I do not own Spider Man or any of the characters.
Bad Reception
I accept my upgraded suit back from Peter, staring at it's completely unchanged design. "You're sure it still works?"
"Positive," Peter nods. "It's got a bunch of new functions."
"Like what?" I ask.
"You'll see," Peter says. "But, honestly, though, thank you. You protected MJ for me. I can't repay you."
"You don't have to," I say. "It's what we do. You still got that communicator I gave you?"
"Yeah," Peter says, holding it up. "You're sure this will call between dimensions?"
"I mean, the signal's going to be shit, but it'll usually call," I say. "Let us know if you need us, and we'll try to help."
Peter nods and turns to leave.
"Oh, and, uh, time flows faster here," I say. "A few days here was a few hours back home, so, uh, make calling us a last resort, yeah?"
Peter nods and I open a black hole, raising a hand before turning and walking through with Lexi and Jess. A few disorienting minutes later, we stagger out of the other end in our living room. Our next dimension has a time flow closer to ours, though still faster, so there's still no gigantic rush. I head up to me and Lexi's room and grab my pills, then walk back down, passing them to Lexi, who sticks them in my backpack for me.
"Alright," she sighs. "I already entered the number. You sure that's all you needed?"
"Pretty sure," I nod. "think I should suit up?"
"Not yet," she says. "Ready Jess?"
"Ready," Jess nods.
We all take each other's hands, and suddenly we're spinning through the multiverse once again. When we reach our next destination, we're in an alleyway and a homeless man screams and runs away from us, screaming about demons. I grimace and we walk out into the street and looking around. I check my watch and see it's begun searching. We walk down the street, looking around. We have maybe two days before the search is done this time. Maybe.
We reach the Empire State Building and head up to the top using the elevators, walking outside and looking around. It looks like our universe, except that both Fisk tower and our school are both missing. We head back down and continue walking, looking for a hotel this time. As we walk, we also keep an eye out for trouble, but there's nothing. No crime at all. Finally, we find a hotel and rent a room for two nights, then leave to find dinner. However, we don't make it far before we find trouble. Lexi and Jess stop, and I do the same, turning to them.
"Symbiote," Jess hisses.
"Where?" I ask, turning, finding a guy who looks to be early twenties or so standing ahead of us, staring at us, one hand rubbing his chest.
He's got brown hair, his long bangs hanging in front of his right eye, and a shadow under the left. he looks like a goth Tobi Maguire. His eyes burn with malice and arrogance, and after a moment, he starts toward us.
"Be ready to run," I say. "We can't fight him here."
Both nod and we walk forward to meet the host. He speaks first once we're standing in front of each other, no one around us paying us any mind.
"Who are you?" the guy asks.
"You first," I say.
"I'm not asking again," he warns. "Answer the question or you're about to have a very bad day."
"I've had worse," I say. "Follow us. We'll find someplace private to talk."
He's silent for a moment before nodding and following us. We take several alleyways before disappearing around a corner. He jogs to catch up but we've already swung up to the rooftop. I whistle and he looks up at us before his eyes narrow. I back away and a moment later, he flips up over the side of the building, landing in front of us in a low squat with a glare. I form me, Lexi, and Jess chairs made of ice and we all sit down, watching him as he straightens up, hands curling into fists.
"Who are you?" He snarls.
"My name is Ben," I say. "This is Lexi, and Jess." I indicate each of them in turn. "They tell me you've got a symbiote."
"A what?" he asks.
"What's your name?" I ask. "We'll start there."
"My name's not important," he says. "Where'd you get your powers."
"Sorry, that's not how this works," I say. "We're trading answers for answers. It's your turn. What's your name?"
"Peter," he growls.
"Peter Parker?" I ask, his eyes narrowing. "Well, that was easier than I expected. Alright. I'll tell you a bit about us. We're from a parallel universe where I'm one of two current Spidermen. I'm the third. I'm called the Ice Spider, for obvious reasons." I indicate the chairs. "The other one is able to generate electricity and turn invisible. What about you?"
"Only wall-crawling and generating webs," he says.
"You generate your own webs?" I ask.
"Yeah, why?" he asks.
"I form mine from ice, but the others I've met have all had to make their webs with chemicals, then shoot it out of specialized shooter bracelets," I say. "Anyway, I'm assuming you have the Spider Sense, strength, and speed that we all got too."
He nods.
"Good," I say. "Then we can move on to the important question. Do you have a symbiote?"
"What's a symbiote?" He asks.
