No Way Home

"We come to you now with revelations about last week's attack in London. An anonymous source provided this video. It shows Quentin Beck, a.k.a. Mysterio, moments before his death. A warning, you may find this video disturbing."

"I managed to send the Elemental back through the dimensional rift, but I don't think I'm gonna make it off this bridge alive. Spider-Man attacked me for some reason! He has an army of weaponized drones, Stark technology. He's saying he's the only one who's gonna be the new Iron Man, no one else!"

"Are you sure you want to commence the drone attack? There will be significant casualties."

"Do it! Execute them all!"

"This shocking video was released earlier today, on the controversial news website ."

"There you have it, folks: Conclusive proof that Spider-Man was responsible for the brutal murder of Mysterio, an interdimensional warrior who gave his life to protect our planet, and who will no doubt go down in history as the greatest superhero of all time. But that's not all, folks. Here's the real blockbuster. Brace yourselves, you might wanna sit down…"

"Spider-Man's real... Spider-Man's real name is…"

It was the worst thing that could happen to him. As he was in the middle of Madison Square Garden, after flipping webs with his girlfriend Michelle Jones, aka MJ, and putting her down on the ground, Spider-Man was watching the information displayed on a giant screen in one of the buildings in Madison Square Park. At the top of a lamppost, he could see with horror the large image of Quentin Beck revealing his secret identity to all.

SPIDER-MAN'S NAME IS PETER PARKER!

Immediately, the class photo of Peter Parker appeared on the giant screen of Madison Square. His secret identity had just been revealed. For Spider-Man or Peter Parker, it was a nightmare. From now on, his life would be totally different. And all his close friends would be in the crosshairs of those who were interested in Spider-Man.

"What the f…?!" exclaimed he holding his head, panicked.

Then a car klaxon silenced him, while the giant screen now showed the image of journalist J. Jonah Jameson from news site who continued to denigrate the hero of Queens.

"That's right, folks. Peter Parker, a seventeen year old high school delinquent, harboring a homicidal hunger is, in fact, the vile vigilante villain Spider-Man..."

At the same time, MJ was standing on the sidewalk near the lamppost where Spider-Man was sitting and was approached by several passersby. At the moment Spider-Man's identity was revealed, the witnesses on the giant screen had their eyes fixed on the young woman, having seen her with the hero swinging webs. Now a crowd of people had gathered around her.

A man came to MJ looking at her in astonishment.

"Are you Spider-Man's girlfriend? Are you Spider-Man's girlfriend?"

MJ tried to sneak in, but she was surrounded by people who wanted to interrogate her for her connection with Spider-Man.

The latter jumped quickly to protect her. The civilians around him separated and moved away, frightened.

"He's here!" someone shouted in the crowd.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Please don't touch her, sir." Spider-Man flares up as MJ protects her from these people.

"You're just a kid?" exclaimed a stunned passer-by.

While some looked at the hero with his girlfriend ecstatic and holding their phones in the air, others stared at them with contempt.

A random woman came towards them, the complexion despising.

"You murdered Mysterio?" she exclaimed to the young hero. "You helped him murder Mysterio?" (she added looking at MJ.)

"No, I didn't kill anyone!" exclaimed Spider-Man, but nobody heard him.

The woman continued with anger.

"Come on, kid, let me see your face!"

She tried to grab the Spider-Man mask, but he pushed her hand away.

"HEY, HE HIT ME!" she cried as if she had been assaulted. "SPIDER-MAN HIT ME! HE HIT ME!"

The witnesses reacted by panting in stupor, holding their phones on the woman who claimed to be assaulted and on the young couple.

Crowd formed and approached... Spider-Man grabbed MJ and flew away. A man jumped after them, trying to catch them, but missed his shot. As the couple flew from canvas to canvas, the media continued on the giant screens of New York, as well as on all the phones of New Yorkers.

Jameson's voice seemed to be echoing throughout the city.

"All this time, people looked up to this boy and called him a hero. I'll tell you what I call him: Public Enemy Number One!"

Spider-Man flipped through the air, with MJ groaning in anguish as he clung to him.

"I told you I never wanted to do this ever again!" moans as she puts her hand on a part of her mask, blocking the view of her superhero boyfriend.

