Earth-636
OSBORN PENTHOUSE
Back at the mansion, Mortimer was tidying up around the house while Harry was off doing whatever as Spider-Man until he heard the door to the balcony opening up and saw that Osborn has returned along with Ollie and Mattie, who were still in their costumes. However, he didn't recognize the person who also came with them and was garbed in red and blue that looked remarkable similar to the outfit Harry was wearing.
"Welcome back, young masters. I didn't know we would be inviting a guest over tonight," Mortimer alluded to Peter since he was in the room with them.
"Relax, Mortimer. He's a friend of mine. Well, technically a version of an old friend who's from another universe," Harry awkwardly explained. Mortimer looked to both Mattie and Ollie to get a decent answer.
"Don't look at us. We're just as lost as you," Ollie shrugged who was still couldn't a grasp on the situation.
"Allow me to introduce all of you to a variant of my best friend, Peter Parker, who says that he's Spider-Man from a world called Earth-616," Harry said as Peter took off his mask again as a sign of trust.
"Wait. Are you that Peter Parker?" Mortimer curiously asked.
"I take it that you heard of me?" Peter shook the amphibious mutant's hand.
"Harry used to talk a lot about you whenever he was feeling down. He always talked about the good times when the both of you were in high school," Mortimer stated.
"What? I didn't meet Harry well not technically you until college," Peter raised an eyebrow and looked back at Harry.
"I guess there are some slight differences between our two dimensions," Harry said as they walk and talk.
"Slight would be an understatement," Peter chuckled.
Why don't we do some compare and contrast? Come, we'll discuss more in my study," Harry said leaving the rest of the people present in the room confused.
"Wait. What are me and Mattie gonna do while you two go off to your office regaling?" Ollie asked as he was perplexed that his mentor is even entertaining this idea.
"Why don't you lovebirds just kick back and enjoy the rest of your dinner date in the dining room? If you want? Mortimer can reheat some of the leftovers that we had from earlier," Harry recommended.
"Actually sir I kinda...may have ate all of the cacciatore when you left?" Mortimer rubbed the back of neck out of embarrassment.
"Why am I not surprised?" Harry said rhetorically as Peter chuckled to himself.
"It's cool. Me and Ollie have our to go boxes in our backpacks. We'll go on to continue our date while you two have some catching up to do," Mattie was skeptical at first but understood as the two Spider-Men needed some alone time to get acquainted with one another. The two proteges decided to continue their date night in the dining room.
"So...before all this went down, what was it that you wanted to talk about?" Mattie inquired.
"Oh...I just wanted to say happy anniversary. It was the day when I finally had the guts to take you out on our first date," Ollie nervously said as he clutches the ring box that his mother gave him in his pocket. She said to save it for that special someone, but thanks to what's currently going on right now he puts it on the back burner.
The two Spider-Men were both in Harry's office sitting down in armchairs next to a warm fireplace. The room was impeccably cozy to say the least but Peter could feel more at ease if there wasn't a huge portrait of Norman Osborn and his wife, Emily Osborn, hanging over the fireplace. Mortimer brought them two small glasses filled with ice while Harry stood up and walked over to a sixteenth century globe bar that had some bottles of Crystal Pepsi stored within it near his desk.
"I didn't know that they still make those over here," Peter said as he grabbed a bottle from Harry.
"They don't nowadays but I happen to know a guy," Harry smirked.
"So I take it that this is your secret lair huh?" Peter quipped and observe the whole room.
"More or less," Harry shrugged while pouring his bottle into the glass.
"I have taken the liberty to empty the contents of your pockets while you were off making your rounds, Master Harold," Mortimer said. "Was this document that was in your jacket pocket important to you?"
"Thank you and yes, Mortimer. That would be all for tonight," Harry praised the green-skinned butler as he took the paper from him and had Mortimer dismissed from the room.
"It's hard to believe that Toad turned out to be a swell butler in this world," Peter smiled and poured some Pepsi in the glass.
"What's Morty like on your Earth?" Harry asked curiously.
"Well, Toad ran with a bad crowd unfortunately and he was always never taken serious. I think he's a janitor now but I'm not really sure," Peter sugarcoated the details, but in a way he actually did felt sorry for Toad back on his Earth. When he was wearing the symbiote at the time, it caused him to alienate certain people who wanted to be apart of his life such as Toad, Ollie and possibly many others.
"Now onto a more important topic, how did you get to this universe?" Harry questioned while drinking some soda from his glass.
"I was fighting Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, in Times Square," Peter said as Harry started to feel a bit unnerved at that but still kept his composure afterwards.
"And he used a powerful artifact known as the Cosmic Cube to finish me off. He intended to kill me that day and the next thing I know was waking up in my old home," Peter finished while he took a tip from his glass.
"I'm gonna assume that you were the "anomaly" that was detected in Forest Hills? Is that correct?" Harry deduced and he gave Peter the piece of paper that was a photo of the area which had a red circle on one of the homes.
"Yeah and I also ran into a not so neighborly tenant," Peter answered but still felt saddened with the way this world's Ben Parker behaved from earlier. He would never expect his Uncle to threaten him and act so aggressive.
Harry knew who he was referring to but decided to leave it alone for now. "Norman's not dead in your world?"
"There were times that he made people believed that he kicked the bucket. He's like a cockroach and he'll always find a way to keep on coming back," Peter bitterly said.
"Ain't that the truth," Harry agreed while staring down at his glass. "Fortunately, I never have to deal with him ever again."
Peter looked back towards Harry wondering what was he talking about and then it hit him.
"Harry? You..didn't do it? Did you?" Peter cautiously asked.
"No, but I really...really wanted to," Harry melancholy stared at the fireplace and up to a photo of him with a beautiful blonde woman that was wrapped around his arm. Peter sees what Harry was glancing at and sympathized with his plight.
"He also took away someone that I cared about and I will never forgive him for that. I'm sorry if I opened up some old wounds," Peter apologized to Harry but he brushed it off.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Peter. Norman is and will always be a cold and uncaring bastard," Harry muttered under his breath and with that the room got quiet.
