'Tell me there's something better. Go ahead. Try.'
Spider-Man's thoughts ran through his head as he continued his aimless swing across New York. The young wall-crawler focused and extended an arm out, shooting a line of webbing onto the side of a building, which he swing off of, jumping off and repeating his actions, all while clearing his head.
'Okay. Maybe you can. My life can be summed up as a rollercoaster if that makes any sense.'
Peter crouched on the side of a building, seeing three purse-snatchers run into an alleyway. Without hesitation, he swung forward and hoped to catch the burglars off guard. 'So much happened... And I only have myself to blame. Then again... It kinda feels like years since my battle with the Goblin. Must be my mood.'
The wall-crawler jumped down, appearing behind the thieves. He shot a line of webbing in the farthest one's direction, yanking him into the shadows. 'Yeah, first I let Eddie Brock get a hold of a insane alien parasite, he seeks to reveal my identity, which failed luckily, but I think things fell apart before that.'
Spider-Man hopped and flipped, shooting more lines of webbing, making another strand so he could connect them. 'Okay... Let's go down the list. First, the criminal known as the Goblin shows up, Ock started a gang war with Tombstone and Silvermane, which I was happy to see Tombstone's empire meet its end. Then, there was the whole Master Planner Sinister Six goose chase.'
The hero punched and kicked the criminals, dodging each attempt at a counterattack, knocking them all out with ease. He tied them to the line he made and wrapped them in a web-coccoon. 'Oh boy... I found out the Green Goblin was my best friend's father, Norman Osborn, after having me believe that it was Harry.' his masked lenses narrowed at the memory, 'We fought long... It was without a doubt one of the most challenging things I've ever done.'
Spider-Man went back to swinging, his mind continuing the trip down memory lane, 'What happened to Norman... I had no idea he would fall in that silo... All those bombs went off. There was no body found. Harry blames Spider-Man and grew distant.' with a heavy sigh, Peter shook his head.
'That's not even getting into most of my personal life. I broke up with Liz... Because I knew how Gwen felt about me... Then she decided to stay with Harry after his dad died. Now, I'm a heartless jerk that can hardly balance his two lives. I should just head home. Things are looking pretty quiet anyway.'
Reaching a hand out, Peter jumped and released the web-line, continuing his web swing. His lenses widened, a tingling sensation going off in the back of his neck. 'Okay... Now what? I just said it was a quiet night! Is it Venom? Doc Ock? Mysterio?'
A white light appeared on a rooftop, prompting Spider-Man to change direction, 'Right. Go toward the bright light. It's times like this where I wonder how I'm still a hero.' he mused, landing on the edge of the rooftop to get a closer look.
Two figures stepped out of the strange swirling light, prompting Peter to get into a fighting stance, 'It better not be aliens. Please don't be aliens. Please...' his mind begged, a scowl forming on his mask and underneath it. He paused, getting a closer look at what the visitors are, surprised at their appearance.
'You gotta be kidding me.'
It was like looking in a mirror. Spider-Man saw a man wearing what appeared to be his costume and behind him a woman with purple hair and a strange spandex costume. "Looks like we're in New York, honey." the doppelganger said.
The woman nodded, unaware of the person near them, "Yeah... But something feels... off about it."
"You too? For some reason, I feel more... cartoony." the Spider-Man counterpart muttered. Then, he saw someone standing near them, clearly not amused.
"Another Spider-Man?!" both Spider-Men shouted at the same time.
"Okay, pal. You have some explaining to do!" the younger Spider-Man ordered, pointing an accusing finger at the other Peter, who sighed in annoyance. "There's only one Spider-Man in this town! Is this another trick, Chameleon?"
Shaking his head, Peter responded, "Chameleon? Huh, that's a name I haven't heard in years. Twilight, I think Strange accidentally warped us to the wrong world."
"I had a hunch." the woman, Twilight, huffed, "Seems the rest of the group are going to have to wait for us a little longer."
'For once, I'm actually kind of left speechless. I am looking at another Spider-Man. He looks older, tougher. But he still sounds like me? What gives puberty? And who the heck is this woman with him? A superhero friend or something? I've never seen her in my life. And who is this Vibe? So many questions...'
Raising his hands, the older Peter spoke, "You're probably wondering how this is happening. I'll do my best to answer. I'm a Spider-Man... from a different dimension it looks like. We just gotta wait for someone to figure out we're here and bring us back." putting his hands on his hips he continued, "You kinda look young. Are you still in high school or something?"
