A Funny World

The vending machine spat the crumpled dollar bill back out. Like an insult, the money insertion slot looked like a green tongue sticking out at the potential consumer. The machine sat below a crackling luminescent light. Besides the glass-paneled mini store sat another vending machine, with lines of drinks inside. The two machines sat at the bottom of the concrete apartment staircase.

“B-b-b-bullshit!” The little customer complained.

A small boy stood in front of the vending machine, his young face grimacing as his stomach rumbled. He wore jeans five sizes too big for him, grey crocs, a bright yellow Japanese animation hoodie, and a ball cap pulled low over his face. If one looked a bit too closely, they would think instead of a gut, it seemed as if the little boy had an extra pair of arms hugging his stomach underneath his baggy hoodie.

The little boy tried to pay for the food again. Again, the vending machine spat the dollar bill out. As the little boy grumbled, a sizable drunk man in a stained shirt stumbled past, his hairy arm wrapped around a gaunt woman in a miniskirt with fishnet leggings. The odd pair ignored the boy as they walked up the concrete stairs.

The little boy scowled once the people were gone, then checked his surroundings twice, scanning for any prying eyes. Seeing no one else was there, he lifted his hoodie. A small metallic hand extended from under his shirt, its finger inserted into the machine. The vending machine buzzed, odd numbers flashing from its screen as a wave of food fell out from its metal rungs.

The little boy cheered, greedily grabbing as much as he could carry, as he ran away, back to his tiny home. The boy scampered to the stairs, took a left down the long desolate hallway, and ran into an empty janitor’s closet. Once there, the little Spider shut the door and began ripping open plastic bags of food.

All of his limbs were out, each holding a small bag of snacks as he happily munched. As the Spider ate, he gazed at the wall in front of him. The wall was covered in newspapers, with bright highlights, pictures, and long lines of yarn meant to illustrate connections. He had built this map over these past months, a map to back home.

The little one did not understand this world. It was odd, with technology far beyond that on Mars but somehow more primitive. People here lounged around with minicomputers held in their hands, did funny dances while their friends held up their minicomputers, and rode around in non-armored, brightly colored buggies/tanks on wheels.

All efforts to get back to the first place had failed. Spider had tried every door, but each led to a new world, never the one he had come from. So, he had been stuck here, spying on the bad people who had opened the doors.

At first, he was terrified; he didn’t like the new places. But, as he traveled, he learned. The bad people didn’t like that. Seeing the mean people do bad things to the new places, Captain Spider wanted to help.

It was small stuff at first. A lever was pulled here, a window opened there, and a big angry animal let out of its cage just at the right time. But then he graduated to bigger things. He learned how to interact with the new places’ technologies, improving his metal arms as he went from place to place.

The bad people had fire and lightning, just like Professor Bullshit and Nameless. They were really scary. But, just like Spider, they were also not from the new places. This was nice; Spider could hide and fight. He also made new friends everywhere he went. The bad people didn’t seem to have friends; that’s probably why they were so mean.

Captain Spider sighed, reaching down into his sleeping bag, and pulled out a can. It was red, with white squiggly words on it. Spider cracked open the can and giggled as it bubbled. He liked the bubbly dark water. It tasted like how his leg felt when he sat on it for too long, but sweet. Spider chugged the strange water and belched with a grin. He wiped his mouth and scratched his head.

Hair had started growing on his head. It was very itchy. Spider didn’t like his new hair, but he just went with it, seeing as there was no one to shave his head. Suddenly, his sleeping bag vibrated. Startled, Spider reached again inside and pulled out a cracked minicomputer. It had numbers with a red and a green button flashing. Spider pressed the green button.

“Hello?” A voice called.

“Hi!” Captain Spider grinned with a mouth full of chips.

“I’m sending you my pin; meet me there in ten minutes,” The voice said.

“Okay!” Spider giggled.

He recognized the voice; it was the nice man he had saved from the bad people in the last new place. The little boy sighed and stood up. Captain Spider walked over to the rusted wall locker in the corner. He pulled out the pistol he had stolen from the big guy in the blue clothes and the zappy pistol. It was a funny gun; it shot long wires that zapped people. Spider loved poking the bad people from behind and making them seize up.

Spider then pulled out a sheathed knife. His face became solemn as he remembered all the times Nameless had killed the bad guys with his hot knife. Spider loved the wooden handle and black steel. A bird sitting on a planet with a ship’s anchor in the background was etched into the sheath. A really tough guy had given Spider that knife after Spider had saved him from the bad people in a new place.

