Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or DC
Here it is, spoilers for Spider-man: No Way Home
Universal Collision: The Trailblazer
Chapter 2: Tally-Ho
Pain, searing pain ran through Peter's side. It was an old friend of course, the pain, the reason he was in pain was because of an old friend's father. Or maybe it was the old Parker luck.
He'd been teaching his class at Horizon, a riveting experience for them he was sure. Coincidentally his lecture had been about string theory in relation to space and time. Most of his students criticised his work, saying string theory was a considered a theory because of its lack of practicality. Even Peter's references to Hawkin's use of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics in the calculation of a black holes entropy didn't impress them. Engineering seemed to what interested kids more. But digressing, Peter's class had been what it had always been, unappreciated. It was during his walk home that things took a very unlikely turn.
One moment Peter had been walking through the streets of New York, the next thing he knew a type of purple mist enveloped his vision, his spider-sense blaring. Then he stumbled back into New York, except it wasn't the New York he recognised. He looked at the paper dispenser and didn't see a Daily Bugle, then there was the TV screens, talking about a 'Captain America shield' being added to the statue of liberty. Coffee at least was still pricey, and they at least took his cash, and as Peter mulled over his situation he saw the possible solution on a TV screen:
"Spider-man: Murderer Peter Parker sighted in Greenwich village!"
His heart raced, but then he saw a different face, a younger face that definitely wasn't his. He read the newspapers, looked over shoulders for internet blogs and learned about the Peter Parker of this world. It couldn't be denied, he was on another Earth, a similar history with some exceptions to the super powered community. Peter only knew of five super powered individuals on his Earth, himself, Marko and Hardy being included in that number. But there were multiple 'Inhumans' (an entire royal family, which had apparently gone through a major makeover), some billionaire with an armoured suit and some event five years ago that caused half of Earth's population to suddenly disappear. Any fascination and curiosity Peter had about his Earth was wiped away when he saw footage of Osborn and Octavius battling this Earth's Spider-man.
Then came the tragic news, the other Spider-man's Aunt May had died. Peter's own aunt had gone through her health scares, she didn't do physical work anymore, but she was still a very important part of the family. He still remembered the day she revealed to him that she knew he was Spider-man, and how proud she was of him. The other Aunt May was younger, so much more of her life ahead of her yet she was taken, police revealed some kind of bladed weapon had struck her. It wasn't quite a stab wound, but Peter knew how devastating the blades of a goblin glider could be. From that point on he knew the younger Peter would need his help, it was his responsibility to help.
In one day Peter found out that the Multiverse theory and magic was real. He went to his younger counterpart's friends and found another younger Spider-man, different face. It seemed to be a Multiversal fact that a Peter Parker would be compelled by responsibility, the other Peter wanted to help too. They found that Earth's Peter mourning on the roof of his school, distraught, angry, bitter about his attempts to save the people. He believed those villains were their problems, that if they killed them then it was on their hands. For so many years, Peter had fought, tech based villains and murderers, even when something like a child killer should have started to bother him, he never gave in. It didn't mean he didn't know killers, the second younger Peter said he had gotten bitter too, that he stopped the friendly neighbourhood thing and stopped pulling his punches. But there was a difference between not holding back his strength, and being a killer. He knew killers, he had never killed, and he knew that both his fellow Spider-men weren't killers either. It was why he never believed a word the other Jameson said.
"Maybe they didn't die for nothing," he told his younger self.
Uncle Ben, Aunt May, the lesson on responsibility, a lesson he tried to teach too.
After that, things got a bit easier. Though they had different faces and experiences, their work ethics and intellect was the same. For years Peter had thought about Oscorp's 'performance enhancers', looked over the records, ran the calculations in his head for a way to revert the process. MJ told him he had just been torturing himself, it had been another argument they had. But it had been for a reason, Peter knew that now. Their fight at the statue of liberty had been messy, but eventually they got into synch, the three Spider-men moved like brothers and one by one cured the villains. Peter got to see the good man Octavius was again, and he could tell that when his second younger counterpart saved Michelle, it had slightly eased the burden on his soul. But then there was Osborn, he destroyed the device that contained the spell that brought them there, and fought the other Peter one last time.
