"Avenging the Ultimate"

Chapter 4: "Between the Worlds and Us"

Disclaimer: The Avengers, the Ultimates, and all other associated characters and properties belong to Marvel Comics/Entertainment/Studios. As the writer and co-plotters of this story, neither I nor JOUNOUCHI-sama receive any material compensation whatsoever for this writing, only the satisfaction of knowing that someone has read and reviewed and hopefully liked what they read and reviewed.

Author's note: Sorry for taking so long to come up with a new chapter of this story. Sorry for taking so long to follow up on a lot of my past stories at all. To be honest, I lost my way. I lost my spirit, but with the persistence of my partner JOUNOUCHI-sama, I am starting to get it back. It'll be a long time before I'm back to my former self, if at all, but I can certainly get back into writing and finally continue, if not finish, what I've started over these years. In any event, it's time I finally got this show on the road, so let's hop to it, shall we?

Felicia Hardy, a.k.a. the Black Cat, lay unconscious on a cot in Peter Parker's basement. Watching over her were, to be technically speaking, three Peter Parkers. One was a teenager, one was a female clone of said teenager, and the third was the adult doppelganger of said teenager from another universe. All three of them were suited up in Spider-Man costumes, the teenager in the classic red-and-blue, the girl clone in crimson with a white spider symbol and white-fingered gloves, and the adult in black with glowing bluish-white strips that formed the outline of a spider on his chest.

"You think she's gonna be all right?" the teenaged Peter asked.

"If she's anything like the Felicia I know, she will be," the adult Peter replied. Then he saw Felicia stirring, and put his mask back on. "Sorry, I don't want her seeing my face . . . really bad history there."

"Did she throw up when she saw your face?" T-Peter asked.

"No, she just begged me to put the mask back on."

"Luckier than me, then."

"Let me guess, she freaked out that she was flirting with a teenage boy all along?"

"About the size of it, yeah."

"So . . . three of you now," Felicia groused. Then she gestured to Jessica, who had also pulled her mask back up over her face. "Who's she? Spider-Girl? Your Spider-Girlfriend?"

"Spider-Woman," Jessica corrected. "And I'm not his girlfriend. Or his sister."

"You kinda are," Spider-Man T said.

"That was my next guess," Felicia said. "Spider-Woman . . . like this kid here is Spider-'Man.'" Then she looked at the older Spider-Man with a curious and coquettish smirk. "At least you're closer to being an actual Spider-Man."

"Save it, Felicia," Spider-Man A said. "We brought you here to sleep off Mysterio's bad medicine."

"I was about to ask where the hell I was," Felicia commented. "Looks like a teenage boy's basement."

"It is," Spider-Man T admitted.

"Yours?" Felicia asked, and laughed out loud when Spider-Man T nodded in confirmation. "Bringing strange women to your house. What'll your mother say?"

Spider-Man T scowled behind the mask he had redonned. "Hey, if you're just gonna mock me, you can go out the secret entrance."

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna overstay my welcome," Felicia rejoined. "But . . . if Spider-Stud's supposed to be you once puberty finally kicks in, feel free to look me up in a few years." This, she said with a widening smirk and a twinkle in her eyes behind her goggles. "Bye." Then she sprang out of the cot where she had been lying since the Spiders had brought her, sauntering toward the basement hatch that would lead her outside.

"Word of advice . . . go for it," Spider-Man A whispered.

"But we're just letting her get away . . ." Spider-Man T protested.

"Don't worry, there's nothing worth stealing in here and she doesn't care for places like this, anyway. By the time she's out of here, she'll probably have put it out of sight and out of mind."

"If it's all the same to you, Cat's not the only one overstaying her welcome," Spider-Woman said, turning to leave as well.

"You are welcome to come back and stay anytime, you know," T-Peter said.

"This isn't my home, Peter," Spider-Woman retorted. "It never was."

A-Peter looked curiously at the exchange between his younger double and the mysterious Spider-Woman. "It's a long story," T-Peter said.

"I've got time," the older Peter answered.

Spider-Woman let out an annoyed huff. "Might as well show him." She pulled the mask that had covered her entire face down to a turtleneck collar around her neck. "Surprise . . ." she remarked sarcastically.

"So. You're a clone," A-Peter deadpanned.

