A FEW MONTHS AGO ON EARTH-2...

FUTURE:

Peter Barton swung through the facility until he came across the hallway leading to the power. Quickly walking up to the door, he tapped it, allowing it to scan, and he was allowed to enter.

"Still feels off," Peter commented as he made his way inside. "Court, Yolanda, I'm almost at the system. Where are you?"

Courtney and Yolanda sneaked past a few Ultron sentries and came across the detention center. What they saw through the one-way window was Clint tied to a chair.

But they were also met with a robot of sorts torturing Clint, sending cries of terror through the room.

"We're here. You better hurry." Yolanda tells her.

Abbott was looking into everything that she could see through the control center of Kang's empire when she saw something.

"Oh, god, Peter...that's not an electrical room. It's a trophy room." Abbott tells him.

"A trophy room?" Courtney asks, not following.

"What kind of trophy room?" Yolanda wonders.

Peter stood in the middle of the room, shocked at what he was seeing. His face was filled with fear and shock as he removed his mask, looking around at the surroundings.

He was surrounded by everyone.

Literally, everyone.

There was the helmet of Magneto.

The Eye of Agamotto from Joey.

Thor's helmet.

Ironheart's mask.

Ant-Man's helmet.

The mask and upper suit of Spider-Man.

Green Lantern's Rings

The hood of the costume from Hourman.

The severed and stuffed head of Rahne in her wolf form.

The jacket and chain of Ghost Rider.

A Wakandan spear.

The mask of the Flash.

The headpiece of Scarlet Witch.

The wing pack from Teresa.

The severed frozen head of Iceman.

The jacket and gloves of America Chavez.

The suits of Black Bolt/Medusa/Crystal.

The Cosmic Staff.

"I think I have an idea." Peter shuttered in shock and fear. "He killed us all."

Peter kept walking around the room, looking for the systems and stuck walking across the dead bodies and souvenirs of his friends.

This man has made Peter feel sick to his stomach with how he used these as trophies or spoils of war. But when he heard the cries of pain from his uncle, he quickly refocused on the mission.

Finding what he had to guess where the power coils for this place were, he removed one and the entire building went dark.

When the building went dark, Kang didn't panic much as his wife did. She was startled by the dark and held onto her husband for comfort.

Kang just smiled and knew where he needed to be. "Finally."

"What is it, my Kang?" Ravonna asks.

"It's time for me to unveil my identity to these heroes." Kang was finally happy to see.

"Thank god." Riri sighed.

She then quickly used Abbott to get into the systems, followed by her removing the emergency generators' power.

"Yolanda, Courtney, you two get Clint and Peter you get the heck out of there," Riri demanded them. "Abbott, you come to get your body and we get out of here. Peter, meet us at the same location that we entered the forcefield through."

"Alright, got it, Riri," Peter said as he was swinging down the halls. "The security should be easier to get past now."

Back with Clint, he was taking a breather after the torture that the robot was giving him. Since the power went down, he was trying to find a way to escape. But as he was trying to dislodge his restraints, a light emitted from the corner.

One of the Ultron sentries watching Clint noticed it, which was a little late when a laser came out of the light and immediately destroyed him. The second then went in for an attack when Yolanda leaped off the walls and tackled it, slicing its head off with her claws.

"Courtney...Yolanda..." Clint sighed in relief.

"Hey, Clint." Courtney greeted as she walked over and used the staff to scorch the restraints. "Let's get back to our timeline."

Yolanda grabbed Clint from his left shoulder and dragged him as Courtney grabbed his right shoulder and helped him stand.

"Peter, we've got Clint," Yolanda tells him.

"Thanks for saving him, girls," Peter tells the girls as he was making his way out of the halls. "I'll meet you at the forcefield."

"Oh, how nice." A voice called, causing Peter to stop and land on the ceiling. Seeing the figure standing in the shadows, carrying something under his shoulders, red lights started to emit from the halls. "You and the girls have made up. It's so weird that it's the nerds who have to choose between the smart girl and the athletic girl."

"Who the hell are you?" Peter wonders as he descended from his web and became eye level with the mysterious figure.

The figure said, "I control the last of the world's resources."

"Oh, you're Kang the Conqueror." Peter put it together. "The tyrant who has conquered the earth."

"Tyrant is a bit of a strong word for the man who saved all of humanity," Kang commented with a shrug. "But here's my question...who are you, old friend?"

"Old friend?" Peter asked as he dropped off his web.

Kang was one of his friends?

Is this some kind of trick to make him doubt his relationships and wonder who he is?

"So, is this when you finally make the big reveal?" Peter questions. "Because I've been wondering this for a while, and I know a few other dozen people who wanna know who you are. So, come on out of the shadows so I can finally shout, 'Oh my god, it's Dr. Doom! Bobbie! Scott!'" Then he got into a pleading gesture and prayed. "Come on, please be Scott."

"All long dead, I'm afraid." Kang was sorry to inform Peter with a sigh. "The only one truly left is Yolanda. And that's because she stayed by my side. Having friends in high places do wonders for you. Oh...and I do mean..." then the tyrant walked out of the shadows to reveal who he is. "You!"

Walking out of the shadows, Kang revealed himself without a mask on his face, revealing a much older version of Peter Parker. Stunned, Peter removed his mask to get a better look, as if his mask were playing tricks on him.

But it wasn't.

Kang the Conqueror. The Master of Time, Ruler of Earth. The man who murdered his friends and family.

Was Peter Richards.

That explains why the computers worked for him. That's why the DNA signature allowed him to pass.

"No..." Peter whispered as he dropped his mask. "It-"

"Can't be, god, we always say that." Kang sighed in annoyance.

