Chapter 14 – On The Farside
Peter sat in a chair as Dr. Steven Strange stood behind him, squirming his fingers like octopi above Peter's brown and messy hair. His red cape with yellow trim flapped in the air as he hovered began to hover. Radiant energies flowed from his hands and around his patient's head. It felt like sunlight was being washed over him, mystical power which sought to divine the spider's mental state.
Matt watched as the sorcerer supreme worked his magic, in fact all of the core New Avengers members were there to wait for the result of the tests. Luke, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Doctor Strange and Wolverine all observed the unmasked Peter as he looked back at them. He didn't seem to feel pain, just that time was being wasted.
"This is starting to be routine for us. Standing around Peter like disappointed parents" whispered Iron Fist to Luke as both looked onward to the divination.
"We were so happy to have him back we didn't question the cost" Replied Luke. "Things are so different but I ain't givin up yet, he's our last chance to rescue the others."
The Doctor put his hands at rest and took a moment to gather himself and everyone waited for his answer on pins and needles.
"Don't keep us in suspense Doc" barked Logan.
"Hmm, I don't see anything out of the ordinary. He's not possessed and there is no indication of mind control so it seems Peter's "sunny" disposition is as authentic as my title."
Everyone stood quietly with their heads slightly slouched except for Logan who smiled as he looked at everyone else and said "Well that's good news right? What's wrong with you guys?"
"I guess the truth is just harder to except" said Peter as he stood from his chair.
"I've put enchantments in place to detect ill intent toward us and none of them have been activated since Peter got here. There is nothing to fear from him, at least not intently."
"If you all don't mind I'm going to finish my work."
As Peter made his exit Luke stood adjacent to the exit with his eyes averted away from Peter's.
"Wait, Matt told me about your… proposal. About outing you"
"And?"
"I'm considering it"
"Not that you have much of a choice anyway"
"Anyway, after we get the gate working and our people back, we're going to talk."
"Sure"
He entered the large hallway as Matt approached him from behind with his hand on Peter's shoulder. He looked square in Peter's and occasionally broke away to face the ground almost as though he was struggling to find the words.
"I… apologize for the way that I reacted" began Matt as he ran his fingers through his hair. " This whole thing was just you dealing with your own pain and I can't even begin to understand. I know there is still a good man in your heart, a just man. There were times when I wanted to kill Wilson myself but I couldn't do it because of my code to let the system deal justice, leaving Wilson to get out of it somehow. Vanessa Fisk's dying wish was for me and her husband to avoid each other and start new lives but that was impossible. The photographer took that picture of me is proof of how bound we really were. I'm not going say I agree with what you did but I also have no right to judge."
Peter took a moment and looked the devil in his red eyes as he said "you don't need to apologize. He was a monster clear and simple… I owed him for my Aunt May and now it's over. You don't have to like what I do or how I do it, just know that I do it for a good reason."
The spider turned on his heel and started down the hallway without looking back and disappeared around a corner. Matt continued to stand in silence with a sad expression and said to himself "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
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Peter woke up from his bed with a little sweat on his forehead and the sound of rattling to greet him. He walked to Venom's containment orb on the desk rocked back and forth in constant rhythm. He picked it up with a shaking hand and opened the container slightly.
"I need a sample, now."
Venom extended a sliver of a tendril and resealed the symbiote. The sample attempted to make contact with the skin hidden under the Iron Spider suit but it was useless. He simply watched it for a moment and tucked it away into the desk.
One moment later Venom screeched from inside its prison. The orb rattled with intensity but he simply ignored it and got back to work.
Peter placed the parts together, using his tools to construct the last portion of the dimension gate. He took his time mending the steel and putting the pieces in place. Time passed and as he got closer to completion it was time to run power through the machine. In certain sections the wiring heated up fast while others still needed to be adjusted with fine tuning.
Gradually the voltage being used started slowly and increased to test its integrity.
The last part was simple enough. The control console which governed the whole device seemed to already come preset with the programming necessary.
