BOOM!!
As two stellar energies collided violently, a terrifying explosion, wrapped in undersea currents, directly submerged the ruins of Atlantis.
The next moment, a tsunami erupted on the sea surface, and two golden beams of light shot out, streaking into the clouds.
RUMBLE!!
In the sky, two streams of light clashed and intertwined, each collision unleashing a terrifying tornado hurricane.
Soon, torrential rain poured down, and the sky grew overcast.
CRACK.
Amidst lightning and thunder, a bolt split the sky, and a golden streak plummeted from the clouds, skidding ten thousand meters across the sea before barely halting its retreat.
At this moment, a red cape fluttered in the sea breeze. Clark, his face cold and impassive, hovered above the dark waves, gazing up at the red-and-blue figure in the clouds.
His eyes narrowed, and crimson heat vision blasted toward the heavens.
HUMM~
BOOM!!
Instantly, the sky was dyed red by the intense heat of the beams, but Spider-Man in the clouds was not to be outdone.
BUZZ!!
Matching heat vision shot downward, clashing with Clark's in a series of blazing shockwaves that swept across sky and sea.
SWOOSH~~
The heat spread, and white mist rose from the ocean.
The initially stalemated crimson beams tilted in Clark's favor as he leaned forward slightly, his upward-angled heat vision utterly overpowering Spider-Man's.
CRACK CRACK CRACK
BOOM
As the heat vision surged forward, Charlie, eyes glowing red, calmly raised a hand and fired webbing rays, miraculously intercepting the incoming beams in a bizarre manner.
PUFF~
The moment the crimson beams were cut off, the heat dissipated, replaced by Clark's figure rocketing forward.
BOOM!!
A fist the size of a sandbag loomed large. Charlie formed hand seals, his body enveloped in golden webbing.
RUMBLE!!
Another deafening explosion forced Clark back thousands of meters.
CRASH~~
Behind Clark, towering waves surged.
Charlie clapped his hands and crossed his arms, eyeing Clark.
"Honestly, your strength is a bit weaker than the real Clark. Thinking you can defeat the invincible Spider-Man—yep, that's me? You're a little naive," he said with a grin.
Clark didn't respond, only flashing a strange smile.
The next moment, Charlie's spider-sense screamed in warning. He tilted his head slightly, and a terrifying sonic blast grazed his ear, condensing into a fist that shattered distant clouds.
Before the sneak attacker could continue, Charlie's eyes blazed with intense light. The golden webbing around him glowed with totem-like power, instantly converging into his right leg.
He spun!
He kicked!
BOOM!!
In an instant, space warped, a sonic boom erupted, and the sneak attacker was sent tumbling ten thousand meters away.
Charlie turned slowly, locking eyes with a Clark whose face was ringed with dark circles, staring at him with lifeless, deathly eyes.
"Oh~ I get it now," Charlie said with a chuckle after a brief pause. "You're the Corrupted Superman."
He glanced at the other Clark. "So, you're a parallel universe counterpart. I underestimated you, Council of Kangs."
With a playful glint in his eyes, he glanced at the sky above. "But this is as far as you go."
As he spoke, the overcast sky was slowly enveloped by endless darkness, with a hint of green expanding infinitely within it.
BOOM!!
In a flash, the void twisted, and Doctor Doom stood atop the clouds, gazing down at the earth.
His eyes met Charlie's for a moment before he turned and vanished into the void.
It was as if they had planned it all along.
Meanwhile, in a dimensional space tethered to the universe, one Kang variant after another sensed an overwhelmingly dangerous presence.
"Damn it, we've been targeted."
"How is this possible? Spider-Man couldn't possibly find us this quickly."
"It's him. I know it—it's him!"
One Kang variant's face twisted in terror as he shouted, "Don't you remember? The legend—the one who pursues the ultimate power of the universe, the master of the Doom Legion!"
"What?"
At those words, every Kang variant's face paled.
"Impossible. That's just a myth."
"How could he appear in this world?"
"Exactly. Even if he's real, he's an immortal being. No one can kill him."
"Could it be Spider-Man?"
"No way, that's impossible!!"
The moment they saw the green magic, every Kang variant lost their composure.
They had prepared for so long to take down the invincible Spider-Man in one fell swoop.
But now, they faced a legend.
Doctor Doom—far more powerful than Spider-Man!! Nothing could be more despairing.
