Bab 93: Meet the Avengers
The Spider Universe:
"ARGH!" the solid metal table exploded into the air and into a nearby wall, embedding itself ten inches deep before snapping in on itself from the excessive force. Jean Grey looked at the table and imagined it as whatever faceless monster that threatened her family and felt a desire to burn it into nothing.
She felt her feet rise into the air, her hair flutter open and he hands slowly heat up. The Phoenix screamed at her to take flight, to search the whole damn galaxy for her mate and spawn, to burn whoever stood in her way. Jean's fingers itched to the band around her arm which held the mind stone, she was inches away from ripping it off when someone grabbed her shoulder.
"Jean, you have to calm down!" Felicia cried out, pulling Jean back down, "you can't let the Bird take over!"
Jean's eyes snapped, she dropped to the ground pushing the Phoenix's influence back with the side of th eMind Stone. "I-I am sorry," she rubbed her temples, shaking her head, "I-I.."
"I know, sweetie, I know," Felicia pulled Jean into her arms, holding her tight, "but Peter's with her, he'll keep her safe, you know he will."
"I know...I know," Jean whispered, sighing as she pulled away, looking at the other people in Susan Storm's lab with them, "but we need to get them back."
"We will," Sue stepped up, holding Jean's other shoulder, "I promise."
"How did this even happen?" Johnny Storm asked, his body heating up with barely held anger, "Peter's...well, Peter. How did he let this happen?"
"He's not a God Johnny," Jessica spoke up in her friend's defence, "he's just powerful. And you remember that security footage of Hope's room, whatever it is that took them had no form or substance. It kind of looked like a blackhole."
"It was a blackhole," Susan nodded, walking over to her terminal to display a large holographic image of the last image captured of Hope and Peter, the father holding his daughter as tightly as he could. Seeing the sight made Jean cry again, but she kept her darker impulses under control.
"The readings I obtained from it shows that the way it functioned was similar to that of a blackhole. When the thing was open dozens of different forms of energy came pouring out. Minute antimatter particles, beta waves and most importantly, Web energy."
A new reading came up, one which almost everyone, except Susan, didn't recognize.
"Web Energy?" Peter Quill asked, blinking, "that sounds sexual."
"It's not," Jean spoke up, blinking as something clicked inside her, "I remember this, it's called...the Web of Life. Peter uses it sometimes to see into other worlds!"
"Exactly," Susan nodded, "Peter and I were in the beginning stages of analysing the energy signature, trying to understand what exactly it was from a scientific standpoint. We got close enough to only analyse the energy signature, not much else. But what's important is that this form of energy is very rare and isn't something you just stumble into. Meaning if it came out of the hole that took Hope and Peter then-"
"-They're in another world!" Johnny cried out, "but that's great right! Didn't we build a device to travel across worlds?! Peter even went on a test ride! Can't we just build it again and go find Hope and Peter?"
"Can we?" Jean asked, looking to Susan, hope filling her eyes, "can you make it?"
Sue met the hopeful eyes and sighed, shaking her head, "no, I can't."
"What?! Why?!"
"Because I didn't make the machine, Reed Richards did, and he's back...on Earth," Sue concluded.
"Then it's obvious what we do," Felicia replied, "we go back to Earth, find Reed and ask him to help us."
"Do you think he's still in a coma?" Johnny asked.
Sue looked at her brother, anger and pain in her eyes, "how would I know? I was in space with you."
"R-right, sorry."
"If that's our only shot then we have to take it," Jean spoke up, "if Reed Richards is still in a coma then I can wake him up and using the Phoenix find out what we need to know. We are wasting time, we have to go, now!"
"I think I have another option," a quiet voice called out after being silent throughout the whole meeting. Everyone turned and looked to Wanda, who had just walked into the room holding something in her hand, "we use this."
She lifted up the object into the air and in her hand was a black box that many recognized as the vibranium lock box Peter used to store the Mind Stone in.
Jean touched her bracelet and asked in confusion, "what's that?"
"The Reality Stone," Wanda stated, causing the room to go silent as a grave.
Earth 199999:
"So you told her?" I asked into the phone's recover. I honestly couldn't believe me ears, "you told Michelle Jones, the girl you like, that you're Spider-man?"
