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chapter fourteen
over the edge
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THE WIND BLOWS through Lena's hair as she hugs her arms close to her body in an attempt to ward off the night's chill. It seeps through her suit, becoming bone-deep, both the cold and the anxiety coursing through her veins causing her to shiver. Her aching muscles and broken nose fade to a far corner of her mind as anticipation for this high-stakes battle takes over.

The addition of water imminently surrounding them doesn't help to ease her nerves. The Upper New York Bay surrounds the area on three sides with only a thin strip of land intercepting it, its dark waves churning restlessly beneath the night sky.

Her preoccupation with the cold and bay causes her to almost miss Peter dialing the Daily Bugle's official Spider-Man, Havoc, and Specter tip line, informing the employee on the other end that the trio would like to speak with J. Jonah Jameson. Just as they'd hoped, it works. The man pounces at the chance to broadcast their video call.

Peter holds his phone far enough for all three of them to fit on the screen. Lena almost jumps at the sight of herself in the small square at the upper corner— she looks horrendous. Her hair is windblown and half-matted to her face and neck from sweat, rain, and dust. Cindy had cleaned the dried blood from under her nostrils, but there are still ugly bruises littering the bridge and clustering beneath her eyes. Miscellaneous scrapes and cuts mar her face. There's hardly a speck of skin that looks normal.

That isn't to say that Peter and Graham look any better. Both of them look worse for wear, especially Peter due to his one-on-one fight with the Goblin. The three of them appear as if they've been through hell and back... which, honestly, is not wrong.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jameson says, "the Bugle tip line has just received a call from none other than the fugitives known as Spider-Man, Havoc, and Specter, fresh from their rampage in Queens. So, Peter Parker, Lena Santos, and Graham Seager... What pernicious propaganda are you peddling?"

Lena feels like he had just pulled out their full names just as proof that he could. She resists the urge to roll her eyes.

"Just the truth," Peter replies, reacting much more calmly than she had.

The man scoffs. "Oh, sure."

"Truth is... that this is all our fault. We accidentally brought those dangerous people here."

Lena lays a gentle hand on Peter's shoulder, trying not to wince due to the pain shooting through her face when she adds, "We meddled and messed with something we shouldn't have, something we didn't understand, and that decision had disastrous consequences."

From the studio, Jameson spreads his arms out wide in disbelief. "Well, they admit it!"

"And if those people are watching..." Peter continues, "just know that we really did try to help you." He holds up the Macchina di Kadavus. "We could've killed you at any given moment, but we didn't. Because my Aunt May taught me that everyone deserves a second chance. And that's why we're here."

"And where is 'here,' exactly?"

"A place that represents second chances."

Peter aims the camera to show the face of Lady Liberty behind them. Again, behaving exactly as they'd anticipated he would, Jameson becomes instantly outraged at the thought of them confronting multidimensional villains on a national monument.

"The Statue of Liberty?" he exclaims. "Good God, folks! They're about to destroy another national landmark."

Peter ignores this jab. "The world, if you're watching..."

"Believe me, the world is watching."

"Wish us luck. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Havoc, and Specter could really use some."

He ends the call, shoving his phone somewhere.

Graham huffs a sigh. "Well, it's not every day that you call the man who hates you the most to try and get villains from the multiverse who have tried to kill alternate versions of yourselves to fight you on the Statue of Liberty."

Neither of them is amused by his sad attempt at lightening the mood. Lena knows that he is only using humor to deflect the fact that he's terrified, but she can't manage a smile for his sake. Not this time.

Peter turns toward Lena and presses his lips to her forehead, cradling her face in one hand. His touch against her damaged skin is light as a feather. "We've got this. Yeah?"

Lena nods, though her heart isn't in it. "Yeah."

He kisses her gently, the soft pressure a harsh contrast to the scrape of his split lip. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she says back.

Peter pulls away to hug Graham as well. Graham ruffles his hair and then claps him on the back, saying, "Good luck, man."

