The couple was about to fly home after their evening stroll when suddenly they heard the sound of a struggle and the clanging of metal in the park. The spiders quickly put on their masks, and at that moment, a tall, broad-shouldered man in a fashionable but old-fashioned tailcoat flew out from behind the bushes. Following him, the Scarlet Spider flew across the web.
"Guys, help! Damn it!" he shouted as the dandy grabbed the hero.
The big man began beating Scarlet, slamming him into the tree and the ground while Pete and Jessica tried to help Spider-Man. An unexpected blow hit Parker, and he flew into the bushes and crashed into a tree. The Spider-Girl dodged the modster's attacks, but she didn't have enough strength, and Jess was already very tired. The big guy in the tailcoat took advantage of this and knocked Jessica out.
Aly, sighing dejectedly, continued to fight. However, the dandy took the initiative and grabbed Spider by the neck.
Surrender. Your fate is sealed! You're mine!
"Yeah, right, just give up. Hey, Green, give us your best shot!
Octopus appeared from behind the trees and used his tentacles to push the fashionista aside, saving Aly's life.
"Call me that again and you'll end up in a place even Mephisto has never been.
"You know Mephisto too?
The enemy, who had interrupted the heroes' conversation, jumped out and grabbed Octopus by the tentacle, tearing one of them off and nearly killing the green-glowing guy with it. Ally dodged and counterattacked. Peter, who had already regained consciousness after his hard landing, came to the rescue.
The fight continued for several more minutes. However, the fashionista did not give up. He broke another of Octopus' tentacles and even his arm, threw Parker aside again and grabbed Scarlet by the neck for the second time. The fashionista in a tailcoat lifted the hero above the ground, and all he could do was pray that he would manage to escape.
"I told you, Spider, your fate is sealed.
Aly cried out as if something had pierced him through. The Modnik absorbed the hero's life energy and threw him aside, breaking his neck. The Octopus was next in line. At that moment, Jess burst into the fight, found a sharp branch and stabbed the Modnik with it.
"ARGH!" the unknown man in the tailcoat almost growled. "Damn Spiders!
Parker kicked the modnik, and he fell to his knees.
"Who are you?
"I'm Morlan, you stupid creature. I'll destroy you all. You're my food! You...
The octopus didn't let Morlan finish, finishing him off with a blade that had come out of his surviving tentacle. The villain fell, and his body vanished in an instant. The tired and battered heroes looked at the spot where the dandy had just been lying. Nearby lay the lifeless body of the Scarlet Spider. The heroes rushed over to him...
"Who is this?" Jess asked.
"The Scarlet Spider. My clone and brother," Peter muttered and fell to his knees, clutching his head. "Ben... No, no, no, this can't be..."
"God.
"So it was your clone... I wondered why he looked so much like you, Parker. The bastard said his name, didn't he?"
"Morlan.
"No idea who that is.
"We can't leave him like this. Did he have any family?" Jess asked.
"Me," Peter replied. "Ben lived at Charles Xavier's school.
"I'll take care of him. Meet me at the school.
"What? Just like that? First you get my brother killed, and then you act like nothing happened?
"Calm down. It's not my fault, it's Morlan's. He's the threat, Parker. And if we delay now, it could end in disaster. Trust me."
The Octopus held out his hand to Peter.
Later. It was already dawn. Peter and Jess flew to the Xavier estate, better known as the School for Gifted Youngsters. Standing by the gate was everyone's favourite chatty mercenary, Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool.
"What a bunch of people! Hello, Spider-Man, glad to see you at S.H.I.E.L.D.!
"Where's Xavier?
"I don't know, probably in the kitchen. I asked him to make chimichangas.
At that moment, a sports car pulled up to the school and Octopus got out in his new costume.
"Who the hell is that?
"No need for introductions. Scarlet Spider is dead.
"What's going on? Are you out of your mind?
"It's true, Wade. Where's Xavier?
A few minutes later.
"Professor?
"Hello, Spider-Man. How can I help you?
"My brother was killed. Scarlet Spider. Morlan killed him.
"Morlan... Who is he?
"Damn, I thought you knew about him, Professor," said Octopus.
