thefictionvixens Chapter 67 The Unfounded Web-Weaving Incident
Chapter 67 The Unfounded Web-Weaving Incident
As Peter Parker pushed open the white wooden door of the Parker family home, the last rays of the setting sun slanted across the porch. He casually brushed aside his slightly disheveled blond hair and turned to look at the young man behind him who bore a similar silhouette to his own.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Have you gone over the words?"
"If anyone else asks, just say I'm Aunt May's distant nephew, Ben Riley." Our protagonist, Peter from the main universe, nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the dazzling blond hair of this universe's Peter: "I remember. By the way, your blond hair is quite nice."
"Ha, your black hair is nice too." The blond Peter (that's what we'll call him from now on) grinned, then turned around, took a deep breath, and gently knocked on the familiar door with his knuckles.
Aunt May, who was quite elderly, opened the door. Seeing her nephew return, she happily hugged him and then noticed Peter. Turning to the blond Peter, she said, "Peter, that's…"
"Oh, that's—Peter Benjamin Parker, with an extra middle name. Remember when I told you about parallel universes and the multiverse?" The blond Peter smiled and turned to Peter, asking, "How old are you again, kid?"
"Fifteen, still in the first year of high school."
"This kid is a year younger than me when I first became Spider-Man. Anyway, he's here to help. We have extra guest rooms, right? We need to entertain our guest."
"I'll get ready." Aunt May smiled, her gaze shifting between the two young men before finally settling on Peter's slightly immature face. "What would you like to eat, son? How about some muffins?"
"Of course, no problem."
After Aunt May left, blond Peter looked at Peter and said, "So... shall we find somewhere to talk? Come with me."
Peter roughly knew where the blond Peter was going to take him. Sure enough, he led him to the warehouse door, unlocked the electronic lock with a key, revealing the elevator inside, and couldn't help but burst into laughter: "How about it, never seen one before, have you?"
Peter couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"It's nowhere near as good as the Avengers' lab."
"What is the Avengers, a band?"
"A superhero organization. My world has many superheroes, unlike yours."
The two took the elevator down to the underground, where all sorts of Spider-Man gadgets appeared, including Spider-Car and Spider-Motorcycle. But to be honest, Peter really didn't understand why Spider-Man needed a car and a motorcycle. These things might not even be as fast as Spider-Man swinging on his webs, and they weren't very agile either.
There were also all sorts of uniforms, and blond Peter couldn't help but show off again: "Look at my wardrobe, I guarantee you don't have such a colorful collection of clothes, newbie."
"You have a battle suit that looks exactly like a regular uniform, but with a cape added?" Looking at this battle suit that was prominently displayed in the showcase, Peter couldn't understand at all: "What's the point?"
"Ha, you're just jealous of me, kid, because you don't have these cool battle suits."
"Then why aren't you wearing it?"
"I wore it last time, and when I was rescuing someone, the cape got stuck in the gap between the elevator and the elevator shaft, almost strangling me to death." The blond Peter unconsciously touched the back of his head, and then rolled his eyes. Isn't this pointless?
The blond Peter remained silent, but walked to his table piled high with Spider-Man merchandise, removed his mask, and turned on his computer: "Let me see, the key isn't completely finished yet..."
Peter placed the spider from Universe 42 on the table. The blond Peter noticed the little thing flickering uncontrollably, like abstract mosaics, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong with this?"
"Different universes have different frequencies, and I guess its molecular structure can't remain stable, which is why I'm here. This spider is still alive, but there's no Spider-Man in that universe yet."
The blond Peter stopped typing on the computer keyboard. He was silent for a while, then turned around and looked at Peter.
"You have to understand, kid. If someone becomes Spider-Man, it might mean that he's destined to lose something. Maybe, in that universe, for us or someone else, being an ordinary person is better than being Spider-Man."
Just as Peter was about to say something, a voice suddenly appeared in the secret base.
"No, he's right, this had to happen."
