He was angry, now. It was still dark, but now this empty void was cold. Who was he? Why was he here? Did someone put him here? Why can't he leave? The beautiful colors that invaded and gave him awareness had now dissipated. He wanted them back, more than anything else.

Then, he saw tiny cracks high above him. Small lights of every color shining through. Something was on the other side, and all he could do was reach for it.

...

They carried Peter into the main room and set him on one of the long couches that Strange kept around. It was fascinating; the young man was exhibiting both a fever and low temperatures at the same time. He was sweating, but his skin was cold to the touch. His eyes moved rapidly under his eyelids. Despite being unconscious, his brain was extremely active.

Cassie lingered behind as Strange attempted to assess the hero's condition, hiding behind a bookcase as not to interfere. She already felt like this was her fault; the least she can do is stay out of the way.

"Tell me everything that happened," Strange demanded as Hatsume rushed to Peter's side.

"That octopus guy tried to hurt Cassie and Parker just sort of …started glowing," she said.

Strange created floating runes near his hands and ran them across Peter's body. A faint remnant of the blue glow was extracted from his skin and pulled into the runes, changing their color to match. Strange watched the runes change with great interest.

"It's some sort of kinetic energy," he stated, "But there is something else, too ...I just can't quite pin it down."

"Is Parker gonna be okay?"

"For now, he's in some kind of comatose state. His body is trying to recover from whatever happened. He'll live."

Putting the runes away, Strange eyed the little girl hiding in the corner and approached her with stern purpose. Hatsume followed behind him, concerned by his body language.

"You," He said, standing tall over the little girl, "Who are you? Why are you here? What do you know about this?"

Cassie tried to speak but found she was too frightened by the wizard's indigent tone. When Strange looked at her, he saw not a little girl, but a rouge factor. There was power coming from her, power he could see emanating off her skin which no one else could.

Hatsume got between them, "Easy, doc! She's just a kid! Lay off!"

"This kid is the source of immense multi-dimensional power. Whatever has happened to Peter may have something to do with her."

"Bull! Stupid! Incorrect!"

Cassie tugged on Hatsume's shirt with a quiet whimper, "Actually, I think I am the cause," she admitted.

Hatsume turned to her with a raised brow, "What? Why?"

"…Because Spider-Man and I are connected."

…

Peter opened his eyes, immediately blinded by a strange blue light. It took a moment to adjust before he could see where he was.

He stood within a void of blue light. He could not feel his body; he could not feel when he twitched his fingers or moved his eyes or scratched his nose. His body was visible, but ghostly. No air circulated through his lungs. No need to blink. Wherever he was, he just was.

Then, voices filled the once empty void. A single white line extended from Peter's feet and split off in multiple directions. The lines turned and split, creating a near perfect web design on the ground. Carefully, he walked upon it.

As he moved, he heard voices with images to match, images that rested within the negative spaces the lines created. The first was of a young brunette with rather short hair, seemingly of half-Asian descent. She was making a walking motion but did not move from her spot. Friends called out to her, "May!" they said, "Wait up!"

The next was of a man eerily similar in appearance to himself, only older. He was sitting at a desk typing, as his assistant called to him, "Mr. Parker!" She said, "Mr. Richards is here to see you!"

Another image appeared before him, and this time he saw himself as he was now. He was standing atop an empty grass field with several people he recognized; Kirishima, Sero, Kaminari and Ashido. The other Peter was talking the others ears off, going off about his thoughts on whatever may be out there beyond the stars. Ashido stared at him with a raised brow and a transparent blush. "What? Why're you looking at me like that?" Asked Peter.

"Aw, you're just so cute," Said Mina, "Getting all excited over supernova's and stuff. Promise me to never change who you are."

"Well …okay—but only cuz you asked nicely."

As he continued, the images became more and more diverse. One was of a blonde teenager playing guitar in her garage; the sounds of the strings echoed against themselves. Another was dressed in a Spider-Man outfit, only his was white with a black spider. The next Spider-Man was similar to himself, only his spider was white. The patterns alternated between gender, race, and costumes. As he looked out into the void, it seemed to never end.

