It all depends on luck

      Late that night, Felicia sat in front of the television in Spider-Man’s apartment again, trying to solve the mystery of the last item from Merlin’s house, a strange thick disk. Its lid was made up of several rows of rings, each one rotating freely or moving some other ring behind it.       Felicia’s serene state of mind in trying to solve the puzzle was interrupted by a tragic news report from the television. “The Daily Bugle had managed to locate Peter Parker’s current residence, but it was too late. Felicia had procrastinated too long, putting things off until later. There was an explosion in the building. Journalists reported strange observed thunderstorms and a sandstorm right in the center of New York City. Cameras caught Dr. Octopus bouncing on the walls and the Goblin flying away. At least one victim was known — May Parker, Peter’s aunt. Spider-Man himself had also disappeared.       Felicia covered her face with her hands. It was her fault. She’d sensed that this was what would happen in the end, but she hadn’t even bothered to warn Peter. She hoped that she was wrong in the end, and that Peter Parker was doing the right thing, as he always did.       Felicia felt like an idiot. Peter Parker was the link to all these strange events. He was the one who could help her get home. But she never dared to approach him. The man with the last name Osborn scared Felicia like she was a little girl. And that tantalizing Merlin’s house, where she expected to make a big score.       Felicia scolded herself for making pointless excuses. Just as then, her quite conscious actions had led to tragic consequences. The difference was that this time she knew for sure that something bad could happen, but did nothing to prevent it. And she could have. Because of her, Peter had lost someone close to him. Again.       Death seemed to haunt Peter Parker no matter what universe he was in. And given that, Felicia truly admired him. No one but her knew how much Gwen Stacy meant to Spider-Man. Her Spider-Man. If Felicia had been in Peter’s shoes, Harry wouldn’t have gotten away with beatings and confinement in a cell. If Felicia had Spidey’s powers and experienced such a thing, she would have sent Harry to a place he could never escape from.       But Peter Parker isn’t like that. He’s naive and simple-minded, but that’s what makes him Spider-Man. Felicia followed his endeavors. Peter searched for his uncle’s killer, catching criminals who fit the description, but he was wrong every time. After the events with the Lizard, he abandoned revenge and became that “friendly neighborhood” Spider-Man. After Gwen’s death and his temporary absence, Spider-Man had a backlash. He became more violent: he mercilessly beat criminals, maimed them, broke their bones, knocked out their teeth. The public reaction to this was mixed. Spider-Man’s reputation was on the brink, but in the end he managed to come to his senses. And even then, Spider-Man tried to keep his cool and not cross that line, whether he was facing a brand new supervillain or a long familiar Harry. Peter caught them and always turned them in to the police. Felicia couldn’t do that. And no one could.       

***

      Felicia grabbed her backpack, stuffed the trophies from Merlin’s house and Spider’s spiderwebs into it, stole the first car she could find, and hurried to the scene of the incident. She didn’t know what she was counting on. Most likely a miracle.       The authorities blocked off the streets a few blocks away from the house where the explosion had occurred, and no one was allowed to pass. Felicia had to abandon her car and keep walking across the rooftops. Climbing up the wall, using clawed gloves and numerous ledges was faster than running up a fire escape. Felicia had never strained her body to this level before. Jump from a ledge onto an air conditioner, grab onto a laundry pulley, pull herself up and push herself up, jump onto another ledge, repeat a few times, and continue climbing upward, digging her claws into the brick wall. Run across the roof, jump to another. If the neighboring building is too far away, jump to the wall and then climb up to the roof.       The hidden disadvantages of Spider’s web-shooters were also revealed here. The web flew far and held fast, but as with ordinary rope, it was impossible to climb up quickly. Spider-Man must have used his tremendous strength by pushing against the thread with his hands and thus flying up into the air. Felicia would need some kind of small winch to repeat such a trick. The web only helped her if it was necessary to fly a great distance between two houses.       As if all the difficulties of her journey weren’t enough — there was a helicopter flying in the sky, and Felicia had to hide from its searchlight, thanks largely to the bracelet that allowed her to anticipate the trajectory of its beam. In all likelihood, the helicopter was looking for Spider-Man, but a girl climbing walls and running on rooftops would have raised some suspicions, too.       Felicia had been practicing since she was a child. No one noticed her, and no one could keep up with her. Except maybe Spider-Man. Felicia only stopped at the roof of the neighboring building she was running towards. Unfortunately, Spider-Man was no longer here. Even Felicia’s all-seeing glasses didn’t help her find him. Peter isn’t stupid, he was long gone by now. However, Felicia had no other leads.       Getting out of the restricted area was easier than getting in. The cops were mostly making sure no one went inside. Felicia mingled with the crowd of evacuated passersby and calmly walked past the checkpoints.       

