-----
-----
"Peter, you… no. You're not Peter." Gwen's expression shifted, and she took a small step back.
Julian pulled off his mask in one quick motion, revealing a young face underneath.
"I'm Julian. Julian Parker. A very hands-on kind of Spider-Man. I ran into some trouble recently, so that's why you're able to see me now.
"Oh, and you can drop that shocked look. Also, what did you have for dinner? You smell like beef pizza—my favorite, by the way. But, you know, Spider-Man doesn't have pockets, so I didn't bring any cash. You could consider treating me to—"
"Hold on, Spider-Man. My head hurts. Can you tell me why you saved me?" Gwen rubbed her forehead, feeling like her brain was three sizes too big.
Hearing that, Julian wiped off the blood at his brow, eyes filled with a stubborn fire.
His face turned serious. "For myself. And for… breaking Spider-Man's lonely fate."
"A lonely… fate?"
Gwen thought of Peter's lost loved ones, of Harry turning against him—and suddenly she understood.
Spider-Man was lonely.
It wasn't just fate. It was a curse.
Just then the roar of repulsor engines drew closer, the glow of powered armor lighting up the sky. Julian knew that was his cue to leave.
"Gwen, time to say goodbye. Remember to treat me to pizza next time…"
Before she could respond, his body vanished into thin air.
He'd used Tony this time. Sure, Tony hadn't taken this "revival match" seriously—but the guy could be petty when it came down to it.
No telling if he'd take a swing at Julian at the last second.
Better to leave fast.
Moments later the armor landed. Tony's nanotech helmet peeled away, revealing a thoroughly annoyed face.
"Where's that guy?" he asked Gwen.
Gwen blinked. "He… he disappeared. Literally in the blink of an eye."
Tony rubbed his temples. "Great. I've been played."
[You did not win this revival match. Preparing to exit this world. Please try harder next time…]
Tony snorted at the message floating before his eyes.
"There's a next time?"
He chalked it up to the Infinity Stones messing with him.
Before Gwen's stunned eyes, Tony's body faded away as well.
Yet Spider-Man and the Green Goblin kept fighting somewhere in the distance.
Julian's Universe — Empire State Building Tower
"Whew…"
In the howling night wind, red and blue fabric drifted in from the darkness, ashes swirling together as if pulled by invisible strings.
Under the pale moon, the shriveled suit filled out, reshaping itself.
Julian opened his eyes again and realized he was standing right where he'd died—the base of the broadcast tower. A familiar system prompt appeared before him, making him smile.
[Revival match: Victory!]
[Reward 1: Resurrection Token x1 (used)]
[Reward 2: Strength +10 tons]
[First-time revival match bonus: Nano Spider Suit (battle-damaged version)]
[First-time revival match bonus: Spider Totem Power x1]
[Remaining restart chances: 1 (carried to next revival match)]
He clenched his fists, feeling raw, explosive strength coursing through him.
After eight restarts, his basic strength had gone from one ton to nearly two.
Add the match rewards, and he was now at twelve tons.
Twelve tons wasn't much among Spider-People—practically bottom tier—but for his current mess, it was a massive boost.
And as strength increased, so did the rest of his physical stats.
He checked the bonus rewards.
[Nano Spider Suit (battle-damaged): A nanometal suit with several missing functions. Retains basic AI assistance, web-glider wings, temperature control, urine filtration, oxygen supply…]
[Spider Totem Power: The core origin of a Spider-Person's strength. The ultimate judgment of fate. A mysterious force—discover its use yourself.]
A strange power rushed into his body and vanished instantly. Julian blinked.
Spider Totem Power… he remembered it appearing in some comic arcs, but he had no idea what it actually did.
As for the nano suit—
With a thought, a palm-sized spider emblem materialized in his hand.
He slapped it onto his chest. Nanometal surged out instantly, spreading across his body and sealing him off from the icy night air. The material clung tightly to him like a second skin.
Sliding down the building on a web, he caught a reflection in the glass: a gleaming, armored Spider-Man.
Calling it a suit didn't feel right—it was more like full-body armor.
Beneath the moonlight, the metal shimmered with cold luster. Gold lines decorated the design, and the eyes glowed with a faint blue light, making him stand out even in the dark.
Julian flexed experimentally. The suit was cool as hell.
Too bad it was the damaged version—no mechanical spider legs, no enhanced web shooters, and definitely no "red-eye kill mode."
And the basic AI wasn't anything like JARVIS—just enough to help control the suit so it wouldn't block his wall-crawling or mess up his web-swinging.
Everything was adaptive.
This thing was built specifically for a Spider-Man.
Satisfied, Julian leapt off the glass façade.
Wind roared past him as thin glider wings unfurled under his arms.
His fall instantly slowed.
With the gliders helping, he soared over several skyscrapers before diving into the neon-lit streets below.
Cars, crowds, noise—same old New York.
"Oh wow, what's that?"
"Spider-Man?"
"No way—he's alive!"
"His suit looks different—it's metal!"
"He got an upgrade. That's insane."
People around him gasped, but Julian didn't react.
He hadn't been Spider-Man for long, but he hadn't exactly kept a low profile. And the public loved a superhero with powers—half the city recognized him.
But something didn't sit right.
Other than Norman, no one should know he'd died.
So how did they all know?
It wasn't until he reached Queens that it made sense.
Blake Street, 117A.
Outside the window, a red-blue shadow crept up the wall.
Inside, Ben Parker and Aunt May sat close together on the couch, chuckling at a comedy show on TV.
Julian peeked in, his glowing blue eyes narrowing slightly.
They looked happy.
He felt tension leave his chest.
Then the show ended, and Ben picked up the remote with a reluctant sigh.
On the TV, a sharply dressed anchor smiled at the camera.
"Hi everyone, welcome to Global News. Regarding the rumors of Spider-Man's death, we've invited an expert on the topic to give us more insight."
He handed the mic to a guest beside him.
"Hello everyone! I'm J. Jonah Jameson from the Daily Bugle! Based on intel from the Green Goblin, we can basically confirm Spider-Man has been killed! He hasn't shown up in over a week…"
"....."