The End of the Spider Age

The streets of New York were quiet.

Too quiet.

Weeks had passed since Spider-Man, Red Mark, and Beast had stopped the first great outbreak of Spider Queen's venom.

Thousands of infected people had been restored.

The city had reopened.

The tunnels had been sealed.

The Webbed Kingdom beneath Manhattan was believed to be abandoned.

But deep underground...

something was growing.

Hundreds of eggs covered the walls.

Then thousands.

The Spider Queen stood among them.

Selene Voss had spent her entire life feeling like an outsider.

She had loved spiders when everyone else feared them.

She had been mocked for her gothic appearance.

She had been treated as strange.

Then the Catalyst had given her something she had never possessed before.

A family.

A colony.

A purpose.

But now she wanted something more.

She wanted freedom.

The Spider Queen's Declaration

Selene climbed onto the highest platform of her underground kingdom.

Behind her were enormous nests containing her spider children.

Some were ordinary spiders.

Others were Catalyst-evolved creatures.

She looked toward the surface.

"The humans have had their age."

Her eyes glowed crimson.

"They built cities."

"They covered the Earth with steel."

"They feared creatures like us."

She raised both hands.

"But now..."

A massive web spread across the chamber.

"...the age of humanity is ending."

The spiders began moving.

Selene smiled.

"The Age of Spiders has begun!"

The Surface

Spider-Man and Red Mark were swinging through Manhattan when Peter suddenly stopped.

Mary Jane nearly collided with him.

"Peter!"

He landed on the side of a building.

"My spider-sense."

Mary Jane looked around.

"What?"

Peter closed his eyes.

"I can feel them."

"Thousands."

Mary Jane's expression changed.

"How many?"

Peter looked toward the streets.

"Too many."

Then the ground shook.

BOOM!

A subway entrance exploded open.

Thousands of spiders poured onto the streets.

People screamed.

Spider-Man immediately swung into action.

"Everyone get inside!"

Red Mark followed.

"Peter!"

"What?"

"We're going to need help."

Peter nodded.

"Already called them."

The Avengers Arrive

A Quinjet descended between the skyscrapers.

The Insane Avengers emerged.

Insane Iron Man landed first.

His enormous Hulkbuster-like armor slammed onto the street.

Weapons unfolded from his shoulders.

Captain America arrived with his heavily enhanced shield.

Thor descended in a storm of lightning.

Hulk landed hard enough to crack the pavement.

Black Widow and Hawkeye moved into defensive positions.

Iron Man looked at the approaching spider army.

"Okay."

"I've fought aliens."

"Robots."

"Mutants."

"Demons."

He raised his weapon.

"But this is definitely the strangest invasion yet."

Spider-Man landed beside him.

"You get used to it."

Iron Man stared at him.

"Do you?"

Peter shrugged.

"No."

The Super X-Men Arrive

A portal opened above Manhattan.

The Super X-Jet emerged.

Charles Xavier and the Super X-Men had arrived.

Peril jumped from the aircraft.

Clay landed beside her.

Dominion immediately connected to the city's digital infrastructure.

Risk scanned the underground network.

Charles closed his eyes.

He could sense thousands of minds.

But something disturbed him.

"They aren't all attacking."

Peril looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

Charles answered,

"Some of them are afraid."

The Spider Army Attacks

A gigantic spider crashed through a building.

Hulk grabbed it.

"BAD SPIDER!"

He threw it into an empty construction site.

Thor summoned lightning.

BOOM!

Insane Iron Man unleashed a barrage of energy.

Spider-Man swung between skyscrapers.

Red Mark moved beside him.

"Left!"

Peter turned.

A spider lunged.

He dodged.

Mary Jane wrapped it in crimson webbing.

"Got it!"

Peter smiled.

"Nice!"

She smiled back.

"Partners?"

"Always."

The War of Eight Legs

The battle spread across Manhattan.

