Restart, Spider-Man! [122]

[You have entered the Revival Match Arena!]

[Arena: Spider-Gwen Universe]

[Mission 1: Save this world to earn a revival slot.]

[Mission 2: Destroy this world to earn a revival slot.]

[Additional Reward (Choose One): Titan Physique (Stage Two), +30 Tons of Strength.]

[Participants: Xia Luo Parker, Carter Paige, Felicia Hardy, Steve Rogers, Peter Parker, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Norman Osborn, Curt Connors, Max Dillon, Black Dwarf, Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Thor, Loki.]

[Save Team (Mission 1): Carter Paige, Felicia Hardy, Steve Rogers, Thor.]

[Destroy Team (Mission 2): Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Norman Osborn, Curt Connors.]

[Neutral Team (Either Mission): Xia Luo Parker, Peter Parker, Max Dillon, Black Dwarf, Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Loki.]

[Countdown: 1 minute]

[Number of Restarts Available: 30]

Night in New York City.

On top of the Empire State Building, by the antenna tower.

Once again, Xia Luo found himself at this familiar place.

Of course, it had to be here.

He'd lost count of the times he'd shown up at this spot.

Glancing at the mission prompts, the faint blue light in his eyes pulsed slightly.

Saving the world or destroying it… no time limit.

This mission briefing felt so careless, giving almost no other details.

Destroying the world was easy enough, but saving it? Much harder.

Yet, he had no idea what threat this world was facing.

Everything was unknown.

While thirty restarts seemed generous, that just meant the difficulty of the mission would likely keep escalating.

Oddly enough, the "organizers" had placed him in the Neutral team.

What did that mean?

Was the Invincible Spider-Man not hero-like enough for them?

Xia Luo rolled his eyes—everyone in the Destroy Team hated Spider-Man, so he didn't exactly have a choice.

Not that the folks in the Neutral Team were any friendlier.

It seemed he was in for another rough match.

At least Kingpin and Aleksei hadn't shown up again; otherwise, he'd have two more enemies to deal with.

This couldn't keep going on. He needed to find a way to "permanently" remove some of his enemies in these revival matches.

If he kept letting them cause havoc in every match, his future revival matches would soon turn into "the world versus Spider-Man."

This would need careful planning, and no one was likely to help him pull it off.

The countdown ended as his thoughts shifted back to the present.

Step one, find some old friends and gather intel.

Xia Luo didn't leap off the building.

He was waiting for someone.

Half an hour later, a clanging noise came from the iron door below the antenna tower. A vibranium shield was thrown up first, followed by a familiar figure stepping into view.

"Kid, you really died again."

The older Steve Rogers looked genuinely moved to see Xia Luo waiting for him.

The two had agreed during the last revival match to meet here first thing if they both entered a new match.

After all, Xia Luo seemed to "land" at the Empire State Building every time.

"I'm glad to team up with you again. I'm starting to think you're getting yourself killed on purpose, hoping to run into me," Steve teased, pulling Xia Luo into a hug before his smile suddenly turned serious.

"I've got some bad news."

"What is it?"

"Tony's gone missing."

"Missing?"

Xia Luo frowned. "You mean your universe's Tony?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah. This time, when I revived, Natasha was there to dig me up right away. I asked her about Tony, and… nobody seems to know where he is. I'm not sure if he's just lying low—he did talk once about wanting a normal life."

Xia Luo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Doesn't add up. Even if he wanted to go off the radar, he'd at least check in with you. After all, if you hadn't revived, he'd be trying everything to bring you back."

Old Steve shook his head. "Maybe he's still holding a grudge from our one-on-one. I almost broke him in half back then."

Xia Luo: "…"

"Old man, since there's no mission timer, let me take you to a doctor this time!"

"Why? I'm in peak condition in these revival matches. I'm not sick."

"Dementia's not an illness—it's a curse."

"You've got a sharp tongue, kid."

"I'm just trying to be respectful to my elders."

"Cut the nonsense. Let's get down to the plan. I'm on the Save Team. You should be, too, right?"

"Sorry, I'm on the Neutral Team. No guarantee I can help you."

"Neutral Team?"

