For the next several days, Peter B. Parker resumed his duties, a familiar shadow swinging through the city's canyons. This left Ben and Gwen with an unusual amount of downtime. They explored this new New York, a strange mirror of their own worlds, and during their travels, they found him: Miles Morales.
They watched from a distance as the young, skinny boy had an awkward and endearing exchange with his father, a police officer. For now, Miles was just a kid, talented and creative but timid, with no idea of the destiny that was about to befall him. Ben felt a strange sense of detachment. He knew this boy was fated to become Spider-Man, a hero born from the tragedy of this universe's Peter Parker. But now that Ben was here, that tragedy wasn't going to happen. There was room enough in this city for two Spider-Men.
Still, his curiosity was piqued. "You know," he mused to Gwen as they perched atop a gargoyle, "that genetically-engineered spider, number 42… its abilities are pretty impressive." He remembered from the lore: bio-electrical generation and absorption, and active camouflage. These were talents his own spider-DNA lacked. Thanks to the Omnitrix's optimization, his base physical stats far exceeded those of a normal Spider-Man, but he couldn't just invent new powers from scratch.
Spider #42, however, presented an opportunity.
That night, he deployed a micro-drone, a tiny insectoid robot that silently shadowed Miles. A few hours later, it returned, carrying the lifeless body of a vibrantly colored spider.
Just as before, the Omnitrix couldn't directly absorb the spider's DNA; it wasn't a sentient lifeform. This time, however, Ben had no intention of eating it. Instead, in the sterile environment of Peter's lab, he carefully extracted the genetic material, synthesized it into a serum, and injected it into his own bloodstream.
For a moment, his body's internal alarms shrieked. His own genes began to destabilize under the influence of the foreign code. But Ben remained perfectly calm, his expression placid. He'd been through this before. As expected, the Omnitrix flared to life.
[Genetic Integrity Compromised. Initiating Emergency Repair Protocol…]
[Repairing… Repair Successful.]
The entire process was over in seconds, far faster than his first transformation. His body hadn't even had time to manifest any negative side effects before the problem was solved. He raised his hand, and with a simple thought, a faint white current of electricity danced between his fingertips. It was pure, controlled bio-electricity. He had successfully integrated the little spider's gift.
He clenched his fist, noting no increase in his physical strength, which was also expected. His own spider-physiology was already at its peak, and simply adding more of the same type of genetic code wouldn't stack the effects. If it were that easy, he could just spend his time hopping across the multiverse, hunting spiders to become infinitely powerful.
The heir to the Spider-Verse? He shook his head, dismissing the ridiculous thought. Now, for the other trick.
He focused his mind, and the color seemed to drain from his body, his skin and clothes becoming a shimmering, translucent outline against the backdrop of the lab.
It was at that moment that Gwen's voice echoed from the top of the basement stairs. She came bounding down, her energy infectious. "Ben! Blond Peter just called! Kingpin is planning another collider test tomorrow night— Hey, where'd he go?"
She peered around the lab, a confused frown on her face. "Weird, I could've sworn he was just here."
The invisible Ben watched, amused, as she searched the room, even poking her head into an empty trash can. It seems, he noted, that active camouflage also dampens the mutual spider-sense induction. He was standing right in front of her, yet she was completely oblivious.
Deciding he'd had enough fun, he reappeared behind her, leaning casually against a computer console. "Looking for someone?"
Gwen jumped, spinning around with the coiled grace of a ballerina. "Whoa! How did you—?" Seeing it was Ben, her surprise melted into exasperation. "Why are you behind me? I was looking all over!"
"Forget that," she said, her expression turning serious. "Kingpin. The particle collider. It's happening tomorrow night." She took a deep breath. "He's hired the Sinister Six as security, plus who knows how many of his other goons. Stopping him might not be so easy."
Ben just smiled. "Don't worry. Remember that secret weapon I told you I was preparing for you?"
Gwen's eyes lit up with recognition. "You mean that symbiote suit you mentioned?" she asked, a hopeful tremor in her voice. "With that, do you think we can win?"
"It's in the bag," Ben said with unshakable confidence. In his eyes, the Sinister Six were barely a threat. While the movie versions were formidable, they were nothing he hadn't handled before. Especially now that he had new powers. And he wasn't referring to the bio-electricity or the invisibility.
He raised his arm, and the face of the Omnitrix lit up, icons spinning rapidly before stopping on two new, black silhouettes. One was Spider-Monkey, a decent alien, but nothing spectacular. Ben figured his own spider-genes might enhance the Arachnichimp's abilities, but it was still overshadowed by the other new acquisition.
His eyes fell on the second silhouette, one that looked like it had twin ponytails of electrical energy. It was a fan favorite, a true powerhouse from the Ben 10 Omniverse. Though its first chronological appearance was when his ten-year-old self unlocked it, the incident had been so traumatic it had supposedly scared him into taking off the watch for a time. Unlocking it now, Ben felt a thrill of pure, nerdy joy that far surpassed gaining the abilities of a simple mutated spider.
Who didn't love Feedback?
Ben was in a fantastic mood, but as he looked over at Gwen, he saw that her own expression had clouded over. The miraculous encounter across universes, the shared mission, the easy camaraderie they had developed over the past few days—it had been the first time Gwen had felt truly happy in a long, long time.
She felt like a lost whale who, after calling out in a vast, empty ocean for years, had finally found her pod. The loneliness and pain that had been her constant companions seemed to have been left behind in another reality. If it were possible, she would stay here forever, with Ben, rather than return to her own gloomy, rain-slicked city and the cold, heavy pressure of her life there.
But she knew it wasn't possible. After they defeated Kingpin, this short-lived happiness would end. Without the particle collider, how would she and Ben ever cross the infinite multiverse to meet again?
The thought of their inevitable separation was so painful that she felt a selfish, terrible urge to just let Kingpin win. But she was Spider-Woman. She couldn't doom countless universes just to soothe her own aching heart. Especially not this one, where Peter was so happy.
"What's wrong?" Ben asked softly, noticing the shadow that had fallen over her face.
Gwen took a deep, shuddering breath, suppressing the wave of negative emotions. It was a skill she had perfected since becoming a hero. She forced a smile, clasping her hands behind her back, her right hand gripping the cool metal of the pink-and-white watch on her left wrist.
"Want to go get some fresh air?" she asked, her voice bright and just a little too brittle. She held out her hand to him in invitation. "Top of the Williamsburg Bank Building?"