Web of the Multiverse - 151 - 155 (Patreon)

Chapter 151: The Only Way to Kill the Spider Demon God

“Everyone! Open fire at full power!”

Cyclops was the first to react. He raised both hands and pressed against the edges of his visor, pushing his energy output straight to the limit.

A crimson beam several times thicker than before tore through the air and struck the core in the Spider Demon God’s chest.

The instant the crimson beam hit the Spider Demon God head-on, its massive, mountain-like body actually recoiled slightly.

That alone was enough to demonstrate the terrifying power Cyclops possessed when firing at full strength. His attack could probably cleave even an enormous mountain in two.

Moreover, Cyclops’ eyes were actually portals connected to another dimension, so the crimson beams they released did not draw upon Cyclops’ own energy.

That other dimension was a unique realm composed entirely of kinetic energy, and the amount of kinetic energy within it was effectively infinite.

As a result, Cyclops could maintain maximum output for an extremely long time without ever exhausting himself.

Among all the X-Men, Cyclops ranked among the very best in terms of raw output, even surpassing Storm. Only Jean Grey while wielding the Phoenix Force stood above him.

On the other side, Storm, another major source of firepower, refused to be outdone. Her eyes had turned completely white, making her look almost as terrifying as a malevolent spirit.

Drawing upon the vast bank of cumulonimbus clouds that had yet to disperse overhead, Storm summoned more than a hundred bolts of lightning at once. They converged into a colossal pillar of lightning that seemed capable of piercing heaven and earth before crashing directly onto the Spider Demon God’s head.

This attack took advantage of every favorable condition available to her, pushing far beyond Storm’s normal limits. It could easily be called the strongest attack she had ever unleashed in her life.

Magneto, who had just suffered a setback against the Spider Demon God, suddenly had an idea.

Using the debris from the shredded train tracks, he formed numerous long, thick lightning rods and spread them across every part of the Spider Demon God’s body.

That way, not a single bit of the colossal lightning pillar Storm had summoned would go to waste. Every ounce of it would be directed into the Spider Demon God’s body.

The result was an almost perfect electrical attack.

Under the combined assault of the crimson beam and the lightning, the Spider Demon God’s carapace instantly turned dark red.

Rainwater striking its carapace evaporated on contact, turning into clouds of white mist.

In the blink of an eye, half the street was swallowed by white steam.

The Spider Demon God unleashed an agonized howl that pierced the heavens.

With the Spider Demon God at its center, the glass facades of buildings across several nearby streets shattered simultaneously.

The howl did not sound like something produced by a single throat.

Instead, it resembled the high-frequency screech of hundreds of thousands of spiders rubbing their mouthparts together at once. Just hearing it created the agonizing sensation that one’s very soul was being torn apart.

Cyclops and Storm, who had been maintaining their full-power attacks, instantly clutched their heads and collapsed, curling up on the ground the moment the horrific sound reached them.

It felt as though something were violently stirring their brains. The pain had already gone far beyond what a living being could endure.

The Spider Demon God, which had been suppressed until then, finally gained a chance to recover.

The color of its carapace rapidly returned to normal. Then its hundred-meter-long spider limbs suddenly swept outward.

One of them snapped a skyscraper clean in half. The Spider Demon God then shoved the upper half of the building toward the X-Men’s position.

The X-Men could no longer fight with any composure. They had no choice but to drag their injured teammates away and flee for their lives, barely escaping the devastating impact.

BOOM!!

Half of the skyscraper crashed into the street, unleashing a shockwave comparable to a small nuclear explosion.

Most of New York City could clearly feel the violent tremors. Millions of New Yorkers who did not possess the Spider Gene were thrown into utter panic, as though the end of the world were upon them.

The battered members of the X-Men crawled out of the rubble and stared at the terrifying evil god before them, an enemy that seemed impossible for human strength to defeat. A crushing sense of helplessness rose within them.

But they were not fighting alone.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky. In the next instant, it slammed into the ground and transformed into a blond man wearing a red cape and Norse-style metal armor.

Thor, the God of Thunder! He had finally arrived at this critical moment!

At the same time, the Fantastic Four, who had previously been focused on fighting the Spider-King, shifted their target.

The Invisible Woman withdrew the invisible force field she had been trying to use against the Spider-King.

She redirected all of her strength toward the Spider Demon God.

The transparent force field formed into a massive sphere and attempted to envelop the joints of the Spider Demon God’s limbs, restricting their movement and reducing both the frequency and strength of its attacks.

Human Torch was finally free to unleash his full power as well, no longer burdened by all the concerns that had restrained him earlier.

He pushed the temperature of his flames to the absolute limit. Once they exceeded ten thousand degrees, the flames turned a brilliant blue.

His entire body resembled a humanoid fiery supernova as he repeatedly slammed into the Spider Demon God.

In a battle of this scale, The Thing had far less of a presence.

All he could do was grab onto the ends of the Spider Demon God’s limbs whenever possible, harassing it and trying to divide its attention.

By this point, no one was paying any attention to the Spider-King.

Peter was still moving around in the Spider-King’s form.

Standing on the open, ruined street, he raised his head and stared at the Spider Demon God ahead, which looked as though it had crawled straight out of the deepest pits of hell.

“This thing is destroying the city way too fast. We have to take it down as soon as possible!”

Peter then recalled the method used to completely kill the Spider Demon God in the Spider-Island comic.

He took a deep breath, planted his feet, and suddenly launched himself toward the center of the battlefield.

Attacking the Spider Demon God from the outside alone would not be enough to kill it...

An attack had to be launched from inside the Spider Demon God at the same time. Only by damaging it simultaneously from within and without could the Spider Demon God be completely killed.

That was also why Peter had been so determined to carry out the undercover plan.

Only by approaching the Spider Demon God as the Spider-King could he avoid arousing its suspicion and gain an opportunity to attack it from the inside.

Amid the chaos, with everyone pouring every ounce of firepower they had into the Spider Demon God, Peter silently crossed more than half the battlefield.

He carefully avoided the lightning barrages from Storm and Thor, followed by Human Torch’s fiery assaults.

After slipping past the notice of close-range Superheroes such as Wolverine, he finally made it safely to the Spider Demon God’s rear flank.

He climbed onto the thickest of the Spider Demon God’s limbs and began scaling the body of the hundred-meter-tall evil god.

Cyclops, having recovered enough to resume his attack, caught sight of the Spider-King out of the corner of his eye between sustained bursts of crimson energy.

From the Spider-King’s precise, efficient climbing movements, it was obvious that he had a clear destination in mind and was heading straight for the Spider Demon God’s head.

Cyclops frowned as a strong sense of unease rose within him.

“Wait, what’s that giant Spider Monster doing? Is it climbing onto the Spider Demon God’s back?”

Completely baffled, Cyclops could only contact the central figure of the X-Men and ask for assistance.

“Professor X, can you interfere with that giant Spider Monster’s movements? We don’t have any strength to spare on it right now.”

Professor X’s voice came through the communicator, carrying unmistakable exhaustion.

“I’m sorry, Scott. Ever since the Spider Demon God appeared, this entire area has been blanketed by an extremely malevolent psychic disturbance.”

“I have to devote all of my psychic power to suppressing its influence on you and the nearby civilians. I simply can’t spare any more power to help you.”

