Chapter 14: Necessary Evil Part 2: e=MC2
A/N: so, I know I've been looking forward to this one for a while. Behold, a look into the future I what I am now designating Earth-7002. Get it? Because this whole thing started with one of the only two ways ASM 700 could have ended. Unless Peter and Otto would end up having to share Peter's body, similar to Firestorm. Now THAT's an idea. Anyways, this chapter I'm introducing you guys to at least two of the main characters for a potential sequel to this story I've been considering. Before we start, I'd like to thank Araghen, or as he's mow known, SymbioticFedoraGeek, one of my favorite people on deviantArt, for allowing me to use his OC in this chapter. Enjoy!
October 8th, 2032, 15 minutes before the Spider-Men arrived
'I love this.' The girl from the roof top said as she plummeted towards the ground, only to shoot a webline from her bracelets and swing away. 'The way the webbing pulls taunt…the adrenaline rush from almost hitting the ground…the feeling of the wind on my face…it's like nothing else in this world!'
"All units, we have a 0-8-4 at the corner of 84th Street and Lex. Repeat, super criminal elements confirmed." The police scanner in her ear said.
'Time to get back to Earth.' May Parker, also known as the Amazing Spider-Girl, the daughter of Peter Parker, thought as she swung towards the crime.
84th and Main
"You f**king idiot!" A man with in a yellow and green fishnet bodysuit said, blasting waves of compressed air from his fingers at several police officers said to a man wearing read and black armor with wings on his back. "It was simple: we go in, withdraw the safety deposit box we were hired to get, and get out. But no, you had to go and flirt with the pretty cashier, and brag about how we were Supervillains!" Dwayne Schultz, better known as Shocker, said to his partner, Damian Black, better known as Vulture. Dwight was the nephew of Herman Schultz, the original Shocker, and Inherited and upgraded his uncle's equipment 10 years after Herman's death 18 years ago.
"Hey, I'm not the one who blasted the security guard!" Vulture said as he shot flechetes out of his wings, forcing the officers to take cover. Damian was an underpaid aeronautical engineer, having graduated from Texas State University in 2026, and was verbally abused by his boss everyday. One day two years ago, Damian came across the Vulture's equipment, and upgraded it to become the new Vulture. "Does it really matter who's fault it is?" We need to get out of here before one of those Avengers brats shows up!"
"Too late, bird boy!" Spider-Girl said as she swung onto the scene, kicking Vulture in the chest before leaping over Shocker's blast.
"Crap, why'd it have to be you? You're almost as bad as your old man and that other brat in Houston!" Shocker said as he blasted at Spider-Girl, who leapt over each blast. "Always with the jokes and quips…do you Spiders even know the meaning of the word shut up?"
"Can't say we do." A male voice said, and Shocker ducked just as a ball of webbing flew towards him. He looked to see a male in a predominantly gray bodysuit, with his inner thighs, neck, and side of his head being red, with a gray circle around the space and two green lenses, a silver spider emblem on his chest with the bottom legs pointing too his legs and the top legs wrapping around his shoulder, and two spider-like devices were on his wrists. "Vulture, I'm hurt! I thought you and me had something special, yet here you are battling my dear cousin! What the hell, man?" Cyber Spider, Houston, Texas's resident teen superhero, and known to his friends and family as Benjamin Reily Parker, said.
"Oh what the actual f**k? I left Houston to get away from you and your damnable father!" Vulture said, and dive-bombed Cyber Spider. "Why the hell do you keep showing up wherever I go?" Vulture yelled as he hit Cyber Spider head on, only to pass through him, the hologram fizzling out.
"Because you are just so much fun to punch." Cyber Spider said as he appeared from nowhere, decloaking as he punched Vulture in the face, knocking him out with a dose of spider strength. "Huh, I guess you can new the classics."
"What are you doing here, Tech Head?" Spider-Girl asked as she used a manhole cover to block a blast from Shocker, and threw it at him, only for Shocker to blast it out of the air.
"Eh, y'know. Spring break, all my friends are out of town, mom's working, dad's out Avengering, and all my Supervillains decided to take trips to other cities." Cyber Spider said as he leapt over a blast. "So, me and Felicity decided to take a plane to New York to see my favorite cousin."
"So where is she, but the way?" Spider-Girl asked as she shot web balls at Shocker, which he blasted out of the air.
"She went to go visit Ben and Foggy. I'm meeting her back at the Clubhouse later today." Cyber Spider said as he loaded what looked like a spider tracer into his wrist spider, and launched it at Shocker. It connected, before Shocker's gloves started sparking. Spider-Girl took advantage of this and leapt at Shocker, knocking him out with one punch.
