"It's Spider-Man!"
Old Steve's eyes lit up with delight as a dazzling comet streaked through the sky, hurtling straight toward Kang the Conqueror's seemingly impenetrable defenses.
At the same time, Thanos leapt high into the air, blade in hand.
"Boom!!"
The war blade tore through the atmosphere, delivering an earth-shaking blow with 300 tons of force.
"Buzz~"
"Boom!!"
Moments later, the radiant comet struck Kang's energy shield from another direction.
"Crack-crack!!"
"Boom!!"
Magic energy exploded outward, and the ground beneath Kang fractured like a massive spiderweb, the cracks rapidly spreading.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The shockwaves ripped through the terrain, shattering the ranks of tech soldiers caught in its path.
Inside his shield, Kang felt the overwhelming pressure from both sides. His face darkened as he raised a second hand to maintain the barrier, abandoning his earlier air of indifference.
Through the blue energy shield, Kang glared at Thanos, who relentlessly slashed at him. A flicker of frustration passed through his eyes.
Glancing upward, Kang saw Spider-Man's body transform into a monstrous, blood-soaked form within a crimson mist. Tendrils lashed out violently, each strike as powerful as Thanos's.
"Damned insects! If my temporal powers hadn't been stolen, none of you would even come close to challenging me!"
Xia Luo grinned.
"Wow, thanks for the spoiler, Kang. No wonder you're so weak!"
The revelation shed light on a curious plot point: in the movie, Kang—who had once destroyed countless multiverses—was somehow defeated by Ant-Man's family. It all made sense now.
As the thought passed, Xia Luo's electric spider insignia crawled across his chest.
"Buzz~"
"Boom!!"
When the electric spider fused with the magic energy coursing through him, Xia Luo's muscles swelled.
In his Hydra Mode, crimson tendrils wrapped around his body, forming a massive blood-red drill.
The drill spun rapidly, its motion gathering lightning and magical energy into a vibrant tornado of sparks.
"Buzz!"
"Crack-crack~"
To everyone's shock, the tornado managed to pierce a tiny hole in Kang's shield—barely the size of a fingernail, but a hole nonetheless.
"What?!"
Kang's eyes widened in disbelief before he roared in fury, unleashing a blinding energy beam from one hand.
"Buzz~"
"Boom!!"
The beam smashed into Thanos, sending him hurtling to the ground with bone-crushing force.
"Damned insect! I'll kill you again!"
Enraged, Kang's armored suit radiated arcs of electricity as his gravitational device spun at full power. The fiery tornado collapsed under the invisible force, and Xia Luo's form scattered into shimmering magical particles.
"What?!"
The Avengers watched in horror as even Spider-Man's best efforts failed.
"Impossible. If even Spider-Man can't beat him…" Old Steve muttered, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
Before they could despair further, a familiar voice rang out from above.
"Relax—it was just one of my clones. No big deal."
"What?!"
Everyone, including Kang, froze as Xia Luo appeared again, swinging into view and landing gracefully.
"You… you should already be dead!" Kang's face darkened further.
Xia Luo shrugged.
"Sorry, that was just a clone. Did you actually take it seriously?" He flashed an obscene hand gesture, taunting Kang.
"You dare mock me?!"
Kang's teeth ground together as endless streams of electricity crackled from his armor. Twin energy beams shot from his hands, their intensity far surpassing his earlier attacks.
"Boom-boom!!"
The unleashed energy swept across the battlefield, destroying everything in its path—Avengers, tech soldiers, and debris alike.
Amid the chaos, Tony Stark weaved through the storm in his nanotech armor.
"Damn it, why's this guy suddenly so unhinged?" Tony muttered, dodging falling rubble.
Old Steve grabbed a tech soldier and used it as a shield.
"From what I've seen, villains who fight Spider-Man tend to go berserk," he observed.
Peter Parker swung nimbly through the destruction.
"No way! I've never seen that happen."
"That's because you're not a proper Spider-Man yet."
Peter: "…"
Meanwhile, Scott Lang cowered in a corner, clutching his injured foot.
