In a snow-swept forest, Deadpool, clad in red and wielding dual katanas, trudged through the blizzard.
Stepping over frozen branches beneath the snow, Wade finally found four graves in the storm.
One tombstone bore a familiar name.
Charlie Parker, the Invincible Spider-Man! Wade stood silently, gazing at the icy monument, his white pupils flickering with unfamiliar emotions.
After a long pause, he leaned against the tombstone and spoke to himself.
"Gotta say, you're a true hero."
He turned to the other three tombstones, offering a sincere apology. "I mean, you guys are heroes too, but my idol's the Invincible Spider-Man. You don't have that prefix, so in my heart, he's the hero. But you're heroes too, 'cause your sacrifice gave my idol the guts to do what he couldn't. You get me."
After his rambling, Wade sank back into melancholy.
Resting his head against the tombstone, he sighed. "I missed a lot, including your death. Thanks for saving everyone. I miss fighting side by side with you—those were my happiest days. Well, okay, my happiest days weren't that, but you get the idea, Spidey."
His emotions surged.
He spun to glare at the name on the tombstone, slamming his fist into its sharp edge.
"Why? Why'd you do it? I wanted you alive, Spider-Man! How could you die before me?!"
"Damn it! Damn it!!"
Wade clutched his head, roaring, collapsing to his knees before the grave, sobbing.
"That's the one I love and miss every day, destined to wander the earth~~"
On the TV screen, Wade's over-the-top performance and bizarre lines made Charlie's face darken.
"What the hell is this jerk doing?!"
Charlie cursed at the screen. "Is this the cost of using the Book of Ages? I only added a period, and this is how they treat me? I'll never live this down!!"
He clutched his head in frustration, but a voice in his mind stopped him from storming off to the film studio to take out Deadpool.
"Stop yelling. We need to figure out what timeline we're in," Corrupted Charlie's voice echoed. Charlie took a deep breath to calm down.
Since waking, his dark side had manifested within him.
He wasn't sure if this counted as a fusion.
The guy had his own thoughts, which was… interesting.
He glanced at the clock, doing some mental math.
"This should be after Kang's Dynasty fell. To escape the mature Celestial's pursuit, we fled to the Quantum Realm. Returning to the main world would've been ten years later.
But now, I didn't end up in the Quantum Realm. I'm back in the apartment, filling the decade Spider-Man was gone."
Corrupted Charlie mused, "Looks like those three had a plan. In this timeframe, we've got enough time to figure out how to fight the Beyonders… Wait, they didn't even know we had the Book of Ages to rewrite history. How could they plan this in such a short time?" he exclaimed.
Charlie frowned. "I saw what they wrote: the Invincible Spider-Man returns to the past to reforge the future. Something like that. They didn't specify which past we'd land in. The Book of Ages must've auto-matched this timeline."
Corrupted Charlie nodded. "So this is the only timeline where we can change the future. That's probably the Book of Ages' limit. It's from outside the Marvel Universe, so it can't just make the Beyonders vanish.
Without the Web of Life and Destiny's power, the Book's potential might be even weaker."
"It's already plenty strong," Charlie said. "Rewriting the history of all Multiverses? That's near-Creator-God-level power."
As he spoke, he focused inward. The Spider Totem on his chest didn't respond.
He clenched his fist, realizing his power was far weaker than before.
The third-stage Totem power was gone, along with his Spider Magic.
He was back to being a regular Spider-Man.
"Buddy, our power's been nerfed," Charlie sighed.
"What?"
Corrupted Charlie cursed. "Nerfed again? We were already stretched thin, and now this? Are they forcing us to go full villain?"
"You're already a villain," Charlie said, deadpan.
Corrupted Charlie snorted. "No way. My fate's mine, not the heavens'. We decide our power level!"
"Don't panic. It's not a big deal. We'll recover soon."
"I'm going to grind monsters and level up now!"
"Get lost!"
Charlie rolled his eyes. "In this timeline, my power should be more than this. Guess this is another cost of using the Book of Ages."
"It's not just that," Corrupted Charlie said, worried. "We've got no clue how to fight the Beyonders, and our power's nerfed. When Pym kicks off the Axis of Good and Evil event, we'll be defenseless.
If we can't even beat that old man, how do we take on the Beyonders? Why don't you let me out of your body? I could help."
"Out?"
Charlie raised a brow, pulling out two talismans from his pocket: the Rat Talisman and the Tiger Talisman.
After reversing the future, the Twelve Talismans stayed with him.
But he'd lost his teleportation magic, and the Eight Immortals' Artifacts in the void were inaccessible.
So, Uncle Dragon and the others were probably still here.
He glanced at Wade on the TV.
"This guy turned it into a movie, so he must know what happened to the three Peters."
He stood. "Maybe we can ask him."
The three Peters' cost was likely far greater than his own.
But Corrupted Charlie kept rambling. "Hey, you listening? Use the Tiger Talisman to let me out. We'll dual-wield and be unstoppable!"
"Get lost!"
Charlie pocketed the talismans. "One Spider-Man's enough."
"Jerk, you'll regret this!!"
"Tch, even if I gave you the Tiger Talisman, would you know how to use it?"
"I… I don't."
"Neither do I."
Charlie tapped the spider emblem on his chest, nanometal swiftly covering his body.
He leaped from the window, wind roaring past his ears. The familiar feeling was back.
"Jerk, shoot the webbing! We're gonna fall!!" Corrupted Charlie shouted. Charlie realized he couldn't teleport anymore.
Swish!
Webbing shot into the air, forming a parabola. Charlie froze.
"Wait, no one's holding the other end!!"
"Idiot, watch the road!!"
BANG!!
A loud crash, and the Invincible Spider-Man smashed into a billboard, leaving a dramatic human-shaped hole that awed passersby.
