The finesse in the Web of Life and Destiny was a marvel she never ceased to admire.
How much she regretted not taking advantage of the Great Hunt of the Inheritors but she knew that had she done that, it would have been the dumbest move of his existence.
She had to be patient until the Web told her. Told her of the emergence of a new unique Totem that she could hunt.
When said Totem was finally about to emerge, misfortune struck. Of all the earths in the multiverse, he had to emerge in 616.
Where HE was, the cursed center of the Web.
She remembered throwing a tantrum. If she had all his strength, she would go against The Other solely for having the audacity to have revived The Center when one of the Inheritors killed him.
On the bright side, The Center was vulnerable. She could feel it, her own vulnerability made the Web she must also walk through that much more fragile. If she had to guess, she would ascribe that vulnerability to the reckless demon doing unintentional comedy for her.
"This is wonderful, he isn't either... Ezekiel Simms, you meddling fucker. It doesn't matter if you're from another universe, you were a stone in my shoe that kept me from returning", she said holding up a broken mask covered in dried blood.
In his other hand, she held a wet piece of paper that she just retrieved with the following names written on it: Stephen Strange, Wanda Maximoff, Cindy Moon, William Maximoff, Victor Von Doom, Jessica Drew...
These were just a few of the names on his long list of people to hunt down once she was done with those two.
Peter Parker and Otto Octavius.
The two spiders chained together to have One More Day.
"It's only a matter of time... Don't you think so, Kindred?"
The faceless demon didn't indulge her in answering his question.
Kindred didn't even know whose face he must have had anymore, all that remained was a pile of bandages with hollow eye sockets. And yet, he could still see her.
That obnoxious one who dared to mock him for his current state, even though he knew she had every reason to. It's not like he could do anything against her, he would lose no matter what.
Kindred could never defeat someone like Shathra.
"Sometimes I wonder, is it a spider thing to hate goblins? I mean, I saw that guy and I couldn't help but beat him up, even if I'm not a full spider."
Somewhere in the Institute Ravencroft, Norman Osborn lay with a bunch of unconscious guards just like him. His nose, jaw and ribs were broken, all from a single blow from the Spider-Wasp.
"You know, if it weren't for you being so weak, you'd be useful to me in bringing back that young girl killed by the Kravinoff's. She would be the perfect vessel..."
... ... ...
... ... ...
"Oh yeah, I remember her now. It's that shady woman who followed you from another plane wanting to do something... disgusting to you."
Otto couldn't form gestures on his face but if he did, he would be grimacing.
"How could she come back? Strange told me she was simply no longer on this plane because she had thwarted his quest too many times."
"... Have you considered that our forays into the Web of Life and Destiny might have had something to do with it?"
"Huh? Do you have memories about that?", Peter understood that Otto had lost his memories of the first battle against the Inheritors after leaving Loomworld.
Some time ago Miles told him about the second foray the spiders made through the multiverse, but that time counted for Otto as a part of being Superior Spider-Man so it was a surprise that he still remembered it.
"I told you, they're pretty blurry. They come and go much to my chagrin."
"Agh... I hear ya, it's kind of frustrating...".
Feeling that some fresh air would make his thoughts flow better, Peter removed his mask as he unconsciously turned his back on Octavius. Not that he was much help with him already knowing his identity.
"... Shathra is dangerous, so I'll need help to stop her if it really is her. How about a little SUPERIOR help?", on the last word he used a grave tone apropos. To his surprise, instead of annoying Otto... it made him laugh.
"Hehe, is that how he listened to me all the time? I was rightly earning my beatings."
The anti hero approached Peter and stood next to him, staring into nothingness because his eyesight was already failing, he could only make out shadows.
"Shall I tell you something? There's one thing I haven't forgotten, I have it etched deep in my mind."
"What is it?"
"... Our past can't define us, it's something you taught me," Otto averted his gaze to the container where he intended to create a new body for himself. "True, I had a horrible childhood and my adulthood wasn't good either... but nothing that happened justifies what I came to do later. I had great power, I could have helped many... and in the end I was just an irresponsible person who thought of nothing but himself."
"Wow. Who are you and what did you do with Otto Octavius?".
"Haha, I wouldn't blame you if you don't believe anything I say."
"No Otto, the problem is... what you just said is the most sincere thing I ever heard you say after you promised to take care of May," he got face to face with him. "You're right, you did terrible things even when you were given the chance to change. I mean, please, all the other spiders thought you'd throw in the towel at any moment and go back to villain stuff."
