SIX WAYS TO DIE

Part III

By Wesley Overhults

Portland, Oregon

Harry Osborn couldn’t exactly believe what he was seeing. Peter had told him about the clone but in his reality it was strictly a one-time occurrence. Harry couldn’t imagine what it would be like to learn that there was another version of you running around in your world. It would’ve driven him crazy and he assumed that was what had happened to Peter Parker to turn him into the Scarlet Spider.

“I knew this would happen,” admitted Ben. “When I came back into Peter’s life, I knew he resented me. When I started trying to help him out with things, I could tell he was getting more and more jealous. One night, MJ came to me and said Peter had done something awful. She said she wanted to leave him but she was afraid. This is what she was afraid of.”

“It must’ve been when he killed me,” said Goblin. “After MJ left him for you, he must’ve gone off the deep end. Stark told us what he stole. If he can get a Time Platform working then there’s no telling what kind of damage he can do to the past.”

“I know,” said Ben. “I just . . . I can’t do what you want me to do. I promised myself and I promised MJ that I wasn’t going to do this anymore. I just want to be a normal guy again.”

“I’ve never known you as a coward, Parker,” said Sandman. “I can respect you moving away from all this crap but now it’s come back to haunt you. Your name might be different but you’re still the same person.”

“I know you’ve still got that costume and those web-shooters somewhere,” added Goblin. “This is who you are, Pete. This is your responsibility.”

“He’s right, Ben,” said Mary Jane, making her presence in the room known. “Face it, tiger, we’re never going to run away from this. It’s time we do something about it.”

“I don’t want to drag you back into all this,” said Ben as he looked at her. “We just got our lives back from all this insanity. You really want to go back to that?”

“No,” admitted Mary Jane, “but this is something you have to do. The world needs a Spider-Man and it has to be you.”

“I guess there’s no other choice then,” he told her before turning to his new friends. “The costume and the web-shooters are in the bedroom. I’ll be ready in a couple minutes.”

“Go get ‘em, tiger,” said Mary Jane as he left to suit up.

New York City

The air in the abandoned warehouse smelled like ozone as the lightning crackled through it. The pain ripped through Daredevil’s body and forced its way out of his mouth in the form of a howl that sounded more like that of a wounded animal than a human.

“Don’t use up too much power,” warned Scarlet Spider. “We’ll probably need you to help power the machine.”

“I’ll have enough juice left,” assured Electro, grinning maliciously as he watched Daredevil writhe in pain.

Scarlet Spider had all the equipment already set up when they arrived. He and Lady Octopus continued fitting the power source into the rest of the machine while Scorpion and Electro dealt with their prisoners. They had tied up all three of them and then put electrical tape over Nico’s mouth so she couldn’t cast any spells. Scarlet Spider said he wanted to use them to test the Time Platform so he wouldn’t let anyone kill them just yet. This was particularly a problem with Electro considering that Daredevil had embarrassed him earlier during the fight.

“Go help Carol with some power couplings,” ordered Scarlet Spider. He nodded in satisfaction as Electro obeyed the command before turning his attention to his captives.

“I heard ya were some kinda big hero,” said Husk. “Don’t look much like one ta me now.”

“I’m not that person anymore,” stated Scarlet Spider. “It’s obvious you people aren’t from around here. Who are you and what do you want?”

“Don’t tell him anything,” warned Daredevil. He winced as Scarlet Spider viciously kicked him in the ribs without a second thought.

“We’re from different realities,” spoke up Husk. “That bracelet ‘round Nico’s wrist is called a Tallus. It tells us what we’re supposed ta do ta get home. It said we’re supposed ta help ya.”

“Are you now?” asked Scarlet Spider curiously. “Guess that explains why Marko and Harry were with you. I think you’ve just nominated your friend for our first test run.”

With one hand, Scarlet Spider wrapped his fingers around the chains around Nico’s chest that bound her hands to her side and lifted her to her feet. He pulled her to where Lady Octopus and Electro were still working on his makeshift time platform.

“Take me instead!” ordered Daredevil, struggling against his bonds as he tried to crawl in their direction. “Leave her and take me!”

“You’ll get your turn,” promised Scarlet Spider. “Trust me, kid, it’s better this way. Women always screw everything up for you. They just string you along and play with you until they get tired of you. You’re better off without them.”

“Ya better take me,” suggested Husk. “Ya take her and there’s no tellin’ what that Tallus will do ta yer machine. Could break it so bad ya can’t ever fix it again and that would be a waste.”

