"Hahaha, Spider-Man, your end is here!!"
Believing Charlie was putting on a show, the Laughing Bat's long tongue lashed out, his exaggerated laughter filling the Creator Goddess with disgust.
"Stop laughing. Make him disappear completely first."
The moment the Creator Goddess spoke, another wave of multiversal meteor showers swept in, vowing to crush Charlie.
But after fighting this long, Charlie had come to understand the Creator Goddess's power.
Her divine energy was limited, barely enough to keep her body intact.
Most of her power came from the energy provided by the universes she once created.
So, for this simple and brute attack style, it posed no real threat to Charlie.
It only seemed hard to kill because of her deep foundations.
No, to be precise, the Creator Goddess could not die.
As long as the universes were not destroyed, she would never vanish.
The same went for Charlie and the Laughing Bat.
As long as the embryonic domain and the Laughing Universes were not destroyed, they would not disappear.
A three-way battle among eternal immortals—this was destined to be a war that would never end.
Yet they had no choice but to fight.
So, facing the Creator Goddess's first strike, Charlie didn't hesitate and dove into another universe.
"Don't run!"
The Creator Goddess pursued swiftly, but at that moment, something unexpected happened to the Laughing Bat behind her.
"Hahaha~~"
As the eerie laughter echoed through this universe, the Laughing Virus seized the opportunity to flood into other untainted universes.
"What?"
Spotting the Laughing Bat's trick, the Creator Goddess's face darkened instantly.
Sealed for so long, even she might turn into a white lotus.
How could she trust such an ugly creature?
"Get lost!!"
With a shout, she abandoned the universe the Laughing Virus had infiltrated without warning and charged at the Laughing Bat, wielding cosmic rules.
"Die!!"
"My lady, I'll help you."
At that moment, Charlie reappeared in this universe, joining the Creator Goddess in attacking the Laughing Bat.
"Hahaha, the tide's turned."
The Laughing Bat laughed as the Laughing Virus spread unchecked.
Thus, the melee erupted once more.
One month later, Charlie vanished again.
In a flash, the returning Spider-Man received an invitation from the Laughing Bat.
"Interesting bug, let's take down the Creator Goddess first. Then I'll give you half of her."
"Half?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Which half?"
The Laughing Bat thought for a moment. "The upper half."
Charlie glared furiously. "Bastard, who are you looking down on!"
Before he could launch his attack, the Creator Goddess, the subject of their discussion, was filled with shame and rage.
"You two bastards, die!!"
Creator divine energy pierced the universe. The Laughing Bat and Charlie tacitly joined forces, endless darkness sweeping in, followed closely by golden webs enveloping the Creator Goddess.
BOOM!!
The three-way battlefield shifted from one universe to another, leaving cosmic ruins in its wake.
These shattered universes could no longer be repaired and could only passively restart.
Yet the three's battle remained endless.
Until eleven years later.
As planets exploded one by one, Charlie, having completed the mission, chose to restart once more, returning to the DC Universe.
This was the last retry chance.
If he missed this, he would have no opportunity to obtain what he wanted.
In the cosmic rift, the Laughing Virus and the Creator Goddess were locked in stalemate.
Charlie felt a twinge of despair in his heart.
Fighting like this, when would it end? Well, it was ending for him anyway.
If he couldn't take down these two this time, he'd have to go back.
Fortunately, through these years of battle, he had gradually noticed something strange.
The Laughing Bat had detonated so many Laughing Universes; logically, the Laughing Virus should be rampant.
But that wasn't the case.
Moreover, one thing: the embryonic domain seemed to be growing more complete during the fights.
Though the help to Charlie wasn't as great as imagined, the reason behind it was worth pondering.
He suspected it was due to the Creator Goddess's divine power.
One waning, the other waxing—Charlie gained benefits, but the Creator Goddess suffered no major losses.
At least, for the current battle, it wouldn't play a decisive role.
Neither the Laughing Bat nor the Creator Goddess would notice such subtleties in the fight.
Only Charlie, with brief interludes of rest in the Cosmic Web, could spot a hint of it.
After much thought, Charlie still couldn't grasp the key to victory.
Where had the Laughing Virus gone?
Seeing the battlefield of the Laughing Bat and Creator Goddess shifting, Charlie had no time for more reflection.
