[Third person POV]
"Aria… please tell me I'm not just seeing things right now," Peter said in awe, his voice barely a whisper as he slowly brushed away the thick blanket of snow. His breath caught as he uncovered the unmistakable figure of none other than The Captain America, frozen in time beneath the ice.
"No, you're not imagining things," Aria replied, equally astonished, from her position on the base her eyes widened as she took in the sight. "I see him too. This is… unbelievable. Your battle with Felicia must've shaken the ground enough to dislodge all the layers of snow and ice that were concealing him."
Peter stood slowly, letting out a long sigh as he scratched the back of his head in thought. 'This is way too early… but then again, not everything in this universe has gone according to the sequence I originally expected,' he mused silently.
He turned his gaze toward the unconscious Felicia, her body lying still amidst the wreckage of their fight. With a flick of his wrist, a glowing portal opened beneath her, gently lifting her up and sending her back to their base.
"Take care of her," Peter said aloud to Aria, although there was no need as he knew Aria would do just that. His hand hovered near his lips, his finger tapping thoughtfully as he looked back at the frozen legend before him.
"Father… what's your next move?" Aria asked, her voice soft but curious. She knew he was deep in thought.
Peter's mind drifted, unwilling, to the recent conversation he'd had with The One Above All. It lingered in his mind like a whisper, the talk about control and getting too involved in everything.
Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Peter finally said, "Aria, contact Fury. This situation is way above our pay grade."
"What? Are you serious?" Aria asked, genuinely surprised. She hadn't expected that decision. "You're just going to hand him over to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Of all people? You do realize they're riddled with Hydra agents, right? They're compromised."
Peter gave a short, tired laugh. "Trust me, I've considered that. But there are a few reasons I'm going through with this. First off, he's Captain America, Aria. Whether we like it or not, he's basically government property. Trying to keep him ourselves would raise too many red flags. Second, we're already stretched thin with everything going on… we don't have the bandwidth to handle something this big. And lastly," he paused, his lips curling into a sly smirk, "I'm hoping his presence will force Hydra's hand. They've been hiding in the shadows too long and too well. With Steve in the picture, I'm betting they'll panic and expose themselves."
Aria nodded slowly, her eyes lighting up with realization. "So… you're planning to use him as bait to lure them out?"
Peter chuckled deeply. "Bait? Oh, my sweet, sweet, innocent daughter… Captain bloody America is no mere bait. What we're doing is no different than throwing a shark into a fish tank and waiting to see who survives."
Aria laughed, shaking her head. "That's… honestly fair. After reading up on his World War II achievements, I honestly can't argue with that. Alright, I'll contact Fury now."
Peter extended his hand, and a small projector emerged from his web-shooters, casting a blue holographic image of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rotating logo into the air. A few moments later, Nick Fury's face appeared, grim as ever.
"What do you want?" Fury asked sharply. "Shouldn't you be busy dealing with your so-called 'friends' who went rogue?"
"Of course you already know about that…" Peter muttered, barely hiding a pout.
"How could I not?" Fury shot back. "A damn crane nearly collapsed during your little brawl earlier. You almost caused dozens of casualties. Everyone's watching you, closely"
Peter sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, yeah… I'm working on that. But that's not why I'm calling. I've got something here I think you'll want to see."
Fury narrowed his eye suspiciously. "And what would that be?"
Peter stepped aside, holding the camera steady as it rotated around to show the frozen figure of Steve Rogers, perfectly preserved in the ice. He said nothing, letting the image speak for itself.
Fury's jaw slowly dropped as his one eye widened in utter disbelief. "Wait a damn minute… what? Is that—? No way. Is that real?"
"100% authentic man-cicle," Peter said with a teasing grin. "Still got the star on his chest and everything."
"If you're messing with me—" Fury warned, his tone dangerous.
"I'm not messing with you," Peter said seriously. "Skepticism is your thing, I get that. But I'm not lying. Here, watch." He stepped forward and tapped the ice repeatedly with his boot. The dull thuds echoed over the connection.
Fury's expression shifted, becoming stone-cold serious. "Alright. Send me your coordinates. I'm going there personally."
Peter nodded. "Sure thing. Aria's sending them now."
As the location was transmitted, Fury studied the ice again, his brow furrowing. "I've got to ask… how the hell did you even find him? What led to this?"
Peter let out a groan, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. "Honestly? I'd rather not talk about that. Let's just say it wasn't my proudest moment."
Fury snorted, the corners of his lips twitching in what almost resembled a smile. "Now I'm even more curious."
