1 Reminder, it's a ONE SHOT
At an undisclosed rooftop of New York City, as the pigeons roost on the side of the building, a sound breaks up the peaceful din of the city. First it's just a spark, and then a roar of plasma rips a hole in the middle of the air above the roof. The pigeons took off in fright, and as they get airborne the rip in the sky closes as a female figure in white, black, magenta webbed, and hooded spandex with teal ballerina shoes collapses on the roof. Shakily standing and raising her hand to her head, the lenses for her eyes wince in pain. She groans, shakes her head.
"Fuck… That was worse than usual. I hate traveling like this…" As the pain fades she begins to take stock of the surroundings. She looks to the distance and sees several familiar buildings, but even more unfamiliar ones, WebTech? What the fuck is that? "Dammit… not again… Alright Gwen, don't panic. At least we're back in New York instead of a random universe where Earth doesn't exist, hooray small miracles. Lets just see which Earth this is, at least."
Raising her hand, a device on her wrist with two glowing blue orbs lights up and then sparks and sputters as it fails to operate. Throwing her hands up in frustration she starts pacing, "Great! Just great… Pavitr's damn watch is fuckin' broken, AGAIN! Now, I have to find someone to repair this damn thing." Placing a hand to her chin, she starts grasping at straws for ways out of her predicament. "I wonder if there's a Reed Richards here... or, maybe, if this Earth's Tony Stark isn't evil, I could ask-." Gwen is interrupted as a shimmer appears in front of her, like a heat mirage in the desert. "That's not random…" Feeling a familiar buzz in her spider-sense she crouches into her signature combat stance, muscles coiled like a spring, readying herself for whatever might come.
Her mask lenses widen as the shimmer of air takes the form of a man. A man in an effervescent white skin-tight suit of what looks like spandex or… something. But what puts her off is not the fact there seem to be no details on this man's suit, it's his head, or ...mask? She's fairly disgusted at what she sees.
It's a brain.
Or, a light blue diagram of a brain, red flashes across it as orange glows in different areas of it as the man seems to look in her direction. If the brain was a still logo, she wouldn't be as nauseous. No, it looks as if the brain is within the man's mask. As if the suit was providing a front row seat to the inside of the guy's noggin. Gwen fake vomits into her hand, rests a hand on her waist as she takes a more nonchalant stance facing the unexpected guest on this rooftop. Still, ever cautious, she's been through a lot of shit, she's still ready to fight if need be.
"Ugh, gross man. What are you supposed to be, Brainiac? What, do they harvest brains in this universe? Hate to tell you this buddy but I don't think you're going to like how I taste."
Unperturbed by Gwen's quips the man walks towards her, she tenses, but he surprises her as he walks past her and turns around. As he turns a circle of light appears under his feet, like a spotlight. He widens his arms dramatically as he finally addresses her.
"Welcome to Earth 617, Gwendolyn Maxine Stacy of Earth 65, a.k.a Spider-Woman, a.k.a. Spider-Gwen, a.k.a. Ghost Spider, a.k.a. The drummer for the rising band 'The Mary Janes'!" He exaggeratedly bows at the waist and introduces himself. "I, am I.Q. Glad to have you here. And try not to mention Braniac here… copyright and all." He looks at you and winks, bringing his finger to his mouth in a shushing gesture.
As Gwen reels from the shock of his revealing her identity, he reaches into his suit and takes out a pad of paper and a sharpie, pushing it towards her a little out of reach of her face. "Mind if I get your autograph?"
The request shakes Gwen out of her daze and she hits the pad of paper out of I.Q.'s hands. She takes a few steps back and her lenses narrow at this weird man. "Ok, now I officially have no idea what the hell is going on. Who the hell are you and how do you know that shit!?"
I.Q.'s shoulders slump as his body language looks dejected. "Aww, you didn't have to do that… and I already told you who I am. I'm I.Q. and how I know... is because I am the most intelligent being in the multiverse!" He strikes a dramatic pose.
Gwen scoffs at that.
