Part 9 - All Things Must Die

Chapter 155 - Into the Fire

The first test of the enlarged narrative technology was a success meaning open war was on its way, and much sooner than Miles had anticipated. He'd received orders from Edward to be on the SGC Nighthawk as part of the first wave.

"Whatever you do, stay alive." Said Gwen.

"I will." He replied, kissing her.

"I don't want to have to raise this kid on my own."

"I know. I'll be OK."

"Don't even get hurt. If you get hurt, I'm gonna quit sitting this out to beat the crap out the person who did it."

"Gwen. I'll be fine. I promise. I'll look after myself."

She sighed, nodding slowly.

"I wish I could be out there helping."

"Knowing you'll be alive when I come back helps a lot. I love you."

"I love you too."

Miles was surprised to find the rest of the spider people aboard the Nighthawk when he arrived, the rest being Miguel, the Spider Gang and Charlotte.

"Hey kid." Peter said, raising his hand.

"Long time, no see or something."

"It was literally four days ago."

"Sarcasm."

"Oh. Well Edward wants us to be first off the ship."

"Leading the pack, or something." Said Noir.

"Max used to listen to a song called that." Said Charlotte.

"What? 'Leading the Pack or Something'?" Asked Miles.

"No, just the first three words, idiot."

"Just tryna lighten the mood."

"Feeling nervous?" Asked Miguel.

"Pretty sure if you don't feel nervous running into a literal warzone, you're a psycho."

"Let's go get Gwen, then." Quipped Charlotte.

Peter chuckled. Miles scowled.

"Really? You don't laugh at any of my jokes but you do at Charlotte's?"

"Some of us remember the Empire better than you, buddy."

A voice crackled over the intercom.

"Narrative jump in two minutes. All personnel should be prepared for jump."

"Into the fire we go, I guess." Miles mumbled.

"All decks report ready to jump on your command, admiral." Said one of the officers on the bridge of the Nighthawk.

"OK. Initialise the jump core." Edward ordered, tightening his grip on the arm of his chair a little.

The reports had been that things were a little shaky in the process. It wasn't a severe bug that required immediate rectification, so it hadn't been fixed yet.

"Jump core priming."

The ship began to vibrate, then it turned into a minor earthquake that eventually turned into a major one.

"Core primed! Jump on your command, sir!" The officer shouted over the rumbling sound.

"Punch it before something falls off the roof and punches us!" Edward shouted back.

Everything went black for a second, but the ship could still be heard groaning in the nothingness.

On the other side of the narrative jump, the Nighthawk had stopped shaking. Edward took a deep breath and stood up slowly.

"Report. Are we at the TVA."

"Err…maybe?"

Edward turned to the officer.

"What does maybe mean? It's a simple question: yes or no?"

"Yes. At least I think. I don't know if this was our fault but…it might save some artillery shells, sir."

"What are you talking about?"

"Take a look."

The view screen turned on and Edward looked. The entire TVA headquarters was in flames. Towers were crumbling to the ground under the intensity of the fire.

"Shields." Edward ordered, not sure if there was anything above them.

"Shields are up." Reported the tactical officer.

"Any life signs?"

"A few."

"Send the spiders. Saving people from burning wrecks is one of their specialities."

"Aye sir."

Miguel looked at the new orders he'd just been sent on the HUD of his spider suit.

"Looks like we aren't leading the charge. Time for some spider work. Masks on; we're teleporting out in a few seconds."

"What's happening?" Asked Peni.

"Someone is burning the TVA to the ground."

"Saves some matches." Said Charlotte.

The spiders were consumed by energy.

To say the TVA was being burnt to the ground was an understatement. Miles looked around in awe. He'd seen a lot of fire, but this was more than all the rest of it combined.

"I've got life signs up there!" Peni shouted over the roaring of the inferno.

"Let's go!" Replied Peter.

The group swung up, dodging falling debris. When they reached the floor, Miles went in before any of the others. Hesitation might cost lives. He could hear someone coughing with the smoke somewhere ahead, but it was difficult to see. He let his spidey sense show the way and he soon found the person crushed under a bookcase with flames creeping along it towards them. He grabbed their hand and pulled, but they didn't budge. He used his other hand to lift the bookcase a little, but it was too heavy and he had to use the other too. The person crawled out and he let it drop before slinging them over his shoulder and speed walking back towards the exit. By this time, he too was struggling to breathe, and he could feel his legs going. But no matter how many times he got hit, no matter how many breaths of smoke he inhaled, he'd always get back up. With the thought of Gwen kicking him to the floor and him failing to get up again, he pushed on out of fear of something similar happening with falling debris. At long last he felt a metal arm grab him and pull him clear. Peter took the person he'd rescued and the spiders dropped down to the ground where it was easier to breathe. Miles collapsed onto his hands and knees, coughing and spluttering. Spiderham patted him hard on the back, although it was likely the Placebo Effect did more than that actually did. Miles looked up again and saw the only people still here were the person he'd rescued and Spiderham.

