Hello! I'm back with Chapter 3 of Tales of the Spider Trio!

And yes, this is the last part of the 3 part introduction. Everything that comes after this chapter are... I wouldn't say unrelated, but it's less related than the 3 part chapters.

Anyways, keep on reading and find out what happens to the Spidermen when Dr. Strange confronts them!


Episode 3: Three Tiny Spiders (Part 3)

Description: The Spider-Trio find themselves with new problems on their hands, when they are captured by Doctor Strange. Now, they must escape and go back to figuring out how to separate the universes again. But, that may be hard with a time-manipulating wizard that is now their enemy chasing after them.


After he registered what Wong said, shock nearly swept Peter 1 off of his feet, and he couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "ARRESTED?!"

"Yes," Wong said with a raised eyebrow, "Must I repeat myself?"

Peter 1 stammered, trying to find the right words to say. His eyes darted towards Dr. Strange, filled with helpless hope that he would somehow stop all of this. But when Strange stared back at him with that same cold and fierce gaze Wong was giving, it all became clear to him.

Despite the spell breaking, despite new rifts breaking out, they didn't remember him. Peter 1 was still forgotten.

"Wait, what did we do? We didn't commit any crimes!" Peter 1 finally said, realizing that as he said it.

Wong narrowed his eyes. "The claim that you are innocent remains to be seen. Now, I will not repeat myself. Come with us quietly. And force your accomplices to come out of hiding before WE do."

Peter 1 looked bewildered. Accomplices? They meant Peters 2 and 3, who were still hiding. Does Wong and Strange really believe that they caused all of this? The rifts? The merging of universes? Everything? Were they somehow led to believe that the three Spidermen were villains?!

"Okay, look. I really think there's been a big misunderstanding. I am innocent! WE are innocent! Come on, you gotta believe that."

Wong and Doctor Strange looked skeptical. And when he noticed that Dr. Strange looked the most skeptical out of the two, Peter 1 felt hurt inside.

He really doesn't remember me. After all we've been through…

Suddenly, a bright orange light came Peter 1's way, to his shock and fear. But just before the energy blast hit him head on, Peter 1 got pulled out of the way by something that got a hold on the back of his suit. As he stumbled to the side, the blast hit a lamp behind the place Peter 1 was once standing. When it did, orange ropes materialized on the lamp, trapping it in a tangle of energy-constructed ropes.

As Peter 1 stared at the lamp with wide eyes, Peter 2 took the web he had shot onto 1 to pull him out of the way off of him, as he stepped into view with Peter 3.

"Uh, a bit of advice, from Spiderman to Spiderman. Don't stand in the way of scary projectiles being thrown at you by villains. Chances are, it will give you a bad time if it hits you." Peter 2 mumbled to Peter 1.

Peter 1 blinked, looking at 2 then the lamp before saying, "I'll remember that."

Just then, Wong spoke, drawing the attention of the three Spidermen.

"So, I see your partners in crime decided to join us. Good. Makes the task of rounding you guys up easier in my opinion."

Strange nodded in agreement. "It certainly does."

While 1 simply stared at the two with a shocked look, 2 and 3 got into fighting positions, looking ready to fight.

"So we do it this way, huh? Alright, magic men. You wanna fight? Let's GO." Peter 3 taunted.

At that moment, Peter 1 finally gathered his bearings, and jumped with a yelp. He then stood in the way of 2 and 3 with his hands out.

"Woah, woah, woah. Pump the brakes." 1 quickly said.

2 and 3 lowered their hands a bit, while raising an eyebrow in unison. 1 then took a deep breath and sighed before talking again.

"Guys. We can't fight wizards. They're WIZARDS! They can use magic, and magic is unpredictable! Trust me, webs and punches aren't gonna work. We better just comply with them."

Peter 2 glanced at 3 before saying to 1, "I hate to break it to you, man. But, magical wizards are not the weirdest things we fought. I mean, think about it. Between the three of us, we fought aliens, crazy mad scientists, trigger-happy criminals, and genetically enhanced supervillains that should honestly watch their step. Compared to all of that, I'm pretty sure that wizards won't crack the top 10 of unpredictable villains."