"I...I become the evil mastermind?" Peter wanted clarification.

"Oh, don't be overdramatic, Peter." Kang scoffed as he reached down and picked up the mask. "With great power, comes great responsibility. The phrase that our doppelgängers keep stating over and over. But with great power comes great opportunity." He then shoved the mask into Peter's hands. "And the only way to live up to all that responsibility is to use every opportunity to get all the power. I learned that the day I lost everyone I know. And didn't have the power to stop it."

"What do you mean...you've lost everyone?" Peter asked as Kang started to circle him.

"You'll find out," Kang promises as he places a hand on his shoulder. "And when that day comes, you'll know that you lived long enough to become humanity's last hope."

"Peter, we're at the forcefield. Where are you?" Riri asks as Courtney and Yolanda approached the two of them.

"I think...I think I'm in hell," Peter confessed his feelings. "Kang the Conqueror...he's me."

That caused the five of them to freeze in shock. Their best friend, Peter, and their partner were the man who was supposed to destroy the world.

"What?" Courtney asked in shock. "That's impossible."

"Peter, we gotta go. We'll figure this out when we get back to our time!" Riri promises.

"Allow me to explain it all to you," Kang offered to Peter.

"Explain it to my rapidly retreating backside!" Peter proclaimed as he placed his mask back on and swung off.

Kang sighed and knew that this would happen. "I was just as reluctant to listen to me when I was in your shoes." He then made his way down the hall before making his way back to the control room. He walked over to his wife and caressed her face. "I think that I took the news rather well."

"My Kang...my love...isn't there a chance he could change?" Ravonna asked as Kang looked over his empire. "He knows what he will become."

"He knows which one of us will become his successor," Kang retorted, looking at the growing empire. There was no way that anything that they did could stop him. "But just in case...it's time I fixed time this time."

CHAPTER 5

THE MIGHTY WILL FALL

PRESENT DAY, EARTH-616...

As Tina made a desperate attempt to flee the confines of the orb she was in, she couldn't help but notice Kang's intense focus on the array of surveillance cameras. Her heart pounding with fear and anxiety, she knew that time was running out to prevent her brother from making a potentially life-altering decision. Despite her fear, Tina remained resolute in her determination to protect her loved ones and escape to safety.

Tina's mind was clouded with uncertainty as she gazed upon the bustling city before her being shown through the cameras her kidnapper was watching from. It appeared as though an entire population was going about their day-to-day affairs, completely unaware of the alarming invasion that was currently taking place in another location. Her captor himself was sitting in some sort of chair that looked like a long couch turned into a circular chair.

Tina asked the monster, "So, you're from the future?"

"In a way." Kang decided to answer. "I am from one of the many timelines that are destined to happen."

"How many timelines can exist?" Tina asked. "Only one timeline can exist unless you're talking about the multiverse."

"There are more than one ways to make a splinter in time," Kang said as he snapped his fingers, and the Cosmic Cube appeared floating above his hand. "Time isn't what you think it is; it's a prison that holds everyone captive, but I found a way to break through the bars... And this device helps me and all my variants do it."

"A glowing box?" Tina asks.

"It's the Cosmic Cube," Kang explained as he started to circle around Tina. "It has allowed Kang to consume every timeline where Bill Cipher wins. Which are all of the timelines."

"Who is Kang?" Tina questions.

As Kang stood before his own reflection, he couldn't help but be engulfed in a wave of nostalgia. His thoughts drifted back to a time when he was a different person altogether, one who harbored a deep desire to safeguard others and keep them from harm's way. However, time had ushered in a new era, and he now found himself wearing the mantle of a conqueror, the very last beacon of hope for humanity.

"Who I need to be," Kang decided to go with as an answer.

"When Tommy gets back, what are you going to do?" Tina was afraid to hear the answer.

Kang didn't seem to have any expression as he answered. "Win."

As Tina gazed up at the sky, a sudden tear appeared, and she felt a strange sensation wash over her. It was then that she realized she had been transported to the future. However, her confusion quickly turned to fear as she witnessed Kang, her sworn enemy, time-traveling to battle her loved ones and take control of his citadel. The gravity of the situation was not lost on Tina, as she knew that the fate of her family and the world as she knew it hung in the balance.

"I told you time isn't what you think," Kang said as he showed no emotion and his armada made its way through the portal. "I can make it... whatever I want it to be. But right now, I need it to lose."

When the Kang Citadel appeared in Washington Bay, a slight but noticeable disturbance occurred in the surrounding waters. Thankfully, the city had taken necessary precautions and had been fully evacuated prior to the arrival of the citadel, ensuring the safety of all citizens and minimizing potential damage.

The entire Triskelion went into a frenzy when alerts and sirens were going off about the rift over the city growing bigger. They all ran to the windows or monitors to get a look at what the hell was happening, and they were shocked when they saw what was coming. They watched as the entire Citadel was coming through and was implanting itself in the center of Washington Bay. It looked almost like it was a gigantic lightning rod sticking out of the bay.

"Now what the hell is this?" Sam asks in confusion.

Courtney experienced a sudden jolt of surprise as she stumbled upon the citadel, noticing several of her teammates had also identified the structure.

"It's him," Courtney whispered in fear.

"Do you know who that is?" MJ asked them.

Courtney's body trembled with an overwhelming sense of fear as she gazed at Yolanda. Meanwhile, Riri meticulously surveyed the citadel, her advanced scanning abilities confirming that it was indeed the very same one they had previously encountered in the future.

"TONY?" Riri wasn't looking forward to hearing the truth. "Is it him?"

"Hate to say it, kid, but...yeah," TONY said, he was sorry to say that it was him. "It's him. It's Kang."

