ROAR!!
As ferocious parademons swarmed Paradise Island, the night-shrouded city soon blazed with fire.
Flames roared skyward, painting the heavens with fiery clouds.
Diana grew restless.
"No way I'm waiting for you guys. I have to fight—can't let these monsters destroy the Amazons."
Before anyone could react, she flung her Lasso of Truth, hooking the fiery clouds, and swung toward the Amazon stronghold.
"Whoa, is she a Spider-Man too?" Barry Allen's eyes widened oddly.
Charlie shot him a look. "Let's move!
Allen, you're on recon—track Steppenwolf.
Clark, Bruce, you handle the parademons."
They nodded. Bruce, curious, asked Charlie, "And you?"
"Me?"
Charlie pulled a stool from the void. "I'm observing the battlefield, ready to back you up."
He started cracking melon seeds.
Bruce: "..."
He was used to calling the shots as team leader.
But now, he couldn't argue.
Spider-Man's power was undeniable, and even Clark didn't object.
Bruce tapped his wrist device, a satellite-launched craft swooping down, carrying him toward the parademon horde.
Meanwhile, Clark rocketed upward, his eyes blazing red heat vision across Paradise Island.
Zzzzt~~
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Where his beams swept, parademons wailed, their severed limbs littering the ground, leaving charred scars on the earth.
Amid the chaos, a lightning streak—Barry—zipped through, knocking parademons aside, searching for Steppenwolf hidden in the swarm.
Charlie watched calmly, munching seeds.
He sipped fresh juice from a spatial pocket.
Space magic was too handy.
On the Amazon front, war cries shook the sky. Led by Diana, the Amazons' morale soared, faintly overpowering the parademons.
Even without Clark's crew, as long as Steppenwolf didn't show, the parademons couldn't take the island.
With Clark's aid, the parademon army crumbled fast.
Whoosh~~
High above, Clark exhaled frost breath, freezing swathes of parademons into ice statues, shattered by Bruce's bombs.
Soon, the scattered parademons fled, and the battle settled.
The team repelled the horde, but Charlie frowned.
Parademons, bio-weapons of Apokolips, knew only slaughter and battle—no fear.
Even in defeat, they wouldn't flee.
Where was Steppenwolf? He pondered as the victorious Amazons chased the parademons to a halt.
Diana raised her divine sword, stopping the army.
"Careful, it could be an ambush. Rest for an hour."
Her leadership pleased the Amazon Queen.
The Queen glanced at the hilltop figure, growing fonder.
The invincible Spider-Man saved the Amazons again.
She didn't mind Diana getting close to him. It was a win.
BOOM~~
Clark and the others rejoined Charlie.
Zzzzt~
Barry appeared, panting, and looked at Charlie.
"Sorry, I didn't find him."
Charlie waved it off. "Figured."
"You did?" Barry gaped, then admired.
Worthy of Spider-Man, guessing even that.
Bruce shot Barry an idiot's glance.
This guy's brainless.
Believing such nonsense.
Guessed it but sent you anyway? What's that about?
Bruce stepped to Charlie. "Steppenwolf didn't show. He might've known we'd come. If I'm right, you didn't return alone, did you?"
His face was grave. From Spider-Man's past appearances, he'd pieced together a pattern.
Spider-Man never came solo—enemies lurked.
Clark was surprised. Without Bruce, he'd forgotten.
The Resurrection Match had other players.
Charlie saw no need to hide.
He nodded. "Right, a bunch of nobodies. They might've contacted Steppenwolf, or…"
He squinted at the night sky.
Maybe not Steppenwolf, but Apokolips's top boss—Darkseid!
Things got interesting.
Charlie smirked.
He didn't know if the others' missions matched his.
If they did, they weren't safer than him.
If not, their goal was likely to kill Spider-Man.
That made the match easier.
Old foes couldn't touch him.
He chuckled. "No worries, they'll show eventually."
"Their target's the Mother Boxes," Diana said, approaching, her face serious. "Zeus and the gods repelled Apokolips, splitting their ultimate tech—the Mother Boxes—into three.
One's with Atlantis, one with the Amazons, and one with ancient humans, now lost. Atlantis and ours remain, but the human one's gone.
Get it?" She eyed Charlie.
He shrugged. "You're warning me Atlantis is in danger."
"Then hurry up!"
"I'm already fast."
Charlie snapped his fingers.
BOOM!!
A massive explosion rocked the distant sea, a ten-thousand-meter tsunami rising, swallowing countless parademon corpses.
Amid the waves, a whale roared. Arthur, wielding a trident, stood atop it, leading Atlantis's army through the surf.
"It's Aquaman's son, Arthur," Bruce mused. He'd planned to recruit him.
Clark corrected, "Heard he's inherited Atlantis. The last Aquaman, Atlanna, stepped down."
"Huh?" Charlie blinked. "That quick?"
Clark shrugged. "Just heard."
"You've got connections."
"Met Arthur while catching a plane."
As Clark spoke, Arthur leaped, golden lightning crackling, landing on Paradise Island.
"Father!!"
His shout echoed, heard by all Amazons.
