"Zzzzt~"
Electric arcs crackled as Xia Luo deftly navigated around the floating, bizarre creatures in the sky, finally landing beside Thanos.
"You alright?" he asked.
Thanos shot him a sidelong glance.
"I'll help you this time, but don't forget your promise to me."
"Of course. I'll bring Gamora back," Xia Luo said with a smile.
Thanos's condition was simple, and Xia Luo was confident he could fulfill it.
Looking up, he saw Venom Parker and Scott descending into this strange world, followed by Peter Parker, who used his suit's web glider to make a smooth landing.
This time, it was Infinite Tony who personally caught Peter.
"Not fair! We're Spider-Men too—where's our VIP treatment?"
Venom Parker approached, covered in dirt. Behind him, the demon-faced Venom wobbled into view, loudly complaining.
Infinite Tony patted Peter's shoulder before turning to Venom Parker.
"Control your pet, please."
Venom Parker: "…"
Venom: "…"
"I'm not a pet! I'm his partner!" Venom protested indignantly, but Infinite Tony had no patience for it.
Soon, everyone regrouped.
Old Steve was chewing on some green, plant-like substance he had picked up.
"Want some? It's nutritious," he said, offering it to Xia Luo.
Xia Luo grimaced.
"No thanks. Enjoy it yourself."
He glanced at his watch and smiled in satisfaction.
More than an hour had passed, but he hadn't been pulled back into the cosmic web.
The Quantum Realm's lack of time and space meant that the usual one-hour mission limit no longer applied.
This was a win.
Smirking at his good fortune, Xia Luo's gaze fell on Old Steve's increasingly bloated stomach.
"Are you pregnant?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What?"
Old Steve instinctively looked down, his face turning pale as he saw his abdomen swelling rapidly.
"What's happening? I think I'm about to—"
"It's that thing you ate," Infinite Tony said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "At your age, you shouldn't just eat random stuff. It's dangerous."
Panicking, Old Steve tossed the plant away and clutched his stomach in distress.
"Am I going to… give birth?" he asked, his voice trembling as he looked at Xia Luo in fear.
Xia Luo shrugged.
"Who knows?"
Venom's demon face stretched closer, its wide grin unsettling.
"Let me crawl into your stomach and eat it," Venom offered.
Old Steve's eyes widened in horror, his hands flying to cover both his front and back.
"From where?"
"Take a guess."
"No! I refuse!"
Old Steve ducked behind Xia Luo.
"Kid, save me!"
"Sorry, if it's your kid, I'll make sure to protect it," Xia Luo said, flashing a mischievous grin.
While the group bantered, Thanos shook his head in disapproval.
"Let's discuss the plan," he said, looking at Xia Luo.
Xia Luo pushed Old Steve aside, his smile fading.
"The plan is simple: enter the Quantum Realm and find Kang the Conqueror. His time machine can get us back to the real world."
"Kang the Conqueror?"
The group looked puzzled, clearly unfamiliar with the name.
Old Steve tilted his head in thought.
"Kid, is this another one of your superpowers?"
"Don't mention superpowers to me."
"Got it."
Old Steve obediently fell silent as Xia Luo continued.
"If my guess is right, Kang has already taken control of the Quantum Realm. All we need to do is find the natives, and they'll lead us to him."
The Quantum Realm's timeline took place after the Spider-Man multiverse crossover.
Currently, Peter Parker's identity had been exposed by Mysterio, but thanks to Infinite Tony's intervention, he hadn't yet gone to seek Doctor Strange.
By Xia Luo's estimate, it would still be some time before Ant-Man's family entered the Quantum Realm in the movie timeline.
However, with Old Steve and Natasha resurrected, the film universe's events might shift.
There was a chance Ant-Man's family could enter the Quantum Realm earlier—or never enter it at all.
It was all an unknown.
If Ant-Man's family arrived early, defeated Kang, and destroyed the time machine, the entire mission could fall apart.
Time was of the essence.
With that in mind, Xia Luo formed a series of hand seals and summoned other Spider-Men from across the multiverse.
The more, the merrier—so long as they were reliable.
"Buzzz~"
Under the group's astonished gazes, a massive spider totem radiated light. From a city projection, a petite figure swung down, landing gracefully before solidifying into a tangible presence.
"Xia Luo, you're alive?"
"Gwen?"
Their eyes met, both filled with surprise.
"Where are we?" Gwen asked, scanning the surroundings until her gaze landed on Peter Parker and Venom Parker.
