The second game began swiftly.
In the Resurrection Pool, Charlie glanced at Diana and the others.
"After last round's practice, you guys know what to do, right?" he asked.
Clark nodded. "I'm good."
He unlocked his "Heat Vision" skill and added, "I'll coordinate with you."
Charlie shook his head. "This round's different. They've got Batman, and that guy's super sneaky. So the plan's changed—I'll help you guys farm."
Gwen frowned. "Is Batman really that smart?"
"He's very smart," Diana explained. "Batman's just a mortal, but he takes down super-criminals. That proves he's no ordinary man.
Most importantly, he's rich."
"Rich?"
Mary Jane scoffed. "I hate rich people."
"Me too," Clark said, then reassured Charlie, "I've learned how to play. Don't worry!"
"Alright."
With a wave from Charlie, the Grandmaster's excited shout echoed from the sky: "All troops, advance!"
Instantly, crystal towers spawned Deadpool armies, and everyone rushed to their lanes.
Mid-lane, Clark followed the minion wave, spotting only the vampire legion in the fog.
With no enemies in sight, he methodically cleared minions, keeping the wave from crossing the danger line.
Hidden in the fog, Nova frowned.
She had less patience than anyone. Paired against Clark, her plan was to ambush him the moment he overextended, securing first blood.
But Clark was far more cautious this time.
No matter. Per Bruce Wayne's plan, they'd win for sure.
She emerged from the fog, clearing minions too.
Meanwhile, top and bot lanes maintained an eerie balance. No one dared start a fight before the Invincible Spider-Man showed himself.
As time ticked by, heroes and villains on all lanes hit level three.
"Damn, is that bug asleep?" Jennix muttered on bot lane, eyeing the fog warily.
In the jungle, Bruce Wayne calmly dispatched Muscle Peter, claiming his "Strength" buff, then headed for Thor Peter's spider cave.
"As I predicted, that bug guessed our plan, but he won't expect this is part of my plan too."
Bruce parked the Batmobile outside the cave, deploying drones to scout.
Wherever drones passed, fog cleared, giving Bruce full visibility.
To avoid the Invincible Spider-Man's spying, he was prepared.
Watching from the shadows, Charlie sighed.
Who taught this guy to ward?
No matter. Wards or not, he'd fight!
A clone split from Charlie, instantly appearing in the drone's range.
Bruce spotted him but acted unbothered, continuing to farm.
He alerted Nova and the others to Spider-Man's location.
As one, they vanished into the fog, converging on Charlie.
Gwen noticed their movement and warned Charlie.
"Trouble! They're gone. Be careful."
Charlie released another clone to scout.
"Too late."
On top lane, Kang clashed with the clone, wiping it out with a combo.
"I got him!" Kang roared, thrilled. "Hahaha, I killed the Invincible Spider-Man!!"
His laugh cut short as a web beam from the bushes slashed a third of his health.
"No!! He's not dead~"
BOOM!
A jungle explosion rang out, followed by the Grandmaster's voice.
"Kang the Conqueror has been slain by Charlie Parker!"
"What?"
Jennix and the others froze.
Even Bruce was stunned.
"No way, how did he…"
Then it clicked, a smirk forming.
"Nice. Using clones to lure us off the minion wave. This is getting interesting."
He eyed Thor Peter, nearly dead, ready to finish him for the Thunder buff.
He ignored the clone in the bushes.
From his observations, Spider-Man's clones lasted only eleven seconds.
The bush clone was gone.
The bug wasn't targeting him, so no need to stall.
But as he moved, a crimson flash grazed him, piercing Thor Peter's chest, stealing the buff.
"What!"
Bruce gasped. "How—"
Before he could react, red beams erupted from the bushes, sweeping the cave with searing energy. Debris buried the Batmobile in rubble.
"Damn, how'd that bug get here!!"
Bruce fled, only to be finished by a massive fist.
Outside the spider cave, Charlie felt a surge of power.
Leveling up, he glanced at the greyed-out teleport skill and grinned. "The Grandmaster's gotta patch another bug. What a headache!"
"Indeed, a headache."
Purple portals flashed, and Nova, Jennix, and Karn surrounded Charlie.