Prepared, Captain Spider left his small closet, locking the door behind him with a metal finger. He pulled the hood up over his head, human hands in his pockets, robotic arms hidden as he exited the building. Outside, the Sun was bright, and bright-colored buggies raced back and forth as people walked on the sides of the road, staring at their minicomputers.

Spider began strolling along the road, blending in with the crowd. No one seemed to mind or care that a small ten-year-old was walking alone. As he walked past the long row of buildings, he came to a street corner. He waited for the big red light to turn green, then walked across the street. As Spider walked, he put the weird white ear translators in his ears.

Spider selected his favorite songs from the green computer program and bobbed his head with glee as the music played. The ear translators didn’t work very well, seeing as they didn’t translate people’s words, but he liked the music they played. Spider walked seemingly alone, drifting along a path of bliss, the notes and words washing over him. He was utterly oblivious to his surroundings as he sailed along, following the blue line on his computer map.

Suddenly, a bright red ball bounced in front of him. Spider halted, his eyes wide, both hands grasping the handles of his weapons, his shoulders tense. Was it a bomb? Some sort of trap? Spider turned to his left and saw several children reaching through the metal fence, pointing at the ball. Muffled words cut through the soft music.

Spider took the translators out and heard what they were calling.

“Hey, you! Can you throw that back?” One of the little girls called.

Spider looked confused; why would they need that little rubber ball? Was it part of their work quota? Spider slowly reached down, grabbed the ball, and held it in his human hands. He stared at it, puzzled. He slowly turned and threw it over the fence. The ball soared like a rocket, hurtling at great speed. It landed almost ten feet behind the wall.

The little children stared at him, shocked.

“S-s-s-s-sorry,” Spider said shyly, his face glowing.

The little children scattered screaming, only the little girl stayed. She wore a blue coverall white shirt, her dark skin sheening brightly in the light, her hair neatly braided and decorated with rainbow-colored clips. Her eyes were wide.

“Are you a superhero?” She asked in awe.

“I-I’m-m a-a-a s-s-s-s-s-spider!” Captain Spider said with glee.

The little girl giggled.

“You talk funny. My cousin talks funny; my mama says that just because she talks funny doesn’t mean she’s different. Why aren’t you in school?” The little girl giggled.

“W-w-w-what’s s-s-s-s-school?” Spider asked confused.

The little girl looked surprised.

“You don’t go to school? Do you have any friends?” The little girl asked.

Spider sighed.

“I-I-I-I d-do,” He said slowly. “T-they’re f-f-f-far a-away r-right n-n-now.”

As he spoke, a tall woman called the children. The herd of loud mini-humans began slowly wandering back towards the brick building.

“I have to go. Bye, bye Spider kid!” The little girl giggled, retreating.

“B-bye,” Spider called, watching her leave.

Spider watched as the children slowly filtered inside the brick building through the metal fence. He then continued on his way, putting his ear translators back in. His mind wandered and pondered the children. Why were they not working? They could just run around and laugh all day? This was an amusing world indeed.

Spider walked on for a few more minutes, finally reaching his destination. The boy walked down a dark alleyway, the walls covered in spray paint art and squiggly words. The damp cement ground was littered with trash as he came to the dead-end of the alleyway. A metal door stood in the wall, with a closed slot hole.

Spider kicked the door several times, his way of knocking. The door slot slid open, a pair of eyes looking down at him.

“What?” A grumbly voice called from the door.

“I-I’m hh-here t-to s-s-s-s-see t-the white hairs,” Spider nodded from his hood.

“Passing phrase?”

“B-b-blessed are t-the s-s-s-s-shepherds, m-may the-the f-f-f-flock never s-s-s-see the wolf,” Spider said.

“Good to see you again, buddy,” The voice said.

The door slot slid shut, and the metal door creaked open. A massive man with pure white hair stood in the doorway, covered in armor and weapons. His one good eye scanning the rooftops and streets as he hastily beckoned for the little boy to enter.

Spider scampered inside as the man closed the door. Inside was a long brick hallway. They seemed to be alone as Spider pulled his hood down.

“Were you followed?” The man asked.

Spider shook his head.

The man held out his gloved hand. Spider took it, and they shook.

“It’s good to see you again. They’re waiting for you in the basement. Better hurry; shit is getting weird,” The man grumbled.

“B-b-bad guys?” Spider asked with a glint in his eye.

