"But honestly, some of these waiters have absolutely no taste. Just putting on a mask doesn't make you Spider-Man. I really don't even want to roast them, but the whole thing just feels incredibly lame..."
Noir Peter pulled down his mask and adjusted his Spider-Noir disguise again, but when he looked at the waitstaff moving back and forth through the hall with spider masks on, his stomach still turned a little.
That fat bastard Kingpin really knew how to disgust people.
"After scanning the building layout, I found a private elevator for Kingpin over there. It looks like going down through that should take us straight to the Quantum Collider control room in the basement... That guy is seriously huge. The weight limit on that elevator is double a normal one."
After running the numbers through her computer again, Peni arrived at a precise answer.
"But how are we supposed to get in?!"
Porker raised the question.
"For us, it is easy enough. We can disguise ourselves as waiters and blend in. You are the tricky part. A talking pig would definitely cause a panic. And Peni's armor is way too big too. We would need to hide that somehow before she can get inside."
Peter pulled his own mask down as well and used the night vision built into it to scan the building. His suit's scanning function was nowhere near as ridiculous as Peni's, but he still managed to find an opening. There were places with fewer people around. They could slip in quietly, take out the guards, and move from there.
"Hey, man, that's not fair. So only you guys get to go in while I stay outside on guard?!"
Porker snapped, hands on his hips.
"Of course you can go in. You just need a tiny bit of disguise. How about dressing up as roast pig?"
Peter's attempt to lighten the mood earned him a chorus of eye-rolls. Was that seriously something a human being should say? At a time like this, who even makes a joke like that?
The older Spider-Man, who had also lowered his mask and stayed silent the whole time, seemed to have spotted a familiar figure. He did not join the discussion at all.
"Buddy, don't tell me you're thinking of going over to her. She's not your MJ, and you know that. Besides, the Spider-Man of this world has already come back as one of the Living Dead. We should get back to our own worlds as soon as possible and avoid unnecessary trouble."
Spider-Noir's voice was calm and matter-of-fact.
He had noticed Mary Jane too, but he had lived through enough by now to see certain things differently. He was younger than the older Spider-Man, but not behind him when it came to understanding life.
The group quickly came to an agreement and slipped toward a weakly guarded section of the venue. Peter showed no mercy, taking down the men there with his arm-blades. Everyone objected strongly, but he ignored them and did it anyway.
Because even if those guys were not mutants or tech freaks, they were still thugs with blood on their hands. Anyone working under Kingpin was hardly likely to be innocent.
After dealing with the bodies, they changed into the men's clothes, put on waiter uniforms, tied bow ties, and started pushing a huge serving cart forward.
Inside the cart were Peni, still in her mech, and Porker. It was the best solution they could come up with if they wanted to smuggle the two of them into the crowd.
"We're very honored to have Mary Jane Parker with us tonight. We will all be praying for you together, and remember, you are not alone."
Kingpin's words pulled the older Spider-Man's attention away.
Before he knew it, he had already turned his head toward Mary Jane.
Luckily, Peter reacted fast and kicked him, snapping him back to his senses.
But then...
Mary Jane seemed to notice them.
Spider-Noir and Peter's dark suits were far too eye-catching. It was hard not to recognize them.
Thankfully, she had enough self-control to pretend nothing was wrong as she calmly walked over to them.
"What are you doing here?!"
Mary Jane looked at Peter, then at Spider-Noir beside him.
"We're here to deal with a little problem."
Carrying a tray in his hands, Spider-Noir answered lightly, then delivered the plates to a heavyset woman at Table Twelve. The woman was clearly taken by his air of mystery, stole several more glances at him, and boldly asked for his number.
Spider-Noir gave it to her without hesitation. Phone numbers in his era had a lot fewer digits than they did now, and on top of that, they were not even from the same universe. He had absolutely no reason to worry about that woman ever bothering him.
"Mary Jane... I'm sorry."
The older Spider-Man looked at Mary Jane with a complicated expression, and she turned to Peter instead.
"Your friend?"
Peter said nothing. He just shrugged and sighed, leaving some space for the two of them before taking Gwen with him and continuing forward.
"When you needed me, I wasn't there. I didn't even do everything I could have. I know I could've done better. If I ever get another chance, I swear I'll..."
"You're Peter Parker, aren't you?"
From just those few words, Mary Jane was already able to tell that the pot-bellied middle-aged Spider-Man in front of her really was Peter Parker. She did not press him. Instead, she simply smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Be careful. I believe... that version of me wouldn't mind."
"Hey, buddy, we need to move. Some fat old lady kept hitting on me just now. I almost broke out in goosebumps all over."
"If we get the chance, then maybe we'll meet again."
As much as he hated ruining the moment, the mission came first.
Spider-Noir grabbed the older Spider-Man and hurried after Peter and the others.
By then, Kingpin had already finished his speech and left the reception hall, taking his private elevator down to the Quantum Collider control room below.
"I think he knows we're coming, but left on purpose. Looks like they don't want to make a move in front of everyone."
Spider-Noir said quietly.
"Of course. Kingpin and his people all look like respectable, successful figures on the surface. How could they let the world see what they're really like?"
The older Spider-Man said that while his eyes drifted off to the side again without meaning to.
Tonight, she was wearing a black off-shoulder evening dress. Her long dark red hair fell over her shoulders, and her face still carried traces of grief. Her eyes were slightly swollen and red, which only made her more heartbreakingly beautiful. But she seemed to be in a better mood now than before, maybe because she had seen several different Peters.
No matter how many times Spider-Noir reminded him that she was not his Mary Jane, the older Spider-Man still could not help falling for that almost identical face.
What a hopeless simp.
"Don't forget the mission, man. Besides, the MJ in your universe isn't dead. If you've got something to say, go back and say it to her. Unlike me... I've already lost my MJ for good."
Spider-Noir quietly kicked him again.
The older Spider-Man took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and forced himself to clear away the distracting thoughts.
The group made it smoothly through the hall and reached the entrance to the private elevator.
Two bodyguards in suits were standing there, their waists bulging with hidden weapons, but the team dealt with them easily.
The elevator had already gone down, but that was not a problem for them.
This time, they went with the direct approach.
Spider-Noir stepped forward, grabbed the doors from both sides, and forced them open.
Then the group jumped straight down the elevator shaft.
At that moment, though, a strand of web shot out, and Peter doubled back. He extended his spider arm-blades, finished off the two unconscious guards, took their guns, and strapped them onto himself before jumping down again.
Meanwhile, outside the party, New York was trembling yet again, and panic was spreading through the streets.
These earthquakes were happening far too often.
Thankfully, New York was not sitting right on the coast. If an earthquake triggered a tsunami on top of all this, that would be an absolute nightmare.
Police officers struggling to keep traffic under control were telling everyone not to panic, but then dark shapes began dropping from the sky, biting people and fleeing right after.
The entire city descended into full-scale chaos.
And the people who had been bitten quickly started mutating and becoming infected. They still retained their thoughts, but it was as if their bodies had fallen under someone else's control. By instinct, they wanted to bite other people. Not for any reason they could understand, only to create more of their own kind, only to make sure the strange, unexplained disaster warning that had appeared in their minds would no longer threaten the city.
The screams across New York went on without end.
Tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful.
(End of Chapter)
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