Arc 1 - Chapter IX: A Hello with Apple Pie

As Sleeper had promised, the collider did not explode and instead imploded, destroying only the collider device and leaving Fisk's building largely intact. Which allowed rescue workers and firemen to enter the tower without any fear of the tower collapsing. Kairi and Sleeper had watched the process from atop a nearby roof, munching on chocolate and tater tots, just in case they were needed to help.

They had also watched on as Kingpin, Tombstone, Doc Ock, Scorpion, and Vulture were taken into police custody. By Miles's dad of all people, which piqued Kairi's curiosity a bit. He knew his friend's father was a policeman, but what he didn't know was that the man had been close enough to respond to the incident.

Oooh, we should let him in our secret! That way we can catch bad guys and just toss them off to him when we're done!

Uh, no. I don't want to indirectly affect Miles or his family. They don't have the same background as my family does.

They'll be fine, it was only your mother who was a superhero, right? There isn't that much of a difference.

My uncle was a superhero.

…

Wait, what?! Since when?!

Around the same time as my mother. Uncle Will went by the moniker of Red Wolf, he was blessed by the Cheyenne god, Owayodata, with superhuman powers and a wolf companion who has the power to turn into a ghost.

…

You're joking. You're totally joking, aren't you?

Nope. Not even a little.

When all the first responders had gone, clearing the building as off-limits until it could be properly tested if was structurally sound, that was when Kairi had gone home. He would've gone to the hospital to check in on his mother and grandmother, but a text from them both that said that they were okay allayed his fears. That and he really wanted to take a shower come morning.

But his sleep that night?

It was his best sleep ever.

He dreamed of Gwen, her smile, their kiss.

Well, kisses, but really, who's counting?

His dreams were so alluring that he really didn't want to wake up. Yet, unfortunately, he still resisted Morpheus's sweet, sweet calls to remain slumbering. Damn you, you Greek god of dreams and sleep, you should've worked harder.

"Ugh," he groaned as sunlight peering through his window shot into his eyes, causing him to flip over to avoid the sunbeams.

"Awake, I see."

Kairi released a sigh as he sat up in his bed, his head tilted away from the sunlight. "Under duress," he said through a yawn, raising a hand to cover his mouth. Smacking his lips a little, he turned to find Sleeper in its cat form sitting at the edge of his computer desk. "How about you, you sleep well?"

"I don't need sleep," Sleeper boasted. "Sleep is for you lesser beings. Though I don't mind the occasional nap..."

"Of course," Kairi rolled his eyes as he got up from his bed and grabbed his bath towel from his closet. "Mind doing me a favor? Can you turn on my computer and see what kind of news came out as a result of what happened last night? I'm gonna take a shower."

"Sure," the symbiote easily agreed as a tendril came from its back and pushed the power buttons on the computer and the monitor it was connected to.

Meanwhile, when Kairi got into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, he turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. As he waited, he took out his phone and pulled up his music app, and pressed random on one of his assembled playlists. As the music started playing, he nodded his head to the beat and tested the water coming from the showerhead.

Nice and warm.

Disrobing, he got into the shower stall, beginning the start of his day. Once he was done showering along with his other daily morning rituals, he had walked back into his room to find Sleeper playing Halo on his computer.

"Uh, Sleeper, what are you doing?" he asked.

"I got bored waiting for you, so now I'm pwning Noobmaster69 into the dirt," Sleeper absently replied. Having four eyes meant he could keep an on his frontal view, his radar, and as well as for enemy movement on his screen all at the same time.

Kairi raised a brow as he went about getting dressed, "Okay, why that person specifically?"

"Kid called me a dickhead, which was rude. I am merely showing him the consequences for rude behavior."

Kairi blinked, "Which involves brutally reducing a kid's K/D to all but nothing?"

"Exactly."

"Okay," he raised a brow with a smirk on his lips. "And the news?"

"I already sent it to your phone," Sleeper waved a tendril dismissively.