Cyclops gritted his teeth and ultimately decided to send Wolverine, whose immortal body made him the best choice for such a dangerous task.

“Logan, see that giant spider on the Spider Demon God’s back? Go drive it off. Don’t let it interfere with the fight.”

Although Wolverine and Cyclops had never gotten along particularly well, Wolverine was still capable of following orders when it mattered.

His adamantium claws sprang from his fists. He drove them deep into the Spider Demon God’s carapace and used them as handholds to climb rapidly toward the Spider-King.

At that critical moment, a Quinjet suddenly dived from high above.

Three figures leaped from the cabin and landed directly on the rooftop where Cyclops was standing.

They were Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Reed, Mister Fantastic and leader of the Fantastic Four.

The instant the three arrived on the battlefield, they spotted Wolverine aggressively closing in on the Spider-King.

Black Widow immediately raised both hands and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Don’t attack! He’s on our side!”

Cyclops’ hand twitched. He shut his visor, cutting off the crimson beam, then turned toward Black Widow with a bewildered expression.

“What do you mean, ‘on our side’?”

Black Widow and Hawkeye quickly explained the situation, laying out the entire battle plan.

When Cyclops learned that the torrential rain that had fallen from the sky and cured all the Spider Monsters had actually come from a weather weapon personally piloted by Tony Stark, he was too shocked to speak.

Then, after learning that Spider-Man was carrying out such a dangerous undercover operation, Cyclops realized with embarrassment that he had almost ruined everything.

He hurriedly ordered Wolverine to stop.

Fortunately, Wolverine was still some distance from the Spider-King, so no serious mistake had been made.

“How are we supposed to coordinate with Iron Man and Spider-Man’s plan from here?”

Cyclops looked at Black Widow and Hawkeye. He had realized that the X-Men were not the main players in this battle.

The Avengers were.

Black Widow and Hawkeye exchanged glances before giving him a deliberately vague answer.

“We play it by ear. Everything depends on what Spider-Man does!”

...

Peter had finally reached the back of the Spider Demon God’s head.

He was still maintaining the Spider-King’s form, keeping his body pressed as low as possible.

Once he had steadied himself, Peter glanced toward the X-Men’s position out of the corner of his eye.

There, he spotted Black Widow and Hawkeye among their ranks.

Peter immediately understood that the X-Men had already learned his true identity.

Since that was the case, there was no longer any reason to keep pretending.

He made a rapid series of hand signals toward the X-Men, telling them to concentrate their attacks on the Spider Demon God’s head.

Black Widow was the first to understand what Peter wanted. She quietly said a few words to Hawkeye.

Hawkeye immediately vaulted onto a nearby water tower, pulled out three specialized arrows, and nocked them to his bowstring.

“Spider-Man wants us to focus our attacks on the head.”

The moment Black Widow finished speaking, Hawkeye released the three specialized arrows.

They struck the Spider Demon God’s lower jaw with pinpoint accuracy.

Cyclops and Storm attacked at the same time without hesitation. The concentrated barrage of crimson energy and lightning caused the Spider Demon God to unleash an even more piercing screech.

Thor and Human Torch, both hovering in midair, also seemed to notice that something was happening. They unleashed their powers at the same time, joining the others in the coordinated assault.

Finally, Wolverine, relying on his immortal body, jumped directly onto one of the Spider Demon God’s eyes and began viciously stabbing it over and over with his adamantium claws.

After suffering one devastating attack after another, the Spider Demon God’s mouth had been forced open into a gap several meters wide.

Peter seized the opportunity.

Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped straight into the enormous mouth that had been forcibly pried open.

Everyone on the battlefield froze.

They watched as the [Spider-King] vanished into the depths of the Spider Demon God’s throat.

“Spider-Man, what are you...”

Cyclops could not bring himself to finish the sentence. He had been about to ask whether Spider-Man had gone insane, but immediately felt that saying so would be rather inappropriate.

Hawkeye and Black Widow, his fellow Avengers, were just as confused.

Even now, neither of them could figure out what Spider-Man’s real plan was.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Spider Demon God’s body, Peter was plummeting rapidly downward.

The space inside was even larger than he had originally imagined.

The pitch-black depths below undoubtedly led to the Spider Demon God’s stomach.

It was probably filled with super-acid capable of corroding almost anything, but to Peter, that was actually good news.

It meant there was enough room for him to carry out the next stage of his plan.

Peter first dropped the Spider-King disguise.

The Anti-Venom suit returned to its Spider-Man form and covered his body once more.

Then Peter closed his eyes and awakened the Web of Life and Destiny that stretched across the Multiverse, hidden deep within his consciousness.

The special skill icon representing the Enigma Force had regained its glow, indicating that it was fully charged.

“Activate! Enigma Force!”

At Peter’s command, the Enigma Force once again transformed into an indescribably wondrous energy that enveloped his entire body, transforming him into his Captain Cosmic form.

Now came the most important step.

The step that would determine whether he could kill the Spider Demon God.

...

Chapter 152: The End of the Evil God, Is Spider-Man Dead?

Having transformed into Captain Universe Spider-Man, Peter stopped falling and hovered in midair.

Then he raised one hand and controlled the Anti-Venom cells, dissolving the suit and gathering them into his palm as an extremely pure cluster of Anti-Venom cells the size of a soccer ball.

Peter did not use the Enigma Force directly as an attack. Instead, he channeled all of the Enigma Force into the Anti-Venom cell cluster.

Thanks to his experience using the Enigma Force in the Marvel Zombies Universe, Peter was able to channel it precisely into every single Anti-Venom cell.

Sure enough, once empowered by the Enigma Force, the Anti-Venom cells began expanding at a rate visible to the naked eye.

In just a few seconds, the Anti-Venom cell cluster grew from the size of a soccer ball into a massive sphere three meters in diameter.

And it kept expanding at a frantic pace, with no sign of slowing down.

As the cluster grew, an intense white light began shining from its surface, the unmistakable signature of the Enigma Force.

Empowered by the Enigma Force, the cluster pulverized and decomposed everything it touched.

Any flesh or tissue inside the Spider Demon God that came into contact with the expanding Anti-Venom cell cluster withered and sloughed away in huge patches like ice and snow beneath the blazing sun, eventually dissolving into flowing black residue.

At that moment, the damage the Anti-Venom cell cluster inflicted on the Spider Demon God was no less devastating than detonating a nuclear bomb inside its stomach.

...

Amid the shattered ruins of the streets, the Spider Demon God stood motionless, no longer rampaging and destroying everything around it as it had before.

Its colossal spider limbs, which had previously been whipping through the air at tremendous speed, now hung limply at its sides.

Even its enormous, sinister eyes, each composed of countless tiny spider eyes, had gone hollow and vacant.

Then a strange change began taking place around the Spider Demon God’s abdomen.

It slowly started to bulge outward.

The swelling looked completely unnatural, becoming more pronounced with every passing second and expanding faster and faster.

It was as though something inside the creature was trying to break through from within.

Wolverine, who was still clinging to the Spider Demon God’s head, was the first to notice something was wrong.

Looking down from above, he had a perfect view of the growing bulge in its abdomen.

An absurd thought suddenly crossed the Canadian tough guy’s mind.

“Holy shit, did Spider-Man get this monster pregnant?”

A moment later, Wolverine shook his head and forcibly banished the inappropriate thought.

