The first thing Jessica did was stumble.

She had been standing in that damn red-orange world, walking about trying to find SOME way out of it… and the next moment she had been stumbling forward, spider-sense screaming at her as she reached out and caught herself. But doing that had caused her to panic because she had been holding her baby…

…except there was no baby anywhere.

Well, no baby she could see. Just her belly, once more sticking out in front of her.

She had looked about wildly, startled to find herself back Nueva York. Things had gone so fast after that, making it impossible to figure out what was going on. Every time she tried to ask the person she'd spoken to had moved on.

And now she was back in Miguel's lab… which was VERY full. Far more full than when they had confronted Miles Morales and tried to get him to understand that he had to accept that his father was fated to die. Her mind raced as she looked at the different people that were mingling about. She saw Margo talking with Spider-Shrink, the two looking over some computer screens. The Superior Spider-Man (and how she HATED that the man had been smart enough and quick enough to get Lyla to put that in as his official name) was looking over a 3d map with Skitter and…

She narrowed her eyes. There was no way that a PROWLER had been let loose!

Jessica moved to find out what was going on only for a hand to grab her and she whipped around, only to stop when she saw just who had grabbed her. "Ben?"

"Hey Jess," Ben Reilly said with a smile. "Let me lead you away from the others so we can discuss exactly what is going on? We need to have what is going to be an intense conversation about everything that has suddenly changed."

Jessica nodded; she was used to Ben and his… unusual… way of talking. Stilted if you just read the words (which she had, many times… his texts were like a Chat Bot that had a minor glitch) but full of intensity in person. It had made it hard for him to connect with others but Jessica had done her best to reach out to him, knowing what it was like to be different amongst a sea of Peter Parkers. As such Ben had quickly risen through the ranks and Miguel had made him part of his inner circle.

So she nodded and went along with him… even as she stared in shock as that witch (only figuratively, not literally) Cassie Strange chatted with Miguel as they looked over rosters while Spider-Chaos himself stood with-

"Miles?" she said, eyes going wide.

"Yes. His powerful youth has seen him through his gnarly injuries."

"…Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever say anyone under age is a 'powerful youth'."

"Whatever you say!" Ben said boldly. But that boisterous tone disappeared when they found a quiet corner to talk, far away from everyone else. Then Ben grew quiet, moody, his features cloaked in shadows… which was odd because someone had opened all the windows in the lab (including a skylight… she hadn't even realized that Miguel HAD a skylight!) so it was rather bright in there as the sun began to rise over Nueva York. "Many things have changed. We must clench our butt cheeks as hard as we can and power through it until we can make things right!"

"…okay, what exactly is going on?"

Ben told her everything. How Skitter had rallied not just a bunch of Spiders but the minorities of Nueva York, marching on the tower. How Spider-Chaos had brought Miguel's daughter, or a version of her, to the world and that had rattled Miguel enough that he was… well, Ben wasn't sure if he was working with Spider-Chaos or they were just trying to keep things from going completely "extreme". That Superior Spider-Man had healed Miles who had arrived to try and calm things down… but was still against canon events. And that someone from the 'Council of Mary Janes' had arrived to warn them that the Spot was attacking Miles' New York.

And through the entire thing Jessica could hear how he didn't believe any of their words. How he just KNEW they were all working against Miguel and the Society. How they wanted the canon events to fail for some sinister reason. Ben didn't know why but he was sure there was something.

"They are all working to plan out how we deal with him…" he said, gesturing to where Miles was talking now with Spinneret, who was apparently a mole for the 'Council of Mary Janes'. Whatever that was. "Morales wanted to go right away but everyone got him to hold back." Ben leaned in. "We have to strong arm them into sending Mr. Morales back. He HAS to die in this fight. If Miguel won't do it then we have to."

"What are you taking about? Miguel-"

"Our radical and awesome leader is tripping," Ben hissed in a sharp whisper. "He's so focused on that version of his daughter that his gray matter has gone chill, dig?"

"…yeah." Thought she didn't. Not at all.

"We have to be ready to do what he can't. We have to protect that world. All these people… they might be strong with their well sculpted abs and gluts that won't quit but they don't have brains like the two of us. We need to do what they can't. We need to make sure that the canon event still occurs."

"Right," Jessica said... before she snapped out and punched Ben right in the face, causing his head to snap back and hit the wall, knocking him right out. "Sorry Ben," she said softly, helping ease him down to the ground. She fired off some webbing, restraining his arms. "I'll explain it later. I hope you actually listen."

"Well… that was interesting," Hobie said and Jessica turned to see him standing with Nathaniel Asgard, The Chaos Avengers' resident mage. "I admit I wasn't expecting you to pull the caveman move on our resident 90s Kid, luv."

"Makes me wonder why you decided to do that," Nathaniel said idly.

"None of your business," she snapped. Just because she wasn't seeing eye to eye with Ben or Miguel at that moment didn't mean that she was going to be friends with the invader. "In fact I have some issues with you and your friends so you-"

Nathanial though cut her off. "Oh… you found something in Miguel's files. Something that has you thinking about things you hadn't considered before. Of course that doesn't change the fact that you still decided to try and defend him and his dream after learning he was wrong. That's… disappointing."

