It was almost Christmas. Caitlin normally hated Christmas. Her father had passed away around this time, and for the longest part of her life, it held only painful memories.
And then Bobby and Barry came along and turned those unhappy memories into the happiest of her life. She had made her way to the precinct with Barry's favorite coffee from Jitters in her hand, and her coziest Christmas sweater on as she crept up the steps to Barry's lab at the CCPD. He had been spending more time there, lately. It was hard for him to be in STAR Labs with Wells around, with what had happened to him with Zoom, with his experience with her kidnapping.
Taking a deep breath, Caitlin burst through the door to Barry's lab. "Surprise!" She cried, beaming at him.
He jumped and looked up, startled but grinning when he saw her. "Cait!"
"Merry Christmas." She said, trotting over and passing him the coffee. "I thought I would come to say hi. Hope it's not a bad time."
"Every time with you is a good time," Barry said.
"Corny today, I see?" Caitlin teased, pecking his lips.
He pulled her in for a longer kiss and nuzzled their noses together. "Naw. Just happy. I guess the Christmas spirit is getting to me."
Caitlin smiled. "That's always good to hear." She whispered.
They both glanced up as Iris came into the room. Caitlin waved at her friend, then noticed her face. "Hey, Iris... what's wrong?"
"Can I, um, speak to Barry for a moment?" Iris choked out, pleading with Caitlin with her eyes.
Looking concerned, Caitlin nodded. "Yeah, yeah, okay," she said as she quickly headed towards the door before Barry could argue. "Text me later, okay? I'll see you at STAR Labs."
MJ was out gift shopping with May for her friends. She couldn't help but notice a few action figures on a display of Central City's heroes and couldn't help but look them over. She approached May and showed them off with a laugh. May couldn't help but laugh as well when she noticed the figures and laughed.
"What do you think? Think they'd be in on the joke?" MJ asks as she looked at the figures.
The Spider-Man figure was wearing Peter's usual attire and outfit, but the Iceman figure seemed to be nothing more than a blue figure. Seems since Bobby doesn't really have a real suit, the toymakers had to be a bit creative with how they make his outfit.
"Well, I would say that would be something that he will display for everyone to see," May warns the girl as they strolled to the food court. "I've been trying to figure out what to get Peter, it's just becoming a little difficult to shop for the boy."
"You kidding me?" MJ asks with a chuckle. "That boy has to be the easiest boy to shop for. He will take any gift and would take it with pride."
May couldn't help but scoff and showed off the gift that she got him. It was a coffee mug with Spider-Man's design and eye lenses on the side. "What do you think? Too subtle?"
MJ wasn't even sure what to say when she saw the mug and chuckled. "Okay, we gotta get off of the Spider-Man train. I feel like we're just shopping for his superhero office desk."
May nodded and had to agree with her. "Yeah, we've gotta start shopping for the man under the mask instead of the mask."
"Speaking of which, what is that boy even up to?" MJ wonders.
The Peter Parker in question was currently swinging to kick an armed robber that sent him flying into the bank vault the guy tried to rob. Seems he cut the power to the bank and even their backup so that there could be no distress calls for help.
"You know, this was the last thing that I wanted on my Christmas list," Peter said as he ducked from another robber swinging a metal bat. "But to be fair, it is a fun way to spend time between holidays."
Then before anything could work out, a blast of ice came in and sent the criminals to get knocked out against the wall. Bobby strolled into the room and saw the chaos that ensued in his absence.
"I leave you alone for five seconds." Bobby scoffed when he crossed his arms. "How does this happen?"
"Hey, I was just passing by when I just happened to come across it," Peter defended with a shrug. "You can't blame me for not inviting you."
Bobby dared, "Watch me," as he strolled off.
Peter scoffed and shrugged. "I don't know why you always make me your punching bag most of the time."
As that was going on, something a bit more mysterious happened down at the docks. Everything was going on as normal, just unloading some containers from one of the ships. But that's also when things took a quick and dramatic turn.
"Hey, Stan, call ESU and tell them we need to know when the computers for the new computer room will arrive."
But before he could respond, a container immediately exploded, releasing a cloud of green smoke.
"Behold," someone cried from within the smoke.
The smoke then began to clear, revealing a man wearing an all-green suit with a red cape, golden gauntlets, and a giant fishbowl helmet.
"I am Mysterio! Here to save the world from the evils of technology corrupting the human spirit!"
