Under the threat of old man Steve's slaps, Symbiote Thor spilled everything obediently.
Gazing at the starry sky, his eyes melancholic, he began, "Long, long ago…"
Slap!
Old man Steve backhanded him across the face.
"Why'd you hit me?" Symbiote Thor's lips trembled, tears welling up again.
Old man Steve loomed over him. "No one wastes my time with nonsense except Little Spider."
Symbiote Thor: "…"
Damn, he's so in love.
Charlie, overhearing, instinctively stepped back.
This old guy isn't trying to ship us, is he? Nope, gotta find him a partner.
His gaze drifted to the approaching Avengers, landing on Symbiote Natasha with a thoughtful look.
She's the oldest here—perfect match.
As the Avengers neared, Symbiote Steve noticed Charlie's interest in Natasha. He slowed, whispering as she caught up, "See that?"
"What?" Natasha played coy.
Symbiote Steve said discreetly, "That kid seems into older women."
"Watch your words," Natasha snapped, unimpressed.
"Sorry," Symbiote Steve corrected himself. "That kid's definitely into mature, charming agents. Go… ahem, charm him. Make sure he stays to help with the symbiote crisis."
Natasha paused, straightening up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't like manipulating emotions for missions," she said, feigning reluctance.
"Natasha, please," Nick Fury joined the persuasion.
"Nick, I…" Natasha hesitated dramatically.
With Banner and Barton chiming in, she reluctantly agreed. "Fine. With great power comes great responsibility. This world's on me."
Sighing, her sharp demeanor shifted to sultry allure. She sauntered with a catlike stride, flaunting her figure and exuding mature charm, her gaze turning predatory.
She knew exactly what young guys liked.
Charlie, watching, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "She looks sick."
Old man Steve nodded beside him. "Yeah, seriously ill."
"Something's wrong with her eyes."
"She keeps blinking—probably ran out of eye drops."
"My God, she's biting her lip!!"
"She needs a hospital."
"Maybe it's heavy-metal lipstick—lead or mercury poisoning."
"Makes sense, Little Spider. Your studies are paying off."
Charlie sighed, "You saw through it too, huh? Can't fool you."
"Old man, handle her. I've got business," he added.
"No problem." Old man Steve rolled up nonexistent sleeves, striding toward Natasha with gusto.
Seeing him grab her hand and execute a graceful over-the-shoulder flip, Charlie nodded.
A beautiful senior romance had begun.
He approached Symbiote Thor. "Continue your speech."
Thor hesitated. "You hit people often?"
"All the time."
"Alright, what do you want to know?"
"Asgard's current situation."
Symbiote Thor exhaled. "After Father left, Ragnarok began.
I thought it'd be Asgard's disaster, but I was wrong—dead wrong."
He recalled, "Hela broke Father's seal, appearing in Asgard with a black magic sword we'd never seen, slaughtering nearly all of Asgard."
"Black magic sword?" Charlie raised a brow. "Night Sky Sword?"
Hela's signature weapon, but Thor should know it.
As expected, Symbiote Thor shook his head. "I know the Night Sky Sword, but Hela's black sword was far worse. One swing defeated me and killed me."
"You died?" Charlie eyed him.
Thor shook his head again. "As you see, I was killed but didn't die.
Like all Asgardian soldiers Hela slew, we became her slaves. The thing inside us gave us life and boosted our power.
But the cost? We're forever under Hela's control—or rather, that black sword's control."
Charlie's mind raced. A sword controlling symbiotes and Asgardians? Likely the Necrosword.
Did Hela steal it from Gwen?
He dismissed the idea instantly.
Gwen with the Necrosword was near-invincible. Even Scarlet Wanda couldn't counter it. Hela, sealed for ages, stood no chance.
That meant two Necroswords.
No, three! Gwen's, Hela's, and the one with Gorr the God Butcher in the cinematic universe.
Knull, the symbiote god, hailed from the dark void between the Sixth and Seventh Universes, the Abyss.
Before more multiverses emerged, Knull existed.
There could be countless Spider-Man variants, but Knull was singular, absolute.
Knull forged the Necrosword, slaughtering Celestials.
After eons of dormancy for unknown reasons, the Necrosword scattered across the multiverse.
Reflecting on Knull and the Necrosword, Charlie grew pensive.
The Necrosword was a casual creation of Knull's, terrifyingly powerful but trivial to him.
His true trump card was the All-Black Necrosword, forged over eons with Celestial power.
One letter apart, but worlds different in might.
There could be many Necroswords, but the All-Black was as unique as Knull.
Neither Gwen's nor Hela's could be the All-Black.
No one but Knull could wield it.
The Necrosword's power gave Charlie a headache.
Though a "casual" weapon for Knull, it was fearsome.
In Gwen's hands, it could slay Celestials, a perfect tool.
In Hela's? A deadly temptation.
Charlie abandoned any thought of snatching Hela's Necrosword.
Finding Gwen was safer.
Gwen likely had some control over the Necrosword now.
At least when it craved Spider-Man slaughter, she could restrain it—barely.
If not, it'd hesitate for a moment.
Connections mattered.
Forced connections? Lethal.
Snapping back, Charlie eyed Symbiote Thor. "Last question. If you're under Hela's control, how'd you use the Rainbow Bridge to reach Earth?"
He realized the question was redundant.