"MJ, I'm so sorry, but I can't see anything with your hand in my..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" apologized MJ by removing her hand, still clinging to Spider-Man.

They flipped over another building with a giant screen showing Peter's class photo. And another image showing half of Peter's face and the other half showing part of Spider-Man's face scrolling through the word: Public Enemy #1.

"Okay, where are we gonna go?" asked MJ ignoring the slanderous posters of Peter.

"I don't know! Your house?!" proposed Spider-Man still flying in the air.

"Oh, no! We can't go to my house, my Dad will kill you!" exclaimed MJ with anxiety.

"What?" he was surprised. "I thought you said your Dad really liked me!"

"Yeah, well, not anymore!" she replied, embarrassed.

He liked me as Peter Parker. No as Spider-Man. And now, everyone knows.

News spread quickly. The whole town seemed to be aware of the secret revealed by Mysterio. It was getting worse. And Spider-Man didn't see how to get out of this disastrous situation.

Shortly thereafter, both landed on top of the Queensborough Bridge. Spider-Man took out his phone that vibrated. When he answered, he saw the face of Ned Leeds, his best friend who seemed to be in a state of panic. Apparently, he had seen the message from Mysterio broadcast to the media.

"Dude!" he exclaimed.

"Dude!" repeated Spider-Man with stupor.

"DUDE!"

"DUDE!"

"DUUUDE!" Ned screamed completely panicked.

"Dude!" added firmly MJ who was standing on the bridge, not wanting to fall.

Remembering that he had left his girlfriend in precarious balance at the top of the bridge, Spider-Man joined her immediately.

"Ah, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Before MJ could answer, Spider-Man heard people calling him from the Roosevelt Island Gondola that passed by the Queensborough Bridge. People were filming and cheering. Not only from the gondola. Even from inside every skyscraper, people watched and pointed fingers at them from their windows or balconies. They were all shouting the name of Peter Parker. For the young hero, it was as if all eyes of the city were on him. A press helicopter flew to them, followed by another.

"We should go." declared MJ still standing on the bridge.

"But you said you don't wanna swing." Spider-Man reminded her.

"You should just swing me!" she insisted preparing to be again in the air.

Spider-Man caught her and plunged from the bridge, under her howls.

Flash Thompson wandered along the sidewalk, eyes fixed on his phone. To his surprise, his phone showed the official TikTok of the Daily Bugle showing the picture half Spider-Man, half Peter Parker.

"No!" he exclaimed with eyes wide open in disbelief.

He looked at it, stunned, not noticing that Spider-Man and MJ were falling in a dive behind him. Spider-Man wrapped a fence in the sidewalk, lifted it up, dropped them into the hole and closed it behind them.

Holding MJ's body against him, he swung through the underground subway tunnels until a train came right at them. Spider-Man swung into another tunnel, narrowly avoiding the train.

He went through the tunnels, until he opened a sewer in the streets of Queens. He came to help a shaken MJ out of the sewers. After closing the sewer, he dropped his girlfriend off in front of her house.

"I should go MJ…" he stammed, anxious. "I have to find a place to hide. I can't go home. I think Happy will do everything to protect my aunt and get her to safety. You have his number if the feds are looking for him. You and Ned call Happy... he'll get you to safety..."

"Where are you going, Peter?" MJ cringes anxious. "You can't run forever!"

"I know... I know... I'll find a way... I don't know when I'll see you again... soon, I hope."

"Love you, Peter!" she said with sympathy and anguish. "Be safe!"

"We'll see each other!" declared Spider-Man jumping in the air and pulling a canvas. "I'm really sorry for getting you involved!"

He swung from canvas to canvas, while thinking about what he should do. Oliver was back on Earth – 1. He knew that calling him would not help. Green Arrow couldn't change the fact that his secret was exposed. He thought he would find a way to prove that the video of Mysterio was fake. But how? He was alone and had no ally. He couldn't count on Nick Fury anymore. What could he do? What would happen to his aunt? To Happy? To Ned? What about MJ?

He ends up landing on the roof of Midtown High School. For now, the place was quiet, but soon when people know where Peter Parker was going to school they would come and ask questions of his teachers and classmates.

