Story cover art is by MisconToku, who you can find on Newgrounds.

A/N: Almost done with Miles's universe! Part 11 will be back in Peni's universe! Writing inside the canon timeline has been waaaay harder than I ever imagined, but I'm pleased with this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it too - and thank you for all the favs and reviews!

Recap of last chapter: Last chapter, Peni, Ham and Noir snuck into Alchemax to figure out how the heck the collider works - except in the end they didn't need to sneak in at all, as they let Peni right through the door when she said her name was Peni Reilly! She managed to get some information from Octavius's computer, but had to flee when Noir accidentally set off the alarm system. Back home, Peni finally figured out the key element in the collider's wormhole technology: Reilly particles. But though May explained how she came up with the (formerly theoretical) particles, her explanation left Peni with more questions than answers...

Chapter 16: Heart-Shaped Box (Part 9)

I woke up spread-eagled on the panic room couch, face down in a pile of alien numbers. Tiny legs danced across my cheek.

"Mornin' SP/dr."

It'd been a long day yesterday, and an even longer night. We successfully infiltrated Octavius's lab and got some useful information. I'd hoped maybe it'd be enough, that with May's paper I'd be able to put two and two together and figure out how the heck Doctor Octavius managed to not only stabilize wormholes, but direct them to open in locations of her choice. No such luck.

I turned my head and saw Noir's dark silhouette sitting on the edge of his bottom bunk. He still had the Rubik's cube in his gloved hands.

"You're awake," he observed.

"What time is it?"

He checked his wrist, then tutted, "Forgot I lost my watch when I fell into that warp hole."

"Wormhole," I pushed myself up and climbed out of the couch's squishy embrace, "I need to get back to work."

His fingers wrapped themselves round my arm. Even with him holding back, I could feel how strong he was, "Ham told me to give you this."

In his free hand was a sandwich wrapped in clingfilm, "It's vegetarian."

I stared at the tasty offering, "You're sure it's vegetarian?"

"Ham said something about tofurkey."

"Tofurkey. Like tofu and turkey?"

Noir simply watched me motionlessly, his face unreadable behind his mask.

Hoping that I hadn't accidentally fried his brain, I took the sandwich and changed the topic, "Don't you think it's strange that Ham isn't vegetarian?"

Noir creaked back into life, "When it comes to Ham, I don't ask too many questions."

"That's probably for the best."

Ham was waiting for us at the breakfast table in Aunt May's kitchen.

"Well, well, if it isn't little miss lazybones!"

I scoffed, "Good morning to you too."

He winked, "Clearly you needed to catch up on your sleep."

I sat at the table. The clock on the wall, next to one of the huge windows and just above a metal box labeled 'TOAST-O-MATIC', showed the time as five past eleven.

Ham idly shuffled a deck of Uno cards, "Wanna play?"

I shook my head, "Not right now."

Noir grunted in agreement, "No time for games. We need to find where Fisk is hiding that collider."

Ham placed the deck on the table, "Way ahead of you, tough stuff. Turns out there's a building called 'Fisk Tower' not far from the river. Found it on the old interweb. It's a bit of a swing from here but I'd put money on the collider being in the vicinity of that building."

Noir idly cracked his knuckles, "Seems too obvious. Can't imagine putting something so huge and dangerous right beneath a building with my name on it."

Ham's voice was deadly serious, "That's exactly why we have to check it out! Villains always hide their most important gadgets in plain sight."

I watched SP/dr crawl across my fingers, "I dunno…"

Ham insisted, "There's gotta be something there."

"Even if we found it, without knowing how it works there's no way we can get back."

Noir leaned his elbows on the table, "What if we don't go back?"

I felt my brows furrow in confusion, "What…?"

"I'm saying what if we just destroy it outright? Whatever he's using it for, it's dangerous. He was willing to kill to keep it secret."

"There's no need to go that far. I know I can figure it out. I just need more time."

The sun glinted cold white in his monochrome goggles, "It's not that I don't trust you doll, but we don't know how much time we have left."

The table fell silent. Noir was right. We had no idea what Fisk's plans were. For all we knew he was carrying them out at that very moment.

I asked, "If we did get stuck here… what would we do?"

