As the drones came closer and closer, Peter's heartbeat ramped up more and more. This was the moment where he was about to find out if this was all a mistake or not, where he would find out if he'd endangered all these other lives for nothing. He bent down further, getting into a position where he was ready to do whatever was necessary: run, jump, protect a teammate, etc.
Finally, the first drone opened fire.
After that, it was hard even for Peter to tell what was happening, as everything around them descended into chaos. Shots were being fired from seemingly every direction and his spider sense felt like it was stuck on permanent tingle mode, constantly alerting him to a threat from a new direction just when he'd dispatched the previous one. Dirt and debris shot up out of the ground as the drones rained down on them.
At one point, Peter's spider sense alerted him to a danger that wasn't meant for him, but a teammate. He turned to see that Eli was about to get blasted by one of the drones from behind, and he instinctively shot his arm forward, preparing to fire a web that would clog the drone's guns. His fingers stopped just short of pressing down on his web shooters though, as an exploding arrow suddenly came flying in, destroying the drone before he could react.
Peter glanced over to find Kate, who was already turning to shoot at the next drone in her sights. Riri was hovering over her general vicinity, shooting down several drones with repulsor blasts. On the opposite side, Sam was flying around, blasting away at drone after drone. He must've noticed Eli almost get hit as well, because he quickly flew over into a similarly defensive position, hanging out just above is ally. Amadeus was mostly to himself, punching out the enemy weapons or even using them as weapons against the rest.
Peter couldn't believe his eyes. The team, despite large levels of inexperience, were functioning beautifully as a unit. He almost got so caught up in this realization that he almost got blasted, were it not for his spider sense. He backflipped into the air, landing on the drone shooting at him, tearing it apart with his bare hands. He then webbed its remains, hurdling it against one that was about to fire at Sam, destroying it. Peter's ally noticed this, offering a quick nod of acknowledgment, which he reciprocated.
The fight continued for a while longer, the team dispatching drone after drone until they had finally wiped them all out.
"Alright, good job guys!" Peter shouted to everyone, "but we need to hurry and get into that building before they send more!" He then ran up to it, the rest arriving alongside him. The place was seemingly built like a fortress, and the way in required what looked like not only a passcode, but also a fingerprint and eye scan.
"I don't suppose it takes yours, does it?" Kate asked Sam.
"Nope," Sam asked. He tried firing a blast of his energy, but after several seconds, it was clear it was having no effect.
"I forgot that this building was made from a particularly reinforced metal," Sam explained. "Even if Riri and I both went at it, it would take forever."
"Allow me," Amadeus said. The team separated, backing toward opposite sides to clear a path as Amadeus backed up, bending his legs before lunging forward, delivering a powerful punch that tore the door off its hinges, sending it flying into the room.
"All clear," he said when nothing happened upon his entrance.
"For now," Sam replied.
"Let's move," Peter said.
M.J. wiped the sweat off her brow as she continued fiddling with the wiring. She'd been at this for at least an hour now, tirelessly working to get the power back on. Her stomach was grumbling from hunger, and she'd realized a few minutes ago that she really had to go to the bathroom (probably due to that espresso), but none of that mattered right now. If Peter was out there risking life and limb with his team, then she would ignore and push past these issues and keep going.
She'd ended up having to tear apart more of the panel's underside than she'd initially thought she'd have to in order to figure anything out for certain. M.J. had tried a couple of different options already that she thought might work to get the power back on, but it had been to no avail so far. It was hard not to get discouraged, and it didn't help that she could sense the same feeling in Happy and Eleanor, but she refused to give up hope.
This was hard for her, since she wasn't the traditionally hopeful one. "Expect disappointment, and you'll never actually be disappointed," had been her philosophy most of her life, and it's what had gotten her through things. There were also times where, if she was being honest, she even saw Peter's never-ending optimism as naïve, something she had confessed to him earlier on in their relationship.
"Maybe," he'd answered her at the time, "and yeah, maybe that will change a little as time wears on, but I hope I never actually lose that. I like believing in the good in the world; it's what keeps me going I guess."
M.J. had respected him for his honesty then, and right now, she was wishing it was easier for her to be the same way. Part of her had spent the last couple of years fearing that Peter would be ripped away from her in some crazy scenario like this one. She'd had nightmares that she'd never told Peter about, dreams of news reports of him being found dead after a brutal fight, leaving her alone in the world once more.
But that hadn't happened yet. That was what she needed to focus on. Peter was still alive, he had to be, and he would come back to her, just like he always did. It was just up to her to make sure he found his way back.
This thought gave her a renewed determination and focus, and she resumed her work. It wasn't long after that either that she believed she might have finally cracked the code. Working particularly with red and green wires, she treaded carefully, pouring all her focus and energy into this menial task. Finally, she got them connected, and a jolt of electricity suddenly surged through the wiring, and the panel made a noise that sounded like it was turning back on.
M.J. sprang up, looking over the top of the panel. The others ran quickly moved in front of it as well. The panel's screens appeared to be lit up again, and everything seemed to be working.