“Wade must be rubbing off on me. I can’t believe I’d even think something like that. I really need to stay away from that guy.”

Hawkeye was the second to notice the anomaly. His exceptionally sharp eyes allowed him to pick up subtle changes long before most people could.

He immediately shouted to everyone.

“The abdomen! Attack this giant monster’s abdomen!”

Hawkeye’s voice snapped everyone into action.

Without the slightest hesitation, every Superhero present unleashed their strongest attacks in perfect unison.

Crimson beams tore through the air. Thunderclouds churned across the sky, and dozens of lightning bolts crashed down at once.

Mjolnir, the Hammer of Thor, erupted with earthshaking thunder. Together with Human Torch’s flames and the Invisible Woman’s invisible force field, the attacks became a streak of light almost too fast for the eye to follow as they shot toward the Spider Demon God’s abdomen.

And Magneto, who had always been fond of making a spectacle, contributed a powerful assist of his own.

Across several nearby city blocks, hundreds of tons of steel wreckage were simultaneously pulled into the sky by overwhelming magnetic force.

Then the metal was violently twisted and compressed into an enormous spiral drill.

Buzz!

The spiral drill began spinning at an unbelievable speed, whipping the surrounding air into a violent vortex.

At that moment, all the Superheroes’ attacks converged into a single combined strike of unimaginable power.

Lasers, lightning, flames, force fields, steel!

As every attack arrived at the same instant, it seemed as though some invisible force had slowed time itself.

Perhaps it was coincidence. Perhaps the Enigma Force was guiding them.

In that single instant, every attack converged on the most swollen point of the Spider Demon God’s abdomen.

The Spider Demon God’s enormous body suddenly went rigid.

Its eight compound eyes, each made up of countless spider eyes, opened as wide as they possibly could. The tens of millions of tiny eyes within them stopped moving.

Then an indescribable screech rose from the deepest part of its throat.

The sound was filled with resentment, confusion, and fury.

Finally, the Spider Demon God’s abdomen convulsed violently.

Cracks spread rapidly across the surface of its carapace, multiplying at a rate visible to the naked eye.

In the blink of an eye, its entire abdomen resembled an enormous mirror on the verge of shattering.

BOOM—!!

The Spider Demon God... exploded!

It literally exploded!

Its abdomen was torn apart simultaneously by two opposing forces, one from within and one from without.

A white shockwave expanded outward from the center of the Spider Demon God’s abdomen, devouring the last traces of life inside it inch by inch.

Then the lightning simultaneously unleashed by Storm and Thor overlapped, electrocuting the Spider Demon God until its entire body was charred through.

The Spider Demon God’s enormous body, massive enough to tower over all of Manhattan, now resembled a weathered sandcastle.

It began collapsing from head to toe.

Ashes from the crumbling flesh of the evil god were swept upward by the heat waves, filling the sky with black smoke and sparks.

In the end, only its enormous head remained, crashing to the ground as a grim reminder of the terrible devastation the Spider Demon God had inflicted upon the city.

...

The downpour finally stopped.

The clouds began to part.

Scorching sunlight streamed through gaps in the dark clouds, falling at an angle across the ruins of Manhattan.

Whoosh!

Thor raised his right hand and caught Mjolnir as it flew back into his grasp, while wiping the soot from his face with his other hand.

Human Torch poked his head out from somewhere in the rubble. Coughing as he crawled free, he gave the Spider Demon God’s remaining head an obscene gesture.

Looking utterly exhausted, Magneto descended not far from the gathered Superheroes.

The powerful leader of the Mutants even staggered slightly when his feet touched the ground. He then turned and stared at the endless ruins with a complicated expression.

Storm slowly descended as well. Her heavy breathing made it clear that she had completely exhausted her powers and could no longer even maintain basic flight.

The unnatural whiteness in her eyes had faded, returning them to their normal brown.

Supported by Hawkeye and Black Widow, Cyclops made his way down from the rooftop of a residential building and returned to street level.

Of everyone present, only Wolverine, with his superhuman healing ability, still had plenty of energy and stamina left.

Somehow, Wolverine had managed to find two unopened cans of beer. He raised them high and called out to everyone.

“Anyone want a drink? We should celebrate this damn victory.”

The heroes standing amid the ruins exchanged glances, then broke into weary laughter.

They had survived a harrowing battle where death had been only a step away, and the air still carried the lingering relief of having escaped disaster.

For everyone there, that was certainly worth celebrating.

Suddenly, Invisible Woman Susan seemed to remember something.

She turned and looked around, quickly scanning the crowd. Then her pupils contracted sharply.

“Where’s Spider-Man?”

That one question instantly put everyone on edge.

Human Torch shot to his feet, flames bursting from his body. He was about to take to the sky and search for Spider-Man when he realized he no longer had enough strength even to jump.

Wolverine frowned and set down the beer in his hand.

Thor’s smile instantly froze. He gripped Mjolnir again, only to remember that he had never learned a single spell that would be useful in a situation like this.

“Damn it. If Loki were here... he must know some kind of spell for finding people.”

Hawkeye’s brow had furrowed into three deep vertical lines.

“Who saw Spider-Man last?”

Wolverine clenched his fists. His adamantium claws sprang out, and he slashed apart a broken wall blocking his path.

“I saw him go into that thing’s mouth. After that... he never came back out. Not even when the damn thing exploded until there was nothing left but its head...”

“Impossible!”

Black Widow Natasha clenched both fists and bit hard on her lip.

She refused to accept that terrible possibility.

“Spider-Man’s too clever for that. There’s no way he didn’t get out. He must be hiding somewhere. He loves dropping down from above and scaring people.”

As she spoke, Black Widow kept looking up and scanning the surroundings, as though expecting that familiar figure to swing down from some nearby rooftop on a strand of webbing.

Spider-Man had not been a member of the Avengers for long, and Black Widow had only met him once or twice.

But that had not stopped her from already considering him one of their own.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Black Widow searched through the ruins, she could not find that familiar red-and-blue figure.

In truth, Black Widow was not the only one unwilling to accept the possibility.

Everyone present was doing everything they could to find some trace of Spider-Man.

Even Magneto, who rarely got along with either the X-Men or the Avengers, used his powers to lift the countless pieces of metal scattered throughout the ruins, shifting aside the larger chunks of wreckage in hopes of finding Spider-Man trapped underneath.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy, as though a massive weight had settled over everyone’s chest, a familiar voice casually drifted over from nearby.

“Hey, guys, what’s with those faces? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were at a funeral.”

Everyone turned toward the voice at the same time.

There, wearing his most classic, original red-and-blue suit, Spider-Man slowly emerged from behind the Spider Demon God’s enormous remaining head.

The moment they saw Spider-Man alive, unharmed, and standing right in front of them, every Superhero present let out a long sigh of relief.

Wolverine immediately retrieved the two cans of beer he had thrown onto the ground and began passing drinks around.

Even Peter ended up with a can from Wolverine.

Human Torch raised his beer bottle toward Spider-Man.

“Nice work, Spidey. Cheers.”

Peter did not stand on ceremony. He pulled the tab, tipped his head back, and drained the whole can in one go.

Then he tossed the empty can with pinpoint accuracy into a still-smoking trash can more than ten meters away.

The weary but joyful laughter of the Superheroes rang through the ruins once again.

