Answers to reviewers' questions or statements:
Galabrax: He didn't kill anyone under the influence of both Venom and to some extent the Void, but he defiantly left people wishing they were. As for how bad it was for when Peter was under the influence of Venom and to some extent the Void, only Hal Jordan possessed by Parallax surpassed him, and even then, it was a close race. Yes, we will see what's going on with the Justice League at the end of this chapter and a bit during the final chapter of this arc. As for how I'll have Loki portrayed, sort of like his MCU counterpart but with elements from the comics
christianalebron1: We won't see entirely what it is that Fate is teaching Wanda, we're get glimpses of it this chapter and see what it was in flashbacks in later arcs but most of it won't be revealed until later on. The Other isn't back in either Peter or Kaine, at least not now
kival737101: Including this chapter, only four. This one deals with training stretched over the course of several weeks leading up to the siege, the next two are the siege itself which will introduce an old familiar face and the last one will be the aftermath of the siege and be a series of moments in the year that leads up to the official New 52 proper. Annoying I know, but the wait will be worth it, especially since the final chapter of this arc will have a lemon in it and introduce a very important character that will go on to play a large role in Peter's life
luck: Possibly
Guest: Some will be one shots or multiple shots and if they prove popular enough some might get their very own story
spiderman1fan: No Peter will not be going to Gotham to help Batman with the Court of Owls, but he will have his own encounter with them later on, one member in particular
chimera629: At this point in time, Peter's guilt complex isn't as bad as it is in the comics, he's over the years thanks to in large part to Diana and some extent Clark and Dinah Lance has come to terms with some of his past mistakes and inactions, part of it was because of the Void, it prays and feeds on self-doubt which will be shown in flashbacks and in future arcs, especially when we see the death of Gwen Stacy and the Spider clan after the events of the Grim Hunt, but there is one thing that still haunts him that he keeps buried, it won't be revealed yet and it's related to the events of Grim Hunt
Yo: Both yes and no, funny inner commentary and dark twisted commentary
justafan: It'll be interesting to watch Wanda stalk Peter and try to win his affections, be sort of something out of an Anime show.
Chaos Sorcerer: Yes the Void and Venom will take turns insulting Peter but they will also be fighting for control and influence over him and well that won't end to well as you'll see here and in other flashbacks down the road. Kaine will eventually find his own way in the world, won't be easy and he'll get lost on occasion but he'll find it. Venom won't be seen for a while, like around H'EL ON EARTH arc and he'll be a sort of amalgam of his Ultimate universe incarnation and mainstream. Yes Peter will be getting his power up, granted he won't use it until the siege and even then it'll be late into it but he'll start to learn about it here towards the end of the chapter, as for what it will allow him to do, you'll see but it involves his spider-snes to some extent and the Web of Life. As for Peter developing a relationship with anyone until he can be with Diana, sort of yes and no, he won't be actively looking for anyone because he's still pinning for Diana, doesn't mean he won't grow very, very close to some women he'll meet, both old and new…things will get complicated as a result and yes Peter will get a few roommates, one of which is Zatanna. No Peter won't be getting any gift of that sort from K'un-Lun, he will be rewarded but it won't be a form of immortality at least not from them. Yeah Wonder and Superman's relationship will be hard to read, hell it'll be hard to write but that's the price we must pay as we follow Peter through this, but I will say that the two's relationship won't be as smooth as it was in the comics, there will be times where things will get…difficult between them. Yeah choosing Wanda or Diana is hard and sadly it's only going to get even harder when other women show up and certain arcs both original and canon to the new 52 will explore their relationship with Peter and expand upon it. At the end of this you'll be pulling your hair out on who you want to see Peter ended up with, maybe that one, maybe Wanda or even all of them if possible.
