บท 12: The Anomaly

The portal shimmered and its edges crackling with energy as the new figure emerged. He began standing slowly as the portal began to close behind him.

Peter and Gwen already donned their masks because their spider-sense tingling as soon as this guy appeared.

Peter's eyes widened in recognition. "Fuck," he muttered as he recognised the newcomer in the blue and red suit.

Gwen and America remained cautious, eyeing the stranger warily.

Gwen broke the silence with a tone that is a mix of curiosity and wariness. "Putting the fact that your entry looked cool aside, we have some questions. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The newcomer turned as his head is facing Peter and America. "I'm Miguel O'Hara, leader of the Spider-Society," he introduced himself. "We monitor and protect the multiverse from anomalies and potential threats."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Great," she quipped sarcastically, "another guy who can travel across the multiverse. Is there any travel agency for going on a tour into the multiverse nowadays or something? Cause I could really use a vacation from all this to cool my head."

Miguel's expression remained serious. "I'm here because an anomaly exists in this universe. A being that shouldn't be here has appeared."

Peter's eyes narrowed as he had an idea about who he is talking about. Gwen asked even though she had an idea about who that is, "Who's this anomaly?"

When Miguel pointed directly at Peter and America direction, Gwen looked at them and then turned back to Miguel. "She's not here because she wanted to. It was an accident. We are helping her gain better control of her powers. After that, she can go home."

Miguel sighed. "There's a misunderstanding. I'm not talking about America Chavez." He locked eyes with Peter. "I'm talking about you, Peter Parker. You, who have been in contact with the symbiote. You are the anomaly in this universe."

Gwen and America's eyes widened in shock.

Peter already expected this and narrowed his eyes.

"Wait... how did you know about him being Peter?" Gwen asked as she narrowed her eyes.

Miguel replied matter-of-factly, "In all the multiverse, Peter Parker is mostly Spider-Man. But in some universes like this, there's you, Gwen Stacy, as a female version of Spider-Man."

Gwen's eyes widened, and Miguel continued, "I know more, but that's not the main topic here."

As they were talking, unnoticed by anyone, a very small portion of the symbiote separated from Peter's back and silently slid into a crack in the ground.

"That's impossible! I've known Peter all my life. He is not an anomaly, you're lying!" Gwen lost her composure and yelled at him.

Peter placed his hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Gwen. Let's hear what he has to say first."

Miguel spoke in a deep voice, "This is neither the place nor the time to discuss this issue. I need you to come with me. Whether by free will or by force is your choice."

Gwen was ready to beat the shit out of this guy who suddenly appeared spouting nonsense, but Peter stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

She looked at him as he said, "Let's talk more about this. But you can't expect us to simply follow you. After all, suddenly a guy appears and wants to take me because I'm some kind of anomaly in the universe. Even you should know that sounds absurd."

Suddenly, a voice came from his watch, and a hologram appeared on Miguel's shoulder. "They are correct, you know."

"Lyla, we've already wasted enough time."

Lyla sighed, "Sorry about this. This guy is a pain in the ass to deal with."

Gwen had an understanding look. "You had it rough, huh?"

Miguel's eye twitched slightly. "Enough. So, what's your choice? Do you want to come willingly or by force?"

Peter spoke up after thinking for a minute, "Okay, I'll go with you."

"Peter..." Gwen almost shouted at him.

"It's okay, Gwen. We need to know what he's talking about, and to learn the truth, I need to go with him," Peter explained calmly.

"What if that guy's lying... What if he has other intentions..."

"I can take care of him. After all, I am stronger than him." Peter smiled and looked at Miguel, who had crossed his arms.

"If you're going then so am I," Gwen declared.

Peter sighed, knowing better than anyone what she felt now.

He turned to Miguel and said, "Yeah, but first America needs to go to our house."

"She can't stay here for too long," Miguel cut him off.

"Don't be such a jerk. Sorry, you are already a jerk - don't be a heartless jerk," Gwen said as she turned to America, who insisted she wanted to come and help them.

But Peter and Gwen managed to convince her and all of them went to Gwen's home.

Helen opened the door to find Gwen, Peter, and a young girl she hadn't met before.

"Mom, this is America. She's a friend from... school," Gwen said, placing a hand on America's shoulder. "Would it be okay if she stays here tonight? Peter and I need to take care of something important."

Helen looked at the nervous-looking girl and then at Peter and Gwen's serious expressions. "Of course, but what's going on? Where are you two heading?"

"Just a... field trip thing," Peter answered with an awkward smile. "It came up suddenly, but we should be back by tomorrow."

"Yeah, it's for a special project," Gwen added quickly. "We wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

America shifted uncomfortably but tried to appear normal. "Thank you for having me, Mrs. Stacy."

Helen's eyes narrowed slightly – mother's intuition telling her there was more to the story. "Gwen, Peter, are you sure everything's alright?"

"Everything's fine, Mom," Gwen assured her, giving her mother a quick hug. "America's really cool. Maybe you two can bake something? She's never tried your famous chocolate chip cookies."

Helen smiled warmly at America, despite her concerns. "Well, we can't have that, can we?"

"We really need to go now," Peter said as he observed Miguel standing at around the corner. "Thanks again, Mrs. Stacy."

"Stay safe, you two," Helen called after them as they hurried down the steps. "And America, make yourself at home."

As they walked away, America watched from the doorway, fighting the urge to follow them. Gwen turned back one last time, giving her a reassuring nod before they disappeared around the corner.

(A few moments earlier...)

Lyla asked Miguel, "What if Peter tries something funny in the society?"

Just as Peter and Gwen are introducing America to her mother. Miguel and Lyla are hiding in the corner.

Miguel smirked. "There are about 100 Spider-Men there. What can one do against them? Besides we know the weakness of symbiotes and we can open a portal to the training room, you should install the necessary equipment incase things go south."

.....

As Peter and Gwen came to the corner where Miguel is, the Great Sage's voice came to Peter's mind, announcing that the analysis of the bonding skill was complete and new skills had been created.

Peter tried to hide his smile after looking at the skill description.

After that, Miguel asked Lyla to open the portal. As it opened, he turned to Peter and Gwen, eyeing Peter specifically. "Don't get any funny ideas." And with that, all of them went through it.

Moments later, the portal closed.