"Yeah...well, I didn't really tell her, she kind of told me?"
"She figured out you were Spider-Man and you couldn't come up with a good excuse," I stated flatly.
"...Yeah...do you think it's a good idea?"
I chuckled, sipping my mug of coffee, "I think you have to figure that out yourself Parker. But, between you and me, it's going to be a difficult life man. It's not going to be easy, it's always a risk having a non-super powered girlfriend."
"What?! Why?!"
"Because if a bad guy finds out your secret identity then he'll know who to go after to hurt you," I replied swiftly, looking out at the New York skyline on the roof of the New York Sanctum.
"Oh...shit! I didn't even-what do I do?!"
I snorted, "calm down Peter, you're being hysterical. The answer is simple, just keep your secret identity a secret. Of course that might be a little difficult to do given your love of removing your mask every time you meet someone knew. Seriously kid, the first time you met Quentin you literally shook his hand without a mask."
"Well...Fury said everyone already knew so..."
"And? That's not the point. It's literally your most prized possession Peter. Tell me, out of all the big time super villains you faced, how many of them don't know your secret identity?"
"...Thanos?"
"He's dead and frankly I don't think you ever registered on his radar," I sighed, putting the mug on the roof edge, "look, Peter, I get it, it feels like the world's crashing down on you and you just want to make sure Spider-Man and Peter Parker's world's stay separate. But unfortunately, that's not going to happen. So you do what you can, hope for the best and plan for the worst."
"So what do you think I should do?"
"I think...you should go on a date," I smiled, "you can worry about the big stuff later, focus on just having fun for now Pete. Take her swinging, Felicia loved it when we did that."
"Oh, any tips?"
"Hmm, I prefer uptown and Hell's Kitchen, a lot of high buildings and edges to swing from. Avoid the Bronx, downtown and the bridges, too wide and will break the flow of the swing," I recalled from my many days in New York.
"Okay...sounds good," I heard pen scratching on the other end of the call, was he writing this down? "Okay, thanks for this Ben, but, ah, well, I just think I need to talk to you on a more face-to-face level. Where are you and Hope right now? You just kind of vanished from Paris with just that note you left for me."
"Yeah, sorry about that," I sighed, finished my cup of coffee, "I took Hope to Strange's place for some rest and we just ended up staying the night. Didn't that note I leave behind explain?"
"Yeah, but...well, you just kind of vanished so..."
"Right, I do that sometimes," I chuckled at the joke about my life, "anyway, I'm back in New York right now, when are you coming back?"
"Well I'm at the airport right now, so in a few hours. But I'll have to meet May and then Michelle...I...can we meet tomorrow?"
I groaned, "actually...Peter, did you know about the meeting on Sunday?"
"Oh..yeah, Happy mentioned something last time I called May," his voice gave explained how well he found that situation, "he mentioned something Sunday? Said to wear a suit and tie."
"Right, well apparently it's going to be a meeting of the Avengers on Earth right now," I explained, "Strange wants me to attend as his guest, so I guess I'll see you then."
"He wants you to attend?" Peter blinked, "why?"
"I'm from another world Peter, I've faced things you all haven't. I guess he wants me to speak on that," I half lied, "either way, I'll see you then."
"Okay, Sunday, two days from now, I-" he stopped as someone called out his name, "sorry, gotta go, boarding has just begun, I'll talk to you later Ben!"
"By Peter," I replied, cutting the call. I put the burner phone I bought away and took a deep breath, letting it out. Two days before I met this world's Avengers. Two days...well, I have time might as well dive back into my research.
I walked back inside and into the study. Strange was asleep in his chair, snoring as he had a book open on his lap. I smiled, the man seemed cold and distant at first and to most, but he cared. He was a doctor for a reason.
I went back over my findings for the night and revised most of them until I committed them to memory. However it still wouldn't be enough, I knew it wouldn't.
The thing is, I still don't know what exactly Hope's subconscious mind was perceiving a threat. She wasn't in any danger…
Maybe I'm looking at this too closely, too personally. Maybe I should stop looking at Hope's situation as something that's affecting my daughter, but as a third party.