"And I know much more than just that." He corrects his posture, and puts his hands behind his back as he starts walking towards her. Having the air of a professor giving a lecture. "Born in Forest Hills, Queens, NYC, to George and Helen Stacy. Your mother died in your youth and your father George then raised you alone, moving elsewhere in Queens next door to Ben and May Parker, aunt and uncle to Peter Benjamin Parker, who, in most other universes aside from your own, would one day become Spider-Man. However, since you let him cut you in line at the lab during that fateful field trip, the spider bit you instead." Gwen starts getting simultaneously creeped out by I.Q.'s brain, which is flashing colors quicker now, and frightened by his revelations of her past.
She edges back as he continues walking forward. "What more people don't know though, is that he craved the power to get back at his bullies at school, ahh Flash Thompson, same guy everywhere.
So! Seeing Spider-Woman on T.V. made him want to be 'special'" Gwen winces at the word, "like her, so he steals Dr. Curt Conners' research and develops his own version of the Lizard serum. Subsequently, he uses it at the school dance when Flash, being the asshole he is, pushes him too far, and, secondly, he sees Harry Osborn with you. In his rage and jealousy, he turns himself into your universe's version of The Lizard and terrorizes the students at the dance. You then proceed to fight with The Lizard, not knowing that the monster was, in fact, your best friend, who you thought of as a brother, Peter." Gwen's back presses into the roof railing at the opposite end of the building. She trembles in fear and guilt as I.Q. makes the last statement. His face just inches from her own, meaning the disgusting brain hologram within it is right in her face, demonstrating the synapses in his brain firing over and over. She clenches a fist and jaw as tears pool in her eyes, ready to strike out at this man for making her relive that dreadful moment.
Suddenly, he backs off, and turns around. Walking to the center of the roof, facing away from her, he raises one finger into the air. "However, what you don't know, or I assume you don't know, if my calculations are correct, which they are, they always are, is that the formula young Parker used destabilized his D.N.A."
Gwen's lenses widen in shock. Forgetting her grief for a moment at the odd man's words. What was I.Q. saying? "W-what…?"
"The Lizard formula. It was incomplete." I.Q. states nonchalantly. Waving his hand dismissively, still facing away from her.
"And what the FUCK does that mean, exactly!?" She roars at him, demanding answers.
"Come now, use your gray matter." I.Q. points to his brain. Then, he sighs and turns around, facing her once again. "He made it with materials available to a high schooler, with substandard equipment, with not enough education in genetics to properly understand what he was doing, while charged with negative emotions and desperation, and finally with an incomplete, untested formula from Dr. Conners. No matter how brilliant he was, his serum, due to all the issues just listed, was unstable. He was lucky he lived as long as he did after injecting himself with it." Gwen's tears were now falling inside her mask, pooling at the bottom of the lenses.
"No…" she shakes her head in denial. Unfortunately, the truth is not so kind.
"Yes. Whether by you or by time, he would have died either way. If my calculations are correct, which they are, upon injection, he had a little less than an hour and a half to live. I am genuinely sorry for your loss, that you had to go through something like that. But, honestly, you did him a mercy, considering." Gwen snaps at this and rushes I.Q. grabbing him by the front of his suit, dragging his face down to hers. A small part of her mind remarked to her that it definitely didn't feel like spandex.
"Mercy!? The hell do you know!? I killed my best friend!" Holding up a finger to the middle of her face, I.Q. followed up before she could follow through with a well deserved spider powered punch to his face.
"Near the end of the fight. It got easier, didn't it? Like he was getting weaker?" Gwen tilted her head and one lens opened wider than the other, like she was saying 'Yea? What about it?' "Well, that's because he was. It wasn't because you were knocking the stuffing out of him. Think about it logically, most of his mass was muscle. Corded, reptilian, muscle. Even with the proportional strength of a spider, can a spider, without using traps, webs, and venom, in full frontal combat, beat a predatory reptile twice its size? You might be able to now, of course, since Webster, your universe's Venom symbiote, is currently bonded with you."