"Three on one. You're done," they said.
Charlie shrugged, unfazed. "Okay, you got me. But whose idea was this?"
Honest Karn answered, "Batman's plan. He knew you wouldn't be easy to find, so he sacrificed himself."
"Wow, two for one? Bad trade," Charlie said, arms crossed, laughing.
Jennix stepped forward, sneering. "As long as we curb your farming, it's worth it."
Nova frowned. "Enough talk. Finish him. If you level up, your totem power can crush him."
Charlie got it.
So that was Bruce Wayne's plan.
At equal levels, the Inheritors' totem power couldn't overpower the spider totem.
But one level ahead, the leech totem would dominate, far worse than normal level suppression.
Without Spider-Man's threat, Bruce could target Clark and the others.
If Jennix or Karn took off, a two-for-one was no loss.
Assuming they could kill Spider-Man.
As the three readied, Charlie bolted.
"Hahaha, catch me if you can! If you do, I'll let you… heh, too shy to say."
"Don't let him escape!"
"Kill!"
BOOM!
The jungle erupted as clones turned to ash under their onslaught.
Meanwhile, with no lane opponents, Clark and the others pushed minions and towers.
Each tower hit boosted their power.
Soon, Gwen and the others leveled up. Freshly respawned, Bruce's heart sank.
"Damn it, you're still chasing Spider-Man? Guard the towers!"
Cursing, he saw mid-lane in trouble and took Nova's place.
He hadn't known towers gave levels.
Last game, no one touched the enemy's towers.
He'd miscalculated.
Nova, close to finishing Charlie, ignored Bruce, bloodlust driving her.
"Damn bug, be a man and stop running!"
"Haha, can't catch me!"
"Nova, stop chasing. Go back," Jennix called, hesitating.
"No, I'm killing him!" Nova pressed on.
Jennix and Karn exchanged helpless looks and retreated.
That delay cost them their level advantage.
Gwen struck first, her upgraded spider totem crushing their leech totems.
"No~"
Slash!
Two heads rolled. Deadpool soldiers swarmed, wiping out the Inheritors' health before their immortality could kick in.
"Jennix has been slain by Gwen Stacy!"
"Karn has been slain by Gwen Stacy!"
Mary Jane eyed Gwen's golden glow with envy.
"You should've left one for me."
"Next time."
"Hmph, ignoring you."
"I'm a woman. Your tricks don't work."
"Then I'm ignoring you too."
Soon, Nova finally killed Charlie.
"Charlie Parker has been slain by Nova!"
"Hahaha, damn bug, you've met your match!"
Nova mocked Charlie's corpse, not noticing she'd ventured deep into enemy jungle.
When she realized, Diana and Clark had her surrounded, her health below half.
"Baldy, you forgot."
Diana charged with her sword, Clark blocking Nova's escape.
"No!!"
Slash!
"Nova has been slain by Diana!"
The Grandmaster's voice rang out. Bruce, planning a bot-lane ambush, took a deep breath, his face grim.
This wasn't his plan.
No choice—he activated Plan B.
"Everyone, Plan B."
Respawned, Nova and the others swapped lanes.
They guarded towers, stalling for Batman's support.
Soon, Charlie reappeared in enemy vision.
"He's up top!"
Bruce's eyes sharpened, driving to bot-lane's dragon valley.
He'd solo the super monster for a team-wide buff!
He'd prepped for this.
BOOM!
In the river, the Batmobile switched to speedboat mode, sea monsters in pursuit.
"My people, take him!" Atlanna shouted from her seahorse chariot, waves surging.
Bruce ignored her, speeding into the shadowy dragon valley.
In the dark, a snoring monster's roars deafened.
Bruce couldn't see what it was.
Last game, he hadn't faced the valley's monster.
This was a gamble.
As Atlanna and her sea monsters attacked, Bruce floored it, charging into the valley.
A blinding white light erupted, followed by a deafening explosion. A shockwave swept the river, engulfing half the jungle.
"That's…"
Everyone stared at the mushroom cloud rising from the jungle.
"Bruce Wayne has slain the ancient sea monster Kraken, granting the team Dragon Valley Buff: +100% all stats, attacks gain lightning and swamp effects, and summon Trench Clan."