The man nodded.

“We need to move dimensions again; there will be a raid soon. Go see Pops, okay?” The man asked.

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Captain Spider nodded and walked alone down the hallway as the man drew his pistol, scanning the alleyway with high alert. As Spider walked, he passed many doors. Some rooms were empty, others had hurt people lying on cots, and others had computers where the white hairs were frantically sending messages and watching maps.

Spider reached the staircase and descended, passing normal-haired folk and people with pure white hair wounded badly, resting where they could on the stairs. Spider reached the bottom of the stairwell, which opened into a massive warehouse-like basement. Industrial lamps that hung from the ceiling illuminated the cement floor. Chairs and tables littered the ground. The cellar was largely devoid of life, baring the small circle of people looking at a holographic map in the center.

As Captain Spider walked up to the group, overlapping arguments reached his ears.

“The Dark Axium is here! We saw them!”

“They can’t ascend the ladder that quickly! There is still time!”

“You said that last time, and I lost two pupils because of it!”

“Why haven’t we heard from Zion?”

“Communications are still jammed.”

“Yes, but do they know that?”

The people stopped speaking when they noticed Captain Spider entering the group. Spider studied them all. Two women with long pure white hair, their wounds bandaged and missing several limbs. Three men were also severely hurt. They all wore the clothes of this world, each the same age as Professor Zion.

“P-professors,” Spider bowed respectfully.

“Hello, little Spider,” A kind voice called.

Spider looked over and saw a small man in pure white robes and hair emerge from behind the group. His olive skin glowing in the luminescent light, his grey eyes kind and thoughtful.

“Pops!” Spider said with glee.

Spider ran forward and embraced the man with a hug, who returned the embrace.

“Everyone,” Pops called from over Spider’s head. “Allow me to introduce to you the deadliest ten-year-old in the universe: Captain Spider. He has saved my life many times over the last few months.”

“It has been many cycles since I have seen a Martian Spider. Welcome, Captain; I am professor Anoryia,” One of the women bowed.

“I recall seeing a rather enterprising cyborg assisting our escape from the Dark Axium on Venus dimension 3A-112. Am I to assume this is that very Spider?” One of the men asked.

“Yes indeed. Whether by the Lord’s will or by sheer dumb luck, this little one has managed to save or indirectly influence each of our escapes throughout our flight,” Pops nodded.

“Then we are eternally in your debt, dear Spider,” The man said. “I am Professor Boris. I believe I speak for my peers when I say that your help is most appreciated. If only my students could stand here and look upon such a marvelous Pupil.”

“I-I-I-I’m n-not a p-pupil.” Spider said shyly, pulling away from Pops.

There was an awkward silence.

“You are not enhanced?” Professor Boris asked slowly.

Captain Spider shook his head.

“Then how by the Cosmos did you survive so many encounters with the Dark Axium?” One of the women asked in shock.

“This is what I have been saying,” Pops said with purpose. “The tide of history is shifting: We witness a new generation of warriors. The Men and Women of Mars 13-Z-801 have proven more than a worthy obstacle in advance of the Axium.”

“But that’s impossible!” One of the professors blustered. “My pupils all had more than adequate doses of XM-801, and they were still cut down!”

“There must be more to this!” One of the female professors spat.

Pops raised his hands.

“Enough! Now is not the time for discussion; we may analyze this when safely returned to Zion. Professor Briggs, the message if you please,” Pops asked grimly.

What was going on? Why were they talking so much about the bad people? What was this message?

One of the male professors came forward, knelt, and held out a holographic key chip made of aluminum.

“We must remain here and buy time for the reinforcements we requested from Zion. We ask you to climb the ladder and hand this directly to the Mistress. It is of vital importance that Mistress Anna knows what they truly face,” The professor said.

Captain Spider hesitantly took the chip.

“W-w-what’s t-the m-m-m-message?” The little Spider asked.

“You hold a databank that fully entails who the traitors in Zion are, what the Dark Axium truly is, and what is coming. We believe that the Axium intends to lay siege to and overtake Zion. With all of her influence and roadways, nothing could stop the return of the Axium’s master,” Pops said grimly.

Spider nodded with purpose.

“I-I-I w-wont f-f-f-f-fail you.” Spider said grimly.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves for portal procedure. We must send him to Zion as directly as possible,” Pops said.

The professors scattered, going onward to gather what surviving students they had left, while others ignited their blue energy, softly stretching and preparing to make another door. Pops placed a hand on Spider’s shoulder.

