章節 94: Family Matters
"He's needs medical attention, quickly, Dr. Banner, could you do something?" I motioned to the bleeding Spider-man.
"Don't worry, I'll take him to Tony's lab, he always has medical equipment close. He'll be fine," Bruce assured me, "Sam, Rodhes, I could use a hand."
"We got him," Rhodey replied as he and Sam Wilson helped pick the injured spider totem up.
"Oh my god, Shrek's real in this world?" the injured guy replied, coughing into his mask, "damn that's awesome."
I turned to the young still standing Peter Parker, "I'm leaving Hope with you Pete, take care of her."
"R-right," he replied, his eyes going back down to the Spider-man taken inside, "is that really another version of us?"
I nodded, "he is," I slowly transferred Hope from my arms to his, facing her away from the currently decapitated body that Shuri and T'Challa were currently covered with some kind of black material Shuri drew out from her back pack.
"Princess, can you stay with uncle Pete for now?" I whisper, her eyes shifting from me to the body she knew was just behind us, but unable to see from the corner of her eye.
"Okay...can I play with Morgan?"
I smiled, "sure, go ahead. Be safe ok?"
"'K," she replied as I nodded to Peter. He quickly took her inside where I knew Pepper, Steve and Morgan were waiting to receive her.
"Do you know who it is that came after him?" Hawkeye asked as he sent his family away, looking at the white and purple wristband in my hand, "and what that is?"
I frowned, looking at the watch of sorts. It was metallic silver with the face being in the shape of a purple spider. I recognized it instantly, and the name Morlun.
"It's trouble," I replied, turning to Shuri, the black cloth she placed over the body seemed to come alive as holographic numbers and figures appeared on the surface, displaying information about the body underneath, displaying things like genetic makeup, body age and even a spectral analysis on different parts of his body.
"This man is impossible," Shuri whispered. I looked over her shoulder and saw what she was gawking at his age. According to her readings, the body was only 5 months old. Which meant either Morlun was like Hope and aged quickly, or…
"A clone," I spoke out loud, drawing the eyes of the remaining Avengers of this Earth. "His name is Morlun, an Inheritor. A sort of… cosmic vampire. Only he doesn't feed on blood."
"What does he feed on?" Strange asked as he, Wong and the Wanda of this world listened in carefully.
"The energy produced by Spider totems," I whispered.
"Totems?" Wanda asked.
"Whenever a human takes on characteristics of certain animals, they become a totem of said animal. For example, every Black Panther that ever held the mantle would be a Panther Totem. I suspect you know your connection via Bast?" T'Challa nodded, understanding what I meant, "well, like that I and your Peter Parker are totems of spiders, a Spider Totem. And a Spider Totem has a special place in the multiverse."
"What position do you hold?" T'Challa asked.
"Our energy weaves the multiverse into existence, kind off," I sighed, rubbing my nose, "it's hard to explain. There's this source of energy called the Web of Life. Morlun and his family, the Inheritors, feed on this energy. We, Spider Totems, can draw on that energy with every breath we take, hence when the Inheritors are feeding on us exclusively."
"So we're now dealing with Spider-man eating vampires?" Wanda Maximoff summed it up.
I chuckled, "Spider-men and Spider-woman actually."
"Either way, this sounds serious," Strange said, summoning a magical circle over the body, "and I suspect your right about him being a clone Peter, his body has no anchor in it, it's husk."
"An anchor?" Shuri asked, confused.
"Every soul has an anchor in a body, binding the two together. Even in death, the anchor would remain, proof that the soul and body were once one. In a metaphysical sense...it's like a chair for the soul to sit on inside the body. This one however, it has no chair, it's...wrong."
"...Sure, makes total sense," Shuri sighed, shaking her head, "magic, why can't things ever be logical?"
"Magic or not, it's dangerous. I think it's best if we all leave," Hawkeye replied, looking over his shoulder to his family who were looking over with concern, "I just got them back, I cannot ...I'm sorry kid, but I have my priorities."
I nodded, "I understand, go, keep them safe."
"I'll have a SHIELD escort take you home Clint. We'll take care of the body," Fury spoke up, finally holstering his weapon, turning to me, "you should go and check on the new… Spider-man."
I turned to him and narrowed my eyes, he wanted to see how to weaponize it, maybe even have some scientists figure out how it worked. If I was free I would have stopped him, but right now, I have bigger fish to fry.
