Well, here it is. The chapter that EVERYONE who reads A Hat in Time fics waits for. No the best at suspense and horror, but I hope you all enjoy nonetheless!

To ChristopherPrime, I'm glad you liked the little touch there. Figured the swing kick bit would get some people (: and I hope I delivered in regards to this chapter

To e, yup, yo already know what's going down hehe

To Dinogeoff, thank you, it's good to be back!

"Well. This 'Royal Manor' screams more 'hostile' than 'hospitable'." remarked the red and blue webslinger as they stared at the dim lit manor before them. The hatted adventurer next to him gave a nervous nod as she shivered a bit.

The two visitors to Subcon had already known that this contract was going to be unlike the rest of them as soon as they had crossed that bridge. After receiving all kinds of responses from Snatcher's little minions, from praise for finally defeating the toilet to warnings about their next set of obligations, Spider-Man and Hat Kid were already on guard by the time they arrived at the broken bridge.

"You sure this is the right way to go kid? Maybe your hat was having a wardrobe malfunction or something, because everything about this screams DO NOT ENTER."

Hat Kid gave a "Hmph!" and a pout, but her voice betrayed her as she stammered, "Y-yeah, this is the place."

Noticing her little hiccup, Spidey asked, "Hey kid, you ok there?"

"Yeah, just a little cold," she lied, but he decided to drop the conversation there.

"Alright, well we better get going." With that, the two of them jumped across the gaping gap below them and to the other side. The two stepped forward to examine the ice crystals and the strange green bell ahead of them, but as soon as they stepped onto the snowy ground, Peter's spider-sense went off. Not long after, a familiar colored circle of roots popped out of the ground, and Spidey, Venom, and Hat Kid all internally groaned as they knew what was coming.

"HAHAHAHA FOOOOO-, oh wait, it's you?" the Snatcher said, caught off guard by the sight of his two current contractors.

"Welcome back to the living world Jack-O-Noodle. What's next on the misery agenda?" snarked Spider-Man.

Snatcher, for the first time since they had met him, appeared to be without words as he sheepishly admitted, "I was kind of expecting a new victim to step into my traps. I've already taken your soul and everything. Have you even completed you contractual obligations yet?"

"Work in progress," Spidey stated flatly.

"Alrighty then. Now don't take this personal kids, but try to stay clear of my traps. There's only so many times my voice can handle yelling like that. You're taking away the experience from other people."

Hat Kid was giving the shadow the silent treatment, although she secretly wanted to laugh at the irony that a soul stealing spirit was getting socially awkward with a little girl and a man in an alien onesie.

"Uh, but since you did step into my trap, I might as well extend my business endeavors!" he said, regaining his usual gusto. "Ahem, FOOOOOOOOOOOOL! You've stepped into my forest, and now you must pay the price!" he re-enacted, making stereotypical ghostly motions with his arms. This was enough to get some giggles out of the little girl, and even Spidey was kind of enjoying the show. Venom was uncaring.

Then, with a thunder crack, a contract appeared before the two once more. "Pick your poison! Which burden do you want to carry for the rest of your life?"

"Uh Ghosty? There's one contract left. Looks like someone needs to go watch Sesame Street with the Count," jabbed the web slinger.

Too tired to feel insulted, Snatcher just grunted, "Can it kid, souls have been slow lately."

Not having much of a choice, Hat Kid once again signed the contract and Spider-Man put his insignia above it. It didn't look too bad though. After all, it was only mail delivery.

"Not a bad choice! This one should be a breeze! You're leaving all the difficult contract for the newbies though, which is really rude when you think about it" commented their boss. It was surprising to hear such a different attitude from the soul stealing shadow. What followed was even more unusual, and more unnerving than anything he had ever said to them prior. "Kiddos, this next contract is no joke. If you want to live, I suggest you listen hard and well to what I have to say next." He paused as if the next sentence would be his second death. "The place you are going to is the royal manor of a queen. It's a forsaken place, and there's a reason I order my minions to avoid it at all costs. Whatever you do, do NOT use your magic hats in there, or IT will find you in a heart beat. And if it does, you can end up like me. Even though I can care less about if you live or die, there's things in that manor that are worse than death." With that haunting warning, the Snatcher vanished into the ground again, leaving Hat Kid and Spider-Man alone with reeling minds.