So if so...how would I start? First step: identify her problem. Problem: her growth caused by a perceived subconscious threat. Second step: identify the threat. Threat: it's because…
I didn't even know what she's afraid off! All this time I assumed it was the Shi'ar Empire but that might not be the case!
Okay, now I have a lead, find out what's scaring her, for that I'm going to have to introduce Hope to magic sooner than I thought. I need to build up her mental mindscape to a degree of fluidity that eventually she and I will both be able to enter in, if not it would be harder, if not painful, to look into and scan her mind.
I got up quickly and walked around the sanctum, looking for Hope. I searched with my Web Vision and spotted her aura easily downstairs in the kitchen. I hurried over and stopped, looking on in shock and dismay.
"Hope? What are you doing?"
"EP!" Hope cried out. She turned slowly, locking eye contact with me, "n-nothing?"
CRASH!
The cookie jar that was levitating next to her came down, crashing against the floor and splintering into several pieces.
I blinked, looking between Hope and said cookie jar. "Honey...did you just levitate a cookie jar?"
"Ah...yes?"
"...Cool," I grinned, "when did you start doing that?"
"You're not mad?" Hope asked, blinking in confusion.
"No, why would I?"
"Because...well, I'm supposed to only have cookies after dinner," Hope said, her face sulking.
Oh god, this is a growing moment. Be a dad, be a dad, be a dad!
"Then why did you try to have one now?"
"...Because I wanted one?" Hope replied, her guilt spewing out.
"...Princess," I smiled, walking up to her and kneeling before her guilt little frame, "I don't want to yell at you, but you know you shouldn't have done that, right?"
"Yeah..."
"You didn't earn a cookie, Princess, right?"
"I have to earn it?"
I nodded, "yeah, like by finishing your vegetables or cleaning up the plates after eating. You get a cookie only by doing good things, do you understand?"
"I understand," she nodded slowly.
"Good," I reached up and scratched the back of her neck, cupped her cheeks and kissed her on her forehead, "now, why don't we clean up?"
I held out my hand and slowly the shattered pieces of the cookie jar and all the contents within began to rise up into the air and dance before us. I played with the piece a little before slowly assembling it onto the counter, all while Hope's eyes were peeled open, looking at the sight in awe.
"Can you teach me to do that?!" she asked eagerly.
I smiled, "is that what you want?"
"Yes! Please daddy! I want to know how to do that!"
"Well...okay, but it's going to be tough."
"I'll do it! Whatever it takes!"
"Okay...follow me," I took her hand in mind and walked towards the meditation room upstairs, "now Hope, here's the trick, to lift things up with your mind, you are going to have to first understand what exactly is in your mind. So to do that, we are going to meditate."
"What's that?"
"We are going to sleep."
"Yay!"
"And be awake at the same time."
"What?" the paradox seemed to make my little girl's brain hurt.
I grinned, "don't worry, it'll be fun."
Sunday:
I was dressed in a suit, which I honestly found odd. It was odd to be wearing such a...human thing after so long. For two years I wore either my suit or my UMF suit in something sportive and moveable, often of alien design. But now, I have it in the form of a suit.
It was blue three-button suit with a darker navy blue vest underneath. A crisp white shirt and a red tie. I tried to make it seem as formal as I could, adjusting the IMF's perimeters as best as I could, but still it felt so...odd.
Maybe I should have taken up Strange's offer to have a real suit done. But either way, I was dressed up.
I walked out of my room and walked across the Sanctum. I entered the main hall and walked down a flight of stairs to the ground floor landing, just in time to see Strange walk in with Wong, both suited up, looking very much like a pair of undertakers.
"Where's Hope?" Strange asked.
"Ah," I looked over my shoulder and sure enough my baby girl burst in threw the first floor flight of stairs, flying across the air with her arms spread out.
"Hey daddy! Hey Uncle Strange! Uncle Wong! Look what I made!" She twirled in the air, showing off her UMF suit which was now designed to look like a smaller version of Elsa's ice gown from Frozen.
Hope had binged the entirety of Disney over the week. I have never felt closer to my daughter than when she threatened to jump into the tv and spank Scar when the evil lion killed Mufasa. Truely, she's my daughter.