The statue is surrounded by construction scaffolding due to the slow addition of Captain America's shield to her outstretched hand in place of the torch. The metallic structure thumps as Peter jumps off of it and into the air, landing on the statue's head. He grips her crown to steady himself. "Okay, guys. It could be any minute now."

"Yup. Almost done," Older Peter calls from where he's attaching webs to the scaffolding and containing the lizard's cure within them. They're going to place each of the cures in various spots around the statue so any of them can access them. It will be much easier than trying to assign one person per villain. Their foes are never good at acting according to plan.

A pair of hands clasp onto Lena's shoulders. She turns her head to see Keanu giving them a supportive rub, his expression concerned. He's on her right side, so she has to rely on reading his lips since his speech is so muffled.

"You ready?" he asks.

Lena almost does laugh at that question, but refrains from doing so at the last second. She turns around so she's facing him, allowing herself to hear him a little clearer. "No. Are any of us?"

"Probably not," he admits. "Like Graham said, it's not every day that this happens."

She swallows when he puts his hands back at his sides, drifting her gaze to the floor. After toying with the question for a moment, she finally makes herself blurt it out. "Are you going to kill Farah? I know you said you'd try to save her, but..."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Keanu replies. "It's not like I've killed anyone before. I guess my main goal will be to inject that serum into her to block her powers... but if I can't, and there's only one other option..."

Lena nods in understanding. She can't say she blames him.

"I'll do anything to keep you guys safe," he adds, placing a hand on Lena and Graham's heads. "Even if it means ending a life."

She isn't sure whether she should thank him or not — would it be weird to do so since there's the possibility of death hanging over their shoulders? — but is saved from having to reply by Peter's voice. She shifts so her good ear faces him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. He's not teasing you," he says. "It's just that... we can't do that, so naturally we're curious as to how your web situation works. That's all."

"Oh, God," Lena says with a sigh. "This again."

"I don't wanna have a discussion about Peter's fluid," Graham says.

Lena groans and elbows him in the side, knowing he's the only one out of their trio with fully-healed ribs. "Why did you have to say it like that?"

"— personal, I — wanna pry," Suit Peter tells him, his voice mostly lost to the wind. "— think it's cool."

Lena moves closer to the two other versions of her boyfriend so she doesn't have to strain her good eardrum as much. She lifts herself over a metal bar, gritting her teeth and tensing at the flare of pain it creates in her sides, until she's standing next to the oldest of the Peter trio.

"No," Older Peter says, his mouth quirked in amusement at their curiosity. "I wish I could tell you, but it's like, I don't do it... like I don't... Like, I don't do breathing. Like, breathing just happens."

Her Peter continues the interrogation. "Like, does it just come out of your wrists, or... Does it come out off anywhere else?"

"That's what she said," Graham snickers. Keanu smacks him upside the head.

"Only... only the wrists."

"You never had to web block?" Suit Peter questions. "Cuz I run out of webs all the time. I had to make my own lab. And it's a hassle compared to what you have."

"That sounds like a hassle, yeah," Older Peter agrees, pointing at him in recognition. "But I did, actually, as you said that, I was like, 'Oh... I had a web block.'"

"Woahhh," Suit Peter mumbles.

"Why?" Lena's Peter asks.

"Existential crisis stuff."

Suit Peter snorts. "Yeah, don't get me started on that."

Lena can't imagine having an existential crisis so intense that her body just stops producing something it always does as easily as breathing. But... then again...

"My powers regenerate in my body kinda like breathing," she says, "so I get what you mean. But it took me a shitload of practice and training to be able to use them as much as I can now. I mean, I used to hardly be able to make myself fly. Did you have to practice, or could you always just..." she lifts her wrist and makes a "thwip" sound with her mouth, "as soon as you got your powers?"

"I could just always..." he copies her motion but actually shoots a web from his wrist off of the scaffolding, causing it to flutter in the breeze and then disappear into the night.

"Unfair," Lena declares.

Her Peter brings up another topic to satisfy his curious mind. "Hey, what are like, some of the craziest villains that you guys have fought?"