gunman: Yeah the Inheritors know it'll take way too long to try and navigate and slip through the defenses which have been improved on and strengthen over the centuries so that means forcing their way through, and they have a few things to help do that. Peter will meet an Amazon here, one that'll appear from time to time and I may have it that another that while didn't train here has visited on occasion. No Kaine knew what Karnak was getting at it, he's just too stubborn to admit it but he'll come around eventually. While Peter was trained by some of the League's top fighters, it never got very far, after all only four months after that chapter, the Death of Superman happened and Diana was off world at the time and then the emergence of Super Boy, Cyborg Superman, Eradicator, Steel, the destruction of Coast City and then Emerald Twilight, a lot happened over the next year or two and it was during that time that Venom, the black suit Peter was wearing and the Void began to try and sink their claws into him. When it was all over he never really went back and continued his training, he still practiced but nowhere to the same level that they do.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used in this story
Peter held in a yawn as he and Kaine stood in an elaborate Dojo with several people off to the side and watched as the Immortal Iron Fist stood before the two spider powered men, both now wearing blue training pants, red sleeveless tops and white wrappings around there hands, wrists and feet.
"Gentlemen…" Danny said as he took a step forward and stared down the two men "What is the extent of your martial combat?"
"Uhh I know some boxing, a little bit of Brazilian kick boxing, an Amazon fighting style taught to me by Wonder Women a while back and whatever I could pull off from watching Brue Lee" Peter said with a cough
Kaine shrugged "Eh, I just start swinging and hope that I hit the guy and if that doesn't work, insult him and his mother"
Danny stared at the two men for a few moments before speaking "…This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought"
"Karnak said something similar when he commented on my fighting abilities" Peter said as he scratched the back of his head
"He gonna be helping in learning Kung Fu all Karate kid style or will it just be just you goldie boots?" Kaine asked with a yawn
Peter shot his brother a glare "Would it kill you to be a bit more respectful to people?!"
Iron Fist held up a hand "It is alright Peter, I've long since learned that ones like Kaine here who talk the most often show the least"
Kaine quirked a brow at that "Really, care to put your money where your mouth is sensei goldie boots?"
Iron Fist smirked as he slipped into a simple combat stance and made a simple come hither motion with his hand. Kaine responded by leaping at the man with blinding speed and his fist raised…only for Danny to causally duck and kick Kaine's feet out from under him and use his palm to slam the stunned spider into the ground with a thud
Peter winced at the impact "Yeesh, I felt that one"
Kaine growled at the white and golden colored fighter "Lucky shot!"
Danny took several steps back "Well then, let's see if my luck holds out"
He then turned towards Peter while also ducking under another punch thrown by Kaine "Peter, feel free to join in. I find fighting my students first gives me a better idea of where they stand and what I can teach them. While you can use your abilities today, I'd recommend not over doing it too much, we still need this space for your two's training in the coming weeks"
Peter stared at the man as he causally dodged, blocked and bested his brother with frightening speed "Uh sure, just give me a moment-"
He was interrupted by Kaine's body being thrown into him faster than he could react 'Thanks for the warning spider-sense!'
"OW!"
"WATCH WHERE YOUR STANDING!"
Danny watched them both with an amused look "Your enemies won't give you a moment Peter or you Kaine, now…" he slipped into a slightly more advanced looking combat stance "Let's see just how capable you two are!"
Peter and Kaine eyed the man before they looked at each other with determination
"You hot left, I got right" Peter said as he stood up and cracked his neck
"Fine, but if we start hitting high or low, I call the low blows" Kaine said as he cracked his knuckles
"I bet you will" Peter said with a smirk
Kaine felt his brow twitch "That could have come out better…"
The two men than leaped at Iron Fist who smirked as golden chi began to build around him. He ducked under a punch sent toward shim by Spider-man while also using his leg to block another kick from Scarlet Spider. He used his chi enhanced strength to push the two men back before he switched tactics and went on the offensive.
