The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 85- Spider-Verse Part 3
Peter, Gwen, Miles, Ben and Miguel jumped through a portal into Madame Web's chamber. The etherealness of the room seemed to be degrading, with the dark green spirals on the wall beginning to fade. The massive web was getting blacker and blacker.
Madame Web was sitting, as if in deep thought.
"Madame Web?" asked Peter.
"I know what has happened. You lost someone, and are more divided than ever," she said.
"Yeah, Survivor Spider-Man. And Otto's divided all of us," replied Miles.
Madame Web stood up from her chair, much to everyone's surprise. She walked up to Peter and took off her blindfold. Two grey eyes stared back at him as he took off his mask too.
She put two fingers on Peter's forehead, and he suddenly found himself transported to the same barren landscape.
"What are we doing here?" asked Peter, looking back at Madame Web. She was staring back at the sky.
"You have no idea how integral you are to this war, Peter Parker. And truth be told, I have not been completely honest with you," she said, as Peter seemed more confused than ever.
"You need to lead them against Knull. And the only chance we have of defeating him is working with Otto," she continued.
"I really can't work with him at this point. He's a pain in the ass, and he wants to defeat Knull using his own ways. I'm all for science, but if there's something I've learned over the years is that sometimes we need something stronger than science," replied Peter.
"Do you know where we are standing?" asked Madame Web.
"Can't say I do," replied Peter.
Madame Web held up one hand to the sky, and began to twist her wrist. The landscape behind Peter seemed to change, as the sprawling skyscrapers of New York City rose up from the ground.
Suddenly, he found himself standing in the street of a neighborhood in Queens, in front of a house. A house he was all too familiar with.
"This is…my house?" asked Peter, befuddled.
"This used to be Knull's home. Before the symbiote corrupted him," said Madame Web, as Peter's eyes went wide.
"Wait…does that mean that-"
Before Peter could finish, Madame Web fell to her knees and clutched her head. The environment began to disappear as the two of them found themselves back in the chamber.
"Are you two okay? You kind of…froze for a bit there," said Gwen, rushing to Madame Web's aid.
"I showed Peter a vision. He knows what he needs to do," replied Madame Web. Everyone turned to him.
"I think Knull could be…me," said Peter.
"What do you mean, you? Is this time travel again or something?" asked Ben, much to Miguel's dismay.
"No, I meant he's me from another dimension. Which means that I can reason with him," said Peter.
"Peter, you've seen what Knull can do. I don't think we can reason with him at this point, after everything he's done," said Gwen, lightly putting her hand on his arm.
"If he was ever me, then chances are he's still in there. It's just Venom who's become so powerful. If we can separate him from…well me, it should be easier to handle," suggested Peter.
"Easier said than done, Pete. Where are we gonna find the tech for that?" asked Miles, as Peter gave him an uneasy look. Miguel groaned.
"Octavius, isn't it?" asked Miguel.
"Look, like it or not, he's our only hope for this plan to work out. So I suggest we swallow our pride and go back," said Peter, looking back at Madame Web, who nodded back at him.
"All Spiders share a frequency from across the Multiverse, you can use that to your advantage," informed Madame Web.
"What do you mean?" asked Miguel. Madame Web gestured to the massive web behind her.
"All of us are connected by this. The Web of Destiny is what tethers each Spider together. Each node is one of us, slowly fading as we are wiped out. But the one frequency that connects us is our Spider-Sense," she explained.
"That's why I could never get a scientific explanation for Spider-Sense. It's not rooted in genetics, or biology for that matter," whispered Ben, in awe at what Madame Web was saying.
"But that connection is weakening. It is close to being severed forever. That is what Knull wants," finished Madame Web. Peter strapped on the gauntlet and aimed a portal.
"Then let's end this," replied Peter, looking at the Web of Destiny, which seemed to corrode further and further. The Spiders jumped through the portal and back to Otto's lab.
Otto was using the Iron Spider legs embedded in his suit to work with multiple instruments at once, while Man-Spider did the same on the other end of the lab.