Clint wish us well and departed, promising Strange if Doom ever became a concern, he would return. But until then he needed to keep his family safe. He would not lose them again.
I walked back inside with Strange and Wanda, T'Challa and his sister decided to remain outside, talking to Fury about the body's composition, obviously curious about the interdimensional vampier's genetic makeup.
I found Pepper, Peter and Steve with the girls in the living room, Hope and Morgan playing with Morgan's toys, which were a mix of Iron-man action figures and barbie dolls. Morgan was Iron Man, and the armored hero was currently saving Morgan and her blonde haired dolls from a burning building.
"Where are they?" I asked Pepper, watching over my daughter and she pretended to be drowning, asking Morgan to save her.
"In the garage," Pepper replied, "Tony's lab."
I raised an eyebrow at that, but then again this is Tony Stark we're talking about here, it would be strange if he didn't have a lab in his garage.
"I'm coming with," Peter replied, quickly getting on his feet, "don't try to stop me."
I raised an eyebrow, "why would I?"
Peter blinked, "I… I don't know. Usually people would try and stop me ...just reflex I guess."
"You're a spider totem, this involves you as well," I told the young boy.
"I'll show you to the garage," Wanda replied, taking the lead.
As we moved away however, I heard Morgan sigh and say, "I wish he could fly like my dad," she wiggled her toy, "I asked mom to get me one but she said she couldn't."
"I can make him fly!" Hope cried out, excited, holding out her hand and focusing on the action figure. She focused and suddenly the Iron man toy flew out of Morgan's hand, much to the girl's shock.
It began to fly around over head, Hope moved the joints around like it was alive, much to everyone's shock and Morgan's awe.
"That is so cool!" Morgan cried out, quickly holding out her War Machine toy, "can you do this one next?"
"I can try!" Hope smiled, excited to finally be playing with a child her age, and maybe even becoming friends.
"How is she doing that?" Peper asked me, her eyes going wide.
I shrugged, "she gets it from her mother. Who's a psychic," I turned out Hope, "don't over work yourself too much honey! Remember, to pace yourself."
"Okay dad!" Hope replied back, not really paying attention as she made the two action figures flying in the air fight each other, and it looked like Iron Man was winning.
"Come on," Wanda motioned us to continue, walking away from the living room. She leads us down a long corridor on the right, opening the door at the far end.
The lab was exactly how one imagined any lab of Tony Stark's to be, equal parts messy and organized with bleeding edge technology littered all over the place. Rags were thrown all over the place, papers covering fifty thousand dollar monitors and equations written all over the surfaces.
Tony had a unique view on being organized in any universe it would seem.
The injured Spider-man was on a table, Hulk, Rhodey, Sam and Bucky watching over him. They had lifted his shirt and attached several wires to him along with an IV drip. A steady heartbeat ringing out from the machines attached to him as his vital signs were hovering over his body.
"How is he?" Strange asked, walking to Bruce's side, looking over the readings, his years as a doctor coming back to him.
"He's stable," Bruce replied, "a lot of internal bleeding and a nasty cut on his side," motioning to a gash on his left abdomen that was covered with some kind of grey material, "but the nanobots are already working on replacing the tissue."
"How long till I'm back in full operation Dr. Shrek?" the Spider-man asked, getting a chuckle from Rhodey.
"Ten minutes," Bruce replied, grumbling, "and my name is Bruce. Use it."
"Right, got it," he turned to me and Peter, even behind that mask I could smell his surprise, "so there are two of you there. Damn, thought I imagined that."
"That was five minutes ago," Peter by my side replied.
"Yeah, but I also saw the big guy over there knock the literal head off an Inheritor like he was made out of cardboard so you'll forgive me for thinking I was hallucinating," Spidey snorted.
"Are they really that strong?" Bucky asked.
"Stronger," Spidey replied, anger lifting into the air, "when Morlun came for me he… he killed a train car full of people to get my attention. He derailed it into the side of a building. I was so busy trying to pull people out, I didn't notice him get the drop on me. He's a…. A monster unlike anything I ever fought before."
"We know," I replied, walking next to him, crossing my arms, "and you said something about 'meeting up for the first time', care to explain?"
"Right, well, first you guys know there's a multiverse, right?" Spider-Man asked.
Peter shrugged, "obviously," pointing at me.