Both of the lenses narrowed, she wanted him to get to the point, at this instance not even surprised that he knew about that, she was too confused and angry to care. "Point being, it had already started. Cellular degeneration. Life can't really function without some form of genetic coding, and his was already in shambles the moment he had transformed. If you had stopped when he asked you to the first time, his next half hour of life would have been excruciatingly painful. Think third degree burns on acid and steroids, while feeling as if your entire body was coming apart at the seams, because that's literally what would have happened. I'll spare you the entire gruesome process. But, in the end, instead of getting to hear his last words, your high school janitor would be having to clean what was left of him up with a mop."
At this disturbing imagery, Gwen didn't have to fake it, she let go of I.Q. and sped to the side of the building, tearing off her mask on the way, revealing her just below the ears length somewhat frizzy blonde hair with pink tips as her hood fell back, and vomited over the side of the building. I.Q. in the meantime, straightened his posture and waited for her to finish patiently. He watched in fascination as the mask on the roof dissolved into little black spiders that reattached and melted itself into the rest of Gwen's suit via her ballerina shoes, then refocused his gaze on the heroine. After a few minutes of heaving, Gwen stood there at the edge of the railing, she wiped her mouth with her glove and held onto her arms as her shoulders trembled. Facing the center of the city, she bit her quivering lips to try and force herself to calm down. Once she barely reined in her emotions she addressed I.Q. once more.
"S-say I believe you, which I don't, by the way... If… if I had stopped, or not fought him in the first place… could I have saved him?"
As I.Q. remained silent, she turned around and stared at where his eyes would be. She saw that his entire brain had lit up with bright orange and red. A few minutes passed that felt much longer than that to Gwen. Eventually, the projection of his brain settled down to its usual bright blue color with only a few flashes of red and orange here and there and I.Q. sighed. "It's not good to dwell on what-if scenarios. But… if you knew the situation right at the get go, knew how it happened, knew what Peter did to himself, knew where Dr. Conners' lab was, had his contact information, had Peter's research notes to give to the good doctor, been able to convince Peter that he had made a mistake and that he needed help right away. Then, assuming you could get him to Dr. Conners' lab in time after explaining the situation to him, also assuming that he beat you there and got his equipment warmed up and ready, you'd have had a 22.875 percent chance of Peter living…" I.Q.'s tone lowered somberly as he continued, "However, even then, the chance of Dr. Conners being able to completely reverse the process with no side effects, enabling Peter to return to a life of normalcy, was 2.66 percent."
Gwen lowered her gaze to the roof, a despondent and empty look on her face. "So, basically, it was impossible…"
"No, it was entirely possible." Gwen's head snapped back up. "It just wasn't probable. I wasn't there, and you didn't know me then." Gwen scoffed and chuckled humorlessly.
"Right… and you would've been able to save him." Even if he could, Gwen doubted that he would. Why would he care anyway? I.Q. tilted his head, as if in confusion, before replying like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well, yes. I most certainly could have. I am the most intelligent being in the multiverse." Gwen shook her head. She was just about ready to leave this nut job and go look for Tony Stark or Reed Richards to help her fix her Dimensional Watch when that same asylum escapee spoke up again. "I wouldn't go to them if I were you."
"Excuse me? Go to who?"
"To Stark or Richards." Gwen crosses her arms and narrows her eyes and raises an eyebrow at I.Q. "To fix the Dimensional Watch made by Pavitr Prabhakar." Gwen runs her hand on her head in frustration, questioning herself why she was going to listen to more of this crap. But the questions of how he knew what he knew kept making her want to stay. For now, she'd play his game. And then confront him.
"Alright fine, I'll bite. Assuming that was what I was planning on doing. Why wouldn't you do it if you were me?" I.Q. claps excitedly at this and flips both of his wrists, suddenly he was holding onto a white top hat and a similarly colored showman's cane. He put the hat on and took a dramatic pose as he continued.