The Grandmaster's announcement brought joy to some, dread to others.
Diana and the others paled.
Charlie cursed. "Motherf—! I killed that thing last time and got nothing like this!
And how's Batman making nukes? That's cheating! I'm reporting him!"
He shouted skyward, but the Grandmaster just smirked.
Obviously, this was intentional.
Letting Spider-Man's team win twice would kill the suspense.
Charlie stomped, fuming.
"What a mess!!"
"Surrender. We're done. No way we win."
"Congratulations to the Inheritor faction for the victory."
As the Grandmaster declared the Inheritors' win, Charlie returned to the Resurrection Pool, his anger gone.
This was expected.
The game didn't need to be won.
What kind of friendly neighborhood hero saves the world with a game?
Clark, worried, asked, "One round left. How do we play?"
"Just wing it."
Clark: "???"
He thought he misheard.
"Wing it?" he confirmed.
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, wing it."
Diana and the others were puzzled.
But seeing Charlie's confident smile, they didn't press, sensing something deeper.
The third game began, everyone taking their lanes methodically.
Bruce's plan was sharper.
Charlie, in the jungle, hadn't finished his first monster when the Batmobile roared from the bushes.
"Bug, you're done!"
Bruce, confident, fired a cannon, stealing the monster's buff.
BOOM!
The buff surged into Bruce.
Charlie shrugged. "Fine, it's yours."
He vanished into the fog.
Bruce, expressionless, didn't pursue.
He checked his system, predicting Charlie's next move.
Two games gave him more Spider-Man data.
Based on his jungling habits, Bruce closed his eyes, imagining himself as the Invincible Spider-Man.
His system's calculations matched his intuition.
"Bug who thinks he's a god, you're finished."
Bruce's eyes narrowed, driving into the fog.
For ten minutes, using his intellect and computer, Bruce caught Charlie three times, gaining a level advantage and helping his team suppress enemies.
"Bruce, nice work!"
Jennix reaped Deadpool soldiers, faking an attack on Gwen and Mary Jane under their tower, then counter-killing the ambushing Spider-Man. His confidence soared.
Nova on mid-lane and Kang on top gained dominance, praising Bruce.
"I admit, humans are clever."
"Worthy of Batman."
Bruce stayed calm. "Don't get cocky. That bug won't give up easily."
"He surrendered last time."
"This time's different. The Grandmaster's not favoring anyone."
"Got it."
"Kill Spider-Man, secure the retry!"
"I'm pumped…"
The Inheritors sharpened their blades, while Diana and the others struggled.
Charlie, slacking, was chased by Bruce.
BOOM!
The Batmobile's missile exploded a spider cave.
Bruce's stats now crushed Spider-Man's. His usually room-level weapons unleashed hundredfold destruction, razing the jungle and chasing Charlie to the top-lane river.
"Bug who thinks he's a god, no one can save you!"
Bruce's gaze was cold. In speedboat mode, he blasted Aquaman Arthur into the riverbed.
He stopped at the dragon valley.
Because Charlie stopped too.
"Bug, trying to use me to kill the sea monster? You miscalculated," Bruce said, not falling for it.
Charlie turned. "Fine. Why are you so obsessed with killing me?"
"What?"
"Why do you want me dead?"
"Your power's too great. You'll ruin us."
"Heh."
"What's funny?" Bruce frowned.
Charlie grinned. "You've got a persecution complex, huh?"
Bruce didn't respond.
He wasn't sure if he did.
Charlie continued, "Guess how many worlds I've saved?"
"Hm?" Bruce frowned. "How many? You sure?"
"Absolutely."
Charlie spread his arms. "The Invincible Spider-Man's saved so many worlds, even he's lost count."
"So, this time, Spider-Man's saving this world too—including you, Batman. You want to kill me, but I've killed you too. We're even."
He pointed. "Now, watch how I save the world."
"You—"
Before Bruce could speak, the Invincible Spider dove into the dark dragon valley.
A beast's roar shook the jungle.
No, the entire game island!
Even the Grandmaster trembled.
"Crap, the guest-star monster's out of control. How?! It shouldn't be!!"