"It's Spider-Man! So he's a member of Hydra!"
Immediately, Steve Rogers exclaimed in shock, then hastily threw his shield at Charlie.
Bang!
The shield shot toward him, but Charlie raised his hand and caught the edge of the shield. Though the sharp metal cut through the nanometal covering his palm, it couldn't scratch his skin in the slightest.
Letting go, the shield fell to the ground. His inverted triangle-shaped eyes faintly glowed blue in the firelight that was gradually rising.
In the tense atmosphere Steve deliberately created, Coulson and the others didn't have time to think things through and quickly surrounded Charlie.
"Spider-Man, drop your weapon!"
Charlie shrugged. "In fact, I don't have any weapons."
"Wait a second, this must be a misunderstanding."
Harry, descending swiftly on his flying board, landed in front of Charlie and said to Coulson, "Spider-Man is not an enemy. This is all a misunderstanding, so don't do anything rash."
Coulson's face was grim. "He's not an enemy? So the Captain is?"
"That's not impossible."
"Harry, Spider-Man is with Hydra. Don't let him fool you," Coulson said, not wanting to listen to Harry's explanation. He was a die-hard fan of Steve Rogers and would always trust him.
Nick Fury stepped forward. "Harry, get over here. That guy's dangerous."
"No, he's my friend."
Ignoring their warnings, Harry pointed toward Steve, who was standing behind the crowd. "He has no evidence that Spider-Man is with Hydra."
"True, I don't have evidence, but I have seen the truth."
Behind the group, Steve inwardly sneered, though his face showed a pained expression.
He gazed at Charlie. "Spider-Man, we once fought the Green Goblin together. Back then, I thought you were one of us, just someone who didn't want to be tied down."
"But I didn't expect you to be Hydra's leader. You've taken over Red Skull's remaining forces, aiming to overthrow the world. This won't be allowed. I won't stand for it."
His voice was resolute, and the sense of justice emanating from him quickly influenced everyone around him.
"Yes, the evil Hydra organization shouldn't exist in this world."
"Harry, step aside!"
Coulson and the others became more agitated, while Nick Fury and Natasha quietly drew their weapons, aiming at Charlie.
Seeing this, Harry instinctively rubbed his temples.
"Strange, why do I feel..."
"Feel like he's right, don't you?" Charlie's voice snapped Harry out of his daze.
"No, I won't believe him," Harry quickly shook his head.
"I know."
The red-and-blue glow in Charlie's brow flashed briefly as he smiled at Steve amidst the crowd.
"I get it now."
"Get what?" Steve frowned.
"Your ability."
Charlie pushed Harry aside. "I have to admit, your power of persuasion works well on ordinary people. But you missed something."
"What?" Steve began to feel uneasy.
Charlie clenched his fist, and the nanometal covering his hand groaned under the strain.
"They chose to believe you, which doesn't surprise me. But who cares about that? When faced with overwhelming power, if I wanted to kill you, could they stop this punch with fifty tons of force?"
"What?!"
Hearing this, the agents' faces were filled with shock.
Fifty tons of force?
Impossible!
Seemingly to prove his point, Charlie suddenly pushed Harry away, then kicked up the shield at his feet.
Instantly, webs shot from his wrist, attaching to the shield and swinging it in a wide arc. The air erupted with a deafening crack. The agents felt an intense pain in their chests before screaming and being flung back, crashing into the scorched ground.
"Ah!"
"Phil!"
"Natasha!"
"Motherfu—!"
Nick Fury cursed loudly, but the next second, his weapon was yanked away by a web, and then he lost consciousness under an overwhelming force.
Buzz-buzz!
The sound of helicopters roared through the night, and the air was filled with the sound of arrows whizzing toward the back of Charlie's head.
Whoosh!
Clink!
With Spider-Sense warning him, Charlie caught the incoming arrow mid-flight, wrapping the arrowhead in his hand.
Thud!
A muffled noise echoed as small sparks ignited at his fingertips. A wisp of black smoke dissipated into the air, and a pile of ash slipped through his fingers.
"What?!"
In the helicopter above, Clint Barton's face changed as he quickly drew three more arrows.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Three arrows flew through the air, each targeting Charlie's head, chest, and legs with lightning speed.
But to Charlie, these posed no threat.
As the Spider-Totem continued to grow within him, his Spider-Sense had fully returned to normal. Merging with his Titan physiology made him far more agile and quick than before, and both his defense and strength had significantly improved. Even if the arrows exploded next to him, they couldn't harm him.
But that didn't mean he would just stand there and take it.
Clang!
The shield shot upward at an angle, intercepting the arrows mid-flight. The moment they collided, they exploded.
Boom!
The night sky lit up with fire as a red-and-blue figure shot through the air, propelled by web-slinging.
"Damn..."
Steve, who was trying to escape, suddenly felt a fierce gust of wind at his back. With his rich battle experience, he instinctively dove to the ground, just as a figure soared overhead, crashing into a tree in front of him.
Crash!
As splinters rained down, Steve wasted no time, lunging forward to catch the falling shield before somersaulting into the charred entrance of the underground bunker.
Since Spider-Man's revival, his strength and durability had skyrocketed, something Steve hadn't expected.
Spider-Man was indeed powerful, but Steve wasn't without his own tricks.
To him, there was more than one way to kill Spider-Man.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Steve suddenly felt the shield being yanked from his grip with tremendous force. The bunker entrance was just in front of him, but he couldn't take another step forward.
Looking down, he saw the shield entangled in webs. A powerful force pulled it from his hand.
"Captain, your shield," Charlie called, catching the shield with a smirk.
Steve's face darkened, and with a grunt of frustration, he dove into the bunker.
"Consider it a gift."
"Thanks for the donation, Captain," Charlie said as he slung the shield over his back and leapt into the bunker after him.
Up in the air, Barton's line of sight was blocked by Harry's figure.
"Wait, I think we should clear this up first," Harry said urgently.
Barton remained unmoved. "The facts are clear: Spider-Man is the enemy."
Harry clenched a pumpkin bomb in his hand, taking a deep breath. "You really don't want to get the facts straight?"
Barton raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to betray S.H.I.E.L.D.? Think carefully."
"It's not betrayal. I just want to help my friend," Harry said firmly.
Barton remained unfazed, drawing his bow and aiming at Harry's heart. "You won't have a chance to strike before I do."
Harry grinned slightly. "Your aim is precise, but your intelligence..."
Before he could finish speaking, the pumpkin bomb, fixed to the underside of the helicopter, flickered briefly before a surge of fire engulfed the helicopter.
"Ah, sh—!"
At the same time, deep underground in the ruined base...
Steve was running for his life while Charlie was hot on his heels.
Before, when Charlie was in his bulky Titan form, Steve had been able to lose him in the maze-like underground complex.
But now, Spider-Man's agility was fully unleashed, and the complex terrain had become a disadvantage for Steve.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Webs shot out in rapid succession, and the red-and-blue figure darted past the steel structures, landing in front of Steve.
Before Charlie could make a move, the metal doors around them shook violently, and a swarm of enhanced soldiers poured out.
"Spider-Man, do you know why I led you above ground?" Steve stopped and grinned.
Charlie crossed his arms. "Then take a guess at what I'm holding."
With that, he suddenly yanked on the glittering webs in his hand.
"What?!"