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Chapter 70 - Chapter 70: The Multiverse Strikes Back

Deep beneath the streets of Brooklyn, an abandoned subway cavern had been hollowed out and rebuilt into a cathedral of impossible technology. Glowing blue energy conduits snaked along the curved, reinforced steel walls. Two massive, magnetic acceleration emitters faced each other across a cavernous drop. Once fully powered, those emitters would smash subatomic particles together to tear a hole in the fabric of reality.

Wilson Fisk sat in the elevated control room. The Kingpin of Earth 700 was massive, a sheer wall of muscle and bespoke tailoring that made even the Fisk of Peter's universe look small.

His Sinister Six stood ready on the catwalks. They knew the city's lone, annoying bug was going to try and shut the machine down. Their only job was to swat him.

"When Spider-Man arrives," Fisk rumbled, his deep voice vibrating the reinforced glass of the control booth, "you do not let him leave alive."

Fisk didn't even get to finish his threat. A familiar, deeply aggravating voice echoed through the cavernous underground.

"Are you in here, Willie? Hello?"

The blond Peter Parker strolled casually out of a dark access tunnel. His footsteps echoed cleanly off the metal grates. He stepped fully into the light, immediately appearing on the control room's surveillance monitors. He didn't bother getting into a combat stance.

"How about we make a deal?" the blond Peter called out, cupping his hands around his mouth. "You surrender right now. In exchange, I'll let you stop wearing those stupid sunglasses indoors to hide your dark circles. Your machine is going to fail anyway."

Fisk didn't even blink. "Deal with him."

Fisk glanced at the hulking, monstrous figure of Norman Osborn. "Take him somewhere far away from the console. Do not let him touch the controls."

The Green Goblin let out a guttural roar. He spread a pair of massive, leathery bat wings. The beast launched himself from the catwalk, plunging down toward the blond Peter.

Peter didn't raise a hand. He didn't even flinch.

"Because, as the old spider said," the blond Peter smirked, "when you play with parallel universes, the parallel universes play back."

The charging Goblin never saw the shadow drop from the ceiling.

Miguel O'Hara slammed into the Goblin's back like a freight train. He deployed the energized red talons on his fingertips. Miguel slashed downward, burying his claws into the Goblin's thick hide and driving the massive monster face-first into the concrete floor.

A second later, the blond Peter fired a web-line and launched himself toward the control room. The Peter Parker of Earth-616 swung right beside him.

"Quick question," Peter yelled over the rushing wind. "Did you call yourself the 'old spider' just so we could tell each other apart?"

"No," the blond Peter shot back. "I meant I'm experienced and wise."

Up in the control booth, Fisk stared at the monitors in genuine bewilderment. Two identical Spider-Men were swinging toward his console, while a massive, blue-and-red armored variant was currently brutalizing his Goblin on the lower floor.

Doctor Liv Octavius simply pushed her glasses up her nose. A manic, thrilled smile stretched across her face. "The collider must have worked during the preliminary spin-up. Mr. Fisk, my machine pulled them through!"

"If your definition of success is importing two extra Spider-Men to ruin my city, then congratulations," Fisk growled. He pointed at the primary console. "Keep the sequence running. Do not stop. The others will kill the bugs."

"According to the playbook, I've got Scorpion!" Peter shouted, shifting his trajectory.

He aimed a web-line at MacDonald Gargan, but a blur of purple and green intercepted him. Aaron Davis scaled a support pillar in three heavy strides. The Prowler leaped off the concrete.

Peter dropped his web-line. A metallic throwing knife severed his silk an inch from his fingers. Peter twisted backward in mid-air to dodge the Prowler's follow-up swipe.

"Change of plans!" the blond Peter yelled, pivoting in mid-air. He landed hard on a steel gantry directly between Scorpion and Tombstone. "You take the Prowler! I've got these two!"

Down on the main floor, the Green Goblin finally shook off the ambush. The massive beast bucked upward, throwing Miguel off his back.

The Goblin spun around. He opened his massive, reptilian jaws. A torrent of blistering orange fire erupted from his throat.

Miguel didn't have a spider-sense to warn him. He relied entirely on raw reflexes. He threw himself sideways, the flames scorching the paint off his armor. He rolled back to his feet, narrowing his eyes at the monster.

The Earth 700 Goblin stood nearly ten feet tall. His wingspan easily cleared fifteen feet. He flexed a set of razor-sharp claws and roared.

"The kid was right," Miguel muttered. "You really should change your name to the Green Dragon."

The Goblin charged forward like a rabid animal. He didn't bother using his wings. He just ran, tearing up the concrete with every heavy footstep.

Miguel had fought a Hulk in 2099. He had fought an Alchemax-engineered Goblin. He wasn't intimidated by size.

"Here is a tip for you, big guy," Miguel said coldly.

Miguel extended his right hand. The holographic AI on his wrist flared. Lyla instantly fed structural weaknesses and trajectory algorithms directly into Miguel's optical sensors. Miguel's accelerated vision slowed the charging monster down to a crawl.

Miguel dropped his center of gravity. He waited for the exact millisecond the Goblin overextended its stride.

Miguel vaulted upward. His energized talons flashed crimson.

He carved five deep, precise trenches across the Goblin's chest. Thick blood sprayed across the floor. The kinetic force of Miguel's upward strike sent the massive monster flying backward.

The Goblin crashed heavily onto the steel grating. Crimson steam hissed from Miguel's superheated claws.

"You lose to us in 2018," Miguel growled. "You lose to us in 2099. Get used to it."

The Goblin let out a deafening shriek. He used his wings to violently push himself off the ground. He took flight, dragging his bulky body up into the air. He opened his jaws and spewed another concentrated pillar of fire down at Miguel.

Miguel broke into a sprint. He ran straight up the curved inner wall of the collider tunnel. The Goblin twisted its neck, tracking him. The flames trailed inches behind Miguel's boots.

When Miguel reached the apex of the ceiling, directly above the beast, the Goblin craned its neck straight up.

Miguel triggered his spinnerets. He didn't use synthetic fluid. A thick cord of black, organic webbing shot from his wrist.

The web slapped directly over the Goblin's open jaw. Miguel yanked hard. The monster's flaming mouth snapped entirely shut.

Blinded and choking on its own smoke, the Goblin panicked. He flapped his wings wildly. He slammed headfirst into the top of the tunnel, careening out of the primary test chamber and spiraling into a wider construction shaft. He entered a steep freefall.

The Goblin managed to stabilize his descent. He waited. He watched the shadows above, waiting for the futuristic Spider-Man to swing after him so he could burn the web line.

He never got the chance.

Miguel didn't swing. He flew.

The anti-gravity fabric in Miguel's suit engaged. He rocketed down the shaft like a missile. He grabbed the back of the Goblin's thick skull with both hands. Miguel triggered his thrusters, accelerating their fall, and drove the Goblin's head directly into the reinforced steel outer wall of the collider.

The impact buckled the steel. The Goblin's head wedged firmly into the cratered metal.

Miguel drove his talons deep into the exposed flesh of the Goblin's neck. A standard dose of paralyzing venom hadn't worked on this variant. Miguel squeezed his glands, flooding the beast's bloodstream with a massive, concentrated dose of the neurotoxin.

The Goblin spasmed once. Then, the massive beast went completely limp.

PS: Marvel Fun Fact (Spider-Man 2099 Edition) Unlike Peter Parker, Miguel O'Hara (Spider-Man 2099) did not get his powers from a radioactive spider bite. While attempting to cure a forced drug addiction by resetting his DNA to his original human baseline, a jealous co-worker sabotaged the machine, splicing his genetics with a spider-code he had previously researched. Because of this accident, his powers are vastly different. He lacks a spider-sense entirely. However, he has enhanced vision (allowing him to see in total darkness and process information at incredible speeds), organic webbing that shoots from his forearms, venomous fangs, and retractable talons on his fingers and toes that can slice through solid metal.

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