Peter Parker rubbed his temples. God, his head hurt. Dying didn't feel good at all. "So let me get this straight," he started, looking up at the people around him.
"You're Miles Morales, who was bitten by a spider like two days ago. You're…me. Like, an older version of me. From another dimension. You're a version of me from a dimension that's black and white. You're Gwen, also from another dimension, where I'm dead. You're a spider-turned-pig and a cartoon. And finally, you're Peni Parker, from the future, and you have a robot with a spider inside."
The group of spider-people nodded. "You got it," they said in unison.
Peter sighed. "But the real question is," Gwen interjected, pulling his attention back to the group, "who are you?"
"And why do you think that you're dead?" Miles added.
"Why do I think I'm dead? Well, you two at least look older than me. How did you defeat Thanos?"
Peter B Parker tilted his head. He seemed tired. His eyes didn't quite catch the light like anybody else's did. "Who now?"
Peter blinked. "Thanos. You know, alien guy who got all the infinity stones?"
"Aliens? Interesting. Anyone else have aliens in their dimension?" Noir asked the group. Everyone replied by shaking their heads.
"Wait. Hold on. What about the Avengers?"
Everyone shared the same confused look. Of all of these universes, was he the only one that knew the Avengers?
"Captain America? Or Iron Man? Tony Stark?"
"Tony Stark, I know that guy! Some billionaire that makes weapons, right?" Peter B answered. He seemed proud of his answer.
"That's it! But he doesn't make weapons anymore, not after he almost died. Then he became Iron Man."
"Sounds like a bad guy. Is he a villain?" Spider-Ham asked.
"What? No. He created my suit. I followed him onto that spaceship, and, well… we lost. His goal was to wipe out half the universe and he succeeded. With just a snap of his fingers he did it. And I…"
Gwen put up her hand. She wore a very stoic face, and seemed to be the voice of reason for the group. "Stop. You don't have to talk about that. What's more important is how we're getting back to our dimensions."
"I don't know if I can go back. I'm dead, remember? What if this is like, my second chance or something?"
"The best way to tell is if you experience glitching. People from other dimensions can't survive in this one," Miles said. He'd shoved his hands into his hoodie. He seemed somewhat uncomfortable. He said he was from his dimension, which made him kind of an outsider. Still, he could sense that there was something about him that reminded him of himself. All of them did.
Peter scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess I'll have to try anyway. What do we know?"
"We know that Kingpin has a supercollider, and we need to both use it and destroy it," Peter B answered.
"Kingpin? Didn't Daredevil take care of that guy?" Peter mumbled.
"That means that someone has to stay behind to turn it off and destroy it," Gwen continued.
"I'll do it," everyone, save Miles, said.
"No, no," Miles reacted. "None of you can survive here. Even you, Peter. It's my responsibility, I'll do it."
Peter didn't know much about these spider-people, but he was quick to pick up their distrust in Miles. It wasn't that they thought that he was a bad kid or anything, but they just didn't seem to think that he could handle it. And to be fair, he was only given his powers two days ago. Two days, and he was already in this kind of mess.
The others sparred with him. Peter tried to interject, make them calm down a little, but it would be to no avail. They seemed too occupied with testing Miles to listen to him.
And Miles being on the floor seemed to confirm their suspicions. They grouped together, backs to the young kid as they talked about who would stay behind. For being alternate versions of Spider-Man, they all seemed to have such little faith and understanding. Perhaps they had already forgotten what it was like to be a kid, struggling with the weight of responsibility. Not that Peter was old himself, but dying really made him see everything from a new perspective.
"Wait-" he started, but was interrupted by the sound of machinery. He turned to the noise, where he saw a plate – something like an elevator – rise above. It looked empty, but Peter remembered that they said that Miles could turn invisible.
Peter turned to glare at his alternative selves, then sighed.
