Part 2 - 'Til Death do us Part

Chapter 37 - Nuclear Option

Edward was concerned for the spiders. It had been over a day since they had returned and nobody had seen them since they disappeared to their quarters. He balanced a tray with food in one hand and tapped the button beside the door to their room with the other. A moment later, the door hissed open. Miles looked exhausted. The room was almost completely dark except for emergency lighting which remained on no matter what. Gwen looked fast asleep in the bed. Edward gave Miles a weak smile. Miles beckoned him in. The admiral laid the tray on the table, relieved that he hadn't dropped it. He tossed one of the squealing devices to the spider who sat down, eyeing the food hungrily. Edward sat opposite and nodded to say Miles could eat it.

"How are you doing?" He whispered, not wanting to wake Gwen.

"Alive. Honestly I've come to accept there's nothing anyone can do. Peter's gone, there's nothing we could have done then, or now. I just worry Gwen might do something rash."

"What do you mean?"

"She sleeps most of the time. When she's awake she usually says nothing. But one time she was talking about how we could go back in time to get him back."

Miles watched Gwen sleeping as he ate, casting the occasional glance at Edward. Edward nodded.

"Any sign she might act on that?"

"I don't think so. I think she just wants to sleep herself away. But I can't leave her side."

"I've never been very good at the whole advice thing. I'm not a counsellor. Usually I just try and distract people from the problem. Sometimes it helps, other times I get a hand across the face."

"Distraction might be good for me. I've hardly spoken to anyone. Just her briefly." He paused, then came up with something random to talk about. "Why do you call it a counsellor not a therapist?"

Edward raised his eyebrows at the topic change, but then realised Miles was trying to distract himself.

"I'm British."

"I knew you had an accent."

"Think about it, though. You go to seek counsel, or advice. Counsellors give advice, or counsel. Therapist is such a broad term because there are so many types of therapy. There's physiotherapy, I'm pretty sure there's cardio therapy. Counsellor is much more to the point."

"But they're giving you therapy for your mind."

"I...I had something I was going to say to that but forgot."

Miles chuckled.

"I'm still using therapist."

"And I'll stick to counsellor."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Edward broke it.

"I hate to be that guy, but this war is still raging. It's only a matter of time before Helltreader goes at someone else. We have to figure out a way to get him into the collider that's being built."

"How long until it's ready?"

"Three days."

"This could all be over much sooner than we expected."

"I hope so."

Suddenly, the door hissed open. The pair looked to see who it was, but nobody entered. They looked at the bed: Gwen was gone.

"Oh crap." Muttered Miles, getting to his feet.

He grabbed his suit and pressed it to his chest, causing it to morph around him. Edward followed him down the corridor. They came to a cross roads and stopped.

"Which way could she have gone?" Miles asked, turning to the admiral.

Edward tapped a panel on the wall.

"Computer, locate Gwen Stacy-Morales."

"Gwendolyn Stacy-Morales is in lift thirteen, heading for the off-duty hall." Replied a robotic voice.

Edward took the lead. Miles began to ponder the word 'lift' to take his mind off this.

"Hey Edward, why 'lift' not 'elevator'?"

"Again, British."

"The ship says it though."

"The ship runs an OS called Intellia. Created by a British programmer."

"But why use 'lift' in general?"

They stepped inside a 'lift'.

"Off-duty hall. Because it lifts you to a higher level."

"It also elevates you."

"Rule Britannia. We're right. It's a shorter word as well."

Miles quickly thought up another topic. This was helping.

"Does the UK have a monarch in your dimension?"

"The UK doesn't exist in my dimension."

"Do countries still exist?"

"Of course. The whole futuristic view of a united world doesn't work. People need a government who manages a small enough area that they understand what they need and don't have to deal with a whole load of other places as well. Plus, a lot of humans strive for power. Best to give them the chance to screw it up a little instead of starting a war for a field to plant a flag in and screwing everything up even more."

"So...what happened to the UK?"

"Independence happened. Started with Scotland, then Northern Ireland, then a whole load of the British Isles and finally Wales. All that remains of the 'United Kingdom' is England, and a rock in the Atlantic Ocean called the Sandwich Islands.

"Does England have a monarch?"

"No. The Windsor blood line ditched the throne and it was decided to do away with it. It's nothing more than a drain on taxes. What about your dimension?"

"The UK still exists for a start. Queen Elizabeth the Second is still on it. It's a running joke on the internet that she's immortal."

"How old is she?"

"Not sure. Late nineties, I think."

The lift came to a stop and the door rumbled open.

"Stay sharp. She might be in a touchy mood." Said Edward.