"It's quite simple really, why go to second and third best, when you have THE best solution staring you in the face?" Gwen rolls her eyes. "But I can tell you're not convinced by that." He starts a tap dance routine. What next? "I can tell you reasons that will better convince you. In song!" That was the last straw. As music starts playing from who knows where, Gwen lunges at him faster than she thinks he can react and socks him in the gut. The music ends, he doubles over, but with the strength she had shown, in her frustration and anger, it could have easily ruptured organs and broken ribs, but I.Q. simply lets out a labored breath and straightens as he stands.
"From one musician/performer to another, that was really rude." He states as he acts as if he's brushing dust off of his suit. The top hat and cane dissolve into it. Ok, so definitely not spandex. Gwen gets in close and shoves her finger in his face.
"Listen, fruit loop. You are testing my nerves in a way no one.. NO ONE has. So give it to me straight or so help me I'll knock you out on this roof, web you down, and then call the cops to come pick you up to take you back to whatever crackpot's anonymous meeting you escaped from." Resting his hands on his waist, I.Q. takes a nonchalant stance and acts as if he's rolling his eyes.
"Geez, you're way less fun than the version of you that became like DeadPool… but fine. Both of them, given enough time, would be able to fix it. Reed would be able to fix it faster than Tony, given that extra-dimensional physics is his entire field of study, due to what happened to them. However, he'd drag it out, he'd stall in order to study everything about it. You'd end up staying much longer than you'd like, probably at least a few weeks. Also, his ego would be bruised, knowing that somewhere out there, even in another dimension, a teenager, albeit a brilliant one, was able to do things he couldn't. You see, Richards is incredibly unstable, even more so than I am.
And this is true across most dimensions and realities. He only has two things keeping him on the side of the "good guys" as you'd term it. And those two things are his ego and his team, or more specifically, Susan Storm aka The Invisible Woman. If his ego is bruised or broken, there'll be one of two outcomes; one, he'll retreat into self loathing and insecurity or two, he'll set out to prove just how much better he is than the other person, likely taking drastic measures to do so. However, if he lost Susan, the love of his life, he'd lose his moral center. Losing both, well, there are several universes out there where he becomes one of, if not the most dangerous super criminal in the history of that universe. Personally, I'd like to avoid that. Wouldn't you?"
Gwen hesitantly nods, agreeing with I.Q.'s logic, though still not entirely believing him. I.Q. seeing that she understood, somewhat, continued, "I'd be able to stop him, but it'd take time. Plus, the world still needs the advancements that a morally upright Reed Richards would be able to make. I can do them in his stead, but as I said before, he's a time bomb and I don't want to be one of the contributing factors to the birth of the Maker."
"The Maker?" Gwen raises an eyebrow at that.
"It's his name when he falls from grace and starts acting like the very people he used to strive to incarcerate. At that point he loathes being associated with the moniker "Mister Fantastic". Anyway, in addition, if any of his research on the watch appeared on his servers, Dr. Victor von Doom, the monarch/dictator of Latveria, would also get it. And I can guarantee you, he'd use it to further his own agenda of world domination. And eventually, when he's conquered this Earth, he'd set out to conquer all the others as well." Gwen shuddered at the thought. The web warriors had enough to worry about with the Inheritors, they didn't need to add a crazy powerful dictator to the list too.
"And Stark? Why would it be a bad idea to go to him?" Gwen posited, wanting to get the subject away from interdimensional doom.
"For many of the same reasons, but in different forms. It'd take him longer than Richards. And though Tony Stark wouldn't care that someone made this because it's not his preferred field of study, he would also stall to study it, but he would just want to understand it and file it away for later in case it became useful. More than likely he'd eventually use it to convert dimensional energy into clean energy for the planet."
"Aand Stark would be bad because…?" Gwen stated, not really seeing any downsides. I.Q. sighed, exasperated at this question. Why wasn't this Gwen as smart as many of her other counterparts?
