Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1- A Way Out

There he was, staring at what seemed like an image of himself. Looking into his eyes alone, Miles could see how much this version of himself suffered during those years without his dad. That loss alone had changed this version of himself into the one thing he feared most. A Monster.

The Spider that had bit him came from this earth's dimension. It was thanks to The Spot that it was transported into his dimension which had made it Spider-Man. But that alone meant that this worlds radioactive Spider was taken away from them. It was because of him that this world had no Spider-Man to protect the city. 

It became clear why Miguel told him he was some sort of anomaly. His Spider-Man was suppose to live, but because of the experiments of kingpin and his collider, it resulted in events changing. All this happened, because of his destiny.

Miles was reminded there was little time to think about such a thing when his doppelgänger fist was mere inches away from his face. 

"What...What have you become?" Miles could only mutter, the shock and disgust now becoming present after a long period of silence through their tension.

"What's it to you? " Prowler Miles replied, his voice sounding cold and empty.

"Why...why do this? This isn't what our dad would've wanted." Miles tried reasoning.

Miles was met with a his fist connected to his face, the force pushing him and the chains that held him slightly being pushed back.

"I wouldn't touch on that topic if I were you" His Uncle Aaron explained, "Unless you want to end up like him too"

Miles looked back to see his doppelgänger grabbing the chains that held him against the punching bag.

" Give me a reason why I shouldn't end you now for saying his name?" Prowler Miles asked becoming more agitated about the situation.

" Because my dad will die if I don't find my way home!" Miles was becoming more impatient, he was losing precious time and with no clue on how he was going home, he couldn't stay there and argue for much longer.

" I heard what you said, but quite frankly, Why should I believe you?" Miles could see how much this version of himself envy him. The mention of his father being alive had struck quite the nerve. Would he really keep him here and torture him in spite of taking away his destiny?

No matter what he said, he knew there was no other way that this would end with him leaving without a fight. Despite what he thought about this version of himself, Miles could only feel pity for what he became. But not as much as what he had to do next.

Remembering how his mentor, Peter B. Parker, had escaped from a similar situation, Miles used his index finger to rub against the chains that bonded him against the punching bag. A small spark of electricity flashed as he continued rubbing his index finger.

Needing to distract his doppelgänger and his version of his uncle, Miles attempted to make one last impression of himself.

" I guess despite us being from different dimensions, we both share making the same mistakes." Miles laughed, the same hint of confidence he gained after facing hundreds of Spider-Man from different dimensions becoming present once more.

" And what would that be, other me?" His doppelgänger had taken the bait, his attention was only focused on the grin that showed on Miles's face. The small spark of electricity he generated earlier became larger by the minute.

" Whatever you're planning to do, I want you to think long and hard before doing it" His uncle exclaimed, it seemed that this version of his uncle had already caught the hint by the way Miles spoke. It was only a matter of time before they noticed what he was doing.

Feeling that he generated enough energy at that point, Miles decided to give this version of himself the same lesson he was taught by his mentor.

" Lesson one, don't watch the mouth, Watch the hands"

Finally gathering the energy he needed, Miles decided to do the same thing he had done to escape from the energy bubble that Miguel had trapped him in. Before his evil counterpart could grasp the situation, Miles's body exploded with electrical energy which had pushed both his doppelgänger and his uncle back from the impact.

From the small explosion he created, the chains that bound him had broken into pieces, freeing him in the process.

Learning from before, Miles wasted no time awkwardly staring at them at what he had just done. He quickly ran past both his doppelgänger and his uncle before crashing through the window, breaking it in the process.

Flicking his wrist, Miles shot a web from his web shooter before pulling on the string and fleeing the scene.

" Get back here!"

Having recovered from the explosion, Prowler began chasing Miles, his helmet appearing once more to show the intimidation and fear that it impacted Miles.

Miles turned his head slightly to see Prowler on his trail. No matter how fast he would be, he knew that it would take some miracle to lose his trial. If his doppelgänger possessed the same skills and abilities his uncle had as the prowler, he'd be a fool to underestimate him.

Swinging from building to building, Prowler followed, his speed forcing Miles to reconsider running from much further.

Despite his powers, He knew that his stamina was almost drained from being chased by hundreds of Spider-Man. If he didn't end this quickly, his escape wouldn't work in his favor.

Before he could come up with a plan, Prowler had managed to tackle Miles forcing both of them to crash inside a Hotel. Managing to break free from his grasp, Miles managed to land a blow on the prowler which gave him some distance.

Prowler charged once more, his strikes were aggressive and precise. Miles managed to block the few strikes that he threw at him, his spider-sense was coming in clutch.

Using that advantage to his advantage, Miles web his right foot forcing Prowler to reconsider his aggressive assault. He punched Prowler once more before using his other arm to strike his gut.

Seeing his disadvantage, Prowler used his rocket boots to break free from the web before using his right foot to uppercut Miles. Prowler then grabbed Miles before slamming him so hard that he came crashing down a few floors before stopping at the lobby.

Screams erupted all around as Miles groaned in pain from the strike. He looked around to see civilians running out of the building from all the exits. Suddenly, his spider sense forced him to get back to his feet to prevent Prowler from foot-diving into him.

Now back to his feet, Miles used his web shooter to attack the string to a table before swinging it against Prowler. Although this caused Prowler to be momentarily vulnerable, Miles body began to glitch once more.

Miles groaned in pain before receiving a backhand punch in the face. Now gaining his composure, Prowler landed three more strikes on Miles before punching his face once more causing Miles to bleed from blood to spill from the side of his lip.

Miles knew that he was getting weaker by the second. He hadn't fully recover from his previous confrontation with Miguel. Being Both psychically and emotionally weakened from all the events that taken place just in a few hours, Miles knew that to end this quickly, he needed to stop holding back.

Back in his dimension, most of the villains he faced were just your typical villains of the week. It had been a while since he to taken a threat seriously until Spot had become a multiverse-destroying god. The fact that he had caused Spot to become such a threat already left a heavy burden on him.

It was after taking another hit from his doppelgänger is when his guilt turned into frustration.

Letting his frustration take over, Miles caught Prowler's fist with his bare hands before glaring back at his evil twin. Prowler tried using his other hand to strike at Miles but was countered when Miles used his other hand to grab his wrist. Not wanting to waste any more precious time, Miles ripped open the mechanical claws before throwing them to the side.

He wasted no time uppercutting the Prowler before flipping over him and landing behind him. Knowing not to overextend his strength, Miles flicked his wrist shooting his spiderweb which connected to his back.

Prowler turned around attempting to break the string of web, but Miles's speed appeared to be too fast for him to react. Miles tighten his grip on the string before swinging it around in a circle, leaving the Prowler on the other end to crash into multiple objects around the area.

After a few more swings, He then detached his web which sent the prowler crashing threw the glass doors and crashing into another building on the other side.

Seeing this as his only opportunity to escape, Miles ran towards the back exit, leaving the scene of the broken lobby.

On the other side of the building, Prowler used his reaming mechanical glove to lift himself revealing that the right side of his mask had completely come off. Trying to scan where Miles had gone, his thermal vision had completely been broken, leaving him with no other way for him to find where Miles ran off.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Prowler could glare back at where he had last seen Miles.

"This isn't over between us, not by a long shot."

****

Despite running for what felt like hours, Miles had only wanted to get away from his doppelgänger. Swinging from building to building, Miles knew that if he had kept this up, he'd eventually run out of webs.

To add insult to injury, his body didn't appear to be in the best position either. He hadn't eaten since his family party back at his world, his body was beaten from all the hits he received from both Miguel and his doppelgänger, and his mental state was now in question after everything he had been through in just a short amount of time.

Needing to catch a break, Miles landed on a rooftop on top of an apartment. He panted for a few seconds, his body feeling like it was gonna give up on itself. Miles could feel his vision weakening by the second, the realization now kicking in on what was about to happen.

"I'm gonna pass out," Miles thought to himself, his eyes now beginning to close on itself.

Despite all this, Miles knew he couldn't give up now. His family was on the line here, giving up now would mean losing it all. He only had two days left to prevent the canon event.

TWO. DAYS. LEFT.

Miles turned toward his right to see a line of buildings that didn't seem to far apart. If he couldn't swing anymore, he would just jump from building to building. It couldn't have been that hard to do in this condition, right?

Miles limped toward the cliff of the building, his breathing becoming slower by the second. Needing to use the strength he had, Miles prepared to jump across. With one last sigh, Miles jumped using the strength he had left.

Unfortunately, that didn't get him far.

Miles had barely even jumped as his body came crashing down downward. If it weren't for the stairway outside of the apartment, it would've certainly left a mark.

Miles cursed at himself as his vision started to become darker by the minute. The ringing sound of his body crashing against the metal stairway now leaves an everlasting sound. His eyes were now being forced closed as his body was shutting itself off.

" Come on, get up," Miles thought to himself, but in his condition, it didn't seem like he was gonna make it.

