Before long, Peter Parker headed to the apartment where Felicia was staying.
In the messy apartment, Felicia was curled up on the sofa, the light from her phone screen illuminating her distracted face. Clearly, she had been waiting for his news.
The moment Peter Parker appeared, her emerald eyes suddenly lit up, and all the unease and anxiety within them transformed into deep affection.
"Peter!"
Her feet, bare and dazzlingly white, couldn't help but rush forward, and she grabbed his arm:
"Is everything resolved?"
"That goes without saying."
Peter Parker gently rubbed her fluffy silver hair, his tone carrying the calm certainty of something settled.
"Starting today, there is no more HYDRA in this country."
Hearing this, Felicia subconsciously sighed in relief, but then she thought of something else, and a nervous and uneasy expression appeared on her face:
"So, what about us next..."
"Exactly." Peter Parker took her slightly cold hand and said firmly:
"It's time for us to go and clarify things with Gwen."
...To make it easier for Gwen to accept this somewhat cruel truth, Felicia deliberately made herself look haggard and pitiful.
Peter Parker decided to call Gwen before meeting her.
He felt it was necessary to first tear open a small gap to prepare Gwen psychologically, rather than completely demolishing her bottom line right away.
The phone rang only twice before it was immediately answered:
"Peter, did you find Felicia? Is she alright?"
Gwen's voice was filled with anxiety, and that heartfelt tension instinctively sparked a sense of guilt in Peter Parker.
But since things had come to this, there was no turning back for him.
Therefore, he rubbed his brow and spoke with a cautious and troubled tone:
"I've found Felicia, but something... unexpected happened in the process."
"Unexpected?" Gwen subconsciously raised her voice:
"What happened? Were you and Felicia injured?"
"Neither of us was hurt... I can't explain this clearly over the phone. I'm bringing Felicia to you now. Gwen, can you wait for us on the roof of the Empire State Building?"
Peter Parker chose a meeting place where they wouldn't be disturbed by anyone.
Of course, this couldn't be discussed at Gwen's house. If George and Grandma Pauline found out about this, the destructive power of this Shura field would instantly escalate into a storm capable of tearing Peter Parker apart.
No matter how innocent Gwen was emotionally, she smelled a certain ominous scent in Peter Parker's unusual tone.
Her voice involuntarily trembled slightly:
"Okay... I'll head over now."
...Half an hour later, on the roof of the Empire State Building.
The night wind howled, mirroring the turbulent emotions of the three people.
Peter Parker appeared before Gwen, bringing Felicia with him.
"Peter, Felicia, this is great! I'm so glad you're both safe!"
Seeing that the two were unharmed, the tension in Gwen's face finally eased, and she showed a genuine smile.
She quickly walked toward them. That pure concern made the guilt in Felicia's heart surge even more fiercely.
Felicia's lips trembled, but she finally mustered the courage to proactively bring up the painful topic:
"I'm sorry, Gwen..."
This sudden, unexplained apology instantly froze the smile on Gwen's face.
Intense curiosity and unease appeared in her azure eyes:
"Sorry? Why are you saying that?"
Meeting Gwen's curious gaze, Peter Parker took a deep breath and began:
"The culprit who caused Felicia's kidnapping is me."
"My action of becoming the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. provoked HYDRA, which had been lurking for years, so they kidnapped Felicia."
"They brainwashed Felicia, making her actively seduce me, and then attempted to assassinate me while I was intimate with her..."
On the way to see Gwen, Peter Parker and Felicia discussed it and decided to use the excuse that Felicia had planned long ago.
Compared to directly telling Gwen, "I've coveted your man for a long time," this excuse was clearly less damaging to Gwen.
As Peter Parker spoke, Gwen's expression changed several times, and she finally couldn't help but cover her mouth, her eyes visibly starting to redden:
"But you clearly wouldn't be affected by those drugs, and you could even cure Felicia..."