"Seems you've met some of them," Older Peter answers.

"That's a good question." Suit Peter huffs a laugh.

"I fought a... an alien... made out of black goo once," Older Peter informs them.

"No way!" Lena's Peter exclaims. "We fought an alien, too! On Earth and in space. Well, I fought him both on Earth and in space, but Lena didn't get beamed up into a spaceship like I did. She just fought him on Earth."

"Oh."

"Yeah. He was purple."

"Technically we fought multiple aliens," Lena reminds him. "You know, the one in the park, that lady with the blue blood, and the gray guy who could make stuff move. And some Chitauri."

"I wanna fight an alien," Suit Peter whines, feeling left out of the conversation.

"Don't worry, man," Graham tells him, "I missed out on both fights. I was playing video games with Ned."

"I'm... I'm still, like" — Older Peter makes a mind-blown motion with his hand — "that you fought an alien in space."

"I'm lame," Suit Peter says. "Like, I fought a Russian guy in a, like, a rhinoceros machine."

"Um, that's cool," Lena assures him.

"Hey, can we rewind it back to the 'I'm lame' part?" Older Peter asks. "Cuz you're not."

"Aw, thanks. No, yeah. I appreciate it, I'm not saying I'm lame. But it's just the self-talk maybe we should, you know..."

"Yeah, listen... Please... You're... You're amazing. Just to take it in for a minute."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm taking it in."

"You... You are amazing."

"I guess I am."

"You are amazing."

"Thank you."

"Will you say it?"

"No, I kinda needed to hear that. Thank you."

Lena, Graham, and Keanu all share bewildered expressions upon seeing one Peter give free therapy to another in the span of ten seconds.

Her Peter looks away from them, squinting into the darkness beyond the statue. "Alright guys, focus up. Can you feel that?"

Older Peter nods. "Yeah."

"Peter Tingle," Graham mumbles in realization. The three not-Peters follow that line of sight, where the sky lights up in two dazzling flashes of yellow before Max Dillon appears, radiant with electricity, the Arc Reactor strapped to his chest. He says something, but Lena doesn't catch it over the wind.

"I can't actually hear him," she says. "What's he threatening us with now?"

"Nothing good," Keanu replies, sparks crackling at his fingertips and within his eyes. Lena can feel the static radiating off of him. "Step back."

She obeys, and Keanu readies himself before leaping onto the metal railing and propelling himself into the air, white lightning flashing in contrast to Dillon's yellow abilities. His eyes become pure ivory with incandescent power.

Lena's Peter pulls down his mask and leaps from the statue. As he dives, Dillon tries to blast him with bolts of lightning that cut way too closely for her liking. The other two Spider-Men spring into action as well, distracting the villain with all three of their moving forms— plus Keanu, who cuts off his bolts with blasts of his own.

Peter tosses the Macchina di Kadavus to MJ, who is waiting at the school with the others, a portal connecting their two spaces. She catches it with ease. Lena is about to relax, relieved that the artifact is safe, only to realize that Ned is struggling to close the ring and Owen is screaming at him in panic.

Shit. It's too early for something to go wrong.

Graham melts into the shadows when Dr. Connors appears from below, leaping onto the scaffolding at the base of the statue. Lena can't help but hate all of the metal they're surrounded by. If Dillon really wanted to, he could electrocute everyone who's touching it with a single zap.

Just as she's about to run toward the portal to ensure her friends are kept safe from the villains, she's interrupted by Suit Peter yelling, "I need Max's cure!"

"I need the lizard's cure!" Older Peter also chimes in. He's clinging to the arm of a crane, attempting to web Connors while Graham's shadow dogs attack the monster. Connors bats away their snarling fangs and gleaming red eyes with a humongous claw, roaring in frustration at the distractions.

Lena takes one last regretful look at the open portal before grabbing onto the exterior metal rung next to her and heaving herself through the triangular space between the bars. The wind is more intense now that nothing is over her head, howling in her ears in combination with the sounds of battle from all sides. She is acutely aware of the waves below her as she jets energy from her palms, soaring up several levels until she locates the lizard's cure.