After the troubleshooting was done Peter turned on the gate and listened to the machine's hum grow louder, it was ready. It had been about two months since Peter had arrived at the base and it was time to see all of his work put to the test. Notification would have to be sent to Luke and the others. Peter stood up on his two feet and walked down to Luke's room and knocked on the door twice. The door slid open and Luke stood in the doorway with an indifferent expression on his face, waiting for Peter to open his mouth.
"It's done" said Peter.
"…I'll get the team together" replied Luke. If he was trying to hide his joy, he failed miserably as the corner of his mouth curved upward as he closed the door.
It didn't take long for the word to spread, the core members of the team showed up. Iron Fist, Luke, Wolverine and Doctor Strange took their places amongst the pieces of metal. The children covered the outside of the door, trying to get a good look inside and were shooed away by Cloak and Dagger.
"Alright, let's get this party started already" said Wolverine in his classic yellow and blue suit.
Peter connected the power through the base to the console which needed more energy than he could muster than before. He took the one of the pictures Felicia took and input the coordinates on the screen. It was almost time. Everyone was still with anticipation as the spider got into position.
"I need all of you to be ready in case this works and something comes through, don't wait to ask questions."
"Pete, we've been ready for over a year" said Iron Fist. "so like Logan said let's get this show on the road."
The spider flipped the power switch and the lights began to flicker. The gate surged with power and the energy began to pool into a ring of blue light. Electricity shot off to the far corners of the room. Logan received a shock which made his hair singe and smoke but everyone stood still. The portal roared and shook violently as everyone waited for it to stabilize but it didn't look like it would.
"Kid, is it supposed to do this?" yelled Logan at the top of his voice.
"Give it a minute, the quantum tunneling effect needs to smoothen out!"
The air in the room was beginning to be sucked out and the team was being pulled in. In response everyone needed to hold into something. Logan slashed into the floor to anchor himself, Luke stomped his foot to do the same. Doctor Strange was set in place but Danny was only a second too slow. Peter used his wall crawling power to keep in place and saw the Iron Fist about to fall in, a web-line left his feet dangling just before portal.
"Turn it off!" shouted Luke
"It's almost done!"
"Fucking shut it down Peter!"
Peter refused to shut the portal down and after another moment the vacuum began to subside, leaving a pool of whirling blue energy in the gate. Iron fist descended to the floor and the spider released him. Luke unearthed his feet and stalked toward him.
"Oh boy…" said Danny
"Goddammit when I say shout it off I mean shut it off!"
"I told you it would take a minute"
Luke stepped forward into Peter's personal space, standing over him to the point where he had to tilt his head down to maintain a visual. "AND WE ALMOST LOST DANNY CAUSE OF YOUR CRAZY ASS. What the hell happened to you, you used to care about people. You used to listen to reason. Now it's like we're just pieces in some game you're playing and I ain't taking it no more!"
"Then I'll leave. It's obvious you need me more than I need you!"
Wolverine and Iron Fist dived in between Spider-Man and Luke, separating the two. Peter didn't move as Logan tried to push him back.
"That's enough you two, save the fire for Stark" said Logan
"Yeah c'mon Luke, you're really going to do this now? That pile of junk literally sat in this room for a year and for once is finally working for us. Now is not the time to bicker, now is the time for the team leader to come up with a plan"
Peter broke off and walked next to the gate, observing it to be sure that everything was working smoothly as Danny attempted to quell Luke's anger. The portal was like a swirling ocean of cool blue water and almost hypnotizing. The wiring was handling quite a bit of energy and he wasn't sure for how long it would work but then something happened.
The blue light in the room was overtaken by red tint quickly as the vortex started shooting out lightning. An arm reached out from the other side and grabbed Peter before he could react and tossed him into the far wall of the room.
"Dammit! What is it now!" screamed Wolverine
Just then a creature in the shape of a mannequin stepped through the gateway. Its eyes were empty black pits. The surface of its skin was like smooth rubber and grey in color. Three more enemies rose from the gate and all were looking at the same person, Doctor Strange.
"Show me the truth, Eye of Agamotto!"
