TW: Yep.

Gallifrey 22.3: Yeah but, as usual, it's always more complicated than that.

New York

Morning

In an alley, the man in green armor was hastily covering his glider with a sheet. The man had removed his helmet to reveal the face of Normal Osborn.

"Coward," a voice called out behind him.

Normal fearfully turned around, revealing the mask he had placed on the edge of a dumpster.

"We have a new world to conquer," the voice said, seeming to come from the mask. "You make me sick."

"Leave me alone, please," Norman pleaded.

"Hiding in the shadows, hiding from who you truly are," the voice continued to taunt him.

"No!" Norman cried desperately.

"You can't escape yourself!"

Having enough, Norman picked up a nearby rock and smashed it against the mask, shattering it. As the pieces fell to the ground, Norman ran, trying to ignore the sinister cackle that followed him.

New York Sanctum

Same time

"Fascinating," The Doctor as Peter explained how his web shooters worked. "And you received your abilities after being bitten by a spider?"

"A radioactive spider, but yeah. I can see better, I'm stronger, I can stick to walls, I even have this sort of Tingle when danger is near," Peter explained.

"Please, for the love of God, call it something else," Logan grumbled from where he was listening as he drank a beer.

"Like what?" Peter asked curiously.

"My best friend Stiles would say to call it something like 'Spider Sense," Scott said with amusement.

"Spider Sense," Peter muttered, mulling it over before smiling. "I like it."

"So you're an alien?" Scott asked as he turned to The Doctor.

"I came from a planet called Gallifrey. I'm The Doctor," The Doctor introduced himself.

"Doctor who?" Logan asked and The Doctor smiled.

"Just The Doctor," The Doctor explained and Logan shrugged.

"Whatever. Have to admit, I've fought mutants, humans, even giant robots. But aliens are a new one," Logan mused.

"I've fought one, both in space and on earth," Peter added.

Scott simply stood there, wondering when his life got to a point where aliens existing didn't surprise him anymore.

A few feet away, Merlin was sitting at a table, watching The Doctor curiously as he interacted with Peter, Logan and Scott. He was thinking about what he had seen when shaking The Doctor's hand when he felt someone approach. Looking up, Merlin saw it was Gandalf.

"You seem troubled my friend," Gandalf noted in concern.

"I am troubled," Merlin admitted, looking back at The Doctor once more before speaking again. "When I shook The Doctor's hand, I…I had a vision."

"You do not usually receive visions my friend," Gandalf said with a frown.

"Which is makes me so concerned. I don't know what it means or even what I saw," Merlin said in frustration.

"You are magic itself Merlin. If you of people received a vision of The Doctor in this dark hour, I would say it is a sign that The Doctor will have a large role to play in what happens next," Gandalf said as they both watched The Doctor for a moment.

In the library, Willow was looking around at the books in a bit of awe, hardly able to believe there was such a collection of magical knowledge when she felt someone walk up beside her. Without turning around, she knew it was Angel.

"So, how's everyone? Last we heard, Buffy was starting up that Slayer Organization," Angel noted.

"Doing alright. Dawn's in college, Xander's in Africa I think, it's been a while since he's been in touch. Giles is with Buffy in London as they plan everything out," Willow explained and Angel nodded as they sat down at a nearby table.

"And you? Last I heard you were seeing someone, Kennedy?" Angel questioned and Willow grimaced.

"That did not work out. She just….she wasn't Tara," Willow said softly and Angel nodded.

"I get it. You know you need to move on but your heart's not ready. It took me…years until I was ready to move on from Buffy," Angel said wisely and Willow nodded. "You'll get there someday."

"I hope so," Willow said and there was silence between them. "What about you? You're running Wolfram and Hart now, what's that like?"

"You haven't heard? Apparently Buffy doesn't approve of the way I've chosen to help people," Angel said grimly and Willow looked at him questioningly. "We had an incident with a Rogue Slayer. Andrew, acting on Buffy's orders, took her back to London, and he had an army of Slayers ready to take her by force if necessary. According to him, Buffy doesn't think we're on the same side anymore."

"That doesn't sound like Buffy at all," Willow said in surprise and Angel shrugged.

"Well, that's what Andrew told me," Angel said bitterly.

"Andrew's not exactly a trustworthy source Angel," Willow pointed out.

