[ New York ]

Peter (Tom) took a full stop and chuckled at the sight of the newspaper.

"All things considered, it's a good drawing." Peter (Tom) remarked.

"That does not look like me at all..." Peter (Andrew) mentioned, shaking his head.

"I would say it's an accurate representation of you." Peter (Tobey) smiled at the drawing which the Daily Bugle drew of the fugitives. They had somehow caught sight of Spider-Man (Andrew) unmasked, so it was a very rough sketch. "Jameson has great artists, I would say."

"Yeah, yeah." Peter (Andrew) annoyingly brushed off. "Let's just get going."

The three Peter's had placed their suits inside their backpacks and were now on the way to Bleecker's—or specifically, the Sanctum Sanctorum. In truth, they had no idea what was in store for them at the New York Sanctum, but they would have thought there was going to be a plan in place for them.

Still, they were going to have to find a way to make the villains come out of hiding. They had a very abstract thought of how the device they made works, but they were still going to need to scout it out if they had time.

For now, they had reached the Sanctum Sanctorum. Once again, the street was empty and there was a flush of air circulating near the entrance. The three of them were hesitating to enter, but Peter (Tom) took the front.

"It's both your first time here, huh?" Peter (Tom) noted, stepping on top of the stairs.

"Uh, no, actually." Peter (Tobey) said.

"Yeah, me neither." Peter (Andrew) added.

"—Wait, what?" Peter (Tom) squinted, until the doors of the Sanctum suddenly opened.

On the stairs leading to the second floor, Aunt May and Happy were sitting down near one another and were alerted to their presence. They stood up, as May ran into Peter's arms to hug him.

It had been so long since he felt her arms—the comfort of it made him feel like everything was going to be alright. He was glad that she, along with Happy, were safe. Out of everything that has transpired, he's happy that everyone was alright.

"Peter (Tom)..." May muttered while hugging him. "I'm so glad you're okay..."

"Yeah, May..." Peter (Tom) happily whispered. "Me too. Thank you too... by the way... for making me do this again."

"Oh," May let go of the hug and playfully slapped him on the arm. "You were going to do the gig anyways."

May looked over her nephew's shoulder, looking at the two Peter's that were alongside him.

"Good to see you two boys still without a scratch." She smiled, "Was it hard to get him out?"

"Uh... I would say it was easy for him," Peter (Andrew) pointed at Peter (Tobey). "And just another day at work for me."

"Cut it off," Peter (Tobey) ignored his statement. He glanced at Happy, "Hey, buddy."

"So you were the Peter I met at the parking lot, huh?" Happy remembered, nodding to him. "Thought you were giving me a taste of my own medicine."

"I—I didn't mean it, you know, Mr..."

"Happy. You can call me Happy." He tapped Peter (Tobey) on the shoulder and faced him. "I can't believe I'm looking at three Peter Parker's."

"Quite the handful, huh." May said.

—Suddenly, loud footsteps consumed the sound of the room.

"Everyone! Glad to see that all of you are doing well." Strange finally reappeared, going down the stairs. "Thank you for telling me you'd be visiting on such short notice."

"Look, we're sorry, Mr. Strange." May sighed, "But we have no where else to go. And we won't be taking long."

"I know; because I'll be the one deciding." Strange stood in front of the two Peter's (Andrew and Tobey) and shook his head. "I'm... sorry... about our little misunderstanding a few days ago."

"You're the guy who made the," Peter (Andrew) gestured in a circle, "little portal thing, right? You scared the hell out of me."

"Yeah... me too." Peter (Tobey) added.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you two to come back here." Strange rustled. "So, what's the plan for you three, hm?"

"We'll think about it." Peter (Tom) declared. "I just need a suit first."

"Oh!" Happy interrupted and went to the corner of the room. "Speaking of suits—" Out of nowhere, he pulled out a briefcase and laid it on the table.

