"Ah, my back…"
[Probably a muscle strain. Your posture for prying open the Lizard's mouth wasn't quite right; you threw out your back.]
"How does Spider-Man throw out his back? Wait…"
Peter woke up, shook his head, and noticed he was in civilian clothes, sitting next to the platypus statue on the rooftop of the Empire State Building, looking out at a familiar yet strange New York City.
"Did we cross dimensions?"
[Yep, new universe. Good news: it's the one where a Gwen killed you. Surprised? Unexpected?]
For Peter, who already knew where he was heading, none of this was strange. He was just curious why he had come. After multiple dimension jumps, Peter understood the logic of the Web of Destiny: he would only be called upon when the dimensional Spider Totems themselves had an opportunity for interaction.
For example, on Earth-700, Kingpin created the particle collider that opened the Multiverse door, bringing the Spider from Earth-42 to Earth-700. In the Wasteland universe, the Spider-Gods of the Spider-Army sent someone to recruit Ashlee (Wasteland Spider-Girl).
The Zombie universe wasn't a call from the Web of Destiny; that was Reed being reckless.
Peter sat on the Empire State Building, thinking for a moment. He had seen Gwen wear that suit on 616 when he was swinging with her, so it was normal for Venom to recognize it as Gwen's. Regardless of the current situation, the Earth-65 Gwen, as a Spider Totem, must have been sought out. All he needed to do was find her.
Hopefully, she wouldn't be scared by a living Peter Parker.
Peter scratched his head, stood up, summoned his suit, and swung away. If all was right, the alternate-universe version of himself always lived in the same place. If he went home, the Stacy family would be next door.
When he swung to the Stacy home, he saw the lights were on. The Earth-65 Gwen was probably already inside. As for Captain George (Stacy), Peter had already seen him on the road heading out on a call, so he probably wouldn't be home.
He put away his suit and knocked on the door, then realized he could hear voices inside.
"Hold on, someone's knocking."
He heard Gwen's voice, followed by a quick patter of footsteps. The door opened. It was a short-haired version of Gwen. He was about to greet her when he saw another Gwen, long-haired, stand up behind her.
Huh?
[Huh?]
"Peter!"
The long-haired Gwen rushed past her short-haired counterpart and embraced him. This made Peter realize that this was the Gwen from his own universe.
"How did you get here?"
"Oh, uh, I used my powers and secretly slipped through the portal that Strange opened."
"?" Peter was puzzled; this didn't make sense: "Wait, then where's Strange?"
"He said Earth-65 is protected by something, and no one else can get in."
"Excuse me, you two, this is my house. Well, it's Gwen Stacy's house," the native, short-haired Gwen looked at the scene before her strangely, then asked, "Can you talk inside? I don't want people asking if I have a twin sister, okay?"
Finally, after Peter entered the Stacy house, he heard Gwen explain what had happened on Earth-616: at the docks, they found neither Spider-Man nor the Lizard; it was as if both had vanished. Then, Cindy (Moon) explicitly stated that Peter was still alive, but his physical state seemed poor.
Uncertain whether Peter had been called to a new universe or simply lost control of his powers and vanished, the Avengers sought out Strange. They happened upon an utterly frustrated Strange, and with Strange's spellcasting and Spider-Silk's (Cindy's) assistance, the gateway to the Multiverse was opened, aiming straight for the universe Peter had traveled to.
"Strange said this universe is protected, or rather, isolated by a spell. No one else can cross over. Maybe only you could do it, since you arrived in this universe."
After a brief period of confusion, Peter had a moment of clarity: "Wait, but you crossed over, which means..."
"Yeah, that spell is ineffective against my powers, so I worried something might have happened and decided to come check."
Peter rubbed his temples. He wasn't sure what to say. In his opinion, Gwen really shouldn't have come. But his physical state at the time had indeed been abnormal, so he hadn't had time to explain the situation to everyone. Combined with Cindy sensing that his state was off, it naturally worried everyone.
And the fact that no one else could cross over was the reality, which is why Gwen thought she should try.
But on the other hand, Gwen's power seemed to have an extremely high ceiling. Even a shield capable of isolating an entire universe seemed to register Gwen as non-existent, thereby allowing her to pass through.
But on the other other hand...
"The Lizard wasn't found either?" Peter frowned: "Are you sure he didn't just run off?"
"Yes, the doctor named Strange said that your powers spiraled out of control and covered the surrounding area, taking the Lizard with you."
Peter was thinking, but suddenly became excited. This universe should have a Curt Connors who hasn't become the Lizard. If he could separate an anti-serum from his blood, perhaps Connors could be cured—though Connors' current state was already much better.
Only the short-haired Gwen, completely lost, raised her hand and asked a question.
"Excuse me for interrupting, but first, why did you two come here? Second, if Peter Parker isn't the Lizard, who is? Third, I saw a Lizard fall from the sky; is that who you're talking about?"
Cindy Moon returned to her research lab. To the outside world, she was a 26-year-old genius scientist, a super-genius who earned her Ph.D. at 16.
But no one knew what she had missed, especially after seeing the sight of Spider-Woman, confirming what she had lost.
She took a call and was curious about the communication on the other end: "There's a Lizard that fell from the sky, and S.H.I.E.L.D. contained him. Keep observing. I..."
She didn't continue because a portal opened in front of her. Then, a man, stripped to the waist, with huge green muscles and a spider icon on his chest, appeared before Cindy Moon, palm outstretched, displaying a Spider Lantern Ring.
"Cindy Moon of Earth-65, you possess the determination to master your own destiny. If you desire the power of the Spider Totem, welcome to the Spider-Army."
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