"Well forgive me smart mouth, for some of us, hoping dimensions is still a new concept," I could almost see his eyes rolling, "anyway, basically a few days ago another version of us arrived on my Earth, called himself the Superior Spider-Man," I recognized the term, it's what Otto Octanius called himself when he took over the body of the main timeline 616 Spider-Man, "and kind of told me about these beings called the Inheritors. They are-"
"-Interdimensional vampires that feed on Spider totems, continue," Wanda cut him off.
Spider-Man blinked, turning to her and then me, "okay...ah...well, this Superior dude, totally narcissistic that he calls himself that by the way, offered me a chance to fight beside him. Well, not offer, more like demanded. He held out that purple watch thing and told me it would take me through worlds."
"You said yes?" Peter asked.
"No, I said no," Spidey snorted, we all looked at him like he had lost his mind, "look, I know what you're thinking, but you have to remember I didn't even know Morlun was real at this point! I think this was some dude cosplaying as me, in a slightly more advanced suit, and talking crazy!"
"A reasonable assumption," Strange called out.
"Right, thanks Harry Potter," Spidey gave a thumbs up, turning to Peter and me, "by the way, has anyone ever told you you guys have weird friends?"
"All the time," I shrugged, "now, what's this about meeting up?" I asked, pushing the question.
"Getting to it handsome," Spidey snorted, "anyway, a few days after that Morlun came, tore my city apart and tried to eat me. I figured the watch that Superior guy gave me was real, luckily I had kept it. I opened a portal randomly and jumped through, Moruln followed and, well, you know the rest."
I hummed, "did the Superior Spider-man say what the Inheritors wanted?"
"Ah, to eat us?" Spider-Man said, "I mean, duh. I thought you knew about these guys."
"I do. But the fact that the Superior Spider-man was recruiting people means something. That guy's an asshole, but he's smart. He wouldn't be making plans of attack unless something was going on. Something the Inheritors were doing that was out of the ordinary."
"Traveling dimensions to Spider-men aren't out of the ordinary for them?" Rhodey asked.
"No," all three Spider totems in the room replied.
The soldier blinked before turning to Sam and Bucky, "you were right, the kid is more annoying that he's worth."
"I resent that statement," Spider-man pointed out.
"So what now?" Peter said, turning to me, "what's the plan?"
"I'm not sure," I replied, humming, "we need more information. Whatever the Inheritors are doing to warrant Superior's attention is big. And it might have something to do with how Hope and I were brought into your world…. Either way, Hope and I need to move. Staying in this world will only place it in further danger. With this device," I held up the silver and purple watch, "I can get back home. Once I get Hope safe, I can return and we can deal with this situation properly."
"Ah, there might be one small problem," Spider-man spoke up, "looking at it now, I'm pretty sure that things out of gas."
I tapped the screen and sure enough it failed to start, I turned to him, "you didn't know that when you handed it off to me and told us to run?"
"In my defence, I was pretty out of it. Hopping between worlds in one hell of a ride."
I sighed, "well, that's no problem. After all we are in Tony's lab, I doubt we could find a place with tech on this Earth," I paused, turning to Rhodey and Bruce, "you guys don't think Pepper would mind right?"
"I don't think she would," Rhodey replied, "but either way I'll ask her for you."
"Thanks," I nod.
"And I'll help you with the watch," Bruce offered, "it may not be the same, but I did help Tony make a time machine, so I'm not totally useless."
"You guys have a time machine?!" Spider-Man cried out, slowly pulling himself up, "like Back To the Future?"
"Actually, that's not how time travel works," Bruce pointed up, pushing up his glasses, which even to me made him seem like a smug nerd ready to give a lecture.
"My God, please don't let him start lecturing us on time travel, he never stops!" Rhodey cried out as he quickly walked out, "you ruined time travel movies for me Bruce!"
"Hey! It's not my fault! I don't control the laws of physics!"
"But seriously, time travel? Its real?" Spider-Man asked again, pushing the subject.
"Yes, we used it to save our friends and stop a warlord named Thanos," Bruce explained, motioning to the people around the room, "everyone here was brought back."
"You brought people back?!" Spider-Man cried out, jumping off the table, ripping the wires off him. He grabbed Bruce by the collar, pulling him down, "where is it?! I need to use it!"
"Dude! What are you doing?!" Peter cried out as he tried to pull him off, Spidey refused to let go, holding onto Bruce's collar for dear life, the giant leaned forward, doing his best not to ripen his shirt apart.
