Peter crawled through the upper vents, spider-like as he was trying to backtrack to his new friends. The problem was, he couldn't recall which vent he had taken to reach the Collider. "Ugh, seriously? Which damn vent did I use?" he muttered. As he peered into the duct, he noticed that the network of airways below looked completely unfamiliar. "Come on, man! You navigate Manhattan every day, but you can't figure out a vent shaft?!" he snapped at himself.
Reaching a corner, he paused. "Okay... um..." he murmured, surveying the three diverging paths. "All these vents, and this building still seems to be missing a decent air conditioning system," he grumbled, as he was sweating. That's when he caught voices.
"I hope he's okay—" one voice said, sounding like Brooklynn. "I—I can't believe it's Brooklynn! That means I'm close! It came down the left shaft!" Peter darted down the left vent, eager to follow the sounds. At the next intersection within the labyrinth of ducts, he had to veer right. The voices grew louder, filling him with confidence that he was nearing his friends. "What the heck am I going to say to them? I only managed to talk to Darius about Dark-Blade," he confided aloud. "And, come to think of it, that wasn't even Dark-Blade. Where's the letter?"
The whole thing baffled him. The last time he'd encountered that ominous figure, a glowing letter had been emblazoned on its chest. "Sora mentioned that was the final light within them... does that mean the light is gone now?" he wondered.
The voices became even more distinct. "Alright, just one more right and I should be there—" Peter's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the jolt of his spider-sense. "Ahhh..." he cried, clutching his head. "W-What the—?" He spun around, alert. Normally, the buzzing of his spider-sense signaled imminent danger, but the vent was empty... for now. He hoped it would stay that way. 'Dark-Blade... if that's really them, they didn't spot me, so they shouldn't be around...' he reassured himself. There was no immediate threat descending through the vents, and faint chatter from his friends echoed from somewhere ahead.
But then, his spider-sense flared up again.
This time, it tugged him toward the right. Although unsure what awaited him there, Peter couldn't ignore the pull. His friends might be waiting at the other end, but his instincts wouldn't let him pass by this new cue. 'Hang on, guys—I'll be back in a minute...' he thought, choosing the right vent over the left. As he crept along, a sudden raptor call sliced through the air. 'Oh crap! Why are raptors inside the damn building?' His heart pounded with worry; that meant his friends might be in serious trouble.
At least, he thought they were inside. The vent led to an air conditioner unit outside. Through a small, broken crack in the aluminum duct, Peter could see the outside world: sunlight streaming in and green trees swaying in the breeze. More raptor calls pierced his eardrums. "Oh... they're outside. So, not inside after all," he sighed in relief, shaking his head. "My spider-senses are going to be the death of me someday."
Just as he turned back, the raptor calls continued, but then a commanding voice rang out, making him freeze.
"Bumpy, stay behind me!" the voice ordered.
Peter's heart skipped a beat. Someone was in trouble out there—with the dinosaurs.
"Actually... Bumpy, attack them! But be careful!"
Peter instantly recognized that nerdy, unmistakable tone. Without a second thought, he slammed himself against the metal vent, breaking through. The impact startled the velociraptors, whose hissing and sneering filled the air as they sensed an imminent threat. Peter burst out the vent panel, landing with his right fist planted firmly on the ground and his left arm raised. "P-Peter?!" Ben shouted.
Peter glanced past the advancing raptors and spotted an Ankylosaurus standing near Ben. The raptors slithered closer, their hisses growing louder. One of them lunged first, but Peter leaped over it and landed behind. The other creatures hissed and retreated, clearly taken aback by a this human's agility.
Another raptor made a jump, but Peter dodged effortlessly. "Hey, I can dodge missiles—what makes you prehistoric critters think I can't dodge you?" he quipped.
The raptor he'd vaulted over was starting to rise, so Peter quickly shot a web at it. Before long, he was zapping all of them, pinning them to the ground.
It wasn't an overly tough fight, but Peter was running low on his biological web fluid. Without it, he'd be stuck relying on his punches until his body replenished what it'd lost. He also suspected that the artificial web fluid in his suit was nearly empty—he'd forgotten to refill before his run-in with Kingpin. Glancing behind him, he saw Ben's concerned face.
"Um... hey?" Peter said, scratching the back of his head.
"...Whatever that white stuff that came out of your arm was... it was disgusting," Ben remarked.
"Uh..." Peter hesitated. "Well... it did save you, didn't it?"
"Bumpy could've handled them on his own," Ben grumbled.
Just then, a growl emanated from within the web that held the dinosaurs in place, startling Ben.
