Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse

21 - Taking Varian

A disquiet settled over the Spider-Force headquarters, heavy as the silence that followed Morlun's escape. The holographic image flickered, displaying the deserted rooftop where the battle had raged just moments ago. Frustration and worry etched lines on Peter's face.

"He got away," he muttered, his voice laced with defeat.

May, her hand resting on Varian's soft fur, echoed his sentiment with a shaky breath.  "But how?  We almost had him."

Miguel, his suit deactivated and sparking faintly, ran a hand through his already messy hair. "That extraction message... it doesn't make sense. Who would pull us out right before the finish?"

Miles, ever the optimist, piped up. "Maybe it was a good thing? Morlun was strong, stronger than before. We might not have been able to take him."

Peter shook his head. "No, Miles. We were close. We were winning. Now he's out there, fueled by his escape, even more dangerous."

A chill ran down Varian's spine, a sickening premonition gnawing at him.  He felt it before, a faint tremor in the fabric of reality. "There's something more," he rasped, his voice urgent.

His keen senses picked up a faint residual energy signature, a distortion in the air that hadn't been there before.  He focused, his ears twitching, and his eyes narrowed on a seemingly innocuous corner of the room.

"Over there," he barked, pointing towards the corner.  "Something... something doesn't feel right."

Peter and the others followed his gaze, their attention drawn to the empty space.  They saw nothing, but Varian's wolfish instincts rarely failed him.

Suddenly, the air shimmered and distorted, and a shadowy figure materialized in the corner.  Morlun, his crimson eyes gleaming with a chilling triumph, materialized beside a visibly shaken Varian.

"Ah, the loyal companion," Morlun rasped, a cruel smile twisting his lips.  He held a hand against Varian's head, his body radiating a dark energy.

"Varian!" May screamed, her voice filled with terror.

But it was too late.  Varian, his eyes wide with a silent plea for help, let out a whimper as his body dissolved into a swirling vortex of shadows, pulled into the same dimension Morlun had escaped to moments ago.

The corner of the room was empty once more, the only remaining evidence of Varian's presence a scattering of soft fur on the floor.  A wave of horror washed over the Spider-Force.

"No!" Peter roared, his voice raw with anguish.  He lunged towards the spot where Varian had disappeared, but there was nothing there, only a cold emptiness.

May sank to her knees, tears streaming down her face.  Varian, her beloved companion, was gone, vanished into the same unknown dimension as Morlun.

Miguel and Jessica, their faces grim, exchanged a worried glance.  This wasn't just about a defeated villain escaping anymore.  This was about a friend, a loyal companion, taken hostage.

The battle for the multiverse had taken a dark turn.  Morlun, weakened but not defeated, had not only escaped, but had taken a valuable hostage, a silent guardian who held a wealth of knowledge about the Spider-Verse. 

The Spider-Force, now united not just by duty but by grief and determination, knew their next mission.  They had to find Morlun, and they had to bring Varian back. The hunt was on.

Lashanie, the celestial weaver from Loomworld, materialized in a flurry of iridescent threads, her normally serene expression replaced by a mask of raw terror.  She found herself not in the tranquility of her cosmic loom chamber, but in the bustling heart of the now-deserted Spider-Force headquarters.