3 nodded. "Yeah! Relax, Kid-Pete. We got this. After all…"

2 and 3 then turned to Wong and Dr. Strange, fierce and ready.

"These guys don't stand a CHANCE against three Spidermen!"

Instead of looking uneasy or even battle-ready, Wong and Dr. Strange looked nonchalant, as they gave each other glances.

"Stephen?" Wong simply asked.

Dr. Strange smirked before lifting his hands. "On it."

Suddenly, three glowing circles appeared under the Spidermen, one under each of them. Before any of the three could register what was happening, the newly created portals took the ground away from underneath them and they dropped into it with terrified screams. Once all of them had fallen, the portals closed, cutting their screams short.

As soon as the portals closed, Wong sighed. "Something tells me that those three are going to give us a hard time."

Dr. Strange nodded. And yet, he turned to Wong with a slightly puzzled expression.

"Are you sure that they're the threats we're looking for?" he asked.

Wong didn't hesitate to nod. "I'm sure. It's hard to misidentify the people responsible for messing up the multiverse."


Peter 1 flew away from the glowing portal, screaming the whole way down to the ground. And even as he hit the ground, Peter 1 still screamed and flailed around as if he was still falling, and it took him longer than he cared to admit for him to realize that he was no longer falling.

When he stopped screaming entirely, Peter 1 slowly sat up and surveyed his surroundings. The place was dark, but as his eyes adjusted, what Peter 1 saw made him realize something with a start.

This was the basement of the New York Sanctum. The prison where Spiderman villains were temporarily held, back when the multiverse first started crossing with Peter 1's universe. Just the sight of the place brought back memories. Dealing with dangerous Spiderman villains wasn't really something to miss. But, what was to miss was doing it all with Aunt May, MJ, and Ned. The mere idea of having support on his side during a time where you needed it a lot was something that Peter 1 knew that he took for granted.

But now, things have changed. He and his alternate selves were now the "villains" tossed into jail cells. And other than Peter 2 and Peter 3, he had no backup. Nobody to call on. As the thought entered his mind, Peter 1 felt even worse than he did before, knowing that he still remained forgotten.

If he had known it would be this way, if he knew that the multiverse was going to cross over again, if he knew that what he did didn't even help anything, he would've never gone through that memory spell.

Just then, he heard more screams, prompting Peter 1 to whirl around. In the cells next to him, 2 and 3 were deposited into cells of their own through the swirling portals. Simultaneously, they hit the ground with a pained groan.

"Well…" Peter 2 said in between pants, "maybe wizards DO crack the top 10."

Peter 3 sat up, letting out a whine. "Come on! We had the jump on them and they KNEW it! But, they dropped us through a glowing hula hoop instead of attacking? Low blow, man. Low blow…"

Peter 1 looked at them with a deadpan expression. "I hate to say I told you so… but I told you so."

Just then, another glowing portal opened outside of the cells, making the Spidermen jump. Wong and Dr Strange then promptly walked through it before it closed behind them.

"Ah, isn't this better?" Wong asked with a smirk to Dr. Strange.

"Sure is. It's nice to know that the criminals are tucked away behind bars. Or should I say, magic force fields."

Peter 1 flinched a little at the words. Geez, you don't need to be all snarky about it.

Instead, he said, "Come on, guys. Can we talk this out?"

Wong looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course." Wong answered, "This is an interrogation after all. Before we take action on proper consequences, we need to know just what your motives are, as well as what you were planning on doing since you obviously broke the universe for SOMETHING."

"We didn't break the universe!" Peter 2 spoke up.

Dr Strange crossed his arms. "Look. Multiversal rifts appearing in the sky aren't a natural phenomenon, you know. Someone or something causes those rifts. And we know you did it."

"What's your proof then?" Peter 3 accused.

It seemed like Dr. Strange was waiting for 3 to ask that as he started listing the reasons off of his fingers.