Turning away, Peter started to walk out of the small room to Otto's resignation.
'I don't blame you for not wanting to help me, I wouldn't help myself in something like this either...'
"Hey, what's with the long face?", called Peter to him. "'I'll just go see a friend who can help us with this, just... don't mention Krakoa's medicine to him.'"
With that stated, the web-head put on his mask and swayed as best he could out of a place with few tall structures.
'So you're going to help me... You really are a good boy Peter, despite everything you're going through,' Otto couldn't help but feel some sadness at what he just saw.
He wasn't the most qualified person to judge other people's emotions and yet it was evident to him. The unkempt growing beard, the big bags under his eyes and those same emotionless eyes... It was obvious that Peter Parker was tired.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned had that thought back. The one that had kept him so restless for the past 2 weeks.
'How did he know about you... Mayday?'.
... ... ...
... ... ...
"Teresa Parker, right? So glad you chose to come. Nice to see you too, Bobbi."
Steve Rogers aka Captain America was the first to come forward to greet the two women who had just entered the Avengers meeting room.
Behind Rogers were Tony Stark the Iron Man, T'Challa, King of Wakanda and current Black Panther and Carol Danvers, the Captain Marvel.
To Bobbi and Teresa's surprise, there were some unexpected guests; Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic and his family, Eddie Brock, the God of Symbiotes and his son Dylan Brock, current bearer of Venom.
"Eeeeh T'Challa, you didn't tell us they were coming."
"Sorry Teresa, but you both insisted. Apparently the Fantastic Four have some concerns regarding this and Mr. Brock mentioned something about 'scores to settle' ".
"I apologize for coming unannounced," said Susan Storm approaching Teresa. "But recent Chameleon activities involved Latveria on the eve of Victor's wedding, so this is our concern."
Unnoticed by all, Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, seemed to release his sighs of relief.
Well, not to everyone.
Ben Grimm aka The Thing noticed and gave his friend a stern look.
"No, it's all right Susan. He would be grateful to get help from you guys for this, after all he considers you family..."
For a moment, there was an awkward silence between the Invisible Woman and the agent. Everyone in the place instantly knew who she was referring to, after all it was one of the main people involved.
Spider-Man.
Maybe The Chameleon was holed up on the border between Latveria and Symkaria but his influence had struck the arachnid hero even at such a distance.
While "The Plague of Sins" was occurring in New York with most superheroes in Krakoa, Teresa Parker had visited and fallen slightly into the trap of Kraven half-brother and Karl Fiers,The Finisher.
Once on the run, both villains only waited 3 days before making their big heist in New York. It would be a coup that would put them on top of the criminal world and not only that, they could also control 2 countries at once: Latveria and Symkaria.
It was literally minutes apart that Teresa told her brother what was going on and without hesitation, Spider-Man jumped into action with everything and his wounds from the duel with Kindred still raw.
"By the way, T'Challa," Reed Richards broke the silence by addressing a few words to his fellow superhero. "The Agents of Wakanda have arrived in Symkaria to assist Silver Sable in re-establishing order and searching for clues that will lead us to the whereabouts of The Chameleon."
"What about those who went to Latveria?".
"They are awaiting word from Victor. The freeway report will finally be ready after two weeks."
Spider-Man took on The Chameleon and The Finisher in a destructive brawl proving that those two were not only good at plotting, they also made a deadly duo.
In a turn of events, when Peter managed to push The Finisher back... he was killed by The Chameleon whose only words on the matter were.
"I don't need him anymore."
Once again, history repeated itself: Spider-Man vs The Chameleon, the first supervillain the wall-crawler faced was putting him through the wringer once, hurting him both physically and emotionally.
At first he failed, nothing in this world would make him doubt that Teresa was his sister, neither did he believe that she was someone with a false identity, a chameleon like him. Peter knew that Dmitri told as many lies as he breathed.
But then... he had to mention her.
That daughter he never got to meet because of an premature labor.
That moment of weakness was enough for The Chameleon to stab him in the forearm. He would have tried to do it in the chest but for Teresa joining the fight by shooting him in the shoulder again.
The Parker brothers managed to defeat him, unfortunately he managed to flee before the Avengers and the Defenders arrived on the scene, luckily they still had the confession of their plans and Fiers' body on the scene.
In the end something happened that still had Teresa uneasy.
