Spider-Girl/Mayday Parker omake/side-story for Nerdman3000 as a thank you for his constant help like making the cover page, a tvtropes page and forum troubles. It was supposed to be a oneshot but since I wanted more extensive interactions between the cast and Mayday I ended up splitting it into a two-shot.

This is technically 'canon' for the fic despite being an omake since it takes place after the end of the last chapter. OTOH if you don't like it this two-parter is more or less self contained and can be skipped with little issue. If you do like Spider-Girl, then I hope you like this as well :)

Not sure if the next chapter will be part 2 or not. Depends on where my mood takes me and how the audience likes this one.

Side Note - The choice for Peter's power ups is kinda complicated so I'll make a poll after posting this chapter. There you can choose which power-up you want him to have - Web-swinging/wall-crawling, more scientific/magical/demonic gadgets or more mystical abilities (someone suggested shadow spider legs devil trigger).


"This is the place..."

May 'Mayday' Parker, better known to the city at large as Spider-Girl, crouched at the edge of the building and looked down at the 'abandoned' warehouse. Doctor Octopus - sometimes known as Lady Octopus for those who knew the original Doc Ock - was using it as a base for her nefarious evildoings. According to the scattered witness testimonies she managed to catch a 'buncha metal arms' were seen around the area and from there it wasn't hard to narrow down where she was staying.

"What are you doing here, doc...?" She jumped and swung to the side wall of the warehouse and crawled up slowly. The last time Mayday'd run into the tentacled woman was when she and Canis were making a power play for the criminal underworld. Turned out she was working for Black Tarantula, but somehow she was in bed - hopefully not literally, cause gross - with the would-be wolf man again. At the very least that was what she figured considering they broke out of prison together about 4 days ago.

Her phone beeped and she answered it without looking at the screen, "Kinda busy here," she whispered.

"Where are you?" Darkdevil's all too familiar baritone came from the other end.

"Just about to ruin Lady Octopus and Canis' jailbreak honeymoon." She flipped inside through a slightly ajar window and landed on a high shelf with a quiet crouch. Place was dark and abandoned, but she her spider-sense was thrumming. They were here, "Listen, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Wait, I'm on my way over-"

Her phone suddenly died. Mayday looked down at the suddenly black screen and furrowed her brows. Yep, that was totally normal. She put it back into her webshooter compartment - Thank you, Normie - and flipped down to the floor, "Hmm..." Spider-sense was leading her to the left. She knelt down and traced the faint marks on the floor. Twenty bucks said secret door.

"Come on, come on. Secret door, come to mama..." Mayday traced the lines to the end when she saw the slightly raised edge. She grinned, "Jackpot." She lifted it up slowly and quietly and jumped up to the ceiling of the staircase leading downwards. Just needed to get Ock and Canis back to prison then make it back home before dad got worried and April used it to needle her again.

The stairs led to a sealed metal door. Mayday shot a line of webbing and yanked it back only for the door to fall down to the ground, "Crap!" She webbed it up before it could crash down and left it hanging inches from hitting the ground, "Too close." She continued to crawl through the hallway and stopped when she heard two voices - a loud man and a calm woman - talking. Canis and Ock.

Mayday peeked over the empty doorframe. The room inside was huge and circular, easily able to fit dozens of people with room to spare. At the center of the room was a large, circular device made out of a mesh of metal and disjointed wiring. Her eyes traced the path of the large, bulky wires attached to multiple power boxes on the walls. That'd probably explain the frequent blackouts.

And then there were the two occupants.

"I don't see the point of this plan." Canis leaned forward on his chair with a scowl. He was lacking his usual suit combo in favor of a hoodie and a pair of jeans and muddy boots. It looked odd on him.

"I've already explained it multiple times, dear Canis. If you don't 'see the point' that's hardly my fault." Doc Ock crooned (ick). Unlike Canis she looked to be in tip top shape: same green jumpsuit, same tentacles, same bad haircut. She didn't even turn to look at Canis' seething haunch and continued to tweak with the machine, humming a tune casually as she did.

"Yes, and this plan - if you can even call it that - is utter stupidity." Canis growled, "I understand we need resources, but-"

"But what? Do you have any secret vaults full of gold that the authorities haven't raided yet? If so, please do tell!" Canis seethed and said nothing, "That's what I thought. You wish to take over the criminal underworld again? Then you need resources, resources that we cannot take here because if either of us take so much as a single step outside we'll have all those Avengers brats on us. Or worse, Spider-Girl."

'Aww, that's so flattering.' She climbed up to the (weirdly high) roof of the chamber and did another quick scan of the room. No windows, no other doors out...place felt like a prison cell. Canis rubbed a hand through his beard and glared at Ock's back, "And how do I know I can trust you, Carolyn? You've betrayed me once already, what's stopping you from doing so again?"

Once again she didn't bother to turn around, "Again with this? If you so distrust me the door is right there," One of her tentacles pointed to the door lazily, "You're a businessman, Canis. Allying myself with the Black Tarantula was the most expedient and profitable option at the time, as allying with you is now. If you're asking for a blood oath and a swear of loyalty then you're looking at the wrong woman. I see a mutual benefit in our cooperation and that is the basis of this exchange.