"First of all, you were spotted leaving the place where the rift occurred. Meaning you were leaving behind a crime scene. Two, only the three of you can see the rift. Non magic users cannot possibly see rifts unless the rift gets severe. Three, we checked your energy signatures. They are going completely haywire, and they strangely sync with the rift's energy charts whenever it pulses. And four. This universe has been completely messed with. Three universes have fused together. YOUR universes."

The three Peters stood still, shocked as they registered the words. There was a lot of stuff to unpack from that, but the main one was about energy signatures. Is that why whenever the rift "pulses", as Dr. Strange called it, they feel it?And why they're the only ones who can sense the rift, even though they don't manipulate magic?

"Most importantly," Wong said, "Right before the rift happened, we detected a strong surge of energy coming from 3 different points in 3 different universes. They were coming from each of you, and that energy was somehow strong enough to rip a hole in the multiverse. It also caused the three of your universes to tangle with each other."

Simultaneously, the three Spidermen thought the same thing: That must've been the bang.

But, there was one clear question about all of this. How? How the heck did they cause the universes to merge? How come this was all happening now, almost half a year after the Incident? And how will they ever clean up this mess?

The three did have a lot of questions on their minds. But, they knew one thing. They absolutely needed to fix this. But, there's no way they can, not when they had just been arrested by wizards. Which is why they needed to leave. To do that, they needed to somehow convince Wong and Dr. Strange to let them out.

"Okay," Peter 1 said with a sigh, "You're probably right to be suspicious. I see why you arrested us. To prevent the rift from getting worse. Despite that, you HAVE to believe me when I say that we are innocent. We don't know why these things are happening, nor do we know how. But, it's clear that we need to fix this, before the rift gets worse off than it is. That's why you need to let us out."

After he said that, Wong and Dr. Strange shared glances. They seemed to be considering silently on the matter of if the Peters should be let out or not. But, as the three waited, it seemed like forever, as Wong and Dr. Strange started to talk in hushed tones. And the worst part was that this conversation was inaudible.

The more the two wizards talked, the more dreadful Peter 1 felt. Panic started to creep in slowly, as he considered what could happen if they didn't act fast. The rift could get larger beyond repair. The universes merging could be annihilated once they completely join. People could be in danger because of more Spiderman villains coming out into the city to wreak havoc.

Crap. He hadn't even thought of villains.

What was TAKING Wong and Dr. Strange so long?! Do they understand what was at stake? This was serious! By staying here, by being basically a sitting duck, they all are just letting what could happen happen! Now Spiderman was on the sidelines, his fate resting in the hands of his captors. It shouldn't be this way. Why don't they trust him?!

Fueled by frustration and desperation, Peter 1 groaned loudly, drawing everyone else's attention to him.

"HURRY UP!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, it was as if the rift chose that time to send another rumble their way. Only this time, this rumble was an earthquake, shaking nearly everything in the surrounding area. The three Spidermen jumped, completely shocked. Wong and Dr. Strange looked shocked too, as they wobbled a little bit.

But, the worst part wasn't the earthquake (which was strong but short). The worst part was that after the earthquake ended, an entirely new sound was heard. It sounded like a high-pitch screech that resembled squealing microphone feedback. Everyone covered their ears from the sound, which carried on for a few seconds longer before ending abruptly.

When the whole ordeal was over and done with, Dr. Strange immediately walked to the middle of the room. He then summoned a spell, which swirled around him in glowing orange light, and he closed his eyes. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and spoke.

"It's the rift. It seems like it got worse." he said.

Wong looked at Peter 1, who clamped his mouth shut with his hand. Even Peter 2 and Peter 3 looked shocked as they looked over at Peter 1.

"Did you do this?" Wong asked, the sentence sounding more like a threat than a question.

Peter 1 took his hand away from his mouth, clearly terrified.

"I… I don't know! I swear, I didn't do this on purpose–"

"Seems like you ARE causing these pulses," Wong interrupted with a frown, "Even though you claim to be innocent!"