As he gazed at the colossal structure plummeting from the heavens, Bill couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"And they say that I'm dramatic?" asked Bill.

"Uh...who's Kang?" Peter-1 asks.

Courtney whispered in fear, "The Master of Time."

"That's his name?" Tommy asked, getting everyone to jump and aim their weapons at him, expecting to see someone else. "God, is he compensating for something?"

"Tommy!" Peter cried as he ran over and hugged his son. Just then, a breach opened, and Armando and April came through. "What are you two doing here?"

"I...sensed something was wrong," April explains.

"I was just here to drop her off; I'm out," Armando stated as he walked away back into the breach. "Later!"

Tommy sighed as he looked around, searching for someone. "Where's Aster?"

Meanwhile, someone was missing from the entire encounter with the citadel falling from the rift in the sky. Aster was wandering around the halls of the Triskellion, feeling like he just walked into a dead end. There was almost nobody around for miles, and he just kept wandering around the hallways, looking for someone. At this point, anyone.

"Hello," said Aster as he kept looking around for someone. "Anyone here?"

"Nobody is here," Bloodwork called, cursing as he spun Aster around. He screamed in surprise, and when he turned back, he found herself face-to-face with the madman. "It's just you and me."

"What?!" Aster looked around as he tried to figure out where he had come from. "Wait, aren't you one of Bill's psychopaths?"

"My name is Bloodwork," he reintroduced himself to Aster. "I thought it would be nice if you and I had some time alone. Considering we're Blood Brothers and all."

"What?" Aster couldn't believe that for a second. "Okay, look, my family tree is as messed up as a sequel to Ghostbusters. But you are definitely not part of it."

"Well, not at first," Bloodwork confirmed as he started to circle Aster. "But now, since you accepted my gift, we are connected."

Aster was still confused and needed some explanation. "Okay, can you please explain that to me more easily?"

Bloodwork said, "During our first encounter, a sliver of myself managed to get inside you. So now, you and I are connected. I can see through your eyes. Anything you see, I can see."

"You're using me as a spy to report to Bill." Aster put the pieces together.

"Hm, a bit Quid pro quo if you want to put it that way," Bloodwork explains as he walked further down the hall.

"Ha! I know my Latin, and I don't see anything I'm going to be getting out of this." Aster stated as he looked around.

"Well, what about power?" Bloodwork asked, approaching the boy as Aster turned back towards him. "You've been battling darkness within you for years. I've seen how desperately you wanted to be free from it. But you can't, not on your own."

"Yeah, a little too late," Aster informed him. "I've worked out my differences with my darkness."

"Yes, but what did you lose in the process?" Bloodwork asks as he touched Aster on the head.

Aster had made his way home and saw everyone was out, considering nobody was home. So there was only one place they would be.

Sighing, he decided to go about his normal life, wishing he had some power, some ability like his siblings so he could help out.

He made his way to the bathroom where he used the facilities, washed his hands, and splashed his face before looking at himself in the mirror, where his eyes immediately started to glow white and he saw parts of his hair started to turn white.

"What?" Aster asked as he leaned in closer to the mirror.

"Boo!" The reflection suddenly came alive, causing Aster to shriek and causing him to slip and fall backwards.

"No, it's not real. It's in my head." Aster muttered as he crawled back up and looked to see he was back to normal.

"Yes, that's where I've been trapped." The voice stated as Aster looked and saw his fingers were covered in frost. "But as the days go on, I grow stronger. It's only a matter of time until I get to control."

Aster crawled up and grabbed his pill off from the counter and quickly took it and chugged down the water. Looking down, now he sees the ice, the eyes, and hair were all back to normal.

It had been a full year since Aster caught sight of his previous self. In the present, he viewed Sub-Zero as an extension of himself, a valiant savior capable of rescuing the planet.

"Yeah, I didn't lose anything. If anything, I gained more." Aster mocked Bloodwork's poor excuse of trying to manipulate him.

"Tragedy."

Aster froze when he heard that word and knew exactly what it meant. "No...," he whispered.

"What more can I say? What more needs to be said? The damage...destruction. You saw it with your own eyes. When will people wake up and realize everywhere these freaks go, chaos and calamity ensue? Everything these Spider-Freaks touch turns to ruin. And we, the innocents, are left to pick up the pieces. J. Jonah Jameson reporting. Goodnight. And God helps us all."

Aster remembered that day too well. The day that his great-aunt died because of what he contributed to the Syndicate. He never told anyone, but that was one of the reasons he took so long to come home. Because he felt like everyone would have blamed him for her death. Because he was a monster, and he hurt his friends and family. He stabbed his own mother and got his half-brother shot by Cable.

"You have been dealing with so much pain and suffering," Bloodwork said as he circled Aster, who stared at the memory. "And you never asked for any of this. Give into my power. I can take away all of your pain."

Aster wasn't sure what to do anymore, especially with the pain rising back up. He still felt guilty for everything and saw Sub-Zero as a way to make up for the pain that he had caused. But was it really helping him deal with the pain?

"You should understand what I'm trying to do. I'm not trying to rule the world." Bloodwork said as he patted Aster on the shoulder. "You and I, we can create a world where nobody has to watch their loved ones die ever again."

Aster however didn't believe that this was a gift or a real opportunity, it was a way for him to control his body. This was almost like some symbiotic relationship, and all he needed to do was control his body and he would have a way into the Triskellion. His dad had fought off the Symbiote by fighting it off until it became too tired, so that's all Aster needed to do here.

"Thanks...but no thanks!" Aster said as he turned to Ramsey and punched him in the face. Then, he quickly ran down the hallway to get away. This was his plan; all he had to do was outrun him.