Strange reached out, "Hey, that's not for—"

"You can start making the suit right here." Happy presented, opening the briefcase to show a wide range of holograms and virtual mechanics. It was essentially the same suit maker as the one in the airplane, but compressed to a single case. "We're a bit limited on the material so,"

"No way..." Peter (Tom) snickered, walking over to the case. "What kind of material are we missing?"

"Nanotech," Happy listed. "I also only have materials for one suit. I couldn't grab any more for your friends or else the company's going to get suspicious of it."

"Oh, it's fine." He glanced at his two friends who were confused. "They probably don't need it."

Happy took a step back and returned to where Strange and May were intriguingly watching the scene. The three Peter's stepped around the table, with Peter (Tom) in the middle of the case to start building his suit. The other two Peter's were at his side, watching him build it.

"What do you plan on doing with the design?" Peter (Andrew) pondered, touching the holograms. "You should get those arm things, those could come in useful."

"We're going against some highly electric people too... you might want to get some resistance." Peter (Tobey) suggested.

"But won't making something electric-resistant decrease the overall strength of the suit?" Peter (Tom) reminded, looking through the fabric options. "Here, maybe if we use—"

"Ahhh—" Peter (Andrew) cut off and brought the screen to his side. "If you make the suit stronger, it's going to weigh you down."

"What's wrong with that?" Peter (Tobey) contended. "He's going to be able to dodge better. Plus, we could add some features that could lighten him a little bit."

"How long do you predict that I'm going to be in the air?" Peter (Tom) asked, "Because if I—"

As the three scientific geniuses went at it, Happy chuckled to himself which garnered the attention of Strange. May hadn't been lured to his call, as she happily watched her nephew and, technically other two nephews, argue about their new invention. It was funny—if they hadn't been Spider-Man, they would be some of the most renowned scientists in the world.

"Was Stark like this?" Strange began with Happy.

"Exactly like him. I can't tell the difference right now." Happy said matter-of-factly.

"You miss him?"

"Every day..." Happy said with a smile, staring on as Tony's prodigy went to work on a new suit.

After a few seconds, Strange realized. "This will take long, won't it?"

"Yup..." He said bluntly.

"Would you two want some tea?"

...

—And serve tea, Strange did.

The best available spot for some relaxation was downstairs—the same place in which Strange performed the spell from the beginning. He had took the opportunity to clean it up a bit, getting rid of the dust and debris to make it look more lively. The cracks and old appearance weren't solvable, however.

Still, there was enough space for him to have a table with some chairs put there. He would have asked Wong for some tips, but he was still out in God knows where. For now, it was the best he could come up with.

While Strange exchanged stories with Happy and May, the three Peter's entered the room, still in their normal street outfits. Peter (Tom) quickly took a seat beside May, as Peter (Andrew) and Peter (Tobey) looked around the room.

"Totally the room." Peter (Andrew) noted.

"Yeah, we were abducted here." Peter (Tobey) confirmed.

Strange placed his two fingers on his nose as Peter (Tom) contained his chuckle, "Again, I'm sorry about that." He saw that they didn't have their backpacks on them. "What happened? All of you gave up being Spider-Man?"

"Oh, the briefcase needs time to produce the suit. It'll take a little bit longer." Peter (Tom) informed.

"So you haven't given up being Spider-Man?" Strange joked more, "Bummer."

Happy gave him a glance and whispered, "I will buy this building."

"Ye—yeah." Strange stopped his expression at once. "Any of you, tea?"

"I'd kill for some tea right now." Peter (Tobey) pointed to the empty seat on the table in which Strange and May nodded. "Th—thanks."

Peter (Andrew) was left standing, but he was still busy taking in all the artifacts that was present in the room. And so, they didn't invite him over to the table.

May was happily seeing the Peter (Tobey) across from the table sitting beside Happy. He truly looked like the Peter Parker (Tom) that she knew—only older.

"So, Peter—"

"Yeah?" All three Peter's answered.