"And how do you know I won't betray you, then?"

"Because I'm useful. You are a pragmatic man, dear Canis, and what I offer you now is something no one else can give. Not unless you fancy the idea of fighting your way through all those Avengers and incurring the wrath of their allies."

It was a portal, Mayday thought. Doc Ock was trying to make a portal. Not good. There was a reason the Avengers rarely ever used theirs - tearing a hole through space time wasn't like taking the bus. She had to shut it down.

Canis suddenly stiffened and sniffed the air. He looked up to where she was and narrowed his eyes, 'Guess we're doing this.' She webbed Canis' mouth shot and swung down to kick him into the wall when her spider-sense suddenly blared. Mayday flipped through the air and just barely avoided the sweeping tentacle that would've hit her mid-section.

"Spider-Girl. Come to interfere again?" Doc Ock snarled.

"You know me, Doc. Always keep up with my doctors appointments." Canis tore off the web from his mouth and charged towards her, teeth bared and clawed hands raised. Mayday flipped over his charge and kicked him into the corner wall, "Kinda busy here, Canis-"

Spider-sense.

Moving on instinct, Mayday flipped backwards to avoid the stabbing tentacle only for another on to grab her left leg and slam her against the ground face first. Mayday twisted and made to fire some web at Ock's face before another tentacle wrapped itself around her arms in a tight grip, "Urk, too tight, Doc! Safe word, safe word!" Had to find a way out before it was too late. Her eyes looked around frantically till she saw sparking fuse box close by.

"Always with the jokes, hm?" Another tentacle wrapped itself around her neck and squeezed. Mayday choked and coughed as Ock raised her upright in the air, "I'm going to enjoy this."

'Now!' She twisted her palm and shot a line of electric webbing at the exposed fuse box. A sudden loud whirring sounded through the entire chamber and she was almost blinded by the swirling blue light that came from the portal, "You fool, I haven't finished calibrating it yet!" Ock turned back to the portal and the grip of the tentacles slackened.

Mayday pried the tentacles off and jumped into the nearby wall, "You know it's not nice to play with portals!" She shot two lines and webbed to the ground and launched herself at Ock. Two tentacles blocked the kick, but the impact was enough to knock her back close to the portal, "Whadda say you two turn yourselves in? I'll even tell the police they'll give you time off for good behavior!"

"I am never going back inside!" Canis roared from behind her. Mayday jumped to avoid Canis' second charge and he rammed into Ock like a full bore rhino. Ock stumbled back again one of her arms slammed against one of the pillars holding the device upright. The whirring sound became louder and Mayday's spider-sense screamed before the bright blue light engulfed her vision.


PhysicsBoi: Anyone else see that blue portal open up over Times Square?

Bladewolf: Blue portal? Lol someone's been smoking a bit too much.

PhysicsBoi: Legit. Saw a blue portal and like three people shoot out of it. Teleporter accident?

AairMaster: Think it's a portal to another dimension? Spinerette did say she was from a different one.

Bladewolf: Pfft what are the chances of that?

AairMaster: As much as an alien invasion.

PhysicsBoi: Lol.


When Mayday opened her eyes again she was free-falling through the air at terminal velocity.

"Woah, woah, woah!" She stumbled through the air in a panic and rapidly tapped her webshooters, only to be met with a clicking sound, "Come on, come on! Don't jam now!" She fiddled with the webshooter as the ground drew closer and closer. She knew she was strong, but jumping out of double skyscraper height and landing on the pavement would end with her being a spider-pancake.

She was about 50 feet from the ground when a web finally sputtered out to the nearby building, "Yes!" The web pulled taut and she grunted from the shooting pain that went up her arm. Even for her that hurt. Mayday let go of the web, spun on a nearby horizontal flagpole then landed on the street. She was not proud to admit she skidded butt-first on the ashphalt.

...And people were staring at her. Great.

Mayday looked up at the crowds of stunned civilians and raised her hand in a cheery wave as she stood, "What's up, folks? Uh...would any of you have happened to see a really hairy guy in a hoodie and a woman in a green jumpsuit with four tentacles? They're pretty hard to miss."

Amazingly, an old woman actually answered and pointed to the south behind her, "They went that way. If they're Supervillains give them a good kickin!"

"Heh...will do, lady." Mayday threw her a thumbs up and jumped in preparation to swing only for the webshooter to click dully again. She landed on the ground and looked down at the metal bracelets with a frown. Whatever that portal did it wrecked her webshooters. Her dad was gonna kill her when she got back from...wherever the heck this place was.

Mayday took a second to catch her breath and took a look around. Place looked like Times Square...but not really. Different signs, higher buildings, even a different hotdog guy. Old Stan was selling dogs for decades and he was never gonna die, "Okay, so...I'm guessing I'm in another dimension," she mumbled. Made the most sense. Portal activated and took her to another reality. No prob. She'd stop Ock and Canis, find this world's Fantastic 4 and borrow a portal to get back. She'd been through this rodeo before.

