Spider-Man: Old Man Spider (A Marvel Multiverse Story)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Best Laid Plans of Spiders and Men

Ezekiel Sims had always prided himself on his ability to make the impossible possible. He'd bent the laws of physics, created AI that could sass him in multiple dimensions, and even managed to become a superhero despite his profound lack of actual superpowers. But as he stood in the smoking ruins of what was supposed to be his crowning achievement, he realized that sometimes, the universe had a way of telling you to go fuck yourself.

"Well," he said, staring at the sparking, twisted metal of his quantum entanglement trap, "that didn't go according to plan."

Spider-UK, standing beside him, had the decency not to say 'I told you so.' Instead, he simply sighed, a sound that seemed to carry the weight of multiple universes. "We need to move, Sims. Earth-982 is still in danger."

Ezekiel nodded, his mind already racing to formulate a new plan. "Right. Plan A was a bust, so we're on to Plan B. Please tell me Plan B is better than 'punch the interdimensional vampire really hard.'"

"I'm afraid that's precisely what Plan B is," Spider-UK replied, his voice grim.

"Fantastic," Ezekiel muttered. "ALYS, remind me to come up with better contingency plans in the future. Preferably ones that don't involve me getting my ass kicked by beings of immense cosmic power."

"Noted, boss," ALYS chimed in his ear. "Might I suggest 'run away screaming' as Plan C?"

"Your humor timing is impeccable as always, ALYS," Ezekiel grumbled. He turned to Spider-UK. "Alright, let's go save Earth-982. And maybe, if we're really lucky, we won't get atomized in the process."

Spider-UK nodded, activating his dimensional travel device. The air crackled with energy as a portal opened before them. "Remember," he said, "Daemos is incredibly dangerous. We need to find May Parker and get her to safety as quickly as possible."

"Got it," Ezekiel replied. "Find the spider-kid, avoid the murderous interdimensional vampire. Just another Tuesday in the life of Ezekiel Sims."

With that, they stepped through the portal, the familiar sensation of interdimensional travel washing over them. As they emerged on the other side, Ezekiel's first thought was that Earth-982 looked disappointingly normal. He'd half-expected dinosaurs or flying cars, but instead, they found themselves in what looked like a typical New York City alley.

"Well, this is anticlimactic," Ezekiel muttered. "I was hoping for at least a talking dog or something."

His quip was cut short by the sound of an explosion in the distance. Spider-UK was already moving, shooting a web and swinging towards the source of the commotion. Ezekiel followed, his suit's built-in web-shooters allowing him to keep pace.

As they swung through the city, Ezekiel couldn't shake the feeling that they were already too late. The streets below were chaos, people running in panic, cars overturned. "ALYS," he said, "scan for Spider-Totem energy signatures. We need to find May Parker ASAP."

"Scanning, boss," ALYS replied. "I'm detecting two Spider-Totem signatures. One is approximately 500 meters northeast of our current position. The other... it's faint and fading fast, about 200 meters to the west."

Ezekiel's heart sank. "Fuck," he muttered. "UK, we've got a problem. Two Spider-Totems, one fading. We need to split up."

Spider-UK nodded grimly. "I'll take the fading signature. You find May. And Sims... be careful."

They separated, each swinging off in different directions. Ezekiel pushed his suit to its limits, the wind whipping past him as he raced towards the Spider-Totem signature ALYS had detected.