A flash of light from the golden clasp on the sorcerer supreme's cloak and suddenly he could read the being's mind. He could see its history along with desires and then he closed the connection.
"No, this can't be! You don't belong in this realm."
The enemy bent down on all four limbs as Cloak and Dagger phased through the wall together, ready for a fight.
"Put them down" cried Wolverine
Dagger tossed her signature knifes but the creatures radically moved their bodies to avoid the attacks. Wolverine slashed an arm off of one while the other three made a beeline for the doctor as Luke and Iron Fist covered him like a two-man human wall.
Peter stood up as the stingers automatically extended from his forearms. He leaped across the room as Dagger tossed another volley of knifes and slowed the rest. Peter impaled one through the head which squirmed for a moment before finally becoming lifeless. The last two tossed Luke and Iron Fist to the side, the doctor looked as though he was ready the fire off some spell but didn't. He couldn't have given up. Did the monsters stop it somehow?
They grabbed Strange and a discharge of lightning shot out from his body, knocking him out cold and they started back to the gate.
"Shut down the gate" yelled Luke
"You got it" replied Wolverine with his claws ready as he cut the powerline causing to the energy of the portal to vanish. He now stood in between them and their only way out.
"End of the line bub and I'm already in a bad mood so how about you put my buddy down?"
The two humanoids looked at each other and then at Wolverine. Doctor Strange's body began to grow green. Both creatures had their hands upon him while looking at gazing at Logan. One of them began to morph into a hairy blonde white man in a brown trench coat with savage teeth and sharp nails on each of his fingers.
"Sabretooth? What the hell is going on here?
The pseudo Sabretooth lunged at Wolverine, the two locked in a struggle which left them rolling on the ground. There was only one intruder left and it stood with the Doctor hanging over its shoulder. Luke, Iron fist, Spider-Man, Cloak and Dagger encircled it.
"This is it"
Dagger tossed three more light daggers which then bounced off of an invisible barrier. Suddenly the dimension gate powered itself on again
"NO! Is it using Strange's power?"
A burst of radiant light forced everyone back as the creature walked back toward the gate. Everyone got back up to pursued it. As they drew closer the mannequin faded and in its place was a platoon of shield agents armed with vests and rifles. They shot off rounds with rapid fire without hesitation. Everyone jumped to find cover, everyone besides Luke and Peter who ran onward but to was too late. The mannequin vanished beyond the blue light and with it wall of Shield Agents.
Wolverine was still tussling with his adversary who dug deep into his skin with its nails, unyielding and grinning as he did it. The spider approached from behind and thrust his stinger through the back of its head. It morphed back into its manikin form as Wolverine tossed the body from on top of him.
"Ghh, I had'em" growled Logan with his hand held out.
"Sure you did" replied Peter as he pulled Logan up.
"When did you get those things in your arms?"
"After I died…"
"That's some payoff"
Luke grimaced as he stood before the portal. After just turning on the portal some monsters decided to raid the base and steal their resident mage. It was supposed to be a win yet somehow it was turned into a loss in the span of a heartbeat.
Children pried the door open and crowded the door, pushing each other to get a clearer view of the scene. Murmurs grew in the halls until the noise became hysteria.
From down the end of the hall came the sound of stomping feet. The barrier of kids parted, making way for one man. He was a bald Asian man wearing a green outfit forced his way through the mob and into the lab. A look of despair took over his face and outrage in his voice.
His name was Wong and he was the apprentice to the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Hey Wong, I haven't seen you in a while."
"That's because I've been cleaning after your messes like a maid, Wolverine! And the children, the children! They leave their belongings on the floor as if an elf from some fantasy will appear to clean up after them!"
Complaining was something Wong did. Apprentice to the sorcerer was his duty but he didn't like looking after other people. Needless to say no one was in the mood to entertain his outburst and replied with silence.
"I saw it all" said Wong as he inspected the three dead bodies on the floor. "These monsters that took Steven… how did this happen?"
"We turned on the dimension gate and those things just walked out." Luke stepped forward it doesn't make any sense. It was supposed to go to the Negative Zone, unless…
"Reed Richards" finished Peter. "The coordinates must have been a trap set for us and we fell for it, I fell for it"
"I think Richards just moved up another spot in the creepy category" added Iron Fist.
