Ch.36 Graceful, Too Graceful

"This is one of my superpowers."

"Do I look like a fool?"

Harry eyed Charlie Parker suspiciously. "We should work together, or how about you blow up the ammo storage, and I'll go check out the cave?"

"Where's the trust between friends?"

"Someone once told me to always be cautious around new friends."

"Which jerk said that?"

"My friend, Charlie."

Charlie: "..."

"Fine, you go wait over there. See that rock behind the wooden shed? Hide there."

He pointed to a spot not far away. "If you stay there, you won't get caught in the crossfire."

Harry: "..."

"Alright, to be honest, I still suspect you kidnapped Tony." He muttered as he crept to the spot Charlie had indicated.

Soon, Harry was in position. Charlie's fingers sparked as his nanometal suit rubbed together, igniting the ammo storage instantly.

Boom!!

Boom, boom!

In an instant, explosions rang out, bullets whizzing chaotically through the air, throwing the Ten Rings camp into utter chaos.

"It's that red-and-blue guy!"

"Enemy attack...!"

From behind the boulder, Harry peeked out, and what he saw left him speechless.

Charlie moved gracefully along the edges of the explosions, the bullets seemingly grazing past his body. Occasionally, he'd pause for a brief moment, only to leave behind a string of bullet holes at his feet.

It was as if Charlie had predicted every detail of the chaos. His figure danced elegantly, while blood splatters and the agonized cries of the unfortunate ones who got hit became the backdrop.

Dancing on his toes~ Graceful steps~ Gently placing his hand on your shoulder~

"Graceful, too graceful," Harry murmured in awe, unable to stop himself from clapping.

Smack!

Suddenly, Charlie smacked Harry on the shoulder. "What are you standing there for? Let's go!"

With that, he dove into the cave.

"Wait for me!"

Harry snapped out of it and hurried to follow.

As soon as they entered the cave, they were met by a group of heavily armed Ten Rings members.

"Who goes there?"

"We're on your side."

Charlie waved his hand, releasing a volley of webs that blanketed the area. With a swift move, he used his immense strength to throw the attackers out of the cave.

"A fork in the path. Which way?" Harry asked.

"Left."

Charlie sprinted down the left passage, effortlessly taking out the armed enemies along the way. In less than three minutes, they reached a metal door at the end of the tunnel.

"Let me handle this one."

Bored, Harry quickly stepped forward, ready to use explosives to blow the door open.

"No, this is how you do it."

Charlie stopped Harry and took three steps to the left. "Now, this way, there's no risk of collateral damage," he said, nodding in satisfaction.

After that, he kicked the door hard.

Boom!!

With a loud crash, the metal door collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Before Charlie could bask in his moment of glory, a glint of cold light flashed in the dimly lit cave.

"Something's wrong."

His Spider-Sense tingled, and without hesitation, Charlie grabbed Harry and threw him out of the way.

Zzzzz~

The next second, sparks flew as metal claws narrowly grazed Charlie's nanometal suit. The impact caused a tremor in the stone wall, dislodging a few rocks from the ceiling.

Barely dodging the surprise attack, Charlie turned to see a cold-eyed man in black slowly withdrawing his metal arm from the wall.

Click, click~

The man clenched his fist, the stones in his palm turning to dust under the pressure, revealing his terrifying strength.

"Watch out, it's a metal arm!" Harry warned as he hit the ground hard.

"Huh?"

Charlie finally noticed the glint of metal under the man's torn sleeve.

"Winter Soldier?" He immediately thought of Steve Rogers' old pal.

But upon closer inspection, this man's metallic arm was more ferocious, with sharp claws that didn't resemble Bucky's sleek vibranium arm at all.

However, the man's vacant and cold expression was eerily similar to Bucky's when he first appeared.

A Hydra cyborg!

Or maybe...

Charlie suddenly recalled that rainy night when Norman Osborn was killed.

Before he could think any further, the man lunged at him again, and Charlie, reacting quickly, shot a web behind him.

Thud!

Bang!!

The figure behind Charlie, who had been sneaking up on him, was yanked forward by the web and crashed into the man with the metal arm.

Clang!!

The sound of metal clashing rang out as the two figures rolled together, landing at Harry's feet.

"Kill him!"

Immediately, the two attackers locked eyes with Harry and rushed toward him.

"Sh*t!"

Faced with their vicious assault, Harry's face paled, and he cursed Spider-Man under his breath as he hopped on his glider and darted out of the cave.

Without his pumpkin bombs, there was no way Harry could face these two cyborgs.

Meanwhile, from deeper inside the cave, an angry voice called out.

"You idiots! Take care of that guy first!"

The order from the shadows made the two cyborgs pause. Without hesitation, they turned around and rushed at Charlie instead.

Boom!

A sudden gust of wind filled the cave as two iron fists came crashing down, their power enough to shatter the stone walls as they aimed to crush Spider-Man.

Bam!

But in the next moment, both fists were caught firmly in Charlie's hands. The scene was rather unexpected.

"What?"

The cyborgs' previously cold and indifferent expressions turned to shock when they saw their attack easily blocked.

They stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend what went wrong.

Charlie, too, was surprised. These guys didn't seem as strong as they looked.

Testing his theory, he flexed his muscles, causing his arms to swell. Slowly, he twisted the two metal fists to the side with brute strength.

Crack, crack, crack.

A grinding noise came from inside the fists as mechanical parts whirred in protest. But under the immense force, the machinery within quickly buckled, sending sparks flying.

Bang!!

With a surge of strength, Charlie twisted the iron fists into a tangled mess.

As the two cyborgs struggled, Charlie shot webs to bind them, then violently ripped off one of their metal arms for a closer look.

No mistake—it was the same steel claws that had killed Norman!

Charlie narrowed his eyes, sensing something wasn't right.

The mysterious figure who killed Norman had easily broken through the Green Goblin's armor, showing far greater strength.

These two cyborgs were clearly just small fry.

But why were they here?

And what did this have to do with Tony?

As he pondered, Charlie suddenly tilted his head.

Bang!

A bullet whizzed past his ear, and Charlie turned, grabbing the barrel of the gun.

Click, click~

The handgun twisted under his grip, and then Charlie spotted a familiar face.

"Dr. Yinsen?"

Charlie frowned as he looked at the terrified Dr. Yinsen.

This wasn't the kindhearted guide who helped Iron Man—it was someone entirely different.

"Spider-Man, I can't believe you're still alive..."

Although fear showed on Yinsen's face, the malice in his eyes was unmistakable. As he spoke, he threw aside the gun and ran toward a crude operating table behind him.

"You won't be able to save that arms dealer! Hahaha!!"

Yinsen cackled as he reached for the lever, but a barely visible web wrapped tightly around his neck, stopping him in his tracks.

"Damn Spider-Man! Let me go!!"

Yinsen struggled, but Charlie noticed something on the back of his neck: a red skull-shaped octopus tattoo.

Of course, Hydra.

Charlie sighed inwardly. The variability in the Marvel multiverse really made it tough for someone like him who transmigrated.

So many characters had turned evil, and his omniscient viewpoint had been severely nerfed.