"One punch! Just one punch!" Cyber Spider said. "What else would you expect from my amazing cousin, the Spectacular Spider-Girl?"
"Nice try. I'm still mad at you for that time you put my web fluid in my shampoo bottle." Spider-Girl said. "Be lucky that I can't get down to Houston very often. I would SO get you back."
"Small blessings, cuz. Small blessings." Cyber Spider said as the two webbed up the criminals. "My parents say hi, by the way."
"So how are things in Houston?" Spider-Girl asked as she swung off.
"Boring. Very boring." Cyber Spider said. "Like I said, all my regulars decided to take a vacation for spring break." As he said that, Cyber Spider's stomach grumbled. "Uh oh. Looks like I gotta fuel up. The disadvantage of organic webbing."
"There's a hot dog cart not too far from here." Spider-Girl said.
"Awesome. Just wait nearby, and I'll catch up." Cyber Spider said, and swung around a corner. Spider-Girl touched down on a nearby rooftop, and waited for her cousin.
"-only be 18 years in the future, but a lot can change." A voice that was very familiar said in the ally below, and it sounded like it was getting closer.
"Wait up, jammit! There are a few things you need to know about this time!" Another voice said, and Amazing Spider-Man flipped onto the roof top.
"I doubt I'll find anything that will really…surprise…me…" Spider-Man said as he noticed Spider-Girl.
"Dad? What are you doing wearing that old thing?" Spider-Girl asked, and Spider-Man 2099 jumped onto the rooftop.
"Hey Miguel? Turns out I was wrong." Peter said.
"Ah shock." Miguel said, and Cyber Spider swung onto the roof , munching on a hot dog.
"Hey uncle Pete. Using the old look? Nice." Cyber Spider said. "Never really seen you wear it before. I mean, sure I've seen it in history books, and in the display case back at the Island, of course, but I've never seen you wearing it." As Ben spoke, he noticed Spider-Man 2099 making various waving motions at his throat, so he raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, dad, I thought you were still resting up from the plane trip to-" Spider-Girl said.
"Don't say another word." Spider-Man 2099 said. "Do YOU want to be the ones who broke the timestream even worse?"
"Timestream? But how would…oh s**t you're time travelers." Cyber Spider said.
"Got it in one, kid." Amazing Spider-Man said.
"Crap. Hold on, let me call my dad and tell him. Well, call you. Well, not YOU you, but future you, who's- I'm going to shut up now." Spider-Girl said, and pressed a communicator in her ear. She was silent for a moment, before speaking up. "Dad? It's May. Listen, we may have a slight problem." She said. "Yeah, me and Ben are on a rooftop, and you're here too. No, not YOU you, but a past you. There's another one with him. Blue costume, red spider symbol, no lenses." She looked at Miguel. "You from 2099?"
"Yup." Miguel said.
"Yeah, he is. Bring 'em by the Clubhouse? Got it. But wait, how do you want us to get him there without seeing- what do you mean get creative? What kind of plan is that? I just don't see how creative we can get, seeing as how-hello? Dad? Oh you wall crawling little-" May said, and looked at the three other spiders on the rooftop.
"So, how's future me?" Peter asked, when Cyber Spider struck him in the back of the head.
"What? Uncle Pete said to get creative." Ben said.
"I swear to god, if that gives him serious brain damage and I'm erased from history, I'm haunting you." Spider-Girl said.
"But if that does happen, you wouldn't be dead. You'd have never existed in the first place. Therefore, you would be unable to haunt me." Cyber Spider said as Miguel slung Peter over his shoulder.
"If we don't hurry, then none of us are going to exist, except under Thanos's thumb." Miguel said, and they both looked at him. "I'll explain on the way."
Brooklyn
Some sort of deal was going on, with a group of Americans on one side and a group of Russians on the other. "You got the merch?" An American asked, and Russian nodded.
"Da, but we would like to see the money first." He said in nearly flawless English. One of the American's partners handed one of the Russian's companions a brief case, and he checked it before nodding at his friend. Another Russian brought out a briefcase, and opened it to reveal a sniper rifle with growing blue lights all over it. "Old Soviet Dragunov I bought in auction in 2018, enhanced by Stark, Alchemax, and Parker tech. Repulsor enhanced bullets, soviet slugs, velocity enhancers, facial recognition in the scope…completely untraceable." The American grinned, and reached for the gun…
Only for a gaping hole to appear in his chest. As he fell to the ground, his partners looked to see Punisher 2099, laser pistol smoking. "I need to borrow that." He grumbled, sliding a new energy clip into his pistol.