"It's starting to get late," Harry checked his grandfather clock and stood up from the chair to stretch his muscles. "We should probably turn in for tonight. Mortimer will escort you to one of the guest bedrooms."
"I don't know, Harry. I don't want to seem like a burden to you," Peter rubbed his arm.
"It's no trouble. You are my guest after all," Harry smiled while putting his hand on Peter's shoulder.
"Well if you insist. It sure beats having to sleep in some dank alleyway somewhere," Peter chuckled as he began to go in the hallway to have a talk with Mortimer about the spare bedroom While Harry sat back in his chair.
"Night, Harry," Peter yawned.
"G'night, Pete," Harry yawned back and then Peter closed the double doors.
Harry pondered on what's his next course of action with Peter should be when suddenly he hears the doors opening up to see his two wards.
"Knock, Knock," Mattie playfully said while knocking on the wood of the door.
"Did you two enjoyed your date night?" Harry pleasantly asked.
"We had a blast. The food was good and we talked. Couldn't asked for anything more, but we're clearly not here to discuss that," Mattie stated while crossing her arms.
"Think the new guy's story checks out?" Ollie inquired due to having a quick chat with Mortimer about knowing more about their mentor's relationship with this world's Peter Parker in the dining room.
"He said that he was fighting his Earth's Green Goblin and the variant of Norman used some sort of "mystical object" to transport him here to our dimension. Normally, I would've thought this whole thing to be crazy, but after spending years solving bizarre cases and warding off the Asgardian Invasion, it taught to me to always expect the unexpected," Harry stated while he was staring out the window looking at the city.
"Are you sure that having this dude around the mansion would be a good idea? We barely know the guy and he could be trying to use you so that he can infiltrate the lair," Ollie suggested out of paranoia.
"Harry, I know he may seem a lot like your departed friend...but you do know that he's not actually him, right?" Mattie asked out of concern for her mentor.
"...I know," Harry sighed as he himself knows that the Peter from another universe cannot fill the void. "Consider this as my way of finally getting some closure. If you two feel like he can't be trusted, then perhaps I propose a solution to help ease some of our doubts."
"And what that might be?" Ollie asked.
"Quentin called a week ago and said that he was returning to New York sometime tomorrow. I need the two of you to go pick him up from Grand Central," Harry said.
"Nope. Nah. No way. Absolutely not him," Mattie shook her head.
"I get that you guys don't have the best relationship in the world, but right now he could be useful in getting inside Peter's head," Harry sighed.
"You think he would go for having someone poking inside his brain?" Ollie asked his mentor.
"It's the only way to find out if the man is telling the whole truth, and he showed up in Ben's old home in Forest Hills which was where the energy spikes were detected so that can't be a coincidence," Harry firmly stated.
"Yeah but does it really have to be Quentin?" Mattie groaned as she doesn't want to deal with that self-centered gremlin.
"Do you know any other telepaths that aren't him?" Harry raised a eyebrow.
"Fine," Mattie sighed which made Harry had a small smile on his face.
"You're both are welcome to stay the night here but no funny business under my roof," Harry said which made the couple blushed out of embarrassment but they agreed to those terms.
"You got it and thanks, Harry," Ollie said and the couple finally left the room leaving Harry all alone in his office once more. He walked up to the mantle of the fireplace and hold up the same photo that he glanced at from before.
"Liz..." Harry depressingly uttered to himself.
Peter's Dream
8 Years ago...
GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE
Spider-Man of Earth-616 was swinging across the bridge to find out where Goblin and Gwen are and that was when he heard that mad cackle. He spotted the two near the edge of the tower and landed right in front of them.
"Let her go, Gobby! It's me that you after! She has nothing to do between me and you!" Spider-Man said when he was still a naive young college student.
"Be careful what you ask for, Spider-Man!" Green Goblin grinned as he tossed Gwen Stacy off the bridge much to Peter's horror as he heard her scream.
"NOOO!" Spider-Man shouted.
"Think you can save her this time, hero?" Goblin cruelly laughed and got on his glider.
"GWEN!!" Peter woke up from his nightmare drenched in sweat and he remembers that he's in Harry's guest bedroom. The room was oddly comforting especially the king-size bed, and he looked out the window to see the sun slowly rising.
"It's been so long since I had that nightmare. It must be because I saw the other Gwen last night," Peter said to himself while rubbing his eyes.
Peter got up from the bed as he was in his white t-shirt and boxers and noticed that his Spider-Man outfit that was placed over the green velvet chair was missing. In its place was a neatly folded red pajama set wrapped in plastic with a little sticky note attached on top. He read the note to himself.
Dear Master Parker,
I hope you don't mind me cleaning and repairing your damaged costume. I was going to wake you but I didn't want to disturb you from your slumber.
Sincerely,
Mortimer Toynbee
While Peter appreciated Morty doing his job, it would've been better if he run it by him first. Peter went into the luxurious bathroom as he took the pajama set with him to freshen up.
Mortimer got up at the crack of dawn and was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for Harold and his guests.
Harry was in the living room watching television in his white robe flipping through the channels. He watched a segment on the Bugle News Network concerning about what needs to be done with how the "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" operate.
"It has been many years since Victor Von Doom gained control of the sovereign nation of Latveria from King Vladimir of the Fortunov family," Christine Everhart reported from behind the desk with the BNN logo on the right side of the screen. "Senator Robert Kelly who has long voiced his opposition in the past over superhuman conduct had this to say."
"What SHIELD and President Fury's administration had sanctioned is an international super-powered task force which consists of an iron-masked tyrant who fancies himself as a futurist, an Asgardian who is said to be the god of mischief, and a relic from a bygone era who is trying to relive his glory days. In my opinion, Latveria was only tip of the iceberg. Imagine what they could do to us on our home turf if they have the sheer power to topple a small European country," Senator Robert Kelly stated at the congressional hearing.