"Tony Stark, being who he is, as both Iron Man and an intelligent, spoiled, unstable individual prone to jumping the gun on solutions to world peace, is on the radar of too many secret agencies and evil organizations. Namely, SHIELD, Hydra, and AIM. SHIELD's director Nick Fury would be terrified of the prospect of different dimensions, and he's already terrified of what's out there in the larger universe. Rightfully so, I might add. He'd go to any length to ensure the planet's and humanity's safety. He's already doing severely shady stuff in order to guarantee that safety. Imagine just how much further he'd go learning that there were other dimensions that people, like you, would be able to just pop in from for no reason, or maybe for invasion reasons. With how paranoid he is, that'd be the first thing on his mind the moment he knew who you were and where you were from. Hydra's even worse. It's Dr. Doom but with an army of highly trained sleeper agents who would spread through the multiverse in order to eventually control it and bring about peace through submission and subjugation. They'll use any technology available in order to do so, and they wouldn't be averse to playing a slow, drawn out game. They'd further their agenda for centuries if that's what it took before they struck."
"I know about Hydra and AIM, my Captain America fights MODOK all the time, but she got rid of Hydra in WWII though, didn't yours?" Gwen questioned. I.Q. scoffs.
"You can't "get rid" of Hydra, only stop their plans from coming to fruition. 'Cut off one head, and two more will grow to take its place' is their mantra for a reason. Trust me. And when you get back, make sure to tell that to Ms. Samantha Wilson, aka Captain America. She needs to be on the lookout and to be ready. Because Hydra will always come back. Red Skull might be gone, but they are very much still alive and going strong, they're just biding their time. There's also the fact that they have sleeper agents embedded deep in SHIELD itself, so make sure the both of you are careful of who you place your trust in. I wouldn't even trust your Maria Hill. And Betty Brant dating Falcon? Not smart."
"Jeez, just what don't you know!? How do you seem to know everything about me!?" When I.Q. made to answer in an even more crazy pose than last time, she places a hand to her forehead and sighs in exasperation. "You know what, don't answer that. Fine, I get it. I get why it would be a bad idea for me to go to either of them. And I'm sure if I mention Hank Pym you'd say something like he's the poor man's Tony Stark and would take even longer. So, for the sake of my patience and sanity, why on earth should I ask you for help? Wouldn't you want to study the device too for your own gain?" I.Q. places a hand to his chin and adopts a thoughtful posture.
"Of course, but I'll be done by this afternoon and have you home before band practice this evening. Plus I have no affiliations with any power, public or private, secret or not, aside from my own. Also, I can not only repair that, but make it better." Putting aside her doubts that he'd be done by this evening, Gwen had one more question burning.
"And what about what you get out of it, crazy?" At this, I.Q. stopped for a moment. A thoughtful moment. And sighed, deeply. "W-what? Don't tell me you're getting dramatic. I'll hit you again if you're messing with me again." Gwen reeled her fist back half-mock threateningly.
"No, no it's just… While there is a lot that I could do with the technology that young Mr. Prabhakar developed. A lot of good things that I could do for myself... and I also desire the knowledge for knowledge's sake so badly that I want to scream." A manic tone suddenly appeared in his voice which made Gwen reel back in shock and disgust for a moment, but just as quickly as the insanity appeared, it disappeared. His posture slumped again, in what seemed to be exhaustion. "Even still… It's not the real reason. And since I've shown that I know so much about you, I suppose it'd be best if I was honest with you about myself… it's only fair after all... Athena, could you please pull up the video feed of our recently acquired interns." Suddenly a female disembodied voice sounded all around them.
"Of course, boss." After that the air shimmered in front of the two costumed individuals and displayed a screen. In it, was one brown haired hazel eyed boy that must've been 16 or 17 and a girl of similar age with shoulder length blond hair and radiant blue eyes. Both of them were working with test tubes and microscopes, taking notes and chatting excitedly, like kids in a candy store. Spider-Woman stares in stunned silence for a few moments before finding her voice.
"That's… me, isn't it?"
I.Q. nods. Gesturing to Earth 617's Gwen Stacy.