"What?"
The Amazon Queen frowned. "Atlanna's husband is here?"
Amid puzzled looks, Arthur climbed the hill, hugging Charlie.
"Hahaha, Father, we meet again! I'm Aquaman now. Check my upgraded scale armor, haha…"
Arthur showed off his gear. Charlie eyed the towering man, exasperated.
This guy grew again.
The Amazon Queen, seeing this, gritted her teeth.
Damn Atlanna, shameless! A thousand years old, still chasing young guys.
Outrageous!
She ached for her daughter.
Diana was unfazed.
She knew the "father" thing was a fluke.
She asked Arthur, "The parademons?"
Arthur grinned. "Father handled them."
Diana, confused, looked at Charlie. "When?"
Charlie snapped, a night-sky streak merging into him as his invincible Spider-Man clone returned.
"That's magic."
He faced the group, twelve lights blooming from his hand.
Buzz~
The Twelve Talismans circled above.
He sent eleven to Diana.
"Take these. They'll boost your power, protect the Mother Box here."
Diana took them curiously. "How do I use them?"
"Come to my room tonight. I'll teach you."
"Deal."
Diana stored them. Charlie turned to Clark. "You guard Atlantis's Mother Box. Won't take long. I'll look after your girlfriend."
Clark: "?????"
"You know I'm dating?"
"Of course."
"Thanks, then."
"My pleasure."
Bruce straightened. "Then I'll—"
"You know where the human Mother Box is?" Charlie cut in.
Bruce thought. "I can find it."
"Good luck."
Charlie admired Bruce's confidence.
Barry looked eagerly at Charlie. "Me?"
Charlie patted his shoulder. "Keep tracking Steppenwolf. I believe in you."
"I've got no leads," Barry said, dejected.
Charlie shook his head. "With your smarts, you'll find him."
Spider-Man's encouragement fired Barry up.
"I'll do it!" he said, determined.
"Keep it up."
"Got it."
Tasks assigned, they split up.
Charlie stayed with the Amazons.
An island full of women!!
Awesome~~ Days later, the Amazons rebuilt the city.
At night, in a room.
Charlie patiently taught Diana to wield the Talismans' power.
Exhausting work.
Sadly, by morning, Diana wouldn't call him "teacher."
Done, Charlie returned to New York alone.
Atop the Empire State Building.
Under the spire, a green cloak swayed.
Doctor Doom overlooked the neon city, glancing back calmly. "You're here."
Charlie leaned on the spire, arms crossed. "Drop the brooding act. What'd you find?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"You should."
"Reason."
"Without me, you won't survive a month."
Doom's eyes flickered. "Our missions are the same?" His voice lowered.
Charlie smirked. The probe worked.
If their missions aligned, things got easier.
"Sorry about last time. Your face okay?" he asked, concerned.
Doom turned away. "A scratch like that's nothing."
"I know, you're great at makeovers."
"I am not."
Doom changed the subject. "I used dark magic to infiltrate Apokolips."
"You took out Darkseid?" Charlie's eyes lit up.
Doom shook his head. "No, he's got a strange power. I barely escaped."
"Escaped?" Charlie frowned. Darkseid's Anti-Life Equation was trouble.
Doom glanced at him. "He's strong, but we control the Mother Boxes. Steppenwolf can't take them in a month, and Darkseid won't come to Earth. You get me?"
"Yeah."
Charlie took a deep breath. "The crisis isn't from Apokolips. What is it?" He sank into thought.
An hour later, they parted without answers.
Charlie decided to talk to Cyborg.
The last Mother Box was in him. Gotta watch it.
But arriving at Cyborg's place, he lost the Box's energy signature.
"Hm?"
Frowning, he pushed the door open to an empty room.
Cyborg was gone? Or… BOOM!!
The floor collapsed, a steel figure crashing down, a silver axe aimed at Charlie's head.
CLANG!
Metal clashed as Charlie tilted his head, the blade hitting his shoulder, sparks flying. He saw his attacker clearly.
Writhing steel tendrils, horned head—Steppenwolf grinned cruelly.
"Spider-Man, got you!"
Charlie: "?????"
He shrugged, the axe rebounding with force, smashing Steppenwolf through the wall.
BOOM!!
Debris flew as Charlie stepped through the hole, planting a foot on Steppenwolf's chest.
Crack~~
With pressure, Steppenwolf grimaced in pain.
"Impossible, your power…"
Charlie dusted his shoulder. "Sorry, you're too weak. I didn't even try."
His foot pressed harder, caving Steppenwolf's chest.
"Argh!! Stop!!" Steppenwolf screamed.
Charlie ignored him. "Where's the Mother Box?"
"It's with my master."
Charlie shook his head. "Don't buy it."
He didn't know why Cyborg vanished, but if Darkseid got the Box that easily, Atlantis and Paradise Island would've fallen.
Charlie crouched, slapping a hand down, yanking Steppenwolf's soul out.
With the soul, he stepped through a portal, leaving the soulless steel husk buried in rubble.
Soon, a figure emerged from the dark, taking Steppenwolf's body into the night.