Spider-Man: Web of Shadows

Chapter 100: The Final Hour

The night air was cool against Peter's skin as he and Harry stood just outside the ruined warehouse, their breaths heavy and ragged. The ground around them was cracked and fractured, as if the very foundations of the earth had been shifted by the chaos they had just witnessed. Behind them, the remnants of the warehouse smoldered in the distance, the echoes of Mister Negative's dark power still lingering like a faint hum in the air.

Peter wiped a hand across his face, still trying to shake the feeling of the oppressive darkness that had consumed him only moments ago. He could still feel the remnants of it—like a shadow stretching across his mind, an echo of something darker that he had barely escaped.

"Is it over?" Harry asked, his voice uncertain, his gaze fixed on the wreckage of the building.

Peter didn't answer immediately. His mind was still racing, sifting through the events of the night. Mister Negative's plan had been far more dangerous than he had initially understood. It wasn't just a battle for control of the city or the world—it had been a battle for time itself.

"I don't know," Peter finally said, his voice tinged with doubt. "We stopped him for now, but time… it's still broken, Harry. The way he twisted it—it's still out of balance."

Harry turned to him, his expression dark. "So, what does that mean? Is the world gonna keep falling apart?"

Peter shook his head, frustration boiling up inside him. "I don't know. But I do know one thing: we can't stop now. We have to find a way to fix this. If Mister Negative could do this much damage, imagine what could happen if someone even more powerful—someone who actually understands how to control time—comes after us next."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking at the destroyed building once more. "I don't think I've ever been this scared. I've faced danger before, but… this… this feels different. Like there's something in the air. Something that's off."

Peter felt that too—the subtle weight in the atmosphere that clung to everything, making each breath feel like a labor. The darkness they had faced wasn't just a physical battle. It had been an attack on the very nature of their existence. Something had shifted, something that neither of them fully understood yet.

"We need help," Peter said, his voice resolute. "There are people out there who might know more about this. I have to reach out to Doctor Strange—he's dealt with things like this before. He might know how to fix what's broken. If we don't act fast, this… this could spiral into something we can't control."

Harry nodded, though his expression was still grim. "I'll help however I can. Just… let's make sure we don't lose ourselves in all this."

Peter's heart tightened. He hadn't realized just how close to the edge they both were. The battle with Mister Negative had torn them both apart in ways they couldn't yet comprehend. Time, reality, their very lives had been thrown into turmoil—and neither of them knew if they could ever fully recover from what had happened.

"I'll call Strange," Peter said, pulling out his phone. "But first, we need to get somewhere safe. I don't trust that this is over—not by a long shot."

Harry agreed, though a flicker of concern crossed his face. "What if Mister Negative isn't finished? What if there's more to his plan than we realized?"

Peter met Harry's gaze, the weight of the question heavy on his shoulders. He had no answers. All he knew was that they had to keep moving forward, no matter how impossible that seemed.

A few hours later, Peter stood outside a darkened brownstone in Greenwich Village, his mind still racing. He had called Doctor Strange as soon as they'd found shelter in an abandoned building, but the sorcerer had been delayed by another mystical crisis. Peter wasn't sure what that meant, but he knew that every minute counted.

Harry stood beside him, watching the night sky with a sense of restlessness.

"Do you think this is going to be the end of it, Pete?" Harry asked, his voice quiet. "Or is this just the beginning?"

Peter didn't answer right away. The question was simple, but the implications were far from it. After everything they'd faced—after all the villains, all the destruction, and now the bending of time itself—he had no way of knowing what the future held.

"I don't know, Harry," Peter finally said, his voice soft. "But we have to be ready for whatever comes next. There are forces out there that we can't even begin to understand. We can't stop fighting now. Not after everything we've been through."

Harry's eyes flickered with uncertainty, but he nodded. "Right. We'll keep fighting. Together."

Just as Peter was about to respond, the front door of the brownstone swung open, and a figure stepped out—none other than Doctor Strange. His cloak swirled around him, and his expression was one of intense concentration.

"Peter, Harry," Strange said, his voice calm but filled with the weight of someone who had seen the unraveling of worlds. "I'm afraid you're right to be concerned. The events set into motion by Mister Negative are far more dangerous than you realize."

Peter's stomach twisted. He had known it wouldn't be easy, but hearing it confirmed by Doctor Strange made it all feel so much more real.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked. "What's happening to time? Is there a way to fix it?"

Doctor Strange stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter. "Come inside, and I'll explain. The fabric of time is not just broken. It's been fractured—and the consequences are already spreading. If we don't act quickly, the entire timeline will collapse. There are forces that want to make sure it does."

Peter felt his heart sink. Collapse. Forces that wanted it to collapse. That meant there was something much larger than Mister Negative behind this. Someone—or something—was manipulating everything, pulling strings in the dark.

"What do we do?" Harry asked, his voice tight.

"You're going to help me find the cause of this fracture," Doctor Strange said, his tone unyielding. "We need to track down the source of this disturbance, and fast. If the timelines merge, if they blend into one chaotic mass, everything you know—everything you are—will be erased. You'll never exist in this reality again."

Peter's mind whirled. Erased? The weight of the words was crushing. He had thought they were dealing with something already devastating, but now it seemed like the very essence of his existence—everything he had fought for, everything he had sacrificed—was in jeopardy. He glanced at Harry, who was just as stunned by the implications.

"How do we stop it?" Peter asked, his voice firm.

"We need to find the nexus point of this disturbance," Doctor Strange replied. "The source. Once we do, we can restore balance to the timeline. But it won't be easy. There are dark forces at work, and they won't give up without a fight."

Peter took a deep breath, his mind steeling itself for what lay ahead. He didn't have all the answers—he wasn't sure anyone did. But he knew one thing for certain: he wasn't going to let everything he loved be erased. Not without a fight.

And so, with Harry at his side and Doctor Strange leading the way, Peter stepped forward into the unknown, ready to face whatever dark forces sought to tear reality apart.

End of Chapter 100