Harry changed the channel with the remote in his hand to his old friend's show. Edward Brock was once a photographer for the Daily Bugle when he was going to college at Empire State University. A few years later, he has since became a well-respected anchorman with his own morning talk show called Eddie, and right now he was interviewing a platinum blonde woman, Felicia Hardy, who was currently running for District Attorney.
"Ms. Hardy, I must say that you have built quite the resume for yourself. Humble, Hardy (Pun intended of course)," Eddie joked in which the audience laughed. "And a humanitarian. It's no wonder that your popularity is soaring astronomically in the polls."
"Why thank you, Eddie. I must say that you are looking quite dapper this morning," Felicia complemented.
"Well I do dress to impress, but my wife is a huge supporter of you as a candidate for New York's District Attorney. If elected what would be your policies?" Eddie inquired.
"I'm glad you ask. Right now this city is going through a crime wave that hasn't been this bad since the Kingpin and the Maggia still had a foot hold on this city many years ago. My "hard on crime" initiative will not only cut down on rampant criminals running amuck but also vigilantes who take the law into their own hands," Felicia said that last part in a bitter tone to which Harry narrowed his eyes at the screen.
"Vigilantes like Spider-Man you mean? I hope that I'm not sounding a bit biased here but I'm well acquainted with him and he's a cool guy once you get past his scary side," Eddie tried to reasoned but Felicia wasn't convinced.
"If he is such a "cool guy" like you believe, then how come he couldn't save the lives of two innocent victims who were at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Where was he when fallen officer, Captain Jean DeWolff, was tragically killed in the line of duty? Where was Spider-Man when that poor young woman, Elizabeth Allen, was dropped to her death by that homicidal green maniac?" Felicia coldly continued on.
Harry had a twitch in his eye and quickly changed the channel after he didn't want to be reminded of some of his greatest failures as Spider-Man especially evoking Liz's name. He turned the channel to a cult-classic sitcom from the early 2000s in order to relax, and the show was called Sisterhood which featured recognizable lead actresses like Karen Page, Patricia Walker and Mary-Jane Watson.
"Master Harry. Your breakfast is ready," Mortimer informed the young master when he came into the living room. Harry turned the television off after he was channel surfing and head to the dining room.
Harry was reading the Daily Bugle Newspaper while he ate his breakfast at the table. Ollie and Mattie also grabbed a quick bite to eat before leaving to go pick up Quentin at the terminal. After getting himself cleaned up, Peter made his way to the dinner table and sat down right next to Oliver and Harry.
"Morning, Peter. Did you rest easy?" Harry asked as he put the paper down.
"The bed was a nice touch and the service was immaculate. Five stars," Peter quipped and Mortimer gave him a plate of toast, eggs, and bacon.
"Glad that you're enjoying your stay so far," Harry drank some coffee from his mug, and Peter would soon feel a tap on his right shoulder and saw it was Mattie smiling at him.
"We didn't properly get introduced. Hi! My name's Mattie Franklin and this handsome devil sitting right next to you is Ollie, but you probably know a version of us where you come from," Mattie greeted while holding out her hand. Peter was hesitant to shake her hand, but did it out of courtesy.
"Hey Martha and Oliver 2.0. You know it's still great and sort of weird to once again meet the alternate versions of acquaintances that I know," Peter awkwardly said.
"I'll admit that it is pretty awkward. I hate to be in your shoes right about now," Ollie said as he was finishing up his cereal. "You can still call us Mattie and Ollie, dude. When we're both in uniform you can refer to us as Steel-Spider and Spider-Girl-"
"Ahem!" Mattie cut off Ollie by giving him a knowing look.
"Uh right. My bad. I meant Spider-Woman," Ollie nervously chuckled while awkwardly rubbing his neck.
"Much better," Mattie smirked in satisfaction while grasping Ollie's shoulders. "You wouldn't want me to bring up those old "Spider-Boy" days now do we?"
"I prefer if we didn't," Ollie was red in the face as he didn't want to be reminded of those embarrassing days.
"Speaking of which, do you have any partners back home?" Mattie asked Peter who was still eating his breakfast.
"These days I'm more of a solo act," Peter simply answered as he was not comfortable at all talking about what became of his dimension's Ollie and Mattie. The couple knew that it wasn't the straight answer that they were looking for but decided not to press on about it.
"Isn't it time for the both of you to go do that thing that I ask you to?" Harry raised an eyebrow at the duo as they promised the billionaire to pick up Quentin from Grand Central.
"Right. Let's go grab the twerp before he starts acting like a royal pain in the ass when we get there," Ollie said while he and Mattie prepare to leave the mansion.
"You say that as if he isn't," Mattie sighed as they did not cleaned up after themselves and walked out of sight.
"Where are they off to?" Peter asked with a piece of bacon in his mouth.
"They're picking up one of my former wards from the train station," Harry responded while finishing the last bit of toast from the plate.
"Another one...Good lord how many sidekicks do you got?" Peter asked.
"I wouldn't call them sidekicks. They're my partners who happen to assist me from time to time," Harry responded.
"Sounds like those two weren't all to thrilled with being around this guy," Peter stated as he put his plate in the sink to clean it up.
"No they weren't," Harry sighed and cleaned up the table.
"You know Mort came into my room when I was sleeping. He took my costume so that he could patch it up without asking me. Kinda creepy if you ask me," Peter informed.
"Mortimer means well, Peter. He's a miracle worker when it comes to sewing and he has develop a habit of repairing some of our clothes over the years," Harry said who was feeling a little nostalgic.
"I'll take your word for it. Do you mind if I watch something on the idiot box a for a little while? I've been wanting to see what passes for entertainment in this universe," Peter asked for permission to watch something on the flat-screen as he went into the living room.
"Knock yourself out," Harry passed the remote to Peter and went to his bedroom to get changed.
ATOMIC RESEARCH CENTER
On the outskirts of town, The Atomic Research Center was an institution that strives towards the advancement of science and technology. The director, Doctor Otto Gunther Octavius, was is in his lab of the future this morning writing formulas and equations on a white board with Ben Parker, who is the head of security, was in his uniform falling asleep at the table.