Peter at no time took off the broken and bloody mask, he didn't complain about the pain and he didn't even tell a joke. He just... left.
She wasn't the only one who noticed. Apparently even Spider-Woman could see it, and that many thought she had some revulsion towards her male counterpart.
In the words of Jessica Drew, he looked mentally tired.
It didn't help matters that the next day she discovered he was single once again, which initially led her to believe that Mary Jane had left him at such a vulnerable moment.
She found out that it was Peter who ended the relationship.
"Okay, I get why the Fantastic Four are here, but what my mind is still trying to figure out is, what is Venom doing here?", Bobbi raised an eyebrow to make it obvious how confused she was.
"Hey, a little more respect for me dad!", Dylan claimed with mock anger.
"Haha, your doubts are logical Mockingbird. The truth is, I'm here in case any future Chameleon moves involve symbiotes. I don't think so, but one never knows."
"Huh, that makes sense to me."
Dylan turned to look at his father with bewilderment written all over his face, why had he lied to Bobbi and Teresa as well?
'What kind of excuse is that, does he want to keep it on the down low so badly?'
'Easy kid', Venom said to young Brock in his mind. 'Your dad knows what he's doing. Besides, the kid can take care of himself, he wants to catch up before he screams to the world that he's back from the grave.'
"Hey, can we have a seat? It's making me uneasy that we've been standing for fifteen minutes," Carol pointed out to which everyone agreed.
Before sitting down, T'Challa set up a holographic projector with a projection in detail of the whole situation.
"Well, I guess I'll recap a little. Miss Parker here counts as a temporary member of the Agents of Wakanda, I gave her this position due to her being honest about her intentions to uncover the plans of The Chameleon and The Finisher, also because it would be the easiest way to provide her with resources without raising suspicion."
"But you already had a feeling that what they were planning involved Latveria, didn't you?", asked Steve.
"That's right, I had it from that run-in between Spider-Man and Doom recently. That's why I contacted him the day after our visit to Krakoa to inform him to get ready, I was surprised that he took my advice to call off his wedding."
"Victor has a big ego but he's no idiot", Ben replied.
'Well... he always steals the powers of comical beings but he can't against a man who stretches himself', Teresa thought.
"Which brings us to the next point and, much to my chagrin, it's the most serious", Steve was the one who changed his image this time, showing something that made more than one groan.
"Aaaghh, cap, why did you remind me? I'd already forgotten Boomerang's cries about us being doomed", Tony Stark plopped down on the table with a defeatist aptitude.
"Be thankful Jessica Jones knocked him out...", Carol told him.
The projector switched to showing the image of someone they knew well.
It was Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin and former mayor of New York.
It was a media scandal when it was reported that his current state was the work of The Chameleon.
Needless to say, Threats and Menaces , the media outlet that was most prominent in its coverage of the incident, called it two things; Crisis of the King's Identity and The Fall of the King.
"As everyone should know by now, Fisk was a secondary target for The Finisher to take care of. When he couldn't complete the job, Chamaleon took over and... Daredevil was too late."
"That thing about wanting to turn Spider-Man back into the image of his government apparently wasn't to his liking if he attacked him so brutally as to leave him in a coma, it didn't help that Fisk destroyed the jackpot that The Chameleon made this whole mess for," Eddie just said what everyone had in mind.
"And now we have to deal with a new Kingpin we have no trace of."
T'Challa once again changed the image.
It showed Richard Fisk, Wilson's son who had recently been resurrected.
... ... ...
... ... ...
Inside the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Sorcerer Supreme by the name of Stephen Strange and the thief Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat were having a 'sophisticated tea time'... which had started because Felicia tried to steal something from Strange.
"Come on, are you still upset? I told you I was just teasing you."
"Huh? Ah, no. I already knew you were trying to steal from me just to tease me, I know you well Felicia. It's just that...," the sorcerer's brow furrowed a little more. "I heard and saw something recently that I'm still trying to process."
Felicia took a sip of her tea before asking Strange what it was that had him so immersed in his mind. Her instincts told her that it was something that might drain her mentally.
"What was the t-?"
"There's something I'd like to know."
The anti-heroine's right eye twitched at Dr. Strange's rude interruption, still she let him continue with a nod.
"We go way back and I've known Peter for years but... How would you describe your relationship with him, both current and past?"
"... I guess 'complicated' won't be good enough for you, will it?".
The sorcerer's stoic face was the answer Felicia needed.
