Secret War

Fuck, fuck fuck fuck.

Peter hugs his head desperately.
The time is now 4:47pm, seven hours since the disaster.

Why am I leaving for so long? Why didn't I check my phone right after I got back?
Why am I so stupid?

Peter takes a deep breath, takes his trembling fingers and taps the phone screen, but no matter how many times he tried, no matter who he called, he couldn't get through.

"Karen?" he asks desperately.

"Yes Peter, what do you want me to do?"

Thank gods.

"Are there any letters from the Avengers?"

"Sorry,I don’t get any message,Peter."

"...…Can you go online and see what's been going on on Earth since 9:30am?"

"Yes, just a second."

Thirty seconds later Karen's voice comes again. "The time of this searching will be significantly extended as communications facilities around the world are affected."

"What? What's going on?"

"I can't give a specific reason at this time."

"Okay, I'll wait for your news."

Save people, save people, stay away from the battlefield, and get back on your feet.
Save people. Lift cement blocks, lift cars, save people, save people, save people. Go in the direction of the Sanctum. Save people. Find dead bodies. Dead bodies. Carry the corpse. Save people.
That's what Spider-Man does then .

At some time after that, the spider sense rings again.
Peter Parker looks up and see that the middle part of the Empire State Building is disappears , revealing a gray sky and rolling clouds. Instead of falling off according to the laws of gravity, the tip of it stayed where it was.
Around it, there are several torn buildings floating, which are slowly turning into yellow liquid and pour down.

Then he heard a few inexplicable conversations.

"You are murdering!"

"Has anyone ruled that hunting of humans is not allowed?"

"Spider..."

"You are cannibalism! What maddened species would do this?"

"Cahf ah nafl mglw'nafh hh' ahor syha'h ah'legeth,"

"That guy——"

"Hamsters! And humans!"

"ng llll or'azath syha'hnahh n'ghftephai n'gha ahornah ah'mglw'nafh"

These sounds disappears like a wind, then the surroundings become quiet.
What the hell happened?
Peter shakes his head, finish his thirteenth one-way contact with the Avengers, shooting a cobweb and swinging himself in the direction of Queens.

During this time Karen reports on some important things that have happened on Earth during these seven hours.

[At 09:23:30 Eastern Time, a small earthquake with a magnitude of 3 occurred in Times Square in New York, and the entire Times Square fell into a black hole —— tentatively designated as a wormhole phenomenon]
[At 09:24:06 EST, a group of unknown creatures emerged from a large black pit in Times Square and began to attack civilians]
[At 09:26:38 EST, a complete Japanese archipelago appeared 200 meters above Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, and it began to fall after being suspended for 6 minutes and 16 seconds. ]

"WTF?! You mean the whole of Japan? The whole country?!"

"Yes Peter, there were two Japans on Earth at that time, and one of them was suspended in the air and fallen."

"What about Japan now?"

[At 22:27:37 local time, 3/4 of the Asian land plate turned into a flat white desert, and all life and buildings disappeared in an instant, including Japan. ]
Karen reports such a news.

"Fuck..." Spider-Man stopped on a building and covered his face.

"Peter, it was detected that your heart rate is too high, do you still want me to continue?"

"Yes," he needs take a deep breath. "Keep going."

[At 09:57:13 EST, a 2D phenomenon appeared throughout Washington, DC, and all buildings and creatures were spared. ]
[At 10:10:10 EST, Antarctica's glaciers began to spread toward the surrounding sea level, with a thickness of 200 meters. It is expected to cover the entire area south of latitude 66 degrees south in two weeks.]
[At 11:11:54 EST, a large number of living dinosaurs appeared in multiple tropical rain forests in South America, and they all died after surviving for an hour.]
[At 11:56:37 EST, about one million square meters of Earth's crust in Eastern Europe disappeared instantly, and it is currently impossible to enter the area through physical means. ]

Karen plays a video: The fiery mantle was exposed, while the waters of the Aegean Sea were blocked by an invisible barrier from pouring into the terrifying pit.