He stopped as one image caught him. Peter didn't know what was so special about this one; it was just a feeling in his gut that told him so. It was a boy, roughly his age, of black-Hispanic descent. The boy was sitting with his knees to his chest and looked to have been crying. Peter couldn't explain it, but he felt a connection to this boy.

"It's okay," Peter said, not knowing why, "It'll be okay."

The boy seemed to respond in body language, lifting his chin and wiping his tears away. He looked around, searching for a presence that wasn't there.

He then vanished into light before Peter's eyes.

"You shouldn't be seeing this," A deeper voice said, echoing all around him, "Get out."

…

The arachnid hero awoke with a gasp in the sanctum, startling the concerned trio. His reaction was accompanied with another rush of glowing energy, this time strictly from his eyes. Strange was the quickest to lend aid, looking over him with several floating runes.

"Calm yourself, Peter," Strange said, "You're safe."

"Where's Otto?!" Spider-Man stood up and stumbled to the coffee table between the furniture, leaving behind echoed silhouettes of his body-shape in the form of blue energy which quickly faded.

"Slow down. You're in no state to fight anyone. Your body is changing, can't you feel it?"

The hero slammed his hand on the coffee table to use as a pillar of balance. A miniature shockwave of energy erupted from it and shattered the glass surface. His hand fell straight through and was cut several times. Spider-Man recoiled and held his bleeding skin.

To everyone's surprise, the cuts healed rapidly. Where his self-healing normally took a few hours, this was taking a few seconds.

"What's happening to me?" Asked Spider-Man.

"You're changing," The wizard answered, "Your body is dispersing some form of kinetic energy like nothing I have ever seen before. It's astonishing …"

"I feel like crap and a fresh cup of coffee all at the same time, doc," Spidey remarked, "Astonishing is only the third word I'd use."

"What are the other two?"

"Confused and …a word I won't say around Cassie."

"Yes ...speaking of which …"

Cassie recoiled back when the trio began to focus on her. Spider-Man wasn't sure why Doctor Strange seemed so hostile toward her, or why Hatsume seemed hesitant as well. Cassie could only stand there with her arms glued to her sides, as though the wizard would strike her down if she even dared to move.

"The girl," Said the Doctor, "she may have something to do with your …condition."

"I might …" Cassie admitted, sheepishly, "I might have brought it out by being near you. You and I …we're connected."

Spider-Man gave her a puzzled head-tilt, "Connected? How?"

"I don't know why, but we're connected in the Web of Life and Destiny. It's …like the map of the multiverse. Certain people are connected through it, made stronger when they're close."

"So …you made me stronger?"

"Sort of …yes. My powers affect people, sometimes without me realizing it. I can hear people's thoughts, feel their emotions …sometimes even see their futures. Being so close to me may have brought out …whatever this is."

"You …you mentioned a 'Web of Life' …how do you know about it?"

Cassie did not answer. She already felt as though she had said too much, more than she was allowed. Spider-Man wanted to ask her questions; did she know what this energy was, and how she knew so much about the multiverse, given her age? They had too many things to worry about, however.

"We have to find Octavius," Spider-Man persisted, "He stole a quantum generator from Horizon Labs, and tried to kidnap Cassie because of her powers. I think he's trying to find a way to travel the multiverse on his own."

"We can worry about Octavius later," Strange said, "You need to rest. Any straining movements you make will result in that energy dispersing from your body again."

"I can control it."

"Not forever. This is the first time your body has experienced this; you can't control what happens."

"Well, I won't sit here while Otto is still out there! We need to find him and stop whatever he is doing!"

His anger revealed itself as a glow in his eyes, shining through his mask lenses and changing their color to blue. When he saw the recoil in Strange's expression, Spider-Man made an attempt to calm himself down. The glow subsided as his body finally started to adjust.

