Spider-Verse - Superior Spider-Man's Base Camp
The cold, industrial machinery hummed with relentless precision, its countless sensors and quantum processors monitoring every dimensional fluctuation and exotic energy signature throughout the infinite expanse of the multiverse. The facility resembled a high-tech command center crossed with a interdimensional observatory, its walls lined with holographic displays showing the ebb and flow of reality itself.
Several Spider-People who had been recruited by Superior Spider-Man found themselves with little to occupy their time, so they had naturally gravitated toward casual conversation to pass the endless hours of waiting. Among them was the Spider-Noir, whom Ben and Gwen had encountered during their previous interdimensional adventure.
"I wonder what happened to that mysterious man?" Indian Spider-Man mused aloud, speaking English with a distinctive curry-spiced accent while carefully combing the dark hair that emerged from beneath his colorful mask.
Spider-Noir remained characteristically silent, standing within the deeper shadows cast by the facility's harsh lighting. He was wrapped in his signature black coat, methodically manipulating a small Rubik's Cube with one hand, the only splash of color visible anywhere on his brooding form.
"I told you from the beginning that you should have taken the rest of us with you!" Assasin Spider-Man called out from his position further across the room, his tone carrying obvious irritation and disapproval.
It was clear that he harbored significant reservations about Superior Spider-Man's tendency toward independent action and unilateral decision-making. However, most of the assembled Spider-People remained diplomatically silent. They had all engaged Karn in combat at various points during their interdimensional travels, and every encounter had ended in failure or narrow escape. If Superior Spider-Man hadn't arrived at precisely the right moments to provide rescue, many of them would have become the Inheritor's victims long ago.
Just as they were processing these sobering thoughts, a dimensional portal suddenly materialized beside their group with a flash of otherworldly energy. Without warning, a dark figure with tattered clothing appeared, or rather, was violently hurled through the opening like a piece of debris launched from an artillery cannon. The battered form struck the floor with tremendous force, startling everyone present and sending them scrambling for defensive positions.
Superior Spider-Man followed through the portal at a more measured pace, his expression grim with the weight of recent events.
"Who is this supposed to be?" Spider-Punk, dressed in his characteristic denim jacket and ripped jeans, immediately recognized the distinctive features of the fallen figure despite the extensive damage.
The sturdy yellow helmet was unmistakable, even when cracked and smoking from recent combat.
"You actually managed to defeat him?" Ben Reilly added with obvious amazement, his voice carrying genuine surprise and perhaps a note of respect.
"If you possessed such overwhelming power, why didn't you eliminate this threat much earlier?" Assasin Spider-Man studied Superior Spider-Man with obvious suspicion, his tone suggesting deeper concerns about tactical decision-making.
Previously, during the conflict in Assasin Spider-Man's home universe, he had successfully knocked Karn off a cliff during their confrontation. He had been preparing to finish the Inheritor permanently when Superior Spider-Man had intervened, claiming that falling from such heights would have no effect on their enemy and that two Spider-People working together couldn't achieve victory against such a formidable opponent.
Superior Spider-Man's expression darkened with obvious discomfort, the question striking uncomfortably close to his personal insecurities.
The inquiry was essentially equivalent to calling him incompetent in front of his assembled allies.
However, when he considered Gwen's unique capabilities and the fact that she couldn't be evaluated using conventional Spider-Person metrics, particularly since her most devastating abilities weren't even spider-based powers, he felt somewhat better about the situation.
No matter what the circumstances, even if he was technically a replacement for Peter Parker, Superior Spider-Man was determined to prove himself as the most capable member of the Spider-family and demonstrate that he could achieve results that surpassed the original.
"Allow me to introduce our newest team member," he announced, stepping halfway aside and gesturing toward the portal opening.
Then he extended one foot back through the dimensional gateway, accompanied by the sound of an awkward young female voice: "Okay, I understand, Dad. No, absolutely not, I don't want to pack a lunch. This isn't a recreational picnic, "
The assembled Spider-People then heard a muffled male voice emerging from the other side of the portal: "Remember to return home before midnight, and don't spend time with questionable young men..."
"How mortifying!" Gwen exclaimed as she backed through the portal entrance, followed by a tall man in a police uniform.
But Captain Stacy only managed to poke his head through the dimensional threshold before Gwen firmly pushed him back toward his own reality.
"Alright, Dad, go back to your patrol now. Goodbye!" she said with finality, sealing the portal behind her.