As he slipped into unconsciousness, a voice had been heard through the loud ringing sound that Miles despised. He wasn't sure who or what called out to him, but he was certain of what he heard before he ultimately passed out.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

****

It had only been a few hours since Gwen had formed her squad to travel to Earth-042 to save her friend and make things right.

Staring out to the streets of a world that had no Spider-Man. Gwen reflected on the events that took place in just a short amount of time. Her heartache after remembering how hurt Miles was after everything she had hidden from him started to become clear.

" Goodbye Gwen"

She had never seen something so cold and empty from her friend. From the moment they met, Miles had always been someone she admired for his positive attitude. The joke he made when showing up late for his physics class always made her smile every time she looked back at it.

She had always wanted to have more moments like that with him. Moments where she would laugh with him, to be with him, to go crime fighting with him. But moments like that were impossible, they were from different worlds.

Every opportunity to have those moments with him was no longer possible. When it came for her time to be sent back home, she had always replayed that moment when she and Miles had their last interaction.

"Friends?" Miles had asked, offering her a handshake.

She didn't admit it back then, but a part of her was a bit disappointed when Miles hadn't done something more. It wasn't often she felt strongly for someone other than her dimensions Peter Parker. When the tragic accident happened that forced her to stop him, she didn't make many friends after that.

Even with her band, she wasn't one to express her feelings with any of them. After Peter died, she decided it was best to push the idea of getting close to anyone, for both their sake and hers. But that changed when she was sent into another dimension.

For some odd reason, she had felt drawn toward Miles when she first came here. Her spider senses connected with his despite him just getting them for the first time. After she had purposely set up a confrontation with him, she discovered that he too was just as bad and awkward as she was.

Despite taking note of that, it didn't seem like she thought highly of him afterward when his hand had gotten stuck in her hair. Yeah, what a fun experience that was cutting that part of her hair to get his hand off.

Although that would've been the last straw to get involved in whatever connection she and him had, curiosity emerged once more after seeing him standing on the side of the school building being attacked by birds.

It was not until she had encountered him and another version of her Peter facing off against Doc Ock is when her suspicions became true. Miles had become just like her.

Except, he wasn't supposed to be.

It was only when her confrontation with her father forced her to join Miguel and the spider society that she was told how dangerous Miles was to the multiverse. The spider that had bit Miles was from another universe.

At first, she found no problem with that, so what if Miles was never supposed to be Spider-Man? That didn't change the fact that he was Spider-Man. He was more than qualified to be the hero of his city. Nothing was gonna change the way she felt toward the first friend she made In her adventures.

But then came knowing what changed her view on being Spider-Man entirely. She was informed about what canon events. Apparently, in every other universe, people close to Spider-Man are destined to die. It was one of the reasons why Peter Parker had died. Because the canon was written his date to better help Gwen become a better Spider-Man. The same would happen to her father eventually.

Just like Miles, she too went against such a thing that decided the fate of innocent people's lives. Why should they let something like this decide who lives and who dies just to help better spider people's morality?

It wasn't until Miguel showed her what would happen if they broke the canon. She watched with her own eyes how millions of lives were destroyed just for changing a singular event. And it scared her knowing that that would happen if she were to save her father.

It only hurt more knowing that if Miles were to do something in any universe, it could risk losing everything. It was one of the reasons it stopped her from coming to visit him.

That was until an opportunity came to visit him again. When she was told to detain the Spot from Miles's universe, it wouldn't stop her from seeing Miles after a year and four months.

But when that came back to bite her, it seemed that everything started falling apart. Which led them here.

" Hey kid, you doing okay?"

Gwen's thoughts were interrupted when the voice of Peter came through as he sat next to her.

" Where's Mayday?" Peter could only share her smug expression.

" Gave her to Pavitr and the others to play with, telling by how I don't hear screaming from one of them, she decided to go easy on them" Peter informed her, " How are you holding up?"

" I'm fine, just looking back on a few things I guess" Gwen replied sadly.

Although Peter didn't know much about what she had Miles were going through, that didn't mean he was an idiot.

" You know the kid isn't gonna be very happy to see us if we find him, right?" Peter explained ignoring the now harsh glare Gwen had given him.

" You don't think I know that!" Gwen snapped at him, though it quickly died down once she realized that wasn't gonna do her any help.

"You don't think I know that this is all my fault."

" Hey, don't go blaming yourself for everything, alright? We all made mistakes that led us here." Peter explained, " You brought us here to fix that, right? To prove to Miles that he could trust us again and prove Miguel wrong"

" But what if we don't? You saw the way Miles looked at us before leaving. How can any of us look him in the eye after everything that's happened!"

She expected something to come out, an answer that would somehow make her doubt herself even more. To her surprise, Peter stayed silent, the same look when she had met this version of him now appeared on his face.

"I don't know when stuff like this happens, it's hard to come up with something that would fix it" Peter admitted " But that doesn't stop us from trying right?"

Gwen stayed quiet, processing what she was told before a thought came to her head.

" Is that how made up with MJ?" Gwen asked, surprising Peter as he choked on his spit.

" Geez kid, little bit of a warning next time?" Peter joked though Gwen's attention was only on Peter's answer.

" It was...hard at first, although she welcomed me back with open arms, that didn't mean that we got back together right away. Before meeting Miles, our fallout didn't exactly leave both of us in the best shape."

" Then how did you and Mj make it work?" Gwen asked

" It took time Gwen, there were things that were needed to rebuild our relationship. For starters, we decided at first to talk things out. Get whatever we were feeling out of the way and set up ground rules to establish our friendship again. Eventually, as time passed, things got better for both of us. After a while, we decided to get back together, and then came..."

"Mayday" Gwen replied, a small smile forming after Peter gave a weak laugh.

" After everything that happened, I was finally ready to have her. But that all wouldn't have possible if it wasn't for Miles. After you went back to your dimension, a part of me didn't want to go back home. I was afraid that I was gonna mess up again."

" Then what convinced you to try to make things right again?"

" The same thing I taught Miles, he taught it back to me. It's a leap of faith, that's all it is Gwen. Always has been"

Gwen stayed quiet as she allowed herself to process what Peter told her. She knew Miles was mad at her, she knew that he wouldn't trust her, and she knew she was probably gonna be the last person he wanted to see right now. But would that stop her from trying to reach out to him, to tell him how sorry she was, to finally be by his side when the world was against him?

No, it wouldn't.

Would Miles forgive her? Probably not, but it didn't mean she wouldn't stop until she made things right.

That she can make a promise too.

****

If bread in French was pain, then Miles certainly owned the entire bakery.

He couldn't remember much, his body was still aching from everything he went through in just a short amount of time. After slowly losing consciousness, he wondered what voice had called out to him. For some odd reason, it sounded...familiar, like he'd heard it somewhere before.

Who or what it was, Miles never got to find out as he had passed out due to exhaustion.

Could he find out now that he was slowly gaining consciousness?

He had expected to feel the metal stairway once he had awoken. However, he was surprised to feel something else entirely. Expecting to feel his back ache from laying against a hard surface, Miles felt at home from what he felt.

Feeling his consciousness return once more, Miles slowly opened his eyes expecting to see the gloomy and dark skies above him, but he was met with the complete opposite. Instead of seeing the night sky, all he was faced with was a white ceiling.

It was only then that Miles noticed the surface he lay on. Feeling soft and comfortable, there was no doubt that he was lying on a bed. But to whose bed this was, he didn't know.

Slowly moving his upper body, Miles stood up slowly to examine his surroundings. His eyes darted across the area to see he was no longer hanging from the metal stairway outside of an apartment, but inside a room that seemed similar to his own.

Removing the blanket that covered his lower body, Miles noticed that the scars he received from Miguel were patched up. Well, not heard but there were a few stitches that would prevent him from getting an infection.

Although the few stitches helped relieve some of the pain he'd felt earlier, his body still ached when he stood up from the bed.

Despite Limping, Miles examined the room further, only to see more similarities It had to his room. However, it was when he noticed something that caught his eye.

Walking closer, Miles discovered a corkboard containing pictures and Information that were linked to one another. Examining further, Miles was shocked to discover that it was information about the supervillains of this dimension. From seeing notes about the doc Oct of this dimension to seeing an entirely different villain he's seen before, he was amazed at how much information was gathered about them.

Diving more into it, Miles looked around to see if there was any information they might know about this evil counterpart. Sadly, not much was given once he found Prowler's note. All it read was that he was a dangerous enemy that gets the job done, an assassin who wasn't afraid to kill.

That didn't sit well with him, but it didn't mean that it wasn't entirely wrong.

Whoever this was, their detective skills were impressive.

That praise would've stayed welcomed if the realization didn't start to kick in. First, he realized that he had wasted precious time when he was out, his dad's life was on the line here. And second, he might've been inside an officer's room, meaning that whoever helped him must've been part of the police force.

