"So in other words, you'll take me to this universe first, and then take Cindy to the next universe to check on the situation later..."
Upon returning to headquarters, Cindy was taken somewhere to rest by Jessica, who had hurried over. Meanwhile, Peter spent a brief moment pondering Miguel's proposal. On one hand, the resolution to the whole ordeal felt rather open-ended, and on the other hand, the status of Earth-616 was indeed currently unclear. There was a portal connecting the Wasteland universe to Earth-616, but no useful information had been sent back from that side yet.
Since there was nothing immediate to handle, it was only natural to help the Society take care of its affairs. Originally, Peter had planned to bring the others along to handle the situation together, but Cindy was still resting, and Jessica had simply looked at the two of them, said with a laugh, "Haha, I won't disrupt you two," and made her departure.
Therefore, the next course of action would involve Peter and Gwen working together. Once Cindy had sufficiently recovered, Peter would then team up with her for the subsequent mission. This was a suggestion Peter had brought up to Gwen himself.
"Yes, exactly. And we've already selected our target; it's this one... Earth-1616."
Earth-1616 was a universe that Peter wasn't particularly familiar with, yet it was intrinsically linked to him. Peter still remembered that his very first time traveling across the multiverse had been triggered by the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, where they had sent the Spider of Earth-42 back to its rightful place, bringing a premature conclusion to the entire storyline of that movie.
This had caused a relatively minor yet notable ripple effect. The middle-aged, down-and-out version of Peter Parker, who was originally supposed to pick himself back up over the course of that movie, lost his opportunity to reclaim his responsibilities due to the alteration of the timeline. Because of this, he became one of the completely unmotivated Spider-Men who refused to join even when the Spider Society came knocking on his door.
Thus, this could be considered part of their after-sales service. Peter intended to visit and see if there was any way to help this middle-aged man pull himself back together.
Peter then led Gwen to the teleportation device at headquarters. After gaining a rough understanding of the type of Spider-Man they were about to face, Gwen asked back with quite a bit of curiosity, "Wait, why is he so depressed?"
"Uh, he's been Spider-Man for twenty years, and a lot happened along the way. Aunt May passed away, and his wife wanted to have a child with him. The main issue was the latter part; he wasn't ready for it, so he chose to run away. Because of that, he gave up being Spider-Man, divorced his wife, and turned into a couch potato."
For a moment, Gwen couldn't grasp the connection between these events. What did fearing having a child with his wife have to do with quitting being Spider-Man and becoming a couch potato? Was there really any logical link between those two things?
"Who's his wife anyway?"
For some reason, Peter replied in a somewhat uncertain tone, "Mary Jane?"
Gwen nearly tripped over her own feet. Fortunately, Peter caught her in time. Gwen brushed her hair back and took a deep breath, "Alright... does my counterpart exist in that world?"
"I'm not sure, and..."
"In most worlds, Gwen Stacy dies."
Peter nodded, picking up where Gwen left off, "True, that's right."
Gwen adjusted her mask with a look of utter exasperation, then pulled up her hood. The two of them immediately activated their multiverse watches, opening a portal leading to Earth-1616.
——
"Alright, folks, let's do this one more time.
My name is Peter B. Parker. I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for the past twenty-two years, I thought I was the one and only Spider-Man.
You know the rest. I saved the city, fell in love, got married, kept saving the city, many, many times. My marriage hit a rough patch, I made some risky investments—oh, remind me never to invest in a Spider-Man-themed restaurant.
I buried Aunt May, and I got a divorce from MJ..."
"Because she wanted a kid and you freaked out?"
Gwen interrupted the out-of-shape Peter's monologue. This middle-aged man in his late thirties was currently lying in bed eating pizza, talking to himself in front of the two newcomers. Hearing these words, the heavier Peter let out a self-deprecating laugh, "Yeah, exactly. I just hung up the phone on her, which definitely broke her heart, miss."
"Oh right, and then a bunch of Spider-People from other universes wanted me to join their little club. It looked like they needed a good mentor, but whatever, I'm pretty sure my city needs me more."
"I think this guy is a lost cause."
Gwen turned around to look at Peter, while the older Peter merely chuckled in response. Peter, on the other hand, stared at the Spider-Man costume the man was still wearing, "Are you still acting as Spider-Man right now?"
"Of course, my city still needs me. How could I stop being Spider-Man?"
Gwen and Peter stared at the older Peter's slight potbelly for a moment, then simultaneously shook their minds.
At that moment, as if remembering something, the heavier Peter sat up from the bed, "Ah, it's time for the daily Spider-Man special segment. Look, I'm about to be on TV."
The older Peter turned on the television with a smile, and Peter and Gwen saw a balding, bespectacled J. Jonah Jameson shouting in front of the screen, "That menace Spider-Man has once again displayed his so-called superhero antics! He rushed into a burning building to play the personal hero, severely disrupting the standard operations of our firefighters..."
"See that? Twenty-two years. For twenty-two years, J. Jonah Jameson has loved me consistently every single day. Ah, it really warms the heart."
"He also blocked the police on 17th Avenue from pursuing a bank robber!"
"Did I do that? I guess I did. Alright, is there anything else you two need?" He then looked toward Peter and Gwen, "Look, I know you mean well and think I need help, but I'm really doing great. Really, you can head back now."
Just like that, Peter and Gwen were escorted out of the older Peter's tiny apartment. He had already lost the Parker home in Queens and was now living in a cluttered attic space at the top of an apartment building. After the two were kicked out, Gwen couldn't help but complain, "I really find it hard to believe that this guy is a version of you, and that he's so... irresponsible."
"I find it harder to believe that he hasn't ended up homeless yet..."
As Peter spoke, he picked up a plastic packaging bag from the floor by the attic entrance, "It looks like he's already mastered how to make a living delivering pizza by web-swinging. He seems to still intend to live his life properly, he just needs a catalyst or an opportunity."
Peter looked up as he spoke. In the distance, the sound of police sirens echoed. Initially, Peter and Gwen hadn't intended to do anything, until their superhuman vision caught sight of another figure swinging on a web line.
The two of them turned around to glance back at the small attic where nobody had left, expressions of surprise dawning on their faces.
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