"You look very pretty Hope," Wong smiled, turning to me, "her powers are improving. How did you training go?"
"She's a quick learner," I smiled, ruffling my daughter's hair, which again she had made to look like the Ice Queen from Frozen.
"Daddy! My hair! Uncle Wong! Can you braid it again!" Hope whined, quickly hoping over to Wong who chuckled, quickly doing so.
"Exactly how quick of a learner is she?" Strange asked in a whisper as we stood away from Wong and Hope.
"Scary quick," I replied back, "she was able to use her internal energy in seven hours. It took me days."
"Children are quick learners. It's not too extraordinary. Can she form energy weapons?"
"whenever she tries she makes something else. Like is she forms a shield it comes out like a flower or an ice crystal. Her mind's unfocused, which I'm honestly grateful for."
"She's a child, a gifted child, but still a child. You needn't worry," Strange said tapping my shoulder.
"Ready!" Hope cried out, grinning as she spun on a foot, "let's go!"
"Alright, but one thing before that," I tapped her dress and activated the suit's holographic interface. I messed around with the colour wheel and quickly turned her blue gown green with a hint of gold lining, "there, green is more your colour anyway."
"But I want to be like Elsa!" Hope asked, fuming as best a five year old could.
I smiled, "well, I would rather you be like mommy. You know, green is her colour."
Hope blinked, three...two...one, a smile bloomed on her face, "okay! I like green too!"
Strange cleared his throat, "it's time, are you ready?" I took Hope's hand in mine and nodded. Strange held his hand out and began spinning it, forming a sparking portal before us, opening up into what looked like a peaceful lake side view.
We walked through and immediately were hit by a breath of fresh air. I took a deep breath and could feel the freshness hinted in the breeze, the air was clean, like the air back on Arachno. I could feel Hope relax at the nostalgic feeling, her cheeks blushing.
We were on a pier, looking into a lake that was wide and looked deep. On the pier was a large hexagonal canopy with decorations all around. Tables, chairs, food and what looked like a small motor boat with the Stark logo were all here.
People were moving about all over the place, waiters and servers who were dressed as such bringing about food for the buffet all around. They didn't even blink at the sight of teleportation, my guess is they were used to it. Which meant they were expecting it, meaning they were trained. Meaning...
"Doctor!" a familiar call came out. We turned and there, standing with Carol and an undisguised Talos, was Nick Fury himself.
"Director," Strange approached the man, shaking his hand, "glad to see you again, officially that is."
"Yes, it is," his eye immediately went to Hope and then to me. Fury walked passed Strange and extended his hand, "Mr. Parker. I hope this time you can stick around to answer more questions."
"Sure," I took his hand in mine, "that's what I'm here for..." I leaned in and whispered, "but if you even think about interrogating my daughter Fury I will rip out your other eye. Got that? She isn't an information source, you will not take advantage of her naivety. Do you understand?"
I pulled back, Fury looked at me and my daughter. He spoke, "I don't know how the Nick Fury of your world behaved, but I would never treat a child as a tool."
"I can hear your heartbeat Fury, I heard it increase just then. You're a damn good liar, but you aren't superhuman," I let go of his hand, "be civil and I will return the favour."
"Enough," Strange stepped in, "whatever issues you have can be put aside for today. Fury, are the others here?"
Fury said nothing, staring me down. Carol stepped in, "most of them arrived, they're in the cabin area."
"Oh, that's good, is this to be the feasting ground?" Wong asked, trying to divert the conversation. Fury and I followed Carol as she lead us out the pier and towards a large cabin.
The pier ended to the back of the cabin, from the outside it looked nice enough, the backyard had a swing and a couple of other fixtures, all well used. We walked through the open bay doors and inside I actually had to hold myself back from grinning like a loon.
Inside this cabin were the Avengers, all dressed in formal wear. They were gathered around a single couch in the middle of the living room and on that couch was an old man who was holding everyone's attention as he seemed to be telling them a story about his childhood.
"And then Becky here arrives just as I was getting my ass handed to me, again, and saved me life," the man smiled, turning to the man sitting next to him. Buck Barnes, he was looking at Bucky Barnes, which means he was-
"What happened next grandpa Steve?!" a little brunette girl sat on his lap, swinging her legs in excitement.
