Antique Shop.
For the next week, without the Black Hand's interference, Dragon Uncle lived a carefree life.
Jade, however, was restless due to homework troubles.
Old Man was listless, his shop's business dismal.
But they weren't bored.
Thanks to Charlie, Old Man had started dabbling in magic.
As a result, his room occasionally erupted in explosions.
Boom!
Another blast, with green mist forcing Dragon Uncle and Jade out of the room.
Cough cough "Bad luck, bad luck! Old Man, what's with these evil experiments? This smell's awful," Dragon Uncle said, fanning away the green haze, his face full of disgust.
Jade, hands covering her nose, glared at Old Man with fury.
She hadn't even finished her homework!!
Old Man emerged, covered in soot, his white hair singed and glasses smeared with ash, looking like a beggar.
"Another failure, but no matter. I've got my secret weapon!"
He pulled out a gecko from behind him, grinning. "I've got other magic experiments!"
Dragon Uncle and Jade exchanged glances, instinctively stepping back, wary of being dragged into his chaos.
"By the way, where's Charlie?"
Old Man suddenly remembered, looking around.
Dragon Uncle glanced upstairs. "He's probably still studying those artifacts."
"Artifacts…" Old Man mused. "I need his help."
He headed upstairs.
On the balcony, Charlie sat at a table, the Eight Immortals' artifacts laid out before him.
In this world, the Eight Immortals were ancient, eternal Celestial Generals, their weapons tied to the eight trigrams: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui.
The eight demons' powers also stemmed from these natural forces, which is why the Immortals' weapons could seal them.
Corrupted Charlie had already claimed the Eight Demonic Chi. Charlie needed to master the Eight Trigrams' power in the artifacts quickly.
Behind him, a massive tome—the Book of Ages—sat carelessly in a corner.
He'd found it in Australia's Uluru. It wasn't hard to locate, but aside from Shendu, none of the other seven demons ever considered pursuing it.
Using the Book of Ages came with the cost of eternal damnation, though no one knew exactly what that meant.
Charlie didn't either.
So, from the start, he had no intention of activating it here.
His thoughts were interrupted as the sun seemed to dim, a shadow growing before him.
"I've found a way."
Corrupted Charlie appeared, startling Old Man, who'd just arrived and witnessed the scene.
"Demons and ghosts, begone!!"
Old Man's shout startled both Charlie and Corrupted Charlie.
"Damn! Scared the hell outta me!"
Corrupted Charlie checked himself, relieved to find nothing amiss.
Charlie, equally rattled, gave Old Man a resentful look. "What are you doing?"
Old Man studied the identical pair, rubbing his eyes and removing his glasses.
"Oh, I'm getting old, eyes failing me. How are there two Charlies?"
Muttering to himself, he turned and left, carefully closing the door.
Once outside, Old Man exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow, then bolted to Dragon Uncle.
"Trouble! There's a monster!!"
Hearing Old Man's cries, Charlie shook his head.
"Can't wait for season two, or we're doomed."
Corrupted Charlie nodded. "Agreed."
In his palm, a battered Fin Fang Foom appeared. "I asked him. To leave this world, we need not just the Eight Demonic Chi but also the Eight Immortals' power."
Charlie shrugged. "Good thing we've got both."
He eyed the wilted Fin Fang Foom, smirking. "Fin Fang Bro, since you've traveled this world, you must've gained the Immortals' power. Spill it!"
Fin Fang Foom, curled up in Corrupted Charlie's hand, trembled. "The Eight Immortals let me go back then, giving me their power and the Eight Demonic Chi."
"Hm?"
Charlie frowned. "What's that mean?"
Fin Fang Foom explained, "This world values yin-yang balance. My arrival was an accident. By its rules, they had to send me away."
Charlie got the picture.
He looked at Corrupted Charlie. "So, you can't take the Eight Demonic Chi, and I can't take the Immortals' artifacts. If we disrupt the balance, we're in trouble."
Corrupted Charlie scoffed. "Let's test it."
He looked skyward, his eyes blazing red. Eight streams of Demonic Chi surged, forming a terrifying vortex, darkening the sky.