Now came the real test.
Taking a breath, M.J. closed her eyes, truly allowing herself to hope for the first time in this process. Opening them, she reached down to the button, pressing her fingers into it.
Instantly, the portal roared to life once again.
Happy and Eleanor let out ecstatic sounds of joy, but all M.J. could do was sink into her seat, relief washing over her like a giant, wonderful wave crashing over her body. She'd done it; she'd given Peter, Kate and the others a way home again. Now came the hard part: sitting, waiting, and HOPING that nothing else went wrong.
"You did it," Happy said.
"Yeah," M.J. said through a breath she let out. "I did."
She then rotated her seat.
"Happy, I need to ask you a serious question."
Happy's face quickly melded into one of concern.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Where is the bathroom in this place?"
Peter had thought the machines in the city were a maze, but this...this was crazy. The ironic thing was someone was guiding him and the others this time, so he knew that they had to be on the right path, but it still felt like they weren't going much of anywhere. He didn't question Sam though; he hadn't led them astray so far, so there was no reason to believe he would do so now.
He kept waiting for his spider sense to go off at some point, but Peter's early warning system had been surprisingly quiet since they entered the building. This should've been good news, except for the fact that the artificial intelligence they were up against had proven itself rather, well, intelligent thus far, so he continued keeping his senses tuned to the environment around them, leading the way alongside Sam so he could hopefully be the first to face any danger they might encounter.
"Oh no," Peter suddenly heard from behind him. He turned to see that it had come from Riri, whose suit appeared frozen in place.
"Is it happening again?" Amadeus asked.
"I think so," Riri said, her voice already sounding anxious. "The new program I installed is trying to fight it, but I'm not sure if it's going to hold up or not."
Peter could hear her starting to breathe a little heavier, something Amadeus picked up on too as he bent down to face her.
"It's okay," he said. "You're smarter than this thing; it won't break through this time."
"I hope so," Riri said, her voice still quaking.
"I know so," he said. "But no matter what, we're all here for you. We won't let this thing win."
Riri took multiple slow but deep breaths, and the whole team waited anxiously regarding what would happen. Peter wondered if perhaps this was why the WorldMind hadn't sent out some other defense against them since they'd entered: because it anticipated being able to turn one of their own against them. It made too much sense, but it wasn't going to happen without a fight.
Suddenly, the suit's arms and legs moved around, though they weren't in a threatening manner; more like a surprised one.
"Guys," Riri said, "I think I did it! I'm still in control!"
"See? I told you!" Amadeus shouted.
"That's great," Peter said, "but we better get moving before..."
Spider sense.
It didn't take long for Peter or the others to see what the threat was: a massive number of fighting machines similar to the ones that had been encountered in the dome-making machines on earth were coming for them, as were more drones.
"You guys go," Amadeus said, turning to the others. "Riri and I will handle these things; if we all stay here, it'll just delay us."
"Are you sure?" Kate asked.
"Yeah; besides, with just him and I here, we won't have to worry about anyone else getting hurt and we can really cut loose," Riri explained.
Peter didn't like it, but Amadeus and Riri were likely the two most powerful of them as well as the most durable, so if anyone could handle everything coming at them right now, it was those two.
"Alright," Peter said, "but if you guys get overwhelmed, get out of there as fast as you can." He then nodded towards Sam, indicating he should continue leading the way. He then flew ahead while Peter and the others picked up the pace behind them. Since the WorldMind's plan to hack Riri's suit had failed, it was clearly intent on throwing everything it had at them, so time was of the essence now even more than before.
After leading them down the hallway and up a couple levels, they finally arrived: the WorldMind's mainframe. It was a MASSIVE room, with the mainframe itself looking like a futuristic version of a computer monitor that was the size of a building all by itself. There were several circular levels in the space as well.
"Okay," Kate asked, "so, where exactly on this thing does our little virus here have to go into?"
Before Sam could answer, Peter's spider sense rang out again, and he got the others to cover just in time for several laser blasts to rain down on where they had previously been standing, ceasing once they'd found cover.
"To answer your question," Sam said, "it's at the bottom of this thing, a few levels down."
"Alright, next question," Eli said. "How do we get past all these defenses?"
"You won't," Sam replied.
"What?" Peter asked.
"This is my fight now," Sam said. "I'm going to fly down there and insert the drive, and I won't let anything this machine throws at me stop that."
"That's suicide," Kate protested, "the defenses are likely to be at the most intense levels down there. You'll never make it."
"No offense, but do any of you think you'll fare any better?" Sam questioned. "Look, guys, it's been a pleasure working with you all on this, truly. Even just having you guys here means a lot to me, but this was always more my fight than any of your all's. Besides, even if I lose my life doing this, I'll be with my dad again."
There was silence among the group for a moment, and Sam was about to take off, when Peter reached out to stop him.
"For the record, yes, I think I can do better," he explained.
"What?" Sam said.
"Between my spider sense and my reflexes, I'm sure I can avoid any defenses this thing will throw at me."