"I'm not gonna get lectured by an older man who looks like me." Young Peter chided. "How do I know you're even telling the truth?" he questioned.
"Is your Spider-Sense going off?" Twilight asked.
Both Peters rubbed their heads, "Well... No, but still!" they shouted at the same time.
Twilight crossed her arms, "Take off your masks."
The younger Spider-Man raised his hands, "Okay, I'm not taking orders from some random woman that showed up in a glowy portal thing. You have some explaing to do. Who are you? And why are you with this guy that has an unoriginal choice in clothing?"
"Okay, so this is another Rarity situation." the older Peter muttered under his breath, looking down. "Always going for the costume insults..." he grumbled.
"We're sorry about this... My name is Twilight Sparkle." Twilight intoduced herself. "It looks like we came to the wrong universe."
'Twilight Sparkle... Sounds like a hippy name or something. Kinda... cheesy if you ask me. Then again, I gave myself the name Spider-Man so who am I to judge?'
Spider-Man shook his head, "Woah. Did you just say wrong universe? As in you've travelled worlds before?"
Older Peter chuckled, "It, uh... Happens. It's a long story." he removed his mask, revealing his face. Young Peter's eyes turned to saucers at the reflection of himself. "So, I'm Spider-Man. Another Spider-Man to be exact. Are you able to trust me?"
Young Peter mused, 'Straight out of a mirror. Except he looks older. He may be telling the truth.'
"Okay. I'll play this game. This must not leave this rooftop." Young Peter ordered.
Twilight smiled, "Your secret is safe with us."
Then, the young Spider-Man removed his mask, the older Spider making a comment, "Wow. You're much younger and more cartoony than I thought. I didn't think that was possible after living in Equestria for so long." he quipped, annoying his younger counterpart and earning a chuckle from Twilight.
"Okay, wise guy. You don't look much better." Young Peter groaned, putting back on his mask. "What the heck is Equestria?"
"The world I'm from." Twilight spoke up.
'More worlds than just this one. With another Spider-Man. Just what I need. As if my life already wasn't so crazy already.' Young Peter thought and huffed.
Grunting, Young Peter spoke, "Listen... My life is so ridiculous that you can make a Saturday-morning cartoon out of it. The last thing I need is a doppelganger running around with my name and some girl from Equestria or whatever."
Older Peter raised a brow, his mask doing the same. "What's wrong with you? Besides the usual Parker Luck, that is."
"Is that your scapegoat for everything?" Twilight asked. "You've been using that term for years now."
"It's a thing!" the older Peter said.
Twilight hummed, "Yeah right..."
"Okay... You have no idea what I went through." Young Peter scolded. "Things aren't picking up for me anytime soon if that's what you're going to say."
Older Peter spoke up, "I lost my girlfriend, a friend, died, left my world, was missing for four years before staying in Equestria, watched everyone I love die in an alternate future, and Twilight and her friends had to pick me up from a terrible funk. Try me." he countered in a stern tone, glancing at his doppelganger.
"If you need help, just say so." he added.
"..." Young Peter paused. "I'm fine. I just need to wrap my head around a few things. That's all." he shot a line of webbing behind him, swinging away.
"Hey, wait!" Older Peter shouted.
Twilight put a hand on his shoulder, "Let him go, Peter. He sounds like he needs space."
"Yeah... If we're here, I'm going to keep an eye on him. I understand he needs space, but it really looks like something's bugging him." he replied sternly.
The former alicorn sighed, "I know you want to, but this is his world. We should stay out of his business if he wants."
Peter turned his head as did Twilight at the sounds of the sirens blaring. They looked down, seeing police cars speed by, as though something was happening nearby. The man looked to his wife, "You know I can't leave that alone. We have to go do something while we wait for a portal to get us."
"...Fine." Twilight said, putting up the hood to her costume as her wings appeared behind her. Spider-Man swung away while Twilight flew next to him.
'Who does he think he is? Just because he's another Spider-Man, doesn't mean he can just dig into my personal life.' Young Spider-Man thought in annoyance. He swung to trail the police cars that were going somewhere, wherever he was needed.
Peter sighed, 'Alright, world. What is it this time?' he thought, 'With Goblin and Tombstone gone, there is no Big Man. Is it Black Cat paying me back after the Vault incident in anger? Doc Ock making a comeback? A new Big Man taking charge? Can I just get a hint?' he thought, crawling up a wall before hopping off again.
