[You have been eliminated. No resurrection slot awarded. Strength +0.1 tons.]
[8 retries remaining. Would you like to restart?]
For the third resurrection match, Charlie once again chose to dart into the alley.
"Shit, there's a creep!"
The couple in the alley barely got their words out before Charlie swiftly hung their clothes on the high wall.
"I warned you before—next time, cover your faces."
With that, he vaulted up the building, leaving the two dumbfounded.
"When did he say that?"
"I don't even know him."
"Damn, that was Spider-Man! He found us!"
"Relax, he's not your husband. You're fine."
After this little interruption, Charlie made his way to the clock tower.
By then, the battle over who would save Gwen first had already begun.
It was pretty much the same as last time.
Boom, boom!
Explosions echoed as the clock tower continued to erupt in flames.
Tony was showing off his nano armor while casually watching Peter Parker, as if treating the resurrection match like a game.
The Chitauri soldiers were focusing on attacking Tony, having no real interest in winning the resurrection match.
They were strictly following orders from Lord Thanos—Iron Man must be destroyed.
In the chaos, Peter Parker was locked in a fierce fight with Harry, constantly being held back. Whenever he managed to fend Harry off and tried to rescue Gwen, the Chitauri soldiers would intercept him.
Spider-Man, being an Avenger, was also on their kill list.
Once again, Lizard Parker managed to grab Gwen at the last moment.
Before they both hit the ground, Charlie swung in and landed on the balcony of the clock tower, shooting webs to suspend them in midair.
"Hey, Lizard buddy, hand her over! If you hold her like that, she'll die."
"Peter!"
In Lizard Parker's arms, Gwen's face lit up with joy when she saw Charlie, clearly mistaking him for Peter.
Straining, Charlie pulled with all his strength, his muscles tightening, but his feet kept slipping. "Now's not the time for a Beauty and the Beast reenactment, so can you two work with me here?"
Just as he yelled, the web snapped, sending him tumbling backward, where his head was promptly struck by a falling gear.
Charlie: "..."
The quality of this webbing is terrible.
Never mind, restart!
[You have been eliminated. No resurrection slot awarded. Strength +0.1 tons.]
[7 retries remaining. Would you like to restart?]
For the fourth resurrection match, he stuck to the same plan.
Charlie darted into the alley and, with practiced ease, stole the couple's clothes again.
"Remember to cover your faces next time."
During the chaotic battle at the clock tower, when the moment came, Charlie shot a web to latch onto Gwen in Lizard Parker's arms, this time without trying to pull them both.
"Hand her over! She'll die if you hold her!"
Before he could finish, the web ripped a piece of Gwen's clothing off, and both she and Lizard Parker plummeted.
Charlie: "..."
You can't save people with webs—especially not if you're Spider-Man.
Restart!
[You have been eliminated. No resurrection slot awarded. Strength +0.1 tons.]
[6 retries remaining. Would you like to restart?]
For the fifth resurrection match, Charlie shot webs to seal the couple's mouths and hung them upside down from the billboard at the alley entrance.
With a roar of fire overhead, he swung up to pursue the battle.
The same scene played out again: after Lizard Parker caught Gwen, Charlie fired multiple webs to secure the falling pair.
This time, the web didn't break.
But before Charlie could do anything else, another explosion rocked the clock tower. A Chitauri soldier's flying vehicle careened down, and Charlie was instantly caught in the explosion.
[You have been eliminated. No resurrection slot awarded. Strength +0.1 tons.]
[5 retries remaining. Would you like to restart?]
Charlie: "..."
Five retries, and his strength had increased to 1.5 tons, but he still wasn't strong enough to officially join the "Battle for Gwen."
One careless move, and he'd get swept up in the fight. His small frame couldn't take it.
Maybe he could try stopping Harry early, preventing him from kidnapping Gwen.
But the mission required him to save Gwen as she fell from the clock tower, and even if he succeeded by intercepting Harry, it wouldn't count as winning the resurrection match.
Thinking it over, after so many retries, Charlie had noticed that the Chitauri soldiers only targeted Tony and Peter Parker.