Agent Venom and Spider-Knight showed up through a portal, holding what looked like a box of scraps.
"We raided Stark Industries from Earth 3672, and got these supplies," he said, dropping them on a nearby box.
"Brilliant. We've been able to track Knull's movements as he moves from Earth to Earth. Once we finish this, we can intercept him on Earth 672509," said Man-Spider, as he continued with the machinery.
Spider-Knight cocked his head to the right and saw what Man-Spider was walking on.
"Aye, is this what they use now to excise witches?" he asked, pointing at the wand-shaped metal object.
"Yeah…basically. It's gonna emit sonic frequencies as ultrasound. So we can't hear them-"
"But symbiotes can," finished Flash. "Ahem, did you forget something?" he asked, gesturing to himself.
"Which is what I am working on," started Otto, holding a small circular device. "A shield that will prevent the frequencies from disrupting your symbiosis with…well, your Venom," said Otto.
That's when they heard a knock on the lab door. As Flash went to open them, he found Peter and the others waiting.
"Ah, look who all finally came crawling back. Guessing the senile old woman gave next to no advice?" mocked Otto. Peter swallowed his pride and walked in.
"We need to work together Otto. Like it or not, Knull isn't going down if it's just half of going up against him," said Peter.
"So do we," replied Man-Spider, holding up the wand-like invention in one of his hands. Peter eyed it curiously.
"It emits ultrasound frequencies, to harm any nearby symbiotes," explained Flash, a little uneasy about the last part.
"What was your idea, Parker?" asked Otto, scowling.
Peter squinted back. "I think I know who he is," said Peter.
"You do?" questioned Otto, his smile fading.
"Madame Web showed me a vision of Knull's origin. It was my house. I'm sure that Knull is an alternate version of me who gave in to the symbiote," replied Peter, examining the symbiote wand.
"Right. Possibly," replied Otto.
"The plan now is to separate Venom from Peter, and then try and reason with him," said Gwen.
Otto scoffed. "I doubt that's possible. In his current state, he-"
"We'll worry about the logistics later, all right? Let's find him first," replied Miles, much to Peter's surprise.
"Fair enough. How do we find him though?" asked Man-Spider. "Knull has severed my connection to the Spider-Totem," he continued.
"Madame Web told us that we're all connected to the Web of Destiny via our Spider-Senses. If we all concentrate, we can pinpoint where in the Multiverse Knull is," explained Peter.
Otto sighed, but then shook his head. "Forget it, fine we'll do it her way," he conceded and closed his eyes. Everyone closed their eyes, focusing on their Spider-Sense. Peter felt it tingle in his head, then move down his spine. Weirdly enough, he felt the other Spiders' senses flare up.
He began to feel weightless, as if he was floating. His eyes flashed through multiple Earths, each with alive and dead Spiders. Just then, his eyes flashed to one with a dark black and red sky, and his eyes instantly opened up.
"Earth 9179!" exclaimed Flash, falling to his knees.
"Shit, that's one Earth away from mine!" replied Peter in a panic. Otto quickly grabbed the wand and the small shields, as Spider-Knight pressed his gauntlet, opening up a portal.
"Aye, it's time we vanquish this foul creature!" he yelled, charging into the portal with his sword.
The sky was a thick black and red, but New York itself looked futuristic. Civilians were hiding in cars and buildings, as Spider-Man weakly dodged another one of Knull's attacks.
"There is no use resisting. It'll be much easier if you let go," replied Knull, his perpetual grin knifed across his face. The Spider-Man spat out blood through his torn mask and took it off, revealing the face of Harry Osborn.
"Never…" he grunted, as he took out what looked like a small pumpkin and threw it at Knull.
"Happy Early Halloween!" he shouted, throwing it at him. The bomb exploded into a net of webbing, but Knull tore right through it. Before Harry could react, Knull extended a tendril and stabbed Harry straight through his leg.
"AAARGH!" yelled Harry, as he pulled the tendril off and tumbled out of the way. He aimed his left hand to shoot another web, but that's when Knull lunged at him at an inhuman speed, and sunk his claws deep into Harry's left arm.
