The Spider-Verse

by StormCity

Continued after Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. After the Collider was destroyed, none of the heroes thought they'd ever get to see each other again. Except they would, this time with more of them than before. For there is something much greater going on in the multiverse, and all have to but unite to stop it.

4. Beauty And Beasts

Note: I don't think in this site we can use the double-slash that is there in the name of Peni Parker's armor SPdr. It should actually be "S", "P", double slash, "d", "r". I tried but at the end it only comes up with a single slash. So please excuse the single slash.

Spidey-Recap:

In this long gap between the update, there's a lot of possibility that what has happened till now may have become a little blurred for the readers. So here is a brief summary/recap to brush up memory!:

Up until now, it has been two months since the spiders from the various dimensions had stopped the super-collider and left for their respective universes, two months since Miles Morales took up the mantle of Spider-Man in his home universe. They have all returned to their normal lives. One night, Daemos attacks Spider-Man Noir and even though the latter tries his best to flee, he fails. In a future universe, Miguel O'Hara, a.k.a., Spider-Man 2099 builds a device to go dimension hopping, and realizing the threat posed to the spider people by the "vampires", he travels to Earth-8311 to rescue Spider-Ham from the hands of Morlun. He also has brought in Peni Parker from Earth-14512 and Spider-Man 67 from Earth-67. Meanwhile, Gwen Stacy, a.k.a., Spider-Woman of Earth-65 invites Miles to her world as she finds that she needs a dance partner to go to the celebration of her school's twenty-five years of establishment. Miles, who doesn't know how to dance, is taught a few basic steps by Gwen. As they sum up practice, Miles glitches, but says that if Gwen could live in his world for days, why couldn't he just stay for a few hours? Gwen gives him a suit and Miles finds a bouquet of roses gifted to Gwen by some "Harry". When he asks her who he is, she tells him that it's not important, and that they'd better get going.

---

Chapter 4: Beauty And Beasts

Earth-1048

"Thank you Jared, I'll take it from here.

"Good morning, and welcome, folks, to another round of J. Jonah Jameso… ahem…"

"I told you, let me-"

"Er… another round of Just The Facts, with J. Jonah Jameson, alerting you to every corner of the mishaps in this mess of a city that never sleeps.

"Folks, I know, after everything, EVERYTHING, all that we desire is a little break from the weirdos that roam our streets as if it were only their PLAYING tracks. From ghost people to epidemics to octopuses to metallic cranium to singularities in the skies, all we need after those is just a good night, carefree sleep.

"But NEVER! When the rogue, Hercules princess from Symkaria had last flown off, it had appeared that we might get what we deserve after all, even a little, for little time, but that's NEVER the case, especially when diving around the city is the inexplicable PHENOMENON we all know as SPIDER-MAN!

"When his weird friends had left, it should have been "PARTY'S OVER", but reality is pretty hard, because it's actually "PARTY'S JUST BEGUN!". Yes, that's right, fine people, because just YESTERDAY we had seen another episode of the peculiarity that erupts from the residues of Spider-Man's presence.

"THIRTY-FIVE, believe me, thirty-five people, thirty-five living and breathing people had disappeared from the Central Park just yesterday, out of the blue when Spider-Man had been sighted just ten minutes prior to that. And now, if you don't understand what I'm saying, here's a better sighting. This is especially an advice, or rather, a WARNING to all the concerned parents who love their kids. Keep your kids away from the streets for a while. Because, Spider-Man, just seems to be having fun PUSHING people off BUILDINGS and bridges these days, and to show off his heroics, he catches hold of them at the last second. And it's a no-brainer that THOSE missing people are in HIS hands. SHOW US YOUR TRUE SELF, YOU COWARD!

"Is THIS what you call a hero? YOU people just think that the newspapers MAKE things up, the Daily Bugle MAKES things up, and if that's true, which is NOT, then even THIS is TRUE: SPIDER-MAN is a MENACE, and all he does is creates trouble for this city SO THAT, HE COULD JUST GO AND SAVE HIS OWN VICTIMS, and all his crazy FOLLOWERS fall for his tricks. FALL FOR HIM!

"I don't know what's gotten into everyone's heads these days, but I simply don't get it, what's the thrill behind wearing the masked menace's masks and jumping off structures trying to be heroes, only to eventually crack open your nut shells and spill the cotton candies that's shrouded inside?

"Folks, I may sound harsh, but I'm only telling you all this because it's my job, and because I love you. I care about you, and that's why I've been in this business my entire life, trying to bring your senses back to the ground. We don't need masks to be heroes. Just do your jobs, let others do their jobs, help others IF NEEDED, and that's the kind of heroes that's safe. Not a clown who likes to go around changing costumes and doing moves off the sky scrapers. If you're so keen, then why don't you earn money for the gymnasts , SPIDER-MENACE, while they can seat with their families at home?

"And it's my sole request to you all, please stop trying to impersonate him, because the last thing we need is for New York to turn into a spider island. No. Thank. You.

"With this I sign off, until next time, take care and be alert.

"Jameson out."

"Jameson's here too?" Spider-Man 67 asked.

"Yeah" Spider-Ham said, "I think J.J.J.'s an integral part of Spider-Man. He's always been in supporting role for Spidey. Always!"

"That guy's insane," Miguel commented. "I can only wonder what's his blood pressure level."

They were standing atop a building in Earth-1048. Miguel checked the dial of his "watch", and tried searching for any news of vampires. It wasn't very difficult, though. Right at Times Square, the news was showing, only at that place, there were literally tremors and stampede. Police cars were filing in and were only hurled aside. Two buildings collapsed.

This was pretty much what he had come here to find.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Spider-Man of Earth-67 playing with the dial on his wrist and talking to himself. Under the mask, Miguel rolled his eyes. What an asshole.

---

Earth-65

There was something "peculiar" with this universe. Outside, the evening sky was a shade of pink that blanketed over them. Everything, from man to house to birds to cars to streets, everything was always blurred and shimmering at the edges. Shimmering pink. The neon was the second in line that dominated the color pallet of this world. Right now, Gwen, who was seated beside him at the back of a taxi, en-route to her school, blurred out a little at the edges. She was looking outside at the rush of traffic and buildings which raced behind them, and in whatever light that spilled in through the transparent windows of the car, she looked wonderful. She was still wearing her white parka and the same black shirt underneath. On her lap was a puffed up backpack, her hands protectively resting on it. The backpack was the reason why they were not out in the air, swinging their way through the sky-scrapers, because it contained too many "tools" and Gwen was reluctant to change costume so often. For once. And Miles didn't mind.

He wanted to speak to her. Sit next to her. Cover up the distance between them in the seat. She was sitting at the right edge of her seat, and he to the extreme left, just behind the driver. Gwen had been quiet all along.

Miles wondered if it was because he had asked about "Harry", whoever he was. He did notice some effect on her since then. He wanted to reach out to her. Talk to her. See her smile. But somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he should let her be by herself for some time, although he was desperate to know who Harry was. The thought had been biting him all throughout.

"Harry's just a guy at class," Gwen said, as if reading his thoughts. She had broken her gaze from the window and turned and looked him in the eye for quite a lengthy stretch of time, making him go uneasy. "He came to me today in the morning, asking me to dance with him, but I refused." And then, as if by magic, her lips curled up, to Miles' relief, in a slight, reassuring smile. "I only thought of you."

It was a huge relief to him and right now he was going through a mixture of emotions, confused to express which. He returned her smile feebly and nodded. She turned back outside.

The words were a miracle to Miles' ears. I only thought of you. He knew now that those words would play in his head for quite a few days. Did she imply something else too? Was there a second meaning hidden in those words? He wondered, but dismissed the thought. This was enough for today. At least, he didn't have to worry about Harry anymore. That seemed to have been a morbid thought. His hopes were back in full gear, tickling some bizarre possibilities into his mind.

The air in between them was electrified. He felt like he was being pulled towards her. It was as if any time now his hand would reach out for hers and squeeze her fingers. And he wanted that, but something in him was stopping him, saying this wasn't the right time. To hell with that. Miles crawled to the edge of his seat to the point that he was pushing against the door.

Outside, in the setting light of the setting sun, birds flew overhead. Cranes. He tried to concentrate outside, observe whatever his eyesight could fetch, enjoy the beauty of this world, but his eyes kept darting sideways back to Gwen, secretly. For a while, he was thankful that she was looking away so that she wouldn't be aware of him watching her.

At last he surrendered. He turned to her. He knew that when he would go back home, he would be restless. Sleepless. The way she looked right now, he could be awake forever. If he didn't say something today, if he didn't, he knew he was gonna regret it. Plus, a pretty girl like her, who knew when she would move on with someone else?

No. He had to say something today. But, really? What was he gonna say? He could at the least drop off a hint about his feelings. Maybe work his way to his actual words later after that, depending on her reaction. But the thing that was biting him at the back of his head was, did she really reciprocate his feelings? A part of him was saying that she did, and another part said she didn't. He had to find out, and he had to find out soon. He had to say something.

"Your universe is nice." Miles never knew when the words escaped his mouth. At the front, the driver, an elderly man, grunted, and Gwen raised an eyebrow at Miles. She shook her head slightly, motioning at the driver with her eyes. Miles understood the message: Say no more.

"I love sunsets," she said, pretending to sound casual. "And evenings are nice too. You know, it's the end of the day and people are headed home and it's such a nice sight."

Her eyes gleamed and they explained everything. They sparkled and reflected a lot of her thoughts, nostalgia chief among them.

His hand reached out and found hers. He was sure she could hear his heart beating like a drum inside him. He intertwined his fingers between hers. This is very weird.

He didn't know how she would have reacted. Whether she would have pulled back her hand or let it stay. Because that was when the car stopped.

"We've arrived," the driver announced in a husky voice from the front. Miles immediately pulled his hand and searched for the door handle. He opened it and got out.