Peter sighed, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. "Let's just say… yes. The pizza is, in fact, abusive."
"What?" Fury asked, genuinely confused. "You committed an act of domestic violence?"
"Wha—?! There's no way you actually managed to get that," Peter said, incredulous.
Fury scoffed, arms crossed. "You think I, a world-class spy, wouldn't recognize the distress code of a victim calling for help? Please. I've memorized every code in the book"
Peter gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his chest. "Is that a hint of ego I detect? From THE Nick Fury himself?"
Fury rolled his eye and smirked, shaking his head. "I'll be there shortly."
The hologram flickered and disappeared, leaving only the rotating S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem hovering briefly before fading from view.
Peter dispersed the projection and as he raised an eyebrow.
"Someone's clearly in a good mood today~" Aria remarked.
Peter laughed. "Can you blame him? We just unearthed the nation's frozen sweetheart. I wouldn't be surprised if Fury throws us a parade."
He sighed after a beat, his expression sobering. "Speaking of sweethearts... let's see how mine is doing in time-out."
With a flick of his wrist, he opened a swirling portal to the Mirror Dimension and stepped through, vanishing from the snowy landscape.
---
The other side was chaos.
As Peter descended from the air into the dimension, his eyes widened. The entire realm was a shattered warzone, split cleanly into two distinct biomes.
One side was a jagged tundra of piercing ice, frost coating everything in sight, towering frozen pillars stabbing into the air like crystal spears. The other was a seething inferno—lava-like heat cracking the very sky, flames roaring and coiling into volatile storms of burning wind.
Buildings had either been flash-frozen into brittle, skeletal ruins or half-melted into slag, warped beyond recognition.
Peter swung inward, and in the distance, he spotted Gwen and Lizzy engaged in a brutal, no-holds-barred brawl. Their bodies were bloodied and battered, their suits barely holding together.
Gwen's suit was scorched and peeling, melted from the sheer intensity of Lizzy's heatwaves—flames as hot as the sun's surface. In contrast, Lizzy's armor was brittle and cracking, flaking off her body in frosty chunks.
They stood at the dividing line of their elemental warzones, panting, bleeding, glaring—each of them with a hand outstretched, their fingers trembling with raw effort.
Between them hovered a sphere of swirling chaos—half flame, half frost—locked in a volatile battle of extremes. The sphere suddenly detonated, unleashing a devastating shockwave of thermal energy. A tidal wave of searing fire and piercing cold erupted outward, smashing into both girls and sending them flying, crashing into opposite sides of the landscape with a chorus of pained grunts.
They spat blood as they staggered back to their feet, bruised and swaying, yet still unwilling to quit. Their hands rose again, trembling but defiant.
Peter slowly walked down the icy road, hands in his pockets, hood pulled low over his head. The snow crunched under his boots as flakes swirled around him, casting him as a silent observer in a world of broken elements.
As the girls charged once more, energy blazing between them, Gwen caught a glimpse of Peter approaching. Her eyes barely had time to widen before he was upon her.
With a swift, precise movement, Peter raised his hand and delivered a clean karate chop to the back of Gwen's neck. She gasped and collapsed forward, but Peter caught her effortlessly.
He turned slightly as Lizzy's blast of solar fire screamed toward him. Without flinching, he tilted his head to the side, letting it pass by harmlessly.
Lizzy, enraged, surged toward him at breakneck speed. But Peter moved even faster—ducking beneath her attack, weaving to her side, and planting a single, devastating punch into her gut.
The air rushed from her lungs. Her body folded around his fist, her eyes rolling back as she gagged.
Peter gently caught her too, cradling both girls over his shoulders before opening a new portal and stepping through.
---
The chaos of the Mirror Dimension vanished, replaced by the clinical calm of the base infirmary.
Inside, MJ, Harry, and Felicia already lay unconscious in recovery beds. Peter carefully set Gwen and Lizzy down beside them.
Aria stood at their side, hands glowing faintly as she placed them on each of the girls' foreheads.
"I've ensured they won't wake up," she said softly. "I'm analyzing the poison in their systems. I've already identified about 80% of the components. I should be able to synthesize a cure soon."
Peter gave a small hum in response. His eyes scanned the room once, lingering briefly on each of them—his expression indiscernible behind his mask.
Then, without a word, he turned and began walking toward the exit.
"Where are you going?" Aria called after him.
Peter didn't stop. His hand tightened into a fist, his voice low and resolute, while his lenses narrowed leaving a blue trail with every step he took.
"To finish where it all began… with Kraven."
The door slid shut behind him, sealing the room in silence.
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