"Wake Up, Benjamin!" Otto slammed his hand at the table waking up an irritated Ben.
"Ugh! Ock...I'm trying to sleep off my hangover and you're scientific mumbo jumbo sure ain't helping me," Ben Parker groaned as he was rubbing his temples. He regretted ever calling Otto about his encounter with the intruder who claimed to be his dead nephew last night, and that fascinated the scientist ever so slightly as he started to go on a wild tangent about different worlds and alternate realities. Ben hung up on him on the phone, and here we are.
"I feel like I'm on the verge of a huge scientific discovery, Ben. I'm so close to cracking it!" Otto continued drafting up formulas on the bored while Ben chuckles in response.
"Not the only thing that's cracked around here," Ben snorts while Otto simply ignores him. Ben noticed two familiar women entering the lab, and it was only Callisto helping to push Cassandra Webb, who was in her wheelchair, as they wanted to drop by with their guest card passes wrapped around their neck.
Cassandra Webb was an older woman who is close to Ben's age range, and that she was born blind so she had to wear rose-tinted sunglasses. She's also technically a mutant as Cassandra possess a wide array of psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance and etc.
Callisto was a beautiful woman with short black hair in her late twenties that was also a mutant, and she wore an eye patch on her blind right eye while she had a scar over her left one which were the results from an freak accident way back.
"Good morning," Cassandra lovingly greeted but she sniffed the air when Ben approached her. "You smell like a brewery."
"Well good morning to you too," Ben took it in stride and saw that she had a brown bag full of donuts and four cups of coffee on a tray.
"I brought you some breakfast and something to nurse that hangover you're feeling," Cassandra said as Ben took the food over to the table.
"Breakfast of champions. You know me so well," Ben smiled as he bent down to give Cassandra a peck on the lips which she gratefully appreciated.
"Can you two please refrain from fraternizing in my presence," Otto groaned to himself as he kept on working.
"What's gotten Mr. Peabody so riled up?" Callisto asked.
"It's either he couldn't get any matches on his dating profile or he's finally snapped," Ben joked as he took a sip from his coffee cup.
"I have never been more sane in my life, Benjamin. Once you told me about the intruder, my mind couldn't help but to think about all the possibilities and theories of who or what you encountered last night," Otto said as he was still analyzing the white board.
"And he's off ladies and gentleman," Ben shook his head.
"An intruder broke into your home?" Cassandra asked out of concern.
"Some punk was in my house last night claiming to be my nephew, and what made matters worse he was wearing some brightly colored Spider-Man suit. I thought it was Chameleon playing some cruel joke on me at first so I kicked him out. After I called Otto, I didn't see any signs of forced entry which was the weirdest part. He even came out of Peter's old room and I haven't been in there in years," Ben sighed as he ran his hand through his grey hair and both Cassandra and Callisto noticed his discomfort.
"As I was trying to tell Ben before I was rudely disconnected, the visitor that appeared in your home might be psychical living proof that the multiverse theory could well in fact be real," Otto hypothesized hoping to get a reaction but he forgot who he was dealing with.
"Meh I'll bite. Could you tell the class what the multiverse theory is, Professor?" Callisto deciding to play along to Otto's eccentricities while taking her coffee cup off the tray.
"I'll let that one slide, but multiverse theory suggests that within our universe lies countless other universes," Otto explained while showing the white board. "Think of the multiverse as an ever-growing tree much like Yggdrasil from Norse mythology for example."
"He's been studying up on Norse mythology ever since the Asgardians tried to invade Earth years back," Ben whispered to Cassandra who chuckled, and Otto walked away from the board and over to the table where they sat.
"Just imagine, Ben. That on those branches house an Earth where both May Parker and Peter Parker are alive and well," Otto pressed which Ben didn't take it so well and started to stand up.
"ENOUGH!!" Ben voiced his displeasure about having to hear about that. "I don't want to hear anymore about some goddamn multiverse, Otto! The guy that I saw could've been some crackpot shapeshifter for all I care."
Take it easy, Ben," Cassandra tried to calm him down. Otto sees this and began to feel guilty.
"My apologies, dear friend. I allowed my scientific curiosity to get the better of me. It won't happen again, Otto apologized as he sat down.
"It's fine, Otto. I got a lot on my mind after what happened last night. I tried to get hammered so that I can forget but it just made things worse," Ben sighed and continued drinking his coffee.
"As much as I enjoyed the brief science lesson, I'm gonna go leave you fossils to handle some business and besides I'm on the clock," Callisto hugged Ben and Cassandra akin to how a daughter would hug her parents.
"Stay outta trouble, Cally," Ben said while taking a bite out of his pastry.
"No promises, old man," Callisto waved at them from behind without looking back and drank the rest of her coffee.
"Care to show me around the building?" Cassandra smiled at Ben who smiled back in return.
"Right this way, Cass. We'll be back later, Doc," Ben said as the widowed couple spend some quality time together while Octavius looked inside the brown bag.
'All these years working side by side together and she'll still can't get me a cinnamon raisin,' Otto thought to himself as he shook his head.
"I heard that!" Cassandra yelled out.
GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL
Ollie and Mattie were sitting on a bench to see if they could locate Quentin in the crowd of people who were going about their business.
"How hard is it to find a pink-haired nuisance that sticks out like a sore-thumb?" Mattie sighed.
"I know that you think he's-"Ollie said but was cut off by his girlfriend.
"A pest," Mattie finished.
"I was gonna say a pain but you said it not me. Besides he's not all that bad," Ollie said.
"He makes it clear that he has no respect for either of us, and I don't know why Harry always keep giving Quire plenty of chances when it always end with him selling us out," Mattie retorted.
"Like it or not, he's the only telepath we know that isn't Cassandra or Madame Web who can get inside that Peter guy's head," Ollie sighed and the two were silent on the bench waiting.