His fists and kicks became blurs as he sent numerous blows towards the Spider duo, who even with their spider-sense and enhanced reflexes were having a hard time either blocking or dodging. Most of the time they were unable to block because the hit cam faster than they anticipated or the two would bump into each other
"You two need to find a way to work together" Iron Fist said as he leaped away from the two in a series of back flips before landing in a crouch and using a cross arm guard to block a punch from Spider-man. He quickly grabbed the man's arm and flipped him over his head and sent a heeled kick right into Scarlet Spider-s face, creating a small shockwave that sent the man flying
"Yeeee-ouch!" Kaine shouted as he slammed into the wall next to a group of students who were watching
Peter held in a wince at the sight of Kaine crumbling to the floor in a huff, sadly he was too distracted by his brother getting knocked around to react to Iron Fist kicking his feet out from under him and sending him flying with a powerful palm strike to his chest
"ACK!" Peter chocked out as the wind was knocked out of him and he landed outside the ring with a heavy thud "…Owie…"
Danny took a deep breath as he looked back and forth between the two men "And what have you learned from this first lesson?"
"That we suck…" Peter groaned out as he rubbed his chest in an attempt to sooth the pain
Danny chuckled "No, that you two need to learn to not only improve your fighting styles, Kaine you especially, but you need to learn to work together in a fight"
"We work plenty well together" Kaine said as he forced himself to his knees and rubbed his head "Damn…felt like I just got hit by Rhino and Bane combined"
Danny shook his head "Yes you work well to a certain extent, but your cooperation in a fight leaves much to be desired..."
Peter stood up and looked towards Danny with a curious expression "How were you able to keep up with us anyhow? What are you, superhuman or something?"
"In a manner of speaking" Danny said with a smirk "But that is a lesson for another day, today and for the next week I'll be teaching you two to fight like an actual team. You may one day face someone as good a fighter as Me and Karnak hope to make you and will require both of you to defeat him"
"Yippee" Kaine said dryly as he approached the two "And how do you plan to do that, have us do trust falls, maybe share our deepest darkest secrets with each other"
"If you want" Danny said with a shrug "But I was thinking more along the lines of hitting you two until working together becomes seemingly second nature to you two"
"How long could that take?" Peter paled a bit at that
Danny's response was a dark grin as his hands glowed yellow "As long as it takes, now again!"
On a balcony overlooking the dojo that Danny was using to train the two spider themed men, stood an old man. He wasn't overly tall and relied on a cane to help him walk and stand. He was clad in a black and white robe with a hood pulled over his face to conceal most of his features.
"Hmm…aren't you just an interesting one Peter Parker" the man said in a low tone as he watched the Immortal Iron Fist once again best the two spider themed men with ease
Peter landed in a hand stand and sent a kick towards Iron Fist who easily blocked it before jabbing Peter in the leg, causing him to yelp in surprise before jumping away only for him to stumble to the ground as he lost all feeling in his leg
"What the hell?!" Peter said in shock as he looked down at his leg
"Nerve strike, won't be using that limb for a few minutes is all" Iron Fist said as he blocked all of Kaine's punches before slapping the man's arms away and headbutting the sole surviving clone of Peter away
"Then how the hell am I supposed to fight you?" Peter asked with annoyance
"Use your imagination, remember your mind is the most valuable weapon you'll ever have in a fight" Iron Fist said before he was knocked away by a quick strike from Kaine "Good, Kaine, your starting to learn to strike a man when he's distracted…now let's see you fight a man whose focused solely on beating you!"
Peter watched Kaine and Iron Fist spar, or more accurately he watched Iron Fist practically dominate Kaine with his far superior hand to hand combat skills. Kaine's brawling style might help against most people with some form of formal combat training, but against the likes of Iron Fist…it wasn't even a contest
'Really should have kept going with that training regime Diana gave me all those years ago, would have come in handy now' Peter thought with a sigh as Kaine landed next to him with a thud, clutching his arm that also received a nerve strike to it
…
Wanda took several deep breaths as she tried to calm her thoughts with the breathing and mediation techniques that fate had spent the better part of half an hour explaining, it was proving far harder than she hoped or expected for some odd reason
It was than the voices started again…
"Oh look it's her again, god what a freak!"
"Aww look guys little Wanda is about to cry, HAHAHAHA!"
"Stay away you freak, help, someone help!"
"Wanda, you need to get control of yourself now! You're hurting them, stop please!"
"Bitch, just leave us alone!"
"Monster!"