"You…"
"It's you!"
Gwen's expression hardened as she recognized Venom Parker.
It was his symbiote that had left behind cells, transforming her into Spider-Woman.
At the same time, Venom inside Parker's body sniffed the air and detected a familiar scent.
"Oh, it's this girl. I can smell my offspring," Venom said.
As he spoke, black liquid rippled across Gwen's body, and a matching demonic face emerged.
When the two symbiotes met, Gwen's symbiote, Abby, narrowed its pale, elongated eyes as a crimson hue spread through them.
"Father, are you ready to be eaten?" Abby grinned, its instincts urging it to devour its counterpart.
Venom's eyes filled with apprehension.
"Peter, you've got to protect me," it said, pressing its head against Parker's chest. Its uncharacteristic tenderness made Parker visibly uncomfortable.
"Don't do this. People are watching."
"Oh, so you don't love me anymore?"
"Shut up! I said people are watching!"
"Oh, I'm heartbroken…"
Meanwhile, Gwen was busy calming her symbiote.
"Relax. Eating your father isn't right."
"But all symbiotes do that," Abby argued.
"Not you, Abby. You're better than that—you're kind," Gwen reassured it.
As Gwen coaxed her symbiote, Xia Luo had no interest in the petty father-daughter squabble.
"Alright, split up. Our goal is to find Kang the Conqueror."
"Understood."
Infinite Tony and Peter Parker exchanged a glance, then walked off in the same direction.
Old Steve glanced at Xia Luo.
"Kid, I want to go with you."
"Let's go, don't bother him." Scott grabbed Old Steve and dragged him away.
"No! I don't want to leave the Kid!"
As Old Steve's wails echoed, Wade emerged from a nearby bush.
"Sh*t, that was close. Almost got spotted," he said, dusting himself off and walking over to Xia Luo excitedly.
"Have you decided yet?"
"Where the hell were you?" Xia Luo frowned, almost forgetting about him entirely.
Wade pointed to the bushes.
"I was taking a dump."
Xia Luo: "…"
"You'll team up with Thanos."
"I work alone."
Thanos hefted his double-edged blade and turned away without hesitation.
He had no intention of working with someone who didn't wipe.
Neither did Xia Luo.
Feigning shock, Xia Luo pointed behind Wade.
"Look! What's that?"
Wade crossed his arms, unimpressed.
"Trying to ditch me, huh?" He saw right through the act.
Xia Luo shrugged.
"Yep, nailed it."
Taking a few steps back, Xia Luo crouched slightly.
"What are you doing?" Wade asked, confused.
"Getting a running start."
"A running start?"
"Exactly."
Xia Luo suddenly lunged forward, accelerating rapidly.
"See ya!"
With a mighty kick, he launched Wade into the air. Shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, Xia Luo watched Wade disappear into the distance.
"Perfect. Now it's just us."
Turning around, Xia Luo saw Venom Parker clearing his throat.
"I get it. You two go together. I'll find the guy who was... doing his business."
Knowing this Gwen wasn't his Gwen, Venom Parker chose to leave.
As he walked off, Xia Luo mused aloud.
"He kinda looks like a dog from behind."
Gwen rolled her eyes.
"So, this is the resurrection tournament? All these people are participants?"
Through the symbiote's memories, she had gleaned fragments of information about the contest.
Xia Luo shook his head.
"Of course not. This time, I'm the only one."
He gazed at a small sun in the sky.
"Let's head that way."
"Alright."
Without protest, Gwen walked beside him, the two strolling casually as if out for a walk.
"Aren't you in a hurry?"
"I am."
"Then move faster."
"Wait, I think I stepped in… you know," Xia Luo muttered, his face stiffening as he scraped his shoe against the ground.
Gross.
Gwen glanced down, her expression shifting to mild exasperation.
"It's not poop. It's... jelly?"
Looking at the squished pink jelly-like creature under Xia Luo's foot, Gwen gently pushed him aside.
"This little guy's adorable!" she said, picking up the creature with a smile.
Relieved, Xia Luo sighed.
"So that's what stepping in poop feels like?"
"You should apologize to the little guy," Gwen said seriously.
Xia Luo chuckled.
"Alright, I'm sorry."
Before he could say more, a colorful manta ray-like creature soared overhead.
"Wow, Spider-Man's ride!"
Delighted, Xia Luo bolted upward, lightning crackling around him.
