2021 and I'm back.
Nobody expected this update, not even me, but here it is.

Chapters 1 and 2 were a bit modified.

A brown jacket covers Parker's suit. It's not much really, and the lower of the signature red and blue spandex is still uncovered, but it's New York. People will stare and then go about their own business; a man cosplaying Spider-Man isn't the weirdest thing they'll see. Thanks, thinks Peter, typical New York oddity.

Besides, there would be no reason for the acclaimed hero to be in a bad restaurant, right?

"I swear, I love this burger. So delicious."

It's fun, almost like deja vu. Peter knows he's said those words before, and he knows he's eaten that hamburger too, but it almost feels like a joke only he knows, and this time he makes sure to observe with quiet amusement the expressions of disgust the brat makes upon seeing his bad table manners.

However, there is a big difference between that situation and now.

"I know, it's amazing." Aaand that's it. Peter Parker, the other who is better and more worthy, very much alive thanks to his efforts, responds to him from across the table as he eats, with equally dire manners, another hamburger. "Do they have this restaurant in your dimension?"

"No." he replies regretfully. "It closed a few years ago, I still don't understand why."

His younger version looks at him with pity. B. finds it hilarious that among all the similarities and differences they have, it is the food that unites them. He suddenly feels like asking what kind of pizza is his favorite, to have a whole conversation about what food is his favorite, when Miles's unexpected clear throat interrupts them. Oops, right. Collapsing multiverse and all that.

Miles, who chose to sit across from him and next to the other Parker (and that's natural, he thinks. The other Parker is his Spider Man, the hero in his world, of course he would sit next to him instead of the unknown and ruined man who saved both of their lives. B. just looks at them and eats another potato chip), takes a deep breath once he has gotten their attention, then turns and speaks directly to his spider.

"I do not know what is happening." He admits, with a seriousness that doesn't quite fit his baby face. "Suddenly I found out that I could do things that I couldn't do before, and I don't know what to do with that, I can't control it. When we were there," he closes his eyes, there's a significant pause and Peter can't help but frown. He imagines that even though he avoided any death, it is still a traumatic experience for normal people. "You said you'd teach me. Do you have any advice or something?"

Before, when the breathing spiders were one less, in a rare quiet moment at Aunt May's — but not his Aunt May — home, while each minded their own business, Miles had whispered that Peter had seemed excited to meet him, to teach him. He had confessed that with a few words he had calmed his world, crushed all his worries and fears; Miles had wanted to get to know him better.

At that time, for the over-exhausted Peter, it had been a personal blow. The boy hadn't done it on purpose, but not for the first time, B. found himself thinking about how ideal it would have been for everyone if it had been him and not the golden boy who ended up underground.

Now, in a world that still doesn't know if it's the same but has more than one Peter Parker alive, Miles could get what he wanted, what the other Spider-Man wanted too.

So what is wrong?

"I said that, right?"

The hero smiles, and young Morales sees nothing wrong. But Peter looks too, and can see tension in his posture, shoulders hunched with the weight of responsibility, wounds that still don't heal, dark circles that speak of sleepless nights. Peter looks, and sees the exhaustion in his bones, the one that pulls down his body, the one that fights with him every morning, and oh.

"Sanitize the mask." He snatches some fries from the other Parker, and also the steadfast attention the soon-to-be Spider-Man gives him. He then takes a sip of the soda. "And use baby powder on the suit."

Miles makes that weird face that only teenagers can make, that "seriously, man?" expression, before processing his words and their meaning. Then he looks enthusiastic.

"Will I have a suit?"

"Uhm-uhm." And more than one teacher, he wants to add, but quickly dismisses that thought. Instead, he takes another potato chip with which he points at the boy. "Find where Alchemax is."

He doesn't need to know where Alchemax is, both he and Spidey already know. What he needs is to distract the little spider for a few moments.