Old Steve looked puzzled. "Seems like your mission interface is different from mine."

"Figured as much," Xia Luo said, unperturbed.

He'd already suspected as much from past "teammates'" reactions.

But Steve was watching him with a strange look in his eyes.

"Doesn't seem very friendly of them. Shouldn't heroes automatically be assigned to the Save Team?"

Xia Luo rolled his eyes. "Thanos's lackeys are on the Neutral Team. How do you explain that?"

"Thanos's lackeys?" Steve's brow creased.

"Those guys could be a real problem. If we don't bring them to our side, they might tip the scales in this match."

Xia Luo wasn't too worried, though.

"We don't even know what the world's crisis is yet. It's too early to worry about that."

Just then, he noticed a figure appearing at the base of the antenna tower.

"Another Captain joining us," he muttered with a grin.

"Hey, nice to see you again," said Carter, shield in hand, nodding to Old Steve.

She looked at Xia Luo. "How did you know he'd be here?" she asked.

Xia Luo shrugged. "Just a hunch."

Clearly, this had been planned.

Carter looked around. "Where's that Black Cat?"

Xia Luo shook his head. "She'll take a bit longer to bounce back. We'll need to wait a while."

"Black Cat? You invited a cat, too?" Steve raised an eyebrow. "Is it one of those cats Nick Fury mentioned?"

Xia Luo explained, "No, she's human. Felicia Hardy. She's on the Save Team as well."

"White-haired, black catsuit, lace eyemask, very… attractive?" Steve pressed.

Carter raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"I think I saw her."

Old Steve pointed toward the neon-lit city below. "There. Looks like she's in trouble."

His eyes were glowing faintly, like blue gems in the night—a reward from the last revival match.

Seeing this, Xia Luo tossed four extra web-shooters to the two of them.

"Great. Old Man, teach Carter here how to use these. I'll go check things out."

With that, Xia Luo fired his webs and launched himself into the night.

Back at the antenna tower, Old Steve began explaining to Carter how to use the web-shooters.

"First thing, we should probably strap our shields to our backs."

Carter: "…"

In the Bustling Streets Below

"Hahaha! White-haired Spider-Man, you're dead meat!!"

Boom!

A trail of green flames streaked across the street as the demon cackled, dropping pumpkin bombs along the way.

Boom!!

"Ahh! Run!"

"What is that monster?!"

Car alarms blared as explosions flared through the streets. Panicked civilians fled in all directions while a black figure swung through the air using a grappling hook, vanishing into the shadows of an alley.

"Damn it, Green Goblin! What's he doing here?"

Dodging down narrow alleys, Felicia's face was grim as she struggled to comprehend her situation.

Revival match? Save the world? What a joke!

And for the record, I'm not Spider-Man!

She cursed internally.

Spider-Man used webs; she used grappling hooks. Totally different!

Boom!

Lost in thought, she nearly missed the green flames that streaked over her head.

"Spider-Man, you can't run from me!"

Norman's sadistic grin glinted as he tossed another pumpkin bomb over his shoulder.

Ka-boom!!

The explosion rocked the air, and a wave of heat sent Felicia spiraling mid-air.

"Damn it, that hurts…"

She tumbled onto a rooftop, gritting her teeth as Green Goblin swooped down after her. Fighting through the pain, she leapt towards a residential building.

The more obstacles, the better—anything to lose him.

But Norman didn't care about obstacles.

Boom boom boom!!

More pumpkin bombs exploded around her, forcing her out from cover, and she crashed onto a billboard, gritting her teeth.

Wham

Hovering just a few feet away, Norman sneered down at her from his glider, cocking his head.

"Hahaha, I've faced Spider-Man enough times to know exactly what you're trying to pull.

Give it up, Spider-Man of this world—your fate is sealed."

"I'm not Spider-Man," Felicia spat back, her voice cold.

Norman scoffed. "If it swings, it's Spider-Man. You can't fool me, I'm a devilish mastermind."

With a flick of his wrist, a blade shot out, glinting ominously.

"I have to say, you make a rather gorgeous Spider-Woman. And if you're not Spider-Man, I wouldn't mind having you around as a new mother for Harry."