The three people watched with no idea what to do or say about what they were seeing.
"Are we being punked?" Stan asks, having no real idea what to think or say. "I hate when that happens."
"Silence, fool!" The Mysterio man demanded. "These hands possess the powers of the Archanards." Saying a quick spell, he was able to drop them all to their knees. "Ha! Such weak wills and your dependency on technology have ravaged your spirits. But I can save you all. Behold!"
With that, Mysterio created a cloud of green smoke around the containers. When the smoke finally cleared, there was no sign of the dozen crates of advanced technology.
Mysterio then made his way to the prison that was still holding the more dangerous criminals. Using his powers to make his way inside, creating smoke to go through the prison. Nobody was sure where the smoke came from, they were shocked when they saw that the doors to the prisoners in the metahuman wing were disappearing. The technology was used to also keep the dampeners down, so everyone he chose had their powers back.
And those whom he chose to have powers were the worst of the bunch.
Kraven the Hunter walked out of his cell and morphed into his metahuman form and smelled a way out of the prison. Max Dillon walked out and tested his powers by shooting a bolt of lightning at the camera that had been watching him. The biggest of them all, the Rhino made his way out where he saw a vial of his formula waiting for him outside.
When Otto Octavius walked out, his arms appeared on his back as if they were nothing. Adrian Toomes was however in the normal part of the prison since he wasn't a metahuman, but he was met with an open cell and his Vulture wings.
All six of them were capable of escaping the prison with the help of Mysterio's smoke and the nanites within the smoke. There were no working alarms, so half of the building didn't even know what was happening. And the other half of the prison wasn't equipped enough to handle the situation without tech. They got away and were all given a location to meet up with all of their gear or tech that they were given back.
Barry, Joe, and Yuri arrived at the crime scene and were left in shock as they saw the carnage that the criminals had left behind - a pile of dead guards and even a few inmates.
"Okay, it's official; Santa hates us," Joe stated in annoyance. "We've got ten tons worth of tech that was bound for OsCorp now missing. And on top of that, now we have five of the most dangerous criminals on the loose."
"Yeah, this isn't our best holiday," Barry muttered, recalling their last Christmas against Thawne and the original Sinister Six. "I say we skip it next year."
"At this point, I am on board with that plan," Joe agreed. "You have to get to STAR Labs, fill everyone in on what's going on."
"Yes, I have everything I need here," Barry said as he quickly left when he noticed no one was watching.
Back at STAR Labs, Caitlin had just finished talking to Jay about finding a way to close the breaches. This would prevent Zoom from continuing to send criminals through for them to fight. As she was talking, MJ approached the two and knocked on the door.
"Hey, Cait, can I steal you for a moment?" MJ asks her.
"Yeah, sure," Caitlin said as she and MJ left the room and made their way to her medical lab to talk in private. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
MJ sighed as she reached into her bag and pulled out a cloth that had something wrapped in it. Caitlin wasn't sure what was going on, and MJ ended up taking out the crystal that she was given by their Inhuman friends.
"What...what is that?" Caitlin was never even told what went down on Attilan as they were asked to keep it under wraps.
"This...is a Terrigen Crystal," MJ explains to her and put it down. "It was given to me by Crystal as a thank-you gift for fighting for their city."
"Okay...," Caitlin wasn't sure where she fit into this equation.
"If I break this, then it will grant me powers," MJ explains as she watches Caitlin look shocked.
Caitlin was unsure of how to respond to that statement and just stood there, stunned. "It...what?" she said in confusion.
"It gives Inhumans their powers, and if I break it, there's a chance that it will give me powers," MJ explains to her how it works. "I...I just don't know what powers."
"Are the powers random?" Caitlin wondered if there was any way to predict them.
MJ nodded as she looked at the crystal and put it down. "I could have invincibility, or I could have the power to breathe in water and would need to live in the water for the rest of my life."
Caitlin wonders, "Is that what you want?"
MJ sighed as she walked around the room. "I don't know what I want," she confessed, recalling recent days. "I have been racking my brain over this idea for the last few days, but I still don't know what to do."
Caitlin looked at the crystal and took that question to heart. "You don't want to be a victim anymore, do you?" MJ was a little confused by that as it was like she knew of her upbringing. "Barry told me what Peter told you."
"Oh," MJ said, unsure of how she felt about that. "I'm not sure how I feel about that."