“You have done so much already. Please understand that we owe you our lives. It has been an honor to serve alongside you. If you are the standard for these Vagabonds you speak of, I look forward to meeting the rest of your company,” Pops said with a kind tone.

“W-we are-are t-the best!” Spider smiled.

Pops also smiled.

“The thought of people such as yourselves manning the walls of our universe brings me a bit of hope. Perhaps all is not lost. But be wary; corruption runs deep, and the Axium is everywhere. I fear a titanic struggles approach,” Pops said gently as a father spoke to a young son.

Pops clapped his hands. Captain Spider smiled, holding the cold metal of the chip as the professors returned. They moved the furniture, allowing ample space to be cleared in the center of the room.

“To your marks! The ladder shall shift soon; we have many dimensions to hurtle our brave little Captain across,” Pops called.

“Are the reinforcements entering through this portal?” Professor Anoyria called.

“That is the plan; if not, I’m sure that the calvary shall surely arrive once they read the chip,” Pops nodded.

“Let’s hope we get Martians who are enhanced here soon,” Professor Boris grumbled.

The Professors gathered in a circle, their hands ignited, bright blue electricity or flames flowing from their bodies. Ghostly limbs of spectral energy formed, replacing the physical ligaments they lost in combat. The Professors outstretched their hands, and a giant swirling pool of energy was created on the floor.

Stars, planets, and the entire cosmos slowly faded into existence within the bright blue pool as the very fabric of time and space bent to these masters. Spider watched in relative cool as the dimension wall they resided in faded, revealing trillions of sheets of glass-like panels stacked on top of each other infinitely upward and infinitely downward. It was the same tree limb of the multiverse they resided in, Zion’s great ladder to transport resources and people.

Captain Spider yawned. The first dozen times he saw this, he emptied his bowels in terror, not to mention the very first time he had ever seen this kind of thing, he had fallen in. Or had been pushed in. Either way, Spider was very familiar with seeing other dimensions as the fabric of space and time was bent nearly indescribably before his eyes.

Suddenly, a slight, nearly unnoticeable red aura appeared in the far bottom corner of the ladder. It began growing.

“They found us!” One of the Professors shrieked in terror.

“Hold your ground! We are nearly there!” Pops roared, throwing his total energy into the portal.

“We can’t survive another raid! They’re already on our plane of existence; there’s no time!” Boris shouted.

“I knew they could track us!” Another professor roared.

“H-how m-much time?” Spider asked.

Captain Spider pulled his hoodie off, revealing his metal arms. He cracked his neck, brass-checked his pistol, then primed his zappy gun. His robotic arms folded their hands, revealing sword blades as they slowly unsheathed from the forearm components.

“Dear Gods child,” Professor Anoryia gasped, seeing the little boy transform into a walking weapon.

“He’s upgraded multiple times on every world he’s been to. We have as much time as you can buy us, Captain.” Pops called over his shoulder.

“How many worlds has he been to?” Boris asked, shocked as Spider scuttled past him.

“Y-y-yes,” Spider nodded, rolling his shoulders, his sword blades fully extended.

Captain Spider gestured to the students, who sheepishly followed him up the stairs. He was familiar with Zion safehouses; five of the six walls of this reality plane were reinforced, creating a dimensional bottleneck. The enemy couldn’t just drop in from the ceiling or walls or attack from the floor. They would have to kick the door down. Meaning this hallway would become very long indeed.

Spider pulled a headset off one of the room’s tables and inserted the wire into his right shoulder input jack. The headset activated, sending out radio waves to the nearest router. Captain Spider’s jerry-rigged auto coding had turned his body into a cell phone tower within seconds. The little boy hacked every camera in a few city blocks, the camera feed floating transpiratory over his natural sight.

Spider liked this world; the technology here was built for convenience, not security. It was doubtful even this world’s supercomputers could pose a threat to his myriad of upgrades. After all, he was a Forge Master of Mars.

As the little Captain scanned the surrounding area outside the building, he noticed strange movement in the shadows. No. The shadows were standing upright. Darkness was overtaking the Sun’s light, forming human shapes. The Spider was caught off the camera feed.

“They’re here,” Captain Spider’s voice buzzed from his headset.

“What the hell are you?” One of the students asked in a mixture of awe and horror.

“The last thing they’re expecting. Hide in the rooms, kill anything that gets past me,” Spider intercommed, not looking back.

