Peter found out in the World within the Ring that two Earths were on the verge of fusion, to which he was nonchalant.
He knew the Prime Universe was safe. After a major reboot of the times, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, and other superheroes now had more complete and stable stories, enabling them to continue their lives in the cosmos.
However, this old Earth, which was riddled with disasters and scars, could no longer return to the normal universe. Even if it could return, no one could demand that residents let go of their past pain and adapt to a new life. Peter knew this was difficult.
Even if they had the capacity to spare, Peter grasped some higher-dimensional concepts from the obscure knowledge bestowed upon him by the Black Sun.
Although he didn't understand what popularity was, he at least recognized that if the original story had run its course, a universe needed a fresh influx. Otherwise, it would be neglected and slowly head towards death.
The magnificent destruction and rebirth of a universe weren't the end. The real tragedy was quietly and unnoticeably declining into oblivion.
Although the rejuvenated universe was jubilantly heading towards the future, the remnants of the old era, like them, also had the right to pursue survival. They needed new stories. Fusion with a vibrant new world seemed like a promising path.
However, upon hearing it was the world where Batman resided, Peter couldn't help but feel concerned. Gotham's infamous reputation echoed in every Spider-Man's ears, thus he decided to seek information from Bruce.
Bruce received the news of the Earth fusion much earlier than Peter. Or rather, the fusion of the two worlds was after seeking the opinion of Batman from Earth No.1.
Though typically the editorial department wouldn't ask for Batman's opinion, which led to many absurd, earth-shattering plot twists, this time the plan was Shiller's, and he believed it necessary to seek Batman's opinion.
Bruce's opinion was that he had no opinion.
Batman's illness and his strength were often inversely proportional. The stronger Batmen, while achieving whatever they set their minds to, shared a controlling desire that would never let them surrender Gotham.
The advantage of this Rookie Batman was that he didn't view Gotham as his city. His first objective was still to find his parents' murderer from years ago, and the second was to make the city somewhat better. As long as he could accomplish these two things, he could compromise on many others.
Bruce was extremely eager to return to Gotham with Spider Man's superpower in pursuit of the true culprit, but he couldn't abandon the messy New York.
Especially since he couldn't find a decent method to restrain the White Can, even with Spider Man's superpower. Destroying numerous mechas still wouldn't break the defense of Stark Park. He urgently needed to cause some changes to tilt the situation in his favor.
When Bruce conducted a mission test in Marvel, time stood still, much like when participating in Battleworld. But when the old Earth entered the Fog Realm, time resumed as usual. He knew he had already been absent in the reality of Gotham for two or three days and was anxious to return.
At this moment, Peter approached him, and they began discussing the possibility of a cosmic fusion. Eventually, they found that New York and Gotham were like Sleeping Dragon and Rising Phoenix.
While New York surpassed Gotham in the quantity of crimes, Gotham didn't lag behind in terms of crime quality. There was no clear measure of superiority—in fact, they were difficult to distinguish.
To cope with this phenomenon, both of them decided to collaborate. Specifically, Bruce gained Spider Man's immense power and took on the role of a crime-fighting superhero. Though Peter no longer possessed superpowers, his knowledge and technology remained, enabling him to provide covert assistance from behind the scenes.
Peter originally intended to bring Bruce to his base, but Bruce thought after the fusion, they could fully utilize Wayne Enterprises' resources for professional equipment production, and simultaneously assist Peter's scientific research, giving him an opportunity to embark on a different path.
The two hit it off instantly and after the merging of the two cities, Bruce immediately took Peter to his Batcave.
The so-called Batcave was just a normal basement in Wayne Manor, where Bruce stored and organized his equipment.
Peter was amazed upon entering.
At first sight of the scene within the Batcave, he deeply understood that this surprisingly amateur Batman was far worse than he had initially imagined.
Each arrangement in this lab precisely struck the nerves of scientists with research experience. Peter stood at the entrance for over three minutes, not daring to step inside.
It wasn't because he was scared, but because there was a large clump of exposed, uninsulated cables connected to a large piece of equipment with a significantly higher voltage than home appliances less than two meters from his feet. The screen was lit, indicating that the electrical switch was on.
On the other side of the wall where these cables were placed, there was a sink with visible water stains. The distance between them didn't exceed three meters. The closest rubber gloves were hung on a shelf at least seven to eight meters away on the other side of the room, alongside fiber gloves used in chemical experiments.
Bruce walked right in.
Peter braced himself against the door frame with both hands and tiptoed on the floor. Bruce, standing in the center of the room, looked back at him with some confusion and asked, "What's wrong? Why won't you come in?"
"Why won't I come in?!" Peter glared at him and raised his voice. "How can you walk in like that?! Did you switch off the circuit breaker?!"
"Why would I need to switch off the circuit breaker? To save electricity? But I'm not short on electricity fees." Bruce shook his head.
Peter took a deep breath, waving at him and shouting, "Come out! Come out, now!!"
Not understanding why, Bruce hesitated but eventually walked out and stood by the door.