***

      May Parker was the only person who could lead Felicia to Spider-Man, her only chance to go home. But Felicia had procrastinated too long.       Now she had to think actively. Where could Peter Parker go after… after everything? He clearly wanted to help those freaks, and they’d turned out to be freaks — inside and out — as they always did. His secret hideout is exposed and destroyed. The only person close to him was dead. What else did Peter have left?       His old apartment. Felicia rushed back, stealing her third car in two days — a record, though! And of course, Spider-Man wasn’t there. Unlike Felicia, Peter had no way of knowing that his apartment wasn’t guarded as vigilantly as it once was.       It was obvious that after everything that had happened, Peter wanted to be alone. Preferably somewhere where no one could bother him. For those who could fly on spider webs and climb walls quickly, the ideal choice was the roof of some skyscraper. However, in New York City, there are as many skyscrapers as there are people in stores on Black Friday. If you can’t fly, looking for Spider-Man would be pointless.       But while there were other options, Felicia had no intention of giving up. Felicia definitely knew about Merlin’s house on Bleecker Street, but she and Spider-Man seemed to have had a falling out, and Merlin must be trapped in some other dimension somewhere. If not, Felicia had already managed to rob him, so it was best not to count on friendliness in any case.       If the internet was to be believed, Peter had two close buddies and a girlfriend. Technological progress is certainly good, but with the spread of cell phones, everyone is starting to give up their home phones. You can’t find anyone in the phone book anymore, you can’t call anyone. There are also social networks, but in them people sometimes do not answer for hours, and sometimes even close their profiles. You have to look for an address on the Internet and drive to the other end of the neighborhood to talk to the right person in person.       If the internet is to be believed, Peter had two close buddies and a girlfriend. Technological progress is good, of course, but with the spread of cell phones, everyone is starting to give up their home phones. You can’t find anyone in the phone book anymore, you can’t call anyone. There are also social networks, but in them people sometimes do not answer for hours, and sometimes even close their profiles. You have to look for an address on the Internet and drive to the other end of the neighborhood to talk to the right person in person.       Felicia’s first choice was Flash Thompson, who called himself Spider-Man’s best friend. Felicia remembered that the Peter and Flash of her universe had been buddies in high school despite the typical teenage disagreements, so she thought her choice was the right one.       “Are you with the police?” The teenager asked when Felicia asked him about Peter.       “God forbid, no,” Felicia replied.       “Are you some kind of supervillain? I’m not giving you Peter!”       “I’m not a supervillain,” Felicia rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly.”       “Yeah, that’s what a supervillain would say.”       “What would a non-supervillain say?”       “I…” Flash paused, realizing he’d backed himself into a corner. “Look, I saw the news. Leave Peter alone.”       Flash was about to close the door, but Felicia held it open.       “Five violent and dangerous villains roam the city. They’re out for Spider-Man’s blood. They killed his aunt, and they’re after him. I want to help him.”       Flash looked her over questioningly from top to bottom.       “You’re the Black Widow?       “She’s dead, isn’t she?” Felicia was confused.       “There are a lot of them. Don’t you keep track of events?”       “I have a hard time with that.”       “Okay.”       Flash sighed heavily. He took a few seconds to work up the courage to confess:       “To tell you the truth… I’m not friends with Peter Parker.”       “What?!” Felicia exclaimed in surprise.       “I made that up because I wanted to be noticed as Spidey!” Flash justified himself.       Felicia turned around and walked back to her (i.e. someone else’s) car.       “My God, I wasted my time on some dude!”       “Ask Ned and MJ!” Flash shouted after her. “They’re friends with Peter.”       “Thanks, I already know!” Felicia replied, slamming the door behind her.       Next on the list was Ned Leeds' house. Felicia’s door was opened by a sleepy old lady who spoke Thai (if it was Thai) and hardly any English. It cost Felicia a lot of trouble to realize that Ned wasn’t home.       “You. Know. Where. Ned?” Felicia spoke slowly and waved her arms around for some reason.       Even if the old woman understood her question, her answer, as well as her language, remained unclear to Felicia. After politely thanking the old woman, who seemed to be waiting to be left alone, Felicia left.       At Michelle Jones’s house, no one answered her at all. It appeared to be empty.       Tired of searching hopelessly, Felicia returned to the car.       “Why is this so hard?!” Felicia dropped her head onto the steering wheel in despair.       None of her leads had borne fruit. Felicia was already considering giving up on her venture, if only for a few hours. Right now she should have gone back to Parker’s apartment, showered, and gotten some sleep. Maybe he’d stop by there himself. If not, Felicia would continue her search in the morning.       Felicia chased all those thoughts away. She’d had plenty of time to fool around. And now, with five supervillains running rampant in New York who’d already killed Peter’s aunt, Felicia couldn’t afford a moment’s rest. And you can’t fool yourself: Peter isn’t going back to his official apartment while those monsters and even the police are looking for him.       Hoping for more clues, Felicia surfed the internet again. What was her surprise when she found that all the news channels had been trumpeting Peter Parker’s video message he’d gotten through to the Daily Bugle for over ten minutes.       Felicia turned on the video. Peter looked shabby, and not just in appearance. He had the very box he’d stolen from Merlin.       “I could have killed you. At any given moment, but I didn’t,” Peter said.       Finally Felicia at least roughly understood the purpose of the box. Merlin and Peter hadn’t agreed on what to do with those freaks. Merlin was going to deal with them, but Peter was going to play the hero, as usual. And that’s how they repaid him.       “Cause my aunt May taught me that everyone deserves a second chance. That’s why I’m here,” Peter said.       It was unlikely that many people understood exactly who he was addressing. But he only wanted those five.       “Where’s “here”, exactly?” Jameson asked, sitting in his studio.       Peter pointed the camera at the bronze face of the Statue of Liberty.       Felicia started the car.       “Good God, folks! He’s about to destroy another national landmark!” Jameson exclaimed.       “Are you completely stupid?” Felicia thought angrily, gritting her teeth.       After finishing the video, Felicia turned on the live feed from the Daily Bugle, turned up the sound, and, since there was no phone stand in the car, threw it on the passenger seat.       Felicia hit the gas and made a sharp turn right in the middle of the road.       There were two ways to get to Liberty Island at this time: first you had to get to the port, and then either pay the owner of some boat for transportation, or steal a boat and sail yourself. The second option looked more practical.       Felicia drove as fast as she could, but she tried not to take too many risks or attract the attention of the cops. Only rarely did Felicia swerve into the oncoming lane or run a red light. Dealing with cops over misdemeanors would take more time than she expected to save.       But an unexpected message from the Daily Bugle made Felicia slow down and pay attention to the screen. The first helicopter to reach Liberty Island had managed to capture from afar how around the Statue of Liberty, in the midst of a sandstorm and lightning, were flying on webs… three Spider-Men!       Felicia’s heart sank. The Lizard hadn’t been seen in her world in years, and Electro was presumed dead. Whatever magic is involved here, could it be that one of the Spider-Men now fighting them is her Spider-Man? Her Peter Parker?       

