Chapter 5

Brand New Day

Last Time on Infinite Crisis

Madame Web finally made her appearance, told the Spider-Man where to find a piece of the tablet each..., and then saved their lives. Each Spider-Man essentially died as similar looking villains from various other dimensions attacked. Amazing found himself on the wrong end of a beat down and Venom 2099's teeth around his neck. Noir fell to a ten block radius electric explosion in downtown New York City with Amazing Electro in the epicentre of it. 2099 was scorched by a giant fireball created and thrown by Ultimate Green Goblin during a surprise attack. Ultimate found himself tied, bound, and being drilled into by Doctor Octopus Noir's enhanced mechanical arms and appearance.

Madame Web's Apartment: "I Put My Faith In Your Hands"

Back in Madame Web's Apartment, the four Spider-Men stand shocked to be alive and fully healed...unlike Madame Web. With his hands to her head, Madame Web falls over out of her chair after she summons each individual Spidey from danger.

Leaping forward, Amazing catches Madame Web. "Madame Web! Are you okay? Speak to me?"

Ultimate looks to Amazing asking, "What happened to her?"

"Must be from pulling all four of us here again," Noir continues "Can't be all too easy."

2099 shakes his head agreeing, "That makes sense, but something seems different."

"It's the same rundown apartment, what more do you want?" Ultimate asks.

2099 opens a window and sees nothing but outer space. "I don't know about you, but I don't recall there being so much space before."

"Madame Web, where did you take us?" Amazing questions.

Slowly her lips Madame Web explains sounding delusional, "We're in an alternate dimension. Saving all four of you left me weak and remaining in our dimension proved too dangerous for the moment. I had to take you all elsewhere. Ahhh," Madame Web moans in pain. "I'm sorry but to pull you all to safety I had to ensure our safety by coming here."

"That's fine but when do you send us back?" Noir inquires.

"I can after I rest but, but..." Madame Web then passes out.

Amazing yells "Madame Web, no!"

"She's fine Parker," 2099 points out, "just give her some time. By the way which universe does that giant green thing that blew me up with a fireball come from belong to?"

"Heh-heh," Ultimate puts up his hand, "That would be Norman Osborn or if you prefer the Green Goblin. He's the one that broke my tablet."

"Which one of you brought that bomb to my city!" Noir yells.

Ultimate looks over asking, "Bomb?"

"A giant electrical bomb blew up a giant chuck of my city, my home!, My friends and family!" Noir demands.

Sighing, Amazing answers, "That would be my Electro."

"Electro?"

"Your dimension must not have one. Electro is a man with the power to control lightning and electricity. Like the teen-us over there, he was the one that blew mine up. While we're on the topic, future boy I take it the Venom that threw me around was yours?"

"Kron Stone, my dimension's Venom made from a mutated, maddened version of your symbiote's," 2099 replies.

"I guess that leaves the Doctor Octopus that attacked me left to being yours?" Ultimate looks over to Noir.

Noir nods saying, "Yes and no. He didn't look like that until the tablet broke and fused him with the chair and arms."

For the few hours each Spider-Man recalls their encounters and discuss each villain in detail. Once Madame Web wakens up, he tells all four some bad news.

"Once I return you all to your dimensions, six months will have effectively passed."

Each Spidey is shocked to know that six months have passed in their dimensions while they were sitting still for a few hours.

"I didn't mean to but it was all I could do with my power to keep us and the other dimensions safe. I will send you each back to your respective dimensions Spider-Man but you must not fail. Return home and find all the tablet pieces. Everything will return to normal, but I must warn you now. I won't have the power to save any of you next time. Are you sure you are all ready?"

Each Spider-Man shakes his head and they all disappear into purple smoke. Alone in her inter-dimensional apartment Madame Web sits there panting with each breath just able to say "Good luck Spider-Man. My fate and the multi-verse's fate are in yours. I put my faith in your hands." Then she passes out.