Before him stood proudly, on a vast stretch of trimmed grass, in brick red, Midtown High School.

Gwen paid the driver and stood next to him. "Welcome," she said, sighing. "To Midtown High."

"Yeah," Miles said, looking around. "It's the same school that Peter went to." Gwen looked at him with some hint of sympathy Miles couldn't place. "You know, like," Miles continued, "Since his death, a lot has been made public about him. Well, not everything, but the general. Like, which school he went to, who his parents were." He shrugged. "Even your school looks the same as it does in my world."

Gwen nodded, as if realization had just dawned on her. "Parallel universes," she winked at him. "Now come on."

Miles offered her his arm after a lot of mental debating, and she looked at him expressionless for sometime, clearly considering it. Thankfully, she took it. She linked her arm through his and they walked forward, approaching the group of girls that stood at the distance before the entrance, at the steps, a bright red head prominent among them.

---

Earth-1610

May Parker slid the omelet onto the green glass plate with her fork. She lit off the stove and, plate in hand, she walked out of the kitchen.

It was a bright morning. Sunlight streamed in through the windows and cast its light onto the wooden, decorated door which she gave a gentle push. It swung open into a gap wide enough for her to pass through.

MJ was on the line.

"No I'll see you first, Peanut," she was saying. "I promise."

May put the plate beside her on the couch and sat down, grabbing the magazine from the small glass table. MJ touched the glass plate when she noticed it and made a protesting face. May shook her head and pointed at the omelet and then at her.

"What about today?" MJ was saying into the phone, "Relax Peanut. You're all getting out of breathe… Yeah, I missed you too. Yeah, Peter would have loved it."

May looked at her. Usually when any topic regarding Peter came up, the smile from MJ's face would disappear. But today it didn't. May smiled.

"He always dreamed of going to Europe… Yeah I think he went on missions… No, not with us family."

MJ looked at her. May raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'll call you back… Yeah, you take some rest. Bye." She hung up.

"She's back?" May asked.

"Yeah," MJ said, "She arrived in the morning. Said she's hell tired. But had to call me first."

"Clearly, she's seeing home after what? Six months?"

"Seven months," MJ corrected her. "Three days and two hours. She's been counting all along."

May chuckled. "I'd be surprised if she didn't."

"Yeah, remember all that crazy stuff she used to do around?"

May shook her head. "I'll never forget my trips to the principal. Peter and she used to be a rogue duo."

"Yeah," MJ said nostalgically. "But I'll never forget her strange food choices, especially after… after-"

"Yeah," May said. "Peanut with this, with that."

MJ shrugged. "Hence the name." She looked down at the omelet. "You really shouldn't be doing this, you know? I mean, I could have done it my-"

"Mary," May said, sitting straight on the couch, "There's not many days left. Please, let me do at least whatever I can these days. Please."
MJ smiled faintly. She took a bit out of the omelet with the fork and put it into her mouth. "I want to meet him. Before I go."

"Spider-Man?" May asked. It was really strange referring to him as 'Spider-Man'. After so long of Peter in the costume, and now that he wasn't around any more, it felt a bit awkward to call somebody else by that name. But Miles Morales was Spider-Man, after all.

MJ nodded. "Yes."

May turned the page on the magazine. "Perhaps you will."

---

Earth-1048

She lifted the car and tossed it, spinning it in the air, and at the pig. Spider-Ham twisted mid-air to avoid the collision, but her fist broke through the car, almost tearing it in half, and made contact with his head.

"There are too may of them," she said aloud, her foot swinging and kicking the remains of the car away. "More than we thought."

"You, sister, you," the man behind her said and dived forward with his sword. "You were the one who overestimated yourself, Bora."

Bora pretended she didn't hear him. She didn't like it when her brother called her "sister". "Bora" was fine. Because he only did it when he found faults in her, and she knew he always had a good time doing that. She looked at Miguel, her fury only reaching the brim. "Shut up Brix," she called to her brother, "You didn't say anything either."

"Doesn't prove the point," Brix said and stepped aside to let the broken door of the demolished police car fly past him just by mere inches. When the Spider-Man from 1967 flung the next one, he caught it, as if it were only a flying saucer, and using the momentum, with one foot rooted to the ground, he let the door spin him in a complete angle, and changing the course of the flying door, he maneuvered it towards its thrower. The door hit Spider-Man straight in the stomach, and he gasped as he was thrown back.

Bora wasn't liking it. It was supposed to be her who should have done that. That was her move. Nevertheless, she hurried forward towards the future Spider-Man, striking at him with her daggers. She missed.

"You missed," Miguel said as he bent down and swiped his foot at her, throwing her off-balance.

"I didn't," Bora said and thrust her pointed dagger down at him as she stopped her fall. He rolled out of the way. "Bluey!" she screamed.

Miguel shot his webs at her face, trying to blind her. "The suit's black, by the way," Miguel muttered. "People always call it blue, but it's black. I colored it black." He lashed out at her but missed. Even though she was blinded, she sensed him at the right time and grasping his leg, she thrashed him to the ground, knocking his breathe out.

"Wrong choice," Bora said when something very hard hit her head at the side, almost shattering her skull.

"Get off lady!" squeaked a voice from behind.

Bora swore. She turned around to find the pig in the air before her, a large hammer already aimed at her. She dodged at the right moment, and it went forward and hit Miguel, fortunately, on the shoulder. He cried aloud.

Bora sniggered. "Pathetic." She took hold of the hammer by its neck and tossed it aside, the pig with it.

Brix caught him. "Painful little meat, aren't ya?" he said, grabbing him by the head.

Bora turned to the little girl at the distance, far away from the mess, watching all this with frightful eyes. She smiled and walked towards her.

For a moment Peni was back in her own dimension, alone, in the darkness, in a never ending maze of alleyways, a monster of a man on her tail, every second closing in on her, and with each shortened breath that she took, she could feel him pulling her life out of her. Her robot was too far to save her in time, and when she tripped, she turned around and closed her eyes. She knew she was doomed like the two men who had saved her earlier, in the same way as he had sucked their life out of them. He looked at her and smiled, licking his lips. He reached out for her.

A hand reached out for her, about to grab her, when Spider-Man 67 shoved the woman from behind. Bora swore, and turning around, caught his fist and twisted his arm. Spider-Man screamed out in pain.

Bora smiled at him. "You first," she said, and grabbing his head in her hands, pulled him towards her.

Today was the first time Spider-Man from Earth 67 had ever faced these vampire-like folks. Up until now, he had had very little idea of what he was dealing with. No practical knowledge. He was only told what he would be facing, and that, seemingly now, wasn't sufficient.

When the lady brought her face close to his, Spider-Man felt a sudden sense of fatigue. The world was spinning. The sounds and the noise were getting distant, echoing off his head. He felt more tired now. His vision was getting dark. He could feel heat building up on the top of his head, but the rest of his body was getting numb, albeit a little cold. The darkness in his vision was creeping in now. Breathing in was too much of an effort.

At last surrender swept in. He was almost oblivious. He wanted to sleep. He wondered, for a brief moment, if sleep could fulfill his tiredness. Somehow he doubted it.

Now Peni was back in Miguel's base. Right before her was a multitude of computer screens, showing footage of all her different counterparts across the multiverse, being slaughtered as if they were all just a sac of sweet juice. She recognized the huge man who had come after her, strangling the one Spider-Man from the black and white dimension she knew. The Spider-Man kicked and thrashed and shot at the man, but the man didn't let him go. The next moment they both were gone. Into thin air. Just like that.

Miguel wrestled with Brix, who with some effort, overcame him and pushed him to the ground. Spider-Ham struck with his hammer at Brix as if striking with a club, careful to avoid hitting Miguel again, who was already in a very bad shape. Fighting two vampires together wasn't something they had thought, and ironically they hadn't thought fighting just two people would prove that difficult. It actually had.

Brix struck back with his sword, missing Ham by just an inch, the edge of his sword running against the neck of the hammer.

There was a cry and Bora was sent back, past them, flying at high speed into the rubles of the broken building. Then Brix let out a scream and was almost instantaneously lifted off the ground by a large robotic hand. Miguel traced the hand, from the metallic fingers to the wrist and all the way up the mechanical shoulder and to the face. A flat upturned transparent bowl-shaped face, a scowl imprinted on the surface, was staring at its hand. It shook Brix like a can of coke and tossed him as hard as possible, into the same building it had thrown his sister. Then the robot leaped high above all of them. Left on the ground, behind the spot where it had just stood was Peni, a frown lined up on her face, madness and insanity glowing in her eyes.

They were all the same. Vampires. Man, woman, alike. Gigantic or miniature. All she knew was that they killed, spider or not, and she couldn't let the same fate take over her friends as it did to the other spider people. Including Noir.

Using her enhanced link with her armor, she thrashed at the building. She made her robot do it. SP/dr punched and jabbed and kicked at the structure. It was clear of casualties. Peni had checked. Bringing both its fists down, the robot tried to reduce the entire thing to dust.

She scanned inside for the vampires, and reached in and pulled them out. One on each hand. Then as if it were playing with only toys, SP/dr knocked them one against the other, with such brutal force that Miguel could practically hear their bones cracking.

The robot then threw Brix on the ground and then sent Bora crashing down against him. Once they both were down, SP/dr raised its foot to stamp on them. Finish them once and for all.

"Peni stop!" Miguel shouted. "Stop it!"

Peni didn't hear him. All she heard was the hundreds of cries of all the spider people killed in the hands of these monsters. All she could see was the huge man chasing after her, his hands just touching her hair from the back. They all had the same evil eyes.

A hand grabbed her and shook her, startling her to the present. "Peni!" It was Ham. "Stop it. Stop it! You're about to kill them. Don't!"

Peni gasped. Using her psychic link, she commanded her robot to stop just as its foot hovered above the vampires.

