Restart, Spider-Man!

Staring at the phone after it disconnected, Xia Luo thought for a moment before redialing.

"Hello, it's me."

"I know."

Late at night, Peggy Carter was still waiting for Xia Luo's call. Stifling a yawn, she asked, "What happened?"

"I've become a summonable entity."

Carter: "..."

"Speak properly."

"Lizard Parker summoned me in his universe."

"You're joking, right?"

"Not at all. Spider-Man never jokes," Xia Luo replied earnestly. "It was a reward from the resurrection tournament—you know, our former teammates now have the power to summon Spider-Man."

"That's a good thing."

Xia Luo: "???"

Carter continued, "If you die in another universe, I won't have to handle your funeral.

"And if you provoke any troublesome enemies, it won't drag us into it."

Xia Luo blinked, his eyes lighting up. "You're right. That means I can do whatever I want!"

"Exactly. Feel free to cause chaos elsewhere—it won't affect your family or friends. Congratulations."

Just as Carter finished speaking, Xia Luo heard Agent Hill's voice on the other end of the line.

"Commander, we've got another mutant sighting. Pyrokinetic abilities. He's already blown up two banks."

"Oh, great. Working overtime in the middle of the night is going to age me faster," Carter muttered with exasperation.

"Spider-Man, I've got to go. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Xia Luo immediately hung up. A mature Spider-Man never disturbs friends who are focused on their work.

In her office, Carter stared at her phone, visibly annoyed.

"That guy! I hinted so clearly, and he still doesn't offer to help ease my workload. What a jerk!"

Agent Hill hesitated. "Commander, maybe you should've just told him directly."

"No, I want him to offer on his own. It's about his attitude," Carter said firmly.

Standing up, she added, "Luckily, Max's speed will help us tonight. We barely have enough manpower. Let's move out."

"Yes, ma'am."

As S.H.I.E.L.D. mobilized in the dead of night, Xia Luo stepped into his bathroom to take a hot shower.

Letting the water cascade over him, he rubbed his face and sighed at the thought of the tournament's new reward. Life was only going to get busier.

Fortunately, most of the teammates from the tournament were from his own "network."

Lizard Parker. Logan. Professor X. Some unlucky guy named Deadpool. And old man Steve Rogers.

The odds of another "Spider-Man summoning incident" happening too soon seemed low.

Lost in thought, Xia Luo reached out for the shampoo someone handed him and began lathering it into his hair.

Wait. He'd already shampooed.

A strange feeling crept over him as he turned around.

There, grinning amicably, stood an elderly Steve Rogers, his chest hair fully visible.

"Mind scrubbing my back?"

Xia Luo: "..."

He'd been summoned mid-shower.

"You summoned me for this?"

"What else?"

"You're insane!"

With a yell, Xia Luo lashed out with a flying kick.

Boom!

The bathroom wall shattered as the naked old man was sent hurtling through it, tumbling down the staircase before finally landing in the villa's living room.

Hawkeye, who had been cleaning his quiver, looked up in surprise.

Nearby, Natasha Romanoff tinkered with her equipment.

By the coffee machine, Pepper Potts was holding a cup of coffee, preparing to greet a guest.

Next to her, little Morgan turned her head and buried her face in her mother's skirt.

"Shame, shame!" Morgan muttered, rubbing her face against the fabric.

Rhodey, who had been admiring a painting, turned to see Steve sprawled on the floor. Blinking, he asked, "Cap, is this some kind of performance art?"

Hearing that, Steve could no longer pretend to be unconscious. He quickly grabbed a tablecloth to cover himself, his face burning red.

"Sorry, minor mishap," he muttered, holding his shield strategically.

Natasha chuckled. "You said Spider-Man from that world would show up. Where is he?"

"Here."

"Dun-dun-dun-dun~!"

Xia Luo mimicked Spider-Man's theme song as he slid down the staircase's railing in his nanotech suit, performing a backflip to land gracefully before the group.