She was just about to run - so weird to not having webbing - when two young women suddenly came up to her, "Man, this is why I love New York!" They both posed next to her with peace signs while the more heavyset of the trio raised her camera phone to take a pic. Mayday was too stunned by the suddenness of it to say anything, "Hey, what's your name?"

"Uh...Spider-Girl." Tentatively considering a change to Spider-Woman, but Stinger suggested she wait till she was old enough to drive before making a swap. Sometimes it sucked being 15.

The blonde furrowed her brows, "Uh, no, there's already a Spider-Girl. You can't be both Spider-Girl!"

Yeah...definitely another dimension. Oh well, at least she knew there were Spiders her, "Listen, I don't have time for this. Sorry." She stepped past them and, with a deep breath, broke out into a run. She wasn't used to running on street level, but she could deal. Mayday slipped past the crowds and automatically bypassed the newspaper stands and cars in her way. Those parkour lessons with Darkdevil really paid off...even if the guy was a jerk about it.

She heard screaming coming from the right. That was probably them. Mayday run up the closest building, flipped to the roof and narrowed her eyes at the scene below. Doc Ock was rampaging through the streets without a care, two tentacles propelling her forward while another held onto an unconscious Canis. He was still breathing, which was a small relief. She didn't want the guy dead, after all.

She was about to cut in when another figure landed on a nearby lamppost. Mayday wasn't ashamed to admit she just gawked. She'd seen her dad's old costume before but one was nothing like it. The woman - another surprise - wore a black, white, pink and teal ensemble with a hood securely attached to her head. Still, the way she balanced on top of the post made it clear she was another Spider.

"Hey, I hate to say this, but you're kinda causing a disturbance. If you're not a new Supervill maybe we could just chat and make sure we don't have any misunderstandings?"

Doc Ock threw a car at her. The other Spider dodged and Mayday jumped from the building to charge at her. She was inches from jumping on the mad scientist's back when one of the legs keeping her upright suddenly launched forward towards her, "Too close!" She leapfrogged over the metal appendage as the Spider-Woman(Girl?) shot two lines of webbing Doc Ock's face.

Ock raised Canis like a shield. Mayday almost felt sorry when the guy's entire face was suddenly covered in white, "Woah, that's cold, lady!" The black and white Spider quipped.

Mayday scrambled back to gather her bearings and the Spider-Woman landed next to her with a crouch, "Take it you know this one?" she asked.

"Yeah, long story. Name's Spider-Girl, by the way."

"You know someone already-"

"I know. Like I said, long story."

Ock looked between them and puckered her lips like she'd swallowed something sour, "Of all the dimensions to land in. Hmph, I don't have time for this." Mayday's spider-sense rang just before something detached from the harness at Ock's back and surged towards them like a missile.

"Get down!" Mayday pushed Spider-Woman out of the way and the projectiles soared past them before suddenly exploding. A bright light engulfed her vision and there was a painful ringing in her ears. The sudden blind and deaf state lasted for a few painful seconds and when she finally got the first bearing of sight again she found the whole street abandoned with Ock nowhere in sight.

Next to her, Spider-Woman groaned and shook her head, "Ah crap, that smarts...!" Her costume...moved and she rubbed her eyes as she stood, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Actually thought it'd be worse." Mayday rubbed away the last traces of bright spots in her vision and sighed. Chasing after Ock was probably a no-go now without her webshooters. Ock wouldn't be dumb enough to draw attention again, not with a Spider here.

Speaking of...

Mayday gave the other girl a sideways glance. She seemed fine, though her costume occasionally thrummed. Weird, but so far it seemed like she was a hero. Good, she really didn't like going to dimensions where heroes were villains. Just made things too confusing. And sad.

Spider-Woman suddenly pulled a phone out of...somewhere and pressed it against her ear, "Yeah, Pete? No, I'm still going. Just got distracted. No, not Koalla Kommander. I'll tell ya later." She cut the call, "Sorry, but I really gotta go. Take care of yourself, 'kay?"

"A-Ah, wait!" Mayday held up both hands, "Actually I could really use your help! I'm...not from here."

"Out of towner, huh? Well, if you wanna tour I'm not sure how much help I'd be."

"No, it's not that. It's..." Mayday took a deep breath and considered her next words, "I know you might not believe me, but I'm from another dimension." Spider-Woman crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side without saying a word, "I know crazy that sounds, but-"

"Not really." Spider-Woman cut in casually, "You know what, I actually believe you. Gut instinct, I guess. But we should probablyy save the explanation when we're somewhere more private."

Mayday nodded and followed after Spider-Woman...or at least she tried to considering her webshooters were busted. Spider-Woman looked back at her mid-swing and swung back around, "What's wrong?"

"My webshooters are busted. Going through the portal wrecked em somehow." She didn't check yet, but she was pretty sure her phone was fried too. Not that it mattered; she didn't have a call plan in whatever dimension this was.

"Oh. Well, I could do a side-along if it's not too embarassing?"

"Sure. Better than the time I had to use my friend's glider."

Mayday held on tightly and just let Spider-Woman carry her along with one hand. It wasn't the first time she'd done this, but usually she was the swinger not the holder. Still, she couldn't deny there was something almost relaxing about not having to be the one to pick the directions to go to or the running out of webfluid. If she wasn't currently trapped in an alternate dimension with two of her Supervillains it might've been fun.