Harry gritted his teeth, as he tried to kick Knull. However, Knull pulled and tore off Harry's left arm entirely.
Harry fell to the ground in shock as blood began to ooze from where his left arm once was. Knull then extended 3 tendrils from his back, two of which stabbed him in the legs and one of which stabbed him in his right arm.
Knull lifted him up. "This is my favorite part…" he grinned, as he began to pull on Harry's limbs, each of which dislocated with a sickening crack.
Harry was all out of breath and could barely scream, and Knull extended a fourth tendril and stabbed him straight through the heart, before dropping his limb body to the ground.
Just then, the portal opened up, and the Spiders all landed in front of Harry's body.
"Oh God…Harry…" thought Peter, as he looked back up at Knull, scorn in his face.
"I know who you are," said Peter, his fists clenched. "And I can help-"
Before Peter could finish, Otto switched on the wand and aimed it at Knull, sending a blast of ultrasonic sound towards him.
Knull let out a guttural roar, as the black goo seemed to flail around his back. Agent Venom put the shield over his body, protecting him from the sound as he took out an assault rifle and began to rain fire at Knull.
"Parker, now!" shouted Otto, holding onto the wand, as Peter and Miles rushed Knull, webbing up his legs and backflip-kicking his chest. Once they jumped away, Spider-Gwen spin-kicked him in the face while Man-Spider jumped on Knull's back and began to rip pieces of the symbiote away.
Miguel began to move fast and generated two accelerated decoys, which began to attack Knull from either side. Scarlet Spider rushed at Knull and punched him straight through his chest, while Spider-Knight jumped and stabbed his sword straight through Knull's face.
Knull fell to the ground, the sword embedded in his forehead, the grin still plastered on his face. Otto switched off the wand.
"And that, kids, is why you should always listen to the indomitable Otto Octavius," said Otto, as he scoffed at Peter.
Just then, Knull's eye twitched, as his neck snapped back into place. He grabbed Spider-Knight by the throat and raised him higher.
"I will admit, that was a good try," chuckled Knull, as he pulled out the sword from his forehead, the symbiote completely covering the gaping wound. Before anyone could react, he stabbed the sword straight through Spider-Knight's armor.
"NO!" shouted Miguel, as Spider-Knight tried to croak out some words. Knull pulled the sword out again and threw his body to the ground.
Peter was enraged, as he scowled at Knull and rushed towards him, ducking under a tendril and kicking him in the face. Knull swiped at him, but Peter webbed his arm to his chest and dealt a devastating blow to his side.
Knull extended multiple tendrils, all of which wrapped around Peter like a cocoon. Gwen and Otto both shot a web toward Knull, but instead hit each other. Knull cackled as he lifted up Spider-Knight's dead body and threw it toward Agent Venom, before wiping everyone out with a tendril swipe.
"I can…help you…" grunted Peter, trying to fight back. Knull craned closer, as the symbiote peeled away from his face, revealing the face of his host. Peter's eyes went wide, and a chill ran up his spine.
"There's no helping me, Peter," said Ben Parker, through gritted teeth. He dropped Peter to the ground, who was frozen still. The symbiote crawled back over Ben's face, as he made a sword and got ready to bring it down on Peter.
Just then, Otto got to his feet and activated the wand, aiming it at Knull. He staggered back as Ben webbed up Peter and pulled him back to them, as the Spiders retreated away.
Before Knull could get back to his feet, they disappeared and swung out of the place, hiding behind a destroyed building.
"I've had enough of all of you, I'm not leaving this Earth till I find you!" growled Knull, as he began to levitate, moving in the opposite direction as them.
The team had taken shelter on the 18th floor of a building. The skies were still pitch black and blood red, and Knull was often zooming past the building, looking for them.
"I think he's gone to New Jersey to look for us," whispered Ben, peering out of the window.
"Great. We're stuck here in a dilapidated building while Knull searches for us. Remind me why we can't just portal out of here?" asked Man-Spider.