"Yeah, she's like the sister I never had," T-Peter replied, a tad sheepishly. "Or my sister from a stray blood sample."

"Sister? You mean she's your clone?" A-Peter asked.

"Yeah, swapped my chromosomes and everything," the unmasked Spider-Woman, otherwise identical to Peter, but "naturally" more feminine, replied wryly, rolling her hazel eyes at her "brother," while A-Peter smiled wistfully.

"Sounds like what happened to Wolverine in my world," he said. "She's called X-23."

"X-23? What kind of name is that?" T-Peter asked.

"The kind you give to a weapon, not a person," Spider-Woman answered bitterly.

"She has an actual name," A-Peter said. "She just hasn't shared it with me for whatever reason. I'm not high on her list of favorite people."

"When are we high on anyone's list of favorite people?" T-Peter asked dryly.

"Point," A-Peter acknowledged.

"Still having a hard time wrapping my head around Wolverine having a female clone," T-Peter said. "What's she like?"

"She has his temper, but she's a lot lower-key about it," A-Peter replied. "And she's about your age." He smiled wistfully. "As long as we're here talking about clones, mine were trying to kill me, or kill each other . . . and there was the time I tried to kill mine, and that was the one who wasn't trying to kill me, barring a nasty encounter with the Carnage symbiote . . . that one, we actually got along great once we could get past the whole 'who's the real Peter Parker' issue."

"Yeah, about that . . ."

"Let me guess, Spider-Woman here is the only one still living."

"I am," she admitted. "Octavius killed the others."

"Doc Ock was the one behind this?" A-Peter asked.

"Yeah, he was," T-Peter replied. "And he took some sick delight in it, too, using my own DNA to smear everything I ever tried to accomplish as Spider-Man. He wasn't alone, either; he was actually working with the CIA, and that was how he got the funding and resources, because they wanted their own spider-powered super-soldiers and were sick of letting Nick Fury 'hog all the fun.'"

"Wow, government black ops . . . in my world, it was just this lunatic professor who blamed me for Gwen getting killed by the Green Goblin," A-Peter said.

"Must've been a very well-funded lunatic professor," Spider-Woman dryly remarked.

"Yeah . . . by the Green Goblin himself, who was supposed to be dead, but was faking it all along," A-Peter replied.

"Gwen died in your world, too?" T-Peter asked.

"She did," Spider-Man A admitted ruefully. "Some things truly are the same everywhere."

"Speaking of staying the same . . . you're like 10 years older than me, so you've been at this longer," T-Peter said. ". . . Does this ever get better?"

"Ups and downs," the older Peter admitted. "When it's up, you feel like you're on top of the world and can take on anything. When it's down, you curse the day that spider bit you and the day you were ever stupid enough to put on that mask. Honestly, I've had more down days than up, and the thing is, even if you're on an upswing, it doesn't take too long before you end up on the downswing, or even hitting rock bottom."

"So what keeps you going, then?"

"With great power, there must also come great responsibility."

"Uncle Ben said that to me, that if someone like us could do great things for the world, things that would help people, it was our responsibility to get out there and do those things."

"That's what he said to me, too. A lot. Just didn't really understand what he was talking about until it was too late."

"So what kind of spider bit you?"

"A radioactive one."

"Shouldn't you have gotten cancer from that?"

"Yeah, but instead I got kick-ass spider-powers." He grinned, unable to help himself entirely.

"Sure, Radioactive Spider-Man."

"Amazing Spider-Man. Or spectacular. Or sensational. Or astonishing."

Spider-Woman laughed out loud. "Did you come up with those yourself?" she asked.

"No, it was the newspapers," A-Peter replied glibly. "And what's your name? I mean, what do you go by when you're not in costume?"

"Jessica Drew," Spider-Woman answered.

"There's a Jessica Drew in my world, too," A-Peter said. "We're on the same team and everything. She's called Spider-Woman, too, but she's not a clone."

"Lucky her," Jessica groused.

"Chin up," A-Peter said. "Being a clone doesn't make you a lesser person. My brother taught me that."

"Your brother?" T-Peter asked.

"Yeah, his name was Ben Reilly," A-Peter explained. "After Uncle Ben and Aunt May's last name from before she and Uncle Ben got married." That got him a strange look from both of his younger counterparts.

