"Done. The startup key's fully repaired!"
Peter pulled out the newly restored startup key and tossed it to middle-aged Peter, catching him completely off guard.
"You're the oldest one here. It's safer if you keep it."
"...Fair enough. I can't really argue with that. Even if hearing it does sting a little."
Middle-aged Peter curled his lips, slipped the repaired key into his pocket, then wandered off for a look around. He stopped in front of a picture frame.
The girl in the photo was smiling brightly.
It was Mary Jane.
He stared at the frame in silence, as though regretting something, or maybe finally making up his mind about it.
Meanwhile, Peni's override program had entered a critical stage. Peter walked over, intending to see if there was anything he could help with, but from the look of it, she did not need his help at all.
He had to admit it, this fourteen-year-old girl was a programming genius. Even he was slightly inferior to her in this area. The code she wrote was almost too perfect, so clean it looked like it did not have a single flaw.
Of course, every program had flaws.
Peter just could not see them.
"Genius girl."
"Me? Thanks~"
Peni smiled, then went right back to typing furiously. Once she had the program running automatically, she asked, "You said you're really happy in your universe, but I figured since we're all Spider-People, our backgrounds should be pretty similar, right...?"
"Maybe."
"My parents died in a plane crash when I was really young, then Uncle Ben and Aunt May took me in. If you really want to put it that way, I guess I should count as an orphan."
"But over the years, I've never lacked love, so I don't really think of myself that way. Aunt May and Uncle Ben treated me like their own son. In fact, they never even had a child of their own all this time, so to me, they're no different from my parents."
Peter looked toward Aunt May, who was chatting animatedly with Spider-Noir in the distance, and smiled.
Aunt May seemed to notice the warmth in his gaze. She turned, looked at him, and smiled too.
Hearing that, something stirred inside Peni. She turned her head and looked at Peter, whose eyes had gone unexpectedly gentle, and a ripple passed through her heart.
Peni's parents had been top researchers in her universe, but one accident had completely destroyed the happy family of three. Her parents died at the hands of a supervillain, and overnight she became an orphan. All she had left was the spider-robot her father had created and the spider living inside it.
With her spider companion SP//dr beside her, the fourteen-year-old girl had not completely fallen apart even though she had been forced to survive alone. Later, things followed the usual path. Her aunt and uncle took her in, but then her uncle also died in an accident.
She had thought that was just the fate of every Spider-Person.
But this Peter Parker seemed different.
Peni said softly, "Peter, you seem really optimistic. You're not like the rest of us. Though sometimes..."
"Cold as ice, ruthless, vicious, right? The truth is, I'm selfish and gloomy by nature, but I never dump that negativity on the people I care about. My family and friends care about me, and I care about them just as much. Even though I act relaxed in front of them, I still chose to walk alone so I wouldn't drag them down with me. It's just... not an easy road."
"But people have to keep moving forward. If you stay trapped in the past and can't break free, you're not the only one who gets hurt."
He patted the little girl on the head, then turned and headed over to Spider-Gwen. The two of them found a quiet corner and sat down together, talking about what life had been like after they became Spider-People. Every so often, they would complain, tease, or playfully bicker, leaving all the single Spider-People nearby green with envy.
Meanwhile, Miles, who had been completely crushed by the group's relentless verbal beatdown, was running through the dark streets.
He had no idea where he was going, but he needed space.
It was true. Just because a spider had bitten him and given him powers did not automatically make him Spider-Man.
And he really did not have the qualities the others talked about.
He was starting to doubt himself.
When this world's Peter died, had he really believed in Miles?
Or had he just been trying to comfort him?
Going home was definitely out of the question. If he showed up this late, his parents would nag him to death.
So he decided to spend the night at his uncle Aaron Davis's place.
He pulled off the ridiculous cheap Spider-Man mask and stuffed it into his pocket, then kept walking with his head lowered. Before he knew it, he had reached his uncle's place.
The apartment was dark. No one was home.
And then his spider-sense exploded.
Instantly.
It was a violent warning.
A figure in high-tech armor, its face hidden, was standing inside the room.
Miles recognized him immediately.
The Prowler.
He had no idea why the guy was here, but he was definitely a full-blown criminal.
How long had he been here?
Had Uncle Aaron already been hurt?
The danger must have triggered something inside Miles, because he turned invisible again. Gathering his courage, he slipped quietly into the apartment to confirm whether the truth was really as bad as he feared.
The Prowler paced back and forth across the room. Several times, he nearly bumped right into invisible Miles. Luckily, Miles was good at dodging, otherwise he would have been caught on the spot.
Then the Prowler's phone rang.
"Hello, Mr. Fisk," the Prowler said into the phone. "I got the tunnel footage. As long as he's still here, I'll find him. You know me, sir. I never give up."
Then, apparently deciding he had imagined things, he hung up, took off his mask, and reached for a bottle of liquor.
And the face revealed beneath the helmet was none other than the person Miles trusted most.
His uncle, Aaron Davis.
Miles's pupils contracted sharply.
But he had already been hunted once by the Prowler the day this world's Spider-Man died, and that pressure was enough to make him clamp a hand over his own mouth and hold his breath so tightly he was afraid even the slightest mistake would give him away.
The Prowler turned, walked to the liquor cabinet, and reached for a bottle.
Miles seized the chance and scrambled out through the window.
But in the process, he accidentally knocked over the plant sitting on the sill.
The Prowler, who had just picked up his glass, noticed the disturbance immediately.
He put the glass down and shot outside in pursuit.
Even though Miles was still invisible, the heat from his moving body gave him away. To the Prowler, he was practically in plain sight.
The two of them tore through the streets in a frantic chase.
After barely escaping, Miles did not dare go home. He spent the whole night crouched in a street corner like a homeless kid.
Which, honestly, was not far from the truth.
Even then, he still could not accept that his uncle was the infamous Prowler, or that he was trying to kill him.
By the time morning came, Miles dragged his exhausted body straight to Aunt May's house in Queens.
He had decided.
The time had come to choose the greater good over family.
(End of Chapter)
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