Earth-90214
New York
1935
It was the dead of night as a train pulled into the dock on the city's outskirts. The doors swung open as a group of gangsters jumped up, wielding machine guns, and each one began scouting out the dock. Once the coast was clear, one banged against the train, shouting. "The area is secure, boss."
The last member stepped down with a smug look, adjusted his tie, and took a look at his prize. "Great work, boys, this will do just nicely. Search the containers; the prize will soon be in sight. The older, the better. And keep an eye out for Spider-Man!"
The handful of goons began patrolling the dock, all more nervous than before. Each stuck together in two groups, dreading what lay in the dark. "I can't believe Hammerhead is pushing for control this quickly... The Manfredi family were dog food just weeks ago. What is he thinking?"
The other one scoffed, knowing that was true, but he still played off with a cocky attitude. "With the Maggia leaders gone, it would be stupid not to move in on their territories; if we don't, Norman will."
The first kicked a small can away, gripping his gun tightly. "I ain't going to deny that, but... You've heard the stories. Monsters snatching people in the dead of night. We're sitting ducks out here."
"Get over yourself; clearly, it's just Spider-Man. We can deal with Spider-Man."
"Spider-Man doesn't eat people..."
The second goon stopped now on edge snapping. "If you have such a problem with this plan, please, you're more than welcome to take it up with Hammerhead. Be my guest."
"I-I'm good, thanks."
"Yeah, that's what I thought." He boasted, turning the corner; the lights hovering over them all began to flicker, fading in and out. "God Damn electricity, I have no idea how this shit is meant to catch on."
Both fell silent as a loud crash was heard just around the corner. Both clocked their machine guns, running over. There, one of the containers dropped and was ripped open. They looked at each other horrified, but with no choice, they all approached. Before either of them could get a closer look, a young boy in his teens walked out, adjusting his glasses. He glanced at the two mob members with a sly smirk. One of them instantly raised their gun, shouting. "Who the hell are you!? How did you get here?"
The other one joined, adding insults to injury. "This is property of the Hammerhead family; you need to scram, kid!"
"What's with the costume?" The first whispered to the other, dazed by the modern lab attire and high gadgets on his wrists.
"It seems the baboons of this era are just as primal as the ones in my universe. No matter, you'll make good test subjects."
Without hesitation, they both began to fire. The boy didn't react, his hands in his pockets as all the bullets were halted midair. Both lowered their guns, horrified. "W-What!? Witchcraft!"
"Oh no, there's no such thing here. Only science." He taunted. "Metal, the greatest achievement for mankind." The bullets began to morph and join together, forming metal arms attached to the boy's back. "And that power in the palm of my hand."
"Who are you?"
"Me? Why I am the greatest mind of the Multi-Verse, I am Otto Octavius. However, you may address me as Doc Ock."
Hammerhead turned, hearing more gunfire and screams. Looking concerned, he gestured his men to move in. As they did, several containers were launched into the air, crushing the men by the dozen. Doc Ock began floating in the air, ripping the metal from each container, his arms growing in size and might. Gunfire was rained down on him with no effect. Hammerhead turned and ran for the train, shouting. "Get us out of here! What the hell, what the fuck!?"
The train began to set off, fleeing the sight, leaving most of Hammerhead's grunts to their demise. Gripping his gun tightly, he began moving to the front of the train, barking orders. "Why aren't we going faster!?"
"I-I'm sorry, Hammerhead, it'll take time."
Fuming, he smashed his head against the conductor, throwing him off the train. Trying to speed up the train, Doc Ock roared past, taunting the mob boss to fire at him with everything he had. Choosing to send all the bullets back, Hammerhead ducked down and hit several times in the head to little damage. Ock smirked, his arms wrapping around the train, bringing it to a screeching halt. Twisting them, he derailed the train, smashing down onto New York.
Hammerhead crashed against the controls, barely managing to hold on. Lying on the ground bleeding, he looked up, seeing Ock ripping the doors off and lowering himself to his level. "You must be the infamous Hammerhead, the last of the Maggia leaders."