"Such a poor disappointment-"
She was suddenly met with the image of Peter looking at her in the Oblivion bar all those months ago, the intensity of his gaze caused Wanda to blush before the memoires of their coupling on the plane came to her and she felt her desire for him skyrocket-
"Your losing focus again miss Maximoff" Fate said from his position by a large fireplace that was lift with a flame that constantly shifted colors and size, from burning embers to large infernos
Wanda held in a sigh of annoyance as she sat in a room, well levitating in a lotus position in a room with numerous candles lit and floating around her. Behind her was a large floor to ceiling window that looked down at the city, allowing her to hear the faint day to day lives of K'un-Lun's citizens
"Concentrate miss Maximoff" the voice of Fate echoed through the room again
"I am!" Wanda snapped, she's been trying to concentrate for the past hour but the voices make it hard for her to really focus long
"No, you are not…" Fate said as he circled the powerful woman with an observant gaze "You mind isn't focused, partly because of the large amounts of Chaos magic you've been exposed to…but also because your thoughts center on something else…someone else"
Wanda's eyes opened and she turned towards Fate with a scowl "Is that a problem?"
"Only when it distracts you from your meditation" Fate replied evenly
Wanda eyed the man for a moment before exhaling loudly "Why are you even trying to teach me, I'm an avatar of Chaos…you're the avatar of Order. Our natures are mortal enemies"
"True…and you are right in that most of my magic can't or refuses to work for you with how deep in chaos magic you are…but I can still ensure that you are not lost to it like many have before you" Fate said as he folded his arms across his chest "And to ensure that, you must center and focus your mind or risk losing your sanity…"
Wanda nodded and took a deep breath before closing her eyes and trying to concentrate again "But I must ask, why are you really trying to help me?"
Fate was silent for a few moments as he mulled over his answer before speaking "While it is true that because we represent Chaos and Order, which by proxy should make us mortal enemies to some degree, I'm not short sighted enough to not recognize the value and skill you possess or the good you can accomplish. Order and Chaos, despite what many think or say are as reliant on each other as night and day, too much of one can throw everything into disarray, not chaos per say but an unrecognizable mess. So, there must be a balance, an even playing field as they say"
Wanda snorted "Funny, most mages that I've met who represent Master Order and follow its beliefs think I'm a monster…"
"When you've lived, and seen as much as I have miss Maximoff, you come to see that not everything is as it seems…" Fate said in a faraway tone as he came to a stop in front of Wanda and looked down at her with a thoughtful look as memories of the previous reality's Wanda flashed through his mind "And sometimes, we have to take a leap of faith and hope it pays off in the end…"
…
"That sucked!" Peter groaned as he and Kaine made their way to their shared quarters in the palace after almost five hours of Navy Seal level training
"I…I can't feel my face anymore" Kaine said with a frown as he rubbed his cheek that had a large purple bruise on it
"What's worse is that tomorrow and for the next few days, we'll be training without our abilities, meaning the hits are gonna hurt more, we'll be even more exhausted and our asses are gonna get beaten even harder…also Karnak will be helping him train us more" Peter said with a groan as Danny's words echoed through his head
"Great…can't wait to lose all feeling in my body" Kaine said as they entered their modestly spaced room.
It wasn't very elaborate but it was much finer quality then the two were used to. There was a small bathroom with a descent sized tub to use along with two sinks, and a toilet.
