2099.
This was the most likely future of the primary universe.
The age of heroes had long since passed into history.
New York City had become known as New York Prime—a sprawling cyberpunk metropolis covered in neon advertisements and holographic displays.
And the Spider-Man of New York was no longer Peter Parker.
It was the brilliant scientist Miguel O'Hara.
A former corporate employee whose primary work had involved genetic research and development, attempting to recreate the powers of heroes from ages past through thoroughly unethical human experimentation.
Then, after becoming the victim of a scheme himself, his DNA merged with that of a spider.
The accident granted him powers remarkably similar to Spider-Man's.
His current occupation was the hero—Spider-Man 2099.
His long-term, unofficial job consisted of fighting the gangs of the Lower City, the stagnant social systems of Midtown, and the greedy megacorporations that ruled the Upper City.
His current short-term objective, however, was much simpler:
Stay alive.
Thwip!
Firing a strand of webbing to bind a dagger flying toward him, Miguel spun and hurled it back at its owner.
Then he bent backward into a near-impossible dodge, narrowly avoiding the pounce of one of the pursuing hounds.
Calling them hounds wasn't entirely accurate.
They were actually people.
More specifically, they were versions of the Green Goblin, Vulture, Rhino, Electro, and nearly every classic Spider-Man villain imaginable—except each wore a hound's collar around their neck.
Ever since becoming involved in this multiversal mess, Miguel had often wondered why every universe seemed to recycle the same handful of people to make Spider-Man's life miserable.
"Watch out!"
In the distance, Peni Parker snapped Miguel out of his distraction.
At the same time, she launched a web grenade that splattered across the face of a charging vampire, sealing shut a mouth filled with fangs even longer than Miguel's.
Kicking away the female vampire named Verna, Miguel couldn't help noticing her appearance.
She wore a dark, deep-V gown with a high slit, looking exactly like a decadent medieval nobleman's mistress rushing off to attend an extravagant banquet.
In truth, that comparison wasn't far off.
To the Inheritor family, the entire Spider hideout in this universe was essentially an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Spider-Men of every variety.
Unlimited servings.
Take as many as you like.
Gathering every Spider-Person in the multiverse into Universe 2099 after discovering they were being hunted might not have been the flawless plan everyone hoped it would be.
In a sense, they had practically packaged themselves up and delivered themselves into the enemy's pantry.
The Inheritors' advantage against Spider-Totems was simply too overwhelming.
One careless mistake during a confrontation could result in instant death.
Hundreds of Spider-People were fighting across the battlefield, suffering casualties every moment.
Meanwhile, the Inheritors—only three of them present—grew stronger with every life force and soul they consumed.
This wasn't a balanced battle.
It was a slaughter.
A tiger loose among sheep.
"Hobie, look out!"
Once again, Miguel used webbing to restrain Verna and a pair of Inheritors who appeared to be siblings.
Activating his accelerated reflex systems, he burst forward at incredible speed and pulled Hobie Brown—Spider-Punk—out of danger.
Then his gaze swept across the battlefield.
As strange as the scene was, it was undeniably real.
Mutants fighting vampires.
The sort of cliche story that should have belonged in a medieval monster-hunting fantasy.
Yet somehow it was happening in a cyberpunk future.
The multiverse really was wild.
Thinking that, Miguel shouted toward Peni Parker and Spider-Ham:
"Where are these reinforcements you found?!"
The Inheritors possessed multiversal travel technology as well.
Trying to retreat now would probably only result in being hunted down and exterminated.
At this point, Miguel could only place his hopes in the powerful allies from another universe that they had promised.
"If they don't get here soon, we're completely screwed!"
"I left them the temporal coordinates. They should be arriving any sec—OW!"
Unlike everyone else on the battlefield, Spider-Ham's animation style seemed to belong to an entirely different reality.
Leaping around wildly while trying to answer Miguel's question, he finally gave Verna an opening.
She grabbed one of his pig ears and held him firmly in place.
"Come on! I'm a pig!"
Spider-Ham flailed helplessly.
"You people eat pigs too?!"
"It'll only make your soul taste even more unique."
Lifting the diminutive Spider-Ham by the scruff, Verna brought him straight toward her mouth.
"Spider-flavored bacon. I'm going to savor every bite!"
Spider-Ham immediately pulled an oversized wooden mallet from his cartoon-dimensional pocket and swung it at Verna's knee.
"You upright apes are terrifying!"
The attack looked harmless.
It wasn't.
Verna cried out in pain and instinctively released her grip.
Spider-Ham kicked off with his little pig hooves and launched himself to safety.
Escaping the grim fate of becoming spider-bacon.
"Run as much as you like, little piggy."
Despite suffering a minor setback, Verna wasn't angry.
Because she already knew how the story would end.
"The Inheritors always catch their prey."
"It is merely a matter of ti—"
SPLAT!
A massive portal tore open the neon-lit night sky, painted in countless colors by surrounding holographic advertisements.
A gigantic mechanical hand emerged first.
Like swatting a mosquito.
Verna was instantly flattened into a bloody smear.
"Whoa."
Seeing this, Spider-Ham immediately covered Peni Parker's eyes with both hooves.
"Kids shouldn't look!"
Verna's sudden death left Miguel O'Hara and every Spider-Person present momentarily stunned.
"So that's what they meant by 'powerful reinforcements'?"
As the enormous mechanical arm slowly withdrew back into the portal, several of the more talkative Spider-People couldn't suppress their urge to comment.
"Nobody told us they were bringing something that big."
"Who even is that guy?"
"I am—"
The giant robot Leopardon squeezed its way through the portal.
Its massive frame was so enormous that even the already gigantic dimensional gateway seemed cramped.
Yet that did not stop Takuya Yamashiro from delivering the introduction apparently encoded directly into his DNA.
"—the man who fights for the destiny of all Spider-Men..."
"Supaidaman!"
Emerging from a corner of the portal, Joey reached over and snatched two hundred-dollar bills from Tony's reluctant hand.
"Told you he'd introduce himself like that."
"He doesn't find that embarrassing?!"
Tony handed over the money, not because he cared about losing two hundred dollars, but because he couldn't believe every giant robot pilot was this embarrassingly dramatic.
"When I build a giant robot, I'll be way cooler than him."
From Tony's statement, Joey heard only one word.
Jealous.
"You can say that after you've actually built one."
Knowing Tony Stark as well as he did, Joey was fairly certain that if Iron Man ever succeeded in building a giant robot, his first act would be flying it around Earth three and a half times.
"It's him."
Brix and Bora, both of whom had already died once at Joey's hands, lowered their voices.
The two exchanged a glance before quietly activating a communication device.
They were calling the family's Master Weaver to open a portal home.
Having already learned their lesson, they had seen enough from Morlun's and Daemos's experiences to understand how dangerous the man in the red cape truly was.
The Inheritors could resurrect indefinitely.
That didn't mean they were obligated to keep throwing themselves at an opponent they currently couldn't defeat.
Especially when there was now a giant robot standing beside him that had casually turned Verna—someone far stronger than either of them—into a puddle of meat with a single slap.
If they weren't going to run now, then when?
None of their little movements or whispered conversations escaped Joey's notice.
Even while collecting his winnings from Tony, most of his attention remained fixed on the two Inheritors.
That attention lasted right up until the portal leading back to their world began to glow.