Wherever they went, they wouldn't leave Spider-Man behind.
Sure enough, auroras spread through the cosmic ruins, space around Charlie shattered, and the three arrived in a new universe.
The DC Movie Universe as well.
Earth, Clark's farm.
Clark, who was feeding the cows, seemed to sense something.
He looked up at the glowing points in the sky, his scalp instantly numbing.
"This is…"
His muscles trembled, hairs standing on end, a strong sense of crisis surging in his heart.
Eleven years—it had been eleven years since he last felt this.
His bearded face furrowed, then he glanced at Lois and their two children not far away.
He was married, with a son and daughter, living a happy life.
These years, he had hardly participated in any battles.
Gradually, he had grown afraid of being a hero.
Being a hero came at a cost, and he didn't dare.
He couldn't bear to lose his wife and children.
Before he could think more, white clouds drifted across the sky, golden ropes swinging high, and the still young and beautiful Diana descended onto the farm.
"Clark, there's a situation."
Diana, with a serious face, had just arrived when The Flash, Batman, and others arrived one after another.
"The prophesied disaster has finally come."
Bruce Wayne said gravely: "Eleven years ago, Spider-Man once prophesied this disaster's arrival."
"Spider-Man?" Clark frowned. "He said that?"
"He did."
Golden lightning flashed across the farm in an instant. Arthur, holding his trident, nodded: "Father did mention this disaster back then, but don't worry, he'll handle it."
Hearing this, everyone sighed in relief.
"If he can handle it, that's best." Diana shrugged. "Then I'll go back to sleep and do my beauty rest."
"Wait."
Arthur stopped Diana. "Though Father can resolve this, we can't just sit idle."
"What do we do?" Clark asked.
Arthur said: "This disaster actually started long ago; it's only today that it truly affects this universe. So our task is to protect Earth, stopping forces from beyond the universe from impacting our home."
Diana thought for a moment. "So what exactly is our task?"
"Save people."
Arthur looked into the distance. "Under the influence of cosmic forces, Earth might deviate from its orbit. Then glaciers will collapse, volcanoes erupt, oceans reverse, gravity will chaos—these are things we have to withstand."
At these words, Clark, who had been tense, finally relaxed.
"Just that? Then no problem."
He breathed a sigh of relief; for him, these were no issue.
Worst case, he'd circle Earth a few times.
As long as he didn't have to fight.
Eleven years of happy life had completely eroded his will to battle.
He had fallen.
Beside him, Diana suddenly asked Arthur.
"Where's your father now?"
Arthur subconsciously looked up. "I don't know."
"You must know." Diana saw through Arthur's guilt at a glance.
Under Diana and the others' scrutinizing gazes, Arthur awkwardly scratched his head.
"Alright, actually Father's been in Atlantis all this time."
"Hm?"
Diana frowned. "All this time?"
"That's right." Arthur nodded.
Diana was even more puzzled.
"Something's off. How could that guy stay here so long?" she murmured softly.
But Arthur heard it.
He leaned in mysteriously and whispered: "You've noticed Father's been off these years too?"
Diana was stunned. "What do you mean? I haven't seen him in years."
"Haven't seen him?"
Arthur was confused. "But you guessed Father's been off."
"What's off about him?" Clark grew interested too.
The boyish Flash looked curious as well.
Everyone huddled in a circle, and Arthur said mysteriously: "These years, Father's been hiding in his room, who knows what he's doing.
But I often hear strange laughter from the room—really scary!"
At this, he seemed to recall the laughter he'd eavesdropped on before, shuddering involuntarily.
Hearing this, Bruce Wayne pondered.
"Arthur, besides that, any other strange things?" he asked.
Arthur thought. "Yes, black energy often leaks from the room, but it vanishes quickly.
Oh, right, since Father got weird, Atlantis has had many eerie events."
"Eerie events?"
Clark glanced subconsciously at Lois and the kids in the distance, then turned back: "Ghost stories?"
Arthur shook his head. "Not quite, but scarier."
His voice grew lower: "Like that one night, I snuck out to pee—"
"You can skip that part." Diana's face darkened.
Arthur coughed. "Alright, that night I snuck out and found Atlantis completely changed—ruins everywhere, and lots of strange people laughing maniacally. That scene was too terrifying; I thought it was the end of the world.