Spider creatures emerged from subway entrances.

Winged spiders attacked from rooftops.

Armored spiders charged through streets.

Webbing covered traffic lights.

Bridges became tangled in silk.

But the heroes fought back.

Insane Iron Man

His armor deployed sonic emitters that disrupted spider communication.

Insane Thor

Lightning destroyed enormous webs without harming trapped civilians.

Insane Hulk

He physically moved giant spider creatures away from populated areas.

Insane Captain America

He coordinated evacuation teams and protected civilians.

Spider-Man

Peter used his spider-sense to predict attacks before they happened.

Red Mark

Mary Jane's incredible flexibility allowed her to move through the colony and rescue trapped people.

Clay

Clay transformed her body into massive shields, protecting entire groups of civilians.

Dominion

Dominion seized control of abandoned subway machinery and turned it into automated barriers.

Peril

Peril caused vines and roots to grow through cracks in the pavement, trapping the largest spider creatures.

Risk

Risk merged with the city's technological infrastructure, monitoring the entire battle.

The Spider Queen Appears

Suddenly...

the sky darkened.

A massive web stretched between several skyscrapers.

At its center stood the Spider Queen.

Selene looked down upon the battlefield.

"You still don't understand!"

Peter looked up.

"Selene!"

She spread her arms.

"The spiders are no longer hiding!"

"Why should we?"

"Why should we remain beneath your cities?"

"Why should we fear humanity?"

Red Mark shouted,

"Nobody is asking you to hide!"

Selene looked toward her.

"Then stand aside."

Mary Jane shook her head.

"No."

Selene's eyes narrowed.

"Then you will fall with them."

Spider Queen vs. Red Mark

Selene descended.

Mary Jane confronted her.

The two Spider Women collided.

Red Mark moved with incredible flexibility.

She twisted around the Queen's attacks.

Selene's venomous claws barely missed.

Mary Jane fired webs.

Selene ripped through them.

"You could have ruled beside me!"

Selene shouted.

Mary Jane responded,

"I don't want to rule anyone!"

She flipped over Selene.

"I want people to choose their own lives!"

Selene slammed Mary Jane into a wall.

Peter rushed forward.

"Mary Jane!"

"I'm okay!"

She stood.

"Let's finish this."

Spider-Man vs. the Queen

Peter attacked.

Selene moved faster than expected.

She grabbed Peter's web and pulled him toward her.

Peter activated his spider-sense.

He twisted sideways.

Her claws missed his face by inches.

Peter landed behind her.

"You know, for someone who loves spiders..."

"You really don't like sharing."

Selene roared.

She summoned hundreds of spiders.

Peter became surrounded.

Then Red Mark arrived.

"Need help?"

Peter smiled.

"Always."

Together they fought back.

The Final Battle

The Spider Queen grew desperate.

She absorbed energy from the colony.

Her body became larger.

Additional spider-like limbs emerged.

Her eyes glowed bright red.

Charles Xavier immediately sensed the danger.

"Everyone!"

"Fall back!"

Selene screamed.

"THE AGE OF HUMANS IS OVER!"

She prepared one final attack.

Charles stepped forward.

Instead of attacking...

he reached out telepathically.

Selene froze.

Charles entered her memories.

He saw the lonely girl.

The gothic teenager.

The young woman who had found comfort in spiders.

He saw the ridicule.

The isolation.

The loneliness.

Then he showed Selene something else.

Her colony.

Not as weapons.

Not as an army.

But as living creatures.

She saw the spiders peacefully existing beneath the city.

She saw Peter and Mary Jane trying to save them rather than destroy them.

She saw the frightened people she had infected.

Charles spoke gently.

"You don't have to become what people feared."

Selene began crying.

"I just wanted somewhere to belong."

Charles answered,

"Then let us give you one."

The Spider Queen Falls

Selene's anger disappeared.

Her giant form began shrinking.

The Catalyst energy around her weakened.