"That... was probably the worst advice I've ever been given," Spidey said.

Agreeing with the web slinger, Hat Kid nervously walked toward the icicle barricade before them. But before they went in, Spidey called, "Wait! I've got to do something quick. Stay there for a second." With that, he swung off out of sight.

Once he had gone a considerable distance away, he forced Venom off of him, gaining a look of disdain and confusion from the symbiote as he reverted back to red and blue.

"What are you doing? Did you not here the warning? You might not even be strong enough to defeat what's in there, so why are we seperating?" asked the black alien.

"You're too uncontrollable right now. I felt it again, that same feeling from when we first bonded. That searing anger that nearly took me over the edge. I thought you said you were changed? So why are you trying to ruin me again?" coldly answered Spidey.

"It's not us! It is the way of our species. We feed on the gray matter found in human brains or in chocolate. We didn't think you would appreciate us feeding on your brain matter, and you have not found any chocolate sources, so this is the result."

"Well bad news oil stain, we're not getting any chocolate anytime soon, and you sure as hell aren't eating my brain. So you better suck up those negative emotions real quick. I refuse to become what I was before, especially in front of the kid. If she saw what you made me into, she'll never trust me or you again."

The Klyntar seethed silently as it considered the wall crawler's argument. As much as Venom hated to admit it, Peter was right. What they had once been was ruthless, uncaring, and completely unacceptable to be in charge of a child, no matter what she had experienced. In the short time he had known her, he had come to develop a liking to the little girl. Not as intensely as he did with his hosts, but she was someone whom Venom wished to protect, lethally if necessary. If the symbiote's violent tendencies turned both of them back into their original condition, he feared what effects their brutality could have on his fellow alien. Must be going soft the symbiote cursed, mentally noting to give Flash an earful upon return.

"Very well. We will try to hold back our more... unpleasant tendencies."

"You better. If I leave that manor and you're still throwing hissy fits over chocolate, I'm leaving you in this multiverse." With that, Spider-Man swung off to rejoin his fellow contractor, leaving a conflicted Venom to his devices.

Back at the ice crystals, Hat Kid was rolling up the snow on the ground as she tried to make a snowman. Unfortunately, the snow wasn't sticky enough, and each of her attempts ended with it collapsing into a heap. Eventually, she had given up and sat against the ice crystals as she waited for the wall crawler to reappear.

"Alright, let's do this," called Spider-Man as he rounded the corner.

Hat Kid sat up to greet him, when she noticed the wardrobe swap back to the Unlimited suit. "Where's Venom?" asked the child as she looked the red and blue hero over.

"He's going to sit this one out. He doesn't feel so good right now," Spidey half lied.

Nodding in understanding, Hat Kid walked up to the green bell and smacked it with her umbrella. While she was waiting, she had also discovered the properties of the bell were similar to that of the dweller mask. This allowed the strange purple space wall that blocked their path to dissolve away momentarily.

"Come on!" Hat Kid motioned, and she and Spider-Man ran through before the wall closed back in. Picking up quickly, Spidey made a note to look for anything green or purple.

With the first wall passed, the web slinger and explorer examined their surroundings. Luckily, another green bell appeared along with Dweller platforms, but the platform above them was purple, indicating that going green would erase it.

"Alright well up and over," said Spider-Man as he shot his webbing to the ceiling. However, he was surprised to find nothing came out. After failing to shoot his line, he looked closer at the cartridge. "Darn it, my web fluid's frozen solid!" He began to wonder if leaving Venom back was a good idea now.

"Then let's do it the old fashioned way," suggested Hat Kid. Seeing no other choice, the wall crawler agreed as he stood by the first Dweller platform. Equipping her mask for reassurance, Hat Kid rang the bell. Its aura expanded to the platforms, bringing them into existence. Hopping on the green platforms, they made a giant leap through where the purple block had once been, making it up the next wall and onto the next segment.