Paige watched Scarlet Spider turn the idea over in his brain. She knew it wasn’t exactly the truth but the truth was that no one knew what the Tallus was capable of. All Paige had to do was say something that sounded reasonably true and hope that her enemy bought it.

“Guess you better tell me then if you know so much,” he decided, closing the gap between himself and Husk in seconds and picking her up the same way he did with Sister Grimm. “If you’re right, I can always have Dillon or Carol cut that little charm bracelet right off your friend’s hand. Of course, I can’t guarantee her hand won’t come with it.”

“Best bet is takin’ somebody else then,” reminded Husk. She looked into her enemy’s mask and found it slightly unnerving that she couldn’t see his eyes. It made him look even more inhuman but it did make it slightly easier for Paige to lie to him.

“You think I’m an idiot?” inquired Scarlet Spider after sensing the corners of Husk’s mouth twitch upward almost imperceptibly. “You think I don’t know what you’re trying to do?”

He slung Husk into Daredevil with one hand and then turned his attention back to Sister Grimm. He knew verbal trickery when he heard it. For years he had used his wits and his mouth to confuse and misdirect his enemies. It was likely that even if the Tallus did what Husk said it could, it wouldn’t interrupt his plans. He was too close now for anything to stop him.

“Boss, she could be right,” reminded Electro.

“Shut your mouth, Dillon,” ordered Scarlet Spider before dropping Nico on the platform. “Just juice up this thing like we planned and let me do the thinking from now on. It’s time all of us get what’s coming to us.”

The cry of shattering glass rang through the air as something dropped down from the skylight and landed in front of the Sinister Six. Ben Reilly, clad in the classic red-and-blue Spider-Man costume, crouched before them and smiled under his mask. Wearing the suit again felt good, almost like coming home.

“Boy, you really set yourself up for that one,” jeered Spider-Man. “What’s wrong, brother of mine? Your spider-sense on the fritz today or do you really still have a soft spot in your heart for me?”

“That’s very cute, Ben,” said Scarlet Spider, his fingers poised over the Time Platform’s controls. “You were better off staying with MJ after you stole her from me. You take one more step and I’ll make sure this girl gets an up-close-and-personal history lesson courtesy of your Not-So-Friendly Neighborhood Scarlet Spider.”

“I didn’t come here alone,” assured Ben.

Scarlet Spider felt his spider-sense go wild and he turned, firing a ball of impact webbing at seemingly empty air. His attack managed to stop Wasp before she could hit him in the back of the head with a stinger blast, her microscopic size keeping her from the view of the naked eye. The momentary distraction was all Spider-Man needed to spring towards his sinister double. He slammed both feet into Scarlet Spider’s spine but the evil Peter Parker’s reflexes were still fast enough to turn on the Time Platform even as he fell to the floor. Everyone held their breath as the device, powered by Electro’s energy, hummed to life and began to take its helpless passenger to her final destination. The Tallus on Sister Grimm’s wrist began to glow and the resulting feedback created by the two forces caused an explosion that blew everyone in all directions but left Nico unharmed.

“Looks like Ah was right,” muttered Husk, still struggling to get out of the webbing that ensnared her. She watched a mass of sand pour itself through the crevices in the wall of the warehouse and take the shape of William Baker while Goblin floated down through the broken skylight.

“Who the hell is that with you?” asked Daredevil while Sandman worked on freeing him and Goblin did the same to Husk, using one of his sparkle beams to cut through the webbing.

“Ben Reilly,” answered Goblin. “Pete told me about running into Miles Warren once or twice. He said he only fought his clone once though and that was it. Guess things worked out differently in this reality.”

“So he’s the Peter Parker we’re supposed to be helping,” realized Daredevil. “Nice going, Tallus. One of you guys get to Nico. I don’t know what happened but she could probably use a hand.”

Sandman nodded and turned to where Sister Grimm still sat on the Time Platform. He ran towards her but saw Lady Octopus move to grab him with her tentacles. He turned his body into a living stream of hardened sand, maneuvered through her grasp, and hit her in the stomach to take her down. Though he originally came at her head-first, Sandman reformed with his feet on top of Lady Octopus and wasted little time in stepping over her to get to Sister Grimm.

“You hurt?” asked Will and noted that Nico shook her head.

