And everything was falling perfectly into place. With the presence of Otto, they finally managed to wrestle that giant staff out of the Spider-Monkey’s hand. It dropped the staff, which meant now it was Spider-Man’s time to shine. He immediately scooped up the giant staff just as it hit the ground. “I’ll be taking that, thank yooou! You could hurt somebody with this!” He lifted the staff with exertion, all the strength he had, he tossed the thing at closest building away from the Spider-Monkey’s grasp.

And just so the Spider-Monkey wouldn’t get any funny ideas about trying to take it back, Araltus webbed it to the building so it wouldn’t budge. Danny jumped to the building to admire her handiwork. “Not bad. It could use more color, but I didn’t bring my rainbow webs today.” Danny quipped.

Now that was done, the next thing was actually taking this giant creature. That shouldn’t be too hard now that it was unarmed though.

The day was saved! Or so they thought. The heroes believed they were weakening the giant beast by getting rid of its rather versatile weapon. What they hadn't seemed to realize was that the Spider-Monkey never used the staff to attack them despite the overwhelming advantage he would have had, had he did. He only used it to defend against their attacks, but Araltus was right. This Spider-Monkey was strong, but most importantly it was a spider. Rage filled the uncaged beast as his staff was now used to decorate a building, but that wasn't enough for these heroes. They had to keep attacking him. He felt a familiar sting, but this time in the hand that had been electrified earlier. He roared out in anger, frustration and annoyance and turned away from the group as if he were going to climb back up the building he once rested on. Instead he released a wave of webs from his rear's spinnerets trapping Spider-Woman, the Arachnid, and Weaver in their own medicine, allowing them to feel what the criminals they used webs on went through while they waited for the police. It was not a pleasant or comfortable feeling.

The Spider-Monkey spun back around and shot two webs, one from each of his wrists, towards two cars abandoned on the street. He continued to spin and launched both cars with calculated precision at his remaining enemies. One minivan was flying towards Spider-Man and Araltus while a sedan was heading towards Argyros.

---

Spider-Woman and the Arachnid found themselves trapped alongside Weaver. These webs were stronger than the ones they created. These were natural, but still structurally more sound than what the spiders of this world created. But this confirmed something they had already known.

"He's really a spider." The Arachnid said.

Spider-Woman rolled her eyes, the mask of her suit doing the same. "Thanks for stating the obvious."

"No, he's a spider." The Arachnid repeated.

"Repeating it doesn't clarify anything." She said almost annoyed at this point.

The Arachnid sighed. "If this were a test you'd fail. You control spiders."

"I don't control spiders." Spider-Woman corrected. "I talk to them and they listen."

"You said don't and not can't."

"I've never done it. Controlling is taking away free will."

"If you don't control him he'll take away our free will to live. You can at the very least talk to him."

"I don't even know if I can. Look at him! He's not even a full spider."

"You better try or your brother's going to get flattened and oh, Araltus too." He said the latter teasingly just in case their mutual friend heard him. Otto wasn't truly as concerned with their fates as he was letting on. He may have been trapped, but he had his own plan in motion at the very moment. They were almost there. He just had to survive a little longer.

In Times Square, thought there was more to the plan than stealing the staff.

---

"Ohh.."

Oliver comes to a halt, clinging onto the side of a building as he watches the Spider-Monkey's weapon get lobbed towards a building. He thinks to himself.. Okay, that's probably fine. We've been at this for a bit, they've probably evacuated the nearby buildings by now. It still draws a wince from him, but that's primarily just reflex from something big hitting something else big. Things were still good, they disarmed the Spider-Monkey, now Spider-Woman could clue him in on step two of the plan, and-

"Ohhhhh..."

Oliver witnesses a burst of web trap Spider-Woman and the Arachnid, sticking them to the side of a building. He knew from plenty of second hand accounts how tough normal sized webs were to get out of, so that looked pretty, uh, pretty not great. And apparently that was just the start of the Spider-Monkey's retaliation. Fair enough, bad things usually happened in groups to Oliver. This was par for the course. Very scary! But par for the course. He just had to get moving, and think on his feet. He'd done it before, he could do it again.

"OHHH!!"

That was of course, when the Spider-Monkey threw a car at his head. Rising from a full frog squat to a crouch, Oliver proceeds to chain several backflips together up the side of the building he had clung to in order to avoid getting involved in a tenth story car wreck. The Sedan pierces right through the side of the building, hanging halfway through the wall. "Yipes!" Oliver declares after realizing how close he was to getting squashed. Immediately, he's grateful for two things; that he apparently didn't piss the monster off enough to earn the larger car thrown, and that he isn't all that near the other spider-folk. Hopefully they didn't hear that very un-heroic yelp.

"Come on man! That Sedan didn't do anything to you, and I know for a fact that barely any places offer insurance for this kind of stuff!" He was barely even quipping, there was real monetary anguish in his heart for the poor New Yorker who just got put in a financial hole by this Kaiju. Now this was personal. 'Cause if there was one thing the Not-Quite Spectacular Argyros had in spades, it was working class solidarity. He springs off of his cling-point, and free-dives down towards the ground, firing off twin ropes of webbing aimed at one of giant monster's eyelids. If he managed to connect, he planned to yank the eyelid down to screw with its line of sight, and use that pull to start swinging again. He had no plans beyond this. It was time to approach this like he did Man-Mountain Marko, improv and irritate until he managed to scramble together a winning sequence of moves.