"Doesn't matter. Even if he's wrong and the orders came from someone else, they came from someone Buffy trusts. If she places them in that high regard, they speak for Buffy. What someone does under your command is your responsibility. Andrew wouldn't have made such a bold move if Buffy or someone close to her didn't give him indication that they felt the same way. Are you honestly going to tell me that Andrew is the only one who doesn't trust me?" Angel asked pointedly.

Willow wanted to tell him he was wrong. But she'd spent the early years of the Scoobies listening to Xander's rants about Angel and while she hadn't been present for it, she knew that Giles had tried to have Spike killed behind Buffy's back. And it wasn't exactly a secret that Xander hated all demons and Giles hated Angel for killing Jenny.

Seeing that Willow remained silent, Angel smiled tightly, having his answer.

"I'd rather not work with them at all than work with someone who only partly trusts me. I'll never stop fighting Willow, but I won't be some disposal ally that Buffy or whoever she decides speaks for her can toss aside whenever they feel like it," Angel said firmly and, after a moment, Willow nodded.

"I guess I understand," Willow said and it was silent between them for a moment. "Are you okay? You seem…sad. And I don't just mean about Buffy. Did something happen?"

Angel was silent, thinking back to that moment. The moment he had lost it all. Lost a part of himself.

In his office, Angel placed the phone down, in a bit of a daze. Looking up, he stared at the spot Cordelia had been moments earlier, where she had kissed him. But she was gone. And she wasn't coming back.

"Thank you," he said emotionally, feeling as though he'd lost part of himself that he would never fully get back.

"Angel?" Willow called out concerned after a few moments.

"Sorry. I was…thinking," Angel said, wondering how to tell her. "You're right, something did happen. Cordy…she's gone."

For a moment, Willow simply stared at him, sure she had misheard him. But when Angel's face didn't change, the sadness that seemed to fill his entire body suddenly made so much more sense.

"When…how…" Willow stammered, unable to form words.

"A few days ago. Jasmine, what she did to Cordy…it was too much. The Powers that Be gave her one last day, she spent it with me. Helped me get my head on straight. Then she was…just gone," Angel said lowly, feeling the loss all over again.

Willow put a hand to her head, sure she was dreaming. She'd lost so many people she thought she'd never lose, Jesse, Joyce, Tara, even Buffy after Glory. But somehow, she'd never thought she'd outlive Cordelia. She'd of thought her former high school nemesis would outlive them all, would always be there with a snarky comment to annoy and amuse them forever.

Angel got up and walked around to the other side of the table until he stood next to Willow. He placed a hand on her shoulder and Willow looked up at him. Seeing his understanding look, the dam broke and Willow lowered his head, her shoulders beginning to shake as tears fell from her eyes. Angel silently took her into his arms, crying with her as they both grieved over the brunette who had stormed into their lives with the force of a wrecking ball.

"There has to be a reason I had this vision," Merlin said as he and Gandalf discussed his vision of The Doctor.

"I agree my friend. But you know as well as I that visions can be interpreted many different ways. Whatever The Doctor's role in this may be, it must come to him on his own," Gandalf said as they looked back at where The Doctor was talking with Peter and Scott.

That was how Arthur found them as he entered the room. As he approached the table, Merlin noticed his presence and tensed, not sure what Arthur was going to do.

"It was Gandalf, was it not?" Arthur asked with a glance at Gandalf, who nodded as he looked at Arthur curiously. "May I speak with Merlin alone?"

"Of course," Gandalf said, glancing at Merlin who nodded. "I shall go find Stephen Strange to inquire on any other visitors to this world."

As Gandalf walked off, Arthur sat down in the seat across from Merlin. For a long moment, it was silent until Arthur spoke.

"Why?" Arthur asked, looking at Merlin in confusion, who understood immediately what he was asking without being told.

"The first day I arrived in Camelot, I witnessed Uther execute a man for practicing magic and declare that Sorcery was punishable by death. So you can understand why I didn't feel like sharing," Merlin noted.

"Then why stay? You could have gone anywhere, somewhere that your life wasn't in such danger. Why stay?" Arthur asked, not understanding.

"Not long after I arrived, I was told by…someone who could see the future that you were the Once and Future King, destined to unite Albian and return magic to the land. I didn't really believe it at first, but underneath your prattiness, I could see the king you would become, the king who would be the greatest in Camelot's history," Merlin said and an unreadable look crossed Arthur's face.