"I'm going after him," Spider-Man stated, "Don't try and stop me."

"You don't scare me," said the wizard.

"I should," he growled, "I don't care what mystical abilities you have. I'm a stubborn teenager with abandonment issues and a savior complex. Look me in the bug-eyes and tell me you're going to stop me."

Strange wanted to tell him, again, that he needed to stay and rest. Even though the boy was wearing a mask, the wizard could feel all of the determination and stubbornness coming from him. Any words the Sorcerer Supreme tried to form were evaporated instantly. The young hero wasn't going to take no for an answer; he'd probably just make up his own instead.

"If you go, you must be careful," The wizard warned, "This new power of yours is unknown and dangerous. Whatever Cassie has done to you-"

"Actually …" Cassie cut in, "It wasn't me. I think being near me brought it out …but I can feel that it was already there."

Spider-Man turned to look at her, "I already had this ability? For how long?"

"I'm …not sure."

Spider-Man looked at his hands, feeling the tingle within his cells that jumped across his fingers. This new ability was strange to him and completely outside his expertise. He knew that the spider bite gave him the abilities of an arachnid, but this couldn't be one of them. This was something else; something new and scary, and something he just couldn't figure out right now.

"We'll figure it out, later," Spider-Man stated, "Right now, we're going to find Otto. If he's using a quantum generator, maybe there is a way we can track that energy."

"I could do it," Cassie suggested, "If I just focus on it …I could find it."

"Then that's what we'll do," he turned to look at Strange, "You keep trying to fix my gatekey. We'll be back as soon as we can before Otto rips another hole in the world."

Strange felt somewhat odd having this teenager command him like a soldier, but his approach was well thought-out. He had gotten good at being a leader, even if he might not admit it, "Alright," Said the wizard, "Good luck."

"Ah, we'll be fine!" Hatsume stated proudly, "We'll kick is octo-butt in no time!"

"Hatsume," Spider-Man said sternly, "I can't let you-"

"Ahp, ahp, ahp!" She waved her finger, "You try and pull that lone wolf stuff and Ima fight you."

"But-"

"Fistacuffs!"

Groaning, the hero surrendered, "Okay, let's go."

…

Swinging across the city wasn't possible, or at least not practical, with two guests at his side. Cassie said she could track the energy of the quantum generator, and so far, she wasn't failing. Spider-Man helped Hatsume and Cassie across the rooftops as the little girl told them where to go. Hatsume asked if Cassie could just teleport them like before, but she explained how that only works if she, or someone around her, has seen the place they're trying to go.

Cassie clung to the hero's back as he carried her. Her breathing was heavy, likely from anxiety. There was a weighing guilt on her shoulders, having withheld information about herself and her connection to the arachnid hero. She wanted to say more, do more, but she just couldn't.

"Cassie?" Spider-Man asked, "Are you okay?"

She gave no response and only bit her lip.

Spider-Man finally stopped moving atop one of the roofs and put Cassie down, kneeling to her level as she stood awkwardly in front of him. Hatsume waited on the side, looking over the city as night started to fall.

"Cassie," Spider-Man said, "I know you're scared. You gotta talk to me eventually. How do you know so much about the multiverse? Why are you and I connected?"

"I don't know why," she said.

"But you know more than you're letting on. Being near you is …changing me."

"I didn't do it!" She argued, "It was already there!"

"I know!" He reassured, "I just need to understand why that is. What about you is bringing it out. How long has it been there?"

"I don't know!" She shouted, "I don't know why I'm different! I don't know why we're connected! I just …I just wanted to meet you."

"Me? Why?"

She paused, twiddling her fingers, "They tell me I was born this way. My parents put me in the hospital to treat my …condition. I can see things no one else can. At first, I thought I was just dreaming. One day, I tried reaching out toward those dreams and I found myself in them."

"You jumped realities," he realized.

