Quick note: I changed the time setting so now, instead of this one-shot arc being set after season 4, it takes place just before Graduation Day part 1 & 2. So the kids are all still at the Academy. :D Also, I used the actual civilian names of the heroes in this, rather than their superhero names cause I wanna see if you guys know who's who.

Now, on with the story!

Peter still couldn't shake off the chill when he walked into the Academy. It was as if winter's cold fingers were hiding in the nooks and crannies of his suit, probing at his skin with frostbitten metal rods.

He just hoped the classrooms were warmer because he was very late!

He sprinted through the halls, dodging staff workers and agents, before jumping on the ceiling and continuing from there. Seconds ticked down in his head, marking down is imminent detention, when he turned and his current class came into view. He webbed the door open just as the bell went off, and flipped inside, landing in his seat, just as it ended.

Agent Coulson was already waiting for him, arms crossed, and scowling. "If you're going to be team leader, at least try to be on time," he said.

"Hey, I have a good reason for being late."

"Were you helping an old woman across the street?"

"Actually, it was an old man, and I stopped him from being robbed. So, I count that as a job well done, I'll take my extra credit and your apology with humble modesty." He received a whack on the head with Coulson's folder, followed by snickers from the rest of the class.

"Now, as I was saying before we were interrupted," Coulson said, spinning on his heels to relocate to the front of the room, "Today, we will be working on group pairing against adversaries we're under-equipped for. I've already divided you into pairs. Let's head down to the training rooms, and we'll go from the-" he paused as his comm beeped and he glanced down. "Spider-Man," Peter sat up straighter in his seat, "You're wanted down in Nick Fury's office," and he slumped back down.

"Ooooooooooh," Sam, Doreen, Miles, Flash, Tandy, and Luke ooh'ed loudly. "Someone's in trooouuble."

"Funny," Peter deadpanned. "Hilarious. All of you. Don't be childish." He lifted his mask to stick his tongue out at Sam and scurried out of the room as Sam made it back at him.

He ran his hand over his head, blowing out a rough breathe. He barely got the Academy, so what could Fury possibly want him for? He couldn't have broken a rule in the 5 minutes that he's been there -unless Fury passed a new Academy that law banned wall-crawling. Which wouldn't just affect him, but the rest of his Web Warriors team, and that was collective punishment - a war-crime. Peter would start a rebellion!

He was running through a list of rebellion tactics when he arrived at Fury's door and had his official civil-war statement prepared when he stopped short, glancing between Nick Fury and their visitor.

"Dr. Strange," he greeted, surprised, "What's up? Hope I was interrupting something, so I can leave."

"Get in here," Fury said, and Peter stepped inside.

"Sooo," he rocked back and forth on his heels, unsure whether to cross the threshold or not. Fury beckoned him forward, and Peter did so, somewhat hesitantly. While getting called to Director Fury's office was a pretty normal thing, he didn't usually have guests there to witness his daily lashing. Strange didn't seem like the type of person to stay when someone was getting a talking to, so he was probably there for something else.

"Not to beat around the bush, but how've you been Doc? Any new, strange magical problems?"

Nick Fury groaned, but Dr. Strange smiled, somewhat exasperated, and rolled his eyes. "When are you going to stop using that? The pun is getting old."

"As old as you? Ha. Just kidding, please don't jinx me."

"Don't tempt me."

"Sorry, but that's asking too much of me this time."

"Stop it," Fury said, admonishing them with a dry look, "both of you. You're here, Spider-Man, because we've got important matters to discuss."

"You didn't pass a rule against wall-crawling did you?"

Fury scowled, "No, I haven't."

"Alright, alright," Peter yielded, kicking his rebellion plans to the side. "Just checking."

Dr. Strange gestured for Spider-Man to join them, and he walked the rest of the distance, standing at Fury's desk. "Something happened a few days ago," Dr. Strange said, and Peter jumped on Fury's desk, crouching with his hands on his knees.

"Oh-kay, we're just jumping right in then."

"I'm not sure what transpired, but sometime after, as I was checking over my Sanctum, I noticed that the Siege Perilous was different. Each magical item has a particular aura about it, a testament to its power and value, but the Siege Perilous's aura was off. I think it might've dispersed some energy without me realizing."