"No, I'm sorry, friends, I don't know anyone by that name. I'm very sorry. You know, you could try contacting...However, Xavier's words were interrupted by a noise that came out of nowhere. Spider-Man's senses were alerting him to danger. Deadpool grabbed his guns from their holsters just in case. At the end of the corridor where the heroes were standing, a portal opened and a creature emerged from it. Wade almost fired, but Peter stopped him.
"Hey, Spider-Man, is that your mum?" Wilson joked.
"WADE WILSON, DEADPOOL OF EARTH-163. YOUR JOKE IS IN KEEPING WITH YOUR CHARACTER," replied the creature.
"Excuse me, who are you, exactly? Or what?" Peter asked, though he was no longer particularly impressed by the creature's appearance.
"MY NAME IS LORD TKACH. I HAVE ARRIVED FROM EARTH-001. PETER PARKER, SPIDER-MAN OF EARTH-163, I NEED YOUR HELP.
"Hold on, repeat that. Earth-163? I thought we were on a normal planet, we have Coca-Loca and StarWorks here...
"YOU WERE CALLED TO FIGHT THE HEIRS. YOUR SPIDER TOTEM WILL PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THIS WAR, PETER. COME WITH ME, WE NEED YOUR HELP.
"Us? Are there more Spiders? And... Heirs? A totem? A war? What are you talking about?
"COME WITH ME AND YOU WILL LEARN YOUR DESTINY.
"Oh, don't exaggerate, Octopus is far from being my friend. I would say he's closer than a friend.
"Shut up," Octopus said threateningly.
"Come on, am I not right?
Peter followed Tkach without hesitation, leaving the team behind.
"So, what just happened?
"That was your dad, Wade," Octopus replied.
Meanwhile, Peter found himself in a huge hall with a pretty good view of... space. Or the universe. Or universes?
"Wow. Where are we?
"THIS IS EARTH-001. THE HAVEN OF THE HEIRS.
"Yeah, and again, who are the Heirs? And how are they connected to the death of my clone?
"Hmm, he doesn't seem to know anything," said one of the people standing behind him, apparently a Spider.
"MEET SPIDER-MAN OF EARTH-90214. NOIR.
"Hello, Peter. It's an honour to meet you in person.
"Well, hello.
They shook hands. Noir looked somewhat like a gangster from the 1930s or 1940s, wearing a black suit, a mask and a hat, also black. Next came a girl in a white dress and hood.
"Hello. I'm Gwen. The Ghost Spider of Earth-65.
"My God, Gwen? I thought you... No, it can't be. She died.
"ON EARTH-163, GWENDOLYN STACEY DIED IN TRAGIC CIRCUMSTANCES. ON EARTH-65, THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO PETER PARKER," explained the Weaver.
The Ghost Spider removed her mask, and underneath was Gwen. Pete couldn't believe it...
"Hey, want to make a deal?
"What?" Pete replied, wiping away his tears.
"I couldn't protect my Peter, and you couldn't protect your Gwen. Let's make a deal to look out for each other.
"Sounds like a plan.
"PETER. IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO LEARN ABOUT THE HEIRS. THEY HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, BUT WITH THE APPEARANCE OF NEW CRITICALLY IMPORTANT SPIDER TOTEMS, THEY HAVE BEGUN TO ACTIVELY ATTACK YOU. THE HEIRS FEED ON THE POWER OF THE TOTEMS, PETER. WHEN THEY GET ALL THE MAIN TOTEMS, THE HEIRS WILL BE ABLE TO PERFORM THE RITUAL AND DESTROY THE GREAT WEB OF THE UNIVERSE FOREVER.
"Damn.
While Tkac told Peter about the Heirs and their war against them, Parker himself was getting to know the other Spiders. Among them were such personalities as Miguel O'Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, a scarlet spider named Cain, Punk Spider, Iron Spider, Pig Spider, Thor Spider, Strange Spider, and Captain America Spider-Man. After meeting everyone, Peter went to Earth-13, where the Spider Army's base was temporarily located. However, Parker did not stay there long and almost immediately returned home.
He found himself in the same place from which he had travelled after the Weaver. Peter told everyone everything he had seen, learned, and heard. Jess, Deadpool, and Xavier were shocked, but Octopus was only slightly alarmed, as he had suspected that the Multiverse was real, and now his theory had finally been confirmed.
The team began to prepare for a real war, not only for their home, but for the entire Multiverse.
***
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