A spark went off in my mind. I looked at him, really looked at him. His costume, I had seen it before. The way the legs of his spider logo stretched down, the size of his lens, his own body shape, I had seen it all before.
"Peter, you can't bring Gwen back," I whispered.
He stopped, he turned, "you don't know that."
"There is no way to save her Peter, time travel can't change the past."
"He just told me everyone in this room was saved by time travel," he whispered.
"Because they went back and bought something that could bring the dead back to life."
"Where is it?"
"It no longer exists in this world," I reply, "and if it did, you can't use it in your world. You can't bring her back Peter…. I'm so sorry."
"I...I…." he reached up, pulling off his mask. His hair was longer he even had a beard. But his face was unmistakable, this Spider-man was from the Amazing Spider-Man universe, this version of Spider-man was Andrew Garfield.
And his Gwen Stacy was dead.
"Wanda," I turned to the woman whose hands were glowing red, she was ready to step in, "he needs some space. Could you..."
She sighed, "I understand," she deactivated her powers and walked over to the injured Peter Parker. She placed a hand on his shoulder, "come, let's get you outside. Fresh air will help...a little."
She took him outside, he didn't put up much resistance as she did. As the door closed behind them, everyone turned to me.
"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing, we were just waiting for you to explain to us how exactly you know all that," Sam replied, crossing his arms.
"All of what?" I played dumb, hoping they would back off.
"How you knew about this Gwen girl for one," Bucky said, frowning, "who apparently died in another dimension."
"Or that Superior Spider-man he mentioned, you didn't surprised to hear he was involved, you even spoke as if you knew him," Bruce added on.
"He has his secrets," Strange replied, stepping up in my defence, "I hope me vouching for him can promise you he means us no harm."
"No offence, doctor, but I believe we need to know," Sam turned to me, "how do you know all of this?"
I sighed, "because ...because I saw it. I am a Sorcerer, like Strange," I formed a magical circle in mid air to demonstrate, much to the surprise of everyone in the room, save Peter and Strange, "but I'm also what is known as a Sorcerer of the Web. I'm able to see into other universes, which is how I know the things I do."
"So you can see every universe?" Bucky asked, surprise in his face.
"No, that would be impossible. I can see most universes, and even then from time to time. Like in this one, I could see only until Thanos snapped his fingers, and then after that nothing. I had to be filled in when I arrived."
"Okay...well then… is there a universe where we're all bad?" Sam asked, everyone turned and stared. The man shrugged, "what, I'm curious."
I nodded, "there are worlds like that. There are many worlds like that. I could talk about them forever, but right now," I held up the portal wristband, "I need to get working on this."
"Right, place it on the table," Bruce motioned to the same table Peter was lying on just moments ago.
I did so and immediately the scanners on the table reversed engineered the watch and created an enlarged holographic replica over it. Bruce and I poured over the schematics and immediately I realised one thing: "this is going to take a while."
With Wanda:
She had followed this other Peter Parker. She had explained about the stones, he listened, he nodded and when she was done he stayed silent after saying one word, "great."
Pepper had leant him a pair of jeans and a Black Sabbath t-shirt to change into. Obviously his own suit was torn and useless and he had nothing else to wear. He thanked her and changed, now he sat outside, staring off into the distance.
It had been twenty minutes since then and he had done nothing but look out at the lake. She wanted to give him some space, she wanted to not care, but he hurt in his voice, she recognized it.
She didn't want to get involved, she didn't want to help because she feared she would make things worse. But she found herself joining him, sitting next to him, "what was her name?"
"Gwen Stacy," he replied, "she was… we were dating."
"I see ...how did she die?"
"...I failed her….she needed me and I…. I failed her," he whispered, wiping away a lone tear, "it's been a year since then...but I still...it still feels like… like-"
"-Like someone reached inside and ripped out your heart," Wanda finished.
He turned, "you lost someone as well?"
Wanda nodded, "my brother...Pietro. He...we died saving our people. And ...Vision..."
Peter's eyes widened, "the synthetic android you said held the mind stone? You and he..."
Wanda smiled, "I know what you're going to say, yes, he is a machine."
"I wasn't going to say that," Peter replied, Wanda raised an eyebrow, "ookay, maybe I was. But you have to admit it's not common to hear someone falling in love with an AI. Well, that's not true, I can't live without my phone so I guess it is possible..."
"Many people didn't see it that way," Wanda replied, "but he was human…. More human than most people I know."