..Yeah, he didn't like his odds.

Danny’s Spider Sense tingled just as the minivan went flying towards his head. “Look out!” He pushed Araltus out of the way, and barely managed to dodge the vehicle himself. The minivan crashed through a window into the building. Glass shards went flying everywhere.

Meanwhile Danny fussed over Araltus‘ state. “Are you ok? Are you hurt? Did glass get anywhere? Do you need a doctor?”

And then he heard his sister and Arachnid having an argument while tied up with web, and decided to intervene. “Hey listen, can we cut it out? Arguing isn’t going to get you anywhere… Also while my sister has a Disney Princess like relationship with Spiders, I control webs. It’s niche, but comes in handy sometimes.” And with a flick of his wrist, Danny released Spider-Woman and Arachnid from their prison, and made a nice sized ball solid of webbing in the process.

“Hey, Spider-Monkey! Think fast!” He then threw the ball of web back at the creature. “I’ve always hated Dodgeball. It’s nice being the one throwing the ball for once…”

S A M B L Y T H E | A R A L T U S

---

Maybe Sam was speaking too soon.

She watched as the Spider-Monkey appeared to finally have free reign once his weapon was gone. He wasn't only on a defensive now, he was on the offensive. Suddenly, things seemed much more dire and, really, Sam should have taken the opportunity to just bolt. But that was life. She was in this situation now and she should just accept that.

Out of the Spider-Monkey's ass came out webs and locked Spider-Woman and Arachnid into their own webby prison alongside that other spider-folk she didn't know the name of. And as if that wasn't enough, he hurled two vehicles. And one of those vehicles was unfortunately headed straight for her and Spider-Man.

She felt a push, completely disconnecting her from the building and a minivan smashed straight through the building spreading the glass shards across them like some sort of makeshift hail. Sam was quick to slow her descent with a well-placed web and landed on the ground with a small hop. Spider-Man came soon after, fussing over her. This made Sam let out a chuckle. "Calm down, calm down. If that's enough to take me down, I wouldn't be here with you guys. Get back out there, kid."

Sam gave him a wave before brushing herself off, ridding herself of the glass that had fallen across her own costume. She was wise to have made this out of some pretty resistant fabric. The last thing she wanted to do was spend a few hours stitching her costume back. She stretched her back until it popped and she shook her head. Man, was she getting too old or something? It must be the swinging.

Those thoughts aside, Araltus ran forward and shot herself forward just as Spider-Man hurled a large ball of Spider-Monkey-made webs back at its creator and their colorful-costumed buddy had something planned it appeared like. Risky move. So, Araltus decided to hang back for a more supporting role as she followed behind Arygros. In the case that he would fail in his endeavor, she was planning to pull him away with a web to get him out of the way of the Spider-Monkey's wrath.

For a group that was coming together fully for the first time their fight chemistry was nothing to scoff at. It was honestly pretty flawless and it was that chemistry that allowed them to overstimulate the Spider-Monkey's spider-senses. He didn't expect the spider-humans to recover so quickly from his attack and go immediately on the offensive. It started with Argyros pulling down on one of his eyelids and closing it shut. He roared out in irritation and slight pain from from the force of it before trying to pull the webs off so he could open his eye fully.

Just as he was pulling it off he was hit with his webs returned to him in a ball sized package. The web ball hit the Spider-Monkey directly in the chest making him stumble down the building.

Meanwhile Spider-Woman, the Arachnid, and Weaver were back on their feet. Spider-Woman was about to join the onslaught when the Arachnid reached his arm out to stop her. "They're here." He pointed to the building where the Spider-Monkey was recovering, or trying to. He couldn't focus because his head was ringing louder than usual. He looked around to see small creatures approaching him. He rubbed his eyes to see if he was seeing what he was seeing. He was. They were many mini spider robots. They surrounded him from every direction. He tried to fight off the spider bots, but whenever one touched him it immediately injected him with a gorilla tranquilizer. They were making him weaker, but it still wasn't quite enough.

Spider-Woman realized this was her time. With his mind and resistance being weaker she believed she could lull him to sleep. She sung a lullaby to the Spider-Monkey. "Go to sleep, go to sleep, little Spider-Monkey. You've caused quite a fuss and a scare, it's time to show the world you care. Go to sleep, go to sleep, little Spider-Monkey." Her voice was beautiful and it ended the Spider-Monkey's resistance. He fell asleep right there on the building, attached by instinct.

"Wow." The Arachnid, said, speaking of her voice but caught himself. "I didn't think that'd work."

Spider-Woman turned her head around so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. "It was your plan!"

"It was more of a back-up plan. My S.P.I.D.E.R.S. did most of the work."

"Spider-Totems of Earth 1205, you have passed." A discombobulated voice said echoing through the area before portals opened it under each of the Spider-Totems including the Spider-Monkey and any hidden ones.

---

The Spider-Heroes would find themselves no longer in New York or in their world. They were now in between worlds. They found themselves standing in the center of a giant web. Immediately they'd be able to see what appeared to be views into other worlds on different parts of the web. They'd be able to see other spider-themed heroes or villains on their adventures and they'd even see the world that they came from with them gone, but the damage from their battle remaining.

Before they could explore any further a green costumed Spider-Man jumped down in front of them. "I really enjoyed your fight against my Spider-Monkey. I'm sorry if he went a little rough. Oh. Where are my manners?" He removed his mask. "You may call me Anansi and I hereby welcome you, my Spider-Totems, to the Web of Life and Destiny."