As he drew closer, his eyes glinted with a twisted light.

Thwip!

Suddenly, webbing shot down from above, wrapping around Norman and pulling him back as a familiar red-and-blue figure landed in front of him.

"Sorry, but calling her 'Auntie' isn't gonna happen."

"Xia Luo… it's you," Norman growled, his eyes wide.

Before he could react, a fist the size of a sledgehammer crashed into him.

Pow!!

With a crunch of metal, the Green Goblin hurtled across the rooftop and smashed into a water tank.

Splash

Water gushed from the tank, with Norman's head submerged, struggling briefly before he went still.

Eliminated: One Destroy Team Member

Felicia, still lying on the rooftop, stared at the familiar figure in shock.

"Spider-Man—no, it's you, Xia Luo Parker!"

Norman's outburst had confirmed it. The Xia Luo Parker listed among the participants… was her Spider-Man.

Xia Luo turned, his mask retracting to reveal a smile.

"You okay, Kitty?"

Seeing his familiar face, Felicia let out a wry smile, still stunned.

"I should have guessed… 'Spider-Man's contact,' 'Captain Carter's relative'—all just a cover. No wonder you kept trying to hide your identity. So this…"

She looked around. "This is the secret to your resurrection?"

Her eyes filled with sudden hope.

"If… if something happens to my father, could he also join the revival match?" she asked hopefully.

Xia Luo shrugged. "I can't be certain."

"But it's not entirely hopeless," he added.

Felicia clutched her side as she struggled to her feet, taking a deep breath. "In this condition, I'm hardly equipped to save the world," she muttered, wiping dust from her face.

"Kitties are lucky charms," Xia Luo replied with a grin. "Besides, villains have a bad track record with women."

"The next villain might be you."

A light figure swung down gracefully, dressed in a striking black-and-white Spider suit with ballet shoes that glimmered green in the streetlight.

"Chameleon! Stay away from that woman!" Gwen's voice was cold and stern.

Xia Luo: "…"

Chameleon, a villain in the Spider-Verse, known for impersonating anyone—even Spider-Man.

Clearly, this universe's Gwen had mistaken him for an enemy.

Felicia also watched this Spider-Woman with curiosity.

Another infected by the Spider virus?

Or maybe the Spider-Man of this world?

"What are you waiting for? Get over here, quick! That guy is dangerous!"

Seeing Felicia staring at her in a daze, Gwen urged her forward.

Before Felicia could respond, Gwen froze, her chest suddenly glowing with a pink spider totem.

Buzz~

Simultaneously, Xia Luo's chest pulsed, his own spider totem appearing.

"No way!"

The moment these two Spider-Men from different worlds came face-to-face, an inexplicable attraction drew Gwen towards Xia Luo.

Despite her struggle, she couldn't resist being pulled toward him.

Buzz~

Then, Xia Luo's spider totem flared again, his five overlapping totems magnifying Gwen's attraction to him by several times.

The force overwhelmed her, triggering instincts deep within her, and, against her will, she pounced on Xia Luo.

"Whoa, hey! Stop, what are you doing? If you come any closer, I'm going to—mmph!"

In Felicia's baffled gaze, Xia Luo was instantly tackled by Gwen, followed by…

"Gwen, I'm here!"

A voice called out as a figure climbed onto the rooftop. Peter Parker, wearing thick glasses, froze at the sight, as though struck by lightning.

"No!! Gwen, you… no, this can't be!"

Peter's face contorted in despair, his knees hitting the ground as he wailed, his world shattering before his eyes.

His goddess—what was she doing?

As he got a closer look, his shock only grew, for he recognized Xia Luo's face.

"Xia Luo Parker, you bastard! I challenge you to a duel!!"

In a burst of fury, Peter stood, eyes blazing. Green scales began to emerge across his skin, and his body swelled, muscles tearing through his clothes. His hands twisted into monstrous claws.

"Lizard Parker!"

Xia Luo winced, suddenly feeling very awkward.

---

T/N: AYO?? A Cindy-Moon, Parker type situation?? and poor lizard parker

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!

Posture and water check! Remember this is a fan translation!

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