As Aster turned the corner, he saw what looked like an entire hallway of prison cells from Arkham Asylum. This was something that he always thought he would end up in if Sub-Zero kept talking in his head. Bloodwork was feeding off of his fear and was trying to corrupt him.

"Let me out!" Someone cried in terror. "Let me out of here!"

As Aster approached the door, he was a little confused. When he opened the door, to his surprise, someone came falling out of the door. That's when he got a look at who it was, and it was Sub-Zero.

Sub-Zero panicked as he crawled to his feet and started looking around the area. He then scurried as he turned around and faced Aster.

"What?" Sub-Zero asked as he approached Aster. He then stretched his hand out and poked the boy, as if expecting his hand to go through him. "You're...you're here?"

"Yeah," Aster confirmed, a little unsure himself. "I'm still trying to figure out where here is."

"What, don't recognize the part of your mind you kept me locked in for all these years?" Sub-Zero asked as he gestured around them. "This is where I spent a lot of my time while you were still fighting me."

Aster was surprised to hear that this is where Sub-Zero had been stuck for all these years. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"What the hell is going on?" Aster asked as he looked around. "How are you here?"

"Hello!" Sub-Zero said as he smacked Aster upside the head. "You're in your head! What do you think this all is?"

"Okay, ow," Aster said as he rubbed his head. "That was not okay."

"Come on, there has to be a way out of here," Sub-Zero said as he ran off down the hallway, and Aster tried to catch up.

"Okay, so, Kang is Peter?" Barry questioned as he tried to wrap his mind around what Courtney had said.

"No, Peter is Kang." Courtney tried to explain it better.

Riri said, "It's complicated. Kang is from a parallel future. We thought we rewrote the future when we stopped AIM, but it seems that Kang is coming back to try and fix the future."

"So, time travel is a thing now?" Hiccup asked. "Is this just common for you guys?"

Peter-38 shrugged and said, "Basically."

"Okay, this is not good," MJ muttered in terror. "If this Kang person and Bill start to combine their powers, this could be dangerous for the multiverse." She then realized something bad could happen. "If this Kang came from the future, then he doesn't have to obey the same laws as the other Weirdos."

"What do you mean?" Kyle wonders.

"She meant that Kang could actually cross the barrier they had over the Triskellion." Daisy-S was able to understand what she was saying.

"Then what do we do?" Emily wonders.

"We shouldn't need to worry too much," said MJ. "The firewalls and our defenses should keep the Triskellion secure." She looked over towards Cassie and Morgan. "Right?"

"Well, in our defense, magical powers, and time-traveling conquerors are not something that we know how to deal with," Morgan said, defending their lack of preparation.

MJ said, "Well, get comfortable with the idea. We gotta fight them both if we want to save our world."

Everyone began to scatter to try and figure out what they could do to fix this mess. Some of them had powers to fight Kang, but not the experience. Some had the experience, but not the powers necessary to fight him.

"You sure you're okay?" April asks Tommy.

Tommy nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine." He stood up and looked around the room. "I need some time."

Tommy started walking down the hall toward the resting area where the people would sleep. But when he reached the door, he looked back and saw nobody noticing as he walked down the hall and towards the security room. However, he wasn't completely unnoticed; Hope Haddock noticed him and was curious about his actions.

Kara found herself wandering the halls and eventually ended up near the training center where she saw Heather working out. She had just finished fighting off a group of LMDs that shattered under the force of her Gronckle Iron axe. Kara flew down into the arena, trying her best to avoid getting hit by any more LMDs.

"Hello!" Kara called out to her multiversal friend.

Heather stopped and looked over at Kara. She sighed. "Hey," she greeted back and dropped the axe. "Been a weird couple of hours, hasn't it?"

"You're telling me," Kara said as she walked over and pat her friend on the shoulder. "So, Hope seems a little different."

Heather shrugged and sighed. "Yeah, that's probably because she knows the truth."

"What? You told her?" Kara was amazed to hear that.

Heather picked her axe back up and sighed. "Yep. After watching her die, we decided that it was time she learned the truth."

"How did she take it?" Kara wonders.

"Pretty well, all things considered." Heather guessed that was the best way to explain it. "She didn't really believe it at first, but once we explained everything..."

Kara then heard something out of the ordinary and accidentally silenced Heather in the process. "There's something going on."

"What is it?" Heather asks.

"I'm not sure," Kara said as she sped off to try and find the source of the sound.

As MJ was getting the rundown on the weapons that the Legends brought with them, she received an alert that someone had accessed the security system. Hope walked over and noticed Tommy downloading everything that he could find about the defenses of the Triskellion onto a futuristic hard drive.

"What are you doing?" Hope asks, spooking Tommy in the process.

Tommy spun around, wondering why his senses hadn't alerted him to her presence, but then remembered she wasn't a threat to him. "Uh...nothing."

Tommy didn't believe her as she approached, not seeing that she wasn't much of a threat. She was from a time without this advanced technology, so she couldn't understand what was going on.

"It looks like you are copying...knowledge from one place to another." Hope actually seemed to follow what was going on. "Secrets from the look of it." She then reached back to where she had her sword up her back. "Why?

Tommy sighed as he grabbed his keys and knew that he had to leave. "I know it doesn't make sense, but I am doing this for my family."

"What does that mean?" Hope wondered, feeling something deeper about what was going on.

"Hey!" MJ exclaimed as she ran into the room and noticed what was happening. "What are you doing?"

Kara bustled into the room in a hurry, followed closely by Barry, Peter, and Oliver. As they scanned the area, it became apparent that something was amiss, but the specifics of the situation eluded them.

Peter-1 asked Tommy, "What's going on?"

