New York.
Wanda and Pietro's Coffee Shop.
Yes, that's literally the name.
After the last customer left, Wanda scanned the empty shop, fuming.
"Pietro, where the hell are you? Get over here and clean!" she shouted, hands on hips.
Whoosh~
A silver blur zipped by, clearing the messy tables in an instant. Even the cups in the sink were washed and returned to their places.
In a blink, the shop was spotless.
Phew~
A breeze ruffled Wanda's hair as a faint silver mist coalesced into Pietro's form.
"Hey, dear sister, what'd you want me to do?" Pietro leaned against the wall, one hand on his hip, voice mockingly deep.
Seeing her smug brother, Wanda scoffed. "Nothing."
"But your speed's gotten faster," she noted curiously.
Pietro grinned. "Finally noticed, huh, slowpoke? I'm not just a bit faster—I'm sure I've surpassed Spider-Man. Even his teleportation magic can't keep up."
Wanda rolled her eyes. "Wanna race him?"
"Not out of the question."
"Pietro, don't stir up trouble. We haven't even made next month's rent. Just work."
"Oh, dear sister, I've been meaning to tell you—your way of earning money is so outdated."
Pietro stretched his legs, jogging in place. "You turned down S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fat paycheck. Selling coffee barely keeps us afloat. It's time for a change."
"Change?"
Wanda yanked off her apron, annoyed. "Hydra raised us as killing machines. Now that Hydra's gone, what else can we do but sell coffee?
Don't even think about going back to that disgusting life," she warned.
Pietro shrugged. "Sorry, I don't miss that life either. I like freedom now."
"We want the same thing."
"Nah, dear sister. You want financial freedom. I want wind-like freedom."
Pietro smirked, holding up the Rabbit Talisman, glowing faintly.
"This thing solves all my problems."
"What's that?" Wanda asked, puzzled.
"No idea, but it boosts my speed like crazy."
Pietro added, "Even the speed boost from the Time Tablet back then doesn't compare."
"Hm?"
Wanda frowned. "That's some serious power. Probably an artifact. We should hand it to S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
She lunged for the Rabbit Talisman.
But Pietro's speed was unmatched. In a flash, he zipped to her other side.
"Dear sister, you're not trading my stuff to S.H.I.E.L.D. for cash. No way!"
He pocketed the talisman, eyeing Wanda warily. "It's mine. You can't take it."
"Oh, my dear brother's gotten smart."
Wanda's eyes glinted scarlet as chaos magic spread, transforming the coffee shop into a fiery prison.
Boom
In the fiery cage, Wanda crossed her arms, sneering. "Dear brother, you caught me. Hand it over now, and you'll avoid a beating." She cracked her knuckles.
Trapped, Pietro didn't flinch.
He'd expected Wanda to try this, so he was ready.
"Dear sister, catch me, and it's yours… heh heh heh."
Amused by something, he chuckled.
Wanda didn't hesitate, waving to shrink the cage, determined to use her brother's treasure for her financial freedom.
Crack crack~
Boom!!
The cage's world flipped, collapsing to trap Pietro in a tiny space, limiting his movement.
Pietro gripped the Rabbit Talisman, his form blurring.
His natural speed, amplified by the talisman, pushed him past lightspeed in an instant.
Buzz~
The blurry figure vanished, and the space outside the cage warped. Pietro emerged unscathed in front of Wanda.
"What?"
Wanda gasped. "Your speed—"
Before she could finish, Pietro grabbed her. "It's not over! Let's go have some fun."
His speed exploded, pulling Wanda into warped space in a blink.
In that vibrant, mysterious space, everything shimmered.
Wanda knew what this was.
She'd once entered a portal Spider-Man opened, and it looked similar.
"Pietro, you can do spatial teleportation magic now?" she asked, stunned.
Pietro grinned. "Nope. Not magic. It's—"
His speed surged, and they plunged through a transparent membrane.
Buzz~
The strange scenery vanished, replaced by an ordinary city afternoon.
"What's this?"
Wanda glanced at the bustling street, where a tattooed teen on a motorcycle snatched a woman's purse.
Okay, not that ordinary.
Wanda frowned. "What happened?"
Pietro pointed at a nearby clock tower. "Check the time."
"Two-thirty PM."
Wanda gasped. "It was five PM earlier. Your speed let us travel through time?"
Pietro smiled mysteriously. "More than that."
He zipped away in a blur, then returned, holding a "borrowed" phone.
"Check the year."
Wanda's eyes widened at the screen.
"This is…"
"Yup. We're two years in the past."
Pietro laughed, hands on hips. "Pretty awesome brother, huh?"
Wanda ignored his bravado, pondering. "If we find our past selves now, could we stop ourselves from meeting Spider-Man?"
Pietro blinked. "Why avoid meeting him?"
"You wouldn't get it." Wanda sighed inwardly.
Pietro seemed to understand something.
He comforted her. "Wanda, don't be afraid to face it. We've come this far. No need to fear anything."
Wanda shook her head. "I just want to try."
"It won't work."
Pietro took a deep breath. "The first time I realized my speed could time-travel, I tried finding my past self. But it was a letdown. You can't meet yourself in another timeline.
If you do, history auto-corrects, and you're forced out of the time-travel state."
Wanda dropped the idea.
Pietro wasn't lying.
"Does history really auto-correct?" she mused. "We can't meet ourselves, but what about others?"
