Buzz~
As countless Kang variants surged from the temporal rift, piloting various aircraft, the sky was enveloped by a solidified ring of time energy.
Kang variants excelled at manipulating time, but in Charlie's home turf, the moment the Time Tablet floated into the air, a green halo swept through, freezing their spinning time rings.
"What?"
The Kang variants' faces shifted as they realized their time devices were useless in this universe.
A Crocodile Kang shouted, "No worries! He's using the Time Tablet to block our time machines, but he can't use time against us either!"
"Exactly!"
Lion Kang raised his weapon. "There's so many of us. He's just one pesky bug. No need to fear!"
His words calmed the variants.
But then, Lion Kang was sliced in half by a high-heat beam, prompting gasps from the others.
"Damn it, don't let that bug escape!"
As Crocodile Kang spoke, thunder roared. A bolt struck him, exploding him into the ground.
"You little trash, taste Captain Thor's love hammer!"
On the cracked earth, Old Steve knelt in a classic superhero landing, stunning the Kang variants.
"Oh my gosh, he's more dramatic than us! Kill him!"
"Get him!"
Boom!!
A green-skinned Kang variant activated his armor, unleashing a violent gravity wave at Old Steve.
Zzt-zzt…
Boom!!
The wave tore the ground, but thunder erupted, Mjolnir shattering the gravity wave and obliterating Green Kang's body.
As Green Kang was reduced to nothing, the variants stopped talking, bombarding Charlie's group with long-range attacks.
Boom!!
Rumble!!
Explosions devoured the mountains. Captain Thor, hammer in hand, wove through the fire, recklessly charging the time-device-less variants, leaving fiercer blasts in his wake.
After mowing down a dozen variants, Old Steve landed smoothly before Charlie.
"Little spider, sorry I'm late!"
Wearing a custom half-helm, Old Steve's stern demeanor reminded Charlie of his younger days.
"Wow, old man, you could go all day with them now, right?" Charlie said, blasting a sneaking Werewolf Kang with a web-ray.
"Of course."
Old Steve raised his shield against a descending energy beam, standing back-to-back with Charlie.
Surveying the chaotic battlefield, he saw Lady Deadpool failing to seduce a Kang variant with her charm, then dismembering him.
He saw Wanda's Chaos Magic tearing through variant after variant.
Wenwu Xu, clueless but assumed to be Spider-Man's ally, reluctantly fought the strange foes.
Nearby, Jean's Phoenix Force grew wilder, turning any approaching variant to ash.
Seeing this, Old Steve swung Mjolnir, repelling a Bunny Kang, and turned to Charlie. "Charles warned me before I came—be careful with Jean's Phoenix Force. If she loses control, it's trouble for us."
"No problem, watch me work."
Charlie nodded, then casually tossed a high-heat web-ball, blasting Jean away.
Boom!!
The explosion left Jean dazed and dirt-covered, caught mid-air by a flashing Charlie.
As they spun through the sky, Old Steve's face darkened.
"Damn it, what kind of move is that?"
He cursed under his breath, raising Mjolnir to strike the ground.
"Little spider's love life is under my protection!!"
Boom!!
With a roar, lightning surged, electrocuting Kangs attacking Charlie and Jean, their screams piercing the air.
Most ordinary Kang variants, without time devices, were weak. Enhanced Old Steve, wielding Mjolnir, handled them easily.
But some were trickier.
Zzt-zzt~
A tech-armored figure zipped past Old Steve, stealing a burst of thunderous power.
Bang!!
"No~~"
Boom!!
In one clash, Old Steve was blasted into the mountain. Thunder Kang, cloaked in lightning, hovered, sneering at Charlie, still spinning with Jean.
"Comic relief is just a stepping stone to my Kang throne!"
He snorted, his armor sparking as he launched a spherical lightning bolt at Charlie.
Zzt-zzt~
The palm-sized bolt swelled rapidly, reaching a hundred-meter diameter as it neared Charlie, radiating destruction and consuming all matter, forming a terrifying black hole.
Buzz~
Its irresistible pull threatened to devour Charlie's soul.
"Motherfucker, lady, protect me!"
At the critical moment, Charlie shoved Jean in front of him.
Instantly, sensing danger, Jean let out a piercing cry. A golden-flamed Phoenix shadow flickered, swallowing the black hole.
"What?"
Thunder Kang gaped, then pointed at Charlie, cursing.
"Despicable bug, hiding behind a woman? What kind of skill is that?"
Charlie shrugged, poking Jean's shoulder.
"You okay?"
Jean shook her head, weakened from the outburst.
Her eyes were hazy. "What just happened?"
Charlie spread his hands. "Nothing."
He looked at Thunder Kang. "See, she doesn't remember, so I beat you, not her."
"You—"
Furious, Thunder Kang prepared another lightning sphere, but his limbs were suddenly locked by several Charlies.
"Damn it, clones!"
Thunder Kang's face fell, seeing the clones grin eerily before shouting at Charlie.
"Bro, take him out!"
"No problem."
Charlie stepped back, then sprinted and leaped.
"Kamen Rider, Knight Kick!"
The clones cursed. "Damn it, we meant the legendary Scissor Kick!!"
"Too late!"
Charlie roared, his spider totem blazing with dazzling magical energy.
Sensing death, Thunder Kang's eyes widened.
"No!!"
As he was about to be obliterated, a gust intervened.
Boom!!
A cyan-armored Kang exploded, a hole kicked through his chest. Effeminate Kang smiled, collapsing before Thunder Kang.
Seeing the fallen figure, Thunder Kang's inner universe erupted, breaking free of the clones.