The other Peter (the one who is better, more worthy, but just as exhausted as him) watches him from the other side of the table, slightly surprised. B. has no idea what's going on in his head, but he nods in acknowledgment because, if they're even a little more alike than he thought, he probably needs to know that he has his support.

"Hudson Valley, New York." The youngest of them looks at them for guidance, is suddenly encouraged, he looks so innocent, so naive. "Oh! Will you teach me to swing on the road?"

Peter laughs.

They traveled by bus. Of course they did.

Miles looks outraged sitting between them, which he finds hilariously amusing. Peter could actually swing to Hudson Valley to indulge him, but he would rather Parker not, considering that not long ago he was hit very closely by an explosion after taking a beating from the Green Goblin.

He doesn't even like that Parker is going to Alchemax too, however it would have been impossible to get rid of him, so here they are.

In Miles's backpack, carelessly thrown away, is a commercial Spider-man suit.

"What is this?" The teenager had said, when he bought it in a store with money from the Spidey who had not been thrown into another dimension and therefore had money.

"If you're going to come with us, you'll have to cover that face. We don't have time to go find you a real suit right now."

It's horrible, but luckily it doesn't come with a cape.

Alchemax Labs looks as innocent as he remembers. It was hard to believe that scientists with bigger weapons than themselves were waiting there, ready to defend the bagels to the death.

Peter watches the road as he stretches; Fisk would be here any minute, they should hurry up and go inside.

And that was an alarming thought. Not that Fisk would be here soon, but how he had begun to take it for granted that it would all be the same. "You traveled back in time", his mind whispered. And it was ridiculous, he knew it, but here he was, sure that Fisk would come, sure that the password he remembered would be the same as on Doc Ock's computer.

"What should I do?"

He turns around curious. Behind him, Miles is wearing the suit he bought at the store. Parker has removed the jacket he was wearing and now the broken but still useful mask covers most of his face; he scowls at the brat.

"You will stay here." Oh. He hadn't expected such a direct refusal from the other man. "You will await our return."

"What? Man! You can't be serious." Miles takes a few steps closer. He was definitely in the rebellious teen phase. "Come on, I can't learn to be Spider-Man if you don't let me participate."

"You'll stay here, Miles. It's dangerous."

Well, there was a reason Peter hadn't wanted Miles to follow him into what was essentially a den of villains before, other than that his presence was annoying. He could understand that Peter, the other, responded in a forceful way with a refusal to any intention to participate that the adolescent proposed. He was, after all, a responsible adult.

The bones in his back cracked after a stretching movement.

"I'll be fine. Besides, I have a suit! Peter," Morales looked at him, not the Spidey he was arguing with, and he wanted to let out a groan of suffering. "wouldn't have insisted we buy it if he didn't think I could participate, right?"

"Look, kid. Even if I think you should come, it's the Spider-Man of your dimension who must allow it." He raised both hands, choosing to escape the discussion and be a good neutral spectator.

It was as he said. He trusted Miles, he knew he would do well, learning a thing or two along the way, but he couldn't comment here. Not when Miles's Mr. Miyagi was the other Peter, not him.

Peter had already had his chance, he had already taught Miles. Now he had to step back and let someone who really wanted to teach do it.

"This is useless. You'll stay and it's over." Parker massaged his temples. "I don't even know what you're doing here. I said I'd teach you, and I will, but the universe, not just ours, is about to be destroyed. You should go home, kid. When this is over I'll look for you."

Parker, the one without a B in his name, threw a web and swayed away. Peter took a brief glance at the companion they were leaving behind and followed him.

"See you later, kiddo."

The forest around the laboratories is wide, very beautiful too. Pete takes a few minutes to appreciate it.

Somewhere in the forest, he thinks, Miles is strengthening his confidence to follow them.

Probably somewhere else in the forest, Gwen is also coming up with a plan to get inside.

Gwen. That was an interesting thought.
She had originally appeared when Doc Ock was chasing them through the forest, but if this was another universe, would she even be here?

If this were, on the contrary, the same universe, would the fact that the blond Peter was alive change the course of action?

