. "Let me crawl into your stomach—I'll eat it."
Old Steve's eyes widened, his hands instinctively covering front and back.
"From where?"
"Guess."
"No way, I refuse."
Old Steve hid behind Charlie. "Little Spider, save me."
"Sorry, if it's your kid, I've gotta protect it." Charlie flashed a mischievous grin.
Seeing the group messing around, Thanos shook his head.
"What's the plan now?" he asked Charlie.
Charlie pushed Old Steve aside, his smile fading.
"The plan is to enter the Quantum Realm, find Kang the Conqueror, who's been exiled here. His Time Machine can help us get back to the real world."
"Kang the Conqueror?"
The group looked puzzled, unfamiliar with the name.
Old Steve pondered. "Little Spider, is this another one of your superpowers?"
"Don't talk to me about superpowers."
"Got it."
Old Steve shut up, and Charlie continued, "If I'm right, Kang's already taken over the Quantum Realm. If we find the locals, we'll know where he is."
The Quantum Realm's timeline comes after the Spider-Man multiverse crossover.
Right now, Peter Parker's identity had been exposed by Mysterio, but thanks to Infinite Tony's rescue, Peter hadn't yet sought out Doctor Strange.
By the timeline, the Ant-Man family from the movie universe likely wouldn't enter the Quantum Realm for a while.
But with Old Steve and Black Widow's resurrections, the movie universe's plot might deviate slightly.
The Ant-Man family could enter the Quantum Realm early—or maybe never.
It's all uncertain.
If the Ant-Man family entered early and defeated Kang, destroying the Time Machine, this plan would collapse.
They had to confirm this fast.
With that, Charlie formed hand signs, summoning Spider-Men from other universes.
More people, more power.
As long as they're reliable.
Buzz~
Under the group's astonished gazes, a massive spider totem glowed, and a city projection materialized. A petite silhouette swung down, solidifying into reality.
"Charlie, you're alive?"
"Gwen?"
Their eyes met, both surprised.
"What is this place?" Gwen scanned her surroundings, her gaze landing on Peter Parker and Venom Parker.
"You guys…"
"It's you!"
Gwen flinched, recognizing Venom Parker.
It was his symbiote cells that made her Spider-Woman.
At the same time, the Venom inside Venom Parker caught a familiar scent.
"Oh, it's this girl. I smell my offspring."
As he spoke, black liquid writhed on Gwen's body, and a demonic face identical to Venom's extended.
The two symbiotes met. Abby's narrow, pale eyes gleamed with bloodlust.
"Father, ready to be eaten?" Abby grinned, driven by an instinct to devour.
Venom's eyes were wary. "Peter, protect me."
Its head pressed against Venom Parker's chest, its clinginess embarrassing him.
"Not now—there's people around."
"Oh, you don't love me anymore."
"Shut up, I said there's people."
"Oh, I'm heartbroken…"
Meanwhile, Gwen was calming her symbiote.
"Chill out. Eating your father's wrong."
"But all symbiotes do it."
"Not you, Abby. You're kind."
As Gwen reasoned with Abby, Charlie had no interest in their family drama.
"Alright, split up. Our goal is to find Kang the Conqueror."
"Got it."
Infinite Tony and Peter Parker exchanged a glance and headed off together.
Old Steve looked at Charlie. "Little Spider, I wanna stick with you."
"Come on, don't bother them." Scott dragged Old Steve away.
"No! I don't wanna leave Little Spider!"
Amid Old Steve's wails, Wade emerged from a bush in the corner.
"Sh*t, almost got caught." He brushed off his pants, excitedly approaching Charlie.
"Done talking?"
"Where were you?" Charlie frowned.
He'd almost forgotten about this guy.
Wade pointed to a nearby bush. "Taking a dump."
Charlie: "."
"You're with Thanos."
"I'll go solo."
Thanos hefted his blade and left without hesitation.
He wasn't about to team up with a guy who didn't wipe.
Neither did Charlie.
He suddenly pointed behind Wade, eyes wide with shock.
"Look, what's that?"
Wade crossed his arms, unimpressed by Charlie's act.
"You're trying to ditch me, huh?" He saw through the ruse.
Charlie shrugged. "Yeah, you got me."
He took a few steps back.
"What are you doing?" Wade asked, confused.
"Getting a running start."
"Running start?"
"Yup."
Charlie crouched, then surged forward.
"Off you go!"
With a mighty kick, he sent Wade flying. Charlie shaded his eyes, watching Wade soar into the distance.
"Nice. Now it's just you guys."
Turning back, Venom Parker coughed.
"I get it. You two together—I'll find the poop guy."
Knowing this Gwen wasn't his Gwen, he opted out.
As Venom Parker left, Charlie mused, "His back looks like a dog's."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "So this is the Resurrection Match, and they're all contestants?"
Through her symbiote's memories, she knew fragments about the Resurrection Match.
Charlie shook his head. "Nope, just me this time."
He looked at the tiny sun on the horizon. "We're heading that way."
"Alright."