Taking those things into consideration, Miles knew he needed to leave as quickly as possible. He appreciated the officer who took him in and sided his wounds but time was of the essence here.

Looking at a window he could escape from, Miles had taken a few steps toward the window only to hear the same voice from before, because of course, his oblivious personality had made him forget that the door was wide open.

He did want to mentally slap himself in the head if it weren't for the voice that called out to him. Only this time, it became more clear that it wasn't someone he was expecting.

They sounded a lot younger than he expected too, their voice sounding more softer than any police officer he heard from. To be quite honest, it resembled Gwen's voice a bit more to his liking.

Miles shook his head mentally, there was no time to think about her, especially after what happened.

Seeing no way out of this situation without giving too much away, he thought it would be best to thank whoever it was that stitched some of his wounds before kindly telling them that he needed to be on his way. Using the same voice he used whenever he was around his father as Spider-Man, Miles tried speaking in a serious tone.

Miles turned back to face the officer only to be left stunned.

His eyes started winding and his momentarily speechless once he saw what was before him.

No, it couldn't be. There was just no way.

But it was, like a cruel twist of fate.

Standing before him was no other than.

"Gwen" Miles muttered softly, his eyes now examining who he thought he was seeing.

****

Earth-42

I can hear you screamin' out,

Calling me

It's my fault, made you fall for me

So, to save you, I'd give you-

" Gwendolyn Stacy!"

Waking up after hearing her name, Gweny found herself waking up from her table as she removed the headphones that were attached to her ears. Still feeling tired, she used her right hand to search for her glasses. Taking a few moments to find it, her hand finally able to grab her glasses before putting them on.

Finally having her vision back, she looked around the messy room she stayed until her eyes stumbled upon her alarm clock.

Needless to say, it seemed like she forgot to set her alarm clock again.

What was her reaction you may ask?

"Shit, Shit, Shit, SHIT!!"

Repeating those same words, Gweny was now in a rush to get ready as she struggled to get herself changed into her uniform. Once she did, Gwen left her room in a hurry before stumbling once she got her shoes on.

Just then, she heard the voice of the person that was calling her from the kitchen.

" Gwen, sweetie, what did we say about staying up late on a school night?"

" I know Mom, I was just...busy" Gweny responded awkwardly, her efforts still trying to push her right foot inside her shoe.

" You were supposed to leave thirty minutes ago, You're almost a grown woman, why do I have to keep reminding you of these things"

" M-hmm, got it, no more staying up late" That was a lie, but it was still a poor attempt to get her mom off her ass about school.

" You weren't doing what I think you were doing, were you?" She asked sternly, knowing full well about Gwen's obsession.

" Pfft!! As if, not gonna make that mistake again, I'm completely a new person now"

Gweny felt a chill run down her spine after her mother gave her another stern look. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that Gwen was a terrible liar. It was one of the reasons why on some occasions when she was caught, she was usually either scolded to death or even grounded.

Finally fitting her foot inside her shoe, Gweny ran inside the kitchen before taking one of the toast breads from the table and shoving it in her mouth. Before she could leave, she felt the bag behind her being pulled back.

Groaning in annoyance, she turned over to her mom who gave her a stern look.

" Aren't you forgetting something?"

Taking a bite of her toast, Gweny gave a little peck on her mom's cheek before rushing out the door.

"Bye Mom, see you later"

Leaving her house, Gweny rushed through the streets of Brooklyn. Running past the many citizens of the city, Brooklyn wasn't in the best shape. After Officer Davis had passed away, the crime rate in the city had increased dramatically.

Police try to do what they can, but without the leadership of any captains, not much could be done. Passing through a crosswalk, Gweny ran for a few more blocks before finally seeing her school.

Vision academy

It wasn't too long ago that her mom decided they should move here due to the city being under the protection of Officer Davis and his Police force. After his death, her mother reconsidered that choice. Though not much could be done, her mother didn't have the money to just move to another apartment somewhere in New York. That meant they were stuck there, whether they liked it or not.

Although Brooklyn became a rough city to be in, it didn't stop people from going to school.

Luckily she wasn't as late as she expected. Bursting through the doors, Gwen heard the school bell ringing forcing her to rush to class. Managing to reach her class on time, she sat down at one of the desks where she heard a voice on her right say.

" You're right on time"

Toward her right was no other of her friends Ganke. After she moved from here, it was hard to make any friends with people she wasn't familiar too. But after a while, she had met Ganke after bumping into him. After a while, she became one of her close friends

Before you assume things, no, I did not like him. Firstly, Ganke already had a girlfriend and was in a healthy relationship. Second, she mostly viewed him as that annoying sarcastic brother you get along with from time to time.

"I'm surprising myself, I thought I was gonna be late"

" That's what I meant"

Rolling her eyes, Gwen focused on the white screen that showed through the projector.

****

The class went on per usual, nothing out of the ordinary. Just the same lessons from the head scientist from Alchemax, Dr. Otto Octavius. For the past weeks, her physics teacher has been showing the class about his work at Alchemax.

For a physics class, it was strange how they were getting documentaries about Dr. Otto Octavius and his work at Alchemax. On-screen, he seemed relevantly a normal man with big ambitions.

But there's only so much media that tells you about someone's true nature. Apparently after doing some research about this guy, many sources from employees leaving the company voiced their complaints online either through Reddit or other anonymous websites.

What they concluded was that Dr. Otto was obsessed with his work, so much in fact that many had thought that he was a madman. Sources say that his latest project he was working on was highly illegal and dangerous for not just the city but the very

the fabric of reality.

They would also go on to say that if certain deadlines weren't met, the punishment was far worse than one could imagine. However, these claims seemed to be deleted in just a few days before the user would go silent permanently. Even if those claims were brought to the police, not much could be done.

To give them credit, the police already had enough of their plate as it is after the death of their captain. Since the crime rate increased, it seemed that most officers had to deal with double shifts and extra work. It was safe to say that they weren't gonna do an investigation when they had bigger things on their plate.

With all that being said, it seemed like nothing could be done if these claims were true. Even if someone within their ranks had decided to go rogue and attempt to expose them, they wouldn't even have evidence to back up their claims. From what she read from one source, all employees must sign a waiver form that forced them to set aside their devices as no pictures were allowed

to be taken.

If they were caught, chances were that the court would most likely be in Doctor Otto's favor.

Yeah, like that wasn't suspicious at all?

"Seriously, did no one find it sketchy how he was able to do this without triggering national attention." Gweny thought to herself, her eyes now drifting elsewhere, "You're telling me that having this many security and bodyguards around this place doesn't scream, "I'm hiding something behind closed doors"

" Pss, Gwen"

Gweny turned her head slightly to hear Ganke whispering to her.

" Did you reconsider that offer I gave you?"

" What offer?" She whispered back

" Y'know, about going to the party"

Her eyes widened in shock, she'd been so busy last night that she had completely forgotten about that. If she were to be honest, most of the time she was free was spent somewhere else. Sure she had friends and wouldn't mind hanging out with them from time to time, but her priority was on other "important" things.

" Oh, yeah...about that, you see, I was kinda, busy tonight, maybe some other time"

" Let me guess, you're going out tonight searching for crime again."

"Yeah, I—Wait, what? " A shocked Gweny muttered under her breath as Ganke smirked.

" It's pretty obvious, I mean...you use that excuse to go out to search for action and play cop" He explained nonchalantly, " Don't you ever get tired of that? Why not let the police handle it?"

" Yeah, like they're gonna do any better" She replied, she wasn't entirely wrong when seeing the sight of the city every night.

" I'm just saying, why not just live a little. You've got your whole life ahead of you and you want to spend it by getting involved in things that don't involve you"

" I'll be fine, thank you very much" Gweny stated, her voice sounding slightly annoyed.

" Whatever you say, I just thought it would give you some stress for tonight since exams are coming up"

Before they could continue their conversation, their teacher had come by to end it by shushing them. Although Gwen tried looking back at the screen, she felt a chill after seeing the way her teacher looked at her.

****

A hand is slammed on a desk as Gweny flinches. Removing their hand, Gwen's teacher had shown a paper that revealed her grades.

" Ms. Stacy, how many times do we need to have this talk?"

" My grades look just fine, I mean, who here doesn't mind passing their classes with C's" Gweny shrugged, it's not like it mattered since technically speaking, she was barely passing.

" Key words "Barely passing", here at Visions Academy, our goal here is to help our students go up and beyond to achieve new heights"

" And I completely respect that if it weren't for the fact that like, 95 percent of what we learn here won't matter in the real world"

Her teacher sighed as Gweny looked unamused, she hated the fact that she was held back to have this conversation.

" Gwen, you can't keep wasting your potential like this doing whatever it is that's making you slack at school."

" Yeah well, maybe that means more to me than this" She tried not to sound harsh, but the way her teacher had said that had struck a nerve.

Despite her attitude, her teacher lets out a sigh before their voice speaks softly.

