Before reading:
I just wanted to let you know that the time in this one-shot is really weird.
Miles is there, as are Flash and Amadeus AND the New Warriors, but Ben's already 'left'. Also, only the Ultimate Warriors and Miles know about Peter being Spidey.
Just wanted to let you know before you start reading this.
I hope you'll enjoy!
***
"The Siege Perilous," Robert Frank said as an image of a red crystal appeared on the big screen. He walked further into the classroom, away from the screen, between the students, his hands behind his back as he kept talking. "Quite a dangerous artifact. It has the potential power to open portals to parallel universes. For as far as we know, the stone is as ancient as the planet, and therefore quite the mystery..."
Silence lingered in the air as he let a dramatic pause fall, the students captivated by the stone.
"Now––" he walked back to the front of the class–– "The Stone requires a lot of energy to function properly, and thus needs extreme sources of electricity. Be it Thor's hammer or Electro. I'd suggest if you ever find yourself in need of using the Siege Perilous, don't ask the latter. This has caused problems before..."
He gave a silent look at the responsible person, who shrugged. "But I fixed it!"
"Indeed you did, Spider-Man. Indeed you did," he sighed. "You may think this is the only way to travel between dimensions, but many more exist. For example." He pulled up the image of a headline with picture from a year or so ago. "Doctor Strange is able to make windows between dimensions, portals when enough energy lingers around long enough to be used."
"But doesn't that mean he needs energy from a previous portal?" Nova had asked the question before his hand was even fully in the air.
"Desperate to prove himself much?" Power Man whispered to nobody in particular while he crossed his arms and let himself slide down his chair into a half-upright position.
"Now now, kids, don't go about pestering each other," Mr. Frank said as he gestured to Sam. "He's asking the right questions. You are correct, Nova. The Doctor would require a previous portal, but he is still able to make one.
"Now, the Siege Perilous is able to transfer objects, energy, and people through its portals. One of your fellow students is one of these cases."
Kid Arachnid waved his hand around like he was the Queen and gave a small bow. "Thank you, thank you..."
"However, having two of the same in one dimension may cause 'rips' or black holes to appear; the "problem" we talked about earlier. This makes the Siege Perilous a weapon for anyone who wants to destroy a universe, and that makes it a security risk for us."
Dagger's hand slowly rose. "Kind of a late question, but when you say "parallel universes", does that mean they're different? If yes, how?"
"Good question as well. The rest of you may learn from this, so don't sleep," Mr. Frank said as he whizzed past Agent Venom, who had fallen asleep somewhere during the lecture. After a startled "I'm awake!" Mr. Frank continued. "We know from experience there are many different universes. Vampire, futuristic, medieval, robot, gender-swapped..." Mr. Frank carefully eyed one particular teenager, who gave him the tiniest of a nod. "...evil-good swapped universes."
Murmurs echoed through the class.
Mr. Frank gestured to Kid Arachnid. "This lad may be able to tell you more later, but––" the man formerly known as 'Whizzer' was cut off by the mechanical bell ringing through the classroom, "class has ended. You are dismissed."