Wong raised his hands to stop everyone from talking, their comments only took more time and time was running out by the second.
"These beings are called the Mimikai. Ages ago during the more archaic time of magic, before a sorcerer supreme was fathomed. Man had discovered other realms and with them the Mimikai, a race of shapeless creatures who could produce powerful illusions. The sorcerers used them for ceremonies as a rite of passage, a hunt to prove one's valor. Eventually the Mimikai adapted and learned how to use man's magic in order to transcend and became the embodiment of the person's fears to hunt their enemy rather than hide."
"So how do they know what we fear?"
"It is said that they read minds. The more anxieties the person has, the more quickly they swarm, you might as well be wearing a large neon sign. If we don't act fast they will drain Steven of his mystical energy and his life."
"Count me in"
"Sorry Logan but you've been alive for hundreds of years and on four teams at the same time at one point. So many problems that you buried yourself in work. I need you here looking after things. There is no telling if the doctors ward spells are gone, if Tony might pay us a visit or if Moon Knight leaves a message on the cell he left me (still no word yet)."
At hearing this, Wolverine lowered his head "I get it, fine."
"So it's settled, we'll form a four-man cell for a search and rescue."
"I'll go" said Peter looking at his two stingers sticking out of his arms. "I might have an edge with these plus my Spider-Sense will see through illusions."
"Count me in" Iron Fist called out "can't remember the last time I was on mission. Who else?"
Luke took a look at his own hands "I gave the ok for all of this, I have to see it through so I'm going and that leaves us one more spot."
The first person suggested was Daredevil but that was quickly shot down when the group thought back to the hallucination of Shield agents. Sounds of the muzzles firing were practically real and if those sounds affected his radar senses Matt would quickly become a liability.
Wolverine gave the question deep thought and gave his input. "What about Hot Spot?"
"I'm cringing at the thought right now" - Luke
"C'mon Cage I trained the kid, he has the skill to cover you."
"What I'm worried about is his attitude, especially with Peter and Venom on the team already."
The more they thought about it the more the team sounded too unstable but Wong was not in the mood for debates as he tapped his foot. His mentor was in danger and he couldn't help but think of the life being drained from his body. After another moment he urged them to make up their minds by the time he had returned.
The Iron Fist placed his right hand upon Luke's shoulder
"I know it's tough for you to trust right now but we can do this. Peter is different, that much we can agree on but he's… I don't know… more certain of himself and who thought we'd ever see the day huh?"
"This whole thing scares me to hell… what we lost… what we could still lose. But at least you'll be there with me. Hotspot!"
The red haired youth Brendon emerged from the hall in his crimson trench coat and was brushed to the side by a hasty Wong with a tome in his arms. You could see the fire flare in his eyes after it happened and Wolverines alertness to calm him down.
"Let me be clear Brendon, we're letting you come with us to rescue Doctor Strange. This is your first chance to do something with that anger of yours. You're on a team, if you slip up, if you so much as let your anger issues cloud your judgement it will also be your last mission. Are we clear?"
"I got it"
"Good. Alright Wong we're ready, but the gate is down"
The Sorcerer's apprentice laid the book onto the floor and opened it to a specific page. With the book he could open the way to the doctor but if the team failed to retrieve him they would be marooned on the other side for the rest of their lives. He also gave Luke a compass, a guide to more accurately lead them to their objective.
The team of avengers clustered together as Wong chanted his words and a green light wrapped around them like a vail. Slowly they began to turn transparent as Luke tossed the cell phone Moon Knight gave him to Wolverine at the last moment before he vanished beyond the light.
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When the team reappeared it was on the top of a mountain. The sky was a violet hue with a few stars. At the bottom looked like a wooded area surrounded by more mountains
Spider-Man donned his mask and turned to look at Luke for the game plan. This moment would show him how Luke reacted in the field. If the plan was bad, amendments would be made.