Day 48 (Time of Return: 8am)

Amazing Universe: "...They Got a New Spider-Man"

As the purple smokes leaves him, Amazing is perched atop of a skyscraper looking down over his city. It looks normal enough he thinks to himself, doesn't feel like six months have flown by. That is until he sees an armed squad of SHIELD personnel walking the empty streets. Amazing swings on down and is shocked that the SHIELD agents are pointed their weapons at him, then fire. Dodging the bullets, Amazing isn't sure whether to flee or disarm them, but eventually chooses neither.

"Where's Nick Fury?" Amazing shouts while dodging the bullets.

The agents refuse to answer and Amazing is left with no choice, disarm and knock out. Pulling the guns away and a few punches or kicks later, Amazing is left with a single agent. Holding the agent up, Amazing asks again "Where's Nick Fury!"

All the agent spouts out is, "By the order of Nick Fury, Spider-Man Imposters are to stand down and give themselves up!"

"Imposter?"

With his spider-sense going off like crazy, Amazing finds himself surrounded by agents coming down from the sky with an armoured Spider-Man coming down as well.

Amazing just looks up shaking his head. "I'm gone six months and you replace me just like that? Huh."

With a leap and a bound, Amazing manages to escape the agents dodging the shots but not before taking a good look of the Armoured Spider-Man standing by with the agents. Amazing lands on a rooftop some distance away and says to himself, "Okay, maybe something's have changed. Most notably, they got a new Spider-Man."

Noir Universe: "...Not My City Any Longer"

As the purple smokes leaves him, Noir is perched on the end of a flag pole overlooking a still destroyed New York. "Even after six months nothing has been done to repair the damage, but why?" So much destruction in one flash of light, and it all caused by one guy named Electro. Now all that stands between this destruction happening a second time and saving New York City is Noir...could be difficult.

Sending out a web line from his wrist, Noir swings trying to observe any changes to the city, his city. Fewer people in the streets. Then Noir saw her, a beautiful brunette. The brunette is wandering the streets with a look of fear in her eye. It's broad day light so she shouldn't be scared of anything he can think of. Keeping an eye on her, Noir observes her going around a corner of the street then hears her yelling.

Sending out a web line, Noir swings to the source of the yelling but stays out of sight by landing behind a sign. There the brunette stands with a knife to her neck and surrounded by three men. "Eight in the morning and a robbery with a knife, that's different, but why?" Webbing the feet of the man with the knife, Noir drops down from the sign hoisting the armed criminal into the sky. Swinging off of the web Noir then dropkicks the second man. Sweeping the legs of the third, Noir plants him down into the ground. Holding a fist up, Noir goes for the final blow but stops as the third man yells something he couldn't hear. Holding his fist back, Noir stares at him and asks "What did you say?"

The frightened criminal shakes and yells out, "Who do you think you are Spider? We're protected!"

"Who? Who is protecting you?" Noir threatens.

Shaking and whimpering, the criminal finds the courage to finally blurt out, "Electro!"

Dropping the final punch, Noir stands over the unconscious criminal and looks out over the city, his city. The brunette woman ran off to safety long ago, so Noir finds himself alone in the streets of New York during the day. A newspaper blows into his feet and Noir holds it up. Dated two months ago, Noir is shocked to read the headline: "Max Dillon gets Key to City." Web slinging away, Noir hides on a roof and reads further into the newspaper. Since the explosion in down town New York, America has tried to send help but has failed to due to two new crime bosses: Electro and Rhino. Apparently Max Dillon who has gone from zero to millionaire over night has given up resources to help New York during its time of crisis.

"Max Dillon? If that other Spider-Man is correct this guy is really Electro," Noir says to himself as he looks over the city, his city. "Electro holds all the cards, and the city in his hands. This is not my city any longer, its Electro's."

2099 Universe: "New Executive for Alchemax"

As the purple smokes leaves him, 2099 finds himself on the side of a building not far from the Alchemax building. Looking around, the city seems fine enough. Apparently three other dimensional villains haven't left much of an impact. 2099 sits against the building and reflects on the three foes that he's been left with: Shocker, Kraven, and Green Goblin. 2099 starts swinging through his city to Alchemax, to well, make sure he's still got a job. It's been 6 months and he has missed a lot of work from the evil business he works for. What? It may be evil but a guy has to make a living, plus the job keeps 2099 informed of what Alchemax is up to. Don't worry, 2099 isn't being selfish because the last time the Tablet broke Alchemax went after it as well. Going to Alchemax may give Miguel O'Hara (2099) a clue.

