Chronicles of the Spider

The Web of Life

Earth 616

Present Day

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Hope asked for the thousandth time. 

"For the last time, yes," Valeria answered exasperatedly, rolling her eyes in annoyance from where she was finishing some last minute tinkering on the machine. It was a giant metallic circle in the middle of the lab, and while she was working, the others were all standing around it. Franklin had helped move and solder the bigger pieces together, but she didn't trust him to help with the delicate parts, so Valeria ordered him to move away. Right now, he was pacing repeatedly in front of the lab, wringing his hands in anxiety. Kamala sat in a chair a little bit further down, nervously biting the fingernails of her oversized hands. Anya was crouching on the ceiling, a position extremely reminiscent of her mentor. Peter would often find himself more comfortable on the ceiling than on the ground.

Hope had been with Anya when Valeria and Franklin had come to find the Spider empowered teen, and refused to leave them alone after she heard why they'd come to find her. Peter had been her mentor and friend too, and there was no way she would not help find him and bring him back. 

They'd managed to commandeer a Quinjet from the SHIELD base in Washington, quickly heading into New York before anyone could stop them. However, in the process, they'd been shot down by Octavius's forces as they entered the city. They'd slowly made their way through the hostile streets, before coming up on the Baxter Building, to much reprimand from Susan and other heroes. At least, they'd managed to chase off Electro, who had been following them to hunt them down. 

Now, they were in seclusion within the tower, working on their secret project on the top floor.

"How will it work?" Kamala spoke up, curiosity and anxiousness mixing in her tone.

"We've identified Uncle Peter's totemic signature, which is what makes all Spider-people unique, according to both Kaine and Anya," Valeria began. "Using the new multiversal scanner I took and modified from my father, we've made it capable of scanning all universes for a match, and taking us there. But we need to get there before Carpenter and Strange do it."

"Why?" Hope asked, confused. "Aren't we all hoping for the same thing?"

"We don't trust them," Franklin cut in. "They hid the fact that Uncle Peter was alive this whole time. Who knows what else they're hiding?"

Hope was about to respond, but a stern look from Kamala quieted her.

"If you guys don't want to, we won't," Kamala pacified. "But this'll work, right? I mean, I promised Kaine to look after you guys while he was gone, so I have to ask."

"It will," Valeria confirmed with full confidence in her invention. She finished screwing in the last part of the machine, before stepping back and admiring her work. The hoop was large, and should be able to handle the power output coming from the system.

"Turn it on," she commanded, and Franklin rushed to turn on the machine while Anya, Hope, and Kamala all stood in a line in front of the transporter. Eventually, a low, dull hum permeated throughout the room, rattling their bones. Franklin stepped back into the line, as a small purple and gold flickering ball of energy formed in the middle of the circle.

"It's picking something up!" Valeria cheered excitedly. "It's working!"

Slowly, the crackling mass of energy expanded, unevenly spreading around, until it touched the barriers of the transporter, which anchored it to the machine.

"YES!" All of them cheered, watching the stable portal set in place, flickering occasionally.

"Alright, let's go!" the youngest blonde in the room commanded. All of them raced over to the far desk to pick up the prepacked backpacks they'd prepared for the journey ahead. They were wearing special energy resistant suits Valeria had designed, and the packs smoothly attached themselves to the back of their suits without a hitch. Nanites were useful like that.