"So that's why you stayed by side all this time?" Arthur asked tonelessly.

"At first," Merlin acknowledged. "Then…then we became friends. As much as I still believed in your destiny, in the world you would create…I also didn't want to lose you. And maybe it was a mistake keeping my magic from you; the gods know that I made many mistakes when it came to you. But can you accept that I did what I thought was right for all of us?"

"I can't say I would have done what you did," Arthur said after a long moment. "But I also can't imagine what it's like to be in your position, to be on guard every day for fear you might be discovered and executed. I guess it is all very complicated."

"Yeah, yeah it is," Merlin said relieved Arthur seemed to be taking it well.

"All this time…and you never sought any credit," Arthur noted.

"Some men were born to rule. I was born to serve you Arthur, and I'm proud of that," Merlin said the words he had told Arthur so long ago, just before his death.

A few feet away, Peter felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out. Seeing May was calling, Peter answered.

"Hey May," Peter answered.

"Hey Peter. I'm at work and um, one of the guys you're looking for just walked in," May said, to Peter's alarm.

"Stay away from him May, I'm on my way," Peter said alarmed before hanging.

"Peter, what's wrong?" Scott asked as they all noticed Peter's demeanor had changed.

"One of the guys dragged here showed up at my Aunt's work," Peter explained in a rush, to their alarm.

"It could be the blond woman we saw earlier," Jack noted uneasily from where he stood in the doorway to the room, having heard the commotion.

"No, May said it was a guy," Peter said, quickly rushing towards the exit. "I have to get to May!"

"Not alone you're not," Logan quickly stepped into his path, blocking him. "You don't know what you're dealing with kid; you can't go running off halfcocked."

"I'll go with him," Scott immediately volunteered.

"So will I. We'll call for back up if we need it and Merlin or Strange can teleport of whatever there," Jack offered and The Doctor nodded.

"A sound plan. Go and hurry back. We have no idea how many others were dragged here," The Doctor noted grimly.

FEAST

Later that morning

Peter swung behind an ally, changing into regular clothes as Scott and Jack drove up in a car. Getting out, the three rushed into the building.

"May! Where's May?!" Peter demanded urgently and one of the workers pointed to the back. "Thank you!"

Scott and Jack followed Peter back into the back and he rushed into a room.

"May!"

Peter stopped short, Jack and Scott nearly bumping into him. May was there, sitting down with Norman, who was out of uniform and dressed in some clothes from the donation bin.

"Ah, hey, here he is! Norman, this is my nephew," May introduced, confusing the trio.

"This is not what I was expecting," Jack admitted.

"I saw Spider-Man in an ad for this place. And I thought he could help me. But you're not him," Norman noted as he saw Peter before looking at Jack and Scott. "And I have no idea who you two are."

"Yeah, that's going around today," Scott noted dryly.

"Wait, so you want Spider-Man's help?" Peter asked bewildered.

"He just wandered in," May explained.

"I didn't know where else to go. Someone's living in my house. Oscorp doesn't exist. My son..." Norman trailed off, pained. Sometimes I'm not myself. I'm... someone else. And every time he's in control, I can't remember."

"Who?" Scott asked, having flashbacks to the Nogitsune.

"And now I'm in here, in this place, in this city and I don't know-I don't know what's going on with me, and I don't – it doesn't make sense," Norman rambled, ignoring May's attempts to calm him down.

"We're gonna get you the help you need, I promise Mr. Obsorn," Scott promised as he walked over, laying a hand on his shoulder.

May then stood up, walking over to Peter. She briefly glanced at Jack before turning to Peter.

"He's lost. And I don't mean just in the cosmos, I mean in his mind. Are they all like this?" May asked.

"Not all of us, but enough," Jack said, holding a hand out to her. "Captain Jack Harkness."

"May," May introduced herself, eying him warily before turning back to Peter. "Well?"

"They all come with their own physical or mental issues." Peter said lamely.

"Well, he needs help, and maybe they all do," May said as she gestured to Norman and it took Peter a moment to understand.

"Wait, you don't mean...No, May this isn't my problem," Peter protested and May looked at him in disbelief. "May, their best chance of getting help is way better back where they came from. Sending them home, that's the best thing that we can do for them."

"For them or for yourself?" May challenged.

Scott, who had been listening, looked over at them incredulously before walking over to them.

