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Chapter 7: Finally, Something Even the Traverser Doesn't Know
🕑 Added 2025-03-24 18:45:18 +0000 UTCIn his own universe, the possible versions of himself and the Dutch brother Spider-Man exist in a father-son dynamic, along with the Amazing Spider-Man universe and another Spider-Man universe. Then there’s Gwen, who appears as Spider-Woman in several parallel universes.
At this point, there were already enough parallel universes to make his head spin!
Tony Stark suddenly felt a headache coming on. Why was he suddenly dealing with multiversal matters? He didn't even know who was planning to kidnap him yet! As expected—the more ignorant a person is, the happier they are. The more they know, the worse the headache.
But the little he knew so far was just fragments—he had no way of grasping the full picture. And without that, he didn’t even dare to make assumptions.
The mere thought of approaching this Luo Chen to get some answers gave him a splitting headache, making him hesitate to go anywhere near the guy.
With that in mind, Tony Stark put aside the idea of tracking down Luo Chen for now and instead instructed,
"J.A.R.V.I.S., create another file. Name it Spider-Woman. The primary surveillance target is Gwen Stacy. Find her first."
"Yes, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded immediately.
"The search results are in, sir. Based on the information provided in the diary, the Spider-Woman Gwen Stacy should be this individual."
A projection appeared before Tony Stark—it was none other than Gwen Stacy.
"Gwen Stacy is sixteen years old.
Her father is the chief of the New York Police Department.
According to all available data on the internet, there is no evidence suggesting she has any connection to Spider-Woman at this time," J.A.R.V.I.S. reported.
"I also conducted a search for all potential Peter Parkers. So far, only one matches the description in Luo Chen’s diary—a seven-year-old boy living in Queens.
He has an Aunt May and an Uncle Ben Parker."
"A seven-year-old Peter Parker?" Tony Stark mused. "That means he’s not the Amazing Spider-Man or any other established version of Spider-Man.
It’s highly likely that this is the ‘Dutch brother’ Spider-Man mentioned in Luo Chen’s notes—the one with a father-son dynamic with me?
This ‘Dutch brother’... Could he be the Spider-Man of the Fourth Wall Universe?"
Tony raised an eyebrow. "But it seems like Gwen wasn’t introduced as his love interest. The age gap between them is pretty big—almost ten years.
That suggests that, at some point in the future, this Gwen Stacy will become Spider-Woman.
A Spider-Man and a Spider-Woman existing simultaneously... I wonder if Luo Chen ever considered this possibility?"
"Based on the contents of Luo Chen’s diary, it seems unlikely," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded.
"Perhaps in the versions of the story he knows, there’s never been a universe where Spider-Man and Spider-Woman coexist.
In some versions, Peter Parker dies, leading to Gwen becoming Spider-Woman. In others, Gwen dies, and Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man."
"Finally! Something that even a traverser doesn’t know!"
Tony Stark felt oddly relieved by that thought. Ever since Luo Chen had appeared on his radar, the guy had been nothing but confident. He had been so sure that Tony would be kidnapped—even going as far as wanting to profit from it!
It was simply infuriating!
And the worst part? Tony couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t even get close to Luo Chen. All he could do was observe from a distance.
Facing such an all-knowing, uncontrollable presence made him deeply uneasy.
"Keep monitoring him," Tony instructed. "But also allocate some processing power to figuring out who might be planning to kidnap me!"
By now, Tony had fully accepted that he would be kidnapped in the future—he just didn’t know by whom.
So he had J.A.R.V.I.S. start hacking into the networks of various companies, especially competitors.
If anyone wanted to get rid of him, it would be them.
He had made plenty of enemies in his life—thanks to his sharp tongue, which he was very aware of. He felt he was simply speaking the truth, but he knew just how annoying he could be.
Still, just being outspoken shouldn't be enough to make someone want to kidnap or kill him.
The most likely suspects were his corporate rivals—fellow capitalists with something to gain.
Without Tony Stark in the picture, they’d make a lot more money.
Take that idiot Justin Hammer, for example. Hammer Industries had been crushed by Stark Industries for years, forced to make generic weapons with little profit.
And their latest creation? That ridiculous "Ex-Wife" missile. What a joke.
Tony decided to start with these morons first. They might not be as smart as him, but he couldn’t afford to underestimate them when it came to scheming.
"Damn it," Tony muttered. "If only Luo Chen’s diary actually revealed who kidnapped me—then I wouldn’t have to waste my time investigating!"
He cursed under his breath.
Because of Luo Chen’s early spoiler, Tony had canceled all public appearances and external activities.
He was supposed to fly to Afghanistan soon to demonstrate a new weapon for the military—but now? No way.
The weapon itself was obviously the most advanced missile in the world. He didn’t need to be there to sell it—he was confident the military would want it anyway.
He’d just send a sales rep.
Honestly, there was no reason for the CEO of Stark Industries to travel to a war zone for a business deal. But his Uncle Obadiah had been pushing for it, claiming that Tony had been slacking off too much lately.
Apparently, the board of directors was unhappy with him, and this trip was meant to reassure them.
Hah! As if Tony Stark cared about that!
The board members didn’t know what they were talking about.
If not for him working non-stop for months each year, Stark Industries wouldn’t be making any money.
Their dividends kept growing, yet they still complained.
Didn’t they realize that his partying was all part of being Tony Stark? It kept him sharp! It helped him work better!
They just didn’t get it.
Meanwhile, Luo Chen had no idea that Tony Stark was fuming over his diary entries, frustrated that he hadn’t revealed who the kidnappers were.
For Luo Chen, it was just a diary.
He could write whatever he wanted. Complain as much as he pleased.
And that’s exactly what he was going to do.
