Swamp River.
Splash~
Charlie was hauled onto the raft by the group. Staring at the "unconscious" Charlie, the team was utterly confused, but Professor Connors seemed to have an inkling.
"He's fine, probably just fainted from shock. Let's keep moving," he said, rallying the group before glancing toward where the giant creature had gone.
As Connors suspected, Charlie had left a clone with Fury's team while his real self silently clung to the scales of the terrifying giant python.
As the python dove into deeper waters, visibility darkened, and the surroundings grew eerily silent.
The sound of water currents and grinding sediment filled his ears, and a pair of inverted triangular eyes glowed blue in the dark.
Charlie climbed onto the python's mountain-like head, unfazed by the deep-water pressure.
During the dive, his clone's perspective fed him visuals.
After the python left, various subterranean creatures emerged in the swamp. Fury's team faced waves of monster attacks but activated the S.H.I.E.L.D. totem's defensive mode. The rafts withstood the onslaught, pushing deeper into the swamp and shaking off the creatures.
The clone's visuals faded, and Charlie, guided by the python, arrived at an ancient underwater ruin.
Slanted massive stone pillars, a broken mystical altar, and a colossal warship covered in unknown algae, split in two, stood before him. A shrunken python statue, proportional to the real beast, was surrounded by crimson subterranean lava. The lava formed a river, shaping a thousand-meter-long serpent totem in the deep water.
In this awe-inspiring scene, the python's massive body merged into the lava river, aligning with the serpent totem.
Before this, Charlie's clone detached from the python.
As he prepared to explore this strange underwater realm, shadows flickered around the lava river. Strange chants, like spells, echoed through the water, and upright humanoid snake creatures gradually appeared in Charlie's view.
They bowed reverently to the serpent totem, likely performing a sacred ritual.
The offerings were horned, humanoid crocodile-like totem natives.
Their faint totem energies flowed into the serpent totem with the chants, signaling the ritual's climax.
Behind a pillar, Charlie watched, deep in thought.
Snakefolk, Lizardfolk, Crocodilefolk—all with green scales, a consistent aesthetic.
And those green totem monsters.
A hunch struck him: these native species were connected somehow.
As he pondered, the serpent totem, having absorbed the Crocodilefolk's energies, reached a critical point. Its belly swelled, and the lava river was pried open by a mysterious force, forming a clawed limb from the totem's abdomen.
The Snakefolk erupted in cheers, frantically worshipping the totem to celebrate this grand moment.
Then, they scattered, disappearing to parts unknown.
Charlie stayed put.
He wanted to know what the Snakefolk were up to.
Soon, he understood.
Through his clone's perspective, he saw their tracks.
In the swamp, Fury's team encountered Crocodilefolk, but before they could be surrounded, the Snakefolk's arrival disrupted their rhythm.
Roar!
Countless Snakefolk lunged ferociously at the Crocodilefolk, sparking a brutal war. Fury's team became irrelevant bystanders.
At the battlefield's edge, the group watched the clash of two species, puzzled.
"Odd. Are the Snakefolk helping us?" Hawkeye frowned.
Connors shook his head. "They have no reason to. This is a tribal conflict—it's got nothing to do with us."
He glanced at Fury.
"I suspect the Lizardfolk went through similar brutal wars, so the lucky ones fled to the surface. Finding them might be tough."
Fury's expression was unreadable. "You're saying other subterranean species wiped out the Lizardfolk?"
"It's possible."
Connors looked at Charlie's "unconscious" clone and took a deep breath. "From my observations, Snakefolk and Crocodilefolk are incredibly strong, while Lizardfolk are smarter but weaker in power."
"High intelligence means they're less likely to be wiped out," Natasha speculated. "Those Snakefolk and Crocodilefolk look like beasts—probably no match for Lizardfolk."
Connors sighed. "The more beastly, the more they value strength and are easier to control. High-intelligence Lizardfolk might've destroyed themselves through infighting. That's my conclusion based on their traits."
"That's just a theory," Fury said calmly. "Snakefolk, Crocodilefolk, and the monsters we've met are all uncommunicative. We need to find the Lizardfolk for answers."
He glanced at the battlefield's carnage. "Let's get out of here and keep searching for them."
The clone's visuals cut off, and Charlie opened his eyes in the underwater ruin.
Soon, hordes of Snakefolk returned to the altar with their dead and Crocodilefolk corpses, channeling their totem energies into the serpent totem's tongue.
Buzz~
The claw on the serpent totem's belly grew more menacing, but it still wasn't enough.
Charlie pondered, then drew a circle to open a portal and left.
…
At night, Fury's team huddled around a campfire for warmth.
In a corner, Charlie's body flickered with faint light as his real self returned. He stood and stretched.
"What time is it?" he yawned.
Connors, keeping watch, quietly asked about the day's events.
Charlie recounted the underwater ruin scene, and Connors fell into thought.
Soon, he had an idea.
"If the Snakefolk have their own totem ritual, the Lizardfolk and Crocodilefolk must too."
He told Charlie, "Find their totem altars, and we'll uncover more clues."
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Possible, sure. But we're here to find a way to counter the Inheritor family. You sure we should waste time on this?" he asked, feigning ignorance.
Connors' expression grew serious. "I have a hunch their totem rituals are the subterranean civilization's most mysterious power."
Just then, a loud explosion echoed from the horizon.
The group jolted awake, standing to peer into the dark forest.
In the primal mountains, dazzling flames shot skyward. Hawkeye, with the sharpest eyes, stared at the source, his face shifting.
"I saw it—it's a totem bomb!"
"Totem bomb?"