"You may not want this to be your problem, but you made it yours when you brought us here. Whatever happens now, it happens because of you. Can you really live with yourself if someone dies because you send them back?" Scott demanded and Peter flinched at the thought.

"Look around you. This is what we do. We help people. Not just good people, but lost ones too," May told Peter.

"I agree that some of them might need help, and I'm certainly of the mind its best for everyone if we can send them back where they won't snap and kill someone, but maybe we should figure this out with the others," Jack suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that," Peter agreed, eager to get back.

New York Sanctum

Late morning

And so the group drove up outside the Sanctum. May had driven Peter and Norman in a FEAST truck while Jack and Scott followed in the car they'd driven.

"Thanks, May. Hope to see you again," Norman said before he got out of the car.

"Peter," May stopped Peter as he went to follow. "He trust you. So do I."

Peter stared at her for a moment before nodding.

"Thanks for the help with this situation, Aunt May. I'll see you later!" Peter said before following Norman.

May stared after him for a moment before driving off.

Inside, Merlin and Arthur had continued talking and Arthur was thrown by what Merlin said.

"So Morgana has been enchanted by Morgause all this time?" Arthur asked in disbelief and Merlin nodded.

"It must be a powerful one if it's held all this time after her death. None of the things she'd done have been her fault Arthur," Merlin said as Arthur tried to process it all. "Gandalf and I are looking into a way to break the enchantment but we have to focus on the other people who have been dragged here."

Arthur nodded, still trying to process it all. He'd believed that the only way his feud with Morgana would end would be with either his death or hers, but now…now their might be a third option. A way to end this madness and get his sister back.

The sound of the door opening and closing broke Arthur from his thoughts. They looked up to see Peter, Scott and Jack reenter the building with Norman.

"I guess that's another one," Angel said as he and Willow walked in, seeing Norman.

"Hey everyone this is Mr. Osborn," Peter introduced.

"Doctor," Norman quickly corrected.

"Another Doctor. This should be interesting," The Doctor from where he walked in with Aragorn, the two having been conversing about Middle Earth.

"I do doubt this one is a Time Lord," Aragorn said with a slight smile.

"Anyway, this is Merlin, Arthur, The Doctor, Aragorn, Angel, and Willow," Peter made the introductions.

"Doctor Who?" Norman asked curiously.

"Just The Doctor," The Doctor said with a smile.

"Don't bother trying to find out his real name. Known the man for years and not a peep," Jack warned Norman.

"So we have another one, great," Strange said as he and Gandalf entered the room.

"And all of you are from different universes?" Norman asked curiously.

"Most of us. It's very complicated," Willow told him.

"Fascinating. And there are others here to?" Norman inquired.

"Yes, downstairs. Speaking of which, perhaps it's time we check in on them," Gandalf mused.

"Logan volunteered to keep watch. But maybe it would be a good idea to check in on him," The Doctor mused.

Downstairs, Logan was nursing a beer as he sat in a chair, watching the cells for any activity. So far, aside from some comments designed to get a rise out of him when he'd first come down, it had been rather quiet. Hearing footsteps, Logan turned his head as the group made their way downstairs.

"My shift over or what?" Logan inquired.

"We're just checking in," Gandalf assured him.

"This is Norman," Peter quickly introduced the two.

"Logan," Logan said, raising his beer towards Norman. "Welcome to the freak show."

"Arthur," Morgana said from her cell as she spotted him. "Hello dear brother."

"Morgana," Arthur said, a lump in his throat at the sight of his sister.

"It's a family reunion. We only need our dear dead father here now," Morgana sneered.

Arthur paid no attention to Morgana's taunt, merely staring at her, trying to find a piece of the sister he'd once known in her.

"Octavius?" Norman called out as he spotted the man, who turned around and stared at Norman in shock.

"Osborn?"

"What happened to you?" Norman asked as he stared at the man's tentacles.

"What happened to- You're the walking corpse!" Octavius shouted, confusing Norman.

"What are you talking about?" Norman asked.

"You died Norman, years ago," Octavius revealed to the shock of everyone.

"You're insane," Norman denied.

"God, I love it here," Max said with a grin.

"What are you talking about? He's standing right there. He's not-" Peter started.

"Dead," Flint spoke up and they turned to him. "They both died, fighting Spider-Man. It was all over the news. Green Goblin, impaled on the glider he flew around on. And a few years later, you, Doc Ock, drowned in the river with your machine."