"Because Knull will simply follow us. You heard what he said, we need to fight him right here, right now," replied Flash, reloading his rifle.
"He just…killed him. Just like that," shuddered Miles, sitting close to Gwen. Otto was working on the wand, while Peter stood in another corner, his eyes drifting off into the distance.
"Hey," said Miguel, walking up to Peter.
"It's Ben. How do you expect me to fight my own uncle?" asked Peter, through gritted teeth.
"You don't need to fight him," said Miguel. "Whatever's happened to him, you can still reach him. You know him better than anyone," reassured Miguel. Peter shook his head.
"You didn't see the look in his eyes, Miguel. Whatever was left of my uncle is gone. Otto's right, we don't have a choice," said Peter. Miguel thought for a moment, then looked back at Peter.
"You know, in the 2099 history books, there's a whole chapter dedicated to Superhumans. And in that one, Spider-Man is listed as the one who was most human. Amidst Iron Man, Thor, hell anyone, you were listed as the most human out of all of them," replied Miguel.
"Seriously?" asked Peter, a little taken aback.
"People still look up to you, hell I look up to you. Not because you're Spider-Man, but because you're Peter Parker," said Miguel, pointing at Peter's heart.
Peter smiled a bit. "Thanks Miguel," he replied. Just then, an idea went up in his head.
"I know how to stop Knull," replied Peter, as he looked at Otto.
"We're gonna need more wands. And a lot more Spider-People," said Peter.
"What if it isn't enough? We'll essentially be bringing all his victims to one place," said Miles.
"I have an idea on how to defeat him. He's my uncle, I can deal with him," replied Peter.
"Alchemax has a duplication facility. Otto and Man-Spider, duplicate the wands there," continued Peter. "Miles, Ben, and Gwen, get as many Spiders as you can. Doesn't matter who or what. Miguel, Flash, and I will stall Knull," explained Peter, clutching his mask in his hand.
"This could work. Good luck," said Otto, as him and Man-Spider disappeared through a portal. Gwen walked up to Peter and pulled him aside, taking her mask off.
Before Peter could say anything, Gwen kissed him on the forehead.
"Don't die, promise?" she asked. Peter's eyes began to well up as he began to think of his Gwen.
"Promise," he said, putting his mask on. Ben opened up the portal and he, Gwen, and Miles jumped through, leaving just Miguel, Flash, and Peter.
"Well…now what?" asked Miguel, as Flash cocked the assault rifle.
"We go to war," he replied, the symbiote crawled over his face.
The trio swung to the helipad of the now derelict Avengers Tower. Peter had used his webs to cover up his wounds, while Agent Venom had a sash of ammo around his chest. Miguel readjusted his tech for accelerated decoys.
From the black and red sky descended Knull, looking much more menacing. He seemed larger as he landed in front of the three of them.
"Did the others really run away?" asked Knull. "Guess it was a good thing making an example out of the other two," chuckled Knull, the symbiote retracting away from his face, revealing Ben's face.
Agent Venom opened fire on Knull, as Miguel and Peter rushed behind him. Miguel dodged the tendrils while Peter ducked behind Knull and jumped onto his back.
"Flash, now!" he shouted, as Agent Venom took out a few grenades and threw them at Peter. Peter webbed up the grenades onto Knull's back and jumped away.
The grenades exploded with a massive bang, as Knull fell to his knees. Miguel generated accelerated decoys which all piled onto Knull. As Knull struggled to get them off, Peter slingshotted himself towards Knull and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying off of the helipad.
"Was that it?" panted Miguel, while Flash looked confused.
"I highly doubt it," gasped Peter, as the ground under them began to rumble.
A large, black hand grasped the edge of the helipad, as a large, giant Knull stood tall above Avengers Tower. His shadow blotted out the little rays of sunlight that came through the sky, encapsulating the trio in a dark black shadow.
"Well, shit," said Peter, fear running through his spine. Massive tendrils slammed onto the helipad, swiping to attack the Spiders. One of them hit Agent Venom, who went flying into a wall.