It had gone how Peter expected, the rage enveloped the younger Peter and every punch pushed Peter back to that day at the bridge, smashing the goblin's helmet. Only there was no shocking reveal of the man behind the mask, no emotional connection to bring Peter out of that fury. Still Osborn taunted and laughed, that laugh, Peter never thought he would hear it outside of his nightmares. The younger Peter lifted up the glider, the blades at the ready and brought it down towards Osborn. In spite of everything Osborn had done though, Peter couldn't let him die, more for his younger self's soul than the man he once looked up to.
He looked his younger self in the eye, pushing against the glider, not caring if the boy had a more tech heavy suit or a youthful body unaffected by years of injuries. This wasn't Peter Parker, this wasn't Spider-man, it wasn't the man Ben and May believed in. That mind set won, in that moment Goblin drew his blade for one final revenge. Peter knew it was coming, but as stated before his body had slowed because of a career of injuries, with one more being added to it. Even then Peter did the right thing and injected Osborn with the Anti-serum.
It was done, but the sky was ripped open, purple cracks enveloped the world and Peter was amazed and terrified again when he saw people in the sky. Supported by the other Peter, they waited for the younger one to finish conversing with the wizard (Dr Weird, Peter thought he was called).
The sun began to rise and the younger Peter swung down to them, cuts on his face and sweat in his hair, yet still looking at them with a boyish amazement.
"I think this is it, I think you're about to go home," he said, he stumbled with his words a lot. "Um look I…thank you," he said genuinely.
"I just want to um, I just want to tell you that…I don't know how to say this, I really want to tell you…"
"Peter," the older one interrupted him.
"You know," Peter said. "It's what we do!"
"Yeah, it's what we do, I've got find Ned and MJ, I…" forgoing caution, the younger Peter charged at his older counterparts, hugging them. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
They all understood, because the experience had been the same for all three of them. Each of them had gotten a chance to look into a mirror, and see the best part of themselves. 'Spider-boy' Peter had heard himself and particular his other self get called. There was a reason he didn't use such a moniker, and it was the same for every counterpart. It was more than just a cool name, more than just a persona to match the costume. Spider-man was a promise, a promise made by a boy to be better, to never look the other way, to be responsible. It was the expectation that no matter the age, he would be the man his loved ones believed that he could be, even if sometimes he had to appear not to be that man, or as Aunt May would say 'give up the thing you want the most'.
"You're in so much pain aren't you?" the other Peter asked him casually.
"I am," he always got deep when he had a deep cut in his chest.
Something told Peter that his younger self was giving up what he wanted the most too. As both Peter's faded, the younger holding up his fingers in a peace sign, he began to realise just how important this event had been. Not on a Multiversal level, but personally, to remind all three of them of why they became Spider-man in the first place.
He returned home and knew that he had been that hero, and through hard work had gotten what he wanted. It wasn't always perfect, but they worked on it every day.
"What the hell happened Peter?" Mary Jane asked him when he came in through the window.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Peter panted.
"Well let's get the kit and you can explmmmfff!" Mary Jane's eyes widened when he kissed her, but she lost herself in passion too, kissing him like they did when they were younger.
"PDA guys come on," a voice groaned from the kitchen.
Peter and Mary Jane slowly separated, pecking each other's lips and still holding one another. Slowly Mary Jane opened her eyes and smiled.
"Welcome back tiger," she said.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting Mrs Parker," Peter said.
They locked lips again, Peter wrapped his arms around her hips whilst she held the sides of his head.
"Oh god, trauma," a girl made a gagging sound.
When Peter and MJ separated from their kiss, he walked up to the two teens and hugged them. Multiverse or not, he well and truly wasn't alone.
New York City, his city, his responsibility, etc, etc, the most time Peter spent away from it was a trip to Paris and another universe altogether. Most of the trips he took with Horizon University took place in the city, he had a regular class, though he invented a few things and sold them on the internet. He was hardly a millionaire, but he was doing better on the financial side than he did when he was younger, after all he was married to a successful clothes designer, a billboard for which had just gotten a scorch mark on.
"Oh dear, hope MJ won't take that out of my salary," Peter muttered.