" Look Gwen, I get it, you're going through things and that's completely normal. But you gotta start asking yourself, what comes after you this?

Expecting to have an answer in the back of her head,  she was surprised when it came out short once she thought more about it. Of course, she had an answer yet,  why was it complicated?

" Look, I overheard your conversation with Ganke. I know it's not my business, but maybe you should go to that party. You seem to need a chance to let whatever is bothering you slide just this once." They explained with no ill intention " This doesn't mean I want you to be slacking from now on, but I think, just for tonight, you need it"

"Tonight you say?"

An idea suddenly popped up in her head.

****

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Maybe I should've thought this one through.

Remembering Ganke's offer, Gwen thought she could use that to get away for tonight. It would've been so much simpler to sneak out if it weren't for her mom catching her in the act. These past few days were difficult since her mother would scold her for sneaking out.

But when an opportunity like this came to pass, she wasn't exactly gonna let it slide. Was it wrong that she would be lying to her mother? Yes. Would she be grounded for life? Probably. But would that stop her?

No. It wouldn't it?

So when she told her mother that she was going to a party, it seemed that she bought the lie. More so her excitement took control over her.

" Gwen sweetie, I'm so proud of you. You're finally coming out of your shell."

" Yeah Mom, I finally decided to do something different for a change" Technically that wasn't a lie in a certain context. " Just so you know , you don't have to worry about me. I mean, I'm 15 now and this party is gonna be...something"

" And you're going dress like that, come on Gwen, have some subtlety."

Gweny looked herself in the mirror to see herself in her typical house clothes. It didn't bother her much if she was going to the party dressed like this. Sure, she hadn't been to many parties before, but would it matter what she wore from time to time?

"Mom, I'm kinda running late so maybe I should-"

Gweny didn't have time to finish her sentence as she felt herself being pulled by her mother inside her room. She was horrified once her mother forced her to wear what she saw was one of the most ridiculous outfits she'd worn in her life.

What she had on was a strapless pink dress that her mother chose herself. Luckily her motherly instincts forced her to wear black pants underneath, and to give her mother credit, that would be the safest thing to do to avoid anyone trying to take a peak.

Even with that slight adjustment, Whether or not she was going, Gweny still didn't think this suited her.

" Mom, Can I wear something else? I look completely ridiculous in this" She complained, she refused to let anyone see her in this.

" Relax dear, this is the first party that you going to for a while now, I'm just trying to make yourself presentable here"

" Can I at least wear a jacket, I don't want to catch a cold in this thing?"Gwen asked, her bare shoulders already feeling the cold air.

"Alright, just make sure you're home by nine, you know how dangerous the city gets at night."

" Okay Mom," She said, her voice sounding as if she was in a hurry. Not wanting to waste any more time, She packed the things she needed before rushing out the door of their house.

" Well, I'm off now, see you later Mom"

" Bye sweetie, have fun" Her mother exclaims, walking out the door and seeing her daughter leaving in a hurry, " They grow up so fast, just wishes her father could've been here to see how much she's grown up"

Once Gweny had gotten further from view, her hands quickly turned toward her bag. Using her hand to dig inside the now-open zipper, Gwen began searching inside before finally feeling what she wanted. Pulling it out slowly to not cause any damage, she pulled out a map.

" Alrighty then, time to do what I came out here to do"

****

Climbing up a stairway of one of the buildings, Gweny placed her bag which had all of her equipment. Being a safe distance away, she used a set of binoculars as she viewed the building ahead of her.

Alchemax.

Zooming into view, she could see that the place was heavily guarded. It seemed that security was on high alert around this time. Putting down her binoculars, Gwen figured that sneaking in through the building would be impossible without being spotted.

Luckily she thought something like this was gonna happen after seeing the signs. So she decided to go with plan B.

Climbing down the stairs of the apartment, she stumbled upon the sewage lid before using her hands to lift it and throw it to the side.

" If I recall correctly, these sewers connect to most of the buildings around the city. If I were to find my way around, I should be able to sneak in without anyone noticing."

That or I'll just be going around looking like one of those teenage mutant turtles.

Climbing down the stairs, She cringed as she now smelled the sewage water around her. Now traveling inside, Gwen pulled out a flashlight before scanning the area around her.

" If there was a place you would use the definition of shit, I think this would be it"

Now starting her journey in the Sewers, she walked in a straight path to see where she could find. Seeing the many sewage pipes around that were connected to other buildings, she needed to figure out which one belonged to Alchemax.

" If I were to belong to a sketchy ass company that would probably cause the end of the world, which pipe would I belong to."

Searching through her with the flashlight, it took a while before she was able to notice one of the pipes sticking out to her. For one, it was particularly bigger than any of the pipes she came across. Not to mention that it was noticeable by the fact it was just ahead of her in plain sight.

Mustering up the courage to continue her journey, Gwen walked inside with her flashlight in hand. Unlike the other sewage pipes that leaked huge amounts of water, it seemed that the one she entered barely had any water. It could've been likely due to Alchemax focusing their efforts more on whatever Dr. Otto had in store for them rather than repairing some nasty sewage pipes.

Huh, kinda makes you wonder what employees do when they need to use the bathroom.

That's when it happened, Gwen's flashlight suddenly picked up a sewage lid up at the ceiling. Curiously, Gwen examined it further as she now stood beneath it near the stairway leading up there.

Deciding to not waste any more time, She decided to climb those stairs once more before slowly lifting the lid to take a quick park at the area. To her surprise, it didn't seem like there was any there besides a few shipments lying around here and there.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Gwen removed the lid slowly so as to not make a noise before climbing out. As she did, she immediately took out her camera before taking pictures.

"Just a few more of these and then I'll be on my way" She muttered, not wanting her voice to echo throughout the huge room.

Examining the room much further, she was surprised to see no cameras around this area. Again, Alchemax must be running on a cheap budget here. It was only then that she heard two voices heading her way. Thinking fast, Gwen ran towards the closed box of shipments before hiding behind them.

Checking to see who it was, Gwen found it was none other than two security guards who were scanning the area. She let out a sigh of relief knowing that she had at least closed back the lid to not draw any attention. Although she was safe, it didn't stop her from being on guard.

Seeing that the two guards had walked by without noticing her, she snuck behind each of the boxes covered in sheets before leaving the room entirely. Sneaking around carefully, she could see rooms around her that were left untouched.

Around this area, she read that many employees had left around this hour leaving only a few security guards to stand on guard. Doing what she could, Gweny moved from room to room, taking pictures of documents, computers, and data storage systems. Although this would help her case in exposing them, she needed to go higher.

She needed to find the project that most employees had spent their time and day overworking themselves for. Checking the map in one of the rooms, She followed the coordinates as she worked her way around the area, hiding and sneaking around whenever there was any sign of security.

It was only when Gweny had finally found the exact location where she entered the room. Ignoring the signs and other restrictions, she entered inside before staring in awe at what she saw next.

Inside was a gigantic room containing a huge particle accelerator. From what she was seeing, it seemed almost finished with only a few parts missing there.

Just when were they gonna test this?

Before she could walk Further, she saw a glass window up above forcing her to hide once more. Wanting to take a look, Gwen peaked her head to examine whoever was above her.

Through a glass window, terrified scientists work as someone walks through the room from behind them.

Behind them was no other than Doctor Otto Octavio himself who was accompanied by three other people who stood out, unlike the rest.

Examining Further using her binoculars, she was shocked to see three of New York's craziest criminals standing behind the supposed doctor.

"Rhino, a well-known supervillain who had the strength to overpower even the toughest of tanks. His suit alone made it impossible for any bullet to put him down. Police had barely even managed to take him down with Rhino always leaving with a bag of cash he would rob from banks."

"Electro, a man falls after being struck with lighting before into a container full of electric eels. Just when you think he could use those powers for good, his greed and lust had made him into the supervillain that Brooklyn had known today."

"And finally, the most dangerous out of the three, the green goblin. After sacrificing so much for Oscorp, he was tossed aside by the very people he trusted. Swearing revenge, he injected himself with a serum that made him sadistically Insane. It didn't take to long for him to burn oscorp and everyone who betrayed him down to the ground."

So many thoughts ran through her head, why were they here? Why were they working with Doc Otto? And what did they have to do with whatever this machine was right in front of her?

So many questions yet none would be answered at the moment. The machine started to rotate as Octavius heard his comrades behind him.

" Is it finished already or what?" Rhino said impatiently, that he and the others were forced to come here due to Octavius' request.

" Patience my friend, you can't rush perfection. Things are now following into play" Octavius proudly smiled at his creation.

" Nice to see you gloating about your little project of yours, but I hope you haven't forgotten our end of the bargain" Electro

chipped in, not amused by Octavius' persuasion.

" Of course, I assumed that you would remember what I promised. You, my friend, will receive energy across the multiverse with unlimited power" Octavius then looked toward Rhino who looked on in anticipation.

