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Chapter Text

Spiderman groaned and brought his hand to his head. His spider sense had not stopped going off ever since that villain intercepted his swing with some kind of portal. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He was laying flat on the ground on his back, he patted the ground around him with his free hand. It was soft, grass? Where was he? He slowly blinked his eyes open, the bright light hurt his oversensitive eyes. The sun’s rays beamed though the gaps in the leaves that hung above him. He gasped and sat up suddenly and groaned again, instantly regretting that. Looking around he did not recognize his surroundings. He was in some kind of forest, a peaceful breeze rustled the trees around him and birds chirped somewhere in the distance. Everything looked a little off, like it was slightly geometric, angles slightly too sharp to be natural. 

A thud and an “oof” behind him made him startle. His spider sense was just starting to calm down and now his anxiety shot up. Sometimes he struggled to tell the difference between his anxiety and spider sense, it was like a double edged sword. He finally stood to turn towards the sound. It was Deadpool face down in the grass, limbs sprawled ungracefully. Peter wasn’t sure if he felt better for not being alone in this strange place or annoyed that he would be stuck with HIM. Peter heaved a sigh, already dreading the impending chaos. He had only agreed to patrol with the guy because he wouldn’t leave him alone. No matter how many times he attempted to swing away, though he lost him, he would just appear right next to him out of nowhere. It was infuriating. Eventually he just gave up. Fine, what's the worst that could happen. Now look where they were… where were they?

“Hyah!” Deadpool jumped to his feet suddenly, very animated, arms held out as if his katanas were in his hands. But they weren't… “Wait what? Where'd my-” He looked down, checking himself, patting his hips where his guns used to be, grabbing where his katanas usually rested in their holsters. “Damn, even my emergency fruit snacks are gone.” He pouted.

You are a fruit snack, Peter scoffed in his head. He realized where his mind was going and he shook the thoughts away. A slight blush crept onto his face but thankfully his mask hid it. Deadpool turned and noticed him. “Spidey!!! Oh my goodness I was worried I’d be lost in this strange world all on my lonesome.” He swung side to side in a cutesy pose, not taking their situation seriously at all. Peter was already becoming annoyed. Maybe he should just knock Wade unconscious, surely he’d make more progress getting out of this situation without his distractions. 

Before he could decide, Wade was wandering off. Peter grumbled and followed, no point in staying in one spot anyway. Peter began to connect some dots as Deadpool skipped ahead. The villain they had been fighting kept talking about games and had various controllers strapped to their belt. The last words he remembered hearing before he was caught in the portal was… Minecraft? Surely there were plenty more deadly or scary games to send them to so why minecraft? He tapped his chin in thought. He didn’t remember much about the game, he had only watched a few youtubers play it when he was younger. He knew to beat the game you had to fight a dragon. So maybe… just maybe the way to escape was to defeat the dragon and win the game? 

“Wade, wait up” he called out. Deadpool stopped and turned around “Do you know anything about the videogame called minecraft?” Peter hoped that Deadpool might have some niche knowledge on the game, you can never tell what this guy might know. “Huh?” He tilted his head to one side. Darn. Peter knew he was younger than Wade but he didn’t think it was by much. Oh well. “I think we’re in that videogame, I remember that villain said ‘minecraft’ right before I went though the portal” Peter explained. “I don’t know much about it but it's a survival game, I’m guessing we have to defeat the end boss and win the game to escape.”

“OOHHH, that makes sense now.” Wade didn’t explain further so Peter inquired “What do you mean?” 

“Well, when you went through the portal that weirdo was boasting about how we will never escape. That the most powerful and feared videogame character resided here and would finish us off for them. But I’m sure we got nothin’ to worry about.” He waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “Besides I doubt this Herobrine guy actually exists anyway.” Spidey just stared at Deadpool, the eyes of his mask were comically wide. With a world full of people with super powers and literal gods, a videogame cryptid was not that far fetched. And now they were in his domain. He didn’t want to believe Herobrine was real but he remembered seeing all the scary videos when he was younger, that's what made him stop watching them. He wouldn’t take the chance.

“Alright, we gotta get out of here as fast as we can” Spidey continued walking and Deadpool sped up a little to keep pace. “What, you aren't actually scared of this guy are you? Don’t worry Spidey, ol’ Dpool is here to keep you safe!” He sounded so cheerful. Maybe delusional. Wade continued chatting to Spidey as they made their way out of the forest and into a clearing. He could see a village from here. Since this was just a game it would be a good idea to loot the village for a head start on supplies and equipment. He continued and so did Wade with his yapping. Peter was trying to ignore him but that didn’t seem to deter him at all. 

