Gwen stopped (Y/N) before they could enter the Deli Store, Peter and Miles had already gone in.
"You didn't tell me you had a Hobo phase..." Gwen asked him, but he shook his head.
"It got bad, but nowhere near as bad as Noise tells it." (Y/N) said.
Gwen didn't quite believe him, putting a hand on his left cheek. "I'm so sorry (Y/N). I'm so goddamn sorry."
"Don't be, It wasn't your... well I'd like to tell you it wasn't your fault, but you did act as a catalyst." (Y/N) joked but stopped his smile once he saw Gwen wasn't laughing.
HE GOT BAD, GWEN, LUCKILY, I WAS AROUND TO STOP HIM FROM TURNING INTO A COMPLETE ASSHOLE.
"That's the first time he's addressed you by your name, you should be honored." (Y/N) chuckled, but once again it just raised concern for Gwen. "C'mon, we should see go inside, Pete and Miles are waiting for us."
(Y/N) pulled away from her and walked inside the store, leaving Gwen alone in the cold and dark street. Unbeknownst to the two, Peter had been watching their interaction from inside.
He knew what they were going through just by their body language, and why wouldn't he? He had gone through the same thing with Mary Jane. When he saw this world's MJ give a eulogy for him... it made him realize just how much he missed her.
Well, he did cry himself to sleep every night, so he didn't exactly forget her.
____
(Y/N) entered the room, his usual smile not present on his face, which prompted Miles to inquire about it.
"Hey man, are you okay?" Miles asked, but (Y/N) waved him off.
"Nothing serious, come on, we should figure out this multiversal business." (Y/N) distracted Miles just in time for Gwen to stride into the room, Peter got off his ass and went towards the three of them.
Miles looked each of them in the eye before pulling something out of his pocket.
"A goober?" Peter said, webbing the thing off of Miles, who got startled at the sudden action. "Aw! You broke it."
"I know! I messed up, that's why I need to fix the mess I created." Miles shouted at Peter, his tone raising the several eyebrows in the room.
Peter cleared his throat, "No. You're going to go back to your home or wherever you stay, and the adults are going to Alchemax to get another goober."
"Wha- How do you know we have to get to Alchemax?" Miles asked, suddenly disarmed of the situation.
"It says it right here on the back." Gwen pointed out the paper taped to the Drive, the letters 'ALCHEMAX' written in capital on it.
"Shit... Look, I have to go there with you. I need to do this for Peter... you know the words..." Miles started making Peter shake his head, "With Great Power..."
"Don't you dare finish it." Peter warned Miles.
"Comes Great Responsibility." Instead of Miles, (Y/N) finished it, his eyes solid as steel, "He's right Peter, we might not like it but no one of us was chosen for this job. We were simply thrust into this without a clue. We still have a duty to do regardless."
Peter caught himself from biting back a response, (Y/N)'s words giving him something to think about.
"Yep. And no matter how we try to deny it, it falls on us to defend the people who can't defend themselves." Gwen's eyes glowed green as she flew the goober from Peter's hands towards herself in order to inspect it further.
"What the hell!?" Miles exclaimed, backing up a bit.
"How are you doing that?" Peter was noticeably calmer, his 'Can't be asked' attitude on full display.
"Long story. We don't have time." (Y/N) was noticeably peeved from the use of the powers.
"Exactly. You guys can teach me how to swing on the way there." Miles excitedly backed (Y/N).
"Oh, we'll swing alright." Peter smiled at Miles.
____
Miles sat in the back of the bus with an unimpressed look on his face.
Peter sat beside him, while (Y/N) and Gwen sat a few seats ahead, Gwen taking a nap, using (Y/N)'s shoulder as a pillow.
LOOK AT YOU, ONE LOOK AND YOU'VE GONE SOFT.
'If you don't shut up about this, I'm legitimately going to cook you.'
NAH NOT YOU, MAYBE THE UNSTABLE VERSION OF YOU, NOT YOU HEHE.
(Y/N) grunted as he looked down towards Gwen's sleeping figure. A stray strand of blonde hair was on her face, which (Y/N) gently pushed away, his fingers stopping on the soft skin of her cheeks.
Gwen's eyes fluttered open upon the touch. She leaned into the touch and closed her eyes, getting more comfortable.
As much as (Y/N) wanted to be angry at Gwen, the subtle smile on her face as she held him close made him forget about everything.
He, too, relaxed into the seat, something which he hadn't done for some time.