"We knew a Ben Reilly, too," Jessica finally said. "He wasn't a clone. He was Doctor Connors's lab assistant, who was helping the CIA create me and the other clones."

"Seriously?" A-Peter asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Wow, I guess some things can be really different between our worlds, after all." Then he looked at Jessica. "But think about what I said for a moment, will you? You don't have to deny yourself a life because you don't think you deserve it. You're as much of a person as anybody, and nobody ought to make you think otherwise, not even yourself."

"Thanks . . ." Jessica said.

"No problem," A-Peter replied. "And look at it this way . . . at least you don't have to blow your money on hair dye like Ben did."

"Really?" Jessica repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, he dyed his hair blond," A-Peter explained, "so he wouldn't get mistaken for me anymore. We passed him off as my cousin." Then a buzz went off in his ear, prompting him to click behind that ear and activate the commlink. "It's Spider-Man."

"Where the hell are you?" Black Widow asked.

"What's going on, Widow?" Spider-Man A asked.

"We've found the source of our interdimensional problem," the Black Widow replied, "and he looks and sounds like one of yours." That last part was said in a rather accusatory tone, as if it were somehow his fault Mysterio decided to take his act interdimensional.

Spider-Man A sighed. "I'll be right there." He pulled his mask back on. "Looks like memory lane will have to wait. Mysterio's giving my friends some real trouble, it sounds like."

"At least I don't have to explain you guys to Gwen and Aunt May . . ." Spider-Man T said, before realizing something. "Dammit, they would kill me if they knew I was putting this costume back on!"

"Wait, Gwen's living with you . . . as in Gwen Stacy?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I thought you said she was dead."

"She was, then she wasn't. Long story, again."

"I'll bet," Spider-Man A answered, mournful and envious at once. "Anyway, let's go deal with Mysterio. Can't have him mucking things up in this dimension, too."

With that, the three Spiders took off, the teenaged Peter Parker firing off a quick text to Gwen and Aunt May before he left. Following Black Widow's commlink signal, the adult Peter Parker led his younger counterparts until they neared the interdimensional spire.

"What's that?" Spider-Woman asked.

"How I got here," Spider-Man A answered. "Not to mention, Mysterio's staging grounds for his newest and biggest act."

"Spider-Man!" Mysterio roared as he took notice of the web-slingers. "And you brought the kids with you!"

"What is he thinking?" Iron Man asked.

"That you could use the backup!" the young Spider-Man in red and blue shot back.

Indeed, Mysterio had bombarded the Ultimates and Black Widow and Bucky with gas missiles that disoriented their senses, making it easier for them to fall prey to his illusions. Iron Man's armor had fortunately filtered out the gas, but Mysterio had somehow hacked into the armor's sensors, so Tony was firing off missiles and repulsor beams in almost all directions, forcing Spider-Man and his younger counterparts to dodge at what was breakneck speed even for them. When they weren't dodging, they were redirecting the missiles . . . at Mysterio.

"What the –?!" Iron Man asked. "What did you just do?!"

"Saved your ass," the older Spider-Man replied. "Look at that . . ." Indeed, Mysterio was literally sparking from the missiles that had hit him, revealing damaged circuitry. The fiery effect around his head had also dissipated, thus revealing that it had been obscuring a robotic skull all along. "Another robot. That Mysterio . . . For all we know, he's not even here."

"We should probably still go in there, see if the real one's hiding," Spider-Man T suggested.

"Hey, Shellhead, think those sensors of yours are working now?" Spider-Woman asked.

"They are, but I can't pinpoint anything inside that spire," Iron Man admitted.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Ultimates were coming to, as were Black Widow and Bucky. Captain America and Hawkeye were the first to approach Iron Man and the Spiders, Captain America trying his best to maintain a stoic air in the face of what he'd just been through. "Spider-Man . . ."

"Yes?" both older and younger Spider-Men answered him, almost eerily in-sync with each other.

"Sounds like a stereo," Hawkeye quipped snidely.

"I may have been wrong about the two of you," Captain America admitted.

"Two of us?" Spider-Man T asked.

"We had a minor argument," Spider-Man A replied to him. Turning to Captain America, "It's not over yet. Save it for when we get in there and beat Mysterio's fishbowl in."