She couldn't bring herself to say the rest.
At this moment, she felt like something was blocking her from her heart all the way up to her throat, making it difficult for her to even breathe.
She suddenly remembered the Prom.
When she rushed to the scene, the two of them were in the center of the dance floor, being applauded and praised by their classmates.
At that time, she naively thought that Felicia was just helping Peter Parker out as a good friend, but the facts proved that she was too naive.
"I'm sorry, Gwen," Felicia decided not to suppress her feelings for Peter Parker anymore:
"I didn't realize Peter Parker was The Punisher at first! Once I realized that, I tried not to think about him. I tried to stay far away from him.
But that feeling was too painful. When I saw you two happily together at school every day, and I could only watch silently from the side, the suppression almost drove me insane."
She looked at Gwen, her gaze no longer evasive, filled with painful pleading.
"For a while, I thought I could accept the fact and bless you both... But that night, when I was almost strangled by the Radiation, Peter Parker appeared at the crucial moment."
"From that moment on, I knew I couldn't suppress myself anymore."
"I truly didn't want to interfere in your relationship with Peter Parker, and I know that the person Peter Parker truly loves is you."
"But when HYDRA handed this opportunity to me, and when the Symbiote inside me told me, 'You cannot escape your inner desires,' I felt like dry tinder soaked in kerosene, completely ignited by a single spark."
Listening to Felicia's almost frantic confession, the deeply distressed Gwen showed a momentary look of astonishment.
She was a person with extreme empathy, so when she heard Felicia's confession, she couldn't help but think of herself.
Although she and Peter Parker were childhood sweethearts, wasn't the real key that drove them together the realization that Peter Parker had always been protecting her as The Punisher and unconditionally supporting her Superhero career?
Gwen realized the source of Felicia's madness; if she were in Felicia's shoes and experienced everything she had, she would probably fall uncontrollably in love with Peter Parker again.
Gwen could understand why Felicia had ended up this way.
However, understanding did not mean acceptance.
She and Peter Parker had already come this far; how could she sacrifice herself to complete Peter Parker and Felicia?
But if she didn't do that, what should she do now?
Should she scream like a shrew, point at Peter Parker's nose and call him a liar, and then slap Felicia?
Don't be ridiculous, she couldn't possibly do something like that.
But... should she just accept this ridiculously absurd reality?
How could something like this be so easy to accept?
Just as Gwen was in turmoil, completely unsure of how to decide, Peter Parker's voice sounded in her ear:
"Gwen, I admit I did something that hurt you, but I feel I must tell you my thoughts on this matter."
"I admit that I developed feelings for Felicia; otherwise, none of this would have happened between us. However, in my heart, you still are, and always will be, number one."
"Therefore, I hope I can have both of you."
"I know this sounds shameless, but the truth is, I don't want either of you missing from my life."
"You know my personality—I can't give up one of you for the sake of the other."
"Nor will I exploit your kindness by saying things like, 'I will immediately break up with Felicia if you forbid it,' thereby forcing you to accept her into our lives."
"So, even if you can't accept this fact and leave me a hundred times, I will persistently try a 101st time to win you back."
"I know this sounds like an incorrigible egomaniac, but this is the final decision I've made."
After Peter Parker finished speaking, Gwen remained silent for a long time.
She knew that Peter Parker spoke these words sincerely, and she also knew that if that situation truly occurred, Peter Parker would indeed try to win her back for the 101st time, just as he said.
She knew even more that, in reality, she had no choice.
Because she knew she had already committed to Peter Parker and could never fall for any other man besides him in this lifetime.
But the problem was... this pain truly could not be dissipated in a short time.
Besides, if she forgave Peter Parker right now, wouldn't she look too subservient and spineless!
After a long pause, Gwen finally spoke, her voice trembling:
"Peter... Felicia..."
"Give me some time, okay?"
"I'm very confused right now... I need to be alone, to think things through properly..."