Miguel came running towards her and knelt down before her so that he could reach down to her height. "You okay?" he asked gently, Ham still holding her shoulder.

Tears flowed down her face. She sobbed, but nodded. Miguel found it a little awkward, because he didn't know what to do about it. So he just patted her on the head.

"It's okay," he said and turned away, rushing to Spider-Man 67's aid, who simply lay on the ground, not moving. Peni rushed behind him, and Ham followed.

"Is he okay?" Spider-Ham asked.

"He's not good," Miguel said, "But he's breathing. Hey old man!" he shook Spider-Man.

"Wake up, grandpa," Ham called at him. "We need to get going."

Spider-Man 67 stirred. "'Grandpa'?" he managed to say.

"Well then for me, you're a great-grandpa," Miguel chuckled, much to Spider-Man's disapproval. "Get up now you piece of tin!"

Peni bent down to reach for him, but all of a sudden, the world span. It was like she was on a giant top, which had just been rotated with much force. She collapsed, and around sixty feet from her, SP/dr fell on the ground on its back, sending dust flying high and about.

Miguel fell off his feet, face down and Brix, from behind, started pounding on him, beating him as if he was quenching the thirst of his entire life. He was so fast that Miguel could hardly perceive what was happening.

"Stay here Peni," Ham said and he left her and Spider-Man 67 together. He leaped at Brix, but Bora caught hold of him. She smashed him against the light post. She would deal with the pig later. Right now she would see to the girl. She turned to Peni and picking up police car she hurled it at her.

In a millisecond Peni calculated the odds of her armor saving her. No chance. The car was far too close to her and by the time SP/dr was back on its feet, she would already be dead. Spider-Man 67 beside her was too weak to even sit up. There was nothing she could do. Miguel was down at the hands of Brix, and Ham was too away, right next to Bora.

She closed her eyes and flinched, preparing for the impact. She imagined the cold metal make impact against her, shatter or break open a few bones immediately. Some broken piece of metal or glass would puncture into her lungs, her heart, maybe. She had always known that driving her father's robot always put her at risk, but that death would come in this way, separated from her armor, was unexpected.

She waited, her eyes still closed, but nothing happened. She tried moving her arms and legs. She could. Without any difficulty. No. She hadn't been hit. She heard glass shatter above her, but no piece rained down. She waited a second longer, and opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was the large, white spider insignia on his back. The cloth material appeared to be different, but the general style of red and blue was still there. Strips of white lined his suit here and there. It gave his suit an overall more aesthetic and an athletic look.

He had stopped the car. It was in his hands, raised above his head, and he gently put it down. He turned around to face her.

"You okay?" he asked.

---

Alright, let's play this one more time. Right from the beginning.

My name is Peter Benjamin Parker, and I'm twenty-three. Eight years ago I was bitten by a radioactive spider and since then, I've always been the one and only, Spider-Man.

Over the years, I've fought crazy people and saved the city again and again. Look, I've appeared in, maybe, nine movies so far, innumerable video games and quite a lot of series. Last year was pretty great for me, for I starred in two blockbuster movies, and probably got one of the greatest games in history. And from what I have seen, people love me, and maybe you do too.

With time, Spider-Man grew, and I finally graduated, this time with a degree in Biophysics. I made wonderful friends, and fell in love with the girl of my dreams. I've been a pretty busy person. Really. I learned how to cook, but people seem to have a lot of grievances against it. I love to eat, too, and pizzas are my all time favorite. I made friends with the Police Captain, and I'm also the one and only, Spider-Cop, ever since.

While fighting the monster I created, I lost my aunt. I mostly feel her death's in my hand, because it was my decision. It's still very difficult at times, especially with a missing friend and a great Uncle who's no more, so I don't really think about it. After all, she'd be here had it not been for me.

But other than that, I'm perfectly fine. I've met a lot of new people, saved the city from a deadly epidemic, and two months ago, I fought a man with a really hard head. And you know how it goes. I patched up with MJ after a six month long hiatus, my Police friend has gone rogue, and the life of Spider-Man is always weird.

But no matter what comes in the way, I always find a way to stand up, because in this great mess of a city that I call "home", I'm the only one who keeps it moving.

I'm Spider-Man, and I'm always gonna be… Now, back to the game!

-000-

Fifteen minutes earlier…

Tears welled up in Peter Parker's eyes.

He learned long ago why chopping onions made you cry, but he still could not stop appreciating how the plant enforced it as a defense against its predators.

Sweat trickled down his back just the way his tears flowed all the way down his face and lingered at the jaw, and then dripped onto the counter where he was chopping the onions. The room he knew as "kitchen" was getting suffocating every minute, even though the roaring exhaust fan tried its best to spin out the "fumes". Put on top of that the bee that was droning around over his head for the last half hour, and that was pretty much enough for a celebration. The faint voices of the loud customers outside crawled in, and he could hear the voice of the television in the dinner hall trying to overpower them. Added again to that was the telephone in the dinner hall, ringing continuously since the last fifteen minutes. Nobody picked it up. It was a busy starting for an early morning.

Peter was constantly aware of the time. He had his ears fixed on the sound of the moving hands of the red circular wall clock behind him. Not that he was running out of time. His colleagues always made it sure that he got enough of it when it was his turn to cut the vegetables and the meat, because everyone knew that he was pretty slow at the job, and it was irksome to everyone, even him. It wasn't that Peter was new to the knife. Years of being a scientist, and a self-proclaimed minor engineer had a different toll on him. It had made him love symmetry. It was more like an obsession now: Every piece of whatever he chopped off the whole, had to be of near equal size and shape. Symmetry.

He brought his sleeve up to wipe his eyes when the door to the kitchen opened with such an authority that even though Peter wasn't looking, he knew who it was.

He looked up to see fat Mr. Byers wearing a yellow flowered shirt which was hanging at the base of his huge round tummy. He was the perfect manager for the restaurant, because as much as he took care that his customers ate, he ate even more. Behind his back, his employees secretly made fun of him, calling him "The Bowling Ball" because he could be pretty much hard on his "workers" as much as kind and loving he was.

He stomped up to Peter, a blue and shiny phone gleaming in his large, cushion-hand. Sometimes Peter wondered. If Mr. Byers and Wilson Fisk were to spare, who'd win, because had the former cut his hair bald, he would pretty much be called the Kingpin's replica.

Mr. Byers had already begun to sweat. He glared angrily at his phone, as if it were the cause of his perspiration. "Only because it's your wife that I'm allowing you to use my phone," he grumbled at Peter, pushing the phone into his reluctant hands. "Next time, even you don't get the favor." With that he turned around and stomped all the way back and out the door, slamming it shut with the same harsh authority he had used to break it open. Outside, the ringing of the hall phone had ceased.

Peter brought the phone to his ears, weary. He never remembered marrying anyone. This had to be a mistake.

"Hello?" he spoke carefully into the mouthpiece.

"Hello you," said a familiar voice, and the warmth and sarcasm in it brought a smile to Peter's lips. In fact, he was so relieved that he abandoned the onions and leaned against the counter, crossing his legs as he stood. He hadn't heard Mary Jane's voice since the last five days, and it had been pure agony for him.

"Hey beautiful," he said cheerfully. "Did you actually introduce yourself to my boss as my 'wife'?"

There was a beautiful giggle from the other side of the line. The sound of it was a blessing to Peter's ears. She was okay. She was right in the middle of a war zone, but she was okay. "Ain't I gonna be some day?" she asked teasingly.

Peter just had to hear that, and his heart already started pumping faster. "Yep… I mean… yeah!" he said. "You know, you can call me up next time instead of my employer," he chuckled.

"I did," she said, "Your phone's switched off."

"Are you kidding me?" Peter fished out his cellphone from his pocket, and surely, it was dead. "Oh damn, I think the battery's drained out."

"Yeah I thought that. I've been trying to ring you up for the last fifteen minutes."

Peter held his breath. He was so doomed, if Mr. Jonathan found out. "Wait, so you were the one who had been ringing the restaurant phone the whole time?"

"Yep," MJ replied heartily.

"Wow," Peter mused. "So what's up?"

MJ sighed. "Nothing. Just wanted to hear your voice, honey. Really missing it."

"Yeah, while you were the one who had to fly all the way to Symkaria!" Peter scolded. "You don't know how it is to not hear from you for even a single day. I even had to spend Valentine's Day all alone and quiet!"

"Well, I'd thought I didn't have to worry about that. You've got so many girls on the list, especially a hot burglar with whom you… uh…"

"Are you talking about Felicia?" Peter asked.

"You know, you could always fill the gap with her, whenever I'm not around!"

Peter shook his head. "Yeah, I think I should do that. It'll be fun, and-"

"Wait," MJ interrupted, "You aren't actually thinking of doing that, are you?"

"Actually I was."

"But I was just kidding!"

"Yeah I know," Peter said, smiling to himself. On who was the joke now, huh? "I was kidding too. Just come home soon."

"Peter it's been only two months!"

"That's what, MJ! It's been two months! So long! When are you coming back?"

MJ sighed. "I… I don't know Pete. Just last week my actual purpose of visit came to play. The first move towards success. Oh, and by the way, do you know that the civil war isn't the only thing that's kept this country shaken up?"

"What is it?"

"Symkaria is almost always at a constant battle with its neighboring country Latveria."

"Latveria…"

"Ring any bells?"

"Hmm," Peter rubbed his chin. "Sounds very familiar."

"Anyways, I've got to be going now. Getting some significant progress at work."

"Whaaat?" Peter brawled, "Already?"

"Yeah… I'll call you back sooner. I promise. And when I come back, we'll celebrate Valentine's Day everyday."

"Yeah… I… uh… love you. Take care of yourself. I wish I were there with you."

"Yeah I know. I love you too Tiger."

Peter finished with the onions and put them on a plate. He then remembered that the phone he was holing was not his. Setting aside the chopping board, he walked out of the kitchen, phone carefully in hand.