Here, there were a few ice blocks of various heights erected, and a cherry bomb sitting beside the first, as well as a Dweller sitting on the last. Putting two and two together, Hattie and Spidey went to opposite sides of the pillars. As she stood at the top by the Dweller, the arachnid picked up the cherry bomb and used his height to hand it off to the little girl. Once the dweller ignited the bomb, she threw it at the ice wall as both of them took cover. It shattered as easily as glass.

"Piece of cake," waved off Spider-Man. He was sure that whoever crafted this icy barricade hadn't counted on two super powered beings trespassing onto their property.

"I want cake, and Cooking Cat," sighed Hat Kid. She missed the comfort of her ship, as well as its better safety rating.

"And we'll get back there soon. One more contract and we get to go free," encouraged Spidey. He seriously doubted Snatcher would make it that easy, but it was something for the kid to cling hope on.

Smiling at her partner, Hat Kid continued on to the next section. Here, they found more bells and platforms, all leading up to one tall wall with a cherry bomb. Ringing the bell on the floor, they both traversed the heights as they made it to another bell which brought more Dweller platforms into focus. They jumped on the first platform, and using their super and double jumps respectively, skipped the last step as they jumped straight to the ice wall. There, they ignited the bomb and took cover again as the ice wall fell like the one before it.

Hopping down, the duo gave each other a fist bump as they journeyed forward, their path clear. Reaching the end of the passage, they found a broken gate as well as a dim light in the distance, almost like a window.

Catching up to the present, Spidey and Hattie ventured forward to the hostile and eerie manor, ready to get this contract over with. As they crossed the frozen lake, a chill ran up their spines, making them even more uneasy. They sensed that this truly was a forsaken place, as if something terrible had happened here. Nervously, they walked up the steps of the manor and knocked on the door.

"Um, hello? Is anyone home?" Hat Kid meekly called. No answer. She was about to try again, when spider-sense started to kick in.

"Dodge!" yelled Spider-Man as he reverse ducked under a pair of blue hands aimed where his throat just was. It was the headless statues at the start of the manor, and they were out for blood. Hat Kid immediately equipped her sprint hat and bolted past the two statues, but one broke off from attacking Spidey and gave pursuit. It was starting to gain on her even as Hat Kid put all of her effort into sprinting.

Then, just as it was about to grab her cape, it was intercepted by a red fist from above. Stunning the living statue, Spider-Man jumped off its back and in front of it before grabbing the statue by the arm. He proceeded to hip toss the abomination over his back into the raging blizzard, far enough that it wouldn't bother them anytime soon.

"That was a cold housewarming committee if I ever saw one. You alright there Hattie?"

"I-I think," managed the little girl. She was shaken up, but not ready to call it quits just yet.

Though he was worried for her safety, Spidey went along with it. "Well, it looks like the front door is a no go. Now we gotta find another wa-"

BOOOOOOM!

The basement entrance door exploded open, as if on command, startling the two contractors. They had not realized they had ran to the back of the manor, and thus they found themselves staring at the basement door. Peeking closer, all they could see was darkness, but the feelings they were getting from within the basement were sinister, as if daring them to peek inside.

"Beggars can't be choosers," shrugged Spidey, lamely trying to lighten the mood and their fear. It didn't work, and with anxiety mounting with each step, they descended into the gaping darkness as the doors sealed once again.

Emerging into the other side, the web head and the wandering explorer were glad to finally find some light. They were less glad to find that the light came from an old and leaky beer cellar, flooded up to their calves with dirty brown water.

"Who cleans this place? The royal fool?" complained Spider-Man as he trudged through the cold water.

No amount of joking though was calming Hat Kid's nerves as she came across a set of shackles along the wall. It seemed someone had met their end in this cellar, but there was nothing but a red jacket left to remember them by. No bones whatsoever. There was also a strangely shaped polygon mask floating around in the water which might have held some relevance, but she preferred to avoid making contact with anything that may have been tied to the tragedy that occurred here.

Walking up to the door leading up to the next floor, she frowned as she found it to be locked. Deciding to search the area, she and Spider-Man searched the cellar for any kind of keys laying around, eventually finding it on top of a beer barrel. Placing the key in the lock, the two pushed open the creaky doors with caution. Opening the door, they found another set of stairs leading upwards, also veiled in darkness.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Spidey said aloud. Hat Kid whimpered slightly as they walked up the steps to the next floor.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Spider-Man carefully pushed out the hatch frame for the basement cellar and glanced around. After confirming nothing was watching them, he pushed it out completely as he and Hat Kid climbed up and out.