"...It's sorta funny," Mattie broke the silence. "Harry hasn't been this happy in years. Do you think this alternate Spider-Man has something to do with it?"
"It's Possible. Harry...has always had problems with talking out his feelings and he hardly trusts the other heroes that are coming out of the woodwork these days," Ollie responded.
"Sometimes I wish that Bernard was still here with us," Mattie sighed while looking down.
"I think I see him," Ollie said when someone was casually walking up to the couple.
The tall young man appeared to be 19-years old, and was wearing a fur-trimmed beige jacket, a black t-shirt that says "Quire Happens" in bold white letters, black jeans, white tennis shoes and a black guitar case strapped to his back. What made him stick out was his dyed spiky pink hair that wasn't a faux hawk hairstyle. This young man was an omega-level telepath and has spider powers to boot. His name is Quentin Quire.
"Sup losers!" Quentin greeted with a toothy grin much to the couple's annoyance. "How do you like my new style?"
"You look like a cosplayer who's in town for Comic Con," Ollie quipped which caused Quentin to deflate and Mattie giggled at his expense.
"Funny. Anyways what does Mr. Warbucks want this time?" Quentin asked in a disinterested tone while scratching his head.
"He has a another guest over at the mansion. We were hoping that you would get a glimpse of the man's memories and his true intentions," Ollie said.
"Hmm! tempting," Quentin said while crossing his arms and then he smirk at the duo. "What's in it for me?"
"Oh here we go," Mattie rolled her eyes.
Ollie took a deep breath and he knew he was going to regret this later. Quentin has a reputation among the Spider-Clan as the rebellious brother of the group, and what better way to appeal to a rebel is by offering him something that looks cool.
"Here's the deal I let you borrow my motorcycle for a week," Ollie reluctantly bargained.
"What?! You're seriously thinking about lending your pride and joy to this jerk!" Mattie yelled which was starting to attract bystanders who was giving them odd looks.
"Deal," Quentin smugly accepted and started to walk with them. Oliver grabbed the telepath by the shoulder.
"If I see one scratch on my ride, then I will make sure that you'll fix it out of your own pocket," Ollie threatened as Quentin nervously nodded.
The trio exited the building and walked over to Mattie's car much to Quentin's displeasure.
"We're seriously gonna head back in this eyesore?" Quentin scoffed while taunting the Spider-Woman's vehicle.
"...Just get in the damn car, Quentin," Mattie groaned.
OSBORN PENTHOUSE
Peter was watching the news on the television in the living room on this boring afternoon, and he was waiting for Morty to finish sewing his costume back in tip-top condition.
"Mayor Vanessa Fisk will unveil the statue that was commissioned by acclaimed sculptor, Alicia Masters, in memory of her late husband and mayor-elect, Wilson Fisk. Despite the rumors of Fisk allegedly being the Kingpin of Crime, He was a father, a philanthropist and a pillar of the community who's life was tragically cut short after he was assassinated on his yacht out in the Hudson River. This is Whitney Chang from Empire-1 News," Whitney reported.
"Who in their right mind would have Jabba the Hutt as mayor?" Peter yawned as he was getting bored to which Harry chuckled when he entered the living room.
"You'd be surprise at how short the people's attention spans be," Harry said when he sat down next to Peter on the couch.
"Tell me about it," Peter sighed and they both heard the entrance to the front door open up, and heard the sound of Ollie telling them that they have returned.
"We're back," Ollie raised his voice.
"Come, there's someone that I would like for you to meet," Harry and Peter got up from the couch and went to the foyer of the mansion. The flat-screen television was left turned on in the living room as the news went into another segment.
"Award-winning scientist, Michael Stockton, was found dead in his hotel room this morning. Authorities have not ruled out foul play," Whitney Chang reported.
Mortimer stopped what he was doing and came out to greet the trio especially the pink-haired man of the group.
"Welcome back, young masters. It's good to see you again, Master Quire," Mortimer hugged the pink-haired delinquent who also returned a hug.
"It's great to be back here after spending a year in some hovel in Venice Beach," Quentin said. "Where is the great and powerful Oz anyway? What? Is he cooped up in his ivory tower that he's too busy to greet his prodigal son?"
"Actually you more like a little brother to me than a son," Harry retorted while walking towards the group in the foyer with Peter.
"If isn't Richie Rich and who do you got with you? Archie Andrews?" Quentin joked as Harry knew it was in good, fun but Ollie and Mattie internally groaned at that quip.
"No, Quentin. He's a...special guest of mine," Harry stated.
"He doesn't look so special to me," Quentin was unimpressed with the 27-year old man from Queens.
"Does the pink hair signifies that you're overcompensating for something or you were a spokesman for some bubblegum company?" Peter quipped. Quentin didn't know how to respond to that as Ollie and Mattie quietly laugh to themselves as this the first time someone beat him at his own game.
"W-What? Do you know who I am?!" Quentin said flustered.
"Should I? Although you do remind me of some twerp from my home dimension, he had that pink-colored hairstyle that you were going for except you don't have glasses or some faux-hawk," Peter replied with a shrug.
"...Is this is a joke, Harry?!" Quentin angrily shouted.
"Hardly," Harry said. "He's one of the reasons why you are here. We need to use your psychic abilities to do once-over in Peter's head to see if he's really from some alternate reality."
"Hold on! What? Don't I get a say in this?!" Peter incredulously shouted which got everyone's attention. "There's no way I'm about to let the anime character on a budget here get inside my head."
"What's the matter? You scared that I might find something in that tiny brain of yours?" Quentin taunted which made Peter glared at him.
"We wanted to make sure that if you were completely being honest with us, Peter," Harry tried to diffuse the situation.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Harry. My mind has been poked around too many times and I have a bad history with shifty people trying to take a gander inside my noggin," Peter stated with some bitterness in his voice.
"It's not that I don't trust you in particular. It's the fact that you show up out of nowhere claiming to be a version of my dead best friend, and the others including myself are quite skeptical of your tale," Harry clarified.