Just as she's about to melt through the webs encasing it, a humongous hand encloses her entire body, smashing through the structure so it releases a horrific groan. She screams as the hand yanks her backward and aggravates her already bruised ribs in its vice grip. Her arms are pinned at her sides, making her writhe in place.

She manages to see through swirling movements that Flint has both her and Peter clenched in ginormous fists made of crumbling earth. His face appears in a plume of dust, his voice coming out deep and booming when he demands, "Where's the box?"

"Up your ass!" Lena shouts in reply. She knows she's supposed to be patient with these people, but she lost that patience when they all turned on her in Happy's apartment. She's going to help them, but she doesn't have to be polite about it.

"Flint, we can help everyone!" Peter exclaims.

"I don't care!" Flint replies.

Lena releases a blast from her body that causes his hand to explode into dust. Newly freed, she's about to slash through Flint's other wrist to rescue Peter when the sound of metal snapping and groaning draws her attention upward. The lizard is falling straight toward her on the collapsing arm of the crane.

"Ohhhhhhh, shit," she mumbles, throwing her arms above her head and forming a shield to slow the beam's descent. Connors extends a claw to grab her as he falls, but she uses one hand to encase him in a bubble of safety.

She dips downward at the same pace as the crane, gritting her teeth as she releases more energy from her palm, cyan flooding the bottom of the descending arm. Her muscles scream in protest at the enormous weight. Gravity fights hard, but she pushes back harder, her heart pounding in her ears the farther down she goes.

Lena manages to hold the crane in place just as her feet skim the crest of a wave.

Panting hard, she heaves the metal to the side, allowing it to land on the island gently instead of smashing everything in sight. Then she shoves the bubble encasing Connors toward Suit Peter, who calls out, "Thanks!" as he grabs onto the foe in mid-air.

Eager to get away from the water, Lena soars back upward, careful to avoid the bolts of lightning from both Dillon and her brother. The cacophony of noise makes her anxious about busting her working eardrum. If the combination of lightning, the structure being smashed to smithereens, Connors roaring, and Graham's shadow dogs howling is practically deafening to her, she can't imagine how it must sound to the three Peters, who all have advanced senses.

"—ming!" Older Peter yells, his voice audible a millisecond before something crashes into Lena's side, tackling her through the air. She screams as Connors encases her in his scaly arms, his talons ripping through the nanotech material of her suit in a long claw mark on her back. A cry of pain bursts from her mouth. Her blood is hot against the freezing night air as it blossoms from the wound.

Lena blasts Connors away so he tumbles back toward the Statue of Liberty, his claws seeking purchase in the wind. He eventually smashes into the scaffolding.

"Sorry!" Older Peter shouts as he swings by her. "He got away from me!"

She misses her earpiece. If she had it, she wouldn't be struggling to hear her team's voices, but she had left it in Happy's apartment. Her other senses seem more alive now that she can't fully rely on one. The stenches of molten metal, dirt, and singed air sting her nostrils with every breath. Brilliant flashes of yellow and white light illuminate the darkness in rapid bursts. The adrenaline flooding her veins makes her less aware of the agony in her body, but she's sure she's going to be feeling it once it wears off.

For now, she uses her dulled sense of pain to her advantage to push herself even harder. Lena gathers her bearings and soars around the perimeter of the statue, blasting energy at each target she can find, careful not to accidentally hit a friend. It's difficult to tell which Peter is which when they're all moving so fast in like-colored suits, but she's pretty sure the one she's looking at is Older Peter with Flint chasing after him in the shape of a dust cloud.

"Peter!" she shouts in warning.

"Which one?" Suit Peter calls back from above, futilely shooting webs at Dillon, who easily dissolves them.

Lena struggles to distinguish them in a way that makes sense so quickly. "Youth Pastor Peter!"

