Spiderman: Into the Voidverse

Lex POV

Muffled sounds disturbed the ever-present silence. I lay there, barely alive, as if drained of energy. I struggled to open my eyes.

"Pete...Peter..." I mouthed miserably, searching for the boy in the foggy room.

I raised myself up on my elbows, then tried to get up. I felt dizzy, I felt as if this place was pressing on me all the time, as if it wanted to knead me. Except for the white space, there was nothing here. It was terribly clean. Soothing and terrifying at the same time.

"Where am I?" I whispered worriedly.

Have I died? Is this what death looks like? Let's hope not... However, I was not alone here. I heard crying, pulling my nose. I turned around slowly. Near me was kneeling a young boy, a little scarier than me. What was he doing here? I walked up to him.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked pleasantly, with a hint of worry in my voice.

The boy turned to me weeping. He looked really mediocre. Unkempt, disheveled hair, red eyes from crying, battered eyelids. He was visibly frightened at the sight of me, because he moved a little further away.

"No, don't come near me! You'll get hurt!" he warned me and waved his hands.

"Relax, I'll be fine," I reassured him.

The boy stood up. He looked at me worriedly.

"No. As long as he is here, everything is bad," he confessed, barely standing on his feet.

"Who?" I asked puzzled.

"He... that monster, that sadist," he answered me, full of terror in his eyes.

I looked around. Was the boy delirious?

"There's no one here," I chuckled confusedly.

"There is. He's everywhere. Something is about to happen to you, again because of me! I can't do this anymore!" he started to panic again.

The boy panicked, grabbed his head. He was experiencing something very much. Despite the fact that, as for me, he was talking nonsense, I found that I could not leave him in such a state.

"Hey, calm down. I can handle it. What's your name? What are you doing here?" I tried to bring him down to earth.

The boy only looked straight into my eyes. He slowly raised his gaze until our gazes met. Those eyes...

"You know very well who I am," he said with horror.

Only after seeing those eyes did it come to me. It was Edge. Young Edge. The same sad yet terrifying gaze. The same image of suffering contained in two irises.

"That's impossible," I whispered in shock.

"He always imprisons me here when he takes control. In this prison. He doesn't want me to interfere. It's been so long since I've seen the sun.... Is it still so beautiful?" he confessed with regret in his voice.

"I... don't understand any of this," I said, trying to explain everything to myself.

Edge just looked at me sympathetically. The situation was beyond me. I don't even know where I am or where Peter is.

"Follow me," said Edge.

Should I trust him? I have no other choice. He seems to know this place better than I do.

Edge made a few movements with his hand and colored tiles appeared in front of him.

"The plus side of all this enslavement is that then, when the bad guy takes over, he puts this place completely at my disposal. That's why it's so peaceful, clean here. It's the only place where I can't hear him," he went on, creating tiles.

I stood quietly and listened. I met a completely different Edge. This one, although damaged, did not seem angry. I did not feel hatred from him. He was neither thoughtful nor fearful. He was more sad, lonely. I couldn't imagine what he must have been experiencing. To be a prisoner of his own mind, to be afraid of himself. In this he began to resemble me. I wish I could help him break free.

"This monster was always inside me, he was the one who allowed me to read his mind. One moment made him get out of one realm into all realms," he said and showed me on the tiles the moment of the accident in the laboratory.

"For so many years it sat inside me, and the only thing that could stop it was the lack of access to light. That's why I constantly wore glasses, my eyes were a guide. Without glasses, it was easier for him to take control of me," he added, showing another memory.

"I'm sorry I didn't give them to you then.... It's all because of me," I said full of remorse.

"No. Actually, it's good that it happened. I finally have a chance to talk to you without unnecessary brawls," he said with a slight smile on his lips.

"I feel that only one thing is bothering you," he added after a while, looking at my worried face.

"I never issued the order. The monster wanted me to, but Edward was my friend. He helped me control the mess. He left to protect me and the whole world," he confessed something I always wanted to hear. The truth.

"My grandfather was a hero," I whispered, looking back at one of the memories.

"If only you could have known him as I knew him. He rescued innocents under cover of darkness and led them to me. You partly inherited his work," he continued the story about my grandfather.

"Did he know about the experiments?" I asked another important question.

"Only about some of them. Not all of them he supported," he replied.

I looked back at my memories of my grandfather. Our last conversation had been an argument, so I was happy to see him again. He was so passionate and devoted. In his eyes, you could see pangs of shrewdness and genius. I thought he was a paid assassin, and he helped poor souls. I wish I could talk to him again, explain everything, hug him....

I felt tears running down my cheeks. Immediately it occurred to me that I was not wearing a mask. However, Edge knew my face, although he shouldn't.

"Lex... you need to get out of here," Edge said, pulling me out of my own mind.

I turned toward him. I wiped the tears from my cheek.

"You only have one chance, I can use my power to help you get out. The monster won't be happy. After you get out, he will want to grab you at all costs. You have to cut off his access to the light, then he will weaken enough to be defeated," he gave me his plan.

"What about Spider-Man? He's trapped too," I asked worriedly of my friend.

"I don't know if I can get two people out, but I'll try. Remember, you have to hurry before this monstrosity takes over the whole city," he finished his statement.

I nodded my head. Edge put his hands out in front of him. He started waving them slowly. A black glow appeared around me, which increasingly obstructed my view. Finally, all I could see was black magic. Suddenly I felt strange, as if all my atoms were moving somewhere else. The most painful thing of all was my headache. The pressure in my skull was very unpleasant, but I had to be ready, that only if I got out of Edge's mind, I would have to face his monster. Let's just hope Peter is all right.