Parallel World Spider-Man

Had anything like this happened before in the Ultimate Universe? Spider-Men from other universes crossing over?

Bi De took a glance at the Shadow Spider-Man standing beside him, lost in thought, and felt a twinge of confusion.

But he quickly snapped out of it and decided to share all the information he knew with Shadow Spider-Man.

At this moment, when life and death were on the line, sharing information was paramount.

Besides, Bi De believed that Spider-Man wouldn't crumble because of such a revelation. After all, the concept of parallel universes was already baked into the foundation of Marvel itself.

It was just that, in his universe, the idea of "parallel universes" had become a bit… peculiar.

As expected, Shadow Spider-Man listened in shock. "You're saying that, in your universe, there are movies and games about this world's Spider-Man… and others from different worlds?"

Bi De nodded.

"That's incredible. Then… what about me?" Shadow Spider-Man asked, his voice filled with anticipation.

"Uh…" Bi De scratched his head, trying hard to recall, then shook it. "There are tons of Spider-Man works in our world. I haven't seen all of them, so…"

"Got it." Shadow Spider-Man shrugged, a trace of disappointment in his expression. "I guess I'm not that famous, huh?"

"Hey, man, don't be like that. Let's focus on solving our immediate problem first, alright?" Bi De slung an arm around Shadow Spider-Man's shoulders, trying to comfort him.

He wasn't about to let the hope of returning home, which had finally appeared, slip away just like that.

Besides, for some inexplicable reason, Bi De felt a strange sense of familiarity with Shadow Spider-Man, as if this was how things were always meant to be.

"You're right," Shadow Spider-Man nodded. "Speaking of which, based on what you said, maybe we should try finding that kid named Miles?"

Bi De shook his head. "Miles would be tough to track down—his name's way too common. I was thinking, why not look for Aunt May instead?"

"Aunt May?"

"Yeah. Even though we're from different worlds, you're still Peter. You should know where Aunt May lives, right?" Bi De suggested.

Shadow Spider-Man hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "That's true, but the time period I'm from is so different from this one…"

"This is our only lead, isn't it?" Bi De shrugged.

"…Fair point." Shadow Spider-Man nodded in agreement.

And so, the two of them stopped standing around and began making their way down the street.

On a nearby screen, the news was still broadcasting the death of "Spider-Man" Peter Parker.

"My husband, Peter Parker…"

"He was just an ordinary man."

"He used to say anyone could be the person behind the mask."

"He was just lucky—or unlucky—enough to get bitten by a spider…"

Both Bi De and Shadow Spider-Man felt a heavy weight settle in their hearts.

Before long, they arrived in Queens, standing in front of a single-family home with a small yard. Despite being in a different world, some things about Peter Parker always stayed the same.

"If I'm not wrong, this should be the place," Shadow Spider-Man said.

Bi De scanned the surroundings and nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, this is it. Look, over there—fans even left tributes."

The yard's fence was adorned with gifts and bouquets of flowers, many with notes attached. The messages read things like, "To our beloved Spider-Man," "Our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man," and "Dear Peter Parker, you'll always be in our hearts."

"No doubt about it," Shadow Spider-Man said, his shoulders slumping again.

Their spirits sank even lower.

"You go ring the doorbell."

"No, you go. You're Peter."

"You're Peter too. You go."

"But I'm Bi De."

"Bi De, Peter—what's the difference?"

"In Long Xia, my surname is Bi. Your surname is Parker."

"Dude, with this level of nonsense, we're definitely the same kind of person!"

"Ugh! Fine!"

As they pushed and argued over who should press the doorbell, a sharp, twisting pain suddenly wracked both their bodies.

Bi De collapsed to the ground involuntarily, overwhelmed by the intense sensation. It felt like his entire body was undergoing plasmolysis—or like someone had smashed a brick onto his chest, only the brick had landed somewhere far more sensitive.

The agony came quickly but disappeared just as fast.

A few seconds later, both of them exhaled deeply and got back on their feet.

"What the hell was that?" Shadow Spider-Man asked, his voice still shaky.

Bi De thought for a moment before replying, "Since we ended up in this parallel world for some reason, I'm guessing we've just experienced a form of quantum collapse. Essentially, the quantum particles from our original universes are being rejected by the quantum state of this world."

"Stop!" Shadow Spider-Man raised a hand to cut off Bi De's rambling. "Just tell me what that means."

"It means we're gonna die," Bi De said firmly. "If we don't return to our own timelines within a certain period, the quantum particles from our worlds will get crushed by this world's quantum structure. Eventually, we'll completely collapse and vanish forever."

A shiver ran down Shadow Spider-Man's spine.

In an instant, he darted over to the doorbell and started ringing it repeatedly.

"Aunt May! Aunt May!"

"Who is it? It's late! We're not accepting fan visits right now!" A weary voice called from inside as lights flicked on.

The door opened to reveal an elderly woman holding a baseball bat. Under the warm glow of the porch light, her face looked drawn and haggard—it was no wonder, given the grief of losing a nephew she'd raised like a son.

"Uh…" Bi De glanced at Aunt May, then at Shadow Spider-Man. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and yanked off Shadow Spider-Man's hood.

"What are you doing?" Shadow Spider-Man asked, confused.

"You really want to leave her feeling like this? Besides, how else are we supposed to get inside?" Bi De explained.

"I see." Shadow Spider-Man understood immediately. He reached up and removed his mask.

Underneath was a face hardened by age and experience, with sharp, chiseled features. Compared to the Peter Parker shown on the news earlier, this Peter looked far more weathered.

But anyone with eyes could see the uncanny resemblance between the two.

Aunt May wasn't blind.

Clang!

The baseball bat slipped from her fingers and tumbled down the steps, but no one paid it any attention.

Aunt May trembled all over. "P-Peter?"

Shadow Spider-Man, clearly unused to smiling, forced a small one onto his face. "Hi, Aunt May. I'm Peter. But… I'm not the Peter from this world."

Aunt May stepped closer, her eyes scanning him carefully. "I know. You're Peter from another world."

"Wait, what?" The two Spider-Men exclaimed in unison.