After talking for a while, Peter left the field to the two Gwens.
Just moments ago they had been at each other's throats, but somehow they were now whispering back and forth again, both of them blushing for some mysterious reason.
The younger one had the shy charm of a teenage girl, while the older, more mature one carried the kind of allure only a grown woman had. Just looking at them was enough to give Peter a headache.
With his heightened senses, of course he could hear exactly what they were whispering about.
It was all the same stuff.
How he had taken advantage of them.
How he always refused to admit it afterward.
Whatever. He could not be bothered to care what kind of trash talk they were piling onto him right now.
There was work to do.
While the two Gwens were busy chatting, Peter used the communicator device, then swung off on his webline to Norman's house to go over the plan for tonight.
Naturally, Norman had no intention of backing out. After all, he had helped create this mess in the first place. Things reaching this point had a lot to do with him. If he could stop the world from being destroyed now, then at least he would be paying for his share of the blame.
As for Green Goblin Harry, the moment he heard there were a bunch of Spider-People gathered together, he got ridiculously excited. He wanted to see for himself whether the middle-aged Peter Peter kept mocking really was as hilariously out of shape as advertised.
Was he really that exaggerated? Did he actually look like a pregnant woman, just like Peter said?
Peter really knew how to roast someone. When he got vicious, he did not even spare another version of himself.
Time passed quickly, and before long it was six in the evening. After saying their final goodbyes to this Gwen, Peter and Spider-Gwen swung off on web lines toward the agreed meeting point.
As for why they had not brought Green Goblin Harry and Norman along, the answer was simple. Those two were too big and too hard to hide.
Everyone knew Spider-People were masters of stealth. Better safe than sorry.
Besides, Peter could always summon them directly through the wrist device if needed. And unlike the others, Norman belonged to this universe, so he was not restricted by time. As for Green Goblin Harry, he was able to remain because of the collider's interference, which meant the usual laws of space-time were not forcing him back yet.
...
New York at night always had more than one face.
To the poor and desperate, it was a city of crime and injustice.
To the rich and glittering elite, it was a grand stage for parties and public image.
The poor played the part of clowns in the circus. The rich played the part of polished veteran actors. But in the end, both sides were doing the same thing, dressing themselves up so no one could see who they really were.
Tonight, inside the towering Fisk Tower, a final tribute was being held for a hero the whole city knew.
A celebration of his life.
A memorial for his death.
A remembrance gala for our beloved Spider-Man.
And the host was none other than this city's great philanthropist and great businessman, Mr. Wilson Fisk.
At this moment, Fisk Tower was shining brilliantly.
"All right, guys. This is Fisk Tower. Kingpin's private suite should be on the top floor, while the collider lab is underground beneath the tower. But that machine is enormous. If it starts up again, there'll probably be another earthquake."
Hidden outside, little Peni controlled her mech and ran a series of scans and calculations before giving them the answer.
Meanwhile, Peter was thinking about something else entirely. His eyes kept twitching. He had a bad feeling about tonight, like something awful was going to happen. It was not his spider-sense, just pure instinct.
Of course, instinct could be full of nonsense. Plenty of people had died because they trusted their gut too much. Still, even a bad instinct could count as a warning.
Below them, luxury cars were steadily pulling up in front of Fisk Tower. A long red carpet had been rolled out at the entrance, and around it stood reporters who had been invited to the event, cameras flashing nonstop as they photographed the arriving guests.
The people stepping out of those cars were major figures across America, government officials, wealthy businessmen, people with real influence. Even a casual glance was enough to get the blood pumping.
Everyone knew tomorrow's headlines were going to be insane.
"You've got to be kidding me. Why is Fisk Tower so lively tonight?!"
When middle-aged Peter and the others saw that scene, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"What the hell is Kingpin up to now?"
"How did he get this many people to show up?"
"Well... as far as I know, Kingpin in this universe has already reached the height of power. He can even influence national politics. So if he throws a party like this, it honestly isn't that strange."
Spider-Noir, dressed in his coat and long scarf, said it quietly.
"With this many civilians around, things could get ugly fast. We'll have to make sure they're evacuated before anything starts."
"I don't think we have much time."
Peter Porker sounded serious for once.
"So that kid really isn't coming after all? I thought the pressure might actually work on him. Whatever. He'd be useful if he came, but it's not like we can't do this without him."
Peter carefully felt for the presence around them, but he could not sense Miles anywhere. He shook his head in disappointment.
He had thought the kid might have some guts after all, but apparently not.
"He's still just a kid..."
Before middle-aged Peter could finish, Peter immediately cut him off.
"I'm the same age as him."
The other Spider-People all turned and stared at him.
You are not the standard here, you lunatic.
"On the very first day I became Spider-Man, I had already started playing criminals like toys. Later I heard one of them wet himself and refused to leave his prison cell ever again."
Spider-Gwen did not even hesitate before pinching him again.
Clearly she had remembered that this was the same day he had started lying to her.
Of course, she also had not used her real name back then, so Peter had not exactly been wrong. One thing he had said stuck with her. Out in the world, caution mattered. Identities were whatever you made them. If you could fake them, fake them. If you could not, then mix truth with lies until even you almost believed it. If you believed it enough, so would everyone else.
Inside the banquet hall, it was already packed wall to wall with guests.
The tables were covered with rich food. The men wore flawless suits, the women were dressed to impress, and in front of them stood a giant LED screen displaying the face of Ultimate Spider-Man. Beside his image were lines and lines of mournful text, probably copied from the internet, unless Kingpin had suddenly become a genius at writing memorial speeches.
At that very moment, a giant meatball of a man stood on the main stage with a microphone, giving a heartfelt speech.
"Thank you all. It's an honor to gather tonight to remember Spider-Man. We were once very close friends, almost like..."
"This is the definition of fake grief. Crying crocodile tears while making it all about himself. Disgusting."
Watching Kingpin's flawless performance, Peter had the overwhelming urge to kick through the glass, lunge in with his claws, and rip him apart right there. But there were too many civilians around, and more importantly, Spider-Gwen had warned him on the way over not to reveal too much of his strength if it could be avoided, because that would only create more trouble.
Clinging to the outside of the building, every Spider-Person watching the speech felt a wave of nausea.
If they did not know what kind of man Kingpin really was, they might have been fooled by this act too.
But they did know.
He was a monster, through and through.
The death of this universe's Ultimate Spider-Man had his fingerprints all over it, and now he was up there milking the tragedy for applause.
Typical.
A seasoned scheming meatball.
(End of Chapter)
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