"Where'd…they go?" He asked between breaths.

"They went to find the other survivors. You need to rest."

"Any chance we can go back to the ship?"

"I'll call up and see what we can do."

The cool interior of the Nighthawk was like heaven compared to the hell down below. Miles lay on the medical bed, glad to be out the heat. A medic had put him on oxygen, but had said it was only while they checked the damage the smoke had caused.

"You're lucky. The damage is minor. I can fix you up in no time."

"Cool."

An arch closed itself over his chest and he felt a strange tickling sensation in his lungs. It was gone a few seconds later and he felt absolutely fine. After the oxygen was taken away, he went over to the bed where the person he'd saved lying. They looked a little singed and likely had some pretty major smoke-related injuries, but from what he could tell they'd be alright. The other spiders arrived with a couple more casualties and were glad Miles was OK.

"You shouldn't just go charging into fire like that." Said Peter, taking him aside.

"What about that guy? He'd have died."

"You're less expendable than me or Miguel. You've got a wife, two estranged kids and a third on the way. Gwen insisted on you being careful, and that wasn't careful."

"Peter. I get it."

"Good. How's your guy?"

"Ask the medics, but he didn't look too bad."

The man recovered quickly with the future's medical technology. As soon as he was completely stable, he was transferred to the brig along with the other two rescued people. Miles decided to go and see him. He stopped outside the cell and gave a half-grin. The man looked up.

"I guess you're going to ask what happened." They said.

"Among other things. I was gonna start with your name, though."

"Agent Mobius."

"Like a Mobius Strip?"

"No, as in that's my family name."

"Yeah but…never mind. What happened down there? Was it dragons?"

"No, actually. It was me."

"You?"

"Yeah. Me. I've been helping a couple Lokis."

"Lokis? Two of the same Norse God?"

"Exactly. They wanted to burn the TVA to the ground, and that's what I said we'd do. The multiverse has been unleashed, so it had no purpose."

"What do you mean 'the multiverse has been unleashed'?"

"I mean there's no knowing what could happen now. There's nobody keeping the timeline in check."

"I'm confused. The multiverse has always existed."

"For you guys, maybe. But that's why Renslayer helped that anonymous tip-off. If people learned about it, they'd ask why their reality couldn't have it."

"And now these two Lokis let the timeline free and there's a multiverse?"

"Exactly."

"Where are they now?"

"They were enchanting a big cloud called Oliath when I last saw them. They could be anywhere, anytime."

"Why were they enchanting a cloud?"

"They thought it was the way to the guy who founded the TVA."

"Since things went badly for the TVA, I guess they did."

"Probably."

There was a pause, then Mobius asked:

"So you know all about me. Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Miles Morales. I'm Spiderman, or a Spiderman from my reality. There were more, but some people called the Inheritors killed most of them."

"Must be pretty nice having a multiverse."

"It's scary. You never know what's gonna fly out the sky next. A gang boss, a giant crocodile, a Lovecraftian god from the beginning of time. It's kinda relaxing to know your son's the fifth most powerful entity in the entire omniverse, though."

"Omniverse? What's that?"

"In my reality there's multiple multiverses. We call it the omniverse."

"Nice. And your son: how'd he become so powerful?"

"It's a long story. My multiverse went through a bit of a reset so I don't remember much. All I know is the Lovecraftian god, that was brought back by a destroyed TVA bomb, came along and tried to destroy everything and Max managed to get his power to kill the god."

"Sounds like a story for the grandkids."

"Definitely does. Anyway, have you got any idea where we could find these Lokis?"

"Not really. The void at the end of time, maybe."

"How do I get there?"

"The easiest way is to be pruned."

Miles sighed and thought about it for a minute. There was no way the TVA could just vanish entire branch realities, could they? It made sense the stuff was sent to the dump site where it couldn't get back. He had an idea.

"It's been nice talking to you, Mobius."

"So you're just leaving? Just like that?"

"Sorry. I'm gonna go to the end of time and track these Lokis down. There's got to be a reason the TVA was founded to destroy branches."

"There must be. Good luck."

Miles failed to persuade anyone other than Charlotte to help him.

"High chance of death? I'd welcome it anytime."

"That's reassuring."

Miles picked up one of the batons and shook it, trying to work out how to switch on the pruning part. He looked for a button too, but couldn't work it out. Charlotte sighed, grabbed it, twisted it and handed it back with the light now on.

"Don't you pay attention to anything?"

"No, I'm usually too busy trying not to die."

"Well hurry up and prune yourself so we can get this done."

Miles took a deep breath. What if Mobius had lied and he was about to kill himself? What would Gwen say? What would happen to their child? No, he couldn't think about that now. What mattered now was destroying the person who created the TVA. He pressed the glowing end of the baton to his chest and suddenly felt just as if he was being transported between narratives.