"This is a nice house," commented Hat Kid, trying to take their minds off the growing fear inside of them.

"Yeah, a little bit of refurbishing and this place can-"

Suddenly, Peter's Spider-Sense went off to skull numbing levels of tingling. Not a second later, lightning crashed, revealing their shadow in the main hall.

"WHO'S THERE! Who dares enter MY HOME!" came a terrifying voice.

The sudden noise startled Hat Kid off her feet as Spidey fought to regain control over his Spider-sense. As his brain was pounding, he thought he was starting to black out as his vision started darkening. Then he realized with horror that the door he was staring at was opening, and whatever creature they had disturbed was responsible for this sinister aura. Not wasting one second, he located the closest door and grabbed Hat Kid by the cape as he pulled them both in and shut the door behind them.

"Sssshhhhh," Peter indicated with his pointer figure as he managed to get his Spider-Sense to simmer down. Just being in the same room as that thing gave him a headache worthy of a noogie from the Hulk.

Hat Kid shivered like a leaf as she processed all that had just happened. All her racing brain could process was the dark presence that had beset the entire hallway and the sheer terror she had experienced.

"We gotta find a way to get past that thing and to the next stair set," Spider-Man whispered. Using his augmented Spider-Sense, he already had a layout of the architecture of the building, but he only had the searing headache to indicate where that creature was. With his super spider-sense, he sensed a lock in the room it had come from that led to the next set of stairs. He frantically searched the piano room they were in for any keys, and was glad to find that there was one hanging out as a bookmark.

"Jackpot." Pulling the key from the book, he was surprised that it wouldn't budge. Pulling harder, he started to notice a faint black aura similar to what he had experienced in the halllway around the key.

"The key is enchanted. My hat can sense it," Hat Kid explained.

"I thought Snatcher said no hat magic in here!" Spidey panicked in a hushed voice.

"It's a passive thing that it could always do. But if you're going to open that book, it needs something just as magical to open it somehow."

Spidey racked his brain and his environmental Spider-Sense trying to find anything that qualifies as magical around the living room. Meanwhile, Hattie tip toed into the kitchen, trying her best not to alert the beast to their whereabouts.

As she rummaged through one of the cabinets, the thing called out in a sickly sweet voice, "I can hear your footsteps. Why are you hiding?"

The little alien's heartbeat jumped up by 20 as she realized it was suspicious to their loitering. Frantically, she tried to find something, anything, that triggered her hat's magical detection. When she stopped in front of the fridge, the detection peaked, and she opened it quickly and quietly.

Inside lay a tray of cookies that she had to admit looked scrumptious. But more importantly, there was a key shaped like a treble clef exuding the same black energy as the other key. She had seen a hole inside the piano, and she wondered if this was the key. Only one way to find out.

Speed walking into the living room, she went around to the other side of the piano and inserted the key in the hole. Giving it a twist, it clicked and propped up the top of the piano, which exuded the familiar black aura.

Before Spider-Man could comment, Hat Kid ordered, "Get on the ceiling, quick!" Without hesitation, Spidey jumped high and clung to the ceiling just above the entrance to the kitchen.

Here goes nothing thought Hat Kid. Then with a big leap, she jumped on the piano cover and slammed it down, creating a shockwave that knocked the bookmarked key ajar.

She could already sense Spidey staring at her like she had lost her mind, but before she could get so much as a shrug out, the crazed woman ecstatically exclaimed, "Knock knock! I'm on my way!"

With no time to waste, Hat Kid found the only hiding place she could think of: under the piano. Sliding under the piano, she kept her head low and her hat off as she saw Spider-Man's lenses going wide before he had to clutch his head.

As she backed up further away from the kitchen, she saw the black mist before anything. Moments later, the whole room was getting dark again, just like in the hallway, but with even more pressure. Finally, as Hat Kid dared to peek through her covered eyes, she saw it through the veil of delirium that had beset her. The woman, if it could even identify as such, was covered in shadows from head to toe. There was barely enough clarity to see the shape of a hunched over old lady, but what were visible were the blood red eyes of insanity. They stared lifeless, not a pupil to be seen, looking for the one who dared trespass in her domain. What caught Hat Kid off guard the most was the thing above the eyes. Through the shadows, she could make out the shape of a crown of all things.