The young woman turned to face her new friends, her face beneath the spider-mask already flushed bright red with embarrassment.
She shifted uncomfortably and offered an awkward explanation: "That was my father. He has a tendency to... well, treat me like I'm still a small child who needs constant supervision."
Spider-Noir, observing from his preferred position in the darker corners of the facility, immediately recognized Gwen from their previous encounter. They had met briefly during a parallel universe incident, though he hadn't joined the larger team effort to confront that particular space threat.
Although he hadn't participated in the major battle, he had heard detailed accounts of what transpired and had witnessed the incredible power displayed by the mysterious figure known as Prime. If Prime was truly capable of such feats, then it seemed entirely reasonable that someone connected to him could defeat an Inheritor.
"Hey! Spider-Noir, I didn't expect to encounter you here!" Gwen called out with genuine enthusiasm and obvious relief.
Although they had only met once, discovering a familiar face in such an alien environment felt like a genuine blessing during these uncertain times.
"The feeling is mutual," Spider-Noir replied with his characteristic economy of words. "By the way, is Prime accompanying you as well? With his presence supporting our efforts, our chances of achieving victory would indeed be dramatically improved."
"No, I haven't seen him yet," Gwen admitted, her expression dimming with disappointment before quickly brightening again with renewed determination.
She clenched her fists with obvious resolve and declared: "But I'm confident that I'll be able to find him very soon."
This represented a significant portion of her motivation for agreeing to accompany Superior Spider-Man into the broader multiverse.
Since the mountain refuses to come to me, then I'll simply have to go to the mountain myself!
Spider-Noir was genuinely surprised by this revelation. If Ben Parker wasn't currently present, that meant...
"So the Spider-Person who actually defeated this Inheritor was you personally? I must admit, I didn't anticipate you possessing such tremendous power!"
Gwen felt a surge of pride at the recognition and was preparing to elaborate on her recent transformation when a towering shadow pushed past Indian Spider-Man and approached their group. The newcomer possessed a grotesquely deformed body with six functional arms, resembling a spider-human hybrid that had emerged from humanity's worst nightmares. He leaned forward to study Gwen with an expression and tone that suggested he was evaluating a potential meal.
Six-Armed Spider-Man took an aggressive step forward, his multiple eyes scanning Gwen from head to toe with obvious skepticism.
"Superior Spider-Man, please don't tell me that the individual who defeated this legendary threat is supposed to be this little girl who looks like she hasn't even finished growing yet?"
"Hey, what exactly is that supposed to mean?!" Gwen immediately bristled with indignation, her eyes flashing with anger as she rolled up her sleeves in preparation for physical confrontation.
"Do you want to test your theory against my power?"
Spider-Noir also positioned himself defensively in front of Six-Armed Spider-Man, his body language radiating disapproval and readiness for conflict. The atmosphere in the facility suddenly became charged with tension as multiple Spider-People prepared for potential violence.
The situation was largely Superior Spider-Man's responsibility. Not only did he possess a naturally abrasive personality, but the allies he had recruited tended toward questionable moral alignments. Assasin Spider-Man represented roughly an Inquisitor version of Spider-Man philosophy, but compared to some of the others, his approach was remarkably moderate and restrained.
"If you don't want to be reduced to a bloody pulp by her, you'd better reconsider your current attitude," Superior Spider-Man said without even bothering to look in their direction.
He retrieved a specialized suppression device and secured it around Karn's unconscious form before adding: "Also, I want to emphasize that her unique capabilities may represent the crucial factor that determines victory or defeat in this war."
"War? What war are you referring to?" Indian Spider-Man scratched his head with obvious confusion, his curry-scented accent making his bewilderment even more apparent.
"Now that this particular threat has been killed, we should be able to return to our respective homes, correct? I was really hoping to take Miss Mira on a proper date this weekend."
"Don't be so naive, young man," Assasin Spider-Man replied with cold pragmatism. "How can you possibly know whether this individual was operating alone or as part of a larger organization?"
The Inquisitor understood that Superior Spider-Man, like himself, represented an aberration among Spider-People, they were both willing to employ lethal force against genuinely evil opponents when circumstances demanded such extreme measures.
Superior Spider-Man hadn't executed their prisoner immediately because he needed to extract crucial intelligence: why was this entity hunting Spider-People throughout the multiverse, how was he able to neutralize Spider-enhanced abilities, and how many others were engaged in similar predatory activities across dimensional boundaries.