Year 2014, Horizon Labs
Grady examined his time door, his brow scrunched up as he thought hard. "Grady? Something wrong?" Uatu asked as he and Bella entered Grady's lab.
"It's probably nothing, but did you notice how smug Ty looks, even after that crazy future Punisher guy came after him?" Grady said.
"Who knows how long he's been planning this getting revenge on Horizon for us making him look like a fool." Bella said.
"Yeah, that's what worries me." Grady said, and went over to what looked like a window. "This is a prototype for my time door, using the same basic principle. But whereas the time door actually let's us travel to the time we want, this is more like a window, letting us observe any time we want, though I was only able to get it to view the past." Grady explained. "I'm going to use this to see just how long Tiberius has been planning this."
"Grady, are you sure that's such a good idea? You heard future Spider-Man: the timestream is fragile right now. We probably shouldn't do anything that could damage it any further." Bella said.
"But what if Ty IS planning something more than being our boss? Can we really risk that?" Grady asked. "Keep an eye on him. I'm going to take a look through the past, and see if I can't figure out what he'll try." With that, Grady booted up his time window.
Year 2032, Undisclosed Location
Peter woke up, rubbing the back of his head. "Ow…" he grumbled as he sat up, when he heard voices.
"You knocked me out?" A voice said from behind a nearby door.
"You said get creative!" Cyber Spider's voice said.
"I didn't mean knock me out! What if you had given me brain damage?" The other voice asked.
"That's what I told him!" The voice of Spider-Girl said.
"Alright, I'll admit, I could have handled it better. But what are we going to do when he wakes up?" Cyber Spider asked.
"Tell the rest of the team code-names only from here on out. I don't want him knowing anything about the future. Hometown, last name, first name, history, who their parents are, or where they are now. If he figures out who their parents are, do not confirm or deny anything. We don't want to break time worse than it already is." The voice of Miguel said, and as he said that, Peter opened the door, seeing a man wearing what looked like the armor Spider-Man wore to fight the Sinister Six as the other three spiders left.
"Hello, Peter." The man in the armor said, turning to face Peter.
"Uh, hi." Peter said, and stood there for a moment, before the man started chuckling.
"Ah, you gotta love time travel. You're trying to figure out who I am, aren't you?" The man said.
"Please tell me you're not an evil version of me." Spider-Man said.
"Close. I am a version if you, but I'm not from a parallel universe, nor am I evil." The man said, and removed his helmet, leaving Peter feeling like he was looking in a mirror. Well, a mirror that aged you nearly 20 years and gave you a goatee. "Hi, I'm future you."
"I grow a Tony Stark style stache?" Peter asked.
"Really? That's your first question? Not 'where am I' or 'who were those Spider-Kids?'" Future Peter asked.
"Actually, those are questions three and two respectively. What I want to know is why you grew a Tony Stark mustache." Peter said.
"Because our si-wait, have you presented your thesis yet?" Future Peter said, catching himself before he revealed a major event that was yet to come.
"I'm doing that tomorrow. Well, yesterday for you, tomorrow for me." Peter said.
"Then a good friend recommended I do it." Future Peter said. "Besides, you should see what Logan has." As soon as he said that, a speaker buzzed.
"Yo boss. Everyone's who's going to show up is up to speed." Cyber Spider said, and Future Peter put on his helmet.
"Thanks, Ben." Future Spider-Man said.
"That's Kaine's kid, right?" Spider-Man asked.
"I cannot say." F-Spider-Man said. "Any other questions?"
"Is MJ the mother of the girl?" Spider-Man asked.
"I can't spoil any major life moments like that, but what I can tell you is that her name's May." F-Peter said. "I'm not going to tell you when she's born, but when you get there…when you hold her in your arms for the first time…the feeling is indescribable. There's nothing else like it on this world, or any other."
"May, huh?" Peter said, thinking on the name. "Yeah, that sounds like something I'd name my daughter." F-Spider-Man opened the door behind them, revealing a group of about eight teenagers and Miguel gathered around a table.
"We don't have a lot of time, so I'll just point out who you need to know. You've already met Cyber Spider and Spider-Girl-" F-Peter said, pointing at the two spider powered teens. "-this here is Bullseye-" he pointed to a male wearing a black muscle shirt with a target on it, with a mask that had red lenses, a bullseye on the forehead, and blonde hair, and the quiver of arrows and a bow at his side left little doubt in Peter's mind about who the boy's father was. "-American Dream-" a blonde girl wearing a female version of Captain America's old costume, a red and blue shield on her back. "-Black Cat-" a dark haired girl sitting next to Cyber Spider wearing a mask resembling the mask worn by the infamous cat burglar, and a black leather body suit with white fur around the neck and forearms. From the way her arm was wrapped around Cyber Spider's, Peter guessed they were together. "-Fly-Girl-" what appeared to be a cross between a girl and a fly. "-Skye-" a girl with brown hair and brown eyes, dressed in plain clothes. "-and Power Woman." He pointed to a brown skinned girl wearing a yellow and white body suits with blue highlights. "Welcome to the Clubhouse, headquarters of-"
"Dani?!" Peter said. "Dani Cage?"
