Hello, Crazy Multiverse!
"If you can travel freely through the multiverse, then do you know who those two are?"
The Dutch kid looked at the drooling Lizard and then at Otto, who was still cursing under his breath, and asked the question with obvious curiosity.
"First of all, I still don't have the ability to freely travel through the multiverse. That's an extremely advanced kind of magic, and I can't use it. I just happen to get pulled toward other universes for some reason. Because of my stability, those universes don't treat me like an intruder and try to erase me."
Then Peter pointed at the Lizard in the first containment cell.
"But I do know who they are."
"That guy who looks like a lizard gone completely wrong is the Lizard. Real name, Curt Connors. Or you can call him Doctor Connors, because he really is a doctor in cross-species genetics. And the serum he created is what turned him into... that."
"Yeah, that's right. Strange just said I was originally supposed to die, and that part is true. In my universe, if I hadn't gotten spider powers, I would've become the Lizard. Because that Peter worked as his assistant."
"But once I learned what my fate was supposed to be, I made a different choice. I didn't study biological science, and my fate changed. So you could say my universe is another branch growing off Earth-65's timeline."
"Wait, hold on. You're saying you knew you were going to die?!"
Doctor Strange's eyes widened.
Every time he looked into someone's fate, he had to pay a terrible price for it. Yet this guy could apparently grasp his own destiny.
That was terrifying.
"When I was chosen, I learned my fate. It's a kind of dimensional ability."
Peter lied so smoothly it sounded effortless.
"That... does make a certain kind of sense. Becoming Sorcerer Supreme was also inevitable for me. The Ancient One said as much, and I could feel my fate changing too."
Doctor Strange thought back to it and nodded.
"Well, I hate to ruin that for you, but the Ancient One trained every disciple as if they were going to become Sorcerer Supreme. Yes, she told every one of them the same thing. So eventually one of them was bound to become Sorcerer Supreme. You just happened to have better luck."
Before crossing over, Peter had been just as much of a Marvel fan as he was a Spider-Man fan, so he'd read the related comics. He still remembered laughing when he saw how thoroughly Strange had been played.
"Hahahaha, this is the first time I've ever seen Mr. Strange lose like this. Hahahahaha..."
"Enough. Let me finish. That loud guy over there..."
Peter looked at Doctor Octopus, who was clearly trying to listen in on every word, and went on,
"This is Doctor Octopus. Full name Otto Octavius. He's a nuclear physicist. He modified himself and gave himself those octopus-like arms. Because the chip controlling the interface got damaged, he's usually only half-conscious, kind of like he is now."
"Honestly, he should count as one of the good guys."
"The third one is the guy we saw on the bridge earlier, the demon in green armor. His name is Norman Osborn, alias Green Goblin. Both of these two know him, because in their worlds, Norman funded their scientific research. At least that's how it worked in mine."
Peter pointed at the Lizard and Doctor Octopus.
"As for whether there are others here, I have no idea. I'm not some all-knowing prophet. I just happened to know these people existed in my universe."
"Pretty crazy multiverse, right?"
Peter shrugged.
"Hey, what are you people even talking about? Spells, magic, multiverse..."
Doctor Octopus looked completely lost. These new ideas were way too much for him to process. After all, he was just a nuclear physicist.
"Do you know a Spider-Man named Peter Parker?"
Doctor Strange asked.
He was also using the question to confirm his theory that the botched spell caused by the Dutch kid had started pulling people from other universes into this one.
"Of course."
"Is it one of these two?"
Strange pointed at the Dutch kid and Peter.
Otto looked at both of them and shook his head.
"All right. That still doesn't make any of this any less insane."
Even though he'd accepted reality, the whole thing was still too much for the Dutch kid. His brain felt like it was short-circuiting.
At the same time, somewhere on a street in Queens...
Vroooom. Vroooom. Vroooooom.
The roar of motorcycle engines rapidly grew louder. Dust kicked up in the distance as more than a dozen bikes tore down the road toward the area. Everyone riding them wore leather jackets and pants, with piercings and tattoos.
"Oh, look at that, boys. Spider-Man's public enemy number one now. Do you really think he's gonna show his face in public anymore?"
"It's party time."
The motorcycles surrounded the scene. The scar-faced leader got off his bike laughing, and the twisted scar running across his face was enough to rattle everyone nearby.
"Oh my God, it's the Black Wolves!!!"
A terrified shout rose from the crowd, and then the person who yelled was hit by a motorcycle and sent flying.
That was the city now.
Cruel people creating a cruel reality.
The people trapped inside the ring of motorcycles all froze in place, too afraid to move, terrified that if they did, they'd be the next one sent flying.
"Oh, thank the devil for sending such pretty girls right to us. I bet you'd all love to come have a drink with us, wouldn't you?"
The leader ignored everyone else and, along with his men, surrounded several girls who looked like high school students. They revved their engines aggressively to scare them, and the girls screamed in panic.
A lot of people liked to act like leather jackets, tattoos, and that whole biker image were cool.
Clearly, not everyone agreed.
"You're way too far out of line! Let those girls go!"
A strongly built male high school student tried to step up and act brave in front of the girl he liked, only to get dropped to the ground by a baseball bat before he could do anything. After that, no one else dared step forward.
The Black Wolves' leader looked over the crowd with open contempt, dug at one ear, and sneered.
"Anybody else wanna play hero? Louder. I can't hear you. Let me see what one of you brave little warriors looks like."
In the dead-silent crowd, a mechanical arm like one of Otto's tentacles suddenly shot in from outside the event space and slammed down.
The force was horrifying.
The Black Wolves leader was smashed into pulp instantly. The pavement cracked apart beneath him, and broken stone flew everywhere.
At the same time, an icy laugh rang out.
"Who said Spider-Man wouldn't dare show his face in public?"
(End of Chapter)
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