"The plan is simple" began Luke. "When we get into trouble I'll take the damage; I'm built to take it. Spider-Man can give us a warning before we run into trouble. Iron Fist can heal any of us that get injured but he can't use it too much so watch yourselves. And finally, Hotspot can attack more enemies at a time."
"You mean I'm DPS"
"What?"
"He means damage per second, it's a term in RPG games" Iron Fist said. Luke then gave a perplexing look at the comment "What? I used to play"
A whining sound came from the compass in the team leader's hand after which he directed them to start walking down the mountain. Slowly they treaded down the rocks with the Iron Spider at the forefront. Every so often he looked back and noticed Hot spot's eyes lingering toward him and then elsewhere. Every rock turned, every ounce of dirt kicked op could possibly bring a threat but nothing had tripped his Spider-Sense yet.
As they continued down the slope everything was quiet, not even a word from his teams filled the air. Nobody really had anything to say with all of the animosity them except Iron Fist. He seemed to retain a little of his humor and it was only a matter of time until he decided to fill that dead air.
"Do you guys think Reed choose this dimension for the Mimikai, I mean that's pretty creepy, like Doctor Doom creepy."
"It makes sense" said Spider-Man. "Take Doctor Strange off the board and cripple an already disadvantaged team."
"No talking" Interrupted Luke with sternness. "The enemy might be close by"
The spider stopped dead in his tracks. Just before entering the forest area there was a rustling in the bushes. The team stayed close but their heads were all looking in different directions and as they turned to look back at each other, the setting had transitioned to black. None of them could see one another, if they reached out they couldn't find one another neither.
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Luke watched as his dark surroundings turned into the living room of a one-bedroom apartment. The floor boards creaked as he stumbling around in a circle with suspecting eyes. This was his old apartment in Harlem. A baby's crying echoed in the apartment, was it supposed to be his child? He inched slowly to the doorway, a baby blue wooden crib moved into view as a woman walked out.
She was a Caucasian woman with brown hair and wore torn blue Jeans, a white tank top a black leather jacket and two inch heels. She looked directly at Luke, never breaking eye contact as he tried to look away because he knew her form too well. She was his wife and mother of his child, Jessica Jones. A single sly smirk rippled across her face as she made a seductive walk toward him. He raised his fists in defense
"You think you can get into my head?" said Luke
"Too late for that" "It must have hurt when she left, when she took Danielle without telling you."
"Stop!" insisted Luke as he threw the first punch which Jessica dodged and struck the center of his chest, sending him backward into a wall.
"You didn't even have enough sense to protect her. Whatever she saw in you must have been brought on by the alcohol."
She started toward him again as Luke began to pick himself up from the wooden floor but she was already above him, holding him down.
"And what did you do? You pretended to lead your half-assed team and the worst part is, they're weaker for having you. A leader so afraid of losing anyone else that you keep your people underground as Stark slowly chips away what little pull you have. Unfit to make the hard choices."
Luke was buckling under the pressure. It was as if she was getting stronger by the second, feeding off of his fears. He swiped her leg, knocking her off balance. Taking advantage, Luke wrestled with his foe until he sat on top of her and punched her in the face a couple of times. However, on the third punch her head split in half. A ripple stretched from her head and continued straight down the middle into two halves. Startled, Luke leaped from the ground in fear as the two parts squirmed and began growing into two different people, one retained Jessica's form but the other was a brown skinned teenager with curly hair. Her face was strikingly similar to Jessica but Luke knew.
She was supposed to be his daughter, a mockery of his child made to prove a point.
"And now you'll never see your child grow up"
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Daniel Rand, the Iron Fist was surrounded by darkness with no allies to support him. There was even a deafness of sound and he reached out, attempting to make contact with something. First there was a crackling in the distance and then tiny flickers of flames. The fires spread across the dirt ground revealing crushed bamboo and then, homes. The sky then began to light into an evening amber. On the ground were the bodies of warriors long since defeated and broken. Iron Fist fell to his knees. His hands covered in blood. This place, it was Kun'Lun and the people were its inhabitants left for dead.