"You'll have to get in line," Bucky said grimly.

"It's his villain," Black Widow remarked.

The Ultimates, Black Widow, Bucky, and the Spiders congregated at the base of the spire. "When we first came here, it opened from the inside," Black Widow said.

"So how do we get it to open from outside?" Hawkeye asked. "Because there doesn't seem to be an entrance in here."

"We make one," Iron Man replied, "which I was going to do before Mysterio's robot attacked us."

"Maybe you ought to let me give it a try," Hawkeye said, nocking an explosive arrow in his bow before firing it at what didn't look like any specific spot. To everyone's surprise, though, the detonation opened a hole in the base of the spire.

"How did you do that?" the older Spider-Man asked.

"I'm not called Hawkeye for nothing," Hawkeye replied cockily.

"For once, you sound like the Hawkeye I know," Spider-Man A said, and he could've sworn he saw a quick smile on the Black Widow's face.

"Just get in there, will you?" Hawkeye groused.

"Sure, sure," Spider-Man A responded. "Since I'm wiser to Mysterio's tricks, I'll go first."

"Just don't get yourself blown up," Captain America admonished.

"No, we'll be getting ourselves a way back home." Spider-Man A went into the spire, followed by Black Widow, Bucky, and the Ultimates.

"It's bigger on the inside . . ." Spider-Man T commented.

"You've been wanting to make that joke for years," Spider-Woman accused.

"So have you," the younger male web-slinger retorted.

"If I know Mysterio, he's hidden somewhere in here, and he's going to sic a trap on us," the adult web-slinger murmured.

"Correct, Spider-Man!" Mysterio's voice taunted, booming from what seemed like humongous speakers carrying his voice through the walls. That wasn't the only thing coming through the walls, though, as gas began to seep into the chamber.

"Not again . . ." Hawkeye grumbled.

"We're ready for you this time, Mysterio!" Iron Man declared, shooting out a device from his gauntlet that would disperse the gas.

"You think so, do you?" Mysterio asked mockingly. "We'll see."

Then Spider-Man started screaming, both adult and teenager, as did Spider-Woman. It didn't take long for Black Widow and Bucky, and then the Ultimates to begin screaming also, all except for Iron Man, whose armor had filtered out the frequency Mysterio was broadcasting on. "Son of a bitch . . . it's an infrasonic attack."

"Thanks for the tip!" Spider-Man A shouted, as the glowing lines on his suit switched from bluish-white to orange-red. "Much better, even if I can't hear anything right now."

With that, he went into a speedy crawl toward the source of the infrasonic frequency attacking them, Iron Man following his lead, at which point they happened upon Mysterio, surrounded by computer monitors and consoles. Without a word, Iron Man blasted what appeared to be the main console, and the infrasonic frequency that would have caused the Ultimates, the twin Spiders, Black Widow, and Bucky to scream themselves to death as their brains exploded stopped.

"You think that's all I've got?" Mysterio taunted them.

"I don't know, maybe?" Iron Man taunted back.

"How do we know you're not another robot?" Spider-Man A asked, not in the mood for games anymore.

"You don't, do you?" Mysterio mocked him, and with that, he was suddenly surrounded by more Mysterios. "Which one of us is the real one? Can your armor's scanners tell you that, Tony Stark? Or can your spider-sense tell us apart, Peter Parker?"

"What?!" Spider-Man A exclaimed in shock, surprise, and horror.

"Of course . . . your identity isn't a very well-kept secret in this world," another Mysterio sneered. "S.H.I.E.L.D. even keeps a special file on you. Seems you made quite the impression on them."

Spider-Man A then lunged . . . leaping over most of the Mysterios and striking the one in the back. The collision was so hard that Mysterio's glass dome helmet shattered, revealing the snarling face of Quentin Beck. "You're predictable, Beck. Even with all these new tricks you've learned, you're still predictable."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Beck sneered. "I know who you are now. I wonder how much that would be worth to some people I know . . ."

By then, the rest of the Ultimates, as well as Black Widow, Bucky, and the younger Spider-Man and Spider-Woman had caught up to them. They were not alone, either, as another dimensional rift had opened, and out stepped Hank Pym from Spider-Man A's universe, flanked by the Fantastic Four, Ms. Marvel, Steve Rogers, Wolverine, and Iron Man.