Tommy found himself in a precarious situation as he held onto the drive containing sensitive information about Tina's life. Despite the urge to reveal the truth to his family and friends, he knew the potential consequences were too great to risk. With a sense of cautiousness, he carefully slipped the drive into his pocket and braced himself for the approaching group.

"I know you don't understand it, but I know what I am doing," Tommy promises them.

"Great, you want to explain it to us?" Ashley asked her half-brother.

Tommy was struggling with a secret that he couldn't bring himself to reveal. Despite his best efforts to keep it to himself, Hope and Ashley had picked up on the fact that something was amiss. They saw that the burden of this secret was taking a toll on Tommy and wished he could find a way to share it with them.

April wondered, "Tommy, is this about Tina?"

Tommy's sudden action caused a sharp burst of mist, which immediately stirred up an atmosphere of tension within the room. Taking advantage of the commotion, he shot out a blast of mist so that he can make a quick escape and darted out of the area, leaving those present to wonder about his motives and actions.

"Tommy!" MJ cried as she dug her nails into the ground to give herself an extra push to cross the finish line faster than everyone else. These skills were still new to her, but she managed to keep a straight face as she ran to catch up with the boy.

Peter-1 and Barry groaned as they got up and looked over at Oliver. "What the hell was that?" Barry asked his friend.

"Yeah, I thought you were the Spectre, shouldn't you be able to stop stuff like this?" Peter-1 agrees.

"The attack on the Multiverse, and the barriers in this world, have left me weak," Oliver said. "As long as the barriers remain, I am just Oliver Queen."

"Well, we better hope Oliver Queen is enough," Kara stated as she flew off to try and catch up.

Peter-1 sighed as he looked down at Mayday and saw she was still giggling like she wasn't in a dire situation. "I'm sorry." He said as he placed a Spider-Man hat on her head to cover her eyes. "This is bad parenting, but your brother did a big no-no."

FRAMEWORK

When Cindy finally got her bearings and woke up in this strange new world, she almost didn't recall what had happened. It almost felt like she fell asleep and just moved to a bed. But that was when she got a look around the room and saw that this place looked almost identical to her usual bedroom. She looked around and was a little creeped out when she saw the room was actually covered in pink colors everywhere. She had to admit, this was something she never thought that her bedroom would be filled with.

Upon emerging from her slumber and gazing into the mirror, she let out an unexpected cry of astonishment. The image staring back at her was nearly unidentifiable. It was almost as if she was looking at a completely different person. Tentatively, she reached out her hand to touch the cool, smooth surface of the mirror, half-expecting it to be some sort of cruel optical illusion. But to her amazement, her fingers made contact with nothing out of the ordinary. It was only then that she realized what had changed. The stark white streak that had been a constant reminder of her father's misguided experiments was no longer present.

"What?" Cindy almost couldn't believe this was supposed to be a parallel world, it felt more like she had just woken up from a nightmare. "How is this...?"

Then her door opened up and she almost freaked out when saw her father was there. He was alive. Dr. Shiro Ito was alive. But he didn't look like his Dragon King self, in fact, he looked human. But on instinct, Cindy was ready to kill him as she raised her fist to extend the blade to her wrist. But that was when she realized that her blades weren't extending.

When she looked down at her hand, she wondered what the problem was. But it didn't take long for the thought to finally click in her mind. She was in a world that was supposed to be different from her own world. This version of her that she currently hijacked the life of didn't live the same life that she did. That means that this version of her was never experimented on.

She doesn't have her powers.

"I thought I heard you waking up," Ito told his daughter, giving her a loving smile, which only made Cindy's skin crawl. "I was worried that you would be late for the bus to get to school."

"What?" Cindy asks, not following what he was saying.

"I know, I wanted to drive you, but I need to hurry for work, and it's in the opposite direction," Ito said as if he and Cindy were having the same conversation.

Cindy only stood there as Ito then backed off and made his way into the hallway. Cindy quickly got changed into some clothes she guessed belonged to her doppelganger. They were some clothes shed never be caught dead in, but she needed to take up the identity of this version of Cindy. She then stepped out into the hallway and was shocked to see that this was basically her home on Earth-2, just with a few changes, small and barely noticeable changes that if you didn't live in the house you'd never notice. And that was when she walked down the stairs and noticed there was still a lock on the door to the basement. This must mean that her father still has some sort of experiments down there.

When she reached the door, she saw her bag ready and waiting and grabbed it as she made it outside to see this new world. She was shocked and saw there was nothing but HYDRA logos and propaganda everywhere.

As Peter embarked on his daily commute to school, he found himself lost in a sea of memories, riding alongside his late mother's spirit. Despite his efforts to stay present and focused, the overwhelming sense of nostalgia proved to be a challenging distraction, making it difficult for him to keep his mind on the task at hand - searching for other passengers on his journey.

Susan sang as she bounced to the music. "There's a time for us to let go," she crooned. "There's a time for holding on. A time to speak, a time to listen; there's a time for us to grow." She then glanced over and noticed Peter was still staring. "What are you staring at me for?" She laughed at his behavior. "You're acting like this is the first time you've seen me."

"Sorry," Peter apologized as he stopped staring. He was also a little surprised to learn that the music from his reality still existed in this framework. "It just feels like I woke up from one reality to another."

"It must have been some dream," she said to her son. "What was it about?"

Peter was curious about how to answer that question but chose either the most obvious or the stupidest option. "I was a superhero. I was actually a leader of a superhero team."

"Wow, sounds interesting," Susan admitted. "What kind of powers?"

Spider-based?" Peter answered, not sure if this version of his mom even has powers.

"Must be all those spider experiments they're doing at the Triskellion," Susan guessed. "With all of those spider notes I leave around the house, they were bound to appear in our dreams."