"It was just something that came up," Caitlin tried to defend the two brothers. "Okay, so, let's take this from my point of view because I have been in your shoes."
MJ didn't seem to follow. "You have?"
"I was constantly used as some sort of cover between Flash and the metahuman of the week. Snart kidnapped me once, Grodd kidnapped me twice, I mean, you don't get to know superheroes and live a normal life."
"Fair enough," MJ agreed with that statement.
"It's easy to feel like we're keeping them back since we always end up needing to be rescued one way or another," Caitlin said as she walked over and sat down. "But they don't see it like that. Peter loves you for who you are. He doesn't care if you don't have powers, just like Barry doesn't care that I don't. If that means that they need to rescue us every now and then, they are happy to put up with it. After all, we put up with all of their small quirks." She then stood up and picked up the crystal to feel it in her hands.
MJ scoffed and nodded in agreement. "That's fair enough," she said.
Caitlin then held the crystal out to MJ. "But this is your decision," she said.
MJ took the crystal and looked it over as Barry then sped into the room and got everyone's attention. They all made their way into the room and wondered what was going on.
"Hey, we have a situation," Barry warned them.
Barry then filled them in on the complete situation as he pulled up the files on each member of the escaped convicts. Max Dillon, Kravenoff, Octavius, Toomes, Rhino, and a photo of Mysterio from the crime scene.
When Electro arrived at the scene, he looked around and saw there wasn't any indication anyone was there. When he started to walk around, that was when Toomes flew through the roof and landed on the ground.
"Electro," Toomes greeted him.
"Birdbrain." Max sighed. "Anyone else showing up?"
Kraven then leaped down and approached. "It would seem we were all given the same opportunity."
Octavius made his way inside, planting his arms on the ground. "What kind of opportunity is the million dollar question," he mused.
Then the last member the Rhino marched his way inside and caused every step he took to crush a portion of the ground. "So, where is our savior?"
The green smoke that started to come into the room indicated that the man in question was close behind. The smoke started to rise from the ground and swirl as a figure began to appear.
"Tremble before me, mortals! For you are amid Mysterio!" Mysterio then appeared through the smoke. "The Master of Illusions!"
Electro however felt something was wrong and sent a spark out to the air. When he did, he ended up sparking and shutting down all of Mysterio's illusions and revealing the man himself.
"Uh...hi." Mysterio greeted as he was a man in the Mysterio outfit without powers.
"This is the guy who saved us?" Toomes was a little surprised.
"I feel ashamed." Otto scoffed in anger.
"Hey, I know I don't look like much, but I got you out of prison for one purpose that we all share," Mysterio tells them. "A certain Scarlet Spider."
"So you broke us out to take down Spider-Man?" Rhino asks.
"What do you guys say? You in?" Mysterio asks them. "I have a plan that will allow you to take him out, and I will take care of the Speedster."
"Yo, Electro, Kraven, Rhino, Vulture, Dr. Octopus, and a new player on the block," Cisco commented as he circled the room. "Not sure if I'm a fan of the name. Mysterio."
"A new and improved Sinister Six," Peter said, not sounding thrilled at all about the idea.
Caitlin commented as she circled the room. "There are six of them and only three of you. I don't like those odds."
"And I'm going to be no help without my speed." Jay was sorry to say.
"That's why you never tell me the odds," Peter says with a snarky tone. "Come on, I beat these guys before. I can take them again."
"How is this Mysterio guy doing this stuff?" MJ asks as she watched Mysterio make the crates vanish.
"Could be several things. Nanotechnology, transportation tech, hell it could even be some Meta ability." Wells stated with a shrug. "Or the most obvious. Illusions."
"You have a Mysterio on your Earth, don't you?" Gwen saw he already knew who he is.
"Well, not exactly like this," Wells admits as he sees the close-up of Mysterio. "My guy, Francis Klum, has a bit more respect rather than a Buckethead. He has a holographic face with green smoke. And his color scheme was dark green."
"Well, this guy seems to be playing with the illusions." Barry took a guess that's how this happened. "Question is how."
"Stolen tech?" Peter took a guess. "I'd have to say with the way he could fly in and out, maybe something to do with Stark Industries."
"And if I had to guess, he has some history with one of us," Barry added to his brother's theory. "Why else would he break the Sinister Six out?"
"You think he's staging some sort of ambush?" Caitlin asked her boyfriend.
"I say we should be prepared for the possibility," Barry shrugged.
