Part 4 - Resurgence

Chapter 64 - Resistance is Worthwhile

Midnight under the Empire seemed very normal except for a key difference: constant military convoys. Miles peered down at one example through the darkness. He could see pedestrians on the sidewalk, so it wasn't a volatile cargo. That was good; for a first attempt he didn't feel like risking detonating enough neutronium to knock a planet out of orbit. He dived on the truck in the middle, not entirely what he would do with the cargo, but a strike on supply lines would send a message that the Empire wasn't invincible. If Peter would even just be willing to harrow the occasional convoy, it would be enough. Miles landed on top of the truck; the convoy stopped, the soldiers not sure what was happening. Nobody had ever intervened with military operations. One of them shouted, pointing at Miles who turned invisible before the others could see. A couple climbed on top to find him, but suddenly found themselves flat on their faces. Miles webbed them down; their comrades opened fire on whatever. Pedestrians ran, screaming, as stray bullets shattered windows over their heads. The spider crept down from the roof, throwing a fist up into the chin of the soldier barking the orders. The guns turned in his direction but nobody was trained to shoot something invisible. Suddenly, Miles' spidey sense screamed at him. He turned in time to see a red laser beam pointing directly at his chest then a small stab of flame as the sniper fired. The bullet missed by inches. Another shot came close; Miles fired a web and swung up to the sniper on the rooftop who pulled a pistol and began to fire in his general direction. He headbutted them then kicked their feet out.

The rest of the soldiers were easy to deal with and soon the convoy was finished. Miles turned visible again and forced the back of the truck open. Inside were crates; inside the crates seemed to be tons upon tons of metal. He picked some up, trying to work out why this stuff was worth being escorted by the military. Suddenly, the answer struck him: this metal was what Reapers were built from. Of course the Empire didn't want its enemies getting the strongest material in the multiverse. He webbed one of the crates and tried to drag it out the truck, but even with super strength he wasn't strong enough. He'd just take a handful to prove to Peter it could be done.

Peter was still awake when Miles returned.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming back."

"I won't stop coming back until you've agreed to help. Maybe this will change your mind?"

He dropped the armful of Reaper metal. Peter frowned.

"Is that..."

"Reaper stuff. I took out a convoy. You don't have to fight this war head-on, Peter. Disrupting convoys would be just as helpful."

Peter sighed.

"I'll think about it, but I'm not promising anything."

"I'd try and make you feel guilty to finish the job, but I'm guessing that doesn't work now I'm not fourteen."

"Nope. I know all your tricks."

"I'm going to try and see Edward again."

"What happened to the spider army?"

"I need Edward's diplomatic skills. I'm not very persuasive."

"Try visiting him in the morning before he gets back to the bar."

"You want to come or you good?"

"I've got enough to think about, and a mess to clear up before MJ yells at me."

Miles looked at the pile of metal at his feet and gave his old friend a wiry grin.

Edward had given up keeping track of how many days in a row he had woken up with a severe hangover, but he guessed it was somewhere over a thousand. Whatever; it was back to the bar for another round. However, as he turned around from locking his front door he was greeted by a stern face.

"Miles?"

"Yeah, it's me. Don't you remember Venom saying I looked juicy?"

"I don't remember anything from the last three years."

The spider sighed.

"Any chance you could not hit the booze, man?"

"Not really."

"Look, I need your help. If we succeed, Sol Galactic Command could be rebuilt."

"I doubt it. SGC is a hate symbol now. If it is rebuilt it will need a new insignia, a new name, new everything."

"We can cross the obstacle late. But right now you have to help me."

Edward looked around then unlocked his front door again, letting Miles in then himself.

"Can I get you anything?"

"I'm good."

"Right...well...uh...what can I help with?"

"I did my research before I came."

"By that do you mean the propaganda documentary they did about how the Empire's greatest enemy didn't die a martyr but an alcoholic?"

"Well...yeah, but the point is you were the last person fighting them."

"Just get to the point. I've got a scotch waiting somewhere."

"My point is you're probably the best person to show the Empire's weaknesses. They tried to keep you down, you pulled out of your alcoholic rampage to take your place back as the Empire's greatest enemy."

"Oh. You want my help to fight the Empire. That makes sense. Let me guess, some guy said something like the N-word and you want to bring back equality. Got to tell you, equality isn't a thing in this world, won't be for a long time."

"Actually nothing to do with the N-word or equality. Or sort of, it's a factor. But my biggest drive is to help Gwen."

"She's the bloody Empress, Miles. She merged with a Plate and probably spends her days sucking the devil's dick."

"I don't think so. We talked, she told me to start a rebellion. Lucifer beats her."

"Lucifer beats everyone. He's literal Satan."

"Look, if you really don't want to you don't even have to fight. Just help me persuade some people to help out."

"Like who?"

"Other spider people."

Edward chuckled, pouring himself a glass of water to try and ease his headache.

"A lot of spider people were rounded up and put under house arrest for standing up against hate and crime."