This is the Queen realized the little girl. She suddenly recalled the story book she had gotten from the time rift, but now was not the time to be reading stories.

Above the deranged Queen's head, she saw Spider-Man trying his best to remain undetected. He had deactivated his web cape so it didn't hang down and he had his hand over the stealth mode button in case his already blaring Spider-Sense alerted him that he would be seen.

For a few nerve shredding moments, the 3 figures stood as still as statues as the Queen tried to find the intruders. The two contractors held their breaths as if their next would be their last, which it may very well be. Thankfully, she gave up for now, and left back into the hallway. But not before leaving an ominous message, saying, "You're close by, aren't you?"

Crawling back down softly, Spidey went down to the piano and quietly ranted, "Are you crazy?! If it weren't for that piano, you'd be next on the royal guillotine!"

"I had to do something. It was the only magical item here, and we need the key," defended the young adventurer.

"Well at least give me a better warning next time. Communication skills are pretty poor when you just say 'Jump on the ceiling.'"

"Well I need to do it again, so get on the ceiling!" lashed out the young girl, too loud for her liking as she covered her mouth. After confirming they were not heard, Hattie quickly apologized, "Sorry, I'm just really scared."

Calming down, Spidey said, "Understandable. Alright, I'll go on the ceiling again. Once that key falls though, book it." He then leapt back onto his spot on the ceiling.

With no small amount of courage, Hat Kid crawled back to the piano seat as she prepared to jump on it again. Making a silent prayer, she jumped up high and slammed her feet into the piano cover, so hard in fact that its legs gave out.

Dropping on her bottom, the little alien's blood ran cold as she heard out in the hallway, "KNOCK KNOCK! I'm on my way!"

The fear started to bubble up inside, and Hat Kid had a lapse in judgement as she grabbed the key and ran into the kitchen. Once she turned the corner, red streaks of light burned into her soulless body as the Queen shouted "THERE YOU ARE!"

"AHHHHH!" screamed the little girl as she tripped over her feet. The shadowy Queen was closing the distance at frightening speeds as she charged past the counter top to take Hat Kid. Flailing her arms, she dashed back into the living room and towards the hallway door, running as fast as her clammy legs could take her.

Before the Queen could grab Hat Kid by the cape, she was struck from above by a falling red boot.

"Go to the bar across the hallway. NOW!" commanded Spider-Man as he now stood between the killer Queen and the kid with the hat. She didn't need orders to get the peck out of there, as she was already gone.

"Whoever said black made you look skinny, they lied!" insulted Spider-Man as he picked up the broken piano and hurled it at the creature. It shattered in a heap on top of the Queen, but it only took her a few seconds to break through the rubble. By then though, Spider-Man was already gone.

Puff Puff Puff

Spidey had to take a second to breathe after the adrenaline rush he had trying to escape the creature's clutches. Meeting up with Hat Kid who had already opened the door, they quickly rushed up to the top of the stair case before taking a breather.

"I have NEVER fought something that makes my Spider-Sense go as crazy as that woman," gasped the web head. This wasn't like the Inheritors, where his Spider-Sense felt like a gong the size of China in his head. This was like someone was taking a chainsaw to his temples and slicing down, in what he could only guess were the forces of insanity tearing down his mental walls.

"A wall crawler? I haven't seen one of your capabilities in centuries," sounded the terrifying voice below. "You will find no refuge in these walls."

As she ended that sentence, the walls all around them became frozen solid, ensuring that Spider-Man wouldn't be able to stick to them. His lenses widened as he realized the chainsaw in his head was back, and that footsteps were coming up the stairs. Quickly, he and Hattie ducked into the door to their left, just in tie as the Queen came up the stairs.

"Tracking dirt to my floors AND my ceilings? Ohhh, when I find you..."

"Peter, I'm scared," shivered Hat Kid as she neared tears. Never had she come across an individual as terrifying as this woman in all her travels.

