When Aunt May woke up, the first thing she saw was Peter Parker keeping watch by her bedside.
"Peter~"
Her gaze toward him was filled with deep affection for this child.
She didn't know exactly what Peter Parker had gone through, but coming back from the dead was definitely not a pleasant experience.
"Aunt May." Peter Parker quickly responded to her call.
Looking at her nephew's face, Aunt May pursed her lips.
"It must have hurt, didn't it?"
She placed her hand on Peter's face, gently caressing him.
"It's fine, I don't even remember it anymore." Peter Parker's eyes grew slightly moist when he heard her words, but he held back his emotions.
He couldn't let Aunt May experience any more emotional turmoil.
"As long as you're back."
Peter Parker nodded in agreement with Aunt May's words, watching her lie on the hospital bed.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that perhaps coming back to this world wasn't about becoming a superhero again.
Maybe it was simply about staying with his family.
Besides, this world already had a new Spider-Man.
Perhaps that kid would carry on the responsibilities of being Spider-Man.
"We'll live well," Peter promised as he looked at Aunt May.
Spider-Man was no longer his priority.
His family, standing before him, was the true focus of his life this time.
"Aunt May, can you tell me what happened after that?" Peter Parker was genuinely curious about everything that had transpired after his death.
There were so many things he didn't know.
Now was the best time for him to find out.
Of course, Aunt May wouldn't refuse. She told Peter everything she knew.
Listening to Aunt May recount the events, Peter Parker felt a sense of bewilderment. Based on the timeline, he had only been dead for a little over half a year.
Yet everything had completely exceeded his imagination.
Another version of himself from a different world, and even countless versions from other worlds.
Everything pointed to one undeniable truth—Peter Parker was no longer familiar with this world.
He finally understood why Aunt May's house had been blown up.
"I can only say… this is beyond anything I could have imagined." Peter Parker rubbed his face, struggling to process the absurdity of everything that had happened in his world.
But it had already happened.
There was no way to rewind time.
At least now, Peter understood why Aunt May was living with the Bat.
"You stay here with Aunt May, I'm going to have a chat with the Bat." Peter Parker stood up and spoke to Mary Jane.
"Go ahead." Mary Jane simply smiled at him.
"Peter." Aunt May stopped him for a moment. "He's a good kid."
Peter Parker knew exactly what Aunt May was worried about—she was afraid he would clash with the Bat.
But at the very least, the Bat was a trustworthy ally for now.
Peter Parker gave Aunt May a reassuring smile.
Then he turned and left.
Outside, he quickly spotted Bruce, who was handling his own affairs, and Jessica, who seemed to be lost in self-doubt.
"Can we talk?" Peter Parker addressed Bruce.
Bruce put down what he was working on and nodded.
"To be honest, even though Aunt May explained everything to me, I still find it hard to believe," Peter admitted as they walked toward the Batmobile.
"There's nothing unbelievable about it. Everything has already happened."
Bruce could more or less guess what Aunt May had told Peter. Those events were real.
But to anyone else, they would sound like something out of a sci-fi movie.
However, Peter Parker understood—he had also witnessed interdimensional missions.
And they had indeed been successful.
But now, it seemed that success wasn't limited to just his universe.
Or just S.H.I.E.L.D.
"So, you're from another universe too?" Peter Parker asked, believing that the man in front of him was indeed the Bat.
But if that were true, he wouldn't belong to this world.
He must have arrived with the other Spider-People.
Though that was quite the leap.
Bruce remained silent, simply watching Peter Parker.
"It doesn't matter if you say anything or not. I came to thank you for taking care of Aunt May." Peter spoke sincerely.
From everything he had learned, Peter Parker wasn't entirely sure whether his past enemies would have come after Aunt May.
But at the very least, he was now certain that nothing bad had happened to her.
"What's your plan from here?"
Bruce finally spoke.
Peter Parker shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet. The whole world already knows I'm Spider-Man, so I'll probably have to take Aunt May and the others somewhere no one knows me."
"But then again, who would believe that Peter Parker could come back from the dead?"
Peter Parker's expression turned a little somber.
But he wasn't wrong.
A dead man coming back to life—it was nothing short of a fairy tale.
"What do you think of California?" Peter Parker asked Bruce.
Bruce didn't answer Peter Parker's question. Instead, he calmly said, "Take Aunt May somewhere safe to live."
Peter Parker was momentarily stunned. He looked at Bruce and said, "I know."
Bruce simply nodded and placed a set of keys into Peter Parker's hand. "A decent car, parked in Aunt May's old neighborhood. And a small house—nothing fancy, but good enough."
After handing over the keys, Bruce turned and walked away.
"Oh!" Peter Parker's mind took a moment to process what had just happened. He stared blankly at the keyring in his hand.
"Thank you!"
He called out loudly to Bruce's retreating figure.
As for whether Bruce responded, Peter had no idea.
Back in his room, Bruce removed his suit.
The bruises on his body were now fully visible.
But he didn't care. He simply stretched his muscles, focusing on recovering to peak condition as quickly as possible.
Lying on the bed, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Goodbyes never feel good."
"We've long since gotten used to them, haven't we?" Bruce's reply was calm, as if none of this affected him.
He simply accepted it.
Bats are always alone.
Even LEGO Batman.
"Besides, she's not us. She wasn't born for this." Bruce's response was straightforward. From the moment he arrived in this world, he had been shouldering countless risks.
But Aunt May hadn't.
She deserved a peaceful and happy old age.
Even the most violent inmate in prison had nothing to say at this moment.
He just sat silently in his cell.
Bruce closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Today had been exhausting.
When Bruce opened his eyes again, the bedside clock showed it was already the next morning.
As he pushed open the door, a familiar scent of freshly baked bread wafted into his nose.
But the familiar figure was gone.
"Peter took them and left the Batcave early this morning," Jessica suddenly appeared, holding the red date bread she once despised.
"Aunt May left us breakfast. And, of course, it's red date bread."
Jessica took a bite, but this time, she wasn't forcing herself to eat it like before.
Bruce didn't say anything. He just walked into the kitchen.
Seeing the breakfast Aunt May had prepared in advance, he simply sat down and ate in silence.
On the fridge, small sticky notes were neatly placed.
Each one carried Aunt May's handwriting.
She had written everything down to make sure the two people left in the Batcave wouldn't starve.
Bruce didn't even need to check—he knew the fridge was packed full, leaving no empty space.
That was Aunt May's love for them.
"Bruce, remember to eat well and sleep well."
That particular note was written just for Bruce.
Short and simple, but it spoke volumes about Aunt May's concern for him.
Because compared to Peter, Bruce was just an ordinary person.
When Bruce walked out of the dining room, Jessica was curious to see his expression.
But there was no change at all.
He looked exactly the same as when he went in.
If she didn't know better, Jessica would have suspected Bruce had built a bio-robot to replace himself.
She smirked, then walked into the kitchen. Seeing the empty spot where Bruce had been sitting, she chuckled.
Clearly, that man only looked cold on the outside.
"Jessica, time to get to work."
At some point, Bruce had returned.
"Got it."
Jessica grinned, picked up her dishes, and followed behind him.
"How did you feel when you saw that note?"
"Move the Batmobile onto that platform."
"Come on, talk about it. Keeping it bottled up isn't healthy."
"And the Quinjet—Nick Fury said he'll leave the gear I need at a secret base."
"Hey! Answer me!"
"..."
(End of Chapter)
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