In the room, Charlie stared at Ned.
Ned stared at Charlie.
"Why are you looking at me?" Ned asked, dumbfounded.
Charlie glanced at the ring on Ned's fingertip. "How about you keep trying?"
"Trying what?"
"Finding the real Peter Parker."
"Can I still do that?"
Ned scratched his head, and with a casual wave of his hand, he sliced through the air. A golden portal slowly bloomed behind him.
"Peter!"
MJ turned around, spotting a red-and-blue figure in the glowing ring, her face lighting up with joy.
"Found him."
The chubby kid got excited again.
But soon, the red-and-blue figure leaped out of the golden portal. He pulled off his mask, revealing a young but slightly weary unfamiliar face.
"You guys called me?"
Peter Parker glanced between the two, then his Spider-Sense suddenly pinged, drawing his attention to Charlie behind them.
"You are?"
Staring at the Spider-Man before him, Peter Parker's face was full of shock.
Charlie waved a greeting. "Hey, how's it going? Uh, I mean, how's it going with you and Gwen from that universe?"
Charlie's voice instantly dragged second-gen Peter back to a certain night two years ago.
Harry had kidnapped Gwen and thrown her off a clock tower.
It was a Spider-Man named Charlie Parker who suddenly appeared and saved Gwen.
Back then, a Professor Xavier and a bunch of weird folks showed up too.
After saving Gwen, they all vanished, including that Spider-Man.
And now, that Spider-Man was back.
But… Seemingly recalling something painful, second-gen Peter's eyes dimmed, though he still managed to thank Charlie for back then.
"It's you, Charlie Parker. Thank you for what you did." His smile was strained.
Seeing this, Charlie felt a bad premonition.
"So, Gwen…"
Second-gen Peter closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, in an accident later, Mysterio, that master of illusions, threw her off a school building. I couldn't save her."
At those words, Charlie seemed to recall a certain Resurrection Match.
That time, he'd saved Gwen.
But in another universe, Gwen had died.
Coincidence?
Or a warning?
Or… Was it that Spider-Man could never escape a tragic fate? While second-gen Peter wallowed in grief, Ned realized he'd found the wrong person.
He couldn't follow the conversation between the two Spider-Men, so he steadied his breath and opened another portal.
"Peter, Peter, Peter…" Ned muttered under his breath, one eye closed. Amid golden sparks, a middle-aged man in a dark green coat stepped out hesitantly.
"You guys… who called me?"
He scanned the room, his eyes suddenly widening.
"You…"
Staring at the two young men in Spider-Suits, first-gen Peter's Spider-Sense kept buzzing, making it hard to believe.
To confirm his suspicion, he shot a web from his wrist.
Whoosh!
Pfft!
Crack!
Instantly, second-gen Peter reacted swiftly, leaping to dodge the incoming web. Before he could counter with his own web, his web-shooter was suddenly locked down by another strand of webbing.
"Whoa, shooting webs without a web-shooter!"
Second-gen Peter wasn't alarmed but thrilled. "Another Spider-Man!" He looked excitedly at first-gen Peter.
First-gen Peter, meanwhile, noticed the other Spider-Man, Charlie Parker! Faced with his webbing, this young guy simply raised a hand, shooting a precise web that neutralized his own, the two strands canceling each other out. The whole move was so clean, it was clear this was a Spider-Man who didn't like hassle.
"I'm Peter Parker."
Confirming their identities, first-gen Peter gave an awkward smile and waved at the two.
Second-gen Peter glanced between first-gen Peter and Charlie. "I'm Peter Parker too."
"I'm different from you guys. I'm Charlie Parker," Charlie said, spreading his hands.
"Then why could I summon you?" Ned asked, puzzled. "I was clearly thinking of Peter."
"But you were also thinking of Spider-Man," MJ whispered from the side.
Ned scratched his head. "Should I keep going?"
MJ shook her head. "I don't think so. We've tried so many times and still can't find him. Looks like we'll need another way."
"Uh, can someone explain what's going on?" second-gen Peter raised his hand. "I'm curious. Why are we in this world?"