The spider army stopped.

One by one, the creatures lowered themselves.

Peter looked around.

"Is it over?"

Red Mark nodded.

"I think so."

Selene fell to her knees.

Charles approached.

She looked up.

"Are you going to imprison me?"

Charles shook his head.

"No."

"Then what?"

Charles extended his hand.

"Come with us."

Selene stared at him.

"Why?"

"Because everyone deserves a place where they can belong."

Kauai

The Super X-Jet carried Selene and her colony to the island of Kauai.

She expected a prison.

Instead...

she saw the Super X-Mansion.

Mutants.

Humans.

Animals.

Plant creatures.

Young heroes.

Families.

Everyone living together.

Charles walked beside her.

"You're welcome here."

Selene looked around.

"You really mean that?"

Charles smiled.

"I do."

The Cure

Beast began studying Selene's Catalyst mutation.

But he did not try to erase who she was.

Instead, he developed a treatment designed to stabilize her transformation.

It would prevent her venom from uncontrollably infecting others.

It would allow her to remain herself.

Her spider abilities remained.

Her connection to spiders remained.

But the destructive Catalyst infection was brought under control.

Selene looked at Beast.

"So I'm still a Spider Queen?"

Beast smiled.

"Perhaps."

Peter laughed.

"Just a much nicer one."

Selene smiled.

"Don't push it."

Kawaikini

Charles Xavier had discovered a remote region of Kauai called Kawaikini.

The area contained deep valleys, waterfalls, forests, caves, and untouched wilderness.

It was perfect.

Charles stood before Selene.

"I think I've found your home."

Selene looked across the enormous landscape.

"All of this?"

Charles nodded.

"For you..."

"And your children."

Selene's eyes filled with tears.

She released hundreds of spiders into the forest.

They disappeared among the trees.

The colony began constructing enormous webs between the branches.

Others created nests within the caves.

The spiders lived alongside birds, insects, plants, and other Catalyst-evolved creatures.

No one hunted them.

No one feared them.

They were finally safe.

A New Beginning

Weeks later, Peter and Mary Jane visited Kawaikini.

Selene was sitting beneath a giant tree.

A small spider crawled onto her hand.

Mary Jane smiled.

"How are you doing?"

Selene looked around.

"I never thought I'd say this..."

She looked toward the spiders.

"...but I think I'm home."

Peter smiled.

"You know, you don't have to call yourself the Spider Queen anymore."

Selene laughed.

"Oh, I'm keeping the name."

Peter sighed.

"Of course you are."

Mary Jane laughed.

Selene looked toward the mountains.

"For the first time..."

"I don't need an army."

"I don't need to conquer anything."

She gently placed the spider onto a leaf.

"I just want my children to grow up somewhere peaceful."

Charles Xavier watched from a distance.

Peril stood beside him.

"She changed."

Charles nodded.

"So did we."

The End of the Spider Age

The Age of the Spider Queen had begun with anger.

It had grown from loneliness.

It had nearly become a war between humanity and an entirely new species.

But it ended with understanding.

The spiders remained in Kawaikini.

Some were ordinary.

Some were evolved.

Some possessed extraordinary abilities.

But they were no longer an army.

They were a family.

Selene became their protector.

Peter Parker and Mary Jane continued protecting humanity.

And Charles Xavier opened the Super X-Mansion to another person who had once believed there was nowhere in the world where she belonged.

One evening, as the sun disappeared behind the Hawaiian mountains, Selene watched hundreds of spiders move peacefully through the forest.

She whispered:

"Maybe the age of humans isn't over."

A tiny spider crawled onto her shoulder.

Selene smiled.

"Maybe..."

"...we can share the future."

Above Kawaikini, the stars began appearing.

And for once, the Catalyst did not bring destruction.

It brought coexistence.

The Spider Queen's war was over.

Her kingdom had become a sanctuary.

And the Insane Universe gained another guardian.