He shook his head as he went over where he had left his phone to be recharged overnight. Unlocking his phone, he looked up the data that had been sent to his phone. Various articles had been written on what had happened the night before which all basically said the same thing; Wilson Fisk had made a machine that threatened the safety of the city of New York, his accomplices include, Lonnie Lincoln, Olivia Octavius, Adrian Toomes, and MacDonald Gargan. There were also a few links that Sleeper had included that led to websites that had videos that were reporting the same thing as the articles.

However, one video caught his attention.

Someone somehow took a picture of him as he was swinging between buildings. If he remembered correctly, that had been he had gone back to where he had left the motorcycle. Luckily, the picture was blurry and even the report itself was questioning who the new masked vigilante was, along with several conspiracies that stated he was the new Spider-man.

Smirking, he pocketed his phone and looked up to see Sleeper was still in the same spot. "Hey, Sleeper, I'm going to-" Before he could get another word in, orange sparks appeared in the air of his room before expanding into a portal. He raised a brow when a moment later, Dr. Strange stepped out before the portal closed behind him.

"Ah, Kairi, good to see you," the sorcerer gave him a nod as he bowed his head in greeting. "Good work in helping to prevent the collapse of the multiverse."

"Dad!" Having finished the match it had been on, Sleeper looked over with a happy expression on its face as it leaped over to its father's shoulders.

"Um, thank you," Kairi replied back. "No offense, but is there any specific reason you decided to pop into my room?"

"My apologies," Dr. Strange smiled regretfully. "Didn't mean to come into your house like that, especially unannounced. However, I was following Sleeper's signature when I opened the portal. I'll try to open my portals outside your home next time."

"My mother would certainly appreciate it," Kairi nodded.

"Of course," Dr. Strange chuckled. "Ah, there's a reason I'm here." Reaching into a pouch in his belt, he pulled out a talisman and held it out to the teen. "Here."

"What is it?" Kairi asked curiously as he turned the talisman over to inspect it.

"It's a relic," Dr. Strange answered. "Relics are objects imbued with powerful magic that magic-users cannot sustain for long periods of time. As a result, we have objects that take the strain that we cannot. This particular relic doesn't have a fancy name, but its purpose is clear."

Kairi raised a brow, "Which is?"

"It gathers energy from this universe as well as others," Dr. Strange replied. "Basically a vessel for magical energy."

Kairi blinked before looking up at the former surgeon, "So, what? You want to make me your apprentice or something?"

"Do you?" Dr. Strange raised a brow.

"Not really, no. I barely have time in my schedule as it is."

Dr. Strange chuckled, "You know your limits, good. But no, I don't intend to take you as my apprentice. The other me made an observation of the sword you wielded last night, Anti-Metal. Do you know what that specific alloy is?"

"Not really," he shook his head.

"Vibranium?"

"Oh, Captain America's shield. Yeah, everyone knows that."

"All right, Anti-Metal is a different kind of vibranium," said Dr. Strange. "An Antarctic strain of the metal that can open portals to other dimensions when applied with the right attunement. The talisman will provide that attunement."

"So I would be able to travel between dimensions?" Kairi was dumbfounded.

"Well, it's a lot better waiting for me to show up with a portal, wouldn't you say?," Dr. Strange shrugged, mindful of Sleeper.

"Thank you," Kairi said gratefully.

"You're welcome," the sorcerer supreme nodded. "And I'm sure it'll be quite helpful to you when you go find your girlfriend's dimension."

Kairi balked, "How did- No, I wouldn't…"

"It's okay, Kairi," Dr. Strange assured. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't use it to find Gwen."

"How do you know her name?" Kairi frowned suspiciously.

"Sleeper's been whispering in my ear the whole time," Dr. Strange shrugged.

Kairi balked before looking incredulously at the symbiote who took currently took the form of a cat. "Sleeper!"

"What?" Sleeper shrugged shamelessly, not feeling even the tiniest bit sorry. "I spent a lot of work getting you and Gwen together, no way was I going to let it all go for nothing."

"We've only known each other for a few days!"

"And yet she loves you. Her parting words before she left."

Kairi glared at the symbiote who looked far too smug for his liking.