This was perhaps the only choice she could make right now.
To properly consider whether or not to accept this completely unexpected Love triangle.
However, the moment her voice fell... Buzz!
An overwhelmingly intense sense of crisis, as if her brain were being torn apart, exploded in her mind without warning!
It was the Spider-Sense!
Moreover, the level of warning was unprecedentedly frantic!
"Look out!"
Peter Parker's reaction was even faster than Gwen's.
Flash Step!
Before Gwen could even react, he had instantly flashed beside her.
He wrapped his arms around her soft waist and moved her away from where she had been standing.
And shielded Gwen and Felicia behind him.
It wasn't until Peter Parker finished all this that Gwen belatedly came to her senses.
She felt extremely strange internally, even wondering if she should throw a minor fit over Peter Parker's sudden action.
But before she could dwell on it, the Spider-Sense in her mind interrupted her train of thought again.
Just then, a Spatial Vortex tore open out of thin air before their eyes.
Then, three figures slowly emerged from the vortex.
The moment they clearly saw the three figures, the pupils of all three constricted sharply.
Because the three figures who stepped out of the Spatial Vortex were all wearing Battle Suits!
The style of the Battle Suits was sixty or seventy percent similar to Gwen's Ghost-Spider suit.
They all featured large spider-web patterns, and there were spider emblems on their chests.
However, the Battle Suits of these three people were all red and blue!
Moreover, the moment the three stepped out of the vortex, their movements were highly similar to Gwen's.
They crouched down, spread their legs, placed one hand on the ground, and raised the other hand high, adopting the classic defensive posture of Spider-Man preparing to shoot a web.
In this instant, four people had four bewildered faces, while Peter Parker revealed a strange smile.
Without a doubt, the figures who appeared before Peter Parker and the others were... three Spider-Men!
Had the "locking the stable door after the horse has bolted" operation launched by the spider totem due to the destruction caused by the Web Event finally begun?
Tsk.
Speaking of which, it seems you've come... just in time.
Glancing at Gwen, who was still in shock beside him and had completely forgotten her sadness, Peter Parker's internal calculations were already clicking away.
Sometimes, happiness needs to be highlighted through comparison.
Perhaps... letting Gwen see firsthand the tragic endings she and Felicia had with other "Peter Parkers" in other Parallel Universes... might make her realize more clearly just how inseparable their fateful entanglement was.
Compared to the tragic experiences of Spider-Men in other Worlds, wasn't the three of them forming a "Stable Triangle" much happier?
Isn't it?
Just as Peter Parker was thinking this to himself.
The three Spider-Men who emerged from the Spatial Vortex also spoke up at this moment:
"What the fuck..."
The first Spider-Man, who looked the youngest and thinnest, broke the silence first, starting with a classic phrase.
"Bro~ why is your Battle Suit black and white?"
He was referring to the Symbiote Battle Suit on Gwen.
Gwen hadn't worn her suit when she left, but the Symbiote inside her immediately covered her body after sensing danger.
Oh, and by the way, Felicia's reaction was the same as Gwen's.
However, the style of the tide Battle Suit did not resemble Spider-Man's, so it wasn't mistaken for a light blue Spider-Man or anything similar.
"Compared to that..."
The second Spider-Man paused, then spoke in an uncertain tone:
"I'd rather know, bro, why do you... have boobs?!"
Slap~!
Hearing this idiotic question, the third and most muscular Spider-Man couldn't help but slap his forehead, then spoke with a speechless expression:
"You two idiots, is it possible that the 'us' in this Universe is a woman?"
"What the fuck!" The classic phrase broadcasted again.
"Cool~!" Spider-Man Number Two whistled:
"Bro... er, sis? Can I see what the Gender-bent version of me looks like?"
Just as he finished speaking, his gaze involuntarily shifted from Gwen to Peter Parker beside her, and then... "F*ck, if the 'us' in this Universe is the Gender-bent version, then who is he?!"