At that moment, a blur streaked across the sky.

The Sky Queen hovered above the ruins before slowly descending.

Tony Stark jumped out of the cockpit.

He glanced over the ruined streets, which were already completely unrecognizable, then looked toward the grotesque and terrifying head of the Spider Demon God lying amid the rubble.

Iron Man’s mind immediately pieced together the massive battle that had just taken place here.

Tony Stark then waved to everyone, activated his thrusters, and flew over.

“Guys, stop pushing yourselves. Go back and get some rest. Leave the rest to my Iron Legion.”

As Tony Stark finished speaking, a large group of silver-gray mass-produced drones flew in from the direction of Stark Tower in the distance.

When it came to clearing post-battle wreckage, the Iron Legion was easily more than a hundred times as efficient as manual labor.

They were the real professionals.

After Tony Stark arrived, Magneto said nothing. He simply turned and left.

As for the other Superheroes, the moment they allowed themselves to relax, overwhelming exhaustion swept through their bodies.

One after another, they boarded the Quinjet dispatched by S.H.I.E.L.D. and returned to their respective headquarters to rest.

Tony Stark walked over to Peter and patted him on the shoulder.

Peter smiled and nodded at Tony Stark, then looked past him toward the ruins stretching almost as far as the eye could see.

“Cleaning up an area this big isn’t going to be easy.”

Tony Stark sighed, his voice gradually turning somber.

He turned and pointed toward the Spider Demon God’s head, which was still giving off black smoke.

“The real problem... is actually that thing.”

“If we don’t handle it properly, then based on what I know about these monsters, there’s always a chance it could come back.”

Peter was slightly surprised.

Iron Man was usually confident about everything, but today seemed to be an exception.

Tony Stark appeared to notice the concern in Peter’s gaze, and his tone quickly returned to normal.

“No need to worry. My technology may not be especially good at dealing with weird monsters like this, but... there’s a man who knows magic inside and out. This is exactly the kind of thing he’s good at. We can leave it to him.”

Peter’s eyes flickered slightly when he heard that.

Of course he knew exactly who Tony Stark meant by the man who was an expert in magic.

Doctor Strange.

...

Chapter 153: Coming Home, Gwen’s Dad’s Change

Peter wasn’t surprised by Tony Stark’s admiration for Doctor Strange.

After all, geniuses tended to recognize and appreciate one another.

Tony Stark’s talent for technology was almost equal to Doctor Strange’s talent for magic.

On top of that, both men had a habit of growing beards, and even their beard styles looked somewhat similar.

Naturally, the two had hit it off almost immediately.

After working together several times, they had developed a fairly good relationship.

If Doctor Strange, as the Sorcerer Supreme, hadn’t needed to remain at the Sanctum Sanctorum at all times, Peter had no doubt Tony Stark would have tried to recruit him into the Avengers as well.

Still, now that Doctor Strange had been brought up, Peter found himself wondering about something.

“Where is Doctor Strange right now? New York’s been turned upside down, and he hasn’t even shown his face.”

Tony Stark chuckled.

There was little surprise in his laughter. Instead, there was a calmness that suggested he was already used to this sort of thing.

His gaze shifted toward the sky, as though he were looking beyond the firmament at the vast sea of stars stretching across the universe.

“That’s just how the Sorcerer Supreme and his people operate. As long as this dimension stays intact, Earth could get blown in half and it still wouldn’t be their problem.”

“They’re more like gatekeepers of the dimension than protectors of Earth. Strange is probably tied up dealing with some dimension-related trouble and can’t spare the time to clean up our mess over here.”

“But don’t worry. I’ll find a way to contact him. We can’t leave this thing sitting in the middle of New York forever. If some suicidal gang punk sneaks inside at night and takes something, Fury will lose his mind.”

As he said this, Tony Stark suddenly seemed to notice a small detail.

He turned toward Spider-Man.

“Come to think of it, how do you know Strange even exists? You even know his title.”

In response to Tony Stark’s question, Peter told him about the embarrassing incident when Magik had accidentally wandered into the Sanctum Sanctorum.

Tony Stark’s eyes immediately widened. His impression of the blonde girl who had once given him a firsthand taste of Teleportation deepened considerably.

“All right, enough about Strange. If we keep talking, the guy might actually notice we’re badmouthing him behind his back.”

Tony Stark then asked the question he had been holding in for quite some time.

“What exactly happened after you crawled into that giant spider’s stomach?”

Peter fell silent for a few seconds, weighing what he should reveal and what he should keep to himself.

He knew perfectly well that Iron Man’s curiosity wasn’t easy to satisfy, so he decided to tell him part of the truth.

“Once I got inside, I dropped straight toward the core. When the space around me got large enough, I detonated all the Symbiote cells on my body.”

As Peter spoke, he raised one hand and mimed an exaggerated explosion.

Tony Stark’s iron faceplate opened, revealing the mildly astonished expression underneath.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. Simple as that.”

Seeing Tony Stark’s eyebrows shoot up, Peter immediately continued explaining.

“The Anti-Venom suit I’m wearing is the real thing, not the Weakened Anti-Venom Cells Dr. Connors developed later.”

“Even a tiny amount of genuine Anti-Venom cells can melt a Spider Monster outright. I detonated every Anti-Venom cell in the entire suit at once and made them spread outward from inside that giant spider.”

“And the result proved that, crazy as the plan was, it worked. No matter how powerful a creature is, the inside of its body is still incredibly vulnerable.”

After hearing the explanation, Tony Stark nodded in complete agreement.

Still, the way he looked at Peter was as if he were staring at a reckless lunatic.

It was difficult for him to imagine that Spider-Man, New York’s friendly neighborhood hero, could be capable of doing something that insane.

“Don’t use such extreme methods next time. Uncle Ben and Aunt May are waiting for you to come home. If something like this happens again, let us old guys go first.”

Tony Stark’s words made Peter’s eyes sting slightly.

“How’s Captain America doing?”

Peter naturally changed the subject.

Tony Stark seemed to remember something amusing, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.

“Captain America is still unconscious, but all his vital signs look good. He shouldn’t be out for much longer.”

“Although I’d bet a hundred bucks that once he wakes up, he’ll wish he could stay in bed and know nothing about what happened.”

“Getting taken down by a woman and turned into a monster like that doesn’t exactly fit our Captain’s image.”

The two looked at each other and burst out laughing.

After that brief interlude, their conversation was nearly over, and it was time for both of them to move on to what came next.

“I already had Uncle Ben and Aunt May taken home. You should go get some rest and see them while you’re at it. They haven’t stopped asking where Parker went.”

Peter had no objection to Tony Stark’s arrangement.

After waving goodbye, Peter fired a strand of webbing and disappeared between the buildings beneath the increasingly hot morning sun.

However, he wasn’t going home just yet.

There was still one thing he hadn’t taken care of, so he needed to make a trip to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.

...

At that moment, every agent and member of the support staff aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier was running themselves ragged.

Now that the battle against the Spider Demon God was over, the busiest period was only beginning.

Whether it was recording casualties, searching for missing people, assessing property damage, or handling post-disaster reconstruction, they would have to personally oversee everything.

Because the massive incident involved supernatural forces, neither the National Guard nor The Pentagon had the experience or methods needed to deal with something like this.