"It's clobbering time!" Ben Grimm, the literally rock-hard, ever-loving blue-eyed Thing, declared. Then he saw the unmasked Mysterio pinned by Spider-Man, and the Ultimates standing around them both. "Whoa, looks like you've got him clobbered already."

"Yeah . . . it's really kind of anticlimactic," Spider-Man admitted.

"You're telling me," the Human Torch remarked. "I was all psyched for a good fight, and it's already over . . ."

"How did you get here?" the Ultimates' Captain America asked, aiming a steel-hard, contemptuous glare at Pym, who didn't back down from it.

"Turns out the dimensional frequency Mysterio was using to cross between our worlds works similarly to my Infinite Avengers Mansion," Pym replied, "so it was relatively easy to backdoor my way in."

"Infinite Avengers Mansion?" U-Steve repeated skeptically.

"Yeah, it's a constantly expanding pocket dimension that I found below the Microverse," Pym answered.

"You've certainly got the same damned ego," U-Steve sneered.

"Enough," Steve Rogers cut in, glaring at his Ultimates counterpart. "Our Hank Pym isn't the same as yours."

U-Steve let out an unconvinced snort. "I'm not so sure he isn't. I notice he's here, but not Janet van Dyne."

"She's dead . . ." Pym admitted sadly.

"Your doing, maybe?" U-Steve accused Pym, who glared balefully at him.

"Where do you get off?" Pym asked angrily.

"Spare the righteous indignation, Pym. Some people are the same no matter what universe they're in," U-Steve retorted.

"And some people are extremely different," Steve interceded. "I look at you – and I'm not even sure if you're supposed to be me, or a twisted mirror from a twisted world."

"Twisted?" U-Steve retorted. "At least we don't keep giving chances to scum who just waste them trying to hurt and kill innocent people because they think they've got a right to do whatever they want."

"And here we go . . ." Ms. Marvel grumbled. "Sucked into the drama again."

"I did a horrible thing," Pym admitted. "Not a day goes by that I don't regret it, that I don't hate myself for it. But if you think accusing me of killing the woman I loved, that I still love, is going to be something I let pass . . . you've got another thing coming, 'Cap.'"

"Not that I don't love seeing self-righteous pricks get put in their place, but we've got bigger fish to fry here," Wolverine commented.

". . . Logan," U-Steve gritted out uneasily. "You're shorter than I remember."

"I'm not the Logan you remember, and you sure as hell ain't any Cap I know," Wolverine retorted.

The Iron Men were sizing each other up, as were the Fantastic Fours. The Ultimates' Iron Man broke the silence first. "Not bad. You could use some upgrades, though."

"You, too, big guy," the other, sleeker Iron Man rejoined.

"Wow, is that you, Reed?" the Ultimates' Human Torch asked. "You look like you could be my dad."

"I would suppose, from that statement, that my counterpart here is much younger," Reed Richards responded evenly.

"Yeah, he's our age," U-Torch said.

"Curious . . . why isn't he with you?" Reed asked, and that question triggered a pained expression on the Ultimates' Sue Storm's face, as she looked away from him.

"It's . . . complicated," the Ultimates' Thing responded glumly.

"How complicated is it?" Susan Storm-Richards asked skeptically.

"Can we just get Mysterio back before we get into anymore interdimensional drama?" Ms. Marvel asked, huffing irritably. Then she cast a glance at the younger Spider-Man and Spider-Woman of this world. "Wow . . . are you two supposed to be Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, or Spider-Boy and Spider-Girl?"

"Dunno, are you supposed to be Carol Danvers?" Spider-Man T rejoined. "Because normally, I see you rocking a power suit or a S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuit."

"Well, you certainly have his mouth," Ms. Marvel groused, even with a certain fondness in her tone despite her irritation.

"Wow, you're even more of a kid than our guy," Wolverine quipped between Spider-Man T and Spider-Man A, causing both Spider-Men to glower at him.

"Not very funny, Logan," the adult Spider-Man grumbled.

"Sure it isn't," Wolverine shot back sardonically.