"Ha! Don't even fantasize about extracting useful information from me," the half-dead Karn managed to say with a pained but defiant sneer. "Don't assume you've achieved victory just because you defeated me. I'm merely the weakest member of my family. My relatives will seek vengeance for this humiliation. Besides, even if you manage to kill me, it won't accomplish anything meaningful."
"Uh..." Gwen scratched her head and observed with awkward directness: "Dude, don't you realize you've already revealed everything we needed to know?"
This particular enemy's information security was about as effective as a fence with gaps wide enough for cattle to pass through. She was beginning to suspect that the helmet covering Karn's head had been designed primarily to prevent him from accidentally revealing family secrets during casual conversation.
Karn: I maintain absolute security!
However, the assembled group wasn't celebrating because of his inadvertent intelligence disclosure. On the contrary, their expressions became increasingly grave as they processed the implications.
The concept of an entire family dedicated to hunting Spider-People across the multiverse was genuinely terrifying to contemplate.
"What should we do if his claims prove accurate?" Gwen asked with a worried frown. "My current energy reserves are barely sufficient to handle one of these creatures."
"Obviously, we need to recruit additional personnel," Superior Spider-Man replied with practiced calm.
"Isn't that precisely why I brought you here in the first place?"
"Speaking of recruitment, I have an excellent candidate in mind!" Gwen's eyes lit up with sudden inspiration, her expression clearly indicating she had formulated a brilliant plan.
The person who spoke these words alongside her was Spider-Noir.
The two Spider-People looked directly at each other, and both obviously obtained the same answer from their shared gaze.
"It appears we're thinking of the same individual," Spider-Noir said with something approaching actual humor in his typically somber voice.
"Of course we are," Gwen replied with a slight smile that radiated confidence and affection. "Who else could possibly lead us to victory in this battle except him?"
With Ben supporting their efforts, there would be absolutely nothing to fear from any threat the multiverse could produce.
Ben's Universe
A magnificent glass dome hung suspended two thousand meters above the city's skyline, forming a hemispherical protective barrier that shielded the urban center from environmental threats and provided climate control for the millions of residents below.
Between the towering silver skyscrapers that reached toward the artificial sky, each diamond-shaped glass panel rose and fell with the rhythmic pulse of the city's energy grid, resembling the glittering scales of some enormous dragon that had been transformed into architecture and arranged in perfect geometric harmony.
"He went in that direction!" a voice called out through the urban canyon.
Between the magnificent buildings, a figure in a distinctive red and black spider-suit dodged through the magnetic levitation traffic streams that flowed through the three-dimensional airspace, pursuing a stolen hover-car that weaved desperately between the aerial traffic lanes several hundred meters ahead.
Following closely behind the red and black figure was a more muscular dark shadow that moved with slightly less grace and precision.
The black-clad pursuer's movements appeared somewhat clumsy, and he consistently misjudged the timing required for launching his web-lines, causing him to lag approximately half a beat behind the optimal trajectory. As a result of this miscalculation, he was struck by an oncoming antigrav vehicle and sent tumbling toward the street far below.
"You're going to get yourself killed, you fake Prime!" the driver of the damaged hover-car shouted, sticking his head out of the passenger compartment to voice his displeasure at the collision.
"Say that again! I'm Venom!" the symbiote-enhanced figure roared back, waving a fist the size of a small boulder with obvious intent to demonstrate why violence was sometimes the answer to social problems.
"Calm down, Venom," the consciousness of Flash Thompson spoke from within their shared mental space, providing his usual moderating influence. "You didn't forget your commitment to personal growth and anger management, right?"
Venom had no choice but to spit contemptuously at the fleeing driver, then swallow his fury while muttering angrily under his breath:
"I hate this version of New York!"
"It's all Ben's fault! He transformed New York into what it is today!"
"You know what the real problem is? If I could just stand on higher ground, I wouldn't have to listen to those annoying traffic horns all day. But now he's got these idiotic drivers operating their vehicles a hundred meters in the air!"
"Don't speak such thing," Flash corrected firmly. "Ben has made the city a significantly better place for everyone." He paused before adding with practical urgency: "Now, we need to catch up with Spider-Man quickly, otherwise those criminals will probably escape with their stolen technology."
"They can't escape from where they're going!" Venom replied with dismissive confidence, shaking his massive head. "Those idiots are headed directly toward Osborn Tower."
Harry Osborn rarely engaged in active superhero work as the Green Goblin or Neo-Goblin anymore, having transitioned primarily into corporate leadership and Plumber administration. But with criminals operating directly beneath his office windows, he couldn't simply ignore the situation, particularly not when Peter was in active pursuit.