Naturally, the entire situation had to be left to S.H.I.E.L.D.

That was why, much of the time, S.H.I.E.L.D. functioned less like a combat organization and more like a massive logistics department.

Gwen’s lounge had been arranged right beside Dr. Connors’ laboratory.

The room was spacious and fully equipped with every kind of living and entertainment facility she could need.

On a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, where every inch of space was precious, very few people could enjoy treatment this good.

But Gwen currently felt as though she were sitting on pins and needles. She didn’t want to remain in the lounge for another second.

The LCD television built into the wall was broadcasting breaking news.

The footage showed a long stretch of ruins cutting through nearly half of Manhattan.

Even the Spider Demon God’s enormous head could be clearly seen on the screen.

Anyone could tell at a glance just how colossal the creature must have been to possess a head of that size.

The enormous monster that had attacked Manhattan had been truly terrifying.

But the Spider Demon God itself wasn’t the main reason Gwen was so restless.

The real reason was that she couldn’t contact Peter at all.

She had no idea what had happened to him after the battle ended.

Yet there was nothing she could do. A crushing sense of helplessness weighed on her heart, and the only thing she could do was silently pray for Peter.

She hoped that kind and courageous Spider-Boy was safe.

Finally, Gwen couldn’t take it anymore.

She quietly opened the lounge door, intending to step outside and get some air.

But the moment she opened it a crack, she spotted a red-and-blue figure through the gap, striding quickly toward her from the far end of the corridor.

A rush of joy instantly filled her heart.

“Pe... Spider-Man!”

Gwen’s eyes lit up, and she nearly blurted out Peter’s name.

She immediately pushed the door open and rushed into the corridor, nearly crashing into Peter as he hurried toward her.

“Spider-Man! Are you okay? Were you hurt? I heard the battle was awful. That giant spider destroyed almost half of Manhattan. It was terrifying.”

As Gwen spoke, her eyes swept over Peter from head to toe, checking him for any serious injuries.

Peter didn’t answer.

He simply took Gwen by the hand and led her back into the lounge.

Peter removed the mask of his Spider-Man suit and gave Gwen a tired but radiant smile.

“Of course I’m fine. Do I look injured to you?”

Only then did Gwen finally relax.

Overcome with excitement, she threw herself forward, wrapped her arms around Peter’s neck, rose onto her toes, and spun around with him.

Peter caught the scent of her perfume, then felt the girl’s soft arms around his shoulders and neck.

His face instantly turned red all the way to his ears.

Gwen quickly realized that what she had done might have been a little too forward. She hurriedly released him and took a step back.

As if by mutual agreement, they both looked away at the same time.

One stared at the ceiling. The other stared at the floor.

Half a minute later, Peter finally coughed softly and broke the awkward silence.

“Ahem...”

Peter cleared his throat, trying his best to sound normal.

“We should go home.”

Gwen said nothing.

She simply nodded.

...

Vroom!

The Spider-Cycle flew out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier’s hangar, carrying the two of them across the skies of New York.

After the torrential rain, the sky over New York looked almost spotless.

The blazing sunlight bathed the city, which had only just survived a massive disaster, in a warm golden glow.

The district where the Spider Demon God had appeared was far from the neighborhood where Peter and Gwen lived, so the aftermath of the battle had never reached this area.

The streets still looked exactly as the two of them remembered.

Even the newspaper stand on the corner was still open.

The Spider-Cycle stopped in the yard outside Gwen’s house.

Gwen hopped off, waved goodbye to Peter, then ran toward her front door while shouting.

“Dad! Mom!”

The front door flew open almost immediately.

George Stacy and Helen Stacy rushed outside at nearly the same moment and wrapped Gwen in a tight embrace.

“Oh my God, Gwen, where have you been? We were worried sick!”

Gwen’s mother, Helen Stacy, repeatedly questioned her with reddened eyes.

George Stacy, on the other hand, didn’t lose his composure quite as badly as his wife.

Once he confirmed that his daughter was safe and hadn’t suffered any injuries, his tightly clenched fist quietly relaxed, and his shirt fell back over the pistol at his waist.

“I...”

Gwen suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

She brushed her hair aside and spoke hesitantly.

“I was infected with the Spider-Virus. Spider-Man took me to S.H.I.E.L.D. for treatment, and I’m fine now.”

“It’s just... I can’t use Spider-Man’s powers anymore.”

As she said this, her voice became noticeably more dejected.

George Stacy patted his precious daughter on the head, then turned to look in the direction the Spider-Cycle had flown away.

He simply assumed Spider-Man had happened to give Gwen a ride home. He didn’t think any deeper about Spider-Man’s true identity.

Then he sighed, his expression complicated.

“Both I and that loudmouth Jonah Jameson have been too hard on Spider-Man. He’s actually a good guy.”

Gwen froze.

She looked up at her father.

As a Captain in the New York Police Department, George Stacy had never once spoken in Spider-Man’s defense before.

Gwen couldn’t help asking,

“Dad, why are you suddenly saying that?”

A bitter smile appeared on George Stacy’s face.

He first led his wife and daughter back inside. Only after closing the door did he tiredly explain everything he had witnessed over the past two days.

“I’ve seen too much at the precinct these last few days. Overnight, tens of thousands of people gained the same abilities as Spider-Man. But once most of them got those powers, what did they do with them?”

“They robbed banks, smashed stores, kidnapped people for ransom. If there was a crime they could commit, they committed it. They used those extraordinary abilities to make money for themselves, and hardly any of them ever thought about protecting someone else.”

George Stacy dropped onto the couch, wearily stretched out his arms, and rested his hands behind his head.

“So I finally realized something. The real Spider-Man gained powers far beyond those of an ordinary person, but instead of becoming worse, he devoted everything he had to the people of New York and protected them day after day.”

“That kind of character is far more valuable than his powers.”

“Maybe the NYPD needs to learn to accept this masked Vigilante.”

...

Peter, riding his Spider-Cycle, had no idea that George Stacy’s opinion of Spider-Man had undergone such a dramatic change.

He simply took a long detour before cautiously returning to the roof of his own house.

After parking the Spider-Cycle on the rooftop with its invisibility mode activated, Peter pushed open the window and climbed into his room.

He tilted his head and listened carefully, trying to hear whether those two familiar voices were somewhere inside the house.

...

Chapter 154: The Anti-Venom Transformation, Gwen’s Decision

The first thing Peter heard was noise coming from the kitchen.

Aunt May and Uncle Ben were talking quietly about ordinary household matters.

Things like how the dishes hadn’t been washed properly before they left and how much food was still in the fridge.

Their conversation was mixed with the clatter of cooking utensils and the creak of cabinet doors opening and closing.

To most people, those sounds would have been boring, perhaps even a little irritating. To Peter, they sounded like music.

It was precisely these trivial details of everyday life that made him realize that everything he had fought so desperately to protect was still here, safe and sound inside this old house.

Peter stood there in a daze for several seconds, listening. The tension that had weighed on him all day finally began to ease.

Only then did he walk over to his bedroom door and quietly close it.

At last, Peter had time to sit down and properly rest.

He dropped into the secondhand swivel chair he had bought at a neighbor’s garage sale.

The chair creaked repeatedly as Peter lowered the backrest as far as it would go and reclined, letting his mind go completely blank.

He quickly went over everything that had happened during the past two days.