"I'll head out and see if I can find these guys in their usual hiding spots." Peter offered as he walked off. "Bobby, you coming?"
Bobby sighed and walked off with him. "Next year, I'm taking Christmas off."
"Pretty sure you said that last year." Peter mocks.
Everyone then left to do their own thing, leaving Caitlin and Barry alone. They just smiled at seeing their relatives and how they were friends.
"It's nice to see Bobby and Peter being great friends," Caitlin said with a smile.
"Yeah, it's great that he had a friend like Bobby without me." Barry was happy for his brother. "Uh, hey, look, I gotta do a thing." He needed to meet Iris at CCPD to talk to Joe about the news Iris gave him. "I'll see you at Joe's for the party, right?"
"We'll be there," Caitlin promised and gestured to the escapees. "I'll stay here with Cisco and see if there's any way to identify this Mysterio."
"Sounds like a plan," Barry said as he pecked her on the lips. "Be back in a Flash."
And just like that, Barry flashed off and made his way to CCPD.
"Joe West discovers that he had a son." The Watcher explains as he passed over the events that occurred the same. "Wallace West. A boy who would grow to become a hero in the main universe. But if things will turn out the same...time can only tell."
"We scoured the whole city." Peter scoffed as he marched into STAR Labs. He then slammed his mask onto the desk. "Nothing."
Then they noticed there was no sign of Barry or Joe. "Where is everyone?"
But before things could be explained, there was a glitch on their screens and they looked to see Mysterio's helmet. Then he was surrounded by green smoke, obviously to not give away his location.
"Behold! For your faces have been graced with the sight of Mysterio! The Master of Illusions!" Mysterio announces to the world. "Me and my new associates have come to announce we are here for the war against these heroes."
"He was that weirdo in drama club when he was a kid; I can tell," Peter said, taking a guess.
Barry walked forward, remarkably calm, considering the threat. "Are there any clues as to his location from the video?"
"None that I can see." Cisco frowned, taking a seat and pulling the video back up.
Jay leaned closer and inspected the paused video. "Guys, there's a reflection of something...there on his mask."
Cisco enlarged the photo of Mysterio's mask to see what it was. They all stared in confusion at what looked like a teddy bear.
Bobby inquired, "What is that?"
Gwen leaned forward and said, "I'm not sure."
"That's Mr. Jiggle Wiggle," Wells says to them.
Everyone turned to Wells, whose face was completely blank.
"It's a doll," he said. "A stuffed children's toy - I gave one to my daughter when she was six."
"Mr. Jiggle Wiggle is manufactured by Okamura Toys..." Cisco muttered, back to typing. "Yahtzee! They once had an old shipping facility that shut down four years ago. It's been abandoned ever since the manufacturing process collapsed."
"What if the other six are there?" Caitlin worried.
"Well," Barry said, a steely look crossing his face that Caitlin didn't like at all. "Mysterio is." He then turned to Bobby and Peter. "Bobby, I'll take you. Peter stays here in case this is a trap."
Bobby says, "Wait, what?"
Barry sped Barry and himself into the district where Cisco had instructed them to go. When they ran into the building, they started to look around and wondered where Mysterio was.
Barry walked over and found the camera setup. "This is definitely where he was broadcasting from," he said.
Bobby comments, "But I don't see him anywhere." He looks around and asks, "Are you guys hearing this?"
"It's- - - I, - -c- hear me?" Cisco's voice came through in static.
"I don't like the sound of that." Bobby comments.
"Yeah," Barry agreed as he looked towards the exit. "Something's not right."
And that's when the door to the exit slammed shut. Barry sped across the room and tried to grab the door, but then it vanished into thin air. Bobby was left shocked when he saw that and looked around for Mysterio.
"Okay, now there's no exit," Bobby said worriedly as he looked around. "Any ideas on how we can get out?"
Before Barry could respond, the fake walls of the warehouse fell and revealed nothing but darkness. They started to try and stay close to not be separated.
"Something tells me we just walked right into a trap," Bobby said sarcastically.
"That would be the truth of the matter!" Mysterio cried as three green balls of fire flew around. "Welcome, Flash. Ice boy."
"Iceman," Bobby exclaimed in annoyance.
"Never the matter," Mysterio states. Welcome to my funhouse."
"Funhouse?" Barry asks. "You did all of this to set a trap?"
