Abby readily agreed, and black liquid writhed, transforming into black webbing that slowly enveloped one of the octopus-like natives.
Under Charlie's disgusted gaze, the black webbing surged into the octopus's mouth. Its pale skin gradually turned black, its large eyes bulging as its body trembled uncontrollably.
After a moment, as the black webbing retracted into Abby's mouth, the octopus gasped heavily, raising a tentacle to point at Charlie and the others, cursing loudly.
"%@#￥."
"He says we're doomed," Abby translated.
Charlie wasn't interested in that. "Ask him where Kang the Conqueror is."
Abby grinned. "Got it."
"@￥@￥..."
"%&￥￥."
"%&￥%...#."
"...%￥&"
"Alright, I got it."
Abby looked toward Tony and Peter's direction. "Over there."
"Good, let's go."
With a general direction in mind, Charlie scanned the natives, his gaze locking onto a centaur-like creature that looked like it could run fast.
"You, come here."
Centaur: "?????"
"@￥...￥."
Under Aby's threat, the centaur reluctantly stepped forward.
Charlie then used debris from the wooden huts to build a makeshift carriage.
"Perfect, a simple vehicle done."
He tethered the centaur with webbing, then turned to a speechless Gwen. "What are you standing there for? Get in."
"Charlie, you're a genius."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I'll take it as one."
With that, Charlie flicked the webbing. "Hyah!"
"@#%￥!!!"
The centaur muttered something Charlie couldn't understand, but its movements were swift.
Click clack~~
Clop clop clop~
Under the sunset, the carriage sped off, and Charlie and the others vanished from the natives' sight.
Two hours later, at the edge of the desert.
The centaur collapsed, panting, then began to vomit.
Charlie shook his head. "Only two hours, and you're done? Looks like we need a new ride."
His eyes locked onto the "sunset" in the sky.
"What are you planning?" Gwen had a bad feeling.
Charlie pointed at the sunset, grinning. "Fancy becoming a sun god?"
Gwen: "."
"I think there's a better option."
She pointed at a swarm of approaching aircraft. "That's the ride for superheroes."
Charlie's eyes lit up. "Nice. You or me?"
"You, obviously."
"Why?"
"With great power comes great responsibility."
Charlie: "."
…
Chronopolis.
In a futuristic city, massive golden rings representing time segments towered over the landscape, surrounded by endless metallic structures. These rings encircled a triangular pyramid of advanced technology.
Thousands of tech soldiers patrolled the vast city, with fleets of aircraft occasionally streaking across the sky.
In this unfamiliar city, Infinite Tony and Peter Parker, disguised as soldiers, walked the streets.
"Mr. Stark, what's next?" Peter Parker asked.
Infinite Tony glanced at Peter. "You're a full-fledged superhero now. You should learn to make your own calls."
Peter lowered his head. "Right, I should. I think—"
Before he could finish, Infinite Tony tapped the spider emblem on Peter's chest, and a spider drone silently flew into the sky.
"We should make some noise to get a chance to infiltrate the city's core," he said.
Peter Parker: "."
"Mr. Stark, you said I could decide."
"Yeah, but we're a team now, so your autonomy's revoked."
Peter Parker: "."
He thought for a moment. "If we're a team, we should wait for the others," he suggested.
Infinite Tony shrugged. "We can't rely on them for everything. At least until they get here, we need more intel."
"Got it."
Just then, the drone in the distance was shot down by an aircraft, and nearby soldiers went on high alert.
Infinite Tony and Peter Parker slipped toward the city center.
Boom~
A fleet of aircraft soared over their heads, the most striking being one with a massive head.
"Weird guy," Peter Parker scratched his head.
Infinite Tony watched the aircraft head toward the pyramid at the city's center, chuckling.
"Weird, sure, but he's giving me ideas. I'm thinking of building a mech suit that looks like just a big head but can form limbs and a torso for combat."
"Wow, Mr. Stark, that's a great idea. Got a name?"
"Not yet, but it'll be epic. I'm thinking of naming it after a mythical dragon."
"Dragon One?"
"No, a mythical dragon. Shenron."
"Sounds badass."
"Of course. I made it up—it's gotta be badass."
Peter Parker: "."
Before he could retort, another aircraft zoomed overhead.
Infinite Tony sensed something off.
"These aircraft never move alone. It's gotta be them," he smirked.
"Who?" Peter asked.
"Steve and the others, obviously."
As soon as Infinite Tony spoke, the city's alarms blared.
Beep beep~
"Warning! Warning! Intruders detected. Take immediate action…"
As the alarms sounded, a swarm of aircraft surged into the sky.
Buzz~
Rumble!!
In an instant, lasers from the aircraft swept the area, blasting the lone aircraft to bits.
"No!!"
An explosion lit up the sky, and Old Steve and Thanos leaped out of the flames.
Bang!!
Boom!
They landed on passing aircraft, swiftly taking out the pilots and seizing control.
Seeing them escape in the aircraft, Tony and Peter exchanged a glance.
"It's time."
"They should all be here by now."
"Let's move."
Infinite Tony shed his disguise, tapped his chest reactor, and red-and-gold nano-metal encased his body.
Buzz!
His nano-armor shot into the sky, back panels opening to unleash blue lasers that obliterated a dozen aircraft in their path.
"It's Stark!"
In an aircraft, Old Steve spotted Tony, immediately turning his vehicle to charge into the pursuing fleet.
Rumble!!
His aircraft collided with the pursuers, exploding on impact. Old Steve had already leaped out.
"Peter, catch me!!"
Amid howling winds, a red-and-blue figure swung through the skyscrapers. Peter Parker caught Old Steve, and they landed on a rooftop.