His spider sense blared and he flipped, dodging another blast from the costumed man chasing him.
"Cease your running and face me Spider-man, Mysterio, conqueror of Xandar and sorcerer supreme," he had a green webbed costume (which was so tight that it did little to hide his girth) a cloak and a fishbowl for a head.
The supposed sorcerer certainly had the flying right with the green vapour around his feet. He also had the energy blasts right, arcane runes appeared around his hands when he attacked Spider-man. One slammed into Peter's shoulder, knocking him off balance. He fired another web, latching it to a lamp post and adjusting his course. His senses alerted him, but that was a price of the new costume. MJ wasn't against him going out there, but considering their position he wanted him to take extra precautions. Peter adored MJ for weaving the plates into his suits vital areas (giving the blue of his costume though a padded look) but it did slow him down a bit. The hit though was beneficial, as it allowed Peter to truly analyse what Mysterio was.
"The scorch mark, the hiss, fireworks but amplified," he said. "The bulky gauntlets on your gloves are just launchers, you're not a sorcerer," Spider-man swung straight towards Mysterio.
"I am sorcerer supreme Spider-man, and you have met your match," He used hand signs, signs Peter recognised from an anime Ben would watch, it even had the same result of making 'clones' of Mysterio appear.
The unoriginal abilities, unoriginal costume that included a modulator to give him a 'Darth Vader' voice and the dramatics. Mysterio wasn't an alien but a performer, Peter trusted his tingle and leapt at the Mysterio army. He fired webs through two, hitting the shoulder of the real one just as he unleashed a 'smoke blast'. The rocket was obscured by green vapour, Peter grabbed it with another web and slammed it into the object at Mysterio's feet. Sparks came out of the green cloud, so obviously not a magic cloud. Mysterio lurched forward, his flight nearly turning into a dive. Swinging forward, Peter delivered a kick to the fish bowl, cracking it and knocking Mysterio off of the cloud. Finally the green vapour disappeared, revealing the modified glider board.
He tied Mysterio up in webs and walked him into the police station. New York's finest and the rest of the city tended to not listen to Jameson anymore, the Daily Bugle had a new editor and Jameson was spending his days at the mayor's office. Commissioner George Stacy furthered his daughter's promotion of Spider-man as a hero, and an adoring fan created an app that Peter integrated into his mask's lenses. He could track incidents across the city, he'd have to offer this Morales kid a job some day.
"The great all powerful Mysterio, this guy gave the eighth precinct a hell of a time," a detective stepped out of the mass of uniformed officers staring at Peter.
John DeWolfe was a good man, a vet of the force, Peter vaguely remembered him as a uniformed beat cop back when he started out. They had developed something of a Gordon/Batman style relationship; John gave details to Peter about ongoing cases that might require his expertise.
"This is what gave them a hard time sir," Peter yanked the webbed up glider behind him.
"Oscorp flight tech, I thought the company was dead since the recession," John muttered.
It made Peter remember Harry, after he died his fortune passed to his valet Bernard. But Bernard felt that the Osborn fortune needed to be used to make amends, so he donated it to the hospital. That still left a company, though the board was filled with good men none of them had Norman's genius or Harry's business imagination. They lost contracts for the military and when the recession hit they were bought out by the Beyond corporation.
"Some of their tech has still gotten out on the black market," Peter said.
"This marks the third 'super villain' who used modified tech from Oscorp, that Schultz guy with the gauntlets last week, and Jenkins with that armour three months ago, I think Mysterio is going to be telling us a little bit more about where he's getting his tech," John explained.
He ripped the fishbowl off of Mysterio's cloak. Peter widened his eyes when he saw the dark haired man underneath it; he resembled that doorman who kept him from seeing MJ's play once.
"Quinton Beck, that explains the dramatic flair, one of your films came up on my son's Prime recommendations, he watched Battlefield Earth instead," the detective put in one last insult as he took Beck into custody.
"You'll pay for this Spider-man, this was supposed to be my time in the spotlight, MINE!" Beck yelled as he was dragged away.
"Didn't you work at a restaurant and use a really bad French accent?" Spider-man asked.
"I saw a dialect coach for that!"