"We figured the best way to exact our revenge would be to separate the cattle from the rest of the herd," Mysterio confessed their plans, causing them to panic and know they were setting something up for Peter. Then three doorways come out of nowhere. "Come, what lays ahead are three doorways. Choose and see what's on the other side."
And with that, Mysterio vanished into thin air and left them alone. Barry and Bobby walked up to the doors and saw the different designs on them.
"Okay, should we try some different doors, or should we stick together?" Bobby asks.
"We stick together," Barry stated as he reached out to the middle door. "Let's try this one."
"Why that one?" Bobby wonders.
"Because it's usually the middle one." Barry shrugged as he opens the door. When he walked inside, Bobby tried to follow, but he walked through the doorway. "Where are you?"
Bobby was confused as to how that was possible when the door then vanished, leaving him with only the left and right doors. "What the hell?"
Peter started to panic when he didn't receive any word from Bobby or Barry. He began pacing as he wanted to rush out there and assist them, but he knew he wouldn't arrive in time. If it were a trap, he couldn't enter blindly.
"Anything?" Peter asked Cisco.
Cisco sighed, "I can't get a word in or out."
"Some of the technology stolen was likely radio scrambling equipment," Harry informed them. "That's probably how he's doing it."
Gwen sighs and asks, "Can this day get any worse?"
Then there was an alert from the computers and they looked to see what it was. When they saw what was going on, they saw a lightning storm of sorts happening.
"Electro," Peter said, taking a guess and pulling his mask up to cover his face. "I'm going out there."
"Without Barry and Bobby?" MJ didn't like the idea.
Peter shrugged as he knew he had to go. "They're MIA, and Electro is attacking right now."
Electro was attacking people from high above on the roof of a building. He sent bolt after bolt of electricity down as people ran away in terror. Peter swung through the lightning and dodged every bolt as he ran up the side of the building Electro was on.
Peter landed atop the roof and stood several feet away from Electro. "Look who's finally arrived," he said. "Was beginning to think that you weren't going to show."
"And miss the chance to whoop your butt back into prison? Never!" Peter said sarcastically.
Electro then sent a blast at Peter, who leaped to dodge the attack. He then shot two strands at Electro to try and attack him, but that ended with Vulture flying in and cutting the strands.
"Beaky! I was wondering when you would show up," Peter said with false glee.
"Beaky? You dare insult me?" Vulture asks.
"I do dare," Peter mocked as he landed on the roof to come up with a plan. "You guys see this?"
"The fact that you're already outnumbered? See it, don't like it." Cisco stated.
Caitlin asks him, "What's the plan, Peter?"
"Step 1: Try not to die," Peter said as he explained the plan to them.
"Good start," MJ says. "What's step two?"
Peter muttered, "I'll let you know when I come up with it."
However, while he was distracted, he was attacked and sent flying. He fell from above and his shooters were taken out of commission for a second. Due to this, he ended up falling and landing on an ice skating rink that was luckily closed. Looking around and seeing a giant Christmas tree that was there, he started to get an idea.
"Guys, keep the area clear of civilians," Peter warned them as Vulture began to dive in for an attack. "I have a plan."
When Vulture was starting to come close enough, Peter used ricochet webbing to send strands of webbing flying at Vulture. As he was trying to dodge the constant webbing, he ended up hitting Vulture's earpiece.
"No!" Vulture panicked when it was hit.
"Huh. Seems he's talking to someone." Peter took notice. "That's something I can use."
The vulture came down for a swoop, and Peter jumped up to the top of a tree to dodge the attack. When he was high enough, he shot a strand at his ear to grab the device. But that didn't end in his favor when Peter ended up using his second hand to shoot at his wings. Getting a hold of him, Peter yanked the Vulture and started to cocoon him in webbing.
"You know, Toomes, you make a lovely Christmas ornament," Peter said with a laugh.
"Hang on, Vulch, I've got ya!" Electro flew down and prepared to shoot.
"No! Fool! I'll be free in a moment," Vulture cried in terror.
But it was too late as Electro shot out a blast and hit the tree. Vulture was blasted and his gear was short-circuited. The tree was also set on fire and caused it to fall and crash onto the ice. Electro covered his eyes and even winced to see his teammate had been taken down.
"Oops," Electro said, realizing he had made a mistake. "Where are you, web-slinger?"
Before he could even process what was happening, Peter fired a stream of water from a nearby fire truck at him. The sound of the spray caught Electro's attention just as he turned around, only to be shot out of the sky and slammed into a bus station.