"Who? Queen Elizabeth or Gwen?" Joked Miles.

Edward chuckled.

"I wasn't aware you brought the Queen aboard."

"Oh yes, she likes to get around."

The off-duty hall spanned two decks. The higher deck was a balcony which overlooked the lower, lined with glass railings. All sorts of shops and other utilities lined the walls. An officer gave Edward a nod. They weren't in uniform, so no salutes were exchanged.

"What does Gwen want here?" Muttered Miles.

"Maybe she's gone shopping for a birthday present for you?"

"My birthday isn't for months."

"Not really. In my dimension it's probably coming up quite soon."

"We still run on our own dimension's time."

They glanced inside every shop on the first floor but couldn't see her. After a quick climb up a spiral staircase, they began to check the second floor shops. Edward gave a shout to Miles. Miles looked and spotted Gwen in the shop Edward had just checked. Being a balcony, there was a gap between the two sides. Miles leapt over it. Edward was tempted to make a joke but thought better of it. Miles scanned the shop's entrance: it was a hair dresser's. Gwen was staring into a mirror. She turned to Miles as he approached and smiled. Miles noticed the difference immediately. One side of her hair was much shorter than the other. She had her old haircut back, the one he had accidentally given her five years earlier.

"Do I get to like the hair-do still?" He asked with a grin.

"I'm still fifteen months older than you. But I think so."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds before she threw her arms around him. Miles held her tightly.

"What made you get it back?" He asked.

"For three years I've been a wreck. In those three years more people have died than normal, deaths I could have done something to stop. It's time I got my act together and be Spiderwoman again, the person I'm meant to be."

"Whatever happens, there's still hope."

"I know that now. I'm sorry for being such a burden for so long."

"Don't be."

Edward turned away uncomfortably as they kissed and looked around, after a few seconds Gwen tapped his shoulder.

"So, Admiral. Any missions?"

He looked round again and nodded.

"Plenty. I have one which would be perfect for you to prove you're ready to take back the title of Spiderwoman. But first I want to show you both something."

An hour later, the trio were staring out a window. They had boarded a transport back to Edward's dimension, then another out to a drydock where they were now. In the drydock was a sleek ship which clearly still had work being done. A few hull plates were missing but people could be seen moving around inside. However, the shape of the ship was quite obvious. It was shaped a little like a cone, except much more curved, and its top and bottom were flattened. Two parts poked out like the fins on rocket ships Miles remembered drawing as a child. From those parts stuck out wings which looked like they could be folded in for space flight. Edward seemed extremely proud of the vessel.

"Marvel Class temporal corvette. First of her kind. She's designed for dropping off a small strike team and providing cover fire. Anything like a heavy cruiser would probably take her out, but anything smaller she can hold her own against. Besides, she isn't designed for fighting capital ships. Oh look, we're just in time to see them painting the name on."

A small group of robots had flown in and began to paste in some text. Gwen read it as it was printed.

"SRN-41875, SGC Arachnid. You named it after spiders?"

Edward shrugged.

"Spiders of sorts."

"Oh...thanks very much, I guess."

The admiral laughed.

"Once Helltreader is in temporal flux he'll pop up here and there. This ship will be used as a base for Flux Force, the team designated to dealing with him when he appears. If you're both willing, I'm wondering if you'd like to be in command of the team?"

"Really?"

Gwen was shocked.

"If you're offering the role, we'll take it." Said Miles quickly.

Edward grinned.

"Great! First we just have to stick him in the collider and she'll be all yours. You can pick your team from whoever you like, just preferably not a bad guy."

"It would be a bit stupid to recruit Helltreader to defeat Helltreader." Replied Gwen.

"My thoughts exactly. Now, that mission."

Another hour passed and the trio were once again sitting in the briefing room aboard the SGC Valour.

"Gwen, if you really are ready to be Spiderwoman again, you'll be ready to do whatever needs to be done. The mission is this: I want you to go to stream three. Three is special in that the entire stream is one dimension: the Dark Dimension. Home only to Dormammu. Time is a non-existent concept. Dormammu is extremely aggressive: he'll try and kill you on sight."

"What do we do there?"

"Retrieve the Void Plate, stream three's Ethereal. Dormammu wields it. You'll have to kill him to get it."

"Oh yay. How do you expect us to kill him when we don't have a Plate ourselves?" Asked Miles, concerned this was a suicide mission.

"You'll think of something. I'm assigning Conall to this as well. He'll probably do most of the fighting."

"So...we're just grabbing the Plate when he kills Dormammu?" Asked Gwen, confused why she and Miles were even needed for this.