"Well then Bucky took me to the nearest hospital and got me fixed up," the old man said with a laugh, "if it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have lasted another minute."
"You had it handled," the man admitted with a smile.
"Maybe, but it's always better to have a friend," the old Steve Rogers replied.
"Ah-hem," Fury cleared his throat, the entire group turned and looked, surprised at seeing the man, "Strange has arrived ...along with guests."
The people turned to us, I recognized them all. Bucky and Sam Wilson sat on the couch with an older Steve Rogers. The little girl on his lap I didn't recognize, but I did notice the Hulk towering over them, like a bodyguard of sorts. Only this Hulk had one arm in a cast and looked far more like Banner than any Hulk before.
I saw Hawkeye with his family, Wanda stood with them. Scott Lang had Hope and a teenage girl who I assume is his kid grown up. T'Challa was there as well, with his sister Shuri. I also recognized Valkyrie, the dark skinned one, Pepper Potts and James Rhodes.
"Fury, Strange, Wong, glad you could make it," Steve said with a smile, before his old eyes turned to my daughter and me, "and...you are?"
"Ben!" I turned around, seeing Peter walked in, guided by Happy. Peter was grinning like a loon, waving at me, "so glad you could-EK!" he stopped midway, realising he had just walked in on a conversation. Everyone was staring at him, and me, he gulped and waved robotically, "h-hey."
"Queens," Steve smiled, "glad you could make it. I heard you did some good work in Prague."
"I had help," he turned to me with a smile.
"Which brings me back to my first question," Steve cleared his throat, "Who are you?"
"My guest," Strange spoke up, "I can vouch for him."
"With all due respect doctor, I would like to hear his story."
"And what a story it is," Fury mumbled under his breath, standing by the wall with his arms crossed.
The entire room was staring at me, it was like being a stranger in a veterans union, which I suppose this kind of was. After all, the people in this room did fight in a war together.
"My name is Peter Benjamin Parker," I smiled, "I'm from another Earth. On that world, I'm Spider-man."
The room was silent.
"Oh, and this is my daughter, Hope Leia Parker," I smiled, "say hi princess."
"Hi!" Hope smiled, waving her free hand enthusiastically.
"Wait, we name our kid Leia? After the Star Wars princess?" Peter blinked.
"Yeah, it's one of the reasons why I call her princess," I shrugged, "that, and she's an actual princess. Also don't even get me started on the 'Hope' pun I put in there, still can't believe Jean let me keep it..."
"I'm sorry, but what is going on?" Scott had a hand raised, "I thought you were Spider-Man," he pointed at Peter and then to me, "and now you're Spider-man?"
"Multiverse," I shrugged, "parallel worlds are a pain to understand. In my world I became Spider-man sooner and was recruited by Nick Fury to be a spy. And then the Chitauri invasion happened and I became an Avenger."
"I'm sorry, what?" Clint asked, clearly confused.
"He's from another world," Strange stepped in, "a world similar to ours in many ways and yet different. Which is exactly why I asked him to come today. Mrs. Stark," he turned to Pepper, "I understand this was meant to be a celebration, but I'm afraid what I have to say cannot wait."
"I...I understand," Pepper nodded. Wait...Mrs. Stark? Oh, she and Tony must have gotten together, finally. "Morgan," Pepper turned to the little girl in Steve's lap, "come on, let's go outside."
"But mom! I want to stay and listen! Grandpa Steve has the best stories!"
"Mom?" I whispered as it came to me immediately, Morgan..Morgan Stark. Holy shit...she's Tony kid, this world's version of Riri Williams of my world. Expect much younger...and white...and born to a united family….okay maybe she's nothing like Riri.
"Morgan, we can play with grandpa Steve later," Pepper smiled, taking the girl's hand in her, "come on, we can go outside."
"Perhaps it would be prudent to take Hope with you," Strange suggested, "the two are of the same age, they would get along well."
"I...I don't think that would be a good idea Doctor," Pepper stated protectively, sending Hope an apologetic smile, "come Morgan."
The little girl barely had a second to protest before Pepper pulled her away, taking her outside. The little brunette turned to see the Avengers on more time, forwing, she really wanted that story.