Uhhh.. UHHH!?

---

..And we're back.

Fortunately for Oliver, several of the other spiders got the same idea to harass their larger, stronger foe. They were arachnids, after all. Threatening things bigger than them was right up their alley. Granted, their ideas of harassing the Spider-Monkey were a bit more.. substantial. A giant ball of webbing and an army of spider drones were things that Oliver simply could not match. Seriously, did everyone win the Spider Lottery except him?! Oh well, that meant less weight on his shoulders. And speaking of things to be grateful for, it seemed that one of the other spiders had followed after him- presumably to make sure he didn't splatter if things went awry. Perhaps a more hot-headed Spider might be offended by the idea that they'd need the help, but Oliver? Nah, getting his ass beat was practically part of the job. He very much appreciated someone watching his back.

Fortunately, it didn't end up being necessary, as the Spider-Folk fell into a rhythm. Irritate, damage, and tranquilize. It brought their foe low, and lastly;

..

Spider-Woman.. sang it a lullaby. And it worked. Oliver detaches himself from his current web lines, and fires off another line to swing over to the nearest building, clinging one-handedly to the side. He stares at the slumbering beast that had given them all so much trouble, completely dumbfounded. "Hey, really not trying to be Mister Sour Spider, but.. Could you do that the whole tiiiIII-" The rest of Argyros' baffled question would not get to be asked, as the part of the building he was clung to abruptly turned into a portal, causing him to tumble right through. As he falls through, the only thing he could think was; I should've just stayed in the Narrows..

---

Picture this; you are not the first person to gain Spider-Like abilities. You aren't even the second. You certainly aren't the most famous, or most powerful. But hey, you've got super powers, better put them to use. And then one day, you find yourself going from fighting metahuman mobsters and an admittedly pretty traumatic encounter with a human fly, to Kaiju. And then without a moment to take a breather, you go from Kaiju to presumably the, formerly only theoretical, Multiverse.

If you are having trouble picturing this, imagine how Oliver felt. He was living it. The only small comfort was that at least he hadn't been the only one spirited away. That would have been really bad. Still, even with the other Spider-Folk finding themselves warped to this otherworldly web, Oliver found himself hung up on one thing. The multiverses he could see sprawled out in front of him, some familiar, some so alien they barely resembled his own.. Anansi, and his declaration of both creating(? or controlling..?) the Spider-Monkey, and naming the group gathered 'Spider-Totems.' Well, look. Oliver was listening, he took in this information. But all he could think about as he buried his head in his hands, realizing he was almost certainly about to be involved in something way above his (non-existant) paygrade, was this;

"..I can't remember if I locked my door this morning."

Danny quietly cheered when the ball of webs hit the Spider-Monkey in the chest. It felt good to not be the one having to dodge balls for once… Then, the creature was harassed by Arachnid’s Nano-Spiders before being put to sleep by his sister’s lullaby. Danny giggled. He had been joking about her being the Disney Princess of Spiders before.

Now there was the question of what they were going to do with this beast. They did not have to think about that for long, because the question answered itself. The Spider-Monkey, along with all the other Spider people present were sucked through a portal that appeared beneath them. All Danny could do was let out a high pitched “Eep!”

—-

The next thing Danny became aware of, he was no longer in New York, but in the middle of a giant web. Amongst the web were what looked like windows into other worlds. Some looked familiar, and some looked radically different. Danny didn’t have time to question this. He had to talk to the green suited Spider that made his presence known.

Danny followed his lead, and unmasked himself. “Uh… Anansi sir. Hi, Danny Davis… Um, I have so many questions, but let’s start with the one that’s bugging me the most. What do you mean by your Spider-Totems?”

S A M B L Y T H E | A R A L T U S

---

Araltus moved to the side once the mini-spider bots had come in like a locust swarm. She sat down on one of the buildings again and she took out a cigarette and lit it before pulling her mask up halfway to start going through it. Spider-Woman had begun to sing to the Spider-Monkey and that, mixed with whatever the spider-bots were injecting into it, had completely conked out their large enemy. For a moment, Araltus had expected it to fall but the beast was simply attached to the building as it slept.

Well, that was that. Araltus took another drag of the cigarette. She wasn't going to stick around for some sort of debriefing with the other spider-people. If Otto or Caty had something to tell her, they would just tell her some other time because—

Araltus couldn't even finish the thought when a voice reverberated around the area. "What the- urk!" The ground she was sitting on quickly disappeared into a portal. Now, Araltus was no stranger to passing through solid objects or going through portals; however, usually, there was a warning before it happened.

---

Araltus landed on her feet much like the others. Mainly, she looked down at her hand and let out a breath to see that her cigarette was still there. The area they were in looked trippy and Sam was reminded of when the Crimson Court would convene in that weird magic place Mikhail liked putting them in. Unlike that place, though, Araltus was looking at different worlds and different people.

What in the everliving fuck was happening.

Then someone appeared. This green-suited spider-guy who called himself Anansi and welcoming them to the Web of Life and Destiny or whatever it was. Spider-Man, or Danny Davis she now learned as he unmasked himself, began to ask his questions. Argyros was mumbling something to himself and appeared as lost as Araltus was.

"This isn't a no-smoking place, right?" She took another drag of her cigarette nevertheless, blowing the smoke away from the others as an act of courtesy.