Peter resisted the urge to laugh underneath his mask, a pin rang in his ear and he tapped the side of his mask's lens. A small window appeared in the corner of his vision, 'gang shoot out' it was marked under, along with the additional spider marks.
"Keep up the good work," Peter said, running out of the station.
He jumped and began to swing through the city as fast as he could. Since his little Multiverse trip, Peter had come to learn that he was already part of the greatest team on his Earth, both his family and his literal team, the Spider-men.
"We really need to talk about the name," Ben Parker said before punching a member of the Skull's gang in the face.
His partner was dodging a flurry of bullets on the platform above him. They were linked via 'web ware' tech built into their masks. Ben was the slugger, Anna was the ballerina, or would have been if not for the bulk of her suit. She fired off a few web lines, trapping the guns her attackers were using. The skulls gang were using a building under construction to sell guns to a buyer. Anna was quick to spin the first web, the fight was inevitable after that. The men grabbed what gear they could and began shooting, the children of Spider-man dodged and leapt around the building until they found cover.
"Spider-men, why not Spider-Corp, Web Warriors?" Ben asked.
"Don't be ridiculous," Anna said.
"Is there something you need to confess?"
"Dad has some jokes that really haven't aged well, don't be that guy too," Anna perked her head up.
She suddenly jumped, hitting an incoming rocket with her webs. Using her momentum, she span and threw the rocket at the ground beneath the shooters. Unfortunately the floor gave out beneath them. Ben leapt into action, shooting webs as fast as he could, making nets to trap debris and cushions for the thugs to land and get trapped on.
"It's about maintaining a secret ID, it's why Mom made my suit how it is," Anna said.
Her costume had the same colour scheme as their father's but was made up of some plates and plastics used on roller blades, giving her thick boots and gauntlets. The mask was in fact a helmet, underneath she was a lithe woman, but the padding gave the suit the appearance of a man. She spoke less than Ben and Peter, being known as 'the serious one'.
"If it's a choice between keeping us safe or being a great feminist, what do you think I'm going to choose?" Anna asked her brother. "Besides we're both part of the legacy, we're not pretenders like Spider-boy or Spider-woman," she said.
Ben knocked a thug out with a punch and tied two more thugs against a pillar. His suit had the red colour scheme, but black eyes lenses and a black lower body, his gloves had padding and launchers built into the wrists. They both inherited the strength aspect of Peter's powers and the spider sense and ability to stick to walls, but only Anna inherited the ability to make webs. Ben had to make his own.
"Crap," Anna muttered.
Her senses blared, with a great intensity than Ben's did. She dove at her brother, pushing him out of the radius of a gunshot. They rolled to cover, both looking to the new attacker. Two metallic arms slammed against the ground of the floor above them. They were attached to the harness of a dark haired woman wearing goggles, controlling the two arms and a third with her wrist worn computer.
"Lady Octopus, you see, this is what I'm getting at about pretenders," Anna said.
The third tentacle had been modified to switch between a gun and cutting laser. Carolyn Trainer was a scientist, a robotics expert who turned to crime when her patents fell through and she couldn't raise funds. The harness she wore had been removed from Octavius's own body before he was buried. Instead of grafting it to her body though she wore it and controlled the machinery through a wireless connection. She also built into the harness a defence mechanism, a sonic device that acted as a type of 'barrier' to people getting close. So Anna and Ben kept their distance, jumping and weaving between Trainer's long distance attacks. She threw a crate at Ben, who kicked it aside and gave Anna an opening to throw a gun clip at Trainer's head. It cracked her goggles and dazed her.
"No respect for the dead or their legacy," Ben said.
He stuck her walking tentacles to the ground and got in close, ducking underneath the thrust of her third tentacle. When he got close however, the harness generated a sound blast that threw Ben pack. Anna caught her brother, but the impact threw her against the ground. They landed in a heap on top of each other.
"You shouldn't have interfered Spider-lings," Trainer taunted.
