Alongside me was Captain Armor—we were just a few blocks away from the towering Oscorp Building... a few blocks away from them.
“So why again are we going to Oscorp?” Shining asked me.
I turned to him and began to recall the aftermath of the Rainbooms’ arrests.
“After the Rainbooms were arrested and Princess Twilight went home, Oscorp approached me about the school statue that happened to be the gateway to Equestria and asked permission to take it away, saying that it could be the key to Multiversal travel. I gave it to them—I just wanted to get the damned thing away from my school... turns out that all that did was make it easier for them to find it.” I said as I took the spare handgun Shining gave me earlier...
“You still have to tell me where you’ve learned how to shoot so well.” Shining said to me as we parked...
I turned to him and smiled.
“I would, but you may decide to arrest me if you did.” I said as I loaded the pistol.
Behind us, over 20 other cars parked and we all marched towards the smoking building, the heat soaking our faces as some of us started to cough from the smoke.
“Jeez... the first floor’s on fire, someone call the Fire Department! The rest of you, look for survivors!” Shining coughed, while I felt the ground beneath us shake and rumble...
“What the hell’s that?” An officer asked as Shining grabbed an oxygen mask from the cop car and handed me an extra.
I set it on and I went over to the elevator, noticing that it was gone, and underneath was a seemingly bottomless pit...
“So Oscorp decided to bury its secrets underground... we’re going to need rappelling equipment, everyone stand--”
Behind us stood Adagio and Flash, each of them in new looks, with Adagio wearing an odd M-shaped crown on her head and her suit colored red, while Flash was somewhat the same, save for being slightly bulkier and his logo somewhat changed. With them was the other Twilight, wearing a set of armor unlike anything I’ve ever seen, holding a small sword—unlike the one she was reported using on the news recently.
“I think we can help.” Flash said... through Venom as he used the alien creature inside of him to form a tendril wrapping around a hook atop the shaft and he started rappelling down while Adagio lit the way with red beams.
A moment passed as I realized that Pip wasn’t with them, I went to ask, but Twilight cut me off.
“They found him on a rooftop a few miles from the city limits... he was beaten pretty bad. S.W.O.R.D has him at an outpost somewhere... he should be okay.” She told me.
I began shaking with anger and clenched my fists, and Shining didn’t pretend to not see it.
“They won’t get away this time... we’re ending this—tonight.” He assured me.
He then turned to the other Twilight, which admittedly would be a strange experience...
“Twily...?” He asked her.
“BBBFF...” Twilight said to him, somewhat happy to see an alternate version of her brother.
Unwilling to ask what that acronym meant, I kept silent, believing it was part of Equestrian culture. Another moment passed, and Flash then called out to us.
“Ok! Come on down, nice and slow!”
Shining cleared his throat and turned back to his officers.
“Alright, guys—you all know your training, you all have your assignments. When we’re down there, do not engage with the Rainbooms—they have their Geodes back, and along with their new powers, they’re a force to be reckoned with. Just stand on the sidelines, look for civilians, and let the heroes do their job. Now, I want half of you with us, the rest of you evacuate the building, and maybe the next few blocks... we have no idea what’s down here... Let’s move!” Shining ordered.
I slowly, painfully opened my eyes as the first thing I heard was a heart monitor... with my sister next to me.
“You’re up...” She said, much to my surprise.
I tried to get up, but powerful aches put me right back in.
“Easy, hero—you still need time to heal.” Diamond said to me, still wearing her Ironheart armor.
I groaned out as I soon noticed that Octavia was wearing that damned vest, and it had bullet holes and blood riddled all over it.
“This was my fault... I should’ve been out there with you—this wouldn’t have happened otherwise...” Diamond lamented.
I let out a faint smile as I’ve found myself in this position countless times...
“It’s not on you—that Chameleon tech could’ve fooled all of us. So... Octavia, who did you murder this time?” I asked.
She chuckled and adjusted her seat as Diamond took a step back from us.
“Robots, actually. Yeah, they had a whole facility of robotic guards—good for you and your precious code, right?” She mockingly asked.
I scoffed and shook my head.