Caty turned to Argyros planning to answer his question before they and the others were sucked into portals. He never got the chance to finish his question, but she knew what he was asking before they were rudely interrupted by a voice from an unknown source. When they appeared back on the other side of the portal she almost forgot about answering his question. She was mesmerized by all that was in front of her. For one, they were in the middle of a giant web and this web seemed connected to different universes. She had theorized the multiverse existed, but she also didn't think that the spider-themed heroes would somehow be at the center of it. She started to get a headache at the thought of everything happening in their lives because they were connected to some multiversal web. Before Anansi arrived she turned to Argyros still loving how awesome his suit looked. "No, definitely not sing it to sleep. Arachnid's spider bots did most of the work."

The Arachnid was also mesmerized and somewhat disturbed by what he saw. He saw several universes where spider-heroes were beating up on a man with robotic tentacle arms. That had to have been him. Was he a villain in every universe, but this one? That was a lot to take in. Fortunately he wasn't trapped in his mind long before Anansi arrived giving his introduction. Otto rolled his eyes under his mask. He was not going to like any of this at all.

Anansi spoke up once again answering the questions that came his way. "Air doesn't work the same way here, so yes, Samantha. Smoke to your heart's content. And Danny, I thought you were the smart one. Look around you. Every spider in this beautiful and intricate web, including you all, got your powers from me. Anansi, the Spider-God."

And that was enough for Otto. He was not about to go on a multiversal adventure with a Spider-God where he was a villain in a lot of the universes. Absolutely not. "Well, I'll see you all at home. I have a class to teach tomorrow and I can't very well explain that I went traveling through the multiverse. The students would accept it, but not the school." The Arachnid said before heading towards the window that appeared to be their universe.

Spider-Woman grabbed him by the back of his costume's neck. "Not so fast, Doc. If we're stuck here, you are too."

"Precisely," Anansi said before shooting organic webs from his wrist to cover the portal to their reality. "At least let me finish. As I was saying, I'm the Spider-God, Anansi, not to be confused with the Grecian spider, Arachne. One day I struck a deal with my father, the God of the Sky. In exchange for enlightenment I offered my eternal services. All I cared about was exploring and learning. Now I get to explore and learn about so many different realities through you, my Spiders. Though, apparently I wasn't the first one to call this world between worlds my domain. There were a couple Great Weavers before me, but they're long gone now. All of the spiders that bit you and gave you your wonderful gifts come from me. Unfortunately with great gifts come great pain and suffering and there are a few Totems traversing the Great Web that want to remake it into their own image while killing the Spider-Totems that won't join them in the process." He paused for dramatic effect and show an expression of pained sadness before immediately switching into excitement mode.

"That's why I've tested and called you here. I needed a group of Spiders who have faced a lot and can work well with others enough to warn the others and stop these corrupt spiders in their tracks. I know I don't have to ask because you're heroes and it's what you do, but are you all ready to save the multiverse and your lives!?" Despite the seriousness of it all, Anansi couldn't help but shine a beaming smile on his new friends.

Between universes, having a real humdinger of an existential crisis.

---

Oliver would feel bad about not responding to Spider-Woman if his brain wasn't filled with static. The quite frankly overwhelming nature of this had left him unresponsive. He was taking in his surroundings, listening to what was said. But just barely, it was taking a lot of concentration to pay attention over the ringing in his ears. He couldn't help but be baffled, completely and totally baffled by all of this. The Multiverse was real, it was weirdly spider-themed, and he had been chosen by a Spider God to be a champion.

He couldn't help but wonder, why choose him, if there were plenty of Spiders to snag? Oliver was barely able to save the Narrows most days, much less one universe, much less all of them! And that wasn't some self-pity party attitude where Oliver was hoping someone would disagree, it was just being realistic! He was good.. within his weight class. Multiversal danger was way above his weight class! And the worst part was Anansi hit the nail on the head for Oliver. Even if he hated this (he did), even if he really did not want to (he didn't), if he really was needed to help save people, he'd do it. Maybe that was why he was chosen, not for his prowess, but for his extremely easy to guilt trip brain.

"-Hold on.."

Chosen..

"..You chose us? So, you're the reason we got these powers, right? Okay, okay, I'm following you so far.." Manic energy starts to slip into Oliver's voice. He was still slouched forward, head hung down, but now it was clear his body was filling up with tension. His hands balled into fists, his shoulders clearly extremely stiff.

"And- and I figure that means you decided we, specifically, would be your champions. So I guess- haha, ^{oh man, I'm about to back talk a god. I'm so dead..}- I guess what I'm wondering is, if we were hypothetically in an accident a little larger than a spider bite. What exactly does that mean for the other people caught up in it? Are they just-what, collateral? Not cosmically important enough?"

Oliver hadn't raised his voice, but he was clearly spitting venom with that last sentence. He felt uncomfortable airing this our in front of strangers, especially when there were more important things to talk about (how to save the Multiverse being #1), but he couldn't help it. That word was sitting like a rock in his stomach. Chosen. What a joke! He couldn't think of which possibility he hated worse, that him being chosen caused the lab explosion that ruined Doctor Connors' life, or that him being chosen prevented him from getting horrifically mutated just like Doctor Connors. This gift felt a lot more like a curse all of the sudden. And Oliver didn't even know where to put all of this sudden, smoldering anger.

S A M B L Y T H E | A R A L T U S

---

"So much for secret identities, huh?" The older spider huffed with a roll of her eyes but made no move to remove her mask. This whole talk about Spider-Totems, about how they got their powers from this one guy... god... felt like some sort of hilarious joke. But hey, they lived in a universe where that was possible— where gods and devils and all the like existed and they handed off powers to the most random people ever whether they deserved it or not.