"Hey, it'll all pay off in the end, we just have to be willing to subjugate ourselves to a training regime that makes Batman's look like gym class is all" Peter said as he fell on his bed with a huff
"Ugh, I hate gym class" Kaine said
Peter looked towards the man with a raised brow "Why? You never went to school in the first place, everything you know was from Jackal's weird implanted learning thing when he was growing you guys"
"Yeah…" Kaine said before a thought came to him "Wait if that's true and me, Ben, Jessica and Spidercide all were taught the same things which I'm sure we were…where the hell did Jessica learn how to suck-"
"Don't finish the sentence or I'll use what strength I have left and kick your ass!" Peter said with a yawn as he adjusted his position on his bed
Kaine snorted at that as he laid down to and looked up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. After a few minutes of silence Kaine finally spoke in a soft faraway tone "Hey Peter…"
"Hmm?" Peter asked as he felt himself drifting off to sleep
"…Never mind" Kaine said after a few moments
"Something up?" Peter asked as he opened his eyes and shot his brother a curious glance
"Nah, just something Karnak said this morning is all, don't worry about it" Kaine said with a wave of his hand
"If you're sure" Peter said with doubt
"Med fifty/fifty on this but I'll figure it out…eventually" Kaine said with a yawn
Peter nodded at that, willing to drop the subject for now "Alright…but if you ever wanna talk about whatever it is, don't be afraid to ask"
"Sure thing Peter…sure thing" Kaine said as he drifted off to sleep, leaving Peter to his thoughts before he slowly drifted off to sleep as well…
…
Fourteen years ago… Peter 24, Diana 4,990… two months before Superman's death
Peter stared down at the group of men that worked for the Kingpin, Richard Fisk, using an abandoned warehouse to store a host of weapons bought off the black market that ranged from typical nine millimeters to military grade assault rifles
Peter's eyes narrowed as he quietly crawled down the building, his black suit nearly invisible in the dark shadows casted by the building. He came to a stop just inches above a man's head who was fishing through his pockets for lighter for his cigarette
"Come on, where'd I put you, lil fucker" the man sighed before he finally pulled it out and prepared to light it
Peter suddenly struck out and grabbed the man by the head, covering his mouth in the process to muffle his scream for help and dragged him up the wall and away from lights
Peter held in a growl of annoyance as the man tried to struggle and break free, Peter responded by slamming the man into the wall
"Keep quiet or I'll break every bine in your body…as a start!"
The dark growl of Peter's voice caused the man to stop and start to let out a slight whimper of dread
"Keep making any noises and what I have plan for you when we get to the top of this building will seem like love taps in comparison" Peter hissed darkly
The man went quiet all together, much to the wall crawler's relief 'Good…cause honestly I had nothing to top what I have planned'
It was then a dark silky voice echoed through Peter's conscious 'You can always hurt him…scar him…cripple him until he begs for mercy…and keep hurting him'
Peter shook his head in an attempt to get the voice to stop, his vision was already starting to have this odd inky boarder that seemed to be growing. Eventually he made it to the top and hoisted the man up until he was face to face with Peter's blank eye lenses, the man's eyes widened slightly in fear
"Now…" Peter said as he gripped the man's neck a little tighter "Tell me what Fisk has planned with those guns, better yet where he's getting them from or so help me I'll make sure that your screams are the last thing you hear from yourself aside from your thoughts telling you what an idiot you are for choosing this life style, understood?"
The man nodded, tears building in his eyes "Y-Yes!"
"Good" Peter said as he began to ask the man where Fisk usually make's his pickups and who he most commonly buys from
As the man was giving out names, dates and locations the Void suddenly appeared next to them, unseen by the sniveling man in Peter's grip
"Wow…you've actually reduced a full-grown man to tears…I like it!" the Void chuckled as he began to circle Peter "Must say, when we first got this suit I didn't think anything good would come of it, but boy was I wrong"
Peter did his best to ignore the Void while it continued to speak "I mean in the last two weeks, you've left over three dozen men crippled in ways that makes what Batman does on a bad night seem pleasurable in comparison, hell just earlier you broke every bone in that mugger's arm after he mouthed off about how Wonder Woman's grip is better than yours…bet he's singing a different tune now… hehehehe!"
It was than the silky-smooth voice returned, this time a little darker than earlier 'The man has told us what we needed to know...'
Peter's eyes blinked and suddenly the Void was gone and he was staring into the face of the man that he was interrogating, his eyes still wide with fear
"Y-You'll let me go, right? I-I p-promise I won't tell anyone what I told you, o-or about this I swear!" the man cried, tears falling down the sides of his face
Peter quirked a head at the man, a look of doubt under his mask "Why should I believe you…"
"P-Please!" the man said as he started to actually sob "I promise I won't tell!"
