"OK."
Gwen Stacy sat down on a bench by the road, crossing her long legs slightly as she settled into a comfortable position. "So, how far have you gotten with your investigation?"
Peter: I spent all night doing odd jobs.
Josen: Shut up.
"There's an oversized Particle Collider underneath Kingpin's Fisk Tower. It's what caused the big earthquake in Brooklyn and brought us... well, sent us across universes."
Josen paused, remembering that he was technically an uninvited guest. But even Peter Parker from the MCU had shown up, so one more person tagging along couldn't hurt.
"So your investigation is already ahead of mine." Gwen propped her chin on one hand, listening intently. "What's our plan, then?"
"Restart the machine and find a way to reverse its programming." Josen brought his fists together. "Restore order to space-time, then destroy it."
"Whoa! Sounds like this is going to be huge!"
"Hold on!"
Peter crossed his hands in front of his chest, signaling them to stop. "I get the general idea, but I'm still completely lost! Who's Kingpin? Why is he doing this? And has technology in this world really advanced enough to interfere with space-time..."
"None of that matters." Seeing Peter about to launch into another ramble, Josen hurriedly cut him off. "What matters is, which of you knows how to operate that collider?"
The three stared blankly at one another.
Gwen raised her hand. "Large equipment like this usually runs on an independent, physically isolated network. To hack its programming, we'll need a key we can plug into the main computer." She mimed turning a key in a lock.
"Which brings us to the question." Peter spread his hands. "Where's the key?"
Gwen folded her arms and shared what she had learned in her earlier investigation. "I know a place. It's another one of Kingpin's businesses. I think it can at least help us figure out how that big thing works."
"Wait, Kingpin again? I don't think there's anyone like that in my universe. Or at least I've never heard of him. Can someone tell me just how rich this guy is?"
Seeing that neither of them seemed particularly interested in the subject, Peter scratched his cheek. "Then what are we waiting for? Someone to bring us the key?"
Hmm?
Peter's words reminded Josen that Alchemax was probably in utter chaos right about now. He snapped his fingers. "You know what? You might actually be onto something."
Peter: ?
Get out of New York, Riddler!
"You don't think..."
Gwen and Peter turned their eyes toward him.
"...we're the only Spider-Men in this world, do you?"
Hudson Valley, on the outskirts of New York.
Amid a barrage of laser beams, Miles Morales darted left and right in his cosplay Spider-Man suit, looking nimble enough. In reality, he had already fallen so many times that his head was covered in bumps.
Sneaking into Alchemax had been thrilling. Being chased and shot at by a bunch of researchers wielding laser guns was every bit as miserable.
"Hey, Peter! What do we do now?"
"What do we do?" Peter punched the pursuing Doctor Octopus away, then fired a web to snatch back the computer tower his tentacles had seized. He tossed it to Miles behind him. "Split up, kid! I'll hold them off!"
"Are you sure? But there are so many of them..."
"Obviously! Just go!"
"Heh heh heh..."
Tough tentacles made of synthetic material stabbed into a large tree, hauling Doctor Octopus upward. He raised a hand to wipe the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, his eyes behind his goggles filled with obsession and madness. "You're the finest research specimens I could ask for. Neither of you is getting away!"
"Shit! Sorry, I think I just swore, but he's enhanced! Don't just stand there, kid! Go!"
Queens, New York.
Josen and the other two strolled down the street of an ordinary neighborhood. It was quiet during working hours.
Two-story houses stood packed along the roadside, with no yards. Pull back the curtains, and you could see straight into a neighbor's room.
A place like this had held the childhoods of many kids. For example...
"Hey, this is it! I know this place! Before Aunt May moved, I lived here pretty much all the time!"
Peter cried out.
The three stopped in front of a detached house. The mailbox by the entrance read "20 Ingram Street."
Josen pointed at the lettering. "Even the house number is the same?"
"Uh, let me think. The neighborhood's name is different, at least."
"Then we've come to the right place." Josen gave Peter a push. "Go knock."
"Why me?"
Grumbling, Peter reflexively raised a hand and shot a web to ring the doorbell.
Ding-dong~
"Sorry, we're not seeing any more fans today..."
The door opened a crack, and an elderly woman with graying hair spoke apologetically.
Then she saw a young face.
The elderly woman opened the door and stepped outside in disbelief.
"Peter..."
"Uh... I'm not quite ready for this." The MCU's Peter watched helplessly as the elderly woman walked straight toward him. For an instant, he remembered the figure lying amid the rubble. "Aunt May?"
"It's me." Aunt May gently stroked Peter's face, the memories in her eyes giving way to a trace of comfort. "You're younger. And shorter, too."
Like a child who had done something wrong, Peter gave the Aunt May before him a gentle hug. "Uh, yes... I mean, I'm sorry. This might sound unbelievable, but I'm actually from..."
"Another parallel universe?"
"Yes... huh?"
Gwen and Peter exchanged startled looks. "You know?"
"Of course." Aunt May smiled, turning around and beckoning for them to follow. "Come with me, kids. You didn't think you were the only ones who thought to come here, did you?"
"Hey!" Gwen discreetly jabbed Josen with her elbow and asked in a low voice, "You knew all along?"
Josen's expression remained unchanged as he tapped his head with an index finger. "Just logical deduction."
"Yeah, right!"
The three followed Aunt May to a small shed in the backyard that looked like a storage room.
"Hey, I know this one! A secret base!"
Aunt May chuckled and pressed her hand against the wooden door.
Once her identity was verified, the mechanical door disguised as a wooden one opened. The storage room was empty. It was actually an elevator leading underground.
"Maybe this secret base is a teeny, tiny billion times more advanced than I imagined..."
Peter couldn't help marveling. He had expected something not too different from his own little spider workshop, but that was nowhere in sight.
Josen and Gwen followed him inside, and the elevator began to descend.
As the elevator slowly descended, the spider hideout painstakingly built by this world's Peter Parker finally unfolded before them.
Before you continue