"Roar!!"
On the desolate land, a giant beast roared as the army of Chitauri apes surged like a tide.
In the next moment, lightning ripped through the sky, and Mjolnir smashed down on a Leviathan, pinning it.
"Go!"
Boom!!
The damaged Mjolnir flew toward the cliff where the Mind Stone hovered, dragging along a group of "grasshoppers" in its wake.
As the fierce winds howled, Old Steve shouted at the top of his lungs, "Spider-kid, why didn't they come with us?"
"What? The wind's too strong—I can't hear you!"
In just a few seconds, as they neared the cliff, Mjolnir suddenly vanished, and the glow of the Mind Stone flickered, causing everyone to descend into madness.
"Summer is quietly leaving behind a little secret~"
"Oh, Jack."
"Rose, I'm flying."
"I'm gonna knock your teeth out and stuff them back in."
"Hail Hydra!!"
This time, Thanos, who was unconscious, showed no signs of violent outbursts, so Charlie's Spider-Sense didn't trigger an immediate warning.
Quickly, the group started to fall in parabolic arcs toward the cliff face.
As the Spider-Sense alerted him, Charlie was the first to regain consciousness, and without hesitation, he switched to his web mode.
Thwip, thwip, thwip!
As they plummeted down the cliff, a flurry of webs shot out, catching everyone in free fall. Charlie's muscles swelled as he grabbed the web strands and twisted them into a rope, then tied them around his waist.
Crack, crack, crack~
With hands and feet working in tandem, Charlie began to climb the cliff, loose stones occasionally slipping past him. His slender body carried the hope of the entire team.
The wind howled like a demon, and Charlie's heart felt as precarious as the lives of Tony and the others suspended in midair.
Dangling bodies, dangling hearts—at any moment, they could all fall.
Crack!
As expected, the rocks beneath his feet couldn't bear the weight of the group and began to tremble. Charlie suddenly felt the ground give way beneath him.
In a split second, as he plummeted, his eyes flashed red. The black spider-arms shot into the cliffside, anchoring him as a cascade of stones fell. He finally stopped his descent.
Over the next half hour, with the help of his black spider-arms, Charlie painstakingly brought everyone to the top of the cliff.
"Phew~~"
Casually tossing the group onto the flat ground, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief.
If nothing went wrong, he wouldn't have to waste any more resets.
He didn't approach the floating Mind Stone, choosing instead to wait.
Ten minutes later, Infinite Tony was the first to regain consciousness.
Looking at Carter, who was angrily cursing at him, Infinite Tony blinked in confusion.
"Is that the only thing you know how to say?" he asked.
The next second, Carter snapped out of it, looking bewildered as she glanced around.
"What just happened?"
"You were cursing."
"No, I never curse."
"Alright, then I must have misheard."
Soon, Lizard Parker and Old Steve also regained their senses.
The group gathered around the still-dreaming Thanos, exchanging strange glances.
"What is the Eternals?"
"Isn't he a Titan?"
"Maybe he's been keeping something from us."
"Should we wake him up?"
"I'll give it a try."
"Let me do it—I just so happen to need to pee."
"You think you're funny?"
Charlie knelt down, raising a fist, ready to wake Thanos with a simple and crude method.
Before he could act, Thanos suddenly shuddered and opened his eyes, his confusion quickly turning to rage.
"You bastards! Why did you—"
Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly stopped.
"Where is this?"
"The Exiled Lands, on Planet M78," Charlie replied.
"What?"
Thanos looked around in shock, his gaze landing on the floating Mind Stone. Instantly, his face lit up with joy.
"Hahaha! It's the Light of the Mind, recorded in Titan's history. It really is here in the Exiled Lands. Titan is saved! My efforts weren't in vain."
"Ahem, Thanos, are you clear-headed? It's me who got you here," Charlie reminded him.
Hearing this, Thanos snapped out of it.
He looked at Charlie, confused and a little wary.
"Why did you do this?"
"Because I wanted to help you."
"But you knocked me out."
"That was part of the plan. Otherwise, we'd have never made it this far."
"What's your real goal?"
"To help you survive in the Exiled Lands."
"I don't believe in something so convenient."
"Suit yourself."
Charlie said as he untied the webs binding Thanos and stepped back a few paces.
Thanos stood up, wiping the dried blood from his forehead, casting a suspicious and calculating glance at the group.
But soon, his wariness faded as the glow of the Mind Stone captured his attention.
Filled with anticipation, Thanos turned and began walking toward the stone.
"Wait."
Charlie spoke, and Thanos immediately tensed, as if facing a dangerous enemy.
"What do you want?" he asked cautiously, stepping back.
Charlie raised his hands in surrender. "I just wanted to warn you—don't touch it. Otherwise, you'll fall back into a trance."
"A trance?" Thanos frowned.
"Yes. If that weren't the case, we wouldn't have had to knock you out to stop you from going berserk."
Charlie's words left Thanos momentarily speechless, and even Infinite Tony and the others were taken aback.
"Spider-kid, your powers are getting scarier by the day. You predicted all this?" Old Steve gave him a thumbs-up.
Lizard Parker shivered in fear. "I wasn't wrong to lose the last two times. If I weren't with you now, I'd probably fail again."
"Wait, I should hate you for this." He realized, pretending to be angry.
"Imposter, I won't... okay, fine, I forgive you."
After saying that, Lizard Parker seemed to have an existential crisis.
Damn, what has this guy done to me?
He was internally tormented but found it difficult to keep disliking Charlie.
Could I be...
Suddenly, a terrifying thought crossed his mind.
"No!!!"
Lizard Parker grabbed his head and let out a pained howl, leaving everyone else baffled.
"What's wrong with him?" Carter asked.
Old Steve shook his head. "No idea. Maybe he's still stuck in that illusion."
"Stuck in memories of your date?" Infinite Tony teased.
Old Steve's face filled with confusion. "With who?"
"With you. You two were cuddling earlier, a live broadcast of a soap opera."
"What?"
Old Steve's face stiffened, and he turned away silently.
"No!!!"
He dropped to his knees, holding his head in despair.
Carter sighed and shook her head. "Another man trapped in the quagmire of love."
Infinite Tony nodded. "Yeah, I never knew he had such strange quirks."
"Stark, you shouldn't judge them," Carter said seriously.
"Sorry, my bad," Tony replied, though his tone was anything but sincere.
Meanwhile, Thanos had already approached the Mind Stone.
Following Charlie's advice, he didn't dare touch it but instead closed his eyes, recalling Titan's ancient records about the Light of the Mind.
After a long pause, he sighed softly.
"If I'm not mistaken, I need the sacred artifact to..."
"Here you go." Charlie tossed the artifact to him without hesitation.
He had seen Thanos bring it into the Exiled Lands on their last attempt.
Thanos: "..."
"You seem to know everything."
"Of course. You can still worship me if you want."
"I'll think about it."
In Thanos's eyes, the mask covering Charlie's face wasn't the Spider-Man mask—it was a veil of mystery.