"I could move between these worlds, not just see them. While they kept me bedridden, I'd just watch other worlds. That's …where I saw you. You were this really cool hero that saved everyone and …I just really wanted to meet you. So, I reached out …"

She instinctively reached out her hand, and Spider-Man took it gently in his own. She almost recoiled but calmed herself for him.

"…I've always felt connected to you," She said, "I don't know why …I just do. I'm sorry for what I've done to you, but I don't know how to fix it."

"It's okay, Cassie," He smiled underneath his mask, "We'll figure it out together."

"Together?"

"Together."

The hero picked her back up and placed her on his back, and she held him tightly. Hatsume realized the sappy talk was over and groaned "Finally!" as they continued moving. It made Cassie laugh, even if just a little.

…

As the moon started climbing the sky, Otto marked the time; 8:43 P.M. It had taken him more than six hours to finish this project, far more than it should have. He was a genius, after all—the greatest mind of a thousand generations. Something like this should have only taken an hour or two. Perhaps he was too distracted by rouge thoughts, or perhaps he was losing his edge.

Maybe he was finally going crazy, just as everyone claimed he had.

As he put the last piece in its place, the entire machine lit up. It was a large hexagonal device, standing taller than himself when placed upright. There was a large gap in the center, meant as the entry point should this work. It will work; it had to. He was the one who built it, after all.

Unbeknownst to the Octopus, a spider had made its way into his home. Spider-Man, joined with Cassie on his back and Hatsume at his side, hid high above in the rafters. Cassie had done what she promised, using her powers to lead them toward the source of the irregular energy. Even from way up high, they could see the size of the device Otto was building. Both Hatsume and Peter, with their higher intelligence and science-fiction knowledge, knew rather quickly what it was.

"All those wires," Hatsume observed, "Feeding back into the quantum generator-"

"Using the energy he stole from my breaches as a base," Spider-Man continued, "He's trying to open up his own portal through the multiverse."

"So that's, like, dangerous, right?"

"If it fails …remember when the breach imploded?"

"Yeah, I was there. Good times."

"Multiply that by six."

"That's not so-"

"-dozen. Six dozen."

"That makes more sense."

Spider-Man moved carefully and rappelled himself, Cassie and Hatsume to the ground floor, hiding them behind a few scattered boxes of tools and parts, likely stolen by Otto. Peter still wasn't sure about bringing Hatsume along, or having Cassie so close, but they had both insisted, and he learned already to just trust when his allies wanted to help.

Spider-Man leapt to the wall and began crawling toward Otto and his device. Getting a closer look, he could see just how makeshift that it was. The design was brilliant, he had to admit, but there was no way it would work with the outdated and cheap parts it had. Otto was desperate, otherwise he would have triple-checked everything before getting to this point.

His spider-sense tripped as one of Otto's robotic arms suddenly turned around to look at him. It lunged at the spider as he bounced off the wall to dodge it and landed back on the ground.

"Parker," Otto turned around, kept aloft by his metal arms, "I should have expected you to try and stop this! You don't know when to quit!"

"What about you?!" Spider-Man scolded, "I barely took a glance at that machine and I can tell you it'll fail! You're being reckless!"

"Reckless?! I'm getting what I deserve!"

"Damn right!"

The fight broke out quickly with Otto making the first move. He swung his arms in a spinning motion as Spider-Man flipped back to dodge them, swinging around the room to get some space from the octopus. Cassie and Hatsume could only watch as they traded blows. The little girl was scared; not for herself, but for her hero as he put his safety on the line. Hatsume had only seen Peter fighting someone this close when he fought All Might. This was different, though, as Otto was actually trying to kill him.

Otto landed another attack on the arachnid that slammed him into the wall. Using all four of his metal arms, he grabbed each of Spider-Man's limbs and held him upside down. Despite his super strength, he found he was unable to pull himself free.

"I could have revealed your identity," Otto admitted, "I could have told the world who you were and ruined your life, but I didn't. Any other villain you faced would have revealed your secret the second you sent them back here to be Imprisoned, had that wizard friend of yours not erased that information from their minds."