"Come on, they dissolve in an hour. Let's get moving."
"Wait, what? They don't last forever?!" Ben exclaimed.
"Hey, I am not be magical! But it can at least buy us some time."
Back at the lab, the rest of the team was growing increasingly anxious. Kenji was the most on edge, especially since Ben was missing. "Come on, Kenge, stop stressing out. Ben always finds a way out of these situations," Darius tried to reassure him.
But Kenji shook his head. "I don't care if Ben practically became a god overnight—dealing with dinosaurs is still deadly!"
Brooklyn agreed. "He's right, Darius. Ben could still be in serious danger."
"And where on earth is Peter? Shouldn't he have been back by now?" Sammy piped up.
"Maybe he found that dimensional device and went home?" Kenji countered, though Darius quickly dismissed the idea.
"No, he would've come back to fill us in."
"How can you be so sure?" Kenji asked. "We barely know him—who really knows what he's like?"
Darius shrugged. "I don't know... I just have a good feeling about him. I think he's an alright guy."
"He probably went looking for Ben, to be honest," Yaz noted. "He was worried about him from the start, too."
Kenji chuckled. "Why would he be worried about him? Ben's been nothing but rude to him." Folding his arms.
"Well… sometimes we treat the ones who hate you with a bit of respect, hoping they'll change their tune," Sammy explained.
"And it usually works," Yaz agreed.
"And honestly, I can kinda see where Ben's coming from. The last time we met new people—"
"It didn't end well, I know," Darius finished Brooklyn's comment.
"Do you trust him?" Brooklyn asked.
Darius looked down for a moment before meeting Brooklyn's gaze. "I do. There's just something about him. I only wish Ben could see what I see."
A sudden bump at the door startled them—the very door they'd come through earlier, now securely locked just in case. Someone, or something, was trying to force its way in.
"It must be Peter… or Ben. Let's open it!" Kenji declared, moving toward the door, but Darius quickly grabbed his arm. "Whoa! Hey, what's going on? What gives?" Kenji gasped.
"We can't be sure it's them!"
"Oh, so who? Dinosaurs trying to open the door knob?" Kenji retorted.
"What do you think mastermind? Yes! Remember how these dinosaurs are getting smarter and smarter!"
"Darius is right! We need to hide or something!" Brooklyn insisted.
Before they could decide, the door exploded off its frame. Peter and Ben walked in a second later. Ben blinked in disbelief. "D-Did you just punch the door down with your fists…?"
"Hey, what do you know, it is them!" Darius said.
"Yeah, no shit," Kenji replied, earning a playful punch on his arm from Darius.
"Ben, I'm so glad you're okay! See? I told you Peter would have found him!" Sammy cheered.
"Yeah, well, I could have taken those dinosaurs on by myself, but of course, Peter had to show up and mess everything up," Ben grumbled.
"Come on, Ben, cheer up! At least we've got some help in this mess," Darius said. "So, Pete… any word on the Collider?"
"Yeah… actually, I found it."
The room fell silent. "WHAT?!" everyone shouted, even Ben, who had been unaware.
"See? I just knew he was going to come back to tell us bye!" Sammy said.
"Well... Not that I wouldn't say bye but-," Peter started.
"Man, I can't believe Wu and InGen actually tried to dabble in dimensional rift studies! I mean, really? Bringing dinosaurs back from the dead wasn't enough?" someone muttered.
"D-Darius, I saw that Wu guy," Peter added.
"W-Wait, you did?" Kenji asked.
"I was over him. He was talking to some other guy, and he swore he hadn't built the Collider. He claimed it just appeared out of nowhere. But that's impossible—it has to be constructed from people... It can't just materialize out of thin air," Peter explained.
They exchanged bewildered looks. "So if Wu didn't make it, then who did?" Darius asked.
"Yeah, if it can't just appear, someone must have built it, right?" Sammy remarked.
Peter's mind raced—he knew it had something to do with Dark-Blade. The only person he'd confided in about that dark figure was Darius. He turned toward him. "Darius? Can we talk privately?" he asked, prompting curious looks from Ben, Sammy, Yaz, and Kenji.
"Private? Why?" Yaz inquired.
"Guys, it's nothing—" Darius interrupted. "Let's step out of the lab," he said, leading Peter away from the group.
Once they were alone, Darius asked, "So, what's up?"
Peter took a deep breath. "Remember last night when I told you about that dark creature?"
Darius nodded, and before Peter could continue, Darius's eyes widened in realization. "A-Are you saying it's here?!"
Peter nodded, worry etched on his face. "I saw it, right next to the Collider."