Two more months flew by in the blink of an eye, and winter break arrived.
During that time, Spider-Man and Spider-Woman had been fighting crime more and more often, though the interactions between them had clearly become less frequent. Gwen was probably still bothered by that incident...
With his new gear, Peter became even more decisive, using harsher methods and an iron hand to send quite a few vicious super-criminals straight to hell. Because of that, the New York Times had started calling him the Spider Punisher of the New Era.
There was one more thing too. Recently, all kinds of merchandise about him and Gwen had started popping up. Some people had even made a comic called Wraith Spider and Ghost-Spider: A Few Little Things, and it was actually pretty popular. Peter had even bought a copy himself and read it.
Under the dark night sky, Spider-Man and Spider-Woman said their goodbyes, ready to call it a night after another round of vigilante work.
But while Peter was heading home, a voice caught his attention.
"Listen, lady, I just want a simple five-finger discount. I'm not trying to do anything to you. Be smart and pretend you didn't see a thing, or else the gun in my hand won't stay quiet."
Inside a store, a muscular white man was pointing a gun at an Asian woman.
The store happened to be a jewelry shop.
A few passersby had initially wanted to help, but after seeing how viciously built the guy was, they all pretended they had seen nothing.
Still, a few spectators who clearly enjoyed drama started chatting nearby.
"Hey, that idiot really picked the wrong place to cause trouble. This is Wraith Spider's territory."
"I'm telling you, in under a minute, Wraith Spider's going to show up and ruin his whole day."
"Wait, aren't you the hot sauce guy? Why aren't you betting a whole bottle of hot sauce this time?"
"Don't even mention it. I lost so badly I practically lost my shorts. Who knew those two would interact so little lately..."
Inside the jewelry shop, the muscular man stuffed a handful of gold into a bag and turned to leave.
But the moment he turned around, it felt like he had slammed into something solid. He fell straight to the floor, grabbed his head in pain, then pulled out his gun before even looking up.
"Which blind idiot wants to get shot?! You believe I won't blow your head off?! I..."
When he finally looked up, what he saw was the newly upgraded Wraith Spider in black and red.
Peter Parker.
"So you do know who I am. Good. Then listen, buddy. Be smart and hand all that gold back to her. Otherwise, I can't guarantee you won't get hurt."
Peter's tone was calm.
During this stretch of vigilante work, he had already earned 350 Skin Points, plus the 50 from before. That was enough for two skin draws, but he had not rushed to use them. He could save them for later. They were not going anywhere.
Besides, even a mosquito was still meat. If this guy had not hurt anyone, then tying him up and handing him over to the police would be enough. Peter was not the kind of person who killed without caring about right and wrong.
"You're not scared I'll put a bullet in you?!"
The man tried to act fierce while cocking the gun.
"You're so broke you couldn't even afford a real gun. Who exactly are you trying to scare with a fake one?"
Peter shook his head.
There were always fools who overestimated themselves and insisted on learning the hard way.
The man visibly froze after being exposed on the spot, then immediately swung a punch at Peter.
Peter turned slightly, dodged with ease, then flipped him over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground in one clean motion. Right after that, he fired several strands of webbing and pinned the would-be robber down completely, leaving him unable to move.
Then he finished it all with a smooth turn.
The bystanders nearby burst into applause after seeing that whole sequence.
Peter picked up the bag from the robber's hand and returned it to the Asian woman.
"Ma'am, here's your gold. And a little advice, you should probably keep a gun of your own. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man can't show up at exactly the right moment every single time."
"Thank you, Spider-Man..."
Peter waved his hand, leaped up onto a nearby building, then waved down once more.
"No need to thank your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Just call the police and let them handle cleanup~"
Then he swung away into the night.
Some time later, Peter sat on the rooftop of a building, lifted his mask halfway, and pulled a burger from a paper bag, eating it with obvious satisfaction.
His body was still in a growth phase, so he needed to consume a huge amount of calories every day. After all this training, his physical condition had improved tremendously, and his appetite had grown just as much.
"Nicely done, Spider-Kid."
The sudden voice made Peter tense instantly.
