"No way, I'm going back to give him a good beating. He shouldn't be talking nonsense!"
Peter stormed out after venting his fury, only to be halted by the Amazing Spider-Man. "There's a bigger enemy we need to face right now. We can't afford internal disputes. Take a rest here for now. If you're really so angry, I'll go have a word with him."
Reluctantly, Peter agreed. He looked at the bustling pack of Spider-men inside the hall. "I should help, after all, I did mess up quite a few things before."
With that, Peter joined the other Spider-men, starting to help them move things. The Amazing Spider-man stood still, staring at his back.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned, only to see Spider Gwen standing behind him.
"Are you not planning to tell him?" asked Spider Gwen.
"Don't you think... that'd be a little too cruel to him?" Sighed the Amazing Spider-Man. He moved and sit beside a broken column, with Spider Gwen joining by his side. "Back when I first entered college, if someone had told me that I would lose my Uncle Ben and my girlfriend, I would've thought they were insane."
"Back then, I used to come home to hot meals waiting for me, Aunt May would warmly greet me, and I would hear Uncle Ben complaining about the increased electricity bill…"
"My only concern was dealing with some not-so-friendly schoolmates. Interestingly enough, I was thrilled that I was about to start college life where I would surely make more new friends…"
"Or...I might've not believed it as well." Spider Gwen shook her head, "Just like the first time I came here, the first time I met you..."
Despite the Spider-Man's mask, they couldn't see each other's expressions. Yet they both knew that if they were to take their masks off, the familiar faces behind them would shatter their rationality in an instant.
In each of their universes, both Peter and Gwen had died in each other's arms. But in this multiverse, as Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, they maintained their dignity.
"I think you should tell him." Spider Gwen said again. The Amazing Spider-Man stayed in the same spot, and then asked, "…do you still hold onto hope?"
"You think that if I'd have told him beforehand, he would stick by Uncle Ben's side all the time, averting this upcoming misfortune?" Even though there was a mask dividing them, Spider Gwen could see the sorrow expression of the Amazing Spider-Man.
"We've been here for quite some time now, we've spoken with every Spider-Man, learnt everyone's story. Among all of these, was there a single person who could avoid such fate? It isn't Uncle Ben, it isn't Aunt May, it isn't Gwen, it would inevitably be someone else. This is the curse of Spider-Man."
"I didn't expect you to be so pessimistic. I remember you used to encourage me." Spider Gwen, hugging herself, sat down, "I've always been rather pessimistic about the future, but every time I remember the past, I have this illusion…"
"If only I hadn't left Peter that day; if only he hadn't injected that serum; if only I paid him more attention, would he have felt sadness and despair due to bullying? "
"Even, if I hadn't resorted to violence to stop him, maybe the serum wouldn't have had such a drastic effect, and he wouldn't have died…"
"Every Spider-Man here has had these thoughts." The Amazing Spider-Man began, "Including me. I thought, if only I had stopped the criminal earlier that day, Uncle Ben wouldn't have gotten killed; if only I detected their conspiracy earlier, Gwen wouldn't have died. But there is no 'if'...."
"The only certainty is - if we hadn't learnt the lesson, more tragedies of the same kind would be on their way."
Spider Gwen sighed, "Perhaps you're right, telling him the truth would only cause unnecessary trouble. It would be better to let him quietly enjoy these final moments of happiness."
Meanwhile, Peter, while busy working and chatting with the other Spider-Men, noticed their strange expressions whenever the topic turned to what the Superior Spider-Man had done.
Observing Spider-Girl's hesitant expression, Peter asked, "What's going on? Why are you all acting so weird?"
"No, it's... nothing." Spider-Girl turned her head away, but Peter, sharpened by his time with Shiller, managed to catch a glimpse of sadness in her expression.
Spider Girl, being younger than Peter, struggled to retain her emotions and Peter, having learned some tricks on reading emotions during his stint with Shiller, noticed that there seemed to be something that everyone was keeping from him.
Peter felt terrible, as if he himself was a duped joker. He had a surge of anger building up within him, yet there was nowhere to vent it. He moodily threw a rock to the ground and squatted to the side, starting to sulk.
Seeing his state, Spider Silk walked over and said, "Don't be angry. I know you might think we're keeping things from you, but we have our reasons. We don't mean to harm you."
"I feel... I feel this place is strange," Peter said sadly. "You and that Superior Spider-Man are both strange. It's as if I'm the odd one out. What's different about us?"
"We're not different. It's just that you're a bit luckier than us."
"Luck? How am I lucky? I'm just a regular college student."
"What about those powerful abilities in you? Who gave them to you?"
"My friends, teachers, and elders. What's the problem?"
Spider Silk gave a forced smile and said, "Perhaps this is what makes you unique. Don't you notice? Among all the Spider-Men here, you're the only one with these powerful abilities."
Upon hearing this, Peter was taken aback, asking, "Really... but why?"
Peter tried to think and then asked, "When you guys go out, doesn't someone pull you aside for physical check-ups and hand you loads of equipment and energy?"
Spider Silk shook her head. Peter asked, "No? Why not?"
"Yeah, why not?" Spider Silk left with a hint of a sigh, and with that, she departed.
But Peter was deeply lost in thought.
At first, he was just unresponsive, assuming that the Superior Spider-Man was deceiving him. After all, Dr. Octavius Parker had launched a sudden attack on him previously, leaving a really bad impression. Naturally, Peter would suspect Parker of foul play.
However, these Spider-Men who had always been kind to him adopted the same attitude. There must be something he didn't know about.
Finding that the Spider-Men here were unwilling to answer him, Peter went back to Dr. Octavius Parker's territory. In the crowd, Peter spotted the all-black figure and followed him, relentlessly asking questions. The Shadow Spider-Man was annoyed by his questioning and said:
"My uncle? He's dead. He was assassinated."
Spider-Man stood there, stunned. He took two steps back, seemingly unable to accept this fact. Then, like a madman, he ran to another Spider-Man, blocking his way and asking him, "Ben Parker... Is Ben Parker still alive in your cosmos?"
"Uncle Ben? He's dead."
"He's dead. Killed by a criminal."
"Uncle Ben didn't die, but Aunt May did..."
"Gwen? She's dead."
"He's dead..."
"Dead..."