"Whew," Peter exclaimed in relief as he stopped the hose. "That's two down and only four more to go."
"Good work, but what's your plan for the others?" Jay asked the boy.
Peter stated, "I'll let you know when I put it together," as his senses went off. "Uh-oh."
And before Peter could pinpoint where it was coming from, the ground started to quake. Realizing who was coming, Peter spun around just as Rhino charged in and threw him across the street. He was then flung and landed on the side of a car from a metal tentacle.
"Ouch. Did anyone get the number of that sleigh?" Peter asked.
Rhino then came marching and laughed as Otto approached. "Heh. Ain't he clever? He said sleigh instead of truck since it's Christmas Eve."
"Rhino, just crush him," Otto said, not in the mood for any of this.
"Sure, doc," Rhino replied as he ran into a charging stance.
Peter then used the weather to his advantage as he slid across the road and underneath Rhino. He then shot two webs to trip him and send Rhino crashing into the wall. Peter then managed to reach Otto who he was hit by and thrown into the wall.
"Ouch. And I thought the arms race was over," Peter quipped.
"Oh, it's far from over, arachnid," Otto promises as he swings his arms at the hero.
Peter leaped and grabbed onto the wall of the building to escape. He continued climbing up the wall and turned the corner to gain some distance. Octavius followed as he slammed Peter into the fishing docks, where he was slammed into the wooden dock.
Then he was pulled upwards and Octavius started to spin to slice through the hero. Peter managed to use this to his advantage as he used the cutter claw and spun it at Otto's side. When he managed to reach him, he sliced through the arms and sent Octavius falling to the ground, where Peter webbed him.
"That was easy," Peter sighed as he looked around. "Where's Rhino?"
Then Rhino came and grabbed Peter by the leg before he could even notice. He was crushed and smashed against the ground repeatedly. Peter groaned as he lacked the strength to fight back.
"Before I kill you, I want to see who's underneath that mask," Rhino stated as he reached for his own head.
Peter then noticed an air tank nearby and grabbed it, swinging it and smacking Rhino in the face with it. "Sorry, I'm a strict wait-until-Christmas kind of guy," he said as he landed on the ice and hoped Rhino would fall for his trick. "If this is how well you fight, it's no wonder you couldn't kill the other Spider-Man."
"Oh, I'll show you!" Rhino promised as he jumped off the platform and onto the ice.
Peter then stood and watched as the ice beneath them began to crack. He then tossed the canister into Rhino's hands and smiled. "You're going to need that."
Rhino said, "I despise you," as the ice beneath him gave way and he fell in.
"Okay, that's Max, Toomes, Rhino, and Otto," Peter recalled everyone he had taken down. "That leaves two others." He then shot a web to gain some altitude and looked around the area. "Who's next?"
That was when Kraven descended from above, punching the hero, who fell and slammed into the street. Moments later, Kraven was joined by Mysterio riding a dragon.
"We shall be your downfall, Spider," Kraven declared.
Peter saw them and knew he needed to put some distance between himself and them. Using his car, he sped away and left Kraven and Mysterio chasing after him. Shooting another web, he hid behind a billboard to catch his breath.
"Guys, is there any way to get through Mysterio's illusions?" Peter asks.
"We're working on it," Wells tells him.
"Okay, I think I lost them for a moment," Peter thought as he believed he could finally relax for a moment.
But that was when Kraven came through the billboard and tackled Peter and he went falling into the middle of a mall. Peter tried to fight his way out of his clutches, but there was no escaping him.
"Fool, no prey escapes Kraven. I follow your scent of fear to the ends of the earth." Kraven proclaimed.
"Big talk for such a sore loser," Peter commented as he struggled to escape. "Come on, Kraven, thought you couldn't take me alone, so you had to team up with a bunch of idiots?"
"It is the way of the jungle," Kraven stated. "The pack wears prey down, for an alpha male to crush."
Peter then got an idea when Mysterio came down with his dragon and shot at him. Peter spun around and caused Kraven to take the hit of fire. He cried as he then ended up letting Peter go and he got an idea. He leaped over towards the perfume and saw a bottle.
"The perfume smells great. May I try some?" Peter asked as he reached for it.
When he took the bottle, Kraven came in for an attack and Peter went in for his attack. He used his fist with the perfume bottle and punched Kraven in the face. He knew that would distract his senses and give Peter the chance to fight against the last member.