Outside,the chattering of the customers had stopped. There was pin-drop silence in the hall. People had even stopped eating. The only sound in the room was coming from the television news channel, and it didn't sound good.

Peter turned to look at the screen, and at once, he found his hand reach up to his collar buttons and unbutton them. He hurried over to Mr. Byer's desk and put the phone there, unknown to its owner.

---

Henry Byers looked on at the news with astounded horror. He really couldn't understand what was wrong with the present days. He'd just relaxed after all the last few traces of the Devil's Breath epidemic were gone, after the last of the Demon's were seen to, and after Hammer Head was down, and now what was this?

The footage they were watching, was all shaky, because most probably the cameramen too had to run for their lives. Cars in the background were hurled from one place to another, a very large crowd of people were flooding the streets, a woman screamed, and then all of a sudden, a loud explosion sounded and a huge fireball erupted from a window in a building, startling a lot of the customers in the hall.

His hands unknowingly touched his phone, and it was just then that he realized that he had seen Parker seconds ago. He turned around in his swivel chair, but Peter Parker was gone.

-000-

Now (Present Time)…

Earth-65

"Your feet are nice." Miles didn't know why he said that. As they walked up the part-stone, part-concrete pathway, Miles constantly aware of the warmth of Gwen's hand even through the clothing, he couldn't help notice the distinguished tap-tap the soles of his leather shoes made, and while he was looking down at them with his untied shoelaces, at the back of his eye moving gracefully, silently, at a constant pace, were the bluish green of Gwen's shoes, keeping up with his own. Seeing them had reminded him of her bare feet he had noticed bare minutes ago. Maybe that's why he said it.

He waited for her to respond, bracing himself for an outburst. What was it when he was with her?

Gwen gave him a confused look. "My feet?" she asked disorientedly.

Miles winced. "Yeah," he replied feebly.

"What about them?"

Miles gulped. "They look strong and soft and smooth and pretty and polished… with… a shade of… gray nail polishes…?" Oh man!

Gwen shook her head. "Pretty?" she said, "They aren't supposed to be."

Miles, wide-eyed, asked, "Why, what do you mean?"

"It's just an unasked perk of being bitten by a radioactive spider, I guess."

"But why?"

Gwen sighed. "Miles, do you know that I've been dancing my entire life? I'd enrolled in ballet classes since I was six. Over the years, I've broken my ankles, my toes, twisted my foot, torn out my skin, broke my nails and what not. You can't just learn to stand up on your toes just in a day." She looked down at her shoes. "What you see now is nothing like it used to be two years back. That's why I call it a perk of the spider bite."

"So just the way it helped Peter improve his eyesight so he didn't need glasses anymore?" Miles guessed.

"I guess," Gwen replied, looking fondly at him. "But thanks, that was really sweet."

Miles' cheeks heated up at that. Her attacks were always sudden. Damn, his face was burning all over. Say something dude!

"Who do we have here?" a new voice asked. He looked up to face three girls staring curiously at them, from Gwen to Miles and then back to Gwen.

Miles recognized one of them instantly. The shock of fiery red hair that gleamed under the light, suggesting it was a natural shade rather than artificial hair color, was unmistakable. In his mind he secretly gasped. She looked much younger than he remembered seeing her, and she looked much more carefree and had an aura suggesting she possessed some sense of authority. She was a pretty face, but maybe not as much as Gwen, at least not to him, and she too had a quite athletic figure, but more like that of a model at the same time.

Miles realized that he may have just found the Mary Jane of this universe.

"That's MJ right?" he asked Gwen, not realizing that he had been loud enough for the other three to hear.

"That's right," MJ said, astounded.

Gwen cleared her throat. "Girls, this is Miles, and Miles, meet Betty, Gloria and MJ. They are my band mates."

"Nice to meet you Miles," MJ said with a kind smile, extending her hand, creating looks of surprise among the other two girls and even Gwen. "How are you doing?"

Miles, realizing that his arm was still linked with Gwen's, let go of her and took the offered hand. "I'm fine, thank you. Gwen talks a lot about you." Oops. That actually wasn't the case, because he never remembered Gwen talking about them specifically. He didn't know why he said that.

He looked sideways at Gwen, who seem to have clearly been taken off-guard. The three girls seemed equally amused.

"Now, now, does she?" MJ mused, looking from him to Gwen and then back to him. "I'm honored," she joked.

"What about me?" the bespectacled girl asked.

"And me?" the African-American girl asked. "What does she talk about me?"

"Yeah, MJ's not the only beauty queen here," the girl with glasses said.

Miles grinned stupidly, foolishly, uneasily. "I know that you are Gloria," he told her, and turned to the African-American girl. "And you're Betty."

The latter slapped her head. "No silly, I am Gloria," she said, "And she is Betty," she pointed at the girl with the glasses.

Miles clapped his hands. "Oh, right," he said, smiling uneasily sideways at the blond girl he loved. He was doomed. "Sorry!"

MJ cleared her throat. "Can we expect some slick moves from you, now that you're paired up with the dancing queen?" she asked Miles, poking him on the shoulder.

Miles' heart sank. Expectation was not something he loved a lot, and what was more disheartening was that he did have some really cool moves, but only when he was in his costume.

"Ahem!" Gwen interrupted, "Look who's saying," she raised her eyebrows mischievously.

Both Gloria and Betty smiled.

"Yeah, how can we forget your lip-sync battle?" Betty asked.

"Yeah, MJ," Gloria chimed in, "Especially when you were all dressed up as a man dancing 24K against that boy, that cute boy, what was his name again?"

"Was it Thomas?" Betty wondered.

MJ rolled her eyes. "It was just a re-enact of the original video, girls. That's no talent."

"Wrong," Gwen said, "That's is talent, red head, not everyone can-"

"Gwen!" a male voice called from behind MJ, and when she stepped aside, a tall, well-built figure appeared. Miles saw Gwen stiffen beside him.

"Harry," she said.

Miles took a good look at the man. So this was Harry. And for an odd amount of time, for no rationality, Miles immediately felt some kind of loathing towards him. Maybe because this Harry was a well-looking fellow, with neatly combed brown hair and green eyes and a manly face, wearing formals that made Miles' ones look like a crumpled paper placed beside smooth silk, that there was a nagging feeling of doubt that maybe Gwen found Harry more attractive than Miles, or maybe, she would eventually, for Miles was sure, putting together Harry's looks and his rich attire, every girl would be after him.

"Miles," Gwen shook him out of his thoughts, "This is Harry. Harry, Miles."

Harry put forward his hand and smiled, his eyes not even for a single bit on Miles, but instead on Gwen. "Harry Osborn," he said absentmindedly.

Miles took it. "Hey, I'm… I'm Miles. Morales." Harry Osborn's grip wasn't very firm, considering the fact that his attention was to Miles' right. Not at him. Miles turned sideways, just a bit, to get a hint of what was happening. He found Gwen staring at the ground, checking out her shoes or something, and then she looked up at Harry and returned his dashing smile.

"Hi," was the one word she said, but the way she said is burned Miles. It only opened the gate for more random and morbid thoughts that he had only overcome a few minutes ago.

Harry, most probably satisfied with her smile, turned to Miles, and looked at him with uncertainty. "So he's your date for tonight?" he asked Gwen, almost disbelief and mock showing in his features and his voice. But he was trying his best to hide it.

"Pff," MJ pouted, "Not everything is a date, Harry," she said sternly.

Harry laughed. "Yeah, of course," he said, "I was just joking, MJ."

Betty rolled her eyes. "Were you?" she asked. "Really?"

Harry shrugged. "Of course!" he replied.

Gloria poked him on his chest. "Get your eyes off her for once," she teased, "There are other girls around too. You make us feel worthless."

Harry laughed. "It's nothing like that," he explained, waving his hands.

"Yeah right," MJ said, looking at her watch, "We've got another fifteen minutes until setting up the stage, and until that," she looked at Gwen, "You show Miles around. And I swear, if you are late again, tonight, I'll…"

"Yeah, I get it, I get it," Gwen muttered. She tugged at Miles, and walked away.

Miles followed her, constantly feeling Harry Osborn's cold gaze on his back.

---

Earth-1048

Bora saw the new-comer. With one swift motion, she dug her heel into Ham's gut and shoved him away.

"Another one," she growled, pulling out her daggers.

Brix let go of Miguel. "Look who showed up," he said aloud, "The man himself." He turned sideways to his sister. "This is the one we came looking for, Bora."

"He's mine then," Bora said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She smiled. This one looked strong. But the stronger her prey, the more she enjoyed her hunt.

Spider-Man of Earth-1048 couldn't believe what he was seeing. Two people. Just a man and a woman were giving the hardest time to the police force and these people who were trying to impersonate him. They had taken down entire buildings, and if he was not mistaken, there was a gigantic robot lying before him. He shook his head. Everyday just got weirder than the one before.

The blond woman was approaching him. Slowly. Curiously. He could just sense the excitement in her eyes. He noticed the daggers in her hands. Well, this looked like one mistaken individual who was overestimating herself. But Spider-Man reminded himself that he shouldn't be underestimating her. He had made that mistake before. After all, after so much of chaos, gunfire and stampede, she was the one standing. Not the cops. Not the buildings.

He steadily approached her, his spider sense kicking high on alert. Behind her was a man who looked so much like her. Same blond hair. Same face-cut. He could easily have been her twin. And next to him on the ground was a blue figure, looking at him.

"You shouldn't run around in cosplay that way," Spider-Man said. "Last time somebody did that, in my costume, he almost got himself killed."

"We're not in cosplay," Miguel grumbled.