Noir glanced at Ham, "Same as we always have."

Ham nodded, "Yeah. We'd protect the city. Together."

"But what about your families?"

Another pause, then Ham said, "We'll deal with that when we have to. Let's just see what you can come up with, kiddo."

In other words, our fate was resting entirely in my hands. Noir, perhaps sensing my anxiety, added, "None of us chose this. If we're stuck here, we're stuck. No one's fault but Fisk's. And it coulda been worse. I coulda been sent here on my own. At least this way I get to be stuck here with you."

"Aww," Ham cooed, "that's gotta be the sweetest thing you've ever said."

I smiled, "You're right Noir. I don't think I could've done this on my own."

He pointed his goggles at me, "Now that's where you're wrong. If you were the only one who got sent through, this world would be fine. You make me look like a chump."

I wagged my finger, "Not true!"

"I'm a bum and you know it."

I smirked, "You're a butt-head but you're not a bum."

Ham sucked air through his teeth, "Ouch! You gonna just take that, Noir?"

He leaned back in his chair, "Peni's allowed to insult me."

"Oh but I'm not?"

"I didn't say that."

"Well I think you're a butt-head too."

"Better a butt-head than a bum."

Ham clapped his hands, "Well said! Now, about Fisk Tower-"

I jumped in, "I wanna go with you. But not before I've figured out this collider stuff."

"Right, of course. So then-"

I heard a knock behind me. Aunt May was standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just heard a story on the radio about some kid dragging a guy in a Spider-Man suit through Brooklyn last night."

I blinked, "Excuse me…?"

A mischievous smile crossed her face, "Eyewitnesses say the kid was dragging him by a rope attached to a train."

"A rope attached to a train…? There's no way they could've survived that!"

"No way a normal person could."

Ham gasped, "You don't mean-"

She nodded, "Seems like you're not the only ones who got pulled through that wormhole."

Noir adjusted his hat, "Guess that settles it, then. We gotta find these other spiders. Then we get Fisk."

"But first!" Ham cheerily declared, pulling an entire strawberry sponge cake out of his pocket, "I think it's time for an early brunch!"

While Ham and Noir investigated the mysterious additional spider-people, I stayed back to bang my head against the particle physics.

"Even if you could open and close wormholes at will," I complained to Aunt May, who was sitting beside me on the living room couch, "what would that even achieve? The location you link up to is random, right? Even in my world we can't just pick a spot and wormhole to it. I mean, we can't safely wormhole at all!"

Aunt May put her glasses back on and sipped some of her herbal tea, "Reilly particles are just the beginning, Peni. You know, I never got to publish it, but I had a theory that if you blasted one of these suckers at something, like a block of pure carbon-12, then you'd open up a wormhole to some other place with that isotope of carbon in it. It's not very useful with carbon, but with something like phosphorous or calcium you could open up a wormhole to alien life!"

"Or a dairy farm."

She lowered her glasses, "I'm just trying to help, sweetheart."

I slumped forward with a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry, Aunt May. It's just… I feel like I'm missing something. Reilly particles alone don't explain this. Three different spider-people, maybe more? It's both way too specific and way too vague. Like, there's no way we have the same genes, let alone the exact same atoms. Ham's a literal pig. I don't understand it. At all."

She chuckled, "It's a mystery alright."

"If I don't solve the mystery then I'm gonna be here forever, along with Noir and Ham and whoever else came through the rip in spacetime."

"Well we can't have that. Your Aunt May would have my neck."

A weak laugh escaped my lips, "She probably thinks I've run off with SP/dr. I bet Mr. Osborn's furious."

Aunt May smiled, "At least he hasn't become a giant green monster like our one has."

"It'd be simpler for me if he did. He's always bossing me around. Before I ended up here he got me to…" I bit my lip, "…he got me to lie about some implant he was selling. It wasn't like, the worst lie. I told these protesters that it was harmless. But they trusted me, you know? Trusted me to have their back. I think people really liked me, before."

I felt her hand on my shoulder, "But not now?"

"Well… the ice cream guy might still like me."

"Ice cream guy?" she asked, clearly confused.

"I saved his store once. Now he gives me free ice cream whenever I drop in."