Pietro paused. "You want to…"
"I want to try." Wanda's eyes gleamed.
Pietro scratched his head. "I haven't tried that. Let's do it."
He grabbed Wanda, and they vanished in a flash.
Soon, they reached Bleecker Street.
On a low rooftop, they hid behind a water tank, sneaking peeks at a figure nearby.
An unremarkable young man looked around, ensuring no one was watching, before clumsily donning a homemade Spider-Suit.
"Haha, fits perfectly! Not too big, not too small. As expected of me, the Amazing Spider-Man's showtime!"
The teen pointed skyward, striking a dramatic pose, then leaped from the roof, aiming for a billboard and shooting a web.
Whoosh!
"Oh yeah! Flying high!!"
In midair, the young Spider-Man screeched with excitement.
Behind the water tank, Wanda gasped. "That's…"
"The future invincible Spider-Man," Pietro explained. "He just got his powers and is still getting the hang of it."
As he spoke, a loud crash came from the billboard, followed by a teen's wail.
"Damn it! I can't brake!!"
A human-shaped hole appeared in the billboard, accompanied by a frustrated roar.
Wanda, witnessing this, burst out laughing. "He was that clumsy? Guess his invincibility came from tons of effort."
Pietro nodded. "Yeah. Under the goofy suit and jerk attitude, he's got a hardworking core. I misjudged him.
He really put in the work.
Well, just the work."
By now, Spider-Man had given up practicing web-swinging and gone to Mary Jane's house to steal juice.
Wanda was speechless.
"How do we test this?" she asked Pietro.
He thought for a moment. "Since he's the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, we start by being his good neighbors. Sounds reasonable."
"Very reasonable. Let's do it."
They exchanged a glance and vanished from the rooftop.
…
Wakanda.
"Spider-Man, first time meeting."
Under the soldiers' watchful eyes, Xu Wenwu arrived uninvited, saving Charlie some trouble.
Charlie glanced at the soldiers and waved them off.
"I need to talk to him alone."
"Yes, sir."
Okoye shot Xu Wenwu a warning look before leading the soldiers away.
Xu Wenwu exhaled in relief.
A chance to talk meant hope.
His ring was gone—he'd stashed Shendu elsewhere to meet Spider-Man without him knowing.
If the deal with Spider-Man failed, he still had Shendu.
Two plans, no risks.
Charlie eyed Xu Wenwu calmly. "Maybe not our first meeting." He smirked.
Xu Wenwu frowned, confused by Spider-Man's meaning.
But it didn't matter.
He was about to continue when Aaron and the others arrived.
Seeing Aaron, Xu Wenwu's eyes softened.
Spider-Man had protected Aaron well.
He felt at ease.
"Spider-Man, I want to make a deal," he said.
Charlie grinned. "Great. What's in it for me?"
"You—" Xu Wenwu hesitated. "You're not asking what I want?"
"Got a guess."
"Impressive, invincible Spider-Man."
Xu Wenwu glanced at Aaron, took a deep breath, and said, "I want to resurrect Aaron's mother, my wife."
"What?"
Aaron froze. "My mother?"
"Aaron's mother?" Jade's eyes widened.
Old Man stumbled. "Aaron's… mother…"
"Yes, my wife." Xu Wenwu's gaze was resolute.
Charlie scanned their expressions, sensing the Book of Ages had spun a new, juicy tale for them.
Definitely soap-opera-level drama.
But he wasn't curious.
He met Xu Wenwu's tense gaze. "I can try. If her soul's still around, I've got ways… Wait, your wife's not from around here, is she?"
He suddenly realized.
But he quickly caught on.
Marvel Universe? Mephisto's the go-to for souls.
Been a while since I saw that old creep. Kinda miss him.
Charlie grinned. "No problem. What's your offer?"
Xu Wenwu, relieved, pulled out the Dog Talisman. "This is my down payment. If my wife is revived, you'll get an even bigger surprise."
"Hm, I think I know what it is."
Charlie guessed it was the owner of that demonic chi—nothing else made sense.
Not a bad deal.
He prepared to head to Mephisto's hell.
But at that critical moment, the Monkey Talisman flickered, and the simulated invincible Spider-Man couldn't open a portal.
"Hm?"
The portal collapsed. Charlie was stunned. "What happened?"
His consciousness blurred, his steps faltered, and a splitting headache hit as strange memories flooded his mind.
What the hell?!
Regaining clarity, Charlie's face was a mix of emotions.
Aaron and the others watched him nervously.
"What's wrong?" Jade asked.
Charlie shook his head. "Nothing, just…"
He hesitated, then turned to Xu Wenwu. "Hold on. Gotta hit the bathroom."
He bolted.
In a room, he found Future Jade.
"If someone's speed hits a certain limit, can they time-travel?" he asked directly.
Future Jade, reading a dark magic book, hurriedly hid it and feigned calm. "What'd you say?" She hadn't heard clearly.
"I mean, if Pietro's speed breaks a certain threshold, could he time-travel?"
Future Jade stared at him, thoughtful. "You figured something out."
"Of course."
Charlie gritted his teeth. "That guy went back to when I hadn't debuted yet. And he—he…"
"He what?"
"I can't say it."
"Go ahead. I won't laugh."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Fine. He…"
Charlie went ballistic. "He watched me pee!" he roared.
"What?"
Future Jade was shocked, then quickly composed herself.
"What's so special about that?" She glanced at Charlie's lower half, smirking dismissively.