"Yes. I couldn't in good conscience consider myself a good boss if I ensured that her life was safe the week prior, and then not help her super hero dimensional alternate when she was in trouble, now could I?" The spider totem looked at I.Q. with widened lenses, already having an idea what he was going to say, but still wanting to hear it from him anyway.
"What do you mean safe?"
I.Q. shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the hero's eye lenses and waved his hand noncommittally.
"It's simple really, you're looking at yet another Gwen Stacy that was supposed to die. I imagine by now you've heard about, or at least seen other Spider-Men's reactions upon learning your identity. The fact of the matter is, that Gwen Stacy doesn't live long in most universes." Gwen nodded her head, a little forlornly. "Usually it's because one of Spider-Man's enemies catches wind of his identity and uses her against him. This makes him all the more protective of his identity and he puts upon himself a lot of burdens and hardships that could have otherwise been easily avoided. All because the first love of his life died. He ends up blaming himself for getting too close to someone."
Gwen was silent for a moment before regarding this strange white suited brain guy again. He looked weird, acted even weirder, and was more than likely a few cards short of a full deck. But it seemed as if he wasn't a bad dude. However, she couldn't give him the benefit of the doubt just yet. He just didn't seem like the type to involve himself with others unless there was a benefit, or maybe, something more personal involved. As he commanded the screen to disappear with a flick of the wrist she found her mouth opening before she really thought about it.
"Why? Why involve yourself? You don't seem like the type to do things out of the goodness of your heart." I.Q. chuckled but didn't answer. Instead he waved his hand and a ripple in the air appeared.
"Why don't you see for yourself? Taking my word for it has its limits and it's not exactly something I can show you out in the open like this. This rift will take us straight to my lab. Don't worry, I'll go first, so you can see it's safe." He states as he walks through the rift. Gwen eyes the ripple in the air with caution. She could just leave now, find Stark and ask him for help. It'd be easy. All she'd have to do is make sure any data he collects on the watch is stored on an extremely private computer that couldn't be hacked or accessed by anyone other than him. But, her curiosity soon gets the better of her. She braces herself and walks through.
"Oh, you decided to join us. Good." I.Q stated as he gestured around the room. The whole place was filled with futuristic and expensive looking machinery. Holographic monitors were everywhere showing all kinds of data on who knows what. Machines whirring conducting experiments that were totally lost on the Earth-65 resident. However, the view was familiar to Spider-Woman, considering she had just looked into this room moments ago. There, right where she had last seen them in the monitor, standing stock still with gaping mouths, were Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. Gwen was standing rather close to I.Q. and it seemed odd. Like their relationship was more than just boss and employee.
"I suppose introductions are in order. Gwen, Parker, meet Spider-Woman. Spider-Woman, meet Gwen and Spider-Man." I.Q. gestures to either side of the introduction as he speaks. I.Q. ignored the acute glare from Peter as he easily gives up his secret I.D. to this stranger. Brain dude then gestures to himself. "I already introduced myself as I.Q. The multiverse's most intelligent being." The three other occupants in the room rolled their eyes. "However, for the purpose of the rest of this conversation, further information is required." Peter looked at him in shock, obviously not expecting anything further. Gwen raised her eyebrow in curiosity.
Spider-Woman remarked to herself that this probably wasn't usual behavior for him. Suddenly, I.Q. snaps his finger and his suit started falling away in small bits, dispersing into the surroundings like white mist.
Spider-Woman took the sight in as it revealed a man in faded jeans, a black turtleneck, and a lab coat. But as his face was revealed the lenses of her suit opened wide. Looking at her with kind eyes was what seemed to be the face of a much younger version of her father, George Stacy. Blonde, not grey, crew cut hair, piercing blue eyes, the only things missing were the wrinkles and facial hair. He couldn't have been older than his early twenties.
"My name is Isaac Quenton Stacy. Friends call me Ike, not that I have many outside this room. Welcome again, to Earth 617."