Bora charged at Spider-Man at inhuman speed. For a moment, Miguel guessed he sensed surprise in Spider-Man's features but he soon got over himself and dodged her. When Bora slipped past him, he turned around and jumped and spun in mid-air and lashed out at her back, throwing her off guard. Then it was Brix's turn. Leaving Miguel wherever he stood, Brix dived at Spider-Man with his sword. It was all like a movie scene in slow motion. Spider-Man sensed him coming, and turning around, he did something which looked like he was about to shoot webs, but instead there was a blast of a sound and Brix was sent back flying.

Bora and Brix both charged at him from opposite sides. He calculated who was closer. The man or the woman. The woman. So he did a back-flip, catching hold of Brix's arms on the go, and pulled him along with himself, landing on Bora's soldier and let go of Brix, sending him straight at SP/dr. He then jumped off her and sent a web-bomb, gluing her to the ground.

If he had to be honest with himself, Miguel was a little more than envious. The way this Spider-Man fought, it was all like the flawless combat of a martial artist added to a gymnast, and added to that was the combination of gadgets Miguel never even imagined existed. Spider-Man fought these two people as if they were just regular thugs, tossing them around and webbing them from time to time. He never even received a single hit.

Then SP/dr got up, and something flew into it. Peni. Miguel noticed that the robot came to life, more than before, and its hands turned into an array of weapons: from chainsaws to cannons to knives. Its face was once again lined in frown and it went into the commotion to help Spider-Man. When Spider-Man hurled Brix away, Peni caught him and flung him away like a stone. Bora stepped aside to miss Spider-Man's blows and climbed onto SP/dr, trying to stab at the glass face.

Miguel didn't wait to see what happened next.

He hurried over to Spider-Man 67 to help him up, who seemed to have recovered his strength a little by now. There was a dull, loud thud and Miguel found Ham with his gigantic hammer, which had made impact with Brix just as he had sneaked up on them.

"Gotta admit," Ham said, looking at his hammer, "I think I'm getting to dependent on this thing."

Miguel nodded. "The next Thor."

They were both startled when SP/dr fell to the ground and came slipping on its back next to them, Spider-Man on its belly. All their spider senses went off.

Spider-Man of Earth-1048 stood up, his eyes glued to the group. "You… you're all like me," he said.

"Told ya," Miguel said as SP/dr got up, "We're not crazy people in cosplay. This is the real deal."

Spider-Ham scratched his head looking at Spider-Man. "Why… why do you sound like Ben Ten?" he asked.

Spider-Man looked down at him, obviously surprised. A talking pig. A talking Spider-Pig! "Because he's my favorite?"

"Okay guys, enough of fan discussions here," Miguel said as his spider sense kicked into fifth gear, "We've got to get moving from here."

"I can't," Spider-Man said, "Not with these people here."

"They are not here because of the city, they are here because of you," Miguel said. "For you."

"What do you mean?" Spider-Man asked, but before he even finished talking, a dagger flew past him and bounced of SP/dr. "Never mind," he said.

Miguel stretched his hands. "Alright gang, let's take these two down. And don't hold back, because even your strongest moves aren't going to do them much harm."

"Point," Spider-Man 67 said.

They stood back to back, almost in a tight circle, around which both Bora and Brix moved. Preying. For sometime, there was silence. A very tensed silence. The spiders braced themselves. Ready to defend. Ready to attack. They waited.

And then the siblings made their move. They acted like bullets, in multiple places all at one time. Spider-Ham struck out wildly with him hammer, SP/dr fired its cannons wherever possible, Miguel lashed out with the spikes on his hands, Spider-Man 67 jamming his fists at Brix, but occasionally missing. Out of nowhere a drone flew above them all. A spider-shaped drone. It followed the movements of the siblings and started firing at them.

"Don't tell me those are yours," Miguel said to Spider-Man, already knowing the answer.

"They are mine," Spider-Man said, blocking a punch from Bora. The drone, set its target on the two, started firing wildly when Bora grabbed a broken piece of concrete slab and hurled it at the drone.

"Brix," she called, "Let's take them all out together."

Brix drove his sword at Spider-Man, but Ham blocked it with his hammer.

Right then, the spiders slowed down. They didn't do it by themselves. Something had gone wrong. Their arms felt heavy. Breathing was getting difficult.

"It's… it's happening again," Spider-Man 67 said, "They're killing us."

"No they won't," Miguel said. "Lyla!"

"All ready Miguel," said a female voice and a few feet away, a colorful mass of cloud swirled open before them.

"Peni," Miguel called, "Do me a favor and toss them away from that portal, will ya?"

No sooner had he completed saying did SP/dr kick Brix away. But with Bora it was a different game. She had latched herself onto SP/dr's foot, and no matter how much Peni thrashed, she wouldn't budge.

"Ham!" Miguel called.

"Right," Spider-Ham said and jumped into the portal. Miguel helped Spider-Man 67 into the portal, and once the latter walked in, he turned around to look at the Spider-Man of this universe. "Are you coming?" he asked him.

"I can't," Spider-Man said.

"I knew it," Miguel muttered. "Peni!"

SP/dr's hands turned into full cannons and shot at its leg, blasting Bora away. It then grabbed Spider-Man and dived into the portal. Miguel stepped aside to let them in, and then walking in himself, he closed the portal.

"Hey wait," Spider-Man 1048 called, "Let me get out of here."

Miguel shook his head. "I may, but they're gonna kill you if they find you alone."

"No they can't. I've faced worse than this before. These are just… must be some enhanced individuals dressed up like nineteenth century folks. I can't just stay here watching them ruin my city."

Miguel pulled off his mask. "They won't. Trust me. They were only there because of you. Don't you get it? They took down entire buildings and houses and the police just to get to you. To seek your attention. If we hadn't been there, your girlfriend might as well have been preparing your grave by now."

Spider-Man paced around. "I… I don't get it. Who are you guys?"

Miguel sighed. He pulled his chair and sat down. And explained.

---

Earth-65

An hour and a half later, Miles Morales could only think of three things: Gwen, Harry, and food.

It had been a while since he had last eaten anything, and his stomach began to squirm and rumble and heat up right in the middle of Gwen's performance. It wasn't that it distracted him; After everything yet, hunger was the last thing that would pop up into his mind. No. It was more like a rule. A necessity.

Gwen's band had taken leave of the stage twenty minutes ago, and whenever Miles closed his eyes, he could only see her in the drums. He wasn't pretty sure he knew what song they played (it sounded familiar), and he doubted if the exact version even existed in his own universe. His mind and ears had been pretty closed off when they were performing.

Because his eyes had been only trained on Gwen. The way she moved, hit the cymbal, pedaled the drums, her synchronization, all were excellent! Seeing her he had realized that maybe drums were the type of instruments which demanded a lot of physical endurance, and Gwen's was amazing. The beat still sounded in his ears. But more than that he remembered the way her hair jumped around her face as she rocked on, wild leaps that had stunned him with every beat that it hopped.

And he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one who's eyes were fixed on Gwen. Down there was Harry Osborn, probably flirting around with her, or worse… no no no… he didn't want to venture further into his thoughts.

Right now he was talking to… holy shit… he was talking to the girls right now, and he was sticking around Gwen. Miles leaned forward in his seat, watching his every move. The way he patted Gwen on the shoulder. The way he was talking to MJ, laughing so happily because he was standing nearer to Gwen, right beside her. Right now, his hand was on her back. Correction: Wrapped around her back, as if she were only his. And what was she doing? Gwen stood humbly, her hands tied before her, talking to MJ and a few other boys and girls, most probably her classmates.

"Here you are!" a voice startled him.

Miles turned sideways to see Gloria holding out a tray of veg-rolls to him. She was wearing the same kind of apron Gwen and MJ were.

"I've been searching all over for you," she said, "Here was the least place I thought you'd be."

She was searching all over for him? Not Gwen? Why, because she was enjoying out there? No. She had to be busy herself. Maybe they were assigned the places to serve. Not roam around like free birds.

"You can go down there and meet her," Gloria said. "Harry's there."

Miles looked ahead. "Yeah…" he sounded very uncertain.

Gloria laughed. "He just can't keep his hands off her, can he?"

Miles smiled uneasily. Harry was Gwen's boyfriend. No. Harry was not Gwen's boyfriend. She didn't even have friends. He was the only friend she had. Perhaps. And besides, she had told him she had no boyfriends right? Then why was it bothering him so much?

"Anyway," Gloria said, and extended the tray towards Miles. "Now don't tell me you are not hungry. I felt sorry for you when I met you outside. You look like you are starving."

Miles selected a roll. He didn't know why, because all of them looked the same. Probably, even tasted the same. His hand hovered above the surface and then picked one up. "Thanks!" he said. "You're right. I am starving."

Gloria returned his smile and turned around and walked down the stairs.

"Uh, Gloria?" Miles called out to her.

She stopped and turned around. "Yes?"

Miles stood up and came out of his seat. He would satisfy his hunger, but what about Gwen? Working all day and night, practising and dancing, she must have been tired as hell. "Can I… can I have another one of those?" he asked, pointing at the tray.

"Uh…" Gloria looked and sounded uncertain. She edged over to him and spoke in a low key. "Actually we were pretty much instructed to serve only one to each-"

"Oh," Miles waved his hand. "It's okay then." He would reserve his roll for Gwen. Maybe she needed it more than he.

"But considering you're a special person tonight," Gloria said, "I'll not hesitate to offer you one more." She smiled a little. "I told you. I felt bad for you outside." She picked one herself and handed it to Miles. "Guten Appetit!"

"Are you sure?" Miles asked, taking it.

"Nah, no problem!" Gloria said and with that, she climbed downstairs.

Miles took a bite from his piece and looked at Gwen. He was glad that Harry wasn't there anymore. He hurried down the stairs casually, taking another bite from his roll.

Once he reached down, Gwen was hidden from his sight by people. One moment she was there, and then somebody had to cross by him, and she disappeared. The crowd was simply too huge. The place felt richly out of air and hot, even though the air conditioners and the fans were trying their best to keep the temperature down.