Spider-Woman stopped at relatively small building rooftop. Mayday separated from her and awkwardly smiled under her mask when she caught the masked figure in black with a pizza box next to him on the vent, "Hey. Didn't realize you were bringing company." His voice was rough, but artificially so. She'd tried growling to scare criminals before to know a fake voice when she heard it.

"This is Spider-Girl. She's from another dimension...uh, not the same as you know who, so another another dimension. She's a friend, so you can stop with the growly voice there."

"Uh, hey." Mayday stepped forward and offered him a hand, "Nice to meet you, uh..."

"Spider-Man." His voice was softer now...and oddly familiar. Mayday looked him up and down and shook her head. He said Spider-Man, but she doubted he was a version of her dad. Too edgy looking, "...I know this seems like an odd choice, but try and punch me in the face. And make sure it's an actual hit. "

"What, why?!"

"Just roll with it." Spider-Woman said.

She looked between the two of them and, after a moment of hesitation, punched him right in the jaw with a quick right hook. Spider-Man stumbled back slightly and rubbed his face through his mask, "Oh crap, I'm sorry! Are you hurt? I-"

"It's fine. Just needed to be sure." He shook his head and let out a soft breath, "Needed to know if you were another Spider or someone trying to plant something. Spider-sense doesn't warn me about other Spiders, so I know you're real."

"It doesn't? Good to know." Hopefully she never ran into any evil alternate Spider-People (again) any time soon, "So yeah...alternate dimension Spider stuck in this place cause I couldn't stop my Doc Ock from making a portal and now I'm trapped here and they're going on a rampage." He made a small noise at that but said nothing, Speaking of, we are in New York, right? Just wanna make sure."

"Yeah, the Big Apple in all its glory. I was confused too when I first got here," Spider-Man said.

"Wait, you're from another dimension too?"

"That's...a bit of a long story, but close enough. I'm not really an 'expert' on it, though. Kinda just fumbled around." He stood and looked to Spider-Woman, "We should call Cin and the others."

"Sure. We can meet up at my place."

"You sure? What about your secret identity?"

"She's from another dimension, I'm sure we're good." Spider-Woman shrugged.

"I think you're being a bit too trusting..."

"I actually kinda agree with him," Mayday added, "Okay, um...how about I take off my mask first and tell you my name? That way it's a give and take?"

"You don't have to, but...sure. Again, let's do it at my place."

She didn't bother arguing the point and just let Spider-Woman carry her back to the apartment. She felt guilty leaving Spider-Man behind, but apparently he didn't like doing the side-along thing so it was a win-win all around. For Spider-Woman's sake, and her own guilt, Mayday made sure to keep her eyes closed the entire way there. She'd been on the other end of the secret identity gig long enough to have a healthy paranoia.

Mayday opened her eyes when Spider-Woman slowed down, "We're here." Mayday nodded in affirmative and jumped into the nearby wall so Spider-Woman could crawl through the window first. Mayday came in after her and looked around the room. It was small and cozy, not unlike her own. Maybe Spiders just liked the same things? She wasn't feeling the hood, though. Felt really impractical.

"Nice place."

"Yep. Casa de Spider-Woman. Not a mansion, but it works." She led her outside into the kitchen and picked up two sodas from the fridge, "Others'll be here soon."

"Cool." Mayday put her mask up to her nose and took a sip before almost spitting it out. Spider-Woman looked at her in worry, "I-I'm fine, just...didn't expect it to be so sweet."

"Yeah, Pete and Cin are the same. I never get it."

"Pete..." She called him that before, but Mayday thought she might've misheard, "So...weird question, but Pete wouldn't happen to stand for Peter Parker, would it? With a Benjamin at the middle."

"Yeah. You know him back in your place?"

"You...You could say that." Great, another alternate version of her dad. The first one she met was a teenager who flirted with her and the other one was a Supervillain who mind controlled Superheroes. And honestly she couldn't tell which was worse, "Hey, really long shot here, but are you maybe Mary Jane Pa-uh, Watson under that mask? Just throwing out names here."

"No, but MJ's one of my best friends." She sipped her own soda, "You gonna explain how you know em or are we gonna go through my entire headbook list?"

What the heck was headbook? Shaking her head, Mayday opened her mouth to reply before the door suddenly opened behind her, "Yo, Gwencent, I got your message." Mayday turned to the all-too familiar voice and froze. It was her. Same bright red hair, same light freckles on her cheeks. Mary Jane Parker, her mom. Except she was young, just a few years older than Mayday's own 16, and dressed way different than the sweatpants and t-shirt combo her own mom wore. Now she was in a pair of torn legging, hot pink shorts, brown boots and a white tank-top that exposed her freckled shoulders.

It was like seeing your mom trying to be hip only ten times worse cause it actually worked.

Mom- Mary Jane stopped when she saw her, "Uh...new friend?"

"Yeah. This is Spider-Girl, she came here from another dimension."

Oddly enough, Mary Jane just rolled her eyes, "Right, so is she actually from another dimension or does she just think that?"