'…He's lying…' the silky-smooth voice said quietly in Peter's head, it's words flowing through his mind like water through rocks, seeping its way into the darkest parts of his mind 'I can tell, he'll betray your good nature first chance he gets…'
Peter's grip tightened on the man's throat cutting off his air supply, his voice growing steadily darker and more vicious as he spoke "You see, that's the same thing I always hear from you animals…you beg and beg and beg and make promises that you won't do any more crimes and the moment I turn my back you jump right back into it! You take what mercy I have shown you people that the Punisher would never think to do and throw it right back into my Face!"
It was then that Peter carried the struggling man until they were at the building's edge and Peter held him over the side "From this height you won't die but I guarantee you won't be walking ever again which means you'll never hurt anyone again and if you do…I don't care how long it take or how far I'll have to go but I swear I'll find you and finish what I started here tonight…"
Peter loosened his grip on the man's throat, causing him to grab Peter's wrist in terror and began to whimper in sheer terror "No please I beg you!"
Peter chuckled darkly, his vision now almost completely inky black "Yeah…beg…like all the otherpeople that you've hurtover the years, but let me ask you something buddy…"
Peter then pulled the man's face close to his until Peter could make out the individual tear streams on his red cheeks "Did you ever show them any ounce of mercy?"
The man began to struggle, much to Peter's grim amusement "Oh yeah smart idea pal, try to break out of the only thing that may be keeping you alive…but hey if you want me to let go then-"
"SPIDER-MAN STOP!"
…
Peter's eyes suddenly flew open as he sat up in bed, his stingers out and his heart beat racing a mile a minute. He slowly turned to see that Kaine still asleep, but based on his own facial expressions, the man's dream was less than pleasant
Peter let out a sigh of exhaustion as he sheathed his stingers and rubbed his head in aggravation before quietly getting out of bed and slowly making his way to the door of his and Kaine's quarters
A nice walk would help him clear his mind, hopefully
…
'Well if there's one thing I'm happy that doesn't seem to exist here anymore, it's that damn symbiote' Peter thought as he walked through the seemingly empty halls of the palace, other than a few guards every now and again it seemed like everyone was asleep
Peter doesn't know how long he was walking or where he was really going, but at some point, he realized that he wasn't alone in his stroll, someone was following him.
'Please don't be Wanda, really am not in the mood right now' Peter thought exasperated at the idea of the chaos mage appearing
It's not that he doesn't like her it's just that dream of his, nearing the height of his days under the symbiote's influence had really darkened his mood and he'd rather not unintentionally take it out on her
"You are troubled Peter Parker…" an old man's voice spoke, destroying any allusions that it was Wanda
Peter turned to see an old man clad in a black and white robe with the hood up approaching him with the aid of a cane
"Uh hello, sorry if I bothered you" Peter said as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "Was just taking a late-night walk around and clear my head"
"Indeed, your mind from what I can sense is very clouded. Full of doubt, regret, pain and hesitation it seems" the man said as he came to a stop before Peter and watched him carefully with hidden eyes
Peter quirked a brow at the man's words "Huh, guess I'm an open book"
"Not at all, decades of practice" the man said with a shrug before he let out a short but violent cough "And…Fate has told me much about you Peter"
Peter's eyes narrowed slightly at that "…How much?"
The man didn't respond, he simply stared at Peter for a long moment before speaking "Tell me Peter, why is it that you don't use what is locked away in you, why do you fear it?"
Peter's brows rose at this as he found himself at a loss for words. After a few minutes of trying to think of a answer he shrugged "Because…because I don't come back entirely every time it comes out"
The man's head leaned to the side slightly "Explain, perhaps an outside perspective will provide some insight"
Peter folded his arms and stared at the man with a careful expression "Who are you anyway?"