"Not bad! I should've got Peter to save my hairdresser."

I laughed again, this time more genuinely. Then I said, softly, "Peter seems like a nice guy. People really loved him."

"He was an angel. But this city didn't always appreciate him. I still remember the headline in the Bugle: Spider-Man: Threat or Menace?"

"Oof. I know that feeling."

"I think it runs in the family. Parker luck, he called it. But you know, I don't feel unlucky."

I gave her a puzzled look, "You don't?"

She shook her head, "No. I had a wonderful husband, a beautiful, incredible nephew. I have this house," she spread her arms out, "my mind still works — mostly! And I'm in good health. I'm an incredibly lucky woman. But you wanna know how I really know I'm lucky?"

"How…?"

"Because when I was at my lowest, when it seemed like everything was falling apart, you and your friends showed up at my door. And not just you, either. I had fans of Spider-Man knocking at my door all day yesterday. Then there's MJ. It's like the whole world came to help me. That's luck. And that's why I know you'll solve this, young lady. We're all in this together."

I felt my throat tighten, "But what if I can't? What if Octavius is just too smart?"

Again.

"Sweetie, Liv may be a genius, but she's not that smart. One way or another we'll figure this out. I just know it."

Her smile was so warm and loving that I couldn't help but believe her.

"I wish my Aunt May was like you."

May took another sip of her tea, "Maybe she is."

I frowned, "Maybe…"

Suddenly Aunt May's arm was wrapped around me, pulling me in for a hug, "I'll be your aunt from another dimension for as long as you need me, Peni. Though it's not a free service."

I smirked, "What do I owe you?"

"If you could help me fix up my online dating profile that'd be great."

"Hah! That's easy! I was worried you'd ask me to give up my candy."

"You can keep the candy. I'll throw in some cookies for free."

"You're gonna make me hungry."

"We could move to the kitchen if you want? I've got a whole jar of cookies there that need to be eaten."

With a grin I said, "If you offer me a whole jar I might just eat a whole jar."

She giggled, "Try to save some for your friends."

"They can have a cookie each."

"Just one cookie?"

"Maybe two. Tops."

I pored over the numbers all afternoon with Aunt May, trying to work out what the heck Liv had done to make it so precise, but to no avail. Whatever technique she'd used to focus the wormhole was hidden on her computer back at Alchemax, and there was no way we were getting in there a second time.

Thankfully we didn't have to. Because somehow, perhaps due to Aunt May's incredible luck, the computer came to us that evening.

"Clear signs of a scuffle at Peter's grave," Noir noted grimly in the vast darkness of the subterranean spidey hideout, "Looked like someone dragged a body."

Porker chomped on a hotdog, "It was on the front page of every paper. They don't agree on who these guys are or why they were there — some people think they're grave robbers — but they were definitely there."

Sitting on the mech's domed head, I held my chin in my hand, "Even with my technology, finding them would take forever. The city isn't even half as big as it is in my world, but even so, the population must be in the millions."

Noir hummed, "Wonder if they know that Fisk is responsible…"

Ham said, "You'd think they'd come here! I mean we all have an Aunt May. Surely these guys have one too, right?"

Just as he said that, the elevator began to descend from the high ceiling. I heard voices. Unfamiliar voices.

"Guys," I whispered, "I think that's them."

As the elevator reached the ground floor I got a better look at the strange visitors. Not two, but three people, all seemingly human, accompanied by Aunt May. The tallest was a white man, older, maybe even older than Noir. Beside him was a teenage girl, blonde, wearing some kind of skintight spider-suit. The third was the youngest-looking of the three, a black kid in period-appropriate civilian clothes.

He doesn't look all that out of place. I wonder how long he's been stuck here?

The news only reported two people at Peter's grave, but here we had three. I was about to pop out and introduce myself when Aunt May gathered the strangers together and, handing them some pens (and what looked like name cards) said, "You might need these."

Ham nudged me with his elbow, "That's our cue."

Suddenly I was nervous, "Right! Okay! So should I go first?"

Noir lunged forward, "Let me handle it, doll."

Hanging dramatically from one of the cave's many loose wires, he tipped his hat and called out, "Hey fellas!"