"Good for you, you have some semblance of humanity left," the hero retorted, "If you're trying to make me feel bad, don't. I know you've been through a lot, and I do want to help you, but you have to make the effort to be a better person. You're not even trying!"

"I'm already a better person! I'm already the best version of myself!"

"No! You're not!" the hero shouted, "Our best selves are an unreachable goal. They're a reminder that we should always try and grow—always try to improve!" The boys' eyes began to glow again, "You treat yourself like the second coming of Jesus Christ, as though you're going to save us from ourselves! You're not a God, Otto! You're a man!"

"I am more than a man! But you—you're just a boy!"

"No," His body almost engulfed in blue mist and flame, "I'm a man; a Spider-Man!"

The energy erupted from his body and released a wave that short-circuited the villains' robotic arms. Spider-Man dived down and flipped his body to land on his feet, striking his signature pose. Otto stumbled back and fell to his feet, trying to reactivate his arms.

Spider-Man suddenly recoiled and fell to his stomach, holding his chest as though it was about to burst. Strange had warned him; this energy was dispersing again and now he couldn't stop it. It was like every cell in his body was trying to peel itself off, before ripping in half.

As Otto reactivated his metal arms, he had debated using them to crush the spider's head now that he was down. Instead, however, he looked back at the machine he had just finished with great impatience, "I want you to watch as you lose," he told the hero, moving toward the machine's main console.

With only a few keystrokes, the quantum generator hooked up in the back starts to shake and make noise, powering the rest of the large mechanism. The hexagon gate charges with electricity, fueled by the canister of dimensional energy hooked into the top, extracted from Peter's breaches. The canister empties completely into the gate, as it collected in the center.

A portal opened, confided within the hexagon and rippling sporadically. Despite being a flat projection, Otto looked in and saw a never-ending tunnel.

"It works!" he shouted, "Otto Octavius truly is the greatest mind who ever lived!"

As Otto was distracted by his supposed success, Hatsume and Cassie rushed over to Spider-Man's side, turning him onto his back as he continued to feel unbearable pain.

"Talk to me, partner!" Hatsume said as she put a hand to his face, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Enough to slap me with …" He groaned, managing to hold himself up on his elbow, "It's happening again …it hurts so much …!"

Cassie only felt guilt seeing him like this. She wasn't the one who gave him this power, but she had brought it out just by being this close. They were connected, both metaphorically and spiritually. She could reach into the energy of the multiverse and bring it toward herself. Now, she had somehow awakened a new ability that only brought him pain.

No, she wasn't going to just watch as he was put in so much pain. If she brought this power out, perhaps there was more she could do with it.

Cassie hesitantly took his hand in hers, just as he had done earlier. The energy spread to her body as well. For a moment, it did hurt in a similar way, but it quickly faded and focused itself. The pain Spider-Man felt dwindled as he found he could breathe again.

"If I brought it out," Cassie said, "Maybe I can help you control it."

"Are you sure?" He asked, "This ability …it hurts …I don't want you to be burdened with it."

"Well …that's what heroes do, right?" She smiled, a tear escaping her blindfold, "We carry burdens for others, and sometimes, for each other. I don't know the full extent of my abilities, yet, but …I want to learn. I want to help people, just like you."

He didn't have to see her eyes to see her soul. It was kind and innocent and full of hope, something he wished he had more of. Just feeling this energy shared between them, he felt that hope irradiating off of her. It was inspiring. She was inspiring.

"Hatsume …" said Spider-Man as he stood up, holding Cassie's hand, "We'll take care of Otto. Find a way to shut off that machine."

Hatsume gasped, "I get to push buttons?!"

"You get to push all the buttons."

Hatsume squealed, putting on her work goggles she always kept on her head.

Spider-Man slung Cassie onto his back, wrapping his webs around her and around his chest to keep her stuck there. With her influence, he suddenly felt the full weight of this new power; so much energy coursing through his veins, like sparks of electricity. The energy dispersed off of him like steam, becoming a closer resemblance to flames the closer to his body they were.