A large man emerged from the dark innards of a demolished home. Muscles upon muscles were his arms, deadly weapons of bare skin as his body and face were clad in green with a white stripe on the center of his facemask. A sword with a long hilt hung on his back as gilded wrist guards on his forearms and at the center of his chest was a golden circle with a hexagram in the center. Iron Fist knew the form as Lei Kung, the Thunderer, his teacher from the mystical city of K'un Lun.
"Rise, Daniel Rand-K'al
"I trained you Daniel, your shame is mine. A faulty weapon to be decommissioned."
"Keep talking pal I know what you really are" said the Thunderer.
Iron Fist pushed back his foe and followed up with a high kick which the Thunderer caught. The enemy struck the thigh twice before Danny could perform a mid-air spin like a corkscrew, colliding his other foot with the Thunderer's head. His enemy brushed off the blow briefly and started toward him again and was relentless. His moves were so precise and strong. Just as strong as Danny hand remembered
The Thunderer gave a smile "we know what you fear and how to destroy you, that is all we need. How did it feel when K'un Lun fell?"
Its skin turned from solid into a loose texture like dough and split down the middle into equal halves. While one half became a whole Lei Kung the other took on the form Lei's estranged son Davos, the Steel Serpent. A man in black pants, wearing no shirt and a black mask similar to Danny's. On his chest was a symbol of serpent like the dragon on Danny's but it had no wings.
His opponents came at him in unison. Where one struck the other followed up and Iron Fist could barely keep up. When he blocked one hit another made contact first to the ribs, then kick to the thighs and a chop to the neck.
He was losing this fight fast. Their words were accurate to a fault and their moves made it seem that the Mimikai had been fighting for years. Had they been probing his mind for more than just his thoughts? Maybe what they were really doing was adapting his memories.
"Looks like I'm going to need some help here"
Danny channeled his Chi into both of his hands till they glowed a radiant gold color, as did the dragon on his chest. As he separated them both slowly, an orb of light which changed into a Malaysian woman with long black hair in a ponytail and a green and yellow dress. The Iron Fist Wu Ao-Shi, the Pirate queen of Pinghai Bay returned from the grave.
"Calm yourself young fist, these foul creatures require a clear mind."
This technique came from the Book of the Iron Fist and was called the spirit of the undying dragon. A past Iron Fist Lun-Fi had discovered a way to use his connection to the dragon Shou-Lao to summon his predecessor's spirits for council but it could also be good for assistance in combat. With great concentration, chi energy could be focused to take shape and Wu Ao-Shi was the Iron Fist best known for channeling Chi through other mediums and strengthen their power such as the archers bow. The downside to this ability was that the user suffered from fatigue at a rapid pace afterward.
In the middle of a decimated cityscape Wu glowed as she stood between Danny and
"You cannot stop us. Even now your flame dim-"
"Perhaps" retorted Wu with a sickened expression on her face "but unlike Daniel, you can't invade my thoughts, this game ends now"
The Thunderer divided again, spawning on more duplicate in the form of Misty Knight, a black woman in a red jumpsuit with an afro and a gold mechanical arm.
"Good luck with that" said Misty
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Hotspot stood alone in darkness. His hands glowed red, barely holding back the flame but ready to strike. "Luke? Iron Fist?" yelled the youth as he looked about. There was a reluctance to call out to Spider-Man, however he stopped himself and swallowed those words.
A floor of darkness turned to tile and the surrounding area became a 50th street subway station. The train tracks were off to his right, a wide area with four sets of tracks adjacent to each other. This was the place were Brendon and his little brother Nathan ran to escape capture.
"The hell is going on here?" whispered Brendon as he touched the tiled wall, feeling the cool and smooth surface.
A voice came from behind "You're such a disappointment Brendon, taking your brother away from home like that was so irresponsible. You should've had more trust in the system."
Hotspot's body tensed up, had the voice been anyone else he would have done just the opposite but that wasn't the case. He knew that voice very well and turned around slowly, hoping that the appearance wouldn't reflect the voice but of course he wasn't surprised to be wrong. His opponent was a curly haired redhead in a standard issue Shield uniform with a pistol on her hip. She was stern in her demeanor with eyes that didn't blink. Her name was Nannah and she was his Aunt.
