I don't own anything except any original character and/or any original plot.

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Chapter Twenty-Two: Leap of Faith

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The next morning, May provided all of us with some more food, and left us to do our work again. Peter and I weren't sure where we stood. We got excited with the others when Peni found out that the source of the portals was a dimensional-collider under the city, and that in order to keep it open, one of us would have to stay behind. We assisted Peni in the science of it all when we could, but mostly kept to ourselves or got to know the other Spider-Men.

It was that night when we got our newest and final arrivals. They came down with May. A girl, a teenager, and an older man that resembled a more tired version of Peter when he was older.

"You might need these," May held out the "my name is" stickers she'd jokingly put on our breakfast plates that morning, "You think you're the only people who thought to come here?"

"Hey fellas." Noir greeted.

"Is he in black and white?" The teenage boy asked.

"Where is that wind coming from? We're in a basement."

"Wherever I go, the wind follows. And the wind, smells like rain."

Peni jumped down from above, "Hi guys! Konichiwa! Hajimemashita yoroshuku?"

Peni's robot- SP//dr, I learned- landed just behind her in a pose.

"This could literally not get any weirder."

Then came Porker. He waltzed up to the older-Peter and held out his hand, "It can get weirder! I just washed my hands that's why they're wet. No other reason."

Peter and I waved in the most undramatic fashion possible. Did all superheroes inherit an automatic sense of theatrical talent?

"You're like me."

Needless to say I felt a little left out.

"My name is Peter Parker."

"My name is Peni Parker."

"My name is Peter Porker."

"I was bitten by a radioactive spider."

"I was bitten by a radioactive spider."

"I was bitten by a radioactive pig."

"In my universe it's 1933 and I'm a private eye. I like to drink egg creams and I like to fight Nazis. A lot."

"I am from New York in the year 3145. I have a psychic link with a spider who lives inside my father's robot, and we're best friends. Forever."

"Sometimes I let matches burn down to my fingertips just to feel something, anything."

"I'm a photographer for the Daily Beagle. When I'm not pooching around, I'm working like a dog trying to sniff out the latest story. I frolic and I dance and I do this with my pants--"

"And we came from 2023," I cut in before Porker's story could get any weirder, "My name is (Y/n), and this is Peter. He's Spider-Man, I'm not. We're hero partners, and we both got sucked into the portal on a mission."

"How did you get here?" Older-Peter asked.

"We got sucked into a portal and ended up here," all of us answered in unison.

"And now we're just trying to find a way home," Peni concluded.

"The only way home is back through the collider gizmo. The only trouble is-"

"One of us has to stay behind and destroy it."

"I'll do it." Everyone but Peter and I answered.

Consider it selfish, but neither of us wanted to stay behind. We had families we had to get back to, and things we had to deal with. The others may have been willing to lay down their lives for the sake of their inter-dimensional counterparts, but Peter and I were just trying to get home.

"No, no, no, you don't get it," the kid cut it.

In perfect timing, all of us glitched. It was the worst one compared to our two others, lasting even longer and the pain more intense.

"None of you can stay here. If you stay here, you'll die. I'm the guy who's going to turn it off and I'm going to get you all home before I do. Look, I made a promise. So I have to keep it."

The kid had a point. If he really was from that universe, he was the only one who could stay without fear of dying soon after.

"Who are you again?" Noir asked, point-blank.

"This is Miles, and he's going to save the multiverse. This kid can turn himself invisible! Watch this, he can do it... now!"

Miles struggled to turn invisible but he couldn't.

"I can't do it on command-"

"He can't do it on command. But it is cool. Show them the zappy thing, Miles."

Once again, Miles struggled to show off his power, "I can't do it on command."

"He can't do it on command. But he can do so much more, like what else do you do-"

"Just those two things."

"Just those two things."

The girl, thankfully, cut in, "Look I've seen him in action. He's got potential. I think he's gonna get us home."

She said it with conviction. I knew everyone wanted to believe it, "Okay, little fella, Kingpin's gonna send a lot of mugs after ya, I'm talking hard boys, real biscuit boxers. Can you fight them all off at once?"

"Well, I, I haven't actually fought anyone-"

"Surprise attack," Noir knocked Miles down. Peni jumped in.

"Can you rewire a mainframe while being shot at? Show me!"

"Surprise attack!"

"Can you swing and flip with the grace of a trained dancer?"

"Can you close off your feelings so you don't get crippled by the moral ambiguity of your violent actions?"

"Can you help your aunt create an online dating profile so she can get out of the dang house once in a while?"

"Can you float through the air when you smell a delicious pie?"

"Can you be strong?"

"Ruthless?"

"Disciplined?"

"I don't know, maybe-"

"Show me some moxie, soldier!"

Peter and I shared nervous looks. Coming from two kids who had struggled to both find themselves and see where they stood as heroes, the other Spider-Men weren't giving him a great start.

"Above all, no matter how many times you get hit, can you get back up?"

"Because when a Spider-Man is on the floor-"

"When you think you've given your all-"

"When you think you can't keep going-"

"Spider-Man always gets up."