Though she was still bound and gagged, she was unharmed otherwise. Even if she had the ability to speak, Nico couldn’t find the words to describe what had happened when the Tallus interacted with the Time Platform. She heard the two devices speak to one another in her mind but she couldn’t comprehend what they had said. It all came out as gibberish to her and then the explosion had silenced it.

“I am now,” said Sister Grimm after Sandman ripped the electrical tape off her mouth. “It stings like hell when people do that.”

Sandman grinned while turning his fist into a blade of sandstone that he used to cut through the webbing binding his teammate. He felt the air heat up behind him and turned, throwing out a wall of sand from his other hand that blocked the incoming lightning storm.

“I took you out once, Marko,” reminded Electro. “I’ll do it again in record time.”

“Next person that calls me ‘Marko’ gets their ass handed to them,” stated Sandman before hurling a sand blast through the glass created by Electro’s lightning and hitting Dillon in the face with it. Electro coughed before hurling more bolts of electricity at Sandman. Baker turned and used his body as a human shield to save Sister Grimm from the attack. He slumped over in pain as Electro advanced towards his stunned prey.

“RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS!”

A stream of water sprang from Sister Grimm’s hand with more force than a fire hose. It hit Electro and propelled him backwards into a wall even as the water mixed with the electricity surrounding his body to short out his powers. He slumped to the floor after hitting the wall, the electricity crackling and then dying out as he faded into unconsciousness.

“Always handy to have a Swiss army knife,” admitted Sandman as he looked to watch two blurs of red collide with each other. He never really appreciated Spider-Man’s speed until he got the opportunity to study it without being the one on the receiving end of the arachnid hero’s blows. Even though Sandman could move his sand form as fast as he could think, he still didn’t think he could completely match Parker’s speed. It was eerie watching him fight someone who could.

“That’s my costume you’re wearing. It’s really quite pathetic how much you want to be me. I don’t know why anyone would want that.”

Ben Reilly could remember a lot of things about his life before Miles Warren. He could remember his Aunt May and his Uncle Ben. He could remember that day at the science expo when he was bitten by a radioactive spider. That made him the genuine article, didn’t it? How much of a person was dictated by nature and how much by nurture? He asked those questions a lot in the beginning when he came back into Peter’s life. He wondered if he could ever live up to all his responsibilities the way Peter did. He wondered what would happen if he chose a different path than Peter’s, the path of no responsibility. The night Mary Jane came to him and told him what Peter had done, Ben stopped asking those questions. He and Peter weren’t the same anymore. The world had made that abundantly clear.

“Someone has to clean up your mess,” retorted Spider-Man.

The two of them sprang at one another. Ben sent his foot into Peter’s jaw but Peter’s fist hit Ben in the exact same spot. Both of them fell backwards, landed on their hands, and then flipped back to their feet. Scarlet Spider struck first with a right cross but Spider-Man caught his fist. He brought his knee into Peter’s ribs but Peter grabbed his leg and whipped him through the air. While still in mid-air, Spider-Man shot out a line of webbing that stuck to Scarlet Spider’s chest and Peter mimicked the move. Both of them yanked themselves towards the other and they collided in the air.

“I should’ve killed you the first time we fought,” snarled Scarlet Spider as the two men grappled even as they fell to the floor. “I shouldn’t have even given you the chance to come back into my life and ruin everything I’ve worked so hard for.”

“You ruined it yourself when you acted irresponsibly,” retorted Spider-Man before the two combatants separated and took a few precious seconds to catch their breath.

“I don’t need a lecture from you!” shouted Scarlet Spider.

“Must be irritating to fight with yourself,” jeered Spider-Man, grinning under his mask.

It was then that the Scorpion chose that moment to strike. Spider-Man’s famous spider-sense tingled and he turned in time to see Scorpion’s poisonous hand reach for his face. He shot a web-line at the hand and then deftly looped the strand over her head. He effectively tied her hand to her own body so that her toxic fingers wrapped around her own throat. He knew it wouldn’t kill her but it would take her famous weapon out of the equation. A simple sweep of the leg took Scorpion to the floor and a spray of webbing made sure she stayed there.

“Made you look, ‘brother’,” said Scarlet Spider while he tackled Spider-Man from behind.

“It’s the second date and your manners still haven’t improved,” noted Daredevil while bouncing through Lady Octopus’s tentacles and cracking her across the jaw with one of his batons.