"Zzzt~"
In an instant, he ensnared the creature with webs and stood triumphantly on its back.
"Hop on, I'll take you flying!" he shouted to Gwen below.
"Oh."
Gwen shook her head.
"Childish," she muttered to herself.
A minute later, the colorful manta ray glided through the sky, with Gwen spreading her arms and cheering.
"Woohoo! I'm flying! Look, I'm flying!"
Behind her, Xia Luo whispered.
"Childish."
Meanwhile, on the manta ray's back, Xia Luo doodled with the pink jelly creature, much to its annoyance.
"Titanic"
"Perfect. Makes a great chalk," Xia Luo said, satisfied, before slipping the jelly creature into his pants.
All Spider-Man's friends knew—his suit didn't have pockets.
Only one place to store things.
Standing, Xia Luo spread his arms like the movie's iconic pose, only to see Gwen turning back to glare at him.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her expression unreadable.
"I..."
Xia Luo gestured at his graffiti.
"This is the Titanic. What do you think I'm doing?"
Gwen covered her face with her hand.
"Xia Luo, could you be serious for once?"
"I am serious," he retorted, pouting.
Then, with arms wide open, he leapt off the manta ray.
"What are you waiting for? Jump!" he yelled midair.
"Jump?" Gwen repeated, dumbfounded.
"Why?"
"Because the Titanic's about to hit an iceberg!"
"Iceberg? That's—"
Before she could finish, the colorful manta ray crashed into a small, ice-blue island suspended in the sky.
"Crack~"
"Pop-pop-pop!"
The collision created a spectacular shower of glittering droplets as Gwen began to fall.
"Whoosh~"
Wind howled past as Gwen fired webs, latching onto a floating red mushroom.
Xia Luo grabbed her midair, pulling her onto the mushroom with him.
Gwen looked embarrassed.
"So, that's what you meant."
"What else could I have meant?"
"I thought... never mind. Let's change the subject."
Gwen adjusted her mood, gazing at the strange stars in the colorful sky and the endless peculiar plants on the ground.
"What is this place? Everything seems so... chaotic," she said with a frown.
Xia Luo stared into the distant desert.
"Forgot to mention—this is the Quantum Realm."
"The Quantum Realm?" Gwen was stunned. She'd heard of such theories in science but never imagined seeing it for herself.
"Amazing. I never thought the Quantum Realm would look like this."
She marveled at the sight as Xia Luo pointed toward the desert.
"I see a village over there."
"Let's check it out."
"Let's go."
Xia Luo shot a web.
"I'll go first!"
Using the web slingshot, he launched himself forward.
As Xia Luo sped away, Gwen eyed the lingering web in midair, falling into thought.
"Is someone pulling it from the other end?"
Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought.
Confusing or not, it worked great.
She followed suit, using the web slingshot to launch herself. The symbiote on her body rippled, forming glider wings as they drifted toward the desert.
By a lake in the desert, shadowy figures emerged from a cluster of ramshackle huts.
Speaking in strange, guttural tones, one figure stepped forward from the group.
"Bzzzt~"
A creature with a head resembling a soda can took aim at the two approaching figures in the sky, firing a golden energy beam from its can-like device.
"Boom!!"
The golden beam streaked through the air. At the front, Xia Luo fired his webs, launching himself into another slingshot motion.
"Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man incoming!"
With a burst of speed, Xia Luo flew forward, delivering a midair kick. Magical light radiated outward, cutting through the golden energy beam and scattering its remnants in all directions.
"Bzzzt~"
As the golden energy dissipated, the magical glow crashed diagonally into the sandy ground near the desert lake.
"BOOM!"
The explosion sent a sandstorm ripping through the area, obliterating the fragile huts.
"￥%##...#!"
"%...%&!@"
The odd-looking natives hurled insults at Xia Luo, their bizarre shapes twisted with rage.
Unbothered, Xia Luo fired webs that shot through the storm, suspending the villagers upside down in the air.
Though subdued, their body language made it clear they were still cursing him out.
When Gwen arrived, Xia Luo turned to her.
"You're good at languages. Can you understand them?"
Gwen's mouth twitched.
"You think you're funny?"
"Everyone knows Spider-Man is funny," Xia Luo said, grinning.
"I can vouch for that," Abby chimed in.
Gwen: "…"
Rolling her eyes, she turned to her symbiote.
"Your turn. You've got a way to make them talk to us, right?"
"No problem."
---
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