Her eyes narrowed as Anansi continued to explain his origins and then came the root of the problem. Of course, this wasn't just some creator saying hello to his creations. No, this was a recruitment. A forced one too.

"Hero...?" She muttered, the word feeling foreign and wrong in her mouth. Vigilante, thrill-seeker, someone who was too used to the battlefield to really leave it, those were the terms that could be used for her. A villain might have been even more appropriate term to use for her. To assume so much of her made Sam scoff around the same time as Oliver when he began speaking.

His question made some sense. From what she saw in one of those multiversal webs, there had been a Sam who was still working with the Crimson Court. Sure, she was getting her ass beat before Smoke had come over to get her out of dodge but that implied they survived in other universes. Did her getting bitten by this spider activate some weird butterfly effect that led to the fall of the Court? She wasn't complaining, per se, but it took her family from her.

"Besides, why are we so obligated to help you? If they're also Spider-Totems, then that means you chose them too? And even if it came from the Great Weavers of the past or whatever, couldn't you just take it away? You're a god. What are you so afraid of?" Sam clicked her tongue as she noticed her cigarette had run its life and she let it fall to the ground before stomping out the embers.

She turned to Caty, one of the few who knew Sam from a time when she wasn't some vigilante who saved people. "I don't get why you're so gung-ho about this hero thing. Look at what happens when you help someone, suddenly it's just a barrage of requests with no pay."

The way Anansi spoke did not do much to quell Danny’s concerns. Anansi spoke like he made them, and he owned them. They were all humans with autonomy. They made their own choices. Just because he sent a spider out to bite them doesn’t mean he had control over them.

The others expressed concerns about this whole situation he had recruited them all into. Argyros In particular had an interesting question for Anansi, and Danny had to hold himself back from applauding and going “Yaas queen, slay!”

Then he heard Araltus’ question to his sister, and Danny spoke up. “You know, our dad said If you have the power to help anyone, you have the responsibility to do so. I agree that this guy is suspicious, but either way people are in danger, and it’s our job to help.”

Otto was not having fun, not having fun at all. Normally he would've been fascinated by the thought of a multiverse and being a central part of it, but if this multiverse had anything to do with him losing the love of his life he was on the side of Sam and Argyros. He mustered up the words to join them and ask what was plaguing his mind. "Are you the reason my Anna is dead?"

Caty honestly wasn't sure what to say or feel about this. She had her own trauma, death, and pain around her and Danny's superhero origins. She was glad that Danny went ahead and answered for her. "What Danny said. Paid or not we have or well, were given these powers for a reason. Even if we do nothing now there'll come after us. It's just only a matter of time. I rather at least be proactive. But please, Anansi? Before we fully agree on anything we need you to answer our questions and concerns."

"Gods, humans are so annoying. Who looks a gift spider in the mouth? Who cares about a few cracked eggs when you got a superpower omelet?", Anansi thought to himself. Then again. He chose this life for himself. He sought enlightenment and responsibility. It was forced upon them. He sighed before looking to Oliver. "Oliver, I'm sorry. But your friends are alive, aren't they? And as for the good ole doctor, well... It'd be easier to just show you." He waved his hand to shift the realities around them. They were now surrounded by universes that showed The Lizard either terrorizing the city or fighting different Spider-Men and Spider-Women. There was even one of Caty and Danny fighting and saving him on the Disneyland castle with fireworks in the background. "In almost every universe Doctor Connors decides to use reptile DNA. In almost every universe he turns into a giant one instead. All I did was place you in his care and inspire his diving spider research. His fate was sealed regardless, but he can still be saved. But there won't be a Connors to save if they get their way."

"As for your question, Samantha. I'm not scared of anything. But a gift given can't be so easily taken. All of your DNA is different now. Removing that would mean certain death and I want these Totems saved from themselves and the darkness corrupting their hearts. That's why I specifically chose all of you. Plus I'm really just an observer."

He paused for a moment before turning his attention to the Arachnid. "I'm sorry, Otto. I didn't, but I wish I could've stopped it. All I did was put Caty in the position to inspire you to be your best self. Most versions of you are either evil or taken over by the the tentacles you create. There are some heroic versions of you, but none made that transition as quickly and early as you did and they all love Anna."

"You mean...?" Otto started.

"Yes. She's alive in those other universes, even with you becoming a spider. Fisk is just... Well, I don't have to explain him to you and Sam."

This both cheered up Otto and made him sad and angry. If he never went after Fisk Anna would be alive and here with him. This made him more determined to end it once and for all with that big menace if it was the last thing he did.

This conversation was making Caty a bit uncomfortable and a little sad, but not only for herself, but the lovers too. She and Otto were growing closer lately, but she never had any intentions of replacing her, but she couldn't deny the fact that she was starting to see him in a different light than just her former young professor. She decided to change the subject.

"That universe." She said, pointing to the one of her and Danny fighting a giant Lizard who apparently used to be a scientist. "That fight never happened here. Why is that universe so different?"

"It's your original one, Catherine." Anansi answered simply. "The timeline you all live in now is branched off. None of you were meant to gain powers, all except Mr. Trench Coat back there. But I needed a team I could trust to handle this mission the only way they could. I've chosen you all for specific reasons. You're perfect counters to this assembled team of Totems. They're the worst of the worst, but you're the best of the best. Or in Samantha's case the best of the worst."

Caty honestly couldn't believe her ears. He really created a new timeline just so he could create new Spider-Heroes and allowed them to suffer and feel pain. "I'm starting to understand why these other totems turned on you. You use us as playthings without any concern for our lives and safety. You created a whole timelime to prepare us for War and you didn't even have the decency to let us know."

"That's what I'm doing now." Anansi said with a disappointed frown. He was starting to get flashbacks to his time facing the Spider-Man who started it all. He lost everything. His wife, his future daughter, and almost lost his Aunt May all because a Civil War between the heroes led to him exposing his identity and getting it fixed by the demons of demons. He blamed it all on Anansi and he wanted his life fixed. "You all have faced challenges and villains, variations of those that roam the multiverse. People that these killer spiders have fought. You needed training, experience and teamwork. You needed to think like they think and fight like they fight, otherwise you wouldn't have lasted a minute against them."

AAAAAARGH!!!

---

Anansi's words did little to calm Oliver down. The revelation that Doctor Connors seemed predestined for tragedy prevented Oliver from running up and attacking the Spider God, sure. But it didn't do anything to make him feel better. If anything, it was worse. This man had been his mentor, what on earth had he done to deserve being a victim on a universal scale? He was already intimately familiar with the unfairness of the universe, but this was on a cosmic level. It felt cruel. And poor Arachnid, the woman he loved(? Oliver was uncertain on the details) was a universal constant as well, but her tragedy wasn't. It must have been a vicious blow to his spirit.

(A selfish part of Oliver also wondered just why the Connors in his world seemed so much more dangerous than the other Anansi showed them. He couldn't imagine the Gar letting itself be drawn to such a public area, to give up the advantage like that..)

The multiverse, learning that there were many, many spiders out there, fighting similar fights to him. It should have felt reassuring, but with the other news, it felt crushing. They were the Spider God's pet project, but he didn't care a lick about the lives of those around them, just whether or not they could fight in his war. So Oliver fell back on a mantra that helped him get through the worst fight of his life, against the Human Fly.

Demetrius, Elizabeth, Caroline from Alaska..

Lilah, Narrows Michael and Tourist Michael..

He remembered the names of the people he had saved. It helped ease that crushing weight. Some of them he rescued from certain death, some he had helped get away from pushy guys outside of bars, some he'd just given directions to. But he'd helped them, big or small. He goes through more names, until eventually, he didn't feel so helpless.

"Phew, okay, okay.. I'm not saying any of what you did to us, or neglected to do for us, was at all alright. But I do this to help people, and I have to assume a Multiversal Grudge Match is gonna cause a lot of people to get stuck in the crossfire, so I'm- HEY WAIT A MINUTE!"

The Argyros Suit wasn't one for angry expressions, so Oliver looked a lot more bewildered than properly indignant. But trust in the tone of his voice, he was pissed. "WATCH THE SECRET IDENTITIES!"

---

So much was happening at once. Alexander asked to get off early today, as he had discovered some intel regarding his mission. A month ago he’d finally gotten a name; Martin Li. Tonight was originally going to be investigating a suspicious shipment that was addressed to a supposed construction project that Li had been funding.

As he was on his way to intercept was when some strange Spider-Kong attacked the city. He’d presented enough of a threat that the other spiders of the city had to band together to make it a fair fight…To help or not…did they need him? After what had happened with Val, Xander decided to leave the mask behind. Failing her had so far convinced him that being a hero was never his place. No…all that mattered was getting to that construction site. Getting one step closer to his revenge…

Yet, while he caught himself watching the battle from the sidewalk, he caught on to the dire straits the other civilians were in. Like the movie monster Spider-Kong was, buildings crumbled and debris flew everywhere. While the others were doing their best to keep people out of the danger zones, they couldn’t cover everywhere.

Despite initially being torn and telling himself that they’d figure it out; He heard his father’s voice. “Don’t be a slave to your nature.” had him running into the street. “Don’t be slave to your nature.” had Alexander pulling a man out of the windshield of his car and ushering him to follow the rest of the foot traffic away from the conflict. Before he knew it, he’d taken on the task of evacuating people where the police couldn’t. He would help them, but not as a spider.

In their desperate plea to get away, some people had crashed their cars which caused a terrible traffic jam. Others were frozen with fear, having to be shook awake from watching the life threatening battle that could come closer any second. One idiot was damn near in the battlefield with his phone out, filming a flying minivan. It tested even Xander’s agility to get to him in time as debris fell from above. While Xander felt like this man was deserving of his Darwin award, he snatched the guy up as well.

Just when it seemed that the day might have been saved, Alexander felt himself falling. The familiar odd tingling of his spider-sense helped him find equilibrium and he landed on his feet in this web of…shadows? What the hell was he looking at? Portals?

That was when he noticed the others and this mysterious ‘god’ Anansi. Xander watched as the confused and concerned people barraged the Weaver with words. From what Xan was able to pick up, they were part of a multiverse of spider-people. That their triumphs and trauma, while not directly caused, were influenced by him to combat what apparently were some other, not so obedient spider-people. Smelled ominously like they were cleaning up someone else’s mess.

It was a lot. A lot that, honestly, made Xander feel more like he didn’t belong here. This was all way over his head. He would protest, but ultimately, he recognized he was chosen for some higher calling. High enough that even if he was already predestined to have powers, Anansi saw fit to have him bit too. Besides that if the guy really wanted to, given the way they had been teleported here, he could just teleport them back over and over until they gave in…Alexander growled, then sighed.

“I’ll be blunt. If these bad spiders are universe-hopping, it could screw up our home. So let’s find em, split their heads, and get it over with.”

S A M B L Y T H E | A R A L T U S

---

Caty's brother— Danny— answered first and Sam had to swallow back a chortle. "Yeah, that explains a lot about what you guys do." It was someone with power's responsibility to help others? That was funny considering how there were probably a lot more people with powers who decided to use it for something more selfish. Besides, Moronov had just been like Anansi, making deals and giving them supernatural powers to commit countless crimes but she held her tongue. There was no use arguing with superheroes— she had already tried as much with Caty once before and it only exhausted her thoroughly.

So she just let out a sigh and listened to Anansi and his answers. How Oliver's mentor— Doctor Connors— would always be some sort of villain. How Anansi was simply an observer and that was why they had to step in to save his sorry ass because, you know, the spider totems should save themselves or what have you. And finally, how Otto's girlfriend, Anna, only died in this universe because he decided that he had a bone to pick with Fisk.

Stupid.

This really was all stupid.

Sam promised herself she wouldn't work under another damn person and, here she was, thrust into a situation where she couldn't exactly say 'no' and leave. She'd likely get branded as one of those corrupted Spider Totems. On the other hand, if she decided to leave and they visit, she'd either have to join or get killed herself. What a damn headache. Maybe she should have simply thrown herself into the line of fire back when the Crimson Court was being taken down en masse.

The older spider couldn't help but grin at the mention of why they had all been chosen; or rather, why she had been chosen. While the others were on their best behavior, it appeared that her willingness to just go with the flow of where she could get the most fights without getting into the other side of the fist of a hero who was relentless. "Had to get to me first before they could, huh? Think I'll join them?"

"Fight like how they fight, huh?" Sam muttered, clearly something else entering her mind. She had always played a bit dirty, a bit ruthless. They were fellow Spider Totems anyway, they could take a few bullets or three. Maybe if she could get her hands on something from the police or the military, it would be for the better. "Okay... okay, I think I'm hearing you." She took another drag of her cigarette, seemingly satisfied with the conclusion her own brain had made. Save them? Sam had a surefire way of "saving" them from this whole darkness in their hearts.

Oliver seemed to come to the idea before he finally noticed that Anansi had been using their real names this entire time. "Right? Like, look, I love not being known by everyone and their mothers. That's the whole point of secret identities." She huffed.

She looked over the the trench coated spider who was silent this entire time and nodded along. "Agreed. Let's just get this over with so I don't have anything to owe this... Spider-God."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly when he heard Oliver and Sam’s reactions to Anansi using their real names. “Well, now I feel like a fool…” He had been the only one here to unmask himself. He understood their frustrations. After all, he knew good and well what it was like to be outed before he was ready. “I figured we’re all in the same boat. We’re all Spider-People. Maybe we could trust each other? Is it so wrong to give people the benefit of the doubt?”

Another Spider person made their presence known, and Danny hadn’t realized he had been here this entire time. Danny and Xander had been friends, but he was also one of the ones Danny had been a dick to when he was bonded to the symbiote. They hadn’t spoken much since, and Danny didn’t even know what to say to him. Hey, I bonded with alien goo that made me act like a jerk to everyone? Harry didn’t really take that well…

“Yeah, I’m in. If for nothing else than to make sure innocent people don’t get hurt…”

Anansi laughed at the notion that he was worried of Samantha joining the opposition. Even if he wasn't certain in her growth as a person once gifted responsibility there was a reason he had her and Catherine cross paths so early on. They both needed the other to help see how wrong their paths were and grow into who they were meant to be. "I wouldn't arm someone I believed to be an enemy with a weapon to hurt me."

He visibly rolled his eyes when Oliver yelled at him for revealing their secret identities. "Fine, Sea Spider." He started cheekily. "I don't know who taught you manners, but the average person introduces themselves after someone else does. None of you did, so I did it for you. At least Spider-Man was raised to trust his friends and allies. I know your enemies are like yourself, but you're going to have to learn to trust others on this journey. Good luck, my Spiders. Trust your instincts and that sense I've given you." With those parting words he was done with the annoying bunch. He was starting to wonder if he selected the right people for the job. It was too late to worry about that now. He snapped his fingers and portals once again opened up beneath each and every one of them dropping them into different worlds.

---

Otto and Oliver dropped onto a rooftop in a universe similar to their own. They landed atop Fisk Tower and before they could get the chance to explore this new world an explosion rocks the foundation underneath them. They start sliding into the building below. There they see a black costumed Spider-Man with green glowing eyes and Spider-insignia swinging towards them with Wilson Fisk strapped to his back with webs. "Seriously, Fisk. Once you get to prison I urge you to lose some weight. I have super strength and you're still hurting my back."



Spider-Man noticed the two other spider-themed heroes falling and knew they could get themselves out of this situation but he released some webbing to create a bouncy floor beneath them so they wouldn't keep falling through the building. "I'm guessing by your costumes that you two can get out of here on your own. I suggest you hurry." He said as he continued up to where the roof used to be.

The voice would sound familiar to the both of them, but due to Oliver's closer relationship he'd be able to instantly recognize that voice belonged to Dr. Curt Connors.

---

Caty and Xander would've arrived in a world that made them feel like they were home. They were portaled to the parking lot of an abandoned shelter. Caty was actually glad that she and Xander were paired off together. They hadn't seen each other in a long time and she missed her best friend and felt bad for not being there for him as much as she could after what happened to Valerie. If anyone knew what it was like to lose someone you loved to this life, it was her. But she also understood how alienating that time was and how she didn't want people getting close to her in fear that they'd end up dead too.

She immediately ran up to him and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay, Xan. I've been worried about you." She stepped back and grabbed a newspaper that was passing them by. It was from the Daily Bugle and coincidentally enough the front page had an article about this universe's Spider-Woman and her defeating her latest villain, the Green Goblin. The name of the villain caused her to shudder a bit, thinking back to the Hobgoblin and what he took from her. She wondered if there was any correlation and if there was one waiting for them back home. She exhaled slowly before looking at the picture of Spider-Woman. Her eyes and mouth both widened. She recognized those lips, that face anywhere. "Liz is Spider-Woman!?"



As if summoned like a spirit Spider-Woman jumped down behind Caty. "If she was, who's asking?" She then looked around Caty to see someone she recognized. "Xander?" She asked accidentally confirming she was who they thought she was. Caty dropped the newspaper and turned to face Spider-Woman, no, "Liz..."

That voice... She hadn't heard that voice in so long, but she'd never forget it. "Caty..." Tears started to flow from her eyes. Was this a cruel trick? Mysterio? Mephisto? The Jackal? HYDRA? This wasn't her Caty, but she didn't care. She was Caty. The two embraced, crying together. Questions be damned. They needed this.

---

Samantha and Danny found themselves in a strangely more advanced and clean New York. There wouldn't be a homeless person on the street, food from street vendors were reasonably priced, and there was less police than you'd normally find in any area of New York. People were visibly happy and not even just the tourists. One notable difference would be the many virtual billboards that displayed companies that they recognized, but with Fisk International in the corner of the ad.

Suddenly the sound of a monstrous roar could be heard echoing in the area disturbing the serene peace of the city. Followed by it was an explosion that thankfully wasn't aimed at any civilians or buildings. It was instead aimed at a rather large Spider-Man. What looked like fat, was actually all muscle. "When are you going to accept the fact that you lost, Osborn? You really had to turn yourself into some kind of mutant freak?"



"The freak here is you, Fisk. You may have this world fooled, but I know the monster that lies underneath that wretched costume. Your true identity, the Kingpin!" This retort and aforementioned roar came from a large green Goblin creature with wings. This creature used to be a man, Norman Osborn. Now he was just a monstrous shell of his former self.

"That's not who I am anymore!" Spider-Man yelled before shooting two webs at the Goblin's wings pulling them and him towards the ground. The Goblin dove into Spider-Man causing them both to crash into the ground. Spider-Man recovered before the Goblin and rushed towards him to finish the fight. He grabbed hold of one of the Goblin's wings ripping it off his back. The Goblin roared out in pain and cursed at the Spider-Man. He tried to escape, but the Spider-Man moved to remove the other wing to ground him for good.

S A M B L Y T H E | A R A L T U S

---

Sam shrugged. She supposed Anansi did have a point. No matter what, she was still chosen to get bitten by a spider and everything that entailed. Well, she supposed now she just wanted to make sure to keep the Spider-God on his toes when it came to her. Anansi was talking about manners as if he didn't just kidnap them and throw them into a fight for their life to protect some guy who gave them powers without even wanting any of it, but okay, sure.

It wasn't like Sam was given much of a chance to comment on it before the portals appeared beneath her.

This was the guy that was lecturing them about manners? The nerve.

---

The familiar bustle of the concrete jungle known as New York City was a welcome reprieve. Finally, they were sent back which meant she could continue on with her life or something along those lines. However, another look around and something seemed... off. Everyone seemed to have a pep to their step, unlike the sneers she would often see on the New York City dwellers. Something so distinctly different despite being one small thing— this was not the New York City she called home.

Then the billboards all seemed to be signed off by Fisk International and something boiled under her skin. "Of course he drops us in a place where Fisk is even more successful than he already is." Sam threw away her cigarette on the ground and snuffed it with a stomp of her heel as she lowered her mask to fully cover her face. "Dunno if you've dealt with that guy but he's a-"

A roar and an explosion cut her off and Sam's head snapped towards where it had originated. Osborn? Fisk?

Fisk...?

"Oh you've gotta be fucking with me." Sam muttered to herself as she watched the fight before them. There was a certain method of cruelty and carnage that this Fisk, this Spider-Man, was displaying that pinged something in Sam's brain. This was still Fisk. She had fought him enough times to know that. "Who's bright idea was it to give the boulder spider powers? He could already snap a regular man in half before. Now look at him." She gestured to how brutally Fisk had ripped apart this goblin man's wings with little to no remorse.

A part of her wanted to fight him; see how she measured up on Fisk on Spider Steroids. First thing's first though. Sam turned to Danny and gave him a two-fingered salute before heading over to the fight. She landed close to Fisk, just a little bit out of his punching range. An irritating beep of her webshooters alerted her to its rapidly depleting ammunition. Right. Of course. She began adjusting her webshooters while talking.

"Need help there big guy?" She gestured to the Goblin who was still writhing in pain from just going through an unexpected amputation. Her spider-senses told her that the fight wasn't exactly over, but she couldn't help but talk. Maybe it would catch Fisk off-guard enough so she could witness a sucker punch. "Then again, looks like you got it all under control, Fisk."