"Oh for the love of, If it would make you guys not so paranoid then I'll go along with it. I can't even have any privacy inside my own damn head anymore so why not?" Peter sighed as he shook his head.
While Peter was hesitant about allowing the pink-haired delinquent anywhere near him, he relented and followed the group to the living room where everything was turned off so that Quire could concentrate.
Peter sat on the recliner where Quentin was behind him as they were about to begin the mental scanning process.
"Ready?" Quentin confidently smirked.
"Just a little off the top," Peter quipped as Quentin rolled his eyes and wasted no time.
Truth be told, Quire was determined to get this over with and began to pry through every memory and secret that the wall crawler ever had that was stored within his brain.
From Parker's earliest memories, Quire saw a young orphaned Peter being sent to live with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. When he saw Ben Parker, Quentin was honestly surprised that there was a version of Ben who had a much friendlier temperament. He fast forwarded to the memory when he was bitten by the radioactive spider and became the Amazing Spider-Man.
More memories began to cascade such as Uncle Ben's death at the hands of the burglar, the Sinister Six, the death of Gwen Stacy, Secret Wars, Kraven the Hunter burying him alive, the Venom debacle, the Clone Saga and etc.
"W-What is all this?" Quentin was beginning to feel overwhelmed. He tried to leave but it was almost as if Peter was keeping him here to view every positive and negative memory. Quire watched all of Peter's greatest achievements and failures. All of the battles that the webslinger barely managed to survive, but he kept on putting up the good fight.
He saw a wide array of different heroes and villains that he had a hard time making out, but Quentin couldn't help to be inspired by most of them. He saw the most prominent teams like the Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Four and many more. There was one super team that caught his interest, The X-Men...
Quentin was in awe that there was an institute for mutankind, and it was spearheaded by Charles Xavier of all people. Although Peter was not present for this event, Quire saw a version of him that was a student at this academy, but what stuck out was the headline from the Daily Bugle, "RIOT AT XAVIER!!"
"I-I did that?" Quentin muttered under his breath as he caught a glimpse from the news surrounding the event in which the version of him led a riot that resulted in the death of a student.
He kept on fast forwarding to major events such as a Peter unmasking himself to the public, Civil War between superheroes, a secret invasion from a shape-shifting alien race, and...Harry's dad being put in charge of a Dark Avengers team! The hell...
Quentin was in some sort of office and in it were Spider-Man and Captain America discussing an inmate that was placed in Prison 42 in the Negative Zone. Quire saw the Ollie variant in his Steel Spider outfit in a cell with only one arm as it was appeared to have been bitten off, and that's when things were about to get unsettling. Whether he admits it or not, he always saw Oliver as an older brother figure, and to see him like this was heartbreaking.
What Quire wasn't prepared for was the most disturbing memory in his honest opinion due to him being in the midst of the Grim Hunt. He saw the bodies of Mattie and Cassandra Webb laying lifeless as they were used as part of a resurrection ritual by the Kravinoffs. A wave of emotions were starting swell up for the pink-haired mutant due to having play a part in something like this but thankfully that have been averted not too long ago. He was overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and regret.
Quentin combed through every specific memory inside Peter's head, and then he abruptly stopped as this was just too much for him to handle. He took a step back and fell on the floor due to the stress that he was feeling. Ollie and Mattie sprinted over his way to check up on him.
"Whoa! Quentin are you alright?" Ollie asked out of concern for his well-being.
"What did you see?" Mattie asked as she was comforting him. She could tell that he was acting like a nervous wreck.
"...Everything," Quentin quietly muttered and looked at Peter in the eyes. "W-What on Earth is he?!"
"Quentin, are you going to be alright-" Harry asked but he was cut off by Quentin's outburst.
"Stay back!" Quentin shouted and backed away as he recalled to a certain memory from Peter that the Harry Osborn from 616 followed in his father's foot steps and became the second Green Goblin. Quire ran out of the living room to everyone's surprise and into the bathroom to go vomit.
An hour later, Peter sat in Harry's office feeling terrible about what happen to Quentin. Sure he was an obnoxious brat but even he didn't deserved to be subjected to all those painful memories. Harry walked into his office and sat in his chair behind the desk.
"How is he?" Peter asked.
"A slight headache but overall he should be fine in the morning," Harry reassured. "Mortimer gave him some tea to calm his nerves."
"This is my fault. I never should have agreed to this stupid mind scan. Poor guy is probably traumatized," Peter sighed.
"It's me that should be apologizing to the both of you. I should have trusted you since the beginning, and I shouldn't have pushed Quentin to do that to you," Harry wholeheartedly said.
The two friends heard a knock on the door, and Mortimer came in to give Peter back his repaired outfit. Peter inspected the costume and to his pleasant surprise, it looked good as new.
"Wow Morty! You certainly know your way around the sewing machine," Peter praised the amphibious mutant butler.
"I try my best, sir," Mortimer beamed with pride and turned to Harry's direction. "Mr. Brown called and said that the car should be up and running. He also notified you that it should already be in your garage."
"It's here?" Harry asked to which Mortimer nodded in response. "Perfect."
"What's here?" Peter inquisitively asked.
"You're about to find out," Harry smirked. "How are you on webbing?"
"I'm almost tapped out," Peter answered as Harry opened his cabinet on the desk to pull out a couple of web fluid cartridges and gave some to him.
"Suit up while you're at it," Harry said as he prepared to put on his uniform. "We're have a doctor's appointment."
The two Spider-Men were in the Spider-Mobile with Harry behind the wheel, and they were traveling to the home of one of the best magic users on the planet. Peter was having the time of his life as the car was zooming past other vehicles on the road smoothly.
"I'm putting it out there. This Car. Is. Awesome!" Peter said with great enthusiasm.
"I know right?" Harry shared his sentiment.
"I mean it doesn't beat the Spider-Buggy though, but you're sure giving me some ideas once I get back to my Earth," Peter stated as he looked out the window.