"I am-" the man began before he paused and his head lowered slightly "…I am…hmm it appears that I have forgotten my name"
"Oh, sorry" Peter said with a wince
"It is fine" the man waved off Peter's concerns "Most refer to me by my title now a days anyhow"
"And that would be?" Peter probed
The man chuckled "They call me the Ancient One…"
"Oh, well uh nice to meet you mister Ancient One sir" Peter gave the man a slight bow
"Mm mm" the man nodded at that before he gestured to Peter "Now that introductions are out of the way, I believe you were about to hopefully answer my question on why you don't use that power within you…something about not coming back entirely I believe?"
"Oh right that…well it's what it sounds like really" Peter said with a shrug as memories of the times he's used the power of the Void or it's taken over came to his mind's eye "Every time I use or more accurately it lets me use its power in any shape or form, I…well a bit of me doesn't come back and a bit of it stays…I guess at some point it I use too much for too long I'll stop being me and…well you get the idea"
"Hmm" the Ancient One pondered this as he examined Peter closely "An interesting if unfortunate predicament you've been drawn into"
"Meh, it's not always bad" Peter said with a shrug as he and the Ancient One resumed their trek through the halls "To be honest, up until recently it's been sort of silent for a few years. Why its now acting up I can't really tell ya, maybe it's just trying to unsettle me or…"
"Or…?" the elder man questioned
Peter rubbed the back of his neck "Or it knows something I don't is coming…but I'm partial to the first one to be honest"
The Ancient One nodded at this "I do find it odd that something like this would latch itself on to the Center of the Web of Life and Destiny. Hopefully the answer becomes clear in time"
Peter snorted at this "According to it, it's been a part of me since the day I was conceived. Also, how do you know I'm the Center of the Web of life?"
"Aside from the Avatar of Nabu telling me in one of our many enlightening conversations in the past, I can sense it" the Ancient One said as he the sound of his wooden cane clanked against the hardwood floors of the palace
Peter nodded at that and couldn't help but wonder if Fate has told the Ancient One about their previous reality, assuming that the man doesn't already know
'Come to think of it, was there a K'un-Lun in my old reality and I just never knew?' Peter thought as he and the Ancient One came to a stop at what he saw was his door "Guess this is my stop…"
The Ancient One nodded at this "I wish I can say we'll speak more later, but I'm afraid my skills will be required for the coming attack and Karnak and Danny will keep you and your brother busy"
"You know what these guys have that can get here? Sounds like your defenses can take every nuke on earth and barely flinch" Peter said as he watched the old man begin to walk away
The Ancient One stopped momentarily and lowered his head in thought "There are forces in this world and others that can breach the barriers, and I fear that the Inheritors may have gained possession of one of these forces…"
"Well that's comforting" Peter said dryly "Crazy evil mage army with ninjas and now apparently Weapons of Mass mystical destruction"
"Their bad guys Peter…" the Ancient one said with a dry chuckle "They tend to get the better stuff in these situations…still we have our own trump cards, let's just hope it'll be enough"
…
It was four days later, late in the afternoon and the evening fast approaching that Peter found himself sitting before Danny in a lotus position on top of a seemingly floating stone platform that overlooked the city of K'un-Lun.