She was about to use her cutting laser, when suddenly, the tentacle was yanked back. Trainer turned, only for webbing the block her eye sight. She tapped at the buttons, but her hand was stuck to the pad by a third web. Peter darted around Trainer, still holding her weapon tentacle, spinning webs and tripping Trainer, wrapping up her tentacles. He knew Otto's harness, as well as her upgrades to it, how to clog her sound generators with webs. His approach was softer too, walking up to Trainer and not jumping at her. Gently grabbing the harness, he then yanked his arms back and tore the machinery off of her. Anna finished it by tying Trainer up in webs; even with the masks they could still tell their father was disappointed. He simply tilted his head, gesturing to the damage in the construction yard.
"Think of it this way, at least the honest labourer has more work now," Ben said.
Peter shook his head, the trio web swinging to a nearby rooftop. Once there they collectively removed their masks.
"Benjamin Harry Parker, Anna-May Parker," Peter seethed.
"Hey why are you taking that tone with me, he was the reckless one," Anna removed her helmet, unravelled her red hair, like her mother, though her cheeks had more freckles.
"Anna made fun of your jokes," Ben said, revealing his mop of brown hair.
"That's enough you two, we need to do better," Peter said.
"I know, I know, not another lecture dad, please," Ben shook his head.
"Maybe you three shouldn't be arguing on a rooftop," a voice said from the end of the roof.
Peter's spider-sense hadn't gone off, so he knew that she wasn't a threat. The lithe and white haired woman (a very advanced wig) flipped over them, landing with her shins crossed on a venting unit. Her black coated lips curled into a smirk, not hiding the flirtatious look in her eyes.
"Aunt Felicia," Anna cheered, rushing to her.
Her brother rubbed his head nervously whilst Peter nodded to Felicia. There's was a complicated history, but Felicia Hardy, otherwise known as the Black Cat, was now someone Peter trusted. They met a few months after the Sandman and symbiote incident, both in and behind their masks. Whilst MJ and he briefly separated, Peter and Felicia dated, a fact that never bothered Anna who looked up to Felicia. Her father Adrian however, proved to be the breaking point in their relationship. He had lost control of his company, and took his flight tech from the military in a revenge scheme. The Bugle dubbed him 'the Vulture', but after a long battle at Coney Island, Adrian's wings malfunctioned and despite Peter's efforts to save him he crashed and ended up in a coma. He and Felicia broke up and in time Peter and MJ found each other again.
Married and two kids later, he and Felicia reconciled and she (mostly) gave up her criminal ways, taking on her mother's name and changing her father's tech company to the Hardy Foundation, a charitable organisation that supported schools like Horizon.
"Nice suit, though it wouldn't kill you to wear something a little tighter, you're becoming an athletic woman, if you have it flaunt it," Felicia said to Anna, who shook her head.
"Practicality over style," she said.
"Style can be practical, I mean just ask your brother what he can't stop looking at," Felicia grinned.
"Shut up," Ben shook his head.
"Yuck Ben!"
"Besides, I'm thinking you should inherit your old man's suit, it will be perfect in everyway…"
"Don't say it," Peter and Ben muttered.
"Once it fits a woman," Felicia grinned and the three Parkers rolled their eyes.
"Who talks like that?"
"And people say my gay joke didn't age well, emphasis on joke!"
"That kind of thing isn't funny anymore, in fact, nothing's funny, the aim of comedians nowadays is to make people cringe."
"Or get slapped in the face!"
"Now that has aged!"
"Hey, if he wanted his wife's name out of people's mouth, he shouldn't have gone on live television and…"
"As much as I love watching an adorable Parker quip fest, I'm sorry to say this isn't a social call," Felicia said.
"What's up?" Peter asked, putting his mask back on.
"I recently went to court with the government to claim back my dad's inventions, to make a long story short they had claimed the patent on my Dad's flight tech, they won the case but it got me curious so I did some digging around," Felicia explained.
"Spy work mission impossible style," Ben chuckled.
"More like Sparrow, say, that movie is pretty much the R-rated Black Wi…"
"What did you find Felicia?" Peter asked.
"Well after you told us about what you found in that other world, I figured I would keep my ear to the ground, just in case any patterns started, no Stark enterprises, no Dr Stephen Strange and no S.H.I.E.L.D. but that didn't mean the government didn't have anything in place, I was able to find a folder that raised some concern, or at least made me more curious," Felicia explained.
"You know what they say about curiosity and cats OW!" Ben yelped when Anna elbowed his arm.