"Love, real love, is a very hard thing to come by, Kairi," Dr. Strange placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Take my advice, don't let it slip through your fingers. Or else you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Kairi grimaced as he listened to the man's words. "How… how would I even go about it?" he threw his arms up helplessly. "Would I even show up in her dimension the first I try? Or would I show up in some sort of Lovecraft world where Cthulu will try to eat me or something?"

"Yeah, I suggest trying to not end up there," said Dr. Strange with a frown. "It can take quite a while to get back out if you do."

Kairi's jaw dropped as he stared dumbfounded at him.

Dr. Strange grinned with a small chuckle escaping him, "I'm kidding. Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood." At the teen's annoyed glare, he cleared his throat. "It would help if you were able to bring something of hers that she owned, even if it was for a few days. A backpack, or ID, or even a pencil."

Kairi frowned as he realized that Gwen's dorm room wouldn't have been cleared out yet. "I think… I think I might know where to look," he said.

"So then what's stopping you, Kairi?" Dr. Strange raised a brow, a smirk at the corner of his mouth.

Kairi was about to open his mouth. Nothing, he wanted to answer. But then he remembered, his mother was still at the hospital. "My mom's still at the hospital," he replied. "And my grandma's been with her the whole time, I think Gwen would understand if I didn't go after her first thing."

Dr. Strange regarded the man carefully, "I imagine she would." He traded a look with Sleeper. "And I guess I can hang around for a few hours to help you with opening interdimensional portals with the Anti-Metal sword you've got."

"Oh, well, thanks," Kairi nodded gratefully.

"Think nothing of it," Dr. Strange assured him.

"Well, if we could delay it to later today, I wanted to visit my mother," Kairi said.

"By all means," Dr. Strange nodded.

"You're welcome to anything in the fridge or the pantry if you feel hungry by the way," the teen offered as he grabbed a jacket from his closet and shrugged it on. "Sleeper, I think my mom has some pure cocoa powder for baking in the pantry."

"Best. Host. Ever."

Kairi chuckled, "I'm your only host, Sleeper."

"Goes to show you why I haven't left you for some poor pathetic excuse for a meat bag to bond to."

Kairi and Dr. Strange shared a look and a laugh before Kairi walked out of the room.

…Some time later…

…New York-Presbyterian hospital…

"You okay, Maya?" Mamy asked as she took a seat on the chair beside her daughter's hospital bed.

Last night had been a doozy for the hospital, whatever Fisk had been doing underneath that building of his, had caused all kinds of havoc. The whole building shook as if they were experiencing an earthquake right underneath a fault line, the lights were flickering as if they were possessed, and for a few moments, the old woman was sure that last night would've been the last night as she knew it.

But then, her Little Wolf had gone in and saved the day. She wasn't sure about the specific details, but she was sure that her grandson had something to do with whatever caused everything to go back to normal. And as the new Ronin no less. She knew that her daughter was just as proud of Kairi as she was, if not more so.

Maya nodded in answer to her mother's question. Though, she could use a coffee and not the damn juice boxes the doctors were forced on her. Shifting in her spot on the hospital bed, she grimaced when she felt some of the parts of her ache a bit.

"Hey, Grandma."

Mamy turned around in her chair and smiled when she saw her grandson. "Oh, Little Wolf, there you are," she laughed as she got up and went over to give him a hug. "Oh, I'm so proud of you."

"Eh, I only saved the city," Kairi shrugged jokingly. "Wasn't much."

Mamy only shook her head in amusement.

Stepping past her, Kairi took a knee at his mother's side, [Hi, Mom.]

Maya smiled as she reached over with her good arm, palming the side of his face as she looked into the eyes that he had inherited from his father. Pulling her arm back, she signed, [Hi, Kairi. Did you go set out to do?]

He nodded, lifting his own hands to sign, [Yeah. I sent the Spider-people back to their respective home dimensions.]

Maya frowned at the melancholic look on his face. But it didn't take her long to realize what the source of it all was; Gwen. Obviously, the blonde would've gone home too. [I'm sorry about Gwen, Kairi.]

He shrugged, [It's okay, Mom. I think I've found a way to find her.]

She raised a brow, [Is that so? Did you take Fisk's machine?]