"Help! Somebody get me out of here! I want to go home!" he wailed.
"Have some backbone."
Thanos spun his blade effortlessly, deflecting incoming debris and energy blasts. Through a gap in the crumbling walls, he noticed a strange figure.
"What are you doing?" Thanos frowned, an inexplicable urge to crush the figure stirring within him.
Inside the battered room, Wade Wilson fiddled with a small speaker.
"I think it's broken," Wade said, scratching his head.
He looked up at Thanos.
"I'm practicing my dance moves. Don't mind me. Oh, by the way, want a role in my next movie series? The audience would go wild if you showed up."
Thanos's frown deepened.
"Idiot."
He muttered a curse and sidestepped a massive boulder crashing into the room.
"Boom!!"
The rock flattened Wade into a pile of bloody mush.
Thanos smirked, feeling oddly satisfied.
"Hey, Purple Grape, I need to borrow your body for a sec," Xia Luo called out, leaping to hide behind Thanos.
Grabbing Thanos's bicep, Xia Luo gave an approving nod.
"Solid. Looks like in the Quantum Realm, there's no difference between soul and flesh."
Thanos turned to him.
"What are you planning?"
"Just this."
With a running start, Xia Luo kicked Thanos straight at Kang.
The Mad Titan growled in frustration.
"Insect, don't let me catch you—"
Before he could finish, Kang's ferocious energy beam enveloped him.
"Argh!!"
Despite his immense durability, Thanos felt searing pain coursing through his body, leaving him visibly stunned.
"Did he learn that from Wanda?" Old Steve mused aloud, watching the spectacle.
"Hey, Grandpa," Xia Luo quipped, "you should form a cheerleading squad. At least then your contribution score wouldn't be zero."
Ignoring the jibe, Xia Luo formed hand seals, summoning six clones into the air.
"Let's have some fun."
"Got it!"
The clones mirrored Xia Luo's movements, creating their own clones.
Seconds later, the sky teemed with a swarm of Spider-Men.
"What the hell?!"
Old Steve's jaw dropped as countless Spider-Men descended.
"Holy mother of—! He can clone himself infinitely?!"
Tony landed beside him with a loud thud.
"Relax. The Sorcerer Supreme's clones are worse."
"It's not the same."
"It is. We're all the same."
The swarm of Spider-Men swung toward Kang in unison.
"Get lost!!"
Kang's face twisted in anger as he blasted Thanos aside and unleashed a barrage of lasers across the sky, scattering dozens of clones.
But for every clone he destroyed, dozens more took their place.
On the battlefield's edge, Xia Luo stood atop a glowing spider totem, its light dimming rapidly.
Within seconds, the clones had drained one totem's power.
A second totem emerged, sustaining the swarm.
The experiment satisfied Xia Luo—each clone could retain his full power for seven seconds, including his magical abilities.
By creating clones that could then create more clones, he extended their existence and impact.
However, the more clones he summoned, the weaker they became, and the faster his magic depleted.
With seven totems, seven clones could maintain peak strength—a balanced choice. Any more, and they'd be mere cannon fodder.
As the third totem's energy waned, Xia Luo's gaze locked onto Kang, now ensnared in a massive web.
Without his temporal powers, Kang relied solely on his advanced 31st-century armor.
While powerful, it was barely enough to fend off Thanos, let alone the endless onslaught of Spider-Men.
After all, 31st-century tech is only impressive by 31st-century standards.
After all, in many universes, Dr. Pym discovered Pym Particles as early as the 20th century.
Compared to 31st-century technology, this was the true game-changer.
Xia Luo's thoughts shifted, losing interest in prolonging the fight.
Dealing with Kang was just one step; there was something even more important to handle.
"It's time to wrap this up."
Slapping several Pym Discs onto himself, Xia Luo's red-and-blue form swelled a hundredfold in an instant.
No, he wasn't stopping there.
"Crack-crack-crack!!"
In mere moments, a massive red-and-blue giant, even larger than Scott's enlarged form, loomed over the City of Time.
"What?!"
Kang's eyes widened in horror as the colossal shadow fell over him, engulfing not only himself but also the sea of Spider-Man clones surrounding him.