Thanks to Iron Man bringing Uncle Ben and Aunt May to Stark Tower in time, Peter had been able to throw himself onto the front lines without worrying about their safety.

For that, Peter was deeply grateful to Iron Man.

But he also knew he couldn’t rely on Iron Man to protect his family every time something like this happened.

The more Peter learned about this world, the more he realized it was even more dangerous than he had imagined.

He needed to prepare some genuinely reliable protection for Uncle Ben and Aunt May.

As a transmigrator, Peter had seen far too many stories where Spider-Man’s family and friends were hurt.

He absolutely refused to let anything like that happen to him.

An idea suddenly emerged from the depths of Peter’s mind, like a seed falling into fertile soil and taking root almost instantly.

“Peter Parker from Miles’s universe had the right idea. The secret Spider-Base he built underground was a safe haven capable of protecting his family. Maybe I could build something similar.”

Peter remembered the enormous Spider-Base he had entered during his first Interdimensional Travel.

That Peter Parker from the Multiverse had even revealed his identity to Aunt May.

Not only had Aunt May accepted it, she had gone on to become one of Spider-Man’s most capable helpers.

That gave Peter quite a bit of inspiration.

Maybe he should build a Spider-Base of his own, an underground Fortress that could serve as both a secret headquarters and a shelter for his family.

Once the idea took root, Peter couldn’t get rid of it.

Still, he knew this wasn’t the time to rush into construction.

But he had already made up his mind. Once the current crisis was completely over, he would find time to seriously put the project on his agenda.

Peter then expertly stripped off his red-and-blue suit.

He stuffed it onto the highest shelf of his closet and covered it thoroughly with several old jackets, making sure Aunt May wouldn’t accidentally discover it.

After that, he changed into a clean T-shirt, opened his bedroom door, and headed downstairs.

Uncle Ben and Aunt May, who were busy in the kitchen, immediately stopped what they were doing when they heard footsteps and turned toward the stairs.

The moment they saw Peter standing there safe and sound, both of their eyes turned red.

Aunt May hurried over and pulled Peter tightly into her arms.

Uncle Ben opened his arms as well, patting Peter and Aunt May on the shoulders while trying to calm May down.

Looking at the two of them, Peter suddenly felt his nose sting.

“Thank goodness. You’re finally home.”

Aunt May let go and took half a step back, tears still glistening in her eyes.

“When Mr. Stark sent people to pick us up, I thought something terrible had happened at home. Tell me what happened these past few days. How did New York end up in such a mess? And when did you meet Mr. Stark?”

Peter had already prepared an explanation. Scratching the back of his head, he led Uncle Ben and Aunt May over to the dining table and sat down with them.

“I met Mr. Stark at a science fair. He knew I lived in Queens, and when some unknown virus suddenly appeared in New York, he sent people to bring you to his company building. He said it would be safer farther away from the center of the outbreak.”

“I’ve also been staying somewhere Mr. Stark arranged for the past few days, helping them with whatever little things I could. I didn’t want you to worry, so I didn’t tell you much.”

After hearing his explanation, Aunt May finally managed to keep her tears from falling. She wiped her eyes and said with relief,

“Mr. Stark really is a good man. But next time, no matter what happens, you need to tell us immediately. Uncle Ben and I were worried sick about you.”

Uncle Ben chimed in as well.

“All right, the important thing is that everyone made it home safely. Let’s eat. There should still be enough ingredients in the fridge.”

Peter sat at the dining table while Uncle Ben and Aunt May busied themselves in the kitchen.

A few minutes later, the aroma of fried eggs drifted through the house, filling the old home with warmth and life once again.

...

After the simple, cozy meal, Peter returned to his bedroom upstairs.

Lying on his familiar bed, the aching muscles throughout his body finally began to relax.

After resting for several minutes, even the deep soreness in his muscles gradually eased.

Peter raised his right hand.

Under the room’s light, a tiny glob of white, fluid-like matter appeared in his palm.

After detonating nearly all of the Anti-Venom cells inside the Spider Demon God, Peter had assumed that his Anti-Venom suit had been completely exhausted.

But while eating at the dining table earlier, he had suddenly discovered that an extremely tiny amount of Anti-Venom remained.

After gathering it all together, there was only about as much as a single peanut.

Peter estimated that it weighed barely one gram.

That tiny amount of Anti-Venom faintly reflected the light in the room, resembling a small flame on the verge of going out.

Peter lifted his palm closer to his eyes and carefully examined the little Anti-Venom that remained.

Although less than one ten-thousandth of the original amount had survived, its surface was still trembling ever so slightly, almost as though it were responding to Peter’s breathing.

“Little guy, I finally have a chance to properly thank you.”

After surviving the terrifying battle against the Spider Demon God, Peter’s attitude toward Anti-Venom had completely changed.

He had always instinctively been wary of the Symbiote species.

A Symbiote that wrapped itself around a host’s entire body and could influence the host’s mind and personality naturally made him want to keep his distance.

But now, as Peter stared at the faint white glow in his palm, most of that resistance was gone.

He no longer intended to seal it away inside some container.

Nor did he want to hand it over to any research institution for study.

Peter wanted to let it live again.

And somehow, he had a feeling that he could completely control this tiny remnant of Anti-Venom cells.

The instant that thought arose in his mind, the Anti-Venom cells in his palm sank beneath his skin.

His sense of complete control over them immediately became much clearer.

It felt as though he had gained another invisible arm.

There was an intimate sense of connection, as though the cells were truly part of his own body.

Peter’s thoughts shifted again.

A layer of white instantly covered the index finger of his right hand.

The Anti-Venom cells had taken on the form of the suit and attached themselves to the surface of his skin.

But because so few Anti-Venom cells remained, there were barely enough to cover a single finger.

“I guess this is another side effect of the Enigma Force? Consciousness assimilation? Or consciousness domination?”

Peter stared at his white finger and muttered to himself.

When he detonated the Anti-Venom cells inside the Spider Demon God, he had poured all of the Enigma Force in his body into them.

That multiversal-level energy, far beyond the limits of Earth’s dimension, had left its mark on every single Anti-Venom cell and fundamentally changed them.

After the explosion, the surviving Anti-Venom cells had reached one hundred percent genetic compatibility with Peter.

It was essentially as though an entirely new organ, one capable of endlessly changing its form, had grown inside Peter’s body.

That was the main reason Peter had decided to keep the Anti-Venom cells.

Peter then withdrew them and concealed them beneath his skin.

A few seconds later, the room was filled with the sound of steady, deep breathing.

...

Over the next few days, New York, a city that had been battered by disaster again and again, slowly began to regain its former appearance under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s coordination.

The League of Guardians, led by Peter, spent those days helping rebuild New York.

Every member was deployed, spreading out across Manhattan to repair broken bridges, collapsed buildings, and vehicles buried beneath the ground.

It was at times like this that the true value of Superheroes with extraordinary powers became especially obvious.

Each of them could work more efficiently than even the most advanced industrial machinery.

This was especially true in the complex and dangerous environment of the ruins, where large industrial machines often couldn’t even reach the areas that needed them most.

In many places, the initial work could only be done manually.

The one piece of good fortune amid all the destruction was that the Villains had no interest in causing trouble for the time being.

They had also suffered heavy losses during the Spider-Virus incident.