"This feels like …what Izuku does," Spider-Man said, "what did he call it? Full cowling?"

"Cowls are stupid," Hatsume stated, "But if he calls it that, it must mean something to him."

Something that means a great deal; a representation of achieving your potential, being prepared. The only time Peter felt prepared was when he had a full cartridge of web pellets.

"Okay," Spider-Man said as he flexed his muscles into his signature pose, releasing a wave of energy that cracked the ground beneath him and made the chipped pieces of it float, "then we'll call this …Full Cartridge!"

The hero, with Cassie as his backup, leapt forward toward the Octopus with blinding speed. The villain had little time to react as the duo reached him and threw a powerful kick that sent him rolling away from the main console. His robotic arms were barely able to stop him from crashing, before Spider-Man came in again with a double kick that broke straight through the wall and outside.

Spider-Man's eyes were blue again, as small pieces of his costume seem to burn off like sparks from a fire. His gloves and boots were obliterated from the raw energy of the attacks, revealing the glow of his bones and veins upon his skin.

The hero practically vanished into the air with how fast he was moving, striking Otto again and again before he could even react. Spidey shot a web at the ground and used it to sling himself in a circular motion, coming from behind to deliver a devastating blow to the villains back. At this point, the only thing keeping Otto standing was the AI of his metal arms.

"This can't be! You won't stop-!" Otto was cut off when Spider-Man sped in from below and uppercut his chin, slinging him into the air where he webbed his chest and yanked him back down, only to be kicked to the ground.

The hero stood over him with an intense aura. Cassie was still clung to his back, giving off a red glow rather than blue. The two colors moved parallel to each other, feeding off the others strength to make up the difference for their weakness.

"I won't go down easily!" Otto declared, attempting to use his metal arms to jump over the duo, who responded by shoving an elbow into his back and shooting him back inside the warehouse.

As the fight had been going on, Hatsume had rushed to the main console of the massive breach device. It only took her a moment to figure out what each of the buttons did as she attempted to shut it off. It wasn't as easy as hitting an off button; she had to get past several security measures Otto had put in place. She had to admit, he was smart.

Just not as smart as she was.

As she executed a new code command she had implemented, the exhaust ports of the hexagon gate seemed to burst as the portal became unstable.

Otto, seeing what she had now done, tried reaching one of his demonic metal arms toward her. Spider-Man had appeared in front of it, however, and swatted it aside so fast that it came clean off the villains back. Otto felt the pain of its removal, as it had still been linked to his cerebral cortex. It brought back the painful memories of fighting Lumina, when she had done the same.

"I won't …I won't fail again!" Otto shouted with a voice-crack.

The mad doctor rushed over to the machine just as it started to become unstable. The hexagon gate fell, no longer able to support its weight, and laid flat against the ground. The portal, though unstable, was still barely open. Otto stood atop the edge of the hexagon, looking down into the endless tunnel of the multiverse.

"Otto! No!" Spider-Man shouted, wanting to get closer, but unable to even with his new speed as the energy of the gate was too unstable now, striking anything that got close, "Don't do it! You don't know where you'll end up! You don't even know if you'll survive!"

Otto stared into the void of reality, looking back between it and Spider-Man. There was still a part of him who was hesitant, wondering if all this desperation was really warranted. He could just turn back, do his time, and pray society forgives him for what he has done.

No - for what they made him do.

"Wherever I end up," Otto spoke calmly for the first time, "It has to be better than the hell society has built for me."

With a single motion, Otto released the remaining metal arms from his back and let them fall to the floor, before letting his body fall face first into the unstable portal.

His entry caused a chain reaction. As he vanished, the hexagon gate broke apart as the entire thing began to explode. Spider-Man, using his new speed, grabbed Hatsume and swung all three of them into the air. He didn't get far as the portal, somehow still open, began to implode and suck in everything nearby.