"Okay, okay. If you want the details you'll get them," actually, those words were for herself. She was psyching herself up.
Quickly, Strange's eyes widened in realization of something very insensitive he just did.
"Eeh, you know what, if you want to not tell me, I remembered what happened between Odessa and you... It's not the best time to talk about relationships."
"I'm not a child, Strange. I won't deny it, it hurts, yes, but she and I are poles apart. I bet she wouldn't hesitate to tell me she hates me after I helped Daredevil stop her after The Chameleon incident."
"... That was very mature of you."
"What do I tell you, hanging out with the 'good guys' really makes you have a new outlook on life."
Resignedly, Black Cat took another sip of her tea, ready once again to recount in summary form the most entangled relationship she'd ever had with any person, be it friendship or romance.
"For a while we were dating but... it wasn't 'Felicia Hardy' and 'Peter Parker' who were in a relationship, it was just Black Cat and Spider-Man... I didn't want to see the man behind the mask," she pinched the bridge of her nose trying not to let out a giggle, she couldn't believe it was that way in the past. "He was hurt and I don't blame him, he wanted someone who loved the man as much as the spider, and I? I couldn't see that, at least not the first time."
"You were together a second time?".
"That's right, and everything seemed to be going well... Until I got this influence over good luck and bad luck. Heh, can you believe it? Me, with an inferiority complex because my ex-boyfriend can do what spiders do."
"Oh, I can believe it. When I met you, you were going on quite a journey of discovery."
Felicia let out a groan at the aforementioned. No matter what words were used, it wouldn't stop being embarrassing.
"And so, you already told me about the past? What would you say your current relationship with him is like?".
"... He's a good friend that I want to help because I know he's going through a tough time... and well, I'd like to know if we could still try something, it's always been like that."
"You just at some point resigned yourself to the fact that you couldn't be with him?".
"Exactly."
"Sigh."
Strange let out a sigh and walked towards a balcony that a second ago wasn't there, Black Cat just shrugged assuming it was typical here.
"Peter... it's wrong, he isolated himself and pushed away once again someone he shared history with, someone he could have shared a great future with. Don't get me wrong, no one is destined for anyone and his relationship with her has been an emotional up and down for too long to be healthy, but it still must hurt."
Felicia remained silent, only listening to what the Sorcerer Supreme had to say. Though if there was anything crossing her mind, it was that Stephen sometimes struggled to express words related to anything sentimental.
"You say you'd like to try something one more time, so why not do it, what's stopping you?".
"Then even you don't know."
Strange turned around while making motions with his hands, he intended to reveal to Black Cat the origin of his concern for Spider-Man.
"... Strange, what am I looking at?"
The Sorcerer Supreme was projecting two things, both were Spider-Man masks, only one was the one Felicia had always known and the other... let's just say she wasn't on good terms with the person who once wore it.
The disturbing thing was that both masks were chained together, only the chains on the second one seemed somewhat fragile.
"... I fear that what plagues Peter Parker's soul goes beyond a simple deal with a demon, this has to do with himself. And I'm afraid this will be the only lead I'll have for quite some time, so it only makes me more worried".
... ... ...
... ... ...
"On the docks too?".
At the gate to Krakoa in Washington Square Park, Wolverine and Logan had encountered both the X-Men and the Marauders along with Emma Frost.
When asked about what they were doing at the site, they simply pointed toward the purple lines behind the gate that seemed to continue beyond the site.
"Rogue confirmed it, this stuff is all over most of New York in small amounts but well, you can see it's not friendly to organic matter so it's a good thing it's only on buildings," Kate Pryde said pointing to the burns on the door as well as some trees in the distance.
"So it's corrosive, anything else?", Laura asked sternly.
"I suspect it's ... it's also poisonous," Emma interjected pointing to what was almost at the entrance to the gate. "Something that says those pigeons didn't die of natural causes."
"Ugh... You've got to be kidding me," someone with a deep voice was heard to say.
Logan approached the rest with a gesture of annoyance much more serious than the one he seemed to have all along. He had been closely 'analyzing' the purple lines and already felt his headache initiate.
"So now what made you mad old man?", asked Kate.
"I don't know about you, but this has ' Spider-Man written all over it? I'm going to need something for the headache."
"Oh come on, you can't blame him because those things look like his webs but with poison and corrosion added."
"... Emma, did you just defend Spider-Man?".
"No Kate, I'm just in denial because I want nothing to do with him".
... ... ...
... ... ...