A tendril wrapped itself around Miguel and lifted him up, then slamming him into a wall and then back onto the helipad. Peter heard the crack of several bones, as he dodged another attack by Knull.
Knull swiped at Peter and hit him, sending him flying back. Before he could get up, Knull slammed his fist onto Peter, squashing him under it.
He lifted it up, and Peter lay there on the ground, motionless. Agent Venom got back up and charged toward Knull, but Knull grabbed his legs and flung him off of the tower.
Peter got to his feet, his legs shaking as he stared back at Knull. His mask was almost torn in half, as he pushed his shoulder back in place. Knull cackled as he wrapped his tendrils around Peter and lifted him up.
"After I'm done with you, your Earth is next," said Knull, tightening his grip.
"Hey, douchebag!" shouted a voice from the left. Peter craned his neck and saw a blue portal open, out of which a 3 foot, pig-like creature dressed in the Spider-Man outfit jumped out and slammed a hammer onto Knull's face, before jumping on the helipad.
More portals opened up around Knull, as more Spider-People jumped out and attacked him. Peter wriggled out of Knull's grip and jumped back down, helping Miguel up.
Another portal opened up, and Miles jumped through and delivered a kick to Knull's face, before rappelling down his face and kicking his chest.
"Everyone, wands out!" shouted Otto, as he landed next to Peter and aimed the wand at Knull.
"Just imagine he's a Nazi," said another Spider-Man, dressed in a black trench coat. There were almost hundreds of them, as they all aimed their wants at Knull.
"Hold it steady!" exclaimed Ben, trudging up to Peter.
"You got a plan?" he asked, clutching the wand with both hands as Knull began to screech, the symbiote going crazy.
"Kind of. Pray for me," said Peter. He took a deep breath as he sprinted to the end of the helipad and jumping off of it, straight into Knull's chest. The symbiote began to engulf him, as he bonded with it.
Peter found himself in a dark space, almost a mix of grey and pitch black.
"Uncle Ben? Uncle Ben?" asked Peter, looking around.
"P-Peter," said a weak voice, as a figure walked out from the shadows. Uncle Ben looked frail, as if all the life had been sucked out of him. He fell to his knees and tried to stand up again.
"What happened, Uncle Ben?" asked Peter. "How did this happen?"
"I couldn't save you…or May…I- I gave in to Venom," sobbed Ben, as Peter held him in his arms.
"You can still fight him, Uncle Ben. It doesn't matter what happened to me or May, you can still make things right. You need to fight Knull, fight through the darkness," said Peter.
"I'm not strong enough, Peter," said Ben.
"You're the strongest person I know, Uncle Ben. You're the reason I do what I do, why I decided to be Spider-Man. Everything you taught me, everything you were to me, it's what makes me who I am," replied Peter, hugging his uncle tighter and crying.
"I'd be lost without you," he finished, sobbing with Ben.
Ben looked back at Peter, and back at the darkness surrounding them.
"With great power," started Peter.
"Comes great responsibility," finished Ben, as he clenched his fist and stood up. He stared at the pitch black around him, and back at Peter, whose fists were clenched too.
Together, the two of them ran toward the darkness and punched straight through it.
"HOW MUCH LONGER?!" shouted Man-Spider, all 6 of his arms holding wands and attacking Knull.
"Peter's got a plan!" shouted back Otto. A lot of Spiders were unable to hold down Knull and were sent flying back, knocked out. Only about 50 of them remained, trying to hold down Knull to the best of their ability.
Just then, a ripple seemed to emanate from Knull's chest, as a hand shot out of it. Peter jumped out, holding Uncle Ben in his arms as they landed on the helipad.
Knull's face seemed to melt off, as the symbiote collapsed into a puddle of goo on the helipad. Agent Venom took out a grenade and threw it at the symbiote, while Gwen covered it with webbing.
The grenade exploded, and a loud screech was heard. After the explosion, there was no symbiote left. Nothing but scorch marks from an explosion.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," sobbed Uncle Ben, falling to his knees after realizing the consequences of his actions.