The two men stood up at the same time, their spider-sense beeping incessantly. Emerging from the darkness was a burly man, taller and stronger than them, almost like a wall. Spider-Man 2099's mask showed no eyepieces, only a fierce silhouette.
"I am Miguel O'Hara, from Earth 928 in the year 2099, and I am here to help you."
The blond Peter, who was on guard, glanced at Peter and said, "I thought you were the only one who knew how to traverse the multiverse."
"Yes, that's what I thought too."
Peter couldn't understand how Miguel got here. According to the timeline of the animation, he only finished researching the prototype of the multiverse travel bracelet after the first movie ended. Theoretically, he shouldn't be able to travel through the multiverse yet, so how come he's already here?
"Every universe needs Spider-Man; we are specific beings within the multiverse. Similarly, every Spider-Man must experience what they have experienced." Miguel said, adjusting his bracelet. The multiverse was arranged in a spiderweb structure, playing the lives of Spider-Men from each parallel universe he had observed: "Experiencing the death of loved ones, the death of the sheriff who helped you, the betrayal of friends, the death of lovers—these are things that no Spider-Man can avoid."
"So this kid is right, Universe 42 needs its own Spider-Man, even after all that it's been through."
After listening to Miguel's long-winded explanation, blond Peter couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "First of all, I didn't invite you, and I don't know how you sneaked in. Secondly, do you have any evidence? All these things—"
"I have experienced it, I have witnessed the destruction of an entire universe, just because, just because I wanted to make amends for something, I disrupted the Web Project."
Miguel spoke with considerable conviction, but the blond Peter persisted: "Is it possible that your theory is flawed? Perhaps there is indeed some web-weaving event, but it doesn't have to be as you say? It's as if every Spider-Man in every universe has to be this miserable."
Miguel stared intently at the blond Peter, who gave him the same look. Peter opened his mouth to say something, but Miguel turned to look at him and said, "You handled it well. I'll send you back to your universe, and so will that spider. Leave this universe's affairs to the Spider-Man of this universe; he can handle it."
"I don't need your help, you who suddenly appeared out of nowhere... with shoulders wider than my refrigerator." The blond Peter looked at Peter and lazily greeted him, "Kid, come here, let's ignore this guy."
Miguel also looked at Peter, staring intently at him.
"I've been wanting to speak for a while now." Peter finally managed to speak, and after looking at Miguel, he asked, "Your theory about the web-weaving incident may indeed be invalid, but don't rush to refute it. What I want to say is that in my world, Uncle Ben is not dead."
Miguel ripped off his mask, his resolute face revealing confusion and shock. Meanwhile, blond Peter jumped to his feet, grabbed him, and pressed his shoulder: "Really? Uncle Ben isn't dead? You saved him?!"
"...Yes, he trained with me and taught me how to control my strength. We designed our first uniform together."
"Hahaha!" Blonde Peter laughed happily, while Miguel asked Peter incredulously, "You're lying to me, aren't you? Aren't you?!"
Before Peter could say anything, blond Peter shielded him behind him and roared at Miguel, "Why? Why won't you believe there's a world where Uncle Ben doesn't die? Why won't you believe there's a world where Spider-Man can protect everyone?!"
"I've saved this city countless times! All the Spider-Men in every multiverse have saved the world countless times! Why! Why! Can't the multiverse! Give us some compensation!"
"Why can't you believe this!"
Blonde Peter, clutching the Spider-Man symbol on his chest, pointed at Peter and said, "This kid, he didn't come here for no reason. He came to tell me, to tell you, and maybe even to tell all Spider-Men—our universe isn't cold and heartless. Why can't you believe that?"
"Because...because..."
Miguel fell silent, and so did the blond Peter. He watched as Miguel sat dejectedly on the ground, as if he had lost all his strength.
Peter walked up to Miguel and sat down on the ground.
"We are Spider-Man, Miguel. Whatever the reasons that led us to choose to be Spider-Man, we are all the same. Spider-Man never waits for miracles to happen; we create them."
"I don't want to sound so... smug, but now a miracle is before you. Will you resist it, or come with us?"