"Woah there. Let's back up," Peter 2 said, trying to calm the situation, "I'm pretty sure that all of that was a coincidence."

"Yeah!" Peter 3 agreed, "I mean, is it that farfetched to yell at the same exact time an earthquake starts? Happens ALL the time. Real inconvenience, I tell you."

Wong looked at them for a second, pure incredulousness on his face. Then, he turned around and walked off, stopping by Dr. Strange to tell him something.

"I'll try and hold off the rift's expansion. You, meanwhile, keep an eye on them. When I'm finished, we'll discuss punishments." he muttered to Dr. Strange.

As Wong left the room, the three Spidermen immediately shouted in shock.

"Punishments?!" Peter 1 gasped.

"Hey, that's a little too far, man! We didn't do anything!" Peter 3 protested.

Before Wong could step out fully, he pointed at the three without turning around.

"And I'd appreciate it if you stop talking. Our decision is final. No negotiation."

With that, he finally left the basement, leaving the Spidermen alone with Dr. Strange.

"You're just going to let him do this?" Peter 1 asked Dr. Strange.

Dr. Strange narrowed his eyes. "The Sorcerer Supreme does what he thinks is best, to protect the flow of time and space. If that means doing something about you guys, so be it."

The way he said it, in a firm and demanding voice, was enough to make Peter 1 stop talking once and for all and to give up. They really weren't going to change their minds. No matter how much any of the Peters talked, it wouldn't change anything. If they were ever getting out of the Sanctum, convincing Wong and Dr. Strange to let them out was definitely out the window.

Which meant that they were going to have to bust their way out. It wasn't ideal, as doing that would definitely secure the Spidermen's places on their captors' death list. But, they had no other option. And, the threat of the universes merging was far more deadly than getting killed by time wizards.

…maybe.

So, that was why Peter 1 moved away from the force field, and paced around the cell. Dr. Strange was now doing an assortment of spells, closing his eyes all the while. That was good. He was distracted, and that was what the three Spidermen needed.

The only problem that stood before them right now was the magic force fields guarding the cells. Peter himself had no idea how they worked, beyond the fact that it was conjured up by magic. The last time these cells were used, the villains were kept here, and even they couldn't seem to get out of it without someone transporting them out. How were the three going to even get past it, especially with no one available to transport them?

As Peter 1 pondered this question, his head suddenly began to buzz. It felt like the exact feeling he had back when he was fighting Rhino, right before Peter 2 and Peter 3 started communicating with him telepathically. And sure enough, that was what happened this time.

"Hey! 2! 1! Can you hear me?" Peter 3's voice spoke.

Peter 1's eyes widened. "Peter 3?"

"Yeah, man. We need to talk, and we can't do that out loud with Mr. Time Wizard right there." Peter 3 responded.

"I must say…" Peter 2 said slowly, "This is a very weird ability. Yet extremely useful."

Peter 1 nodded. He couldn't agree more with that statement.

"So, what's the plan? I don't know about you, but I don't know a whole lot about magic." Peter 2 continued.

"Me neither." Peter 3 replied, "But if anything's gonna solve this, SCIENCE will! After all, isn't magic basically science with a fancy name?"

Peter 1 frowned a little. "I don't think that's really accurate."

"It is! I'll prove it. Go ahead, and touch the force field." Peter 3 claimed.

Peter 1 raised an eyebrow as he looked at the shimmery invisible magic in front of him. Slowly he went up to it and lifted his finger to touch it.

"Don't know where you're going with this–"

Suddenly, Peter 1's sentence was cut short by shocking pain rattling his finger at the touch of the force field. Trying hard to not scream, Peter 1 waved his finger around, cradling it and whimpering softly. This prompted a quick glance from Dr. Strange, who raised an eyebrow then looked away, focusing on his spells.

"Dude! What the heck?!" Peter 1 complained in his head.

"Sorry!" Peter 3 apologized (the apology didn't seem heartfelt, as he was snickering), "But, I had to show you. What did you feel when you touched it?"