Peter only smiled as he looked out the window and gazed upon all the new buildings that had been constructed in this parallel universe. But that was when he actually got a good look at this universe. He was shocked at all of the anti-metahuman propaganda that was everywhere. There were HYDRA symbols everywhere. On the buildings, graffiti everywhere, you couldn't look anywhere without seeing it.

As his eyes scanned the surroundings, they landed on the sign indicating the name of his educational institution - HYDRA High. It was a reputed establishment that aimed at nurturing young minds and molding them into loyal subjects of the HYDRA Empire.

"Oh, god," Peter muttered in terror.

As he was waiting at the bus stop, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Cindy stepping off the bus. Without hesitation, Susan greeted her with a warm, cordial smile, as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in a while.

"Oh, look, there's Cindy," Susan said as she turned to Peter. "Better not keep her waiting." She looked over to the door and pushed a button on the console, controlling the door. Once the door opened, Peter was a little confused, but he exited the vehicle. "I'll see you at home."

Peter nodded as he stepped out and watched as Susan drove off. "This...is weird."

Cindy approached and was shocked when she realized it was his mother. "Yeah. I can't imagine how you must be feeling."

Peter sighed and knew that it wasn't his mother. It was just some computer program with her face on it. "It doesn't matter. We need to find the others and rescue them."

Triskellion

The sound of blaring alarms echoed throughout the entire perimeter of Triskellion, immediately capturing the attention of those in the vicinity and causing understandable concern. In an instant, watches and computers were transformed into advanced cameras, all focused on the same subject: MJ, sprinting through the area with a sense of urgency.

"All Agents, and Warriors, stop what you're doing, and stop that rogue Spider-Man!" MJ demanded.

A sense of unease spread among the numerous Spider-Man doppelgängers congregated at Triskellion. They began to gesture frantically at one another, their expressions reflecting a growing confusion and apprehension.

"You?"

"She talking about you?"

"You?"

"Why are there so many of us?"

"Which one are we supposed to...?"

"Ugh!" MJ exclaimed in annoyance. "It's official; stupidity runs in the spider genome." She smacked herself in the face in annoyance. "No, not you. Tommy! He's entering Sector 7!"

Upon entering Sector 7 with a hotdog in hand, Bob Parr caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Those who were unfamiliar with him were left confused and mistakenly assumed that he was the individual they had been referring to.

"Is that him?"

"What? Were you supposed to get food for everyone?" Bob asked them as he gestured to the area he had just left. "The kitchen is right there; what's the deal?"

"Tommy!" MJ cried from down the hall, causing Bob to turn his head in her direction. She was running as fast as she could down the hallway to catch up. "He's right there! He's behind you! Turn around!"

Bob did just that, unaware that he had a passenger on his back. Tommy was clinging to the man's back, desperately trying to get as far away from MJ and the others as possible in order to escape.

"I don't see anything," Bob remarked, unaware that someone was clinging to his back.

As soon as Tommy was revealed, his Spider-Man persona was quickly identified as the notorious rogue. Within seconds, a mob of individuals readied themselves to pursue him and bring him to justice.

In an act of desperation, Tommy leaped into the air and shot a strand to yank himself further away. But that seemed to be the breaking point as several dozen Spider-Man variants began leaping at him. Tommy managed to dodge a swing from Peter-118, but then he was grabbed by the leg by Peter-200, followed by Mayday (Belle), and Peter-65, who both tackled him and wrapped their arms around him.

Tommy managed to get out as he shot out a web to latch onto the bridge and managed to break free. As he was flying through the air, Ray came flying up in his ATOM suit and shot at Tommy. He lowered the setting to make sure not to kill him, only knocking him on his backside if there was any direct contact. However, Tommy's senses gave him the alert, so he managed to avoid the attack and was only caught in the shockwave. Noah came flying and grabbed onto the kid, only for his mask to be frozen over and the kid to kick him away.

Tommy then leaped into the air to try and escape through a window. But as he did so, he was tackled by Lockheed, who flew and slammed him into the second bridge of the Triskellion. Lockheed then screeched and tried to bite Tommy, who grabbed the small dragon and moved his head to avoid the attack.

Then, as Tommy managed to keep Lockheed at bay, the dragon bit him on the nose. Tommy cried out in pain as he flung the dragon out of reach and ran to escape the dozens of attacks. Mia shot several arrows to try and incapacitate her friend so they could figure out what was happening. Karen came flying, but Tommy acted in desperation as he took out a Kryptonite ring (something almost all members of Young Justice have) and punched her, sending Karen toppling into the ground.

"This day just can't get any weirder!" Tommy exclaimed as he ran to try to get away. When his senses kicked in, he looked to see Heather flying on Windshear and they were preparing to strike. Windshear then flung her quills towards Tommy, who quickly stopped to avoid one and ran to avoid the rest of them. "Okay, never mind, I guess that it can."

Tommy then shot two webs to latch onto the Razorwhip, yanking its wings to send it off-balance and sending it flying into Kara before she could catch up. Kara grabbed onto Heather and her dragon to help them both lower down safely. Teresa came flying in and she shot several rounds off at Tommy, but he dodged them with his enhanced senses before freezing her jet pack, sending her toppling into the ground. Rick tried to punch him as he came running past, but Tommy was faster than he was strong. He webbed Rick's fist and flung it around, using his strength against him; the blow sent was sent towards Hiccup and Toothless as they were sent crashing to the ground.

Elsa-118 came running in and sent a giant wave of snow at him to try and slow him down. But that didn't work out as well as she had hoped; he used the snow to create a slide and then shot blasts of ice to propel himself upward. He then used the ice to weave a web around her, pinning her to the ground.