'Great, just today Reed is not at home while Franklin and Valeria are visiting their uncle Doom', thought Peter while he was doing some maromas on rooftops to kill time.
He paused for a moment contemplating the sunset as something began to niggle at the back of his mind. Maybe he should go back to Empire State University and see what he could do to help?
He had already gone 2 weeks without going or talking to both Jamie and Dr. Connors. Who could blame him? Jamie sold the Clairvoyant device to The Foreigner and in a turn of events, Wilson Fisk got hold of the device with the sole intent of destroying it.
'I bet Fisk was paranoid about something that can see the future.'
The destruction of The Clairvoyant was executed once the real conspirators arrived on the scene, apparently that action was not to one's liking and he ended up brutally attacking Fisk.
"Oh well, at least Fred and Randy aren't going to kick me out of the department for losing my only source of income. Funny that Fred offered to pay full rent for a year...".
"Unemployed once again? Why am I not surprised anymore?".
To Peter's surprise, someone had approached him from behind. That someone had a female voice that he recognized as he came to.
"Didn't anyone ever say anything to you about not scaring someone sleep-deprived?"
"Several times, heh."
To the wallcrawler's eyes, Black Cat was... weird. She had a bright smile that looked like it wouldn't be wiped away by anything on par with bringing, a coffee? With Spider-Man's mask drawn on it.
"Ehm... Is that-?"
"Yeah, it's for you. I saw you coming out of Four Yancy Street and since that moment I noticed you've been hanging around New York all day, so I brought it for you."
"Have you been following me?"
"No, just looking to talk a bit... Although for a moment there I thought you were running from something."
"Hmmm, let's just say I was in a hurry," he said lifting his mask and taking a sip of his coffee.
Felicia couldn't help the worry showing on her face. In Peter's face she was seeing the same thing Otto saw a few hours ago; a tired person.
Before she asked her question, she felt the instinct to remove her mask. It wasn't a full face mask but Felicia was feeling it that way right now.
"Hey, are you okay...?".
"... Actually... no, I'm not," Peter brought both hands to his eyes as Felicia sat next to him looking at him empathetically. "So much has happened in such a short time that it's just m is... overwhelming. I'm used to my life being crazy by now, but between Kindred, the Chameleon and Silver Sable... It seems like these are things that never end."
An idea came to the antiheroine's mind, something he desperately needed.
"... One day."
"Huh?"
"For just one day, forget about everything. Come on, I'll take you to a nice restaurant."
"...Why do I feel like you want to take me on a date? And, wow, I forgot what it felt like for a girl to invite you to a place and not the other way around."
"Pff, clown. But yeah, you could say that's what it is."
"I like the idea but...".
"Ep, ep, don't even think about it. I'll persuade Spider-Woman to cover your place for one measly day, I bet she's done it before."
"... You know what? Yeah, I like the idea and I don't know why... I feel like you do too."
"Maybe because at no point have I ever stopped smiling?".
"Could be, could be," Peter said stroking his chin with imitating a thinker but his mocking tone didn't help give him would be image.
Anyway, that made Felicia laugh and before long Peter was laughing with her too.
Final Words.
Just... wow. The support I've had with this fic has been amazing considering I'm only on the third chapter. I'm really, really grateful to you people.
Well, before I answer some reviews, the fic has a new original cover! I don't know if you use the FanfictionNet app, but if you do, I'd really appreciate it if you could give me your opinion.
Said cover was drawn by my good friend Micol Yol, you can check out his work on his Twitter of the same name.
So, with that said, to answer:
TREBOR.E: well... I just hope it's a status that Eddie Brock keeps from now on and they don't think of bringing him back to square one.
MAB86: I won't deny it, part of what influenced me to make Teresa a Wakandan Agent (albeit temporary) was your fics. Another influence was that I have in physical everything Zdarsky wrote related to her, they are among the few comics I bought before the start of the pandemic. By the way, thank you! The truth is that I felt very insecure doing these "original events" to fill in some things, but I'm glad to see that you and the rest liked them.
prodilettante1234: thank you very much. The truth is that I was undecided at the beginning about whether to use Shathra or not, comments like yours make me see that I wasn't wrong.
El-Lector327: ... Seriously, I can't help but be moved when I read comments like yours. It's just, wow, amazing that my story is liked, so it becomes quite an honor to write it, because I know there are those who enjoy it.
So people, see you in the next chapter! Have a great start of July.
-Mr.Sohru