"The portal will only stay open so long, according to my, Tony's, and Hank's best estimates," Reed said. "Whatever needs to be said or done, we should be as brief about it as possible." He aimed a look at both versions of Susan Storm, the one that was his wife and the younger one native to this reality he was visiting, then at the two versions of Steve Rogers, Wolverine, and Hank Pym.

"Let's talk . . ." Susan Storm-Richards said to Sue Storm, who just nodded before going invisible, as did Susan.

"Of course, while I know you probably have the sensors in your suits to track their presence, I would advise you to let them have their privacy," Reed said to both versions of Iron Man.

"We weren't going to eavesdrop . . ." U-Iron Man said.

"But now that you bring it up . . ." Iron Man added with a mischievous grin in his modulated voice.

"Tony . . ." both versions of Steve Rogers warned, causing the Iron Men to reluctantly yield with a wistful sigh. Then U-Steve looked at his more idealistic counterpart. "Some things really are the same."

"And some things are different," Commander Steve replied, staring bitterly at his Ultimates counterpart.

"You have no idea how different," Bucky spoke, a wistful sigh on his face.

"And a lot of it isn't exactly for the better," Spider-Man A added.

"I'm all ears," Commander Steve said.

As the others hashed out the differences between their universes, even with Hank and U-Steve glowering at each other . . . the Invisible Women were having a talk, shielded from sight and hearing by a force field Susan had put up that bent sound as well as light away from them. It had soured, though, when the subject of this universe's Reed came up. "What happened to him?"

"He left," Sue spat bitterly. "Left to do the logical thing and save the world, while I was languishing in a coma, and when I woke up . . . he wasn't there. He came back, of course, lamenting that he had to do the rational thing and save the world before the likes of Magneto or Doom could destroy it. Didn't change what he did . . . didn't change that he abandoned me when I needed him."

Susan looked aghast, and at first, Sue thought it was out of sympathy, though that notion was dashed when Susan began to break out laughing. "What the hell's so funny?" Sue asked.

"You . . . I can't believe I used to be that self-absorbed at your age," Susan replied.

"Self-absorbed?" Sue repeated disbelievingly, as if she'd just been slapped in the face.

"Yes, that's what I said," Susan replied. "Self-absorbed. Or in a shorter word, selfish. All that brilliance, and you couldn't even see beyond yourself. As if Reed, any version of Reed, would have abandoned us willfully. You wanted him to stay by your side and wait for you to awaken as the world was falling apart around you both. I admit, that sounds very romantic, the kind of thing you'd see in a novel, but as a dear friend of my family says and believes, power like ours comes with responsibility, and a lot of times, responsibility means putting aside what we want to do what's right. Your Reed, if he's at all like mine, wanted to stay with you, would have given anything to do that – except let the world be destroyed while waiting for you to wake up. He did what he did because he wanted there to be a world for you to wake up in."

Sue gasped as she thought about that, and Susan pressed on. "Where is he now?"

"With his family . . ." Sue replied.

"Is that a good thing?" Susan asked.

"His family doesn't understand him . . . and his father . . . his father isn't a good father," Sue admitted.

"So what do you think is happening to him? Have you spoken to him at all? Or did you completely cut him out of your life?"

There was a long, poignant pause as Sue weighed the words of her older, more experienced alternate self. Finally, she spoke. "God . . . I was just so scared, so angry, so lost when I woke up and he wasn't there, and when he came back, I couldn't forgive him for what I felt when I didn't see him after I woke up. And now he's . . . he's alone. The Baxter Building was the only place where he fit in at all, and now he's back with that horrible excuse for a father, and it's . . . it's my fault he's there."

"It's not too late, Sue," Susan said to her younger alternate counterpart. "You can still reach out to him. If he's like my Reed, he'll answer. He's not the most openly expressive guy, but he does feel a lot, and what he feels for you . . . for me . . . that's something I've cherished for a long time. Hopefully you can learn to do the same."

"Sure about that?" Sue asked.

"Very sure," Susan replied. "Now . . . let's get back to the others and figure out what we're going to do with Quentin Beck."

Just as the invisible force field lowered and both Invisible Women stopped being invisible, they heard U-Steve declare, "He's staying with us."

"Seriously?" Spider-Man A asked.

"He knows who you are," U-Steve replied. "I imagine you don't want that to become public where you come from, not with the number of enemies you've doubtlessly made."