Yet, amidst the Kang variants, Centurion Kang furrowed his brow.
He made a decisive call: "We can't wait any longer. Release all the Superman variants and kill the invincible Spider-Man!"
"No way," Immortal Kang interjected. "Without the Superman variants, how do we fight Doctor Doom?"
Centurion Kang gritted his teeth. "Even with the Superman variants, we're no match for Doctor Doom.
The invincible Spider-Man is such a pain, there's no way Doctor Doom would ever be his friend. If we take out Spider-Man first, Doctor Doom will turn and work with us. It's the only way."
At those words, the Kang variants' eyes lit up.
"That makes sense. Let's do it!"
In an instant, the Kang Dynasty reached a consensus. Figures emerged from temporal prisons, speeding toward Spider-Man's location over the sea.
RUMBLE!!
Sonic booms exploded in the sky as dozens of red-and-blue Kryptonian bodies surrounded the invincible Spider-Man.
Facing these cold-faced, murder-intent-filled Clarks, Charlie's confident smile stiffened slightly.
"Uh… I can probably take three at most. So, who's first?" he said with a squinting grin.
Before he finished, a dozen Clarks unleashed crimson heat vision at him without hesitation.
RUMBLE!!
In an instant, all the Clarks went all out, and Charlie's position was engulfed in blinding, sun-like light.
BOOM!!
As the dozens of crimson beams collided and fused, a blazing miniature sun rose over the sea, then exploded, forming a black hole that devoured everything.
SWOOSH~~
Under the black hole's gravity, seawater flowed backward, surging into it.
Amid this awe-inspiring spectacle, the Clarks scanned their surroundings, their X-ray vision piercing the void to find Spider-Man.
Their instincts told them Charlie wasn't dead.
Their instincts were right.
On the other side of the Earth.
In the Antarctic glaciers, Charlie shot out of a portal onto the ice, frantically patting his singed suit to extinguish the flames.
"So many Supermen ganging up on one poor, helpless Spider-Man. Shameless!"
As Charlie loudly complained, streaks of light chased after him.
Seeing this, Charlie had no choice.
He formed hand seals, manipulating the ice and rubble with magic to form statues.
Arthur, Diana, Clark, and the Flash, Barry Allen.
HUMM~
As the Rat Talisman glowed, the ice statues visibly took on the breath of life.
No big deal if teammates die—Charlie could always make more.
As the Superman army descended, the statues finally "came to life."
"Father, what's happening to me?"
Arthur looked down at himself, frowning. "What happened to me? I feel like I met someone."
"I can't remember anything," Diana said, equally confused.
Clark stretched his muscles. "Same here, but it doesn't matter. No time to think about it."
He looked at the approaching Supermen, a slight smirk on his lips.
"Kryptonian clones? Leave them to me!"
Before he finished, Clark soared into the sky to meet the Superman army.
"Wait—"
Charlie tried to warn him, but the next second, Clark was already battered down into the glacier under the onslaught of the Supermen.
Charlie: "…"
The Rat Talisman's power had limits.
A revived Clark from a statue might have the same memories, but his strength was always slightly weaker.
And just like that, the freshly "revived" Clark was gone.
No chance. Absolutely no chance!
Immediately, Charlie conjured more Superman ice statues, revived them, and shouted, "Cover me! I'm outta here!!"
"Leave it to us!"
Though the Clarks didn't know what was happening, their trust in Spider-Man drove them to charge at the strange Corrupted Supermen without hesitation.
For a moment, explosions rocked the Antarctic glaciers.
In the inverted ice, Charlie slipped away in a flash.
He also took the knockoff Flash with him.
"Barry, try using your speed to cross time," he urged.
Barry nodded and vanished in a flash of lightning.
Then… Charlie waited.
And waited.
Until the Corrupted Supermen caught up, Barry still hadn't returned.
Alright, fine!
That guy was useless.
Thankfully, the delay bought enough time for Doctor Doom to return.
Carrying the heads of several Kang variants, he shrugged at Charlie. "They didn't know—only you can help me save the multiverse. I won't give up on you."
Charlie rolled his eyes. "Am I supposed to be touched?"
"I think you're too scared to move."
Doctor Doom surveyed the Corrupted Supermen, his face growing grim.
"I might not be able to handle this."
Charlie nodded. "Same."
"So…"
They exchanged a glance.
"Run!"
"You go left, I go right—wait for me!!"