"Rhino, riches you could find that make you the wealthiest person on this planet"

Octavius turned toward the green goblin, the sadistic grin becoming more present as Octavius smiled at him.

" And finally, you Norman. I haven't forgotten how far we go back, my friend. I remember coming to your aid once Oscorp had turned against you. As promised to you my friend, this machine will open the gateway through the multiverse that will finally give you the proper challenge you've been looking for"

Octavius could only turn back to the machine before grinning.

" The power of the multiverse, in the palm of our hands" Octavius explained, his voice sounding more determined than ever before " Soon, this will mark the beginning of a new day and finally...I will get what I desire"

Overhearing the conversation, Gweny carefully peered her head out to take full view of both them and the machine. Taking out her phone, she started to take snapshots.

*Ring* *Ring*

Shit!

Gweny's phone started to ring, the image of her mother now showing on her screen. Although she reacted quickly enough to cancel the call, it didn't stop the echoing sound from being heard.

Hearing this, Doctor Octavius and the other villains turned to see what had caused all the commotion. To Gwen's horror, it seemed as if they were staring directly at where she was. That's when she noticed it, from their view, they could probably see her through the shadows.

Seeing how much the situation would escalate, Gwen made a run from it. No words were to be said, yet one look from Doctor Octavius said it all.

" Get them"

Electro grinned as he took one step before an enormous hand blocked his way. His mood now soured after seeing that it was Rhino giving him a grin.

" Hold it right there battery boy, you had all the fun last time." Rhino reminded him, he then ran through the glass causing it to shatter before jumping down, causing the ground to shake.

"IT'S. MY. TURN!"

Rhino lets out an animalistic roar before following Gweny. Electro shakes his head in annoyance.

" Show off" Electro turned to see the Green Goblin staring motionless " Hey Christmas Grinch, don't you want in on the action too?"

" This is beneath me" Green Goblin stated, Crossing his arms.

" Whatever you say"

****

It wasn't the first time Gweny ran for dear life. The first time was when she broke her mother's vase. The second time was when her grades came in last year and her mother was told that she was slacking.

But when it came to her own life being at risk, it redefined what she thought of running for your life.

Gweny ran toward the sewage lid she came from before opening it once more. While entering, she could hear heavy footsteps that sounded like they were coming closer. Her adrenalin picked up only when she heard who it was.

" Come back little girl, I'm just itching to destroy you!"

Gweny jumped right inside before running as fast as she could back to where she originally came from. Rhino followed suit by jumping down on the floor causing the ground to break cashing the debris to scatter everywhere.

" He can't be that fast can he? I mean he could but—No! Don't think like that, I'm sure his bulky size is slowing him down—"

Gweny turned her head slightly to see Rhino already charging at her, his speed being faster than what she expected. Gwen barely had enough time to cut around a corner as Rhino charged head-on, crashing against one of the walls causing a huge hole.

" Where are you going? There's no place you could hide from me!!"

She ascended the stairway leading to the sewage lid above her she looked over to see Rhino already recovering from the debris. She barely made it out as she ran for dear life with Rhino jumping through the sewage lid and breaking whatever stood in his way. Landing on his two feet, Rhino chased her down the streets causing panic to ensue.

Gweny pushed her way through as the crowd around her ran in opposite directions. Rhino ran through through a few cars before grabbing one and throwing it toward Gwen. Gwen swiftly ducked as the upcoming vehicle crashed against one of the stores. She immediately cuts the coroner off a building to gain some distance as Rhino slams against a bus causing it to fall over.

Reacting quickly, Gweny kept running as up ahead, she could hear police sirens heading her way. Seeing that the authorities had arrived, She kept running in whatever direction she was heading.

" Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running!!"

Despite this, Rhino smile didn't falter as he raised one of his arms before his suit fired a few missiles. The police cars ahead barely had enough time as they swerved their vehicles in other directions which managed to evade the upcoming fire.

The missiles flew past Her as they exploded against a few buildings before one of them crashed behind Gwen causing her to be sent flying.

She immediately crashes against the end of the wall in an empty valley. She struggled to get back to her feet as her vision became blurry, the ringing sound completely taking over her eardrums.

She picks her head up slightly, the only exit out of the valley now being covered with smoke. Turning her head, she could see her phone in pieces as the impact must've broken her phone into pieces.

Groaning in pain and annoyance, Gweny turned his attention back to the smoke.

" At least this might give him the idea that I'm dead"

Rhino emerged from the smoke, the grin still noticeable on his face.

" Oh come on! Who bothers to check if they killed someone after throwing a missile at them!"

Rhino slowly approaches her step by step as She crawls back, her eyes terrified once she is cornered against the wall behind her. Her breathing became faster once she realized that this could be it. It reminded her of that movie she saw about a Latino cat running away after a grim reaper wolf came after him.

"Could we talk about this? Hehe," Gweny awkwardly asked, her voice trembling in fear.

" What's the matter, did the brave little girl become scared?" Rhino mocked, taking a stance, he was prepared to end their little cat-and-mouse game. "It's a shame really, not a single person in this city had the balls to do what you did tonight, you truly are one of a kind. Too bad it makes you a threat."

Rhino raised his arms preparing to smash her into pieces as she closed her eyes in fear, her hands covering herself as she prepared for the killing blow.

" Prepare to be destroyed, little girl!"

This was it, She was gonna die here. Afraid. Cold. Alone. She would just be a missing person like the hundreds of people who went missing because of people like him. Why bother even screaming if no one would bother to help you against a rhino-sized man with skin that was made of metal? In any situation, Gwen would joke after being back up in the Corner either by her mother or her friends. But as of right now, there was nothing funny she could do to ease the situation she was now in. She was going to die.

Not even bothering screaming, She just quivered In fear, her body shaking more than ever. Her last thoughts were of that of everyone she knew. Her mother. Ganke. Her Father. This was it, no matter what happened next, she only wished she could've told her mother she loved her one last time.

Hearing something smash against another thing, Gwen had fully expected herself to be dead, that the force of both his fists would've killed her instantly.

That wasn't the case.

She opened her eyes slowly to see his fist just inches away from her. Looking at his face, it seemed that his attention wasn't on her anymore. He quickly withdrew his fist before turning in the other direction.

" Looks like you finally decided to show yourself"

From the shadows, a mysterious figure could be seen as their purple glow illuminated through the darkness. Rhino turns to show a wicked grin.

" Mr. Prowler, your reputation proceeds you. I had always wanted to face the vigilante of the city"

Gweny’s eyes widen after hearing his words. Prowler was known as a criminal before suddenly stopping after Officer Davis's death. There were many rumors, but what she gathered was that he decided to take a new leaf and become a vigilante for some reason. Though it was shown by the daily bulge all the crimes he committed such as stealing and robbery, She had done her research which made her discover that many sources online claimed that they were saved by the prowler.

Emerging from the shadows, Gwen was surprised when he had revealed his full appearance. For such a feared vigilante that she heard stories from, he seemed shorter than she expected. Another thing she found strange was how young he looked. She would even dare say that he looked no older than her.

" Leave the girl alone" Prowler's claws activated as their helmet reflected Rhino's grin before showing his own menacing eyes " This will be your only warning"

" Oh no, I'm so scared!" Rhino mocked before laughing " What are you gonna do little guy?"

Prowler charged at him as Rhino tried striking him only for him to miss. Using his size to his advantage, Prowler slid underneath him before climbing on his back. Before he could react, Prowler placed a small device on his back before backflipping as he threw small square-like bombs that exploded on impact.

" I see that you're not all talk, I might have some fun for once" Rhino explained, charging at Prowler head-on.

Prowler dodges the upcoming strike before jumping on his arm and smacking him across the face with his claws. Seeing his opening, Rhino grabbed him before slamming him against the wall. Attempting to smash his face, Prowler pulled out a button before pressing it.

Just then, the device he planted earlier had begun to electrocute Rhino as he groaned in pain. Seeing his opportunity, Prowler unleaded a few hits on him as the device had left him stunned.

Getting annoyed, Rhino tried stomping on him but Prowler's agility gave him the upper edge. With each strike that Rhino had tried landing, Prowler was able to dodge at ease. It was obvious that not only did Prowler's size give him the advantage but his training as well. Whenever Rhino had missed, he was met with an upcoming strike from Prowler's metal class.

Watching the fight, Gwen noticed that he used different moves that she'd only seen in movies. From martial arts to even kung fu, she could see why he was such a formidable opponent in this fight.

Rhino tried using both hands to body slam him on the ground but Prowler's speed proved too great as he backflips away from the strike. He then leaps in before using his knee to uppercut his jaw and using his hands to jump over his head.

Landing on his two feet, Prowler pressed one of the buttons on his wrist before turning over to Rhino. Enrage, he charged at him as Prowler used this time to catch him off guard. When he was close enough, Prowler lifted his right arm before firing a beam of energy forcing Rhino to block the attack.

