Gone // Spider-Man: Far From Home [Book 4]

twelve {Third Person POV}

"Mysterio?" Peter asked, totally perplexed. 

"What?" Mysterio, or Mr Beck, questioned.

"Doesn't matter. It's just what my friends have been calling you," Peter quickly said.

"Well," said Beck. "You can call me Quentin."

He held out his hand and the two shook hands in the middle.

"You handled yourself well out there today. I saw what you did with the tower. We could use someone like you on my world."

"Thanks," Peter said, but then Quentin's words sank in. "I'm sorry, your world?"

"Mr Beck is from Earth," Fury spoke up, stepping forward. "Just not yours."

"There are multiple realities, Peter," Quentin said. "This is Earth, dimension 616. I'm from Earth, dimension 833."

"I'm sorry, you're saying there's a Multiverse?" Peter gaped excitedly, walking up to him. "Because I thought that was just theoretical. I mean, that completely changes how we understand the initial singularity. We're talking about an eternal inflation system. And how does that even work with all the quantum... It's insane!" After seeing the confused and slightly judgemental looks from both Fury and Maria Hill, his excited smile fell and he mumbled, "S-sorry. It's really cool." He turned back to Quentin, putting on a serious face.

"Don't ever apologise for being the smartest one in the room," Quentin said.

Peter's excited smile returned and behind his back, Maria Hill rolled her eyes. "Anyway," she said, pressing a few keys on a computer. In front of Quentin, a colourful hologram appeared.

"They were born in stable orbits. Within black holes, creatures formed from the primary elements. Air. Water. Fire. Earth," Quentin began to explain. The holograms followed his words with new symbols and pictograms as he spoke. "The science division had a technical name. We just called them 'Elementals'."

"Versions of them exist across our mythologies," Maria Hill added.

"Turns out the myths are real," Quentin said.

"Like Thor," Peter commented. "Thor was a myth, and now I study him in my physics class."

"These myths are threats," Nick Fury said.

"They first materialised on my Earth many years ago. We mobilised and fought them, but with each battle, they grew and got stronger." While Quentin talked, the hologram of the planet in front of them started to go up in flames. "I was part of the last battalion left trying to stop them. All we did was delay the inevitable." 

"Well, the Elementals are here now," Maria interjected. "Attacking the same coordinates. Our satellites confirm it."

"So thank Mr Beck for destroying the other three," Fury said. "There's only one left. Fire." 

"The strongest of them all. The one that destroyed my Earth. It's the one that took my family." The sadness in Beck's eyes reminded Peter of the same sadness he saw in Arya's eyes when she talked about Tony. Beck toyed with the wedding band around his ring finger. 

"I'm sorry," Peter whispered. 

"And it will be in Prague in approximately 48 hours," Hill spoke up. 

"We have one mission: Kill it," Fury said. "And you're coming with us."

Peter was left opening and closing his mouth for a few seconds. "I-I'm sorry, did you say Prague? Mr Fury, this all seems like big-time, you know... huge superhero stuff. And I mean, I'm just a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, Sir," he rambled, not knowing how to react to Fury's statement.