[ ยภ๔เรςɭ๏รє๔ ɭ๏ςคՇเ๏ภ ]

The sound of electric waves.

Peter (Tom) coughed, trying to get a hold of himself as he dragged himself through the concrete floor. When he had realized he was actually conscious, he looked around to find out what was happening.

It was a dark, foggy place. You couldn't see anything in the distance. It appeared he was in the cave, exemplified by the rocky floor and ceiling. However, it was being lived in. There was a forcefield that was stopping Peter (Tom) from even trying to exit.

—A silent but deadly cage.

Trying to look for someone to converse with, it was in the form of a sat-down, one-handed scientist in his trench coat, jotting down notes on his paper. Seemingly, he had noticed the teenager who had found out of his presence.

"Peter, right?" The scientist asked calmly, putting his pen down. "Glad I could meet you... like this."

"Wh—who are you." Peter (Tom) shook his head, trying to remember a name that could have resembled him.

"I am Dr. Curt Connors. You can just call Mr. Connors; however, I believe we've met before."

"We have?"

"I assure you, Mr. Parker... I may not have remembered it but you certainly do." Connors said, crossing his legs and fixing his glasses.

Putting two and two together, Peter (Tom) realized. "You're that reptile dude, from the facility and court."

"I would like to call it a regenerative method for whenever I feel like being four-limbed." Connors smiled, chuckling at the statement. "I've noticed something about you, Parker. Even with six people that deeply hates you, myself included, chasing you around a less than 15-mile island, it's a blessing that you haven't been killed."

"Well, why won't you kill me now? I'm right here for you to take." Peter (Tom) said, not expecting the response.

"Yes, well..." He took off his glasses. "Your life doesn't equate to the importance of our goal—the gate to the Multiverse."

"And? What's the purpose of the stupid Multiverse?" Peter (Tom) shrugged, "And what does it have to do with me?"

"Your existence now matters to your extinction for the future." Connors showed a smug, knowing the situation in his hands very well. "I hate to be doing this, Parker; I hope you know that. I might be the one who hates you the least here."

"Why do I feel like there's a but?"

"—But, it doesn't bode well with me that you killed me, so..." Connors tilted his head, showing a face that said 'it is what it is.'

As much as he wanted to continue his conversation with Peter (Tom), an unexpected visitor appeared out of the shadows. The man with the fresh yellow jacket appeared, tapping Connors to his shoulders.

"Hey, doc, any news on what we're going to do with this one?" Dillon pointed at Peter (Tom), expressing his joy at him. "How much blood do we need from him?"

"That's what I'm trying to calculate."

"And why his blood though? Can't we just pluck someone off the street? Or any of his Multiversal doppelgängers?"

"Firstly, no blood from a human could possibly survive an extraction to Multiversal proportions." Connors began to explain, turning to his colleague. "Secondly, we need the same blood from the same universe. All matter are not the same, so we need the same DNA, RNA, atoms, bo—"

"Alright, alright, doc!" Dillon stepped back, not expecting that outburst. "Look, Octavius and Osborn are asking for some assistance over there. If you don't mind,"

"I'll be to it." Connors said, standing up.

Dillon was just staring at Peter's (Tom) defeated face—nothing he can do. He had no suit, help, or anything of the variety. Now, they had him as Peter Parker.

"Don't you just want to beat him up, Connors?" Dillon pondered, his eyes still fixated at him.

"Oh, that's more of his kind of style."

"But didn't he trap you for a few days over in that cage?" He added.

"He doesn't need to worry about that; it was his friend who did it after all." Connors grinned, grabbing his pen and notes. "Excuse me, gentlemen."

—And with that, it was only Dillon and Peter (Tom).

"What's your deal, man? What kind of version of me has that much of a grudge on you?" Peter (Tom) started, as Dillon kept on watching him.

"The kind that killed me!"

"I think there's a running theme going on here. Anything else that would cause it? Something besides the killing kind?"

"Yeah... I looked up to you." Dillon blurted with anger, but Peter (Tom) was surprised by the statement. "You were a hero in my eyes... until you showed that all you care for is your own personal pride."