"Call — Peter 2!" Older Peter replies, climbing the interior of the scaffolding like a monkey.

"Peter 2, hang on!"

Lena forms a bubble of energy around the man and uses it to heave him upward more quickly so he's not about to get swallowed by Flint's cloud. Once he reaches the statue's crown, he climbs inside, shouting, "I need the cure!"

"On it." She flies to the right, searching for the blinking red light on the anti-collider, only to find its spot empty, the webs broken and torn. Someone else had gotten to it first.

"Lee!" Her Peter exclaims as he swings past, tossing her the device. She uses her energy to catch it as it arcs toward her and shoots it back toward Peter 2. By now, the sand has almost entirely filled the crown, leaving only his head and hands exposed, but he catches it and presses the button so a burst of light sears through the gaps in the stone.

One down. Too many to go. And Lena is painfully aware of the fact that three of the villains they're expecting have yet to appear.

Keanu releases a strained cry from the other side of the statue. Lena's head snaps up to see him struggling against Dillon's enhanced powers, completely encased in lightning as he strains for the Arc Reactor. His fingers just manage to skim the device before it releases a bolt of lightning so powerful it knocks Keanu out of the sky and straight into the bay.

"No!" Lena cries, staring at the spot where her brother's body had disappeared into the inky blackness. She instinctively moves toward it but hesitates a moment later. She can't swim. Her energy won't penetrate the water. How can she even help him if he's below the surface?

Instead, she turns toward Dillon, her narrowed eyes seething with rage. She slashes an arm toward him, pushing him back with an arc of energy enough to throw him off-guard, but not enough for him to stop electrocuting Suit Peter — should she just call him Peter 3? — and Peter 2. And now his murderous gaze is trained on her.

"You wanna join your brother?" he asks, their proximity allowing her to hear the whole threat.

But before he can send a bolt of lightning her way, a metal claw closes around her middle. Doctor Octavius rises into the air with a smirk on his face.

"Leave them," he says in a deep, sinister tone. "They're mine."

But Dillon is clearly enjoying himself by electrocuting the hell out of two Spider-Men. "I don't need your help. I got it just fine."

"Dr. Octavius..." Peter 2 gasps, clutching onto the arm wrapped around his chest. "No..."

Lena is too shocked to slice through the metal and free herself. She stares at the man with widened, tearful eyes, struggling past the pain in her heart. She'd thought he'd changed for the better once they replaced the fried chip in his neck. But...

Octavius turns his head toward her. And she understands.

A tentacle shoots out and seizes Dillon, who struggles in its fierce grip. "What are you doing? Get it off me!"

The arms drop the two Spider-Men safely onto the metal floor of the scaffolding. Lena's moves her to that same spot and gently places her on the surface before retracting. Then, the claw closes its pincers around the electricity drainer and plants it on Dillon's chest in place of the Arc Reactor. Each green light around it illuminates immediately, sucking the power out of his body.

Lena rushes to the edge of the platform and stares into the water below. Through the darkness, she can barely manage to see a figure dressed in white crawling, exhausted, away from the edge of the island. Keanu had made it out of the bay alive.

She releases a breath of relief so great it nearly knocks her off her feet. Keanu allows himself a moment to catch his breath before using his powers to fly up into the air and meet her at the top of the statue, appearing worn-out but still breathing. And even though he's soaking wet, Lena throws her arms around him as soon as his feet touch the scaffolding.

He's freezing and shivering, but she doesn't care. Her face buries into his shoulder anyway.

"Did I not mention I was on the swim team in college?" he asks breathlessly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you," she says. "I just — the water—"

"Don't you dare apologize," he tells her.

Their embrace is interrupted by the appearance of a portal. Lena pulls away from her brother, expecting to see her friends, only to be met with the glowering face of Stephen Strange instead. She gulps. He has the Macchina di Kadavus.

Graham emerges from the shadows to welcome Keanu back into the open air, only to shrink back once he notices Strange's enraged form. "Oh. You're back."