It would probably take them a long time to recover to their former strength.

Because of that, the city’s Superheroes were able to devote all their attention to disaster relief.

Peter and Harry left early and returned late every single day.

During the day, they helped with rescue work. At night, they joined the Iron Legion controlled by Iron Man to clear routes for the rescue teams.

Magik, with her Teleportation ability, barely had a single second to spare.

Her power was almost perfectly suited to rescue operations.

Once survivors trapped inside collapsed buildings had been precisely located, Magik could easily bring them out.

As a result, Magik’s popularity rose rapidly during this period.

More and more New Yorkers learned that their city was being protected by a remarkable heroine who could move through space at will.

Mary Jane, meanwhile, was an intern reporter for the Daily Bugle and spent each day rushing from one ruined area to another, writing all kinds of news reports.

That left Gwen as the only member of the Midtown High School Five with nothing to do.

Gwen hadn’t seen Peter in several days.

Classes at Midtown High School had been suspended because of the post-disaster power outage. There was no homework and certainly no exams.

The entire school had been completely closed.

All Gwen could do was stay home each day, listening to the constant clanging and hammering from the streets while New York news updates scrolled across her phone.

Occasionally, from the balcony, she could see several distant figures moving between the buildings.

Gwen knew that was Peter and the others hard at work.

When another weekend arrived, Gwen left home carrying several books and went alone to the Queens Public Library.

The New York library she normally visited happened to be in Manhattan. It had also been damaged in the disaster and was currently closed for repairs.

So Gwen had no choice but to use a different library.

Fortunately, the Queens Public Library wasn’t very crowded, and the air conditioning was nice and cool.

Gwen found a seat at a long table by the window and casually flipped through several pages of a textbook, only to realize she couldn’t concentrate at all.

She took out her phone, and almost unconsciously, her finger moved to her bookmarks.

She opened the video she had already watched countless times.

It had been recorded on the first day of the Spider-Virus outbreak, and the footage shook violently throughout.

The video showed Peter leading the students of Midtown High School out through the school gates, preparing to fight the evil spiders in a final showdown.

Gwen had captured the precious footage herself when, in the middle of the chaos, she had instinctively opened a window and started recording.

She stared at the familiar figure at the very front of the group, imagining over and over what it would have been like if she had been among them.

Time slipped by without her noticing.

Gwen sat there watching from morning until afternoon, only stopping when her phone warned her that the battery was running low.

After closing the video, Gwen remained seated at the long table.

The same thought kept circling through her mind.

Was she really going to keep waiting like this forever?

When the next crisis came, would she once again stay behind in the safe zone?

Would she simply wait until Spider-Man defeated every enemy and came back to tell her, “I’m okay”?

At that moment, a voice deep inside Gwen told her that she no longer wanted to be the one who needed protecting.

The once-fragile girl had gone through one crisis after another, and without realizing it, she had changed.

She now possessed a heart strong enough and determined enough to make her own choice.

Finally, Gwen made a decision.

She took out her phone and sent Peter a message.

[Are you free tonight? Meet me at the McDonald’s we usually go to. There’s something I want to talk to you about.]

...

Chapter 155: Welcome Aboard, Spider-Woman

Peter stood atop the ruins of a collapsed bank and pulled a bent steel beam free from the rubble with both hands.

Harry, standing nearby, took the beam from him and carried it over to another area where the salvaged metal was being piled together.

Just then, Peter’s wrist-mounted Web-Shooter gave a faint beep.

Peter raised his arm, and a small holographic display appeared above the Web-Shooter, showing a message from Gwen.

Peter had just finished reading it when Harry returned, brushing the dust from his hands. Seeing Peter staring at his wrist, he casually asked,

“What’s up? Something happen?”

Peter shook his head, closed the holographic display, and went back to work.

“Nothing. I just might have something else to take care of tonight.”

As he pulled another steel beam from the rubble and handed it to Harry, Peter added,

“Keep an eye on things for me tonight. If anything unexpected happens, contact me right away.”

Harry blinked. He didn’t say anything at first, simply bumping Peter lightly with his shoulder.

“I get it. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered tonight. Unless another giant Spider Monster shows up, you won’t have anything to worry about.”

Peter gave Harry a grateful look before returning to the cleanup work.

Given their relationship, there was no need for something as formal as saying thank you.

Before long, the sky over New York had gone completely dark.

Only after Peter and Harry finished handing things over did Peter finally swing away on his webs.

A few minutes later, Peter was already nearing the McDonald’s he and Gwen visited most often.

In an empty alley near the restaurant, Peter changed clothes.

He put on a dark denim jacket with black casual pants. His hair was still slightly messy, making him look like an ordinary high school student who had just come out of the library.

Then Peter quickly crossed the street and entered the McDonald’s.

The moment he pushed open the glass door, he glanced around and immediately spotted Gwen waiting for him in a corner.

Gwen saw him at the same time. She raised a hand and waved, a bright smile appearing on her face.

Peter walked over, and he had barely pulled out his chair and sat down before Gwen pushed two Big Macs across the table toward him.

“Eat first. You definitely haven’t had dinner yet. You must be starving, right?”

Gwen was absolutely right. Peter had been busy all afternoon and hadn’t even had time to eat.

So he didn’t stand on ceremony. He grabbed one of the Big Macs and devoured more than half of it in two bites.

In less than a minute, both Big Macs had disappeared.

Peter then tilted his head back and drained an entire cup of Coke. After letting out a satisfied burp, he finally set the paper cup down.

“So what’s going on? Why did you need to see me so urgently?”

Gwen hesitated for a moment before finally saying what was on her mind.

“Peter, I want to join you guys too.”

“Join us?”

Peter had just crushed the paper cup into a ball and was about to throw it away when he froze.

“That’s right. The League of Guardians you told me about.”

As Gwen said this, her expression remained calm and serious. She did not avoid Peter’s gaze, meeting his eyes directly.

From her expression alone, Peter could tell one thing very clearly.

This wasn’t a sudden impulse. Gwen had made this decision after thinking it through carefully.

For a moment, Peter had no idea how to respond.

He fell silent and instinctively raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, only to realize he was still holding the crumpled Coke cup.

“Have you really thought this through? You won’t regret it?”

Gwen said nothing. She simply nodded firmly, the determination in her eyes clearer than ever.

At that point, Peter knew there was nothing he could do.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

After several more seconds of silence, he finally spoke again.

“Actually, I had a feeling this day would come. You’ve been thinking about this ever since you were infected with the Spider-Virus, haven’t you?”

Gwen pressed her lips together, a trace of embarrassment appearing on her face after being seen through so easily.

That tiny change in expression was answer enough.

“All right. I know there’s no point trying to talk you out of it.”

The last bit of hope Peter had been holding onto vanished.

He knew very well that Gwen Stacy had never been the obedient, sweet girl who simply smiled and nodded the way outsiders assumed.

She only looked well-behaved.

Deep down, she was incredibly stubborn.

Once she made up her mind about something, no amount of persuasion could change it.

At that moment, Peter couldn’t help thinking about Gwen Stacy from Andrew Spider-Man’s universe.

That Gwen had been the same. Even after Andrew Spider-Man explicitly told her to evacuate to a safe area, she had refused without hesitation and rushed into the power plant to fight alongside him, ultimately helping defeat Electro.

