The next day, Charlie got a call from Aunt May.
"Oh, dear little Charlie, it's been ages since you've joined us for dinner."
Her gentle voice conjured an image of Aunt May's warm smile on the other end.
Well… before she got younger, she was definitely warm.
Now? He was used to it.
He chuckled. "Alright, I'll come home tonight."
"Wonderful, dear Charlie. Peter's bringing a friend too. You're all young folks—get to know each other," Aunt May said.
"A friend?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Girlfriend?"
"Of course not. A guy."
"Whoa, that's even spicier."
"Naughty boy, don't talk about your brother like that."
"Got it! I've got stuff to do, gotta go. Bye~"
"Bye~"
Hanging up, Charlie turned to Fin Fang Foom, who was training.
"I've got plans tonight. You guys handle things."
"Got it!"
Fin Fang Foom agreed eagerly, already plotting to sneak out and splurge.
He'd already taken an advance on his salary.
Charlie, oblivious to Fin Fang Foom's plans, left the training area. Passing Reed's lab, he spotted a white-haired old man through the glass.
The ever-elegant Dr. Pym.
Charlie grinned, knocking on the glass door.
"Hey, not interrupting, am I?"
Barging in, he looked at Reed. "Heard your research is close to a breakthrough."
Reed was in high spirits. He gestured to Dr. Pym. "Thanks to Dr. Pym securing funding, I can move to the next phase so quickly."
Dr. Pym nodded with a smile. "You must be the world's idol, Spider-Man. A pleasure to meet you."
World's idol?
Charlie grinned wide. "You've got great taste. I've heard of your groundbreaking experiments, Dr. Pym. You must be curious about the Pym Particles I've got."
Dr. Pym shook his head. "No, I don't mean that. Pym Particles weren't my solo work, so I don't care where the great Spider-Man got his."
"That's generous of you."
Charlie turned to Reed. "I still don't know what your experiment's about."
Reed explained, "It's about Banner's second persona—Hulk. I want to merge them, so Banner can have both intellect and strength. Cool idea, right?" He looked at Charlie expectantly.
Charlie nodded. "Pretty cool."
He was about to continue when he caught a gaze from outside the lab.
Glancing over, he saw an unremarkable middle-aged man.
Those eyes told Charlie exactly who it was.
Taskmaster, lurking in S.H.I.E.L.D.
The man gave a polite smile and walked away.
Charlie, thoughtful, said to Reed, "Keep at it. I've got stuff to do."
"Alright, bye~"
Leaving the lab, Charlie trailed Anthony.
Soon, they reached the S.H.I.E.L.D. building's rooftop.
"Knew it'd be the rooftop," Charlie muttered, standing beside Anthony.
Anthony glanced at him. "What'd you say?"
"Nothing."
Charlie gazed at the city, wind tousling his hair.
"I know about Dr. Pym's plot too. So, when do we make our move?" he asked.
Anthony shrugged. "First, we gather all the evidence, expose his scheme publicly, then beat him in front of everyone."
"You sure beating him counts as winning?" Charlie gave him an odd look. "If that's the case, I'll let you go first."
Dr. Pym was a budget Doctor Doom. Without third-stage totem power, even Charlie might not beat him again.
Let alone Taskmaster, who only mimics.
Unless he got more Talismans.
Anthony didn't catch Charlie's meaning, assuming Spider-Man was just looking down on him.
Which, to be fair, he was.
"You're looking down on me."
"You noticed."
"Jerk, you'll regret this."
"I'll wait."
"See ya."
"You're pretty polite."
Under Charlie's gaze, Anthony reverted to his lab assistant persona, flashing a goofy smile at every colleague.
Charlie couldn't fathom why this guy stuck around S.H.I.E.L.D.
Maybe it's a villain's code or something.
He glanced at the clear sky.
Nice weather. Nap time!
…
Time passed.
After work, Anthony left S.H.I.E.L.D. for his apartment.
Opening the door, he spotted an uninvited guest. His warrior instincts kicked in, assuming a defensive stance.
"Who are you?" he asked, stepping inside.
In the living room, a man in a black robe calmly sipped tea he'd brought, not turning around. "Hand over the Talisman."
"What?"