Peter slowly placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, "you told me he sacrificed himself for you...he sounds pretty human to me."
Wanda nodded, "thank you…it's been months since he died, nearly a year but I can't…," he reached down and held her hand in his squeezing tightly.
"Life of a hero," he spat out, "you don't save who matters."
"Yes….but you save someone, in the end.. I suppose that's why we have to do it ..."
"You know...my uncle used to say something like that..."
Five hours later:
Otto Octavius is a genius. No, scratch that, a mad genius.
The portal wasn't a portal, it was a fucking knife that tore into the very fabric of reality and ripped it open to form a passage between worlds. It literally tore open the multiverse a new one. The universe would heal itself, sure, but doing so damaged the very fabric of the Web of Life.
But it was effective and that's what really mattered.
I had the help of course. Bruce helped with the physics side, Strange with the metaphysical side, Peter with the watch's mechanics and Shuri, who joined us later, enjoyed rearranging the circuitry to make the system more effective.
It took five of this world's smartest minds to figure out what one man did on his own, and even then we had to divide up the work amongst us to do it. But it was done, we managed to figure out the system, how it works and most important of all, how to recharge it.
It was night time by now and we were exhausted, dropping down all over the lab with a now fully functional portal watch sitting in the middle of the lab.
"Thank you all," I said, exasuhted, "I don't know if I could have finished this without your help."
"A chance to work with a device that can travel dimensions? You would need to fight me to keep me away," Shuri replied with a grin.
"Same," Peter grinned, "I mean, I know I'm not all that smart like you guys, but I'm happy to help."
"Not that smart? You're being too cruel on yourself," Shuri replied, "your designs were brilliant, if a little basic. I've followed your skills for some time Spider-man, eh, this world's," she said, looking at me, "tell me though, how did you manage to get your hands and feet to stick to walls like you do? I tried to make a pair of advishve boots but the chemical mixture I used didn't seem to deactivate quickly like yours do."
Peter blinked, "ah, well, it's not tech, it's me," Peter replied placing his bare hand on a piece of paper and raising it up, "it's not a chemical, I don't think."
Shuri blinked, "dude, then do you also produce your webs?"
"Oh, no, I made those," Peter tapped the wristbands on his hand, activating his web shooters, "see?" firing a small stand up into the ceiling.
"Dude, we need to talk," Shuri's eyes lit up, I could smell the excitement rolling off her.
Just then we heard a knock on the door as Pepper and T'Challa walked in. Pepper looked around and asked Bruce, "is it done?"
"We fixed it," Bruce replied, "what about Fury and the others?"
"Scott and Clint left a while ago. Fury, Carol and their...alien friend," Peper said unsure as she had just met Talos, "left with that vampire's body an hour ago, but told me to call them if anything else happened. They left a few agents behind but most are gone."
"It is getting late Shuri, we must be leaving," T'Challa said. I looked behind him and sure enough his personal bodyguard, the blad all female Dora Milaje were there, obviously summoned and the invasion in a seemingly secure location.
"But brother! I had promised Peter we could talk!" Shuri whined like a child, it seemed when it comes to discovering new tech every genius' default setting is to become a child. Not that I am one to say, I remember Susan having to scold me many times whenever I refused to get sleep while working on projects.
"Shuri it is late and I am sure Mrs. Stark is tired of us intruding on her home," T'Challa pushed, "you haven't had lunch Shuri, it's almost ten."
"It is?" Shuri blinked.
"It is?" the rest of us replied, save Strange who maintained his composure.
"It is," Peper replied, smiling, "honestly, if I didn't know any better I would say Tony designed this lab so that anyone who worked in it started to lose track of time like he would..."
"Sounds like him," I whispered picking up the portal watch, though I suspect Peter and Strange heard me, I turned to Pepper, "where's Peter? Ah, the other one, the one with the hair."
"He does have oddly nice hair," Peter mumbled, running a hand through his own.
Pepper shrugged, "Wanda said she would take care of him so I lost track after they walked to the lake."
"Right, and Hope? I hope she didn't give you any trouble," I heard everyone groan at the pun.
"She didn't give me any trouble," Pepper replied, "actually...she helped a lot. Morgan hasn't been the same since Tony...since he died. She's been locked in her own world and I hoped meeting you all today would cheer her up. Hope really helped her come out of her shell, they are just about to eat dinner if you want to join us.
"Actually you should all join us," Pepper said, turning to even T'Challa, "it may not be something prepared for a king, but I make a mean pot roast."