He jumped to avoid getting crushed by one of them and hurled a d-disc at her head. Her other top tentacle moved to shield her from the incoming projectile but the crimson-colored piece of metal bounced off the tentacle. It ricocheted off a wall, then the floor, and finally hit Lady Octopus in the spine. The d-disc then bounced off the first wall, hit the ceiling, and finally returned to Daredevil’s waiting hand.

“Ah got a plan,” announced Husk.

“Do tell,” prodded Daredevil before the two of them separated to dodge the incoming tentacles.

“Ya just bounce around a couple more o’ those things and let me handle it,” said Husk, ripping her skin away so she was covered with concrete.

Daredevil nodded and hurled two more d-discs at Lady Octopus. Again, her tentacles moved instinctively to shield her and this time they continued to keep up with the discs as they ricocheted back at their controller.

“ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL!”

Walls of glowing, red brick shot up to close in on Lady Octopus. The walls made sure that Daredevil’s d-discs kept bouncing at the six-armed villainess from all angles.

“Drop tha one in front,” said Husk and nodded when Sister Grimm complied. Husk watched Lady Octopus try to keep away the bouncing weapons and then saw her opening. With her tentacles too busy worrying about the d-discs to shield her, Trainer was open for a frontal attack and Paige aimed to please. It only took one easy punch to the ribs and Lady Octopus fell to the floor clutching her chest.

“Damn good plan,” admitted Daredevil as his last disc hit Lady Octopus in the back of the head and knocked her out cold before returning to his hand. “Is that all of them?”

“Not quite,” said Wasp as the team looked to watch the two versions of Peter Parker continue their duel.

“I’ve got it,” stated Goblin before flying towards them.

“We need to back him up,” decided Wasp. “That other Spider-Man can keep pace with him but Harry’s totally outclassed.” She moved to help but Sandman stopped her.

“Kid’s gotta walk on his own at some point,” said Sandman sternly. “Let him balance the books, Kate. He needs this.”

Harry Osborn remembered the first time he met Peter Parker. He remembered seeing something of a kindred spirit in Peter, someone who knew what it was like to be apart from others. Having a best friend made living with his father a little more tolerable for Harry. Things got complicated because nothing in either of their lives was simple. His father died, Gwen died, and Harry and Peter traded bitter words for a time. When Harry came to the full realization concerning everything about Peter’s secret and his involvement in Gwen’s death, Harry and Peter became closer than ever. They became comrades, allies, brothers. It weighed heavy on Harry’s heart to see what Peter could’ve become. It reminded him too much of himself and the road he could’ve taken.

“I got it, Pete,” promised Goblin, tossing a handful of razor bats at Scarlet Spider. For the first time during the fight, Peter actually felt his spider-sense go off and he flipped backwards to avoid the blades, kicking Harry in the back of the head with both feet.

“I killed you once without working up a sweat,” jeered Scarlet Spider. “What makes you think I won’t do it again?”

“Leave him alone,” ordered Spider-Man as he hit Peter in the jaw with a flying kick. “Your fight’s with me.”

“It’s with both of us,” said Goblin, gaining height and then spewing sparkle beams from his gloves at Scarlet Spider.

“Your cheap Halloween costume won’t save you, Harry,” promised Scarlet Spider, shooting a web-line to the ceiling and using it to vault towards Goblin. “I’ll get to you in a second, Ben. I just have to take out the trash first.”

Spider-Man met him before he could reach his intended target. The two arachnids bounced off one another and shot out webbing to stay in the air. Goblin lobbed two pumpkin bombs at Scarlet Spider and the explosions sent him plummeting to the ground. Harry didn’t waste any time flying towards Peter even as the evil arachnid hit the floor with a sickening thud. Scarlet Spider lifted his feet and buried them in Goblin’s stomach, flipping him over so that he was on top of Harry.

“This is exactly how it happened the first time,” said Scarlet Spider, his fist poised to strike. “I hope you feel something after the first blow. I wouldn’t want you to miss it.”

“Timeout for you, young man,” cracked Spider-Man, sticking a web-line to Scarlet Spider’s back and then slinging him into the controls for the Time Platform. Scarlet Spider hit the control bank and knocked it in half before slamming into the side of the actual machine. The force of the blow took out a huge chunk of the machine’s side and caused the entire contraption to topple onto its creator. Everyone paused for a moment as something began to stir under the pile of mangled metal.

“I wanted it all to go away,” muttered Scarlet Spider wearily as he staggered towards his enemies. “I wanted to make sure that damn spider never even bit me. I wanted . . . I wanted . . .”