Anthony frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I won't repeat myself." Xu Wenwu set his teacup down, a glint of killing intent in his eyes. "Give me the Talisman, then I'm going for Fin Fang Foom."
Before he finished, Anthony raised his hand, unleashing a Dragon Talisman blast.
"Die!"
Boom!!
The glass windows shattered, a streak of crimson darting out.
On the couch, Xu Wenwu stayed seated, casually brushing glass shards off his shoulder.
"Too slow."
His eyes turned cold. With a flick of his arm, the Ten Rings morphed into purple chains, blasting forward.
"What?"
Boom!!
In an instant, Anthony was blasted into the bedroom.
"I told you, don't waste my time."
Xu Wenwu stepped through the hole in the wall, eyeing the green figure buried in debris, his calm gaze tinged with gravity.
"Interesting."
Boom!!
Debris exploded, and a feral beast lunged out, its chilling roar shattering every window. The green giant's face bore a savage grin.
"Die!!"
Boom!!
Anthony, now Hulk, charged fiercely. Xu Wenwu quickly summoned the Ten Rings as a shield.
Boom!
The giant's force made the purple rings tremble, the floor beneath Xu Wenwu shattering.
"Hahaha, not bad!"
Anthony's fists pounded relentlessly, the sheer power driving Xu Wenwu through the floor.
Bang!
With a crash, Xu Wenwu sank into the level below. Before he could retaliate, Hulk dove down, smashing through more floors with him.
Bang bang bang!
The apartment shook, their battle rippling through the building. Alarms blared, residents screamed and fled.
At a nearby pizza shop.
"Jade, one slice of durian pizza left. Rock, paper, scissors?"
Fin Fang Foom's childish antics earned an eye-roll from Jade.
"I'm not playing kid games." She grabbed the last slice, popping it in her mouth with a blissful smile.
"Mmm, so good."
"Jade, that's unfair! I bought that with my salary!"
Fin Fang Foom glared, accusing her.
But the commotion outside cut his pizza theft short.
Pedestrians fled the streets. Fin Fang Foom rushed outside, just in time to see an explosion across the street.
Boom!
The high-rise apartment shook with blasts. Purple Ten Rings shot out and rebounded, Hulk's roars echoing. Fin Fang Foom rolled up his sleeves.
"Perfect. Time for a superhero to step in!"
He grabbed a random passerby. "Watch Jade." Then he sprinted through the crowd toward the apartment.
Passerby: "???"
"Who's Jade?"
…
Meanwhile, as the purple light of the Ten Rings faded, Xu Wenwu was blasted out of the apartment.
Boom!
In midair, surrounded by wall debris, Xu Wenwu flung the Ten Rings. The purple chains steadied his landing.
Before he could catch his breath, Hulk leaped from the building, roaring as he dove.
"Troublesome."
Xu Wenwu's face darkened. His arms shook, the Ten Rings blasting the ground, the recoil launching him upward.
"You can't escape!"
Anthony landed with a crash, grinning. His legs bent, unleashing explosive force.
Boom!
The green beast leaped hundreds of meters, quickly catching Xu Wenwu.
As for Fin Fang Foom…
Watching them speed away, he sighed, just arriving at the scene.
"They can fly. No way I can keep up…"
Before he could finish complaining, a strange black aura erupted from Xu Wenwu. Seizing Anthony's midair vulnerability, he spun with a dragon-tail kick, dark demonic energy surging.
Roar!!
Amid dragon roars and tiger howls, the dense demonic energy formed a wicked dragon, swallowing the unprepared Anthony.
Boom!!
The demonic dragon exploded, and Anthony's body hurtled backward, crashing past Fin Fang Foom into a building behind him.
"What just happened?" Fin Fang Foom blinked.
Boom!
As he stood stunned, demonic energy surged. Xu Wenwu landed firmly, shrouded in it.
He spotted Fin Fang Foom.
"Fin Fang Foom, how've you been?" Xu Wenwu tried to muster a kind smile.
But Fin Fang Foom was clueless. "Who are you?"
"I'm your father."
"What?"
Fin Fang Foom froze, then pointed angrily at his nose, yelling.
"I'm your dad!"