Once he's close enough, 2099 undresses and walks into Alchemax as Miguel O'Hara. Apparently being gone for six months gets you fired. Oh well, there is still the Spider-Man route into the building. Going through air ducts Miguel O'Hara starts roaming the hallways until he finds an unoccupied computer. With some hacking he is able to discover that three rocks giving off power of some kind. Bingo! That's two of the three tablet pieces are at least. Now where are tablet pieces being stored? Miguel goes further and discovers that one is in the mechanics department under a Herman Schultz. The second tablet piece is not listed but a name comes across the screen O'Hara recognizes, Norman Osborn. "Why does that sound familiar? Norman Osborn, or wait, the Green Goblin? The Green Goblin is a new executive for Alchemax, how in the world did that happen?"

Ultimate Universe: "Where Is Everyone?"

As the purple smokes leaves him, Ultimate finds himself standing atop of the Empire State Building looking over New York or a Sci-Fi version of it anyways. It's like something out of a movie. Three things come to Ultimate's head. First, the SHIELD Hellicarrier is flying way too low for comfort, like an alien invasion of some kind. Second, there are who knows how many things flying between the Hellicarrier and the city like aliens invading. Third, where is everyone to fight what's going on?

The X-Men? The Ultimates? Anyone?

"I may not be the greatest hero around but someone must be out there to fight it." Ultimate says as he swings down to the streets below. As he gets closer Ultimate notices that those aliens invading are wearing Vulture harnesses, and look like criminals held up in the SHIELD Hellicarrier. "Where's Nick Fury then?" Acting impulsively, as usual, Ultimate leaps into action jumping onto the back of one of the vulture-like villains. Thankfully made of weak armour, Ultimate easily rips into it sending the criminal falling to his doom, till he was webbed up against the building for safety. Webbing up two more vulture-like criminals, Ultimate sends them crashing into each other which leads them to landing hard on a nearby roof. Now all the flying criminals, approximately fifty, were turning their attention to him.

"Okay everyone, I suppose we can't do this one at a time? Single file?" Ultimate then dodges and leaps out of the way of ten winged-men. Web slinging away, Ultimate tries to dodge five more and manages to web five others in the face. Five done, about 45 left to go. "How about we call it a break and come back to this another day?" Another vulture-criminal flies and breaks through a web that sends Ultimate falling to the cement ground. "I take that as a no!" Sending out another web-line, Ultimate saves himself and swings towards his foes. Letting out his rage through his black symbiotic suit, Ultimate roars and lets out all he's got on the fliers. Jumping between each vulture and lashing out with tentacles and punches, Ultimate manages to drop 22 of them. The fight soon turns and Ultimate starts losing against the odds.

"Fire! We can't let them have Spider-Man!"

Ultimate looks out seeing various SHIELD agents with rocket packs and weapons coming to the save. Soon Ultimate finds himself caught up by someone with a rocket pack going into the sewers. Finally Nick Fury himself pushes Ultimate against the wall demanding "Say something."

"Ouch?" Ultimate attempts to laugh.

"It is you in there Peter," Fury laughs.

"What's going on out there Fury?"

"Some new Vulture came and took over the Hellicarrier. Then started pumping out his own vulture harnesses and armed all the criminals aboard. I don't know what happened. It seemed like some of our agents I sent to defend us just turned on us out of nowhere. Instead of fighting the Vulture, we were fighting ourselves. Could do nothing to save it, so we abandoned it."

"Okay but what about the Ultimates, like Iron Man or Captain America? Or the X-Men, Fantastic Four? Where is everyone?"

"I don't know. After you disappeared, eventually I lost contact with all of them, even Cap. Speaking of, where the hell have you been the last six months and why in the hell do you still have that black suit?"

"Uh, I can explain."

Hellicarrier taken over. Finds Fury. Discovers X-Men and Ultimates have disappeared.