Harry's real target was Peter Parker, and Tony seemed distracted by Spider-Man, missing the crucial moment to save Gwen.
To be precise, Tony didn't seem to be taking the resurrection match seriously.
Peter Parker, of course, was overwhelmed by the chaos, which was even worse than the movie, leaving him no time to save Gwen.
So that left Lizard Parker.
It was clear that this guy wasn't trying to save Gwen for the resurrection slot.
With his tough skin and thick muscles, Lizard Parker was the most likely to save Gwen amid the chaos.
Maybe Charlie could start with him.
With that thought, Charlie tapped [Restart].
Once again, the same scenario played out. Charlie rushed to the clock tower, the battle reigniting. He focused on Lizard Parker, who was climbing the tower wall, and immediately swung over to the clock tower's outer wall.
"Hey, Lizard buddy, I've got a little project to discuss with you. Let's talk about how we can save Gwen. You've got time, right? I mean, in your current state, it's not like you're getting a job anytime soon."
Charlie mimicked Lizard Parker's climbing motions as he spoke.
"Get lost!"
Lizard Parker roared furiously, his long tail sweeping out and smashing Charlie into the wall.
Charlie's Spider-Sense had failed him again.
From within the human-shaped crater, half-dead, Charlie watched helplessly as Gwen died once more. He was speechless.
This guy was impossible to communicate with when he was agitated.
Boom!
The next second, Chitauri soldiers arrived, and Charlie lost consciousness again.
——
Seventh resurrection match.
As the countdown ended, Charlie changed his approach.
He rushed toward the clock tower, not pausing at the nearby residential buildings.
Whoosh!
Firing webs, Charlie swung directly into the clock tower.
Crack, crack!
In the dark night, the green monster broke through the windows, charging straight at Charlie.
"Spider-Man?"
Lizard Parker lunged, leaping from wall to wall, intercepting Charlie.
Charlie shrugged. "My name's Charlie Parker. We have the same goal—we can work together to save Gwen."
"Imposter, you're not worthy."
Lizard Parker's eyes turned dangerous. Anticipating this, Charlie didn't wait and shot webs to swing up to a higher floor.
If they couldn't communicate, he'd have to find another way.
"I'll tear you apart!!"
Lizard Parker pursued quickly, smashing through the clock tower's mechanical gears as he went.
Massive gears fell from the building, and Lizard Parker, distracted, failed to notice Harry dropping Gwen.
Boom!
A pumpkin bomb exploded, the top of the clock tower erupting in flames. As the Chitauri soldiers arrived, the fire shattered the windows, and nano-tech caught Gwen, pulling her inside the tower.
"Peter!"
Gwen screamed in panic, and both Lizard Parker and Peter Parker responded at the same time.
"Gwen!"
"Gwen..."
Peter Parker leapt past Harry, diving toward Gwen, while Lizard Parker also lunged toward her without hesitation.
Amid the falling gears, the two met in midair.
"Get out of the way!"
Lizard Parker shredded the gears in front of him with his claws, then swept his long tail, aiming to crush the imposter.
"What?"
As Lizard Parker charged, Peter Parker maneuvered nimbly through the gears, using his webs to avoid the attacks while racing toward Gwen.
"You'll never succeed, Peter!"
The Green Goblin swooped in, Harry's glider firing mini-missiles as explosions once again engulfed the scene.
Boom, boom, boom!
"No!!"
With horror in both Lizard Parker's and Peter Parker's eyes, webs shot through the air as another red-and-blue figure charged through the fiery blast, heading for the now-falling Gwen.
Thwip, thwip!
Shards of gears flew everywhere as Charlie caught Gwen just in time, though his back was shredded and covered in blood.
Straining through his injuries, Charlie gripped a web with one hand, holding Gwen with the other as they safely landed, though his legs immediately gave out.
Beside him, Gwen's body convulsed, blood pouring from her abdomen.
Her eyes filled with fear, and though she tried to speak, her mouth was flooded with blood.
As she turned and saw the also dying Spider-Man beside her, the fear in her eyes slowly faded.
In that moment, Charlie witnessed every painful detail of Gwen's death.