“Don’t you mean whoever gets past you?” One of the female pupils asked.

Spider turned; a cold dead look in his eyes.

“Kill everything that I don’t,” Spider buzzed on speaker.

The student gulped.

The pupils nodded and scattered. Some drew weapons; others sparked their energy, small flames or electricity spattering from their hands. Spider cleared his throat, checking his blades when movement ahead caught his eye. He activated the thermal swords, the long blades igniting and buzzing with white-hot heat, the air shimmering around him as he entered his combat stance. The door guard came into view, clutching a rifle, a mad look of fear on his face.

He halted when he saw Spider. The guard smiled.

“Just like Nexus, huh?” he grinned, going over, and standing beside the Captain.

“I remember way more booze on Nexus,” Spider smiled.

“Rounds on me after this,” The guard nodded.

“You owe me five already, John,” Spider giggled.

“We make it out of this; I’ll add five more. Your little friends from Mars are here,” John grimaced.

“I had a lot of friends from Mars,” Spider sulked.

“The hooded ones,” John grunted.

“Fucking Vectors,” Spider spat.

“What’s a Vector?” One of the students asked.

“A walking emo tank with scissor hands,” Spider growled.

The student gave a perplexed look.

“Lobotomized hooded cyborgs just as enhanced as our little Captain here. They got Phasers too, and Gurgen,” John huffed.

“Greaaaaaaaaat,” Spider rolled his eyes.

“I literally have no idea what any of those things are,” The student whined.

“Don’t worry; they love introducing themselves. Especially to weaker folk,” Spider spat.

“No such thing as an even fight with the Dark Axium,” John seethed, racking his rifle.

Spider leveled his breathing, bracing himself. It was quiet, too quiet.

Suddenly, the building shook, dust falling from the ceiling as flickered lights. Loud scratches and clawing sounds echoed from the entrance hallway. Captain Spider exhaled and leveled his blades. This was fine; he had done these many times. But something was different; the air was thick, his hairs stood on end, it was as if something was watching him.

Crackling sounded from the dark entrance. Suddenly a projectile zipped through the dark air, impaling a student, and sending them screaming into the far wall. The student hung limp, nailed to the wall by the metal stake-like object.

“Phasers!” John roared.

Spider couldn’t physically see them, but he noticed the far wall shifting as if an invisible thing or person was trying to sneak up.

“Go time,” Spider grinned through his headset.

In an instant, Spider lunged forward, his blades sinking into the flesh of the invisible enemy. They materialized instantly, a young man with blood-red eyes in a black hood. Crimson blood spewed from his mouth as Spider kicked his body off the sword blades.

The Spider lunged again, his blades stopping in midair as two other phasers materialized, their swords connecting with his. The four energy blade edges zapped and sparkled, their metal frames clanging as the sword fight ran out.

Captain Spider dove and sprung about like a spider monkey, slashing an enemy in the leg and sending them kneeling to the ground. As they fought, a wall of fire smashed past Spider. It impacted the raised shield of the students’ energies. Light, fire, and electricity crashed, igniting the building as Spider was pushed back.

With his human hand, Spider stuck his pistol in the boy’s gut and fired repeatedly. He sent another fighter lifeless to the ground, then crossed blades with the other attacker. The Phaser dropped dead, and Spider turned to the students.

“P-p-p-portal!” Spider roared, pointing.

John nodded.

“Time to go, kids!” He shouted, leading the way.

“Behind you!” One of the female students shrieked.

Spider whipped around and saw the tallest Vector he had ever seen. At least seven vectors stood behind the leader, their claws extended, their molten eyes red. Behind them, loud thumping is heard as if a massive creature was slowly walking down the hallway.

“S-s-s-s-s-shit,” Spider spat.

“So, this is the famous Captain Spider? Greetings, forge master,” The tall Vector said in a suave and deep, perfectly human voice.

Spider gulped as the Vector took its hood off, revealing a man. He had long black hair falling to his chest, his smooth pale face sharp, his grey eyes daring. He looked almost like Nameless, but not at the same time. Spider had definitely seen this man before, though.

“Allow us a minute, gents? It has been such a long time since I have met a fellow Martian,” The man said to the vectors.

The tall, dark man knelt.

“Ah. You are from the old American sector. Good to see your people still producing such quality. I could always use more Spiders,” The man smiled.

“F-f-f-f-forge M-master!” Spider spat.