He shook his head, [No. The guy who raised Sleeper, he's actually a sorcerer and managed to come to our world with magic. He gave me something that would help with traveling between dimensions safely. By the way, when were you going to mention that one of your swords was made of Anti-Metal?]

The mother frowned at her son, [Anti-Metal?]

He nodded, [Yes, Sleeper's father said the sword I used was made of a special type of vibranium called Anti-Metal. He also said that with it, I could open interdimensional gateways.]

Maya frowned thoughtfully, [I know that both of my swords were made of vibranium. Captain America had made arrangements for them to be sent to me as a gift when we crossed paths in the Bronx and my original katanas were broken, but this is the first time I'm hearing the term Anti-Metal.]

He frowned, [Would Captain America know about Anti-Metal?]

She shrugged, [I can certainly ask him.] It was then she remembered what her son had mentioned just before. [So, if you can find Gwen, then what are you doing here?]

Kairi blinked, [What are you talking about? Mom, you're in the hospital. Grandma's been here for a day already, I can stay with you.]

She rolled her eyes, [Kairi, I'm only here until the doctors clear me, which is either today or tomorrow. And these aren't the worst injuries I've gotten.] Obviously, she was touched that her son cared so much, but he was being a little ridiculous.

[But, Mom-]

She interrupted her son by lightly chopping the top of his head. [Kairi, this is the first time I've ever seen you like this and if it isn't obvious, both your grandmother and I liked her from the moment we each had met her. Especially when you brought her to the house.]

Kairi's cheeks colored at the reminder of what happened that night for dinner as well as what happened the morning after.

[Go get that girl of yours, Kairi. I'll be here when you get back, just make sure you have Gwen come over and visit again sometime.]

He frowned and looked over his shoulder at his grandmother for her input.

But the old woman just shrugged with an amused chuckle, "Don't look at me, Little Wolf. Personally, I think you should've just gone looking for Gwen straight after telling us how you were going to do it." Reaching over, she squeezed her grandson's shoulder. "As your mother said, we like her."

When he hesitated again, both his mother and grandmother rolled their eyes and together pushed him to his feet so that Mamy could push him towards the door.

"Honestly, Little Wolf, go," Mamy said exasperatedly.

Stopping at the door, Kairi looked back one more time, [I love you]

[I love you,] both his mother and grandmother replied.

When he finally slipped through the door, closing it behind him before he left.

"Gwen certainly has her work cut out for her," Mamy sighed as she sat back in the chair she had vacated earlier, leaning back against the seat. "I swear, he was never this hesitant when he dated Elsa."

Maya smirked, [Goes to show that he really does care for Gwen.]

"Ah, yes," Mamy chuckled before signing, [If I remember correctly, Kazuma had been quite shy whenever he was around you before you two started dating.]

Maya smiled fondly, [Kairi is his father's son.]

Mamy laughed again. That he was. Smirking, she turned her attention back to her daughter, [Care to revise the bet?]

Her daughter raised a brow in interest, [How so?]

[When they're going to get married and when they'll have their first child.]

[You're on.]

…Visions Academy…

"Hey, Kairi, long time no see."

Kairi looked over and saw his roommate. For a moment, he expected him to be wearing a black and red Spider-suit, being reminded of what happened last night at Fisk's collider. "Hey, Miles. How was your weekend?"

"Pretty boring," Miles shrugged before grinning. "But did you hear about last night? We totally got a new superhero going around New York!"

Kairi had to bite down a smirk. He might've… heard something about it. "Uh, yeah, it's all over the news," he nodded. "Something about them stopping whatever Wilson Fisk was up to?"

"Yeah, thank god for whoever they are," said Miles. "I mean, I saw buildings look like they were having a seizure or something. I almost thought the world was going to end. I mean, what was Fisk even trying to do?"

"Who knows?" Kairi shrugged. Personally, he didn't know, but he was sure that at least Sleeper and Peni knew, given that both of them had seen all the data for the collider and he was sure that Fisk's goal was in there somewhere. "The guy's rich and must've had a lot of resources if he managed to get the Vulture and Scorpion of all people to work for him."