“I want you to shut the hell up,” said Spider-Man as he floored his crazed copy with a punch to the jaw. “God, it’s so annoying to listen to yourself talk sometimes.”

“You always did whine a lot,” commented Goblin, smirking in Spider-Man’s direction. Ben just laughed at Harry, smiling under his mask as he and the rest of the heroes realized the fight was over.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll be moving back here soon. I mean I’ll have to clear it with MJ first but I don’t think she’ll mind.”

The group of time-tossed companions and Ben Reilly regrouped at Stark Industries. Iron Man said that SHIELD was already taking the Sinister Six into custody and that he and Reed Richards would destroy the Time Platform’s components. All in all, Goblin considered the mission a success and the others agreed with him.

“Nico said the Tallus told her we’d be moving to another reality soon,” confirmed Goblin as he looked at the man who was his friend and yet wasn’t. It only reminded him how much he wanted to get home to Liz and to his own life.

“It was good to fight with you,” admitted Ben. “Even if I’m a clone, I still have Peter’s memories. I remember the way you used to be and you were always a good person. It’s nice to see you turned out that way even if it was in another reality.”

“Good to see you too, Pete,” agreed Goblin, shaking his ally’s hand. “Oh sorry, I meant Ben.”

“Yeah, clones are confusing,” said Spider-Man, rolling his eyes at the absurdity of his life. “Take care, Harry. I hope you get back home.”

“Me too,” concurred Goblin before he moved towards his team and away from Ben. He grinned as he watched Daredevil fumble with the shopping bags containing their spare clothing. “I’ve thought up a name for us.”

“That’s seriously the most important thing on your mind?” asked Daredevil in disbelief, finally getting the bags under control.

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since we started this mission,” admitted Goblin. “I think we should call ourselves ‘the Exiles’.”

“Has a nice ring,” thought Sandman aloud. “Any particular reason you settled on that?”

“Until we complete these missions, none of us can ever go back,” explained Harry. “Even if we did, our lives wouldn’t be what they once were. We’re stuck on the outside looking in. It fits us well.”

“Not as cool as ‘Young Avengers’ but I think I like it,” decided Wasp. The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

“We’re the Exiles then,” said Sister Grimm before putting the Tallus to her ear and nodding. “This thing says we’re heading out, guys. Time to see what our next mission is.”

Goblin took one last look at Ben Reilly even as the newly-christened Exiles faded out of existence in a flash of energy. He remembered his reality’s Peter Parker and how he taught Harry what it meant to act responsibly. Harry had new responsibilities now and new people to protect. He didn’t know how long they would spend on the outside looking in but they would get their lives back. He was certain of it.

The Middle of Nowhere

“I think your Exiles did very well.”

The Timebroker’s eyes shifted to the pudgy figure over his shoulder and then they returned back to the scene in front of him. He did his best to suppress a sinister grin but the corners of his mouth curled upward anyway.

“They did their job,” said the Timebroker. “It’s what I expected of them.”

“I know what that look means,” said his companion, noting the wicked glint in the Timebroker’s eyes. “What are you planning?”

“You have your methods, I have mine,” retorted the Timebroker finally turning to face the other man. “I may still be on probation but I don’t have to play by your silly rules. I decide what missions they go on, not you and not our superiors.”

“If you keep acting this way, you won’t just be on probation. You’ll be gone.”

“Report me,” dared the Timebroker, knowing full well that the pudgy man wouldn’t do such a thing. They had been friends for far too long to throw it all away now. It was exactly this fact that the Timebroker counted on. It kept him free to do what he needed to do to make his point.

“I won’t but you need to calm down,” replied his friend. “You’ve got to stop doing things like this before something bad happens.”

“Things are just getting started,” warned the Timebroker. “I can promise you that they’ll get very interesting. Very interesting indeed.”

Next Issue: The Exiles get “Made” as they try to take out the Kingpin.

Notes From Nowhere

Hey, everybody, it’s Wesley and, yeah, this is the letters page or author’s notes or whatever you feel like calling it. I just wanted to pop in now that the first story arc is done. I’ve been a lurker on Marvel Omega back when it was Marvel-X though I lost track for a few years. When I got back into it, I knew that I wanted to write an Exiles book. I hope everyone is enjoying the series so far. I know that I’m having a fun time writing it. If you guys have any comments and feedback, feel free to email me or let me know through the message board. I always enjoy getting feedback from readers. I’ll probably pop in after every story arc and, of course, I’m always on the message board if you have any questions or comments.