"Annnd...that's bad," Peter guessed.

"I believe so. The Siege Perilous deals in inter-dimensional travel, and when it releases energy, it breaches the layers between alternate realities, thus opening portals. I fear that when it released energy, it might've breached reality again, if just for a small time."

Peter stopped knocking his knees together and leaned forward, feeling as though Dr. Strange was squeezing his lungs with some mystic-magic rope. "You think something got into our universe?"

Dr. Strange grimaced, tugging lightly on his black, swirly goatee, "Well, yes, to put it lightly. I believe something crossed through into our universe."

"Oh," Peter shrugged, stiffly, "Well, maybe it was just another Spider-person or something. We can find them and send them back home. Easy peasy."

"I don't think it'll be as easy as that," Fury said, pushing him off his desk with the end of his gun.

"I'm afraid Director Fury might be correct," Dr. Strange sighed, as Peter relocated to his side, "It's something different. Something...worse, than another Spider-being," Nick Fury scoffed, "The ambiance around New York has felt different ever since."

Peter's shoulders slumped, "Yeah, I was afraid you were going to say something like that." To be honest, it did feel like something has been off-kilter. He couldn't put his finger on it, but everything felt imbalanced. Like there was some new, added weight to their universe that was tipping the scales. It made his skin crawl.

"Which is where you come in. You've dealt with the Siege Perilous more than anyone. Do you have any ideas of what might've crossed into our dimension?" Dr. Strange asked, eyes so intense and harrowed, it made Peter squirm.

"Well, I don't know. I mean, it only ever took us to different dimensions. I don't remember it trapping anyo-" but he tapered off, tensing. Dr. Strange must've noticed and took a step forward, grabbing Peter by both of his shoulders. Not aggressive or threatening, but soft and earnest.

"What? Any information is useful. Anything at all. If there is a harmful entity in our world, we need to know about it."

Peter hesitated, rubbing the nape of his neck timidly, "Well... there was one person. His name was Wolf Spider. He, uh, was trying to take over the multiverse, but I already told Director Fury about that. The power of so many people and the Siege Perilous was too much for him though, and he just," he made a big explosive gesture with his hands, "exploded everywhere. Only it wasn't like a physical explosion."

Dr. Strange frowned, "Then what kind of explosion was it?"

Peter rubbed his neck harder, flushing a little. Gosh, he felt so dumb. "Well, it was similar to the way Baron Mordo exploded when Goblin hit him with the Siege Perilous. It was like he was made of glass and just...shattered. The pieces of him disappeared too. Maybe...well...if Baron Mordo survived, maybe he survived too."

For a long moment, Dr. Strange was quiet. Then, slowly, he straightened and gave Peter a grateful smile. "Thank you," he said, ruffling the top of his head, "this information was helpful." He turned back toward Director Fury, "I'll update you if I find anything else. For now, just keep your eyes open. You too Spider-Man."

Peter shot him a finger-gun.

With that, Dr. Strange made a strange, complex gesture with his arms and a vortex etched into the air and opened in a swirling circle of sparks. He stepped inside, and the vortex closed behind him. Director Fury looked back down to the paperwork on his desk, "You may return to class."

"Sure. Okay. Just gonna go do that then." Peter twirled elongated and sauntered toward the door, "I see you only wanted me for my brain."

"Also, Spider-Man," Peter looked over his shoulder, "be sure to tell your class about this. Don't start a panic, but make sure they're informed. I don't want anyone caught off-guard."

"Us? Panic?" Peter scoffed, "When have we ever?"

"Just do as I said."

"Yes SIR, Pirate Captain, SIR!"

"Get out!"

And Peter did. Quickly. Director Fury only took so many pirate jokes before he started throwing people out of windows. He nodded at fellow SHIELD staff as he went, trying to keep the grin on his face, despite the sick feeling sinking into his chest. Whatever this magical conundrum was, Peter was sure Dr. Strange could handle it, but something didn't feel right.