"Now," old man Rogers spoke, leaning back on his seat, the rest of the Avengers turning to me, "why did you bring him Strange?"
"Because he represents what comes next," Strange's statement sucked all the levity and relaxation the room had just moments ago.
"Thanos?" Clint was the first to ask, the name sending shudders through the people. It was impossible, a nightmare, but if possible...
"No...not this time," Strange answered to the people's relief, "but it does have to do with the Titan. Back on Titan, his home, I saw into the future to find the one instance where we won. I told Strak this and he...what I didn't tell him back then, was that in the one time we won, I went further ahead to see what other threats we would be facing, what other threats I would need watch for….only to see nothing."
"What does that mean?"
Strange hesitated, the concept of one's own mortality was a daunting idea to accept for anyone. "It means he dies," I spoke up, stepping in, "meaning whatever comes next...kills him."
"Strange," Wong looked surprised, "why didn't you-"
"-Because my death isn't important," Strange cut his friend off. He sighed, turning to the Avengers, "what's important is what I saw just before that."
"What?" a familiar voice asked as Wanda Maximoff of this world cut through the crowd.
"Aunty Wanda!" Hope cried out.
"Not again," I sighed, "Hope that-"
"Aunty!" Hope shoot up before I could stop her, flying across the air at Wanda, headbutting the woman who quickly grabbed Hope into her arms, shocked by the action. Everyone looked shocked at Hope's abilities, many mouths hanging open.
"I knew you would find Daddy and me!" Hope grinned, looking Wanda over, "you look really pretty with red hair!"
"I-I'm sorry?" Wanda blinked, looking at me in confusion.
"Hope, honey, that's aunty Wanda's twin," I sighed, rubbing my head, why did this keep happening? I walked over, taking Hope from Wanda, "remember Princess the people we see here aren't the same."
"What? But...why? Where did the real Aunty Wanda and Aunty Carol go?" Hope asked, slowly getting frustrated.
"They are back home Princess, don't worry, we'll see them soon," I kissed her forehead, holding her close, I turned back to the others, "I'm sorry, but it's been a...difficult few days. Being in a world with so many familiar faces...teaching the concept of a doppleganger to a five year old isn't an easy thing to do."
"You don't need to apologise son," Steve smiled, turning to Hope, "Hope is it?"
Hope didn't reply, shy after embarrassing herself. "Go on honey," I whispered, "you can trust him."
"Okay," she waved, "hi..."
Steve stood up, walking over with poise despite his age, "Hello, I'm Steve, do you like animals?"
"Yeah," Hope nodded.
"Well, if I remember correctly, there's a little deer family that comes to the lake to drink, would you like to see them?"
"I guess," she turned to me, asking for permission with her eyes.
I smiled, "okay, but only if you don't bother grandpa Steve."
"Okay!" Hope grinned, her mood doing a total 180. She pushed off my arms and floated in the air. She grabbed Steve's arm and began pulling, "let's go grandpa Steve!"
"Ha ha, okay young lady, but be careful, I'm not as young as I used to be," Steve nodded as he didn't even react to the flying child in front of him. He lead her outside, smiling at me, "I'll keep her safe."
"I'm sure you will Steve," I nodded.
"Cap," Sam Wilson spoke up, "what about Strange?"
"I'm too old to be useful Sam," Steve smiled, "besides, all of this, it's your headache now. I'm retired." And with that the man walked out, chukleing as Hope pulled his arm along.
"Your kid can fly?" Rhodey asked the moment Steve and Hope left.
"Yes, she gets it from her mother," I smiled, "looks like her too. Anyway Strange, you were saying."
"Yes...it's hard to describe," Strange sighed, "it was a war...one bigger than any I have ever seen. Entire universes fought each other and in the middle...was a man with an iron mask."
"Is it..." Rhodey asked slowly, the implications left hanging in the air.
"It isn't Stark," Strange shook his head, "the man in the iron mask caused this war we fight. He's a monster, evil incarnate. I tried to see more about this man but when I did ...he….he saw me."
"What?" T'Challa asked, confused.
"I was using an Infinity Stone to see into the future, like viewing an image through a mirror. I'm not even really in the timeline I view, but...he saw me. He saw me and he reached out and touched me...I...I didn't even know that could happen."