"The one and only." Dani Cage, the daughter of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, said. "There a problem?"
"No, just a bit…weirded out, is all. It was literally just yesterday that I was watching Luke try to feed you pees." Peter said.
"I don't want to be rude, but we need to remember why we're here." Miguel said. "All of time itself-past, present, and future-will collapse if we don't let a business meeting at Alchemax happen this afternoon."
"Yeah, seeing as I was unconscious at the time, can you explain what we need to do." Peter asked.
"Right, sorry about that." Cyber Spider said. "Skye, can you bring up the business reports from last night?"
"On it, Benjamino." Skye said, and closed her eyes. Instantly, a projector in the center of the table flickered on, showing a news article featuring what looked like Tiberius Stone, only 18 years older.
"Earlier today, Alchemax declared bankruptcy after their stocks plummeted last week." F-Peter said. "I'm not going to tell you why, but it was pretty bad. Like, on a scale from- May, how bad did your mother and me say this was?"
"Mom said it was 'worse than Rob Ford', not like any of us know what that means." Spider-Girl said.
"Damn, that's bad." Peter said.
"Yeah, the kind of thing CEO's don't easily recover from." Miguel said. "In one hour, the board of directors will hold a meeting to determine his future at Alchemax. In 2 hours, a new CEO will be named. In the 30 minutes in between, the new CEO will arrive at Alchemax. My guess is, that's when Gallows will make his move."
"What are we going to do?" Bullseye asked.
"We stakeout Alchemax. Spider-Girl, you're with me, me, and Miguel. Skye, I need you to camp out at the Internet Café across the street from Alchemax and monitor any and all cameras, in case Gallows tries going the direct route." F-Peter said. "Bullseye, American Dream, I want you two on the streets in plain clothes. Wait in the lobby if you have to, but if Gallows goes through the front door, take him out."
"Got it boss." American Dream said.
"Cyber Spider, Black Cat, you two watch from the rooftops." F-Peter said. "And don't use this for more 'alone time.' Don't think I didn't see you two making out last time we did a stakeout." Black Cat's turned red, and Peter swore Cyber Spider's mask turn a bit darker.
"G-got it Uncle Pete." Cyber Spider said, scratching the back of his head nervously.
"Power Woman, you take to the skies. Fly-Girl, how long have you been transformed?" F-Peter asked.
"I just changed right before you and past you walked in. If I change back right before we leave, I should be ready to go by the time our would-be assassin will be there." Fly-Girl said.
"Then when you're good to go, you and Power Woman take aerial surveillance." F-Peter said. "You should probably change back right now."
"Ugh, I hate forcing a change back." Fly-Girl said, and began to shrink and change her shape, becoming a human female wearing a blue sweater over a white tank top and blue jeans. However, when Peter tried looking at her face, he only saw a bunch of pixels. "Love these Unstable Molecule clothes." Fly-Girl said.
"Um, why do I only see pixels?" Peter asked.
"Sorry about that. While you were unconscious, I made a few alterations to your lenses." F-Peter said. "I used the scanners in your lenses to obscure specific faces and other things that could tell you too much about the future."
"Great, like that won't be a massive pain in the ass. How am I supposed to fight like this?" Spider-Man said.
"Gallows should be the only one you'll fight, and his face isn't blurred." Miguel said. "Are we gonna sit here and flap our ports all day, or are we going to shocking move? Need I remind you all what's at stake?"
"Sheesh, are you always this cranky?" Bullseye asked.
"Sorry, but let's see you keep up a calm demeanor when your memories keep shifting between Sentinel Overlords and a Wakanda-ruled dystopia." Miguel snapped.
"Wakanda? Ruling the world? Are we thinking of the same place?" American Dream asked.
"A lot can change in 67 years. Now can we please hurry before things get more shocked up?" Spider-Man 2099 said.
"Oh god, please don't say it." Spider-Girl said to her father.
"I like saying it. I never get to say it in the main team." F-Peter said.
"It's embarrassing!" Spider-Girl said, and F-Spider-Man ruffled her head.
"Aw, sweetie, haven't you figured it out by now? Your mother and I love to embarrass you." F-Peter said.
