Chapter 7: Peni and Spider-Ham
Peter, Shadow Spider, and the recently awakened Aunt May all stared in astonishment at the young girl and her spider mech.
After hearing her introduction, they confirmed her identity.
Clearly, she was yet another Spider-Man or rather, Spider-Girl from a parallel universe.
And this one piloted a mech as her suit!
Aunt May's eyes curved into two crescent moons of delight.
She rose from the sofa, walked over to Peni Parker, patted her on the head, and took her small hand. "Peni, right? Come, sit down first. Let's take our time."
Obediently, Peni followed Aunt May to the sofa. After glancing at Peter and Shadow Spider, she was about to explain her story.
But just then, a loud clang came from the kitchen.
Shadow Spider's expression changed as he swiftly darted to the kitchen door.
Peter, slightly slower, arrived on the opposite side shortly after.
Peni and her spider mech stood ready, prepared for anything.
Peter and Shadow Spider peered cautiously into the kitchen from opposite sides.
The sight that greeted them left both of them dumbfounded.
The refrigerator door was wide open.
On the counter stood a half-human-height pig dressed in a red-and-blue Spider-Man suit. Its mask was pulled off, revealing a plump, pink pig's face.
The pig was holding a milk bottle in both hands, drinking noisily.
"Uh... is that a pig?" Shadow Spider asked, bewildered.
"Seems like it," Peter replied, equally stunned. "But one thing's for sure—he's one of 'us,' right?"
This wasn't hard to deduce; the Spider-Man suit said it all.
Why was there a Spider-Ham? Who knew? That was just how parallel universes worked.
"Hey, you two! I can hear you, you know!" the pig suddenly shouted after putting down the milk. "What do you mean, 'Is that a pig?' What kind of tone is that? What's wrong with being a pig? Did pigs eat your rice or something?"
With a leap, Spider-Ham landed right in front of Shadow Spider, clinging to the doorframe with all four limbs. His snout bumped against Shadow Spider's nose in a face-to-face confrontation.
Peter's mind tensed. He had noticed that Spider-Ham's speed was faster than both his and Shadow Spider's!
"Sorry, sorry," Shadow Spider raised his hands in surrender. "I was just surprised by your unique appearance. No offense intended."
"Wow! Such a cute little piggy!" Peni's head popped up between Peter and Shadow Spider as she tilted her face up to look at Spider-Ham. "Hi, little piggy! I'm Peni Parker, and this is my amazing partner, SP//dr. Nice to meet you!"
Spider-Ham looked down at Peni and chuckled. "Hello, Peni. I'm Peter Parker."
Seeing this, Peter and Shadow Spider introduced themselves briefly as well.
The tension in the room dissolved.
The group returned to the sofa, sitting down to share introductions.
Shadow Spider, whose full name was Peter Benjamin Parker, revealed that he hailed from the year 1939, just after the Great Depression.
In his world, the guiding principle wasn't "With great power comes great responsibility" but rather, "If those in power cannot be trusted, it is the people's responsibility to overthrow them."
Uncle Ben had been murdered by Osborn due to his involvement in organizing a workers' strike.
Fueled by anger, Shadow Spider was recruited as a journalist by The Daily Bugle's Urich, who sought to exploit his fury.
During an investigation into Osborn's smuggling operations, Shadow Spider was accidentally bitten by a spider from an artifact. While unconscious, he encountered the Spider-God Anansi and subsequently gained his spider abilities.
By chance, he discovered a shady alliance between Urich and Osborn. Disillusioned, he resigned from The Daily Bugle and became a private investigator, dedicating himself to fighting against greedy capitalists and corrupt officials.
Having gained his spider powers in 1933, Shadow Spider had been battling for six years, making him an experienced and seasoned Spider-Warrior.
Peni Parker, nicknamed the "Spider-Mech Girl," was 14 years old.
Her spider mech, SP//dr, was inherited from her late father. In her world, Uncle Ben and Aunt May were scientists who had worked alongside her father, providing both technical support and combat aid.
Peter found Peni's story particularly intriguing because her world sounded like something out of Evangelion! According to her, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley were her classmates.
Peter couldn't help but wonder: were they those Rei and Asuka he was thinking of?
As for Spider-Ham, Peter Porker, he hailed from a universe populated by anthropomorphic animals.
Peter vaguely remembered glimpses of this universe but couldn't recall much, even with his enhanced memory.
Originally, Spider-Ham had been a humanoid spider, until he was bitten by his world's Aunt May—a pig.
Apparently, Aunt May Pig had been developing an atomic-powered hairdryer to dominate the hairstyling industry. A radiation leak drove her into a frenzy, during which she bit poor Peter.
After turning into a pig, Spider-Ham retained some of his original spider abilities, albeit with a pig's four limbs instead of his previous eight.
Peter also gave a brief account of his situation.
Compared to the others, his story was far less impressive.
After all, he had barely been bitten by the spider before being thrown into this multiversal chaos. He was a complete newbie, even requiring guidance from Shadow Spider to unlock his abilities.
"So, you don't even have your own suit?" Spider-Ham asked.
Peter nodded. "Yeah, not even web shooters. By the way, how do you guys produce your webbing?"
Shadow Spider replied, "After I gained my powers, I dreamt of Anansi. When I woke up, I discovered I could produce webs naturally."
Spider-Ham said, "It's innate for me."
Peni patted her spider mech. "I can't produce webs, but SP//dr can."
SP//dr: ^_^
Peter thought to himself, I shouldn't have asked. None of them are remotely normal!
He recalled the five Spider-Men he'd seen before:
Tobey-Spidey, like Shadow Spider, could produce webs naturally.
Andrew-Spidey relied on his intelligence.
Holland-Spidey had Stark's tech (and, well, a rich benefactor).
The '94 cartoon Spidey created his webs himself because he was a genius.
And Superior Spider-Man used nanotech he'd "borrowed" from Doctor Doom.
I'm clearly not the natural web-producing type, Peter concluded. Looks like I'll have to figure this out myself.
But Peter felt a headache coming on. He wasn't a genius like Andrew-Spidey or '94 Spidey. How was he supposed to figure out how to synthesize web fluid?
Noticing his distress, Aunt May clapped her hands lightly to get everyone's attention.
"Perhaps I can help with that," she said.
Peter turned to her, intrigued. "Aunt May?"
Could this world's Aunt May also be a scientist?
Standing up, Aunt May smiled warmly at the room full of spider-heroes and said, "Children, follow me."
(To be continued)
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