He knelt, cradling the body, wailing skyward.
"No!!!"
His heart-wrenching cries drowned in sorrow.
The clones shivered.
"Oh my gosh, what a gross love story. Is the Kang Dynasty based on Brokeback Mountain?"
"Feels like a tragic accident."
"Such pitiful love in chaos. Makes you wanna cry."
"Argh, my eyes!"
"By the way, does their council allow workplace romance?"
"Whatever, let's send him off!"
"Beat him!"
After a quick exchange, the clones swarmed Thunder Kang with kicks.
Wade, arriving via teleporter, went nuts.
"So many little spiders! Who's my real idol?!"
"To your left."
Hearing Charlie's voice, Wade's white eyes widened.
"Oh, sorry, I'm late."
He leaned back onto a solid chest, pinching hard muscles, then realized something was off.
Looking up, Old Steve stared down, full of disdain.
"What're you doing?" Old Steve asked.
Wade glanced at Charlie, straightening up.
"Nothing, my back was broken. All good now."
Old Steve snorted, pointing at a flamboyantly dressed Kang group.
"They're yours."
Wade's eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh, thank you, Captain!"
Old Steve: "..."
Under his disdainful gaze, Wade rubbed his hands like a fly, charging at the "perverts" with glee.
"Nobody steal my kills!!"
The scene shifted. As aircraft exploded in the sky, Carter leaped from the flames, shield in hand, slicing through attacking Kangs, cosmic energy radiating from her.
Boom!!
Carter, now Captain Marvel, landed before Charlie.
"Sorry, I remember you now." She smiled, catching her returning shield and leading the Avengers against the Kangs.
Green contrails streaked the sky. Harry, in an upgraded Green Goblin suit, tossed modified pumpkin bombs infused with stellar energy, leaving piles of variant wreckage.
Click~
Tony landed in his armor, frowning at the swarming Kangs.
"These guys aren't as tough as I thought."
Charlie grinned. "True, but don't get cocky. Some tricky ones are hiding."
As he spoke, the ground cracked, and a thousand-meter-tall Earth Giant rose.
Crack-crack~
Boom!
"Spider-Man, die!!"
The giant's roar shook the heavens, its massive hand slamming down like Optimus Prime's fist.
Cosmic energy surged in its palm, forming a starry chart over the battlefield.
Buzz~
The chart's glow felt like a galaxy pouring down, its cosmic pressure sweeping the field.
Boom!!
The ground collapsed, giant Kang statues rising, forming a rotating stone magic array that sealed the battlefield's exits and the sky's temporal rift.
Until he killed Spider-Man, no Kang variant could interfere.
As the colossal hand crushed approaching Kangs, nearing the ground to obliterate all, Wanda unleashed her full power, scarlet energy barely holding it up.
Boom!
"Oh my gosh, what is this?" Wanda strained.
Before Charlie could act, a black sword gleamed behind her.
Hum!!
The Black Death Sword sliced through the hand, piercing the cosmic galaxy, dissolving the oppressive force like an illusion.
Tony and the others gasped, kneeling and wiping sweat.
"That's the true power of a Kang variant?"
Recalling the moment, they shuddered.
Charlie, chilling on the sidelines, pulled a juice bottle from his pants, handing it to Tony. "Focus on Gwen. She did great."
Tony took it absently. "Thanks… Wait, you don't have a bag." He gave Charlie a weird look.
Charlie went silent. Tony tossed the juice to honest Banner, activating his suit's urine filtration for hydration.
Watching the Kang Giant suppressed by the Black Death Sword, Banner calmed Hulk's restlessness and asked Charlie, "These guys feel like pawns."
"Of course. The real trouble's coming."
As Charlie spoke, the rift reopened. Hyena Kang appeared with an army of robotic soldiers.
The soldiers escorted several figures. Hyena Kang laughed smugly.
"Spider-Man, accept your fate!"
He gripped Richard's throat, threatening, "Your loved ones are mine. Anyone who defies the Kang Dynasty has one fate."
Carter and the others paused. Charlie glanced at Aunt May and the others, his inverted triangle eyes widening.
"Yes! Finally, a villain who knows to use Spider-Man's family as leverage!"
He high-fived Old Steve. Tony and the others couldn't handle it.
They stepped back, refusing to admit they were comic relief too.
Hyena Kang hadn't expected this.
Baring his fangs, he snarled, "Bug, don't you see? Your family's in our hands. Surrender!"
As he spoke, the battered Kang variants regrouped, catching their breath.
Charlie just shrugged. "Fine, you win. But guys, if I surrender, what do you get?" He looked at the variants.
The variants whispered among themselves.
"If Hyena kills Spider-Man, what about us?"
"This sneaky jerk did nothing. He can't be the final winner."
"Right, he can't be the Dynasty's third leader."
Murmuring, the variants eyed Hyena Kang, subtly closing in.
Hyena Kang sensed the shift, hurriedly saying, "Don't trust that bug. If he surrenders, we'll still compete fairly—"
But a variant struck.
"Take you out first, or we've got no shot!!"
A golden-armored Kang charged with a golden storm, others following.
"Get him!"
"Despicable Hyena, die!!"
Chaos erupted. Charlie and his team slipped through, rescuing Aunt May and the others.
Golden-Armor Kang used the chaos to slip away, her skin shifting to reveal a teenage girl.
Super-Skrull, G'iah!
"Spider-Man, we're even."
Her expression complex, she glanced at Charlie in the crowd, then vanished from the battlefield.
Nearby, Mary Jane spotted G'iah and, after a moment, chased after her.