Their bodies were being pulled toward the gate, with only a few strands of webbing keeping them from total destruction. Hatsume hung from Peter's neck so tightly that he thought he would choke.

"The generator!" Hatsume shouted, "It's still hooked up! We gotta turn it off! That's the last step to shutting it down!"

"We have to get close enough!" Spider-Man said, "I think if I can-"

Before Spider-Man could say anything else, Hatsume had completely let go of his body. He tried to shoot a web and grab her, but it was redirected and pulled into the portal.

Hatsume had hit the ground with a roll and grabbed onto the main console, which was bolted into the floor. She was only a few feet from the portal; one wrong step and she'd fall right in. She looked back at the arachnid hero who only feared for her. Strangely, she didn't look scared, rather she was determined. She gave him a nod of faith, as he returned it to her as a gift of trust.

She pulled herself alone the cables and reached the small generator, still shaking like a small dog. There was one larger cable connected to the top, responsible for feeding the power into the portal. She pulled and twisted with all her might but couldn't get it to budge.

"Come on!" She shouted, "Pop off, you stupid piece of sh-!"

The cable finally broke off and the energy no longer fueled into the portal. The unstable reaction finally released into one final act of power, spreading light and fire in every direction. Hatsume quickly dive-rolled and hid behind the main console for safety as everything became bright.

The heat subsided, as did the noise of the dying machine. Pieces of debris fell from the rafters and echoed across the walls. Spider-Man and Cassie were swinging back and forth on a single web as the blue energy faded away, this time without any recoil or drawback, likely thanks to Cassie.

The duo rappelled to the ground and rushed to Hatsume, who managed to get through with a few cuts and bruises, and a crack in her goggles.

"Hatsume, are you okay?!" he asked, hugging her.

"You …" She gasped, then laughed, "You have to buy me new goggles."

He laughed with her, "Only if you buy me a pizza."

As they held each other, Spider-Man looked back at the broken gateway; the last place where Otto stood. As much as they were enemies, he knew they could have been friends. Wherever that man was, Peter hoped he finally found peace.

…

The police and firefighters had arrived quickly after receiving calls of the warehouse incident. By the time they had arrived, the trio was nowhere to be found. Instead, they watched from a nearby roof. Peter sat on the edge with his mask off for the first time since meeting Cassie. His legs hung over the edge as his fingers locked together; his mind somewhere else completely.

Otto was one of his oldest villains, but also one of his oldest friends. He never wanted to see him rot in prison; he looked up to him as a scientist. To know he was gone now, unsure if he was dead or alive, felt like his own fault. He should have stopped him sooner—he should have been stronger.

Looking down at his hands, he felt anger. What was this new power? Where did it come from? Why did it not show up sooner? He could have really used it so many other times, so why now? Was this a part of the spider bite, or something else? How would he be able to control it without Cassie's aid? What about her powers brought it out? Why were they connected? And what was this 'Web of Life and Destiny'?

"You good, bro?" Hatsume asked as she sat beside him, dangling her legs over the edge and swinging them like a child.

"I should have tried to save him," Peter said.

"Dude, you did try and save him. He just didn't want to be saved."

"I know, but-"

"Stop it, don't sing that song again. You're a terrible singer."

"I am?"

She shrugged, "All I know is that the octo-dude brought this on himself. Is it sad? Well, yeah, but you did all you could. Be proud that you stopped him."

"Did I?"

"You said it yourself; if we didn't shut that thing down, the damage would have been way worse. We're heroes, today! Be proud of yourself!"

Her happy attitude was an intoxicating one as he couldn't help smiling as she bumped his shoulder.

Cassie watched from a few yards behind them, comforting herself in the warm red hoodie she now loved so much. It was one thing to see him in the mask, but something else to see him without it. Even though she wore a blindfold, she felt the love in his eyes and the warmth in his smile. That hope she held deep inside herself had now been passed onto him.

They truly were – now more than ever – connected.

Perhaps that was what made it so hard.