"How'd you find this place?" Peter asked curiously.
Old Steve eyed the golden rings in the distance. "From the moment we arrived, that guy knew we were here.
Even if we didn't go looking for him, he'd send soldiers to capture us."
Peter nodded in understanding.
The tech aircraft had decent firepower but were no match for superheroes.
Following them would lead straight to Kang the Conqueror.
On the other side, Thanos used the same tactic, crashing into incoming aircraft.
Unlike Old Steve, he ignored the explosions, swinging his blade to leap onto another aircraft, brutally destroying it before jumping to the next.
Watching this, Old Steve blinked.
"So he can jump."
Having fought Thanos twice, he always thought the guy stood like a statue against the Avengers' attacks, assuming he was slow.
Now he remembered.
Even Hulk, less durable than Thanos, could leap hundreds of meters. No reason Thanos couldn't.
In the group's eyes, Thanos became an aerial acrobat, destroying an aircraft with each leap.
Even when hit by laser fire, he emerged unscathed, continuing the fight.
The title of cosmic overlord wasn't just talk—it was earned punch by punch.
With Infinite Tony's firepower support, the aircraft numbers dwindled visibly.
But as more aircraft swarmed, Old Steve and Peter Parker couldn't sit idle.
"Hey, we're here!"
An aircraft zoomed in, and Venom Parker and Scott dropped from the sky.
Buzz~
Rumble!!
Light flickered, and Scott transformed into a giant, crushing buildings with a wave of his hand.
Bang!
He pinched an aircraft to pieces, but a barrage of lasers converged on him.
Before he could react, Scott's massive body was engulfed in blinding light.
"No, no, no!"
Scott screamed, but within seconds, the lasers stopped. The sound of explosions stunned him.
Turning, he saw endless black webbing spreading across the sky. At the web's center, Venom Parker's black suit was gone, replaced by a monstrous black creature.
"Gaga… been a while since I went all out."
Venom grinned, its jagged teeth glinting, its pale eyes turning blood-red.
"Come on!!"
Its arms bulged with muscle, wielding over a hundred tons of force to yank aircraft trapped in the web.
Crack crack…
Boom!!
Aircraft exploded under the webbing's grip, their flames unable to harm the Venom symbiote.
"That's insane!" Peter Parker gaped.
Old Steve hurled a manhole cover, downing another aircraft.
"If I'd brought my shield to Hell, I'd be that cool," he told Peter.
Peter didn't respond, staring at the swarm of tech soldiers approaching, his face grim.
"There's too many. We're no match."
"You're definitely no match for me."
A cold voice cut through. A man in a high-tech suit, standing on an energy shield, appeared in their view.
Old Steve was shocked. "The boss shows up this fast? That's not fair!!"
Peter looked at Thanos, who'd just landed. "Yeah, unfair. This guy's supposed to show up last."
Thanos glanced at them, not understanding their banter but undeterred in his fight for Gamora.
Blade in hand, he strode toward the man on the energy shield.
Soldiers in his path were sliced in half.
"Kang the Conqueror?" Thanos asked coldly.
Kang looked down at Thanos, his eyes mocking.
"A pathetic soul. You should be grateful you're in the lawless Quantum Realm. Outside, your soul would've shattered instantly, and you'd never meet me."
Thanos narrowed his eyes. "You could make the lights brighter. Your face is too dark—I can't see it."
Kang spread his hands, unfazed. "Fine, I'll take that as your comeback. Too bad I don't care."
He studied the Avengers, a smirk forming.
"I've killed Avengers many times, but Thanos is a first. Ready?"
"What?"
The group was stunned.
Before they could react, Kang raised a hand, and an invisible force blasted Thanos into a nearby building.
Bang!!
Thanos was buried in rubble as blinding lasers rained from the sky.
Buzz!
Boom!!
Kang raised his hand, an energy shield flaring, effortlessly blocking Infinite Tony's full firepower.
Crack crack crack~
Nano-metal on Infinite Tony's back formed an energy amplifier, firing crisscrossing lasers that engulfed Kang.
Buzz!
Blue energy flashed, and a terrifying beam reflected back. Infinite Tony's face changed, and he retracted his device, retreating a hundred meters.
At the same time, Venom Parker charged, jaws wide to bite Kang's head.
Crack~
Several teeth snapped. With a wave of Kang's hand, Venom Parker was hurled into the tech soldiers by an invisible force.
"My turn!!"
Giant Scott raised his massive foot, its shadow looming, intent on crushing Kang.
But Kang merely glanced up.
"You're too weak."
He shook his head, raising a hand to unleash another energy beam.
Buzz!
Splatter!!
The beam pierced Scott's foot.
"No!!"
His Ant-Man suit damaged, Scott shrank to normal size, screaming and clutching his foot.
Seeing this, Peter Parker, about to act, froze and stepped back.
"Captain, we—"
He turned to see Old Steve raising his right hand, eyes closed, muttering.
"Captain, what are you doing?" Peter asked.
Old Steve opened one eye. "This guy's too strong. Without my hammer, I'm no match."
"Hammer?"
From the rubble, Thanos rose, brushing off debris.
"You can lift Thor's Mjolnir?" he asked, curious.
Before Old Steve could answer, Peter whispered to Thanos, "The you from the past who came to the future got smashed by his hammer."
Thanos: "?????"
"But this is the Quantum Realm."
"Yeah, I failed."
Unable to summon the hammer, Old Steve lowered his hand, disappointed.
"Guess Thor's not here. Shame," he muttered.
"You didn't summon Mjolnir, but you summoned me."
An aircraft zoomed in, vibrant magical energy blooming in the sky.
"Friendly neighborhood justice for Kang the Defeated!"