Within the vast reaches of the universe…
A gigantic spider web stretched endlessly through the stars.
A familiar notification appeared before Charlie Parker.
[Congratulations!
You have received an invitation to the Resurrection Match!]
[Would you like to participate?]
[Yes] [No]
Charlie sat up on the web, completely baffled.
Seriously…?
What kind of lunatic uses missiles to kill a spider?
After sitting there in silence for a moment, he selected [Yes].
Well…
He was already dead.
The most important thing now was surviving more Resurrection Matches and becoming stronger.
Only strength would let him get revenge.
[Ding!
Entering Resurrection Match scenario…]
[Remaining Revives: 12]
The endless void swallowed Charlie whole.
The next instant…
He found himself standing beneath the New York night sky.
[Scenario: Marvel Composite Universe]
[Mission 1: Travel to the Afghan desert and rescue Tony Stark from the Ten Rings.]
[Mission 2: Travel to the Afghan desert and prevent the contestants from rescuing Tony Stark.]
[Reward 1: +1 Resurrection Slot]
[Reward 2: +10 Tons of Strength]
[Contestants: Charlie Parker, Peter Parker, Peter Parker, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Norman Osborn.]
[Contestants will now be divided into two teams.]
[Matching…]
[Match Complete!]
[The Elderly, Weak & Disabled Team (Mission 1): Charlie Parker, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff.]
[The Villains Team (Mission 2): Peter Parker, Peter Parker, Norman Osborn.]
[If your team wins, every member receives +1 Resurrection Slot.]
[Mission begins in: 3 minutes]
[Time limit: 24 hours]
A familiar scene unfolded before Charlie’s eyes.
The scorching Afghan desert.
Blazing sunlight.
Endless sandstorms.
The air itself seemed to burn.
Yet Charlie felt cold inside.
As one of the members of the Elderly, Weak & Disabled Team, he suddenly had a very bad feeling.
To his left stood an alluring, mature Natasha Romanoff.
Her superpower…
Was slowed aging.
To his right…
Was an elderly Steve Rogers.
His face was covered in wrinkles.
His hair had turned completely white.
His body had grown thin and frail.
His oversized Captain America uniform hung loosely from his frame.
He still held his shield…
But his cloudy eyes had lost much of their former brilliance.
His back was hunched.
He looked like the desert wind might bury him in sand at any second.
Charlie fell silent.
They really meant “elderly, weak, and disabled.”
Compared to the opposing team—
Two Peter Parkers…
And the terrifying Green Goblin…
Their side barely stood a chance.
Trying to rescue Tony while those three interfered…
Would be almost impossible.
Charlie suddenly felt miserable.
Beside him, elderly Steve froze for a moment.
Then his gaze landed on Natasha.
His weathered face trembled.
“Natasha…”
“Is that really you?”
Natasha herself looked equally confused.
Her memories still lingered on Vormir.
“Steve?”
She frowned.
Slowly…
The frail old man before her overlapped with the handsome Captain America she remembered.
“It’s me.”
Steve smiled warmly.
“I’m so happy to see you again.”
“This is incredible.”
“What happened?”
“Did everyone make it back?”
“They did.”
Natasha nodded slowly.
“But Thanos came back too.”
“In the end…”
“Tony was the one who snapped.”
“He sacrificed himself.”
“What?”
Natasha’s eyes widened.
“That can’t be right.”
“The plan was always for Banner to wear the Infinity Gauntlet.”
“Ahem…”
Charlie finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“You two…”
“This is a Resurrection Match.”
“Shouldn’t we be discussing how we’re actually going to win?”
Their team was already at a massive disadvantage.
Every second they wasted only reduced their chances further.
Charlie had already figured it out.
These two were Captain America and Black Widow from Avengers: Endgame.
Only then did Steve finally notice him.
“Peter?”
His eyes widened.
“You’re here too?”
Charlie’s eyelid twitched.
“I’m not Peter Parker.”
