"On the first day after hatching, red-bellied spiders begin frantically devouring the nutrients and energy within their mother's body. In their environment, extracting nourishment from the mother seems like the most natural thing in the world. A baby red-bellied spider's very first bite is its mother's leg..."
A documentary about red-bellied spiders was playing on the television.
Ben Parker watched the little red spider consuming its mother on screen, then turned to his wife and said, "Some animals, much like these spiders, seem completely unbound by ethics."
"That's just animal instinct. They're simply striving for survival and reproduction."
May was busy in the kitchen, occasionally poking her head out to reply to her husband.
After the sound of chopping vegetables continued for a moment, May asked her husband, "Aren't you driving Peter to school today? The senior spring dance is a very important day, you know."
"Is it today?"
Ben shifted his attention away from the television and asked his wife.
"Yes, today. Though Peter isn't very enthusiastic about it—maybe he doesn't have a date yet. Boys always stress over these things."
"I never stressed over that back in my day."
Ben dropped a rare humblebrag, then suddenly remembered that the car, which had been acting up last night, still hadn't been fixed.
"Peter, could you give me a hand with something?"
Ben stood up and called out toward Peter upstairs.
A few minutes later.
Ben stared in astonishment as Peter, wearing gloves, expertly popped open the car hood and replaced the car parts.
The boy seemed even better at fixing cars than he was.
"Peter, when did you learn how to fix cars?"
Ben asked Peter, whose head was buried beneath the hood.
"Learned it from car magazines. I suppose I'm just pretty handy."
Peter raised his head and casually tossed out an excuse.
As for the real reason—naturally, it wasn't from magazines.
Having spent several years serving in Blackwatch during his time in the Prototype universe, his car repair skills were second to none.
A soldier who doesn't want to be a general might not be a good soldier, but a soldier who can't fix a car is definitely not a good soldier.
After tightening a screw with a wrench, Peter suddenly thought of something, raised his head, and said to Uncle Ben, "Uncle Ben, maybe you should carry a pistol whenever you drive out."
He remembered how the Ben Parker of the normal timeline had been carjacked and killed while driving.
Even though this space-time was the world of Spider-Woman, there was no guarantee some timeline shift wouldn't cause the tragedy to repeat itself.
"I'm not very good with those things."
Ben shook his head and asked Peter curiously, "Why would you think of having me carry a pistol, Peter?"
"Public safety hasn't been great lately. Haven't there been news reports about murders and missing persons?"
Peter closed the hood and told Uncle Ben, "Better to be safe than sorry."
"Fair enough. But if I'm going to carry a pistol, I'm going to have to practice my pathetic marksmanship."
Uncle Ben said with a wry smile.
...
After arriving at school in Uncle Ben's car, Peter found the entire campus immersed in an atmosphere of revelry.
The scent of teenage hormones floating in the air could be smelled from far away before even entering the school grounds.
Even though the Peter of his past life had long since moved past the stage of freezing in his tracks at the sight of pretty girls, being immersed in this atmosphere gradually began to influence him.
Though he had originally planned to skip the dance, he now found himself tempted to go check it out.
This was his first time experiencing a high school spring dance in person.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the grand auditorium.
The place was bustling with noise and excitement, filled everywhere with students in formal attire.
On the auditorium wall hung the schedule of events for the spring dance, visible the moment one entered.
——
Graduating Class Annual Spring Dance
Music by: The Mary Jane Band
Cultural Performances: "Dinner Dance," "Lemon Tree," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "The Street Where You Live" — Sung by Sandra
Supervising Faculty: Mr. and Mrs. Rutherford, Miss Desjardins
Remember, this is your dance—may it live forever in your memory.
——
Peter had just stopped in front of the wall where the schedule was posted when he heard a voice.
"Peter?"
Hearing someone call his name, he turned around.
A young and pretty girl was standing before him.
The red-haired girl possessed an enviable figure, paired with a dazzling white evening gown, an Indian-style wide belt, and shiny black leather shoes, drawing countless gazes from those around them.
"Mary Jane?!"
The memories inherited from his predecessor allowed him to deduce that the girl before him must be Mary Jane Watson.
A woman who most of the time appeared as Spider-Man's official girlfriend.
Of course, their current relationship was much simpler; the two of them were just ordinary classmates.
The kind of classmates whose relationship was even more distant than Gwen's.
"I still prefer you calling me MJ."
Mary Jane gave Peter a slight smile, then cast her gaze toward a nearby mural with an appreciative look. "Nice mural."
"Yeah."
Peter glanced at the mural and gave a vague reply.
In the painting, soft shadows lay beneath patches of orange light, and the boatman leaned against the tiller with his habitual lazy expression, his whole body bathed in the fading glow of a golden sunset.
After admiring the mural for a moment, Mary Jane gave Peter a slight nod, said "Enjoy the dance," and walked away.
She had only run into Peter by chance and, having heard that he had been acting a bit different lately, came over to exchange a few words out of pure curiosity.
Normally, her interactions with him weren't very deep.
On the other side, Gwen had originally wanted to go talk to Peter, but seeing him talking "intimately" with Mary Jane from afar, she stomped away angrily.
What was the big idea...
She had thought Peter had grown "aloof and cold" lately, only to find out he would still flock over the moment he saw a pretty girl.
Could it be that Peter had rejected her because he accepted Mary Jane's invitation?
Muttering under her breath, she straightened the purple gown she had specially prepared for the dance and walked toward the backstage of the auditorium.
The Mary Jane Band was about to take their turn playing, and as the band's drummer, she had to go get ready in advance.
However, her previously good mood had soured because of the scene she had just witnessed.
Outside the auditorium.
The roar of a car engine gradually faded as an old vehicle drove to the other end of the parking lot and pulled into a space.
Getting out of the car, which faced the highway ramp, Carl King glanced down at his watch.
It was already 8:20.
After closing the car door, he suddenly remembered that the car radio was still on.
Shaking his head to slightly ease his mounting tension, he reached back in to turn off the radio.
He glanced toward the auditorium, where the sound of the band playing drifted out.
It looked like the dance had already begun.
And his hunt was about to begin!