"What the hell is it to you!? What do you want with me?"
"You? Nothing, Spider-Man, that's an entirely different story. He left me in that dying world, rotting in a cage. I got out, and now the Multi-Verse is my prize. I'll peel the skin from his very bones."
"I-It was you! You're the monster who killed all the other gangs."
"Not exactly."
The electricity began to flicker again before the entire block entered the darkness. Doc Ock stepped back, looking up with a proud look. Hammerhead tried getting a better look as the whole train was ripped apart. Covering his eyes, a looming beast towered over Hammerhead's fangs, bare and bloody. Hammerhead's eyes widened as he screamed out before being devoured by the monster...
****
Psst, hey, hey listen, oi, wake up."
A constant voice echoed me from my slumber. I rolled over, wanting to relish the first bit of good sleep I'd had in weeks for five minutes more. The voice, my voice, kept bugging me until it was no use. Opening one eye, I saw the other me poking my cheek. "Y/N?"
"Oh, good, you're awake. But say, you know, there was a perfectly good bed you could sleep on?" He whispered, staring at me, sleeping upside down in a makeshift hammock out of webbing.
"It was too soft."
"Never heard that before; come on, Twilight wants you up on deck."
Rolling over, I fell from my hammock wide awake. "Is it a mission?! An actual mission? Don't tell me it's bathroom duty again."
"No idea, but it's not just us." He says, clapping his hands. "Come on!"
Hopping on the spot and getting my shoes on, I ran out of my small prison cell, meeting with myself, who was already making small talk with the other Spiders. Yawning, I gave small acknowledgements to the others, rubbing my eyes. "Hey, cooler me, you mentioned others were joining us on this mission? What others?"
"From what I heard, there won't be any need for introductions."
Making it to Miguel's lab, I rubbed my eyes for the last time, a smile soon taking place as I saw two familiar faces. Spider-Noir and Peni Parker.
The other me stayed back, looking nervous as I waved, meeting up with them.
"Hey, look, it's Y/N!" Peni shouted.
"Why I will be damned, you little snipper snapper made it out in one piece. Good to see you sport."
"Wow, guys, it's great to see you two; I didn't know Miguel pulled you in for his little cheerleading squad," I smirk, fist-bumping Peni. "Wait, does that mean Miles and the others are here?"
"We haven't seen them yet. It's still a small team, though, right?"
Miguel jumped down, already looking stressed out as always. He glanced at me, shaking his head, annoyed. "What is Y/N doing here?"
"You talking about me or him?" Crimson Spider asked, pointing to me. "I invited him."
"You don't get to invite people to these missions, Y/N. I decide who goes on these missions!"
"Hearing you loud and clear, that's why he's taking my place." Crimson Spider says, looking proud. "I want out of this mission; let the rookie go instead."
Miguel walked up to the other, me frustrated. "Need I remind you you're only here because I still believe you to be a threat to the Multi-Verse? You do not make decisions, just me."
Y/N crossed his arms, now more serious, glancing at Peni. "You bloody know why I want nothing to do with this mission. I'll be distracted, lose focus; you can't put me through that again."
Gritting his teeth, Miguel turned away, rubbing him off. "Fine! Y/N. Other Y/N! You're up."
"Really? I'm actually on the team?" I say, gloating. "Does that mean I get a watch?"
"No. You haven't earned that luxury yet. Noir, you're in charge of this mission. I'll keep this brief. We detected an anomaly on Earth-90214; it's causing a lot of chatter among the locals and chaos in the crime world. You three will investigate and locate whatever is causing these anomalies and bring them back here."
Peni raised her hand, sitting on her giant mech. "Umm, Miguel, don't we usually have a reading on whatever we're bringing in? It sounds like we're in the total dark here."
"Correct; however, this anomaly seems intentional; they weren't stolen from their universe."