Peter 1 pouted as he rubbed his finger. "A shocking pain that could've been avoided."

"Exactly! SHOCKING pain! As in, 'electric zappy' shocking? This force field is made from energy that's similar to electricity!"

Simultaneously, Peter 1 and Peter 2 looked at the force field. It did look similar to electricity.

"It's still magic though, right? I mean, it's similar to electricity but it isn't electricity." Peter 2 mused.

"True. But, it doesn't have to be electricity! Since it works similarly, we can TREAT it like electricity. So that means we're basically dealing with an electric shield." Peter 3 explained.

"Okay. But one slight problem. How do we deal with an electric force field?" Peter 1 asked.

"Easy! We just need to divert the magic away from the force field, which will deactivate it. We can do that by creating a power line using our webs."

Peter 1 blinked. He didn't know what was more crazy. The fact that this was the plan they were rolling with or the fact that this just might work.

"But..." Peter 3 said, growing disappointed, "We don't have that much space to work with when it comes to building a power line."

The three looked around their cells at that statement. 3 was right. If they were to make a power line in their cells, there wouldn't be anywhere for the magic to go, due to the small size. The basement itself, however, was much bigger. There were many places for the magic to disperse. They could make the power line outside of the cells.

But, how would they even do that if they can't leave their cells in the first place?

Peter 1 looked at the force field again, really looking at it this time. In his head, the start of a theory was forming.

"Wait…" he mumbled to himself out loud.

Slowly, Peter 1 touched the force field again. The shock came back to his finger again, but this time, he pushed away the biting feeling of pain to focus on the force field as he quickly pulled back his finger. Ripples disrupted the surface of it and for a split second, a small hole was seen before the force field quickly pulled itself together, making the hole disappear.

Bingo.

"We do have space to work with, guys," Peter 1 said in his head to 2 and 3, "We have this entire basement!"

When Peter 3 replied, he sounded bewildered. "Um, Kid-Pete. Did you forget somehow that we are stuck in tiny rooms and the basement is beyond our reach?"

"Or is it? Think about it! When you touch the force field, it separates for only a second before it pulls itself back together. Which means that if we hit it hard enough, we can create a bigger hole in the shield! And when THAT happens…"

"... we get a window of opportunity to create the power line before it closes." Peter 2 finished, wide-eyed.

"That could work! We could punch the force field and spray webs all at once to create the power line. Genius!" Peter 3 exclaimed.

Peter 1 gulped, thinking about what they're going to do. What if it didn't work? What if they try it, only to fail and end up with a very bruised hand and an angry Dr. Strange? And what would happen after they leave the cells? Won't Dr. Strange just put them right back?

But then, 1 shook his head, clearing away the doubts. All he has been doing so far is worrying. Why doesn't he just take action without second thoughts? It's about time he takes risks. He might as well start by doing this plan.

"Okay! On the count of three, punch the force field as hard as you can. Be quick with shooting the webs. We only have one opportunity to do this. Ready?"

"Ready!" 2 and 3 declared in unison.

Peter 1 closed his eyes, while balling his fist. It was time. They were going to bust out of here. And they were doing it together.

"One… two… THREE!"

With that, the three Spidermen threw a strong punch at the force field. Loud buzzing came from it as it flicked, revealing a large hole. Not wasting a second, the three shot out webs in unison, and they flew everywhere around the basement. Quickly, the webs connected together, and as the force field closed, they wedged the web into the shrinking holes of it.

Immediately, the constructed power line lit up like Christmas lights, making magic swirl around it and making it leave the force field. This caused the barrier to flicker then completely shut off. The resulting magic hovering in the air around the webs exploded, creating small yet loud pops of magic around the room.

During this, Dr. Strange's eyes snapped open, as his spells faded away. At first, he looked shocked as he saw magic pop around him. Then, he started to wave his hands, and the magic came to him, swirling around him until he contained it into a small and tiny ball.

Meanwhile, the three Spidermen slowly stepped out, stupefied. Slowly, joy lit up their faces and they raced over to each other, ecstatic, saying the same thing in unison.

