Webs and Bones

Master Weaver

Ink and Dream stared in awe at what could only be the Web of Life and Destiny. The all-powerful construct that every Spider-Man and Spider-Woman was connected to. The very thing that held this reality together, kept the countless futures and histories from falling on top of each other.

The physical embodiment of this multiverse.

It was beautiful.

Dream could feel countless emotions radiating off it. Billions upon trillions of people living their lives, laughing and crying. There was so much anger that it could shatter a galaxy but also enough calm to heal the scars of the most brutal wars. Dream knew that what he was sensing was only a small fraction of the Web's population and yet it already felt grander than his own multiverse did. All this from simply being in it's presence.

He couldn't possibly imagine how overwhelming it would be if he attempted to form a genuine connection.

'It's beautiful.'

Those three words kept repeating themselves within Ink's skull. While yes, the web itself was pretty to look at, it was what lay beyond it that had captured Ink's unbreakable attention.

He wasn't sure how he could see it, perhaps because of his role in his multiverse, but Ink could see past the Web and into the worlds that it held within its strands. Ink could tell that what he was seeing was only a small fraction of this multiverse but that didn't change just how magnificent it was.

Countless stories about heroes and villains, good battling evil. Some with wars that saw no end and with eras of peace so long that they overwhelmed him. Gods wandered these worlds, either simply observing like Ink was now or fighting tooth and nail for their cause.

Humanity was at the centre of all of it, leading the charge against the forces of evil or being consumed by their own sins. The humans were surrounded by countless other intelligent races, both local to the Earth or from beyond the stars, but all foreign to the artist. Some of these alien beings were undeniably superior yet it was humanity that stood above the rest, the protagonists of almost every story.

Ink found it to be a welcome change of pace.

As he watched thousands of these stories unfold before him, utterly incomprehensible or even maddening to anyone else, Ink couldn't help but ask, 'Is this how it feels to have a soul?'

At the centre of the Great Web of Life and Destiny was a man, lower body confined in a golden, robotic exosuit that made him look more like a spider than any spider-powered individual that they had seen thus far.

The masked man gave Miguel a nod before lowering his head so he could face the spiders before him, "Please leave us. I would like to speak to our guests in private."

No one argued. They simply dropped what they were doing and walked away. Some headed to the doors, disappearing into the halls of this palace. Others activated their Watches and stepped through the portals, vanishing into the strands of the Web before them.

The two skeletons were so engrossed that they didn't notice a very familiar individual walking up to them until he spoke, "So, these are the couple of glitches that have been causing all the fuss."

The two skeletons forced themselves to break their attention on the Web and properly face the man in front of them. Their eyes widened, as they realised it was 2099 but... not quite.

This one was shorter and way leaner. His suit was also different. It was a far darker blue, almost black, and the red skull-shaped spider on his chest was a different design. His cape was made of webs instead of being holographic. In fact, his entire suit looked more solid, looking almost like some sort of liquid metal.