***

      By the time Felicia reached the harbor, it was beginning to get light. But as soon as she got out of the car, Felicia sawthe explosion over the Statue of Liberty, followed by a bright flash that left strange purple streaks in the air around the island.       The sight looked too dangerous, to say the least. Felicia decided to hold off on finding the boat and, running to the edge of the dock, put on her glasses to see everything, using them as binoculars. Unfortunately, Liberty Island was too far away, and Felicia couldn’t even see the silhouettes of people.       Meanwhile, the purple streaks were widening. Their edges were not clear, but literally crumbled, resembling cracks in glass of unimaginable sizes. Some of the cracks flashed with golden light and began to heal, but most of them continued to grow rapidly in length and width.       It was nothing like the smoke trail left behind by airplanes. The edges of the streaks were crisp, and the color was as bright and rich as if it came from some other dimension. It was mesmerizing, though frightening.       “What’s going on in there?” Felicia muttered to herself.       Felicia watched for several minutes, unable to decide what to do. Yes, she had finally decided that she had to help Peter Parker, and the appearance of two more Spider-Men, among whom might well be the Peter from her reality, only strengthened her resolve. But those strange cracks? That was something Felicia was definitely not prepared for. What if they were radioactive? What if they start sucking in everything that happens to be nearby? Or, on the contrary, “spit” something out of themselves?       After a while, when the sun had finally risen from behind the horizon, a golden ring appeared over the Statue of Liberty, and all the purple cracks stopped growing. The ring increased in size and the cracks began to tighten and disappear one by one. Eventually the ring reached a size where Felicia could see that it was actually made up of obscure runic symbols. It looked like Merlin had gotten loose, and it was all his doing.       Suddenly, Felicia felt the same sensation as when she had used the bracelet, but much stronger. The sensation was just like the first time. The space around her once again charged, only this time it was slower. Felicia felt like she was finally coming home.       But when she looked at her hands, she was alarmed to find that the magic bracelet was disappearing with the world. The little bugger didn’t want to stay with her! Felicia decided to go with an off-and-on approach. Before it was too late, she hurriedly removed the bracelet and clasped it on her arm again, but it didn’t help at all. A moment later, the bracelet vanished into thin air, leaving only a small trace of its needle on her arm.       The car Felicia drove to the harbor was gone, too. All the purple cracks and golden rings over Liberty Island disappeared. All the boats near the marina changed to other boats in a matter of seconds.       Felicia’s phone beeped longingly, picking up the many notifications she had missed during those two unusually strange days. It reassured Felicia that she was back in her own world and in her own time, rather than popping in somewhere else. She’d had enough traveling between dimensions this week.       Recovering, Felicia snatched the backpack off her back and looked inside to check what else besides the bracelet she might have lost. To her dismay, almost all of the trophies from Merlin’s house were gone. Only the silver kaleidoscope and an unidentified tooth remained. I guess if that mage could conjure dimensions, he could have put some sort of “interdimensional anchor” on his stuff, too.       The web-shooters and the vial of web that Felicia had borrowed from Peter remained in her backpack. She’d left her new laptop in the apartment. Well, when Peter got home, he’d be in for a pleasant surprise. Or not so much. Either way, there was no receipt, and there was no way to return the laptop anyway.       Felicia cursed, upset that she had missed most of her catch. At the same moment, a fisherman thirty feet away from her suddenly had his line snapped, but Felicia walked away without noticing it.