"WE DID IT!"

If they had it their way, the three would start celebrating right then and there. But before they could, they realized that Dr. Strange was now staring straight at them. At first, he looked completely dazed with shock. But, that was slowly turning into fury.

Cautiously, the three stepped back. Perhaps they didn't think this through.

"We should… run right about now, right?" Peter 3 asked nervously.

"Yeah. Let's." Peter 2 answered with a gulp.

With that, the three sprinted past Dr. Strange and made their way out of the basement. And once they passed him, Dr. Strange finally seemed to regain his senses.

"Just fucking great…" he growled as he chased after them.

As the three quickly ran up the stairs, 3 said, "Okay, Kid-Pete. You know this place, right? What's the quickest way out of this joint?"

The Spidermen reached the main floor and made their way to the exit.

"The front door's our best bet! But we gotta be quick before–"

Just then, a portal opened right in front of the door. While 2 and 3 skidded to a stop, 1 nearly ran into it, only stopping because 2 got ahold of the back of his suit and pulled him back.

When Peter 1 regained his balance, his eyes grew wide.

"... Before he catches up to us." he finished with a gulp.

The three Spidermen slowly turned around to see a furious Dr. Strange marching towards them.

"Guys? We have an angry magician who is about to kill us. WHAT DO WE DO?!" Peter 3 yelped with panic.

Peter 1 chuckled nervously. "Well… we don't REALLY know if he wants to kill us. I mean, 'kill' is a strong word-"

Before he could finish that statement, a blast of magic came flying at them, which they all dodged. As the blast hit the spot they were once in, it started to smoke and tiny magic explosions crackled around it. The three stared at the spot in shock, then at Dr. Strange, who did not look even a little bit merciful as he held up his hands.

"Huh," Peter 1 said, more terrified than nervous, "What do you know? He does want to kill us."

Dr. Strange waved his hand, and suddenly, three portals formed underneath the Spidermen. Quickly, they glanced at each other then upwards.

"Ceiling!" Peter 1 shouted.

Simultaneously, the three shot a torrent of webs that stuck on the ceiling. Once it was secure, they pulled themselves up, avoiding the fate of falling through the now active portals.

Before they could breathe however, Dr. Strange threw another magic blast at them, which they barely dodged. After they dodged, they began to swing away from the front door to the stairs that lead to the upper floors.

"Wait, just where exactly are we going?" Peter 2 asked as they swung.

"I don't know." Peter 1 answered honestly, "Anywhere where there isn't someone trying to kill us, I guess!"

After he said that, the three landed on the stairs, and started to run up them. Once they reached the top though, they paused. They were in unknown territory now. Sure, 1 had been to the Sanctum before. But that was only the lobby and the basement. He had no idea what was beyond that.

But, it wasn't like they had time to realize that. Not with Dr. Strange right on their heels. So, they kept running. As they fled down the halls, they looked at their surroundings. Soon, they passed by a bookcase that Peter 3 looked at longer than 1 and 2. After a few seconds, 1 and 2 then realized that Peter 3 wasn't with them.

"Oh no… where did 3 go?" Peter 2 sighed.

"Hey! Guys!" 3 shouted from behind them.

1 and 2 turned around to see Peter 3 by the bookcase. And, he was taking scrolls and books off the shelves, shoving them into his arms.

"Dude!" Peter 1 gasped, freaking out, "What are you DOING?!"

"There's a bunch of books here about the multiverse and space! There's also magic books and books about timelines, and books about universes, and all that kind of stuff. We NEED this!" Peter 3 explained as he stacked the books and scrolls together.

"You can't just STEAL from somebody! Especially if that somebody is a murderous wizard who will catch up to us any MINUTE NOW!" Peter 2 scolded.

Peter 3 shrugged, surprisingly nonchalant about it.

"So? He's already pissed off. He already wants to kill us. We might as well do other things that will piss him off, if it won't really matter in the end."

Peter 2 blinked. "That is HORRIBLE logic… but sure, whatever. Just as long as we get out of here."