"We'll work it out with them. I just need your diplomatic skills. Maybe I can get you a ship built?"

"Out of what? With what money?"

"Well...the Empire has been shipping Reaper metal around. I took out a convoy a couple of hours ago."

"Sounds like a decent ship. Will there be alcohol aboard?"

"An entire brewery."

"Oh alright, spidey. I'll help. Where do we start?"

"We need a list of the multiverse's spider people."

"9633 would be a good bet. They have films and stuff about everyone."

"Then that's where we'll start."

The spider and former admiral found themselves walking down a street in the city centre of Glasgow, 9633.

"You know, Buchanan Street doesn't exist anymore in my dimension." Said Edward, glancing at a sign with the street name on it.

"Really? What happened to it?"

"They renamed it. People got annoyed about it back in the 21st century because half the streets here are named after slave traders."

"Cool."

"Well it isn't. It's stupid. If you wipe away the past your forget the lessons it teaches. And if we forget lessons like Hitler, well...you know what happened there."

"All too well. Where are we going?"

"McDonalds. They have free Wi-Fi. You do have McDonalds in your dimension, don't you?"

"I'm guessing you mean the fast-food chain. Of course."

Edward chuckled.

Over a Big Mac for Edward and just a cup of hot chocolate for Miles, the pair began scouring the internet.

"A list of members of the spider army? On a website called Fandom." Miles began reading.

"It's blank. I checked it. I just found something that say's you're the strongest spider person."

"Nope, I've got a bunch of stuff here. It even has their dimensions."

"From what I can tell, Marvel does its dimensions by the Earth number which can be different from dimension numbers. 7065 works, but Earth-616 is 2095."

"Really? And how do you know this?"

"I had five years of nothing to do. After I'd emptied the Netflix database of films and TV shows, I started drinking myself into the ground."

"Right. Well 2095 was assimilated by the Borg, no thanks to Conall."

"That was seven years ago. Wow, kind of freaky. But actually it wasn't all. There's still a stronghold in a place called Wakanda. The nanoprobes can't assimilate Vibranium for whatever reason."

"Seriously, how do you know all this?"

"It's all public info. Anything that makes the Empire seem strong."

"Sure. Right, I'll take five or so dimensions including 2095. You take the rest. Meet up here tomorrow?"

"Tomorrows a Friday. What time? 8PM?"

"I've got a meeting with the Empress then."

"Oh. Didn't realise you were in to the whole Ethereal psycho thing. You do you...or her I guess."

"What? No. We're just talking. She needs to get away from Lucifer, and she'll hopefully bring some useful intel with her."

"Well how about 7PM?"

"Seven is good. See you then. And you better be sober."

"I should be. I'll probably just stuff my face with Big Macs. I've not had one in like twenty years."

Miles hated 2095 as soon as he arrived. He was in the middle of some rolling hills somewhere in Africa. The air was stuffy, the sky was a green-brown colour and the ground made of black metal with green lights. Suddenly, there was a booming voice, like a monotonous choir speaking in sync.

"We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

Miles didn't stick around as Borg drones seemed to appear out of the hill side. He fired a web and began to swing towards what looked like a section of normal jungle, webbing himself to enormous pipes that arced out of the ground. Eventually he came to the perimeter and stopped. The scene seemed to shimmer like it was an illusion of some sort. He put a hand to it and jumped back, blowing on it to cool the burning. He looked around to face the Borg drones marching towards him. Where could he go? Suddenly, an aircraft roared overhead, its guns and missiles blazing at the swarm. Miles covered his face against the heat, kicking a severed Borg head away in disgust. The aircraft swooped down and he was hauled aboard by a metal hand. The ramp hadn't even closed before the aircraft was moving again. Miles looked at his saviour, shocked to find himself staring into the face of Tony Stark.

"I thought you were assimilated."

"Have we met?"

"Remember in the war with Conall? You broke my ribs, beat the crap out of Doctor Strange."

"I seem to remember you. Seven years ago, right?"

"Maybe eight, but yeah."

The aircraft shook a little as it passed through the illusion. Miles looked out the window to see an expansive city in the place of the lush jungle. Stark landed the jet. Some people were waiting when the ramp lowered, ready to kill any Borg that emerged. Stark waved.

"He's human."

The people relaxed.

"So kid, what are you doing here?"

"I'm twenty something, hardly a kid."

"You don't even know your own age?"

"It's complicated. Anyway, point is I'm here because we're trying to fight the Empire."

"Is this the Empire with the devil at the top?"

"Yeah."

"We'll have to see if the king agrees, but count us in so long as you plan to help get rid of these Borg."

"Now I know there are survivors, I'll make sure to push it in the agenda."

"Good."

Stark went to gather the other important members of the ruling body of Wakanda while Miles sat around and waited. Suddenly, his spidey sense began going crazy like it did whenever he first met a spider person. He looked up and his eyes fell on a guy who looked about his age. The guy was looking at him as well, completely confused. He walked over.

"You're like me?"

"Yep. Long story."

The guy sat down.