In rapid succession, they repeatedly knocked Miles to the floor. After the fourth time, he hit the ground and stayed there.

"Get up Miles! Get up!"

"Guys," I brought their attention to me, "That's too much for him."

My comment caused them to exchange concerned looks. Noir grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him into a circle specifically for the Spider-Men, meaning I was left on the sidelines. I didn't take offense to it. If I was surrounded by other versions of myself, I'd be focused solely on them too.

Kneeling down next to Miles, I offered him a hand, "Every hero starts out somewhere."

"They seem to think I should start out as an expert," he gladly took it, and I pulled him to his feet.

"The nice thing about Spider-Men is that they have a spirit no other hero can match," I looked to Peter with a smile, "When I first started out, I thought I'd never be able to do it."

"You need to be more honest with yourself about this. He's not ready, it's obvious," Gwen hissed from the circle.

"There's no way. He's just a kid," Noir added.

"But if he can't do this, we have to stay and do it for him."

"Guys, I don't know, maybe we should give him a chance. He was just bitten," Peter was quickly dismissed when he tried to defend Miles.

"He's looking right at us while we talk about him..."

"Mile, I don't think you should listen to them. Peter and I worked with older heroes and they were always-" I stopped talking when I realized Miles was no longer next to me, instead, the platform was raising into the sky.

"See that? He can uh, turn invisible..." Older-Peter offered sheepishly.

It was silent for a few minutes after Miles ran from us. The Spider-Men pressured him too much. The situation was dire, and it required fortitude and skill, but that didn't mean they had to knock Miles down until he couldn't get back up anymore. He wasn't Captain "I can do this all day" America. They were just like the world pressuring Peter and I to become the new Avengers, and Mysterio is what resulted from that pressure.

"We need a new goober," it was May that broke the silence, "Peni-"

"I'm on it," Peni hopped into SP//dr and withdrew into her own little world.

~*~

It was early the next morning that Peni met all of us in May's living room.

"This is purple," Noir fiddled with the Rubik's cube.

"No."

"Blue?"

"No!"

Peni approached and handed Older-Peter the new goober. He hung it around his neck with a lanyard.

"Has anyone heard from Miles?"

"Not like any of us have his number," I shrugged. When all of us took naps the night before, I was plagued with guilt over what happened. He wasn't ready, and we pushed him too hard to be.

"Look, he's just clearing his head. I know the kid. He's got what it takes. I bet you he's going to come back through that door recharged and ready to fight," Older-Peter assured.

"He's like Mile's Tony," I awed. Peter was the only one to understand, so he nodded in agreement while everyone else looked at me in confusion.

Sure enough, Miles stumbled through the door- a wreck and panting like he'd run a marathon. He was still wearing his Spider-Man costume from the night before. Had he even slept at all?

"My uncle!"

"Hey, where have you been, we-"

"My Uncle Aaron, he- he's the Prowler!"

"Ok, slow down. Slow down, Miles," Older-Peter soothed.

"He works for Kingpin, he tried to kill me!"

"This is a pretty hardcore origin story."

I sent the black and white hero a look, "Noir, not the time."

"Were you followed?" Gwen asked urgently.

"No. I don't think so."

Miles was very wrong. Ding dong. The door flew to the opposite wall, and in walked a woman with a tentacle back on her back.

"Cute place. Real homey," she mocked.

"Oh great, it's Liv."

"Get out of here kid," Older-Peter prompted Miles. He was the only one who couldn't properly protect himself. Miles tried to run through the kitchen, but was blocked by another man.

"You messed up big time, kid. Very sloppy." Behind that man was another.

"Mira todas estas arañitas."

"Let me guess, you're Scorpion? Well, we're the, uh... Spider-gang, and company," Older-Peter pointed to me and May.

"Would you mind taking this outside?" May requested.

"We don't pick the ballroom we just dance."

"Oh, I think I'll be taking that," the Octopus woman, Liv, sent one of her tentacles to reach out towards Older-Peter and everyone leaped into action.

It was a twelve person fight in a tiny Queens living room. Immediately I cut off one of Liv's tentacles, narrowly stopping her from pinning Older-Peter to the wall. Peter grabbed the goober from around his older counterpart's neck and yelped when Scorpion thrust his stinger toward him. Flipping away to avoid the shot, Peni jumped in in SP//dr and distracted Scorpion.

A sturdy hit from one of Liv's tentacles and the goober was knocked out of Peter's hands and into Miles'. As soon as the goober was in his hand, another villain crashed in through the window. Miles' face paled, and I knew we were looking at his uncle.

"Shit," I jumped to get in between them, but Tombstone was quick to body slam me to the side.

Older-Peter swiftly kicked Miles' uncle through the wall of the house, and it was like everyone had been given permission to take it outside. I pushed Liv out with the largest burst of water I could muster. Following her out, I ducked under a two-for-one shot from her tentacles, narrowly missing a third. But I couldn't dodge the fourth and was knocked to the ground.