____
Peter removed his jacket and pulled on his mask, electing to keep the sweatpants on. Miles suited up besides him...
Well, 'suited' up, more like.
His cheap Spider-Man costume was not his size, nor was his mask, which was haphazardly kept from falling with only one string.
Gwen meditated a bit to the right, her glowing eyes and floating with her legs folded freaked Miles out, but he didn't say anything in fear of getting turned into a frog.
(Y/N) was hung upside down on one of the trees, a binocular in his hands, as he surveyed the scene in front of him.
And thankfully for the Spiders, it was exactly as he remembered back home, meaning, he knew his way around the entire facility.
"Right. Here's the deal..." (Y/N) looked at Gwen as he dropped to the ground, throwing a web towards her to break her concentration. "...Gwen."
Gwen caught the web with her hands, her feet slowly touching the ground.
She suppressed her annoyance at the act and moved closer to the group.
"The compound is large. We'll have to split up. Also..." He looked at Peter specifically, "No noise, the people will be on lunch right now if the timings are the same as my universe."
"Right, so, Here's the plan." Peter stole the show and started to detail his plan. "Step One, I infiltrate the base. Step Two, I find the head scientist's base."
"Step three, you find a bagel." (Y/N) smirked under his mask as he saw Peter's eyes light up.
To Peter... it was as if he was back in High School... the two best friends' banter involving guessing what the other was going to say. Ah... The good old days, before (Y/N) ruined his life.
"Ding Ding! Yes. I find a bagel, and then we get out of there." Peter skipped over the fine details of the plan.
Gwen looked at Peter with an unimpressed look on her face, "And pray tell, what we-" She gestured at herself and (Y/N), "Will do?"
"Make love or whatever, just don't bother the two of us." Peter half-joked at their expense.
(Y/N) cleared his throat, it had been quite a while since he felt the touch of Gw- No, bad (Y/N), no time to think about this right now. "We'll make sure you're not detected."
Gwen blushed under her mask, she had wanted to get the deed over as quickly as possible, but the obvious elephant in the room prevented that from happening. "U-Uh... yeah... we'll support you."
(Y/N) GOT ME THINKING, I'M FUCKING DONE WITH YOUR 'OOH, I'M MAD AT YOU' ARC. JUST FUCK ALREADY.
Miles put a hand on his mouth, he didn't realize they were going through a rough patch.
(Y/N) grunted and swung away, not expecting Gwen to follow.
"Now Miles, that's what we call Regressed Se-" Peter started before a web to the mouth courtesy to Gwen shut him off. She shook her head before following after (Y/N).
----
(Y/N) landed on a quiet end of the compound. The back Courtyard. He knew his way around Alchemy, it had been 3 years at the place... still no sign of a promotion though.
"(Y/N)! Slow down." Gwen landed a few seconds later.
The Spider-Man didn't look her in the eye, or the mask in this case.
"We need to talk." Gwen doubled down, it was enough time. They had run away from it for far too long.
"I don't want to." (Y/N) answered her, but Gwen didn't back down.
"Why?" Gwen pushed him further, she didn't care about the worst outcome, she just wanted him to stop bottling his feelings. "Tell me, Honey, why can't we just address this?"
"It's gonna end up making things Worse, Gwen..." (Y/N) was quick to dismiss her, but he still couldn't meet her eyes. "We'll talk after we get back home."
(Y/N)!
"Am I invited?" Their Spider-Sense flared dangerously when they heard the familiar voice invade their quarrel.
They put their guards up as they heard the clicking noise of the CEO's boot.
He was here, The CEO himself was here.
"Or would you rather have me at the make-up sex? Huh, Peter?" The CEO licked his lips at the thought. "Or are you the kind of man who likes to watch?"
OH, THIS GUY'S NASTY.
(Y/N) didn't give the satisfaction of an answer.
"What? Cat got your tongue? You should see mine. Have it encrusted it in diamonds after I nicked it off Felicia." The CEO was now in front of them, a Cheshire grin on his face. "Oh, that woman knew how to use it~"
"You're a psycho." Gwen finally broke down and spat out.
"Am I though? Gwen?" His tone took a more serious turn. "Or we all just headless chickens running around in a cosmological bureaucracy of shit?"
"What the hell made you like this?" It was (Y/N) turn to speak up.
His voice, however, was immediately recognized by the other (Y/N).
"Oh? Oh. OHHH! I see what's happening here!" He let out a loud laugh, "I know that voice!"
The CEO pointed at himself then at (Y/N), "You are me."