"I wouldn't wish to impose," T'Challa replied.
"You wouldn't be," Pepper replied, "we have plenty of food from lunch and something tells me if you take Shuri away now you won't hear the end of it."
T'Challa sighed, "yes, she can be so difficult sometimes," Pepper nodded, completely understanding having to deal with Tony's nonsense for nearly all her adult life.
"I'm right here!" Shuri cried out, annoyed.
"I think dinner is a good idea," I said, picking up the watch and putting it on, "but after that we should leave. We don't know how far the Inheritors will be, if Morgan's body is a clone, he could return here-"
"I'm going to stop you right there," Pepper shushed me, "while we're eating, no talk or supervillain, world domination or any kind of superhero talk, understand?"
I blinked, "but if he returns-"
"I already had FRIDAY activate the House Party protocol, if he or someone with the same clothing sense, steps foot on this property again he'll have over two hundred drones one his ass before he can sparkle."
"I don't think he's the kind of vampire that sparkles," Shuri whispered.
"So none of this superhero talk, we're just going to have a normal dinner, understand?" Pepper stared us down, none tried to argue.
We walked out of the lab and into the dinning room where a table big enough for twelve greeted us. Pepper quickly began giving out orders and everyone, including T'Challa, moved.
The Dora Milaje stifled their smiles, watching their king listen to the Strak woman, guess Pepper earned that respect by being able to put up with Tony, helping shape him into the man he became.
"Peter," Pepper called out, looking at me, "can you bring the girls down? They should be still awake playing in Morgan's room. First floor, third door on the right."
"Will do," I walked to the stairs, just as Wanda and Peter, Andrew Garfield version, came down. "Better?" I asked him.
"A little," he replied, looking at Wanda, a smile shared between the two, "she helped."
I blinked, sniffing the air, even without super smell I could make out the scent of sex. I blinked, "please tell me you two used condoms."
Wanda's face went red, matching Peter's, "ah, I, well..."
"Look, not judging here, I get it, moving on from tragedy is a good thing and I know of all people you two deserve a break. I just hope the both of you also understand getting accidentally knocked up when your partner lives in another world makes things like visiting very difficult."
"Dude!" Peter cried out, "seriously?!"
I shrugged, walking past them, "seriously. And no judging, after all I'm the last person to talk about complicated romantic relationships. But seriously though, moving on is good, it's healthy."
"Please, shut up," Peter grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
I snickers, "whatever. Anyway, dinner's ready downstairs, everyone else is waiting for you."
I walked up to the first floor and found Morgan's room, it was the door painted red and silver with her name on it. I pushed it open slowly and immediately noticed the two girls on the ground asleep next to each other.
Morgan had an Ironman toy in her hand while Hope had a paper cut out designed to look like my suit in hers. The room was littered with toys, legos, princess castles, dragons, cooking utensils and everything else a child could want. By the looks of things, the two had played with everything.
I telepathically cleared the bed of all the toys on it before gently raising both the girls into the air and bringing them down onto the bed, tucking them in. I cast a ward over them and closed the door.
I walked down and saw the table set up and everyone sitting down, Steve, Sam, Rhodes and Bucky were there however the Dora Milaje had elected to stay outside, keeping watch.
"The girls are asleep," I told Pepper, "I hope you don't mind but I tucked Hope into bed with Morgan, there seemed to be enough space."
"No, not at all," Pepper replied, "well I suppose we should just have dinner without them."
I agreed and sat down, sitting between Bruce and Strange, the former of which sat on a reinforced seat that would hold his mass.
Pepper sat at the head of the table, this worlds Peter sat with Shuri, the two already talking tech, T'Challa sitting next to his sister, keeping a close eye on Peter.
Wanda and the Amazing Spider-man sat together, obviously, quietly eating their food, hoping no one else noticed what I had. Sam, Bucky and Rhodes sat together, the three army men eating their food mechanically, stopping only to enjoy some of the well brewed beer Pepper was serving. And Steve, sitting at the end of the table, showed his age, eating slowly and only something that would fit the constitution of an elderly man.
"So, since we can't talk shop," Bruce spoke up, "can I ask you where you studied?"
"Oh, I went to Midtown high," I replied.
"Hey, so did I!" the Amazing Spider-man replied.
"And me," Peter popped up.
"Odd, it's almost as if you're the same person," Sam quipped.
"Boo!" Shuri booed, "get off the stage."