"Shhh shh, I know, I am too. But I promise that I won't let her touch a single thread on your hat," reassured Spider-Man, though he was doubting his words as he said them.

Spreading out his spider sense for anything useful, he picked up another locked door down the hallway, but it would be suicide to walk out there now. Telling Hat Kid about the lock, they once again split up in an effort to locate another inevitably magical key.

"I can smell you. I can feel your fear! You don't have anything to fear. Now, why don't we have a little... talk?"

The sound of her voice gave Hat Kid goosebumps as she opened the nightstand drawer. Contained within, a neat little book with some torn out pages laid flat on its back. When she flipped it over, the cover read 'Property of Queen Vanessa' though the Queen had been scribbled out and replaced with 'princess'. Curious, the little alien peeped into the diary and read through some of the contents.

As Spider-Man looked within the closet, he was expecting a variety of royal dresses. After all, this was a Queen's manor. What he found instead startled him slightly, as a Mafia man of all things was seen cowering inside.

"What are you doing here? Don't you know this is probably the WORST place on this planet to play hide and seek at?"

The Mafia thug started crying as he begged, "Please, don't let Mafia become like other people!" He then pointed at the various ice statues around the room. That was when it clicked in Spider-Man's head. All the ice statues they had seen, he had assumed they were merely decoration until they started getting increasingly disturbing. He realized that they were the faces of real people, moments before this monster had caught them. He recalled the Snatcher's words, describing that there were 'Things worse than death' in here, and now he understood.

"Don't worry. We'll find a way out of here, somehow," the hero told him, but even he couldn't shake the ever encroaching dread that was setting upon them.

As he closed the door on the Mafia again, he heard a tapping sound behind him. Looking back, he saw Hat Kid beckoning him to the top of the bed. Going around to see what she wanted, he saw that on the top of the massive bed frame laid the key!

"Good eye kid, but I think her magic is affecting my powers. My legs don't feel as strong as they usually do." Wall crawling and webbing were also out of the question, and super strength wasn't going to help without making a lot of noise to move things.

"I have an idea, if this diary is anything to go by" whispered Hat Kid, going to the door that led into the next room over.

"Wait Hattie what'd you find?" asked the arachnid. Following the little girl into the next room, he saw that it much different to the rest of the house. There were various children's toys littered around the floors as well as some on the tables. Beside them on the wall was a blank picture and picture frame. To the side, there was a crib, revealing it to be a nursery.

"Wow, I feel sorry for the poor sucker went on a date with that piece of work," whistled Spidey lightly.

"Look at this and you'll feel even sorrier," Hat Kid said as she handed him the diary.

Meanwhile, she had found the perfect thing to get the key down. In the corner lay a large present box, probably for a baby shower, that had 3 red balloons on it. Since they were the only thing that could get up near the key, she figured that she could use it to nudge it off the side and into their hands. Grabbing a balloon, she ran back into the bedroom, reducing her speed as she heard Queen Vanessa call, "I can hear your footsteps. Why are you hiding?"

As she positioned the balloon under the key, Spider-Man re-entered the room, stating quietly, "This woman is insane. Who in the multiverse gets bans bacon?" Even his craziest exes couldn't compare with THAT level of obsession.

"Old people are weird," Hat Kid shrugged simply as she let go of the balloon. It floated up to the key and nudged to the tall side, giving Hat Kid some joy at some progress. That joy quickly turned to horror as the balloon was pushed toward a lit candle by arctic winds, causing a a kettle-like sound before popping loudly.

"I hear you dear! I'M COMING!"

"Hide!" ordered Spider-Man. He dashed into the opposite closet door the Mafioso had been hiding in while Hat Kid slid panicked as she couldn't find a hiding spot. Swiveling her head, she found a bench hidden in the shadow of a tree, and so she slid under and made herself as small as possible. Not a moment too soon, because the insane aura of the Queen had returned with a vengeance, making both Spider-Man and Hat Kid clutch their heads.

"Are you here? No. Over there? No. Come on out little one," the shadowy figure appealed. The two trespassers held their breaths as they waited for her to go away. Fortunately, she exited into the nursery with a frustrated groan. Emerging from their hiding spots, they didn't say a word as they went back to the nursery once Spider-Sense gave the all clear.