"Tell me Spider, what was that band you mentioned your counterpart being part of?"
'Project Avenger huh? Sounds like an overpriced nightmare,' he huffed as he sat himself up.
Flash Thompson was the school bully, his size and temperament had always made him so. But there came a time in his life when he stopped being the bully. He became a better man; with each sit up he imagined a life he had saved, every person he had pulled out of a disaster, every grenade he had thrown his bag onto, every shot he sadly had to take. Symkaria had been the worst of it, his last overseas tour. Finishing his sit ups, he rolled and shuffled into a sitting position on the edge of his bunk. Using a practiced manoeuvre, he grabbed the sides of his wheelchair and slid onto it.
'Score,' he thought, smiling to himself.
It took longer for him to get ready, but everyone understood. Once he was in uniform he rolled out of his room, giving a salute to the officer waiting for him.
"Captain Thompson, punctual, I was just about to knock on the door," Colonel Quesada was a pencil pusher who didn't see the soldiers on the field.
Flash knew he was a convenient candidate, no wife, no extended family after his old man drank himself to death, but just stellar a service record for the project. The Beyond Corporation had taken a contract with the US army and was drawing on amputees for a new project. Symkaria cost Flash his legs, in the end the US pulled out because the people accepted monarchy. Flash had accepted that he shouldn't have been there in the first place, but he never regretted his career. He rolled with the Colonel through the corridors of the Beyond corporation building.
"This project captain is about more than just providing deserving veterans like yourself healing and prosthetics, this is about a new era of defence son," Quesada said.
"I've heard the sales pitch sir, I'm not interested in promises of power, I want to know if I can make a difference, I want to serve sir," Flash said.
"I'm not just asking you to serve Captain, I'm asking you to lead a new team, between Symkaria and the outbreak of tech based villains America is left relying on the kindness of costumed freaks," Quesada explained.
"With respect Colonel, if the freak you're referring to is Spider-man then you'd better watch your mouth…sir," Flash frowned, barely restraining his anger at the colonel.
"Never would have figured you for a fan Captain," Quesada huffed.
"I'm a Queen's native, born and raised sir, we're all proud of our local heroes," Flash said.
Again the colonel huffed dismissively. They finally arrived at an observation chamber for the lab, shatter proof glass windows separated monitors and desks from work benches and chemistry sets. Flash narrowed his eyes at a circular tube in the centre of the lab; it contained some kind of goo. He widened his eyes slightly as the go suddenly bashed against the glass, moving around in a circle by itself.
"The scientists call it a symbiote, an organism that bonds with an organic subject; as a result it enhances the subject's strength and regenerates their cells, responding to their thoughts," Quesada explained.
"How did you come across it?" Flash asked.
"Classified I'm afraid," Quesada said.
"The bones of a madman," a voice said from one of the monitors.
She turned, her short blonde hair flapping behind her head. The young woman wore a lab coat and a modest blue top and skirt.
"Watch yourself Miss Stacy," Quesada said.
"You aren't completely in control here Colonel, we still have safety regulations to live up to, and it's why your barbaric human trials weren't approved of by the board. Captain Thompson, I am Doctor Gwen Stacy," she offered him her hand and he shook it.
"What brings a kid like you to a dump like this?" Flash asked, not hiding the flirtatious tone.
"Graduating first in the class at ESU, then again if my competition wasn't so tardy, I have a doctorate in biology and I wrote a thesis on mutated DNA. I'm not the project leader though, that would be Professor Conners, he's away with his family, and the bulk of the research was carried out under his watch. I'm not quite a Xenobiologist but I know more about Conners's notes than anyone in this place," Gwen explained.
"Xeno…you mean alien?" Flash asked.
"Were you expecting a green human? It would make sense that if life did evolve outside of our solar system then it would look considerably different from humanity, any similarities would give credence to the ancient alien theory of mass human experimentation or migration," Gwen explained, Flash rolling his eyes at the eagerness of her lecture.
"Do you remember Spider-man's black suit twenty years ago?" she asked and Flash nodded.
"Yeah, it was pretty badass," he said.
"And then the appearance of that creature the Bugle called Venom, we don't know Spider-man's connection but what we do know is that Venom at least was that symbiote bonded with Edward Brock, killed by one of Osborn's bombs during the fight," Gwen stated.
