Miguel looked as though he had the situation entirely under control, prepared to take on Morlun—who appeared extremely weakened after absorbing toxic life force—in a one-on-one duel. Then, he was kicked squarely across the room.
Despite his profound weakness, Morlun remained resolute in his determination to slaughter these wretched Spider-Totems. Spider-Man 2099's talons failed to breach his defenses, and Spider-Gwen's attempt to hurl a Scorpion at him proved utterly futile.
It only served to fuel Morlun's rage.
"I am not a man who enjoys wasting food, but you have successfully changed my mind!"
As Morlun spoke, he threw a punch at the Spider-Man of Earth-700, who was rushing toward him. However, at that precise moment, the latter was yanked away by Peter's webbing. Peter stepped in to meet the blow with a punch of his own; only a fist reinforced by the Venom symbiote possessed enough strength to stand against Morlun—or rather, to overpower him.
Peter's punch sent Morlun staggering back. Morlun looked at them with a ghost of a smile, his eyes narrowing. "It seems you have finally grown wise, learning to huddle together to resist us. But unfortunately, even if the Inheritors cannot feast upon your tainted lives, our hounds are ultimately infinite."
"There are countless Spider-Totems across the Multiverse waiting for me to hunt. Farewell—"
With that, Morlun turned with predatory elegance and vanished into thin air.
"Are we not going to chase him?"
Spider-Gwen was curious about the group's reaction, but Peter shook his head. "At least for now, he's backed off. My Spider-Sense isn't telling me that any Spider-Man is currently under attack... perhaps there are, but they are beyond my range of perception. Even if Morlun dies, he can be quickly resurrected. Unless we can guarantee the total destruction of their cloning facilities, we cannot eliminate them once and for all."
"It's better not to dwell on that for now," Miguel said, beginning to outline his vision. "Your battle with Morlun spanned a dozen universes and involved a significant number of Spider-Totems. Once we confirm they are all Spider-Men, I will provide them with the location and information of our headquarters. The members of the 'Spider-Army' might be a bit of a mixed bag, but their philosophy is correct. We cannot fight alone; we shouldn't even just operate in small squads. We need to gather together."
"Like a Spider-Man version of the Interdimensional Council of Reeds?"
The Council of Reeds was an assembly of every Reed Richards from across the Multiverse, where all the Mister Fantastics capable of joining met to collaborate. A similar organization existed in the form of the Council of Kangs. The difference was that the latter was composed of Kangs; the similarity was that both organizations were excellent at causing trouble.
Miguel clearly knew exactly what the Council of Reeds was, as he shot Peter a look of disapproval. Peter merely shrugged in response.
"You should probably come see the headquarters," Miguel told Peter. "The basic framework is already in place. The Wasteland Universe has been mostly cleared out; it was originally our training ground, but most of the problems there have been resolved."
Peter, however, was thinking of something else. "Wait a moment. Can you find the universe where Nimrod destroyed the world? That universe is a possible future of Earth-616."
"...I could, but why?" Miguel grew suddenly wary. This man had just mentioned the Council of Reeds and followed it up with this request; it smelled of ulterior motives.
"The Nimrod from that universe used a time machine to send a portion of its program into our timeline. In other words, one Nimrod exists in two timelines simultaneously, operating on a dual thread. This has given the people of that future a chance, but they are severely lacking in combat power."
Peter looked at Miguel. "There is a Spider-Man in that universe who has been fighting until the year 2029. He is worthy of joining us. We can recruit volunteers to help him and save his world. If he plans to launch a surprise attack on Nimrod, he's going to need a lot of help."
Miguel looked at Peter in silence. "You know about the Web Events, right?"
"You mean..."
"A universe that has failed is no different from one that is destroyed. It is, indeed, a suitable place to test the feasibility of a Spider-Verse."
Earth-811, Days of Future Past.
A mother and son on the run were hiding from a standard Sentinel patrol. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the area nearby. A Sentinel was tripped by webbing and crashed heavily to the ground, only to be sliced apart by a woman with a sword. Another girl phased out from within a second Sentinel's chassis, leaving the robot to collapse in a heap.
The final Sentinel had its chest incinerated by flames before its head was severed by Wolverine's claws.
"There are fewer and fewer people left for us to save, and we have so little to help them with."
After Illyana escorted the mother and son to a temporary settlement known to Peter's group, the resistance fighters returned to another makeshift hideout. This place was a small bunker Punisher had once set up in the countryside. They were staying here for the time being, primarily to accommodate the Professor, who was now unable to move without an exoskeleton.
Faced with Peter's lament, the Professor offered comfort. "At least we have seen hope. It is not as if we have made no progress, is it?"
The investigation from the past had been heartening. It seemed the original Nimrod of 2013 would not be born. They had also discovered several vital clues: one was that Rogue was highly likely still alive, as Nimrod required her DNA samples to manufacture Nimrod Sentinels. The other was that the raw material for Nimrod Sentinels required Promethium from Limbo.
This gave the resistance a clear objective. If they were to make a final stand, Limbo would be the ultimate battlefield. And thanks to Illyana's status, they even had a small horde of demon fodder they could use to bolster their ranks, though they weren't of much use otherwise.
Just as Peter was about to say more, his Spider-Sense tingled—but it wasn't a warning of danger. To his surprise, a portal opened, and a tall, imposing Spider-Man stepped out.
"Uh... who are you?"
"Hmph. An observational paradox of a potential future. I am the Spider-Man of the year 2099 from Earth-928, also a potential future of Earth-616. Miguel O'Hara. Peter Parker, I wish to invite you to join the Spider-Society. We are short-handed right now and need fresh blood."
"The Spider-Society is... an organization that covers the Multiverse's Spider-Men?"
Miguel nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I'm sorry, I won't join. I still have to save my own world."
"You know what? A kid from 2013 told me you'd say exactly that," Miguel said, his tone cold. "So I went and asked around. I asked who would be willing to participate in a mission with an extremely high mortality rate, in a universe not their own, where their own world would lose its Spider-Man if they fell."
Miguel's voice remained flat. "Guess how many people said 'no problem'?"
One by one, portals began to open all around the Peter Parker of Earth-811.