"Kinda leaning towards the former. Someone took a vid of that blue portal opening over Times Square." She still had no idea exactly how Ock managed to survive that fall with Canis in tow, though she chalked that up to those tentacles. If she wasn't so evil Mayday would've been impressed, "Either way she needs help and Spiders stick together. That and she knew who you were before you even came in, so..."

"Maybe she's a Mary Janes fan?" The redhead grinned and sat on the couch. It looked way too familiar, "So does this Spider-Girl have a name? Cause I'm kinda feeling naked being the only one without a mask here."

"Let's wait for the others so we don't have to keep repeating."

The last three arrived soon enough. The first two - a brunette teen who looked about the same age as her and an Asian teenager in a sleek outfit - she didn't recognize. The third was...Peter. He looked different. Different hair color, a stubble instead of a goatee, and a noticeable lack of a cane and 20 years worth of wrinkles, but it was definitely still him. The last time she'd seen her dad so young he had a flat top and dressed like someone going to the debate team.

"What's the sitch, Spider-Gwen?" The brunette teen asked. Mayday furrowed her brows. Spider-Gwen? Was that how she called herself?

Spider-Gwen sat on the chair next to Mary Jane and Mayday took the one next to her, "First we should probably introduce ourselves. This is Spider-Girl, she's been trapped in our dimension because of a mad scientist supervillain with an octopus motif."

"This seems familiar..." Peter - God that felt weird to say - muttered, "Name's Peter Parker, by the way."

"Well as someone who's been there done that, I say welcome to this little slice of insanity we have here," the Asian girl quipped, "You can call me Cindy."

"Lana," The brunette teen added lazily.

"And you already know MJ." Spider-Gwen took off her mask and exposed a head of blonde hair and an eerily familiar face, "Gwen Stacy. Since you know Pete and MJ I'm guessing you know me too?"

Mayday couldn't say anything and just looked down at the floor. This was crazy. Her mom and dad who looked barely older than she was and her dad's greatest regret all sitting in the same room like nothing was wrong. Mayday looked at the three in turn and steeled herself, "Yeah, I do." She took off her mask and did her best to smile, "My name's May Parker, but my friends call me Mayday."

The name Parker seemed to jolt all of them. Cindy's eyes narrowed slightly while Gwen's, Mary Jane's and Lana's went almost comically wide. Peter just looked away and made a noise. Mayday sunk into her seat and blew out a small breath. This was not the best first impression.

Eventually Spider-Gwen managed to speak up, "So...does that mean you're like a version of Aunt May except way younger?"

"No, at least I don't think so? Do you mean the Aunt May who was married to Uncle Ben?" Spider-Gwen nodded, "Then...no, she's my grand-aunt. Grandma, really, since she was the one who raised dad."

She practically saw all the pieces line into place. Cindy laughed under her breath while Peter made another noise and stood to get some food from the fridge. Lana spoke up to cut through the heavy silence, "Figures that we get someone from another dimension and they end up being your and Pete's kid," she said to Spider-Gwen with a sigh. Mayday just looked uncomfortable as the words sank in.

"So...you two are together?" She asked the blonde while pointing between her and Peter.

"Yeah. Why, is it weird seeing your dad so young?" Spider-Gwen asked back with an awkward smile.

"Uh...okay, so I'l just say this straight out because I don't it to be awkward later. He's my dad and...she's my mom." Mayday pointed towards the oddly quiet redhead. Mary Jane just looked at her for a few seconds before she jumped clean off the couch.

"Wh-What?!"

"Yeah...if you're Mary Jane Watson, then that means your counterpart back in my dimension is my mom." This was why she didn't stay to chat when she got stuck in alternate universes. Always made things awkward.

"Huh, that's...well that's something," Spider-Gwen said blankly, "So...any idea where I'm at in your place?"

"You're...dead." Okay, maybe not the best way to start off, but this was a weird situation all around. Mayday continued before the other Spider could cut in, "You-uh, my world's Gwen Stacy and dad dated when they were both in college and...things went bad when a bad guy called the Green Goblin got involved." Peter muttered something under his breath, "He found out about dad's secret identity and he figured that he could use her to lure him to a trap."

"Wait, so Peter- your dad was Spider-Man?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah, he gave up the mask years ago but back then he was Spider-Man." And he still had it whenever he put on the mask again, "There was a fight at the George Washington bridge and Gwen Stacy...she didn't make it." She didn't want to tell them exactly what happened. Her dad still lived with the guilt of it, the guilt of everyone he couldn't save.

"So I'm...dead in another universe. That's...interesting." She looked to Peter and he just sighed softly and shook his head. There was definitely something there that they hadn't been open with.

Peter scoffed, "Should've known Osborn would be trouble."

"Peter, it's a different dimension. Harry wouldn't do that here," Gwen replied.

"Harry? No, no, it was his dad Norman." That got her a few odd looks, "...Harry Osborn did take up the Goblin mask and fight my dad, but Norman was the one who did that." And a bunch of horrible things to her, her dad and April.

"Alright, so you're telling us the CEO of Oscorp went around as a Supervillain? ...Yeah, I can totally see that," Lana shrugged , "Anyway, I stand corrected. Apparently Pete got busy with Jane. Sorry, Spider-Gwen."