He frowned. He couldn't guess what was to come, but if Spider-Woman was around, Peter would make sure he didn't leave her behind.

He comes back to the present when he hears the vent hatch being pulled back. His doppelganger holds it quietly, however it doesn't look like he will be entering anytime soon. He looks like he's having an internal struggle, Peter thinks he knows what's tormenting him, yet he waits for him to settle his thoughts.

Ah, he wonders if he can get a bagel from the cafeteria this time.

"You…" The other Spider-Man looks unsure. "Would you have let him come?"

"No." He hadn't, that time, but ... patting the other's back carefully, aware that his wounds aren't fully healed yet (again, why did he allow the blonde to come and he didn't leave him behind with Miles?), stands next to him and stares at the blue eye that peeks through the broken mask. "I don't think it matters though. That boy is just like us, and we were never good at obeying orders when we think we're doing the right thing."

Spidey meets his gaze, and then sighs. B responds with a tired smile.

"Hey." Inserting complete seriousness into his tone, B. again demands his attention. "Don't forget that you won't be the only Spider-Man there. I'll have your back, so don't take too much risk."

"I know. The same goes for you."

The hero places a hand on his shoulder. With that, he throws himself into the ventilation shaft. Peter follows him.

They are inside.

There is no plan, nothing they would have discussed, yet they are almost the same person, probably no one understands one better than the other, so here they are, crawling through the air duct. This was not how Peter had expected to spend a Thursday.

(But it's not even Thursday, is it? If all time travel is one thing ...)

His arachnid sense buzzes along with Peter's, and through the ventilation window, he glimpses the towering figure of KingPin passing underneath. In an awkward arrangement, both Spidey settle in—Ugh, they should make the ducts bigger, it's hard for two adult superheroes to be comfortable inside— to watch the exchange between the villain and Doc Ock.

The responsible hero looks serious, paying close attention. The other hero, the one who already knows all the typical villain speeches by heart, looks bored; he makes it very clear when he starts gesturing with his hand as if it were the KingPin himself.

That earns him a funny smile from the one who is supposed to be the more responsible of the two.

Then, a few minutes later than it should, Miles shows up, whispering in panic the name they both share, and if it was already awkward being two people in a ventilation duct, it doesn't improve when the boy forces a place between them.

It seems like a bad joke.

How many spiders can get into an air duct before the big bad villain realizes it?

"Miles, what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't leave, not when the last time I did, you almost died."

The boy conveys seriousness, fear, and for the first time Peter takes a moment to see him, really see him since he returned.

He turned the tide of this universe when he saved the blond hero, but the way Miles holds himself, his taut shoulders, and the seriousness and commitment on his face speak of how close it all came to happening exactly the same. Miles is scared, and Peter hates that, he wants to fix that, he wants to talk to him and try to ease his mind, fight with the monsters that won't leave this kid alone, but he can't, not when the person the adolescent is looking at is the other Peter, the one who once died.

He takes a deep breath.

KingPin walks away from the room with Octavius hot on his heels, he takes that opportunity to open the hatch and rush to work on the computer, giving the boy and his blonde version a little moment alone, a typical teacher-student bonding moment.

However, typical teacher-student bonding moment or not, he should speak to Miles later. With Peter too, if what he thinks he saw in the restaurant is close to reality. Both Spideys are a bit broke, they need to talk to someone, and Peter won't leave this universe without making sure they can handle it.

He too should take a break soon, assess his entire unexpected situation if he doesn't want to ruin it. He will have to think carefully about what it means if he really is in the past, see what else he should change, fix.
Ugh, being the responsible adult sucks. Much to do.

He's not even sure whether or not he should get involved with the Spider-Man of this universe in the first place, Miles no longer needs him to be his mentor, no matter how willing he is now to be. Parker, on the other hand, looks like he needs a little help …

He turns on the PC, his mind already focused on the work he must do. His fingers almost thoughtlessly type the password that he remembers, and when the files are presented before his eyes, Peter sighs, it is the exact same password.