Taking advantage of the calm away from the chaos among New Yorkers, Peter removed his mask and hid in a discreet corner of the high school roof, while trying to find a way out of his current problem.

He mumbled completely helpless.

"Fake news travels fast! There must be at least either a dozen cops or a dozen feds surrounding my home! I have never felt so blasted helpless! I can't even find out how Aunt May and Happy are because the entire New York is after me! Yeah... my whole life went to hell! I was cursed by a spider and here I am now! Is this how it ends? Will I be hunted down like some sort of beast that has to be destroyed? Or... just to survive... Will I become the new villain that Mysterio and Jameson claimed I am? Please, not that! Not that! Not that! Help me!"

As he was in despair, a voice came to take him out of his confusion.

"Peter Parker also called Spider-Man."

The young man raised his head, and saw with astonishment a strange man dressed in a large metallic armor with coolies on his cheeks. The man looked like a character from a science fiction movie.

"Your journey doesn't end here. Later, you will have a role to play."

Peter stared in amazement at the man in armor, while remaining on his guard.

"Who the hell are you? Gosh, what is this armor you're wearing...? You come from another planet or another parallel universe...?"

"I am the Monitor." replied the man with a neutral look. "I am not your enemy. I came to this Earth to find and test potential champions. And I must warn you, Peter Parker, that a Crisis is coming. The End of the Multiverse. It's inevitable. Nothing can stop it from coming. And as I just announced, you will have a role to play. During the Crisis, you will have a mission to fulfill. A mission that can save billions of lives when the Crisis comes!"

"The Crisis?" exclaimed Peter, increasingly confused and bewildered. "What are you talking about? What would I have to do in this mess? What's this mission I should do?"

"You will know in time." replied the Monitor, always neutral. "The day will come when Spider-Man has to answer the call. Prepare for the Crisis!"

"Prepare for the Crisis?"

Peter approached him gently, but an interdimensional breach sprang from nowhere, and the cosmic individual disappeared before the young man could reach him.

Peter was puzzled.

"I'll have to fight for the end of the Multiverse! I hope it's not a trap to fool me again!"

Knowing that he had to live to prepare for this Crisis, he decided to leave the roof of his high school and went from canvas to canvas to find shelter for a while.

AFTER CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

Inside the L-Corps building was Lex Luthor's office. The former criminal psychopath turned Paragon of Truth always had his eyes on everything. He was watching over the actions of Supergirl and her allies.

He had asked one of his henchmen to keep a discreet watch on the heroes. Otis Graves was not the smartest man in the world, but he knew how to be discreet.

While Lex was meditating in his office, he received a visit from his accomplice Otis who entered his office.

"Mr. Luthor. I have news. I found your guy! Peter Parker! Spider-Man! I know where he's hiding! I followed his aunt, his fat friend and his girlfriend. I know where he's hiding."

He unveiled a pouch containing photos and directions to places. Lex Luthor opened the cover to see photos of an old DEO-owned warehouse with Peter Parker inside, along with Happy Hogan, his aunt May Parker, and his friend Ned Leeds and girlfriend MJ Watson.

"A former DEO secret base," Lex commented with a look of admiration. "Well done Supergirl! You were able to hide your friend, but not for long."

He looked at the footage of Peter Parker in the secret base, then opened his laptop. He clicked on a link to a video showing the Daily Bugle newscast.

Presenter J. Jonah Jameson spoke in a brooding voice:

"There you have it, folks: conclusive proof that Spider-Man was responsible for the brutal murder of Mysterio! An interdimensional warrior who gave his life to protect our planet, and who will no doubt go down in history as the greatest superhero of all time!"

Lex chuckled as he watched Jameson's video.

"I love this guy! I think he's great!"

And the video continued:

"But that's not all, folks. Here's the real blockbuster. Brace yourselves, you might wanna sit down..."

Then Mysterio's face appeared on the screen:

"Spider-Man's real name… Spider-Man's real name is Peter Parker!"

And a photo of Peter Parker scrolled across the computer screen.

Lex paused the video, then eyed the photo of Peter longingly.

"Mr. Parker… Spider-Man… We already met during the Crisis… But I really want to know you better," he declared chuckling with a grin.