"Please not in front of your past self. He doesn't want to see this." Spider-Girl said.
"Go ahead. My interest is piqued." Spider-Man said, and Spider-Girl groaned.
"Young Avengers Assemble!" Future Peter said.
Year 2014, Horizon Labs
"Let's see…" Grady mumbled as he looked through his time door, looking through any incident where Tiberius might have committed foul play. "Hm…looks like he's the one who tipped Kingpin off about the Reverbium Sajani made…other than that, it doesn't seem like he's…wait." He said out loud. The time window was on the day of what the media referred to as the 'Alpha Incident', when an experiment of Peter's went awry and gave a visiting high schooler on a field trip named Andy Maguire superhuman abilities. All the power went straight to his head, and he attempted to be a superhero. Keyword 'attempt.' During a battle between the Avengers and Terminus, Andy went overboard with his powers, causing several aircraft to fall from the air, including the one Peter's aunt May was on, giving her the knee injury she now has today. Spider-Man had taken away the boy's powers, but the Horizon team still wondered what caused the experiment to go haywire like that. Seeing as Grady was currently watching Tiberius pull a bunch of wires on Peter's machine, sending his 'Parker Particles' flying and dissipating. "What the hell did you do, Tiberius?" Grady mumbled, and grabbed a nearby scanner. 'Lets see, just gotta calibrate for the Alpha Energy the Parker Particles emit, and-oh s**t. THIS was his plan? I need to warn everyone!' He thought, and ran out of his lab into the Atrium, where the rest of the Lucky Seven, minus Peter, who always seemed to be missing for some odd reason, was sitting with Liz and Normie.
"Grady, is something wrong?" Uatu asked.
"Guys, we need to get out of here! This whole place…it's surrounded by Alpha Energy!" Grady yelled, getting a gasp from the whole room. "It's been building up for months, just waiting for the right thing to set it off!"
"Hold on, I haven't read through all the files on Horizon yet. What's Alpha Energy?" Liz asked.
"Alpha Energy is a highly volatile form of energy produced by unstable molecules. Remember that Alpha kid a few months ago?" Bella said.
"You mean the one who made all those planes fall out of the sky?" Liz said.
"The same one. Where's Peter? He's the one who discovered these damned things, and he should know how to shut it down?" Sajani asked.
"Haven't seen him since Punisher broke down the field." Juergen said.
"Yeah, and that was right before Spider-Man showed up." Uatu mumbled. 'Its almost as if…nah, I think we'd be able to figure it out if Peter was Spider-Man.' He thought, when Tiberius entered the Atrium.
"Where have you been, Tiberius? F**king things up more than you already have?" Grady said.
"Why, Mr. Scraps, while it's true we were once coworkers, and I know that Max liked to be on a first name basis with everyone here, but I don't really like that kind of familiarity. Please call me 'Mr. Stone' or 'Boss.' Besides, what do you mean where have I been? I've been touring my new facility." Tiberius said, and smirked on the inside. 'Which also includes Sajani's lab, where, against Max's and the EPA's direct orders, she kept a small piece of her Reverbium.' He thought. 'All it will take is the right vibration on the right frequency at the right time, and bye bye Horizon.'s
Year 2032, Upper East side
"So this is where Alchemax calls home?" Peter asked, looking at a massive 60-Story building, with the logo on it obscured by his sensors. He, Miguel, Spider-Girl, and F-Spider-Man were standing on a nearby rooftop.
"Yeah. If you gave me a week I couldn't list all the immoral and illegal things that go on in there, but as we're kind of short on time at the moment, just think of entering that building as a descent into Hell." F-Peter said, and turned on his communicator. "Skye, are you set up?"
"Just about. Give me a minute." Skye said in a nearby cafe. She was drinking a cup of coffee, taking a sip before she closed her eyes. Skye was a datapath: a new form of technopath, allowing the power user to not only manipulate technology, but could also communicate and alter data streams. In other words, Skye was the ultimate hacker. "I hate doing this on public Wi-Fi. Some perv is downloading porn here. Just a minute…well, Considering what I just downloaded to his computer, he won't watch porn in a cafe again." Skye said.
"Focus, Skye. Remember what you told SHIELD and Homeland Security." F-Peter said in her ear.
"Sorry boss. Couldn't help it." Skye said, and tapped into all the security cameras nearby, using the facial recognition program Peter and Uatu Jackson developed 19 years ago and uploading a picture of Gallows Miguel showed her at the Clubhouse directly from her memories. "Alright, I've got every camera on the block looking for him."
"Good job. Bullseye, American Dream, are you in position?" F-Spider-Man asked.
