pdf-ebookys Chapter 29 Lady Spider
Chapter 29 Lady Spider
Chapter 29 Lady Spider
"It's time for Peter Parker to go home."
The New York night wind swept across Spider-Man's mask, carrying the lingering smells of gunpowder and sirens. He glanced one last time at Herman, who was surrounded by the media—the guy was talking non-stop to the cameras like a washed-up actor finally getting primetime. Fine, let Herman enjoy this last bit of the spotlight.
He used a rather lame excuse to explain why he wasn't going home so late at night, and Aunt May was sure to start nagging again. Besides, he had just received a text message from Tony Stark, asking him to come to Avengers Tower tomorrow afternoon to have a chat.
"Although the Avengers knew my identity after I was carried back to Avengers Tower, isn't it a bit much to directly invade my privacy like this? Wow!"
Peter stopped swinging because he saw a woman standing upright on the vertical wall between two glass curtain walls. The hem of her beige trench coat fluttered in the wind, her sunglasses reflected the lights of New York, and not a drop of coffee spilled from the two cups in her hands.
"I've been watching you for a while, Spider-Man." The woman tucked a strand of her long, dark chestnut hair behind her ear. "We need to talk."
"Wait, I recognize your voice."
Peter, finding the voice familiar, was reminded of something; fragments of memory flooded his mind: "It's you, you're the one who communicated with me in my dreams?"
The woman smiled.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Julia Carpenter, the messenger of the web of fate. You can also call me Lady Spider."
Lady Spider.
Anyone familiar with Spider-Man will surely think of the blind old lady in a wheelchair in the 94 Spider-Man movie, but if we're talking about Julia Carpenter, the second Spider-Woman…
That would most likely be the epic Spider-Man movie from Sony's Spider-Verse, Madame Spider-Man, which many people don't remember is actually the second Spider-Woman.
Fortunately, this Marvel Cinematic Universe, based on the MCU, doesn't bear any resemblance to the Sony universe. Peter could only scratch his head, after all, the first Spider-Woman was still in high school, while the second was not only older but had already become Mrs. Spider-Woman. Coupled with other obvious differences from the MCU, he was completely confused about the timeline of this universe.
"Alright, ma'am. What would you like to talk about? Magic or divination?"
"How about we grab a coffee together?"
A few minutes later, the two spider-powered individuals were having coffee together at the top of the Empire State Building. Peter cautiously looked at the charlatan and asked him a question.
"I heard you say in my dream that you found another spider. Was that you, ma'am?"
"I won't let you search for me. I am a messenger of the Web of Fate, merely delivering its messages. Besides, I roughly know what you want to ask; I'm not blind."
Mrs. Spider didn't drink her coffee; she seemed to be simply warming it in her hands. Gazing at the New York City skyline, she spoke as if contemplating some kind of intangible universe. "Have you ever heard of the multiverse?"
"Um...yes. Reed Richards completed his fuzzy observations of other multiverses back in 2008, although everyone can only replicate his experimental results without understanding the underlying principles."
"The Web of Fate is a higher-dimensional entity that spreads its power across countless universes through spider totems. Most Peter Parkers are bitten by radioactive spiders, which are the anchors of their fate."
Peter already knew this setup, but he couldn't reveal that he knew it, so he had to listen to Mrs. Spider's rambling again.
"And among the countless spider totems, you are a very special one. You didn't become Spider-Man just because Ben Parker didn't die."
Peter choked on his coffee and waved his hand, then looked at Lady Spider, who simply smiled and said, "Actually, you should have been born three years later in this universe, but for some reason, the nodes of the web of fate changed, and a special totem appeared—you are the 'Patriarch'."
"What... clan leader?"
Peter knew that the Spider Universe had three special totems: "Outlier," "Bride," and "Descendant," each representing a different Spider-type user. But what was the Patriarch? A completely new Spider-type totem that appeared because of him?
Julia didn't intend to explain anything, but instead steered the conversation back to what had just happened: "As the clan leader, you possess the ability to respond to the Web of Fate. Whenever the Web of Fate begins to vibrate, it means that the Spider Totem of that world has encountered a problem. You can then travel through the multiverse to the place where the Fate is fluctuating and help the Spider-Man of that world repair the broken Web of Fate."
"I'm not even confident I can help New York, ma'am. Help the Spider-Man of the multiverse? Aren't there any others in the multiverse? The Avengers of the multiverse or something?"
Peter put the coffee aside, shrugged, and Julia just watched him quietly with a smile.
Peter stared at her silently for a long while, then sighed helplessly.
"Okay, what should I do?"
"Soon you will feel the tremors of the Web of Fate, but before that, you need to find another spider. You have been connected by the same totem, and your destinies are intertwined. Only by finding the other can you return to your own universe after resolving the crisis of the Web of Fate."
"If you can see the future," Peter asked the spider charlatan, "then why don't you just tell me where to look?"
"I don't weave fate, Peter Parker." She pronounced his name in its entirety for the first time. "I just read it."
-
In Times Square, as police and disaster control officials entered, the media were gradually ushered out, but they were quite satisfied with the content of today's interviews—Hermann was a complete chatterbox in front of the camera, willing to say anything.
However, Herman didn't really tell everything. He didn't mention anything about Dr. Otto or Kingpin. He just wanted to become famous, but he didn't intend to betray his friends or the mob boss.
Among the onlookers were a few rather unusual individuals, one of whom was Cal King. He wasn't particularly interested in horror or Spider-Man; he was simply there for the spectacle. He walked over to a piece of a fallen Game Card and noticed the spiderwebs stuck to it. Curious, he tugged at them and found the texture somewhat familiar.
Where have I seen this before?
He suddenly remembered the chemistry lab that Peter Parker had left that afternoon.
"Is Peter Parker Spider-Man?"
Carl King muttered to himself, though he gave a self-deprecating laugh, "That skinny Peter?"
But Peter Parker has become incredibly talented now.
Cal King fell into deep thought, recalling his prank of placing an Osborn Tech mutated spider around Peter Parker's neck. He began to wonder if it was that spider that made Peter Parker Spider-Man.
No, no, no, we can't be sure yet that kid Parker is Spider-Man...
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice someone passing by. This person, dressed as a reporter, squeezed through the crowd interviewing Hermann, then mingled into the throng to make a phone call to Hermann's new boss.
"Hello, this is Mr. Wesker. Your new employee is very well-behaved; he knows what to say and what not to say, so you probably don't need to worry about him."
The reporter smiled and walked into the restroom, listening to Kingpin's instructions on the phone as he entered a stall. When he reappeared, he was a completely different person—not only his clothes and face, but even the fingerprints and iris in the mirror had changed.
"Yes, I've observed Spider-Man's every move. His actions, expressions, even his personality—I can perfectly imitate them. As long as your gadgets are really as powerful as you say, then I, Chameleon, can assure you, Mr. Wesker."
"Soon, Spider-Man will be infamous and become public enemy number one."
The next chapter might be a little later.
(End of this chapter)