[At 12:17:00 EST, the Sahara Desert turned into a whole piece of transparent glass, and the animals, plants and water sources in it were not abnormal]
[At 12:20:59 EST, a building outside New York was attacked by an unknown object, the attack stopped a minute later, and the area is now unobservable]

“Karen.” Peter asks. "...Is that where the compound is located?"

AI doesn't answer.

"Tell me the coordinates of the area under attack, Karen."

"I can't do it, Peter."

Spider-Man knelt down in pain on the roof of a villa, his body shaking violently. ”No.”

"I'm sorry, Peter."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!! You should have told me as soon as I got back!!!"

"As per Bruce Banner's last orders, I cannot report this to you nor play any video or audio related to this attack, and he wants me to tell you 'Never come to compound, it will only be a waste of your life. You should go save people, New York needs you, Peter. " And the most important task Tony has given me is to keep you safe, Peter."

"No." Spider-Man let out a sob. "How can I."

Karen continues to report the news because she thinks Peter needs a distraction.
[At 14:31:22 U.S. Eastern Time, violent geological movements occurred on the southern slope of Mount Everest. According to multiple satellite images, the part of the entire mountain from 4,000 meters to 17,000 meters became an unobservable area. ]

"Unobservable? Why?"

"Because there's nothing observable coming out of that area."

"...What about Ned?! He told me he was in Nepal! Where is MJ now? And Happy! Mrs. Potts and Morgan!"

"I can't get Ned Leeds' current location, but based on where his last text message was sent, he's safe, Peter."
"As for Michelle Jones, she and her family should now be under the protection of the U.S. military, she possibly in a small town around New York."

"Possibly?! Can you just give me a specific location?"

"Sorry Peter, I can't find out exactly where Michelle Jones is now due to the severe damage to the communications network, but I think she's safe and you should calm down."

"I'm calm, really.” He cursed in a low voice. “ Happy and Mrs. Potts?"

"......" AI silent.

"Karen?"

"I'm sorry, Peter."

"What do you mean? Tell me they're all safe."

Silence.

"Karen, please tell me they're all right."

silence.

"Karen, please."

"...... ...... They're safe, Peter."

Peter let out a desperate sob.

"Peter? Are you all right?"

"...I'm fine, I'm fine. Thank you, thank you Karen. I, great. I'm glad they're fine."
He laughed.

They're all alive, they're all safe, they're all okay.

Marvelous.

Peter needs to bite his lip hard to keep himself from losing his mind and doing things that could hurt him. Karen's words were ignored, and she is ordered to continue reporting on disasters and anomalies occurring on Earth.

[At 15:10:10 EST, due to unknown reasons, the global communication network was severely damaged. ]
"That's the last news I can find, are you okay Peter? You're hurt."

"You still can't reach the Avengers? Anyone, even Nick Furry?"

"I'm sorry, Peter. They still haven't responded, and I'll keep trying to get in touch."

"...Okay. It seems that I have to continue to work alone." Peter let out a sneer, and finds that he is not as lost as he thought. Is it because him have no expectations at all?

"I'll always with you, Peter."

Spider-Man gets silent for one second, and quickly takes off his mask, impatient to get rid of it. His eyes are full of pain as he stares at the roof he just destroyed, tears flowing silently down his face.
What should I do now? What can I do now? Why am I not getting stronger? Why am I——so powerless?

He sniffs, spat the blood in his mouth, pushes his body away from the building.
He stills needs to find Stephen Strange.

When Peter comes to the street where the Sanctum locates , he is surprised to find that it is intact, the trees leave soft shadows in the setting sun, drivers and pedestrians seems unaware of the terrible disaster a few blocks away, focusing on do their own thing.

It seems the wizard has stabilized the situation! We still have a chance! A joy sprouted from Peter's heart.

Then he notices two people in winter clothes walking down the road —— it is Ned and MJ! Great they are all fine!
Peter happily call out the names of his friends from the adjacent rooftops, but all they do is push open the gate and walk in.

Didn't they hear me? Or is my voice too low? Peter frowns and decides to catch up with his friends.

