The battle came suddenly and ended just as abruptly. As the rising sound of police sirens echoed from distant streets, Kingpin and his lieutenants quickly disengaged and retreated. The Spider-People were in no position to stop them. Unless absolutely necessary, they wanted to avoid dealing with the police—most cops, in most universes, hold a deeply skeptical view of the masked vigilante Spider-Man.
The group quickly reassembled at Aunt May's house, then just as quickly departed. Aunt May's house was the starting point of the fight, and the surprise battle, though brief, had severely damaged the entire street. Therefore, Aunt May was the main victim and witness and had to stay behind for questioning by law enforcement. Regretfully, to avoid meeting the police, Peter and the others had no choice but to abandon the wrecked house and Aunt May temporarily.
After some discussion, they decided to congregate at the familiar abandoned warehouse. For concealment, they left one by one. Peter put his ordinary clothes over his Spider-Suit, blending into the crowd. Although he had an East Asian face, there were many people of Asian descent in New York, so he didn't stand out too much.
Soon, the group reassembled at the abandoned warehouse. However, there was an extra person among them: The Prowler.
Seeing The Prowler arrive, Gwen and the others instinctively took a fighting stance. They thought Kingpin hadn't given up and was simply relocating the fight.
Miles quickly jumped out—he had traveled with his uncle, and The Prowler had told him everything on the way. Most importantly, The Prowler had been persuaded by Peter to turn over a new leaf! "Hey, everyone, listen to me! This is my Uncle Aaron, and he's no longer working for Kingpin!"
"Everyone, calm down," Peter (Earth-616), who arrived slightly later on foot, quickly stepped in to mediate. He walked between the two groups and said: "Miles's uncle has decided to switch sides and help us take down Kingpin. We don't need to treat him as an enemy."
"Wow, how did you manage that?" Middle-Aged Peter asked in surprise. He had been brainstorming ways to solve the problem between Miles and his uncle on the way over, only to find Peter had solved it silently. Furthermore, The Prowler's combat ability was clearly formidable. This action not only weakened the enemy lineup but significantly strengthened their own forces. The net gain was substantial.
Peter certainly didn't tell them he'd gambled based on the comic book Prowler's personality. He simply reiterated the reasons he'd given Aaron Davis. Hearing that The Prowler chose to join them to protect his family, the Spider-People all breathed a sigh of relief. If he had joined for any other reason, it might have been suspicious. But family? That made him highly trustworthy. No one, unless completely devoid of humanity, would disregard the safety of their family. As the saying goes: Family is both a soft spot and the strongest armor! They wouldn't trust a bad guy who suddenly claimed to be good, but they could trust a man who chose to fight the entire world to protect his family!
The Prowler, having gained the group's tentative trust, proved his worth. He shared everything he knew about Kingpin, the Particle Collider, and the related base information.
Kingpin himself required little discussion; what The Prowler knew was similar to what Peter (Earth-616) already knew, though slightly less detailed. This was because The Prowler was strictly an enforcer and didn't have access to the inner workings of Kingpin's criminal empire. His knowledge of Kingpin was based on observations of his daily activities. Kingpin was known to be extremely cautious and cunning, and he rarely flaunted his power unnecessarily. Despite his huge physique and superior fighting skills, he was a true master strategist.
As for the Collider itself: Because the collider was so long and massive, building such a huge infrastructure from scratch would be incredibly expensive, complex, and time-consuming. Coincidentally, years ago, Brooklyn had undergone urban planning that rerouted subway lines, leaving several tunnels and a subway station abandoned. Kingpin used his influence to acquire the rights to this area beneath Brooklyn. The accelerating parts of the Particle Collider were built utilizing several of these long-abandoned subway tunnels as their physical carriers. The core of the collider—the particle collision chamber—along with the cooling unit, was housed in the abandoned subway station.
When The Prowler mentioned this, Miles interjected, explaining that he had accidentally stumbled into that very spot. It was there he saw the fierce battle between the original Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, and it was there he witnessed Spider-Man's death...
The Prowler remained silent about that painful memory.
Strictly speaking, The Prowler did bear some responsibility for Spider-Man's death.
"Wait, the Green Goblin? The Green Goblin you're talking about, is that Norman Osborn?" Middle-Aged Peter asked. The Prowler nodded: "It is him."
"Norman is working for Kingpin too?" Middle-Aged Peter looked confused. The Prowler thought for a moment: "They seem to be in a partnership. From what I know, the Oscorp Corporation has a stake in Kingpin's Particle Collider project."
"Now the problem is, if the Green Goblin gets involved, their overall strength increases significantly..." Middle-Aged Peter rubbed his forehead, indicating a headache. This was not good news.
"I think I need to leave now," The Prowler said, having delivered his information.
Spider-Man Noir looked at him cautiously: "No offense, but I want to know where you are going?"
The Prowler looked at him with frankness, his eyes calm, showing no sign of deceit: "Kingpin must know I've betrayed him by now. I need to go find my brother and ensure his safety."
Miles heard this and immediately jumped up: "Uncle Aaron, take me with you! I have to go save Dad too!"
The Prowler looked at him and lightly patted his head: "No, Miles, you will be safer if you stay here."
"But..." Miles was reluctant. How could he just sit here knowing a super-villain like Kingpin might harm his parents?
"Miles, obey me!" The Prowler's tone became stern. Then, looking into Miles's eyes, his heart softened: "Listen, Miles, your father is a police officer. Although Kingpin is powerful, he would not dare to openly attack a police officer. They might not be in immediate danger. I'm just going to confirm the situation."
Peter (Earth-616) stepped forward, looking at the uncle and nephew: "Maybe there's a better way."
"What do you mean?" The Prowler asked.
Peter replied: "In our world, we have a strategy called 'Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao' (focus on the enemy's strength to relieve pressure elsewhere)..."