Together, the Spider-Gang minus Mariana had already made it to Glomgold's tower. Holding onto her deerfox, Hilda tuned into his enhanced sight to analyze the front of the building. She was using her spirit bond to, in a sense, see through Twig's eyes to get an inner working sense of the building. "There is a hidden elevator shaft from the center of the complex to the collider," she told everyone. "If we can make it past the lobby, we should be there in no time."
However, looking inside Glomgold's penthouse suite, they saw a gala already in progress. Hanging from the rafters were the words: "Peter Parker Memorial Trust." Surrounding him were all the police and armed guards in the city. "You've got to be kidding me," they all echoed in unison. Glomgold was exploiting the death of one of their own and using it as an excuse to make money.
Glomgold took the stands and began to speak. "It is an honor and a pleasure to have all of you in attendance today," Glomgold mused, pretending to be sad. "Peter Parker was like a son to me, an inspiration to Glomgold Industries. So today, we honor his life by starting this charity for the good of the big city." Applause came, but weak, insincere applause. Many of the crowd seemed to be in on the Kingpin's ulterior motives.
"What a pig," Marco muttered under his breath.
"Excuse m-m-me?" Piglet snapped back.
"But look at how the servers are dressed?" Yusuke pointed below. A few dozen waiters were dressed as Spider-Man with bow tie collars. They made a mockery of Peter, but served as good camouflage and hid their identities. "It's a bit tacky, but maybe we can pass..."
-
It did not take much persuasion. Within minutes, Shiro, Marco, and Yusuke had been able to don the disguises and enter Glomgold's tower. "I was just kidding," Yusuke insisted. But even if he was kidding, it seemed to work. They walked through the gala with Yusuke holding a serving platter in his hands. Marco and Shiro pushed a tray where Hilda and Twig hid beneath the tablecloth, trying to scope out the land with Twig's enhanced vision.
Glomgold looked around, smiling at his work. "Well, then. I am happy this evening is going off well. And none of this would have been possible without the benefits of Mrs. Mary-Jane Parker!" A light shown on Mary-Jane, who clapped shyly at the guests.
Shiro's Spider-Sense went off seeing Mary-Jane. It was her. Shiro understood this was Spider-Man's widow in this world. There was something about her and relations to the deceased Peter which had Shiro curious. Even though Shiro was gay, he still felt like taking relationship advice from her. After losing his last husband to infidelity, Shiro needed to know more. He walked over and greeted her, trying his best to stay in-character as a waiter. "Hello, ma'am. How may I serve you?"
"I ordered breadsticks not five minutes ago," Mary-Jane responded.
"But I am so sorry for your loss. I don't know how you deal..." Shiro tried to hint to MJ without breaking his cover.
"It's fine," MJ assured. "I just get up and move on. Peter was great, and I don't know if I could love another. But I am glad his memory is kept alive."
Shiro almost cried. Hearing about such a strong man made him question his own inadequacies. He took the breadsticks conveniently held by Marco, and set them on the table. Within an instant, the gang was off once more.
"You okay?" Marco asked his superior.
"I guess," Shiro sighed, thinking about two brutally ended marriages. He would try to be strong. Maybe even look for another, hearing about how MJ was able to hold it together. A small earthquake triggered by the collider shook the party. In the confusion, the group was able to run away undetected.
-
On the way to the collider, Commander Sendak stopped the Spider-People in front of him. "Stop!" He looked over the tablecloth and Yusuke's platter. He tilted his head but instead of reaching out to stop them, he asked, "What are you serving, sirs?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Yusuke tried to excuse. "Just some beef sandwiches, some cucumbers, a little guac..."
Sendak opened the platter. Inside was Piglet in an unflattering position, limbs tied and with an apple stuck in his mouth. "Aw, that's cute," Sendak admired. "Even has his mask on." Then, he looked away in disgust. "Well, I hate pork. So take it away, please!"
Piglet spit out the apple just to insult Sendak. "Good! This pork doesn't like you either." Though he was muffled in part by Marco closing the lid on him.
"Well, you can go this way, Gentlemen. Farewell." He motioned to a door on the side as the Spider-People. All of them knew they were headed in the right direction. Sendak took out his phone and called Medusa down below. "They're coming," he whispered. "Be ready..."
-
Yusuke took out most of the guards by himself. His nimble footing and fast motion were too much for them. He used his web to open the elevator shaft, allowing for all five of them to take it together. Glomgold got the message and joined his hitman Sendak in the kitchen. Together, both parties ventured to the collider room, behind a wall where none could see the other. "Kick it into gear!" Glomgold yelled at Medusa. One crank of a lever and the collider started in full force!
From inside the collider, dozens of characters were already flying from the black hole, screaming in terror. All of the big city shook as it was bathed in pastel colors. The walls and paint of the room turned psychedelic blues and yellows. Shiro collapsed, feeling himself glitch. He was almost too weak to fight. "You sure you want to stay?" Marco asked, worried. "I think I can do it."
"No," Shiro pushed the boy away. "I have to. I'm the only one." In unison, all of them swung onto the ceiling, looking down at the collider. "So here's the plan. I put the whatzit in the drive and control the beam. Once you four are home, I hit self-destruct." He swung down to the control panel and removed the cap. But just as he inserted the drive, all four felt the horrid buzz of Spider-Sense in their heads.
"They're on to us," Marco whispered. "It's time."
Right on cue, Medusa emerged, her black energy arms stretching behind her like tentacles. She was set to face them. Shiro stood his ground as Hilda, Piglet, and Yusuke rushed to fight, but their way was blocked by Glomgold's thugs and a rush of characters from another universe. It was a fight for the ages now! All of the multiverse was on the line...
The four Spider-People had to realize they were fighting while glitching in and out. Yusuke put up a decent fight, but he began to glitch out. Hilda thrust Twig into battle and herself began growling at the bad guys. "These guys just can't give us a break," Marco swung around, fighting for his own life.
Meanwhile, Shiro struggled with the whatzit. He was just about to plug the chip when Medusa wrapped him up in one of her coils. "Got you, Spider-Shiro," she spat at him. "Any last requests?"
"Not sure," Shiro tried to play it sarcastic. "I would have to check my list."
She didn't buy it. "Say goodbye." But just before she came in, her black mist was redirected and sprayed her in the face. She started hitting herself in the face, out of her control. A tilt a bit more to a light and a bright glimmer passed through a body made of crystal. With all the colors at once coming through her body, this figure was a living rainbow, ready to face them. Taking a bow, the form solidified, revealing the dazzling, blue-suited form of Mariana Reyes.
"L-l-look, everyone!" Piglet jumped for joy upon seeing his friend return. "It's Mariana. She came for us after all."
"That's our girl!" Hilda cheered.
Mariana turned around and webbed Medusa's arms in her crystal webbing. Despite a brief blast from the villain's magic, she was able to catch Shiro and fly off to the other end of the room, clutching him to her body as they safely landed on a pedestal below. Everyone celebrated, but none more so than Shiro. Putting his hand on her shoulder, he smiled. "I'm so proud of you. You finally found it out."
"Thanks," Mariana nodded as they hugged each other.
And with that, the gang was back together at last, ready save the multiverse.