"Hey, long time no see," he greeted, waving at Natasha before glancing around.

"So, what's up?"

"You've only got an hour with me, so make the most of it."

"Oh, and Pepper, two fresh juices, please. Thanks."

"And you—yeah, the little one hiding in her mom's skirt. You're Tony's daughter, aren't you? I could tell at a glance. One day, your only idol will be the Invincible Spider-Man."

"Hey, you over there—yeah, the guy who looks like he's fluffing cotton. Don't pretend you can't hear me. You're blocking the light."

"And as for the mortal archer trying not to laugh—you should just let it out. Laughter's a rare commodity at your age."

Everyone exchanged looks as Xia Luo rambled on.

"Yup. Definitely Spider-Man," Hawkeye said, shaking his head.

Natasha shrugged. "Absolutely. Spider-Man to the core. And he's still holding back."

Behind Xia Luo, Rhodey gestured as if to strangle him, earning a quick shake of the head from Pepper.

She patted Morgan's head. "Sweetie, go do your homework. We're talking about ways to bring your dad back."

Morgan nodded slowly. "Okay. But tell me when Daddy's back."

She gave the strange Spider-Man one last glance before darting to her room.

"Hey, lay off the candy," Xia Luo called after her. "You're going to lose your teeth again."

"Bleh!"

Morgan stuck out her tongue, making a face before vanishing from sight.

Xia Luo chuckled. "Little rascal."

He turned to Steve. "Is this everyone?"

Steve glanced out the window. "I called Peter, too. He should be here by now."

At that moment, a young, awkward Peter Parker peeked his head in through the window, his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah, I'm here…"

Pepper waved him in. "Come on inside."

Peter hesitated, glancing at Xia Luo.

"Well… he took my suit, so… I'm not exactly dressed."

The room fell silent as everyone's eyes turned to Xia Luo.

Scratching the back of his head, Xia Luo grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, sorry. Thought you were a random Spider-Man passing by. But hey, I'm not dressed either. Do you have a spare suit?"

Peter covered his face. "No, I don't."

Xia Luo plopped onto the couch, clearly not planning to return the suit.

Sighing, Pepper fetched one of Tony's old outfits for Peter.

Soon, everyone gathered around a table, their expressions tense.

"Who's starting?" Xia Luo asked.

Steve coughed. "I'll go first."

He looked at Xia Luo. "After the resurrection tournament, my body aged again. But thanks to the extra month of life I won, I'm still here."

Xia Luo nodded. "A month, huh? Great. You'll be back in the tournament with me soon enough."

"Looking forward to it," Steve replied flatly.

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose. She wasn't as accustomed to this as Steve was.

"Steve mentioned Tony also won the tournament. But when we exhumed his grave, he hadn't come back to life," she said.

Xia Luo had heard about this from Steve before but hadn't paid much attention at the time.

Now, however, his curiosity was piqued.

"Tony's death was caused by using the Infinity Stones," Xia Luo mused. "That's very different from our situation. Maybe the stones' unique nature prevented his resurrection."

Hawkeye nodded. "We thought of that, too. But the stones are gone. There's no way to verify it."

Xia Luo rubbed his chin. "If we could find someone else who used the stones, we might get some answers."

At this, everyone looked at each other and spoke in unison.

"Banner!"

Steve Rogers stood up. "I'll go find him right away."

Natasha shook her head. "He's on a remote island vacation, completely cut off from the outside world."

Rhodey added, "And there's his cousin."

"Well, that complicates things," Steve muttered, frowning. "We'll have to find another way to reach Banner."

Xia Luo sipped his juice, glancing at the time.

"Looks like my hour's almost up. I'm heading back. When you've got more leads, call me again.

"And for the record, don't summon me while I'm on the toilet," he warned, pointing at Steve.

Steve shrugged. "How am I supposed to know what you're doing?"

"Then pick a secure, private space and set up proper safeguards."

"No problem."

"Good. That's settled."

