And so, the unexpected happened.
Without warning, inky black tendrils had crept up Charlie's body.
A dark magic circle glowed blood-red on the ground, enveloping Charlie in dark magic. A strange force gnawed at his nerves.
In that moment, his mind dulled, as if something had burrowed into his brain, trying to twist his consciousness.
Turning, he saw Dr. Pym's smug grin.
"Motherfucker, I think I've been had."
Charlie rubbed his temples, stumbling, unable to break free from the dark restraints around him.
Dr. Pym, now radiating pure dark magic, his eyes flickering with magical light, wove hand signs, unleashing denser dark energy. The thing in Charlie's head grew more violent.
"What is this?" Charlie's breathing quickened.
Dr. Pym sneered. "This is the personality-reversal magic you were so curious about."
"What?"
Charlie jolted. "How do you—"
He glanced at the night sky, where Doctor Doom's battle with Clark had already ended.
Both were gone. Dr. Pym, dead-set on Spider-Man, quickened his hands. "You guessed right. I'm the real Doctor Doom!"
As he spoke, the dark magic circle spun counterclockwise, and Charlie's consciousness blurred instantly.
In less than a minute, Charlie's mind would recover.
But by then, the invincible Spider-Man would be someone else.
An utterly evil Spider-Man!
The thought thrilled Dr. Pym.
"Hahaha, pathetic bug, join us! This world doesn't need justice—just survival of the fittest and absolute power!!"
BOOM!!
A roar later, the dark magic dissipated, and the dark energy around Charlie vanished.
The pale blue in his inverted-triangular eyes turned blood-red.
Proof that the personality-reversal magic had worked.
Staring at the motionless Spider-Man, Dr. Pym snapped his fingers. A silver suit emerged from the darkness behind him.
As the suit disassembled and reformed around him, Doctor Doom donned his green cloak once more.
"Spider-Man, welcome to our side."
The moment Dr. Pym reached out, Spider-Man dissolved into a shower of light particles and vanished.
"What?"
Shocked, Dr. Pym realized something.
"Damn it, it's his clone!"
"Correct, you got it."
Charlie's voice came from above. Dr. Pym looked up to see Charlie lounging on a spatial web in the night sky, waving at him.
"Hey, Doctor Doom, your personality-reversal magic was cool. Can you do it again? I didn't catch it." He asked earnestly.
Dr. Pym clenched his fists, seething. "Damn bug, you tricked me again."
"No, you tricked me."
Charlie sat up on the web, legs dangling in the air.
"So, Dr. Pym was Doctor Doom all along. That was a surprise."
The main universe's villains always caught you off guard.
Meanwhile, Grandmaster maintained a calm smile, as if Spider-Man's appearance was expected.
Doctor Doom was strong, but this was the Resurrection Match. No one could beat Spider-Man here.
As for Doctor Doom, he quickly calmed down and asked, "How did you figure me out?"
"I didn't."
Charlie shrugged. "The invincible Spider-Man is super cautious, as you know. So, guess if this body's a clone too?"
"I guess… I'll take you out first!"
BOOM~~
Mid-sentence, Doctor Doom unleashed dark tendrils. Endless darkness engulfed the sky, and dimension-bound monsters roared out, determined to tear Charlie apart.
But in Charlie's senses, Doctor Doom's dark magic was far weaker than in the main universe.
Clearly, in Homelander's world, much of Doctor Doom's dark magic came from some Marvel universe deity. Outside that universe, his magic was heavily diminished.
In a flash, Charlie released the spider totem from his chest.
"Go, my partner!"
Buzz~
As the spider totem rapidly expanded, the dark tendrils and dimension monsters were instantly consumed by its power.
"How is that possible?"
Doctor Doom was stunned, then activated the Pym device in his suit without hesitation.
Buzz~
The moment he entered the micro-world, extreme heat swept the scene, melting the ruins into a lava lake, turning the micro-world into an apocalypse.
"Shit!"
Unable to hide, Dr. Pym transformed into a kilometer-tall giant, a terrifying sight that plunged the city into fear and chaos.
"Oh my God, what is that?"
"Heavens! A demon?"
"Monster!"
"Run!!!"
The giant Dr. Pym brought chaos and despair to the city.
At Seven Tower, Carter and the others noticed the distant, terrifying giant.
"It's Doctor Doom!"
Old Steve frowned. "He's here too. This is bad."
"Darling, you know that thing?" G'iah, terrified, clung to Old Steve, seeking safety.
Old Steve nodded. "A very dangerous guy. But don't worry, Spider-Man will handle it."
"Spider-Man?"
"Yeah."
"Look, there he is!"
At Homelander's shout, a red-and-blue giant rose, pale blue eyes blazing in the night sky before turning crimson.
Sizzle~~
BOOM!!!
The giant Spider-Man's eyes shot red beams, forcing the massive Doctor Doom to stumble back.
His huge body seemed slow but was far from agile.
He could only endure the heat vision's impact.
As he staggered, the residual heat melted surrounding ruins, and the coast steamed under the intense heat, raising thick mist.
Thud thud thud~
The earth shook as the kilometer-tall Doctor Doom crashed into the sea.
Charlie's heat vision faded, and his hands gathered glowing web-balls.
BOOM~~
BOOM!!!
The web-balls smashed into the sea, triggering explosions that enveloped the city in terrifying blasts, followed by a monstrous tsunami surging toward the coast.
"Oh no!!"
On the nearest streets, countless citizens watched in horror as the towering tsunami roared toward the city.
Screams, cries, fear, despair…
Amid the chaos, the red-and-blue giant swiped the air, and a massive portal of magical sparks swallowed the tsunami, redirecting it to another sea.
The crowd watched, awestruck, as the tsunami vanished into the portal.