"Wh-What are you apologizing for? It's a different dimension!" she shot back hotly.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night." Lana tapped her shoulder and hummed sympathetically, which was more than a little disturbing considering she just finished telling them that Gwen Stacy was dead back home. "So, am I dead back in your place too?"

"Uh...I don't know. I don't know you and Cindy, sorry."

"Eh, bet I died to Carter without Pete watching my back," she said, oddly lax. Peter threw her a dirty look and slapped the back of her head, "Hey, careful! I have no clue if I'll blow up if you hit me now that I got these new powers!"

"Then stop saying things like that," he shot back.

"B-Back on topic," Spider-Gwen said, "Mayday's currently stuck here and she needs our help. Why don't we start from the beginning again, 'Day?" 'Day'? Well, it wasn't the worst nickname she'd heard.

"Right, okay..." She told them everything. Ock and Canis' jailbreak, finding them in the warehouse, that portal malfunctioning, then ending up here. None of them were surprised except for maybe Mary Jane. Apparently people from alternate dimensions ending up here wasn't that weird or uncommon. It helped her forget the prior awkwardness, at least.

"So we need to be on the lookout for an old lady with tentacles and a really hairy dude," Cindy said, "I'll talk to the other officers at the precinct so we can get an APB out on these guys. I'll call Daisy too and see if we can borrow their portal. S.H.I.E.L.D should still have theirs somewhere." Police? S.H.I.E.L.D? How did a teenager know them enough that she could call in favors like that?

"I'll go talk to Nor and Gabe, too. They can probably dig something up," Lana added.

"Me, Peter and MJ'll search around with Mayday tomorrow. I need to swing by Wasp's later so we can borrow a pair of spare webshooters." Mayday didn't disagree. She wanted to be out there right now, but she couldn't cover much ground without her webs. Besides, she was exhausted. Lana and Cindy said their goodbyes, leaving just the four of them.

"Guess you're staying here for now." Spider-Gwen stood up and stretched, "Couch good?"

"Sure." Mayday smiled, "Uh...do you all live here?"

"Yeah. Well, Peter's not on the lease technically, but the landlord didn't look twice when I paid him."

"Should really have let me do that, Gwen..." Peter said softly.

"It's cool. Not like I'm buying sports cars or anything."


Imrightbehindyou: Another day, another spider hero. Why are there so many of them?

TheCollector: Agreed. We need more insect based heroes besides Wasps and Spiders. Where my Mosquito Man at?!

SmileyGuy: Killed by the world's biggest flyswatter :P

FactBot: Daily reminder that spiders are arachnids, not insects. Thank you.

TheCollector: Bad Bot.

Imrightbehindyou: Seriously, though, it's fucking weird how many of them there are. People saw this new chick and Spider-Woman working together. At least have more male spider people!

SmileyGuy: Man, Jameson's gonna freak when he finds out...

FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: Spider-Girl - yes, we know someone else has that name - is only visiting. If anyone sees an old woman with metal tentacles or a guy covered in fur please notify us. Thanks :)

EPFrog: I'll keep an eye out!

StrikerNotBombshell: Keep it in your pants, frog boy...


She couldn't sleep.

Mayday stared up at the dark ceiling blankly and sighed. It was almost midnight now and Spider-Gwen (and Peter, who went with her) still hadn't come back from visiting Wasp. Idly, Mayday wondered how her family was doing now. She always made sure to at least send a text if she was staying up past her normal curfew. As far as they knew she'd gone to fight Ock and just didn't come back.

Shaking her head, Mayday sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the couch. She couldn't think about them, not now. She'd just worry herself sick, "Damn..." She took a deep breath and stood, grabbing the jacket from the nearby table. Gwen had lent her some of her old clothes and they were close enough in size that she felt comfortable in them.

She needed to clear her head.

Mayday put on the jacket and a pair of shoes and walked out. The night air was chilly and she shrunk into the fabric. The place was...different. The buildings were way higher than what she was used to and the neon everywhere...oh man, the neon. It was giving her a headache just looking at them. How did everyone live in a world like this? Diabetes made out of pure sugar and neon lighting bright enough to make your head explode.

Eventually her attention was drawn elsewhere, "Avengers..." She stopped and looked at the billboard. She recognized Spider-Gwen and Cindy, but the other four were strangers...sort of. She recognized the Captain America and Wasp uniform and green woman looked like some of the old pictures of She-Hulk she remembered, but the archer in purple wearing shades was a complete unknown.

They weren't the only ones. Every few blocks she passed she saw an ad with one of the six Avengers or billboards about the Initiative program. She heard about it from her dad. Apparently back then Tony Stark tried to license superheroes. Good idea in theory, but in practice it ended up falling flat. Apparently this universe ended up making it work.

Still, she couldn't help but notice how female oriented the heroes here were, both in the billboards and the ones she met back in Spider-Gwen's apartment. Not that she minded, a hero was a hero, but it was kind of new to her. Usually it was the other way around.