To his surprise, he felt himself being pushed back as the energy he fired had enough force to damage his armor. Rhino struggled to push back the beam before succumbing to the power wave of energy as he crashed to the ground. Down on his knees, Rhino watches as Prowler approaches him slowly.

" It's over Rhino, you are beaten"

Rhino Growled, it was humiliating enough that he was beaten by someone half his size but to be on his knees for the first time to someone who was beneath him had angered him even more.

Although he was blinded by his anger, it didn't stop him from thinking of his plan to escape. His eyes darted to Gweny as an idea popped up in his head.

" I wouldn't be so sure Prowler"

Rhino lifts his arm before throwing something directly at Prowler. It was a pumpkin bomb. Initially, Prowler expected the bomb to be thrown at him as he lifted his arms to try and block the attack. It shook him once his eyes caught the bomb being thrown past him. Turning his eyes, he caught the bomb heading straight for Gwen.

Reacting quickly, Prowler leaped in front of the bomb before it exploded. Using this time to escape, Rhino ran in the other direction, the sinister smile never leaving his face as he mocked him.

" Maybe next time Prowler"

Rhino speeds off into the broken city as the smoke clears revealing Prowler. His suit was slightly damaged but he managed to take the full blast. Seeing that Rhino was getting away, Prowler growled in annoyance before he heard whimpering.

Turning his head slightly, he could see Gweny backing against a corner. The fear in her eyes widened after she saw him take a few steps in her direction. Fearing for her life, She picks up her hands to cover herself as the prowler now stands before her.

"I...I-" She stumbles to find anything to say, the adrenaline and fear had taken most of her already at this point.

Getting up close, Prowler stared directly into her eyes as his purple eyes that his suit showed showed her reflection. Before she could get a word out of her mouth, she heard the static voice of the prowler speak to her in what sounded like a soft manner.

" Are you hurt?"

Her eyes widened once more but fear was now replaced with shock. Hearing all the things Prowler had done, she found it hard to believe there was any good in the city. Most individuals who were super-powered maniacs usually cared nothing more than to fulfill their selfish desires. But seeing how he came to her aid when he could've just left her to die, opened her eyes to see that despite how shitty the city had become, there were still those who still believed in the good. That the tiny light in the dark tunnel never faded away.

Using the strength she had left, She simply nodded her head slightly to give him an answer.

"Y-Yeah...I-I'm okay"

Prowler continued to stare at her before turning around in the other direction.

" Whatever it is you trying to do, I suggest staying out of it" Prowler clenched both of his fists before turning his head slightly toward her, " Believe me, it's not worth the trouble"

Prowler turns his head back before dashing upward toward the sky before disappearing init the night leaving Gwen frozen in disbelief. So much had happened in the last few minutes yet her mind could barely comprehend anything. Looking up from where she last saw the prowler, her only thoughts were about the person who saved her just now.

" Prowler..."

****

There were moments in her life when she had been fearful for her life. First was being chased by a bodybuilder who wore a rhino suit and tried to take her life. The second would be coming home to her mother.

Since Gweny’s phone had been crushed during the chase, she couldn't tell how long she'd been gone. From what she knew, she could've been gone longer than the actual party she was invited to.

Opening her door, Gweny could see the lights were off as she entered slowly. Thinking that her mother was probably asleep, Gwen took slow steps toward her room as she assumed her mother had gone to bed early. Taking a few more steps, she was inches away from the door as she lifted her right hand to twist the handle. That was until the lights had suddenly flicked on startling her as she turned her head to see her mom sitting down on a couch, her right hand pulling the string to the small lamp next to her.

By the look of her face, she didn't seem to happy with her.

" Hello Gwen, did you have fun at the party"

" O-Oh Yeah. It was great! So great in fact that I lost track of time! So I should probably head to bed now" Gwen smiled awkwardly as her mother gave her a disappointed look before pulling out her phone. The screen revealed Ganke's profile as he spoke through the phone.

" *Beep* Hey Mrs. Stacy, Sorry for not answering earlier, but if you don't mind me asking about Gwen? She told me she was going tonight but I didn't see her at the party, is everything okay with her? *Beep*"

God damn it Ganke!

" I can't believe you lied to me, again! Just when I thought my little girl was finally gonna come out of her shell and make new friends, I found out she'd just been sneaking around the city again!" Her mother yelled, " Just what are you doing that is more important than living a normal life!"

" I was just out around the city, there's nothing to worry about!" Gwen argued feeling slightly annoyed by her mother. Then again, maybe she was just so tired from everything that had happened tonight that she didn't want to be dealing with another scolding.

" Nothing to worry about? Gwen, do you know how dangerous it is around this hour? You could've gotten hurt!"

" But I'm not, and I'm still here, right? So what's the issue?!"

" The issue is you trying to play hero again! Gwen, we've already had this discussion so many times in the past. The fact that you ignore everything I tell you makes me believe you don't care!" Her mother was furious, though she tried her best to keep the conversation civil.

" I'm doing what I think is right, is that such a bad thing for you?"

" It is a bad thing Gwen. Not only would this get you into trouble again, but you could actually hurt, even killed! Is that what you want? To leave me just like your father!"

Oh, she just had to jump there, didn't she?

" At least I'm trying to do something to remember him then acting like he never existed!" She argued, furious that she had brought her father into this.

" Don't you dare assume that young lady, you know better than anyone how bad it was after his death? I've tried so hard to raise you alone these past 10 years only to get nothing but lies and half-truths. Well, you know what, I'm done! As of right now Gwen, you're grounded!"

" GROUNDED?!" Gweny shouted in disbelief.

" For four months. That means No TV. No phone. And especially no sneaking out!"

" You can't do that!"

" I just did, just like how I'm about to do this. Go to your room!"

She wanted to argue once more but she knew there was nothing she could do to convince her mother. Once she set her mind to something, it was difficult for anyone to change her mind. She could see where she got that from. Being drained from everything that happened, Gwen just groans loudly before storming into her room as she slams the door behind her.

Gwen's mother stares at her door before crossing her arms and sighing.

" Oh, George...what do I do?"

****

After slamming her door, Gweny angrily throws her bag against the corner of her room before sitting down on her bed. With nothing to do, she looked down on her feet before muttering to herself.

"  Today isn't my day."

Getting back to her feet, she changed into l normal clothes as she sat back down. As she did, Her eyes drifted to see her sketchbook as she picked it up with one hand before using the other to flip over the pages. From each page, she smiled at each photo she saw as the pictures of herself and her family always left a special place in her heart. Seeing how happy they were in every picture she was in, she tuned the page once more to see a picture of her as a kid with her father giving her a piggyback ride.

She never looked any happier than that.

Gweny turned over to her detective work on her board before sighing.

" I know you wouldn't want me to be like this forever. You'd probably want me to listen to Mom and live the life you always wanted me to live. But it's my life, my choice. Wherever you are, I hope you can understand"

She sighs before closing the book and pushing it toward the side. Grabbing her headset, Gwen grabbed one of her favorite books that she liked reading.

Although she was so focused on crime-solving, it didn't stop her from having hobbies here and there. Since she was grounded, it wasn't like she could do much else, especially when she knew damn well that it would take a while for her to get another phone.

Reading her book, gave her time to take herself from everything. One of the things she liked doing was reading as it gave her a sense of joy that separated her from reality. It was one of the things that kept her distracted from time to time.

As she read, the music she listened to helped smoothen her mood as she felt herself relax against the headboard of her bed.  Not only did music help her calm down, but it also played a huge part in getting her to sleep.

Feeling herself falling asleep, her eyelids started closing on themselves before closing for good.

*BAM!*

Her eyes suddenly jolted awake as she took off her headphones to see what had happened. Looking around her room, she couldn't find anything that could've fallen to cause such a noise. Examining her room further, her eyes darted toward one of her windows.

If she recalled correctly, there was a stairway connected to her apartment that led up to some of the rooms including hers. Fear came rushing in as she remembered what had transpired hours earlier.

What if they found her already?

Hesitantly, she picked herself off her bed before approaching her window slowly. Taking extra measures, she picked up her baseball bat from the ground as she drew closer to her window. When she was face to face with the glass, she could see something she couldn't quite make out.

Opening her window slowly, she peaks her head out slightly as he looks down to see what had caused that noise. To her surprise, it was nothing that she could've imagined. There was no sign of an object that had caused such a loud noise nor was it a supervillain that waited outside her door.

Instead, she saw someone who looked no older than her age lying on the floor. Examining further, she noticed he was brown skin in color through his facial features as the suit he wore was black with what looked like a spider symbol on their chest.

Once again, she was loss for words as she could never imagine something like this to suddenly happen. Again, with everything that's happened, she shouldn't be shocked at that point.

She saw that he was moving as the realization of the situation made her snap out of her thoughts.

" Oh my gosh, are you okay?!"

