"Can they do it?"
At that moment, another voice rang out. Ultimate Spider-Man had unknowingly opened his eyes. Lying on the ground, he gazed at the vast blue sky above.
"They're heading to the inheritors' universe—our enemy's stronghold."
"Do you really think they can pull it off?"
Ultimate Spider-Man patted the dirt off himself and stood up.
"Perhaps they'll just end up as three more delicious snacks for our enemies."
Peter Parker said nothing. He simply extended his hand toward Ultimate Spider-Man.
"What does this mean? Explain," Ultimate Spider-Man asked, clearly confused by Peter Parker's gesture.
"A hand of peace—because I need you," Peter Parker replied sincerely.
But Ultimate Spider-Man did not immediately shake Peter Parker's hand. He was waiting for Peter to continue speaking.
"You once fought the inheritors single-handedly. If I were to proceed with my plan without seeking your counsel, that would be beyond foolish," Peter Parker said with genuine conviction, which finally caused Ultimate Spider-Man to waver slightly.
"That's the wisest thing you've ever said," Ultimate Spider-Man admitted, finally shaking Peter Parker's hand.
"First of all, this so-called safe zone isn't truly safe. We are completely exposed," Ultimate Spider-Man remarked as he rose, immediately surveying the surrounding area.
Indeed, Central Park had no towering buildings or climbable walls.
There wasn't even a place for them to swing their webs.
"I agree. We should move closer to the streets and buildings," Peter Parker concurred, adding his own thoughts.
"There's no need for that. I can protect all of you right here," Captain Universe Spider-Man declared with absolute confidence.
British Spider-Man nodded. "This approach has worked for us so far."
Clearly, he agreed with Captain Universe Spider-Man.
However, Peter Parker wasn't fond of the idea.
"Not for me. I don't like gambling everything on one move," Peter said, ready to summon all the Spiders and initiate action.
"You can proceed with your plans, but someone must stay behind," Bruce interjected, stepping in front of Peter Parker.
"We now know that the three most important Spider-People to the inheritors are the so-called Other, the Bride, and the Heir," Bruce said, first glancing at Silk before shifting his gaze to the child cradled in Mayday Parker's arms.
"If I'm not mistaken, Kaine Parker—the cloned Spider-Man—should be the so-called Other. As for the Heir, that naturally refers to Spider-Man's child, though they have yet to fully mature."
"We already know who the Bride is," Bruce continued, turning his gaze toward Silk.
"That's why those two cannot leave this universe."
Hearing Bruce's words, Peter Parker and Ultimate Spider-Man turned to look at Silk.
Mayday Parker's younger brother wasn't much of a concern—he was just a baby and couldn't act on his own.
But Silk was different. She had already acted on her own multiple times.
Silk stared at Bruce in shock. She couldn't understand why the older Spider-Man had forbidden her from taking action. And now, a bat had shown up to stop her as well.
Even worse, the other Spider-People seemed to agree with the bat's decision.
"Hey, you can't do this," Silk protested, but her words carried little weight.
Bruce had already stepped in front of her.
Silk stubbornly lifted her chin, locking eyes with Bruce, trying to make him see her determination.
But the sheer pressure in Bruce's gaze made her involuntarily look away.
She didn't know why, but whenever she faced Bruce, she couldn't help but avert her eyes.
It was completely different from the connection she felt with Peter Parker.
It was as if the bat before her was their natural predator.
Like he could kill her at any moment.
Still unwilling to accept it, Silk muttered under her breath, "But Kaine already went to the inheritors' universe. Shouldn't he stay here with us as well?"
"Ezekiel—the older Spider-Man—once said that these three elements are crucial."
"So can we assume that only by gathering these three together can they unlock their full potential?" Bruce's words made Ultimate Spider-Man reconsider. Though he still didn't believe in superstitious concepts like totems, he began to understand the reasoning.
"They're trying to create some kind of Trinity—like God," Ultimate Spider-Man muttered before quickly turning to Silk.
"The Bride must stay!"
His voice was resolute. He would not allow any deviations—the Bride had to remain in this universe under Captain Universe's protection.
Previously, Ultimate Spider-Man would have agreed with Bruce.
After all, Silk's presence radiated an intense spider essence, one strong enough for the inheritors to track her at any moment.
That posed a major risk to any of their plans. The best solution was for her to stay in this universe under Captain Universe's watch.
But now, Ultimate Spider-Man had changed his mind. If Bruce's theory was correct, then the inheritors' plans were far beyond their imagination.