"Don't you want to see hello to your Aunt?"
Hotspot's hands became alit with flames as he fired two streams of fire enough to consume her side of the platform. He couldn't see her beyond the flare of the fire to see that she had jumped onto the tracks with her gun in hand and firing live rounds at her assailant making contact with his left shoulder. His arm wretched with pain as blood flowed and he list contact with the target.
Her words echoed through the tunnel "Give up Brendon, you can't fight what is coming"
His eyes scanned the area but could find a sign of her clothes. He panicked to find cover by leaping down onto the tracks, using one of the support beams for cover.
"You're going to die down here because you picked the wrong-"
"Shut up! I'm going to roast you as soon as I get the shot"
"You and that attitude of yours always getting into trouble. Seeing how rash you are it seems you haven't changed at all. You honestly think the avengers will accept you as you are? Your own family didn't accept having two mutants in the family"
His skin began to burn hot after hearing the insults. Words that he himself still thought but hearing it from a monster less than human was infuriating. A single stream of fire was sent in all directions like a continuous flamethrower to hit the target.
"Falling apart already Benny?" mocked Hannah from far away as she fired more bullets "You're in over your head."
Being there in the moment things took a giant tailspin for the worst. His position was given away because he couldn't take the verbal abuse.
A growling sound enveloped the station, shaking him to his core because that sound was too familiar. A sort of bestial growl which was like two growls at once. There was another creature in play those things knew where he was what could he do next? As his eyes shifted from right to left with heightened speed to see small pieces of the ceiling fall on his head. A large figure in the form of Venom hung from the ceiling with its tongue out, drool fell to his face.
His heart began to thump at a rapid pace and a fire blast caused it to scurry away. The sound of a gun being cocked as Hannah pointed her gun at Brendon's temple.
"You lose kid"
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Surrounded by darkness Peter stood still, trusting his Spider-Sense to warn him but nothing happened and slowly the scene transitioned into the middle of a dense forest in the shade of large and old trees. The amber mid-morning sun was high in the blue sky. For him, this setting was very familiar because it was the park in which he was "reborn." There was a time, a time when he died, beaten to death by a predator named Morlun, who fed on the life force of animal totems like Peter.
He was dead but the spider fought back and his body reconstructed itself, in that time he slept and dreamed, this forest was in that dream. A giant spider had confronted him, noting that the spider was now truly a part of him and that there was no denying what he was, no denying that he couldn't have a "normal" life because he wasn't normal.
"Are you more spider than man? Or more man than spider?" said a voice from far off in the distance.
Another Peter Parker walked out from the cover of a large tree trunk, this Peter wore no mask but had on the original red and blue suit. This imitation Spider-Man leered at his red and gold double. Both looked at the grass and then at their target and leaped toward each other.
Locked in close combat the two were evenly matched as they struggled for the upper hand.
"Look at what you've become, a murdering animal." Spat the double as he made a right hook to Peter's left rib. The imitation was able to hit just as hard as the original, just as fast too. The only difference was that he was the only one talking and his comments were getting into Peter's head because they were his own thoughts. It was one thing to avoid thinking about his insecurities but hearing it from a doubles mouth was disarming.
"It would destroy MJ to see you like this" the Iron Spider took another punch to the face and then an uppercut to the chin. He fell back two yards
"Don't you dare talk about her!"
"Ok, maybe that was a low blow but you're stomping on the ideals we fought for? How do you know the Spider is really pulling your strings? Suggested you side with Tony, causing this chain of events?"
Suddenly the four Waldoes sprang from out of the Iron Spiders back.
He dashed forward to engage the Mimikai, which it barely avoided. What happened next was a clash high up within the treetops. Both trying to gain the advantage with calculated web-lines because the red and blue spider was avoiding direct contact with his target. The Iron Spiders movements were different while in the trees as the Waldoes served as actual legs for greater maneuverability and clawed savagely at as they tried to spear the Mimikai but just narrowly missing as the sweat trickled from his brow.