"But I really wanted to pound some faces to release my frustration!" Venom complained with obvious disappointment.
The symbiote had been carrying significant aggression for several days, and the mounting anger in his system was making him increasingly irritable and difficult to control. He immediately altered his movement pattern, swinging his massive arms to propel himself through the air like some space version of Tarzan navigating an urban jungle.
Venom had been fighting crime throughout New York City for several weeks alongside Flash Thompson in their combined identity as Agent Venom.
During the previous War, although Flash and the symbiote had participated actively in the space conflict, their contributions had been relatively modest compared to the space-level combatants involved. However, following the war's conclusion, Flash had joined the Plumbers through Peter's personal recommendation and had undergone formal training as an interdimensional peacekeeping agent.
Peter Parker was now technically his superior officer within the Plumber hierarchy.
Flash felt tremendous happiness about working alongside his childhood idol Spider-Man, but Venom experienced considerable emotional awkwardness in Peter's presence. When the symbiote encountered Peter during their joint operations, the interaction felt uncomfortably similar to meeting an ex-boyfriend after a particularly messy breakup.
Despite entering a state of enhanced athletic performance that left a trail of satisfied building-maintenance workers in his wake, Venom still arrived one crucial moment too late to participate in the action.
When he finally reached Osborn Tower, he witnessed Neo-Goblin floating in the air atop his signature glider while Spider-Man used his web-shooters to bundle several apprehended criminals together in preparation for police custody.
"You're moving too slowly, Agent Venom," Peter observed as he turned his masked head toward the approaching symbiote.
He understood the importance of using proper code names during field operations, especially in a public urban environment with numerous civilian witnesses.
"Damn it, there aren't any punching bags left!" Venom complained with obvious frustration.
"There are still their vehicles if you need something to demolish," Harry suggested with casual indifference, then shifted his attention to Peter. "It feels like I haven't seen Ben in an extremely long time."
"I haven't seen him recently either," Peter replied with a note of melancholy as he extracted more than a dozen glowing energy cores from concealed compartments within the criminals' equipment.
He looked up toward the city's artificial sky with obvious frustration. "Another group of Chitauri technology smugglers. I've discovered several operations like this over the past few weeks."
"Leave these minor infractions for regular Plumber enforcement," Harry said dismissively, clearly not particularly concerned with such small-scale criminal enterprises.
He dismounted from his glider and glanced toward Venom, who was enthusiastically smashing the abandoned hover-car to release his pent-up aggression. "When can we organize another social gathering? I genuinely miss the early days when Primus was just getting started, back when Ben regularly spent time playing games with us."
"Don't even mention it," Peter replied with the sadness of someone who had been completely abandoned. "I don't even have anyone to cook meals at home anymore. Uncle Ben and Aunt May have gone to space for extended Plumber duties."
Harry's expression became equally melancholy.
His father wasn't currently on Earth either, and even when Norman was planet-side, he spent virtually all his time at the Plumber Space Station managing interstellar operations.
"Is there no one left who cares about lonely teenagers?" Harry asked with mock despair.
Both young men sighed simultaneously with the weight of their social isolation, while Venom chewed experimentally on the hover-car's hood before raising his head to consume a substantial gulp of synthetic fuel. He immediately stuck out his tongue in disgust and cursed: "That tastes absolutely terrible!"
"This isn't satisfying at all!" he declared, striding over to join their conversation with obvious dissatisfaction. "Are there any other objects available for therapeutic destruction?"
Peter and Harry both shrugged with synchronized helplessness.
Public safety on Earth had reached incredibly high standards during recent years. If Plumber agents didn't intervene in ordinary law enforcement situations, they probably wouldn't be able to help apprehend even basic pickpockets or shoplifters.
As for crimes involving supernatural abilities or advanced technology, such incidents had become remarkably rare throughout the metropolitan area.
If Norman hadn't deployed most of the Plumber personnel to handle space emergencies during this period, Peter would probably have been even more bored and understimulated.
As the three friends continued their conversation about the challenges of maintaining an exciting superhero career during peacetime, a dimensional portal suddenly materialized behind their position with a characteristic flash of interdimensional energy.
Peter's enhanced senses immediately triggered with familiar warning signals.
Venom's eyes lit up with predatory anticipation as he grinned with obvious bloodlust: "Finally! It looks like something that can provide us with a proper workout!"
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