“I became Spider-Man because of you... when Sunset put you in that spell, all I could think about was bringin’ her to justice--”
Octavia loudly scoffed and got up from her seat.
“Pip, they are out there, right now, killing innocent people, and you’re talking to me about justice?! You want to know what justice looks like? Look at the Apple Family.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s the shining example of justice-- you butchered them all, for Christ’s sake!”
“You know full well that they deserved it!”
“That doesn’t make it right--”
Octavia let out an angry growl as she gave up and threw her chair across the room, causing one poor nurse to give a startled shout.
“Right?! Let me tell you what isn’t right! Vinyl Scratch was beaten and... violated by the Apples, and the police didn’t do a damned thing about it! One day, Pip, you're going to meet someone-- someone who tests your code, your allegations to it, and they won’t give you a choice! I learned the hard way that the only way to stop hate? Put a gun to its head and pull the trigger.”
Diamond finally stepped back into the conversation.
“I hate to say it, Pip... but she has a point. I don’t regret letting the Apple Family get wiped out, and neither should you.”
I kept silent for a moment, sighing and lowering my head...
“You agree with me, don’t you?” Octavia mockingly smiled.
“...I do... somewhat. When I was bonded with Venom, I found Big Mac and Braeburn in the Bar with No Name... I almost killed them, ‘Tavi... I almost turned into you.”
She didn’t say anything, she sat on another nearby chair and leaned forward, wanting to hear more.
“In that moment... I felt what you feel, every day. It scared me; it was like... like a drug. You may be right—some people do deserve to die, to make sure that they don’t commit their sick actions ever again... but who are we to decide that? It’s not our call on who lives and dies—the moment we decide that, we become no better than the bad guys...”
I clearly saw Diamond go to say something, but she hesitated and stopped. Octavia barely reacted to me, aside from raised eyebrows which lasted for a split second.
“And you’re trying to tell me about how you killin’ people’s making a difference? You know what I’ve noticed about history? Every time someone tries endin’ hate with hate, it just leads to more hate... How long do you think before someone else uses that skull as a symbol for their actions? What if they decide that if one cop is dirty, that they’re all dirty? What if a confused person interprets your killings as a calling and shoots down people who they consider awful? It’s only a matter of time before you become a symbol of hate, Octavia... and I’m not going to be here for you when it does...”
Octavia scowled, and before we could say anymore... Aria walked past us, holding a vial of blood.
“Aria? Good to see you back.” I smiled, relieved to be able to change the subject of conversation.
She cracked a faint smile, and let out a sniff, much to my surprise.
“That weird smell in your blood’s almost gone, you should be able to fight...” She said, glancing at Octavia before walking away.
“What was that about?” I asked the now-shaken Octavia.
She kept silent as she got up from her seat and glanced at me, my pains starting to feel smaller and smaller,
“Nothing. Get better soon, we’re heading out as soon as you are.” Octavia said as she walked off in a huff.
I turned to Diamond, who simply sighed and walked away as well, most likely to get ready, because my former aches were now just small pains... I was able to move my hands around slightly, and as I did, my other limbs soon followed, and I started moving out of the bed, setting my feet on the ground as I suddenly realized that my suit was gone...
“My, my... looking for this?” A familiar voice asked as I turned around and saw my suit in the air, being held by...
“Rarity... Heh, not the worst person I’ve seen all day.” I chuckled as I took my suit from her and started putting it on, thankful that it was slightly bulky and somewhat held its form as opposed to skintight.
“For your sake, I shall take that as a compliment. So, the ‘Sinister Six’, hmm? Not my favorite title, but beggars cannot be choosers, I suppose.” Rarity giggled as I pulled up the zipper in the back and pulled the mask over my face, becoming Spider-Man once again.
“I’m just glad that the suit’s okay.” I said, admiring the fact that there were no signs of the beating I had taken.
Rarity let out a scoff and put on her eye-mask.
“You have no idea how difficult patching that suit up is—perhaps you shouldn’t start fights you cannot finish.”
I tilted my head in agreeance as Octavia and Aria reentered the room, with Aria and Rarity glaring each other down.