I paused for a moment, confused. "Wait, are you saying this person jumped into this world? Could it be another Spider?"
"Highly unlikely; we have a lock on every radar from this lab. It isn't one of ours; if left unchecked, this guy could rumble cannon events throughout the Multi-Verse; we must bring them in and find out how they did it."
Y/N approached Miguel, muttering to him; I could just about make out what he was saying. "Listen, Miguel, I don't want to jump to conclusions, but the last time someone could jump between worlds, they came from my broken world. It isn't impossible to think the same again."
"Duly noted. When you three are ready."
Noir put in the coordinates, creating the portal. "I didn't think this mess would reach my backdoor... Let's rough up this chum nice and easy. Follow my lead."
****
This was my first official jump, which was still something to get used to. We had ended up in a small office, one you'd see straight out of a film noir. It suited our 30s Spider-Man perfectly. I looked at everything, amused, amazed and awestruck over the fact everything was in black and white.
Noir took his hat off, fixing himself up a drink. "You two want anything?"
"I'm pretty sure neither of us is old enough to drink, dude..."
"It's Eggnog. Don't get booze around here no more."
Peni leaned towards me, whispering. "Pretty sure it's the great depression."
"Oh, right, of course. Ouch, what a time to be Spider-Man." I mutter, nodding along. "So... Like, what do we do now, then?"
"Well, we'd usually be thrown right into the action as the anomaly is happening, but this rascal is slippery. We'll have to work the pieces together first."
Pushing out a large set of files over the matter across the table, Peni and I approached, feeling slightly overwhelmed. "You want us to be detectives? I didn't sign up for this sort of work." Peni said with a judgemental look.
"Not detective work, just your opinion. This chap has been targeting mafia families. Each Maggia leader has been taken out in a month, with Hammerhead being the latest. This is combined with sightings of a monster at the scene."
Looking over the families, I scanned each picture, unsure. "What was taken from the scene of the crime?"
"Nothing, the crook left with nothing of the sort. The family's riches were all still stashed away. Everything from money, drugs and alcohol with nothing to show."
"What kind of guy kills off mafia thugs and leaves their stash?"
"Someone who has a different agenda..." I whisper, flicking through pages. "I doubt it's justice; monsters don't usually go for that kind of song and dance routine... Could it be to lure you out?"
"Me?" Noir questioned. "Why me?"
"Maybe not you, exactly. But a Spider-Man nonetheless. The best way to get a hero's attention is to kill off their worse enemies."
"Not bad, kid; I might hire you as my PA."
"If the whole Spider job goes sideways, I may take you up on that. So the question is, where do we start?"
Peni lifted the blind to the outside, slightly getting our attention. "Do the explosions and fleeing civilians match the bill?"
Noir and I ran to the window, seeing the chaos. Clearing my throat, I looked at both Spiders, nodding. "W-Well, they've made our job easy for us... We have no time to lose; we must save the civilians at all costs. That should be our priority."
"Agreed. Peni, can you cover and get everyone out?" Noir asked.
"Consider it done; you can count on me."
"Good. That leaves you and me, Spider-Man; we'll take the anomaly and flag down Miguel to bring them in. We don't have time to lose; let's move, team."
Diving through the window, the three of us got to work as I began wall-running, leaping over powerlines and chimleys. It felt good to stretch my legs after so long under Miguel's watch; I had to make things right. I had to gain his trust for Cindy's sake. Diving head-first into the fray, I saw cars on fire and people screaming. Looking for the cause, I saw Peni helping people move vehicles off the street.
Before my Spider-Sense could even react, a metallic arm pinned me to the wall, smashing me through buildings, still gripping me tightly. Noir tried helping, running alongside me. "Hang in there, kid, I've got you!" Another metal arm smashed Noir away as I was pulled towards the source, unable to break free.
I got a good look at a teenage boy no older than me; he was wearing a filthy long lab coat with a faded school logo with only the U on display. His glasses were crooked, with both lenses cracked. Four metal arms began floating around his back, with more cars floating above. "I knew this would work, cause enough mayhem, and it was bound to attract you here, Y/N."