Spider-Woman didn't have long to be shocked, as her counterpart suddenly elbowed I.Q., or Isaac, in the ribs. "Will you stop being so dramatic? It's like you're trying to end an episode or chapter of a book on a cliff-hanger. Jeez." It was obvious she wasn't really angry with him, rather, it was definitely teasing. The kind of teasing Spider-Woman used to do with her Peter. Gwen walks over to Spider-Woman, a bright and friendly smile on her face and extended her hand, before hesitating. She looks back to Isaac, who was wincing and rubbing his side. "There's not going to be some kind of paradox induced catastrophic event if we shake hands right, Ike?" After giving her a somewhat annoyed but affectionate glare, he shook his head. "Good!" She then takes her counterpart's hand into hers shaking it firmly and excitedly. "Ike's been rambling for years about the multiverse and the different versions of us in each of them. I didn't even believe it was possible… but you're here. You're actually here! It's fascinating! You have no idea how excited I am, or maybe you do. I'd imagine this is rather shocking and exciting for you too."
Spider-Woman chuckles nervously. "Yea, actually the shock and excitement wears thin after meeting as many doppelgangers of other people as I have. Honestly, I'm more freaked out about… other things." She looks to Isaac, glances at Peter, then looks at Isaac meaningfully. Isaac, not missing a beat, looks to Parker and addresses him.
"Parker, go on patrol." Peter, for his part, looked incredibly reluctant.
"What? And miss out on something as awesome as meeting another Spider hero? What's more, from another dimension? No way!" He crossed his arms in defiance at the older man. However, the look on Isaac's face brokered no argument.
"You'll have opportunities to interact with spider themed heroes of all shapes and sizes another time. Right now, though, your time would be better spent throwing webs, punches, and quips at criminals and super villains. This is getting personal and our guest deserves your discretion. Besides, you'll probably hear all about it during pillow talk with Gwen anyway." At this statement both Peter and Gwen blush furiously. Spider-Woman gawks and then throws up a little in her mouth at the thought of dating her Peter, who was like a sibling to her.
"I-I, w-we've never even, I-I would n-never-" Peter glances at Gwen "N-Not that I don't-" Before he continued embarrassing himself, Isaac interrupted.
"Okay! That's enough. Gwen, while you restart your boyfriend and send him off on his superheroing way, I'm going to take Spider-Woman up to the kitchen for something to drink and a snack. I have a feeling this is going to take a bit. Come up when you're done, ok? Ok. This way." He waved them off and started walking, not really acknowledging any form of protest. Like he assumed that it was all settled. Gwen shrugged and gave a reassuring look at the super heroine.
"He does that. Don't worry so much and go on, I'm sure he'll answer any questions you might have." Spider-Woman was a little taken aback. This Earth's Gwen Stacy seems so… together. Like she had all the confidence and self esteem for herself possible. It kind of made Spider-Woman feel inadequate, and she has super powers and fights criminals on a daily basis. She felt like she wanted to talk to this girl, figure out why she's so confident. For now, though, she just filed it away for later. So, she nodded, and started walking after I.Q. … Isaac. On her way to the elevator door where he was waiting, she heard Gwen and Peter talking about how he wanted to stay and Gwen assuring him she'd talk to him later.
Entering the elevator, the doors slide closed and they rode in uncomfortable silence, for Gwen anyway. After the familiar bell sound of the elevator reaching the floor above and the door opening she was met with the sight of a luxury living space, complete with gourmet kitchen, huge refrigerator, a comfy looking couch, and a dining table. Isaac went to the fridge and took out a few cans of soda and some frozen pizzas that he put in the oven, apparently it was already pre-heated. He tossed the soda over his shoulder at her and she easily caught it.
"So, same enhanced reflexes, but I bet that the way your spider sense works or some other part of your powers are different. There are never two spider totems that are exactly alike, after all, whether it's their powers or their pasts and demeanors." Isaac mentioned off hand, more to himself than to Gwen. "You can shed the mask if you want, or if it'll make you more comfortable I can put mine on, without the hologram this time though." Gwen shook her head.