"Well..." Peter (Tom) shook his head. "You've got that wrong. I'm... nothing but a kid. I'm not a hero, I'm not someone who should be looked to... but you can't call me someone who does this for personal pride. I'm not low of a person to be caring for the little guy for pride. Too much pride in this line of work gets people killed... and a teenager like me having that in my consciousness."

There stood Dillon—speechless. He didn't know what to feel about what Peter (Tom) had just told him. The things his peers told him about this Spider-Man being different was true. This was not the Peter he knew.

"Hey, playtime's over." Marko called, entering the room. "Osborn needs us on the cameras."

"What for?"

"He said there's a surge of positive—something, I don't know." Marko threw his hands up. "Just meet me there."

Dillon didn't say a word more, following Marko out of the room.

Peter (Tom) didn't know what he was doing. All throughout this madness, it was like he couldn't do what he needed and wanted to do. It's just a spiral that kept on getting complicated and complicated. He had to make a decision one way or another.

This wasn't getting easier for any of them—May, MJ, Ned. He just needed to accept that the world would not take him as a Spider-Man. He was just too young and naive to take that kind of mantle. At this point, it was too much responsibility for him.

—Thwip.

"?"

Noticing something land on the floor in front of him, Peter (Tom) went to investigate. He didn't mind the electric field that was buzzing inches away from his face. All he wanted to know was  what it was.

And he got his answer immediately.

—It was a web.

"Hey..." Peter (Tobey) waved his hand as he slowly descended from the ceiling—upside down.

"Wha—" Peter (Tom) came a little bit closer to the field to whisper. "Why are you here?"

"I told you I was going to save you, right? Well, this is it. Finding you wasn't easy so..." He dropped to the floor, "Your welcome."

"How did you even find me?"

Peter (Tobey) shook his head. "It was more of the other guy who found you. He's unfortunately a whole lot techy than me with these kind of tech. Freaked the heck out of me. All we have to do is wait for him to disable the division's power and we'll be good to go; or at least, that's what he said."

"Well..." Peter (Tom) bit his lip. He didn't know how Peter (Tobey) would react, but he decided that he was going to do things his way from now on. No longer were the days where he would be taught around—this was his life. He was going to decide his future—Peter Parker's life. "I'm not going."

"What?!" Peter (Tobey) replied instantly, soon realizing his tone. He lowered as to not attract any more attention; but he was still surprised. "What do you mean you're not going?"

"I can't keep on doing this, sir, I—"

"—Don't call me 'sir.'"

"—can't keep on being Spider-Man."

"Wh—" Peter (Tobey) sighed, "Look, I don't want to hear what you want and don't want to be right now. I promised that I'd get you out of this."

"You don't need to." Peter (Tom) said with such calmness that it irritated Peter (Tobey) more than it should've. "Knowing that the two of you were brought here for the reason that you were Spider-Man... makes me think that I'm not really cut out for this job."

"You don't know what you're talking about. Did you even hear Ben's speech? Didn't it mean something to you?"

"Don't..." Peter (Tom) pointed at him, relieving the memories for a brief moment. "bring Ben into this."

"Why? Doesn't that—"

}{—}{—}{—}{—}{

"What?" Peter (Tom) squinted. "Was it something I—"

"—CRAP!"

The Lizard went around the cage, attacking the Spider-Man (Tobey). Much to his surprise, he began hitting him with such force compared to his own Spider-Man (Andrew). There were much stronger forces in play, causing him to be unprepared.

In his cage, Peter (Tom) could do nothing but watch. Yet again, another choice he had no control over it. It's frustrating for him—he couldn't do anything.

On the outside, Peter (Tobey) looked to put the Lizard away. His punches combined with the quick reflexes in deflecting his tail made it impossible for the Lizard to even get a chain of attacks going. This Peter (Tobey) was very much an experienced one.

While he continued to watch, a beeping sound echoed in Peter's cell. It confused him—thinking it was a contraption made by his abductors. Seeing the beeping red device on his ankle, he knew exactly what it was—a police tracker.