"Given how the inheritors operate, their next move will undoubtedly be to invade this universe. Their goal is to take the Heir and the Bride," Bruce said, his gaze shifting toward Captain Universe.
There's no denying that Captain Universe Spider-Man's power is incredibly strong—perhaps even surpassing the combined strength of all the Spider-People here.
However, in Bruce's eyes, no matter how strong someone is, their overconfidence will always lead to problems.
Take Superman, for example. He is indeed powerful, but at times, his excessive kindness and unwavering confidence in his abilities often put him in difficult situations.
Of course, most of the time, it's simply because he is too kind-hearted.
"I will protect them." When Captain Universe noticed Bruce's gaze shift to him, he instinctively felt the need to make a promise to this bat.
Bruce said nothing, only giving a slight nod.
At this, Silk just curled her lips in disdain. She didn't believe that anyone here could stop her if she really wanted to leave—after all, she still had her dimensional travel bracelet.
Thinking of this, she reached for her wrist, only to realize—where was her bracelet?
"My travel bracelet…?" Silk turned to the bat in front of her. He was the only one who had been close enough to take it.
And the only one capable of making it disappear… was him.
Bruce opened his hand, but instead of the bracelet, all that remained was its empty frame—completely devoured by the symbiote metal covering his body.
Bruce had used the symbiote metal to fully assimilate it.
"You—!" Silk gritted her teeth. Right now, she really wanted to punch this bat in the face.
Sensing Silk's frustration, Gwen immediately stepped up beside her and grabbed her hand.
Silk glanced at Gwen but said nothing. She understood now—there was no way they were going to let her leave.
Frustrated, she simply sat cross-legged on the ground, refusing to look at anyone.
"Ahem—" Peter Parker coughed twice, drawing the other Spiders' attention back to him.
"Let's check on the teams that left," he said, and the first ones he tried to contact were the Clone Spider Squad, who had immediately gone to the Inheritors' family after returning to this universe.
"Kaine? Reilly? Are you there?" Peter tried reaching them through the travel bracelet, but there was no signal.
Ultimate Spider-Man was never one to shy away from the worst-case scenario. "Two possibilities. Either their communicators are off… or they're dead."
As he said this, Ultimate Spider-Man glanced at Bruce. As expected, this bat was the one who resonated with him the most.
Because while the other Spider-People clearly disapproved of what he had just said, Bruce remained as composed as ever—completely unfazed.
Peter Parker, however, was caught off guard by Ultimate Spider-Man's bluntness, though he managed to respond, "Well, aren't you charming."
Without wasting time, he then contacted Spider-Man 2099.
"Miguel? What's the situation in 2099?"
"Not a good time to talk," came the response.
On Earth-2099, Spider-Man 2099, along with Six-Armed Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, was currently transporting Daemos' body to their research lab.
"You're dissecting that Inheritor?" Peter asked.
"Busy. Gotta go." Miguel had no interest in entertaining Peter's questions and cut him off immediately.
"But that's the only reason you're even there!" Peter tried to keep the conversation going. "Listen, I know you just got home, but you can't let that distract you—"
"Sorry. Entering a tunnel. Zzzzt—" And with that, Spider-Man 2099 disconnected.
"A tunnel? But those things can traverse dimensions…" For a moment, Peter struggled to understand why a tunnel would disrupt the signal.
Bruce watched the kid, genuinely questioning whether this guy was actually reliable.
"That little—He hung up on me." Peter nearly cursed but, considering his surroundings, decided to swallow the word instead.
"Ultimate Spider-Man, can you reverse-engineer that stealth device of yours?" Peter asked.
"To track the Inheritors? Already did it. I can even pinpoint their homeworld. But let's be honest—we're not ready to fight them yet," Ultimate Spider-Man replied, looking at the group.
He knew very well that out of all the Spiders present, only about twenty were actually battle-ready.
Thinking they could take on the Inheritors with just this group? A complete fantasy.
"Which means it'll be a bloodbath. But first, we need intel. Someone has to infiltrate enemy territory—and I know just the right person for the job. Anya, Gwen, I need backup," Peter said, turning to the two female Spiders.
Gwen glanced at Bruce.
But Bruce showed no reaction.
"If this is about how I was overprotective of you before—" Seeing that Gwen didn't respond, Peter assumed she was still upset about him previously denying her a role in the mission.
"No need, I get it. Just tell me the plan," Gwen cut him off, not wanting him to continue.
Anya, on the other hand, had a pretty good idea why Gwen didn't want Peter to keep talking.
"I have a special plan for two special volunteers."
(End of Chapter)
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