“Ah-- I could smell your perfume a mile away before I was in Alkai Lake. Hope there’re no hard feelings about last year, not my fault we kicked your friends’ asses.” Aria chuckled as she walked off.
We were all marching through the massive corridors beneath Oscorp with Adagio lighting the way—these must’ve spanned out into the entire city...
“Jesus... all of this-- just below our feet?” Flash asked as we continued on, noticing the scorch marks on the walls.
“It turns out Oscorp had more secrets than we thought.” I said to him.
“Yeah... but why did Oscorp bring the statue all the way down here?” Flash asked back.
“We’re close... I’m sensing Equestrian magic nearby... a lot of it...”
Flash and the police all had their guns trained as I stepped ahead, stopping at a larger door with light flashing from the other side, and I used my magic to blow the door open, allowing all of us to enter.
Inside the room was a massive machine, stretching across the massive lab, with the Canterlot horse statue on the side, linked to wires and computer monitors that Doc Ock hand two of her mechanical arms manage, while holding the other Twilight’s sword in her claw. The machine itself had four main parts, curving up and settling at an angle aiming down at the base. While the others entered behind me, I noticed the other five, their silhouettes visible from the bright light piercing the entire room, with their Geodes shining across their necks.
“Silver, what’s going on over there?” Diamond asked from behind us.
“SCANNING... COSMIC ENERGY LEVELS ARE OFF THE CHARTS, STRUCTURAL INTEGRETY IS LOWERING.” I barely heard Diamond’s A.I through her helmet, but it was there.
“We need to stop them—fast.” Diamond said as she fired a repulsor into Doc Ock’s mechanical arm, only for her to move her arm out of the way at the last moment.
Twilight hopped down and turned to face us, revealing that she has the gem in the sword removed...
“Hmm... now, where do I give this to? Sunset, you’ve handled its power before, and your body didn’t react too well, the rest of you have your Geodes back... decisions, decisions...” She pondered for a moment before slamming the gem against her forehead as it sunk into her, just like it did to Sunset that faithful night.
“Twilight, stop! You don’t know what it’ll do to you!” Flash shouted as he used Venom to form tendrils to the wall behind her and tried to zip over to her, only for Sunset to fly over and wrap her arms around him, holding him in place.
“Oh, no—you aren’t ruining this one!”
Doc Ock began to float, her arms raising from the ground as her eyes began glowing blue, and she was wrapped in magic—the shell forming around her seemed like a cocoon, or an egg.
I ran in first, flying up to try and get to her, but Rainbow used her old super-speed and her new electricity powers to jump up and grab me.
“Oh, I missed pushing people around!” She cackled as she tossed me across the room, with me stopping just before hitting the wall.
As I flew back into the fight, the gateway started shooting out arcs of magic, grinding into the walls of the lower level like paper, showing daylight from the city above...
“Shut it off, Doctor! You don’t know the first thing about what you’re doing!” Twilight cried out as she used a lead pipe as a replacement sword.
Doc Ock didn’t respond as her cocoon broke open, and the first thing we saw were the four mechanical arms, now flowing purple and light blue as they sank into the ground and Doc Ock rose out of it... but she wasn’t the same. Her skin was a darker purple, her eyes were glowing blue, and her mechanical arms seemed almost endless as they continuously stretched out like clay. Topping the new form was an alicorn’s horn extending out of her head.
“Twilight...?” Sunset asked as she started flying towards her.
Shining’s hand was on his mouth in horror as Doc Ock began to laugh, but her voice was... different.
“Just her inhibitions...” The new voice smiled as Shining took a step forward.
“M... Midnight?” He asked.
This new person looked up to him and smiled yet again, but this time, she cackled.
“You called?” Midnight asked him as she used her new magic to transform her mechanical arms into a pair of wings.
Shining backed away and shook his head as Midnight lowered herself and took a moment to stretch her legs before letting out a cold laugh.
“Twilight never told you all her plan, did she? Well, allow me to shed some light: ever since last year, something has happened in the Omniverse—the multiple Multiverses have begun collapsing with crisis after crisis and multiple universes being extinguished... Twilight believes that the only salvation for our world is to take it... and expand... and she was just missing one small ingredient...” She said as her horn let out a glow as she cackled maniacally.
“...and now, using the Elements of Harmony and the Geodes... we will conquer Equestria, and beyond, until this whole universe knows the Sinister Six!”
She dove towards us and I flew out of the way, only to land next to Scorpion’s tail and narrowly held it back with my magic. Hammerhead’s head began to glow orange through crack-like scars as she charged at me, only for me to outstretch my free arm and form another barrier that Hammerhead managed to crack with her enhanced strength mixed with the unbreakable metal over her skull. As I fought to hold the two back, I saw Carnage slither over to me and extend a blade from her arm...
Just before she drove it into me, Flash got involved and used Venom to pull her back. Carnage turned to him and cackled, changing her form into an outstretched version of her.
“Ooh, I love this game! Follow the Killer, Daddy!” Carnage cheered as she slithered her way into another corridor, with loud slashes being heard, along with screaming.
“Flash, you and Venom go get her—we'll focus on them!” I shouted as Flash charged in after Carnage.
I pushed Hammerhead and Scorpion away and rallied next to Ironheart, with us standing back-to-back as the Six swarmed around us, with Sunset and Doc Ock in the air, Hammerhead and Electro on the ground, with the latter shooting out sparks and arcs of electricity that touched the walls, and Scorpion was on her mechanical legs, overlooking us as they crept closer towards us.
I ran as fast as I could after Carnage, thanking Venom for his enhanced stamina. As we ran, we saw the... well... carnage she left behind, with the bodies of officers covered in blood and some of them... wrinkled and decayed.
“So, V—you never told me about how a piece of you turned into... this.”
Well... do you recall when Pinkamena was blasted with Sunset’s powers?
“Yeah, but that doesn’t make any sense—how could that magic turn your piece into a separate creature?”
Klyntar are a mysterious species, Flash—there's no way of telling how magic affects us, that’s why I would prefer to avoid it when possible.
As we continued, I saw more and more devastation and corpses from Carnage’s killing spree, with drawings on the wall drawn out of blood, depicting stick figures Carnage, Venom, and I as some sort of family, almost like a kindergartener’s drawing. In the background of the scribbles were several stick-figure bodies with parts of them missing, and on top, big sloppy letters...
WE ARE FAMILY.
So... what’s the plan?
“I was kinda hoping you had one...” I said as behind me, I heard the sound of slithering as well as sounds I could have only associated with Venom.
Heads up!
I rolled out of the way as Carnage came crashing down from the ceiling, now about 15 feet tall and pieces of her latching to the walls and ceiling.
“Where’d you go? I was getting worried?” She asked in a somewhat concerned voice as I noticed bodies getting absorbed into her...
Oh, no... she’s draining their life force!
Okay, and what the hell does that mean?
Expect a long fight ahead of us...
Sure enough, Carnage charged towards us, far more massive than we are, and trapped us inside a form of cocoon, and inside was Pinkamena, who began approaching us with a maniacal trance in her eyes.
“Look at what we can do! We can have so much fun, now, Flashie!” She hopped and giggled.
“This is over, Pinkamena...” I said, slowly getting closer to her.
She let out a laugh and charged at us, letting out a loud scream as she did.
I was close... I could feel it.
I followed the parade of cop cars to the Oscorp Building—but that was the easy part. The elevator was out and I assumed that they all went to the bottom. I pressed a button on my billy club and a grappling hook formed on the top, and I stabbed it into the ground, beginning my descent down to the depths of Oscorp...
They weren’t getting away, this time-- not without facing penance for what they had done.
The fight with the remaining Sinister Six had not gotten any easier, Ironheart and I were pinned against the wall as the rest of the Six continued fighting, with Electro fusing lightning with her super-speed in attempts to cause a short in Ironheart’s armor. Hammerhead was my main opponent, given her enhanced strength was genuinely starting to wear me down...
I had sworn against mind control many years ago, but tonight, my vow was getting tested...
“Aw, what’s wrong, little witch? Gettin' tired?” Hammerhead asked with a sinister grin on her face while cracking her knuckles.
Panting for breath, I adjusted my stance and formed two shields from my hands...
“I can do this all day...” I said as I charged back into the fight.
Without a second thought, she punched me back and into the wall... I tried to free myself, but I was starting to feel weak, and my vision was blurry...
“Man, I don’t even remember who you are all too well... but I can’t help but feel like you deserve this...” She laughed as she began to charge towards me...
Only for a part of a baton attached to a cord to smack her in the face and pull back to reveal...
“Applejack... your time for penance has come.” Vinyl said as everyone stopped fighting and turned to her, who was finally exposed to the light and standing above us on a safety rail.
Vinyl’s suit was a deep shade of red, almost black, wearing thin, armored pads on her chest, elbows, knees, and forearms. Her cowl was all-black with what seemed like devil’s horns on her head and all-red eye lenses... the most noticeable part on her suit was her utility belt, which had throwing knives, smoke bombs, and her baton, which by now was put back together and in her hands.
“And... who the hell are you?” She asked as she noticed the other four backing away in fear...
Vinyl finally removed her cowl with a click of a strap, and she revealed her face...
Her blue hair ran down just past her neck and it was straightened, one red eye pierced into each of our souls as her other had a long scar and was whitened out.
It was almost as if Hammerhead had seen a ghost, as she started panicking and backed away, just to fall on her back and begin crawling away.
“Y-you... You!” She screamed in horror.
Vinyl screamed back, but in rage as she lept off of the railing and landed next to Hammerhead, who went to punch her with her enhanced strength...
But Vinyl shifted out of the way and grabbed her arm and drove it against her knee, breaking it. I cringed in shock as Hammerhead let out a painful scream and got to her feet, now holding her limp arm.
“You... you... bitch!” Hammerhead screamed as she reared her head back and went to slam it against her.
She jumped past it, wrapped her legs around her head, and shifted her weight towards a set of consoles, wedging her head into them as electricity shot out and her body started to jerk out. Vinyl then backed away and ran towards her, using debris from our fight to gain higher ground, and lept above her and dove down, giving her a flying elbow drop as blood shot out from the now-fried consoles... after a moment to catch her breath, Vinyl went over and yanked her Geode away, holding it in her hands.
As I gained my footing and recharged my powers, I saw Ironheart’s armor start to fail.
“No, no, no... damn it!” She said as her armor plates exploded away from her, and her suit’s exoskeleton disconnecting from her...
The other four were too terrified by Vinyl to do anything, save for Midnight, who charged towards her with a demonic screech...
Only for webs to string her up to the roof.
The crater in the street was pretty hard to miss, and just after I webbed Doc Ock’s new, glowing purple form up, I swung over to Adagio, who I noticed was barely able to stand and had blood running down her head.
“’Dagi, you okay? You’re bleeding, you’re--” My worries were cut off her putting one finger up against my mask and she slowly pulled the very bottom of my mask up with it...
“Just come here, Spidey.” She smiled as she pulled me into a kiss, one that I returned.
We held it long enough for me to just barely hear a gunshot, which caused me to pull away and turn to see Octavia standing over Applejack’s corpse.
“No!” I cried as I used my webs to pull her shotgun away from her and snapped it in two in my hands.
Octavia glanced at me and didn’t say a word, with spots of blood on her face as she turned to the remaining three, who were all backing away in fear, save for Doc Ock, who was webbed onto the ceiling.
“It’s over! Stand down, remove your Geodes, and turn yourselves in!” She said, pulling out a handgun from the side of her armored vest.
The others didn’t need to think as they pulled their Geodes off and tossed them towards us, getting on their knees and surrendering as Doc Ock let out a growl and used her new wings to slash through my webbing and break out.
“You... insolent fools! Why did Twilight ever rely on you for something she should’ve just done herself?!” Doc Ock screeched as she dove towards us...
Before she could get close, however, the alternate Twilight threw a pipe at her head, causing the gem to be gently knocked out of her skull, just reaching her forehead...
“No! I won’t let her take control again!” ...Whoever this is screamed as she tried pushing the gem back in...
I took the opportunity, shot my webs towards it and began to pull downwards. As I did, this person inhibiting the body of my world’s Twilight Sparkle started to scream out as with one final yank, the gem hit the ground with a clink and the other Twilight wasted no time pacing over to it and picking it up.
“I am never losing this thing again...” She said as she held out her hand and her sword flew over to her, allowing her to set the gem back inside of it.
A moment later, we heard a shout coming from deeper in the facility.
“Oh, no—Flash!” Aria shouted as she shot out her claws and Twilight began levitating in the air and they both ran/flew into the corridors.
While they ran off, the machine that the statue was wired to started to glow as a large, blue substance started forming and growing in the center.
“Uh... guys? That doesn’t look good...” Diamond said as she pointed to the growing blorb as Doc Ock/Midnight looked up from the floor.
“No... no, it’s not good at all!” She began to laugh uncontrollably as S.W.O.R.D agents entered the facility from the crater in the ceiling.
As we all struggled to understand what was happening, an arc of lightning shot out from the portal that was forming and struck my mother, with her letting out a painful screech.
“Mom!” Octavia, Adagio, and I shouted as we ran over to her and checked her pulse, feeling a very faint one...
“Get her out of here, now!” Shining paniced as a few officers ran over with a stretcher and began lifting her up, preparing to escort her from the scene...
After a long and exhausting fight, I was covered in small cuts and had a black eye as I turned to see Carnage on the ground, trapped by Venom’s tendril-webs, and giggling to herself.
“I can see where you got your experience from, Flashie—this ain’t yer first rodeo, is it?” She laughed in a fake accent as I limped over to her.
“...Why? Why are you doing all of this? What are you trying to achieve?” I asked her.
She stopped laughing and she turned to me with a genuinely tragic look in her eyes.
“I... just wanted us to be a family... a... a happy one.” She whispered to me, with her voice starting to crack.
I hesitated at that comment and sighed, knowing what I had to do. I had Venom remove the tendril restraints on her and as she got up on her feet, I had Venom unenvelop me.
What are you doing?!
Venom, just trust me...
Pinkamena saw my gesture and unenveloped from Carnage. She took a step towards me, and finally ran towards me in an embrace, one that I returned.
“It’s okay... it’s okay.” I said to her as she began crying on my shoulder.
As I held her, I saw Aria and Twilight run in, and I held my hand out to stop them.
“It’s okay...” I told them as I pulled away from Pinkamena.
“Turn yourself in—I'll make sure they’ll take care of you.” I said to her.
She looked up at me and wiped a tear from her face.
“Will you visit?” She whispered.
I let out a small nod as she jumps for joy as S.W.O.R.D agents come in and put handcuffs on her. As they take her away, I let out a sigh of relief over how well that went.
I’ll admit—that could have gone worse.
The poor girl just wants a family—her first one wasn’t exactly picture perfect...
As I walk over to the other two, we are knocked down by a rumble and an explosion ringing out from the lab... we started running as fast as we could towards the lab, hoping that everyone was okay...
WARNING—STATUS CRITICAL, EVACUATE. EVACUATE. EVACUATE.
The loud intercom was enough to send most of the S.W.O.R.D agents packing as they carried the Six away, their Geodes falling to the ground.
“Fall back! We need to evacuate the city, now!” Diamond panicked as pieces of her armor began levitating in the air, along with the Geodes...
I noticed a computer screen still on and I began walking over to it, only for Adagio to stop me.
“Pip?! What’re you doing?! You heard her, we need to get out of here—I can’t contain this one!” She said as her amulet was a bright red as she tried her hardest to maintain a forcefield around all of Oscorp.
I let out a sigh, pull my mask off, and took her hands.
“Adagio... it’s okay. I can stop this, at least minimalize the blast radius...” I glanced over to Shining, “Tell your men to evacuate the nearest buildings in at least a 5 block radius!” I shouted to him.
"Already did! Come on, men, fall back!" Shining shouted as I turned back to Adagio.
A tear started to fall down her face as she took hold of the hand holding my mask.
“No... I’ll stay, too-- I can help you control it, I--”
I took a moment to wipe the tear away and I then leaned my head into hers.
“It’s okay... this city’s gonna need someone to look after it...” I said as I held her in an embrace.
She held me back, letting her sobs be heard.
“I can’t lose anyone else... not you, too, please...” She begged.
I let out a sigh as I knew that I was short on time and broke the embrace.
“You can, ‘Dagi... you can do anything. I know you can... I need you to get the others out of here, okay?” I asked her, and she sniffled as she nodded.
“Okay... I’ll do it.” She said as she backed away and formed a field around everyone else, with my mask still in her hand.
As she did, I saw Flash, Aria, and Twilight walk in and see what I was about to do...
“Pip? W-what're you doing? You can’t... Pip?!” Flash asked as Twilight set her hand on his shoulder and started lifting him off of the ground until he pulled away and ran over to me.
“Pip... don’t do this...” He said to me, and I just let out a sigh and set my hand on his shoulder.
“Help Adagio look after this city for me... I’m sorry, man...” I said as I held him in a hug and shot a web out towards the force field, which latched on to it...
“Don’t do this... I can help you, I can--” I shot the web to his back and let him go, shooting him back into the force field.
I couldn’t hear them, but I saw the looks on Octavia and Flash’s faces when they realized what I was doing. They started trying to break the field, and Adagio stood her ground and let out a weak smile, with me waving one last goodbye, as she flew up and carried the others away from the scene.
With the emotional part out of the way, I ran over to the console and started typing away, using every shut-down code, every different line of code I could find, and it seemed like it worked, as the large portal forming in the machine began shrinking...
“Okay... progress...” I said as I kept typing away...
It was going so well, too... until I ran out of shut-downs, and the portal let out a roar as I was quickly and violently sucked into it...
BOOM!
A loud explosion of energy shot out into the city as Oscorp’s lights went out and back on, along with every building nearby as the roads below us cracked and broke...
And Octavia let out a blood-shrilling scream as we continued flying away...
Pip was gone...
And I had no idea what to do.
There was nothing you could’ve done, Flash... he made his choice.
Adagio flew down and we wound up on a rooftop, where Adagio fell to her knees and began sobbing, holding Pip's mask against her face, while almost all of us forming tears and my throat beginning to burn. I walked over to her and knelt down with her, resting my hand on her shoulder, with tears beginning to flow, as well...
I saw someone move next to us, and I saw Diamond kneel down and set her hand on my shoulder. Aria and Twilight went to the other side of Adagio and knelt down as well.
We didn’t say a word to each other, we didn’t do anything at all... we just knelt for what felt like hours, as rain began to fall...
“...Is he still alive...?” My vision was blurry as I heard a voice that sounded like Fluttershy ask.
…
“Make way...!” I heard a voice with a hispanic accent shout.
…
“Keep him stable...!” I heard a doctor say.
…
…
…
I slowly opened my eyes, in a hospital room, as I began to notice my surroundings.
I was in a hospital room, with tubes sticking into me, as I noticed that I was still in my suit, and it was torn in numerous places...
I then turned to my left, and I saw the Rainbooms sitting there, along with Flash and another person...
“You okay, desconocido?” The other guy asked as I began to panic...
I yanked the tubes out of me and rushed to get up, only for odd pains and overall weakness stopping me.
“Whoa, whoa, easy, there, dude—you were in pretty bad shape when we found you... so, what’re you Pipsqueak’s older brother or something?” Flash asked me, acting like I was a stranger.
I had no idea how to respond to him other than opening the door and starting to run down the hall, only for trip and slowly limp back up. As I went, I heard a voice that I had never heard before...
“No, I can’t say that he’s my brother... Why, what’s the resemblence?” A british accent like mine asked as I saw a small, frail figure down the hall turn and see me...
He had white skin, like me... brown hair, like me... and the exact same birth mark on my eye...
It took me a moment to realize that the gateway sucked me up... and I was in an alternate dimension...
Behind me, the kid from earlier ran up to me and helped hold me up as my legs started to give.
“Easy, tough guy—my name’s Sky Armor, we aren’t gonna hurt you... we just wanna know why you were saying my friends’ names in your sleep, and why you look like the pequeñin over there, you feel me?”
I was in complete shock—I was surrounded by people I knew, but they were complete strangers...
“Because... I am him...” I said as my vision grew blurry again and everything went dark around me, with my body hitting the ground with a thud...