"Subtlety really isn't in your vocabulary, is it Hattie?" said a cross looking Spider-Man once they had entered the nursery.

Hat Kid gave an apologetic shrug and forced a sheepish grin before grabbing the next balloon. Even though Spidey wanted to stop her from popping another balloon, he knew that the girl was smart. She knew not to make a mistake like THAT again, and to guide the balloon away from the candle. Plus, he didn't see any other options for getting up that gargantuan bed frame.

Walking back into the bedroom, Hat Kid re-positioned herself under the key, this time directing the balloon to float up and away from the candle. It worked, as it got the key to budge again, but it still wouldn't fall. Neither of them could reach the balloon either, so they had to go back for another one.

As they entered the nursery to grab the last balloon, there was a loud CRASH that made the two of them jump up in fright, as it was accompanied by a masculine scream. As they turned around expecting to see the Queen's murderous figure, they were relieved to see that they hadn't been found. However, there was something just as unsettling staring back at them.

"P-P-Peter? Was that here before?" stuttered Hat Kid as she pointed at the offending object.

Where there was once an empty picture, there was now a portrait, and not just any portrait. It was a picture of Hat Kid, minus the hat. Brown ponytail with locks on each side, fair complexion, everything about the portrait made it seemed as if it had made a complete self portrait of the little girl, with one glaring exception. Instead of her adorable baby blue eyes and contagious smile, the portrait looked as if it was painted in blood as the girl in the picture had a red mouth extending far too wide to be normal. The eyes were also a beady red as if they were staring into their souls. But the most unsettling part was that it had the tear drop shape of Spider-Man's eye lenses but painted more aggressively. This way, it turned his classic eye lenses into something that resembled Carnage's eyes.

"Nope, and neither are we," Spidey said as he opened the door to the bedroom. He stopped dead though as he saw the receding back of Queen Vanessa heading into the hallway. Once she was completely through, they crept in to retrieve the key, only to realize...

"She took the key!" Hat Kid threw her hands to the side of her hat as she knew they had to somehow steal it from her.\

"Wait, do you hear that?" asked Spider-Man. Listening closer, it sounded like plumbing was running. Realizing they hadn't checked the bathroom yet, the two of them dreaded what was about to come, but they decided it would be best to follow her into the bathroom, no matter how gross or dangerous it sounded.

Before leaving the bedroom though, they caught sight of the Mafia man from before. He now stood frozen in ice, a look of terror paralyzed onto his face forever.

I couldn't save him regretted Spidey. He had promised they would all find a way out. He long accepted that he couldn't save everyone, but it still hurt to know that he could have done at least tried something to save his life.

"Come on, we gotta get the key," tugged Hat Kid.

"Right, right." Spidey sighed.

Creeping down the hallway, the two of them stopped at the one room they hadn't entered yet. The hot water mist was coming out of the door, and they could here the deranged Queen singing in the shower.

"Is she really taking a bath while there's strangers in her house?" Spidey rhetorically asked.

Pulling the door back, Hat Kid and Spidey wiggled their way in to make as little noise as possible. The bathroom was unremarkable, just the basic shower, toilet, and sink. Oh, and the usual blood writing that stated "My prince is gone," that came standard with any bathroom mirror.

Looking across from the entrance on top of the toilet, the two trespassers spied their prize. The key was laying on top of the towel, just within 10 feet. But that also meant they had to cross over to the other side without getting caught. Reluctantly, Hat Kid started sneaking her way over to the key despite Spider-Man's protest. As she was halfway there, a lightning bolt struck, illuminating the Queen's dark shape and murderous eyes. She quickly scuttled back on her butt to the limited safety of the door.

Expecting a scolding from the superhero, he instead told her, "Stay low," as he walked forward. Confused, she watched as Spider-Man disappeared from view after tapping something on his waist. Oh right, we made a stealth mode Hat Kid recalled.

Spidey took a few seconds to make sure he wasn't seen. After getting no reaction from standing in front of the shower, he walked with muffled steps as he reached the toilet across from them. Before grabbing the key, he made one last check to make sure that his escape was still clear. He was confused as to why Hat Kid was staring horrified at him, until when he gave a thumbs up assuring he was okay. Then it hit him that he could see his hand.

