Hello there to all my followers and readers everywhere! Welcome to a brand new adventure featuring our beloved Friendly Neighborhood hero, this time accompanied by Marvel's First Family, the Fantastic Four! Now, I know what you're wondering: "Hey, why are you starting a new story so soon? Are you going to update Into the Kitty-Verse?" and the answer is simple: The events of both stories are running simultaneously, thus explaining why Peter and Kitty aren't together for this time around.
I'll go into further detail at the end, but before we jump into our story, let's go with our usual disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS. THEY ARE THE PROPERTY OF MARVEL COMICS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATORS. With that said, now we can begin.
Enjoy the reading!
SPIDER-FOUR: THROUGH THE FOREVER GATE
Chapter 1: Familiar Reconnection
In the life of Peter Parker, the hero known as the Amazing Spider-Man, no one has left a major mark in his life like the Fantastic Four. When he started as a hero he tried out for them, but left when he was told that they were a non-profit organization. Nonetheless, as the years went by, Peter made a solid friendship with each member. He shared scientific insight with Reed Richards, had a minor crush on Sue Storm, shared good laughs with Ben Grimm and had a sibling rivalry of sorts with Johnny Storm.
As the years went by, he became more than a friend; he became a member of their family, a brother for them, and a surrogate uncle for Franklin and Valeria. He even formally joined the team when Johnny died fighting against Annihilus and they became the Future Foundation and not too long ago he briefly rejoined their ranks during the Cotati Invasion against the Priests of Pama alongside the children and Wolverine, rescuing the Kree and Skrull children that would be adopted after the war by Ben Grimm and his wife Alicia.
The Fantastic Four are very important to him, as he is to them, and that is why he decided to finally drop by their home at 4 Yancy Street and answer all the lingering questions Reed, and maybe the rest of the family, might have about the events that transpired almost a month and a half in Times Square when he, alongside his girlfriend and his allies, fought against the 'Last Inheritor' in what the media dubbed as 'Spider-Square'; not to mention the possibility of discussing what transpired at the end of the Hellfire Gala after mutantkind took over the planet formerly known as Mars after terraforming it and rename it as Planet Arakko.
"Knock-Knock!" Peter quips as he reaches the window of the building "Anybody home?" he knocks on the window hoping for a response, looking at two children who right hen approach the window to open it "Uhhh, hi?"
"Hello" the blue boy greets Peter "I recognize you, you are the Spider Warrior who frequently assists our leader's family" he talks to him, leading Spidey to realize who they are.
"Oh! I remember you! Jo, right?" Peter asks, to which Jo-Venn, now called Jo Grimm, nods in response "Is the family at home?"
"Yes, they are busy helping the Torch" Jo explains to him.
"What? Something happened to Johnny?" Peter asks him with concern in his voice but before Jo could answer, Alicia Masters enters alongside N'Kalla, the Skrull girl now called Nikki Grimm, and H.E.R.B.I.E., the family's robotic assistant "Alicia?"
"Spider-Man? Is that you?" Alicia greets Peter, who immediately enters the building through the window.
"I remember you; you helped us back during the Cotati Invasion" Nikki talks to Peter with a kind smile, remembering his help during that fight.
"Hey, I was dropping by to visit and then Jo just told me that something happened to Johnny" Peter talks to the girls, still showing concern about his friend.
"Mister Storm is in Doctor Richards' laboratory as they work on a solution" H.E.R.B.I.E. interjects to respond.
"From what Ben told me, Doom did something to him and now Johnny can't flame off" Alicia explains the situation to him.
"The family's downstairs trying to help him" Nikki adds to Alicia's words.
"I advise you to wear protective gear due to the extremely heightened temperatures the laboratory is going through" H.E.R.B.I.E. joins the talk "We count with such gear available for you, Spider-Man"
"Well, might as well take a look and hopefully another head can help" Peter comments, hoping to provide some insight into Johnny's situation, to which the group nods in agreement.
"Very well, follow me" H.E.R.B.I.E. turns to allow Peter to follow him with Alicia and her children right behind him.
MEANWHILE, AT REED'S LABORATORY
Inside the laboratory, Reed Richards, the leader of the Fantastic Four, was hard at work inside one of the protective suits to keep a close eye to Johnny's vital signs, ensuring that their tests come out good before executing another attempt to fix his problem.
"Very well, I hope this freeze-forming foam tryout manages to soothe out the flames" Reed comments and then looks at the other end of the room where his wife Susan Storm-Richards and their children Franklin and Valeria keep their eyes on the screens, all the while they remain inside one of Susan's force fields.