After that, the three continued to run. After a few seconds, they heard an angry scream coming from behind them. Dr. Strange must've found the bookcase empty right then.

"We should REALLY go before we get killed." Peter 1 said shakily.

Just then, as they turned down another hall, they could see a window that gave them a glimpse at the outside.

"There's our exit! Let's go!" Peter 2 exclaimed.

Quickly, 2 pulled the window open, allowing him and 1 to jump out. As 3 got halfway out of the window, that was when Dr. Strange came into view.

"Ah, crap." 3 whispered.

Down below, 1 and 2 looked up at 3, terrified.

"PETER! LET'S GO!" they shouted in unison.

3 looked at them then at Dr. Strange, who was coming right towards him, preparing a magic blast that looked like it would hurt. In one motion, 3 jumped out fully, clung to the wall, and closed the window with a, "Welp, goodbye!"

As soon as 3 dropped to the ground, the three Spidermen left the area, swinging away as quickly as possible. Only when they couldn't see the Sanctum anymore did they stop on a building roof.

When he landed, Peter 3 nearly dropped the books, which he caught again frantically yet effortlessly. After that, the three stood still for a second, looking out from their spot on the roof. But after that, they leaned back in unison, dropping to the floor out of exhaustion.

After a few moments of panting and calming down, they all took off their masks.

"Today… has been a very long day." Peter 1 groaned.

"You said it." 2's and 3's tired voices rang out in unison.

After a while, the three sat up, and simply sat there in silence. In the sky, the rift was still there, casting its purple glow into the orange and pinkish sky. It had to be around evening time right about now. That was crazy. All of this stuff happened over the course of one day. They couldn't imagine what would happen the next day. Or the days after that.

Finally, Peter 1 said, "Why does it have to be like this?"

Peter 2 and Peter 3 looked at him.

"What do you mean?" 2 asked.

Peter 1 looked at them. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other. Almost half a year since we battled together to save my universe. I was hoping to see you guys again under normal circumstances. But, here we are. Our universes are merging and could spontaneously be destroyed at any given time. We have Dr. Strange hunting us down. And we have no idea how long things will stay this way."

2 and 3 were quiet. 1 then turned to face forward again, eyes lingering on the rift as he continued.

"My point is that this sucks. Having to take up the responsibility for saving the world. And yeah, that's the whole point of Spiderman. But… I don't know. I just want Spiderman to have a break for once. To… not worry about having targets on your back and to just… be normal, you know?"

Peter 1 closed his eyes and sighed. For a moment, he acknowledged how he was feeling. He wasn't mad. Or sad. Or scared. Just… disappointed. Which sucks, because he tells himself all the time to expect disappointment so that he doesn't feel disappointed, only to wind up hoping anyway.

How does MJ do it?

Beside him, he could hear Peter 2 and Peter 3 move closer to him.

"Yeah…" Peter 2 said finally, "We know. As Spiderman, we have a lot of things to worry about right now. But, if you ask me, I'm glad it's in Spiderman's hands."

Peter 1 opened his eyes. "Really? Why?"

"Well, the way I see it, people love Spiderman. Not because he's a cool superhero with cooler powers. People love him because he's your friendly neighborhood Spiderman. And because people love him, they trust him a lot. No matter what haters call him, no matter what the news says about him, people root for him.

"And you may not realize it, but people are rooting for us right now. Even though at the moment, they don't realize that the universes merged. Instinctively, these people know that Spiderman will be there to fix whatever danger comes their way. He'll be there to save the day. So, yeah. It would be nice to take a break from crime fighting. But, whenever you feel like giving up, just know that people aren't giving up on you."

"Of course!" Peter 3 exclaimed, "But also, that doesn't just go for the people of New York. It goes for us too. WE don't give up on Spiderman. Imagine a world where you're normal, and that someone else is Spiderman. You'd obviously love Spiderman, so that means that you would have faith in him. You'd be his #1 Fan, cheering him on and just supporting him. Now, as I said, that's all imaginary. But, since right now there's 3 Spidermen, we gotta support each other! We should be our #1 Fans. So, when you think about people not giving up on you, you also have to remember that we're not giving up on you."