The trio stared at him in stunned silence. Ham and I exchanged concerned glances, then I tapped on the mech's glass. SP/dr, who was resting inside, blinked into alertness. With our shared consciousness he immediately understood.

Let's go, buddy.

We leapt into the air. I only had a few seconds to think of a good introduction. We needed to make an impression, to show our strength, our heroism, but also our friendliness. Something to convey that yes, I'm a twelve-year old genius, but you don't need to be afraid, but also you should respect me because I'm not just a little kid, but also I'd love to be friends, and while I'm at it I'm from the year 3145. But in less words, preferably.

What if they don't speak English?

Hurtling through the cave, I could no longer remember what language they were speaking amongst each other.

What languages do I know, what languages do I know!?

"Uhh…"

I said the first words that popped into my head, "Konnichiwa, hajimemashite, yoroshiku!"

NOOO THAT WAS ALL JAPANESE!

Somehow I retained the presence of mind to strike a friendly pose as I landed (in the heat of the moment I settled on a peace sign). But that wasn't enough. I needed to convey the whole package. SP/dr flashed images of martial arts tournaments through my head.

Perfect!

In unison SP/dr and I kicked and punched the air in front of us. Then I hopped onto the top of the mech and gave no one in particular my meanest scowl.

The oldest of the trio squinted at me, "This could literally not get any weirder."

Oh no. He doesn't mean the good kind of weird, does he…

If Ham hadn't been with us I don't know what I would've done. But he was there, and with his usual cheery energy he trotted towards the strangers, saying, "It can get weirder!"

He offered a handshake to the oldest one. For some reason his hand was dripping wet.

"I just washed my hands," he explained with a wink, "that's why they're wet. No other reason…"

Then we felt it. We all felt it. That strange feeling, like a soundless purr in the back of your mind. Spider-sense, but not warning of danger. Simultaneously we said what our hearts knew.

"You're like me…"

Although we'd only just met, something about that feeling suddenly lent the foreign trio a sense of familiarity, and Noir, Ham and I gave our introductions. When the older man (who I noticed now looked a lot like the Peter Parker of this world) stepped forward, I expected him to introduce himself too. Instead he asked, "So how did you get here?"

"Well," Noir began, "It's kind of a long story."

He related how he fell through the wormhole, how we met on the roof of some building in Times Square, and how we got to Aunt May's. Then I stepped in.

"We've been trying to find a way home, but…"

Noir finished my sentence, "The only way back is through some collider gizmo. Only trouble is, one of us has to stay behind and destroy it. I want you to know right now-"

I knew what he was gonna say before he even said it, so I jumped in, "I'll do it!"

But I wasn't alone. Both Ham and the blonde newcomer echoed my words at the same time.

Wow… just what you'd expect from a bunch of full-time heroes!

It took my breath away. They were all willing to risk their own futures to protect this world, even though there was nothing in it for them. I wish I could say the same. Though I obviously wanted to protect the world I'd ended up in, a part of me really wanted to stayhere. Away from Norman Osborn. Away from Mysterio. I wouldn't be able to keep my spider friends, but I'd have Aunt May, an Aunt May who seemed to really care about me.

The youngest of the newcomers interrupted my thoughts, "No no no, you guys don't get it."

I asked, "Don't get what?"

Then I got my answer. Searing pain. Long needles of heat through my joints, tight between my muscles as I spasmed uncontrollably and fell to the floor.

"AAAGGHHH!"

My limbs were flashing every color of the rainbow, jittering about, discombobulating all over the place. It was over in seconds, but the pain lingered. As I pushed myself up the boy explained, "You can't stay here. If you stay here, you'll die."

Not-Peter elaborated, "Our cells can't handle being in the wrong dimension. If we don't get home fast, we'll all disintegrate. Literally."

Somehow those words were the only thing I absolutely did not want to hear. I was ready to never go home. Ready to lose my new friends, even, if I had to send them back without me. But hearing him say that, hearing him say that there was no way I could ever, ever stay in this world, this world that loved its spider-hero. That hurt most of all.

I barely heard the kid declare, "I'm the guy who's gonna turn it off. And I'm gonna get you all home before I do."

Noir picked his hat up off the floor, "Who are you again?"

