Finally, the crimson light that sliced through the sky and mountains faded.
Wenwu Xu's Ten Rings, raised above his head, seemed to lose all power, dropping one by one to the ground, rolling a few times in the rubble before dimming, like ordinary iron rings.
Bang!
Wenwu, drenched in sweat, knelt, gasping for breath.
He stared at the lifeless Rings, eyes filled with disbelief.
He couldn't fathom being defeated by Spider-Man in a single move.
For a thousand years, he'd never felt such overwhelming defeat.
It was like when he'd mercilessly crushed soldiers resisting his power.
Even when the world hailed Spider-Man as Earth's mightiest, Wenwu never took him seriously.
He'd forgotten what failure felt like.
A millennium of invincibility had trapped him.
In his mind, the Ten Rings were supreme.
Superheroes, mutants—they all faded with time.
Only the Ten Rings were eternal!
Over a thousand years, he'd seen countless prodigies and so-called geniuses, all felled by the Rings' power.
He thought Spider-Man would be no different.
Yet, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
He slowly looked up. The terrifying pressure from the invincible Spider-Man had vanished.
Wenwu studied Charlie's face, a trace of confusion in his eyes.
"From our talk, I felt no barriers in our communication. You understand Eastern culture and the duties of a husband, the pain of a shattered family."
He forced his exhausted body to stand, offering a wistful smile.
"You win."
"That's not important." Charlie shot webs, collecting the fallen Rings.
Wenwu watched Charlie take them, taking a deep breath and meeting his gaze.
"A voice told me my wife could live again, in a place called Ta Lo. She could be revived. I need your help."
"Who told you?"
Charlie waved a hand. "The Rings?" His tone was mocking.
Wenwu shook his head. "I don't know. The voice convinced me it's true."
"Then you're in for disappointment."
Charlie said, "From what I know, Ta Lo harbors a sealed evil creature with the power to tempt minds. The Rings can break that seal, and you're the man it chose."
"What?"
Wenwu's pupils shook. "Impossible. How do you know this…"
"The invincible Spider-Man can do anything," Charlie cut in.
He continued, "I'll borrow the Rings and return them soon. Believe me or not, you can test it yourself.
But if you trust me, like I said, I can ask a friend for help."
Wenwu recalled Charlie's mention of Mephisto.
He wavered, doubting the voice in his heart.
The invincible Spider-Man rivaled gods.
Between a strange voice and a "god" he could speak to, Wenwu's reason told him to choose the latter.
He had time to verify Spider-Man's words.
If Spider-Man failed, he'd follow his original plan.
But if Spider-Man succeeded, he wouldn't risk disturbing Ta Lo's peace—his wife's homeland.
His eyes grew resolute.
"Fine, I trust you."
Looking at Charlie, a strange thought crossed his mind.
If this kid could be his—
"What's that look?" Charlie noticed Wenwu's odd gaze.
Wenwu smiled softly. "If you could be my son…"
Bang!
Before he finished, Charlie knocked him out with a punch.
"Damn it! Always some villain trying to take advantage of me. The last guy who said that is still drinking milk!"
Still fuming, Charlie kicked him again.
Without the Rings, Wenwu was just a handsome thousand-year-old man.
Seeing Wenwu out cold, Jean stepped forward. "Charles just contacted me. He found this guy's file."
She tapped a virtual screen. "This guy ruled the world a thousand years ago. A total villain. We really letting him go?"
Charlie gave her a strange look.
"Ruling the world makes him a villain?"
Jean blinked. "Doesn't it? He killed tons in wars."
Charlie shrugged. "By that logic, every emperor in history deserves death, right?"
Jean: "..."
Wanda spoke up. "So he's just a failed emperor, not a bad guy?"
Charlie shook his head. "I didn't say that. We're just here to borrow something."
He pulled out the Time Tablet's fragments, arranging them with the Rings as Ned's method described, forming a faint magic circle.
Buzz~
The Rings and fragments resonated, glowing faintly.
Charlie clapped. "Nice, I was right."
Wanda frowned. "If the Rings have time energy, why didn't they show it in the fight?"
Jean guessed, "Maybe Wenwu couldn't fully tap their power, just passively using them."
Charlie waved it off. "Doesn't matter. We've got the key prop. Now, we fix the Time Tablet."
He formed seals, his spider totem bursting out, enveloping the scene.
Under its glow, the Tablet and Rings shone brighter.
"Now!"
At Charlie's shout, Jean and Wanda exchanged a glance, unleashing their primal forces.
Buzz~
Boom!!
Golden Phoenix Force and scarlet Chaos Magic poured into the totem, wrapping the shattered mountain in vibrant energy.
As the power grew, the forces merged with the Rings, forming a massive hammer that struck the Tablet's fragments, spreading mysterious green light.
The Time Tablet's power returned, stabilizing the chaotic spacetime.
Nearby, Lady Deadpool, hands on cheeks, her white eyes widening, gasped.