"Are you from another dimension?"

"Earth-1610, or 7610 as we call it. This is Earth-616, dimension 2095."

"But...how does all that work? It messes with quantum theory and then it calls into question the origins of the universe; maybe it answers what caused the Big Bang?"

"It does, but it's complicated. I don't understand it all, neither did its creators who are now extinct."

Stark returned, flanked by the rest of the ruling body.

"Uh oh. Trouble." Muttered the guy.

Miles shook his head.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Alright spidey, let's move. The adults need to talk."

"Sorry Mr Stark."

The guy returned to where he had been sitting before. Miles stood up.

"Welcome to Wakanda. We must discuss this matter further." Said a man dressed in black robes.

"I'll answer all the questions I can." Miles replied.

"Why should we join your rebellion? We have our own problems."

"Because the rest of the multiverse is under the tyranny of the Empire. It looks like they're leaving you all alone mostly, probably because of the Borg. But the Avengers were supposed to stand for freedom and safety. The multiverse has none of that right now. Tends to happen when you give Satan a crown."

"We can't defeat the Borg. How can we defeat this Empire?" Asked someone who Miles recognised as Steve Rogers, aka Captain America.

"Unlike what the Borg say, resistance is worthwhile. I told Stark I'd do everything I can to get the Borg situation cleared up, but first we have to overthrow the Empire."

The members of the body exchanged looks before Stark said:

"I vote we do it."

"All those in favour of aiding this rebellion?"

Every member of the body raised their hand.

"Then we shall lend you our armies."

"Shouldn't we just send the Avengers for now? We can't leave Wakanda defenceless." Asked Rogers.

"Those in favour of sending only the Avengers?"

It was another landslide victory. Miles sighed, but the Avengers were a good start.

"In that case, you shall have the Avengers."

"Thank you. They can stay here for the moment while we get things a little better set up. I'll send word as soon as we're ready."

It took quite a while to do his part, but finally Miles had finished up. He'd received a text from Edward, he didn't know how, saying that things were going smoothly. It was good news, so the spider decided it was time to tackle possibly the strongest asset, besides Gwen, once more.

Teresa sighed as Miles walked through the door to her visiting room once more.

"Did you sort out Fakezilla?" She asked.

"Easily."

"Predictable. So, what you here for this time?"

"To enlist you."

"In what? You starting a book club or something?"

Miles chuckled.

"No, in the rebellion."

"I told you..."

"You told me if I found more 'delirious weirdos' you would join. I did."

"How many?"

"I'm not sure of the total yet, we're still recruiting. But I'm guessing in the range of thirty to forty."

"Miles...forty people against an Empire...really?"

"Forty-one, including Gwen."

"She's not on our side, idiot. She's the Empress and she can get fucked."

"Win this war and I'll make sure she is, but she's on our side. She came to see me."

"And said what? 'Oh yes Miles! I want to help you so I can stick a knife in your back and I can get with the devil!'"

"Teresa, Lucifer beats her."

"Doesn't surprise me."

"Are you just gonna sit there and keep making sarcastic comments?"

"Find more than forty people, Miles."

"Teresa, you're stronger than me. And according to 9633 I'm the strongest spider person."

"More than forty, Miles. That's my answer."

"What will you say when I bring a thousand? Or ten thousand?"

"Bring that many and I'll think about."

"Whatever."

There was a moment of tense silence before Teresa took a deep breath and asked:

"Miles, if you trust Gwen, you're putting yourself completely at her mercy. She could kill you. Why do you do it?"

"Because I love her. And sure, she's part psycho multiverse but behind it she's still the woman I love. If you loved someone that much, would you not do anything within your power to help them?"

"I wouldn't know, and I doubt I ever will. One last thing."

"Yeah?"

"There are rumours about SCP-682 in 9634. If you want normal people to join the rebellion, they need to know you have their backs."

"I guess it's an opportunity to prove myself."

"Exactly. Good luck. You'll need it."

Lucifer watched Gwen with narrowed eyes.

"So, you finally dealt with the rumours. About time."

"Isn't it."

"For once I have nothing about you to complain about."

"That's a relief."

The devil chuckled, sipping a glass of wine.

"Of course, there's always the problem of your husband's growing army."

"Army?"

"Spider people mainly, that old Sol admiral, those Avengers from 2095. CCTV shows he failed to get Chelsea, though."

"He's hardly a threat. What will a bunch of spider people do to the Empire?"

"Look at you for a start. I'd say they could do quite a lot."

"Only because I helped found it. And none of them have an Ethereal Plate stuck in their head."

"Perhaps. But one might worry that you'd turn to his side with your people."

"I left that life behind, Lucifer."

"I very much hope so. Anyway, I have a new task for you related to the King. SCP-682 is running rampant in 9634."

"What? I killed it. How did it get there?"

"682 is a child of the Scarlet King. It can't be killed by simply throwing some fireworks at him."

Gwen sighed.

"I'll look into it."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Avengers
- Star Trek
- SCP Foundation
- Lucifer