"What's his name?" Fury asked the only question on everyone's mind.
"I don't know...I tried to understand more about him, I only heard one word...Doom."
Every single inch of my body tensed up. I felt fear, anger, hatred and every other emotion I came to associate with that word.
"Did he have a cloak of green around him?" I spoke without realising.
Everyone turned to me, Strange looked confused, "no, it was white."
"Did he look like this?" I held out my hand as out of it came red psionic energy that took the form of the man who turned my life. A psionic version of Victor Von Doom stood before them all, designed as I last remembered him, psychotic and demeaning.
"H-how did you-"
"-Because I fought him before," I cleared the image, "he ruined my life."
"Wait, is that the supervillian guy you told me about? Victor something?" Peter spoke up.
I nodded, "he's the first villain I fought...and the one I honestly consider a deadlier threat than Thanos."
"He's human?" Hulk asked.
I nodded, "he is."
"Thanos was a God at one point, how could a human be deadlier?"
"Because what made Thanos deadly was the stones, what makes Doom dangerous is his mind," I shuddered, "I once banished him into another world similar to hell. But with HYDRA's and the Winter Soldier's help," Bucky flinched, "he managed to crawl his way back to my world with an army of monsters enslaved behind him. He's a human, but that same human single handedly turned heel into his personal paradise in less than a year's time."
Strange scratched his beard, "I was hoping you would know something, I never thought...the second time you fought him, with his army, did you win?"
I nodded, "with a price. He revealed my secret identity to the world, outing me to everyone. From that point on things were...not normal. My secret out I ended up finding out things that were being kept from me," I turned to Fury, "I then did some things I realise now might be reckless but...it's not important. Strange, when does this happen?"
"I am not sure," Strange replied, "I think in a few years time, it could be more, could be less but I cannot be sure."
"What's his plan exactly?" Sam asked me, "you literally know him the best out of us all."
I looked to Strange, "a white cloak you say?" Strange nodded, I cursed, only one memory of a white cloake Doctor Doom came to my mind, one reality where not only was he all powerful, but a god.
"In the multiverse, there was an event. I don't know the exact details or when it happened or even if it did, but during this time, all the multiverses crashed into each other, the strongest surviving, forming into this amalgamation of world called 'Battleword'. There Doom became God, not a god, like Thor, but God. Big 'G'. He ruled, people obeyed. He won."
"Did we stop him?" T'Challa asked as slowly the Avengers gathered around.
"I...I think we did, in a way," I groaned, my memories, they were...they were being affected. How? I've never had this foggy sense of remembering before, I always remembered but now...was someone doing this to me? Was someone-
"Peter!" Strange cried out, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, sorry I was thinking," I groaned.
"What can we do to stop him?" the Wanda of this world asked.
I looked to her, "nothing… or at least I don't know. I have knowledge of the multiverse, but what I know pales in comparison to what's actually out there. Right now, the example of ant trying to understand the meaning behind the ocean is very accurate."
"This Doom, I assume he's on your world, right?" Rhodney asked.
I shook my head, "I banished him to the Negative zone of my world. Unless he finds a way back, which I'm sure he will in time, he's going to be stuck there for the foreseeable future."
"Then it's simple, we go there, find him, stop," Carol spoke up, "we know where he is, let's just end this before he goes too far."
"Why? We don't even know if he did anything wrong in the first place," Sam spoke up, "he appeared in Strange's visions, that doesn't mean he's the bad guy in this situation."
"He calls himself Doom, of course he's the bad guy!" Scott cried out.
"Actually his name's Doom, plus he's a doctor, so Doctor Doom is his actual name," Peter said, giving Strange a thumbs up, to which the man sighed.
"That may be, but he still hasn't done anything wrong yet," Sam insisted, "that's like arresting someone for a crime they haven't committed, only we don't know if what he did was even a crime."
"Peter said he ruled over people like a God. Sounds like a dictator to me," Carol spoke up, staring Sam down, "and doesn't carrying that shield means you go after dictators?"
Sam narrowed his eyes, "no, it means you go after those people who have started wars, not those who haven't yet done so and are innocent."
