With Steppenwolf's soul in tow, Charlie found Doctor Doom again.
"Use your dark magic to make him talk," he said bluntly.
Doctor Doom: "..."
"What do you take my magic for?" he asked, face darkening.
Charlie shrugged. "Dark magic's all evil, right?"
Doom rubbed his brow. "It's called hypnosis. White magic can do it too."
"But I haven't learned that."
"Fine, Spider-Man, you should know regular hypnosis won't work on someone this strong."
"That's why I came to you."
Doctor Doom: "..."
He glanced at Steppenwolf's struggling soul, shaking his head. "I'll try."
"Hurry up."
At Charlie's urging, Doom formed seals, a dark magic array blooming.
Buzz~
Demonic claws from the darkness gripped Steppenwolf's soul, eerie magic calming his struggles, his eyes turning vacant.
Doom exhaled. "He's a power-based warrior, weak mentally. This should work."
His eyes glowed faintly, then he paused.
"What do you want to know?" he asked Charlie.
"The third Mother Box is gone."
"Hm?"
Doom frowned. "Vanished under your nose?"
"Pretty much."
"That's trouble."
Stealing a Mother Box unnoticed from the invincible Spider-Man meant a formidable foe.
Doom prepared to question Steppenwolf.
But as he opened his mouth, Steppenwolf thrashed.
"Argh!!"
With a roar, his soul unleashed a terrifying, eerie power, sweeping over them. A voice from Apokolips echoed in their minds.
"Found you, invaders from another world!!"
A figure appeared, skin like rough stone, exuding suffocating pressure.
Darkseid!
He turned, golden eyes blazing.
"Invaders, become my minions!!"
Darkseid's shout sent strange power through Steppenwolf's soul into their minds.
Charlie and Doom trembled, eyes shut, struggling instinctively, but the Anti-Life Equation locked them down.
"Crap, this got out of hand," Charlie thought, panicking.
Before he could act, the power abruptly stopped.
BOOM!!
A blast, and they opened their eyes. Steppenwolf's soul had shattered, and a "Spider-Man" with a divine sword leaped from a portal, landing before them.
"You guys okay?"
The figure glowed white, reverting to Diana.
Doom, panting, was baffled by the sight.
"You…"
"I just came to ask what you want for dinner," Diana shrugged.
Doom shook his head. "I mean—never mind, perfect timing." He pieced it together.
Spider-Man's Twelve Talismans included the Monkey Talisman, mimicking any being.
Diana had mimicked Spider-Man, using his portal magic.
By chance, she caught this moment and took out Steppenwolf.
Talk about luck.
But Darkseid's strange power chilled Doom.
"If he'd used that from the start, I'd never have escaped Apokolips," he said, relieved.
Charlie rolled his eyes. "Bosses don't go all-out at first. You know that better than me."
Doom bristled. "You calling me a boss?"
"Last time, yeah."
"When was that?"
"Last time."
"Jerk, since meeting you, I've wanted to kill you."
"Oh? Think I don't?"
"Come on!"
"Bring it!"
"Hit me!"
"You first."
"You—"
"Stop fighting!" Diana stepped between them. "Calm down. What happened?"
Charlie patted his chest, calming. "Sorry, Darkseid's power must still linger, making me impulsive."
Doom adjusted his mask. "Yeah, that's it."
Diana nodded slightly.
Good, both wanted to save face.
Reasonable excuse.
Charlie recounted the events, and Diana decided to return to Cyborg's room for clues.
But arriving, they found Steppenwolf's body gone.
"Someone dragged it," Diana said, crouching, spotting drag marks.
Charlie leaned down, studying the ground.
"Yeah, dragged," he said, eyes narrowing.
Doom, behind him, yanked Charlie back, sneering at Diana. "Your skirt's too short. It distracts enemies—and teammates."
Diana: "?????"
"It's Amazonian tradition, not my design," she explained.
Charlie broke free, serious. "Clearly Zeus's work, that old perv."
Doom's forehead twitched. "Talking about others?"
He scoffed, then said, "Enough about skirts. Any clues beyond the obvious?"
Diana mused, "No residual divine energy. Not another god."
Charlie nodded. "No other leads."
He drew a circle, pulling Barry Allen through a portal.
"Mr. Spider-Man, you need me?"
"Yeah."
Charlie said, "Use your speed to go back and see what happened here."
Barry blinked. "I can use that power?"
"Yep, get ready."
"I'm ready."
Barry crouched in a sprinter's stance.
Zzzzt~
Lightning flashed, and he vanished.
Whoosh~
A gust passed them. Charlie waited.
"You should've had him warn you earlier," Doom said. "That guy's not bright. He'll mess it up."
Charlie thought. "Probably already did."
He looked around. "Nothing's changed. He didn't alter anything."
Diana frowned. "So, the trail's gone, and we lost a teammate?"
Charlie waved it off. "No worries. Even without Flash, I'll find clues!"
He was confident.
A week later.
"Bad news. Paradise Island's Mother Box is gone."
Diana found Charlie with the update.
He fell silent.
Now, he sensed something was wrong.
Every Resurrection Match brought unknown foes. Annoying.
He stood. "Know who did it?"
Diana shook her head. "No idea. It's bizarre."
Charlie exhaled. "This round's gonna crash."
He raised his hand, shouting, "Can't just sit around!"
Diana: "?????"
"What's that mean?" she asked.
Charlie looked at her. "With one Mother Box left, we'll use it as bait."
"Too risky," Diana rejected instinctively.
Charlie explained, "No choice. Otherwise, the last one'll vanish mysteriously too.
Even if we fail, we'll know who did it."
Diana was speechless.
If they failed, did it matter who did it?
But she knew Charlie's plan was their only shot.
At worst, they could intercept Apokolips's army.
She agreed.
They crossed a portal to Atlantis.
"Father, you finally came!"
Arthur, on his throne, was thrilled.
Why so excited every time? Charlie chalked it up to a love-starved childhood.
Reluctantly, he accepted Arthur's hug.
Patting his back, he smiled. "Alright, show me the Mother Box."
"Got it."
Arthur summoned his trident, leading Charlie and Diana to the underwater palace storing the Mother Box, near the first Aquaman's self-exile zone, a dark oceanic trench.
At the trench's mouth, dense seaweed blocked their view.
Charlie sensed something off.
"This seaweed…" Diana recognized it.
"These need photosynthesis to survive. They can't live in this darkness," she said firmly.
Charlie nodded, glancing at Arthur.
Arthur scratched his head, clueless.
"Weird. Last time I was here, this wasn't here. Palace experiment field?"
Seeing Arthur's confusion, Charlie pondered.
"Should we go in?" Diana asked.
Charlie waved. "I'll go alone. You stay."
"I'm coming," Diana said firmly.
"Me too," Arthur added.
A woman was braver? He was Spider-Man's son—no way he'd lag behind.
Charlie thought, then said, "He'll go."
"He?"
Under their puzzled gazes, Charlie sent a clone into the trench.
Should be fine.
Seconds later, his face shifted.
He lost his clone's signal.
This was getting tricky.
His clone matched his strength, minus the Eight Immortals' artifacts and Twelve Talismans, but still formidable.
Something that could instant-kill it was serious.
No battle disturbed the trench.
The Mother Box was gone.
All three were missing, yet Darkseid's army was quiet.
Charlie guessed the thief wasn't Darkseid.
Who, then?
The Kang Dynasty? The Inheritors? No clues.
Half a month left, and the invincible Spider-Man still lived.
Maybe this was just the start.
Charlie stayed vigilant.
Since he was here, he couldn't slink back.
He took the Twelve Talismans from Diana.
Buzz~
The Talismans and Eight Immortals' artifacts circled above.
Under their glow, Charlie stepped into the dark trench.
Gurgle~
Bubbles rose, his eyes glowing with magic, everything clear.
At the trench's center, he saw a ravaged seabed from an explosion.
Murky water swirled, shadows flickering—sea beasts, not human.
They didn't attack.
Charlie faced no threats.
He reached Arthur's mentioned stone platform holding the Mother Box.
The mechanism was triggered, empty.
Charlie waited, but no crisis came.
More puzzled, he left.
Gurgle~
He exited the trench.
But the seaweed forest was gone, replaced by deep pits.
Murky water flowed away, a broken divine sword stabbed into the seabed, a dull trident half-buried in sand, and flecks of golden divine blood floated past, signaling Diana and Arthur's likely demise.
Seeing this, Charlie's head spun.
No doubt, they were gone.
Teammates -2. Spider-Man lost "family" again.
Heartbreaking.
He stood stunned.
Returning to Atlantis, he found ruins.
Debris everywhere, sea beast limbs drifting, soldiers vanished.
As expected.
Like before, no Atlanna's body.
But her death was near-certain.
No body meant the enemy covered their tracks.
Or they were eaten.
Charlie sighed. Without the Resurrection Match, he'd despair.
But no "ifs."
Nobody knew Resurrection Matches like Spider-Man!
So… Wait, Clark? He remembered.
No word from Clark, and Arthur hadn't mentioned him.
A blazing streak crashed into the sea.
BOOM!!
An explosion erupted, the figure barreling through the current toward Atlantis's ruins.
Clark!
Charlie sensed killing intent.
Corrupted Superman?
Got it.
Charlie's lips curled, golden solar light erupting, channeling all his stellar energy into a golden meteor to meet him.