"That should help you smell a lot better, litter box," Peter quipped as Mysterio appeared between them.
"Awfully early to gloat, isn't it, Spider-Man?" Mysterio asks, using his powers to shoot beams of energy at him. Peter quickly dodged the attacks and crawled up the pillars. "After all, your friends are still in my funhouse of terror!"
Peter asks as he shoots two strands at him, but he then vanishes to another floor. "If there are clowns, I'm so glad I decided not to go."
Peter then swung his way upwards to reach the second-floor Mysterio. Upon reaching it, before Peter could tackle him, Kraven appeared and tackled Peter. Peter landed on the railing and got ready to fight the two of them off.
"Kraven, no!" Mysterio cried. But it wasn't the one he was looking at.
Peter looked down and noticed the real Mysterio on the ground. "Wait, if you're really Mysterio, then who's...?" He then looked and noticed a few mall workers dressed as elves and Santa. Then the fake Mysterio started to shake and beep, giving the impression to Peter it was a bomb. "Oh, god!"
Peter then worked quickly and ignored Kraven as he grabbed the workers and hid them in the Indian Santa warehouse. When the bomb exploded, Peter managed to keep the workers and himself safe, but Kraven wasn't so lucky as he was buried under the debris. He was unconscious, but he would live.
Peter then looked at the Santa worker. "Just so we're clear, they're going on the naughty list?" He then leaped on the railing and saw Mysterio. "Mysterio! I'm using that fishbowl of yours as a snow globe!"
"Not if you can't find it!" Mysterio started to slowly vanish.
But Peter worked fast and quickly covered the floor with a web net so he couldn't escape. When he saw the invisible form of Mysterio try to escape, he made his way over and punched the head and shatter his helmet.
Bobby was stuck in an arena of sorts, being chased by a dinosaur before it suddenly shut down and crashed. Barry was running to escape a giant chainsaw while stuck on a treadmill. Then suddenly, the treadmill stopped, and Barry managed to catch his breath.
But then the entire area that they were in started to reveal graphics. When the graphics closed down, they saw the projections that were set up and even the whole building they were in was nothing but rubble.
Bobby proclaimed, "That's it. I want it in my contract that I can take holidays off. I'm not doing this every year."
"I might do the same." Barry agreed.
Peter held onto Mysterio as he shuttered in fear. "Uh, hey." Peter reached and flicked his head, causing him to wince. "Ow."
"Sorry, making sure that you were real," Peter explains.
"Peter, you there?" Barry called in.
"Flash." Peter sighed in relief. "Great to hear you're alive."
"Thanks to you, I'm guessing." Barry jokes.
"That would be the case," Peter confirmed.
The police arrived and had already taken in the other four villains. Yuri and Joe were the two officers who showed up first and saw the hero limping from the building. Peter dragged out Kraven and Mysterio before tossing them at the feet of the police.
"Someone might wanna update those cells." Peter groaned as he walked off.
By the end of the night, everyone made their way to Joe's place to have a relaxing night after everything. But Cisco did have a few questions when it came to what happened to the heroes during the Mysterio game. Wells decided not to come as he was still working on how they can stop Zoom so he can get his daughter back.
Cisco asks them, "So, what happened? What did you see? Did it feel real?"
"Well, besides fighting a dozen reflections of myself...attacking a zombie invasion..." Bobby recalled what he saw.
"You got off easy," Barry told him. "I had a Jigsaw-style sequence with a treadmill."
Peter laughed as he was away from them and just listening in.
"So, what about Flint?" Peter looked to MJ, who had asked the question. "How does he feel?"
Peter admitted, "I gave him a few gifts. I may have stolen some of the TV screens from that common room area storage, but he now has a setup to watch TV in his cell." He then sighed and remembered his promise. "Still haven't gotten anywhere with a cure."
"I'm sure you'll find it eventually, Tiger," MJ said as she looked upward. "Hey." Peter then looked up and noticed the mistletoe. "I believe we both remember that tradition."
Peter chuckled and knew what she was asking. He leaned over as she mimicked the action and the two kissed under the mistletoe. As they did so, Gwen watched them from a distance and gave a sad smile when she saw how happy Peter was. She loved him, and sometimes she even regretted giving him up, but she knew it was for the best. At the end of the day, she just couldn't handle it.