She stopped when she saw it. A black and white billboard with her dad's picture on the left and giant, bolded words: STOP THE SPIDER-WOMAN. CALL 1-555-FOR-PETER. CASH SUM REWARD. It was heavily vandalized with a Spider-Woman mask painted on the side with pink coloration and the word's 'WHOSE RESPONSIBLE?' next to it. Her dad's picture was drawn over clumsily with a drawing of a lizard.

It stuck out from all the hero and corporate ads she ran into and she found herself drawn to it. Mayday walked to a nearby alley and, after making sure no one was around, took off the shoes and climbed to the top of the building. She put the shoes back on when she got to the top and continued to stare at the billboard. What the hell did it mean? Spider-Gwen seemed to be popular so, this didn't make any sense.

"Gwen hates that billboard." Mayday jumped and turned to the source of the new voice. She almost didn't recognize her because of the costume, but the long red hair spilling out the mask and the muffled but still recognizable voice clued her in quickly enough, "She's been trying to get it taken down, but a lot of people like it and are paying to keep it up. Reminds them of how much she struggled back then. Adds to the heroic feel, you know?"

"Mo- Mary Jane." Mayday looked her up and down, "I...didn't know you followed me." Or that she had powers. Sure, she heard Spider-Gwen say she'd help them look around, but she figured she'd ask around like her mom would've done.

"I didn't. I saw you crawling up the building when I was swinging around. You really need to be more careful." She lowered her mask and smiled, "Come on let's get up top. The view's killer."

Mayday could only nod mutely and followed her up. Mary Jane offered her a hand when she got to the top and Mayday took it gratefully, "New York city in all its glory." Mary Jane sat down and, without any kind of warning, her costume changed. The sleek jacket suddenly sprouted a hood and her red hair became short enough that she could cover her face with the hood.

"How did..."

"Part of my 'perks'." A snake-like thing jutted out of her shoulder and looked up at her with a toothy grin. Mayday's eyes widened and she stepped back, almost falling off the billboard entirely in her shock. She knew what it was.

"That's...That's the Carnage symbiote."

The red, pulsating thing laughed, "Huh, looks like we do get a better name at one point." Mayday shuddered. It had her voice, but it was distorted and twisted to something inhuman.

"How do you know Crimson?"

"I..." Should she say it? Moose still hadn't forgiven Spider-Girl for it despite her knowing it was the right thing to do, "I killed it. Back in my world it used to be attached to a mass murderer called Cletus Kasady." Then Moose, then Benjy. She still hated that Benjy lost his hearing because of that damn gun. Thank God it was only temporary, "It tried to kill a lot of innocent people. I didn't have a choice."

The 'snake' suddenly growled up at her while Mary Jane smiled wryly, "Hah, that's two for two. Least your mom didn't end up getting attached to it." The snake sunk back into her shoulder and Mary Jane patted the empty space to her left, "You just gonna keep standing there?"

Mayday sat next to her awkwardly and just...looked at her. It was so odd. Despite the decades of difference she still saw her mom there, but she was different. Colder, more tired despite her younger years, "Why is it with you?"

"Crimson? That's...a long story and I don't wanna get into it. Fact of the matter is that I can't pry it off without turning my body into a fleshy coffin and I'm not brave enough to to make the sacrifice play. So I just...live with it. We leave with each other, really." She smiled again. It looked fake, "It's been getting better, but we still have our moments."

"...I'm sorry." She thought of Benjy again. And April. More than a few times she wondered if being attached to a symbiote was part of the reason she'd been so unstable for a while. Saving her from that warehouse fire seemed to have calmed her down, but even now she wondered if one day her sister would snap and they'd have to go through Mayhem all over again.

"It's not your fault. Besides, I've helped people here and there. I'm not a real Superhero like Gwencent, but it's something." She put her right leg up and hugged it close to her, "So...in your world me and Tiger ended up together?" She stared straight on ahead and Mayday couldn't see her expression, but her voice was enough. Soft and wistful with just a bit of hope.

"Yeah..." Mayday smiled at the thought of her parents. Over 20 years of marriage and still as strong as the day they started, "Did you two ever..."

"What, me and Tiger? Nah, he always had eyes for Gwencent." She didn't sound frustrated, just...sad, "Then again that's something we both share."

"Wait, what do you..." Mayday's eyes widened, "Do you mean that you-"

"Like both him and Gwen? Yeah." She finally turned to look at her and Mayday saw the teasing smile on her face. Mayday didn't know what to say and just kept quiet, "Pretty weird, huh? Then again life hasn't been normal for a while now. I'm not expecting anything, if you're curious. The two of them can be lovey dovey and I'm happy for them. They're two of the closest friends I have."

"Wow..." Her mom and dad's heads would have exploded if they found out about this, "I feel like now's a good time to say this isn't the first time I ran into another version of my dad."

"Who was that one going out with?"

"Betty Brant." Mary Jane's smile was replaced with a look of utter confusion, "Yeah, I was pretty surprised too. Oh, and Liz Allan liked him." Kinda awkward considering Aunt Liz was Normie's mom.

"Betty and Liz? Christ, the multiverse is a weird place" She took out a packet of gum from one of her jacket pockets and offered one to Mayday, which she accepted, "Not gonna lie, I think you freaked Gwencent out when you told her about the whole 'you died' thing."

