In the dark expanse of the Multiverse, a diamond-shaped celestial body quietly hovered at a coordinate beyond language's articulation.
The hiss of the airlock door opening was particularly clear, as Peter rapidly strode through the long corridor, arriving in a spacious and brightly lit entertainment hall.
"Look who it is, our lucky lad." The Amazing Spiderman warmly approached, patting Peter on the back.
Peter casually removed his mask, moving forward shoulder-to-shoulder with the Amazing Spiderman. Observing the variety of Spider-Men coming and going around the hall, he said: "Are you getting used to all the different facilities at the base? Any issues? If so, I can refine them when I return."
"There were some teething issues, but we've tweaked everything ourselves." The Amazing Spiderman stopped at the bar, ordering from the Shadow Spider-man making drinks: "One Gin and Tonic for him, a simple sweet wine for me. Oh, hold the ice."
"No, a glass of ice water will do for me. I have matters to attend to." Peter turned to the Shadow Spiderman, remarking.
"Amazing, you really constructed a base for us within the Multiverse. We originally thought we'd have to spend years on that abandoned planet!" The Amazing Spiderman shook his head, exclaiming.
"Because my universe is overflowing with resources. Humanity's study of spacecraft hasn't yet reached the point of mass-producing cosmic transportation. But the new materials and recently developed production lines are idling. Might as well put them to use," said Peter, smiling, continuing, "Fortunately, Mr. Stark was gracious. Without his lab, I wouldn't have been able to construct the base so quickly."
"I heard the original Superior Spider-Man... ah, I mean, their universe's Doctor Octopus, was also involved in the project. A few Spider-Men from the future adjusted some incompatible equipment too."
Pulling up the lower half of his mask to sip his cold drink, the Amazing Spiderman coughed, commenting: "It's just a shame we've been too busy to be of much help. Mary Jane and I are busy planning house renovations. We probably won't be free for a while."
"By the way, our Multiverse Spider-Man Hiring Task System is working pretty well."
In his voice, the Amazing Spiderman expressed a touch of awe, saying: "This is just crazy, the fact that we can even traverse universes to help others!"
"It's normal. There are always things to do and people who want to study abroad and can't focus on New York's public order. Some idle Spider-Men can basically handle their work. Oh, when you go on your honeymoon, I can cover for you too," Peter laughed and said.
"Oh, didn't I post a hiring request a while ago? Why don't we check it out together?" Holding his drink, Peter stood up, proposing.
Peter and the Amazing Spiderman, walked through the entertainment hall, reaching a place that looked more like a surveillance room. Here, the Spider-Men were gathered in pairs, observing the conditions in various universes.
Seeing Peter and the Amazing Spiderman approaching, the Spider-Girl at the reception desk without lifting her head, asked: "Submitting a task, or accepting one?"
"I want to know how the task I posted to find someone is progressing?" Peter asked, before recalling, "The task number should be 63279. The task is to find traces of Lady Loki throughout the Multiverse."
"63279..." The Spider-Girl murmured, operating her computer. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "oh, I've found it! This high-priority task costs 500 points. You're really generous…"
"After all, I've had quite a few side jobs," Peter laughed. "Not every Spider-Man is like me—not much to do during my internship, so I have to work-tour various universes."
The Spider-Girl looked up at him and smiled, "We all know the base and system were built by you and Superior Spider-Man together. You've been a great help. The data has been compiled and is over there at the 2nd terminal machine."
"By the way, an essential clue is from Spider-Man 2099. In the slum of his fourth New York Sky Island, he once met a woman with strong illusion and mind-control powers, very similar to how you described Lady Loki."
"You know, the universe where 2099 lives isn't so peaceful; Earth was split, New York divided into seven sky islands, connected only by space station portals. The entire New York is under the control of economic oligarchy Alchemy Company, and free movement depends on the Identity Recognition System."
"However, there are still some free individuals in the slums; the lady is one of them. As they belong to the same camp of freedom fighters against the company, they have met a few times."
"According to 2099, he once heard the lady swearing in ancient Norwegian, a language that the common people in his world simply cannot learn because all historical and cultural knowledge is monopolized by the company. So, it is very likely that she is from Asgard."
The Spider-Girl succinctly summarised the most critical clues.
Peter nodded frequently, said: "Well, if that's the case, there is a good chance. Seems I have to find 2099. Is he around the base now?"
The Spider-Girl lowered her head to check the information, saying: "He's not here now. He last responded to the spider-web communication three minutes ago. I'll give him a call and ask if he can come over."
"Thanks," said Peter.
About 20 minutes later, Spider-Man 2099, dressed in a combined blue and red uniform, walked over. He was much more muscular and imposing than Peter and the Amazing Spider-Man.