The older man, the one who looked like Peter, grinned, "This is Miles! And he's gonna save the multiverse!"

Miles nodded his head, "Yeah man!"

The older one continued, "This kid can turn himself invisible! Watch this, he can do it…now!"

Miles scrunched his face up and squeezed out a feeble grunt. Then he plainly said, "I can't do it on command."

Not-Peter laughed off his friend's non-performance, "He can't do it on command, but it is cool! Show 'em the zappy thing, Miles."

As Miles stared at his hands, willing whatever power he had to show itself, a strange feeling rose within me: embarrassment.

That's what I must've looked like to Mysterio. Powerless.

Miles shook his head, "I can't do it on command."

Not-Peter's laughter became more strained, "He can't do it on command, but he can do so much more. Like, what else do you do Miles?"

"Just those two things."

Not-Peter faced us all with the best smile he could cobble together, "Just those two things!"

But I know I'm not powerless. I'm not. It's not weakness to need a mech.

The blonde girl spoke, "Look, I've seen him in action. He's got… potential. I think he's gonna get us home."

I don't wanna go back… but if I have to… oh god… can't I take them with me? Together we could beat Mysterio, but on my own…

Noir strode forward, "Okay little fella, Kingpin's gonna send a lot of mugs after ya, and I'm talking hard boys, real biscuit boxers. Can you fight 'em all off at once?"

Miles put up his fists, "Well I haven't actually fought anyone…"

Clearly Noir didn't like that answer. Before Miles could find his feet they were swept out from under him.

"Surprise attack!" Noir barked.

He probably meant it as some kind of training. Miles didn't see it that way. He was shocked, hurt. What I needed to do right then and there was stop Noir in his tracks, step in and calm things down before they even had a chance to get started. But I didn't do that. Instead I let my own fear and pain get the better of me.

Venting all my pent up frustration I sneered, "Can you rewire a mainframe while being shot at?"

Miles eyes were wide with panic, "Can I what…?"

"Show me!"

Without warning Noir punched Miles again, knocking him to the floor. The blonde girl leaned over him, and for a second I thought she was gonna help him up, but then she asked, "Can you swing and flip with the grace of a trained dancer?"

Noir, clearly too far gone to stop at this point, said hoarsely, "Can you close off your feelings so you don't get crippled by the moral ambiguity of your violent actions!?"

Ham, sweating in distress by one of the spider suits, tried to defuse things by wafting into the fray on an illustrated breeze, asking, "Anyone else in the mood for some delicious pie? I've got enough for everyone."

His offer fell on deaf ears. Whether from cellular decay or the stress of our own impending doom we'd all lost our minds. That much was obvious. We plowed into Miles with a frenzy of ridiculous questions. Eventually Not-Peter held a hand up in exasperation, yelling, "Guys, cool it!"

"Get up, Miles!" we all chanted, "Get up!"

But it was too late. Perhaps out of sheer mental exhaustion, perhaps simply to avoid being kicked and punched again, Miles stayed on the floor. The blonde girl pulled Not-Peter aside, and gathering us together told him, "You need to be more honest with yourself about this. He's not ready! It's obvious."

Noir shook his head, "There's no way he can do it."

The blonde girl agreed, "We have to stay and do it for him."

A sharp clang reverberated through the cave, followed by the steady click-click-clicking of the elevator.

Not-Peter spun around, "Miles!?"

The elevator was empty, but it rose all the same. It only activated in the presence of people.

He really did turn invisible.

It was only then that what I'd done really sunk in. All the anger and bitterness fell away like a backpack full of stones, leaving me empty.

I railed on him before he even got to say hello… some first impression that was…

Ham gave me a heavy look. There was anger in his eyes, and Ham never got angry. I really, really messed up. I took a deep breath, thinking of what to say, but then Not-Peter sarcastically spat, "Hi, I'm Peter! Nice to meet you!"

Noir silently stared at his shoes.

Ham turned away, "I think I'm gonna lie down."

I called out, "Ham, wait!"

He didn't look back. The door to the panic room opened and closed with a final clunk, leaving the rest of us standing in shame in the vast cave.

In a small voice I said, "I'm sorry…"

Peter sighed, "I shouldn't have put him under all that pressure. He's just a kid."