"You doing okay?" Harry asks as he noticed Gwen in the corner. "Seems like you were gloating in the corner."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Gwen promised and shook herself free. "Just...it's nothing. I'm just having a bit of a moment."
"I understand," Harry promises.
But then there was a knock at the door, and everyone was confused. Looking around at the kids, the adults, and Jay, no one was sure who it could be.
"Are we expecting anyone else?" Joe asks them.
Peter shrugged and said, "I have no idea."
May was just as lost. "I didn't invite anyone," she said.
Joe went over to open the door and was confused about who this was he was looking at. There was some girl a few years younger than the adults and older than the kids. She had short light red hair and shared an eerie resemblance to someone in the room.
"Can we help you?" Joe asks, unsure who she was.
"Uh, I'm...I'm sorry to intrude, but I'm looking for Mary Watson." She said, revealing she had a hint of an accent in her voice. "I was told by her aunt she would be here."
Everyone looked to MJ who was just as lost on who it was, due to the fact she just couldn't see her. Joe became a little protective and was ready to close the door. "And why are you looking for her?"
"I got her message." She explains and even showed her phone with a scared tone. "I'm sorry, I'm...I'm Gayle Watson."
That caused MJ to drop her plastic cup, which Peter quickly caught. Then MJ slipped a little when Barry quickly caught her before she could fall.
"Watson?" Joe obviously recognized the name.
"It's Byrnes now, but...I'm Mary's sister." Gayle tells Joe.
Joe looked over to MJ, who got back to her feet and nodded to Joe. She was allowed to come in.
"Come on in." Joe offered for her to come inside.
Gayle came into the room and strolled around, noticing a few stray eyes were on her. MJ was shocked to see her as the two sisters approached.
MJ spoke first, saying "Hey."
Gayle smiled and tears up as it was a few years since they last saw each other. "Hey, Copper Top."
Bobby looked at Peter, unsure about the nickname. "Copper Top?" he asked.
"I don't really get it." Peter shrugged.
"You got my message?" MJ had to admit she was worried she hadn't received it.
"Yeah, it sounded like you needed me." Gayle shrugged, a little unsure. "Should...should I come back another time?"
"No... stay," MJ pleaded with her sister. "Please."
Then MJ went around the room introducing Gayle to everyone and introducing everyone else to Gayle. In the middle of this, there was a knock at the door and Joe was met with a young boy who introduced himself as Wallace West.
Joe's son.
The Watcher smiled when he saw the entire family together. "The family of three different paths. People who were brought together through the luck of the cosmos. Well...almost."
Jessica Drew was in her room when she saw that there was a present waiting for her on her bed. She walked over and saw that it was addressed to her and there was no "From" on it.
Upon opening the box, she saw that there was a new suit inside for her. This one was all red, except for the chest and stomach which were yellow with a black outline, the same as her gloves and boots. Not to mention the yellow triangle on her mask that covered her eyes, which also had white visors. However, what really caught her attention, besides the fact that there seemed to be a place for her flowing hair, was the fact that it appeared to have wings.
"Oh, this is awesome," Jessica exclaimed.
The Watcher narrated, "This is the beginning of Jessica Drew's ascension into becoming a hero."
The Watcher then heard the sound of cracking glass and gasped. Looking around his home dimension, he noticed that cracks were beginning to form and quickly went to work fixing them with his powers.
The Watcher realized this was the work of the HYDRA Peter Parker-Coulson. "He's trying to break through. I can't let him." He then started to try and calm himself. "No, that monster can't break through. These walls are too well protected. The only way he could get through would be if a timeline-altering event occurred."
But then he felt something was off across all of space and time, watching as the world around him was beginning to crack.
The Watcher saw something bad was about to happen and exclaimed, "Oh, no!"
In the dimensions, in the empty streets, a swirling vortex appeared. Out of the vortex came a familiar villain who zoomed out and stopped in the street.
Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash, was back. Ripping off his mask, underneath revealed that it wasn't Harrison Wells this time. Underneath the mask was the real Eobard Thawne.
He pulled out a small disk that activated Gideon. "Gideon?"
"Yes, Professor Thawne," Gideon says.
"Where the hell am I?" Thawne asks as he looked around.
The Watcher saw him return and began to panic. "You can't be here! If you're here, you could rupture and shatter the barriers between all worlds!" Then there were several flashes of Hydra Peter in his vision. "And that monster would be able to escape."
Emma Watson as Gayle Watson
