The Peter of this world was teaching at Empire State University (ESU), which was pretty consistent with Gwen's perception of Peter. Aside from being a university professor and a scientist, Gwen wasn't sure what else Peter should be doing.
And Empire State University looked exactly the same as it had a few years ago when Gwen and Peter visited.
"If you didn't genuinely look like a teenager, I'd think my Gwen had been possessed by a Symbiote."
The older Peter, having changed his clothes, said this as he led Gwen into the university's internal hallway. Gwen, slightly curious, asked, "Wait... you don't have a Symbiote suit?"
"I sent my Symbiote suit back."
[That's suspicious.]
Venom's sudden interjection made Gwen freeze, then she countered, "Why do you say that?"
[No reason.]
No reason... was it no reason for Venom to leave Peter, or no reason for Peter to abandon Venom?
[And no such scientific technology.]
"I thought sending you back wouldn't be very difficult..."
[This universe doesn't have Tony Stark, nor does it have Reed Richards, unless you think Norman Osborn can do it.]
Gwen wanted to argue, but couldn't find a reason, so she sighed in frustration. The older Peter stopped at the door of an office. After knocking, he looked at the person who opened the door and said, "Gwen, you'll never guess who I met today."
Wait? Who is he calling?
Gwen looked at the person opposite the door in surprise. Dressed in a white lab coat, it was undoubtedly a future Gwen Stacy.
A few minutes later.
"I don't know much about parallel universes. I can only say, based on the information you've heard, we should analyze the problem as much as possible."
The older Peter said this while turning on his computer. Gwen wasn't particularly clear on the matter of the multiverse either. She only knew one thing: Peter had mentioned that different multiverses possess their own unique "vibrational frequency," which Reed Richards used for analysis and calculation.
As for Gwen, she honestly didn't understand science, so she stood aside with her older self. As they watched the older Peter busy himself, Gwen heard her older self ask, "So, how's your progress coming along?"
"Huh? What progress?"
"You and Peter." The older Gwen countered curiously, "What, you haven't made any progress at all?"
"We... we're not like that yet." Gwen stammered and shook her head. The older Gwen simply picked up her coffee, took a sip, and then asked, "So, have you thought about what you want your future boyfriend to be like?"
"No, why?"
"Maybe you can try to imagine what type of person you like in your heart."
Gwen looked at her older self, saying nothing. Both of them knew the answer, but Gwen didn't want to say it.
"Or, look at it the other way: think about where else you could find someone better than him if you let the chance slip away."
"We're only 15, we haven't even graduated high school. We have plenty of time."
Gwen mumbled defensively, shrugging her shoulders, not planning to continue the topic. The older Gwen didn't press further, merely standing beside her. After a good while longer, Gwen finally countered, "Don't you... don't you sometimes feel powerless?"
"Are you referring to how we don't have superpowers and can't help Peter?"
"Yeah."
"We have many ways to help Peter; it doesn't necessarily mean fighting side-by-side with him. Sometimes, the most important thing is simply letting him know that he has someone supporting him."
Gwen received an unexpected, yet not entirely surprising, answer. She watched her older self hand her a cup of coffee: "He might be more vulnerable than you think, perhaps not as resilient as you imagine. He hasn't experienced many failures yet, hasn't lost many people he couldn't save, but one day, he might. When a person is beaten down too many times, when he feels that nothing he does will have a good outcome, when someone who wants to help others is about to despair..."
"I'd tell him to give up."
The older Gwen looked at her younger self in surprise, but Gwen's expression was firm: "No one ever said this world absolutely has to have a Spider-Man, and no one said this has to be his burden to carry. If all this is going to break Peter, then I won't support him."
"What if the world gets destroyed because of it?"
"If the safety of the world has to rest on the shoulders of one person, that only means there's something wrong with this world."
There is something wrong with this world to begin with, Gwen added internally. This wasn't about the topic itself, but because during the previous conversation, her older self wasn't talking about the Peter Parker of her universe, but Gwen's own.
As for other aspects, well, Peter didn't seem to actively try to get closer to other girls anyway, so if something were to happen...
[Don't you know Cindy kissed him?]
"WHAT?!"
The sudden outburst made both the older Gwen and Peter look over. Gwen quickly recovered and tried to cover her mistake: "I just thought of something, sorry, please continue..."
Gwen walked quietly to one side and fiercely confronted Venom: "When was this?!"
[Late September? I hadn't even escaped from the lab yet.]
"He never told me!"
[He and Cindy are both pretty awkward now. They barely talk, though I suspect they didn't talk much to begin with. What are you going to do, talk to him? Or talk to Cindy?]
"I..."
What can I even talk about!
Gwen wasn't sure if she was angry or what she should even do. In the midst of the confusion, her head throbbed painfully from her Spider-Sense. She instinctively executed a roll, and immediately afterward, the lab's glass window shattered. The older Peter instantly took a combat stance.
But the person who burst in was not an enemy.
It was a girl who looked to be only fifteen or sixteen, wearing a black-limbed, white-torso web-patterned suit, with a red mask covering the lower half of her face.
Gwen was utterly stunned when she saw this suddenly appearing, familiar-but-not-too-familiar classmate.
"Cindy Moon?"
Cindy looked over, confused, seemingly wondering why Gwen was here.
As for Venom, who had been escalating the situation and enjoying the drama, he had only one thought at this moment.
[Oh boy, we're screwed.]
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