"Peter, you... no, you're not Peter." Gwen's face changed as she stepped back slightly.
Charlie removed his mask, revealing a young face.
"I'm Charlie, Charlie Parker. A very hardworking Spider-Man, and lately, I've had a bit of a troublesome situation, which is why you're seeing me now."
"Oh, please drop that surprised look. By the way, what did you have for dinner? I smell a hint of beef pizza on you, and that's my favorite. But, you know, Spider-Man doesn't have pockets, so I didn't bring any money. You might want to consider treating me."
"Wait a second, Spider-Man, my head is pounding. Can you tell me why you saved me?" Gwen asked, rubbing her forehead, clearly overwhelmed.
Hearing her question, Charlie wiped away the blood on his forehead, his eyes showing a hint of stubbornness.
His expression turned serious. "I did it for myself, and... to break the canon event of Spider-Man's loneliness."
"The canon event... of loneliness?"
Gwen thought about Peter's lost family and the falling out with Harry, and she understood.
Spider-Man is lonely.
It's fate, more like a curse.
Just then, the roar of Tony's armor sounded in the distance, signaling to Charlie that it was time to leave.
"Gwen, it's time to say goodbye. Remember to treat me to pizza next time."
As he spoke, his figure was instantly swallowed by the void.
He had used Tony to his advantage this time. Though Tony hadn't taken the resurrection match seriously, the guy could be stingy at times.
Better to leave quickly.
Moments later, Tony's armor landed, and his nano-helmet retracted, revealing a face filled with frustration.
"Where did that guy go?" Tony asked Gwen.
Gwen was stunned. "He... he disappeared, just like that."
Tony rubbed his forehead. "Well, I think I got played."
[You did not win this resurrection match. You will now leave this world. Please try again next time.]
Seeing the prompt before him, Tony couldn't help but chuckle.
"There's a next time?"
He figured this was some kind of prank by the Infinity Stones.
As Gwen looked on in disbelief, Tony's figure disappeared as well.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man and the Green Goblin continued their battle.
——
In Charlie's universe, atop the Empire State Building's antenna tower.
"Whew~~"
The cold wind howled through the night as a red-and-blue suit drifted back together in the wind, the scattered dust in the air converging.
Under the moonlight, the shriveled suit quickly filled out.
Charlie opened his eyes again, finding himself back at the base of the antenna tower from "before his death." The prompt before him brought a smile to his face.
[You have successfully won the resurrection match!]
[Reward 1: Resurrection slot x1 (used)]
[Reward 2: Strength +10 tons]
[First resurrection match victory bonus: Nano Spider Suit (battle-damaged version)]
[First resurrection match victory bonus: Spider Totem Power x1]
[Remaining restarts: 1 (carried over to the next resurrection match)]
He clenched his fists, feeling the explosive power coursing through his body.
After eight retries, his base strength had increased from one ton to nearly two.
With the rewards from the resurrection match, his strength was now 12 tons!
Though 12 tons wasn't particularly impressive among Spider-Men—it was still on the lower end—it would help him face the challenges ahead.
As his strength increased, so did his overall physical attributes.
Next, he looked at his additional rewards.
[Nano Spider Suit (battle-damaged version): A partially functional nano-metal suit, retaining only basic AI assistance, web glider wings, temperature control system, urine filtration system, and oxygen supply system.]
[Spider Totem Power: The core source of Spider-Man's power, the ultimate judgment force of fate. It possesses mysterious and unpredictable abilities. Please explore its potential.]
After the mysterious power surged into his body, it vanished as if it had never appeared. Charlie was left with a puzzled expression.
Totem Power—it seemed familiar from the Spider-Man comics, but he had no idea what it actually did.
As for the Nano Suit…
With a thought, the palm-sized Spider-Man emblem appeared in his hand.
He slapped the emblem onto his chest, and in an instant, the nano-metal swiftly covered his body, shielding him from the cold high-altitude winds as the suit molded tightly to his form.
Sliding down the glass wall of the building on his webs, Charlie caught his reflection in the glass—his new, sleek Spider-Man silhouette.
It looked more like armor than a suit.
Under the moonlight, the metallic sheen of the nano-suit gleamed, accented by gold lines, and his eyes glowed faintly blue, making him stand out in the night.
Charlie stretched his limbs, satisfied with the cool new suit.
Unfortunately, it was just the battle-damaged version, lacking the metallic spider legs and web-shooting mechanisms—not to mention the red-eye "Instant Kill" mode.
The basic AI assistant wasn't even on the same level as Jarvis, existing solely to help him operate the nano-suit with ease. At least it wouldn't interfere with him shooting webs from his wrists or using his wall-crawling abilities, thanks to the suit's "adaptive" technology.
It was a nano-suit made specifically for Spider-Man.
After sorting through his newfound gains, Charlie leaped from the building.
"Whew~~"
The high-altitude winds roared as he spread his arms wide, revealing the thin, wing-like web gliders beneath his armpits.
In an instant, Charlie's descent slowed dramatically.
With the help of the glider wings, he soared over several skyscrapers before diving into the neon-lit streets below.
The bustling city, filled with cars and the noise of everyday life, was the same New York as before.
"Oh my god, what is that?"
"Spider-Man?"
"He's alive!"
"His suit looks different—it's made of metal!"
"His suit's been upgraded! Unbelievable!"
The onlookers cried out in amazement, but Charlie was used to this by now.
Although he hadn't been Spider-Man for long, his actions hadn't been low-profile. The public had been extremely interested in the super-powered Spider-Man, and countless citizens recognized him.
But what puzzled Charlie was that, aside from Norman, no one should have known about his death.
How did these people know?
It wasn't until he returned to Queens.
...
117A Bleecker Street.
Outside, the red-and-blue figure slowly climbed up the wall.
Inside the house, Uncle Ben and Aunt May were sitting together, laughing at a TV show.
Charlie peeked in, his pale blue eyes narrowing slightly.
They seemed to be doing just fine.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, the show ended, and Uncle Ben, looking a bit reluctant, pressed the remote.
On the TV screen, a sharply dressed news anchor smiled.
"Hi, viewers! This is Global News. Regarding the rumors of Spider-Man's death, we are fortunate to have an expert on Spider-Man here with us today to provide some insight."
The anchor handed the microphone to the expert beside him.
"Hahaha, hello everyone! I'm J. Jonah Jameson from The Daily Bugle! According to information provided by the Green Goblin, we can now confirm that Spider-Man has been killed. He hasn't been seen for over a week."