Xia Luo stood, his gaze landing on Peter Parker.

"By the way, do you know any other Spider-Men besides me?"

Peter blinked, confused. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Got it. I know where things stand now."

Xia Luo glanced upstairs. "Your nanotech suit is upstairs. Go grab it later. And if you've got time, take Ned to Kamar-Taj. Teach him some magic—it'll come in handy. Honestly, he might be more reliable than you in a pinch."

With that, Xia Luo's body dissolved into a crackling arc of electricity, vanishing from the room.

Everyone stared at the spot where he disappeared, awestruck.

Hawkeye squinted. "He really is a powerful Spider-Man."

Natasha sighed. "If he'd been on the battlefield back then, maybe we wouldn't have lost."

Steve took a deep breath. "If Thanos shows up again, I'll keep him busy for a whole day myself."

Peter, meanwhile, was lost in thought, replaying Xia Luo's words in his head.

"Ned's an idiot. He can't even pass math, let alone learn magic. More reliable than me? Not a chance."

He shook his head. No way that was possible.

"Alright," Pepper said, "our next step is finding Banner."

"If we can't contact him," she added, "we should try reaching his cousin."

She turned to Hawkeye. "Who's his cousin?"

"A lawyer."

"Perfect. You can't lose track of a lawyer."

Pepper quickly assigned Happy the task of tracking her down. Then she turned her attention to Peter.

"Thanks to Mysterio, everyone knows your identity now," she began. "Steve reminded me of something important, and I think you should hear it."

"What is it?" Peter asked, completely baffled.

Steve's expression turned serious.

"Peter, Spider-Man's potential is enormous, but you're still young. There are consequences you might not be ready for."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked, still confused.

Steve pressed on. "That Spider-Man, Xia Luo Parker, told me something during our time fighting in the resurrection tournament. A secret."

"About his powers?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

Steve glanced nervously over his shoulder. "No. This has nothing to do with his powers."

He spoke gravely. "It's about Spider-Man's destiny."

"Destiny?"

Peter's eyes widened with curiosity.

Steve rested a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Spider-Man's fate is tragic—and lonely. If you're careless, you'll lose the only family you have left."

"What?!"

Peter stared in shock. "That's impossible! Why would that happen?"

Steve shook his head. "Xia Luo told me that across the multiverse, almost every Spider-Man loses Uncle Ben. Then they lose love, friendship… and eventually become solitary heroes."

"But my Uncle Ben died years ago."

"Exactly. So Xia Luo wasn't wrong."

"That guy doesn't seem reliable. I don't believe him," Peter muttered.

"You have to," Steve insisted. "Of all the Spider-Men I've met, Xia Luo's the only one who didn't meet a tragic end. The others… weren't so lucky."

Behind them, Rhodey and Hawkeye exchanged glances.

"The multiverse is wild," Rhodey said.

"Yeah," Hawkeye replied. "So many Spider-Men, and not a single Uncle Ben to spare."

"Tragic."

---

Back in the main universe, Xia Luo had finished his shower and finally flopped onto his bed.

"Here's hoping I don't wake up to another mess," he muttered, silently praying to the Spider-Goddess before drifting off to sleep.

He didn't know how long he'd been out when whispers stirred him. His spider-sense flared, jolting him awake.

"Damn it, you scaly lizard freak! Are you messing with me again?!"

Dressed in red-and-blue pajamas, Xia Luo glared at Lizard Parker, who stood there sheepishly.

"Uh, calm down. This is serious," Lizard Parker said, wiping spit off his face.

Xia Luo grabbed him by the collar. "I need sleep. Did you hear me? Sleep!"

"Okay, okay! Relax. There are people here."

"People?"

Xia Luo raised an eyebrow, slowly letting go of Lizard Parker.

"Haha, just kidding," he said, smoothing down his bedhead. Turning around with a forced smile, he declared, "I'm Xia Luo Parker, the Invincible Spider-Man."

After all, Spider-Man must always maintain his image.

---

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