A Different World

Searching for Spider-Man

Julia Carpenter traveled with the rest of the order of the web, consisting of Anya, Cindy, Jessica, Gwen and Miles.

They made their way to the master weaver and overseer of the web of life and destiny. The master weaver in question is the former inheritor known as Karn.

Upon arrival Julia approached the former inheritor to ask for his help in locating their Peter in the vast multiverse and stop whatever the rest of the inheritors were plotting.

"Karn." Julia spoke.

"Madame Web. I see you've brought company. What has brought you all here?" Karn spoke not looking at them but at the vast expanse of web that connected the multiverse.

"Our Spider-Man is missing. We need to find him and bring him back, can you find him or the other inheritors who took him?" She pleaded for his assistance.

"I cannot as it was not the inheritors doing that took him from your universe." Karn replied unemotionally.

"What?" Came the shocked voices of the other spider heroes.

"How can this be? If not the inheritors how did he go to another universe? And can you find which universe he is in now?" Julia fired off question after question.

"It appears as though he was transported through... other means. It took me by surprise also, but I felt that he was in no immediate danger and took no action. And as for locating which universe he is in, that I also cannot do. The means in question that transported him to a different universe is masking his connection." Karn answered her questions with no change in his voice.

"Then... how do we find him?" Asked Cindy.

"Console with the one who is Sorcerer Supreme. They should provide further knowledge on the situation." He said dismissively.

"Sorcerer Supreme? You mean Doctor Strange? What could he have to do with all this?" Asked Jessica.

"All will be revealed. You may go now." He ended.

Julia left dejected at the recent news that Karn told them. She and the others left back to their universe in 616 to talk to Doctor Strange and find out what was going on.

At the X-Mansion

Jean Grey was taken to the recovery room inside the mansion by Emma, Rogue, Illyana and Kitty who had watched her fall to the ground in tremendous pain.

She was laid out on a bed as she was observed by Beast who was giving her a full medical check up, but he found nothing out of the ordinary with her health and surmised that it may be due to her powers and recommended a fellow telepath to see into her mind.

Jean wasn't too happy with that decision but was in no position to argue and it was decided that Emma would be the one to look into her mind. A task which she was equally unhappy with but took some pride with.

Sitting at her bedside Emma began to peer into her mind but was immediately hit with some interference knocking her back, causing her to physically recoil and jump back.

"What... what was that?" She said in horror.

"What? What did you see?" Jean demanded.

"I... I couldn't see anything. Something was... blocking me. Preventing me from looking inside your mind, something powerful." She said with concern.

"Jean... do you still posses the Phoenix Force?" Emma question worriedly.

Jean was frozen stiff, she wasn't sure if she still possessed the cosmic bird as it had remained quite dormant for a while. She was terrified that it could possibly make an emergence and cause another conflict between the X-Men and other heroes like before.

"I- I'm not sure." She said horrified.

Meanwhile inside Jeans mind the Phoenix Force was raging on with the sudden loss of her beloved Anansi.

"Where is he? Where is my Anansi?" The cosmic bird screamed out, sending a torrent of flames out of its metaphysical body housed in Jeans mind.

Long ago Anansi and the Phoenix Force, who was known at the time as Phal'kon, were fated lovers but once Anansi left to construct the web of life she reincarnated to one day meet with her Anansi again.

It had been millennia since then and she had not yet met with her fated love, the only time she felt close was when the hero Spider-Man had kissed her host, Jean. That familiar feeling was a close sensation to Anansi.

With Doctor Strange

The Sorcerer Supreme had returned to the Sanctum Sanctorum after visiting the Avengers in their tower, he was infuriated by the lack of help the 'worlds mightiest heroes', had to offer in assisting him in finding Spider-Man.

He began looking through book after book hoping to find a spell or some clue as to what happened to Spider-Man and how he could find him and bring him back to this world.

"Hello, Strange." Said a voice behind the Sorcerer.

Turning around quickly the mystic man was greeted to the sight of many spider themed heroes with Julia taking centre.

"We need your assistance in locating Spider-Man. We were told that you may know something about that." She addressed the man.

"I am also trying to find him, but so far there is nothing in these books that relate to this kind of situation." The Sorcerer said on unnerved.

"How was it that he managed to leave this universe? We assumed he was taken but we were told otherwise." She asked curiously.

"That... may have been a slight fault on my part." Stephen sighed out.

"What? Explain yourself. Now." Julia said slightly threatening.

"I requested Spider-Man's help in procuring a tablet that would wreak havoc to our universe. He successfully brought me the tablet and I attempted to send it to a pocket dimension where it's affects couldn't harm anyone. Unfortunately Spider-Man was caught in the portals gravitational pull trying to protect it from being broken, he was pulled in with the tablet and... well he's now lost. He is not in the same pocket dimension as the tablet, I checked." He explained the present situation.

Julia grew worried with the newer information provided by the wizard. If he was not in the same dimension as the tablet then he could end up anywhere in the multiverse. Just because the inheritors didn't have him didn't mean they were out of the woods yet, they still needed to find him. Even if Karn said he wasn't in immediate danger.

"How can we help Doc? We need to find him and bring him back." Said Jessica, taking over as Julia was stunned silent.

"I will continue to search for a method of finding him in these books. In the meantime please contact Reed Richards and the rest of the Fantastic Four and see if he could build some machine to find him and possibly even bring him back." He ordered them as he grabbed a few books from the many shelves in the Sanctorum.

"Alright but what about the Avengers, should we ask them aswell?" Jessica inquired.

"Huh... I already tried. The Avengers will not help. Or at least those who could help have refused, Captain Rogers has assured me that if Thor was to return to Earth that he is to send him here." Strange said sadly.

"What? They won't help, Why?" Jessica practically screamed out.

"According to Stark and Barton, they feel as though Spider-Man is a nuisance and won't help him out. Doctor Banner and Miss Romanoff were uninvolved with the discussion and as I said before, Captain Rogers will do what he can to assist and send Thor to me when possible." He recounted his talk with the Avengers.

"Seriously? Damn Stark and that sleaze Barton. Well who needs em' we'll head to the Baxter Building and see what we can do." Said a furious Jessica.

A solemn nod between them and the spiders departed from the Sanctum and headed for the famed building housing the fantastic family while the Sorcerer Supreme remained behind.