Peter B. Parker stuffed the last bit of apple pie into his mouth.
His cheeks bulged out as he chewed hard on the crispy crust and sweet apple filling.
He swallowed his food and stuck out his tongue to lick off the frosting that clung to his lips.
Spider-Man Noir pulled down the brim of his trench coat and took a half-step forward.
His years of experience walking the line between law and crime have given him an extremely keen sense of danger.
He stared at the positions of the four people on the screen.
"You mean those four guys outside dressed as Spider-Man are really strong?"
Spider-Man Noir fiddled with a matchbox in his trench coat pocket.
"That guy with the hammer doesn't even have a basic defensive stance. And that guy in the mech has his most vulnerable energy core exposed right in his chest."
Peter B. Parker picked up the coffee cup from the metal tray and blew on the steam rising from it.
"Trust me, buddy. They don't need to adopt a defensive stance at all."
Miles slowly raised his right hand, his Five Fingers awkwardly spread out in mid-air.
Am I the only one who wants to know who Thanos is?
Miles raised a question.
Peter B. Parker took a big gulp of coffee, the warm liquid rolling down his throat.
He let out a comfortable burp and adjusted the backrest of the recliner.
"You could think of him as a madman who wants to Carnage the universe."
Peter B. Parker held up one finger.
"He has a massive fleet capable of easily wiping out an entire galaxy. Any one of his Black Order could easily crush Kingpin."
Gwen Stacy walked to the control panel and placed her hands on the metal surface.
She watched the data fluctuate on the screen.
Is he very strong?
Gwen Stacy turned her head and looked at Peter B. Parker.
I mean, in terms of individual strength alone.
Peter B. Parker put down his coffee cup, the bottom of the porcelain clinking against the metal countertop.
"Well, how should I put it? He's exceptionally strong."
Peter B. Parker raised his right hand, made a fist, and gestured twice in the air, creating a slight gust of wind.
"To give a simple example, Spider-Man's strength is usually quite great, definitely ranking among the top in most heroes. He can stop a speeding train with his bare hands and catch falling objects weighing tens of tons."
Peter B. Parker spread his hands out, palms facing up.
"But when I punched that purple sweet potato in the face with all my might, it was like tickling him; it wouldn't even make him take half a step back."
The underground base fell completely silent.
Peni Parker stopped typing, and the red indicator light on the SP//dr mech began to flash more slowly.
Spider-Man Noir's fingers paused at the edge of his trench coat pocket, the matchbox being squeezed out of shape between his fingertips.
Miles swallowed hard, took a half step back, and pressed his back against the wall again.
Peter B. Parker leaned back in the recliner, crossed his legs, and rested his heels on the edge of the lab table.
"Although I don't know why those guys outside are wearing those ridiculous costumes and pretending to be Spider-Man, I know exactly who they are."
Peter B. Parker pointed to the monitor screen.
"Or rather, your universe should also have corresponding variants."
Peter B. Parker paused, tapping his fingers on his knee.
" The Avengers, ever heard of them?"
Gwen Stacy turned her head, thought about it carefully, and gently stroked her chin with her fingers.
"I think I've heard of such an organization. It's mentioned in the scraps of news."
Spider-Ham pulled the giant wooden hammer out of thin air and smashed it on the ground with a dull thud.
"I know! I often fight alongside them against those big bad guys!"
Spider-Ham carried the hammer on his shoulder.
"That guy with the shield even complimented my hammer!"
Peter B. Parker pointed his index finger at the blond man holding a hammer in the upper left corner of the screen.
" Thor, the second prince of Asgard."
"He lived for over 1,500 years and killed more enemies than we have ever seen. His hammer could summon lightning and smash through an alien mothership."
Peter B. Parker's finger moved to the person in the red and gold mech in the bottom left corner.
" Iron Man Tony Stark. One of the very few people on Earth whose intelligence is at its peak."
Peni Parker quickly zoomed in on the image of the red-gold mech, and data streams flooded the screen.
"That's impossible."
Peni Parker's hands moved like afterimages across the keyboard.
"The nano-molecular arrangement of this mech completely defies existing laws of physics! It is self-recombining, and the output power of its energy circuit exceeds that of a small nuclear power plant. My system cannot even decipher its underlying code, and its defense level absolutely surpasses all military armor currently on Earth."
Peter B. Parker ignored Peni's shock and pointed to the person hovering in mid-air in the lower right corner.
"Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme in every parallel universe, responsible for protecting the real dimension from invasion by dimensional demons."
On the screen, the man in the blue battle suit flicked his fingers, causing golden sparks to ripple in the air and visibly distorting the space around him.
"He could throw Kingpin directly into the Mirror Dimension, or exile him to the endless dimensional rifts, leaving Kingpin fall there forever."
Peter B. Parker's finger finally rested on the giant green man in the very center of the screen, whose bodysuit was stretched terribly out of shape.
"Last one, the Hulk. Due to an accident, Bruce Banner, a scientist with seven doctoral degrees, became a being capable of easily overturning tanks, tearing apart fighter jets, and even withstanding nuclear bombs."
On the screen, the giant green man scratched his head and slightly pressed down with his foot, instantly causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the stone path in the courtyard.
Miles opened his mouth wide, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
He glanced at the four monsters on the screen, then turned to look at the portly Peter B. Parker on the recliner.
" Peter, are all your teammates this powerful?"
Miles asked a question.
"So what are your responsibilities in this team?"
Peter B. Parker waved his hands repeatedly and swayed a couple of times in the recliner.
"That's not your average situation. I'm just an ordinary street hero. Every day I catch robbers, help old ladies cross the street, and help little girls find their lost cats."
Peter B. Parker picked up the remaining half of the apple pie from the tray.
"I only join forces with them when faced with a crisis of cosmic scale, or a catastrophe capable of destroying the world."
Peter B. Parker's gaze lingered on the red and gold mech on the screen.
He looked at the golden Spider-Totem that lit up on the chest of the armor.
He let out a long sigh.
"It's been a long time since I wore that Iron Spider Suit."
Gwen Stacy crossed her arms and walked over to Peter B. Parker, blocking his view.
"So, we don't need to worry about Kingpin and his buddies at all anymore, right?"
Peter B. Parker nodded emphatically.
He sat up straight, abandoning his usual carefree attitude.
"Actually Spider-Man, it's just a few of us, who really hardened our hearts."
Peter B. Parker glanced around at the few other people present.
He looked at Spider-Man Noir, then at Gwen Stacy, then at Peni, and finally at Miles.
" Kingpin? Doctor Octopus? Green Goblin? Those villains are no match for us."
Peter B. Parker raised his right hand and made a loose fist in mid-air.
"Our strength is enough to shatter an ordinary person's neck with a single punch. Our speed is enough to snap a gunman's arm before the bullet leaves the barrel. Our reflexes surpass human limits."
Peter B. Parker leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head.
"But we're Spider-Man, aren't we? We can't just kill friendly neighbors. We restrain our powers every day, afraid of accidentally killing the villains."
Buzz---!
The roar of machinery echoed through the elevator shaft once again.
The monitoring screen on the control panel went dark instantly.
The six Spider-Man in the underground base simultaneously turned their heads to look in the direction of the elevator doors.
The car doors slid open smoothly to both sides.
Aunt May stood in the middle, holding an empty tray.
Behind her stood four men of different builds.