Sure enough, Thor glanced skyward. "Simple. I'm the vanguard."
"Hela's invading Earth?" Charlie frowned.
Wasn't she only obsessed with Asgard?
Symbiote Thor clarified, "Not just Earth—the Nine Realms."
"Of course," Charlie facepalmed. "When's she coming?"
"No idea. Maybe soon, maybe later."
"Alright, last question."
"You just said that."
"Didn't count."
"Fine, ask!" Thor's face darkened.
Charlie got serious. "Heard of the Infinity Stones?"
"What are those?" Thor looked clueless.
Charlie sighed, disappointed. No Infinity Stones in this universe.
"One more question," he said.
"That didn't count?"
"Nope."
Thor was speechless. Charlie asked, "Heard of the black Spider-Man?"
"Of course," Thor pointed at the ruins. "She's on Earth, so Hela hasn't come herself."
"Where is she?" Charlie pressed.
Thor side-eyed him. "Is this really the last question?"
"Promise."
"Fine. I don't know exactly, but I saw Hela's strategy. She's targeting the South Pole first."
"The South Pole…" Charlie's eyes narrowed. "Got it."
Gwen, with another Necrosword, was Hela's biggest threat.
Hela's focus on the South Pole meant Gwen was likely there.
Charlie waved Thor off. "You can go."
"Go?" Thor scoffed. "I told you everything. Where am I supposed to go?"
"What's that mean?"
"Nothing. I'm staying. Going back means Hela's whip. No thanks."
Thor gave up, refusing to summon Mjolnir, curling up in a corner, eyes closed, pretending to sleep.
"When Hela and that chick fight, I'll retake Asgard."
Charlie nodded. Made sense.
"Nice. I love watching women fight."
Grinning, he plopped beside Thor, both lounging in the ruins, slacking off.
"What are you doing?" Old man Steve, done with his task, saw their "intimate" lounging and paled. "My God, you guys are wild."
He flashed a toothy grin, lying beside Charlie, mimicking their slacker pose.
In the collapsed building, Takuya scoffed. "Unhygienic bunch. No bedding, how do you sleep?"
In his open-air "room," Takuya pulled a blanket over himself, disabling his suit's glowing eye lenses.
"Goodnight, Leopardon," he told his wrist device, drifting off.
The post-battle lava lake still burned, lighting the dark area.
Survivors flocked here, feeling safer near the mighty red Spider-Man.
And they were right.
If ferocious symbiotes approached, even if the invincible Spider-Man didn't show, a shirtless muscle grandpa with a hammer would handle them.
Within days, word spread among survivors, drawing them citywide.
While awaiting Hela's invasion, Charlie learned about other cities.
Like New York, many humans, possessed and driven by amplified "evil," fueled endless conflict.
But unlike superhuman symbiotes, regular possessed humans were less destructive.
New York remained the epicenter.
With old man Steve's help, the Avengers established some order.
This gave Banner time to research symbiotes, seeking a way to destroy them.
In the survivor camp's makeshift lab, Banner stared at a black liquid in a glass container, stumped.
Charlie, watching, stayed silent.
This world's symbiotes differed from those he'd met—not pure symbiotes. He had no advice.
As the camp's top fighter, his job was to handle the toughest bosses.
He left the lab, finding Symbiote Thor playing cards with Steve.
"Any word from Hela?" he asked.
Thor set down his cards. "Barring surprises, she won't show soon."
He glanced at Steve, Charlie, and the ever-idle Takuya. "She might sense danger."
Charlie mused. "Guess we need to force her hand."
"How?" Steve perked up, always eager for action.
Charlie thought. "We go to the South Pole, find Gwen. Hela won't miss a chance to gang up on another Necrosword wielder."
Thor's eyes lit up. "That could work."
Takuya nodded, striking his pose. "The man fighting to save the world alongside his friend's friend, Spider-Man!"
Steve glared at Charlie, muttering, Player!
The trio set off.
Symbiote Thor secretly contacted Heimdall on the Rainbow Bridge, ready to return to Asgard and wage war.
Charlie didn't count on the symbiote-possessed Avengers.
"Buzz~"
Magic sparks flared, and the trio appeared in a snowy world.
Under miles of ice, a black sword trembled.
It sensed its "master's" emotional ripples.
To suppress any emotions beyond slaughter, it drove all symbiotes to destroy unstable factors.
"Crack crack crack~"
As the Necrosword shook, blood-red spiral marks glowed in the dark beneath the ice.
Monstrous roars echoed, the glacier collapsing, the white world shattering. Symbiote Dragons burst from the cracks, charging Charlie's group.
Nearby, a petite figure floated in the void, encased in endless ice, brows furrowed, consciousness struggling.
She tried to stay calm with ice, suppressing her urge to kill.
She'd always done so.
But as a familiar presence neared, she couldn't restrain her emotions, yearning to open her eyes and embrace the figure in her mind.
She couldn't.
Waking meant killing him again.
Even extreme cold couldn't quell the impulse.
The Necrosword's actions intensified her pain.
Finally, blood-red spiral marks spread along its blade, Gwen succumbing once more to Knull's power.
"Buzz~"
An invisible force etched a bat-like, draconic blood-red totem on her chest, Knull's approval.
The Symbiote God's exclusive totem—the Symbiote Dragon!