How many times had someone said that about me?

Just a kid.

I hopped off the mech, "No one's 'just' a kid."

I felt tears sting my eyes. Just a kid. Powerless. Too young to pilot a mech. Just a shadow of what my father was. All those thoughts had been weighing on me like a boulder, and I'd just dumped all that pain on Miles.

I'm sorry Miles… I'm so sorry…

Peter raised an eyebrow, "I didn't mean it personally. I'm just saying he's young."

I balled my hands into fists, "It doesn't matter how young he is. He didn't deserve that."

"Of course he didn't!" he eyed up Noir, "But I'm not the one who mobbed him and beat him to the ground!"

Noir stared at Peter, "You've gotta be ready to fight anytime."

"Oh yeah? Then bring it pal," he growled, raising his fists, "I'm ready to go!"

The blonde girl stepped between them, "Stop! Stop it you two! We messed up, alright? Pointing the finger now won't get us anywhere."

Noir and Peter slowly relaxed their postures. I wiped my eyes, "We're all heroes aren't we? Heroes should be friends."

Peter sighed, "Never thought I'd have trouble getting along with myself."

Noir grunted, "The feeling's mutual."

I folded my arms, "Guys, come on."

To my surprise, Noir was the first to offer his hand.

"Let's start again," he said, "Water under the bridge."

Peter reluctantly shook his counterpart's hand, "Alright. I'm willing to put this behind us. For now."

"Agreed."

Now it was my turn to offer a handshake, "Me too!"

The older Peter hesitated for a moment, then he took my hand and gave it a firm shake, "We shoulda done this in the first place."

Then the girl came over, "Come to think of it, I never introduced myself. My name's Gwen."

I dutifully shook her hand as well, "Nice to meet you!"

Noir stepped up beside me, "I'm Peter Parker…"

Gwen gave him a puzzled look, "You already said that."

"…but call me Noir."

Her expression became even more puzzled, "Noir…? Like film noir?"

"Like uh… The Maltese Falcon. Or something like that."

I explained, "Him and Ham are both Peters, so…"

The older Peter nodded, "Right, of course. A lot of Spider-Peters."

I beamed up at him, "What's your nickname gonna be?"

He held up his hands and started backing away, "No no, no no no no no. No nicknames. Just Peter."

Gwen smirked, "Aw come on Peter, you don't want a cool nickname like Ham?"

"Ham's a pig!"

Gwen eyed his gut. Peter scowled, "Don't you dare!"

I hummed, "We have to think of one though. Every Peter needs a nickname."

"I don't!" Peter protested, "I do not and will not have a nickname!"

In the end we settled for calling him Peter 'B' Parker, or Peter B for short.

The computer was sitting in Aunt May's living room. I recognized it immediately as the same model I saw in Octavius's lab. When Peter B explained how he got it I practically leapt out of my school uniform.

"You did WHAT!?"

"It was easier than you think," he casually bragged, "I even got a bagel on the way out. Of course, we did get shot at-"

Suddenly my shock became fits of laughter, "Oh my god…"

"Hey, we put our lives on the line for this thing!" he complained, tapping the computer with the palm of his hand.

"No, it's-" I wheezed, "We went there just the other day. That's probably why they shot at you. Oh man. I can't even."

"Whoa hang on, you went to Alchemax? When was this?"

I heard Noir reply matter of factly, "Yesterday."

Peter B groaned in frustration, "Yesterday...!? Are you kidding me? So what, we don't even need this?"

I tried to stifle my giggles, "The opposite, actually."

The conversation dimmed down. Everyone was listening. I explained, "I only managed to steal a tiny portion of the data. Her desktop is… a nightmare, to say the least. She was well prepared for someone to try and steal information. With this though," I eyed up the black rectangle in front of me, "I think I can actually get us home."

I felt a pang in my chest as I said those words, but I pushed through it and gave everyone in the room my best smile. Ham was still in the cave, but everyone else was there, including Aunt May.

I'll talk to Ham later and apologize properly.

What happened with Miles was a huge mistake. We all knew it, and we all knew that we knew it. Whenever Miles showed up again, if he showed up, I owed him the biggest apology of all.

