As soon as elderly Steve finished speaking, Charlie made his decision.
“Alright.”
“We’re going there.”
“You two take the jeep and find the bunker.”
“I’ll hold him off.”
Natasha frowned.
“Wouldn’t driving straight there be too obvious?”
“They’ll track us easily.”
Charlie nodded confidently.
“Trust me.”
“Don’t worry about anything else.”
“Just find it as fast as possible.”
“I have a plan.”
He couldn’t stall them for very long.
The sooner Steve and Natasha found the bunker, the sooner Charlie could use that information in his next restart.
Seeing how certain he looked, Steve decided to trust him.
He hadn’t been Captain America for many years.
After entering the Resurrection Match, his mind was practically blank.
He couldn’t think of any better strategy.
Natasha wasn’t exactly a tactician either, but something still puzzled her.
“Little Spider…”
“You seem awfully experienced with these Resurrection Matches.”
Charlie nodded.
“I am.”
“I’ve done one before.”
“With him.”
He pointed toward Lizard Parker.
“I won that one.”
Steve raised an eyebrow.
“…And then you died again?”
Charlie spread his hands with a grin.
“As you can see.”
“I’m the adventurous type of Spider-Man.”
“Oh…”
“And if you happen to run into a green goblin later…”
“Don’t be surprised.”
“He knows me too.”
Steve: “…”
Natasha: “…”
Finally Natasha sighed.
“Well…”
“Little Spider.”
“You’re even better at getting yourself into trouble than the Peter I know.”
The moment Steve finished chuckling—
Lizard Parker suddenly lifted his nose.
His nostrils twitched.
Even in the dry desert air…
He finally caught their scent.
“Found you!”
With a savage grin, he lunged straight toward the parked jeep.
At that instant—
Steve’s vibranium shield shot through the air.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The shield ricocheted repeatedly across Lizard Parker’s face.
The giant reptile crashed headfirst into the sand.
“What the hell?!”
He clutched his bleeding nose and cursed.
Steve effortlessly caught the returning shield.
Taking a deep breath, he smiled.
“Good.”
“My old friend still hasn’t let me down.”
Natasha climbed into the driver’s seat.
As she started the engine, she smirked.
“I saw you secretly gasping for air.”
Steve laughed awkwardly.
“Please.”
“Respect your elders.”
He quickly climbed into the passenger seat before tossing the shield toward Charlie.
“Little Spider.”
“Use this.”
“I already showed you how.”
Charlie caught it.
“Thanks, Grandpa Captain.”
Steve blinked.
“…Why do I feel like you’re insulting me?”
He simply laughed before pointing toward the horizon.
Natasha immediately floored the accelerator.
The jeep roared away.
Charlie casually weighed the shield in one hand.
“…This feels much better than the one I stole last time.”
“Worthless trash!”
Lizard Parker spat out a mouthful of blood.
“You finally showed yourself!”
With a furious roar, he charged again.
His razor-sharp claws sliced through the air with terrifying force.
Charlie planted one foot firmly into the sand.
Twisting his waist…
He hurled the vibranium shield with all his strength.
WHOOOOOM!
Movie Captain America’s strength was roughly five tons.
Charlie was far stronger.
The shield screamed through the air so violently that it produced a deafening sonic howl.
Its power was even greater than Steve’s throws.
This time, however…
Lizard Parker was prepared.
With a powerful swipe, he knocked the incoming shield away and continued charging.
“Die!!”
His murderous intent surged—
Only for the shield to suddenly ricochet back.
BANG!
It smashed directly into the back of his head.
The enormous force staggered him.
He stumbled face-first into the ground.
“Impossible!!”
Clutching the swelling lump on his head, Lizard Parker roared in disbelief.
Charlie simply flicked his wrist.
A strand of web connected to the shield.
The vibranium disk instantly flew back into his hand before being launched once more.
With his webs controlling its trajectory…
The effect was almost identical to Captain America himself using it.