His spider-sense had not reacted, which meant there was no danger.
But then why had his sharp awareness failed him like this?
Peter spun around and saw a red-and-gold armored figure hovering in the air behind him. If he did not know who that was, he would have been embarrassed to call himself someone who had read Marvel.
"Tony Stark?!"
"Looks like you know me. Great, then I can skip the introduction. Let me get straight to the point. Spider-Kid, any interest in joining us?"
Tony pulled back his faceplate and revealed his face. He had been quietly observing Wraith Spider for two months now and already had a general understanding of him.
This kid had his own principles, and he was nothing like the reckless killer Steve kept claiming he was. Sure, Tony had been a little surprised by how ruthless the kid could be, but he believed that if Peter joined them, then with the right guidance, he could absolutely become a first-rate new superhero.
"Us? The Avengers? So this universe has the Avengers too?"
"The what now? Avengers? Is that some new band name?"
Alright.
So the Avengers did not exist in this world.
"Spider-Kid, what's your name?"
"Peter. Peter Benjamin Parker. You can call me Peter Parker."
"Got it, Peter Parker. Want to join the Defenders Alliance? I'm pretty sure you'd be interested. Join us, and we'll train you into the finest superhero there is."
The Defenders Alliance...
Peter vaguely remembered that in some universe, Tony really had created a similar group.
But Peter was an antihero. He preferred being a lone wolf. He would not fit in with people like that.
"No thanks. I like being on my own. I don't like being restrained or managed."
Peter waved him off, then pulled an apple pie from the paper bag, broke it in half, and held one piece out to Tony.
"Want some? It's actually pretty good."
Tony, friendly as ever, did not refuse. He took the pie and started eating, though he still kept trying to persuade him.
"Our teaching staff is incredible. We've got Doctor Strange, Hulk, Captain Carter, Captain Rogers, and me. Most importantly, me. You know I own an entire industrial empire. I can build the kind of equipment you need better than anyone else. That would be a huge help to you."
"Wait. Captain Rogers, you mean Steve Rogers?"
Peter looked surprised.
"Wait. Captain Rogers? You mean Steve Rogers? So in this universe, he's not Captain America. He's just Rogers, and he actually holds the rank of captain."
"Oh? You know that too..."
"You two probably don't get along very well, huh? Hopefully it doesn't turn into a civil war."
Peter's words made Tony briefly suspect this kid might actually be from the future.
He even knew Tony and Steve did not get along very well. But what was this about civil war? Sure, they disagreed on almost everything, but it was not like they were going to start fighting each other, right?
"Let's leave it at this, Mr. Tony. I'm interested in working together. But becoming your student? I think I'll pass. I'm pretty ambitious myself."
Peter stood up, pulled his mask back down, raised two fingers in a salute, then relaxed his body and dropped off the building.
A moment later, he was already swinging away on webbing and disappearing into the night.
Tony remained where he was, staring blankly in the direction Peter had vanished, until a smile slowly appeared on his face.
"What an interesting kid..."
...
After getting home, Peter saw Uncle Ben sitting on the couch watching TV while Aunt May was busy in the kitchen.
The television was running a news segment about Tony Stark. It was the usual stuff: Stark Industries' stock going up again, some new gadget he had invented, things like that. None of it interested Peter, so he went straight back to his room, stuffed the suit casually into his backpack, changed into pajamas, and lay down on the bed to take a short nap.
The moment he fell asleep, his spider-sense exploded with intensity.
Peter's eyes snapped open.
The space above his head was twisting, little by little, lit by flickering cyber-like light. In no time at all, it formed into a fragmented black hole full of strange blocky energy.
"What the hell..."
Before he could even get up, a powerful suction came from the hole and dragged him straight in.
Then everything went still again.
And in the instant he was pulled inside, Peter clearly heard the system's voice in his mind.
[Ding. Marvel Universe 1610 quantum black hole detected. Host is about to travel to Universe 1610. Please prepare yourself.]
Prepare my ass.
You didn't even give me time to mentally prepare...
I'm still wearing pajamas!
(End of Chapter)
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