"That's nonsense!" Octavius denied. "Spider-Man was trying to stop my fusion reactor. So I stopped him. I had him by the throat, and then I…" Octavius trailed off as the realization hit him. "And then I was here."

"Oh please, let me tell you something. I was whooping Spider-Man's ass - he'll tell you. And then he caused an overload, I was stuck in the grid, absorbing data, I was about to turn into pure energy and then- And then, uh- And then-" Max stopped short as he to figured it out. "Oh shit. I was about to die."

"Max, do you know, do I die?" Connors asked almost fearfully as everyone else stared.

"Merlin," Arthur said as something occurred to him. "The way you looked at me when you first saw me, like you'd seen a ghost…"

"Yes Arthur, you died," Merlin said lowly, not seeing any point in hiding it. "You and Morgana."

"What?" Morgana exclaimed as she stared at Merlin in shock.

"You and Mordred challenge Arthur until he answers it on the battlefield. Mordred stabs Arthur with his sword before Arthur kills him. I killed you to save, but it didn't matter, Arthur still died in my arms anyway," Merlin said with a heavy sigh, feeling the weight of the years of his life pressing down on him.

"It doesn't matter, we still have to send them back," Strange insisted and the group looked at him as though he was insane.

"Of course it matters, they're gonna die if we do!" Peter argued.

"And maybe that's their fate," Strange disagreed.

"There is no fate but what we make," Aragorn disagreed.

"Wong is almost ready to fix the spell and send them all back. This doesn't change anything," Strange argued only to hear the click of a gun next to his head.

"It changes everything," Jack said, his face hard as he pointed his gun at Strange.

"You honestly think that gun will help you against me?" Strange asked in exasperation.

"Maybe not. But at least I won't be standing around doing nothing," Jack said, staring at Strange hard.

"Strange, we send them home we're as good as murdering them," Scott argued.

"And that's horrible, it is. But it's a few lives against the entire multiverse. You are all honestly telling me you've never had to make a similar choice?" Strange asked in disbelief.

"Once," The Doctor said grimly. "It turned me into the man I am now. I'm not even sure who that is anymore."

"You tell yourself it's justified, that it's for the greater good, but it's still wrong. And you know that," Jack said, his eyes haunted as he remembered Steven.

"We were going to lift the enchantment on Morgana anyway. Why can't we do the same for all of them?" Merlin suggested.

"Stephen Strange, when did you forsake your heart, your conscience?" Gandalf demanded, standing up straight, gripping his staff tightly.

"Nothing in the world is what it ought to be, it's harsh and cruel. That's why there's us," Angel started. "We live as if the world is as it should be, to show it what it can be. But if we're just going to start acting like the bad guys and let people die because it's easier than not trying…there's no point to it. If we can save them, we should. It's that simple."

"Strange, come on, have a heart," Peter pleaded.

For a long moment, Strange stared at them as they tensed, wondering what he would do. Then, finally, he nodded.

"Okay, fine. I can buy you some time, but that's all I can give you is time," Strange said before he opened a portal. "Don't make me regret this."

"Well that went better than expected. I thought we'd have to fight him," Willow said once Strange walked through the portal.

"You could have just left us to die. Why didn't you?" Octavius asked perplexed.

"Because that's not who we are," Scott said as he looked over at him. "We try to save lives, not end them."

"We can try to help you. We have magic and advanced technology," Peter started.

"I'll help you," Norman offered. "I'm something of a scientist myself."

As the others began talking, debating this, Kate watched silently before a voice spoke to her.

"You have done well. Play your part and you shall get your reward."

"Yes, Great Intelligence," Kate muttered, seemingly to herself ash she glared at Scott hatefully, gleefully anticipating the moment when she could finally kill him.

This chapter got a lot longer than I thought it would, but I got it done.

All hail Stiles Stilinski. Even without being in the story, he is the inspiration for Peter to start calling his 'Tingle' by its proper name.

Now I do believe that Andrew was putting words in Buffy's mouth in 5x11. But it's also not hard for me to believe Giles may have been the one to order him to do so or that Andrew did it to impress Giles or Xander because he knew how they felt about Angel. You can tell a lot about how someone operates by who they choose to surround themselves with and place their trust in.

And yeah, still bitter about the lack of reaction to Cordy's death.

Norman has made his return to the story and after eight chapters, the main villain has finally been revealed as The Great Intelligence from Doctor Who.