"And the symbiote?"
"Extracted from Brock's bone marrow, there was a lot of research before Conners and I were called in, not all of it ethical," Gwen looked at Quesada as she spoke.
"But the government kept this thing for nearly twenty years, what else were they able to find out?" Flash asked.
"I could show you the data and go into a long tirade but I know you wouldn't understand it," Gwen said.
"So layman it for me," Flash retorted.
"Weaknesses include sound at a particularly high pitch, a boom box aggravates it, whilst a sonic boom could kill it. Fire too is a particular weakness, which suggests that whatever it is spent a majority of its time in space, no air or sound in space so it wouldn't have developed defences against it. Quesada obviously left out the part about negative emotions being amplified in hosts, but on the neural part of it this creature seems to have some kind of hive consciousness, which leads to the next revelation, it can reproduce A-sexually," Gwen explained.
In truth Flash didn't pay a lot of attention beyond the weaknesses of the creature. But Gwen's last statement took him aback and he looked at Quesada with a half glare.
"There are more, that's what this team is about isn't it, an army of alien psychopaths," Flash said.
"Members are carefully screened, Edward Brock was a loser with delusions of grandeur, I'm looking for soldiers Thompson," Quesada said.
"That doesn't mean we don't have a contingency beyond a sonic weapon," Gwen added.
"I'm eager to serve sir, but if I'm gonna wear that thing I need a guarantee that it isn't going to turn me into a murderous, rampaging monster," Flash explained.
The lights in the building suddenly flickered. Gwen looked at her monitor; Geiger counters and meters were going past the limit and returning to regular readings within seconds. Flash gripped his railings tensely, not as afraid as others were when the lights went out again. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the lab, the scientists inside stumbling back when the air distorted in front of them. There was some form of singularity that generated electricity across the lab, making the symbiote squirm in its tube. Then it appeared, a disc shaped portal where two figures crashed into the lab.
A massive sword cleaved through part of the wall, dragging through the alloy that Flash knew could deflect bullets. That sword was held by an armoured man whose cloak flowed behind him, the eyes that glowed through his helmet filled anyone in the lab with a sense of dread. His companion, though physically less imposing, walked and looked at the lab with an arrogant contempt, but Flash had looked in the mirror enough to know when a player could back his posing up. The man was bald and wore a white business suit with black gloves. He looked at the container for the symbiote, his eyebrow briefly twitching.
"Fascinating," he muttered.
He put his hand against the glass, rotating and cutting a line with his finger. The barb like symbiote lashed out at the man, only to stop in front of him, electricity sparking from the man's gloves.
"I can maintain this indefinitely, I hope you don't think I'm actually stupid enough to wear this creature," the bald man said.
"Don't worry, I have a candidate in mind, all we have to do is take the symbiote and its offspring to him," the armoured man said.
"We have to stop them," Gwen said.
"You don't have to tell me twice, get me to the armoury," Flash said.
"Even our heaviest weapons alone won't be enough to stop the symbiotes if those two use them…"
"You are not going to use it Dr Stacy, my men will secure the symbiotes and apprehend the intruders," Quesada said.
The man in the white suit continued maintain the energy field that contained the Venom symbiote. He looked to the heavy doorway as it opened, revealing soldiers in tactical gear, using basic rifles, riot shields and batons.
"I trust you can handle this," Lex said.
"Of course," Patriarch swung his sword before leaping towards the soldiers.
Six blocks from the Beyond corporation building
The trio of spiders swung through the city, flipping, sliding across the surface of buildings and showing off. For Peter's children it was about honing their acrobatics. Felicia admired the way Peter swung, despite the armour on his suit concealing much of what used to be tight on his costume. She loved him, loved his children, they were her family more than Adrian Toombs had been. Even MJ was her friend and someone she admired as much as Peter. Both had beaten the odds, Peter was able to do the right thing every day and still maintain his personal life, and MJ had become a success through her acting and now her clothes design. In her eyes though, MJ's husband was still the most amazing thing she had ever seen. But she thought too about what Peter had told her about that other world, a world filled with Marvels.
