Issue 50: Trials of Merlin End

Tony and Steve came back to see a party in full swing. Peter was eating a piece of Pizza while explaining the importance of Space-Time and how it operated. 

Thanks to gaining the Merlin Stones Peter's knowledge of the two seemed to be improving by the second. Millions of equations that baffled scientists before on these matters were slowly becoming more simplified for him to understand. 

"So traveling manually through space at light speed is waay too slow, in order to achieve faster than light travel..."

616 Peter Parker nodded his head fascinated by the findings his counterpart when Tony said, "Well, look who made it back in one piece."

Peter smiled and said, "Heya Tony, just in time, I was just conversing with them about the possibility of faster than light travel to journey to other galaxies."

"Now this is my kind of party," Tony smiled as he joined in on the conversation.

They partied well into the night with geek talk and good booze. By the time things had calmed down, most people had fallen asleep or passed out from over drinking, 

Peter was getting ready to leave he just had one more thing to take care of. He made sure to bring his counterpart before he called up Strange and had him find Prof. X. They had to prepare the spell in order to hide Spider-Man's Identity once more. 

As they were standing inside Strange's Sanctum, Charles, Strange, and Peter stood in a circle with 616 Peter standing in the center, Aunt May and MJ had come along as well, the two of them were standing beside them watching with a bit of worry.

Before Strange began he gave 616 Peter a stern glance, "Peter, what we're about to do is a major invasion of privacy, your counterpart will supply the energy for the spell, this will erase any known documentation and footage of you revealing your identity, while Professor Xavier creates a fake nonexistent hero and identity to take your place, in their memories."

"Everyone other than those that knew before will remember," Professor X added.

616 Peter thought back to his Aunt May getting shot and said, "Do it."

Peter held out his hand and placed it on the magic circle, and with a burst of energy from the Power Ruby, he activated the spell, a glow spread across the world as all the physical proof that Spider-Man was Peter Parker was erased and swapped with a fake called Mosquito-Man, a joking reference to what Spider-Man could have been. 

Xavier felt the energy of the Power Ruby flowing through him as he used his psychic power to swap out their memories, and for a second, he felt omnipotent and like he could accomplish anything if he chose to do so. 

When he saw this, Peter snapped his finger and said, "Focus Charles, finish what you have to do, and nothing else."

Prof. X shook his head and felt ashamed for falling prey to temptation. He quickly recovered from his desires and focused in on his job, completing the action in a matter of seconds. 

Peter removed his hand and retracted the Power Ruby's energy as he stared at the 616 Peter and said, "It's done, other than your closest relatives, now everyone thinks that the person that unmasked is Mosquito-Man, and since James Linkin doesn't exist, they'll never be able to confirm his identity."

616 Peter sighed and said, "This isn't a mistake, I'll be making in the future."

Peter laughed and said, "I said the same thing, funny how it never works out." 

Spider-Man then stretched his arms and said, "Well, if you ever get the chance, you can drop by my universe, the U-ID is 891211. Something tells me will be meeting again."

The Parkers looked to him and said, "You're leaving already?"

Peter smiled and replied, "I have my own Aunt May and MJ to take care of back home, It's been fun, but I accomplished what I came here to do. Besides, it's not like we'll never see each other again, Universal Travel isn't exactly impossible, and I know Reed Richards can definitely pull it off, so if you ever feel like taking a vacation or something, feel free to drop on by."

Aunt May hugged him and said, "When you can tell me and your uncle about yourself, can you give Ben my regards?" Peter gave her a hug and said, "For you Aunt May, anything."

MJ walked up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks for the present Tiger, take care of yourself over there." 

Peter grinned and replied, "Just so know, you can shrink down the suit into a bracelet and wear it all the time. That way you don't lose your Spider-Powers, and suiting up is just a simple thought away."

MJ smiled and said, "Thanks, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this."

616 Peter came up and held out his hand, and the two shook as he said, "Thank you for all the help, and don't be a stranger. That dimension hopping thing works both ways, next time you should bring some friends, maybe you should take a vacation here."

"See, now you're just copying me."

The two shared a laugh as Peter turned around and opened up a portal. He turned around one last time to see his heroes that he grew up with and waved goodbye as he jumped into the portal. As he traveled through the colorful warping of space he focused on his destination. 

However, he ended up somewhere completely different, he appeared inside a vast forest lake, the large circular pond had a single person sitting at the edge of it. He was wearing a long grey robe and had a short cut beard. From what Peter could tell, he looked middle-aged with eyes that showed experience far beyond his years.

Peter was about to say something when the man spoke, "Welcome Peter, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

He was stunned because he had figured out who this man was, or rather what he was, "Merlin? No, you're an echo made by the Reality Topaz, the Soul Emerald, and the Mind Sapphire."

Merlin smiled, "Intuitive one, aren't you? Well take a seat, let's talk."