"All good and ready on this side, Reed" Sue gives him the indication and right then he begins to activate the panel alongside Ben.
"Laser Test 000JST-7 beginning" Reed activates a laser array that aims at Johnny's flames, tracking his body until they fire a few series of beams that engulf the laboratory in a flash of light, but as soon as that light fades, the flames keep on burning, meaning that the test failed.
"Another Dud" Ben grunts as he looks at Reed, who sighs with mild frustration.
"The numbers just don't add up" Valeria explains as she checks her screen "Whatever Uncle Doom did to Uncle Johnny, made a profound change to his powers beyond the molecular level" she comments as she types on the computer, comparing the database with the results brought from all the previous tests.
"DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE GIVING UP!" Johnny has to scream to be heard since his flames also drown the sound of his voice.
"We're not giving up Johnny; we're just trying to check every possibility" Reed replies, trying to comfort his brother-in-law when he then receives the notification alarm "H.E.R.B.I.E.? What is it?"
"Doctor Richards, I'm here to inform you that Spider-Man has arrived, he's being outfitted with protective gear as we speak" H.E.R.B.I.E. reports to Reed, which was also heard by the rest of the family.
"We could use some extra help Dad" Franklin tries to convince Reed to allow Peter to help, yet the patriarch of the Fantastic Family was already thinking ahead.
"Indeed we could" Reed replies "Not to mention that we still have some lingering questions, let him in" he notifies to H.E.R.B.I.E. who immediately opens the pathway to the laboratory. Peter begins to walk towards it, reaching the gate only to notice the fiery glow inside.
"WHOA! You weren't kidding about the heat!" Peter quips as the HUD indicators of his suit show the temperature, way above the norm "In fact, I think you undersold the situation" he adds as he walks inside.
"Uncle Pete!" Franklin greets him with a hug, followed by Valeria who does the same gesture.
"So good to see you, Uncle Pete" Valeria talks to him, to which he returns the hug in kind.
"Me too" Peter replies as he looks at Sue "How serious is it?" he asks her, to which she sighs in response.
"This is the seventh test" Sue replies with a serious tone "It's been hard, especially with Johnny" she comments, prompting Peter to walk a few steps towards Johnny's position, noticing the warning signs on the HUD from his protective gear.
"Suddenly I'm beginning to understand how the wieners feel when they're cooked" Peter quips as he approaches one of his best friends "Johnny? How you hanging, pal?"
"PETER? IS THAT YOU!?" Johnny asks him trying to communicate with him.
"Dropping by, dude" Peter replies through the communicator device on his suit "Listen, you'll make it through, you heard me? If you were able to come back from the dead after beating Annihilus' tuchus, you can go back to flame on and off in a matter of time" he tries to give some motivational words to alleviate the tension.
"Ya see? Ya have nuthin' ta worry 'bout!" Ben comments, trying to keep the good mood "Stretcho and Webs workin' their noggins together might as well bring that solution, kiddo" he adds to Peter's words of encouragement just as Reed approaches them.
"It's really good to have you here Peter" Reed talks to him while they begin to walk away from the epicenter "Every extra hand is welcome, and of course, we still have some questions about what transpired in Times Square" he comments as they walk out "Let's head to the upper lab"
"Lead the way" Peter follows him with Franklin and Valeria behind them while Susan and Ben stay with Johnny.
SOME TIME LATER…
The brief walk to the upper levels of Reed's laboratory inside the house allowed the scientist to catch a breath of fresh air since the intense environment near Johnny has become tense. Reed would definitively welcome Peter's assistance knowing how resourceful he can be, and also they could have the pending talk about his multiversal adventure.
"I have to ask Reed, what exactly happened to Johnny?" Peter throws the question while he takes off his mask "Alicia mentioned something about Doctor Doom, which I figure it was the gazillionth attempt against you guys, but I doubt Johnny was the intended target" he gives his reasoning while Reed moves one of his chalkboards.
"Yes and no" Reed replies "Doom had a secret weapon prepared against us, only that he didn't intended to fire it at first, after all, it was his wedding, or to put it more accurately, it was Victor's attempted wedding" he explains the story behind the accident, but it was a certain sentenced what left Peter with his mouth agape.
"Wait, hang on, Doctor Doom was getting married?" Peter asks in complete disbelief.