"It'd be an organism that looks like its made out of goo," I say, watching his hand reach up to massage his chest, even as he shakes his head. "When a symbiote combines with a host, the host feels powerful, invincible, even. But that's not quite accurate. You see, you are more powerful, but..."
He's been faking falling asleep for the last few seconds, and I narrow my eyes at him.
"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" I ask.
"Actually yes," he says.
"Okay, I'll make it easy," I say. "That symbiote you're wearing as a suit right now is killing you."
His eyes narrow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you feel powerful, but you're not compatible," I say. "It's feeding off of your life force in exchange for making you strong. Wear it a few more days, and it'll drain you dry."
"And how would you know?" he snarls.
"Because Lexi and Jess are both symbiotes, a stronger version, who are able to create themselves human bodies and survive without a host," I say. "However, unlike you, I'm compatible, so I won't be killed if I accept a symbiote, though the list of who I'd accept is limited to two. Maybe four, if I'm desperate."
"And this is relevant why?" Peter asks.
"Because you're wearing a symbiote, and I'm trying to help you."
Peter glares at us. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"At the very least, take it off when you're not fighting," I suggest. "It'll prolong your life."
"Whatever," he says after a minute, then drops off the roof to the alleyway.
I walk over and watch him leave, and he pauses at the end of the alleyway, looking back at me before leaving.
"Should we try to force the symbiote out of him?" Lexi asks.
"No," I say. "It's not our problem. For all we know, he might actually be a bad guy in this universe. We only know he's Spiderman."
"Fair enough," Lexi nods. "So, food?"
I smile and nod and we head back down to the street, then wander around until we find a McDonalds before heading back to the hotel. I kick my shows off and drop onto my bed pulling my mask out of my backpack and pulling it on. Instantly, the eyes light up, a bunch of data and icons flashing in front of my eyes before moving off to the edges of my vision.
"Hello Ben," a gentle feminine voice greets me. "It's nice to meet you."
"Who are you?" I ask.
"My name is Karen Two," the voice says. "I'm an AI originally designed by Tony Stark and given to Peter. That version was originally destroyed, but Peter used my backup programming and memory to create me. He also installed me into his own suit."
"Can you talk to each other?" I ask.
"Only by calling," she says.
"Alright," I nod. "So, what can you do?"
"I was integrated with the programming of the AI EDITH, and as such, I have access to all of its capabilities," Karen says. "I also provide combat support data, assist you with operating your suit's new functions, and update your Heads Up Display."
"Sweet," I say. "Can you hack cell phones and satellites and stuff in other universes, even though Stark Industries might not exist?"
"I can," Karen says. "However, I require time to scan the internet and learn about the universes we are in."
"Alright," I say. "Start with this one."
"Okay," Karen says. "Would you like me to show you what I find?"
"Just give me a brief summary whenever you're done," I say. "Just the important stuff."
"Alright," Karen says.
"Do I have to wear the mask for you to search?" I ask. "Or plug you in to anything? Or charge the suit?"
"No, the suit's power is self-sustaining, barring extensive damage," Karen says. "And I can scan using wireless signals, even when you're not wearing your suit."
"Sweet," I smile. "I'm going to take the mask off now. If you need me just make the mask beep or something."
"Alright," Karen says pleasantly.
I pull the mask off and set it on the bedside table. I fold my hands behind my head just as Lexi and Jess lay beside me, Jess turning on the TV.
"New feature?" Lexi asks.
"Apparently a ton of them," I say. "Including an AI named Karen. She sounds nice."
Lexi giggles. "She's programmed to help you. I doubt she'd be anything other than that."
"I don't know," I say. "If you were an AI in my suit, you'd probably be a smartass the entire time."
"Oh please," Lexi snorts. "I am your suit half the time."
"True," I agree. "Speaking of, I wonder how that'll work with the suit's upgrades."
"Good question," Lexi says. "We'll test it out later."
"Agreed," I say.
"So, what are we going to do while we wait?" Lexi asks.
"I dunno," I shrug. "We could sleep. I'm still tired from holding that ice wall."
"That sounds like a good plan," Jess says. "A rest does sound nice. We've been going since Antivenom."
"True," I say. "And it's not like not resting is going to make this thing scan any faster." I look over at the watch on the bedside table.
"Then I guess it's settled," Lexi says. "Nap time!"
I chuckle and nod as Lexi hands me my medicine. I take one and Lexi puts the other back on the bedside table before we all settle in to sleep.
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