I took the computer and slowly began working my way through the mess of information while the others chatted amongst themselves. SP/dr sat on my shoulder, staring into the screen's blue light. Every file I opened I cataloged into my own custom folder, labeled 'Read'. I must've gone through at least twenty documents called 'untitled folder' when suddenly a plate of cookies was placed down next to me.

"I believe in you, Peni," came Aunt May's warm voice.

I looked over my shoulder and smiled, "Thanks Aunt May."

I promise I'll protect you. Even if it means letting my atoms get scrambled.

I picked up a cookie and chomped away the negative thoughts. There were plenty more 'untitled folder' files left to open.

The answer has to be in here somewhere, surely.

It was. Though by the time I found it everyone had gone to bed. Even SP/dr was asleep, hidden deep in the knots and tangles of my unkempt hair. It was a file just as strange and cryptically named as all the others, but contained within it was a schematic for what was unmistakably a particle collider. It looked very advanced, even compared to my world's technology. An enormous machine, utilizing the subway tunnels beneath the city to accelerate the particles. One machine constantly made Reilly particles, while another thrusted those particles into each other. The second part had a label: Fisk Tower.

Ham was right. Fisk really did just put it beneath his HQ.

Poor decision-making aside, this was even more serious than I first thought. From what I knew of the math, a collision of Reilly particles released a huge amount of energy. If even the slightest thing went wrong you could trigger a massive explosion. Yet somehow Peter Parker had developed a virus to shut it down safely. That meant he gained access to the code used to program it.

Which he had to get from this computer. It's Octavius's office that May visited, nowhere else. I just need to keep looking.

I was out of cookies, and almost out of energy. Maintaining a clear head was gonna be tough.

On the back of my neck I felt a voice, "Hey kiddo."

Stifling a scream I leapt out of the chair, "Wha-!?"

It was Ham.

"Ham!" I sighed, laughter rising in my throat, "You scared me!"

"Sorry! I couldn't resist."

His pink face looked almost white in the computer's artificial glow. He didn't seem angry anymore.

Nonetheless I told him, "I'm sorry about earlier."

He shook his head, "You don't need to apologize to me."

"It's Miles I need to apologize to…"

"Well, yes. But also I get where you're coming from."

He motioned for me to sit. As soon as my butt was back on the chair he hopped onto my lap, saying, "You haven't told me much about your world."

"There's not much to tell you," I lied.

He gave me an amused look, "Nothing to tell me about New York one thousand years in the future? C'mon, Peni. I'm a pig, not an idiot."

"Yeah, well."

"What happened back there, in the cave-"

I interrupted him, "I was wrong."

"You were upset. We all were."

"It was stupid."

He gently poked my cheek, "I'll have none of that, young lady."

"Is that your Aunt May impression?"

Ignoring my joke, he continued, "You really wanted to stay here, didn't you?"

I grabbed the mouse and opened up another file on the desktop screen. He didn't let the question slip, "Peni?"

I couldn't even pretend to read the document in front of me, "Was it that obvious?"

"To me it was. Call it pig's intuition."

"I'm meant to be the psychic one."

He fluttered his suddenly-enormous eyelashes dramatically, "I can't help being brilliant."

I giggled despite myself, "Can I steal that line?"

"You've already stolen my heart, now you want my jokes, too?"

"Consider it payment for getting you home."

"A fair price. But seriously Peni, you've got your whole life ahead of you. Let one of us shut it down."

I pulled him closer, hugging him like an extra large plushie, "Your worlds need you. Mine doesn't need me."

"That can't be true!"

"It is. This guy, Mysterio-"

"The moose with the fish bowl on his head?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess you could call it that."

"Well mine has a literal fish bowl on his head."

"Right…" I paused, imagining my Mysterio with a literal fish bowl head, "Anyway, he's like…the main hero in New York now. He basically replaced me."

Ham gestured dramatically with his tiny hands, "But he's a villain!"

"I know, I know."

"I bet when the people see his true colors they'll realize what kinda guy he is."

"I'm not so sure."

"Even if they don't, you'll know you did the right thing."

I sighed, "That's the problem. Mysterio's big beef is with my company, Oscorp. But I hate Oscorp too."