My stealth mode ran out of power he realized with dread. Fearfully, he looked toward the shower, and Queen Vanessa was looking right back with those hateful red eyes.

"I always wanted to add a spider to my collection!" giggled the Queen. Then with a horrific howl, she charged the hero as he scrambled to avoid her demonic claws.

Hat Kid yelled as she hurried into the hallway, trying to find something to block the door with. Finding a small dresser, she used her alien strength to lift it up over her head.

"Seal the door!" yelled Spider-Man as he came diving out of the bathroom with the key. He quickly kicked the door shut and stepped back as Hat Kid lodged the dresser into the doorway. There were banging sounds as the Queen tried to break down the barrier.

"We don't have long. Come on, we need to get to the attic!" The two trespassers quickly ran to the end of the hall and inserted the key. When the chain lock fell off, they hurried inside and shut the door behind them. Using the main door locks to keep it shut, they hurried upwards as they arrived in a small attic. There was a chandelier hanging above them, and they could just make out the green markings of Dweller objects. There was also a window that they could use as an escape route once they found whatever they needed, which just so happened to possibly be right in front of them.

"This woman needs something safer to store her valuables," commented Spider-Man. Then again, who would try to rob this creepy hag? "Come on, I'm betting your Hat magic is already going off towards that chest."

Nodding in confirmation, Hat Kid walked up to the chest and popped its top off. Sure enough, there was their prize. The time piece rose into the air as it floated into Hat Kid's grasp, filling her with a warm sense of relief despite everything.

"Great going kid, now let's blow this icicle stand," Spidey said with relief. The buzzing of his Spider-Sense and Hattie stammering, "S-S-Spidey, behind you!" shattered that relief.

"Did you truly think you could escape me by locking me in my bathroom?" roared Queen Vanessa. Instantly, Spidey got into his fighting stance as the Mad Queen bellowed, "I will enjoy adding you both to my collection!" not even trying to hide her fury anymore. The Queen rushed the arachnid with her claws who skillfully dodged out of harms way each time, bouncing off of every available surface that wasn't made of ice.

Switching tactics, Vanessa started shooting blasts of ice magic at him to try to freeze him. Instead, he weaved and corkscrewed between each icicle as they came, eventually jumping forward and ramming the monarch with his side.

"It's about time someone gave you the cold shoulder," Spidey taunted the ice Queen. Enraging further, she was about to charge again before spotting the frightened Hat Kid holding the time piece.

"Nobody steals from me! Give me back my prince's offering!" she screamed as she rushed Hat Kid instead. The little explorer jumped out of her way as she barreled into the chest where she once stood. In mid air, she felt a tug on her cape as the Queen forcibly dragged her back to the floor. Her panic peaked, she screamed as she lost her grip on the time piece and was held under the woman's grasp.

Waiting for the inevitable slash, she was surprised as she heard Spider-Man in the back go, "Hey! Queen Lunacy! Don't you know about personal space?!" With that, he socked Vanessa in the jaw with his one hand as he held the time piece with the other. The Queen grunted in pain, but instead of lashing out at Hat Kid, she grabbed the time piece and entered a tug-of-war with the hero. The two pulled as they tried wrestling the time piece from the other's grip, oblivious to the cracks forming on the glass

"Stop! It's about to brea-" warned Hat Kid, but her warning fell on deaf ears. Suddenly, there was a slash of brilliant white, blinding Hat Kid as she looked away. When it faded, she looked back, and was shocked at the scene before her. Laying in a heap, both Spider-Man and Queen Vanessa had been knocked to opposite sides of the room.

Running up to her friend, she nudged his shoulder as she urged, "Peter? Peter? Please wake up!" Lifting his mask she saw his eyes had been closed. Fearing the worst, she quickly checked his pulse. It was there, thankfully, but it wasn't as strong as it should be. Picking her fallen friend up over her shoulder, Hat Kid jumped out the window, which had been shattered in the time explosion, as she hurried out of the manor and back to the broken bridge.

Meanwhile, the purple time rift swirled as the time stream started to unravel...