Miles groaned as he woke up. He felt cold, and for a moment he wondered if it was just a cloudy day in Bastria, but then he saw something that almost confirmed what Mobius had said. An enormous cloud covered the ground nearby. Green light emanated from it and there was a passage to somewhere on the other side. He picked himself up and looked around for Charlotte, but couldn't find any sign of her, so headed for the opening. On the other side was some sort of bright void. In its centre was a castle. Miles took a deep breath and set off for it. As he walked, he saw the light was created by tiny strands, almost mere wisps. They twisted and turned, some splitting apart to form new ones. It was almost hypnotic, but he shook the feeling away.

Upon reaching the castle, he found the door unlocked. At the far end of a corridor was a door. He passed a room with four statues, one of which had been smashed, and came to it. It took some force, but he managed to slide both sides apart to reveal an elevator shaft. Climbing it was east, although getting past the actual elevator was a bit of a squeeze. He forced open the door at the top and surveyed the scene. A desk was thrown in a corner and a man in a purple gown sat dead in his chair which had likely been behind the desk at some point. Miles approached the body and saw a very clean stab wound straight through the heart. There was no trace of who'd done it except a couple of blades of varying designs. The spider sighed and picked up one of the sheets of paper that littered the ground. It had words written on it as if it was a script of some kind. He let it float to the ground and looked around for anything else of interest, but found nothing so turned his attention back to the dead body. Suddenly, his spidey sense screamed. He brought his hand back and venom struck someone in the face. They were thrown to the ground, but were up again in an instant.

"Stop!" Miles yelled, certain they had been the person who killed the man in the chair.

The person, a woman with blond hair that reminded him a little of Gwen's, summoned a sword not far off a cutlass. She advanced, and started swinging it with precisely aimed strikes. Miles ducked each and managed to get just a split second opening to kick her legs out from under her. Before she could get up, he pinned her arms down with webs. She strained at them, screaming and kicking.

"Calm down!" Miles pleaded.

"Let me go!"

"You attacked me. That was self-defence."

"At least kill me."

"That's not my way."

The woman sneered.

"Coward."

"No, I just have a soul unlike some people. You got a name?"

"Why should I tell you my name?"

"Alright. Did you kill that guy?"

She looked at him and nodded.

"You'll be next."

"Umm…that web fluid takes a couple of hours to dissolve. I don't plan to be here that long. Just tell me who that was."

"That was 'He Who Remains'. He's dictated the 'Sacred Timeline' for millions of years. Now he's dead."

"He started the TVA, then?"

"Yes."

"Cool. I guess that's all the loose ends tied up."

There was a slightly awkward struggle in which Miles picked up another sheet of paper and glanced at it.

"Is your name Sylvie?" He asked.

"How do you know that?"

"This? I just used my only brain cell. Kinda easy."

"I'll cut your throat."

"Again, you're stuck there unless I set you free, so play nice. Honestly I dunno what to do with myself at the moment."

There was a quiet laugh from the door, almost a slightly crazy giggle.

"I do."

Sylve tried to look, but couldn't. Miles could, however, and frowned.

"Are you…a kangaroo?"

"Kangaroo the Conqueror. It would seem Kang is dead, then. One of many."

"Why do I get the feeling you and Spiderham have something in common?"

"Spiderham." Kangaroo chuckled. "What a pathetic excuse for a hero. I killed him just as I killed so many others. Not one will stand in my way to conquest, and I thank you for pathing the road ahead. Good luck, humans."

With a flash, Kangaroo was gone. Miles glanced down at Sylvie.

"Did you do some of your Loki magic on me? There's no way that just happened."

"You hit me with…something before I could."

Another thought crossed Miles' mind: was Spiderham dead, or had Kangaroo killed a different instance of him? It was highly likely to be the second, but he wasn't going to stick around to find out. He set his narrative watch, then freed one of Sylvie's hands. She tore the other free, grabbed her sword and lunged for him, but he had already warped away.

It turned out Miles' hypothesis had been correct: the Spiderham from his narrative was fine, although very concerned to find out Miles had pruned himself. A quick explanation fixed things up, and it turned out Charlotte hadn't followed her father after all.

"So you left me to fend for myself?"

"It was a convenient way to get rid of you."

"Why?"

"So I can kill Gwen or something."

"Max would kill you."

"Probably, but at least I'll die having avenged so many millions."

"You killed an Empress Gwen. Isn't that enough?"

"Put yourself in my shoes: years of torment because your mother had her heart broken. It will never be enough. If I could, I'd cleanse the omniverse of Gwen Stacys, but Max would likely kill me after one. And I love my brother enough to care about him, and I know he prefers her over you."

"Why?"

"Because you held him back and always took the fun out of everything. Good luck fixing that."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Loki