Her Peter lands on a bridge connecting one side of the scaffolding to the other, holding out a hand to stop the sorcerer before he can activate the spell. "Strange, wait, we're so close—!"

"Skip it!" the man retorts. "I've been dangling over the Grand Canyon for twelve hours!"

"I know, I know, I, uh — um—" Peter stammers, trying to find a way to ease the fury on Strange's face. "I'm sorry about that, sir, I mean—"

"You went to the Grand Canyon?" Peter 2 inquires incredulously.

"They could've used your help!" Peter 3 adds.

"No, no, no, it's okay, it's okay!" Lena's Peter assures them. To Strange, he says, "Uh, these... These are my new friends, this is Peter Parker, this is Peter Parker, Spider-Man, Spider-Man. They're me's from other universes. And that" — he points to Keanu — "is Lena's brother, Keanu, from another universe. They're here to help."

Keanu holds a hand up in a wave.

Confused, Strange shakes his head as he takes in all of the extra visitors. "No, no..."

"This is the wizard we were telling you about," Peter says to them.

"Sorcerer," Lena corrects him.

"But not the Sorcerer Supreme," Graham adds.

Strange glares at him for that. "Look, I am really impressed that you've managed to give them all a second chance, kids. But this has to end— now."

"Can the Spider-Man come out to play?" a terrible voice questions from the clouds.

In the next instant, a pumpkin bomb explodes, blasting through the scaffolding and causing the Santos siblings to plummet several stories below. Lena lands hard on her side. A gasp leaves her mouth as the wind knocks out of her chest, leaving her lungs burning.

She watches the protective circlet tumble from her head.

It happens in slow motion.

Lena can tell the instant her mind is no longer her own. There's a bone-deep sense of wrongness, of something sinister lurking alongside her consciousness, and before she has the sense to fight back, she's shoved into a locked corner of her brain. She looks through her eyes like she's watching a first-person point of view of a movie— completely unable to control her movements no matter how hard she thrashes.

Her head tilts up to see Farah appearing through the clouds covering the night sky, her suit lighting up the night. The purple and gold shine brilliantly against the black backdrop, her cape of green dots of light flowing behind her in the wind. Her eyes are locked right on her target.

Lena's arms push her to her feet even though her ankle throbs in protest, aching due to the application of her full weight onto it. The breeze blows her hair back from her ash-coated face. Her head turns to look back at Keanu, who's coughing from the dust smothering their level. When he glances up at her and notices the pure black of her eyes and the dark veins beneath them, his face drops in horror.

"No," he breathes, which Lena only knows because she can read his lips. He reaches for the circlet but he's trapped in place by a chunk of debris pinning his leg. His fingers are desperate, his arm straining to reach the headpiece before she can destroy it or something, but Farah does not seem concerned about doing that.

Lena's lips stretch into an unnaturally wide, inhuman smile. Then her feet are moving and she's sprinting toward the edge, tumbling off of the scaffolding toward the churning waves below.

________

a/n:

i know you guys are gonna get mad at me for that cliffhanger so HERE IS A MEME DON'T YELL AT ME

the CINEMATIC parallels between natasha jumping off the cliff at vormir and lena being forced to do it here. i imagined them looking similar, both in slow motion with their feet pounding against the floor, only nat did it by choice, while lena did not.

also farah not even bothering to possess keanu because she knows it would hurt him worse to see the people he loves being mind-controlled...,,,..,, and forcing him to watch his little sister attempt to kill herself AGAIN...,.,, she is evil. i love it.

i knew this battle was going to be a doozy to write, so i wanted to wait until my semester was over before i attempted to tackle it. that way i wouldn't be distracted by schoolwork and could focus entirely on writing it well. so that's why there was a longer gap between updates than usual! thank you all for being so patient🩵 (ps apple's new light blue heart emoji is lena-colored. i love it.🩵🩵🩵)

vigilante trio emojis 🩵❤️💙🖤 i larb them

i hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!

— kristyn

(i wish they were as happy rn as they are in this banner)