"Maybe you should let the jokes be done the professionals birdman," Peter grinned.
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you from all the way down there short stuff," Sam replied, narrowing his eyes.
"Excuse me, but that is my future self," Peter pointed at me, "so wait a few years and call me that again."
Ignoring the two children now trading insults, Bruce clarefied, "no, I mean which university. I'm curious to know if the standards of education changes from universe to universe."
I shook my head, "actually, I never went to college, most of what I know is self taught."
"Really?" Bruce asked, munching on a leg of chicken, "fascinating."
"Yes, but I did I actually have many guides along the way, one of whom was the Baxter foundation."
"I'm unfamiliar with them."
"Yes, they don't exist in your world, basically, it's filled with these geniuses, like a think tank. They helped fill in all my gaps in knowledge, very useful."
"I see, and what level of technology do they possess? You've seen what our world can do, so can you compare?"
"Well, kind off, you see..." and the conversation continued as I engaged Strange and Banner in talks about the different standards in education and technology in different worlds and what could have happened to cause such differences.
Shuri and Peter continued nerding out, the former promising him the chance to explore her lab in Wakanda when they were free, only for her brother to shut down the idea immediately. The rest of dinner was spent Shuri convincing him otherwise.
Wanda remained silent, playing with her food, obviously a lot was going on in her mind. The other version of Peter spent a lot of time talking with Rhodey and Steve, who was filling him in on things he didn't know about this world, like the existence of the Avengers.
Dinner went on like that, the worries of Inheritors going by unaddressed. Until near the end just as everyone was having dessert, Steve put down his ice cream spoon and spoke, "so, what have you decided to do about the Inheritors?"
"Steve," Pepper warned.
Steve held out a hand, pacifying her, "we cannot pretend it doesn't exist Pepper. While I thank you for allowing them to forget and enjoy this amazing dinner, a break they earned,...it's not something we can just ignore. They have been on everyone's mind and it would be best to address them now."
Pepper sighed, "fine, but you're helping me with the dishes old man. And don't think I'll fall for that 'my bones' crap. I happen to know for a fact you don't get joint pain."
Steve smiled, "yes ma'am," he turned to me, "you seem to know the most about this situation Peter, do you have a plan?"
I hummed, "the Inheritors are tracking us. We killed Morul and bought is some time, a day, maybe more, but they will come back. First, Hope, the Peter Parker with the good hair and me will go to my Earth. Once Hope is safe we'll go and find this Superior Spider-man and try to figure out what the hell is going on."
Steve nodes slowly, "sounds like the beginning of a plan."
"Wait, what about me?!" this universes Peter stood up, "I'm coming with you."
"No, you're not, it's too dangerous," I reply.
"Bullshit. You heard what happened to his world," Peter pointed to the Amazing Peter, "Morlun torn his city apart to find him! What if...what if he comes after May? The best way to protect them is for me to not be on this world while those guys are out there. And the best way to stop them is by coming with you."
I stared him down, he stared back. I sighed, "fine, but I swear to Stan Lee if you get hurt I'm sending you right back here, got that? I will not have your death on my hands Peter."
"Who's Stan Lee?" Sam asked, only for everyone to ignore him.
"I understand," Peter nodded.
"So, when do we leave?" the Peter with the good hair asked.
"Now," I reply, "we are rested and fed. Plus, I don't want to explain to Hope about all of this while she's awake. Explaining why she can't see her the first friend she ever made again is ...not a pleasant conversation I wish to have."
"I'm coming with you," Wanda offered. I raised an eyebrow, the obvious question of 'why' went unspoken, but she still replied, "you need all the help you can get. And these people are targeting spider totems, then hundreds if not thousands of lives are in danger."
"Right," Rhodey said, catching on quickly, "well I would love to help, but unfortunately this world still needs my help."
"And ours," Bucky whispered, getting Steve's attention, "Zemo's escaped."
A hush fell over the table. The Peter from the other world asked, "who's Zemo?"
"The man who broke the Avengers," Steve replied.
"Sam agreed to help me track him," Bucky replied, "and while he's out there, I can't help."
"I wish I could help, but," Bruce pointed to his busted right arm, "not one for smashing these days."
"And I have this universe to defend," Strange replied.
Shuri turned to T'Challa, "brother-"
"-No," came the answer before the question was asked.
"But-"
"-You are the Princess of Wakanda Shuri and the head of it's Research division, you cannot just leave on an adventure whenever you wish," T'Challa said with force.