In his head, he adds one more point in favor of the theory of time travel.

He places a USB. If possible, this time he would like to leave without having to take a computer with him, so he starts selecting the files that seem important, and then he better selects everything, when Liv's mess on her computer looks too disorganized to try deciphering.

The other two Spider-Man come down from the vent, finally accompanying him. He doesn't take his attention off the screen. Fast and constant data download was at a glorious 32%.

But it wasn't fast enough.

Unsurprisingly, because they can't be in the villain's lair without danger lurking, the spider senses of the three of them are triggered with a warning. Together, they turn to see Doc Ock's silhouette approach.

Miles, unsurprisingly too, uses that moment to unveil one of his unique abilities. He becomes invisible.

"Miles," Peter walks away from the computer, whispering urgently to where the teenager was before. "watch the screen, when the download is complete, grab the goober and run."

Miles makes a muffled noise. The blond Peter, getting over the surprise of seeing his disappearance, immediately places a finger on his mask just above his lips, demanding silence as the female silhouette approaches with determination. He casts a brief glance at the older wall-crawler, pointing with his other hand at Ock's desk. Peter just needs a quick glance to understand. He nods in recognition and crouches behind it.

Then the door opens. Olivia Octavius walks in, in all her scientific glory, only to stop abruptly upon witnessing the intruder in her office.

"Spider-Man?" There is a childish emotion in the way she pronounces his name, and although Peter cannot see it, he hears the lab coat fall to reveal the artificial tentacles beneath it. "This is unexpected, I was hoping you were dead. Or close enough." Two of her tentacles hit the ground, lifting her body a few inches from it. The others spread threateningly around her. "Haven't you brought any new friends this time?"

"Nice to see you too, doc." The wall-crawler flexes his knees a little, he's as ready for a fight as he can be. Stubborn, he avoids answering her question.

"No comments on your new friends? No? It's a shame, I had so many questions." Liv looks genuine in her brief disappointment as she stretches one of her black gloves, the sound of it standing out in the pre-battle silence. Then she smiles. "I guess I'll have to force you to speak."

Parker jumps. The ground under his feet breaks when a tentacle hits it.

He looks at her, and Liv's smile only grows until it turns into something honestly manic. Then her other tentacles attack.

Quickly, each of her tentacles tries to catch the elusive spider. Peter dodges, throws himself, and struggles to avoid each one of them in the confined space. He shoots webs at two of her mechanical limbs, sticking these for precious seconds to the ceiling. Doc Ock has none of it. Snarling, she forces the resistance of his webs and pulls, freeing her limbs and breaking some pieces of the ceiling too.

Papers fly, the light bulb above their heads flickers, and it's only been a few minutes, but the office is already destroyed.

He slides under the scientist. She turns to follow him, and by inches one of her tentacles fails to crush her opponent's head. However, another manages to grab him by one arm, at least long enough to throw him against a wall.

A few certificates fall in the blow, Parker tries to get to his feet, but his still nagging wounds prevent him from moving as fast as he would like. The woman however does not waste time waiting for him. A tentacle tangles around his neck, sending him down, holding him there, and suddenly Liv is very close to his face.

She keeps smiling. Pete has both hands keeping the artificial tentacle from crushing his neck like a twig, that's when another yanks the mask away.

"Oh, come on."

"Well, if it's not a pleasure to finally have a name for the person behind the mask, Peter Parker."

That was, that was bad.

Deciding that he had had enough of staying on the sidelines, B. takes advantage of Doc Ock's distraction to get involved. He shoots a spider web at the ceiling, which he uses to propel himself and crash into the woman with force.

She goes through the wall.

"Download is done!" Miles, now visible, holds the goober victorious. Peter shoots a small web that attracts the small object to his hand.

He places his head under the golden boy's arm along with a hand on his back. Peter helps him to his feet, bearing most of his weight. Miles, anxious, is suddenly at his side.