"He'll need some help. Dormammu is still alive, so presumably Conall was never able to kill him. Anymore questions?"

The spiders shook their heads.

"Good. Grab your teammate and go. The sooner it's done the better."

Conall was watching some television when Miles and Gwen arrived.

"Ah, my murderer and her lover. I hear the three of us are going on a mission. Where to?"

"To kill Dormammu." Replied Miles, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"What fun! Got a nuclear warhead lying around?"

"What?" Gwen asked, raising her eyebrows.

"A nuclear warhead. Like the thing they dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Wait...that was 9633. Or did they do that in your dimensions as well?"

"No. Nuclear weapons were theoretical in 7065."

"Same in my place." Said Miles.

"Oh...well..."

Conall turned back to the TV, throwing a piece of popcorn into the air and catching it in his mouth.

"Are you going to help us or do me and Gwen have to do it ourselves?"

"Feel free to give it a try. I'll see you in the afterlife in a couple of years."

"Why do we need a nuclear weapon?" Miles pressed, frustrated by Conall's reluctance.

"Because you two are like flies to Dormammu. He might struggle to hit you with his swat for a bit but he'll get you eventually."

"We'll have you."

"Me? I'm a wolf. The guy will pull out a hunting rifle and shoot me dead, although I might hurt him a bit before that."

"How did you stop him invading other dimensions, then?"

"By stopping his goons. Without them he has no foothold and is forced to retreat. I never took on Dormammu face-to-face."

"I get the feeling Edward won't be keen on giving you a nuclear..." Began Gwen.

"Just call them nukes, for goodness sake."

"I get the feeling Edward won't be keen on giving you a nuke."

"Probably not, but if he wants Dormammu dead he has no choice."

"Edward wants the Ethereal Plate, not just to murder him." Said Miles.

"Then we'll need a nuke. Come back to me when you have it organised. Until then, let me enjoy this film. You two used to be quite cute together by the looks of it."

Miles glanced at the TV. Conall was watching the movie from 9633 which had him and Gwen in, detailing the defeat of Kingpin. He chuckled as the Miles in the film was attacked by pigeons. Real Miles rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Come on, Gwen. Apparently we have a nuke to organise."

"Too right you do." Muttered Conall.

"Yeah."

Edward bit his lip after listening to the spiders.

"Do you two know exactly what a nuke is?"

"A big bomb, presumably." Replied Miles.

"Not necessarily that big in terms of the actual bomb. It's the explosion that's big. They harness the power of nuclear fusion or fission to create a blast large enough to level a city and irradiate a massive area."

"So...Conall just wants to blow Dormammu up?" Asked Gwen.

"Yes. It would work if he could deliver the payload, just the person doing it most likely wouldn't make it out."

"We can work out those details with Conall later. All we need to know right now is whether you can get us one."

"I can, but it'll take a lot of paperwork and a lot of strings being pulled. SGC has a stockpile reserved for last resorts."

"How long will it take?"

"A few hours, minimum."

The spiders had returned to Conall's quarters to keep him company. Apparently he had been kept under lock and key since he had arrived and they were the first people he had spoken to since then. Six hours after they had spoken to Edward, the admiral came to the room.

"I have the nuke. Four point six megaton yield. Come down to cargo bay six when you're ready."

Edward left again. Conall stood up and stretched.

"Time for a plan. You two keep Dormammu distracted. I'll deliver the goods."

"Edward said it was a one-way mission." Said Miles.

"It might be. But oh well. Better than watching you two's younger selves getting attacked by pigeons and human scorpions. Once the big kaboom happens, jump to another dimension. Wait two minutes then come back and you should either get the Plate or a wall of fire in the face."

"That's...reassuring."

"I'm kidding about the wall of fire. It should be well gone after two minutes."

The trio arrived in cargo bay six. A sleek, white missile was chained tightly to a cart. Conall knelt down and analysed it. Edward watched him nervously.

"It's a fine nuke." Said the former.

"It's just a big bomb."

"With a rocket stuck to the end. Technically, nobody needs to sacrifice themselves now."

Gwen and Miles weren't sure the weapon was safe. Edward noted their concern about having such a high-powered explosive on a star ship.

"Relax. Nukes work on fuses, not impacts. If you kicked it, it would just clang." He reassured them.

Conall stood up and kicked the nose of the missile.

"Boom!"

The spiders jumped. Conall burst into laughter. Edward couldn't help but crack a small smile. He took a deep breath.

"Since it's on a fuse it'll need to be launched from a ship. A Cerberus Class can do the trick. You know how to fly one, Miles."

Miles scratched the back of his head, recalling how he had stolen one of the fighters back in the war with Conall.