"What an interesting hero we have here," Liv mused, leaning in close, "Not bitten by a spider, huh? I wonder what makes you tick. I'll cut you open to find-"

Liv was shoved off of me by a wave of water. But not mine. Jumping to my feet, I gasped when I was met with my counterpart. Her uniform was different, with a giant X across her chest. The X-Men.

"Well, isn't this weird?" She asked with a chuckle, "I'm Tsunami."

"Riptide."

"We'll talk later," she prompted, rushing off into the folds.

Another me. Another me!

Shaking off the sense of déjà vu that looking at her gave me, I joined the fight again as well.

It ended quickly when the gunshot rang out. Just one from a black vehicle on the edge of the street. Said vehicle was quick to speed away when a cop's sirens could be heard.

It wasn't long after the villains vacated that area that we reconvened and Older-Peter told us what happened to Miles' uncle. Unsure of what to do, and aware that the cops would be hot on our trail, May promised to make up a cover story for the attack, and Gwen said she'd lead us to where Miles was.

On the way there, I got to have a conversation with my counterpart. Her name was (Y/n) (L/n) as well. She was a bit younger than I was, and I took to calling her Tsunami to stop things from being confusing. What existed in Miles' world was a completely underground Xavier's. So underground that mutants had been forgotten by the entire world. She's moved to New York with her parents and heard of what happened to Dead-Peter. She was going to get May's blessing to be New York's new hero when the fight broke out.

Honestly, I still couldn't get over the fact that I had a counterpart.

When we arrived at Miles' dorm room, a sketchbook came flying at us through his window. Older-Peter caught it and threw it back. All of us climbed into the small dorm room, a tight, but manageable fit.

"Hey, bud. You okay?" Miles didn't answer, "We've all been there. For me it was my Uncle Ben."

"For me it was my Uncle Benjamin."

"For me it was my father."

"My best friend."

"My mentor," Peter mumbled, and I nodded.

"Miles, the hardest thing about this job is that you can't always save everybody," Ham said the most serious thing I'd heard in the past two days.

"Look, it was my fault. You wouldn't understand."

"Miles, we're the only people in the multiverse who understand exactly what you're going through," I argued, "Being a hero is the hardest thing. It takes determination, not strong powers."

The door handle jiggled. Miles' roommate. All of the Spider-Men jumped onto the wall, and Tsunami and I were picked up by Peter and Noir to remain hidden as well.

Oblivious, the roommate grabbed a comic and began to read, foot on his desk. He took off his headphones and spun in his chair, facing us on the wall with the comic blocking his view.

"That way! That way!"

All of us clumped together and moved in unison to avoid the roommate's gaze. Then the roommate lowered his comic and came face to face with Ham.

"Hey there!" Miles greeted.

"Do animals talk in this dimension? Cause I don't wanna freak him out."

The roommate fainted. Sighing in semi-relief, we all dropped to the ground and Miles pulled his roommate into his bed. While he was doing so, Noir took the lead and stepped out of the window, helping Tsunami out as well. Then went Ham, Peni, and Gwen.

"What's going on?"

"Miles, I came to say goodbye," Older-Peter explained shortly.

"We can say goodbye at the collider."

"You're not getting it. You're staying here."

"I need to be there. So you can all go home," Miles picked the goober off of his desk

"They are going home, Miles. I'm the only one staying."

"You're taking my place? If you stay here, you'll die."

"I'm doing what needs to be done. I just wanted you to hear it from me. I need the goober. Please don't make me take it from you."

"That's not fair! You've gotta tell them I can do this!"

"It wasn't their decision, Miles," I cut in. I had faith in Miles, and with time he'd make a great Spider-Man, but he wasn't ready. That mental determination I mentioned that heroes needed? He didn't have it.

"I gotta make Kingpin pay! You have to let me make him pay! I'm ready, I promise-"

Older-Peter did a combo move, nearly knocking Miles to the ground, if Peter wasn't there to catch him.

"Then venom strike me right now, or turn invisible on command so you can get past him," Older-Peter prompted while Peter kept his strong hold on Mile's shirt. Miles tried, but nothing happened. It only cemented what Older-Peter was saying. "Look, I know how much you want this, kid. But you don't have it yet."

Peter set Miles in a desk chair, and Older-Peter webbed him to the chair, taking the goober from his hand.

"I'm sorry."

"When will I know I'm ready?" Older-Peter webbed his mouth after he asked his question.

"You won't. It's a leap of faith. That's all it is Miles. A leap of faith."

Older-Peter jumped out the window and swung away. Sharing a look with Peter, I sighed and kneeled in front of Miles. I was reminded of when I was stuck in Wakanda, fresh from being thrown in that river in Germany, and my parents told me not what I wanted to hear, but the truth.

"They're right. Sometimes, you can try so hard for something and nothing will happen. You never truly know when you're ready to be a hero. It's a journey. Some days you'll want to stop completely, others you're on top of the world. But in the end, heroes are the ones who do what is right, no matter what everyone else tells you... have faith Miles. I know we have it."

Wrapping an arm around my waist, Peter and I jumped out the window and took off to join the others.