"No. You're not qualified to say that. You don't call the shots here." Peter Parker could hardly believe he had just said that, but at this moment, he had to take a stand. "But I can."
"I was brought here because I have the most experience dealing with the Inheritors."
But Ultimate Spider-Man didn't care about any of that.
With a swift motion, Ultimate Spider-Man pulled off his mask, revealing a face identical to Peter Parker's.
However, it was obvious that the two of them were fundamentally different.
Peter Parker's messy hair stood in stark contrast to Ultimate Spider-Man's perfectly styled look.
It was like night and day.
"Bullshit. I've been studying them for weeks. And besides, I am you—just from a slightly later point in our timeline. Theoretically, I've been through everything you have, plus more."
"Between the two of us, I am the Ultimate Spider-Man." Ultimate Spider-Man smiled confidently, certain that he was at least as good as this naive kid—if not better. He was the strongest Spider-Man in the world.
On the other side, Batman merely watched silently as the two Spiders clashed.
This kind of thing was all too familiar to him.
He could predict exactly how this would unfold, down to the smallest detail.
"They're about to fight," Bruce stated. His words made Gwen and Jessica pause for a moment.
Sure, Ultimate Spider-Man hadn't been speaking in the most polite tone, but would that really lead to a fight?
Gwen and Jessica both knew Peter Parker's personality—he wasn't someone who got into conflicts so easily.
But Jessica didn't know Peter as well as Gwen did.
Even Gwen found it a bit hard to believe, but judging by Ultimate Spider-Man's attitude, she was tempted to punch him.
And considering the Bat standing beside her had yet to be wrong about such things, she and Jessica exchanged glances and decided to stay quiet, watching as tension rose between the two Spiders.
"And I've seen your so-called 'leadership'! If that even counts as leadership," Ultimate Spider-Man shouted at Peter Parker without holding back. "Without you, my team did better."
"We were fighting the Inheritors on our own! Until you interfered—and got my best warrior killed!" Ultimate Spider-Man seemed to calm down slightly, but his expression remained cold as he stared at Peter. "Why should you lead us? Prove it to me! Show me your best!"
Peter Parker didn't even wait for him to finish speaking. His fist had already smashed into Ultimate Spider-Man's face, fueled by pure frustration.
At this point, Peter didn't care about the consequences. Shutting up that damn mouth was so worth it.
Ultimate Spider-Man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and the four mechanical spider-legs on his back extended once again.
"Alright. If this is how you want to settle things, then let's do it!" He had no problem resolving their dispute this way.
And, of course, the other Spiders watching couldn't resist stirring the pot.
"Fight!" On one Earth, Flash Thompson had taken up the mantle of Spider-Man, and right now, he was the one most eager to see the two Peters brawl.
A Spider in the crowd cheered, "Kick his ass, Peter!"
But another Spider quickly pointed out the flaw in that statement.
"Which one? They're both Peter. Hell, most of us are Peter."
Meanwhile, Punk Spider-Man leaned toward another Spider, smirking.
"Ten pounds says the classic red-and-blue wins."
"I'll take red-and-blue too," Punk Spider-Man replied, clearly unwilling to bet on Ultimate Spider-Man.
Even though Punk Spider-Man had initially called Ultimate Spider-Man "boss," that didn't mean he actually liked taking orders from this arrogant prick.
Mayday Parker had seen enough of this nonsense. Standing beside Cosmic Captain Spider-Man, she muttered, "We're wasting time we could be using to track Daemos and the Inheritors. You have the power of a god—end this fight."
Cosmic Captain Spider-Man turned his gaze toward the battling Peter Parkers.
"Sorry, Mayday. I can't take sides. This conflict needs to resolve itself."
Hearing this, Mayday knew she had no choice but to wait and watch as they fought their pointless battle.
"You can't win! You never go for the kill!" Ultimate Spider-Man roared, the spider-legs on his back firing a surge of electricity at Peter.
Peter effortlessly dodged the attack and fired back with words of his own.
"And I never will!"
"I will never be that ruthless!"
"You will! When you become me!" Ultimate Spider-Man's furious shout made Peter realize why this version of himself kept insisting that he was the younger one.
Because the man controlling Peter Parker's body—Doctor Octopus—could never imagine a world where he failed. His arrogance wouldn't allow it.
Understanding this, Peter raised both hands in surrender.
"Alright, show me your ultimate move. Kill me."
Ultimate Spider-Man's razor-sharp spider-legs halted just as they were about to pierce Peter's body.
Staring at him in disbelief, Ultimate Spider-Man muttered, "What? But you're a past version of me… I can't—"
His hesitation gave Peter the opening he needed. He kicked Ultimate Spider-Man square in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Looking down at his fallen opponent, Peter Parker declared,
"We already know the Inheritors can't be killed. Killing has never been the answer. We need a better plan—and that's why I'm the one leading."
"No."
Bruce suddenly spoke.
Peter turned to face him.
He respected this Bat.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"They can be killed." Bruce stepped forward into the group of Spiders.
No one noticed that as he approached, Cosmic Captain Spider-Man instinctively took a step back.
He could feel the aura of fear radiating from Bruce.
For a moment, he wanted to ask where Bruce had come from, but after glancing at Peter, he chose to stay silent.
As long as this Bat was on their side, that was all that mattered.
"But they come back instantly, don't they?" Peter asked, frowning.
"They use cloning technology. Their consciousness is backed up, and the moment their body dies, their mind is transferred into a newly grown clone, effectively reviving them instantly."
To Bruce, this kind of scenario was all too familiar—after all, the infamous Alfred Protocol wouldn't exist otherwise.
"And haven't you dealt with clones before?" Bruce pointed directly at Peter, reminding him that his own world had plenty of experience with clones.
"The best expert on clones already went ahead. Don't you trust them?" Bruce locked eyes with Peter.
Peter was kind—deeply so. And that meant he was willing to put his faith in others.
Especially when most of them were different versions of himself.
Hell, 60% of the people here were named Peter Parker.
Peter fell silent.
He knew Bruce was right.
He had to trust the clone team that had gone to the Inheritors' world.
(End of Chapter)
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