"No, it's fine." It remained silent like that for a few minutes before Isaac decided to break it.
"Look, I can tell you have questions. Ask them. Not many people get the chance but for you I'll be an open book." He smirked. Gwen nodded and willed her mask away, a tense expression on her face.
"Who are you? How are you related to Gwen Stacy?" To me. But she didn't say that last part aloud.
"... Isaac Stacy only exists in this universe and this one alone. 5 years before you were born in most universes, George Stacy and Helen Carmichael were just dating. But they were still together in that sense as well. There was an unplanned pregnancy at the time. They already knew they loved each other but that cemented it even more. They were ecstatic. They were planning out their wedding and getting a room ready in their apartment for when the baby came along. However, in all universes where they were together, 19 weeks into the pregnancy, there was an accident." Gwen tenses at this statement. What could have happened, and why didn't her dad tell her? Meanwhile, I.Q. continued.
"George was a beat cop at the time, and he had been poking his nose into shady business and got in over his head. The criminals decided to send a message. So they found Helen. Beat her within an inch of her life and left her in their apartment with a note detailing what they would do if he continued looking into them. He rushed her to the hospital, and while they were able to save her life, they lost the baby, in all universes, except one."
Gwen mulled over this new information. Her dad never told her about this. But there was one day a year aside from the day her mother died that he really brooded, where not even watching old reruns of Dad Cop with her would cheer him up. Then, the emotional realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She looked at Isaac with wide eyes. "S-so you're… my brother?"
"Technically, no. Different universes and all that. But genetically, very much so. I'm also the only older brother you have. But there are a few universes where mom's cancer went into remission and you have two younger brothers. This is one of those, by the way." Gwen looked down at her hands, thinking about all these revelations. An older brother. When she was just a kid, she had wondered what that would be like, an older brother to look out for her. She'd seen it in movies, the protective older brother that would annoy their younger siblings and protect them at the same time, help them with schoolwork, fend off bullies, encourage them to do their best. She was jealous of people who had siblings period, but those with older siblings made her even more jealous. It wasn't until she got a little older that she stopped caring about what-ifs in regards to her family. She and her dad were all they had, and they made the best of it. She had also found a sibling in Peter, so it didn't matter much anymore.
And now, here, in front of her, was the answer to that what-if she wondered so long ago. And younger siblings too? That was crazy and awesome. An emotional part of her really wanted to jump up and tackle this man in a hug, ask him all about their life here, about dad and mom and her supposed younger siblings. But the more rational part of her mind still had suspicions. Sure, she got an answer about why he'd help her with the Dimensional Travel Watch, why he'd keep Gwen Stacy from certain death here. However, the things he knew about her, her life, even the multiverse at large, begged the next question.
"But, how do you know all this? The multiverse, my life, everything. And don't tell me it's because you're the most intelligent being in the multiverse. Because I'm not buying that crap." Isaac smirked at her again, closed his eyes and shook his head. She had no idea, but she was about to know just how true that statement was.
"... when I was born, I was already intelligent, not as intelligent as I am now, but still scarily more intelligent than an infant should be. That night, as I was comprehending my surroundings, I was visited by a Primordial. Do you know about those? No? Well, that's an explanation or another time. Her name was Death." Gwen's eyebrows shot up at that. "And she told me what had happened. She had thought it was odd, that the same person would be fated for death at the same time all over the multiverse and yet she wasn't able to bring about mine. She was prevented from bringing me 'into her embrace' as she put it. She went on and explained that being the only me in the multiverse made me an anomaly. As an anomaly I'd have a predisposition surrounding my actions reflecting my soul's first desire at birth. My first desire was to know. And so, my life's mission is to know everything. And in order to fulfill that desire, I needed to be more intelligent. So I asked Death to compound my intelligence with the intelligence the souls all the Isaac Stacy's would have had in their lives if they had lived."
Gwen gaped. That was… insane. If that was true, which it seemed like it was. That meant his claims… might not be claims at all. Isaac let her take it in as he started to reminisce about the past.