His voice was also deeper and more scratchy than many Spider-Men, sounding older and more mature.
Peter walked up, patted his arm, and said, "Long time no see, 2099. How have you been lately?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. However, the battle armor component you provided me with really saved my skin." 2099 nodded and said, "The new material you created called Molten Steel, could not be recognized by the Alchemy Company. Using the invisible parts, I successfully destroyed their newly built factory which was meant to co-opt the lands of the freedom fighters…"
Peter glanced at him and noticed a lot of dust on his body. He was limping as he walked and there were injuries on his arm. He seemed to have just gone through a major battle. Peter regretfully said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hurriedly summoned you."
"It's nothing, I can't stay idle anyway." Spider-Man 2099 shook his head and said, "The struggle never ceases; I've long gotten used to it!"
After their conversation, the trio made their way to the sofas in the entertainment hall.
Spider-Woman, who had already been waiting there, walked over with a slight complaint, "I told you to wait there, and I would come support you immediately. But you insisted on rushing in to fight. Now look at you, you'll need at least two weeks of rest..."
Spider-Man 2099 touched his nose and said, "I've already mentioned that I'm not comfortable with teaming up. The task of requesting assistance was purely to test the so-called hiring system. The system works fine, but you all are just too slow."
He then added, "If you were in my universe, and took half an hour to prepare, you would already have lost your lives by then…"
Spider-Woman frowned throughout this whole conversation, clearly disagreeing with his views, but soon enough, she took some first-aid supplies from a robot and began to treat the wounds on 2099's arm.
2099, with his other hand, accepted a glass of iced wine from Shadow Spider-Man, lifted half of his mask, took a sip and said, "I believe you all should already have some understanding of my universe."
"I'm not as lucky as you, the nations of the world aren't united in developing technology, on the contrary, because of irreconcilable contradictions, they've sliced the Earth into many different parts."
"Big corporations, represented by the Alchemy Company, with a long premeditated plot, proposed physically dividing the Earth after humanity committed irreparable war crimes. This ludicrous proposal, unbelievably, was actually successful."
"When I was born, the Earth had already been divided into thousands of sky islands. However, at that time, New York was still an intact sky island. But later, they first cut off the slum and then cut the slum into even smaller pieces to prevent certain freedom fighters from interfering with their rule. To this day, New York has been divided into seven sky islands."
"I've always walked the road against the Alchemy Company, we have deep seated enmity. My daughter was kidnapped for unclear reasons and ultimately died in their hands…"
Having said all of this, Spider-Man 2099 let out a deep sigh. Peter and the Amazing Spider-Man comforted him with a few words.
"However..." He waved his hand and said, "This has nothing to do with you, I admit, I previously doubted Miles. However, later I found out, the Alchemy Company stole my genes and sent a signal to the multiverse. Coincidentally, Miles received their spider communique."
"Spider Silk confirmed this for me. Meanwhile, using her unparalleled spider-sense talent, she hacked back into the Alchemy Company's system, and made me aware that they planned to co-opt the lands of the freedom fighters. Because of all this, we had our operations a few days ago."
"You've gone too far." Spider-Woman commented, "The situation in your universe is already bad, the so-called freedom fighters only occupy a small slum on a sky island, the smallest one at that. How could you dare to wage a local war against the big corporation?"
"Starting a war against them, it's never too early…" Spider-Man 2099 simply said this and then dropped the topic.
Peter and the Amazing Spider-Man exchanged a glance, realizing they were on the same page. Spider-Man 2099 had gone a bit extreme, but they understood. After all, he lost his wife first, then his daughter. It would make anyone crazy with hatred.
"Thank you, lucky kid, this is our first major victory ever." Spider-Man 2099 turned and looked at Peter, "For that, no matter who you're searching for in my world, I will definitely give it my all to help."
"Spider-Girl told me that you found a suspicious individual on the Fourth Air Island in New York…" Peter asked.
"That's correct, we all call her Miracle Lady, she's one of the few hackers willing to collaborate with the freedom fighters. Although her character is a bit eccentric and her price is high, her ability is indeed quite strong. Moreover, it seems like she has some unclear relationship with the big corporations…"
"Can you tell me more details about her?" Peter took out a tablet and started taking notes.
"No problem, Miracle Lady is a mercenary who only appeared on the Fourth Air Island in recent years. She's commissioned by the Alchemy Company to help expand their business and establish factories.
"She possesses a very intriguing ability, able to breach the employee control systems of large corporations, hack into their minds, and control them to do her bidding."
"Perhaps, for people like you who live in normal worlds, you might not understand what it's like to live in a world controlled by big corporations."
"However, since the suspicious person you're looking for is in my world, why don't we just go and take a look directly? It would be much more efficient than me describing it to you here…"