Charlie didn't hesitate, sending the Eight Immortals' artifacts into the vortex.
Buzz~
The vortex glowed, a Time Portal slowly opening—only to be cut off by an unknown force.
Pfft~
The portal vanished like a popped bubble. Corrupted Charlie's face darkened.
"If we can't take the Eight Demonic Chi, coming here was pointless."
He glanced at the Book of Ages in the corner. "A wasted trip."
Charlie stayed calm.
He waved it off. "No rush. It's just yin-yang balance. Easy fix."
"How so?" Corrupted Charlie asked.
Charlie said, "Righteous energy endures between heaven and earth. Even without the Eight Immortals, other just forces will rise, shared by all living beings. The imbalance comes from evil.
You took the Eight Demonic Chi, weakening evil. That's why it's unbalanced.
Introduce another demon, and yin-yang will stabilize, letting us leave."
"Another demon?"
Corrupted Charlie pondered, then his eyes flashed red. A series of masks appeared in the void.
"Leave these here, and it should balance."
Charlie: "…"
"When did you collect the Ten Masks?" he asked.
Corrupted Charlie side-eyed him. "You think I'm as slow as you?"
Charlie smirked. "You're throwing shade."
"Obviously."
"Alright!"
As Charlie prepared to send the masks away, Corrupted Charlie suddenly retracted them. "No need to rush."
Charlie met his eyes, understanding.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same."
They exchanged a knowing smile, and Corrupted Charlie vanished into dark mist.
Their minds were in sync, so they chose to wait.
Downstairs, Dragon Uncle, Jade, and Old Man, hiding in a corner, had witnessed it all.
As Corrupted Charlie left, they rushed upstairs to Charlie.
"I heard your talk. You're leaving?" Dragon Uncle asked nervously.
Charlie nodded. "Of course. Spider-Man doesn't belong here."
"But I'll miss you," Jade said, tears welling.
Charlie side-eyed her. "You just want my soul magic."
To Jade, soul magic was the ultimate homework-cheating tool.
Caught, Jade lowered her head. "If you leave, there'll be no cooler Spider-Man."
Charlie laughed. "You're right, but I'm touched."
"You'll teach me soul magic?" Jade looked up excitedly.
"Nope!"
Charlie waved it off. "I'm taking you all to another world for a real adventure."
"Another world?"
Dragon Uncle and Jade exchanged glances, their smiles growing wild.
"Awesome!"
Jade cheered. "In another world, I won't have to go to school!"
Dragon Uncle was equally thrilled. "In another world, I could…"
Before he finished, Old Man leaped to the ceiling. "I could bring back antiques from that world and sell them for a fortune. We'll be rich!"
Dragon Uncle: "…"
The trio held hands, fantasizing about their perfect future. Charlie drooped an eyelid.
"Here I thought you'd miss me," he muttered, shaking his head.
He hadn't forgotten Fin Fang Foom's words.
Use power from beyond the multiverse to defeat power from beyond the multiverse.
The Dragon Team, this world's ultimate glitch, would have unexpected effects in the Marvel universe.
Yup, in a furniture store, Dragon Uncle would be unstoppable! Decision made!
Watching the trio dance in a circle, Charlie smiled.
…
Another week passed.
That night, a shadow appeared in Charlie's room.
"Charlie."
A soft female voice whispered, but got no response.
The woman in the darkness frowned, looking around.
"Spider-Man, stop playing. Drop the soul magic."
Her words brought Charlie's soul back to his body.
He opened his eyes as the room's lights flicked on.
Before him stood a woman with a striking figure.
Same hairstyle as Jade, but with sharper, refined features.
In short, she'd grown up.
"Jade, you're all grown up."
Charlie looked proud… proud, my foot! Her whole vibe had changed!
Jade rolled her eyes. "You recognized me instantly."
"Future Jade, to avoid confusion with present Jade, can I call you Big Jade?" Charlie shrugged.
He and his dark side had been waiting for this moment!
With the Eight Demonic Chi and Ten Masks taken by Corrupted Charlie, the yin-yang balance was disrupted, birthing Demon Little Dragon. Future Jade would use Old Man's magic to travel to this era.