"Yeah," Miles nodded, "major red flag whenever someone hires two guys who've fought against Spider-man." He then gained a curious look, "Oh, I almost forgot, but are we still on for the Spider-man versus Rhino statue? I thought we were supposed to head over to Stan's and work on it the past weekend."

"Yeah, sorry about that, Miles," Kairi smiled sheepishly. "Something came up and I had to help some friends."

Miles raised a brow, a smirk at the corner of his mouth as he crossed his arms, "Kairi, I thought I was your only friend."

"That's because of art, dude," Kairi rolled his eyes with a laugh. "You're the only one I know who can even spray paint, much less use a paintbrush. You think I'd allow just anyone to paint over my work?"

"I feel so honored you said that, Kairi," Miles placed a hand on his chest in a faux gesture of being humbled. "Seriously, man, I might even cry right now. See? There's a tear in the corner of my eye, right there."

Kairi laughed good-naturedly as his friend and roommate pointed at his eye in emphasis.

"So, next weekend then?" Miles suggested.

"Next weekend, for sure," Kairi nodded.

"All right then, cool. I'll see you in the dorm, take it easy man," Miles said in farewell with a wave before he slipped his headphones over his ears. "Ooh, ooh, ooh. Needless to say… nah nah, nah nah nah…"

Kairi shook his head at his friend's antics before he resumed his trek to Gwen's dorm. When he arrived and opened the door, he saw that all the stuff she left behind was still where she had left it. Stepping inside and closing the door behind him, he gave it a look around before spotting a pink sports bottle sitting atop the desk Gwen had taken for herself.

Whoa, what're you doing?

Uh, swallowing the pills?

Okay, okay, no. That's one way to get a pill stuck in your throat, dude…Okay, I think I have a water bottle somewhere so you can take your pills like a normal person.

Smiling at the memory, Kairi picked up the water bottle, staring at it for a moment. A water bottle, he wondered if Gwen would find it funny if he managed to find a way to her by using her water bottle. Breathing out a sigh, slipped the water bottle into the backpack he had brought, cursing the fact he didn't bring the one that came with a water bottle holder. Idly, he wondered what was going to happen to Gwen's stuff or if she wanted to keep any of it.

Heading to the door, he gave the room one last look before he stepped out, closing the door behind him. He'd just have to ask her himself when he saw her.

…Some time later…

…Apartment of Maya Lopez…

"Okay, so how is this going to work?" Kairi asked, holding his katana in one hand while holding the talisman in the other. "Do I just make them touch and then boom, interdimensional portal?"

He and Dr. Strange were standing in the middle of an empty lot and no one was around to witness the interdimensional hijinks they were up to.

"You've got something of this girl of yours?" Dr. Strange asked. "It's going to be the catalyst for this."

Kairi pocketed his talisman to pull out Gwen's sports bottle from the leg pocket on his cargo pants. "Yeah, right here," he raised the item in question.

Dr. Strange raised a brow as he regarded the teen with an odd look, "A water bottle? Really? I did say a pencil she used would've worked just as well."

"Look, it's sentimental, okay?" Kairi sighed.

"For you or for her?"

"Me. Her. Both of us, I guess," he then threw his hands up in exasperation. "Look, I got something of Gwen's, does it really matter right now?"

"I think it matters why you chose a water bottle of all things," the sorcerer muttered.

"What?"

Dr. Strange sighed, "I said that you have to touch the talisman against the water bottle. Just do it for like thirty seconds so that the talisman can pick up Gwen's dimensional signature so that the portal you'll make is in tune with it. Otherwise, you'll end up in a random dimension."

Sheathing his sword onto his back, Kairi pulled out the talisman and pressed it against the water bottle. "So will I have to do this every time I want to open a portal to another dimension? Use some random object as a catalyst?"

"No," Dr. Strange shook his head. "The more you use the talisman, the more it'll become synchronized to your thoughts and all you'd have to do is think where you want to go. But since you're not there yet, catalysts will have to do."

"Will I need a catalyst to go back home?" It was a major concern for Kairi, he didn't want to end up in Gwen's and the others' shoes.

"No," Dr. Strange shook his head again. "Technically, you and everything you bring are the catalysts. Good question though. You wouldn't believe how many people jump off into a random dimension only to realize they have no way of getting home."