Fury startled. "Only the military has those. Could it be…"
"It's General Ross," Natasha said, her face grim. "Three years ago, Stark Industries developed that superweapon powered by totem energy, but Ross stole the tech, and Stark was… So it's definitely them. They followed us here."
Hawkeye glared at the distant flames. "They probably ran into trouble while tracking us."
"Or maybe not trouble," Fury said, eyes narrowing. "That's not our route. They must've found something else to veer off course."
He turned to Harry and Norman. "Your task is here. Track them down. I want to know what they found."
"Us?"
Harry and Norman exchanged looks, their faces darkening.
The subterranean world was already perilous, and flying up at night made them prime targets for totem monsters.
Classic Fury—black face, blacker heart.
But their family totem was faltering, and they desperately needed a solution.
The subterranean civilization's power was their only hope.
They couldn't give up easily.
On second thought, this wasn't all bad. If they found something before Fury, they wouldn't have to keep eating his dust.
The father and son shared a glance, and twin Green Goblin totems blazed in the night sky.
BOOM~
Green trails streaked across the sky, and Charlie, beside Connors, let his head droop.
"This guy's asleep again. Youth is wasted on the young," Coulson, who'd been watching Charlie, shook his head.
…
Pterodactyl Mountains.
Winged Dinosaurfolk wailed in the blaze of totem bombs.
One, engulfed in flames, crashed down, only for Emil to mercilessly crush its skull.
Splat~
Green blood splattered his face. He sneered at the screaming Dinosaurfolk in the fire, disdain in his eyes.
"Hmph! Subterranean creatures—such feeble power dares to resist? Pathetic."
He scoffed, dodging a Dinosaurfolk's lunge and tearing its wings apart.
Roar!
The creature screamed in pain before Emil crushed its throat.
Thud!
The corpse hit the ground. General Ross surveyed the battlefield, frowning slightly.
"Dr. Octopus, stop wasting time. My patience is thin."
Hearing this, Totem Otto, who'd been coasting, glanced at Ross and smiled. "Understood."
Truth be told, his patience was wearing thin too.
His smile faded, and his Octopus totem flared red, swelling rapidly.
Buzz~
BOOM!!
With a deafening roar, the blood-red Octopus totem grew monstrous, its form shifting.
Through his soul projection, Charlie noticed the Octopus totem hid a Hydra totem!
The Hydra totem merged into Otto's body as a dense bloodlight, his four mechanical arms splitting into nine crimson tendrils.
Crack crack~
Thud thud thud~~
In an instant, the nine tendrils swept the battlefield, piercing Dinosaurfolk with their clawed tips.
Green blood sprayed, and every Dinosaurfolk fell dead in a flash.
The scene stunned Felicia and the others.
"My God! The ultimate power of the Octopus totem, wielded by Dr. Octopus!"
"No wonder he's the strongest of the Octopus totem family."
Aleksei blinked. "Doc Ock's made it big."
A beastly roar echoed from the mountain depths, carrying the Dinosaurfolk's totem aura. Ross's expression shifted.
"It's Kraven. He's found more Dinosaurfolk."
He waved lightly, and Emil led the group toward the depths.
But Ross didn't follow.
He stood calmly alone amid the Dinosaurfolk corpses.
He glanced at the green flares streaking the night sky, then locked onto a spot in the void.
Instantly, Charlie sensed his gaze.
Whoosh~
A gust swept through. As their eyes met, both seemed to detect danger in the other.
Well, seemed.
Charlie didn't think Ross posed a threat.
But Ross thought otherwise.
He smirked at the soul in the void.
"Interesting. A soul-based totem energy."
His body glowed with red totem energy, and he floated upward, stopping before Charlie.
"Your totem energy is intriguing. Help me find the Supreme Totem, and I'll grant you one wish."
Ross was confident in his power.
If he wanted something, no one could stop him—not even the tricky Morlun family.
But at the word "wish," Charlie thought of Doctor Doom.
Self-important jerks. One day, he'd smash these narcissists, starting with Ross.
His eyes sharpened.
Buzz~
As he formed hand seals, the Spider totem blazed in the night sky.
BOOM!!
"What?"
Before Ross could react, a dimensional monster's tendrils erupted from the massive Spider totem, enveloping him.
CRASH!!
ROAR!!
The terrifying creature slammed into the ground, and the red totem energy exploded. The evil Hulk totem tore through the dimensional monster, and Ross, now a Red Hulk, roared skyward.
"Hahaha, a new Spider totem? You've got my—"
Mid-sentence, a fist the size of a sandbag shot from a portal.
BOOM!!
The fist smashed into Red Hulk's face, the terrifying force sending the beastly giant crashing into the mountain.
In the void, Charlie's Spider suit cloaked his fragile soul. He shook his fist, puzzled.
"Got your what? Falling asleep mid-sentence is just rude." He shook his head.
From the mountain rubble, Red Hulk burst forth, shattering stone.
ROAR!!
"You damn pest! You're not that bug—who the hell are you?!"
"Just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Remember that!"
With that, Charlie launched from a web-slingshot.
"Friendly Neighborhood Nuke Kick!"
BOOM!!
Blazing magical energy surged, forming a hemispherical energy dome that ravaged the mountains.
Fury's team, watching the massive magical mushroom cloud rise, was utterly stunned.
"What did we just see?"
"The Spider totem."
"It's Spider-Man. He's here."
"Three years later, Spider-Man's even stronger."
…
Meanwhile, Totem Steve still wandered the dark forest.
"Why, why can't I find the exit? Not getting lost is too damn hard!!" The helpless man knelt, wailing.