As Peter moved through the Multiversal Tunnel, he kept cursing the One Above All for sending him to another universe without asking or warning him beforehand.
The good thing was that, before entering, he had sent a recording of what had happened to the cave's computer in case Cortana wanted to know where he was.
Damn, what kind of place are you sending me to, old man?
Trying to figure out which dimension the One Above All was sending him to was difficult.
The One Above All was someone unpredictable, making him difficult to deal with or understand because his actions followed no pattern, leaving no way to decipher his motives or thought process.
A few meters away, the other end of the tunnel opened, revealing a clear image of a light gray floor.
Adjusting his position, he pointed his feet toward the exit instead of his head and prepared for the fall.
Once he dropped through, he landed in a superhero pose to absorb the impact, and without lifting his head, he heard the portal close behind him.
Just as he was about to sigh, his spider-sense went off with the intensity of a rock concert, warning him that significant danger was nearby.
Turning his head toward the source, he found an exorbitant number of women in the room. It did not take him long to identify who they were.
Leaning forward slightly like a predator, he prepared himself.
In an instant, he felt his mental barriers being tested, so he projected a disturbing enough mental image to make the intruder withdraw voluntarily, which, judging by the shocked expressions on both Jean Grey's and Emma Frost's faces, had worked.
"Octavius!" the women said.
Upon hearing how they addressed him, he simply sighed, silently cursing his decision to wear this suit, a variation of his upper suit but designed more like a soldier's uniform.
The women, ready to attack, stopped when they saw two children who had been hiding slowly approach the arachnid.
"Children, come back. It is dangerous!" Susan said in a worried tone.
"Uncle..?" Franklin said.
"..Peter 2?" Valeria said.
Upon hearing what they called him, Peter immediately understood why, which brought a small smile to his face.
The women watched in bewilderment as the two children approached the masked man without fear.
"Link. Val."
Leaving his defensive stance, he straightened up and slightly bowed his head in greeting, now fully aware of which dimension he had been sent to.
"Uncle Peter 2!" Franklin and Valeria said with bright smiles as they ran over and jumped into his arms.
"Brats," he said, hugging the children.
The moment he held them, his spider-sense informed him that there were two more spider-powered individuals nearby.
The women wore expressions of complete bewilderment at what they had just witnessed.
More than one maintained her guard in case something happened. Just as the children's mother was about to speak, the children beat her to it.
"What are you doing here?" Valeria asked.
"Is something wrong that you are here?" Franklin added.
As he was about to answer, he noticed the decorations around the room and immediately understood why the One Above All had sent him to this dimension. He sighed inwardly and shook his head.
"He is responsible for that," he said while pointing upward, prompting the children to follow his gesture.
"You came for our birthday! And we did!" Franklin exclaimed in excitement and disbelief, his sister sharing the same expression.
"Yes. It was thanks to my—"
"Who?"
Turning around, he saw Peter 616.
He noticed that, unlike the last time they had met, his posture was much more relaxed, and the aura he gave off was calmer and happier, as though every day had become the best day of his life.
It was nothing like the sadness and pessimism he had displayed at the bar. Yet despite all that change, there was still a trace of focused anger directed at him, which surprised him.
"Yo?"
"You son of a bitch, you are still alive!" Peter 616 said cheerfully as he walked toward him with his hand extended.
Without hesitation, Peter turned slightly and punched Peter 616 squarely on the chin.
"That is for making me tell terrible jokes at critical moments," he said, watching Peter 616 rub his chin.
"I am the one who should be hitting someone here, not you, little wretch, because you did not tell me anything before you left. A letter does not solve everything," Peter 616 said in an annoyed tone.
"Be grateful I gave you the papers."
The two stared at each other for a few moments before sighing in mutual annoyance.
"What are you doing here?"
"The One Above All works in mysterious ways."
He nodded toward the decorations to explain why he had come, prompting Peter 616 to shake his head.
"Get used to it. He is hard to understand."
"Peter?" Susan said, making Peter 616 turn to look at her.
"Yes, Sue?" he replied with a broad smile.
"Who is he?" she asked, realizing the man before her was not the villain who had taken over her boyfriend's body.
"Right, you do not know him. I never told you about him, and the kids did not give you much information. Girls, allow me to introduce my alternate self from another Multiverse, the person who helped me."
Their minds practically exploded when he revealed that Peter had come from another Multiverse.
"Did you mean another dimension?" Emma asked.
"No. He came from another Multiverse."
"What?" Jean said.
"My arrival here was the work of someone unimaginably powerful: the One Above All, the creator of everything, or as I call him, Father. Peter 616 and I are in contact with him because we Spider-Men are his favorites."
He delivered that information like a friendly punch to the gut.
"And do not ask any more questions. Neither Peter nor I are allowed to reveal anything further."
It was a small white lie to prevent even more questions.
"By the way, are you still going to dress like that? At least take off your mask," Peter 616 said.
"I do not like taking off my mask and letting everyone know who I am, but we are not in my dimension, so I am not at as much risk here."
He removed the mask with a growl.
He growls like Logan! the women thought simultaneously.
"Well, if you were like my work husband, plenty of people would already know your identity. Spider-People are never good at keeping it secret. I do not know why they even bother wearing masks if they reveal their faces every other week," Jessica Drew said with a deadpan expression, while her so-called husband laughed awkwardly.
"Just because I am Peter Parker does not mean I make the same mistakes, Miss Drew."
He surprised her by revealing his name.
"In my dimension, only the people I trust know my face, and only a handful know the face of one of my alter egos. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. in my dimension has been unable to discover my identity."
"Hey!" Peter 616 protested.
"What?" Jessica Drew asked in astonishment. "How?"
She genuinely wanted to know because, unlike her husband, she had managed to keep her identity reasonably hidden for a while, though it had not taken S.H.I.E.L.D. long to uncover it.
"I am cautious and paranoid. Two dangerous qualities, and two that have saved my life. And to answer your question, no, I will not stay in this suit for long."
He turned around and walked toward a hallway.
"I am going to the bathroom. I know where it is."
"Take a shower. You stink," Peter 616 called out before immediately covering his mouth as the girls glared at him.
"Blame Mockingbird for wanting company," Peter replied without breaking stride, unconcerned about the children overhearing.
They lived in a world where their lives were in danger every Tuesday and Thursday. Learning about adult matters was the least of his concerns.
"What?" Peter 616 said, now genuinely surprised to learn that Peter had spent time with the alternate version of a woman from his own complicated past.
"By the way, I am not against the incest complex."
Turning his head, he looked back over his shoulder at Teresa Parker, who immediately tensed when she heard his words.
"The Multiverse is immense, with infinite possibilities. You are neither the first nor will you be the last."
He disappeared down the corridor without noticing the faint blush spreading across both Peter 616's and his sister's faces as they realized how effortlessly Peter had deduced their not-so-secret relationship with nothing more than a glance.
"Wow, it did not take him long to figure that out," Jessica Drew said in a playful tone.
Both Peter 616 and Teresa blushed even more and wisely chose to remain silent, knowing that saying anything would only make the situation worse.