"What's happening? I almost had him" whispered the Mimikai to itself as it looked in all directions.
"You know the problem with the "old" Peter was that he never considered all of the factors until he was cornered" said the Iron Spider under the cover of the tree branches.
In order to counter, the Mimikai fired off several web-lines of his own in every direction to create a web. Now there was only two directions which Peter could attack without giving away his position, high or below.
There was a tug from one of the lines and the imitation glared toward it, not knowing that Peter came through the air and struck behind it with a killing stroke to the head.
Peter reappeared on the edge of the forest where he was separated from the rest of his group. In their place were three lights and the others were still missing.
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Hot Spot slid against the support beam with his eyes closed and gritted his teeth as he waited for the Mimikai in the shape of his aunt to fire. The barrel of a gun still pointed at his head when suddenly he heard a thwipp sound followed by the cracking. He opened his eyes to find Spider-Man standing over him with his hand out. He smacked it away with his uninjured right arm and picked himself up.
The subway setting turned back into a forest, Spider-Man simply looked at Hot Spot and turned on his heel toward one of the remaining light portals. Before stepping any further he turned his head back to the youth and said "Just stay here."
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Iron Fist was on his knees as Wu attempted to face off with the three Mimikai and keep them from attacking her caster. She used part of her chi energy to make dual katanas against the Thunderer and Steel Serpent. When the Misty Knight got close to Danny the swords became a bow and arrow to keep them busy but her light was dying out. She could barely hang on while her descendent got back on his feet.
"I am losing my hold, young fist"
His head was dizzy and before he knew it Wu Ao-Shi golden light faded and she disappeared, leaving the Mimikai to turn to Danny as he stood hunched over.
They ran at him with everything they had as Spider-Man stepped into the burning city and threw a red sphere at Iron Fist from which Venom burst out and consumed him in its mass.
What was left was sinister. The yellow mask which covered the top half of his face was now black with large white eyes. The dragon his chest was also white with skeletal wings. His boots were now white with sharp toenails. The raining sections of his body was black and he bared sharp white teeth and the trademark tongue.
"It's feeding time!"
The Mimikai stopped dead, as thought they were trying to understand this new adversary to know they should be to stop it.
"Move in now" added Spider-Man, stabbing the Thunderer in the face with his Waldoes. "The weakness is their head."
"Don't bark orders at us Parker, we remember what you did. We always remember."
"Just get it done. What's Iron Fist's status?"
Venom took in the joy of his new glowing hands, the power within them. "Don't worry, your little friend is so out of it. These things must have worn him out, means we get to take him for joy rides like we did with you, ah memories."
The last remaining Mimikai were already turning into their original gray color before changing again. One red while the other turned orange. In a frantic motion Venom turned both of his arms elongated spikes, executing the last of the opposition before they could change fully.
The burning city reverted to the forest with Hot Spot sitting on the floor and propped up against a tree. His eyes narrowed at the symbiote and the symbiote to him with a wicked smile.
"You let that thing ensnare another human being?" spat the youth
"It could always be worse. Would you feel better if we hunted you and your brother, little Nathan."
"The only thing keeping from turning you to slag is Iron Fist"
"Enough foreplay. We will rip you a part."
"Stop, both of you." Said the Iron Spider as he stood in between both. "Venom go get Luke. We'll be here waiting"
The alien gave a mocking salute and turned toward the light and said "We live to serve" and vanished.
Hot Spot continued to scowl at Peter, looking upon the man that made his deal with the Devil and then broke away. There was nothing but silence for a bit of time until Venom reappeared with Luke over his shoulder, his shirt torn but his skin unharmed and placed him on the ground. He appeared cross at the sight of Venom and its new host.
If the rest of their journey was going to be like this the team might not actually make it that far to begin with. Peter needed time. To gather his thoughts for a real strategy. Luke's plan would have worked under normal circumstances but at the first sign of trouble everyone was separated into what could only be described as pocket dimensions. The unit was divided and nearly destroyed.
It was time to rethink their strategy.