It made him feel edgy and jumpy, and his fingers tapped together nervously in consequence. To stifle the urge to web-sling away like he had Wolverine on his tail, he switched to rubbing the spot on his palm where the pressure plate would be on his home-made web-shooters. He didn't have them on his SHIELD web shooters because the sensors at the bottom reacted to the movement of his wrist and hand and unleashed webbing that way. But he wished he had them now. They always calmed down him when he felt uneasy.

Peter was almost to the training rooms, where the halls had thinned, when he felt a sharp thrill shoot up his spine, as if someone had shot a needle up his back, and he jumped away, flipping a distance from the source of his spider-senses distress with his arms out, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Only... there was nothing there.

Looking left and right, and even up on the ceiling, he slowly eased back up, feeling as though someone had doused him in cold water. Aside from the janitor in the corner who was muttering something about comics and story-arcs, he was alone.

Rubbing his fingers against his palm more fervently, he hurried to the training room door, punched the code in, looked over his shoulder, and was inside before his spider-sense had the opportunity to react again. His teams were spread out in pairs, taking on different assortments of LMD's and weaponized robots without the use of their normal tools - such as web shooters, SHIELD sanctioned claws, superpower helmets, or anything else that might help in the circumstances. He strode across the room and signaled to the control room to pause the exercise, and the teams all stopped, looking around confused when their opponents shut down.

"Over here, got an announcement from the man up top," Peter called, gesturing for them all to gather in.

Sam laughed, zooming in so he was the first one there. "What? That he's finally expelling you?"

"Ha-ha, don't get your hopes up. But this is equally important, so I need everyone to listen."

"Hey everyone! Listen up! Spidey's being serious for once in his life!"

"Thanks, Nova."

He shot Peter double-finger guns.

Rolling his eyes, Peter ignored him to stand before the mass of teens. "Alrightie, so Dr. Strange showed up and me, him, and Director Fury had a little chat. Apparently, something happened a few days ago, and, to put it bluntly, there is the possibility that something bad has entered our dimension."

Tandy snorted from her spot next to Tyrone and Ben. "What, is it Tuesday?"

"Hardy-har," Peter smirked, "I know we've all gone through things like this, but Director Fury wants you all informed so in the case that there is something around, we're not caught off guard."

Miles raised his hand, like the good kid he was, and Peter called on him. "Okay, so evil-magical beings are pretty basic," he said, "but any ideas where it came from? So we have somewhere to send it in the, knowing us, likely chance that there is something out there."

"Yes actually," Peter preened, despite the way his stomach churned, "If Dr. Strange isn't lying to me, he said it came from the Siege Perilous." He noticed the way Miles tensed and couldn't help but sympathize.

"Isn't that the thing that you used to travel dimensions?" Amadeus asked. "Well, in the hypothetical scenario that you did and weren't just hallucinating."

Peter gasped, splaying an offended hand over his chest. "Excuse you, Sir! We happen to be in the presence of an alternate dimension Spider-Man!"

Miles puffed his chest and waved.

"Alright, alright," Amadeus conceded. "I'll drop it... for now. But until I see it myself, I'm not fully convinced." Miles slapped him against his metal-covered head, which he rubbed as if he could actually feel it through his armor.

"But seriously," Peter said, grabbing their attention again. "Keep an eye out, okay. If you do encounter something mystical-y and dangerous, do not engage. Call for backup and keep your distance. Got it?"

"Yes Sir, Daddy Longlegs, Sir!" they all echoed back, saluting him with their shoulders back, and Peter sighed. So this is how Director Fury felt.

He flapped his hands at them, "Oh, just – go finish your training exercise and stop bullying me."

With a shared laugh and a few more teasing remarks, they all dispersed. Instead of returning to his spot, though, Miles waited until everyone was gone before he approached Peter, who saw it coming, and was already waiting.

"Hey," he said, sidling up next to him, wringing his hands together. "So, this weird, alternate thingy, it's not, like another weird villain from my universe, is it?"

Peter shrugged, a part of him hoping it was. "I don't know. Dr. Strange doesn't even know. He just said something is off with the Siege Perilous, and he thinks something escaped from it."

Miles instantly deflated, "Phew," he said, wiping his forehead. "Just checking. I swear, if it's Venom or Shocker, or something, I was gonna be mad."