"So I don't get why we're worried, isn't it going to make it easier for us if there are more super heroes?" Ben asked.
"It isn't as simple as that, these guys would be under the control of the government, or worse, a corporation, and both have agendas," Anna said.
"Agendas change, but I'd like to think the individuals they might pick would at least be good people," Peter said.
"You didn't see any of the 'Avengers' on that other Earth right?" Felicia asked, firing a grapple hook from her wrist.
"Just the magician, magic, wow, never thought such a…"
There was no warning, the city was normal one moment and then the next, everything became chaotic. It was as if the world was made of glass and it had shattered, the city streets rose and the three spiders and cat were lifted onto the rooftops. They crashed in a heap, Peter landing on top of Felicia, to her amusement.
"I notice there was no 'tingle' there," she said.
"Never should have told you that that's what they called it," Peter muttered.
"Wow," Anna gasped, looking up at the sky and seeing the city bend and stretch.
"It's like inception, but a little dizzier," Ben said.
Peter walked between his children, recognising the spark that formed a ring in front of them. The portals of Peter's world still looked like the portals of the other Peter's earth. A woman in a red coat stepped through the portal, she had auburn hair resting on her shoulders, and her eyes were covered by red shades.
"Spider-men, Black Cat, I'm sorry for this, but your spider-senses will tell you I am no threat," she said.
Anna and Peter stiffened; their spider-senses were going off, but less like an alarm and more like a radio picking up a signal. That signal was tranquil, even calming to a degree. Within the confines of this other dimension, they looked at the woman and saw tremors in the air around her head and knew then that she too possessed the same kind of senses they had.
"Where are we?" Ben asked.
"The mirror dimension, away from prying eyes, if you come with me I'll take you to my Sanctum," the woman said.
"Sanctum?" Anna stifled a laugh over the word.
"I've seen that affect before; you're a sorcerer aren't you?" Peter asked.
"I am the Sorcerer Supreme of the New York Sanctum, and our Earth," she said.
"So he was right, the Multiverse is real," Ben said.
"You thought dad was lying?" Anna asked, punching Ben's shoulder.
"My name is Julia Carpenter, and I need you all to come with me, I'm not overselling it when I tell you that the fate of the universe is at stake," the woman explained.
"Then I've only got one thing to say," Peter turned to his children, smiling beneath his mask.
"Spider-men assemble!"
Next Chapter 3: The Director
Hope everyone enjoyed it, I certainly enjoyed getting into the mindset of a Raimi-Spider-Verse sequel.
The concepts of the original planned Spider-man 4 served as some of my inspiration, so in the years between 3 and NWH, Peter has encountered the Vulture and Black Cat (respectively portrayed by John Malkovich and Anne Hathaway) with the opening Spider and Mysterio fight revealing that universes Quinton Beck (portrayed by Raimi's buddy Bruce Campbell).
Other inspiration was the very good Spider-man: Life Story miniseries, particularly with Peter's new costume having more armour on it to account for his age and a career of injuries (particularly his back :)
I read somewhere Dakota Johnson was going to be playing Madame Web in the Sony Verse films.
Madame Web/Julia Carpenter: Dakota Johnson fan casting, look based on her Madame web look of the comics with the idea that she is the Sorcerer Supreme of this Earth, many of her arcane abilities having a web motif to it.
Flash Thompson: Joe Manganiello reprises his role from the original Raimi films, with a new outlook that fits in line with Flash's personality shift in the comics when he joined the army.
Anna-May Parker/Spider-man 2: The older twin of the Parker siblings, fancasting Sadie Sink of Stranger Things fame, by no means a tomboy but goes the practical route of concealing her gender for her super heroics, hence the Aaron Aikman inspired spider-armour. Later chapters will show she inherits her mother's sass and her father's intellect.
Benjamin Harry Parker/Spider-man 3: The younger and more rebellious of the siblings, is smart but takes on more of his father's cleverness with quips to conceal his awkwardness. Another Stranger thing fancasting in the form of Noah Schnapp. Costume is inspired by another Life Story suit+ the Alex Ross design.
Next time the Spider-men become Universe guardians as Flash takes on his super heroic destiny and the first/second of the Kang variants is revealed.