I flinched, hearing my name, curling my lip back. "How the hell do you know who I am?"
"No point playing dumb with me, Parker; I've waited long for this moment." He howled, ready to tear me apart.
Managing to squeeze one hand free, I webbed his face breaking free. "Well, you can wait a little longer."
Diving down, I began swinging around, avoiding cars being thrown at me. The cocky nature, arms of death and annoying tone, why did I have to come across another Doc Ock so soon? Firing a web high up, I began pulling myself further up the webbing to escape towards the rooftops quicker. However, a stray lamppost cut my webbing, making me stumble into a window smashing through an office block. Doc Ock burst behind me, trying to snatch me from my spot. Sprinting ahead, I began hopping over and diving under desks, just about anything, to avoid a grizzly fate. Webbing up a typewriter, I flipped around, throwing it back at the Doc, smashing him in the face.
Screaming in anger, his metal arms morphed and changed into buzzsaws, attempting to behead me. I hopped over the second, webbing one to a wall, completely overwhelmed—more metallic objects formed into Doc Ock's back, making him stronger. Falling on my back, I webbed the wall behind him, propelling myself past all his attacks and kicking him to the ground; leaping off, I dived out of the building as all the windows shattered with metal bombarding the building and street below.
Noir had turned his attention briefly to help the trapped people as the collateral damage was far too damning. Ock had quickly blasted out of the building, completely focused on me and no one else. Retaliating with a barrage of strikes, each tentacle moving with terrifying precision, I was pushed to my limits, dodging each blow like my life depended on it. Eventually, I would slip up as he snagged my foot, wrapping more metal around me. Scraps from cars and parts of buildings smashed against me, holding me in a place like a prison, crushing me. My entire body, head down, was ensnared in this trap. Doc Ock lowered to my level, floating in the air, and a sense of wonder emerged. "You escaped my claws for the last time, Y/N. You were lucky with that Penelope and your girlfriend, but you have no one to help you this time."
Squeezing my neck, he smirked. "I want to see your face one last time before I kill you." Tearing off Cindy's face mask, his eyes widened, fury growing. "No, no, no! Who the hell are you!? You are not my Y/N."
"I-I-I've been trying to tell you that the whole time. I have no idea who the hell you are, mister."
Blinded by pure rage, Doc Ock threw me aside as I crashed to the floor. Coughing, Peni skidded over, blocking each passing attack. "I've got you covered. Are you alright?"
Weakly holding up Ock's wrist device, I smirked. "Never better."
Ock looked at his arm to see his jumper gone; his body glitched briefly. "No! No matter what universe it is, I am always face-to-face with you two... Y/N and Peni Parker. I will not be undermined, not again! The great Otto Octavius will stand above all; nothing will stand in my way."
Using Peni's mech to stand up, I wiped my bloody lip, webbing Cindy's mask and putting it back on. "Sounds like we need to introduction. If a version of us beat you before, we can beat you again."
"Not. This. Time." He cackled as the electricity fizzled out before all the light burst. The only source now is the moon shining down on us. The ground began to shake and crackle as Noir zipped down, confused.
"What the hell is going on?"
We all paused as Peni's mech opened; her eyes widened with fear. "It cannot be... How is that thing here? No, no!"
It was like the report said. A colossal monster had appeared, draining the electricity from the block, powerlines capped in his mouth. It had almost a spider shape but twisted with the fangs and features of a vampire. Electricity oozed from it, blinding us as Ock continued to laugh. "I have obtained the power to surpass all heroes, all pros, all Spiders and all quirks. I am the ultimate being; nothing will stand in my way..."
"What the hell is that thing!?" I shout, stepping back and seeing Peni frozen in fear. "Peni?"
"Not again... That thing, it's from my world... An abomination discovered by Oscorp, hellbent on destroying everything. Codename M.O.R.B.I.U.S."