RUMBLE~~
Sonic booms roared as the Corrupted Supermen split into two groups, chasing the fleeing Spider-Man and Doctor Doom.
Half an hour later, a city ravaged by battle was obliterated by a massive Bagua diagram spanning the sky, annihilating the Corrupted Supermen along with the ruins.
…
Cosmic Web.
[You have been eliminated and cannot obtain a Resurrection Match slot. Reward: Purification +1.]
[Remaining 199 retries. Would you like to restart?]
Staring at the prompt, Charlie fell into deep thought.
"Purification? Sure it's not evolution?"
He muttered, recalling the horde of Corrupted Supermen.
Could this purification power restore those guys to normal?
Feeling the cool energy surging into his body, Charlie pondered.
It couldn't be that simple, could it? Winning a Resurrection Match by stacking attributes wasn't unheard of.
If that's the case, 200 retries should be enough.
"Amen. I hope Uncle Ben blesses me—wait, Uncle Ben's not dead yet."
Without hesitation, Charlie chose to restart, reappearing atop the Empire State Building in New York.
HUMM~
As the void twisted, Charlie appeared and glanced at Doctor Doom beside him.
"What a coincidence, your spawn point's here too," he said, waving.
Doctor Doom, full of resentment, growled, "You did this on purpose!"
He had studied Spider-Man and knew that so-called "resurrection" wasn't that simple.
After being dragged into this Resurrection Match by accident and seeing the prompt, he understood everything.
Spider-Man's resurrections relied on completing strange missions. That's why Spider-Man, banking on his ability to revive, let Thanos cause so much chaos without restraint.
He could've stopped Thanos!!
Charlie knew what he was thinking and rolled his eyes. "Don't overthink it. I'm tired and don't want to fight you."
Doctor Doom snorted. "You'd better give me an explanation."
"Explanation? Fine, I'll give you one."
Charlie, too lazy to argue, suddenly threw a punch when Doom least expected it.
"Oh, sh*t! My nose!!"
"Come on! I know you're pissed."
"I'll kill you!!"
BOOM~
Spider-Man and Doctor Doom's battle in outer space was inevitable.
Soon after, Charlie returned to Earth, fixed his suit, and headed to Diana's apartment.
Shortly, Diana returned after dealing with some thugs, surprised to see Charlie.
"You're back?"
"It's me. I'm back."
"You should've used the front door."
"I don't have a key."
"But I do."
The door opened, and Bruce, dressed sharply in a suit, smiled at them. "I just—"
"I know, you just bought this apartment," Charlie interrupted, making Bruce uncomfortable.
After all, in Gotham, no one could stop him from showing off.
Well, this wasn't Gotham.
Realizing that, Bruce felt a bit better.
"I've notified Clark. He should be here soon."
He looked at Charlie. "You're right on time. There's news—"
"I know. Steppenwolf."
This time, it wasn't Charlie who cut Bruce off—it was his clone.
HUMM~
The clone merged with Charlie, who shrugged. "I've already dealt with the Parademon army on Paradise Island. Steppenwolf didn't show up."
"What?"
Bruce and Diana were stunned.
"That fast?"
"I'm always fast."
Charlie glanced at Clark zooming in from outside, raising a hand to open a portal.
"Listen to me now. First, we find the third Mother Box."
"Mother Box?"
Bruce frowned. "Your plan's too reckless. We should make a detailed one."
"You coming or not?" Charlie asked, turning back at the portal.
Bruce thought for a moment. "I'm coming."
If he didn't, the portal would close.
Spider-Man wouldn't wait for him.
He knew that.
So, the group arrived at Cyborg's place.
Inside, sparks were flying.
Cyborg was secretly repairing his private parts.
Ever since being turned into a machine, he'd been dissatisfied with his body.
Yes, he wanted to restore his "steel eggs," hoping to regain that part of his nervous system.
But as the group barged in, his flustered movements caused a mistake. The sparks below flared brightly, and the smell of burnt circuits filled the air.
"You're Superman—and Spider-Man!"
Cyborg stared at Charlie and Clark in their suits, shocked.
Charlie stepped forward with a grin. "Sorry for interrupting. You okay down there?" He pointed at the sparking spot.
Cyborg quickly stood, covering the area with both hands, feigning nonchalance.
"No big deal. Just an inch or two. Don't worry about it."
Charlie laughed.
What a real man.