"Cassandra," the familiar voice called out to her from beyond, "you've made your peace. It's time to begin."

She wanted to ask him for more time, but she knew that wasn't possible. She would not go back to being bedridden, but she could not stay with her hero, either. Something else – something greater in the Web of Life and Destiny – called to her now. If she wanted to be a hero like Spider-Man, she had to learn to answer those calls despite her own feelings.

"…I'll carry the burden for you," Cassie spoke softly toward Peter, before backing away, "I'll carry all your burdens."

Peter turned around, having heard Cassie's voice and asking her what she said.

Cassie, however, was now gone.

Peter stood up and looked around for her, but there was no trace of her presence. He called out, but she didn't respond.

"Maybe she didn't get far!" Hatsume stood, "Let's look for her!"

He would have agreed, but he knew deep down there was no point. Where before, he could sense her even when she wasn't beside him, now he felt nothing. Her ever-loving presence of hope was distant, now. Not gone, just distant – too far to reach.

"No," Peter stated, "I can feel it …she's gone."

"Gone where?"

He had no answer for her, and perhaps he didn't need one. Even though she was young, he had faith she would be okay. Wherever she was, she was watching over him, carrying his burdens.

…

Hatsume and Peter returned to the sanctum and explained everything that happened to Doctor Strange, who listened closely to their heavy words. What happened to Otto was a tragedy, but Strange explained how it may have been the best possible outcome, in the end. "Otto was too broken," The wizard explained, "Nothing was going to stop him from trying again. You did the best that you could."

"I know," Peter said, "I just wish I could have done more."

"And what of Cassie?"

"She just vanished …and something tells me you won't be able to find her."

"Likely not. Her power is …unique. I couldn't track her even after you had left," He reached into his pocket, "I was, however, able to fix this."

Doctor Strange handed him his gate key, now with a new layer of protective plating and a stronger string to hang from.

"Be careful," The wizard explained cautiously, "Your device may be fixed, but your breach troubles may not be over. We still don't know what caused your breach to implode and damage the key. What I do know is that the walls of the multiverse are …cracked."

"That's not the same a crack in a traditional wall, is it?"

"Far from it. These cracks loosen the bridges between worlds, specifically, this and earth 7-2014-7. Until I can figure out the cause and solution, try and limit your jumps to 'essential purposes' only."

Peter held the key in his hand, feeling the new coating between his fingers. It was a bittersweet victory, but one he was just going to have to take.

Standing up, he gestured to Hatsume that it was time to leave, "Thank you," He told Strange, "I'll be careful."

"One more thing," Strange spoke up, "Your new ability …all I can say is that it works off of some kind of kinetic process. If you need help with it, don't hesitate to come here. I've set up a new breach point in the device that can take you directly here from any of the other breach points; you just have to think about it."

"Right ..." A thought suddenly came to the boys mind, "Otto said ...you erased the memories of my villains?"

"Yes, to protect your identity."

"Including Norman Osborn?"

"Of course. Is that a problem?"

"I ...guess not."

Thanking him again, Peter and Hatsume left the sanctum shoulder-to-shoulder, with the wizard staying behind to guard it.

…

When they breached back into the Midoriya household, it was like a breath of fresh air. The spidey suit they were working on was still sitting where they left it. It was astonishing that they had only been gone for hours, and not longer. Hatsume didn't hesitate to plop back down into Midoriyas bed and fall right to sleep. He couldn't blame her after all she had gone through.

Peter walked into the living room to find Inko sitting on the couch with the television on. She glanced at him with a neutral expression. She still didn't know where they stood, after all. It was only now he remembered they had left off on a fight. For a while there, he thought he wouldn't see her again.

Just like with Uncle Ben.

She stood up to say something to him – wanting to apologize for what she said – but he quickly pulled her into a hug. The two hadn't traded any words, instead they stayed in the familial embrace.

He didn't want to lose her, not in any way. He didn't want to endanger her, but he didn't want to push her away, either.

With their silent apologies traded, their bond had been restored.