"What really interest me the most is that it's so surreal seeing many mutants out in the open like this," Peter made the observation after spotting several mutants conversing with their human friends.
"Why would that interest you?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Where I come from mutants face oppression and discrimination from ordinary humans. They were said to be the next stage in human evolution, and well let's just say some people in my world aren't so...accepting to say the least," Peter explained.
"I'm not gonna lie to you. There have been some discrimination against mutants in the past but that all changed when this country's most famous war hero had the X-gene," Harry said which caused Peter to look at him in amazement. "Captain America is this nation's most beloved mutant."
"I-I honestly have no words. Wait until the X-Men hears about this. If he were alive, Charles Xavier would have a field day knowing that this world was his greatest dream realized," Peter said.
"Heh! I'm sorry. Charles Xavier?" Harry snorted much to Peter's confusion.
SANCTUM SANCTORUM
Harry parked the Spider-Mobile right next to a townhouse on Bleecker Street which was right in the heart of Greenwich Village. Peter knew where they were headed as this place was the Sanctum Sanctorum, and they both got out of the car to make their way to the mansion's door.
"You okay with leaving your sweet ride out here?" Peter asked as Harry hold up his wrist and pushed a button to activate a cloaking system.
"Camouflage Mode Engaged," The computer in his Spider-Mobile voiced, and the car suddenly turned invisible right before their eyes which perplexed the red and blue Spider-Man.
"That answers your question?" Harry rhetorical said and went to knock on one of the wooden doors.
"Sue Storm would definitely love to have a car like that," Peter whispered to himself.
The doors opened revealing a young purple-haired woman in her mid-twenties dressed in purple and black clothing standing right in front of the two Spider-Men, and she appeared to be a mutant as she had a furry purple tail. The woman was known as Sharon Smith who also went by the moniker, Hellcat.
Good evening, Spider-Man and friend," Hellcat calmly greeted.
"Evening Hellcat," Harry greeted back. "We wondering if we can seek an audience with your boss?"
"Of course. Right this way," Hellcat nodded her head and urged them to follow her inside the Sanctum.
The Sanctum much like the one from back home was a three-story Victorian-styled brownstone townhouse, and due to the mystical nature of the mansion, everything that was nailed down to the room will move creating a distortion of time and space.
"Master. You have a couple of visitors that require your presence," Hellcat said.
"Thank you my wonderful apprentice. I'll take it from here," the mysterious man said that echoed throughout the home.
"The doctor shall see you now," Hellcat said to which Harry nodded and Peter thought back to the voice that they heard a second ago as it sounded very familiar.
They soon reached into the mystical library and discovered a man in red robing with the Amulet of Agamotto hanging from his neck reading one his books from his vast collection. He also had a black bowl-cut hairstyle and a goattee beard to match. The man was former special effects extraordinaire, Quentin Beck, who was the Sorcerer Supreme of this universe.
"Greetings and bienvenue, Spider-Man and I see that you brought a friend," Beck warmly said as he put his book down.
"It can't be," Peter muttered to himself as he was standing face to face with a variant of one of his oldest foes.
"Salutations! I'm Doctor Quentin Beck, Sorcerer Supreme, at your service," Beck flamboyantly introduced himself by conjuring up a spell that showcased his name in bright magical lights.
"Yeah No! Harry, Let's go," Peter was about to leave the Sanctum until Harry grabs him by the arm holding him still.
"Do you wanna go home?" Harry asked narrowing his eyes.
"You know I do," Peter answered while glaring at Harry.
"Then just...meet us half way here," Harry sighed.
"Is he really a doctor?" Peter skeptically asked.
"I am a licensed psychologist," Beck shrugged in response which didn't sound so reassuring to Peter.
"Well, that's comforting," Peter sarcastically said while pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I brought Peter here because you were the only one that I could think of who has experience in this sort of thing. You see he's a Spider-Man from another universe and we were hoping that you were capable enough in sending him back," Harry explained to the sorcerer.
"Is that why your pal is giving me the stink eye?" Beck asked.
"A version of you where I hail from repeatedly tried to do me in the past," Peter clarified. "I got nothing against you personally. It's just ironic to see one of my enemies in this sort of light, and your identical twin goes by Mysterio by the way."
"Mysterio? The name is kinda catchy, but too bad it was partially taken by some washed-up Hollywood actress-" Beck was cut off after Harry tried to the Sorcerer Supreme's attention.
"Ahem!" Harry wanted to get back on topic.
"Oh right I'm deviating aren't I? Nevertheless, dimensional travel is my forte. I'll have you back home in time for dinner," Beck promised which pleased the red and blue hero.
"Wow! That's great! You know I take it back you aren't so bad after all," Peter praised the sorcerer as he was delighted to finally have the chance to get back to his own dimension and see his loved ones again.
"So what is the designation of your Earth?" The Sorcerer Supreme asked.
"Earth-616," Peter promptly answered.
The Sorcerer Supreme began to comb through different alternate realities and earths in the vast multiverse. Everything was coming along smoothly until Quentin Beck hit a roadblock figuratively and literally.
"Now...that's strange," Beck said.
"What's the issue?" Harry curiously asked.
"There seems to be a dimensional barrier that was placed in this plane of existence. I thought I sensed something weird two days ago but thought nothing of it," Beck explained to the disappointed Spider-Men.
"Don't you have like a spell for this kind of situation?" Peter asked.
"Normally, I do but this would require some delicate research. I have to consult with the Ancient One on this matter, and in the mean time why don't your friend here crash on your couch for a while?" Beck advised Harry on what to go from there.
"How much time do you need?" Harry asked with his arms crossed.
"Five days. Give or take. Gimme five days and I'll let you know what I got. I may also have to bring in Wong for this," Beck said.
"No. I can't wait that long! I have a family waiting for me back home and they probably think I'm dead!" Peter frustratingly shouted at the sorcerer.
"I'm sorry that I got your hopes up," Beck sincerely apologized. "We'll be in touch. Sharon, can you escort these fine gentlemen out of the Sanctum?"
