#79 - Spider-Man

"It certainly made quite a commotion," Peter said, shrugging. "It was like one of my hangovers. Oh, you know how white-collar workers need to socialize. What I mean is, even if I'm careful, Mary Jane can tell when I've thrown up from a hangover."

"Mine wasn't a hangover," Yang Le countered, shaking his head.

"It's a metaphor, understand?" Peter emphasized, waving his hands.

Ignoring the reliable adult male, Yang Le turned to Gwen.

"Since you saw it, Gwen, that means others must have seen it too."

"Of course. The commotion you made throwing up was a bit much," Gwen said, holding up her fingers to indicate a tiny amount.

"I reckon the whole of New York saw that fireworks display."

"I'm not talking about ordinary people," Yang Le waved his hand dismissively. "I mean other interdimensional travelers."

"Others? You mean there are others?" Gwen's eyes widened slightly.

"That's right." Yang Le glanced back at Peter. "Peter should have heard it too. The scientist next to Kingpin said there were a total of five parallel universes opened."

"I did hear that," Peter said, placing his hand on his chin and thinking for a moment. "So, besides Gwen, there are at least four more multiverse visitors, assuming there aren't others like Yang Le."

"Then, timing-wise, even if they hesitated, they should be arriving soon." Yang Le glanced at his battered watch, pretending to check the time.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, they heard a familiar whooshing and slapping sound—the sound of web-shooters firing and sticking to a target.

Looking towards the direction of the web-shooting, someone… or something… completely unexpected by Gwen and Peter came into view.

"Oink, oink, oink!" A small, red and blue figure used a web-line to arrive before the three of them.

It somersaulted three times in the air, finally stopping in mid-air with some gravity-defying airmanship, and then slowly descended by constantly flapping its tiny feet, allowing everyone to see it clearly.

A pig with human hands and feet standing upright? No, it was a person with a pig's head.

"Hello there," Spider-Ham extended his right hand, as if to shake hands with everyone.

"Uh, hello."

"Hello…"

Gwen and Peter looked somewhat at a loss.

Ignoring the two people who were flustered by the scene, Yang Le walked up to Spider-Ham, squatted down, and shook his hand.

"Hello, my name is Yang Le, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, Yang… Le?" Spider-Ham said uncertainly.

"If you find it awkward, you can call me Habby." Yang Le pointed to Gwen behind him.

"My girlfriend gave me that name."

"Alright, Mr. Yang Le, my name is Peter Porker, you can also call me Spider-Man." Spider-Ham shook Yang Le's hand vigorously, so fast that it left afterimages; he even tiptoed to fly up.

"Seriously, since I arrived here, you're the first person to shake my hand. Is my hand that unclean?"

"Maybe it's because I'm more open to accepting new things," Yang Le said, looking at his right hand. Even though it was moving so fast he could barely see it, he didn't feel anything unusual, as if it were a normal handshake.

"Compared to you, my two sidekicks are disappointing," Spider-Ham released Yang Le's hand, wiping away fist-sized tears that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Of course, I'm not saying anything bad about your girlfriend, it's just a bit heartbreaking for a pig."

"Uh, I'm sorry."

"Sorry, my fault."

Gwen and Peter apologized simultaneously. They didn't know why, but for a moment they felt especially guilty, and the apologies came out without thinking.

"Alright, Porker, please forgive me for calling you by your last name, but there's more than one Peter here," Yang Le patted Spider-Ham's head to comfort him. "Don't be sad anymore."

"That's true." Spider-Ham wiped away his tears with a flick, leaving corresponding watermarks on the ground.

"It's about time for the others to make their appearance."

"You know there are others?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know." Spider-Ham puffed out his chest proudly. "But usually when you mention the multiverse, it's definitely a big scene."

Peter looked around, and after seeing Spider-Ham, he was increasingly looking forward to the next person to appear.

Sure enough, the next person to appear didn't disappoint him. A red and blue robot climbed onto the rooftop.

"Sumimasen, I originally wanted to appear right after that Mr. Pig," the robot said, its voice surprisingly soft and cute—the kind that makes you imagine how adorable the speaker must be.

"But I saw you guys were chatting so enthusiastically, so I didn't want to interrupt you."

"A pig, a robot," Peter pointed at the two. "I won't be surprised no matter what appears next."

"I'm not a robot." As it said this, the robot's armor opened smoothly, revealing the cockpit inside. A black-haired loli in a school uniform, matching the voice, was sitting inside.

"That's more like what I imagined," Peter said after seeing Penny's true face.

"My name is Penny Parker, and this is my partner, who is also my best friend. We come from the year 3145." Penny patted the cockpit, and a heart-shaped icon appeared on the robot's panel.

"One, two, three, so there should be two more," Gwen said, counting on her fingers.

"The fourth one is here." A voice rang out from behind the group. Looking back, they only saw the door to the rooftop.

"I'm over here."

A black figure walked out of the shadows by the door, and everyone finally saw this unique individual.

His clothes were very retro, all black, no wonder no one saw him.

"Actually, I should have been the first one," the man adjusted his hat.

"But everyone's attention was drawn to that pig, no one saw me."

"Sorry." ×4

"Sigh~" The man sighed. "Forget it, my name is Peter Parker, like that old chap over there, and I'm from 1933."

"Future, past." Spider-Ham pointed at the two, then said dejectedly.

"Only I have nothing new."

"No, you should be the most shocking one," Peter retorted.

"So, there's one more?" Peter seemed very excited. "I can tell, everyone here has unique skills, and I can't wait to see the next Spider-Man."

Bang! The door to the rooftop burst open, and all the Spider-People reacted and prepared to hide, but they all stopped when they saw the red and blue suit. Although they didn't know why the person came up the stairs, it should be a Spider-Man.

"Huff… huff…" The person wasn't wearing a mask, revealing a stubble-covered, haggard face, and was panting heavily, leaning on their legs.

"Okay, okay." The person tried to catch their breath. "Hope I didn't miss anything, what the heck is all this!"

As soon as he raised his head, he was startled by the sight before him, and 1610 Peter was also shocked. Seeing a face that was almost identical to his, except for the hair color, he felt like he was seeing himself 10 years later. Would he become like this in 10 years?

"Looks like we need to reintroduce ourselves," Yang Le said helplessly.