Chapter 172: Do You Know About the Spider Apocalypse?

"A Spider-Man who has mastered the power of the Sorcerer Supreme — after traveling through so many universes, you're the first one I've ever seen."

Spider-Man 2099 gazed at Peter, who was floating before him, having long since given up resisting.

At this moment, only four or five Spider-Men remained by his side.

Without exception, these Spider-Men were seasoned veterans with more than ten years of combat experience.

Through countless battles, they had integrated their spider sense into their very bodies, forming a unique combat technique that was "derived from spider sense yet surpassed it."

However, no matter how advanced their combat skills were, without external influences, Spider-Men were still only "street-level" superheroes.

Even if they stood at the pinnacle of street-level heroes, they remained bound by the limitations of the spider gene.

Of course, there were rare exceptions capable of breaking these shackles.

For example, the Animated Ultimate Spider from Earth-12041 possessed a bizarre ability to "break the fourth wall."

In the animation, this ability manifested as him suddenly speaking to the audience watching the show. Others were somewhat aware of this power, but none could resist it.

Upon close contact, Peter discovered that the Animated Ultimate Spider's ability was somewhat akin to "time stop."

He could temporarily pause the entire universe's time.

During this time, others could still think and feel but were completely unable to control their actions.

In the entire universe, only he and a select few like the Animated Ultimate Deadpool could move freely during the time stop.

To some extent, this ability touched upon the realm of universal laws.

However, this power could only be used in his own universe — Earth-12041 — and was ineffective in other universes.

This limitation significantly weakened his combat strength.

Naturally, the Animated Ultimate Spider was not present here.

Peter had previously visited the Animated Ultimate Universe once, where he recruited the Spider Slayer squad.

The Animated Ultimate Spider maintained a neutral stance in the conflict between the Multiversal Task Force and the Spider Society, helping neither side.

Looking down at Spider-Man 2099 and the remaining few Spider-Men, Peter snapped his fingers.

Several portals swept over them.

By the time Spider-Man 2099 realized what had happened, he found himself inside a floating palace.

The palace was distinctly Chinese in style, with carved beams and painted rafters, exuding elegance — Peter had directly replicated an entire Chinese garden here as a temporary holding place for the Spider Society's members.

The last captured Spider-Man 2099 and the other few Spider-Men were not restrained, merely transported here.

Upon arriving at a massive square within the palace, they noticed that several "people" were already seated.

Moreover, they were all familiar faces.

Venom Spider-Gwen from Earth-65B.

Pteranodon Norman and the Three-Headed Allosaurus from Earth-66.

Mechanical Doctor Octopus from Earth-2129 (a fabricated universe).

Scarlet Spider Kaine and three Clone Spider Slayers from Earth-12041 (Animated Ultimate Universe).

Electro from Earth-120703B (The Amazing Spider-Man Universe-2).

Paper Bag Vulture from Earth-TRN1032.

Excluding the Doctor Octopuses and Lizard Doctors, who usually only participated in research, these were all the combat forces of the Multiversal Task Force on the surface.

It's not exactly luxurious, but it should be sufficient to deal with some of Spider-Man's enemies.

Of course, anything beyond that doesn't count.

"Sit," Peter gestured with his hand. Without waiting for Spider-Man 2099 to respond, he took the main seat himself.

Spider-Man 2099 noticed that all the members of the Temporal Task Force were seated on one side, while the other side remained completely empty—clearly reserved for them.

Given the situation, he didn't overthink it and simply walked to a chair and sat down, looking at Peter.

Seeing this, the other Spider-Men followed suit, each finding a place to sit.

No one here was a fool. It was obvious that this mysterious leader of the Temporal Task Force hadn't captured or killed them outright but had instead created this current scenario, indicating that he didn't want to be completely hostile toward them.

As for his previous actions, they were merely a demonstration of his authority.

Now that the demonstration was over, it was time for him to state his demands.

Sure enough.

Once the Spider-Men from the Spider Society were seated, Peter began his "speech."

As Spider-Man 2099 and the others had suspected, Peter himself had no real hostility toward them.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be sitting here listening to him—they'd be lying on the ground as corpses.

He first sought to understand Spider-Man 2099's reasoning:

Why was the Spider Society so determined to preserve the "natural state" of every universe?

And what exactly were these so-called "Canon Events" that the Spider Society kept referring to?

How did Spider-Man 2099 determine which events were "canon" and which were not?

Could it be that the Spider Society also had a "loom"?

The Assassin Brotherhood used the Loom of Fate to dictate who should be assassinated to maintain world order.

Did the Spider Society have a "Web Loom" to dictate the actions of Spider-Men in order to maintain the multiverse's balance?

That would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?

Peter was quite puzzled by this idea. However, considering the mysterious nature of the Marvel Multiverse, he decided to proceed cautiously and ask his questions carefully.

After carefully choosing his words, he posed his question:

"Mr. O'Hara, I'd like to ask—what exactly is a 'Canon Event'? What is the basis for determining them? And on what grounds do you believe that interfering with a Canon Event would disrupt the balance of the universe, or even lead to the destruction of an entire reality?"

Upon hearing this, Gwen, Electro, and even several other members of the Spider Society all turned to look at Spider-Man 2099.

Gwen and Electro were simply curious. After all, the concept of fate and destiny was quite abstract.

Especially after hearing that something so vague could potentially destroy an entire universe, they were even more intrigued.

As for the Spider Society's members...

They had indeed heard Spider-Man 2099 mention these things when they first joined. But whenever someone tried to dig deeper, he would avoid the subject entirely, refusing to provide further details.

Now, he had no choice but to explain, right?

Under the gaze of more than twenty pairs of eyes, Spider-Man 2099 felt the pressure.

"I can tell you," he said cautiously, "but not here."

The matter was too significant. Even the Spider-Men he had brought with him weren't fully trustworthy.

At his insistence, Peter teleported the others away.

Only a few remained:

Peter, Gwen, Spider-Man 2099, and Superior Spider-Man.

Looking at the three in front of him, Spider-Man 2099 spoke solemnly:

"Do you know about the 'Spider-Verse Apocalypse'?"

(End of Chapter)

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