The Immortal Iron Fist had taken both Peter and Kaine to the Tower of that Karnak and his disciples resided in the Second Tower of Wisdom that was built into one of the slopes of the surrounding mountain range. The two master fighters and greatest defenders of the mystical city had decided that Peter and Kaine will alternate on their training days
Danny would teach one mediation techniques and how to harness their chi like he has accomplished while Karnak would begin the early stages of teaching the two spiders how to see the inherit weakness in…well just about everything really
Granted the Magister stated it'll be years until they get to his level but he has some hope they'll accomplish the first steps…
'Yeah, he sounded real confident in me and Kaine' Peter thought wryly as he inhaled and exhaled slowly while Danny sat before him
He remained still and tried to reach out and feel this chi that Danny and to some extent Karnak go on and on about and he occasionally feels something, what it was he doesn't know but it didn't seem to be what the two men were describing, it felt different and yet somehow strangely familiar in some instinctual way, he just couldn't quite place it yet
"Remember Peter, to access one's chi, they must be in complete balance with themselves" Iron Fist said
"Easier said than done" Peter replied with a frown "Hey Danny, I have a question"
"Ask and I'll do my best to answer" Danny said
"Well it's just Chi is like life energy, right?" Peter asked
"That's a simplified version of it, but yes, it is" Danny said with a curious nod
"Well if I'm the center of the Web of Life…what do you think will happen?" Peter asked
Danny was about to answer before he realized…he didn't know, at least not entirely
"That's…an excellent question" Danny said as he cupped his chin and hummed in deep thought before shrugging "Well I guess we'll find out"
"That's comforting" Peter said dryly "But hey who knows I might actually be a Super Saiyan"
"Hmm…I don't think the gold hair would suit you or the tail and please don't start doing the whole yelling thing, Karnak can barely stand you and Kaine's shouting as it is" Danny said with a chuckle
"Finally, someone gets the anime and martial arts movie references I'm making" Peter said with a laugh
Danny shrugged "I tend to travel out into the world more often than most here, while I do love this city I've come to be more interested in watching the world outside and on occasion be a part of it"
"Well if you ever find yourself in New York City, don't be a stranger. Just head over to Alchemax and say you know a Steve Ditko and my friend well get you hooked up" Peter offered
"Thank you, perhaps if we survive this upcoming fight I'll take you up on that offer" Danny said with a smile before his face grew more serious "Now, what I'm about to do is help speed up the process of accessing Chi, partly because our scouts have reported that the Inheritors have begun to arrive and partly because you've brought up an interesting observation in regards to you being the Center of the Web of Life"
"Will it hurt?" Peter asked as he began to sweat a little, his spider-sense tingling slightly
"Honestly…" Danny said as he stood up with both fists in compassed in golden yellow chi energy "Yes, it will…a lot"
Peter couldn't help the slight whimper that escaped him as Danny grabbed Peter's temples and sent a sort of pulse into his body
And then Peter's spider-sense flared to unimaginable levels and his vision went white
…
Over the course of the next several weeks Peter, Kaine and Wanda continued to be trained in many of K'un-Lun's styles of both fighting and mystical arts. Wanda even though was incapable of learning many of the things Doctor Fate knows because of their conflicting magics she has since improved her reaction times, her ability to conjure multiple high level spells at once and reduce the drain on some others, she's even started to dabble into runes, incantations and other traditional witchcraft, minus the more darker aspects, least as far as Peter knew
Peter and Kanie in terms of martial ability were making progress, wheatear it was good or bad, Karnak and Danny have yet to say but the two spider themed men have agreed that they were a few steps up from when they first came to K'un-Lun
Peter and Kaine both now clad in their Spider suits were just about to head down into the city proper itself to meet up with Wanda when they both heard a series of loud horn blows that echoed across the valley, the two men paused in their descent down the stair cases as did several guards who were either going into the city as well or back up to the palace
"Uh oh…that's not good" Peter said with dread starting to build inside him
"Looks like training is over" Kaine commented before suddenly they heard a distant boom that shook the valley and air with such force that Peter felt his teeth vibrate and the ground shook to the point that even on the stair case they cool feel it, some of the guard nearly lost their footing from the event while Peter and Kaine's spider-sense flared ever so slightly in warning
"What the hell?" Peter said in surprise before he felt Kaine grab his shoulder
"If you think that's bad, then look up" Kaine nodded towards the sky
Peter then looked up to see what Kaine meant and paled at what he saw while numerous guards around them began to shout out orders and panic as what they were seeing.
The barrier that surrounded K'un-Lun started to appear as a sort of golden dome…with hundreds of cracks starting to form in it and pieces starting to fall off and disintegrated
"Oh shit…"
"Guess we know what that boom was then" Kaine said as he slipped on his mask and began to move faster down the steps towards the city that was now full of panicking people, even up here they could hear the terrified screams as many of K'un-Lun's citizens watched in dread as the barriers that have protected them for centuries start to fall apart
…
And done
So, next chapter the siege begins and we see just what it was that brought down the barriers surrounding K'un-Lun. Also Peter learns the hard way that a war between mages is unlike anything he's experienced before and we finally get to see just what his upgrade that he got is capable of