"Can I get a second opinion?" Peter quipped one last time before leaving.
"Thanks for the help, Beck," Harry sighed to himself and thanked the sorcerer for their time.
The two friends exited the townhouse and were walking to the Spider-Mobile which the cloaking system was turned off.
"Well that was a letdown," Peter sighed. "What did the Ancient One see in him? Seriously if Beck is your Sorcerer Supreme then I would hate to see what your Avengers are like."
"I swear I will find a way to get you home. You have my word," Harry solemnly vowed.
"Thank you Harry," Peter said while leaning on the hood of the Spider-Mobile. "I'm worried about Aunt May is all. When Uncle Ben died, I made a promise to myself to take care of her and now we're separated. She's probably the only family that I got left."
"Didn't you say that you encountered a not so neighborly tenant and was he Benjamin Parker by any chance?" Harry asked as Peter winced at the name.
"You'd think I would be over the moon at meeting a version of my uncle who is alive, but he kicked me out before I had the opportunity to explain myself to him," Peter sighed. "The sad thing is that I barely recognize him. He didn't look like the same Uncle Ben that would be there for me at the science fair or the one that always says "with great power comes-"
"Great responsibility," Harry finished the mantra and had a small smile underneath his mask. "I have something to show you once we return to the mansion."
THE PARLOUR
The two Spider-Men were back in Harry's office, and they were standing in front of a large mirror that was hanging near the fireplace. It was revealed that it wasn't an ordinary mirror as it was a door that had a mechanism on the wall that asked for a password.
"Thermopylae," Harry simple answered.
"Password Accepted," The computer voiced unlocking something.
"What's going on, Harry?" Peter questioned and after that, the flames in the fireplace suddenly went out on its own. The fireplace rose up from the floor and the bricks opened up like a makeshift doorway. Before Peter had the chance to ask Harry a few questions, Osborn descended down a staircase and he followed him as well. Once they got down at the end of the stairs, Peter's eyes widened as he gazed upon a secret room in his best friend's home.
The room was surprisingly clean and kept up to date due to having a bright color scheme such as white and black. It was spacious as it contained numerous objects such as a retro Spider-Mobile that was somehow able fit in there, a pair of Vulture wings that are hanging up on the wall, a goblin glider that was strung up on the ceiling, an mechanical broomstick, a Symkarian flag, the living brain that was shut down, several Spider outfits that were displayed behind showcases, old Spider-Slayers Mark I-VIII were behind display cases and a super computer.
"Peter, this is the Parlour and it's where the magic happens," Harry said.
"This place is incredible," Peter stood there in awe.
"This used to be one of my dad's old bunkers. Me and my old butler came across it the day after his funeral and we did some remodeling as you can clearly see. The reason why I'm showing you the Parlor is because this is my way of showing you that I trust you completely. One hundred percent," Harry explained to Peter.
"While this is nice and all, I don't really belong in this dimension, Harry. I don't know my way around here and I could prove to be a distraction to you and your team," Peter said.
"We're in this together and think of me as your interdimensional tour guide," Harry hold out his hand hoping for Peter to shake it.
"You know what? I could use a vacation and working side by side won't be so bad," Peter shook Harry's hand much to his delight.
"Welcome to my world, Peter Parker."
UNDER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
Deep within the Atlantic Ocean, a Cold War era submarine was heading to an hidden undersea laboratory. A young Russian woman enters the lab to discover a hooded man sitting on a high-tech throne with a keypad on the armrest. He was currently going over several news reports about a new Spider-Man sighting in New York.
The woman has spiky blonde hair and was wearing a costume that was reminicent of her late father, Sergei Kravinoff. She is a hunter in her own right as she is Ana Kravinoff AKA Kraven the Huntress.
"Ana. I'm pleased that you accepted my invitation," the man said under his breath.
"Why did you summon me all the way down here, Smythe?" Ana asked with irritation in her voice.
"Because we have common ground," Smythe answered to which Ana scoffs at. "We both lost our patriarchs to this so-called hero. I am determined to finish what he has started all those years ago, and when Spider-Man is dead, the Osborn heir will be next on the chopping block."
The man rises up from the chair and four metallic tendrils were attached to the back of his body. One of the steel claws removed the cloak off of him revealing that his body has gone through cybernetic augmentation over some period in time. He has become more machine than man, and all that remains is parts of his face with decaying skin tissue. The cyborg in question was Alistair Alphonso Smythe who also went by another nickname. Doctor Octopus.
"That still doesn't explain why did you choose this godforsaken junkyard as your base?"
"I've always been fascinated by Jules Verne novels. My father would always read them to me every night before I went to bed. Welcome aboard the NEMO. I constructed it from salvaging old Hydra tech," Smythe informed the huntress.
"Isn't all this stuff ancient?" Ana inquired.
"Ancient but workable," Smythe answered and then the mechanical limbs were making him move across the room without his legs touching the floor.
"We may require the assistance of four more players into our new game," Smythe continued as he went to board that had photos and newspaper clips of Spider-Man of 636 and the rest of his partners.
"How do we recruit our comrades if most of them are locked up in that Ravencroft Institute?" Ana asked.
"I have a silent investor who is willing to assist us with my master plan," Smythe smiled with sinister intentions.
YANCY STREET
In an abandoned apartment complex, the notorious Yancy Street Gang used the building as their hideout. The gang was being led by Vincent Gonzales and they recently just swore their allegiance to the Big Man in order to stay afloat in the underworld.
The members heard a commotion outside the door, and it was busted open. Once the dust settled, they started to pull out and point their weapons at the person of interest. A grey-haired man stepped inside with two machine guns in his gloved hands, and he was wearing black tactical gear. He was sporting a bandana that was wrapped around his head and a black vest that a had a white skull painted on. It was Ben Parker who had a cigarette in his mouth, and he was glaring menacingly at the troublemakers as if he was their grim reaper. The thugs were frightened as they knew exactly who he was, The Punisher.
"I'm here to have a word with Gonzales."
To be Continued...