…

Kairi looked up, a frown on his face, "Were you one of those people?"

"No," the sorcerer replied quickly. Too quickly. "Okay, the talisman should be attuned to Gwen's dimensional signature."

"So what now?" asked Kairi, slipping the water bottle back into his leg pocket.

"Tap the talisman against the backside of your sword," Dr. Strange replied. "That'll disperse the energy required to open a portal into the metal your sword is made of, which will be the one making the portal."

"Okay," Kairi frowned, doing as he was told. "But how exactly will that open a portal."

Dr. Strange rolled his eyes, "It's a sword, right? Swords cut. So cut."

Kairi looked around, "Cut what?"

"The air," Dr. Strange sighed.

Frowning dubiously, Kairi pocketed his talisman before holding his katana with both hands. When he lifted the sword above his head, he looked over to the sorcerer, still not trusting him a little. But when said sorcerer motioned for him to continue, Kairi sighed before swinging his katana downward.

And to his surprise, a portal opened.

"Whoa."

"Told you, kid," Dr. Strange chuckled before he reached into a pocket at his belt for his sling ring to make a portal of his own. "Good luck on finding your girlfriend."

Kairi looked at him incredulously, "Wait, where are you going?"

"Back home," Dr. Strange shrugged. "Since I've taught you everything you need to know and I already said my goodbyes to Sleeper, I need to head back to make sure my dimension is safe. It's the duty of the Sorcerer Supreme."

Watching him leave, Kairi couldn't help but from as the sorcerer's portal blinked out. "That sounds like a terrible job," he muttered. "I bet it doesn't come with any job benefits at all whatsoever."

…Earth-651…

Gwen fell back onto the couch with a deep sigh, sprawled over it lazily as she stared up at the ceiling above her.

From his spot at the kitchen table, reading the morning newspaper, George Stacy glanced over at his daughter and the despondent look on her face. His daughter had disappeared for a few hours, but when she came back, apparently she had experienced almost two weeks in another dimension. And that had been a weird pill to swallow, his daughter having superpowers and being a masked vigilante was one thing. But different dimensions with Spider-themed of their own? And better yet, one of those dimensions having alien goo things that could latch onto people and give them superpowers? That one took the cake.

When Gwen sighed again, it brought George out of his reverie. He knew at least the reason for that look, he had seen that look before, in the mirror actually whenever he said or did anything stupid to Helen when they had been dating. Which would cause her to avoid him for periods of time and he'd have the same face his daughter now sported. So, he at least knew it was over a boy. And he wasn't so sure how he felt about that.

"So…" he began awkwardly. Talking to Gwen wasn't one of his strong suits, long days at the station could do that to a parent and child. "Gwen, do you miss anything from this other dimension you went to?"

Gwen bit her lip, as she frowned at a random spot in the ceiling. "No, not really," she replied. After she came back to her dimension, she looked up Stephen Strange since apparently, that guy was a sorcerer who could open up interdimensional portals. But the one in her universe was just a renowned surgeon who was apparently, quite the flugelhorn player.

Which meant, she had no way to travel between dimensions through magic. She tried science, but that had been a dead-end too. The Wilson Fisk of her universe couldn't help her either as the man was a rich philanthropist who was also a family man and did not pay billions of dollars into interdimensional travel with an untested machine.

The jerk.

Couldn't one supervillain be smart or rich enough to look into the multiverse theory so that she could visit the boy she loved in another dimension?

"Did you at least meet anyone over there?" George tried again.

Gwen sighed, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Okay, okay."At his daughter's continued silence, George decided to pull the bandaid. It was probably better if he did this as painless as possible. "So, what's his name?"

Gwen sat up and looked over at her father, "How do you know it's a guy?"

"Oh, please, sweetie," George chuckled. "I saw the same look you have right now plenty of times myself. In the mirror whenever I did or said anything stupid to upset your mother and she avoided me as a result."

That got a chuckle out of Gwen.

"But… something tells me you didn't say or do anything stupid," George continued.

She gave another sigh, "I just…"

"You miss him," George nodded. "What's he like?"