But that had also directly led to her being captured by the Green Goblin, falling from the clock tower, and dying before Andrew Spider-Man’s eyes.

That stubborn determination seemed to be a trait shared by Gwen Stacy throughout the Multiverse.

If Peter rejected her now, then with Gwen’s personality, she might eventually seek out extraordinary powers through an even more dangerous method.

Rather than let her experiment with some unknown source of power on her own, it would be better for Peter to guide her down a safer, more reliable path.

By the time he finished considering all of this, Peter had already made his decision.

He sat upright again and looked Gwen in the eyes.

“I know trying to talk you out of this won’t work anymore.”

Peter glanced through the window at the night outside, tossed the crumpled paper cup into the trash, then stood and held out his hand to Gwen.

“Come with me. I want to show you something.”

Gwen didn’t ask any questions. She simply took Peter’s hand without hesitation.

The two left McDonald’s and entered a quiet alley.

After making sure no one was nearby, Peter raised his hand, fired a web, and pulled Gwen along as he swung away.

Their bodies soared through the air, tracing arcs between the buildings.

Eventually, they reached the abandoned bell tower.

Peter brought Gwen down onto its concrete platform.

Moonlight shone over them, bright enough to illuminate their surroundings even without any artificial light.

“This was the biggest reason we managed to defeat that giant Spider Monster. You can call it Anti-Venom.”

Peter raised his right hand.

Pure white Anti-Venom slowly emerged from his palm and spread across his body, forming a completely white Spider-Suit in the blink of an eye.

“I originally thought the Anti-Venom had been completely used up during that battle. But afterward, I discovered that a tiny amount had survived, and now it’s fully recovered.”

Peter spread his arms and turned around once in front of Gwen.

“The Anti-Venom is part of my body now. If you’re truly determined to gain Spider-Man’s powers, I can separate a portion of it and give it to you.”

“The Anti-Venom will form a Spider-Suit unique to you. It’ll protect you and give you powerful abilities.”

“You’ll gain Super Strength, Superhuman Reflexes, the ability to shoot webs, and the ability to climb walls. Of course, that’s assuming you fully adapt to it.”

“If the Anti-Venom rejects you, or if your body rejects the Anti-Venom, then I’ll have no choice but to ask you to give up on becoming a Superhero.”

Peter stopped speaking, giving Gwen time to think.

Gwen stared at the white Spider-Man standing beneath the moonlight, too stunned to say anything for a moment.

She had never realized that so much had happened behind the scenes during that battle.

The bell tower platform fell silent.

Gwen’s breathing gradually quickened.

Even though she had already prepared herself mentally, now that the moment was actually here, she still couldn’t help feeling nervous.

A moment later, Gwen stepped forward, raised her hand, and gently pressed her palm against Peter’s chest.

The instant her slender, pale hand touched the Anti-Venom suit covering Peter’s body, the first thing she felt was cold.

It was like touching freshly melted snow.

“Relax. You don’t need to be nervous.”

Peter spoke softly while mentally guiding the Anti-Venom toward Gwen’s fingertips.

The white Anti-Venom cells crawled along Gwen’s fingers, slowly spreading upward.

In the blink of an eye, they covered her entire hand, then her arm, and finally her shoulder.

By the time Gwen fully realized what was happening, the Anti-Venom had already covered nearly her entire body and was beginning to change again, as though trying to construct an entirely new Spider-Suit.

Gwen didn’t close her eyes.

Instead, she opened them even wider, trying to watch every change taking place across her body.

The new Spider-Suit formed by the Anti-Venom cells looked nothing like Peter’s pure white suit.

Instead, it created a striking balance between black and white.

The upper half of the suit was pure white, while from the waist downward, it transitioned into a deep black.

Peach-colored web patterns ran across parts of the suit as accents.

The most distinctive feature was the white hood hanging naturally from the back of her neck, ready to be pulled up at any time to conceal most of Gwen’s face.

Peter looked at the transformed Gwen, his eyes filled with emotion.

The suit matched her astonishingly well. It carried the strength and speed associated with Spider-Man while also giving off a subtle air of mystery.

The pendulum of fate always seemed to return to the same path.

Across every Multiverse, once Gwen Stacy gained Spider-Man’s powers, her final appearance always seemed to move toward a similar style.

Gwen raised both hands, feeling how perfectly the Anti-Venom suit fit her body.

It was no exaggeration to say that she could even feel every trace of the cold night wind brushing across her skin.

Unable to resist, she pulled the hood over her head, then lightly jumped forward.

Her hands and feet effortlessly adhered to the wall.

To her, the vertical surface felt no different from level ground.

Then Gwen raised one hand and fired a strand of white webbing, attaching it to the wall above her.

Using the web as leverage, she flipped backward in a graceful somersault.

After completing the entire series of difficult movements, Gwen wasn’t even out of breath.

Beneath her hood, the corners of her lips lifted high, and her eyes shone brighter than ever.

“Peter, I feel like I’m dreaming.”

Peter held out his hand with a smile.

“Welcome to the League of Guardians, Spider-Woman!”

...

After Gwen officially became Spider-Woman, Peter didn’t immediately take her out to patrol the streets and fight Supervillains.

Instead, he first introduced her to the other members of the League of Guardians.

The next morning, Harry and Magik arrived on time at the abandoned bell tower.

This was the League of Guardians’ usual time for its morning meeting.

The instant Gwen landed on the bell tower platform in her Spider-Woman suit, both Harry and Magik froze.

They stared at her in disbelief.

Only when Gwen pulled back her hood did they recognize the familiar face beneath it.

“Gwen??? You...”

Harry pointed at her, so tongue-tied he couldn’t even form a complete sentence.

It wasn’t until Peter landed beside Gwen that Harry finally managed to finish what he wanted to say.

“Oh my God! You became Spider-Man too?”

“It’s Spider-Woman.”

Gwen corrected him.

Fortunately, Harry had known Gwen long enough to understand her personality quite well.

After getting over his initial shock, he quickly accepted the fact that Gwen was now one of his teammates.

Harry had even already started thinking about how they should adjust their next patrol schedule.

Magik, on the other hand, had remained silent the entire time.

When Gwen walked toward her, Magik lifted her chin slightly and held out a hand.

Gwen immediately understood and shook it.

Magik tightened her grip slightly. A few seconds later, she released Gwen’s hand, her expression as calm as ever.

“Good strength. Looks like you’ll make a capable teammate. Welcome aboard.”

Gwen’s eyes brightened, clearly pleased to have earned Magik’s approval.

“Thanks. I’ll do my best not to hold anyone back!”

After that simple initiation, Peter took Gwen to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.

Nick Fury didn’t waste any words.

He had already met Gwen several times, so he simply had her undergo a few basic physical tests.

Once he confirmed that her abilities were indeed sufficient for her to qualify as a Superhero, Gwen had an official file created within S.H.I.E.L.D., becoming a formally registered Superhero.

Over the next two days, Gwen accompanied Peter on several street patrols.

She adapted extremely quickly.

Perhaps because she had already been infected with the Spider-Virus once before, she adjusted to Spider-Man’s abilities with remarkable ease and quickly mastered all kinds of difficult techniques and movements.

The only thing that genuinely troubled Gwen was learning how to balance school with her life as a Superhero.

That gave her far more headaches than fighting ever did.