"Err...yeah, I do."

"Excellent. You can fly the thing." Replied Conall.

"You three should get going. The sooner this is done the better."

Conall opened a golden gate of flames leading to stream three. Miles carefully piloted the small ship through. Gwen followed. Stream three certainly lived up to its name of the 'Dark Dimension'. However, much of the sky was filled with a face which seemed to be shimmering. Its purple eyes watched them. Conall floated up beside the cockpit of the fighter.

"Wait until me and Gwen have him distracted."

He flew ahead, engulfed in golden flames. Gwen swung after him leaving Miles alone with the humming of the ship. Dormammu's eyes moved to see what Gwen and Conall were doing. He was distracted just not...His mouth had begun to open. A purple jet of energy blasted downwards. A golden beam met it. This was Miles' chance. He flicked a switch, lowering the nuclear missile from the ship's bomb bay. The spider sucked in a deep breath and pulled the release switch. A jet of flames tore away leaving a thin trail of smoke behind. An alarm began to blare in the cockpit.

"Warning: thermonuclear warhead jettisoned. Retreat to a safe distance."

Miles saw a short display of light as Gwen hopped to another dimension. Conall still had Dormammu locked in a furious battle which he was currently losing, inch by inch. The spider followed Gwen's example, heeding Conall's earlier instructions. The Cerberus Class fighter burst out of temporal warp staring down the barrel of one of the SGC Valour's enormous battleship cannons.

"Oh crap...I don't want to be here." He muttered, taking the fighter for a small spin around the fleet.

Sol Galactic Command's war fleet was quite impressive. The largest ship was the Valour, being Edward's flagship. However, the sizes went as small as corvettes designed for ground support. After a couple of minutes, Miles decided it would be safe to return to the Dark Dimension. He pressed a few buttons and warped into a debris field. Chunks of debris bounced off the hull. There was no way he could navigate a ship through this. The spider opened the canopy and leapt between the rocks until he came to a clearing. In the centre was a small diamond shaped object: the Void Ethereal Plate. It had worked: Dormammu was dead. Miles fired a web at it, pulling it to him. The Plate felt just as the others had, as light as a feather, but channelling enough energy to cripple anyone with a single thought. Black bolts of energy coursed over his body. If he hadn't been deemed worthy by the Plates three years ago he would be dead. A noise to his right turned his attention. Gwen watched him, not wearing her mask. He could see fear in her eyes. Miles jumped over to the rock next to hers.

"It can't hurt you without the Knife." He reassured her, holding the plate out.

Gwen took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Miles could see she was shaking a little. She shook her head.

"No. I...I can't."

"I have my venom strike, Conall is Conall. Gwen, you're the only one without something other than being sticky. This Plate needs to be wielded by you. It won't hurt you like this. The Quintari caged them in the Plates long ago."

"And what if I become tempted again?"

"Then nothing can happen. The Subtle Knife is lost with Gallifrey."

"And what if I somehow get the Knife?"

Miles sighed. She had to use the Plate or Helltreader would butcher her. He slowly tried to slip the Plate into her hand, but she recoiled and began to leap to other rocks. Miles tried to follow, but suddenly she disappeared in a flash of colour. A golden ball of flames drifted down next to him.

"I'm not one for sympathy, but I do feel a little sorry for her." Said Conall, emerging from the fire.

"What?"

Conall shook his head.

"Which Plate did she merge with?"

"The purple one."

"It's magenta, and it's called the Plate of Infinity. It messes with your mind more than any of the others."

"How would you know?"

"So you don't know my origin story? I'm surprised."

"I do. Greek guy, studied the Plates all his life."

"Yeah. Oh well. Let's get this back to your friend Melbourne."

Miles placed the Void Plate on Edward's desk a few minutes later, having docked the fighter. Edward eyed it warily.

"Good job. Where's Gwen?"

"She did a runner." Replied Conall.

"Err...what?"

"She disappeared." Said Miles.

"Oh. Where to?"

"No idea."

"Computer, locate Gwen Stacy-Morales." Said Edward to the wall.

"Gwen Stacy-Morales is not aboard."

Miles frowned.

"I'll go and find her. She can't have gone far."

He walked quickly towards the door.

"Miles." Snapped Edward.

The spider turned back.

"Can you take the Plate somewhere else? I can't touch them."

"Oh yeah, sorry."

He picked the jet black diamond up and looked at it. Suddenly, he noticed a gap had appeared in the chest of his suit; he placed the Plate in it. The red on his suit lit up. Now he needed to find his wife.

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Dr Strange
- His Dark Materials