"Of course, with Norman Osbird being the Green Gobbler and all that."

I scrunched my face up in confusion, "You mean Osborn, right? And no, he's not a gobbler, or whatever it is you said."

"Oh, so it's Harry Osbird in your world?"

"No!" I insisted, "Harry's my friend."

Ham huffed, "Man your world is confusing!"

"You don't get to say that when you live in a cartoon land with fish bowl villains."

"Hey, everything in my world makes perfect sense!"

Leaning over Ham's bulbous head I clicked through to another 'untitled folder', "I mean, you're probably right. I'm sure it's internally consistent."

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

Then something on the computer screen caught my eye, "Hang on."

"What is it?"

"I think I've found it."

"Found what?"

"The code. The code for the collider," I grinned, "Oh my god, this is it. This is it…!"

Reams and reams of code. I didn't recognize the language, but I had time to learn it.

Wish I had some cookies right about now.

I heard Ham's voice, "Did someone say cookies?"

"Huh? I didn't-"

Clearly I'd accidentally said that thought aloud, but boy was I glad I did. In Ham's hands was an enormous jar of chocolate chip cookies.

I asked, "Did you get that from your pocket!?"

"I did! And there's plenty more!"

I opened the jar and plucked a cookie out, "You're a lifesaver."

"Remember though: cookies aren't a substitute for sleep."

"They'll have to be tonight. Gotta turn that collider off ASAP, one way or the other."

It was a long night, made even longer by Ham's rambling tales about this one particularly epic picnic he had back in his highschool days, but by the time the sun was up I'd learned the code and written something that, I hoped, would get us all home safely. The only thing left to do was to put the program onto a USB so it could be injected into the collider's software, just like the original.

Scooting Ham off my lap I strolled through the kitchen towards the back yard. Somehow, despite getting absolutely no sleep, I wasn't even the slightest bit tired. As my mind sunk into the mech and became one with SP/dr's consciousness, I felt even more awake.

You can tell which of us had a good night's sleep, huh.

Making a USB was a million times easier than making the sync engine for the mech was all those years ago. It took me only a few minutes to solder everything into place with the mech's built-in lasers. Then it was done. I ran back into the house grinning like an idiot and, bursting into the now-full living room, held the USB up high.

"Ta-da!"

Peter B took the USB from me, slipped a string through the end of it, and slung it over his head like a necklace.

Gwen asked me, "Did Miles come back last night?"

My smile faded, "No… sorry."

Peter B frowned, "Look, he's just clearing his head. I know the kid. He's got what it takes. He'll be back through that door any minute, recharged and ready to fight."

Sure enough, no sooner had B said those words than the door opened to reveal Miles in an ill-fitting Spider-Man costume.

"My uncle!" he cried.

Peter B clasped his shoulders, "Whoa, where've you been?"

"My uncle Aaron, he's the prowler!"

Noir, who was lying on the couch, lifted his head, "The who?"

Miles was absolutely frantic, "He works for the Kingpin! He tried to kill me!"

B spoke softly, "Slow down, Miles. It's okay. We can figure this out."

Gwen asked, "Were you followed?"

"No," Miles replied, "I don't think so."

The dull ache in my head told me otherwise.

Ugh, great. Whoever followed him must be close.

The doorbell ding-donged. Then out of nowhere an enormous tentacle burst through the door, splintering wood into the living room. It zoomed past me, inches from my face, and whacked a tray of drinks of out of Aunt May's arms.

A woman clunked through the door's remains on synthetic limbs. Her eyes were hidden by green goggles, and her body was cased in some kind of plastic armor.

"Cute place," she said, "real homey."

May groaned, "Oh great, it's Liv."

My heart jumped into my throat.

Liv… Olivia Octavius…

In my world her AI counterpart killed my father. Now she was here, in an alien dimension, ready to kill me. I felt that familiar fear. Then I thought of Miles.

"Just a kid…" I mumbled under my breath.

No. He's not just a kid, and nor am I. Not anymore. I'm the girl that's gonna save the multiverse.

As more of Fisk's goons entered May's living room me and the gang huddled close. Then Noir raised his fists, and in a grizzled voice said, "Alright fellas. Let's dance."

And that's when all hell broke loose.