As Peter (Tobey) continued to beat on the Lizard, they fell to the ground with him in control. Also taking notice of the beeping sound, the Lizard leaned to the source of it. At this point, he knew what was going to happen.

—They were found out.

"EVERYONE! WE'RE BEING TRACKED!" The Lizard shouted, alerting everyone in the facility.

The place began shaking, as electrical wires that were hidden in the dark began wavering. In the darkness, a device flashed upon their eyes—it was the one that they were all worried about.

—The device that unlocks Multiversal Travel.

The rest of the people in the facility did not mind the two Spider-Men just watching them. They were absolutely hell-bent on bringing the device to safety that they did not have time to show themselves to the guests.

It was only the Lizard that was getting the action.

Not paying attention to the situation, the Lizard got to grab Peter's (Tobey) arm with his tail, tossing him to the side of the cage. He got electrified, feeling the complete shock of it through his suit.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Lizard stood triumphantly over his enemy with two varieties. With this victory, he managed to escape.

"'Til we meet again, Spider-Man!" The Lizard laughed, crawling into a tiny hole in the ceiling.

As he left, the cage unlocked—allowing Peter (Tom) to rush over to his counterpart that was laying on the floor.

The place had stopped shaking. There was no more threat to be seen. Only the beeping sound was left. On the ground laid a battered Peter (Tobey), getting his conscious back.

"Pe—Peter..?" Peter (Tobey) called out, extending his hand to the light which was Peter (Tom).

"You need to get out of here." Peter (Tom) ordered, hearing footsteps coming their way. "You've done enough for me. I need you to do your job—as Spider-Man."

"I—I'm going t—to save you." Peter (Tobey) began getting up. "I'm no—not leaving you here."

"You are." Peter (Tom) said bluntly, giving a smile of assurance. The hole where Peter (Tobey) had entered through was still there. It was the perfect escape for him. "You were brought here to be better than what I am—a Spider-Man."

"N—no... shut up."

}{ }{ }{ }{ }{

"EVERYONE, HANDS UP!"

A series of flashlights were running up the tunnels of the place they were in. It was undeniable that they were screwed if they stayed put.

—Most importantly, Peter (Tom) was screwed.

But now, it wasn't important anymore. As long as Peter (Tobey) could get out of there, then there's still a chance for the city, the planet, and the universe to survive. Sometimes, it was necessary.

"Get up!" Peter (Tom) pushed Peter (Tobey) to a kneeling position to make him gain some sense. "Get out of here. If you stay here, then it'll be for nothing."

For the first time, Peter (Tom) saw something he had not seen from a Spider-Man before.

—Anger.

Peter (Tobey) was glaring at him with violent intent. All the rage pouring over him was the same as when Tony had been disappointed him about the incident at the boat. However, there was a difference.

—Peter (Tom) knew what he was doing.

"I know you don't want to leave me, but they'll be done with whatever they're building. The best thing you can do right now is to stop them." Peter (Tom) made clear. "You have to do what you do best—watch out for the little guy and take in the responsibility."

"—GET DOWN, EVERYONE!" The voice was getting louder.

"You and the other Peter (Andrew) are enough to stop this. I need you two to work together. I'll handle what I started—that's my promise for you."

"YOU TWO!"

Three dozen policemen surrounded the two men. They aimed their flashlights mainly at the Spider-Man (Tobey), trusting Peter (Tom) enough to not aim too many weapons at him. The two Peter's were staring at one another, seemingly having a conversation in the middle of them. They were unsure what to do.

—Until Spider-Man (Tobey) blurted something out.

"I'll make sure to protect them all..." He rustled, "Even if I didn't manage to save you."

With one thwip, the Spider-Man (Tobey) left the room through the hole in the ceiling. It was so quick that they didn't manage to shoot a single bullet. With him gone, all their weapons aimed at Peter (Tom) who was painfully smiling as the Spider-Man (Tobey) left.

Coming out of the crowd, Detective Moss placed her hands in her pockets and warmly welcomed Peter (Tom). "Hello, Parker. Been a while."

"Hey..."