“Ah. The good old brain scramble stutters. My, how quaint. Just hearing you makes me homesick,” The man laughed wholeheartedly.

“I would never serve the Dark Axium,” Spider buzzed.

The man tutted.

“It’s just Axium; the dark part is dear old Zion’s fantasy,” The man grinned.

“You kill innocent people!” Spider barked.

“Innocent?” The man chortled. “Is that what you call interdimensional interlopers who hoard the powers of the universe? Rules for thee, not for me. They really have brainwashed you, haven’t they, tiny, little, Spider.”

“Nameless would kick your ass if he were here,” Spider growled.

A dark look overcame the man as he stood up.

“I am the Nameless One,” The man said dryly.

Spider’s eyes widened; he did recognize this man. This man’s very portrait rested under the thirteenth God’s mantle in the chapel. It was a miracle! An actual God of Mars! An ascended warrior from the great struggle.

Spider sheathed his blades, falling to his knees, folding his hands in prayer. A dozen verses rapidly escaped from his lips as Spider knelt in prayer. Suddenly, roaring pain erupted in his chest. Spider opened his eyes to see a bright red sword made of energy protruding from his chest.

The Nameless God pushed the sword hilt against Spider’s chest as the little Captain coughed blood, his eyes shocked and scared.

“Your gods are fake, your Zion is a shell, your precious hope was ill-placed. When I am done with this wretched plane, I will be a true god.”

The Dark God pulled the sword from Spider’s chest and kicked the whimpering boy to the floor, where he lay in an expanding pool of his own blood.

“Leave this one. I always wondered if you could turn a stuntling into a vector. Kill the rest,” The Dark one said slyly.

“Yes, my lord,” One of the vectors whispered.

The vectors sprinted forward, descending into the lower floors. Behind them, a giant dark, brown-skinned troll-like creature followed. Its four muscled arms carrying a massive club made of metal, its ugly horned head, and body adorned in massive, intricate armor.

As Spider lay there, the dark one descended the stairs. Screams and the sound of a slaughter rang out. The chip bit into his body. Spider seethed, spitting blood. He slowly pushed himself up, clutching his chest. He collapsed onto the floor. He switched his augment’s power to life support and pushed himself back up.

Spider clutched the wall as he stood up, blood everywhere. He gritted his teeth, vision blurring and hearing buzzing as he shambled to the stairs. He winced as a woman’s scream was cut short. Spider extended his blades, attempting to ignite them. All they did was sparkle and flutter barely to life.

Filled with anguish and fury, Spider stumbled down the half flight, falling into the brick wall. In the open basement, a massacre was taking place down the stairs. The Dark God strolled towards Pops. A professor disengaged from the portal, igniting full power, and charged the Nameless One. The God grabbed them by the face, lifted them so high their feet dangled and crushed their head like a grape. Too late, Spider realized it was Professor Boris.

The dark God flung the limp professor to the side, laughing, as he twirled his blood-red scimitar. Pops locked eyes with Spider, who was stumbling down the stairs.

“Too late, old man. Your messenger will never make it to Zion. Die,” The dark one jeered, blasting a column of red fire at Pops.

“The sentinels of reality will stop your Axium!” Pops roared, blocking the fire with a shield of blue light. The shield began cracking, and pops began grunting.

“NO!” Spider roared, charging forward.

A vector swiped Spider’s back, and he fell to the ground crying out.

The dark God twirled around.

“Impressive, for a stuntling. I look forward to what my forge master will make out of you,” The Dark God cackled.

Spider slowly got to his feet, stepping forward.

“Run, child!” Pops shouted over the fire.

“Enough out of you,” The God laughed, sending a spear-like projectile through the shield, sending Pops hurtling back into the darkness.

Spider roared and sprinted forward. His body screamed, his vision fading as he drove through the clutches of the God. As he landed near the portal, he misjudged the distance, his foot falling into the empty void.

“Oh no, you don’t!” The God laughed, piercing one of the Spider’s robotic arms with his sword. Spider turned his head, gazing at the limp body of Pops. Tears and rage in his eye, Spider drew his knife.

“And what are you doing with that little butter knife?” God laughed.

Spider screamed and drove the knife into his metal arm. The arm detached, and Spider fell, his vision fading to black as his body fell into the portal. Red overtook his vision, and he nearly passed out as he dangled by a few wires and scraps of metal. Spider again jabbed as God’s red energy came hurtling down his head. The metal arm detached, and he fell into time and space itself.