"Spider-Man!"
"Good Lord! He's practically a god!"
"A god!"
"My God—no, my Spider-Man, this is a miracle!"
In that moment, countless believers' faith in God wavered.
They began fanatically worshipping the invincible Spider-Man.
Charlie saw his fan points skyrocketing.
One million, two million, ten million, eighty million…
This one battle pushed Charlie's popularity far beyond Homelander's.
But deep down, he felt uneasy.
His spider-sense screamed warnings, yet he couldn't pinpoint the danger.
Doctor Doom?
No, with most of his magic gone, he was no match for Spider-Man.
Grandmaster?
No, he hadn't sensed the "game" starting.
Then who…
Oh no!
Suddenly, Charlie realized something.
He'd overlooked one person.
"Hahaha, pathetic bug, die!"
The next moment, Doctor Doom's manic laughter erupted from the sea. Before Charlie could act, a blinding golden glow lit up the night sky.
Buzz~
The sky became a golden sun, and the "S" symbol of hope floated before Charlie.
Countless people gazed at the light.
The beacon of hope outshone even Spider-Man.
It was the perfect blend of beauty and power—Superman!
But Clark was now coldly detached.
No longer hiding his power, he unleashed his stellar energy, proclaiming Superman's arrival to the world.
Charlie stared at Clark's icy expression, his mouth twitching.
He got it.
Doctor Doom's target wasn't the invincible Spider-Man—it was Superman!
Reversing Clark's personality to turn him into an evil Superman was Doctor Doom's ultimate goal!
So…
"Heh, this round's busted."
Charlie shrugged. "Mr. Clark, for the sake of that dinner I treated you to, can you not hit my face?"
Clark's lips curled. "I'll eat the dinner, and you… I'll kill!"
"Fuck, that line sounds familiar."
As Clark clenched his fist, Charlie quickly shed the Pym Particles, returning to normal size.
Staying giant would just make him a punching bag.
Buzz~
Light and shadow flickered, and the air exploded.
Corrupted, Superman's punches were unimaginably fast.
It wasn't that corruption tripled his strength—it was that evil Superman no longer held back.
A merciful Superman couldn't kill Batman.
But an evil Superman could kill the invincible Spider-Man.
BOOM!!
A deafening blast, and the red-and-blue figure shot across the city like a meteor.
Crash crash crash BOOM!!
In an instant, Charlie smashed through buildings until Carter caught him.
"Get away!"
"What—"
The moment Carter caught Charlie, an unstoppable force transferred from him.
The two figures shot through the city, crashing through more buildings.
"Spider-Man!!"
As they neared Seven Tower, Old Steve couldn't hold back.
"I'm coming!!"
"Don't come near me!"
"Oh, shit—"
BOOM!!
The three figures collided into Seven Tower, barely stopping.
In the floor's ruins, Homelander held his coffee, staring as his office became wreckage. His eyes filled with fear, his body frozen, his hands trembling.
Damn it, what kind of power was this?
He turned, seeing Superman flying in, his despair deepening.
Damn it, he's here!
He wanted to ditch his matching suit.
Maybe it'd make him invisible to Superman.
But he couldn't.
This guy was too strong.
That night, one punch took him down.
Now, even Spider-Man couldn't withstand a single hit.
Homelander's heart quaked.
Finally, Clark landed, glancing at Homelander with undisguised disgust.
"Trash, you can disappear."
Sizzle~~
A flash of heat vision.
In one glance, Homelander's head hit the floor, his body still standing, coffee steaming in his hand.
Done, Clark shifted his gaze, crushing rubble underfoot as he approached the trio.
"Spider-Man, heh!"
He sneered at the battered three, blowing gently. A wave of frost spread, freezing Charlie into an ice statue first.
"Run!"
Old Steve and Carter dodged the frost. Clark didn't care about them.
He stared at Spider-Man's ice statue, raising a hand.
"Charlie Parker, no one can call themselves invincible before me, not even you, my friend."
He touched the statue with a finger, and Charlie's body cracked and shattered.
Clatter~
As ice shards fell, Clark took a deep breath. "Now, I'm the star of the Resurrection Match."
"Good Neighbor Speedster!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the void. Red-and-blue magical energy enveloped Clark.
"What?"
Clark frowned, letting the magic hit his steel body, unmoved. But the invincible Spider-Man climbed onto his shoulder.
"Good Neighbor Spin!"
"Spin!"
Crack~
As Charlie rubbed his hands, Clark's neck twitched slightly, the force failing to snap it.
Charlie froze, embarrassed.
He looked down.
Clark looked up.
Their eyes met.
Charlie grinned. "You wouldn't do this to me, right?"
"Hard to say."
Clark grabbed the annoying bug, twisting Spider-Man's head with the same move.
Snap~
Charlie's body fell, dissolving into light particles.
"Another clone." Clark's face darkened.
How long would this go on?
Then, another shout came from nearby.
"Good Neighbor Nutcracker Kick!"
Clang!!
Charlie reappeared, aiming a kick at Clark's weak spot, only to hear a metallic clang. Then…
Charlie's leg broke.
Crack~
Kneeling, Charlie, undeterred, threw a full-force punch at Clark's weak spot.
Clang~~
Crack~
Charlie's arm shattered.
His limp arm dangling, he looked up at Clark.
"Buddy, tell me, is your girlfriend still alive?"
Clark's eyes glowed red. "A strong man doesn't need a girlfriend."
BOOM!!
Red light flashed, vaporizing Spider-Man's head.
As the body turned to light particles, Clark lost patience.
He scanned the area with X-ray vision.
Finally, he spotted the bug hiding in another dimension.
"Found you!"
"Wait, this round of hide-and-seek doesn't count. Let me find a new spot—"