When he lands on the ground, the view of the street starts to change.

The road become potholed and half of the concrete pavement turned to glass. A sedan pulled up on the sidewalk with its doors open and the driver disappeared, while another was cut in half. Worst of all is the Sanctum , the left wing of the gate was charred and the steps in front of it is covered in black goo.
The frontal wall is densely covered with deep, long scratches, and the western wall was missing along with part of the roof, exposing the room and frame inside in a strange shape.
For some reason, Peter feels vaguely that the shape is a bite mark.
An ominous premonition linger in his heart.

What happened to Ned and MJ just now?

Is it a hologram or...another universe?
Peter walked cautiously to the door of the temple and found that the steps were full of blood that had not completely dried up. He carefully avoided the pool of blood and peered into the room through the hole in the door.
"Hello? Is anyone home?"

No respond.

Spider sense doesn't makes alarm, so Peter takes a deep breath and walks through the gate.

The interior of the Sanctum is completely different from what he had imagined. There is a lot of water running down the stairs in the center of the room, but the floor remained dry.
Peter looks curiously at the stairs, then begins to tour the hall.

All the furniture placed in an orderly manner, and there is no sign of a fight.
"Karen, did you find anything?"

"No, I have detected no other signs of activity."

"Well, hopefully Strange has left me with enough clues here..."

When Peter uttered the word Strange, a set magic is activates: the waterfall on the stairs split into several streams, crawling on the ground like snakes, they come to Spider-Man, and finally formed a Stephen Strange - like body of water.

"Peter Parker," the body of water begins to vibrate, making Strange's voices. "You finally here."

"Mr Strange? How did you become like this?"

"I'm just a leftover memory, you can use it as a gramophone." Water-Strange looks at Spider-Man with his transparent eyes. "For unknown reasons, the dimension we're in becomes less stable, and other dimensions and universes start to squeeze and devour our world, and that's why those bad things happening."

"So is there any way to fix our dimension?! What can I do?"

"No, I don't think we have a way, because those things are still happening, aren't they? The real me should have returned to the Sanctum as soon as this magic was activated, but he hasn't appeared yet. So "

"What?" Peter frowns with surprise. "Until now?? But we just talk for a few minutes? I could wait another half, no, an hour! Two hours!"

Strange, made of water, shakes his head. "We've been here for an hour now, Peter." There is a bitterness in his voice. "I'm sorry kid . In order to hold you here, I left another magic that will make the time in this Sanctum much, much slower than outside."

"What?!” More panic and confusion appeared on Peter's face, he takes a step back .”Why are you doing this?! I'm not hiding from you on purpose! And you can use the portal to find me! Where are you now? I——"

"I'm afraid it's useless to say that now, Peter." Water-Strange interrupts Spider-Man by raising a hand. "Some things should be telling to you by the real me. But since he hasn't shown up yet, forget it."
"You can leave now ." Strange turns his back and looks at the stained-glass windows of the temple.

"Is it because I go to another universe?"

Through the transparent body of water, Peter can see Water-Strange's eyes widen.

"Is it because I went to another universe, meet someone who looked exactly like me and fell in love with him, that caused these disasters to happen?!!"
The boy's voice echoing in the Sanctum.

"Peter, your heart rate is 1.5 times faster, you are on the verge of a panic attack, I suggest you..." The voice of the artificial intelligence comes from the mask.

The boy doesn't put Karen's words into his ears, just stares at the water human figure. "Tell me the truth, Strange!!"

The long silence just like a vacuum, and Peter thought he would die of suffocation or a heart attack in any second.
He is waiting the sentencing.

The water-made Strange's lips twitches weakly, as if to reveal some shocking secret. Peter could see he knows something .
But in the end Strange swallows hard and shaking his head sharply.
"No, absolutely not."

"Then why did you——"

"I already said that your story had nothing to do with this disaster, and I certify in my capacity that what I say is true. Don't dwell on a question that has already been answered like Tony Stark. There's a golden sword and a solid gold ring in the third room upstairs. “ Strange points to the room. “They should come in handy."
Water-Strange turns back to look at Spider-Man, his body beginning to turn back into a stream of water.