"Roger that, fearless leader." Bullseye said. He and American Dream, their costumes removed to reveal a teenage boy with blonde hair,green eyes wearing a purple leather jacket over a black t-shirt and a slightly older teenage girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and wearing a blue zip up hoodie.
"Eyes open, Francis." American Dream said.
"Peggy, remember who you're talking to. Mama and papa Barton didn't raise me to be ignorant of my surroundings." Francis Barton, the son of Hawkeye and Spider-Woman, said as he put on a pair of sunglasses. He pressed a button on the side, and the inside of the lenses began displaying all sorts of information.
"You mean your fancy glasses aren't ignorant." Peggy Rodgers, daughter of Captain America and Sharon Carter, said as Francis looked around the area they were in.
"Don't knock 'em til you try 'em, babe." Francis said, and switched his glasses through various spectrums, until stopped on ultraviolet. "Little Bird and Flag Girl to Bug Boy and Kitty Cat, I think we may have something."
"Dammit Francis, I told you to stop calling me that!" The voice of Felicity Hardy, daughter of the original Black Cat, said in his ear.
"Hey, my parents told me to use call signs over radio, so don't nag me Felicity. Besides, I don't think you mind when Ben calls you that." Francis said into his earpiece.
"I swear to god, I'm going to get you." Black Cat said as she and Cyber Spider looked down from their perch.
"Francis, before you something with his usual tact, can you please tell us what you see before you piss off my lovely girlfriend any more than you already do on a daily basis." Cyber Spider said.
"Well, since you asked so nicely, I'm getting readings from a building across from you very similar to Stark tech mixed with a bit of Alchemax and Par-" Francis started to say, when F-Spider-Man spoke up.
"Since when do Alchemax and Stark Resilient cooperate on technology together?" He said. "Ben, Felicity, check it out."
"Got it uncle Pete." Cyber Spider said, and wrapped his arm around Black Cat's waist, shot out a webline and swung across the street. They landed on the rooftop across from them, and looked around.
"Bullseye, are you sure?" Black Cat asked. "I don't see-gah!" She yelled in pain as a bullet ripped through her side. In a window in the building where they were sitting before, Gallows aimed through the silenced rifle he 'borrowed' from the mobsters.
"Felicity!" Cyber Spider yelled, and pushed her out of the way as Gallows fired once more, this time hitting Ben in his shoulder. As Ben and Felicity landed on the ground, Ben saw what looked like a glowing blue cartridge, the source of the repulsor readings. "Damn him…" Ben gritted out.
"Dammit! Fly-Girl, Power Woman, take him down!" F-Spider-Man yelled. Punisher heard the wall behind him collapse, and he dodged what looked like a blob of acid, dissolving the rifle he was using. He turned to see Fly-Girl and Power Woman standing behind them, acid dripping from Fly-Girl's mouth.
"Hey asshole, those were our friends you just shot!" Fly-Girl said. She fired globs of Acid at Punisher, which he dodged, and the futuristic vigilante ducked under a haymaker from Power Woman. He took out an energy knife, and slashed Power Woman's back, causing her to bleed.
"What the f**k? How the hell did you cut me?" She asked.
"Knife vibrates at 800 oscillations per second. Strong enough to cut through steel." Punisher said, and stabbed her in the back. Fly-Girl slashed at him with her claws, but he ducked and sprayed her with some sort of gas. Instantly, her vision turned blurry. "Herb made from a special plant in the Savage Land. Can incapacitate a Hulk."
"How-?" Fly-Girl tried to say, before falling to the ground unconscious.
"I came across some very well stocked arms dealers." Punisher said. "Thank Thor at least some of them knew how to work this stuff."
"Rebecca? Dani? Dammit!" F-Spider-Man yelled. "Bullseye, American Dream, move in and take him out!"
"We need to get in there and do something!" Peter said, and was about to leap off the building, when Miguel grabbed his arm.
"No, you can't! If Gallows kills you, then none of this is going to exist! You're more crucial to history than Alchemax!" Miguel said, then realized that he was about to say something about future events.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked.
"Jammit, I can't explain what I mean right now, but think about her, Peter!" Miguel said as he jabbed a finger in May's direction. "If you die, your daughter won't even have a chance to exist! Do you really want that? For her to die before she can even be conceived?"
"Standing right here, y'know." Spider-Girl said.
"Listen, Miguel, I know you're worried about the timestream, but right now, those kids are outmatched. If I don't do something, THEY will die, and I refuse to let anyone else die because I stood by again!" Peter yelled, and broke free of Miguel's grasp, leaping off the building and swinging away.