"I can't let you do that," Sam protested. "You have your girl waiting for you back home. I'd never forgive myself if she lost you because of me."
"And I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you either," Peter explained. "Trust me, I can keep up on the whole guilt trip thing all day long, but that's not going to get us anywhere. We need to do this the same way we got here: by working as a team."
Sam looked like he was about to protest further but appeared to finally relent.
"Alright," he finally said. "What's your idea?"
"You're probably our best chance to take out a lot of these defenses, so you and Eli try and draw its attention and get rid of as much as you can," Peter said. "Kate, find a good position to cover me from while I head down to insert the virus into the mainframe."
"Okay," Kate replied. The others agreed too, and Sam reluctantly surrendered the device containing the virus to Peter.
"Alright guys," Peter said. "Let's do this."
Sam emerged from their hiding spot first, instantly drawing fire from the defenses. Eli got out next, sticking nearby Sam as best he could, picking up a broken piece of metal to use as a shield while using various barriers to avoid blasts as well. Peter came out next, making a run for the mainframe, narrowly avoiding blasts in doing so. He glanced back to see Kate had found another spot a little closer than the first one to hide behind.
Peter was just about to make the leap for the lower levels when a few drones came from the walls, heading straight for him. Firing a web, Peter swung up and away, dodging blasts from both the drones and the other defenses. He was literally going the opposite of the direction he wanted to, but right now he just needed to buy time to either figure out how to handle the drones himself or allow one of his teammates to take them out.
The latter happened first, as one of the drones suddenly blew up behind him as the result of an exploding arrow Kate had fired. He then tightened the arc of his swing, whipping around suddenly and kicking one of the drones from the side, sending it smashing into a wall, destroying it. Peter then found himself right back where he started, so, with just one more drone on his tail, he decided it was now or never. Releasing his web, he performed a backflip, causing the drone to zoom past him, allowing Sam to destroy it with a blast of his own. He straightened his body, performing a dive straight down for the lower levels.
As he descended, more defenses indeed came after him, as he seemed to be getting shot at from everywhere. His reflexes and spider sense were only barely enough to keep him alive, but then Sam swooped in, taking out a string of blasters all at once. The timing was convenient too, because right then, Peter spotted the place to insert the virus.
He fired a web, swinging in to insert the device, when suddenly some kind of mechanical tentacles came shooting out from nearby. Peter couldn't get out of the way in time, and soon found himself wrapped in the coils of the mechanical arms. They then proceeded to rapidly start squeezing, and Peter could soon feel the tightness even on his insides. He struggled against them, but their grip only seemed to grow tighter.
Peter looked over to see Sam come flying in to save him but was driven away by more fire from other defenses. He continued to fight, but it was no use.
"Peter!"
He looked up to see that it was Kate who had shouted, as she had jumped from the top and was now free falling down the levels. She managed to draw back an arrow, firing it straight at the tentacles Peter was wrapped in. It turned out the arrow contained acid, which instantly started melting through the arms. With their grip weaker than before, Peter flexed his muscles, snapping what remained of them.
He shot a web back at the mainframe, pulling himself up and jamming the device containing the virus into the mainframe, and it locked into place almost immediately. Peter didn't stay to observe it though, jumping and swinging just in time to grab Kate and stop her fall, landing on one of the circular levels.
"I'm not sure if that was genius or insane," Peter said as Kate caught her breath from all the adrenaline she was surely feeling.
"Definitely insane," she gasped, her eyes still wide as she looked at him. "Did it work?"
A humming sound seemed to answer the question; Peter looked to see that that the blue lighting of the mainframe was rapidly being replaced with a red, indicating the virus was successfully taking over. Peter grabbed Kate and they made their way back to the main floor, where everyone was reunited, even Amadeus and Riri.
"The drones and robots we were fighting shut down, so I'm guessing we won?" Amadeus asked excitedly.
"We did," Kate answered.
"We still need to get out of here though," Sam said, "the virus also contained a self-destruct mechanism that will activate in a few minutes."
"Okay, well, let's move!" Peter shouted. The crew then hurried about of the building, making their way a decent distance away from it just in time to see it destroyed, crumbling down in a heap upon imploding.
For a moment, no one said anything, everyone seemingly taking in the surreal, relieving nature of the moment. Peter knew for sure that he was; this was easily among the most overwhelming and stressful situations he'd been in as Spider-Man, but, with the help of his new teammates, they had overcome everything thrown their way in the end. All the doubts Peter had about the team being able to handle it had all been false, and he'd never been so happy to be wrong in his life.
"Alright everyone," Peter finally spoke up. "Let's go home."
Almost there, just a couple chapters left to tie up some loose ends, and part 2 of this trilogy will be complete!
It's been a long, fun ride so far, and but at the same time, I'm ready to move on to the final part of this story here soon, even if I still have some planning to do on it.
Thanks to everyone who has been supportive of this story and this series so far; I hope that you continue to enjoy it!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:1-3