Jessica leaned back in shock before narrowing her eyes. "How did you know that?"

Nathaniel reached along the edge of his shirt and pulled out a long golden chain with a yellow gem dangling from it. "I know in a lot of worlds this is blue…"

The sight of the gem made her take a step back in shock.

An Infinity Gem.

"How… how are you-"

"Able to use it in this world?" Nathaniel asked. "I would have thought that after Cassie used the Soul Gem on you that you wouldn't be so surprised."

That was actually a rather good point. She'd merely been so startled by being captured by the Soul Gem that she hadn't been able to actually realize that the Soul Gem shouldn't have worked on her. One of the key components of the Multiverse was that the Infinity Gems only worked in their own realities. It was why Thanos never tried to travel between dimensions; his main source of power would have been eliminated otherwise.

"How?"

"Trade secret," the alternate Loki said, which earned a scowl from Jessica. "Oh, come now… a magician never reveals how a trick is done." He winked at her before splaying out his hands. "Besides, we need to discuss what you've learned. Miguel hid all the worlds where canon wasn't a thing, didn't he? Now… that must sting."

It did. It very much did.

"Always thought that bastard was hidin' things," Hobie muttered darkly.

Jessica pressed her lips together. "What's going on with The Spot?"

"Aw, don't you want to talk about what you learned?" Nathaniel pressed.

"A magician never reveals their secrets," Jessica said, moving past him with a smirk, glad she was able to shut him up.

But her pleasure in her victory didn't last as she suddenly found herself facing another familiar face.

"Gwen," she said softly.

"Was any of it real?" the young woman demanded.

"I don't-"

"Was any of it real? You saying you wanted to help me. Acting like my friend, my mentor… was any of it real? Or did you laugh at me behind my back. 'Stupid little Gwen, thinking I care about her!' You and Miguel yukking it up as you sent me out on another fetch quest for you. Did you ever really care about me or was I just the latest in the long line of Gwen Stacys that you nabbed. 'Gwen dies in her realities'. That's what you told me. Were you waiting for me to die and then you'd just move on to the next one? I always wondered why you were getting colder with me… was it because you were mad I was too good? Wasn't dying soon enough?"

"Of course not!" Jessica snapped.

But Gwen wasn't listening; Jessica could tell from how she just steam rolled right over her denial. "You were there for me at the beginning but then you began to pull back. I thought, "What did I do wrong?" And now I know… I lived."

"No," Jessica tried to assure her. "Listen, kid-" Gwen scowled at the endearment and Jessica backtracked. "Gwen. It was real. It was all real. Things were… you were there, you saw how things were getting more complex! New canon events popping up, new villains suddenly appearing where they shouldn't! But I was there when you needed me… I've always been there."

Gwen though scoffed. "Don't lie to me… I know that you recruiting me was all a scam. You and Miguel waiting for the right moment to come and snatch me up. Did you unleash the Vulture yourselves just to have an excuse?"

"What? I-"

"Did you?" Gwen pressed.

"Of course not! You think we'd risk a world doing something that stupid?"

"I don't know what to think of you," Gwen retorted. "I thought that you wouldn't use me like you did. Make me turn on my friends. People I care about."

"We-"

"You KNEW how I felt about Miles… and I can't figure out if you were trying to keep me away from him or if you were hoping I'd get close and convince him to just do what you wanted." She jabbed her finger at Jessica, right under her nose. "What other plots did you have for me?"

Jessica shook her head. "You are being too emotional."

"Yeah, you used to warn me about that, didn't you? Telling me all the time that I needed to be more calm. To stop listening to my heart. What you really meant is that I should just do what you said, right? That's what you were really after. You wanted me to just blindly obey you." Gwen narrowed her eyes. "What would you have had me do in order to preserve your precious canon? Kill people? Some villain doesn't murder Uncle Ben you have me show up with a gun and blow his brains out myself." Jessica tried to speak but Gwen continued on. "Peter is gay so he can't fall in love with his Gwen Stacy so you send me in? "Go polish him up a bit, Gwen, maybe that will turn him straight. Don't forget to swallow"-"

"I would NEVER do that to you!" Jessica snapped, enraged and horrified that Gwen thought so little of her.

Gwen just shook her head.

"I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth," she replied. "You stood with Miguel after he nearly killed Miles. You lied to me the moment I joined your little Society. I… I thought of you like a second mother." Her face fell at that. But only for a moment.

Then the hardness returned.

"Now I wouldn't bother to step over you if you were dying in the street. I'd just kick you before going on my way."

Hobie grabbed her arm. "Come on, let's go."

"You cost me everything," Gwen said, wanting to throw in one more jab. "I will NEVER forgive you for that."

Jessica watched as Gwen walked away. She wanted to be angry. Wanted to demand that the foolish girl actually stop and listen to her. Wanted to get her to understand why Jessica had done what she had done.

But… she wasn't for sure anymore herself why she'd done what she done.

So all she could do was let Gwen walk away.

"That's the problem when you make everything a mission," Nathaniel whispered in her ear. "Everything-"

She swung around to punch him only for her fist to go through him, causing her to spin before another him, the real him, grabbed her and kept her from falling.

"-leaves you BUT the mission," he finished before walking away.