"I—I'm sorry. Peter." Suddenly Strange starts saying in a sad voice, his transparent eyes fixing on the boy. "Take care of yourself, you have a home to go back to. Peter."

"Wait, Ned and MJ——"

The waterfall flows down the stairs again.

"Strange? Mr Strange? Doctor Strange? Stephen?"
Peter tried a few more times, but nothing happens , he kicking the chair beside him in exasperation.

After this Peter finds what Strange said in the upstairs room.
The sword turns into a golden tattoo on Peter's palm the moment he holds it. The gold ring looks ordinary except for the pattern engraved on it. Peter doesn’t know what it is for, so he put it in his suit pocket.
There are many other things in the room, but Peter isn't going to take them.

Then he returning to the hall of the Sanctum, looks up at the circular sign of the temple: It is no longer bright, and a crack ran through the entire window.

After leaving the Sanctum, Peter finds that night had fallen, and the sky of New York had suddenly turns into a flowing purple. It looks so eerie that Peter couldn't help but think of that painting by Van Gogh.
I don't know if I should be glad I didn't see the yellow star. He checks the time, 08:42PM.

He rescued several cats, visited several nearby shelters, and people reacted violently to his arrival. He stayed with the survivors for a while before continuing to patrol.

New York is no longer as brightly lit as it used to be, with only a few windows in a block lit dimly, like the helpless fireflies on an early autumn night.

When he is eating a burger that a passerby had stuffed him with, he finds himself in a familiar place —— his beloved sandwich shop.
A huge lump of meat leaks from the store and Peter is horrified to see it still throbbing.

He immediately dropped the burger in his hand.
Oh shit.
He doesn’t want to be here for a second.

The monster he encountered during the day reappears again, the faint green ball of light got closer and closer to him during each of his swing, and it seems that even his spider senses are becoming dull.

Peter leans against the wall and lifts a broken TV beside him, smashing it at the nearest monster. A black mud-like object pours out of the TV and quickly melted the monster's body. The remaining creature let out a shrill howl, and several swift orbs of light flew from the tips of its tentacles.

Spider sense ring.
They emerge from every wrinkle in his brain, alerting every angle around Spider-Man.

Peter shoots the cobwebs, and the glowing orbs fly past him.
You don't have to think about it, you know you must avoid those balls of light, after all, you will die if you encounter them, but why does the spider sense more like being afraid of other things?

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a woman dressed in black on the corner of the street.
She must be scared, I have to take her to safety.

"Don't worry! I'm here!"
Peter Parker acted without thinking.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
There is a sharp pain in Peter's right shoulder.

…… Spider.

Peter falls to the ground.

He was hit by a ball of light, he doesn’t dare to look at the right side of his body, and the spider sense seems to be shouting to himself across a world.
He could only turn his head and shout at the woman beside him.
"Leave me alone! Run away!Run!"

But the woman just stares at him motionless, the limb beside her feet was rapidly aging into a dry bone.

"what."

The right side of my body hurts so much...

It isn't as painful as I thought.At first I thought I would faint from the pain, or I would scream uncontrollably, but if that was the case, I wouldn't be thinking about it. Oh, by the way, I remember hearing someone say that the human body secretes something in a critical juncture to keep it from feeling pain. What is that thing called?

……

Things didn't go according to the script at all, Tom, but thinking about it, life doesn't go according to the script.

De……

I may hear people's voices, is there someone to help me? God, I don't have any strength to turn my head anymore... I hope it's a reliable guy.
Peter thinks.

…...c

must...…

What?

………Pi…

The voice keeps speak.

Spider Sense was screaming at Peter at the highest volume it could make.
【Run, escape, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run away, run, run, run Run, run, run, run, run away, run away, run run run run run! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 】

Run.

With his left hand clasping and releasing, Peter's body moves without any thought.

Small lilac shards floating in Peter Parker's hand.

The woman in black with black veil leans down.