Peter 1 was speechless. He never thought of it that way. Before, especially in the first days after that fight 5 months ago, Peter 1 would often come close to giving up. To be honest, the only reason he didn't give up on Spiderman was so that he could hold on to the last thing he had from his old life.

But, Spiderman was more than a hobby, more than a passion. He was a symbol of hope for those who needed it. If Peter 1 had given up Spiderman at any point, where would those people get hope? Who would they look to for protection? People WERE depending on Spiderman, supporting him all the way.

That was why he couldn't give up now. Peter 1 couldn't ditch the mask and go back to a normal life. Not just because he had a responsibility to save the world, but because he had a responsibility to make people proud. To make Peter 2 and Peter 3 proud.

Peter 1 finally stood up, surprising 2 and 3. He stood in front of them and outstretched his hands, a smile on his face.

"You're right. You're BOTH right. It's our job as Spiderman to make people proud. So, let's do just that. I don't know what's going to happen anytime soon. All I know is that together, we can save our worlds! What do you say?"

Peter 2 and Peter 3 glanced at each other, grins growing on their faces. Finally, they both took Peter 1's hands and stood up.

"Heck yeah!" Peter 3 exclaimed.

"Of course!" Peter 2 declared.

Peter 1 let go of their hands and put his out in between him and them, palm facing downward.

"Spiderman on three!" Peter 1 said.

Without hesitation, 2 and 3 piled their hands on top.

"One, two, three!"

Finally, they lifted their hands into the air while shouting, "SPIDERMAN!" for all the world to hear.


Back at the Sanctum, Dr. Strange and Wong stood in the basement, looking at the mess made in the dungeons.

"So… they escaped." Wong sighed.

Dr. Strange nodded, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"Yeah. And they took some books with them." he mumbled.

Wong glared fiercely. "Those boys are going to cause trouble to everyone around them. And we have this multiversal threat on top of all of this. Do you know what's at stake, Stephen? This isn't an Incursion. It's unlike anything we've ever seen. And it's our biggest threat."

Dr. Strange nodded again. "I know. Do you want me to locate them?"

Wong hesitated, looking around, before shaking his head.

"Like I said, the matter of these universes conjoining is a bigger threat. We need to focus on lessening the problem. When the situation's handled, we get the Spidermen."

Dr. Strange's eyes widened. Spiderman… That name felt… familiar. He had never heard of it in his life and yet, the name seemed to trigger a long forgotten memory for a split second. But, before he could really remember the memory, it seemed to fade from his mind.

Dr. Strange shook the feeling off. Maybe he was still rattled after the villains escaped and stole precious research on their way out. Wong was right, though. He had to focus on the multiversal threat, and ignore the Spidermen. Perhaps if he did that, the situation would be a little more under control.

That was why he nodded. "Right. I'll get some spells started."

With that, the two wizards left, heading to the stairs. As they turned their backs though, a small flicker of light flashed in the dungeon. For a moment, a translucent person was seen. A girl wearing a cloak with a hood that draped over her face, and long flowing blue hair.

"It begins…" she whispered with a chuckle.

Dr. Strange froze, and slowly turned around. But, as he looked back, the girl was gone.

Could've sworn I heard something… Dr Strange thought.

"Stephen?" Wong asked from the stairs, "Is anything wrong?"

Dr. Strange turned to face Wong, brushing off the thought as he followed him up the stairs.

"It's nothing."


And that's Chapter 3, over and done with! As you can see, this chapter leaves you off with a few question. Just who is that dream girl? How are the Spidermen going to fix this? And just what exactly are the rules to the universes merging?

You'll find out the answers in the coming chapters. Even though the chapters from here on out will mostly be lighthearted and humorous, they will be connected and follow the main story plot. I'm not sure how long this fanfic will be, but I guess we'll find that out soon.

So, until next time, bye!