Leaving outside her window onto the stairway, she kneels to check the pulse of the boy in front of her. To her relief, she could feel a pulse as through the quiet night, she was able to hear him still breathing. However, she could feel how cold it was just by standing outside as she knew that it could've done more damage to his body if she didn't do something.

Using her strength, Gweny tried pulling the boy as she struggled to get him inside. Hitting his head against the window by accident, she successfully pulled him into her room.

" You know, for someone your size, you're surprisingly light" She muttered, placing him down on her bed as she covered a blanket over him

Looking around his body, she could see the many bruises that covered his chest. From cuts to even scratches, she knew that he needed to be patched up for those wounds not to become infected.

Ducking underneath her bed, Gwen pulled out a first aid kid before turning her attention back to the boy.

****

Gweny was lucky that the boy who suddenly showed up injured and lying unconscious wasn't awake, otherwise, it would've been harder to stitch up his wounds. Finishing the stitches, she covered the wound as she stared at the boy in wonder.

" How on earth did you end up like this?"

She placed her hand on his forehead to feel his temperature as she sighed in relief seeing that it was normal. But seeing how pale he looked, it seemed that he hadn't eaten in a while. If he were to wake up, he would need to eat something. Leaving her room, she could see that the coast was clear. It seemed that after she argued with her mom, she seemed to have fallen asleep as she saw no sign of her mom on the couch. Heading toward her kitchen, Gweny opened her fridge to search for food.

She found herself disappointed as she barely found anything inside. Even with the lack of food, she had to bring him something.

" Guess this leftover cheeseburger will have to do" Gweny pulled out a plate before opening the burger from the wrapping and placing it inside the microwave.

Setting the timer, Gwen waited as she was left alone in her thoughts about the situation she was in now.

Who was that boy that suddenly showed up at her front window? Why was he hurt? Why were they in a Halloween costume in the middle of the night?

No matter how many questions kept piling up, none would be answered. She sighs as she lays on the kitchen counter.

" This day just keeps getting better and better," She tells herself.

Suddenly, she could hear the sound of footsteps coming from her room and her attention shifted. Curiously, Gweny walked toward her room slowly as she peered her head into her room.

From the corner of her eye, she could see the boy she had helped earlier now wide awake as he stood in the other direction. Approaching carefully, she entered the room slowly as whispered.

" You're finally awake"

Gweny could see him flinching for a moment before turning his body to face her direction. It was only then that she heard him speaking in a not-so-manly voice.

" Thank you officer for taking me in and everything, but I have to go."

As he turned to face her, the expression on his face changed as he stared directly at her. No words were said as Gwen stared in awe just as he did with her. Neither one moved a muscle as Gwen questioned if he was okay.

That's when he could hear him saying something that caught her off guard. Although it was faint, she could've sworn she heard her name coming out of his mouth.

"Gwen?"

Wait a minute, how did he know my name?

****

Taking a full look at what he saw, he was confused about her appearance. For one, she didn't have her suit on and instead, wore a light blue shirt that was long sleeved accompanied with black jeans. Another nickname he noticed was that her hair seemed to be back to normal.

He would grimace over the fact that he had caused that if it weren't for the fact it was gone. Her hair was completely fine. Hell, she even had a little bun on the back of her head.

Looking more closely, was she wearing...glasses?

Being left flabbergasted, Miles was unable to speak leaving a confused and curious Gweny standing before him.

" How do you know my name?"

Snapping back from his shock, Miles instinctively backed away leaving a curious version of Gwen cautiously approach him. Feeling pinned against one of the bookshelves, Miles pushed back further against a pile of books causing them to fall on him.

Being crushed against a pile of books, Miles felt himself being dragged down as he slammed his face on the ground.

Groaning in pain, Miles struggled to pick himself up as he opened his eyes to see that she had kneeled to his level. Before she could reach out to him, he pushed himself away in fear.

" Woah! Easy there, I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise." She told him, the sound of her voice proving that she had no ill intent to break that promise.

A million thoughts ran through the young hero's head. Why was Gwen here? How did she have her hair back? How did she not recognize him? To Miles, it was difficult to grasp the situation he was now in.

This all didn't make any sense, the last time he saw her was when he left through that creepy device that sent him here. Did she follow him? Was this her now in disguise? Did she secretly plan this to help persuade him to let his dad die?

So many thoughts had run through his head that he hadn't even notice that he was hyperventilating.

Noticing this, she carefully placed both her hands on his. Leaning closer toward him, she tried her best to ease the situation.

" Ease there, just relax. Just follow my rhythm" She carefully tried to slow down his breathing to ease the stress.

For the next seconds, Miles did his best to follow her lead. It was difficult at first seeing that she didn't leave a good impression on him after what had happened. But seeing how this was helping him relax and control his breathing, he decided to follow her lead.

A couple more seconds go by before he finally follows her rhythm. His body is now seemingly back to normal from all the stress. The only thing on his mind was now the person in front of him.

Either she had found him this early on or disguised herself to reach him, both possibilities were highly unlikely. How was she here? On a different earth where his doppelgänger was chasing after-

That's when it clicked.

He hadn't considered this before, it seemed so unbelievable at first. What were the chances of this happening on a different dimension altogether?

But how would she be this young?

" Feeling better"

Miles's thoughts came to a stop once he heard, well, this version of Gwen, trying to catch his attention. To be fair to her, having someone randomly say your name when they haven't met you before crashing against their bookshelf and hyperventilating, would have freaked almost anyone out.

It was a surprise when that was the complete opposite. The way she looked at him made her seem more curious than anything else.

Quick Miles, respond appropriately.

“ Y-Yeah, that's my specialty"

Damn it!

"I'm glad you're alright, didn't want you passing out again" She joked leaving Miles speechless.

...Roll with it

" Earlier you mentioned my name, but so far, I don't remember ever meeting you"

" Oh, yeah, about that, you just...remind me of someone I know, how convenient it was that their name was the same as yours, am I right?" Miles laughed awkwardly, he knew he was a bad liar but that was just atrocious.

" Umm...sure?" She examines the boy further before asking the more obvious question that was on her mind " Umm, who are you?"

Seeing no point in hiding his identity in a universe that had no Spider-Man, He decided to just answer her honestly.

" I'm Miles"

" Uh-Huh, and what are doing dressing up like it's Halloween in the middle of the night?"

" Oh...umm, about that, I was..." Miles nervously spoke, he found it difficult to explain something like this without sounding crazy, especially since this earth didn't have its own Spider-Man.

" Cosplaying!"

Gweny raised an eyebrow as she could see how stupid that sounded, either that or seeing him sweat so much was a big giveaway that there was something at play here.

" Cosplaying? In the middle of the night?"

" Yes! I mean, Yeah! I was...at Comic con!" Miles explained, whipping the sweat on his forehead.

" Right, and that explains why you showed up at my window half beaten and alive how?" She sarcastically remarked

" It didn't—I mean, oh yeah! I was...on my way home when I was attacked."

" Outside my house?" She asked suspiciously.

" Well, yes but actually  no"

Miles felt her suspicious gaze on him as he nervously thought of a way to get himself out of this situation. That's when he saw

the still-opened window as he planned his escape.

" Well, I can't thank you enough for patching me up, I should probably-"

Suddenly, Miles felt himself glitching as he fell on the floor while groaning in pain. Gweny had jolted back before staring at him in shock.

"D-Did you just glitch?!" She stuttered, not believing what she saw seconds earlier.

" It happens when you're stuck in another dimension, your body's atoms start dying until there's nothing left of the body. You would think being Spider-Man would help ease the pain".He states as he gets back to his feet. It was only when she stared at him in shock did he realized what he had just said.

Wait a minute, NOOO

" Wait a minute, another dimension? Spider-Man?" Gweny saw the look on his face as Miles grimaced, he wasn't supposed to tell her anything yet here he was telling her the biggest secret he needed to keep. He needed to treat this carefully.

Quick Miles, play dumb!

" Whose Spider-Man?"

Miles, AGAIN!!!!

" Okay, cut the crap, we both know you lying even though you're terrible at it. I want the truth! Who the hell are you?

Miles felt himself being backed against the corner, what else could he say that wouldn't make him sound like a super genetic human that just suddenly showed up? Although he tried to think of an excuse, the sudden memory of his father had popped up.

The nervousness he felt instantly faded away as his adrenaline kicked in. His dad was about to die in two days unless he found a way back home.

" I should go!" Miles begins to walk toward the window as Gwen follows him.

" Wait a second, you just gonna leave, just like that? You still haven't even-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt her mouth being covered with something as Miles shot a web fluid to keep her shut. Miles heads toward the opened window before stopping as Gwen pulls out the web fluid and looks at him weirdly.

" What the actual hell! Did you just shoot a web out of your wrist!" She yelled, "Did...Did that come out of you?!"

" Look, I don't have time to do this right now, I need to get home and save my dad!"

Miles flicks his wrist preparing to swing away as he turns back to face her.