"Ah shock. That son of a glitch could mess things up worse the they already are if he dies." Miguel said.
"Miguel, lay off him, or me, or whatever." F-Peter said. "If it were you, would you stand by?"
"No, but did you forget how important you are to the history of New York?" Miguel asked. "The only reason Osborn lost the Goblin War was because you were there."
"He'll be fine, Miguel. He's beaten worse than your Punisher on his worst day." F-Peter said.
"Dad, Punisher's taken down almost the whole team, and he hasn't even broken a sweat!" Spider-Girl said, and F-Peter chuckled.
"May, I understand you're worried for him, me, whatever the f**k it is…but you haven't seen me like that. That's me when I'm in my prime."
Bullseye and American Dream quickly realized just how outmatched they were. Their parents were four of the deadliest fighters in human, and some alien, history, but they had only been costumed heroes for about a year, while it was immediately obvious Punisher had years of combat experience from his years on the Public Eye. Bullseye had unfolded his compound bow, which he kept on his back, and American Dream had removed her hoodie to reveal her shield on her back. She threw her shield, but Punisher ducked underneath it and grabbed an energy rifle he had tucked away nearby. Bullseye fired two arrows at Punisher, only for him to dodge and fire his rifle at them. American Dream used her shield to block each blast, but Punisher threw a flashbang, the flash blinding the teen superheroes. Punisher aimed his rifle at each of their heads, only for Spider-Man to burst through a wall, knocking away Gallows' gun.
"Sorry Jake, but I don't think future-Cap and future-Hawkeye will be too happy if I let you kill their kids." Spider-Man said.
"You…" Gallows growled, slightly unnerving Spider-Man. "Your face…your face was used by the one who killed my son!" He leapt at Spider-Man, two energy knives in his hands. Spider-Man dodged each and every swipe, and growled as Spider-Man grabbed his wrists.
"Do you even know what taking down Alchemax will do? You're talking about undoing almost 100 years of history, and with the Timestream as weak as it already is, there's no way that anyone will survive!" Spider-Man said as Gallows struggled against his grip.
"I don't care! If I kill Stone, if Alchemax just becomes a footnote in history, then my family won't have to die!" Gallows said, and as Spider-Man looked into Gallows eyes, he understood his pain: A man who had lost that which he held most dear, and would do anything to get them back, even if that meant killing everyone else.
"I'm sorry, Jake, I truly am. I know what it's like…to lose that which you love most. But while the wound is still there, it's sealed shut. I've moved on, and honor her memory everyday." Peter said, and headbutted Gallows, knocking him out. "Y'know, the scary thing is, if you weren't so crazy, I'm sure you and Frank would get along quite nicely."
30 Minutes Later, Clubhouse
"Are you sure it's safe to keep Gallows here?" Peter asked his future self.
"Yeah. We have a few prisons set up for people like him." F-Peter said.
"How's the team?" Miguel asked.
"Eh, their parents are going to give me an earful later, but they're all fine. Just don't tell their parents about them, and they'll be fine." F-Peter said. "You two going to be able to get back alright?"
"Yeah. All we have to do is wait for Grady to open a time door and bring us back." Peter said, and F-Peter placed his hand on his past self's shoulder.
"Good to know, but before you go, I have a piece if advice." The future superhero said. "Y'know that thing you've been thinking about doing with MJ? Now would be a good time to ask." Peter's eyes widened under his mask , before he smiled.
"Thanks for the advice." He said. "Miguel, how're your memories?"
"They've returned to normal. Guess we saved Alchemax, and the future." Miguel said, when a yellow door opened next to them.
"There's our ride." Peter said. "See ya around, Future Pete." He said, before he and Miguel entered the time door. As soon as the door vanished, Peter sunk into a nearby chair and rubbed his temples.
"Boss? You ok?" Skye asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…y'know how people always say 'if I knew then what I know now?' Well, if 18 years ago I knew what was coming, then maybe…" he looked at Skye, his eyes showing the pain he felt as he remembered those dark days. "Then maybe I could have saved the city from Osborn. Maybe then, all those people wouldn't have died."
Year 2014, Horizon Labs
"C'mon you wall crawling wackos, hurry up!" Grady yelled, and the time door deposited the two Spider-Men. "Finally! C'mon, we need to leave!"
"Grady, is something wrong?" Spider-Man asked.
"To say something's wrong is an understatement. This whole place is about to blow!" Grady said. Outside the building at a safe distance with the rest of the Horizon staff, Tiberius pressed a button on a small device he had on his wrist. Spider-Man's spider sense went off as the whole building began to violently shake, and a loud ringing sounded in the ears of all three people.