"Yes, with his loyal subordinate Zora Vukovic, also known as Victorious" Reed replies with a calm tone "Yet unfortunately, certain… circumstances… caused that wedding to fail" he comments, omitting the fact that it was because Victorious revealed that she was intimate with Johnny.
"WOW, man, even crazy despotic dictators can get entangled in soap opera drama" Peter quips as he looks at Reed's notes "And of course, he took it out on you, figures" he adds, looking at Reed "And what happened to that girlfriend Johnny had? That soulmate of his, what was her name? Skyler or something? How did she take Johnny's situation?" he then asks about Johnny's then girlfriend and alleged 'Soulmate' Sky.
"Uhhhh, Uncle Pete…" Valeria steps forward to talk "First of all, her name is Sky" she corrects him "And second, she broke up with Uncle Johnny" she points out that detail to him.
"In fact, she even left the planet" Franklin adds to his sister's words "We didn't know because we were working with the Future Foundation while the family was gone to Latveria and by the time they came back home, she was gone" he explains, prompting Peter to facepalm, since the fact that it was another failed relationship for Johnny Storm just leaves him annoyed.
"Why am I not surprised?" Peter poses the rhetorical question "I mean, Johnny told me that he had his doubts about the whole 'Soulmate' thing but I thought he was going to give it a shot" he comments about that "She seemed nice in the brief time I talked to her back during the whole Cotati thing, and Kitty was looking forward to meet her eventually" he mentions about his girlfriend wanting to meet Sky, something that is no longer possible due to the circumstances.
"Oh, now that you mention Kitty, we heard about the news! Congratulations!" Franklin giddily comments, prompting Peter to laugh "I'll never stop saying it; you guys make a perfect couple".
"Thanks Frankie, I assume Kitty was the one who told you, right?" Peter asks him, to which Franklin nods in response.
"I was there when she told the news" Valeria interjects "But still, I'm glad for both of you" she smiles at her foster uncle.
"I guess I missed something" Reed comments, wondering about those news, to which Peter laughs and looks at his longtime friend and scientific mentor.
"Well, it's just that Kitty and I decided to take the next step in our relationship and we're living together now" Peter replies, explaining the news about him and Kitty "Aunt May gave us the keys to her apartment while she moved with my sister Teresa" he comments about him.
"Oh right, your Special Agent Sister, Johnny told us about her" Reed replies, revealing how he, and therefore the rest of the family, knows about her "But still, congratulations are in order Peter, you finally have found a solid, steady relationship that can help you balance your state of mind" he comments in his own way "And now that I'm wondering, how is she, by the way?"
"Oh, she's doing good" Peter replies "She's having a brunch with her friends at Krakoa"
"I thought she left that island for good after what happened to her" Valeria comments, remembering that Kitty left Krakoa after Sinister manipulated her resurrection and used her against her friends.
"Well, she still have friends within the X-Men and remember, Kitty and I went to the Hellfire Gala" Peter replies, even making the reference about being in the recent Gala alongside the rest of the Order of the Web.
"That reminds me!" Reed interjects "There is something I needed to talk about with you" he then walks to the computer, projecting charts with dimensional energy readings "These are the charts of all the dimensional spikes that I registered during that 'event' that involved you in Times Square" he talks as Peter looks at the charts, noticing how Reed pointed out each spike and connected it through another set of notes "Peter, I know that you are one of the very few who still remember what went down with the Incursion and Victor's Secret Wars and I haven't seen such levels of interdimensional energies since that version of Battleworld" he explains the similarity with the world that Victor Von Doom created after the Multiverse was destroyed due to the Incursions "So I needed to corroborate Peter, is this a Multiversal Event?"
"Well, I knew this was coming" Peter replies as he turns to face Reed "The answer is yes, but don't think of it as a threat" he then begins to explain "This goes waaaaay back to a tory of a man called Ezekiel Sims" he talks to him.
"The man who owned Sims Tower?" Reed asks him, to which Peter nods in response "Oh, I apologize, didn't mean to interrupt, please go on"
"Yeah, that guy" Peter replies as he resumes "He once told me about how my powers had a totemic nature and that I was connected to something called the Web of Life and Destiny" he talks, sparking the attention of the Richards children "The Web actually connects us spider-themed characters through the Multiverse, and yet that Web has its enemies, more accurately, a vampiric hunter called Morlun" he remembers the intense fights he had against him "Beating him took me quite a hard work to the point where the first time I almost died, the second time I sorta died and the third time, I needed a whole army of spider-people"
"I guess that explains the exponential growth of Spider-themed heroes in the city alone" Valeria joins the conversation "Given that at first we knew about Uncle Peter and at least two other Spider-Women aside of Miss Drew, and now we have a larger group" she points that detail.
