Peter slowly turned around and saw a beautiful woman, the most beautiful thing in his life. But when he saw the woman's outfit and where she was sitting, he immediately knew who she was.
He just had one question on his mind.
'Because she is not old?'
"Who are you and where are we?" he asked while giving her a cold look and speaking in a hollow tone without a hint of emotion.
"You probably already know who I am, Peter, since you know more than you let on.
And I am a little offended that you called me old, but my question is how do you have so much information about me and who I am?
I thought about entering your head to find out, but surprisingly, I could not, not even with my powers.
So, I have a question for you: How do you know so much?"
She answered with an amused smile and an intrigued expression, waiting for his response.
"Grrr. I do not like having my mind read, so come out NOW, Cassandra," he demanded in an annoyed and cold tone.
The Cassandra who looked like Dakota Johnson wore the typical Madame Web outfit, only she did not wear a blindfold but the glasses that Julia would wear.
"Although I do not like revealing information without getting something in return, I will make an exception today. I know that dreams are glimpses into the lives of our counterparts, hence the peculiar ability of premonition."
When he said that, he could see how Cassandra's facial features changed slightly upon learning that he knew that. "Now I do not intend to give you any more information."
"I am sorry, but your first demand, because we are connected, will be impossible. And I am also surprised you know that," she said, still maintaining that smile.
"Grrr... Damn Web of Life and Destiny."
When he said that, he heard a small laugh, and he instantly turned his gaze to Cassandra. "What is so funny, Cassandra?"
"That you are insulting a variable of your responsibility."
When she said that, all the motor functions of his brain stopped working and the only thing he could hear was the sound of a scratched record.
"What?"
"Oops. I think I said too much," she said this in a teasing, amused tone.
"Cassandra, I demand answers! And I want you to stop hiding whatever it is you are hiding. I know we are in a different place, but I still feel like I am in my own mind, and I can feel that it is not just the two of us.... There are two others." He said this while looking into her eyes and then shifting his gaze to a specific person.
"Amazing. I did not think you had this level of understanding about your mind so quickly," she replied with a slight tone of amazement. "You can appear now."
Two figures appeared from beside her chair.
Once they were close enough, the shadows that concealed them dissipated, revealing a man in his twenties or thirties and, beside him, a girl who looked about fifteen or twenty.
When he saw them, he gave them a cold, deathly stare, only for the man to smile at him and the girl to shudder and look away.
"Who are they and what do they want, and you," he said while looking at Cassandra, "our conversation is not over."
"Hello. I am Peter Parker, also known as The Amazing Spider-Man, from the Prime Multiverse 616," the man said.
"The designation means my Multiverse is the central axis around which all others in my cluster orbit — the original template, so to speak, from which countless variants branched. And she is my daughter Mayday from a divergent universe within that same cluster."
He paused, then added with a note of honest amazement, "It is also remarkable to know that fact about dreams. Now I understand why I had so many déjà vus throughout my life."
"Hi. I am Mayday Parker, also known as Spider-Girl. Same from me," the girl said.
When he heard the first name, he felt like all the happiness in the universe was washing over him.
He had one of his idols right in front of him, but because he wanted to maintain a respectable image, he just nodded, keeping his annoyed expression on his face.
The only other thing he noticed was that Peter 616 did not resemble any of the actors who had played Spider-Man, or any of the male actors he could remember, not even in the slightest.
But he did recognize his daughter and was amazed to remember the actress Sophia Lillis, and now he saw the incredible resemblance between the two of them.
Having enough time, he also introduced himself.
"I am Peter Parker, also known as The Superior Spider-Man." When he said his anti-hero name, he saw Peter 616 shudder, implying that what happened with Otto had already occurred.
"And what is this about the Prime Multiverse 616?"
"I will take care of explaining that to you," Cassandra said. "Peter 616 only came to meet the new Totem that will protect the Multiverse."
"Wow, wow, wow. Since when did I say I would be the new Totem?"
Oh, he is taking it better than I thought, Peter-616 thought to himself, watching this younger, harder version of himself process everything with an expression that managed to be simultaneously blank and thunderous.
I expected a full tantrum. Not that I would blame him — I would have done the same if I had found out about all of this this early in my career. Poor guy has barely had time to get used to his powers and now the entire weight of a Multiverse is being dropped in his lap. I hope he can handle what the world is about to throw at him.
Unbeknownst to Peter-616, Cassandra had read his thoughts and was suppressing an amused smile. She looked at the younger Peter with an expression that was equal parts sympathy and certainty.
Oh, Peter-616. What a surprise you will have when you find out everything about him. I wonder how you will react to May's new relationship, she thought privately.
Mayday, standing close enough to her father to hear his whispered thought, nodded in quiet agreement with him.
"Listen, Peter," Cassandra said in a serious tone, making all three of them look at her.
He just kept looking away, avoiding eye contact.
"You will not be the Totem of the Web of Life and Destiny. That rightfully belongs to Peter 616.
A very long time ago, another Multiverse was created, along with a new Totem, but unfortunately, no one was able to bear that responsibility because it somehow corrupted them.
Because of this, the Totem, along with the Multiverse, was isolated from the universes and dimensions, just like Earth-Z."
When he heard that, he could not help but feel a chill. "And that is why Peter 616 suffers so much. It is because there is no balance in the Multiverse. He is practically bearing the burden of two Multiverses."
'Oh.... If the 'Other' was here, he would have been corrupted by the Multiverse and this place would have the twisted version of the Batman Who Laughs. Only this one would be a Spider-Man Who Laughs,' he thought not yet realizing the fact that his mind is still being read, feeling a little worried and at the same time relieved not to have that other Peter here.
While all three of them were listening to that, they all opened their eyes when they learned that little new detail.
Peter 616 had never been known this before.
"That is why your villains," Cassandra said while looking at Peter 616, "never stop being villains, or why Stark is such a jerk along with Reed, Summers, or Pym, or why Earth is attacked by a galactic entity with delusions of grandeur every Tuesday, or why there is a war with robots on Thursdays, or even a death match with the Sinister Six on Sundays.
It is because there is no balance in the Multiverse, and those people do not have the opportunity to change because they lack emotional balance. If we were to assign a percentage to mental, physical, and spiritual change for the better in your villains or some heroes, it would be 30%.
But because of your luck, Parker, it is 15%, which is also due to that imbalance. That is why your luck always seems to favor the bad side of things."
Peter 616 felt as if Galactus had punched him right in the face, only to then be punched again by the Beyonder.
All the years he had spent trying to change people had been for nothing. He felt as if a large part of his life had been wasted with this small fact.
And when you added this small percentage to the recent accident, it only made him lose all faith in his companions, because they would not believe his story about changing his mind.
"Now, about the Prime Universe, it is that you live in a different Multiverse than he does," Cassandra said while pointing at the depressed and devastated Peter being comforted by his daughter.
"You live in and belong to this universe, to the Prime Multiverse 19616. But the only thing you share is that your Multiverses are connected, that is, if you decide to accept being the Totem. Otherwise, we will have to wait for another, more acceptable Totem to appear, which would not be easy. It is easier to make a Spider-Man have a harem than to find an acceptable Totem."
When she said Peter could have a harem, Mayday momentarily stopped comforting her father to glare at Cassandra. It seemed she would not like the idea of her father having a harem.
After a brief explanation about being the new Totem, he closed his eyes and started thinking about what to do.