"Oh my gosh, I think I remember…"
…
Meanwhile, in the multiverse's edge world.
In an abyssal rift, Elios morphed into various cosmic beasts, struggling to escape its temporal prison.
Beyond the invisible cage, a colossal Roman Colosseum suppressed the faltering prison.
Around it, countless Kang variants cheered, eager to drag the void monster that could suppress them into the abyss.
This was the Kang Council, manipulators of the multiverse's timelines.
The Kang Dynasty!
At the Colosseum's peak, three dark golden thrones stood—one empty.
On the other two, Immortus Kang and Scarlet Centurion Kang watched Elios coldly.
Through the variants' efforts, Elios was nearing slumber.
No one could wield Elios to suppress the Kangs like the One Who Remains.
"Heh, we owe this to those bugs," Immortus said at the moment of victory.
Wearing a hat symbolizing time and power, his blue skin and stubbled face set him apart as one of the oldest Kang variants, ruling the edge world and leading the three prime Kangs.
The Scarlet Centurion, in his tech armor, glanced at the empty throne. "Pity we lost Rama-Tut."
Immortus looked at it too, still cold. "His sacrifice was worth it. He got Spider-Man to open the void's gate, leading us to Elios.
Once this monster's suppressed, no one can stop us."
The Centurion mused, "Yes, but we need a Kang to replace Rama-Tut."
Immortus scanned the variants below, ready to pick a replacement.
But then, Elios surged with new strength, struggling in its cage.
"Hm?"
Immortus frowned, sensing the time cage. A universe's temporal energy had normalized.
"That bug's universe."
His face darkened.
The Centurion was shocked. "How? We used multiple universes' time energy to build the cage. Their universe should be a mess in spacetime chaos. How'd he restore time?"
Immortus's eyes glinted coldly. "The Time Tablet. And that guy, causing trouble even in death. His time rings helped the bug fix the Tablet.
No wonder he's the anchor of the central universe. Even that couldn't seal his power."
They'd planned to crush the central universe's bug after suppressing Elios.
With its time energy drained, the anchor should've lost most of their power.
But the invincible Spider-Man, even unstable, fixed the Tablet first, restoring that universe's spacetime and weakening a node in the cage, letting Elios fight back.
What a troublesome guy.
And that Kang variant they exiled to the Quantum Realm—though Spider-Man took him out, his leftover plans were used, leading to this mess.
Immortus regretted not acting himself to avoid loose ends.
Too late now.
The Centurion thought the same, his face grim. "Without any universe's time energy, we can't fully suppress Elios. We must kill that guy and rebuild the cage."
Immortus shook his head. "Not easy. In the central universe, he's a problem."
"We have to try."
The Centurion looked down at the variants.
"From now on, whatever it takes, whoever kills the central universe's bug gets this throne!"
He pointed at the empty throne, shouting. The variants below roared with excitement.
"Oh yeah!! That throne's mine!!"
"Kill that bug, become the council's third Kang!"
"It's mine!"
"Don't fight me for it!!"
Amid the fervor, many variants vanished from the Colosseum to act.
Immortus watched the eager variants coldly, his gaze growing icier.
Too many Kang variants. Time for a culling.
…
Central universe.
Ten Rings stronghold, ruins.
Buzz~
After an unknown time, the spider totem faded. The Phoenix Force and Chaos Magic, carrying their wielders, settled to the ground.
Surrounded by the Rings, the flawless Time Tablet sat quietly in the rubble.
Wenwu, waking groggily, rubbed the back of his head.
"What happened…"
Buzz~
Before he finished, the Rings trembled and flew to him.
"Done with them. Here you go," Charlie said.
Wenwu eyed the Rings, hesitating before putting them back on.
"I thought you'd send me to S.H.I.E.L.D.," he said with a wry smile.
Charlie shook his head. "S.H.I.E.L.D. can't judge you."
He paused. "Is the Non-Human Research Center real?" he asked suddenly.
Wenwu blinked. "You've heard of my institute?"
Charlie: "..."
This world's wild.
Muttering to himself, he picked up the Time Tablet and turned to leave.
"Once I study this, I'll come back—"
Halfway through, the gloomy sky split with eerie temporal energy.
From the rift, an armored lizard-man charged, laughing maniacally.
"Pathetic bug, die!"
Lizard Kang swung a battle-axe, time energy stirring the air. The mountain's plants grew visibly.
The axe's speed surged a hundredfold, too fast for anyone to react.
But as it neared Charlie's head, the Time Tablet glowed, nullifying the time boost, slowing the axe to normal.
In Lizard Kang's horrified gaze, the invincible Spider-Man grabbed its throat.
"Kang variant?"
Charlie stared at the lizard face coldly. "So this is connected to you."
Without hesitation, he snapped its neck, his eyes burning the corpse to ash.
With his powers back, Kang variants were nothing.
But more fearless variants poured from the rift, charging Charlie.
Lady Deadpool, thrilled, drew her chimichangas.
"My babies, let's get hot!!"