There was a moment of silence as the two (Y/N)s stared at each other.
"I had a good thing going, I let Pete do his thing, keeping the thugs in check. But good things aren't meant to last, are they (Y/N)?" The CEO started, "Especially for people like us."
"I'm nothing like you." (Y/N) transformed mid-sentence, maintaining speed using only his 50% form.
"Nice trick." The CEO laughed and exerted his pressure, the concrete beneath his feet crumbled. His eyes glowed a dark purple. "Mine's better."
(Y/N) felt it before he saw it, a purple fist aimed right at his face.
Spider-Man it just in time, but he still got caught on the hook, a giant scratch on his cheek evident of it. Blood trickled down onto the grounded as (Y/N) landed.
'Spidey-Sense didn't even work, what the hell!?' (Y/N) asked Noise.
THIS GUY IS SILENT LIKE THAT HUNTER GUY A FEW YEARS BACK.
'He was a poser. The real guy is out there.'
Gwen wasted no time in going to attack, her eyes glowed as she fired two energy projectiles at the CEO, swinging at the same time to not give the villain any way of escaping.
But he did, launching himself vertically into the air, purple particles obscuring the view of Gwen and (Y/N).
"Do you really want to know why I'm like myself, (Y/N)?" Gwen and (Y/N) heard the booming voice of the CEO. "I take what I want, when I want."
He crashed down towards (Y/N), intending to finish this off in a few seconds. The air seemed to explode upon his free fall.
"Like I'll do after I paralyze you from the waist down." (Y/N) dodged just in time to avoid being turned into paste, not letting this opportunity go to waste, he went for a punch aimed straight at his counterpart's noggin.
"That's extremely specific, dude." (Y/N)'s punch hit air as the CEO quickly moved out of the way, Gwen was quick to save (Y/N) from an energy blast courtesy of the villain, crashing into (Y/N) to move him out of the way.
"(Y/N). We have to work together to take him down." Gwen looked impressively at (Y/N)'s symbiote suit, he was still the same stature, just a black layer on top of his original suit. It kinda ended up making him even more intimidating than his usual suit now. They had to do something about that when they returned home.
"If you return home." The CEO smirked as he saw their shocked masques. "What can I say? The Professor was adamant in wanting to keep his skull intact. I prefer the current use of his powers, though."
"Every time you open your mouth, that's another punch added to the beat down." (Y/N) took his combat stance, dropping his body low, one hand to the ground.
Gwen too got ready without a word. This fight was going to be difficult. But with each other, they could most definitely take him down.
The CEO chuckled and rose above them, unleashing his purple energy in a haze of power. The two spiders dodged the attack in their own ways.
Both had evolved in their time apart from each other and it showed.
(Y/N) dodged the waves of energy by parkouring his way through the debris that lifted from the attack. He made adjustments with tentacles that sprouted from his back.
Gwen on the other hand was much more graceful and acrobatic, especially with her newfound magical abilities. She swung and flew in intervals, flipping in threes and fours like a butterfly gliding through an orchard.
They reached the other (Y/N) together and went for an attack at the same time.
(Y/N) aimed his kick high to his counterpart's head, coming off of a weighty flip. Gwen went for a magical powered punch straight to the man's midriff.
The CEO reacted almost immediately. Catching (Y/N)'s foot using his left hand and Gwen's fist using his right. He smirked as he saw their surprised faces. "Don't look surprised. I told you I took Charles Xavier's powers just a few seconds ago."
He threw the both of them in opposite directions, their bodies ragdolling off into the distance with the power he displayed.
Gwen however stopped herself midair using her magic, a green glow surrounding her.
"Who the hell is Charles Xavier?" Gwen asked out loud, The CEO smirking in response.
"Great. A lesser universe, ripe for conquering. Gwen, you'll be a dear and lead to me to it, won't you?" The man asked her.
(Y/N) came from behind him, his arm outstretched to shut the CEO down, but he was caught in midair by vibrating purple energy just before he could do any damage.
"Tsk. Tsk. I was having a conversation, (Y/N)." He continued to crush (Y/N), the Spider-Man feeling the pressure from all sides.
Gwen was quick to act, firing off three disks of green energy before following up with an attack of her own.
The CEO redirected the three energy blasts and disappeared when Gwen's kick came close to his face.
It was instead Spider-Man who got hit in the face by the enhanced kick, sending him straight down into the ground.
Gwen gushed after him, picking him up. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry, babe..."