" I'm sorry"

As Miles prepared to swing away, he was met halfway with another glitch as he fell downward and onto another staircase below. Quickly reacting, Gwen rushed out her window as she peeked her head out.

" Jesus, does your body hurt when it does that?"

Miles just stares at her.

" No, it just gives me a warm feeling inside my heart" Miles sarcastically remarks.

" WHAT DO YOU THINK?!!"

Gweny flinched hearing him raise his voice.

" Yeah, that was a stupid question. But you don't have to be so mad about it" She remarked, " Plus I just saved your life a few hours ago, can't I get a least some answers to what's going on?!"

" Like it'll matter anyways" Miles gets back to his feet before dusting himself off and looking at her, " The last thing I want is to get another person involved"

Miles then sticks his hands against the wall before lifting his body as he stands sideways against the wall. Gwen stares in disbelief as he walks up her wall.

" How...How on earth are you doing that?!" She asked, first he shot a web out of his wrist then started sticking it on the walls, she couldn't catch a break.

Miles ignored her as he walked back and forward on the wall while talking to himself.

" Trust me, there's a lot you things about me that you wouldn't understand." Miles explained before walking upward past her window " Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way"

" Hey! Wait, Do you even know where you're going? You look like you need a hand"

" Unless you have a dimensional traveling watch or portal, I don't think you could do anything to help me" Miles explained as he was already halfway toward the roof.

Gwen froze as she processed what he'd told her. It was confusing enough to meet some super-powered but to discover that he was, quote on quote, in another dimension, was making her question her sanity.

Who or what he was still a mystery to her, for starters, this could've been some prank she didn't know about. Then again, the wounds she patched up seemed real.

What if he was another one of Octavius' super-powered henchmen?

That would make sense, seeing how bad Rhino had tried to kill her earlier, it seemed like Octavius would do everything in his power to kill people to keep them silent. He was a man to go through all that trouble just to keep his project up and running. All that trouble just for him to travel through—Wait a minute.

Gweny’s eyes widened as she recalled the conversation she heard previously earlier when she snuck inside Octavius' building.

" The power of the multiverse, in the palm of our hands"

Oh my god.

" I think know a way for you to get back!"

Miles stopped in his tracks before turning his head slightly toward her.

" And that is?"

" There's this guy my teacher keeps showing In quantum physics. His name is Doctor Octavius, I remember him talking about-

Miles' eyes widened as he turned his body around to look at her.

" DID YOU SAY OCTAVIUS!!"

" Yeah, do you know him or something-"

" Wait a minute, if there's an Octavius in this dimension then..."

Miles stops to think for a moment before an idea pops up in his head.

" Then there must be an Alchemax here, and if there is then—I could go back home. I could save my dad from the spot!" Miles exclaimed before another realization hit him, " If I do this carefully, I should be able to get there in time!"

" Wait a minute, you're going to Alchemax?" Gwen asked

" Oh yeah! Nothing is going to stop me!" Miles proclaimed he'd made it past every obstacle either physically or emotionally this far, he couldn't quit now.

He's going to sneak into Alchemax alone, is he crazy?!

Her encounter with Doc Oct and the rest of his team made her realize that the so-called "Scientist" had many secrets behind closed doors. After being chased by one of them, it was obvious that he was not afraid to destroy anyone in his path if it meant achieving his dream. Going by all this information, going in alone at Alchemax headquarters was a death wish.

Then again, this mysterious "Spider-Man" or whatever he was, had not only shown her many strange abilities that she would never dream of someone having, but showed no ill intentions once so ever about them. Usually, she would hear in the news that some weird super-powered criminal got away with murder or thief. After seeing how Rhino and the others acted, they seem to be either way overconfident with their abilities or brag about their huge ego. But for some reason, he was different. She knew a good person when she saw them.

Was it weird that she didn't find this suspicious? She suddenly believed that the man in front of her wasn't a total psychopath but instead an actual person, if he had to guess, he was probably some kind of minor hero. But was it strange that he just suddenly showed up out of nowhere from what he told her "From another dimension"?

Yes.

"But if he's going to sneak into Alchemax then...this could be my only chance."

After all the photos she lost through her phone, she knew she couldn't try again after she was caught red-handed. In a way, this could've been her only shot to get back what she lost, to have whatever evidence she could gather to expose the dark and cruel things Alchemax has done.

As Miles prepared to leave, Gwen started following him as she grabbed her bag with her belongings in it before rushing out the window. Following him, Gwen ascended the stairway as she faced the boy bedside her.

" Hey, Miles, or Mr. Spider-Man if that's what you want to be called, I think we got off on the wrong foot, my name is Gwen Stacy. I'm not sure we've met before but I'm assuming that whatever "Dimension" you came, you're some sort of...good guy?"

" Guess you could call it that"

" And from what I've seen so far, you've shown superhuman abilities that resemble a...spider, right?"

" Where's this going?" Miles asked, his voice sounding more serious than ever.

Miles had finally made it toward the rooftop as Gwen followed after him. He stared into the dark and empty city, the sound of sirens being the only thing he could hear.

" I wanna come with you to Alchemax" Gwen blurted out, Miles' eyes widened hearing this as he turned to face her. Gwen's eyes darted elsewhere to avoid his gaze.

"What part of not wanting to get another person involved did you not understand?"

" But this is important, I swear!" Gwen placed both hands together pleading.

" No!"

" Oh come on! Please, I promise I won't get in the way, I just need to do something there, that's all!" Gwen spoke. She walked toward him as he looked the other way. " With Great ability comes great accountability!"

" The answer's still no! And that's not even how the saying goes!" He couldn't believe she'd used the same quote his father used on him. " Just go back home, this doesn't involve you"

" But I can't! If I don't do this then Doctor Octavius continues to get away with what he's doing. Soon he'll just build an unstable machine that could potentially destroy the city!"

" Then why not let the police handle it, they'll do a much better job at stopping him than you"

That came out more harsher than he wanted, this wasn't the Gwen he knew. Taking out his frustration and anger wasn't gonna do him any good, he knew this better than anyone.

Despite the tone in his voice, Gwen didn't hesitate in the slightest as she looked at him dead in the eye.

" Because they haven't been the same ever since Captain Morales died"

Miles Froze.

The mention of his father in this dimension had momentarily stunned him. He hadn't fully grasp that he had passed away after seeing graffiti of him earlier. Hearing that the police force had changed because of his death hit home to him.

To think that the city had gone to shit ever since his death. Seemed like his dad was the one keeping the city together when there was no Spider-Man. He couldn't imagine what this dimension of his mother was going through.

Looking back at her, he could see the pain in her eyes. Living in a city like this when there was no Spider-Man around must've made it tough for her.

" I know you might see my liability, which I pretty much am, but..."

She pauses for a moment as she chooses her next work carefully.

" If there was the slightest chance you could do something right. Not just for yourself, but for the people that suffer every day, but if you don't, then bad things will happen. And when they do, you could never shake away that feeling that they're gone because of you."

Miles stood in silence, the feeling of dread taking over him. He knew better than anyone else what that was like. Getting his powers for the first time, he was given a huge responsibility to take care of the city. Especially when his Peter Park had died short after he had gotten his powers.

Even if it wasn't ready at first, it didn't stop him from trying to do what was right. As Spider-Man, it was a responsibility to do what was right even if it cost your happiness. As the saying goes, with great power came big responsibility.

A responsibility to do things right when no one else can.

It was the same thing he argued with Miguel. Spider-Man or not, you shouldn't sit by and let someone die while you have the chance to do something. That's not who Spider-Man was. That's why he fought his way trying to get back home. To prove Miguel wrong, to prove them all wrong. That Spider-Man doesn't sit by and let bad things happen.

Seeing this version of Gwen feeling the same way as he did, he couldn't help but respect her. It even reminded him of himself when he was begging for Peter to teach him to be Spider-Man.

Breathing through his nose, Miles lets out a sigh before facing her.

" Alright fine, you win. I'll let you tag along, but only if you stick to whatever plan I come up with, deal!"

Gweny couldn't help but smile as walked around where Miles stood before hugging him.

" Thank you, I promise you won't regret it!"

Taken back, Miles stared at the girl underneath him. He questioned whether or not he had made the right decision in letting her tag along. Would it be wise to do this?

Lost in his thoughts, silence hung in the air as she continued to hit him tightly. With no words that he could say at the moment, he stands frozen in place with the feeling of awkwardness almost overwhelming. " Umm...no problem?"

Luckily he didn't have to deal with it much longer. As soon as Gwen detached herself from him, she quickly began to light up with a mixture of relief and exhilaration, the corners of her eyes crinkling with uncontained joy.

" So how do you suppose we get there Mr. Spider-Man? Do you got any gadgets that could be of any use? Teleportation? Spider Flight?  You name it?"

Oh did it feel like he was a mentor now, he remembered asking Peter something similar about a year ago when he was learning how to become Spider-Man. Recalling what Peter did, Miles just did what anyone would do.

He laughed.