Charlie grinned.
“Sorry, handsome lizard.”
“I’m fully geared up now.”
“AAAAARGH!”
“You bastard!”
Enraged, Lizard Parker charged over and over again.
Each time…
The shield slammed into him.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The repetitive strategy proved incredibly effective.
Charlie had never imagined the shield would feel so natural to use.
He felt like he’d just discovered an entirely new fighting style.
Before long…
Lizard Parker dropped to one knee.
His body was covered in bloody cuts.
The sharpened edge of the vibranium shield had proven far deadlier than he’d expected.
He was reaching his limit.
“Damn you!”
Suddenly he looked toward the sky.
“How long are you planning to watch?!”
“Get down here and help already!”
Hovering overhead on his Goblin Glider…
Norman clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk.”
“Poor little lizard.”
“You’re every bit as stupid as I thought.”
“You just exposed my position.”
“Now ambushing him will be much harder.”
As he spoke…
The Green Goblin streaked overhead.
One pumpkin bomb after another rained from the sky.
“Damn you!”
Lizard Parker cursed furiously.
Even while dodging, he continued charging.
Charlie immediately copied Steve’s earlier technique.
He curled his body tightly behind the vibranium shield.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
Explosions ripped across the desert.
Towering sand clouds swallowed everything in sight.
A few moments later…
The battlefield was buried beneath drifting dust.
Norman circled overhead.
Searching…
Looking for Charlie’s corpse.
“Strange…”
“Where is he?”
“That shield shouldn’t have been enough…”
He muttered as he swooped lower.
Meanwhile…
A reptilian head burst out from beneath the sand.
“Norman Osborn!!”
“You’ve got a death wish!!”
Lizard Parker exploded from the dunes in fury.
Norman answered with another pumpkin bomb.
“Hehehe!”
“Little green lizard.”
“Just because we’re both green doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to.”
“I’ll tear you apart.”
BOOM!
Another explosion erupted.
Running on all fours, Lizard Parker darted through the edge of the blast before launching himself into the air.
He tackled Norman clean off the Goblin Glider.
Not far away…
Charlie slowly lifted the shield covering his body.
Watching the two monsters tear into each other through a narrow gap in the sand, he narrowed his eyes.
These two are both complete lunatics.
The mission isn’t even over yet…
…and they’re already fighting each other.
Typical Villains Team.
They don’t even spare their own teammates.
If that was the case…
Maybe he could use it to his advantage.
Taking advantage of their increasingly violent battle, Charlie quietly crawled through the sand before slipping behind another dune.
Then he began heading toward the direction Steve and Natasha had driven.
Captain America’s shield had absorbed over ninety percent of the explosions’ force.
The performance of vibranium left Charlie thoroughly envious.
If I had a Spider-Man suit made entirely of vibranium…
I wouldn’t have to be so cautious in this Resurrection Match.
I’d just solo everyone.
Lost in thought, he followed the jeep’s tire tracks across the desert.
The scorching wind howled.
Before long…
The blowing sand erased every trace of the tracks.
At that same moment…
His unreliable Spider-Sense suddenly decided to work again.
Danger.
His entire body tensed.
“Hm?”
Charlie stopped beside a cluster of weathered rocks outside the valley.
Behind him…
A wet, slithering sound echoed through the air.
The feeling of danger skyrocketed.
Slowly…
Charlie turned around.
Standing there was a figure with enormous white eyes shaped like Spider-Man’s mask.
Blood-red veins spread beneath the pale lenses.
Its mouth stretched unnaturally wide.
Rows of razor-sharp fangs dripped with saliva.
A long tongue writhed like a giant serpent.
Its muscular body was wrapped in a pitch-black Spider-Man suit formed entirely from living symbiote matter.
Every movement radiated terrifying killing intent.
Venom Spider.
Peter Parker…
Possessed by the Venom symbiote.
He clearly wasn’t the Bully Maguire Charlie had been expecting.
(End of Chapter)