Leaning one arm against the door frame and holding his forehead with the same hand, Peter breathed deeply and asked, "Where is the distribution room?"
"Over there, but I've never been in there."
Peter widened his eyes at Bruce, who coughed and murmured, "I'm not a professional electrical engineer. I can't know everything."
Peter sighed, "You don't have to know everything, but you should at least listen to the advice of professionals."
"What's wrong, exactly? Is there a problem?"
"You should be asking where the problem isn't." Peter turned to the other end of the hallway, intending to check the distribution room. Bruce followed him, looking somewhat puzzled.
Upon entering the power distribution room, Peter was amazed at what he saw. This place looked more like a storage room for electrical equipment. Everything was here, but nothing was in its rightful place.
It was so daunting that it left Peter standing at the door for almost a minute, unable to speak. The sight of the cables piled on the floor was nothing compared to the miracle of seeing such massive equipment screens light up.
"This is terrible." Peter's face wrinkled like the folds in a bun, he shook his head and commented, "We need to sort this out from scratch, otherwise it's useless. Don't even think about upgrading equipment in a short time. I will modify my old Spider Silk Launcher for you and then…"
Ziiila - Bang!!!
A loud noise came from the direction of the Batcave. The two quickly left the power distribution room and ran through the corridor. As they just reached the entrance of the Batcave, Peter saw a familiar figure.
"Electro?!"
A man dressed in a uniform was standing in the center of the room, his expression somewhat confused, his body movements expressing his helplessness.
An understanding dawned on Peter. Having battled Electro multiple times, he knew well that Electro's greatest power was his ability to travel through all electrical circuits, making him impossible for ordinary people to catch.
However, after the merging of the two cities, the electrical circuits were definitely connected. Meaning, the circuits familiar to Electro had turned into completely unfamiliar routes, and he was likely lost.
Electro seemed to recognise the voice that called his name. He turned to Peter and questioned, "Spider Man?"
"I get it now!!" Electro screamed, "This is your trap! Spider Man! You deliberately set up this shitty circuit to bait me!! You're so despicable!!"
Peter didn't know how to respond. He knew that Electro was actually an electrical engineer. Surely, he didn't come here because his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder kicked in at the sight of the newly wired network, right?
Then Peter noticed that Electro's entire body was blackened and his hair resembled the aftermath of an explosion. Turning around, he found the electrical cables, the conduit, and the large machine were all blasted into a black mess.
It took all of Peter's strength to hold back his laughter.
Electro had probably just emerged from the circuit. The moment he stepped on the ground, he stepped between the cable and the conduit, causing a short circuit explosion.
"You destroyed my machine!" Bruce shouted, rushing towards Electro. Peter stretched out his hand to stop him but didn't dare enter the Batcave.
Thinking this was a trap and knowing he was injured, Electro, feeling outmatched, once again turned into electricity and rushed into the cables.
Bruce was astounded. He had never seen anyone able to transform into lightning before and was momentarily lost as to how to proceed.
Suddenly, there was another banging sound. Turning his head, Peter saw that the basement door, leading to the garden on the other side of the corridor, had been kicked open.
Accompanied by a chilly wind, a mecha flew in front of Peter. Stark's cold voice came from inside of it and Peter instantly knew who it was.
"Peter Parker, you need to give me an explanation…"
Before he could finish, Peter turned and dashed into the corridor with the mecha hot on his heels.
Running as fast as he could, Peter finally made it into the Batcave.
The White Can-controlled mecha attempted to follow him in, but upon seeing the scene inside the Batcave, it braked hard and came to a stop outside the door.
"You…"
Peter never thought he would be able to see a hint of hesitation on a mecha's face, but from its body movements, it was clear that it was deeply shocked by the layout within the Batcave.
"Don't tell me this is your secret base." White Can's voice revealed disbelief, "Are you planning to die here together?!!"
Bruce looked around, still lost, he didn't spot anything amiss.
While the mecha was still dazed, Peter had already sneaked behind him, put on insulating gloves, and fixed his gaze on the burnt cables.
No wonder he and Stark were so shocked. Even after such a severe short-circuit explosion, this cable was still electrified.
Using Bruce's figure to conceal his movements, Peter quickly rushed over, grabbed the remaining rubber part of the cable, and threw the burnt cable onto the mecha.
Ziiila - Bang! Crack!
The mecha fell from mid-air. Peter was once again astonished. He had only intended to interfere with the mecha's movements. He didn't expect the current in this thing to actually turn Stark's armored mecha into scrap metal.
Could this really be Batman's trap?
Though Peter knew it wasn't, he was clear that the evil Stark would think so. He wouldn't let this go, and if he and Bruce wanted to save Gotham and New York, they would have to get past him first.
Thinking of this, Peter quickly pulled Bruce out of the underground, made him stand at the entrance of the Batcave, and said.
"First, don't go down there again. For your safety, my safety, and the safety of everyone in this community, please stay away from all electrical circuits. Please!"
"Second, go and stop Electro asap. He must be rushing to cause trouble in the city. You need to stop his crimes, Spider Man!"