"Hey!" Elsa cried, struggling to free herself from the ground.

Tommy cried out in sorrow, wishing he didn't have to do this. "Sorry!"

Amidst a sea of pursuing agents and warriors, MJ frantically made her way through to chase Tommy. Peter-1 suddenly appeared, expertly weaving his way through the crowd until he finally reached MJ, clutching tightly onto his phone.

"Hey, Michelle?" Peter-1 asked as he reached up to hold his phone out. "Can you take a photo of this?" He then gestured to Mayday, who slipped the hat off to get a better look at what was happening. "It's her first chase."

MJ didn't even respond to that as she got an idea where Tommy might be headed. She leaped into the air and climbed up the side of the wall, making sure to focus on these powers, this still being a new sensation to her as she was making it to the location. Meanwhile, Mayday aimed her little web shooter up at Peter-1's phone and shot a web that ended up taking a photo. Lane opened fire on the kid as Kyle sped over, only to be punched in the face with a giant fist of ice from Tommy.

Tommy kept going as he webbed to leap off the ground when the Cosmic Staff came into play and flung it into his face. Tommy then got smacked upside the head by the weapon. Courtney then summoned the Staff back before trying to blast Tommy with a beam of energy from the staff. Tommy used his senses to slow things down as he looked and noticed Dawn was running towards him, and knew how to take care of two things at once. Leaping out of the way, shooting two webs to fling into an air vent, the energy blast from the staff knocked into Dawn, and Dawn then flung into Courtney at the speed she was going.

Tommy crawled through the vents when he heard someone else in there. When he looked downward, he noticed that Doreen was crawling up the vents and coming at him.

"Kid, we've trained in every possible scenario in this building," Doreen said as she continued crawling up. "There's nowhere you can go!"

Tommy sighed and knew this was going to be difficult. "I still have to try!"

Tommy then reached the top of the vent, only to then immediately have to dodge a laser blast from V.I.V.I.A.N., who was floating in the air and seemed to be waiting for him.

"Tommy, calm down. Surrender, and we can figure out what's going on." V.I.V.I.A.N. tried to reason with her (sorta) brother.

Tommy however refuted this by blasting some mist, causing V.I.V.I.A.N. to use her intangibility. That was what Tommy was waiting for as he shot the ground to freeze it, causing V.I.V.I.A.N. to become frozen. Her powers work similarly to phasing for speedsters, meaning if they slow down the molecules enough, she can't keep doing it.

As Tommy turned around to continue running, he immediately had to dodge the claws from Yolanda, who had caught up and nearly sliced his mask off. Tommy ducked and dodged her attacks as he flipped over her arm and webbed her hand to the ice wall he created. He then kicked Yolanda, causing her mask to flip off her head and giving him an opening to run.

As Ashley surveyed the scene from a vantage point above, her intuition told her that there was trouble brewing. Amidst the throngs of heroes, she quickly identified Ant-Man from Earth-2 as a valuable asset and acted with stealth, seizing him before anybody had a chance to notice her.

"What the hell?" Scott asks as he slammed into the wall. "What was that for?"

Ashley told him, "I need your help." She added, "Trust me, it'll all make sense."

Tommy kept running as he saw Ollie aiming his metal legs at him. "Sorry about this, Ollie," he said.

Ollie asked, "Tommy, come on, what's going on?" As he calculated when to attack, he added, "This isn't like you."

"This doesn't concern you," Tommy said as he saw Ollie was calculating how to stop him.

Ollie reacted by extending his metallic arms and swinging to attack Tommy. The boy, however, managed to dodge his arms by leaping and spinning around before grabbing one of the other arms and slamming him into the wall. Riri flew over and used her sonic cannon on Tommy, which drove his senses crazy and caused him to fall to his knees. Violet then ran in and threw two forcefields to take him down. But Tommy realized that he could use these attacks against them to get out of this situation.

Tommy shot out a web toward Riri, dragging her close enough for the force field to envelop both of them. As soon as it did, Tommy spun her around and threw her at Violet. Violet, however, slid down and avoided the attack. But Tommy had a counterattack ready; he froze the ground beneath her feet, causing Violet to slide down the ice and be unable to stop herself.

Tommy then ran until he found himself in the training arena for the next generation of Avengers. There, he found Flash Thompson doing some sit-ups with a gigantic ton of weight on his back. Working quickly, Tommy slid underneath the weight and webbed Thompson's leg. As soon as a few other heroes made their way underneath to stop him, Tommy yanked the web and caused the ton to fall on top of all of them.

Kitty ran through the weight and was getting a little annoyed at what was happening. "How is one kid beating all of us?"

"He's gotten some good training." Morgan had to admit.

Tommy then ran through the hard-light projection system and activated them all. As he ran through, he needed to dodge a rising Celestial that had come from the ground. The Celestial managed to hold off a few of them as Tommy ran up the palm of its hand and across its fingers. That set him on a bad path as he ran down a hallway that was quickly filling up with enemies.

As Octavius appeared and his arms attacked Frost, sending her into the wall. Then Rhino came out of nowhere and stepped on Nova before he could get past. Then Blizzard appeared in time for when Mrs. Incredible tried to come in and take Tommy down. She was hit by a blast of ice and sent flying, causing her to stay down due to her own powers as she was frozen over.

"Wow! That was some bad luck," Ashley joked since she was the one responsible for their terrible luck capturing him.

Tommy then made his way through the halls and saw that everyone was busy with the holograms and couldn't chase him. He sighed in relief when his senses immediately went off and he was almost tackled by MJ who came from the opposite direction. When he dodged her swing, MJ ended up missing and skidded across the ground as she dug her claws into the ground to stop herself.