He then picked up the phone and dialed a number. His eyes were still on the image of Peter when his interlocutor replied:

"I know where you can find Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. And this is a very serious lead."

The Crisis was over. The Anti-Monitor had been defeated. With the help of Supergirl and her sister, Peter had found refuge in an old building that was once a former secret base of the DEO. He felt at home, temporarily, despite his situation as a fugitive. The Anti-Monitor was destroyed. He was on a completely different new Earth, but his current situation was still the same. On this Earth, Mysterio had revealed his secret identity to everyone, and accused him of murder and destruction.

Actually, he was having a good time with MJ and Ned. While May and Happy were talking to each other, Peter was telling his friends how Supergirl had asked him to accompany her and the Avengers to another Earth to prevent a mad and tyrannical Superman from taking control of the entire Multiverse.

"I thought the Anti-Monitor had destroyed the entire Multiverse and that there was only one Earth left?" remarked MJ confused.

"We have brought back a new Multiverse that has been destroyed by the Anti-Monitor." replied ecstatic Peter.

"Because you, Flash of Central City, Supergirl, the Batwoman Thor and other great guys are Gods?" exclaimed Ned in shock.

"Not Gods! Paragons!"

"And you are the Paragon of Responsibility?" MJ was more and more confused.

"And you fought against a mad Superman?" said Ned.

"He was more than mad! He was completely insane!" replied Peter still shocked by his recent battle on Earth – V. "He almost killed me! Fortunately, Thor and the two Supergirls disintegrated his armor and that's what made us able to save the worlds!"

"Wow!" exclaimed his girlfriend, stunned.

Suddenly, several footsteps were heard throughout the secret building. Several rushed steps.

Intrigued, Peter, MJ and Ned jumped up.

"What's going on here? Happy and your aunt are running a marathon?" asked Ned.

"I don't think so." replied Peter anxious.

Then multiple voices came out of nowhere.

"Federal agents! Nobody move!"

"We have a warrant for the arrest of Peter Parker."

MJ appeared surprised.

"Feds?"

Peter left the room, followed by his friends, to see a whole troop of federal agents stop his aunt and Happy.

One of the officers held an identification card for Agent P. Cleary with the initials of DODC.

"Department Of Damage Control." said Agent Cleary, showing his card to Peter. "We have a warrant for you, Mr. Parker!"

"If you want to arrest me then, just do it, but let my family out of this." Peter says. "They had nothing to do with it, sir!"

Cleary, unaware of the young man's words, turned to his men.

"We're taking everyone in!"

While two agents had grabbed May, the latter accosted the chief agent.

"You know the Fourth Amendment? Unreasonable search and seizure..."

"Mrs. Parker, you are under arrest, as are you, Harold Hogan, Edward Leeds, and Michelle Jones-Watson. And you, off course, Mr. Peter Parker. You are under arrest for the murder of Quentin Beck aka Mysterio, as well as for the damage you caused in London."

"Sir, I didn't do anything! It was not my fault and neither of them!" retorted Peter, while agents were taking him away.

"Hey, get off me! I want a lawyer!" protested MJ as agents were taking her away.

"Me too." added Ned, getting picked up by the feds as well.

Spider-Man and all his loved ones were being taken away by the agents of DODC. As they were being carried away, MJ and May addressed Peter at the same time:

"Peter! Don't say anything without a lawyer!"

"Can I make a call?" asked Happy to the agent who was taking him.

In National City, in the Tower, Alex Danvers spent her days with the Martian J'onn J'onzz since she had resigned from the DEO. The Martian was teaching her to use alien weapons to defend herself. Since Lex Luthor took control of the government agency, she could no longer work for him.

But she had, nevertheless, decided to keep a close eye on him. This man was, in the eyes of all, a great saint philanthropist fighting with the Avengers. But in reality, he was a dangerous manipulative and devious psychopath. And he knew the secret identities of all the Paragons, including her sister Kara. She wanted to protect her family from Lex.

But she still had trouble mastering the Martian weapon.

"Alex, stretch out with your feelings." J'onn taught her. "The Martian DNA in your weapon will code itself to your bio-electric pulses allowing you to morph it with a single thought. But you have to let it in."

"Yeah. Okay, Ollivander." said Alex, exasperated. "Is there any kind of instruction manual for this thing?"