". . . Point," Spider-Man conceded, "but do you really think you can hold him?"

"Sure, we can," U-Hawkeye replied. "Our prisons aren't made of cardboard." That earned him a glare from nearly everyone from Spider-Man A's universe. "What?"

"How deep do you intend to bury him?" Spider-Man T asked.

"Pretty damn deep, if we have anything to say about it," U-Iron Man replied.

"After the damage he's caused in our world, we're not just gonna let him be your problem," U-Steve insisted.

"Speaking of problems . . ." Wolverine growled, glowering at U-Steve.

"I know, Logan . . . I know," U-Steve replied, almost sadly.

"Xavier, Magneto, Cyclops, and I may be dead in this world, but somebody'll pick up the torch," Wolverine said. "That's how it always works. And if this world goes on the way it is with mutants . . . that torch might just burn it all to cinders."

"That a threat?" U-Hawkeye asked.

"A warning," Wolverine answered.

"Hey . . . what did you guys talk about?" U-Torch asked Sue, regarding her older counterpart.

"A lot, actually," Sue replied to her younger brother. "I think . . . I think I made a huge mistake, and it's time I fixed it."

"If that means what I think it means . . ." U-Torch started.

"Heh, we can bring back the Fantastic Four," U-Thing finished.

Alas, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Mysterio were not the only ones who had learned how to access this other universe, nor was it entirely impossible for the other universe to access theirs right back. This was something Victor Von Doom discovered when he was confronted, some months later in his castle, by a familiar yet unfamiliar figure. Two of them, to be precise.

"Richards . . . you must be having one of those . . . 'midlife crises,'" Doom remarked sardonically.

"I'm not Reed Richards," the young man, strongly resembling Reed as Doom had known him back in their college years, declared. "Not the one you know."

"I see . . . you're from a different universe," Doom replied.

"Yes," the younger Reed Richards confirmed.

"Why are you here, then?" Doom asked. "You wouldn't be gallivanting across the multiverse just for the thrill of it . . . or would you? After all, you are not the Reed Richards I know."

"I have a proposition for you," the young alternate Reed replied.

"You? Proposition me?" Doom inquired skeptically, and perhaps with a touch of mockery.

"Yes," replied a blonde woman who could've been Susan Storm-Richards's twin, if a decade or more had been subtracted from her age, materializing into sight in much the same way the Invisible Woman could. "How would you like to save the world from its ultimate decay? To save all worlds?"

"You've seen it, too, then," Doom said.

"We have," Sue's younger doppelganger answered. "Your world, much like ours, is doomed if it continues its current course. When the cataclysm comes, none will be spared. None. Unless we act now. Of course, those currently in power are content to spin their wheels so long as they can remain in power, no matter the cost. You know that as much as we do, and you know that if there is to be any salvation for both our worlds, it's up to us to act decisively and immediately."

"Curious that such words would be coming from you two, and at such young ages as well," Doom mused aloud. "However, I sense no deception in either of you. You are definitely not the Reed Richards and Susan Storm I know."

"Will that be a problem?" the younger Reed asked, glaring sharply at Doom.

"No, as I believe this is an alliance that may just bear fruit for my aims," Doom replied.

"An alliance, yes," the alternate Reed said. "We're finding like minds across the multiverse to aid us, and you are the first we've approached with this proposition."

"All that remains to be seen is, are you in? Or out?" the alternate Sue asked.

Doom just smirked beneath his mask before he spoke, his decision made.

The End?

Endnotes: Sorry it's taken so many years for me to finish writing this story, but finish I have. A lot has changed in those years, both for me and for the Marvel Multiverse. Ultimate was no more, destroyed in the Secret Wars and then assimilated into the "Prime" Marvel Universe, but then Spider-Men II revealed it was indeed back . . . and so were Ultimate Peter Parker as Spider-Man and Ultimate Jessica Drew as Spider-Woman. That made me smile on the inside.

That said, I am deeply sorry it took me so long to finish up, and I hope you're still willing to give me your thoughts on this story and how it's wrapped up. Until next time, I wish you all who are reading this a Happy New Year, and that Stan "The Man" Lee may rest in peace, knowing that his creations will continue to live on and inspire us all.

Thank you all. Excelsior!