Tommy hurriedly made his way toward the elevator, hoping to catch it before it left. However, his hopes were dashed as he let out a disappointed sigh upon seeing Ashley join him inside the elevator.

"So, what's the plan?" Ashley asked. Tommy jumped and prepared to fight her down, but she didn't even react. "You know, all I have to do is look you in the eye, and I'll win, right?"

Tommy recalled that would basically be the case and was wondering why she hadn't done that already. "Okay." He started to calm down a little. "And why didn't you?"

Ashley said, "Because I figured this has something to do with Tina. And I only figured that because, in the past year we've gotten to know one another, and our time in school, you've never had a secret you've never told anyone."

Tommy let out a deep sigh of relief as he finally found someone who knew the truth. It dawned on him that having someone with the power of bad luck could prove to be a valuable asset as he continued his escape. As he looked up, he realized just how far the elevator had traveled, and a sense of calm washed over him. Finally, he felt like he was one step closer to safety.

"Okay, since this thing is going so high up, there's no way they could catch up to us." Tommy sighed as they reached the top.

As their eyes scanned the area, they quickly realized their dire situation. A group of formidable Warriors had encircled them, their weapons and abilities trained on the duo with unwavering focus. The air was heavy with tension and the threat of danger loomed palpably close.

"There's no place to run, kids," Emily warned them.

Ashley smiled as Tommy started to panic. "That's what you think," she stated. "Now!"

Suddenly, several strands of Symbiote webbing came out and grabbed everyone. That's when it was revealed to be April who then leaped them into the air where Hope and Delta were waiting for them. They were on the back of her dragon which released a plasma blast and they flew out the window.

A state of perplexity enveloped the crowd, leaving them uncertain as to how to proceed after the recent event. There were those who were too drained to pursue the culprits and others who were apprehensive about confronting the Henchmainiacs. The atmosphere was thick with uncertainty, as each individual weighed their options.

"So, it looks like there was somewhere to run," Dash commented.

Things just got worse.

Frankie, Miles, and Caitlin left the medical room where all of their friends in the FRAMEWORK were being held and looked around. They had received the alert, but they didn't understand what was happening.

"So, what did we miss?" asked Miles.

HEX

Eli was working on the device to send a signal out, and all he required were the pieces that Alice was currently out getting. He sighed as he rubbed his head, feeling an overwhelming desire to close his eyes. But he knew better than to give in to that urge, especially since he was in this alternate reality. He just needed to focus on the task at hand and hope that Alice would return soon.

As Alice gently pushed open the door, a sense of buoyancy took over her being, causing her to skip with a newfound lightness in her step. Eli couldn't help but notice the transformation in her demeanor, almost as if she had finally found the inner peace she had been seeking for so long. Given all the turmoil they had weathered together, this was indeed a significant development, and Eli felt a sense of relief and joy seeing his friend in such a state.

"Honey, I'm home," Alice said, causing Eli to do a double-take.

"Alice?" Eli wasn't sure if he believed it was his friend. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, sorry dear," Alice said, placing a few bags on the couch. "I thought while I was out, I would do some shopping, and I ran into Wanda at the grocery store." She continued, "Oh, and I made plans for us to head over to Elsa and Peter's for dinner tomorrow."

Eli stood in complete confusion, still lost after hearing what Alice had said. He had never seen her act like this before; she was currently acting like a suburban housewife from an old sitcom.

"Alice, what is wrong with you?" Eli asks as he stood up, not sure if he was really seeing this. "Did you get what I asked?"

"Geez, the least I could get is a thanks," Alice said with a sarcasm-filled tone as she walked away. "After all I've done, I don't even get that."

"Alice, did you forget what we're doing?" Eli asks as he walked over and grabbed what he needed from the bags. "We're trying to get out of here." He then did his job and managed to quickly splice together a machine to send out a homing signal. "Okay, that should work for now. Now..." he then groaned as he smacked his head against a table. "Whoa!" He clinked to his feet. "I'm...feeling...I don't feel so good..."

Eli could barely even make out Alice re-entering the room before he passed out. His head was buzzing and ringing, and his thoughts were becoming hazy and hard to hold onto. Finally, he closed his eyes.

FRAMEWORK

Ava sighed as she looked over all of the information her ship had provided her about this world. The data indicated that it was almost identical to all of the worst-case scenarios they had programmed into the FRAMEWORK but with hundreds of inaccuracies. It seemed as if someone had combined their own reality with one of their fabricated scenarios. Ava sighed and knew that she needed to figure out what to do next.

She ended up trying to get into contact with the others in any way that she could. This meant using every frequency that would include anyone from the real world. S.H.I.E.L.D. frequencies, multiversal frequencies, just anything she could think of that they'd use to contact her.

From a flight from Wakanda to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, she didn't receive any signals. She could only sink deeper and deeper into the pool of information about this world, and it was sickening. Mutants and Metahumans were outlaws and were seen as nothing but a threat. And then she came across something to do with Resistance. There seems to be a resistance that was fighting against HYDRA, but there wasn't much about their leader or even members.

It seemed that Ava and Wakanda had some sort of connection to the Resistance since whatever Shuri had given her was encrypted. She wasn't entirely sure why, but she could guess it was some sort of information that could help them. All she needed to do was find the signs that would lead her to the Resistance.

Then she had a sudden spark of insight come to her. A vague, but distinctive ping in her head told her that it was a homing beacon for any non-belonger within the FRAMEWORK. That was something she could easily track, thanks to the training that Peter had given her. She jumped into the pilot's seat and began following it. If she could pinpoint its source, she might be able to locate Cisco, Eli, Alice, and everyone else.