"He's pretty cool actually," Gwen said eagerly, a smile forming on her face. "He's really into art, makes sculptures like you've never seen before, or could think was possible. They're all made of scrap or junk, but you'd never think so if you see the end product. He's also in martial arts too, something he picked up from his mom…"

As his daughter continued talking, George's focus was on her smile. One of the small few that the policeman has seen since his daughter came back, and one of the fewer genuine ones. Whoever this boy was, had his daughter head over heels for him.

"And his name?" he interrupted his daughter.

"Kairi," she replied. "Kairi Lopez. But I just call him Kai." Her smile fell as her memories of Kairi reminded her how much she missed him. "Or I did."

George raised a brow, "Is he dead?"

"What?! No, he's not dead!"

"Sorry," George shrugged, "you said 'did' so I assumed…"

"No, Dad," Gwen shook her head as she groaned, burying her face in her palms. " I just… there's no easy way of getting back to that other dimension. All the ways that I know of aren't in our dimension, so…"

"You're stuck," George surmised.

She sighed, "Yeah."

Seeing the despondent look on her face come back, George walked over to sit next to her on the couch. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he waited for her to look at him. "Are you sure about your feelings for this boy?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said with no hesitation.

"And does he feel the same way or have you not told him?" he followed up.

"He knows, and he feels the same," she replied. There was no way he didn't feel the same, not with that last kiss they had shared before she left. Even now, the memory of it still left her tingling all the way to her toes at times.

"Then you're just going to have to trust that the two of you will meet each other again," George said, squeezing his daughter's shoulder. "I once that the same of your mom, I thought I lost my chance one time when we broke up. But I saw her again in a diner, a year later and the next thing I knew, your mother and I were welcoming you to the world."

"Wait, do you mean Gena's Diner?" Gwen frowned.

"Mmhmm," he nodded. "The one and the same."

Gwen bit her lip as her gaze lowered for a moment, "Do you really think I'll see him again?"

"I honestly don't know Gwen," he replied. He had thought the world of superheroes was out his wheelhouse, but now with the whole multiverse thing? At least with superheroes, understanding it was easy. "But I know you shouldn't give up."

Gwen nodded before blowing out a sigh, "Yeah." She then smiled at her father, "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, Gwen," he smiled back. "Unfortunately, since I mentioned Gena's, I'm hungry for her apple pie now."

Gwen laughed, shaking her head. "You know what, I am too. Why don't I swing on over there and pick up a couple of slices for us?" she offered.

"Ah, it's a nice day out," he glanced out the window to see a bright, sunny day. And it has been a while since he had spent some quality time with his daughter. "Why don't the two of us walk over? A walk can do us both some good."

"You have your shift in half an hour, Dad," she reminded him as she got up and headed for the closet near the door. "I'll swing over lickity split and be back so we enjoy some pie and you can leave right after."

"All right, fine," George conceded as he leaned back on the couch. "Just make sure you don't drop them, smashed apple pie isn't really appetizing."

Gwen snapped her fingers as she pulled on her hoodie and a jacket from the closet. "Darn, you saw right through me," she joked.

"Be careful," he said to her.

"I will," she replied as she opened the door.

Only to run into someone as they were about to knock on their door.

"Whoa, sorry about…" she trailed off as she realized who was standing on the other side of the doorway.

It was Kai, he was standing there with a surprised look that slowly morphed into a small smile as he beheld her. His sword was strapped to his back and he had a baker's box in the crook of his left arm. But it was him, her Kai.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," she replied back, her voice a little shaky.

She couldn't believe it, he was here, standing at her door. A part of her was afraid that she was in truth asleep, that all of this was nothing more than a hopeful dream. But when she bit her lip hard and winced a little at the pain, she knew that this wasn't a dream. And Kai was indeed standing in front of her.

"Gwen? Gwen, who's at the door?"

Arriving back into reality, she looked back at her father, who had stood up from the couch, a worried frown on his face. "Uh, Dad, you won't believe this," she said back to him before looking back at Kairi. "Come on in," she said as she took a step to the side, closing the door once he was inside the apartment.