After a few minutes, Spider-Man perched on a roof, seeing the cars converge in front of a bank. 'Okay. Robbery. That should ease my mind up a little.' he hopped down, making an effort to reach the vents in order to sneak in.
From the ventilation shaft, he saw two villains he recognized with bags of money in their possession. One of them wore a yellow quilt-like costume with large gauntlets while the other wore a green robe with a purple dome over his head. 'Montana and Fishbowl? What business would they have robbing banks like this?' he scowled, 'I'm not gonna get answers from in here.'
"Come on, Beck. You know the Big Man wants this money." Shocker scolded Mysterio. "And it seems the coppers are waitin' fer us right outside."
"You do not scold Mysterio, Shocker." Mysterio responded arrogantly. "The alarms were well hidden from my magic."
"Oh, what a bizarre team-up we got here!" Spider-Man could be heard shouting, hopping from the ceiling, dropkicking Shocker, but the man used his gauntlets to blast the wall-crawler back to the ceiling, making him hit it with a loud thud.
"Seems we caught ourselves a Spider, Mysterio." Shocker chuckled to his partner. Spider-Man grunted, picking himself up off the ground very slowly.
Mysterio raised his hands, creating purple smoke, "Yes, it appears that way."
"Now why would the two of you ever join up?" Spider-Man asked, webbing up Mysterio's hands, before swinging up, hitting Shocker in the chest before landing on a wall. "Wait, let me guess. Master Planner? You guys know it's probably Ock right? And Beck, I know about your little bot trick back at the Vault."
Mysterio shot some lightning in Spider-Man's direction, "Mysterio need not of your trivial quips, Spider-Man! We need this money!" he saw Peter hop and somersault, avoiding the bolts.
Hearing something ring in his pocket, Peter raised his mask so that his mouth was visible, reached into his pocket and grabbed a phone, pressing a button. "Hello?" he called out.
"Is he on the phone?" Shocker asked, blasting more shockwaves in Peter's direction, the webslinger dodging each one.
'Peter? It's Gwen.'
"Oh!" Peter said, surprised, "What's up?"
'You've been a little... moody the past few days. Is everything alright with you?'
Peter answered, "Who me? Never better! Yep, definitely!" he lied, going to a one-hand stand and flipping onto the wall again, nearly kicking Mysterio, who moved to the left.
'...Is this about me and Harry? Peter, I told you--'
Spider-Man spoke up, "I promise. It's not that. At all. I just need some time to myself is all. I understand. Harry's in a rough spot and you need to be there for him." he sort of lied. "In fact, I'll probably speak with him today or tomorrow about what happened."
'Good. I don't want to give you the look again.'
The wallcrawler chuckled, "Trust me. I won't need that... See you, tomorrow?"
'Sure thing.' he heard the phone go to static after that and put the phone away, lowering his mask.
"Okay. Back to business--" Peter couldn't finish that sentence because Shocker landed a hit on him, knocking him through the glass windows of the bank.
"What's the status?" Captain Stacy asked.
"We're not sure. The inside is covered in smoke. We can't get in without compromising." the officer spoke.
"Huh. Looks like a bank robbery. How clichè."
Captain Stacy turned around, seeing a familiar wall-crawler and a hooded female. "Spider-Man! And..." he paused, unsure of who was with him at the moment.
"Call me the Amythest Sorceress." Twilight introduced herself.
Twilight looked at Peter, who was still, seemingly in shock. "Peter?" she asked worriedly.
"C-Captain Stacy?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes. You and I met before." Captain Stacy reminded him. "...Are you alright."
'Oh my God... He's alive in this world. Then that means...' Peter thought, his brain currently in freefall. "Nevermind that right now. What's happening in that bank?" he shrugged off.
"We're not sure. There's purple smoke. And we hear a lot of commotion, even though it should be empty at these hours." Captain Stacy revealed to the couple.
Peter's Spider-Sense went off, prompting him to hop in front of everyone instantly. "Get back!" he ordered loudly. Glass shattered as the younger Spider-Man was hurled outside, him landing on his side. "So, guess you didn't have this covered?"
"S-Shut up!" Young Peter huffed.
"Two Spider-Men?" Captain Stacy questioned in confusion.
Twilight shook her head, "You don't want to know." she flew up and hovered next to her husband. "You okay, Young Spider-Man?"
"Okay, that name is very demeaning..." grunted Young Peter, "...Call me the Spectacular Spider-Man."
"Then I guess I'll be Amazing if we're throwing out titles. Not the first tme an alternate Spider-Man called me that." Amazing Spider-Man quipped, "What's happening in there?"
"Didn't see this comin'." Shocker said, revealing himself at last. "Two wall-crawlers for us to squash. That's a new one."
Amazing Spider-Man chuckled, "Wow. I didn't think you'd sound like a male Applejack, Shocker." he said, getting into a fighting stance.
"This will be better than I thought." Mysterio added, shooting some lightning in his direction, prompting Amazing Spider-Man to flip in the air, shooting impact webbing into his hands, sticking his fingers together. That was when Twilight landed a hit on him with a concussive spell. "And is this your girlfriend?"
"Wife, actually!" Twilight corrected, hovering over to face Mysterio, who sent some miniature robots in her direction.
"Wife?!" Spectacular Spider-Man shouted, 'Even my alternate universe doppelganger has better luck than me!' he got up, kicking Shocker, his suit being reinforced allowed him to tank the blow. "Okay, Montana. Let's get this over with."
"Montana? As in Enforcers Montana?" Amazing Spider-Man questioned, "It's not like that in my world." he said. "Shocker's some other guy. A no name."
Captain Stacy yelled. "This city get crazier every darn day. Two of them..."
Spectacular Spider-Man turned his head back, "Everybody take cover!" he ordered. The cops nodded, evactuating the oncoming crowd surrounding the battlefield, ordering them to move back. Shocker moved an arm, creating a shockwave that knocked back two cars in the direction of thr crowd.
"I got this!" Amazing Spider-Man shouted, aiming a web-line to vault over to one of the cars. Spectacular did the same, moving onto the other car. They stuck to them and landed on their feet, holding the cars over their shoulders, gently putting them down on the ground. The people cheered them on.
'Woah! Actual recognition! That's new...' Spectacular Spider-Man mused happily, he and his counterpart jumping into the battle.
Meanwhile, Twilight used a forcefield to dodge each robot coming after her, each one exploding after hitting the shield. "Who are you supposed to be?" she asked.
"You have not heard of the Master of Illusion, Mysterio?!" Mysterio asked in disbelief.
"Okay. That sounds familiar." Twilight responded, teleporting nesr Mysterio, firing a bolt of magic out of her fingers, destroying another robot, the last one.
In response, Mysterio covered himself in purple smoke, hiding himself from Twilight's line of sight. The former alicorn turned around, elbowing Mysterio as he neared her. She blasted more magic in his direction, this time shattering the helmet. But she did not see a head underneath. "What in Equestria..."
It was a robot duplicate. Deciding she had enough, Twilight destroyed the rest of the robot, leaving the dome. She picked it up, having to explain to the younger Peter what happened.
Back with the Spider-Men and Shocker, the doppelgangers swung in and flipped, dodging another shockwave from Shocker. "It's about time I squashed the both of ya."
"Don't you villains sing any other tunes?" Spectacular Spider-Man quipped, landing on a police car.
"I feel your pain, Spectacular." Amazing responded lightly, standing next to him.
Their Spider-Sense went off, prompting them to dodge Shocker throwing a piece of debris at them. "Hey! Lay off the broken glass!" Amazing yelled, decking Shocker in the chest.
Spectacular Spider-Man shot two lines of webbing while upsidedowm in midair, the gossamer landing hitting Montana's gauntlets. While he was in freefall, the younger Peter crossed his arms, pulling on the lines and forcing Shocker to move his arms. The villain suddenly found himself unable to move.
That was when Amazing Spider-Man uppercutted Shocker, "Shoryuken!" he yelled, channeling the name of a move from an old ally of his. Montana was launched into the air. He hoped to land one last attack on the Spider-Men, but he realized that his gauntlets were jammed. The duo trapped Shocker in a coccoon, allowing them to question him.
Spectacular whistled, "Alright, Shocker. Why rob a bank with Mysterio? What's the plan there?"
Montana scowled, "The Big Man..."
The younger Peter chuckled, "Yeah, right. I trashed Tombstone's empire and Goblin's not here anymore. There is no Big Man anymore, fyi." he revealed.
"Big Man? That's a person I haven't heard about since my early days." the older Spider-Man added, "So, quilt-man. Who is behind this criminal empire? Doesn't sound like the one I know."
"I don't actually know." Montana revealed, "And even if I did, I wouldn't spill the beans to ya."
"Even if you're telling the truth. I'm gonna bring him down like I did before. Tell your boss that." Spectacular Spider-Man said in a deep voice, clenching his fists.
"Now where's his partner?"
"He's a fake." Twilight revealed, dropping the dome of the robot next to the Spider-Men. It was then Captain Stacy walked up to arrest the villain again.
"Well. I guess he doesn't want to reveal himself just yet. I'll take it from here you three." he shook his head, "Two Spider-Men."
Amazing Spider-Man cleared his throat, "Hey, Captain Stacy?" he called out. "This may be the last time you see me... Thank you for putting your trust in me. The other me."
The police captain tipped his hat, "It's an honor to work with you. You earned my respect despite what Jameson says about you."
Under his mask, Amazing Peter smiled. He swung away with his younger self and Twilight, who looked at him. "How do you feel?"
"Much better."
"Okay... So I may have a few issues." Spectacular Spider-Man revealed at last. "I was a little unfocused back there. If you're an older me, I'm willing to listen to some advice. I kinda need it right now."
"...Go on." Twilight gestured, "We just want to help. Like my friends and I did for this Peter."
The younger Peter sighed, "Okay. So basically, I was on a wild goose chase, found out the Green Goblin was my father's best friend, accidentally threw him into a silo of pumpkin bombs, killing him. My best friend won't talk to me, and the girl I have a crush on is dating him even though we know how we feel about one another, and I broke up with Liz Allan because of that. Now I'm being bullied twice as hard in school because they thought Liz broke up with me, and juggling my two lives is becoming harder than ever because of my brief stint with the Avengers." he gasped out.
"So, basically, I met Captain America after this whole Skrull invasion and fought some group called the Serpent Society, fought Kang with some New Avengers and fought off Galactus and became a reserve member, meaning my time is more thinned. I haven't made up with Harry yet and I'm on the fence about speaking to Gwen, and the Bugle's agenda is becoming bigger. As an older Spider-Man and another hero... Do you have any advice?"
"That was a lot to take in." Twilight admitted.
'Gwen's alive in this world... N-No... I can't complicate this world anymore. Gotta put those thought aside.' Older Peter thought.
"I've met Peter when he was depressed. He tried pushing us aside, though he was more than welcome in our world." Twilight began to say, putting a hand on the teen's shoulder. "He helped our world more than he thought. You should speak with your friend, make sure your bonds never die. Even if it's awkward, it's a start for you."
Amazing Spider-Man cleared his throat, "I was in a similar spot with you before. I thought I lost everything. That I had nothing left going for me. I couldn't have been more wrong. I fell in love with Twilight... That was when I started to realize things may not have been so bad, especially after her and her friends became mine. You're an Avenger, a title I never reached before I left. Unlike you, I never had the chance to make up with Harry. You do. We made mistakes before. Don't make the same ones I did."
"Basically, what I'm saying... Is that you can make this right. You gotta think positive. As Spider-Man, there are ups and downs. I'm living through them. But believe me. At the end, the pros outweigh the cons." he assured his younger self. Younger Peter nodded earnestly, understanding his doppelganger and Twilight's words.
"...I'll keep trying then. For your sakes as well as Uncle Ben's." Spectacular sighed. "I-I'll bring everything back together."
"That's good. Hopefully things pick up for you." Twilight said sincerely.
Suddenly, a portal opened up behind them. "That's our ride." Older Peter said.
Twilight looked at the wormhole, "Sorry, we can't stay. Good luck. You'll do great." she said before walking into the portal.
"Remember, kid. Be the Spectacular Spider-Man." Older Peter said before following.
"I will--" a ringing sound was heard, prompting Young Peter to pick up the phone. The older Peter chuckled before stepping in, the vortex closing behind him. He swung off, answering the message, "Hello?" he answered instantly.
'Peter?'
"Hi, Aunt May!"
'Are you alright? I heard about what happened near the library at the bank!'
"D-Don't worry, Aunt May! I'm fine! In fact, I'm better than ever! Sorry about worrying you, I'll be home in no time!"
He could hear his aunt sigh in relief, 'Thank goodness. Do be soon, dear.'
The teen chuckled, "I will. Love you."
He hung up the phone and thought while swinging, 'Well, starting tomorrow, I turn over a new leaf. No more brooding, no more isolation. I'm starting over. I gotta make up with Harry and Gwen tomorrow. And then I'm coming after the Big Man.'