The Spider-Men soon gathered around Peter, carrying the Supervillains they had wrapped into spherical cocoons with webbing.
“Nice work, little Peter!”
Middle-aged Peter Parker glanced at the unconscious Kingpin, then at the five Multiverse portals within the dark purple space, and gave Peter a thumbs-up.
Their original plan had only been to shut down the Particle Collider.
Afterward, Peni Parker would study it and find a way to send everyone back to their respective universes.
No one had expected Peter to accomplish both objectives at once.
Even Middle-aged Peter Parker, with more than twenty years of experience as a Superhero, had to admit that he had done an excellent job.
“You did pretty well yourself, Old Peter.”
The two raised their fists in perfect understanding, bumped them together, and laughed.
“What should we do with these people?”
Spider-Man Noir pointed at Bullseye in front of him.
Fortunately for Bullseye, Spider-Man Noir had not killed him.
Unfortunately, bullets had torn through both his palms, and he had lost eight of his ten fingers.
From now on, even brushing his own teeth would be difficult, let alone committing further crimes.
Bullseye would most likely spend the miserable remainder of his life in prison.
Before long, he might even regret not dying at Spider-Man Noir’s hands.
“Please notify the NYPD and have them come arrest everyone.
I’ll wait here for them to arrive, then turn myself in.”
The one who spoke was not a Spider-Man, but the Prowler.
He had already removed his mask, clearly having revealed his identity to Miles.
In truth, the Prowler had been a great help to the Spider-Men.
Not only had he joined forces with Miles to defeat the Green Goblin, but he had also interfered with Bullseye at a crucial moment, helping Spider-Man Noir take him down.
That was also why Spider-Man Noir had not attacked him.
Even so, the Spider-Men all looked toward Peter, clearly leaving the decision to him.
“I believe Mr.
Davis has realized his mistakes.
Miles, after we leave, it’ll be up to you to keep an eye on him.”
Miles nodded gratefully at Peter.
He knew Peter was the reason his uncle had finally turned his life around.
This also meant that Peter had once again broken the rule that Spider-Man’s loved ones were destined to die.
The Prowler, Aaron Davis, had not died like Uncle Ben in so many other universes.
Peter’s firm belief that [misfortune can be overcome as long as the right choice is made] had once again been proven true.
Next came the Spider-Men’s farewells.
Peni Parker, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, and Middle-aged Peter Parker departed one after another, beginning their journeys home.
Gwen Stacy was the last to remain.
“Thank you for helping me back there.”
Gwen tucked her golden, shoulder length hair behind her ear and thanked Peter.
“No need to thank me.
You would’ve made the same choice if you were in my place.”
Peter waved dismissively, indicating that it was nothing worth thanking him for.
“Also, I like your haircut.
It has a real rock and roll vibe.”
Peter pointed at the hair on the right side of Gwen’s head that had been accidentally shaved off.
Gwen smiled and held out her fist.
Peter immediately understood and extended his own fist to bump hers.
“Goodbye, my friend, Spider-Man.”
“Goodbye!”
Gwen spread her arms and, under Peter’s watchful gaze, fell backward into her portal and returned to her own universe.
“It’s just the two of us now…” Miles swallowed nervously.
“Please tell me what to do next.”
Peter noticed how tense Miles was and patted him on the shoulder.
“You don’t need to do anything.
Just take these bad guys and retreat to a safe distance.”
A few minutes later, Miles and the Prowler had completed their retreat.
Peter once again felt the familiar burning pain in his right palm.
The mysterious golden spider web pattern began to shine with golden light.
He understood.
The time had come.
Peter pressed the green button on the control panel.
The previously stable energy beams instantly twisted and warped.
An unimaginably vast amount of energy began to compress erratically, collapse, and then erupt.
BOOM—!!
A deafening explosion shook the entire area.
The mountain sized Particle Collider was destroyed outright, and the entire testing facility collapsed into ruins along with it.
The dark purple space was wiped away by the energy, taking all five Multiverse portals with it.
…
…
New York City, on a street corner along 42nd Street.
Golden light appeared out of thin air.
Countless threads of radiance gathered together, eventually forming a swirling spatial portal.
Peter emerged with his backpack on his shoulders and landed steadily on the ground.
“Phew, I’m finally home.
That trip through the Multiverse was anything but easy.”
Peter looked around at the familiar street.
It was the exact place where he had crossed into the Parallel Universe.
He took out his phone and glanced at it, only to discover that its data had undergone some kind of spacetime reset.
According to the time displayed, only about half an hour had passed since he left.
“That’s good news.
If time had passed at the same rate, I’d have no idea how to explain to Aunt May and Uncle Ben where I’d been for the past few days.”
Peter quickly removed his mask and stuffed it into his backpack.
After changing out of his Spider-Man suit and into ordinary clothes, he completed his transformation from Spider-Man back into high school student Peter Parker.
However, Peter noticed something strange.
The golden spider web pattern on his right palm was still glowing faintly.
He instinctively raised his hand in front of his face and narrowed his eyes to examine it.
At that moment, the golden spider web pattern suddenly blazed with light.
A beam of golden radiance flew from it and entered Peter’s eyes.
A vast golden web, visible only to him, silently unfolded.
Every node on the web was covered by a hazy golden glow.
Only one node displayed a clearly visible number.
1610b.
Beneath the number 1610b were two unusual icons.
One was a blue lightning bolt, while the other was the green, dotted outline of a human figure.
As the vast golden web appeared, unfamiliar information flooded into Peter’s mind.
That information revealed that the golden spider web pattern on his palm was the symbol of the Web of Life and Destiny’s power.
Whenever Peter crossed into a universe connected to Spider-Man, the Web of Life and Destiny would illuminate a Destiny Node and activate the corresponding special abilities.
For example, Miles Spider-Man’s Bio-Electric Discharge and Invisibility were the special abilities associated with the 1610b Destiny Node.
Through his connection to the Web of Life and Destiny, Peter could use those abilities directly.
Furthermore, each completed journey would slightly strengthen Peter’s basic physical attributes.
Peter swung his fist and found that his strength really did seem to have increased.
The improvement also appeared to affect his entire body, enhancing his speed and endurance as well.
He did not yet know the exact extent of the enhancement.
He would need precise instruments to obtain accurate measurements.
“So this is the proper way to use the Web of Life and Destiny…”
Peter gazed at the Web of Life and Destiny before him.
For some reason, a familiar phrase came to mind.
[With great power comes great responsibility.]
Taken the other way around, greater responsibility also brought greater power.
If his power could increase without limit, did that mean his responsibility would also grow without end?
From a single street, to a city, to an entire world, and eventually to the infinite Multiverse?
Was this a gift from fate, or a responsibility imposed by fate?
Who could say for certain?
Perhaps…
it was both a gift and a responsibility.