Xu Wenwu: "…"
"Fin Fang Foom…"
Before he could explain, Fin Fang Foom charged.
"Call me dad!"
"Here I come!"
With a weird shout, his fist was easily caught by Xu Wenwu.
Fin Fang Foom froze.
Xu Wenwu smiled faintly. "After I deal with that guy, I'll explain."
"Uh, okay, sure."
Outmatched, Fin Fang Foom nodded meekly.
As Xu Wenwu passed, he bolted toward the pizza shop, panic-stricken.
"Fin Fang Foom, what's wrong?"
Jade barely spoke before he scooped her up and fled.
"Run!!"
Boom!
A sudden crash. Xu Wenwu, hurled violently, landed as a dark shadow in front of Fin Fang Foom.
"Wah!! He's so fast!!!"
Fin Fang Foom screamed, switching directions. The battered Xu Wenwu, too focused to notice him, propped himself up, staring at the hole in the wall.
"He mimicked someone else?" he muttered, face grim.
At his fingertip, the dragon ring spoke. "It's the Monkey Talisman's power. He can mimic too many animals. Remember, gods are animals too."
Xu Wenwu took a deep breath, palms spreading slowly. A black-and-white Tai Chi bloomed beneath him, then turned pitch-black with demonic energy.
Across from him, Anthony shed Hulk's form, now a red-and-blue Spider-Man.
"Fun black magic, kid. Ready to die?"
"Kid?"
Xu Wenwu snorted. "You're the kid here. I've eaten more salt than you've had meals."
With that, his palms unleashed a black wind, charging Anthony.
Buzz~
Boom~~
The black demonic energy surged overwhelmingly. Anthony didn't flinch.
Zzt zzt~
His eyes shot crimson beams, piercing the dense demonic energy. The searing heat made Xu Wenwu's face pale.
Buzz!
The Ten Rings flipped into a shield, but Xu Wenwu was blasted back a hundred meters, snapping a streetlamp and "stopping" Fin Fang Foom and Jade.
Fin Fang Foom: "…"
"Cursed luck! This guy's like a ghost!"
He scooped up Jade and ran another way.
In the street's crater, purple energy surged. Xu Wenwu rose into the air, palms flipping, demonic energy and Ten Rings fusing into a dark purple demonic dragon.
"Shendu, help me!"
Xu Wenwu roared. The demonic dragon ring unleashed even more terrifying energy.
Roar!!
The dragon's cry shook the skies, clouds shifting.
The fearsome dark purple demonic dragon loomed over the city, its power unsettling even Anthony.
Spider-Man's powers should win, right?
Yeah, probably.
With a fleeting thought, he took a deep breath and leaped at the demonic dragon.
"Good Neighbor Nuclear Kick!!"
Dazzling magic shot skyward, the demonic dragon roaring ferociously.
Their clash unleashed a massive shockwave, warping space and sweeping the streets.
At S.H.I.E.L.D., Charlie, woken by the noise, saw this through the window, instantly thinking of Anthony's Monkey Talisman.
"The fake's not nerfed, huh? Playing dirty?"
Charlie quipped, then stood excitedly.
"Fine, I'll play dirty too."
A knockoff Spider-Man mimicked by the Monkey Talisman was stronger than the real deal.
So what if the real Spider-Man used the Monkey Talisman to mimic his past self?
Yeah, that's got potential!
He pulled out his Ultra Rod.
"Light!!"
"Wait."
As he was about to transform, Corrupted Charlie seized control of his hand.
"Let me transform this time!"
"No, you can't handle it. Let me."
"Let me! I want to become the dark version of Ultraman!"
"Hm? Sounds kinda cool."
"Right? Let me do it."
"Alright, you're up."
As Corrupted Charlie took over, dark energy enveloped the Ultra Rod, its golden U-shape turning pure black.
"Perfect."
Outside the window, Corrupted Charlie gripped the Dark Ultra Rod, crossing his arms in a cross shape, then circling his right arm before raising it high.
"Pose complete. Transform!"
"Wait, you didn't twist your waist," Charlie reminded.
Corrupted Charlie paused. "Fine, redo."
"Hurry up. Eyes firm."
"No problem. Ancient Dark Giant, arise!!"