Chapter 5
When Peter stepped through the portal, he wasn't sure what he was expecting. Noir had never let any of them enter his universe, claiming that their appearances would upset the people. Peter had always figured that Noir was more concerned with them seeing his world than his world seeing them, but he never pushed on it.
It wouldn't have been safe for the kids to come here, anyway.
The portal melted away, leaving Peter standing in the middle of a dark alley. Rain was pouring down from a dark gray sky, and he was nearly instantly soaked. The lightpost at the end of the alley was flickering, casting a white glow onto the filthy dumpster beneath it.
Peter shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets, pulling it over and hoping it would hide his mask. He had put gray clothes over his suit, hopefully so he could blend in a little more. Regardless of Noir's intentions in not wanting them in his universe, there was no point in traumatizing passerby if he could help it.
Peter shot out a web, swinging on top of the building to his left, before walking across it and peering out over the city. Noir didn't talk much about his universe, but he did mention MJ's bar a few times. Maybe he could head over there and see if she knew anyth-
Huh. Peter could see smoke rising in the distance, the faint wail of police sirens echoing through the city. He turned away from it, considering. His priority was finding Noir. Still, if Noir was around, wouldn't he be headed over there?
Peter shook his head for a moment, exasperated, before webbing his way over. If it turned out Noir was just screwing around, he'd be annoyed. Well, actually, Peter admitted, he'd be relieved.
But also annoyed. For making him worry.
Peter swung down, dropping through a small, broken window into the rafters. Beneath him, there were several ... Nazis?
Noir had said he fought Nazis, and it made sense to Peter logically, but to see actual Nazis was... disturbing.
Said Nazis were in various levels of consciousness, most of them webbed up already. A couple of spots looked like someone had tried to get them out, but the webs wouldn't break. The thing sending off the smoke, Peter realized, was a raging, but thankfully contained, mass of twisted metal. What it was supposed to be, Peter had no clue.
Whatever Noir had done, he had clearly done it well. Peter must have just missed him, so he decided to head back outside again. He stood up, but froze as he noticed... something unusual. A glistening of metal, and a disturbed pool of black liquid.
Peter dropped down, ignoring the muffled gasps of the Nazis still webbed up. It looked like the police weren't coming inside yet, probably outside waiting for something to cut the webs with. So he didn't have to worry about them, good.
Peter crouched down, inspecting the metal, which turned out to be a wrench. It was covered in that same black liquid. Peter reached out, touching it.
He pulled back, stifling any noise from escaping his mouth. No matter the dimension, no matter the color, blood was always recognizable.
Peter started to get a sinking feeling. This much blood... it wasn't exactly a good thing. Peter's eyes tracked the edge of the pool where it tracked off, and spotted drops, almost imperceptible with how the floor blended it in.
Peter heard a laugh. He turned his head sharply, fixing his face levelly on one on of the Nazis. He had a bloody nose, and was webbed to the wall, but was grinning like a maniac.
"You the cleanup crew?" He asked, smirking. His mouth was bloody, too.
Peter didn't remember moving, but suddenly he was right in front of the guy, leaning in real close.
"What happened here?" Peter kept his voice deadly calm, despite his rising adrenaline.
The Nazi grinned wider. "You mean you don't know?"
"Know what?" Peter slammed his fist next to the Nazi.
"Are you a man of science?" He asked suddenly.
"I- what?"
"Darwin taught us, only by adapting can the best survive. Yet here you are, helping those who do not deserve it. Those who do not adapt do not have the right to survive. You Americans, you're all the same. Protecting the Jews, the decrepit, the-"
Peter punched the wall. "Tell me where Spider-Man is, or I will rip you limb from limb. If it turns out you lied, I'll come back and remove your tongue."
The Nazi nodded. "See? This is proper use of your prowess. A true Aryan."
Peter didn't respond.
"Our glorious Commander Fisch apprehended that Yankee. He took him to the warehouse couple blocks from here, over on Washington. He's gonna take every setback that bastard's caused us out of his hide. Then, well," The Nazi laughed, "If there's anything left of him, he'll toss the body out for the dogs."
Peter's blood ran cold. Noir. Noir was in danger. Possibly already dead. No. Not dead. Not yet. He couldn't be.
The Nazi shrugged. "You're welcome to try. It would be a shame for a strong one like you to die, though. You're a prime example of Darwinism at its finest."
Peter pulled up the lower half of his mask, scowling. "I'm Jewish, you fucker."
Peter'd always wanted to punch a Nazi. Still, he didn't really take the time to enjoy it this round.
Within moments, the Nazi was out cold, and Peter was sprinting outside, ignoring the shocked shouts of the police, webbing into the air and swinging away.
His only thought was of Noir, and his only prayer was that he would be alive by the time he got there.