"Let's go."

They leave the destroyed office in a hurry, down the long corridor. Olivia, still on the ground, watches excitedly as a completely different Spider-Man carries the Peter Parker she knows with a masked teenager on his heels.

B. can see the cafeteria, it's not far, a few more steps and he could steal some bagels. Then they would leave. It wasn't difficult, they could do it, they'd already been through this.

So close, so close.

The arachnid senses buzz with an unexpected warning. The older Spidey, with quick reflexes, throws himself and his blond partner to one side of the hall, after shoving Morales to the opposite side. Tombstone had appeared in front of the door leading to the buffet, firing his double pistols at the exact spot where they had been seconds ago.

Behind them, they hear Octavius's determined advance, closing the way.

The veteran arachnid stands up, his younger counterpart mimicking him a second later. Apparently they weren't going to be able to escape as easily as last time.

They share a look, before looking at a different enemy covering their backs. B. tosses the goober to the agitated Miles, still on the ground.

"If you see an opportunity, kid, you run without looking back."

Miles seems to want to refute, refuse to leave either of the two heroes behind, but then heavy footsteps silence his words, and before everyone's sight, KingPin, huge and menacing, appears taking place behind Tombstone.

"You wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, right, Peter?" KingPin, imposing as he is, manages to convey a false disappointment in his tone. He looks calm, completely in control of the situation. "I can tell you Peter, right? After all, that's your name. Peter Parker. I did a little research after our last meeting."

"Fisk." Parker says his name angrily, deciding to completely ignore the fact that so many villains know his identity in favor of the urgency the collider represents. "You have to stop this! It won't work, your wife and son are gone, you will just kill us all!"

"And yet," Olivia interrupts with a smug smile, "it worked for you."

Being on the other side of Doc Ock's enthusiastic gaze was already awkward, it doesn't improve when he's the center of attention in the room.
B. raises both hands defensively.

"Would you believe us that we were always two Spidey?"

Of course, it is at that moment when a glitch runs through him.

Different dimensions go through his body. His atoms fight, demanding that he return to his world, where they shouldn't work too hard to keep him alive. For a second, while the glitch lasts, Peter thinks he's listening to MJ. It's only a second, but as he sits on the ground where he fell when this reality wanted to expel him, Peter feels longing for more.

He misses MJ too much. He should be home by now, fixing his life, apologizing.

Dammit.

"I'd like to keep this one, Mister Fisk, do tests." Octavius's gaze is that of a scientist who has found a new toy, B. hates it. Right now, the doctor is looking at him like he's not human. "You can kill the others."

Unwilling to be anyone's experiment, he suddenly shoots a web at her face, blinding the woman for a few glorious seconds. She complains and regains her sight right away, but by then he has already taken that opportunity to lunge off the ground at her, giving her a good punch.

Ock takes a few steps back. She looks angry.

Her tentacles swiftly return to attack, and while he's good at dodging most, some manage to hold him long enough to throw him to the nearest floor, wall, or ceiling. Ugh, that will hurt tomorrow, but it's okay, he always gets back up and yadah yadah.

Two satisfying thwips clamp down on Octavius's mechanical limbs, it doesn't last long, yet it's enough to let him get back into the fight and get some air back. He makes sure to kick her evil face too.
The other Parker, for his part, does not stay still. He is fast to disarm Tombstone when it becomes apparent that Tombstone has no qualms about shooting in a crowded hallway, and soon the two find themselves in an intense but brief fist fight. Lonnie, despite his confident demeanor and his super strength, didn't have enough durability to hold out too long against Spider-Man.

Tombstone falls unconscious after a good blow. For a short moment, Parker concentrates only on breathing. His defeated opponent won't get up anytime soon, but he's not the only one he needs to worry about.

His spider sense gives him a warning. Parker turns to find KingPin there, immovable and indifferent, a silent spectator to everything that happens around him.

He is looking at him.