They'd guessed right.
As for Future Jade, she cringed at "Big Jade."
"That's awful. No way."
Charlie stood, stretching. "Alright, Big Jade-ette, what's your deal?"
Future Jade got to the point. "After you left this world, the demons vanished. But years later, the imbalance birthed Demon Little Dragon, Shendu's child. He quickly used demonic power to rule the world. Dragon Uncle and Old Man were defeated. I escaped.
I found a way to time-travel in Old Man's relics. I came to this era to find the timeline where Spider-Man still exists. Only Spider-Man can defeat Demon Little Dragon and save the world again."
She looked at Charlie expectantly. "You can beat him, right?"
"Of course."
Charlie agreed without hesitation.
The plot matched his guesses, mostly.
Time paradoxes were just too brain-bending.
As darkness stirred, Corrupted Charlie appeared before Future Jade.
"You said we successfully left this world?"
He stared at her. "Tell me, how did we do it?"
Future Jade wasn't too afraid of Corrupted Charlie.
She knew he only looked evil but hadn't done anything truly bad.
She explained, "You sacrificed something to leave."
"Sacrificed?"
Charlie and his dark side exchanged looks.
"So you sacrificed yourself," Charlie said, feigning emotion.
Corrupted Charlie rolled his eyes. "Dream on! If I had to sacrifice something, I'd take you out!"
Charlie shook his head. "You wouldn't. I'll always believe in Spider-Man."
"You're Spider-Man. I'm the villain, got it?"
"Oh? Aren't you the 'my fate is mine' protagonist?"
"Uh, fair point. Then I definitely wouldn't sacrifice myself."
"Solid logic. So what was sacrificed?"
"Who cares? Point is, Future Jade's here. Seal Demon Little Dragon. His Chi's beneath me anyway."
"Cool, you handle it!"
"What about you?"
"Didn't you see Big Jade-ette's shifty eyes?"
"Oh, got it. She's hiding something."
Future Jade quickly protested, "No, everything I said is true!"
Charlie shrugged to Corrupted Charlie. "See? She's definitely hiding something."
"Not my problem. That's your mess."
Corrupted Charlie left without looking back. Soon, terrifying demonic energy erupted in the sky, accompanied by Demon Little Dragon's unwilling roars.
Then, silence.
In the room, Future Jade glanced at Charlie, her emotions complex.
She was hiding something, but it was hard to say.
One reason she came was Demon Little Dragon.
The other…
To stop present Jade from being taken by Spider-Man.
"Um, I…"
As Future Jade started, Corrupted Charlie returned.
"Done. Let's go." He waved, pulling a sleeping Dragon Uncle, Jade, and Old Man into the room.
Dragon Uncle groggily opened his eyes, spotting Future Jade.
"Uh… who're you?"
"I'm Jade, from the future."
Future Jade explained again.
Present Jade was the most excited, staring at her future self's face. "I'll be that pretty? Awesome!!"
She bounced around as Charlie and Corrupted Charlie opened a Time Portal.
"Let's go!"
Charlie urged the group.
"So soon?" Old Man glanced at the door, reluctant to leave his antiques behind.
Future Jade took a deep breath, grabbing the eager present Jade.
She told Charlie, "Jade can't go with you."
"Why not?"
Before Charlie could respond, present Jade pouted. "I'm going! I don't want homework!"
Future Jade frowned, stammering but unable to explain.
"Just… she can't."
"No, I'm going!"
"Enough already."
Corrupted Charlie, annoyed, shot webbing, tossing everyone into the Time Portal.
He turned to Charlie. "Let's go. Don't forget the Book of Ages."
"Quit rushing me!"
Charlie packed the Book of Ages and Twelve Talismans, following Corrupted Charlie into the portal.
Soon, the vortex in the night sky vanished, leaving only Demon Little Dragon, sealed in a Hell dimension, roaring in rage.
"Damn Spider-Man, let me out! I'm a good dragon! I didn't want to rule the world. I'm just a regular little demon, not evil enough!
You can't trust that woman—she's the real demon! You'll regret this!!"