"..." May laughed and pointed to Peter (Tobey). "You, Peter (Tobey). How's your universe? All well?"

"Uh... yeah. 'Kinda good, 'kinda bad. Everything you expect from a world where Spider-Man lives in."

"Weren't you fighting a chameleon?" Strange weirdly spoke. "I'm sorry, by the way, it looked like you were getting your ass kicked."

"I can proudly say I wasn't." Peter (Tobey) refuted. "I was giving him a chance."

"Right..." Strange said. "I must say, you have a great track record of being Spider-Man. Especially when you were danc—"

"—No!" Peter (Tobey) blurted out. "Don't..."

"But—"

"—Not a chance!"

All Peter, May, and Happy could do was express joy at the sight. It was like all the memories May had of Peter (Tom) when he was young; surely in the future, he would be reacting the same way.

"How's your Aunt, Peter (Tobey)? I could tell that she and I don't exactly look the same because of your... reaction." May started.

"Um... she... uh..." Peter (Tobey) was struggling to formulate the words.

Peter (Andrew) knew exactly where he was going—it was that feeling.

"She... passed away."

"Oh..." May was shocked. She didn't know what to say. On one hand, it was truly saddening to learn that Peter (Tobey) lost one of, if not the most, important people in his life. On the other, she's looking at a entirely different version of her. "I'm... sorry... Peter (Tobey)."

Peter (Tom) didn't know how to react as well. Just the thought of May not being able to be there anymore, it hurts him more than anything.

"Ha—have you been getting along well? You're okay?" May was prepared for him not to answer but...

"It's actually been two years. I've mostly gotten over it..." Peter (Tobey) assured.

"Th—that's great to hear, Peter (Tobey)."

"It's weird. I've been sent here out of nowhere and I'm seeing... May again. I know you're not the same, but you have the same eyes as May from my universe. You... you still got me to do something." Peter (Tobey) explained. "It's like you never left."

"I—I... Peter..."

"I know you're not the May I know but... I can't deny the fact that you're still doing the wonderful things the one mine did. For that, I can't see you two different."

"Peter..."

"It's just... I've been reminded of the—"

...

—The good moments.

—The bad.

—The ones he love.

—And the ones he had to leave behind.

"I'm sorry, MJ. I can't keep on doing this."

"I thought you loved me?" MJ questioned him, anger boiling in her. "I thought you wanted us to be together?"

"This hurts me more than anything."

"Of course... of course you would say that."

Peter (Tobey) lowered his hand. "You don't know how much it hurts..."

...

"I'm still here." Peter (Tobey) announced. "I don't know how but I'm still here living and breathing. Even through all the years—everyone that I've met and lost—they are all still dear to me. They've made me who I am. In turn, I protect the city they live in whether they still love me or not. And sometimes, that's the hardest part—fighting for the thing that others hate you for. But for us... we still fight..." He turned to Peter (Tom). "And I know you can get through this. You're going through much worse than I am.. and yet you'll be wearing the suit again. Not a lot of people can do that. People who love what they do and what they fight for are the only ones capable of doing that..."

—At that moment, Peter's (Andrew) eyes flashed a familiar scene.

Peter (Tom) shook his head, "You've been through... so much more. I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. It's fine..."

"But—"

"Just promise me, Peter (Tom)..." Peter (Tobey) stared at him with sincere eyes. "Promise me that you won't only be the best Spider-Man, but the best Peter Parker too."

"..."

"He's right." Happy joined, "That suit doesn't define who you are... you define what that suit means to other people."

"And it seems to me that..." May glanced at Peter (Tom). "You're going to do just fine in doing that."

Peter (Tobey) smiled at him, seeing his confidence boost up. "You know, it's true. If he were here today... Uncle Ben would've been proud..."

—And that... that was the best thing he could ever think of.

"Wait a minute..." Happy's device was ringing. He checked it, and his eyes widened to the point of shock. Everyone became interested with the news, which he hadn't shared yet. Taking a closer look, there was no fault. "They have Michelle and Leeds."