Peter sat down and looked over the lake, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" 

Peter nodded his head, "Yeah, it's nice here. Though, it could use a theme park, like with a big old sign that says Merlin's hideaway,"

"I started my journey here. My mother the lady of the lake gave birth to me and set me on my path of magic. During my lifetime, I lost many loved ones because of the choices I made, allies abandoned me, my closest friends and family betrayed me and attempted to steal from me." 

Merlin waved his hand as a series of Stones appeared in the sky, "In a fit of rage from the sting of Morgan's betrayal, I left this place and began journeying through the cosmos, along my travels I discovered the Infinity Stones, but instead of using them, I tried to understand them in order to advance my own magic."

Merlin waved his hand, showing battles that could shake entire cosmos, "During my time in possession of the stones wasn't what you would call pleasant, countless beings came to try and take them from me, and it came down to a major conflict between me and a Mad Titan, he came to kill me with the one being in the universe that was capable of such a thing. However, at this point, I had learned enough to do without them so right in front of them, I cast the Infinity Stones out into the universe and for a while, I was at peace."

Merlin sighed before he continued, "After some time I managed to crystalize my own understanding of the Infinity Stones and crafted my Gems, empowering them with a fraction of the Universe's and my power."

He looked over to Peter and said, "Do you know the major difference between my Infinity Gems and the Infinity Stones?"

Peter mulled over the question and suddenly thought of something that should have been impossible, "Your Gems work in other universes!"

Merlin smiled, "Correct. The Infinity Stones are a manifestation of that particular universe's laws, so it would make sense that by taking them outside their reality they would lose the source of power that fuels them. However, each of my Infinity Gems contains universes inside them, so when you travel to other realities it acts as a conduit to connect to that reality's laws."

"So that's the reason the Merlin Gems worked in the 616 Universe!" Peter said slapping his fist into his palm.

"Yeah so I wouldn't call that universe the 616 anymore as it has already broken away from the original timeline, now it's more like a 616-2."

Peter nodded his head, "Makes sense, I guess that means somewhere out there is the actual 616 universe where they never met me."

Merlin then responded lifting a brow, "Disappointed? I can understand, it makes you think, why bother interfering if it isn't going have any real effect."

Peter laughed and said, "Are you kidding me, I made a whole new universe, any world where Spidey gets a happy ending makes me happy enough."

Merlin smiled as he said, "You are an interesting one. My Stones wouldn't choose just anybody. I guess that gives me some piece of mind." Merlin stood up, "But you know it isn't this simple, taking possession of these Gems are a big responsibility, I created them to maintain order in my world from beings that could alter it as they see fit." 

"Certain gods that can destroy entire galaxies, beings that can control the fabric of reality, they all make mistakes and abuse their powers, or think they know better and end up causing havoc without realizing it. How many rewrites do you think a universe can take? Every time someone breaks the universe's laws, repercussions are always present. If you accept the responsibility now, then I will pass over the remaining Merlin Gems and you will have successfully passed the trials. After becoming the master of the stones will have to use that power to and act as judge, jury, and executioner towards these beings. You'll have abandon being human and become something greater, but it is for the better, after all think of all the lives you could save."

Peter froze, he couldn't lie to himself, he wanted these stones, but when he heard of the responsibilities that came with it he paused. He was still human, and still wanted to live a human life, if he chose to accept this power, he might change into something he wouldn't recognize anymore. 

"If I refuse, then does that mean I have to give up the remaining stones?"

Merlin nodded his head and said, "Yes, you will forfeit the right to wield the stones and all their power."

"I refuse!" Peter said bluntly.

"Why?" Merlin asked.

"Because as much as I am about being Power and Responsibility there is such a thing as too much, If a giant monster comes to earth, believe me, I'll be the first one to help out, but I owe nothing to the rest of the universe. I want a family, and a life outside my superhero antics, I can't have one if I'm of battling extradimensional threats every day. If I was given the choice to live like a god or a Man, then I chose to live as a man."

Merlin smiled and said, "You pass."

Peter cocked his head sideways and said, "Say what now?"

"I said you pass, I would never hand the power of my stones over to someone who thinks themselves a god, I made the Stones to protect the universes law, this is true, but I also only made it for humans to wield. Whereas if a person that sees himself a god would act on their selfish desires, seeing themselves above all others. It truely is never a good thing. People like that often would use the power to satisfy their greed and ego. However, as kind-hearted humans, all we can do, just try to move forward making the best decisions we're capable of. Sure, they may not always be the right ones, but at least their being led by good intentions."

Peter then looked up and said, "So are the Trials over?"

Merlin smiled and said, "On the contrary, they have only just begun. Stay sharp Peter, and never let power change who and what you are. If you do, you might just lose everything."

With of snap of his finger, Peter felt the entire world shift, "I look forward to meeting you in real life, my successor." were the last words he heard Merlin speak as he reappeared beside MJ holding her hand as if he had never left. 

"Peter, what happened? The stones, they're gone!" MJ shouted out.