"I'm afraid not. It's instinctual. Trust the weapon, and it will trust you." J'onn simply replied in a calm voice.

But Alex was more discouraged than enthusiastic.

"How am I supposed to trust this if it keeps changing on me?"

The Martian breathed in and answered calmly:

"All right. Look, I know things have been difficult for you since leaving the DEO. Life can be challenging when there's no clear path..."

"Oh, no, no." the young woman declared firmly. "I have a clear path. Okay, it's stop Lex Luthor from traipsing around the world just cashing in on the goodwill that he never earned. Everyone considers him the hero who helped the Avengers fight against Loki, Ultron and Thanos, when we know it's all just a joke! As long as he is out there, he's a threat to my sister and others. Kara. Barry. Kate. Sara. And Peter..."

"We will bring down Lex Luthor together." the Martian assured her with sympathy by taking Alex by the shoulders. "If he tries anything against any of us, it will only force him to unmask himself and we know that Lex is not stupid enough to risk his reputation by trying to kill us."

Before she could answer, her phone started to vibrate. She saw the name displayed on it:

"It's Happy! Peter has trouble!"

She answered immediately.

"Happy. What's wrong?" (A moment passed, then she looked worried.) "What? The feds have come? Department Of Damage Control? Oh crap! I never liked those people! Where's Peter? How did they find him?"

J'onn appeared intrigued and worried. Peter was found by the feds, despite all their precautions to hide him from authorities.

"His aunt was arrested too? Ned and MJ too?" said Alex increasingly worried. "Don't worry. I'll figure it out. I'm on my way."

She hung up and turned to J'onn.

"Peter and his family were arrested by the feds. I don't know how they found the secret building. I'm going there and I'm gonna clear him. Kara, Nia and I have been gathering evidence. They will be enough to make him exonerated."

"I'm afraid the evidence against Quentin Beck will not be enough." said J'onn not convinced.

"Contact Nia and ask her to call this lawyer from Hell's Kitchen in New York. Matt Murdock. He can help Peter."

"Alex." said the Martian always with a pessimistic look. "Even if we can prove that Peter didn't kill Mysterio, it's not going to solve the problem. His secret identity is out. Everyone knows that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. He will never have a moment's respite. And his enemies will know where to strike. Even fanatics approve of Mysterio and continue to denigrate Spider-Man."

Obviously, Alex could not deny the Martian's words. Peter was in a bad situation. But after what he had experienced in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, he didn't deserve to be treated as a criminal. She would do anything to help him through this.

"I have to go! Peter needs us, J'onn!"

Meanwhile, the Daily Bugle news continued to broadcast Jameson's reports, which only denigrated Spider-Man.

"Spider-Menace!" he declared in front of the cameras.

The television footage showed a wanted for murder poster showing Peter's face with red horns drawn on his head, and written in bright red ink: "Criminal".

Jameson continued his show:

"Governments around the world launched investigations into the murderer known as Spider-Man! Aka Peter Parker. Aka The Web-Headed War Criminal who for years has been terrorizing the decent citizens of New York. He, as well as his two accomplices. Michelle Jane Watson. Edward Leeds. All three with Parker nicknamed the Trio of Terror. Spider-Man's minions. Well now, this city and the world see him for what he truly is. New details from devastating attack in London have emerged. Authorities, just a short while ago, confirmed that the deadly drones used in the London attack were designed by Stark Industries."

Then the scrolled through images of the heroes' battle against the Anti-Monitor in Star City. Spider-Man was seen among the multiple heroes battling against the evil cosmic entity.

"And as you can see, folks, Spider-Man was also present during the attack of the monstrous entity known as Anti-Monitor in Star City. It is therefore obvious that Spider-Man aka Parker was connected to this monster. Since we can see him attacking our brave superheroes without apparent reason. This public danger must be arrested and convicted for crimes against humanity. For the death of our hero Mystério, but also for complicity with the Anti-Monitor. Pray that this terrorist offender will be imprisoned for life."

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

The Queensborough Bridge where Spider-Man and MJ are suspended is the same bridge seen in Tobey Maguire's first Spider-Man (2002) where the Green Goblin threatens to kill MJ and the gondola with the children.