"Don't..." He crunched his jaw back into place as he got up, "Ugh! Worry about it."
"What we both need to worry about, is the jerk..." Gwen tried to locate him but couldn't, even using her magic.
HE'S NOT HERE. THE GUY RAN.
"What? No way. He had us on our heels, there's no reason why he would retreat." Gwen retorted, but she could tell he was right.
"That guy is a fucking psycho... who knows what's going in his head... in my head." (Y/N) let the symbiote go back into his body as he wondered about the situation. "Hell, he probably knows what we're going to do next. He seemed to be able to read our minds."
"I think I can ward off any lingering Psycho-Tracers." (Y/N) gave Gwen a look, "Yeah, I made the term up. But the point is, The other (Y/N) won't be able to follow us."
_____
Peter and Miles ran, Peter throwing a bagel at some random employee as they tried to chase them off the compound.
The threat of Olivia Octavius hanged behind them as they ran.
"You said 'No Pressure'! Their entire compound is on alert!" Miles shouted as he dodged incoming gunfire.
"This is standard fare!" Peter replied, chuckling, before tossing one of his web shooters to Miles.
"This is standard fare!?" Miles asked, incredulous, as another bullet almost hit him.
"You're just repeating what I said." Peter chuckled as he jumped off the open area and onto the forest in front of him. "You get used to it!"
"What!?" Miles didn't have time to jump and got caught on the railing, before falling to his doom.
He closed his eyes, waiting for the eventual splat, but it never came.
He felt the arms of a strong man wrap around his waist, like a princess that got saved from he-
What the fuck was he thinking about!?
WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS FALLING WHEN I SEE YOU, KID?
(Y/N) didn't say much before throwing Miles up into the air from the top of his swing.
"SOMEONE SAVE ME!" Miles shouted at the top of the lung at this action.
"Swing, you dumbass! You're a Spider-Man now!" Gwen was right besides him, half floating and half falling.
Miles found the words of little comfort, but his brain processed the command nonetheless. He cleared his mind and tapped the button on his wrist, he closed his eyes once again as the ground came close.
But this time, it worked. He was yanked upwards as the web he shot stuck onto a tree.
"Wow! I'm doing it!" Miles shouted as he swung from the tree branch...
...
As he manuevered his way from the tree branch.
"Yeah! That's it! Keep it going." Peter swung in tandem with him, while the Spider-Couple swung just a few meters behind them.
They had the entire CPU in their hand, which (Y/N) found amusing.
"Thwip! And Release!" Peter and Miles shouted in tandem as they found their rhythm.
"ArKKKsssSShHh!!" Peter shouted as he felt his body glitch and fold in on itself, breaking the rhythm. He fell towards the ground along with Miles, who tried to save the PC.
Miles saw that both of the other Spiders had also suffered the same fate.
But before he could hit the ground... this had happened to him three times already... before he could hit the ground, he found himself getting saved by webs.
Gwanda excellently weaved her through the trees and saved the couple, too, before landing on one of the branches and removing her mask.
"Hey guys." She cooly stated, looking down at the hanging forms of Peter and Miles. (Y/N) and Gwen had already recovered.
"Hey Gwen." Gwen floated besides her and gave her a handshake.
(Y/N) hanged back, knowing the other Gwen wouldn't appreciate him acting all buddy-buddy.
AH, THE FABLED MATURITY, WHEN DID WE LEARN THAT?
'I was always mature, dumbass.'
SURE, SAYS THE MAN WHO WAS GOING THROUGH A 'BOOHOO, MY GIRLFRIEND LEFT ME' ARC WHEN I MET HIM.
'What was I supposed to do? Just forget about her?'
I DUNNO? I'M NOT EVEN A HUMAN, DUMBASS.
'I sometimes forget that I'm basically talking to a baby. An extreme bitch baby, but a baby nonetheless.'
YOU'RE THE BITCH.
'No, you are.'
"(Y/N)? You here?" Gwen, his Gwen, asked him, floating next to him.
"Nothing..." He waved her concerns away.
"Alright! I'm going to need that CPU bac-" The sounds of mechanical arms stopped as the five spiders looked at the new arrival, Olivia Octavius.
She looked each of them in the eye and then turned around.
"Nope." She said, before she leapt away, back towards Alchemax.
"I've been waiting for a villain to do that for forever." Peter commented, getting himself off Gwanda's webs.
_____
NEXT TIME ON SPOODERMAN
AUNT MAY AND THE BALLAD OF MILES MORALES