"Enough!" Hawkeye cried out, grabbing everyone's attention. The man stood calm, you could feel an edge to him, tempered by his wife's hand on his arm, "this arguing is pointless. Peter, the older one," he turned to me, "what kind of man is he?"
"Arrogant...prideful, he's...he's a twisted version of Tony Stark," that got their attention, "he's what Tony would be if he didn't have Tony's love for his fellow man. If he never felt the guilt that Tony did that drove him to be Iron Man. He's what Tony Stark would have been...if he didn't have the Avengers."
The silence was deafening. The tension was high, and just then I heard a little girl scream, "daddy!"
"Hope!" I didn't even think, my suit transformed into my Spider armour and I ran out of the house, blasting towards where I heard her cry out.
I flew down by the lake side, Hope was in Steve's arms while Morgan was in Pepper's. The two adults moved the girls away from the lake, and there, crawling out of the water was a figure in red and blue with black webs over his body.
"Is that another Spider-man?" Wanda asked as she flew up beside me.
"Yes," I replied as I landed and rushed to the crawling man in the red and blue suit. I pulled him out of the lake, helping him towards a rock, propping him up to the side.
I turned around, the rest of the Avengers were there, Strange and Wong in uniform, T'Challa suit transformed into his panther suit while Shuri's bracelets turned into gauntlets.
"Peter?" I asked the man, guessing his name.
"Y-you know me?" he asked, panting as he held his side, which was bleeding badly.
"Yeah, I do, or did the mask not make it obvious?"
"...no, but that joke did ...you're another Spider-man aren't you?" he asked, his tone not having any surprise to it.
"Yeah, this is Peter," I motioned the Peter Parker of this world to join us.
"Right, two Peter Parkers, you must be meeting you up for the first time," he summarised, grunting in pain, "who are the others behind you?"
"The Avengers."
"Who?"
"The world's mightiest heroes dude," Peter said, looking at me in confusion, "why would he not know about them?"
"Because not every universe has the Avengers," I replied, turning to the man and groaning, "you need help, we'll get you patched up and then"
"-No time," he hissed, pulled out a purple and silver spider shaped bracelet on his hand, "put this on and run, they are coming and you can't stop them."
"Who's coming?" Strange asked as everyone grew tense.
Suddenly there was a crack heard as a flash of light nearly blinded us all. We looked up, blinking away the blindness, as a massive black hole formed above the lake.
"Run!" Spider-Man cried out, shoving the bracelet into my hands, "run, get help from the others!"
"Others?" Peter asked, confused.
"Yes, others! There are more Spider-men and women out there! Find them! Go! They want you, they will kill anyone who stands in their way! If you want to protect your friends, then run!"
"We can protect ourselves," Bucky assured the man.
"You don't understand! Run! Run before-"
There was another crack of thunder as suddenly a figure came down from the portal, crashing into the lake water before anyone could make it out. The portal vanished and everything was quiet.
"Hope, fly away, now!" I cried out, my spidey senses buzzing.
"But daddy-"
"Now Princess!" I cried out, panic settling in as slowly my senses began growing as growing. Suddenly the lake exploded as something jumped out, landing a distance from us, throwing around mud and dust as it landed.
"Well, isn't this a surprise," the voice was british, mockingly so. It sent chills down my spine as it began to laugh, "I found three...no, four spiders when I was just looking for one. This is a treat indeed."
He stepped out of the dust and smoke, revealing himself to be tall, tall as the Hulk. He was thin as a rake but I doubted that represented his true strength. He had his hair slicked back and dressed himself like a British aristocrat from the Victorian era, ascot and all.
He smiled, his red eyes gleaming with joy, "now, which one of you delectable wall crawlers wish to be feasted on first by the great-"
KRAKOOM!
Lightning burst out of my fist as I rushed him, planting a fist across his jaw and sending his head flying off his body.
The Spider-man on the ground had his jaw visibly hanging, "what the fu-"
"-Language," old man Steve hissed, "there are children around."
I stood over the decapitated body, blinking, "well...that was easy," I turned to the injured Spider-Man, "what was his name again?"
"I-ah...I think it was Morlun."
"Oh...was he supposed to be strong?"
"Yes…."
"... really?"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone