𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄; peter parker

ꜰᴏᴜʀᴛᴇᴇɴ

THE MISMATCHED GROUP HAD RETREATED back to the safety of the school walls. Hidden inside of the brick building, they could do whatever they pleased. That's what they needed to be able to make the assortment of mixtures required to defeat the numerous villains from the other two universes; those being that of the additional Spider-Men. They couldn't afford to be seen.

So, that's how the six odd collection of people - varying in age - managed to find themselves standing outside of one of the school's labs, waiting for one of them to speak up. They didn't want to admit it, but they were all terrified. They didn't know what they were stepping into, not that they wanted to know anyway, but at least then they would know what to expect. None of them had ever experienced anything like it before, even the youngest Peter Parker, who had fought a giant purple alien in outer space.

"There's not going to be enough space in there." Peter - the one adorned in a clean red and blue Spider-Man suit - mumbled as his eyes darted across the eerie hallway, making sure nobody was secretly listening in from the shadows.

"There's another lab down the hall, you can go there?" Ned suggested as he pointed down the dark hall. The second lab was only a few doors down from the one they were all standing in front of, so if he got in any sort of danger the others would still hear it.

"I'll come." Maelyn-Jae whispered before turning on her heel, walking down the silent hallway with a noticeable frown. Her younger brother stared after her with guilt flashing in his eyes as his pupils watched her figure move down the gloomy hall by herself. He didn't mean to lash out on her beforehand, it just happened. He couldn't stop himself, but now he wished he'd tried harder. It was obvious that she was hurting too.

The Peter in his exposed suit patted the younger Spider-Man's shoulder twice, sending him a single nod of assurance, before following after the girl. He was secretly glad she offered to come, or more so demanded that she come. He didn't want to be working alone, especially when she could be with him the whole time, talking about something stupid like they were only hours earlier. Their night had been ruined. All he wanted to do was turn it around.

As soon as he made it to the lab, he shut the door carefully behind him. He didn't have time to do anything else before the girl he'd followed threw herself into his arms. She had been waiting for the moment they were alone together for hours, away from the prying eyes of everyone else. And finally, they'd got it.

She wrapped her arms longingly around his neck as she buried her head into his shoulder whilst his arms snaked around her lower waist. He leant his face on top of her hair as his soft palm ran up and down her back, listening to her quiet sniffles and gulps to try and maintain her composure. He sighed as the scent of her calendula shampoo filled his nostrils.

"Your aunt didn't die for nothing, you know?" He told her as he began to pull away. The boy held her face in his hands, gliding his thumb across her cheek to wipe the stray tear that had slipped from her captivating eyes. "We're gonna do this."