Ned, a bit disappointed, put away the ring, preparing to give a quick rundown of the situation.
Charlie, meanwhile, sat to the side, glancing at the kind old lady at the bedroom door.
"Hey, got any juice?" he waved with a smile.
He already knew the plot of No Way Home, so he didn't need Ned's explanation.
But the next moment, Ned's opening line froze him in place.
"So, here's the deal. Yesterday, a strange Supreme Sorcerer Stephen found Peter. He was acting weird, super aggressive, and he actually wanted to kill Spider-Man. But another Supreme Sorcerer Stephen stepped in to stop him.
The two Stephens started this crazy fight, like, battling over Peter. They must've used some forbidden magic because the sky got torn apart by magic, and they both fell into the rift.
I tried using magic to find Peter, but weirdly, I found you three Spider-Men instead of the real Peter."
At this, Ned quickly clarified, "No, you're all real Peters, but I mean, I wanted to find my friend, Peter Parker. You get what I'm saying, right?"
Seeing Ned's nervous expression, first-gen Peter smiled gently. "Kid, no need to apologize. We get it."
He turned to second-gen Peter. "You get it?"
Second-gen Peter thought for a moment. "Honestly, I don't really get it. What's a Supreme Sorcerer?"
First-gen Peter scratched his head awkwardly. "I don't get it either."
Then, both Peters turned to Charlie in unison.
Seeing Charlie's grim expression, they exchanged glances.
"I think he gets it."
"Yeah, I agree. He definitely gets it."
Ned looked at the three. "I've explained it clearly. Need me to add anything?"
"No need."
Charlie stood, his face dark as he asked Ned, "Was the magic one of the Stephens used black?"
Ned nodded. "Yeah, it was black. Super cool but also terrifying. Those octopus-like tentacles were everywhere. I might never eat calamari again."
MJ, thoughtful, spoke up. "So, Charlie Parker, you know that Stephen?"
At her words, everyone's gazes turned odd.
Under their scrutinizing stares, Charlie felt a twinge of guilt.
"If I say that guy was after the wrong Spider-Man, would you think I'm a troublemaker?"
MJ instantly understood.
"That guy wanted to kill you, this Spider-Man, not the Peter I know, right?" she said, covering her face.
Ned's chubby face quivered. "Oh no, Peter took the fall for another Spider-Man."
First-gen Peter thought for a moment. "It's probably just a mistake. Spider-Man's not a troublemaker," he said reassuringly.
Second-gen Peter nodded. "Spider-Man saves people, doesn't harm them."
Their words made Ned and MJ lower their heads guiltily.
They didn't know about other Spider-Men.
But their friend, Peter Parker, had caused plenty of trouble.
From the ferry sliced open by alien weapons to the crisis caused by Mysterio, it was all tied to Peter Parker.
They knew it in their hearts but wouldn't admit it in front of others.
Not even to other Spider-Men.
So they exchanged a glance and then looked at Charlie.
"Yeah, you're probably a troublemaker."
Charlie: "…"
Compared to third-gen Peter, he'd been pretty restrained.
With a helpless shrug, he said, "Alright, guess I'll have to clean this up."
He waved his hand in a circle, magical sparks flaring. An old man out for a night jog suddenly stopped.
He seemed to sense something.
Turning, he saw Charlie's face in the magical sparks.
Old Steve lit up with joy. "Little Spider!"
He jogged into the portal, laughing as he hugged Charlie.
"Finally seeing you again! I tried summoning you a few times and failed. Thought you were done for. Scared me to death. Wait, did you come straight to me? I'm so touched, sniff sniff~"
Old Steve wiped his tears, then realized something was off.
There were others here!
He shuddered, then switched to a serious demeanor.
"Hey, folks, I'm Captain America," he said formally, greeting them.
Ned and MJ exchanged a look, smiling awkwardly.
After the greeting, they turned away, whispering to each other.
"See, I told you Old Cap's not the Steve he used to be. He's got old-man brain fog."
"Yeah, men get more childish with age. Cap's no exception."
