Peter swung his webs at full speed, quickly catching up with the runaway train.
With a graceful somersault, he leaped onto the roof and sprinted to the very front, landing squarely beside the exhausted hero.
The older Spider-Man was nearly completely drained.
Upon seeing a second Spider-Man drop out of the sky, he was utterly speechless, his wide eyes expressing pure, unadulterated shock beneath his torn mask.
“My friend, do not be so surprised.
I am not some imposter,” Peter said.
Mimicking the older hero’s movements, he fired numerous thick webs, anchoring them securely to the facades of the buildings lining both sides of the tracks.
Then, Peter pulled back on the webs with every ounce of his superhuman strength.
“Let me help you share some of the burden!”
Whoosh!
In an instant, Peter’s body was slammed against the front of the train by a terrifying force.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with the original Spider-Man, Peter felt a staggering impact, like a collapsing mountain, crash directly into his arms.
Peter clenched his teeth.
The immense pressure cracked against his gums, filling his mouth with a sharp, metallic taste of blood.
And this was only a small fraction of the train’s momentum.
The vast majority of the crushing impact was still being absorbed by the older Spider-Man.
“Such a massive impact, and he actually withstood it?” Peter marveled internally.
“No wonder this original version of Spider-Man is legendary for his ridiculously high raw strength!
This is just outrageous!”
However, even more than his absurdly powerful physique, Peter deeply admired this Spider-Man’s fearless, unwavering spirit.
Without relying on any high-tech gadgets or reinforced suits, he was using his pure, raw flesh and bone as a decelerator to stop a runaway train.
This was never a question of whether it was physically possible; it was a question of whether he had the sheer will to do it.
Fear is a biological instinct, but courage is humanity’s greatest hymn.
That selfless, agonizing courage was exactly why this version of Spider-Man was considered a timeless classic.
With Peter stepping in to share the immense load, the older Spider-Man was finally given a moment of desperately needed relief.
At the very least, he was not going to completely drain his life force and pass out from exhaustion, altering his tragic fate from the original timeline.
Moreover, Peter’s sudden arrival sparked a massive, thunderous cheer from the terrified passengers and the conductor trapped in the front car.
They all realized that a second Spider-Man had magically appeared to save their city, and they were the lucky ones witnessing this historic team-up firsthand.
The sheer joy and excitement surging through the crowd completely overshadowed their lingering fear of death.
Soon, thanks to the combined, Herculean efforts of the two Spider-Men, the roaring runaway train slowly ground to a complete and total halt.
Panting heavily, the older Spider-Man finally released his white-knuckled grip on his webs.
He turned and spoke his very first words to Peter.
“Thank you…
um, Spider-Man Number Two.”
Peter paused for a second, finding the older hero’s on-the-spot nickname incredibly amusing.
“Oh no!
Dr.
Otto is still out there!
He is going to hurt innocent people!”
Just as he was about to drag his exhausted body away to search for Doctor Octopus, Peter quickly reached out and stopped him.
“Relax, Dr.
Otto has already been knocked unconscious.
I left him right over there,” Peter reassured him.
“Really?
That is the best news I have heard all day!” the older Spider-Man sighed in relief.
Mustering the absolute last of his strength, he followed Peter back to the rooftop where Doctor Octopus had been left.
However, to Peter’s immense embarrassment…
Doctor Octopus was completely gone.
Judging from the deep scratches and torn webs left at the scene, it was obvious that the mechanical tentacles had rebooted themselves.
They had forcefully snapped the villain out of his coma, torn through the webbing, and carried him away to safety.
“Well, there was a slight mishap.
But do not worry, Spider-Man always has a backup plan,” Peter said, offering a confident smile beneath his mask.
Under the older Spider-Man’s astonished gaze, Peter tapped his wrist.
His new, upgraded web-shooter hummed to life, projecting a glowing 3D hologram right into the air.
The projection displayed a highly detailed, virtual radar scan, complete with a bright red dot flashing rhythmically near the center.
Peter pointed to the glowing dot.
“When I knocked Doctor Octopus unconscious, I also slipped a few micro spider-trackers into his trench coat pocket.”
“This is Dr.
Otto’s exact current location.
He is only about one and a half kilometers away from us.
Catching up to him is not going to be difficult at all.”
This advanced tracking function was a custom addition Peter had personally requested.
S.H.I.E.L.D.’s engineering division truly was world-class; they had flawlessly integrated his designs into the web-shooters in just three days.
“My God!
This is unbelievable technology!” the older Spider-Man exclaimed, his tired eyes suddenly wide with intense scientific curiosity.
This version of Peter Parker was a brilliant physics major at Columbia University.
His academic advisor was Dr.
Kurt Connors, and he had even chosen Dr.
Otto Octavius’s nuclear fusion thesis as the primary subject of his own research.
Because he was incredibly skilled in both electronics and mechanical engineering, he instantly recognized just how incredibly advanced Peter’s new gear really was.
However, the older hero quickly pushed his scientific curiosity aside.
His overwhelming sense of responsibility took over.
“Let us go catch him right now!” Get faster updates on novelping.com.
But the absolute second he raised his wrist to fire a web line, the older Spider-Man let out a sharp groan of pain.
He clutched his shoulder, his face twisting in pure agony.
The brutal process of stopping the runaway train had completely ravaged his body.
His muscles were severely strained and pushed past their absolute breaking points.
Honestly, it was a biological miracle that he was even standing and talking, let alone trying to swing back into a super-powered brawl.
Seeing this, Peter immediately stepped in, wrapping a supportive arm around the older hero’s shoulder.
“Do not push yourself.
Go back to your place, eat something to recover your strength, treat your wounds, and repair your suit.
Then, we can go deal with Doctor Octopus.”
“My tracker has a continuous battery life of seventy-two hours.
We have plenty of time.”
“Okay,” the older Spider-Man sighed, giving a reluctant but helpless nod.
He simply had nothing left in the tank.
The older Spider-Man’s rented apartment was a tiny penthouse studio tucked away in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Although the apartment was incredibly small, everything was kept meticulously clean and organized, giving the cramped room a surprisingly warm and comfortable atmosphere.
It was a small detail that proved that beneath the mask, this Peter Parker was someone who genuinely loved life.
After quietly slipping back into the apartment through an open window, Peter first helped the older hero sit down on his bed to rest.
Peter then walked over and took a seat on the living room sofa.
It was a bit old and worn down, but still quite comfortable.
“Phew.
Now it is time for the two Peter Parkers to finally have a real chat.
We do not need to wear these cumbersome masks anymore.”
Reaching up, Peter grabbed the fabric at his neck and pulled his Spider-Man mask entirely off.
The older Spider-Man instantly froze on the spot.
His grey-blue eyes stared at Peter, the utter shock on his bruised face growing more pronounced by the second.
This mysterious, incredibly equipped new Spider-Man—who had utterly shocked him from the moment he dropped out of the sky—was just a kid?
He looked no older than sixteen or seventeen years old.
But far more importantly, this incredibly young superhero had just casually implied that his name was also Peter Parker.
The exact same superhero identity.
The exact same spider abilities.
The exact same name.
A coincidence like that was mathematically impossible.
The older Peter instantly realized that the situation was far, far more complicated than he had ever imagined.
“Who are you?”