"Thanks," he said before raising the box underneath his arm, "I brought apple pie. Didn't feel right just showing up with nothing."

"What a coincidence," she laughed, taking the box. "We were about to get some apple pie ourselves." She then looked over at her father, who was giving the two of them a weird look that slowly reflected to one of realization. "Dad, this is Kai."

"Hello, Mister Stacey," Kairi stepped forward for a handshake.

He wasn't going to lie, he was a bit nervous. He never had met Elsa's parents when they had been dating, neither in person or on a video conference call. And he was doing everything in his power to try to not look like an idiot.

"So you're the guy with the alien attached to him?" George raised a brow, nonetheless shaking the teen's hand.

Kairi looked at him, surprised, before looking over at Gwen.

"I told him about what happened in your universe," she shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"Uh, sorta attached," Kairi said to the policeman with a shrug. "He can leave my body when he wants to and I left him back in my dimension so that he could play video games."

"Aliens playing video games," George frowned. "Now I've heard it all."

"Well, I brought apple pie," Kairi gestured to the box in Gwen's hands. "And my grandma has mentioned a nice slice of apple pie can always help."

"Oh," George's eyes immediately swiveled over to the box in question. "Good man," he nodded in approval before he grabbed the box and walked over to the kitchen for a knife to cut the pie with.

"Uh, was that a good thing?" Kairi asked Gwen.

"You brought apple pie, you might as well as gotten a gold star from him," Gwen chuckled as she turned to face him. "I missed you, Kai." She didn't know how long it has been for him since she left his dimension, but he looked the same since the last time she saw him.

"I missed you too, Gwen," he replied as he stepped closer to her.

His arms snaked around her waist, causing her to wrap her own arms around his neck. She was about to pull him down for a kiss when her father's voice rang out.

"I get that the two of you are happy to see each other, but you two better not be up to anything under my roof!"

Their lips had been almost a hairs width close when George piped up from the kitchen, causing the teens to chuckle. Gwen leaned her forehead on his shoulder while Kairi leaned his head back with his eyes closed. Parents.

Well, if the lips were off the table…

Kairi brought his head back down and kissed her on the cheek, really close to the corner of her lips. And for a moment, Gwen was surprised as his daring action, blinking at him in surprise.

"You missed, Kai," she whispered as she smiled at him before giving his lips a quick peck. But before he could say anything, she threaded her fingers through his hand, clasping it tightly, and gently tugged him along. "Come on, my dad will only pretend to ignore us for so long."

Kairi could only smile as he followed her into the kitchen.

Sleeper was right, she was a keeper.

…Arc 1-Epilogue…

Okay, I'm only going to go over this one last time, all right?

No seriously, this is it.

My name is Kairi Honiahaka Lopez.

I encountered a symbiote named Sleeper and for the past few days, I have been the one and the only Ronin. You guys should know the rest by now though, right?

I saved the city from a madman and his interdimensional device, completed that essay for Mr. York, finished that sculpture with Miles, and even convinced him to continue attending Visions Academy. I've been helping Grandma out with Mom's recovery and also been spending time with Gwen in her universe.

I wish I could say I know what it's like to feel alone. But I'm not alone, don't think I ever was, and I'm not just talking about the symbiote that's attached to me. My friends and family, they all have had my back, so it's fair that I do the same and protect this city to keep them safe.

I never thought I'd be able to do the things I've been able to do. I mean, a kid with no powers whatsoever saving the city? Yeah, who would've thought, right? I certainly didn't see that one coming.

But it's not about the powers, anyone can wear the mask.

It's like what my friend Stan says; "That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero."

So do you have what it takes to be a hero?

AN:

Aaaand... done! I have gone through the events of the Spider-verse film!

Now I just need to watch the sequels... Which kinda sucks because I'd like to know where the story will go. I mean, I definitely have several ideas, but it'd be nice to know if certain aspects will fit or not.

Anyway, this story will go into hiatus until later this year when the theme will be more appropriate. If you can guess what I mean, congratulations, you get an imaginary cookie. If you can't... well, it should be obvious as to what I'm alluding to.

So until then...

As always, stay safe, stay healthy, and you all have a good day.