"Yeah...sorry about that."

"She'll move on. Least it wasn't Peter who died." Mayday's brows furrowed at the way she said that.

"What do you mean by that? Your Peter's alive, isn't he?"

"Wasn't always." She gestured to her right to the spraypainted Lizard picture, "Tiger was dead for two years. He was bullied back in high school and he wanted to get back at everyone so he made this serum that he thought would give him superpowers. Instead it turned him into a giant Lizard. Gwen stopped him but when the fighting was done Peter was dead and she was called a murderer. Police hunted her down for those two years."

"That's..." She didn't know the words. He'd died then come back? And the one he was with now was the one who killed him? It sounded insane even to her and she'd seen into Darkdevil's soul, "How is he back?"

"That's the complicated bit. Whatever gave him his powers brought him back last year with fucked up memories from a Spider-Man from another dimension. I don't think he's 'Peter Parker' anymore, least not the way Gwen remembers him, but she's fine with that. We all are. Helps that none of us were really close to him before he came back."

"Huh." An understated reaction, but she had no idea what else to say, "Back in my world my dad had two clones, but he considered them his brothers. Uncle Ben's the one whose costume I'm wearing now and Uncle Kaine helps me out when he can. I also have a sister, April. Green Goblin cloned one of us and we're not really sure who's the original. She's still kind of ticked about it."

"Clones? Now that's crazy." Mary Jane grinned lightly, "Anyway, we should be getting back. Don't want either of them to worry."

Mayday nodded and made stand before her spider-sense suddenly screamed. A powerful, spasming pain coursed throughout her entire body and Mayday fell to the side, screaming all the while. Mary Jane screamed something, but Mayday couldn't hear her. She barely even felt the shooting impact when she landed on her right arm. Just barely she saw Mary Jane jump down and kneel by her side.

She curled in on herself with her eyes shut tight, just trying to hold off on screaming, when the pain suddenly ended. Mayday opened her eyes and gasped, grabbing for Mary Jane desperately and refusing to let go, "I'm here, Mayday. I'm here." Mayday hugged the redhead tightly and held her close. Her heart beat loudly against her ears.

They stayed that way for at least a couple of minutes before Mayday's heart finally calmed down and she loosened her grip on the older woman, "I...I'm okay." She wasn't. What in the hell was that? Mary Jane bit her lip and the mask covered her face again as she helped Mayday up.

"I...I think we need to see Wasp."


Part 1 done. The next part will be them trying to fix Mayday's glitching and finding both Lady Ock and Canis to bring them back to Earth-982 before they steal Earth-65 tech and make thngs worse for everyone.

Anyway, hope you guys liked this one. I'll admit I felt off writing Mayday cause she just felt too similar to Gwen. It's part of the reason why I changed Cindy around so she wasn't just 'Gwen without the preachiness', to quote some older reviewers. Something tells me Mayday wouldn't be too happy if she found out her alternate mom and dad have bodycounts...

Questions:

1. Does anyone find the ages of the protagonists weird? To recap Gwen and MJ are 21, Peter's 19, Lana's 17 and Cindy's 29. Cindy is the only one who seems like she would be viably old and experienced enough to do the things she does and I wonder if it jars people out. Especially Peter and Lana given how dark their segments tend to be.

2. I know it's a bit soon, but what do you guys think of non-possessed Karen from last chapter? I'm debating whether to put her into more segments when she's not bonded to Ruth. It might help contextualize her relationship to Matt and her own motivations.

3. More a curiosity thing, but would you guys want Peter and/or MJ to join the Initiative or Avengers? A big part of their appeal is their loner anti-heroism tendencies but adding them to those groups come with its own plot potential.

Review Answers:

Brave2000 - Why wouldn't Felicia/MJ work with the tone? It's not like Felicia is ultra light or anything.

Noisy-Cricket - To answer your questions in order: Yes, Matt is a lawyer working pro-bono charity cases; Gwen sleeps on the bed, especially with Peter back; No, she doesn't absorb energy since she's using her own internal powers rather than taking it like a battery; Cindy tends to be both good cop and bad cop dependent.

DigitalEmperor001 - I'm aware you're being facetious.

Cha0s4ever - What MJ compromise? Also, the pregnancy storyline is a long game

Spider-God766 - DD is well known for having a lot of love interests, though. Also, Cindy's childishness makes sense considering the bunker and ten years thing. She was stuck mentally as a teenager.

Titan616 - Thor is too busy running New Asgard here to deal with the dreaded Noobmaster69. That and the issue is that Gwen stops even purse snatchers whereas she does nothing to stop Peter and MJ from commiting pre-meditated killings, which is way worse than stealing an old lady's purse for 50 bucks.

Eudera - Yeah...I don't think Peter and Bullseye are gonna bro it up any time soon.

Raw Prodigy - No, because she beats him in mobility. Unless he rigged an entire arena beforehand going invisible does nothing since she can just jump on top of a building or swing away to avoid getting hit and wait him out. She's not gonna let him stab or blow her up.

Peter's weaker than Gwen period. There's nothing wrong with this since he specializes in stealth and can do things she can't such as when he defeated Blackout or managed to resist the Beast.