I called for Father and Mother, but no one answered. Anyway, too scary.
I don't know how long passed, but I fell asleep. When I woke, everything was back to normal. Don't you think that's strange?"
After hearing this, Clark and the others exchanged looks.
"Arthur, you sure that wasn't a dream?" Diana said speechlessly.
Arthur shook his head. "I thought so at first, but Mother experienced it too, and many Atlantis soldiers have.
And not just once or twice."
"You suspect Charlie did this?" Diana asked.
Arthur nodded. "Besides Father, no other possibility."
He continued: "Though eerie, aside from that, Atlantis hasn't had casualties, so we've gradually gotten used to it."
"You can get used to something like this?" The naive Flash blinked. "If it were me, I couldn't stay a second."
"A second? You're too brave." Bruce Wayne said seriously to The Flash.
The Flash: "…"
Was that a compliment? Alright, it was.
"Anything else like that?" he asked, curiosity piqued.
Before Arthur could speak, a familiar voice suddenly appeared, startling them.
"I want to know too."
Black mist surged, and the cold Charlie appeared abruptly in the circle they formed.
"No! Ghost!!"
The startled Flash yelled and retreated, the others looking warily at Spider-Man.
"What are you doing?" Diana patted her chest, glaring at Charlie irritably.
At this moment, Charlie wore a black suit, the web patterns on its surface twisted beyond recognition.
And the Spider emblem on Charlie's chest had changed.
In Bruce Wayne's eyes, the distorted Spider emblem gradually turned into the shape of a Joker mask.
In an instant, Bruce Wayne's spine chilled, and he jolted with a cry.
"You're infected with the Joker Virus!!" He pointed at Charlie, face full of fear.
"Joker Virus?" Arthur scratched his head. "What's that?"
"A power that drives one mad."
Clark's expression grew grave, even with a hint of vigilance.
Spider-Man hadn't appeared for so many years because he was corrupted by the Joker Virus.
This guy had been silently fighting the virus all along; it must be that.
Thinking this, Clark took a deep breath.
"Mr. Spider-Man, calm down first. We can help you—"
"Crazy!"
Charlie interrupted Clark's words. He calmly patted the viral Spider on his chest, then burst into laughter.
Hahaha~~ Crazy, you're all crazy~~
Spider-Man doubled over laughing, making Diana and the others feel a chill.
Everyone backed away, while Charlie waved laughing.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Time's almost up; don't forget the mission I gave you."
He suddenly stopped the eerie laugh, his face turning serious.
"If this place gets destroyed, that guy won't be happy."
With that, dense dark energy erupted around Charlie, and the eight demons shot into the sky, emitting mad laughter.
Hahaha~~
Whoo~~
Yin winds swept by, and Charlie vanished from their sight in an instant.
At the same time, the melee in the universe continued to erupt but was nearing its end.
Hum~
Hahaha~~
In an instant, eerie laughter echoed through the stellar ruins. The black Spider Totem, twisted into a Joker mask, enveloped the ruins battlefield in a blink.
Then, the emerging eight demons transformed into sources of the Laughing Virus, roaring and cackling wildly in the universe.
Witnessing this chilling scene, even the Laughing Bat trembled inwardly.
"This is…"
"Laughing Virus!"
The familiar yet strange laughter made the Creator Goddess's expression change.
"Bad, another Laughing Bat has appeared." She had an ominous premonition.
Unlike the tension of the Laughing Bat and Creator Goddess, Charlie was first stunned, then clapped in approval.
"I get it! Good one, worthy of me—the invincible Spider-Man's… dark side!"
Hearing this, the Laughing Bat and Creator Goddess were shocked.
This guy had a dark side too?
Charlie just smiled without a word.
Who would have thought the dark side he'd forgotten had silently absorbed vast amounts of the Laughing Virus.
If he guessed right, the Laughing Universes the Laughing Bat discarded, after exploding, had their residual Laughing rules all go to Corrupted Charlie.
For Corrupted Charlie, born from darkness, the pervasive Laughing Virus wasn't so hard to accept.
After mastering the Laughing Virus, Corrupted Charlie became another Laughing Bat.
No—the Laughing Spider!