"Oh s**t, is that Reverbium? I thought Sajani destroyed all of it!" Spider-Man yelled.
"Apparently not!" Spider-Man 2099 yelled back. Jamn, just how much of that stuff is there?"
"I hate to be that guy, but the Reverbium isn't the only problem!" Grady shouted. "This whole place is surrounded by Alpha Energy!"
"What the-? Why didn't you say that earlier?!" Spider-Man yelled, and the three ran towards the exit, the building collapsing behind them. They exited the science center, just as it collapsed behind them, sending a massive cloud of dust into the air.
Epilogue 1: Is there a Doctor in the House?
"Incredible…" Dr. Lamaze gasped as he and the other board members looked over Peter's thesis. "You combined Reed Richards negative Zone theories with Henry Pym's thesis on the effects of Pym Particles on extra dimensional objects. How did you come up with this?"
"Well, I did a lot of research." Peter said. 'Of course, knowing both of them makes things a tad easier.' He thought.
"Dean Lieber, what do you think?" Lamaze said to the man sitting next to him, who Peter recognized as one of the Four Seasons guests from when he was in Houston.
"Nothing sort of Spectacular, Mr. Parker. What's on this paper is completely amazing." Dean Lieber said. "I'd say you've more than earned your doctorate. Any opposed?"
"I can't say I can find any reason to say no." Lamaze said, and extended his hand towards Peter. "Congratulations, Dr. Parker."
Epilogue 2: A Venomous Appointment
In Philadelphia, a teenage girl wearing a female version of Spider-Man's black costume with spiked bracelets on her wrists and swept up hair on the right side if her head looked over the city. "Ugh, he's late. Again." Andrea Benton, known to her friends as Andi, and to the city of Philadelphia as Mania, said.
"Sorry I'm late." A voice said, and Mania looked to see Agent Venom swing next to her. "Had to get some shut eye before we started." He said.
"Aren't you supposed to be ex-military?" Mania asked.
"Hey, you try being a high school gym teacher in a wheelchair, then we'll see how much energy you have at the end of the day." Venom said, when his phone rang. He pulled it out, and read the screen as 'Captain Rodgers.' "Hold on. I need to take this." Venom said, and answered the call.
"Corporal Thompson?" The voice of Captain America said. "This a good time?"
"More or less. Something wrong?" Venom said.
"No, but I'm afraid it's that time of year again. I need you to come down to New York for your bi-annual performance evaluation." Captain America said. In exchange for letting Flash keep the Venom symbiote on his person, the Avengers decided that every six months, they would evaluate whether or not Flash was in control of his actions, or if it was the symbiote controlling his body.
"Got it Cap. I'll pop down there this weekend." Venom said, and hung up.
"Army buddy?" Mania asked.
"Captain America. Time for my review." Venom said.
"Did you tell them about, well, all this?" Mania asked, gesturing to her body.
"Yeah, I did. They said they'll wait and see how you do, since the Academy was shut down after that business with Arcade, and see where things go from there." Venom said, when his phone rang again.
"You sure are a popular guy tonight, coach." Andi said, and Venom ignored her as he answered his phone for the second time that night.
"Hello?" He said into the device.
"Flash? It's your mother. You're never going to believe what just happened." The voice of Flash's mother said.
"What's wrong? Are you ok?" Flash asked.
"I'm fine, dear, but I just found out the most wonderful news: Peter got his doctorate!" Flash's mom said, causing Flash's eyes to widen under his mask.
"Holy s**t, he actually did it." Flash said. "I always knew he could."
"Isn't it wonderful? May just told me she's throwing a surprise party for Peter Saturday, and it would really mean a lot to Peter if you were there." His mother said.
"This Saturday? Yeah, I was planning on heading into New York that day anyway." Flash stated, and noticed Mania tapping her foot impatiently. "Look mom, I gotta go. Love you." He said as he hung up.
"So you're leaving me all by my lonesome this weekend? What if Katy has some weird or demonic story she wants us to help with?" Mania asked.
"She's overseas in the rainforest looking for some magic vase, and the only crime we deal with on the weekends are the usual muggings. You'll be fine." Venom said. "Now c'mon, let's get started."
A/N: I'm sorry there wasn't a lot of action this time, but I've had a very tiring week, so I haven't had any energy to write action scenes. But don't worry, the next chapter will be very action heavy. The one you've all been waiting for: Peter Parker: The Superior Spider-Man, New York's greatest hero; Flash Thompson: Agent Venom, Secret Avenger and struggling hero. These two good friends have no idea of the others double life, but that all changes next week. Two heroes collide, in…
Next Time: Darkest Hours part 1: Symbiotic Stroll