Pietro couldn't help but complain, "That sling ring's so important, and you've lost it twice now?"
Young Peter looked at him curiously. "Wasn't it just once? How was it twice?"
Pietro raised an eyebrow at him. "You forgot already? Last time he lost the sling ring, you were the one who took it, remember?"
Peter laughed sheepishly at that, while Stephen's face darkened. He said in a low voice, "First of all, I don't use a staff—at least not anymore. Second, even if she took the ring, it's not a big deal. I can always get it back."
That said, it was still a little embarrassing for him.
In the video, the mysterious girl didn't get far before Stephen and Wong caught her. Honestly, she wasn't exactly the brightest.
Sure, you stole Stephen's sling ring, but you can't use it yourself. Even without it, the guy still has his Cloak of Levitation. You think you can outrun him on foot? And let's not forget—Wong's right next to him, and he can use the sling ring. How were you ever planning to escape?
Stephen wasn't too happy about being played for a fool. "I just got beat up trying to save you, and you've already forgotten?"
The girl stopped running and handed the sling ring back without a fuss.
Stephen paused, then added thoughtfully, "I can handle that monster, but what's bothering me is... I saw you in my dream last night."
The mysterious girl looked at him with a strange expression. "That wasn't a dream. That was another universe."
That line connected directly to the earlier videos, especially the one with the second Spider-Man (Holland's version). The audience quickly realized that Stephen was about to be pulled into a multiversal crisis.
Thanks to the quiz game's earlier explanations, many viewers—especially those from the Marvel universe—were already familiar with the multiverse. Some were practically experts by now.
Even ignoring the parallel universes shown in the quiz game, Marvel's future already included the TVA, that mysterious organization that deals with multiverse issues. Not to mention the epic scene from Spider-Man's future video, where all three Spider-Men appeared together.
Marvel fans watching couldn't help but sigh. "The world's changing way too fast. We just beat Thanos, and now it's the TVA and the multiverse? Being a normal person in this universe is getting way too hard!"
Stephen, naturally, was fascinated by the multiverse. Not long ago, he accidentally cracked open its barrier just trying to fix things for Peter. So now, he and Wong took the mysterious girl to a restaurant, chatting over food.
She claimed to be from another universe. Physically, everyone looked the same—carbon-based, bipedal apes—but internally, things could be wildly different.
She also didn't seem to think much of Stephen. Maybe she was wary because, in her world, she'd been betrayed by a different version of him.
Stephen didn't like her attitude at all. I just saved your life—could you at least show some gratitude?
Wong, meanwhile, poked around about Christine, which only annoyed Stephen more. He turned to the girl and demanded, "You need to explain what's going on. Why was that octopus monster after you?"
"That thing was trying to kidnap me. It works for demons. They want my power for themselves."
She didn't keep anything back. She quickly explained her unusual ability—she could travel between universes.
The catch? She couldn't control it. The power only activated when she felt scared or threatened.
Stephen wasn't entirely convinced. He pressed further. "So what did the other me—your universe's version of me—do about these monsters?"
"The Book of Vishanti."
That got his attention. She revealed that she and her version of Stephen had found the legendary Book of Vishanti—a magical text said to grant sorcerers powerful spells and tools to defeat their enemies.
Unfortunately, they never managed to retrieve the book. They were forced to flee to this universe before they could get it.
At first, Stephen didn't believe her. He thought the Book of Vishanti was nothing more than myth. But when Wong mentioned that Kamar-Taj had actual records of it, Stephen begrudgingly accepted it might be real.
Still, he remained skeptical of the girl. And viewers outside the screen couldn't help but think: If this were Holland's Spider-Man, he probably would've believed her immediately.
Stephen asked her to prove her story—and she did. She took them to a corpse. A dead body, stiff and starting to rot.
Stephen stared at the face, which looked exactly like his own, and fell silent.
Offscreen, viewers cracked up.
Pietro grinned. "Stephen, seeing your own corpse… that's gotta be a pretty unique experience, huh?"
Peter was startled by the pale face of the body and shrank back a bit. "That's seriously messed up."
But Stephen just shrugged. "I've experienced astral projection more than once. It's not that strange once you get used to it. Besides, curiosity is a good trait for a sorcerer."
He remained very interested in the multiverse and kept his eyes glued to the screen, soaking up every detail.
In the video, Stephen remembered his dream and wondered if dreams were actually glimpses into other universes. The mysterious girl confirmed it—her Stephen had said the same thing.
Finally, she shared her name: America Chavez.
Wong seized the moment and invited her to Kamar-Taj, where it would be safer.
Now that they believed her, Stephen and Wong decided to help America evade the enemies hunting her. Her power to traverse universes was too important to fall into the wrong hands.
Still, America wasn't ready to trust them completely. She'd already been betrayed by a version of Stephen once, so it was understandable she had doubts.
Stephen didn't try to convince her. He just pointed out the obvious. "I think, right now, you don't have much of a choice. You're going to have to trust me."
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