"Oh," Peter gasped. "Heaven forbid that happen."

"Yeah man, I've got a temper like the Hulk. Haven't you noticed?"

"Definitely. Don't get Miles angry. You won't like him when he's angry."

"Exactly!"

Peter chuckled, but it fell flat. It didn't seem to escape Mile's attention either, and he took an inquisitive step closer as if observing Peter. "Something wrong?" he asked. "You look kinda tense."

"Me? I – I'm fine," Peter said. "100% dandy!"

"Uh-huh."

Peter managed to hold his confidence a few seconds more before he slipped. "Alright," he admitted, "I'm a little worried about this mystery-being. I mean, I know it should be fine, and there's a chance everything's okay, but... the things that it could be worries me."

Miles nodded, solemnly. "Yeah, I know, man. It's..." he shuddered, and for a moment, Peter could tell Miles was thinking the same thing as him. "But I guess let's just hope that's not the case this time."

"Yeah," Peter muttered, "definitely. That'll work."

"Hey!" Ben yelled from across the room, and both Peter and Miles looked toward him. "If you two are done gossiping, how about you get our exercise going again."

"Come on," Ava agreed, "we're rusting over here."

"I'm going, I'm going," Peter shouted back. "Don't make me turn the difficulty level up! Don't push me!"

Ava cackled in her corner, "Do it, Bug-Breath! I need an actual workout."

"Oh, is that how it is?"

"Bring it on!"

Peter swung up to the control room, "You're gonna regret that!" He stuck to the smooth glass, half-way signaling to boost the difficulty, when he froze, feeling needles of ice shoot through his veins. Through the reflection, a pair of longer, spider-like legs were coming out from behind him, pinned to the glass on of his sides, as a dark, cloaked figure rose above him. The red eyes of his mask glinted in the dark pane of the glass, and the figure leaned forward, chuckling low and soft, like they were sharing a joke. A sound that settled deep in Peter's stomach and made him want to hurl.

Instinctively, he whirled around, propelling off the glass to hit it away, but there was nothing but open air around him. He fell a few feet, still confused, and shot a web that brought him back to the ceiling. Heart hammering, he twisted left and right to find it again, but he was alone.

"Wha..."

"Whoa, hey, you good Spidey?" Luke called from below, and Peter looked down, where the rest of his teams were watching in concern. He looked around once more, verifying that there was nothing up there with him, and nodded unsurely.

"Yeah?"

They all shared a look. Ben made a movement as if to join Peter on the ceiling, but Peter gestured for him to stop. "No, it's okay. I'm fine. Sorry, I just... I just thought I saw something."

"Are you sure?" Ben asked.

"Yeah," Peter winced when his voice cracked and cleared his throat. "Yeah," he repeated, more firmly. "Yeah, let me just..." he gestured to the control room, and the LMD's started up again. The team didn't have time to interrogate him further as their opponents burst back to life and attacked them.

Peter took the distraction to jump from the ceiling and head for the nearest exit. He needed to talk Nick Fury stat. He had a feeling he knew what came out of the Siege Perilous, and it was definitely not good.

But just as the door closed behind him, the hall lights shut off, and almost instantly red lights flashed in their stead with and a loud, blaring alarm that followed. Peter's spider-sense crawled over his brain again, and he shuddered. Maybe this called for a bit of back-up.

He pressed the code into the training room door, but it didn't budge. Scowling, he tried again, but nothing happened. He was locked out.

No... the team was locked in.

Like a guiding hand, Peter followed his spider-sense to the end of the hall where a figure appeared in the flashing lights, walking toward him. Literally appeared out of nowhere. Then he was gone. When he reappeared again, he was farther down the hall, drawing closer to him. His body flickered on and off like static, and when he reappeared once more, he was running. Barb-like legs grew outward from his cloak, like an actual demon from hell. Peter could recognize that mask anywhere.

Wolf Spider was back and running at him.

And Peter had nowhere to go.

RUNNNNN PEEEETEEEEYYY!

Well...that's a shame.

LOL, here's an update! Thanks for reading, and we'll see you again in Part 4!