Every passing person had a different way of going through. Some bumped right into him, and some managed to avoid. It was as if he had just dived into a river with a strong current. He was being carried away by the crowd with a similar force, and he had to hold tight onto the food in his hands.

"Miles!" Gwen's voice called out to him from the side. A hand caught hold of his arm and pulled him out of the crowd and into the opening of the exit. Her hand was hidden under a white shirt and black, narrow trousers. The green apron was still on her front. Unlike Gloria, she had no gloves on. She must have taken them off.

"You are serving too?" Miles asked just for the sake of asking.

Gwen shrugged. "Yeah. My part's over now."

Miles nodded. "You must be hungry," he said, holding out the uneaten piece of veg-roll to her. "I managed to get one for you too."

Gwen considered, looking at the roll, and then at him. She looked almost touched. She brushed a strand of hair away from her face. She looked gorgeous doing that. She was looking stunning even now. It wasn't that she had changed her hair or something. Just a change in clothing, and she looked a whole new level of pretty and beautiful. "I… I already ate," she said guiltily. "I ate down a bit of pretty much everything I got. From cake to chips to rolls."

"Oh… oh it's… okay," Miles said dismissively. "I'm pretty much starving. I'll finish both." He just couldn't look at her. Maybe she would get a hint of why he was so awkward around her. So he bit down his roll greedily.

Gwen nudged him on the arm. "Hey, thanks!" she said softly, and with a bit of so much gratefulness and kindness that Miles had to look away to hide the redness in his cheeks.

"No problem," he said, avoiding her gaze.

Gwen pulled him by the arm. "Come," she said, heading outside, dragging him along with her. Miles pretended to be reluctantly dragged, when from the inside he was celebrating her touch.

They walked out of the hall and on the way met a gang of boys all huddled together at a corner.

Someone among them, a huge, bald-headed guy called out sarcastically. "Hey who's that kid Gwen?"

Gwen glanced at them for a second and shook her head as they both walked into the cool airy night.

They walked down a stone pathway out of the main building and into some kind of park. A park or a garden, Miles couldn't tell. It looked a lot like a green house. A green house with no roof. Rows and rows of flowers lined both the sides of the pathway, one on top of the other. It was like a big, rich nursery of some kind.

Outside the rows of flowers was a vast stretch of carpet grass and trees. A variety of trees. Here again, occasionally, there were iron stands of different styles and colors holding pots of plants at various heights. There were two tall trees at one side and a hammock set up between them. Surrounding it were pots and pots of roses. There were benches here and there.

"We can sit here for a while," Gwen said, motioning at one of them and sat down, "Enjoy the chill of fresh air. Boy, it can be so humid in there!"

Miles sat down beside her. He looked awkwardly at the eatable in his hand. He'd lost his appetite now that he was sitting next to her, all alone, in a park, in the dark. Like, he saw in movies, a lot of wonderful things happened in a park right? He scolded himself for thinking so far, and stirred when Gwen pulled the veg-roll from his hand. He happily let it go.

"I'm a foodie you know?" she said as she tore it into half, handing back Miles one of them. "So no matter how much I say I ate…" She gobbled down the half piece. "Mmm… That's quite a mouthful!"

Miles watched her as she tried to speak but failed because of the lack of space in her mouth. She chewed and chewed and chewed. He realized he could look at her all day like that, and forget about everything. Especially hunger.

"What are you looking at?" she asked after she finished chewing.

"Oh!" Miles shook his head. "Nothing. Just probably wondering, what's uh… what do you like to eat? These things a lot?"

Gwen sat back and relaxed. "Not only these. Any thing edible goes, you know?" She frowned. "Except cabbage. I hate cabbage."

"Okay, so what do you like, like what's your favorite?" Congratulations buddy, Miles' subconscious mocked, You just found a very wonderful topic to start off with.

And it was true. He didn't know what would happen after tonight. There were two possibilities. Either speak out his heart to her, say her everything he wanted, and needed, for that matter, or go back home without a single revelation, and he would be sulking the whole day after that. Probably the whole week. This is your chance man, it's now or never. Say something!

"Peanut butter," Gwen said.

"Sorry?"

"Peanut butter, yeah," she said, "Peanut butter. My favorite." She chuckled. "You can even probably give me cabbage if you get me peanut butter. I can survive my whole life on peanut butter. I love it that much!"

"Oh."

How would he start? He just couldn't tell her that he liked her. It would be too awkward. How funny was it, that they were seated at the perfect spot and he couldn't let out a single suitable word from his otherwise unruly mouth? Hey tongue, roll out and say something!

And that was it. The perfect spot. The perfect way to begin.

It had been in his nose the entire time they were here. There was that fresh, grassy smell of a garden. The scented smells of the flowers around them. But the strongest among them was that musky scent that was all spread in the cool air. It smelled slightly of rotten eggs, but also sweet at the same time. It was something he had back in his own world too, and suddenly Miles was reminded of all those childhood days he would go out cycling with his neighbor. He would go out of his house even more when he had a lot of homework, and it was then that he used to get this strange, wonderful smell. It smelled like this in the evenings, and he remembered old Mrs. Harris who used to regularly water her plants at sunsets with that lemon-green , long plastic pipe of hers. She had a lot of mango trees in her backyard. They smelled the same. Like this.

"It's a nice place," Miles said, looking around, careful not to catch Gwen's gaze.

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, this was Peter's favorite spot too," she said. "My best friend who's no more," she added, when she saw the confused look in Miles' eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Miles said, looking down at his roll. He decided to get rid of it and shoved it into his mouth.

"You don't have to be," Gwen said.

"How long had you known each other?" Miles asked.

"We were neighbors. And he was like my tail. My constant companion." Gwen smiled at the memories, her eyes very sad. "he followed me wherever I went."

Just like I'll follow you, Miles thought. Ugh, creepy!

Gwen shivered. "It's getting a little too cold in here, ain't it?" she asked.

At once, Miles slipped out of his coat and wrapped it around her. "Wait… but… wait, what about you?" she asked.

"Nah, I'm fine," Miles said casually.

So this was it. He had wrapped his coat around her, he was sitting so close to her, in a park, all alone, so how much more did it take to just close the gap between them and wrap his arms around her? Lean forward and push his forehead against hers? He just didn't understand. Why could he not do it? Why was it that every time he tried to move towards her his body restrained him ? Why?

And then an idea struck him. He remembered he had once edited her picture in his phone. It was a portrait of him and her, and at the background, bare legs, resting on a seat, but its owner was hidden from sight. Peter.

One day, after classes were over, Miles had found himself editing the picture. What he had to do now was to just show her that image and then that would be it. But he wanted to do it indirectly. He wanted her to find it out herself. And there was his idea which would come in handy.

He opened the image and switched off the screen and slipped it casually into the front pocket of Gwen's apron.

"What was that?" she asked, looking down.

Miles scratched his head. "Yeah, could you, uh… keep it with you for sometime? I mean… all in this suit that I'm in, it's pretty uncomfortable with a phone in your pocket." He congratulated himself. That was such a lame excuse. But she didn't object.

"'kay," she said, and said nothing else. Hopefully, she would dig it out later and find out. But she didn't. However, Miles waited. And he would wait further, because he wasn't planning on waiting after tonight. No more weird feelings in the stomach. No more butterflies. No more pain. Tonight was the night, he'd decided, and he would confess it to her. If she didn't venture about with the phone, he'd show it to her himself.

He touched her shoulder. Damn it. If Harry could, then why couldn't he? He firmly grasped it above the coat. His heart was thrashing against the inner walls of his chest. But she didn't resist. Breathing all ragged, he inched closer to her and put his arm around her. She was shivering, right? Now time to spread some warmth. He'd have gotten closer but then he stopped. There. Again. It was like there was something warning him: One at a time! Take it slowly! And also, he didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. This wasn't his usual self, holding her. This was his adrenaline-pumped, action-ready, confident, heroic side. He rubbed her arm that was away from him, gently, and he'd have pulled her head against his shoulder had his timid personality not returned. Take it slowly! But then she did it herself. Gwen lay her head against him, eventually, and Miles blasted off to the ninth cloud. He was sure Gwen could feel the bass of his extraordinary momentary heart beat.

They stayed like that, maybe, for another five minutes. Miles figured that this scene would be forever plastered in his mind. It was so… unusual. Add to that the sweet smell of the mango trees somewhere in the park, and the scent of the roses and the grass, and Gwen's, her firm, lithe, delicate-like frame against his, and the next time he went cycling around in his neighborhood, he was certain he'd remember this night. His night. Their night. More than desperately.

Gwen sighed. "I've got to go and change now," she said softly, getting up.

"Your bag… filled with clothes… those are the 'tools' you meant?"

Gwen chuckled. "Yeah."

"And your costume?"

"In my bag."

"And you left it there somewhere?"

Gwen handed him his coat. "I keep my bag locked. Luggage lock. And besides, it's in my locker. Which is locked too."

Miles nodded. "Oh."

"It's time you got ready, Miles," Gwen said as she turned around. "Time for your big event. I hope you remember the steps." With that she was gone.

Miles stood up and put on his coat and reluctantly walked out. Why, it was so much better when they were here. Now a very funny feeling began in his stomach. Because right now he was going to his doom: a dance. A dance with a pro like Gwen. A dance in a familiar yet unfamiliar place. A dance in a place where people showed him that he was only a kid. A dance with Harry Osborn somewhere in it.

Why was he feeling so little?

---

Nueva York

"You must be talking about the singularity that happened back in December," Spider-Man of Earth 1048 said after Miguel concluded his tale.

"Don't actually know which month it was," Miguel replied, "Every universe has a different time line. While in your universe it can be Christmas, and in some other it can be New Year. Or maybe even Halloween. But yes," he took off the dimension-opening "gizmo" from his wrist, playing with its dial. "A singularity. Yes. It was like the sky imploded and exploded at the same time."