His arachnid sense keeps screaming warnings one after another, but Fisk remains still, calm, staring at him as if he were nothing more than an annoying insect. A chill runs through his body.

(Fisk looked at him like that not long ago, when he thought he would die with a kid as a witness.)

"It's over, Fisk." His voice is firm, much more stable than he feels. He's shaking, everything hurts, and the lack of a mask covering his face makes him feel insecure, yet he hopes none of it shows. "Give it up."

KingPin backs off. His feet tangle and he falls backward to the ground. He's nervous, a contrast to his attitude so far. He crawls back away.

"Please, Spider-Man! I'm just a man trying to improve this city! Don't hurt me, I won't tell anyone your secret!"

He frowns, confused. His steady stride toward the huge man stops, hesitant. Improve the city, he says? He almost killed them all! He was going to kill everyone if they didn't stop him!

"What are you saying...?"

"What have you done to my bodyguard? You are a menace! He was just trying to protect me!" KingPin looks genuinely concerned about Tombstone. Parker fidgets, he knows the only thing Fisk cares about is himself, what is he playing? "Stay away! I will go home and not bother you."

His goal was to get out of here with the other two spiders and the override key, not to catch Fisk. But if he did, if he could facilitate all the work in front of them, it was worth a try. It would not be difficult to build a case against him if he prevented him from fleeing.

But ... he had a bad feeling. Something was wrong, very wrong. KingPin's attitude bothered him, why had he gone from looking at him as if he were a nuisance to looking at him as if he was afraid of him?
They had to get out of there.

Suddenly, the door that led to the cafeteria behind Wilson opens. Scientists with weapons bigger than themselves peek out and Fisk, Fisk suddenly looks pleased, wiping the nonexistent dust from his suit with one hand as he effortlessly stands up.

"Did you believe me for a second there, Pete?" Gone was the villain's brief fearful demeanor, and Peter knew it was a trick, but for what? Time until reinforcements arrived? "Ha! I can be very convincing, don't you think?"

"If your intention was for me to believe that you had finally gone crazy, congratulations, you did it." Parker raises both hands, trying to look harmless. Meanwhile, his eyes do not stop roaming the place.

The men and women of science load their weapons, their pulses do not tremble, he knows that they will shoot if given the opportunity. Miles is in the hallway, the other Peter is too, they won't be able to avoid every shot. What can he do, what can he …

A cafeteria table is violently thrown at Fisk's employees, and to everyone's surprise, what can only be described as a white, black and pink whirlwind relentlessly brings down each scientist.

Her webs are perfect. Each thwip disarms her opponents, and powerful moves knock them out.

Parker can only admire the graceful shape of what is undoubtedly another spider.

"Come on, run!"

Octavius's tentacles are incapacitated, Tombstone is still unconscious, the other minions are down.

Spider-Woman yells an indication from the center of the buffet. This is their chance. They must go and they must go now.

Miles and B. are next to him. The only thing between them and the exit is Fisk's menacing fury.

B. is not going to risk his little spiders with KingPin, not when he has intentions to kill them as soon as they approach the door. One of his webs takes Tombstone; Peter B. leans over, twisting and swinging the unconscious villain's body before fiercely throwing him at his boss, knocking him down with him.

They go through the cafeteria doors without stopping; the new spider —Gwen? Is she Gwen?— awaits them, taking care of any subordinate determined to be an enemy. Together, they run to the nearest window, where the woman is quick to throw herself away and disappear into the forest.

Parker thoughtlessly lifts Miles up, just like just another civilian, swinging behind her with a thwip.

Uh.

B. follows them, curious but without asking.

He assumes that not everyone likes to teach under intense and life-threatening pressure.

.
.

A month ago, two people left me some nice comments, which finally motivated me to try to finish this. I can't promise anything, but hey, I'll try. Unlike when I published this fanfic, now I have an idea of what I want.

My English, however, still makes me nervous. So sorry for any mistakes.
(And also sorry for the delay of two years)

Thanks so much for reading!