"This is the headquarters of the Spider-Society. Some people call it Spider-Island, or the Spider-City, though I don't think it's quite that grand yet."
Technology from the year 2099 formed the foundation of the base. It was thanks to this futuristic tech that the headquarters could be constructed so rapidly and expanded at such a high speed.
"In theory, every Spider-Man here has their own room. We regularly set out to explore other universes to expand our scale as much as possible—naturally, we only recruit those who act as heroes."
"Are there Spider-Men who aren't superheroes?" Kitty asked with a hint of curiosity. In her mind, every Spider-Man across all universes should be a hero, but Peter gave a different answer.
"In an infinite multiverse, anything is possible. In fact, the evil Spider-Totems banded together much earlier than we did."
"Just like the Citadel of Ricks... oh, sorry." Realizing that Rick and Morty hadn't premiered yet, Kitty scratched her head. When the Professor used Earth-811 Kitty's power to establish a mental link with her, he also synchronized their memories, which included several spoilers about the future.
In truth, when Nimrod destroyed everything on Earth-811, it wasn't the year 2013. Consequently, she had received many spoilers regarding daily life—such as Rick and Morty, which wasn't set to air until December of this year.
She didn't actually like watching it, but she knew Peter loved it. Well, to be precise, that was a matter concerning the Peter and Kitty of Earth-811. However, as a possible future of Earth-616, perhaps their personalities were largely the same?
Actually, Peter knew about Rick and Morty too; he had seen it many times. But in this mid-2013 world where the show hadn't started, he didn't say anything and simply continued his introduction.
"Our current rate of expansion is still relatively slow because most Spider-Men are busy with their own universes and can only find time to investigate others. We also can't guarantee that every universe we explore will have a Spider-Man who is a good person."
The biggest problem the Spider-Society faced was that they lacked the means to swiftly deal with evil Spider-Totems. The mechanics of the Web of Life and Destiny were still unclear, and they often hesitated to act rashly.
Furthermore, many Spider-Men had their own lives, making it difficult to efficiently explore the entire multiverse. Although the Society had been established, its scale remained modest.
Fortunately, time was still on their side, and no one was in a rush. As long as Peter didn't sense the power of Morlun or the other Inheritors, it didn't really matter.
The two of them arrived at the central hub of the base. There, Peter showed Kitty the frequency bands of all currently known parallel universes and a constructed map of the multiverse.
"We are here," Peter pointed out for Kitty. "Earth-616, right here."
"Our world looks no different from anyone else's." Kitty looked at the blue planet; it was indistinguishable from all the other blue planets.
"Strictly speaking, we aren't special to begin with. We're just one of many in an endless multiverse. Within infinite possibilities, we hold no special status. Perhaps as our time flows, new universes based on ours will appear one after another."
Peter pulled the image of Earth-616 out from the map. "But on the other hand, we are special. It is our uniqueness that defines us."
"Regardless of what we are like in other worlds, we have differences within our own."
Gazing at the map, Kitty turned to look at Peter. After a moment, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and spoke up.
"Actually... to establish the connection with me, the Professor had to synchronize the memories of the 'me' from the other timeline. I was wondering... maybe deleting those memories would be a better choice?"
Kitty voiced her thoughts: "After all, well, we aren't the same person, right?"
"The choice is yours, Kitty."
Kitty took a deep breath and remained silent for a long while. She actually had many questions she wanted to ask. But after a brief silence, she chose to set those questions aside for the moment and smiled at Peter. "Alright, we should head back, shouldn't we?"
Upon returning to Earth-616, Kitty first went to find the White Queen to make a request. Afterward, she didn't return to her dormitory immediately. Instead, she went out to buy a few things before heading back to the school dorms and setting up her purchases.
Once she finished decorating, she took a step back to admire her handiwork, scratching her head sheepishly. It was at that moment she heard her friend's voice.
"Kitty? Dani was asking you—"
Seeing that Kitty's door wasn't closed, Illyana pushed it open. She saw the girl staring blankly at a Spider-Man poster pinned to the wall and understood everything instantly. Kitty jumped at the sound, turning around and asking nervously, "Why didn't you knock!"
"Your door was open."
The door must not have latched properly earlier!
Kitty, who usually had no need for doors due to her powers, let out a helpless groan. Illyana looked at the poster and was nearly dying of laughter. "Are you serious? You put up a poster of him? No, wait—where did you even buy that?!"
"Uh, Stark Industries has always had Avengers gift shops."
"This is too..."
Illyana laughed, unsure how to even comment. Finally, she thought of the best way to handle it: "I have to go tell Peter Parker. He'll be absolutely thrilled to know you have his poster on your wall."
Kitty almost shouted, "Don't you dare!" but then she paused. She shrugged with feigned indifference. "Do whatever you want. It might just end up being a bother for him anyway."
Illyana looked at Kitty with uncertainty. This wasn't the reaction she had predicted; something seemed off... Had she bought other things as well?
I'll have to check out that gift shop next time and guess what else this girl bought.
Meanwhile, Kitty looked at the posters herself.
She hadn't deleted those memories. She had simply transformed them from "her" memories into "someone else's" memories—making it feel as though she were watching a movie.
Once she detached herself from the emotions of her alternate-universe self, she began to reflect on everything. And then, she had gone out to buy this merchandise.
"Alright, alright, let's stop talking about this."
Kitty quickly interrupted Illyana's scan of her room. She didn't want her friend's gaze lingering there a moment longer.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi