An alternate dimension. Or, preferably, a nightmare.
Oliver physically reels back, fueled by sheer indignation at the Spider God's retorts. How on earth was he meant to trust these people with his secret identity, when he met them earlier today! It wasn't a matter of dislike or distrust, it was a matter of respect towards one's secret, keyword secret identity! And before he could give Anansi an ear full, the deity decided that the conversation was over, and it was time to dump his 'Totems' somewhere else. As another round of portals opened to swallow the spiders whole and spit them out god knows where (literally), Oliver had about enough time to respond to one thing. So he picked the most important.
"That's not my hero name! Sea Spiders aren't arachnids! They're pycnogonids! PYCNOGONIIIDS!"
And with that, Oliver is transported away.
Spider sense and agility helped Oliver make a landing that wasn't deeply embarrassing. He touches down on all fours in a crouch, and tries to shake off the staggering effects of traveling through dimensions (web-swinging had taken some getting used to. This was.. worse). He's able to take in the following pieces of information; The sky seemed pretty much the same as his home dimension, he had gotten transported with one of the other spiders (Arachnid, and apparently Otto, according to Anansi's big mouth), and they were on top of a building.
Then the building exploded.
"I CAN'T STAND THAT GOD!" Oliver howls as he falls right through the now-collapsing rooftop. Attempting to right himself as he fights against the downwards momentum, his suit's aerodynamic nature now working against him. He'd like to think he was probably going to be able to catch himself in time. But fortunately didn't have to find out upon the arrival of another Spider. Best guess was this was this reality's hometown Spidey. One assist via web trampoline later, and Oliver was able to start swinging.
Only for the voice of the Spider who helped them out to really register, which made Oliver very nearly swing right into a piece of rubble, with him only just barely able to emergency evade. "No way.." He whispers under his breath, watching the hometown hero ascend the collapsing building. "Doctor Connors..?"
In almost every reality, Doctor Connors became a monster. Was Oliver being sent here meant to be a gift, or a punishment? He honestly couldn't tell. But he knew he had to follow him. Oliver turns to Arachnid, assuming the guy with extra robotic limbs probably had an easier time recovering than he did, and hurriedly spits out the following; "Hey, Arachnid, right? Argyros here, good to properly meet you. Guess we'd better help out our fellow Spider, right? Okaygreatlet'sgo!"
Before waiting for a response, Oliver hurriedly starts scaling the building. Starting by slingshotting himself into the air, followed by a series of acrobatic leaps from falling chunks of building as he climbs higher. Normally Oliver would one; be much more cooperative with Arachnid, and two; be less eager to run into a situation he knew nothing about. But the nervous energy he felt beneath his skin was throwing him off his rhythm. This was his mentor, different dimension or not.
And just like that, Danny was sucked through a portal, and sent to another world.
The New York they landed was different. The skyscrapers looked familiar, but the atmosphere was clean and cheerful, almost eerily so. His Spider-Sense wasn’t going off, but something felt off about the whole place. He studied his surroundings, and picked up on the Fisk International Billboards. “I haven’t dealt with him myself, but I’ve heard stories…”
And then the noise caught Danny’s attention. “What the…?” Danny muttered as he witnessed the brutal fight unfolding in front of him. The whole thing made his stomach churn. They needed a plan. They couldn’t just waltz in.
And then Sam took off, and did just that. “Hey, wait!” But she had already confronted Spider-Fisk. Danny sighed, put his mask on, and went after her. His webshooters also alerted him to being low on web fluid. Great…
Danny stood next to Sam. “Oh, uh, don’t mind us. We’re just a couple of friendly neighborhood spiders from a different neighborhood!” Danny laughed nervously. He may have been making jokes, but he was quaking in his boots on the inside.
When the building collapsed Otto started to believe that the Spider god was either punishing him alongside Oliver for their questioning him or he saw him as partially disposable. No. He was simply overthinking. A lot had happened today. He was just simply overstimulated. He was brought back to the world by a muffled voice that sounded familiar. He couldn't quite place it, but he heard the name Fisk. That awoke him. He turned to see a green costumed Spider-Man wearing Fisk like a backpack. Admittedly the sight eased his anger with a hearty laugh. This clearly wasn't their home dimension and if he wasn't a hero here then Anna was never in any danger of Fisk. Once Otto collected himself mentally he collected himself physically, landing rather gracefully on the web trampoline. This Spider-Man was not only powerful, but he was a genius. He reminded him in a way of Danny.
Otto bounced upwards and shot some webs towards some falling debris to pull himself and follow the now introduced Argyros. He was glad he waited until the most opportune moment of the fight to come in and use his webs. He still used a lot trying to wrangle the staff away from it, so he was about halfway through his current cartridges. He followed everyone up to the top and jumped to the building over where the Green Spider landed with the Kingpack.
GM POST
The Emerald Spider landed on the roof of the building over making sure not to crash into it too hard. He watched as the others followed and removed Kingpin from his back and tossed him to the floor before webbing him up, a lot. He only stopped when his cartridges were empty. He replaced them while saying, "That should be enough to hold you until they get the crane. I feel like the conversation I'm about to have with these two gentleman will require a bit more privacy." Once his web-cartridges were completely refilled he turned to the two strangers before him.
"Shall we swing, gentlemen?" He asked waiting for them to change theirs if they needed to. Otto took the opportunity to change his, but the Emerald Spider noticed that the one with the snazzy suit didn't move to change his. This intrigued him, but he decided he'd ask once they were away. But what he found strange was the way he looked at him, as if he recognized him, or at least his voice. Once Otto was done, the Emerald Spider leapt off the building and started to swing away, not going too fast so they could swing together and talk.
"So what brings you two here? I'm guessing you're not from here and I don't mean New York." Doctor Connors was a brilliant scientist before he became the Emerald Spider and had friends and colleagues from a lot of different fields, but once he became a hero his world opened up a lot more and weird things were happening almost every other week. This was something he was actually waiting for to happen.
Spider-Fisk turned to face the spider-themed costume woman that approached him. Did he have... fans? It wasn't surprising. He had brought justice and peace to this world. It was only right that others would choose to model themselves after him. But there was something off about this one. Her smell for one. He ignored Norman for the moment, no longer seeing him as a threat, allowing him to nurse his wounds. "You smell like a coal-filled chimney. Nicotine and tobacco's been illegal here for years. Caused too many deaths and destroyed our air."
That was when a man wearing a costume very similar to his approached him. The color scheme was different, but it was like he was looking at himself. Yes, these two truly were fans. They weren't threats. "A different neighborhood?"
Before he could ask more he was blasted in the face by Norman's fiery dragon breath. It did nothing but destroy his mask and make him extremely pissed. He sighed before punching the Green Goblin in the face hard enough to knock him out without rattling his brains. Norman may have lost his way, but he had a brilliant mind and Fisk wanted to preserve that.
"You don't just mean different boroughs, do you? A different universe? That one sounds like she's very familiar with me."
It was like talking to a completely different person... or well, she supposed this Fisk was a different person. There was no way she was hearing that Kingpin would have banned nicotine and tobacco! That man smoked more than her! "Sorry, cigs are... banned?" She had to say again in a moment of disbelief. She remembered so many times that someone had tried to enact a ban on cigarettes or a policy heavily discouraging it through higher taxes imposed on it, but to successfully do it? It would take a very powerful man indeed. "I mean, I guess that's fair. Doctors and environmentalists hate it."
Look, just because she didn't follow guidelines didn't mean she was unaware!
Sam watched as Spider-Man came in to join them, hurriedly trying to smooth over whatever aggression Sam could have incurred in the short amount of time he wasn't there. Before they could rightly respond, every hair on Sam's body went up. In an almost split second, the Green Goblin had risen and he breathed fire straight into Fisk's face. Oh. That was definitely Wilson Fisk, there was just no mistaking it. He got it all the way down to that pissed expression. It was kind of nostalgic.
"Damn, now that's a hit, slugger." She couldn't help but whistle. She was pretty sure she heard the crunch of his bones breaking from where she had been standing. For a moment, Sam thought he was as good as dead before seeing Green Goblin's chest still heaving. The villains here must have been sturdy as all hell to match Fisk's physique.
Curiously, Sam moved closer to the unconscious villain. "Yeah, yeah, different universe. We fight a lot there, you know, Kingpin and shit. Anyway, something about looking for spider allies and we got dropped here— how is this guy not dead?" Seemingly dismissive of the actual task they had at hand, the shadow spider knelt down to inspect more of the Green Goblin.
Yet despite all the punishment this Green Goblin was put through, he still kept coming back for more. Going so far as to breathe fire in Spider-Fisk’s face. Fisk knocked him out, but he still wasn’t dead. Danny kept close to Sam. “Be careful! He could wake up again, and breathe fire in your face.”
Then he turned his attention back to Fisk. “And yes, we are from a different universe. The story of how we got here is… unbelievable to say the least…” He looked at the unconscious Green Goblin. People in this universe were probably used to unbelievable things. “But, the important part is, more Spiders from other universes with less than noble intentions are supposed to be coming, and we were sent here to stop them.”
Spider-Fisk looked down at the Spider-Woman as she examined the Green Goblin. He was confused by her question. "I didn't want him to be. Norman Osborn is a brilliant scientist and leader. It's the last part that's become an issue. He doesn't like taking orders from or being lower than anyone. He's tried to 'dethrone' me a few times now. Once as a fusion of Iron Man and Captain America named Iron Patriot. He gave me a great fight, but it made me lose some respect for him. Though, I'm not surprised you and I crossed paths in your universe. I was the Kingpin here and some still consider me to be. But killing my nemesis, the Daredevil, and realizing exactly what he had been fighting for changed something in me. Then with these spider powers I was able to right my wrongs as Kingpin."
When Danny told Sam to be careful Fisk shook his head. "No. He'll be out for a while. He'll have a nice nap to think things over." He listened to Spider-Man as he began to talk about other universes and other spiders. "I appreciate the warning, but as you can see there's not much I can't handle. I've never fought another one of us before, but I was already a problem before I got my powers. I doubt the same could be said for these spider villains."
Another New York City. Crying, screaming, throwing up.
Oliver was on auto-pilot as he followed after the alternate version of his mentor and friend. He didn't really remember the path he took to the adjacent rooftop, only that he'd gotten there without issue. Alternate universes.. He knew they were gonna freak him out. Like, really mess him up. But he wasn't expecting the emotional damage on top of that. The thing that brought him out of the mind fog was a close-up of how the other spiders spun their webs. It got the scientist part of his brain ticking (biology, sure, but still science). "Web-shooters, huh?" Oliver thinks aloud. He had no idea that his organic webs weren't the norm up until just now.
It was a small bit of luck in a pit of bad luck. Oliver figured he could probably devise a web formula, but making a device to launch it was beyond him. He wasn't any good in mechanical engineering. But that was enough about webs, his mentor was here in front of him. And Oliver had no idea what to say. It wasn't the same Connors, so none of what Oliver wanted to say would make any sense here. So he elected to swing in silence with them as they left the defeated Fisk behind. Even with his reasoning, Oliver couldn't help but feel a little cowardly in his avoidance.. He also couldn't help but feel a little bad.
The fact that the Connors-Spider was sharp as a knife and all business helped a little. Oliver could focus on that, instead. Avoid the emotional stuff, stick to the important details. But still, how on earth did he clock them as 'visitor's so quick? "..Seriously? Yeah, you're.. actually dead on. But how on earth did you come to that conclusion? I'm still wrapping my head around it, and I've got actual proof." Leave it to Doc Connors to figure out the impossible. No wonder according to Anansi he was almost always embroiled in trouble. Too smart to not notice the unusual, but not cautious enough to steer clear of it.
Guess that was where Oliver learned how to be unable to leave well enough alone.
"I think my more eloquent friend, the Arachnid, can give you the details better than me. But long story short, the Multiverse is real. And it's shaped like a web. And you might be in danger."
Otto Octavius, the Arachnid, In How Smart Is This Guy?
Otto was also impressed with the Emerald Spider's intellect. To already come to that conclusion so quickly, he too was interested in how he put it all together.
Doctor Connors answered simply. "Your costumes and his tech." before continuing with an actual explanation. "They don't look new at all. That they've already seen quite a few battles and it's clear that you're spider-themed heroes. I would've heard or seen something of you two in a blog or somewhere online if you've been working here. I've faced monsters, met a Sorcerer, fought with the God of Thunder, fought aliens and last year I went to space. Honestly, I've been waiting on a confirmation that the Multiverse was real. Though, I never expected it to be centered around people like us. But in danger how? I'm guessing it has something to do with getting bit by a spider." Doc Connors recognized Oliver's voice. It was strange to him to find that his research assistant was also a hero in another universe. What were the odds of that? He wanted to know more, but decided it was best to wait for further explanation about this danger before asking the questions he really wanted to ask.
Otto took this moment to speak up. "There's a spider god named Anansi that supposedly watches over the multiverse and gives individuals spider abilities. Some of these individuals have decided that they no longer like the status quo of things and are amassing an army of Spider-Totems, that's what we are, and killing the ones that don't join them. So we've been sent here to warn you. You must be one of the next worlds on their radar. Anansi didn't tell us much. He snapped us all away after this one," he says pointing at Oliver, "disagreed with his methods and pissed him off."
Doc Connors took it all in as the words came to him. He was surprisingly taking it well. He honestly wasn't worried at all about these other spider-totems. He's faced a lot in his career as the Emerald Spider. But he was glad that he was awarded this opportunity to meet so many unique people, including his friend and colleague who was apparently the same no matter the universe. Curt laughed before saying, "It seems you have a knack for that no matter the universe, Oliver. If giving us the opportunity to meet each other like this was a result of you pissing him off, I wonder what he'll do if you make him happy."
Sam chuckled at Spider-Man's concern and gave him a thumbs up but didn't really move away. She couldn't help but poke Norman's side a couple of times as Fisk continued to explain about his intentions with Norman and why he was still alive. "So he's not always like this? Like... what, he wakes up and he's just good 'ol Norman Osborn and not this weird goblin guy?" She couldn't really remember much about the Green Goblin of their universe. By the time she had arrived in New York, he had already been dealt with. She turned to Danny and squinted. "If memory serves correct, didn't you handle Green Goblin? Was he like this?"
"Daredevil... from Hell's Kitchen, right? He's a pretty chill guy, shame you killed him." Sam had encountered him every now and then when she found herself in the neighborhood. Though, it was more often that they met when she was just Sam and not Araltus. She whistled as she finally stood up and dusted herself off. "As good a hero backstory as any, I guess. I can't really judge since I wasn't exactly in a much different position than you. It was more of a personal grudge than anything heroic or noble when I became one of your problem spiders." Sure, his face pissed her off to hell and back but it wasn't like he killed her favorite ramen guy.
She nodded along as Danny explained it more thoroughly but Fisk didn't seem the least bit concerned. As he said, considering everything he was, it didn't seem like anything could take him down. Not even a firebreathing green goblin mutation could even put a scratch on him. "Yeah, I feel like if anyone punched you, spider or not, their hands would literally break." Followed by a long pause as she considered testing out the theory. After a second or two, she shook her head. Anyway, even if you can handle them yourself, we're kinda stuck here so we might as well help. I was promised a fight."
"Name's Araltus, by the way. What do we call you? 'Cause buddy over there is already Spider-Man. If you're also using that alias, it might get confusing fast."
Danny sighed at the mention of Norman Osborn. “Yeah, it’s true. He was never like this, though. He used armor and technology. He never got to the point of mutation. You know, at one point, his son Harry was my best friend. Before all this Spider nonsense. I even interned at Oscorp for a bit, and Harry was my man in the chair. But then it turned out that Oscorp was doing shady things, and I had to take on Norman. My friendship with Harry became strained after that… Then, other things happened…”
Danny was quick to change the subject, sensing the heaviness in the air. “If it makes it easier, you can just call me Danny. I know, I know, secret identities and everything. But I don’t think that really matters in this situation…” He trailed off, giving a half-hearted chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.
After being suddenly airdropped into their first assignment, Xander gave the words of the ‘spider-god’ some thought. That they’d have to trust some others. Besides Danny and Caty, he hadn’t gotten much experience interacting with the other spiders in his universe. He didn’t even fully know their hero names, so how would he be able to reliably trust ones from a manifold of them?
It was around then that he felt arms around him that he realized that he’d been paired up with Cat. It was almost like a shock, given that positive physical contact had been basically nonexistent since he’d stopped wearing the mask. It was…well, not unwelcome from her at least. It was nice to hear that she still thought about him to an extent, being the more famous Spider-Woman and all. Xan just managed to get a hand up to hug her back before she pulled away.
While she was investigating, he’d looked around a little more. It seemed like New York to him, almost exactly like home. For a second, he thought that maybe Anansi just sent them back, until he noticed some things being a little off. Things like the green street lights were blue instead, or how the Baxter building in the distance looked like it had a ‘5’ on it instead of a ‘4’. This multiverse business was some trippy shit, to say the least.
Then, as if the Mandela Effect wasn’t enough, his eyes caught a blur approach them from above. Although initially tensed, the person that greeted them right as Cat popped the question felt like the universe itself answering. She seemed to recognize him instantly, which threw him for a bit of a loop.
He supposed he did remember Liz from their universe, but if this Liz were anything like that one then— Just like that, the cross-universe girlfriends embraced. While a nice reunion and all, it was freaky to see a dead person back to life. It made Xan ask internal questions about his own existence here. This Spider-Woman recognized him, by name even, but it didn’t seem to be with a similar shock or nostalgia. That had to mean he was alive here…Did…Did that mean…?
It didn’t matter. Even if, that would mean it didn’t belong to him, and Xander didn’t want for shit to get more complicated. He didn’t want to feel…things. So, his mind shifted to the point of them even being here. He gave them a second or two more of quality time before piping up.
“So uh, Spider—“ Well ‘Spider-Woman’ applied to them both; “Liz, notice anything weird around the city lately? Like, ‘extra webs where they shouldn’t be’ typa weird?”
Caty Davis, the Spider-Woman, In My Dead Girlfriend Stole My Life and I'm Happy
Caty and Liz couldn't believe this miracle or gift they were given. Even if they had to stay in separate universes it was more than enough to know that they existed, were alive, and happy in other universes. Maybe Anansi wasn't so bad after all. This whole spider multiverse concept, really. Caty always felt like Liz would be great as a hero. She wondered if there was a universe where they got to be heroes together or were they forever cursed to be apart? Perhaps traveling through these worlds would give her an answer. But right now she was completely happy with the moment they were in.
Caty was recalled to the reason they were here when Xander spoke up to ask Liz if she had seen any extra webs lately. She stepped back to give her the space to answer.
"Extra webs? No. Not even Venom's since she moved to San Francisco. But you don't mean her, do you? Are you looking for someone from where you're from?" Liz asked. She figured this wasn't a trip just to see her. These two weren't her Caty and Xander and they weren't clones either. They were from another universe. This was so freaking cool.
"No, not where we're from." Caty spoke up. "But from another universe. We honestly don't know who they are or what they look like. The god who sent us here didn't really give us much information besides that they're Spider-Totems like us."
"A god? Spider-Totems? Huh. I always wondered why I was bit by the spider and not you. It's good to know we were both chosen like some kind of cosmic balance."
Before they could talk further a voice came through on Liz's comms. "Hey, Spider-Woman. I detected a space-time anomaly at your location. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Danny." Liz said while pressing her ear. "Some family came to town. It's Caty and Xander from another universe."
Caty's eyes widened. Danny was still alive in this universe and he was working with Liz. Her two favorite people were working together for the greater good. She loved that even without powers Danny had a heroic heart.
"Caty!? I'm on my way." Danny said, leaping out of his chair.
"Tell Peter too. I'm sure he'd love to see her." Liz said before removing her finger from her ear.
"I'm glad to know Danny's alive here too. But... uh... who's Peter?" Caty asked completely confused.
"Peter Parker? Best friends with Danny and Harry? Lives on the other side of the Watsons with his Aunt May? My ex-boyfriend..."
None of this did anything to make Caty recognize the name Peter Parker. She was glad to know that there were still some things in this universe that she recognized like the Watsons and sweet old May Parker and that Danny and Harry's friendship was alive and well here, but she found it strange that there'd be some random guy named Peter Parker here, but not in her home universe.
"I know May and Ben Parker, but never heard of them having a nephew. Danny would be happy to know MJ exists here. He loves that boy."
Liz found this both strange and interesting. Peter's Uncle Ben was alive in Caty's universe, but he didn't exist. If Peter had heard that he'd believe it was his fault that his uncle was killed. But what she found the most strange was Caty not mentioning the other MJ, Mary Jane. "They're actually dating here. And I... I'm dating his twin sister." She looked away after admitting that.
"If I wasn't more shocked by the fact that MJ has a twin sister here I would've joked about you having a thing for twin sisters."
Liz laughed. "It's not like that. Danny was nervous for his first date with MJ and saw how I was taking my breakup with Peter so he convinced me to join them on a double date. The rest was history."
"I'm happy for you, Liz. But I'm surprised. This Peter Parker must be really something if the breakup had you that down."
"Oh, you have no idea." A random voice said. The voice was familiar to Liz, but it wasn't from the one she knew. The group looked around and then up to see a costumed man dangling from a lamppost. "It's been a while, Liz. I'd hate to kill a shadow from my past, but if you align with Anansi then you're as good as dead."
Caty was paralyzed, frozen in fear. She had faced a lot during her tenure as Spider-Woman, but her spidey-sense never reacted the way it was doing now. Every time she thought about a possible move to attack her senses were telling her that she'd be killed. The sound of
Danny's voice cut through the silence as he could be heard in Liz's earpiece. "Another space-time anomaly detected where you are, Spider-Woman!"
Liz slowly lifted her hand to her ear to show the Spider-Man in front of them that she wasn't attacking. "Yeah, our new visitor is in front of us. He's not a friendly. You and Petey need to stay away." She then removed her communicator from her ear and tossed it to the ground. She didn't need them distracting her on the other end. This was going to be the fight for their life. She just hoped her friends would listen for once. She didn't want to lose anyone else.
They would not listen.
GM POST
Spider-Fisk nodded. "As I understand this transformation is temporary. Shouldn't last for much longer." He was starting to like this Spider-Woman. She didn't judge him for his past here or for the mistakes of his counterpart from her universe. It gave him strange, warm and fuzzy feelings inside his chest. For a second he thought he was having a heart attack. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not invincible. There are still opponents here that even I couldn't face alone."
When it came to the topic of names and what they'd each be called he wasn't all too concerned with keeping the Spider-Man mantle for their team-up. "You can call me Fisk. It's what you're both familiar with anyway." Fisk walked over to Norman's body and reached to pick him up, but before he could small portals appeared in front of the Spider-Heroes. Fisk stepped back bewildered by the sight. This must have been how they got there.
Anansi had been watching and realized they were about to separate, but at least completed part of their mission. He dropped three circular devices into portals landing in each of their hands. The device in their hands was brown and green like Anansi's costume with a spider-symbol covering the top. It looked almost like a buzzer from a board game or game show. It doubled as a communicator and a key that opened portals to the Web of Life and Destiny. They were rather simple to figure out and operate, but came with sticky note instructions. The symbol on top would open a portal and the button on the side was for the transdimensional radio.
Fisk placed his device in his pocket and lifted up Norman. "I'm going to drop Norman off. Look around the city if you'd like. Contact me if any enemies show up."
Spider-Fisk swung his way to the SuperMax Prison that contained his and other heroes' more powered foes. He dropped Norman's unconscious body with the guards at the front and helped them hook him up to a rather large gurney. "Make you dose him before you get him in his cell. Now would not be the time for him to escape."
"Yes, sir!" They said as they started to head inside.
"Wilson Fisk." A large man in a dark, black, gooey costume said. "Now I know Anansi's lost it if he made you a Spider-Totem. But maybe this is his gift for me. I've killed a weaker version of you before, in a prison just like this. Now I get to do it again with a more even playing field." The man laughed as if he had said a joke. "Who am I kidding? You'll never measure up to me."
Another New York City. Hoping he didn't turn into a fish monster in this universe.
Oliver had to admit, he was impressed. Sure, he knew Doc Connors was smart, but smart as a scientist didn't mean smart in every which way. So when the good doctor showed off his detective skills, Oliver was half tempted to applaud him (and was, maybe a little jealous. Seriously, that power of deduction would have been useful in a lot of cases..). The smoking gun being the well-worn costumes on two brand new Spider People was pretty brilliant, and it made perfect sense. Of course, then the conversation continued. And Oliver was less amused. He wasn't mad mad. Well, no he was. But he wasn't mad at the Arachnid or Doc Connors. So his following indignation was not particularly heated.
Oliver flings his hands up mid-swing in mock surrender. "Oohhhkay! Hold on! Let's not act like I was the only Spider in that room who was unimpressed with Anansi's attitude. And if maybe, maybe I pushed him the furthest.. Shouldn't an actual god be able to be the bigger person? After his defense, Oliver re-grabs the web rope in the same swing cycle, continuing on the somewhat aimless swinging path the three spiders were on. He nearly loses his grip and swings into a wall when Doc Connors refers to him by name. Letting out a squawk, Oliver has to take a minute to realign himself before he can properly respond.
"Wha- Seriously..? How on earth- ugh. I knew I should've splurged for a voice modulator. Not that my secret identity really matters in this universe, but- Hey! What do you mean I have a knack for that!? If your Oliver is anything like the Me Oliver, then I am plenty mild mannered and respectful."
..
After a minute, Oliver starts laughing as well. It was good to hear from the good doctor, even if it wasn't the same doctor he knew. He was similar enough that he still felt familiar.
"Okay, maybe not all the time. But to most people! The ones that earn it. See, Arachnid never sent me through any kind of portal against my will. And I haven't been giving him any attitude.. But speaking of this other me. I'm like- not.. Am I just a normal guy here?"
Because honestly, after the past few hours of activity, being just a normal guy sounded fantastic to Oliver right about now. He wasn't going to punk out and dump the responsibility of being a Spider now that he was one. But it sure would have been nice if he wasn't one to begin with.
So their Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin too and had quite some history with Danny. "Damn, must have been a downer that your boss is some villain that you regularly fought." She slid his pockets inside her suit's pockets. "I guess it'll put quite a damper on your friendship when you fight someone's dad." It made her feel better about the fact that she, aside from other superpowered people, she wasn't exactly close to many civilians who could get caught in the crossfire.
"Alright, fine, fine. Danny, Fisk, name's Sam since we're using real names anyway." It was a common name enough that it didn't really matter in the long run, as Danny had said. She raised an eyebrow when a portal appeared and a device popped up. She read the note on how to operate and then nodded. "Okay this is pretty useful." She gave Fisk a salute. "Alright, holler when you find some other spiders too. I'm going to explore your little New York."
She looked over at Danny. "I'm going to look for this one place that we don't have anymore in our universe. If you need anything, transponder." Sam gave him another nod before shooting out a web to begin going around New York. If Kingpin became a hero in this universe, that surely meant that he would be safe. Surely, nothing can stop her from getting to taste her favorite ramen again!
There I was, doing my routine of walking up a building to survey the city. It's been about half a decade or more since I got bit by that weird spider, good thing that happened or I wouldn't be where I am right now... on the side of a building... Anyways, I've been doing a lot since then, like stopping some, well, a lot of crimes. Turns out, the spider gave me some... abilities that eventually led me to becoming a hero of sorts. I'm able to shoot webs, swing on them, climb on things... It's honestly pretty fun. But, lately, there's been a lack of people to save, I've only been able to find a few people that need help from me... Oh, well, not like I'm going to give up on being a hero, right? Ah, just in time, I've reached the top of the building, that means: Morning Surveillance Time!
"Let's see here... Nothing... Nothing... Ah wait- no... Huh... This is just getting a bit repetitive." And repetitive it was, although, I didn't mind it all too much, I still enjoyed hanging around the city. While I'm still narrating, I wanted to share something I've been learning: Multiversal Theory. I know, spooky, right? But it got me thinking, what if there are others like me in an alternate universe? Yeah, that of all things came to mind. Anyways, I quickly dropped that thought because I didn't think it would be possible, but, still thinking about it...
Otto Octavius, the Arachnid, In What A Sweet Reunion
Otto couldn't help but laugh at Oliver. "When have you known any god in their entire recorded histories to have a level-head when a human annoys or pisses them off? But you're right. I didn't help the situation either."
Meanwhile this was the best day Connors had ever since becoming a superhero. Things were usually rather stressful and he had to be just as goofy as these two to balance it out and keep himself sane. Even though he had his own Oliver it was nice getting to know and spend time with this version of his friend.
"Normal? You're anything, but normal, but no powers or mutations." Connors said hopefully putting Oliver at ease. "You were actually late to work the day I got my powers. I used to wonder if you were meant to get them instead of me. I love to see that you're doing well in your universe. But your question begs another. What am I like where you're from?"
GM POST
Meanwhile in another universe Shockweb was about to get hit by an enormous wave. Literally. A giant torrent of water blasted him out off the roof of the building he was on and poured down on the people on the streets below in the process. The water reformed into a solid, humanoid structure. "Look what you did to me!" The Hydro-Man yelled. "I'm a freak! And you're going to pay!"
He followed Shockweb down planning to drown him in front of those he swore to protect.
Danny watched Sam and Fisk leave with a mix of amusement and concern. He knew they could both handle themselves, but this new world was full of unknowns. He glanced down at the device in his hand, turning it over thoughtfully. This was a chance to explore and understand more about this alternate New York, but he also needed to stay cautious.
Deciding to make the most of his time, Danny took a deep breath and shot a web to a nearby building, launching himself into the air. Even in this new world, the rush of web swinging through the concrete jungle was the same. He weaved between skyscrapers, taking in the sights and sounds of this utopian version of New York.
As he swung, Danny couldn’t help but notice all the virtual billboards and the overall cleanliness of the city. It was almost too perfect. He made a mental note to look for anything that seemed out of place or unusual. Fisk International’s presence was everywhere, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this city than met the eye.
After a few minutes of exploring, Danny landed on a rooftop overlooking Central Park. The park was lush and vibrant, teeming with people enjoying the day. It was a stark contrast to the sometimes rundown and crowded parks in his own world. He took a moment to observe, noting the absence of homeless people and the general sense of happiness among the citizens.
Danny’s curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to head down to street level. Maybe he could get a better sense of how this world operated. As he descended, he kept his senses alert for any signs of trouble or anything that seemed off.
Once on the ground, Danny approached a food vendor. “Hi there, I’m new in town. Anything you’d recommend trying?”
The vendor, a middle-aged man with a friendly demeanor, grinned back.“Welcome! You can’t go wrong with a a pretzel. Best in the city! I’ll give you one to try free!”
Danny nodded and ordered a pretzel, chatting with the vendor about life in this version of New York. He learned that Fisk International had implemented numerous policies to improve the city’s infrastructure, reduce crime, and provide for the less fortunate. It sounded almost too good to be true, and Danny couldn’t help but feel a bit skeptical…
Danny kept his device close, an evil Spider-person could show up at any moment. He lifted his mask up a little, and took a bite of the pretzel. “Wow, the food here is great!”
Meanwhile in another universe Shockweb was about to get hit by an enormous wave. Literally. A giant torrent of water blasted him out off the roof of the building he was on and poured down on the people on the streets below in the process. The water reformed into a solid, humanoid structure. "Look what you did to me!" The Hydro-Man yelled. "I'm a freak! And you're going to pay!"
He followed Shockweb down planning to drown him in front of those he swore to protect.
"Oh great, you again. Listen, I had nothing to do with that, it's not your fault either."
I managed to say while being tossed around in the waves of water. Believe it or not, this... didn't happen often.
"Why do I try to talk my way out of things... This never works."
I had thought to myself inquisitivly, preparing my Electric Gauntlets.
"Ok, buddy! This might hurt... considering you're made of water..."
Another New York City. Wondering how he can duck this awkward situation.
Oliver had to admit that the Arachnid had him dead to rights. Mythology, theology, gods tended to lean towards wrathful. The exceptions to the rules were usually pretty distinctly known as gods of mercy slash peace slash whatever. So, okay, fine, yeah. He was correct. Oliver could admit that. "..Alright. Maybe you're onto something. I guess better I get rudely dismissed than accidentally star in my own personal Plagues of Egypt. I'll try to at least mask my dislike next time we run into the ol' Spider God." Try to. Succeed? Hopefully, but not assuredly. Oliver was pretty bad at not expressing his opinions.
Fortunately Spider-Connors (ehh, he needed to get a better nickname for this version of his mentor.) changed the subject, and the first part was touching- if untrue, Oliver used to be very ordinary. -the second part.. Woof. He'd like to go back to talking about the wrathful spider god instead. "Well, you were not late to work on the day I got mine. But uh, you got a worse deal than me. I'm working on fixing it though. So no harm no foul." A deeply traumatic experience and several missing persons that might not have been from the Gar but very well could have been did not mean no harm, but this version of Connors didn't need to know the messy details.
"Kind of part of why I'm not so stoked about the dimensional travel. I've got responsibilities back home. No offense, it's cool to meet a version of you that has the same Spider Powers as me, I'm not complaining about that.. I just don't like wondering what's going on in the Narrows while I'm away." Oliver explains, before turning his attention to the third member of their group once again.
"What about you, Arachnid? Do your Spider-Bots patrol while you're away? If so, I am very jealous."
Hydro Man wasn't quite expecting this electric greeting. He had forgotten that this hero could use electricity and that he, as a giant mass of water, really wasn't the best match against him. He yelled out in pain as his form was starting to lose stability. This was really his life now. Shockweb made him like this and now he was going to kill him. No. This wasn't going to be the end for him. He wasn't going to go out like this. Not now. Not ever!
Hydro-Man willed himself to reform and created a massive water fist to punch Shockweb directly in the face sending him flying through the street. He took the opportunity to leave. He'd live to fight another day or get this spider-twerp in one fell swoop. Maybe he could find out who he was and attack him without those gauntlets. For now he turned into a moving pool of water into the nearest manhole.
Connors decided not to pry further into his doppelganger's incident. He could tell that Oliver didn't really want to talk about it. He was interested to know how responsible this version of Oliver had become, not to say his wasn't responsible either. But to care so much about people, choosing to protect them instead of looking the other way. Not to say that his Oliver wouldn't have done the same if he had gotten powers, quite the contrary. He would just prefer not to have the pressure of that responsibility placed on him, but he wouldn't shirk it or turn his back on others.
"I love seeing this side of you," Curt started. "But I'm sure if this Spider-God has any power or influence he wouldn't let those you left behind go unprotected."
Otto thought about Curt's words and Oliver's question. He actually didn't even think about it until now. "I... I actually haven't checked. I never really planned for interdimensional travel." Before he could check his senses went off like crazy and before he could properly react he was hit by a brick wall or at least that's what it felt like. He was knocked out of the sky and when he opened his eyes he saw, Danny? No. Similar costumes, but this one was red and blue. He could just tell that it experienced many battles and that the man wearing it was experienced. He was able to get the drop on him, the great Otto Octavius!
"Otto, you bastard. You stole my body again, didn't you?"
Spider-Fisk was amused by the human pile of goo in front of him. A smirk crept on his lips. "I didn't realize I was this popular. To think so many across the multiverse would know and be fans of lil ole me."
Symbiote Spider-Man laughed. He hadn't laughed genuinely like this in a while. "You even got the spider-quips down. You really are a totem. It's going to be a joy to kill you."
"I just put a fire breathing gargoyle to sleep. Let's see what you can do, Spider-Goo."
Symbiote Spider-Man obliged. He formed a blade over his hand and dashed forward to attack. Once the two met Spider-Fisk grabbed the blade and kicked Symbiote Spider-Man in the chest. Unfortunately his hit connected, but was immediately wrapped around by black tendrils attempting to crush the leg. Fisk could feel the bones in his legs beginning to break and he knew he wouldn't be able to regenerate them in time and they'd be a liability. He forced Symbiote Spider-Man's bladed fist down on his leg cutting himself free. Unbeknownst to him a piece of the symbiote peeled off at the wound and began cauterizing it while it infected his bloodstream. The symbiote may have loved Spider-Man, but it was amused by this man's tenacity and mental strength. It didn't matter who won this fight. The winner would be VENOM!
1x Laugh