"My God, someone jumped! Call the police!"
"No, it's Spider-Man! Is he doing performance art?"
"Oh, wow! Spider-Man! Awesome!!"
"Go for it!!"
Amid the crowd's cheers, Charlie's head poked out of the hole, dizzy and weakened.
"Ugh, we're not the Invincible Spider-Man anymore," he sighed.
Corrupted Charlie mocked, "Then take the bus like a normal person!"
"No money."
Charlie climbed the warped billboard. "Gotta leave fast, or I'll have to pay for this."
"Then run!"
"Got it."
Charlie shot webbing, ensuring it stuck to a nearby wall, and swung away.
Whoosh whoosh~
The red-and-blue figure wove between skyscrapers, his web-swinging growing smoother.
"Oh, yeah~~ Spider-Man's back!"
Charlie shouted. Corrupted Charlie was too tired to snark.
"Notice anything?"
As Charlie landed on a rooftop, he overlooked the familiar city. "The cyber elements from the Time Tablet's influence are gone. This is the New York we first knew."
Corrupted Charlie said coldly, "Boring. I don't care. Reminder: after reversing the future, the Inheritors will target us again. We need to find the Twelve Talismans fast to beat them and regain third-stage Totem power."
"Grind monsters to level up. Got it."
Charlie shot webbing and swung downward.
"But we can't rush this."
"What do you mean?"
"After all this fighting, don't we deserve a break?"
"You've got a point. There's a café up ahead. Let's hit it."
"Nah, we're broke. Let's find Carter—she's got free juice."
"I'm not drinking juice. Real men embrace hardship!"
"Not listening to you."
"Jerk, you—watch the road!!"
BANG!!
The Invincible Spider-Man crashed through another billboard, then leaped onto a building's wall, vanishing from sight.
In a studio nearby, Wade looked up at the fleeting figure outside the window, thrilled.
"My God, my idol's back!!"
He ripped off his red suit. A staff member called out, "Mr. Wade, the next shoot—"
"Talk when I'm back."
Wade waved without looking, stepping into the elevator.
…
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
In the office, Agent Hill was reporting to Carter.
"Commander, the Ten Rings were flattened by Kang's Dynasty. Shang-Chi and his assassins vanished."
Carter nodded. "No problem. I hear Spider-Man's back. He'll show up soon. Leave those guys to him."
As she spoke, a tapping came from the window.
Tap tap~
The bug who never used the front door knocked. "I'm taking a vacation. No work."
Seeing Spider-Man, Agent Hill adjusted her clothes and makeup.
Carter shook her head. "Use the front door."
"Got it."
Charlie flipped out of sight, reappearing at the door the next second.
"Hey, long time no see! How's it going?"
Charlie spread his arms for a hug with his old friend.
But at the critical moment, his hand slipped downward, smacking Carter's backside.
Slap!
The sound was crisp. Hill and Carter's smiles froze.
So did Charlie.
"Uh… if I said it wasn't on purpose, would you believe me?"
He stepped back, grabbing his right wrist with his left hand, forcing an awkward grin.
"What the hell?" he roared inwardly. "Jerk, was that you?"
Corrupted Charlie chuckled. "Guess."
"Damn it! You can control my body and didn't tell me?" Charlie cursed, face darkening.
"I can only slightly influence your actions sometimes. I can't control you, or I'd have used the Tiger Talisman to ditch you, you little trash."
"Don't make me do that again! My body and heart belong to Gwen!!"
"Heh, we're travelers. Destined to build a harem. Why settle for one tree when you can have the forest?
Yo, yo, look! Commander Carter's giving you the eyes. I'm helping you out here—just hand me the talking rights."
"No way!"
Charlie, resolute, turned to Carter with a pained expression. "Free tonight?"
Charlie: "…"
I really can't control myself! Carter: "!!!!"
She glanced at the stunned Hill, then straightened up.
"Of course. Whatever we do, I'm buying." She flashed a charming smile.
The kid's finally grown up.
Charlie's smile was strained, but his tone dripped with excitement.
"Dear Commander, I'll wait for you tonight. Oh, and I like purple."
He clamped his mouth shut and bolted from Carter's office.
"Jerk!"
In the hallway, Charlie wailed skyward. "What a mess! We didn't even get to the point!!"
"The point?" Corrupted Charlie said nonchalantly. "You said there's no rush, so I figured you should enjoy yourself."
"No!!"
Charlie clutched his head, only to be tackled by Wade rushing toward him.
"Idol, you're back!"
Charlie: "…"
Three minutes later, in the café downstairs.
Charlie, in casual clothes, sat across from Wade.
"Where are they?" he asked.
Wade knew what he meant.
He shrugged. "Gone. I saw it myself. Maybe you'll see them again."
"How do you still have your memories?" Charlie pressed.
Wade shrugged again. "I'm the audience, so I can—"
"Stop breaking the fourth wall!" Charlie snapped.
Wade thought for a moment. "Fine. You need me now, don't you?"
Charlie exhaled. "Yeah. I'm looking for the Twelve Talismans. You know what they are."
Wade nodded. "I don't."
Charlie's face darkened. "Don't play dumb with me."
"Alright, tell me what they are, and I'll help you find them."
Three minutes later, Wade left.
He was off to help his idol find the Twelve Talismans.
But first, he needed to interview his new assistant.
As a movie star, his assistant had to be a smoking-hot model! Heh heh heh.
As for Charlie, he planned to find Uncle Dragon and the others first.
He stood to leave. Corrupted Charlie asked curiously, "Where you going?"
"To find Uncle Dragon."
"You know where they are?"
"Nope. Gonna try the furniture store."
"Stop with the jokes!!"
"Shh, quiet. We didn't pay the bill."
"Alright, sneaky mode."