One clone knelt on the ground, hands over his head, wailing dramatically.
"Ahh~ The Buddha has deceived me!"
"Haha, that's hilarious!"
"That looks fun—lemme try!"
"Ahh! Spider-Man betrayed me!"
As a chorus of clones knelt and howled in mock despair, the giant's enormous foot crashed down, flattening Kang and the clones into oblivion.
"BOOM!!"
The ground shook violently, sending clouds of dust soaring into the air. Standing tall amidst the chaos, the red-and-blue giant raised one fist to his waist while lifting the other into the sky.
Behind him, the golden glow of the small sun painted him as an ancient deity.
Old Steve and the others stared up at the giant in awe, their faces twitching with mixed emotions.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Who's Buddha?"
"No idea."
"Why is Spider-Man holding that pose for so long?"
"My guess? He's paying tribute to his idol."
"Doesn't he feel embarrassed?"
"Evidently, he never feels embarrassed."
Gwen emerged from the rubble, shaking her head in exasperation.
"I want out of here."
She turned to Old Steve.
"That Spider-Man summoning spell only lasts an hour, right?"
"That's correct."
Old Steve looked her over thoughtfully.
"The Quantum Realm has no concept of time. You've got plenty of opportunity to bond with him."
Gwen scowled.
"No thanks. Captain Carter would be furious."
"Carter?"
At the mention of the name, Tony's nanotech helmet receded, and he gave Old Steve a questioning look.
Steve turned away, avoiding Tony's gaze.
"Just a coincidence. Same name, different person. Let's not make this awkward right now."
Tony hesitated, then sighed, choosing to let it drop.
"We're all too old to cling to grudges," he muttered, looking up at the giant.
"How much longer is this gonna take?"
"Not long now."
Old Steve waved toward the giant.
"Spider-Man! I've taken your photo!"
"Perfect."
Xia Luo glanced down and peeled the Pym Discs off his body.
"Buzz~"
With a flicker of light, he shrank back to normal size.
Jumping into the massive footprint left in the ground, he began searching.
"What are you doing?" Gwen called after him.
"Checking if he's really dead," Xia Luo replied without looking back.
At this, everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
"What a cautious Spider-Man. He must be very dependable in his universe," Scott said admiringly.
Old Steve winced.
"He means it's better if Kang isn't dead."
"Why's that?" Scott asked, confused.
Venom Parker, silent until now, interjected.
"Because if he's dead, it'll be even more troublesome."
Scott: "???"
These people were so weird.
Unfortunately, Xia Luo soon found Kang's remains in the pit—a pile of unrecognizable sludge.
Looking at the mess, he couldn't help but complain.
"Sigh, 31st-century tech is so disappointing. At least include some sort of emergency teleportation feature—what good is maxing out attack and defense if you can't save yourself?
"And showing up this early? What was the point of all those disposable soldiers?
"Oh, and that whole 'kill me again' thing? Sorry, I had the same plan."
Muttering to himself, Xia Luo leapt out of the pit.
"We need to find Kang's time-travel device," he announced to the group.
"Even if it's broken, we can fix it and use it to get back to the real world."
"Hey, idol, I can—"
Wade approached eagerly but was promptly punched into the distance by Xia Luo.
"Heroes who slack off don't get any lines."
Seeing this, Old Steve and Peter exchanged guilty looks, quickly lowering their heads.
Thanos frowned.
"And where do we find this device?"
Xia Luo turned and pointed at the triangular tech tower in the distance.
"That tower's our best bet."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
Thanos strode toward the tower. The remaining soldiers scattered at his approach, retreating but refusing to flee entirely.
Shaking his head, Thanos muttered,
"Kang is dead, but his City of Time is a treasure trove. What follows will be a war for power."
Xia Luo jogged to catch up with him.
"There's no place for you out there anymore. This place suits you. Think about it," he suggested.
Thanos walked in silence, lost in thought.
---
T/N: HUH? WHY WILL CARTER BE MAD? UNLESS.... I FUCKING KNEW ITTTT
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