After rescuing Tony and Yinsen, Peter had zero intention of staying behind to eat sand with them. As for taking them along on his Glider? That was even less likely.
Aside from the bizarre visual of three grown men forming a "human sandwich" on a single flying surfboard, the gale-force winds generated at Mach 1 were not something their ordinary bodies could withstand.
After a brief hesitation, Peter pulled out his dedicated S.H.I.E.L.D. phone and called Natasha.
"Tony Stark has been rescued. I'm sending you the coordinates now. Come pick them up yourselves."
Hearing that Tony was safe, Natasha let out a long sigh of relief. But then, she seemed to remember something. After a moment of hesitation, she lowered her voice.
"If things are settled over there, Peter, you'd better get back soon. Things aren't very peaceful on this side lately."
"What's the situation?" Peter asked casually.
Natasha gave a quick rundown of the recent events in New York: "Two new supervillains have emerged. One calls himself Electro, and the other is being referred to as the Sandman.
Both possess incomprehensible superpowers, and Gwen has already had to step in to stop several of their criminal plots..."
As soon as he heard those names, Peter understood the gravity of the situation.
This was the downside of traversing a multi-parallel universe like Marvel or DC. In a normal world, you could follow the original plot; even if you caused a small butterfly effect, the timeline tended to correct itself.
But Marvel was different. It was full of "anchors" and "web events." Interfering with one element caused a chain reaction of uncontrollable consequences.
Clearly, by tearing up his own "sacrifice script" (the death of Peter Parker), Peter had completely disrupted the Web of Destiny for this universe.
The entire Spider-Gwen universe was spiraling in an unpredictable direction.
Peter had previously harbored a sliver of hope that by setting Connors and Norman back on their "correct" paths, the universe would return to its natural rhythm.
But now, it was clear that the influence of the "Web" hadn't subsided—it was intensifying.
In the original Spider-Man 3, Sandman worked with Eddie Brock's Venom and the New Goblin. Now, he was teaming up with The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Electro.
Much like the "Dual Goblins" before them, these villains were appearing at times that defied all canon logic. It seemed "Stand users"—or in this case, "Spider-villains"—were naturally attracting one another.
At this rate, the Sinister Six would be making an appearance far sooner than expected. Peter could easily see a scenario where he was busy fighting the Battle of New York while the Spider-verse villains staged a simultaneous coup.
Under his mask, Peter's brow furrowed into a deep "V." He realized he had to throw out his old assumptions.
To solve the classic "Trolley Problem" of the Spider-verse, the best solution was to build his own faction of superheroes.
He needed to maximize his friends and minimize his enemies. That way, when he and Gwen were stretched thin, his "friends" could at least buy him some time.
Furthermore, the plan to keep Gwen in the dark while she "leveled up" had to end. It was fine to let her struggle when he knew the script, but in a world of total uncertainty, letting her fight alone was just reckless.
To ensure the safety of Gwen, Ben, May, and everyone else he cherished, he had to train Gwen to be even more elite than any Spider-Man in the multiverse.
Taking a deep breath, Peter spoke sincerely into the phone: "Agent Romanoff, thank you for risking Director Fury's wrath to give me this intel. As a reward, I'll handle one problem for you in the future—free of charge."
He knew exactly how Nick Fury operated. Nick Fury would have preferred to keep Peter in the dark, letting the situation in New York deteriorate until Peter was desperate.
Then, Fury would swoop in like a savior to win Peter's loyalty. Whether innocent people died in the process didn't matter to the Director; they weren't his loved ones.
By sharing the news, Natasha had officially chosen a side. Peter was more than happy to reciprocate.
On the other end, Natasha's mind immediately flashed to the "Red Room"—the nightmare of her childhood. Thinking of Peter's overwhelming power, she felt a rare sense of security. "In that case, I won't be modest."
Hanging up, Peter turned back to Tony and Yinsen.
"Stay right here and don't move around. The military will be here with a transport plane soon to take you back."
Tony blinked, stunned. "What about you?"
Yinsen added softly, "Sir Arbiter, we don't even know your name. Give us a chance to repay you for saving our lives."
Considering Tony was a trustworthy hero—and that being honest now would highlight Fury's future hypocrisy—Peter decided to be blunt. He reached up and removed the hollow mask from his face.
"There's some trouble back in New York I need to fix, so I'm leaving first."
He looked them in the eye, his expression calm. "As for my name... It's Peter. Peter Parker."
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