"Wakanda did fine without me for five years," Shuri spat back, "and I-"
"-Are needed here," T-Challa stared her down, "this is an order, Shuri, as your king, not your brother."
Shuri's lips flinched as she snarled, bowing stiffly, "as you say my king."
I sighed, "if it matters at all, we-" I stopped, an alarm in my head going off. The ward I had placed around Hope and Morgan had gone off. "Hope!" I cried, jumping out of my seat and landed on the stair banister in one leap.
"What happened?!" Pepper asked as the others made to follow, only I didn't wait for them. I leaped the stairs, jumping to the first floor platform and rushing to Morgan's room.
I tore open the door, rushing in. I released the stingers in my hand, ready to kill whoever dared try to take my daughter away. But I stopped. I stopped because the woman holding my daughter in her arms would never hurt her.
I felt like crying, I honestly didn't think this was possible. I honestly didn't think she would be here, that she wouldn't be able to be here. I was always the one who did the chasing, always the one who had to find a way back home.
But now, now they came for me.
"Peter?" Felicia asked, her eyes going wide.
"Dude! Your alive!" Johnny grinned, "Sue's going to flip! She was so sure this wasn't going to work!"
"H-how?" I asked.
Wanda, my Wanda, smiled, holding up a familiar red jelly like substance in a transparent cube, "this helped."
"You found it?" I asked, my claws going back inside, my hands fell to my side, limp. "You found us?"
"You did the same didn't you?" Jean asked as she rubbed Hope's back, holding the girl close, "you literally travelled the galaxy to find us. Did you think I wouldn't do the same?"
"Heh," I chuckled, "this is a little different Jean."
Just then I heard a thud behind me, T'Challa and the other two Peter Parkers had finally caught up, "Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!" T'Challa cried out.
"Hey Felicia, check it out, it's you!" Johnny pointed at the vibranium armour.
"Shut up flame brain," Felicia sighed, "you're ruining the moment."
"Stand down, they're friends," I told the people behind me off handedly. I walked to my friends, my friends who had traveled across the Multiverse to find me, "they're my best friends."
"Aww shucks Pete, you're going to make me blush," Johnny joked as I pulled him, Felicia and Wanda into a hug, "you have no idea how glad I am to see you all."
"You can't get rid of me that easily spider," Felicia whispered, kissing my cheek, "not again."
"Sue couldn't be here, she and the others left it to us to bring you back," Wanda explained as she held me close, "just in case we fail and got stuck on the wrong world."
"What's going on?!" Sam, and Bucky rushed in, guns out, Wanda of this world right behind them.
"Wait, is that," The Amazing Spider-man turned from the Wanda hugging me, to the Wanda floating behind him, "okay, this is weird."
"Very," came the reply from T'Challa, who was eyeing the vibranium suit Felicia was wearing.
"What's going Peter? What was that black hole?" Jean asked, approaching me, her eyes filled with worry, the only reason her anger was disappearing was because she currently had Hope in her arms.
"I don't know, but I think it has something to do with these people called the Inheritors," I tell them, "either that or they know what's going on. Either way, I need to stop them."
"Were you planning on bringing Hope with you?" Johnny asked, blinking, "because that sounds dangerous."
"I already found a way back," I held up the portal watch, "I was going to pop in and after making sure Hope was safe head out."
"I'm sorry, can someone explain what's going on here?" Sam asked, "who are these people? And why is there another Wanda?"
"Try to keep up Wilson," Strange said as he powered down, "we are dealing with doppelgangers from another world, having one or two familar face isn't out of order."
"When do we leave?" Jean asked.
"Right now if you want," I reply.
"I do," Jean smiled, "but first," she leaned forward and kissed me, with all the longing and suppressed emotions held inside of her, she kissed me. One hand on our child and the other running through my hair.
"Okay, that's Hope's mom, context, lovely," Peter said, nodding in understanding, "the hair kind of-" he shut up as Jean pulled away and Felicia kissed me next, "-now I'm confused."
And when Wanda kissed me next everyone on this Earth turned to the other Wanda and then back to her doppleganger.
Crash!
The War Machine suit and the Rescue suit crashed into the room through the window, both arms out and weapons ready, "get away from my daughter-wait, what the fuck?!"
"Mommy?" the noise had woken up Morgan who looked up, around, and then turned to her mother, "are we having another party?"
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