"Yeah," Spider-Man 1048 said, "You could describe it that way. So it was actually you!"

Miguel shook his head. "No. It was centred around a universe called "Earth-1610". I call it the "Ultimate Universe", just the way I call his "Ham World," Miguel said, pointing at Spider-Ham, who was talking to Peni before SP/dr. "That's Peter Porker."

"What?" Spider-Man almost laughed out before stopping himself.

"Yes."

"So, we all…" Spider-Man said, swinging his arm in an arc, motioning at everyone in the dark hall, "We're all each a different version of Peter Parker?"

"A different version of Spider-Man," Miguel corrected him, "Not Peter Parker, at least not as far as my knowledge stretches." He shifted in his seat. "In my world, here, there was a Peter Parker. Heck, there were all the Avengers you probably know. So, I don't think I'm a reincarnation of Peter Parker. I'm just another who happened to get the powers."

"So is there a main Spider-Man? The original 'design'?"

"I don't believe in all that. I mean, not all Peter Parkers are meant to be Spider-Man. Trust me, there's a lot of universes out there somewhere where some 'Peter' was never the Spider-Man."

Spider-Man 1048 shook his head. "I always thought parallel dimensions was a science fantasy. Or fiction."

"Well congratulations then," Miguel said, "You're right in one."

Spider-Man stood up. "I have to go back, Miguel. My world needs me."

Miguel stood up too. "And so do theirs," he said, pointing at Peni and Ham, and at Spider-Man 67 who was slumped in a reclining chair beside them. "But you saw what they can do. Today you faced two, but there's another two who are far worse. Hopefully, the ones we saw today are the last of them. No more I hope, or else things can get pretty bad."

"How do we stop them?" Spider-Man 1048 asked.

Miguel sighed. "I wish I knew," he said as he walked to the computer. "But I don't."

"Well there has to be something."

"Whatever it is, I don't think we can do it just like that. I mean, you saw the way they fought us. The way they could tolerate pain. I mean… the Spider-Man from 1933 literally punched out holes in that big guy with bullets. He was even spilling blood like a fountain did, but then you saw what he did to him at the end."

"He ate him, just like the others?"

"I don't know. I never saw what happened after that, and I'm unable to find these people. But," Miguel lowered his voice, "There's a lot of chance he's already dead, but they don't wanna hear it." Miguel motioned at Ham and Peni with his chin. "The girl's seen enough for a life time." He sighed, shaking his head. "I… I just don't know. I don't think we're enough in strength, and I still don't think we cam beat them just by muscle. Even though we need numbers right now."

"We are outnumbered. Maybe."

"A few hours ago, I was thinking it would be enough to just stop these vampires. But I don't think we can do that."

"So the only way is to keep fighting, and running?" Spider-Man asked. "I'm sorry, I'll fight to the end, but running is just not my type."

By this time, the other three were gathered around them. Peni and Ham stood next to each other, and Spider-Man 67 stood leaning on the computer panel.

"It's not my type either," Spider-Ham said and Peni shook her head too.

"Well, it's not any of our type!" Spider-Man 67 said. "Although, I feel we are doing just that. Here. Hiding."

"This is not hiding, moron!" Miguel snapped. "Why is it that you always think something else?"

Spider-Man 67 pointed at him. "Listen, future man, just look at where you stand. Look around you. Your room isn't even lighted. It's total darkness. You couldn't even move properly out there. You fought like a coward. I saw you. Tell me this isn't hiding."

"Yeah, and who was it that ended up almost dead? Who's the one right now, standing and staggering around like a zombie? Huh? You know why I keep the lights off? Do you actually know why?"

"Why?"

"It's because the light's too much … You know what? Why should I justify to you? You who doesn't even know proper ethics, and points at everybody. You just love your finger don't you? Look, you're even doing it right now!"

"Don't teach me about ethics when you-"

"All right, guys," Spider-Man 1048 interrupted, "That's enough, I think. I… really. That's enough." He looked from Ham to Peni to Miguel. "So where were we?"

"Running," Ham answered.

"No, I mean, before that?"

"We're not enough in numbers," Peni said.

"Right," Spider-Man 1048 said, and turned to Miguel who was trying his best to calm down. "How many more earths did you discover?"

Miguel parted his mask a little and took a sip of water from the bottle he had been holding. "Too less," he said after a pause. "And a lot from these 'too less' are spider-less now."

"Wait, whoa," Spider-Man waved his hand, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that…" Miguel took another sip, and then three more, "I haven't found all the universes yet. I can't. There's millions of them out there. Actually maybe infinite. Thing is that out of all that I've found, only a tiny fraction of us spider people are still alive."

"And so you were thinking of recruiting them now? Like a resistance?"

"Initially that wasn't the plan, but maybe it's a ray of hope now. Maybe the only ray of hope."

"Which ones?"

Miguel booted up the huge multitude of computers. "Earth-50101. Indian Spider-Man. Earth-760207. Retired Spider-Man. Earth-120703. Depressed Spider-Man. Earth-26496. A very spectacular Spider-Man. Single. No girlfriend. And… the rest. Earth-1610… 616… 65."

"So now we go on recruiting?" Ham asked.

Miguel shrugged. "The more the merrier, perhaps."

The room started to flash in red. All of a sudden.

"Lyla, if you have to say something, just, why don't you?" Miguel said aloud.

Lyla's beautiful holographic form appeared before them all. "They are still there Miguel," she said.

"Who's still there?" Miguel asked. "Where?"

"The vampires. Earth-1048."

The screen lighted up even brighter for a second, causing Miguel to flinch, and then reduced to a steady brightness. The view focused on a very familiar scene of New York. Out on the streets were walking two similar looking people. A woman and a man. Bora and Brix. Unbelievably, they were walking among the crowd, catching strange looks from the people on the street.

Peter Parker of Earth-1048 gasped.

"What is it?" Miguel asked, looking at him, and turned back to the computers. "Why are they still there?"

"Shoot," Peter mumbled. He looked up at them. "We've gotta go back," he said. "Right now."

"But why?"

"I know why they're still there."

"Why?"

Peter held his breath. "I forgot about Miles."

---

Earth-65

"Just relax," Gwen said as she walked alongside him, arms linked with each other. Occasionally people turned to look at them, and they did stare at them. "I'll do everything. You just have to hold on to me."

She was wearing what was called a little black dress. Miles didn't have much of an idea about girls' dresses, but Gwen was dressed pretty simple, yet he'd bet that she looked the most stunning among everyone. Her hair was neatly combed and smelled of shampoo. And she smelled so rich of perfume. Before them, Betty Brant walked with her partner, and she didn't even look an inch as good as Gwen did.

And then she was right. Why was he so tensed up? He was the one with Gwen. Not Harry. Not that big guy. And he'd mastered the few basic steps of a ball dance. This wasn't some sort of contest, after all. And besides, when Gwen promised that she would handle everything, he could trust her.

But no, that wasn't what was bothering him. He was actually worried that he might not be able to impress her enough. Maybe she'd walk home disappointed after tonight, and that was the last thing he wanted. Nope. He'd try his best.

"Is it showing clear in my face?" he whispered to her. "That I'm tensed?"

"Not that much," Gwen whispered back, trying to stifle a smile, "But it's pretty visible to me."

The way she said "me" sounded as if she was the only one who knew Miles inside-out, and for once, his spirit soared. Screw that Harry Osborn…

His back automatically straightened. His grasp on her arm firmed, and he felt a little upbeat. Today, no matter who these people were, whether he knew them or not, he was gonna show off tonight. Show off because he was with the prettiest and liveliest girl in the hall, the queen of dancers, with him. He looked around. For once he wanted to forget everything else. Forget his homework, and this was even better than the thrill of swinging around in the city. He'd just not think about the world for at least some time, along with all the complexity it carried itself on.

The music was already on. Slow music. Couples here and there were dancing slowly. Miles and Gwen stopped at a spot and she faced him. Yes. He didn't have to turn his neck up now. He was almost her height.

He held her the way she had taught him, and they began to slowly move to the beat. At first, that excitement was back in Miles, but he dominated it slowly and gradually. The more time he spent on the dais with her, the more confident he got.

Say something, his subconscious urged. Now!

She moved about so gracefully around him. Two steps to the left and then back to the right. Then when the music slowly changed to waltz, their stepping changed accordingly, and they moved around in a small square. He was so glad she had taught him this. At first it had seemed a little critical, but then he'd acquired the technique. And slowly, gradually, the beat just got faster and faster. The music artist on the stage changed, and with that, the type of music.

Gwen, you look very beautiful tonight. I wish we could be more than friends.

"Gwen?" he gathered up the courage to speak up.

"Yeah?" she smiled at him. She was having a good time. It motivated him to say more.

"Needed to say something."

"Yeah, say it." She did a quick turn where she had stepped.

"I uh…" I want you to… can you be mine? Please? "Um… It's… it's been nice knowing you." Wow, his subconscious clapped sarcastically. That was really good. 'It's been nice knowing you'? Seriously, that the only thing you got to say man?

"Oh," Gwen looked down. "Thanks. I'm glad I met you too."

Miles remembered something. "Uh… Where's my phone?" he asked.

"It's in my bag. Locker. You want it?"

"It's fine, we'll get it later."

Miles breathed out. He had to try something better. But maybe Gwen already knew. Maybe she knew that he wanted to follow her everywhere. But he wasn't sure. She only kept him guessing, and that wasn't sufficient. It was moments like this that he figured it would be better to tell her. Just do it man! He should really stop thinking about the possibilities and just say it. Confess it.

"Uh, mind if I… um.. may I?" a male voice asked. It was Harry Osborn. Miles really didn't understand, but why was it that every time he stood close to Harry, his spider sense triggered? Because he was a little too good-looking for Gwen?