"You weren't in control. It's all right," said Gwen, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"It's over now," said Scarlet Spider, panting.
Otto opened up more blue portals, as all the Spider-People headed through. Everyone left until it was just Peter, Miles, Gwen, Miguel, Otto, Flash, Ben Reilly and Man-Spider. The black and red skies had disappeared and given way to a new dawn.
Just then, Madame Web seemed to appear out of nowhere behind them, much to everyone's surprise.
"You all did well in protecting the Web of Destiny," she said, looking towards Uncle Ben, who was unconscious.
"2099 has holding cells that we can keep him in for the time being. I can run some tests to make sure the symbiote is out of his system," explained Miguel, as Madame Web looked back at Otto.
"I suppose I owe you an apology for doubting your…admittedly out-there skills. They did come in handy," replied Otto, sheepishly. Madame Web smiled as she looked at all of them.
"I'm proud of all of you. If there's ever any danger to the Web of Destiny, I know who all to notify," she said, before disappearing almost as suddenly as she appeared.
"Speak for yourself, everyone. I'm taking a nice long nap," chuckled Scarlet Spider, as he waved goodbye and jumped through a portal.
"I'd better get back too. Here's hoping the Hobgoblin didn't break out of jail," said Man-Spider, as he too jumped through the blue portal and disappeared. Agent Venom shook Peter's hand and nodded, before leaving.
"I must commend all of you on this. I will admit, this wouldn't have been possible without all of you," chuckled Otto, as he left too, leaving just Peter, Gwen, Miles and Miguel.
"I can see why they call you a legend where I come from, Parker. See you around," said Miguel, hugging Peter.
"You too, O'Hara," replied Peter, as Miguel said goodbye to Gwen and Miles and left.
"So, it's just us," chuckled Gwen. "Thanks for not dying, Peter," she laughed.
"Likewise," replied Peter. Gwen chuckled as she hugged him and Miles, and bid adieu, leaving just Peter and Miles.
"Miles, I gotta say, I could never imagine you becoming so awesome of a Spider-Man," said Peter.
"Hey, I've got nothing on the original!" chuckled Miles, nudging Peter as the two of them stared at the rising sun.
"What I wanted to say is that I'm proud of you," replied Peter. Miles beamed as he hugged Peter.
"I learned from the best, didn't I?" he smiled. "See you around, Pete," he finished, opening a portal and jumping through.
Peter thought to himself as he took one last look at the destroyed city.
"I'm sorry I was too late," he whispered. "But I promise this won't happen to any other Earth," he finished, as he opened up a portal and jumped back home.
The portal spat him out at the same place where Miguel had taken him from, the exact same place and time.
"Huh, looks like time barely changed," he told himself, looking at his phone and seeing surprisingly 0 missed calls from Mary Jane. Chuckling to himself, he began to joyfully swing through the streets of New York, knowing that across the Multiverse, the other Spiders were doing the same.
And there's Spider-Verse! The next chapter will focus on the main Hammerhead storyline now, so stay tuned for that!
Well, that took a while to upload, mostly because I've been super busy with work, and also with planning out the new DC Universe I'll be writing on, but there's the finale to Spider-Verse. Things got kind of bad mentally for a few weeks and so I was feeling super sluggish, and I have midterms next week so uploads may be a little slow. Nevertheless, stay tuned for more! I got into a university, so that's amazing too!
chiripa012: Thank you!
Fate-Be Changed: Hmmm maybe?
SpideyXBC: Yeppp, though I couldn't go into his origin too much
Marvel Nerd: Ahahaha yeah I feel the Superior SM run went on for way too long, but thank you!
Geek4Life: I wanted to do a whole symbiote army type of thing but I feel like it's been used too much, so I stayed away from it lol
Teller-Story: That would've been interesting!
I am the Voice: He was a Spider-Man who let Venom corrupt him to the core, essentially.
Guest: Possibly!
Rezonan: Yep, I'll look into that. Thanks for the heads up!
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.