Gwen didn't object. They walked side by side, like they were on a stroll.
"Not in a hurry?"
"I am."
"Then speed up?"
"Hang on, I think I stepped in that guy's… you know." Charlie scraped his foot, face stiff.
Gross!!
Gwen gave him a weird look, then glanced down and shook her head.
"It's not poop—it's a… jelly?"
Staring at the pink jelly-like creature Charlie was grinding under his foot, Gwen pushed him aside.
"This thing's so cute!" She squinted, smiling, and scooped the jelly creature into her hands.
Charlie sighed in relief.
"So this is the legendary stepping-in-poop feeling?"
"You should apologize to the little guy," Gwen said seriously.
Charlie chuckled. "Fine, I'm sorry."
Just then, a colorful, ray-like creature soared overhead.
"Whoa, Spider-Man's mount!"
Charlie grinned, his form turning into an electric arc as he shot upward.
Zzzzt~
Arcs looped around, and the colorful ray was tightly bound by webbing.
Standing on its back, Charlie leaned down to Gwen on the ground. "Hop on, I'll take you flying."
"Oh."
Gwen shook her head. "Such a kid."
She muttered to herself.
A minute later, the colorful ray soared through the sky, Gwen spreading her arms and cheering.
"Woo! I'm flying, I'm up!"
Behind her, Charlie muttered, "Kid."
Then, under the jelly creature's angry gaze, Charlie used it like chalk to doodle on the ray's back.
[Titanic]
"Hm, nice chalk."
Charlie nodded in satisfaction, then stuffed the jelly creature into his crotch.
Anyone who's been Spider-Man's friend knows Spider-Man doesn't have pockets.
Just the crotch.
Standing, Charlie spread his arms, but Gwen turned back.
"What are you doing?" Her look was odd.
"I—"
Charlie pointed to the doodle. "This is the Titanic. What do you think I'm doing?"
Gwen facepalmed. "Charlie, can you be serious?"
"I'm very serious."
Charlie pouted, spread his arms, and leaped off the ray's back.
"What are you standing there for? Jump!" he shouted midair.
"Jump?" Gwen was baffled. "Why?"
"Because the Titanic hits an iceberg."
"Iceberg? No way—"
Mid-sentence, the colorful ray crashed into a sky-blue island in the sky.
Hiss~
Splatter splatter splatter~~
In an instant, the collision between the ray and the blue island sent dazzling droplets scattering. Gwen plummeted.
Whoosh~~
As winds howled, Gwen shot webbing, latching onto a red mushroom floating in the sky.
Charlie reached out, pulling her onto the mushroom. Gwen looked embarrassed.
"So that's what you meant."
"What else? What did you think I was doing?"
"I thought—never mind, next topic."
Gwen composed herself, gazing at the starry sky and the endless strange plants below.
"What is this place? It's so bizarre, like everything's moving without any rules," she frowned.
Charlie looked toward the distant desert. "Forgot to mention—this is the Quantum Realm."
"Quantum Realm?" Gwen gasped. She'd heard of such scientific theories.
"It's incredible. I never thought the Quantum Realm would look like this."
She marveled, and Charlie pointed toward the desert.
"I see a tribe over there."
"Let's check it out."
"Let's go."
Charlie shot webbing. "I'm first."
His body launched from the web slingshot.
As Charlie flew off, Gwen stared at the web still hanging in the air, lost in thought.
"Is someone holding the other end?"
She shook her head.
Didn't get it, but it worked great.
She used the web slingshot to launch herself, black liquid forming gliding wings, and they swiftly drifted toward the desert.
…
Meanwhile, by a desert lake, figures emerged from crude wooden huts.
They chattered in some incomprehensible language, and one figure pushed through the crowd.
Buzz~
Suddenly, a creature with a head like a soda can aimed at the two in the sky. Its can-like energy device fired a golden beam.
Boom!!
The golden beam streaked across. Charlie, in front, shot webbing with both hands, launching himself from another web slingshot.
"Friendly neighborhood beam clash—left side loses!"
His speed surged, and he delivered a flying kick, magical light spreading. It shattered the golden beam's impact, sending golden energy spraying everywhere.
Buzz~
As the golden energy dissipated, the magical light crashed into the sand by the desert lake.
Boom!
A deafening explosion kicked up a sandstorm, and the crude wooden huts collapsed in the howling winds.
"￥%##...#"
"%...%&!@"
The odd-looking natives cursed at Charlie.
But soon, webbing shot through the sandstorm.
In the end, the natives were strung up in the air, still cursing—honestly?
Well, judging by their gestures, it was probably pretty harsh.
As Gwen arrived, Charlie looked at her.
"Your foreign language skills any good? Can you understand them?"
Gwen's mouth twitched. "You think you're funny?"
"Anyone who's been Spider-Man's friend knows Spider-Man's hilarious."
"I can vouch—Spider-Man's really funny," Abby chimed in.
Gwen: "."
She glared at the demonic face on her shoulder. "Your turn. You should have a way to make them talk to us."
"No problem."