Miles looked at Gwen. She looked a little uncertain. But he had learned that whenever someone does a "may I?" in a ball, one should never say no. So he let him take a his place. ONLY FOR A FEW MINUTES! his subconscious yelled. Yes. Miles would come back after five minutes max. He nodded at Gwen and she gestured "okay".

He came out of the dais and was walking to the side when a group of boys surrounded him. Miles recognized that big dude with no hair. "Yo kid!" somebody said among them.

"Listen up," another said.

Had it been in his own world, Miles would have done something about it. Clearly, he never felt okay being surrounded this way. But here, he didn't want to leave a bad memory in Gwen's mind. It was her school after all.

"Hi man!" Miles tried to sound bright.

The big dude leaned down. "Too cheerful huh?" he said. "I wonder why."

The rest of the gang laughed.

"Maybe it's because of the girl," somebody said.

"Yeah, I saw him dancing with Harry's girlfriend after all."

"Wait" Miles said, "She's not his girlfriend!"

This caused a roar of laughter among the group.

A thin boy, long hair and all, poked him on the chest. "Well what do you think? Look at them."

Another one said, "You do believe in every word she said huh?"

The big guy patted Miles' head. "Trust me kid, you don't know her."

"She's not what she seems to be."

"She's only Harry's."

"They've had plenty of good time together."

"Don't tell me she's cheating on Harry!"

"Why would she? No, she's just having fun with the kid. Maybe she sees him as her brother."

"Brother-zoned!" somebody laughed.

"Yeah, I bet. She don't like you boy."

"You guys will never change huh?" a familiar female voice cut in.

They all turned around to see Mary Jane. She had her arms crossed and was glaring at the gang. She was wearing the same dress she had worn while performing on stage. Miles figured that maybe she wasn't here for the dance.

She stomped forward and poked the big guy on the centre of the chest. She said something to them which made them leave, but Miles was too busy looking at Gwen among the crowd of couples.

Harry had moves. He was keeping up with her nicely, better than Miles had done.

Miles felt a burning sensation rise inside his body. His heart was beating even faster. He was feeling…angry. At himself. Why had he let Harry take over?

He felt a hand touch him and turning around found MJ motioning him to join her somewhere at the back. He followed her to the edge of the hall and they joined Gloria, who was standing all by herself, dancing to the beat.

"Whoa," Miles tried to sound upbeat, "You didn't get a date?"

"Nah," Gloria replied, "I'm fine like this for once."

"And you too?" he turned to MJ.

"Yep," she said, moving her body in minimal amounts. "Boyfriends? Boring."

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry if those guys were giving you a hard time," MJ said.

"Nah, it's fine," Miles lied.

"They're a bunch of jerks. Really."

"So Miles," Gloria said, "How are you alone?"

"Harry took my place," Miles admitted. This caused a stifled laugh among both girls. "He… he really likes her, doesn't he?" Miles asked shakily.

"He liked her ever since he came here," Gloria said. "Been asking her out always. Peter didn't like it very much."

MJ nudged her and shook her head.

"Okay…" Miles was liking this less and less. He wanted to ask if they were really a couple, but refrained himself. He just figured he had to trust Gwen. She wouldn't lie to him. He was her only friend, and hopefully, more than that…

Fifteen more minutes, and he still didn't go back. He only stood next to MJ and Gloria, watching Harry and Gwen keep up with the music. He didn't like the way Harry was holding her. Nope. He just couldn't get his eyes off them. From time to time, his head would search the hall for them, and they were still dancing. Gwen looked at ease and even happy form this far. Maybe she really was. Miles didn't understand why he wasn't liking that. Like, Gwen deserved to be happy right? But she looked more cheerful with Harry than she had done with Miles.

Just relax man! he told himself, even though his heart was wildly fluttering inside him. Miles took a deep breath and exhaled. He had to calm down.

He turned to look at MJ and Gloria. They looked pretty chilled. MJ invited him to join them, but Miles politely declined. No. He didn't know to move his body the way they did.

He turned to look at Harry and Gwen. Harry was gazing into her eyes. But they continued to dance. Pretty easily. Miles closed his eyes and smiled. He figured he could just trust Gwen. He had to.

He only had to look away for a second, when people started to move around, and concentrated at one spot. Gwen and Harry were lost from sight.

He turned to MJ and Gloria. The former's eyes were wide with disbelief, and Gloria looked out of clue.

"What just happened?" she asked MJ.

MJ shook her head and went into the crowd. Gloria and Miles followed.

Miles pushed through the stubborn crowd which wouldn't just budge. There were cheers and hoots echoing through the walls of the hall, louder than the music.

There was a small gap between two guys before him, and Miles took advantage of that and propelled himself forward. And stopped. Literally. A chill ran down his body.

What he was seeing was the last thing he wanted to see. He had always dreaded it. He understood now why people were cheering so much.

Right before him, Harry had one hand on Gwen's back, and one on her jaw. Their lips were locked. And remained like that for a stretch of time.

Some people's voice echoed in Miles' head.

You know I'm older than you. Fifteen months, but it's pretty significant if you ask me.

Do you… did you ever have a… boyfriend? Do you?

I don't remember.

Who's Harry?

Doesn't matter. Let's get going.

Hey who's that kid Gwen?

You do believe in every word she said huh?

So he had been wrong about Gwen. He had simply thought too much.

Brother-zoned!

He liked her ever since he came here.

Been asking her out always.

Gwen pulled off. She was red in the face. She was huffing. She looked so painfully beautiful. It broke Miles apart when he realized that she could never be his the way he wanted her to.

Her blue eyes, dazzling in the disco lights darted around, scanning the hall, and they stopped when they saw Miles'. Blue eyes trained on brown.

They stared at each other as the crowd began to clear.

---

Yes, yes. I know. I know. I'm late again. You're probably wondering what's the excuse this time. It's that I've been practically and literally restless. Breathless. A lot of work. Every day the work seems to be piled up. This semester is just too busy.

I would really like to thank Wlyman2009, MarvelousManiac, K2-Black-Panther, Superfan44, TurquoiseInktrovert, Willcc1026, Indigene Syke, Jko333, Spider999, Sol, Felipe Montenegro, PraetorFable, Oblivan, Maximus Hambugerlius, Shahzamaan Khan, Insert Name Here, Guest, Necroknight 303, Juniemunie, Damander E, katee198, Ciandoo, Plumcicle, Kael, ahia for leaving back their awesome reviews.

To the readers who pointed out some things which I could correct:

K2-Black-Panther: Thank for pointing out my mistake! And yeah, I found out about the sequels and spin-offs, but thanks anyway!

Indigene Syke: Thanks for that! I did something about that in this chapter, and I hope you liked it.

Insert name Here: Thanks! And also thanks for pointing out that Miguel's suit is actually black in color. I did something about that too, here, and I hope you liked it. And do stop calling yourself "a loser on the internet". You're not. You just pointed out a significant fact in this story. And really sorry for the late update. Hope you read this. Spider-Man The New Animated Series will appear too. At some point of time. By the way I won't be continuing from my PS4 fic because that's a completely different story meant to be a lot darker theme, and if I continued from there then people won't understand if they haven't read that fic and they have to go back to read that story first.

I've pretty much replied to all the others, and here's to the ones whom I couldn't reply:

TurquoiseInktrovert: Thank you so much! I hope you liked this, and that you enjoy the rest!

Sol: Thanks a lot!

Shahzamaan Khan: I'm really glad that you liked it. Yes, I tried to refer to some of the most incredible and greatest takes on Spider-Man. I always wanted to write a story on almost everyone of them, but that's not possible. So, I'm just trying my best to do it here. Yeah, Spider-Man TNAS was my favorite. It was pretty much of what I grew up watching, although the number of episodes were very less.

Guest: Here you go, I hope you liked it!

Guest (2): Yeah, this was a late update. But here it is...

Ciandoo: Thanks! Hope that you read the rest too!

Kael: I'm really glad that you liked it. Unfortunately, updating is taking a little too long, but there will be updates eventually.

ahia: Sorry! Here you go! I'm glad that you are liking it...

Please note that if by any chance I haven't replied to any of you, there can be three reasons. Either I haven't received your message, or I haven't read it, or I haven't figured out what to say. And don't feel insulted if the reply never comes, or if it's too late. I'm a little too occupied these days, and overlooking isn't going to be a surprise. But I try my best to respond.

So please don't forget to leave behind your reviews after reading. They really keep my inspired.

Also, please note that whatever is the number of reviews that's showing for this story, it's one less than that. For example, if it's showing 61, it's actually 60. I have to be honest. Because the one extra was left behind by myself, saying about when I'll be updating. I thought I could delete it after I post the new chapter, but alas, it won't go because I had been signed in. Now I can't remove it and it's just really in my head.

I also thank everyone who has followed this story and all who have added it to their favorites.

By the way, I'm just a guy with zero idea about girls' dresses, and so, do excuse me for being too vague in describing Gwen's little black dress. Also, I haven't danced for a long while, and in the last chapter, when I was describing how Gwen was instructing Miles to step while dancing, I had to refer to a lot of YouTube videos. And then I was practicing it all by myself too, no girl. Just me, with air. And then a friend came in and asked "What are you doing man?". I said I was practicing for a couple dance. But I didn't have a black and white gentle man's suit. I have a blue one.

Okay, so once again, I'm having a lot of tests and exams this month, and I won't be able to sit down to write until the fifth of March. But then, I assure you, you'll get the fifth chapter.

So stay tuned for chapter five, titled "Gwen Stacy" featuring the Spider-Man from the animated series regarded to be one of the best series of Spider-Man yet (it aired in 2008, I think). And... You have to wait to find out.

Also, I'll be changing the story image according to the events that are happening. Maybe not every time, but that's the plan. What you are seeing now, I might change again after another two days, and stop at that until the next update. So, don't depend on spotting/recognizing the story in the Comics Spider-Man page by its image. At least, not for some time.

I am just eager to know, are you planning on sticking with this story till the end?