"Exactly, since a few of them aren't precisely from these parts" Peter replies, making the obvious reference to Miles and Gwen, both coming from different Earths.
"But then, on that day, the amount of dimensional energy grew larger, meaning a new slew of spiders" Reed comments as he takes note of each detail from Peter's story "But keeping track of many dimensions would be a hard task, unless we're dealing with what we call a 'Multiversal Nexus Hub'…" he points that out, something that Peter takes note as well.
"In this case in particular, said Hub is called 'Loomworld', which is where the Web of Life and Destiny is" Peter replies, causing the interest grows for all members in the laboratory.
"Fascinating…" Reed whispers in astonishment.
"So that place exists?" Franklin throws the question "Because if it does, we have to visit it!"
"Well, it does exist" Peter replies "But unfortunately, I don't have access to my Dimensional Watch, at least not until another crisis involving the spiders occurs" he comments, sounding a bit disappointed about that, but Valeria steps in.
"Not necessarily" Valeria chirps "We could use the Forever Gate!" she mentions the family's dimensional portal, something that surprises Peter while leaves Reed stunned for the fact that she proposed to use the Gate.
MEANWHILE, AT AN UNDISCLOSE LOCATION
In an underground base, a man sits in a large chair in front of three television screens, putting his cup of coffee in one of the arms as he sits down and activates the screens, opening a videocall with three other members.
"Good morning Gentlemen" the man in front of the screens speaks, a man wearing a massive helmet with a thick mustache on his face and a blue and purple uniform covering his body, except to his face "This is a fresh reminder of our plan, as you recall I already sent you the blueprints of our target and our timeline, so consider this the last time I'll ask you… will you join me in my plan to bring down the Fantastic Four once and for all?"
"Wizard…" one of the men replies, revealing the identity of the first villain "While I hate them with a passion, almost as much as you do, I have to ask… are you sure this plan will work?" the man wearing a green suit and a messy hairdo.
"Calvin, Hyde…" Wizard replies to the question of Mister Hyde "I already gave you all the pointers, you, a man of science, should be able to understand them without a problem" he comments with a slightly condescending tone.
"I understand your plan" the second man, speaking with a Spanish accent, joins the conversation "But where is the guarantee that we will get rid of them for good?"
"All we need to do is make use of their 'Greatest Creation', we'll take the control and once we ensure their fate is sealed, we handle the rest" Wizard replies "I know you're eager to bring your magic Esteban, both metaphorically and literally, so consider this the chance to explore newer alternatives, knowledge can be expanded Diablo"
"And what's in it for me?" the last man, wearing a black and yellow armor, speaks "I already lost a lot after that failed deal with those Homines Verendi children, what do I gain with you?"
"Once we get rid of the so-called 'Smartest Man on the Planet', consider this the chance of steal and reverse engineer whatever you want, this is your Golden Ticket, Cross" Wizard replies, making Darren Cross, bearer of the Yellowjacket armor, go silent for a few seconds "So well, last chance, you're in or you're out?"
"Consider me in, Wizard" Calvin Zabo, the man known as Mister Hyde, replies.
"So am I" Diablo joins the talk.
"I'm sold" Yellowjacket adds, prompting Wizard to show a wicked smile.
"Good call gentlemen" Wizard replies "Suit up and we'll meet in the rendezvous point, for in a few hours, the Fantastic Four will be gone for good!" he exclaims, shutting off the screens and then looks at the hologram of his blueprints "And I owe it all to you… little Bentley" he comments as he looks at the image of his younger clone Bentley-23, member of the Future Foundation.
Ladies and Gentlemen, a brand new Spider-Adventure begins!
Now, before we go, in response to the obvious question lingering in the air: Yes, I'm still doing the "Into the Kitty-Verse" story. The thing is that both stories (Kitty's and this one) will reach a connecting point since the events of both stories are running simultaneously (thus explaining why Peter and Kitty are not with each other this time around). This is something I'm experimenting on when it comes to storytelling, so I hope I manage to pull it through LOL!
Sorry it took so long, but things have been hectic with my life away of the keyboard, but I'm still delivering, guys! As for the updates, I'll be going back and forth between both stories until we reach the connecting point. Just be patient and don't stop showing your support! I'll see you around for the next one!
NEXT CHAPTER: THE ALL-NEW FRIGHTFUL FOUR MAKES THEIR MOVE!
