The Void
Marcus, having transformed into Limbo, pondered while looking downward.
Now that there were no fluctuations between worlds, he might be able to find several different new worlds to visit. After all, the void connected so many realities, and he'd only been to a few.
"Hmm... it doesn't make much difference which worlds I came, so I'll just pick one randomly."
With that, he selected a world and stepped through.
Having just entered the new reality, Marcus looked at the surrounding buildings and fell into thought, especially noting the Statue of Liberty holding her torch in the distance.
"Am I in America again?"
Looking at the somewhat familiar surroundings, Marcus lowered his head and rubbed his temples. Every single different world he'd appeared in had been in the United States without exception, which was getting frustrating.
"Whatever. Let's see what's worth noting here first."
With a flash, Marcus disappeared and reappeared on the roof of the Empire State Building.
Overlooking New York City's skyline, Marcus raised his eyebrows slightly.
"There doesn't seem to be Stark Industries here. What world is this?"
Without Stark Industries, this wasn't a parallel world of the Avengers universe.
Just as he was thinking, someone moving rapidly between tall buildings suddenly appeared in his perception.
"Well, interesting. Seems like this world isn't so simple."
Marcus jumped down from the Empire State Building as energy swirled around him, slowing his fall considerably.
Floating in midair, Marcus waited patiently. The fast-moving figure was someone he recognized.
Peter had a secret lately—Aunt May's birthday was coming up, and he planned to prepare a beautiful cake as her present.
As a trainee reporter for the newspaper, he'd made good money taking pictures of himself in action.
Although the newspaper's editor-in-chief always portrayed Spider-Man as a menace, it didn't bother him.
The editor could say whatever he wanted—as long as Peter made money, he didn't mind his irascible boss's attitude.
Because Spider-Man, the friendly neighborhood protector of New York, would safeguard ordinary people from threats, just like Uncle Ben had taught him.
Thwip!
Tough webbing shot from his wrists as Peter swung between tall buildings like he was bungee jumping.
"Woo-hoo!" Peter yelled happily, when suddenly a black figure appeared in front of him, making him panic instantly. "Get out of the way!"
Thump!
Peter, swinging on his web, had no way to stop and collided directly with Marcus, who was floating in midair.
However, the impact didn't hurt either of them. Instead, Peter was caught by Marcus and carried back to the Empire State Building's roof.
Setting Peter down, Marcus looked him up and down.
This was the Spider-Man he knew—the classic red and blue costume with plenty of black webbing details.
"Uh... who are you?"
The dazed Peter came to his senses. He hadn't detected anything from his spider-sense, which meant this person had no ill intentions toward him.
"You can call me Marcus—a traveler." Marcus smiled.
But Peter was speechless. This was the first time he'd seen a traveler who could fly, and the force of their collision hadn't been light—yet Marcus was obviously completely unaffected.
"Okay, Marcus, do we know each other?" Peter asked.
"We don't know each other, or rather, I know you, but you don't know me." Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"Ha, everyone in New York knows me." Peter looked confident.
In New York, who didn't know this was the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man's territory?
At Peter's words, Marcus smiled without arguing.
"Yes, all of New York knows you, Peter Parker."
Hearing Marcus say his name, Peter was shocked. He couldn't understand why someone he was meeting for the first time would know his real identity.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know any Peter Parker."
To protect his secret identity, Peter could only play dumb, hoping to confuse Marcus.
But Marcus had known his identity all along—how could he be fooled by such clumsy acting?
"Alright, you can't fool me. If you don't get home soon, Aunt May will start worrying."
After that teasing comment, Marcus stepped lightly and flew away from the Empire State Building.
Watching Marcus disappear, Peter stood stunned for a moment, then started swinging toward his home in Queens.
But now he had no enthusiasm for the journey. On his way home, he kept trying to remember anything about Marcus.
By the time he reached home, he still couldn't recall where he'd seen Marcus or how the man knew his identity.
Lying on his bed, Peter kept muttering to himself that he really had no memory of Marcus at all.
"Where did that guy come from?"
Compared to Peter, who was beginning to question his sanity, Marcus was quite pleased.
He'd just walked out of a gold exchange with cash in hand.
Thanks to his habits, he always kept gold stored in his void modules, which prevented money problems in unfamiliar places.
With funds secured, Marcus casually found a hotel to stay in. He knew New York too well—instead of wandering around, he'd rather investigate Peter more thoroughly.
"A parallel universe focused on the little spider?"
Murmuring softly, Marcus suddenly thought—if he visited different parallel worlds, could he obtain more Aya Stars?
Thinking about this, Marcus found a solution. He shouldn't limit his goals to just a few worlds—countless parallel realities were waiting for him to explore.
"I just wonder if Infinity Stones from different worlds will conflict. If there's no conflict, then I'll be rich!"
Speaking of this, Marcus grew excited. He could see the dawn of forging every Warframe.
Lost in thought, Marcus plugged the hotel's ethernet cable into the controller on his arm.
He had to admit that as Kree technology, this controller was incredibly user-friendly.
After paying the connection fee, the cable linked quickly and a virtual projection appeared on his arm.
"Spider-Man Saves Bus—well, he has a pretty good reputation.
Menace Spider-Man? That's J Jonah Jameson. Sure enough, just like I remember, he doesn't think highly of Spider-Man..."
As each news article passed, Marcus's understanding of Peter deepened.
Right now, Peter could only be called a well-known vigilante. When encountering crimes, he usually webbed up criminals and waited for police to arrive.
The opponents he faced were various street thugs and robbers.
The only notable threat was a terrorist called the Green Goblin who'd appeared in New York earlier, throwing pumpkin bombs at a charity gala that could instantly reduce people to ash.
"Oh, looks like the little spider already dealt with Osborn. Next up should be Dr. Octopus."