Chapter 48: Awakening! Special Ability
The moment Peter entered the particle stream, he felt an overwhelming stillness.
The surrounding particles continued to leap wildly in chaotic frenzy, with countless random objects flashing in and out of existence in an instant.
This phenomenon occurred because the worlds were interconnected, causing them to traverse between different parallel universes. However, Peter was only present in one universe, allowing him to observe these occurrences only occasionally.
But this situation wouldn't last long.
Soon, the parallel universes would collide due to their proximity. Much like celestial bodies with rigid tidal limits, two parallel universes coming too close would attract and destabilize each other, eventually disintegrating into their most primal quantum forms, fading into nothingness.
Peter first focused on sensing his own condition.
According to Penny, when someone entered the particle stream, the system's overload program would read their unique quantum information, opening a quantum pathway that corresponded to their origin universe.
Thus, by simply following the sensation within the particle stream, one could retrace their steps and return to their own world.
However, as Peter tried to sense this, he realized—there was nothing.
He had no path home!
As expected.
Peter wasn't surprised. He had already come to terms with the fact that his traversal into this dimension was fundamentally different from Gwen and the others'.
This realization merely confirmed his suspicions.
Next, he experimented with moving his body and quickly discovered that he could swim through the particle stream!
"Could this be my special ability?"
It wasn't unusual for certain Spider-People to possess unique abilities.
For instance, Miles could turn invisible and generate bio-electric shocks (referred to as Venom Strike in the game); Penny operated a mech; Spider-Noir had heightened stealth; and Spider-Gwen, while having reduced strength, was significantly faster.
These differences were things Peter had learned about over the past few days.
However, Peter found it strange that, like older Peter Parker, his spider genes seemed "traditional," offering only basic enhancements with no unique abilities.
After numerous failed attempts to discover any special traits, Peter had reluctantly accepted this reality.
Though he lacked quirky abilities, simply having spider genes was already a blessing from fate.
One must learn to appreciate and be content with what they have.
Yet now, he felt like he'd uncovered his unique ability!
Particles?
No—quantum!
He recalled the inexplicable euphoria his body experienced when he first entered the raging particle stream.
At the time, he hadn't given it much thought.
But now, he realized it was because his body's cells were absorbing quantum energy from the particle stream!
The excessive energy intake had exceeded his cells' capacity, causing his body to unconsciously release the surplus, amplifying his physical abilities across the board.
Peter began testing his control, attempting to stop his body from absorbing energy from the particle stream.
It was challenging at first, but he quickly gained mastery.
Now, he could effortlessly activate or deactivate the quantum "switch" within his body.
When activated, the quantum energy would continuously be consumed. Peter could choose to apply temporary enhancements either across all his abilities or focus on amplifying specific aspects.
When deactivated, he would return to his normal state.
This realization hit him—this was undoubtedly his unique ability!
Spider-Man's special abilities were essentially "passive skills," innate powers hidden within the body. Once discovered, they could be quickly mastered and utilized.
It was clear this ability held untapped potential, but Peter had more pressing matters at the moment.
"Gwen!"
Since returning to his own world wasn't an option, his next move was clear—he'd head to Gwen's universe!
His aspirations weren't grand; if he could become a spider couple with Gwen and spend the rest of his life with her, that would be enough.
In the particle stream, there was no need to worry about energy depletion. Peter pushed his quantum energy to its maximum, fully enhancing his spider sense.
A hundred meters… two hundred meters… four hundred meters… His spider sense extended rapidly outward.
One by one, images of parallel universes appeared in his mind:
A muscular Spider-Man in the iconic red-and-blue suit—the Tobey Spider-Man. A leaner figure in the sleek Amazing Spider-Man suit—the Andrew Spider-Man. The Six-Armed Spider-Man with additional limbs. And even the grotesque Spider-Monster, with eyes and spiky hairs covering its head.
The particle collider's effects on the parallel universes were intensifying!
However, since earlier, the images of these parallel universes had started disappearing, signaling that Miles had successfully shut down the particle collider.
Peter seemed to be at a convergence point of many parallel universes.
"Why haven't I found Gwen's universe?"
As he felt the images of parallel universes vanish from his senses one after another, Peter was both relieved and increasingly anxious.
Then—
"Found it!"
Peter's eyes snapped open, shining with joy.
A familiar figure stood on a dark skyscraper, gazing into the distance.
It was Gwen!
Peter channeled quantum energy into his hands and legs, propelling himself swiftly toward her.
Buzz—
However, before he could even make it halfway, his spider sense abruptly cut off!
"Damn it!" Peter cursed angrily.
The feeling of being just one step away from success was infuriating!
But there was no time to dwell on his frustration.
He was left with only one option: find a quantum portal and jump through!
If all the open quantum pathways closed, he would be trapped in the void between parallel universes forever.
Unless someone reopened the quantum pathways in the future, he would be stuck here for the rest of his life.
Peter pushed his spider sense to its maximum again.
This time, Peter didn't waste his effort on distant quantum portals.
Instead, he focused on the three closest ones.
Each of these portals was within reach, and he was confident he could leap through any of them in an instant.
But which one should he choose?
The first portal seemed to lead to… a LEGO universe?
Peter imagined what it would look like for a real person like him to appear in a LEGO world and felt a wave of dizziness.
No, absolutely not.
The second portal appeared to lead to a prehistoric era.
Wait, was that a T-Rex wearing a Spider-Man suit?
And why was it carrying Pinru's wardrobe?
Peter immediately crossed this option off the list.
Spending time in that world might turn him into a caveman. Was he supposed to become humanity's ancestor in that universe?
The third portal… A live-action universe!
That's the one!
Without a second thought, Peter dashed forward and dove into the portal.
---
Meanwhile
In a live-action universe...
Inside a building, a strange, tunnel-like device that resembled an enlarged version of a certain blue robot cat's shrinking and enlarging gadgets emitted an unusual glow.
Outside the tunnel, in a room nearby, a fierce battle was taking place among three individuals—two in red and one in white.
On one side, a woman dressed entirely in white was fighting, her body flickering intermittently as though her form was unstable. It seemed like she might vanish from existence at any moment.
On the other side, two people fought using bizarre abilities, alternately growing larger and shrinking smaller. Their movements looked equally peculiar.
As the three fought relentlessly, the tunnel suddenly erupted with a dazzling light.
A figure abruptly emerged from it.
"Dad?" one of the women called out as all three combatants turned to look at the newcomer.
"Huh?"
(To be continued...)
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