"Peter kept saying he was dead, so that guy's been lying to us again."
"When we find him, he's gotta treat us to a big meal, or we're not forgiving him."
"Exactly."
After their quick huddle, they put on standard smiles and turned to Charlie.
"You know magic too?" Ned asked, curious.
Before Charlie could answer, Old Steve puffed out his chest proudly.
"Of course! Little Spider doesn't just know magic; his superpowers can sense—"
Boom!
Before the old man could finish, Charlie punched him back through the portal.
Everyone took a step back.
What a violent Spider-Man! They stared at the ceiling, not asking why.
Until one innocent classmate spoke up.
"Oh! I remember now. Black Widow accidentally mentioned the multiverse in an interview. She said a Spider-Man in some universe could sense crap!"
Ned clapped his hands, grinning at Charlie. "That Spider-Man wouldn't be you, would it?"
Everyone: "…"
Charlie: "…"
First-gen Peter looked at second-gen Peter.
"Can you?"
"Nope."
"Good. Me neither."
"Yay!"
The two secretly fist-bumped.
Watching this, Charlie clenched his fists, his face full of struggle.
"What a mess!!"
He opened a portal. "I'm gonna look for clues. You guys do whatever."
With that, Charlie vanished into the portal.
First-gen Peter turned to Ned. "Guess I'm stuck here for now. Can you spare a room?"
"Me too," second-gen Peter raised his hand. "And some materials to make synthetic webbing."
…
By the park's lake, Charlie shed his Spider-Suit, walking alone along the path.
In this Resurrection Match, he hadn't paid attention to whether other competitors earned a retry. His focus was entirely on finding Gwen.
So it was possible Dark Stephen had secured a retry. That guy was scouring the multiverse for Spider-Man, out for revenge.
Charlie needed extra retries. So did Dark Stephen.
In the end, Charlie won.
Without extra retries, Dark Stephen had to settle for other tasks to resurrect.
Once resurrected, Dark Stephen only wanted revenge on Spider-Man.
While hunting Spider-Man, Dark Stephen came to this universe and clashed with this universe's Stephen.
A showdown between dark and white magic could open a multiverse gateway but shouldn't be enough to break the universe's barriers, causing multiversal rifts.
So those two must've used some forbidden magic, pulling Spider-Man-related people into this universe.
Charlie figured his guess was pretty close.
"Hey, Little Spider, why'd you come here on your own this time?"
Old Steve found Charlie, his old face calm again.
Charlie glanced at him. "How'd you find me?"
"It's my superpower."
"Oh, your superpower senses Spider-Man."
"Yep."
Old Steve suddenly thought of something. "You're here because of Stephen, right?"
"You know about it too?" Charlie was surprised.
Old Steve smiled. "I wasn't there when the two Stephens fought, but I heard about it. One of them might be an old friend, but I can't confirm."
Charlie said, "If it's really that guy, we're in for trouble."
It was his first time dealing with this.
Suddenly, a splash erupted from the lake.
Charlie instinctively turned, seeing the water gather like liquid, pooling on the shore and rapidly forming a human figure.
"I'm still alive?"
Morris Bench stared at his hands in shock, then thought of a certain hateful guy, his eyes flashing with malice.
"Since I'm not dead, Spider-Man, you're done for."
His gritted teeth made Charlie and Old Steve exchange glances.
"What'd he say?"
"He wants to take out Spider-Man."
"Well, the multiversal rift's spitting out weirdos."
Their voices weren't loud, but Morris noticed them instantly.
In a flash, his body turned into a stream of water, slithering toward them. Charlie's eyes lit up.
"Haven't faced a villain with this kind of power. Interesting."
Old Steve shook his head. "Water. Too watery."
Whoosh!
The water surged, and Morris reformed into a human shape.
"Tell me, where's Spider-Man?"
He grabbed Charlie and Old Steve by their collars, looking ferocious.
Charlie, feigning terror, said, "Don't kill me! I'll tell you where Spider-Man is."
"Where?"
"Look, a UFO!"