“My name’s Charlie.”
“Charlie Parker.”
The nanometal around his face retracted, revealing his true appearance.
“Oh!”
Steve slapped his forehead.
“Right.”
“Peter isn’t on this team.”
Natasha couldn’t help looking amazed.
“So Peter Parker’s on the other team…”
“And there are two of him.”
“That’s unbelievable.”
Steve nodded thoughtfully.
“It must be the multiverse.”
“Doctor Strange talked to me about it.”
Charlie’s face darkened.
“Did either of you actually hear what I just said?”
“This is a Resurrection Match.”
He interrupted them again.
Steve completely ignored him.
Instead, he turned back toward Natasha.
“You never came back from that mission.”
“Everyone was heartbroken.”
Natasha sighed.
“I know.”
“Barton watched me jump.”
“I’ve always felt sorry about that.”
“It was too cruel for him.”
“It’s alright.”
Steve smiled.
“I get to see you again now.”
Natasha looked him over.
“You’ve gotten old.”
“So…”
“What happened after everything?”
Steve smiled peacefully.
“After Tony died…”
“I returned the Infinity Stones to their proper timelines.”
“But…”
“I chose to stay in the past.”
“I finally got my life with Peggy.”
“I kept my promise.”
Natasha smiled.
“Congratulations.”
“No more regrets.”
Steve nodded.
“Seventy years later…”
“I passed the shield to Sam.”
“I finally retired.”
Then Natasha blinked.
“…But.”
“It seems only dead people end up here.”
Steve paused.
“…Am I dead?”
He thought carefully.
“The last thing I remember…”
“I was feeling very sleepy that night.”
“And then…”
“I lost consciousness.”
“So…”
“I guess I really did die.”
His expression remained calm.
As though he’d expected it all along.
Looking down at his old Captain America uniform, he covered his face awkwardly.
“It’s been a long time…”
“Since I last wore this.”
Natasha chuckled.
“You’ve lost quite a bit of muscle.”
“I wonder how much of your strength is left.”
Steve confidently raised his shield.
“We can find out.”
Even with an aged face…
His confidence hadn’t changed.
Turning toward Charlie, he said,
“Charlie Parker.”
“We can begin now—”
He blinked.
“…Huh?”
“Where’d he go?”
Steve looked around in confusion.
“He left?”
Natasha scanned the surrounding desert.
Then she pointed toward a distant valley.
Far away…
Charlie was already sprinting at full speed.
She laughed.
“Looks like this Spider-Man couldn’t wait any longer.”
Steve rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
“I guess we wasted too much time.”
Natasha shrugged.
“It’s fine.”
“We’re Avengers.”
“Have a little confidence.”
She drew her small pistol.
Steve stretched his stiff muscles.
“It’s been a long time…”
“Since I’ve felt this fired up.”
“Even if I don’t particularly care about being resurrected…”
“If this game is real…”
“I’ll make sure you get to go back.”
Natasha smiled.
“Same here.”
The two exchanged a smile.
Then—
A blazing light descended from the sky.
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion erupted across the desert.
Charlie instinctively looked back.
The place where Steve and Natasha had been standing…
Had disappeared beneath a sea of fire.
His heart completely sank.
The Villains Team…
Had already made their move.
They’d simply used the Ten Rings’ missiles to bombard the area.
Both of his teammates…
Were dead.
Now…
He was alone.
Just as expected…
This was probably going to be a total team wipe.
Webs couldn’t attach to the loose sand dunes.
Fortunately, Charlie’s running speed remained astonishingly fast.
Just as he reached the edge of the valley—
A familiar figure suddenly leaped down from atop a sand dune.
BOOM!!
The heavy landing blasted sand in every direction.
A massive…
Grotesque…
Green reptilian humanoid slowly emerged from the cloud of dust.
The Lizard.
Its golden eyes locked onto Charlie.
A cold smile spread across its monstrous face.
“Charlie Parker…”
“We meet again.”
(End of Chapter)