"..." Peter's (Tom) face was filled with anxiety and fear, "MJ and Ned? Where are they?"

"Well, uh... you're not going to like it." Happy showed his holographic touchpad that he had been watching with May the entire time. When he flipped it over, a helicopter was pointing their camera at the renovating Statue of Liberty—a place where a shield was being added in memory of Steve Rogers. "Why the Statue of Liberty, though?"

"Crap..." Peter (Tom) and his other counterparts muttered the same thing.

"Wh—why? Is that a bad thing?"

"They're trying to get something charged." Peter (Tom) answered.

—Then, Peter (Andrew) had the entire solution in his head.

"They're going to use the Statue of Liberty to power the device by pushing the electricity through it." He gulped, "They're going to use Electro..."

...

Everyone was getting prepared. It was a hectic scene in the basement, as they were rushing to get ready for what was to come. They knew that the battle was going to be at the Statue of Liberty, and the lives of MJ and Ned were at stake.

Peter (Tobey) and Peter (Andrew) were already in their suits, waiting for Peter (Tom) to put on the suit already. May and Happy were scrolling through the news to find out what was going on in the outside world. Strange was standing beside the two Spider-Men, discussing about their universes.

"I would say the whole generator thing was good..." Strange commented on Peter (Andrew). "Still took you a few good hits to take him out, though."

"There was a river beside you." Peter (Tobey) tried to debunk quickly.

"Easy for you to say." Peter (Andrew) said, having no counter-arguments.

"Where the hell is he..." Strange looked over them and there was still no sign of Peter (Tom). "You two got him, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"You got him?"

"Yeah, we heard what you said." Peter (Tobey) gestured, "What do you mean that 'we got him?'"

"You're going to keep him safe, right?"

"You're not coming?" Peter (Andrew) was surprised and let down at the same time. "You're like... our best bet against them."

"It's... complicated."

Peter (Tobey) stepped up, "Try us."

"Because if I step out of this Sanctum, there will be a being outside of our constitutional universe who will interfere due to the Multiversal waves that are coursing through this very halls. It's because you two were summoned and someone will be very furious to know that two variants are staying in a world that is not theirs. With that, I'm staying here to ensure that no suspicious beings will interfere for I am the Master of the Mystic Arts..." Strange told thoroughly.

"..." Peter (Tobey) looked away.

Peter (Andrew) mouthed, "You shouldn't have tried it."

—Out of nowhere, a springy teenage boy jumped into the room.

He was wearing a very loose Spider-Man suit—based on the one he had wore in the battle with Mysterio—but with a few upgrades. Across his chest and back was a large spider symbol that was traced with black lines and filled in with gold. It was like a mix of all his suits from the past and present—combining to create the best functional suit that he could've made so far.

Due to it being on such a short notice, there were some features that were not installed. It still had the basic functions of a Spider-Man suit, but it was very far from perfect.

Pressing a button, it wrapped on his skin.

"Okay, are we all good?" Peter (Tom) readied his sensors and A.I. "E.D.I.T.H, are we good? E.D.I—"

Suddenly, the A.I. responded. "We're good to go, Peter."

"What are we waiting for?"

"Alright," Strange held his sling ring tightly. "Once you get there, you'll need to—"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Peter (Tom) cut in, "You're not coming?"

—A loud voice was triggered by Peter's (Tom) statement.

"—HE WILL!"

Everyone had turned their head to the sudden appearance of someone they hadn't seen in a long time. Still wearing a coat that was suited for harsh winters and a ever-growing hairline, the sorcerer showed himself.

—It was none other than Wong.

"You, Stephen Strange, was warned by me to not perform the Multiversal spell that would have opened our reality to multiple universes that you haven't comprehended yet. Still, you disobey my warning and perform the spell under the influence of a teenage boy that wanted to 'erase' his identity to the rest of the world. And what did that bring you? Six of his most dangerous villains and two variants that have no business being here." Wong said with his teeth gritting with every word. "I'm glad that I had enough time to return to this Sanctum and see the problems that you've caused."

"Oh... Wong... ah!" Strange awkwardly stumbled as everyone looked at him as if they were saying 'why?' Trying to lighten the situation, he reasoned. "You're home early."

"Don't be funny, Strange."

"Who said I'm being funny?"

"The other sorcerer in this Sanctum who went on a business trip and came home with a even bigger mess."

"Well, I'm glad that you got back in the nick of time!"

"I lied..." He corrected swiftly. "I saw it on the news."

"Shit..." Strange grabbed his head. "Alright, you got me. But still, I can't go with them. The Multiversal wav—"

"Give me your sling ring."

"Pardon me?"

"Give it."

With no further questions asked, Wong and Strange exchanged sling rings. Strange expected something to happen and... nothing happened. It was just the fact that they had changed sling rings.

"So..?"

Wong raised his sling ring to the air. "Now the Multiversal waves are with me. You're the one who opened the gates with the sling ring, right?" He said with a smug, "Now go ahead. Go fix your mess."

"Thanks, Wong..." He showed him a face of annoyance and irritation. "I really appreciate it."

"Anything for the Master of the Mystic Arts!"

Strange walked over to the three Peter's who were looking at him differently now that Wong had arrived. It was getting even more embarrassing for Strange, as they were waiting for him to respond back after all that talk he did earlier.

"Um... just forget what I said." Strange directed at the two variants.

"Yeah, that's..." Peter (Tobey) took in a deep breath. "That's something, alright."

"Wasn't expecting that." Peter (Andrew) built on.

Peter (Tom) knew Strange's arrogance too well, and it fit his character perfectly. To be honest, he couldn't judge him all that much after he had saved the universe along with them. It was still intriguing to see him insist that he's right.

"Alright, is there anything that I have to know about your rogue gallery? Names to make it easier to remember?"

"Mysterio." Peter (Tom) said, "At least that's what he called himself back in Venice."

"How about you?" Strange pointed to Peter (Andrew).

"Like I said, electric guy's name is Electro and the lizard-like guy is the Lizard." He informed.

"Really?" Peter (Tom) was taken aback.

"Yeah, yeah..." Peter (Andrew) complained. "I didn't come up with them." They then took their attention to Peter (Tobey). "And you?"

"The one with the sand is Sandman, the tentacles is Doc Ock, and the glider is the Goblin."

—They fell silent.

"Wh—what?" Peter (Tobey) replied to their silence.

"Never mind." Peter (Andrew) stated. "There's something much worse."

"—Alright then!" Strange began conducting a portal in front of them to avoid any more dialogue. "You three ready?"

This was it. Everything that has happened has led them to this moment. This wasn't going to be the Battle for Manhattan—this was the Battle for their universe. Warriors from all over the Multiverse will fight for the control of the universe that is in chaos. This was it.

Peter (Tom) looked to either of side—his very reflection being shown to him. They were ready. They were going to save the world.

"Any last words?" Strange grinned.

"Good. Let's get the show on the road."

—A portal with the skyline of the Statue of Liberty on the other side was opened.

They all took breaths, taking in that sight. There was no one on the other end but the sense of dread and fear. But they had made it that far, it would be useless to run away now.

Peter (Tom) clenched his fist, "Let's go and save the universe."

—Just like that, the four of them disappeared.

Nothing. That was what consumed the room. The three Peter's and Strange were gone, who had seemingly gone to the place they need to be. The rest of their fates will be decided by those four and if they fail, it was always worth the shot.

May, Happy, and Wong were standing still, looking at the place where the portal closed. They had been half expecting nothing, half expecting the portal to open again. The decision was leaning to the prior.

—Until then, Wong broke the quietness.

"Any of you want tea?"

[ Note: More updates about Chapter 24 and the Epilogue will be posted in the following day; but for now enjoy the beginning of the end! ]