As they approached the village a few heads turned their way but most went about their business. They seemed like any other NPCs he had seen in games. He entered a small house and opened a chest and started rummaging through it. “Go see if there's anything useful in the other buildings” He interrupted Wade’s chatter but he didn’t seem to mind, he walked off. There were a few loaves of bread, an apple and some flowers in this chest. What a strange assortment of items… At least they wouldn’t go hungry. He exited the house to see Deadpool messing with a robot looking construct. He was insulting how funny it looked and moving around it sporadically. “Hey don’t mess with that, we don’t know what it can do.” Spidey warned. Deadpool pouted but made his way over to Spidey. “Did you find anything useful? All I got was flowers and bread.”

“Yeah I found these!” He held up two swords, on gold and one stone. “Oh and this.” He handed Spidey what looked like a stone pickaxe. “Great… Let's keep looking.” He wasn’t sure how helpful the pickaxe would be but he knew Deadpool used katanas and broad swords were close enough right? Maybe they’d actually be able to defend themselves if they needed to. 

By the time they finished looting the village the sun was getting low in the sky. They had grabbed everything that looked even a little bit useful. They even dug the crops out of the farms. Never know what they might need or how long they would be without food. The NPCs were all watching them wearily, humming to each other in a way he couldn’t understand. They were just about to pick out which houses they were going to spend the night in when that robot construct rounded a corner and started approaching them faster than he was comfortable with. It was coming right for them, that was obvious. His spider sense alerted him dully. “Uh oh, we gotta go. NOW!” Spidey grabbed Deadpool’s arm and practically dragged him through the village. Loud metal thumping could be heard behind them. Deadpool got the message and started running on his own. 

They got far from the village before the robot stopped chasing them and just stood there, daring them to come back. Joints creaking as it swayed back and forth menacingly, eyes red and glowing. They kept walking, it was getting dark and he didn’t want to stay out to be reminded what monsters came out at night. “We have to find somewhere to stay for the night.”

“Why? What happens at night?” Deadpool asked oh so innocently. “I can’t remember exactly but I know this game turns from cozy survival to horror very quickly. I don’t know the extent of our situation here, if we still have our powers or if we’re working solely on videogame logic here and I don’t want to stick around long enough to find out.” Deadpool’s mask shifted as if he had finally understood the severity of the predicament they were in. “I see… lets get looking then” he sounded a lot more serious now. Deadpool started a brisk pace in the direction they were already headed. The sun was just starting to kiss the horizon and the sky burned with hues of orange and pink. 

They made their way back into another forest. The leaves rustled in the wind and cricket started chirping around them. The further they got the quieter it got. Soon Spidey realized why the rustling had stopped, there weren’t leaves on these trees. Strange, he thought. They had been walking for maybe an hour and it was getting hard to see but he could just make out the shape of a structure in the distance. Deadpool saw it too and they both picked up their pace a bit. 

They made it to the structure, there were no signs of life around, even the crickets were quiet now. Just in time, the sun had finally disappeared from the horizon and now the sky was alive with stars. They entered the building without a second thought. It was immediately warmer inside. A relief from the crisp breeze that kept swirling through the forest with no leaves to slow it down. It was dark, the wooden floor creaked as they stepped. Now that they were safe from the elements and impending horrors of the night Peter relaxed a little. Deadpool immediately started throwing chests open, looking for something useful. 

Spidey took in his surroundings, he could see a dining table, a kitchen, a living room, a storage room and a hallway that led further into the house. Much more detailed than any of the village houses. He went to the hallway, there was a bedroom on one side and the other a closed door, the bathroom he assumed. The bed was large, much larger than those in the village. Maybe some sort of royalty lived here or something. The sheets looked disheveled as if someone left in a rush. He was starting to get a bad feeling. He stepped to the closed door, hand hovering just above the door knob, listening for anything that might be on the other side. With one swift movement he swung the door open. Empty. He sighed in relief. His anxiety quelled for now. 

Deadpool was still making a ruckus in the chests, throwing random objects about as he dug through them. Most of the objects were unrecognizable to him. One he did recognize was a fishing rod. That might come in handy if they run out of food. He picked it up and strapped it to the bundle that was attached to his waist when he woke up. He assumed it was that game’s way of telling him that was his inventory. Deadpool had one too. It was strange that they lost their equipment when they went through the portal but not their suits. Whatever, he would survive without his webshooters. Probably wouldn’t do much good in this setting anyway. “Find anything good?”

“I found this shiny thing, it's gotta be worth something at least, maybe we could trade it for something.” Deadpool tossed the object at Spidey. He caught it easily, it was gold and round, it looked like an apple. He put it in his bundle. There were an awful lot of green orbs lying around, Wade probably tossed them out of chests. Peter wondered why there were so many. He walked past Deadpool, dodging a few random items that were tossed carelessly. The wind outside picked up, the house creaked as it shifted. Peter began inspecting the shelves. They were a little dusty but there was an iron pickaxe, an upgrade to stone logically. He swapped them. 

A movement caught his eye. A book was hovering over a table covered in gems. It opened its pages towards him. As he went to touch it he heard a thump, glancing over it was just Wade, he had tossed a stone axe that landed with its blade stuck in the floor by the hallway. Peter turned back around, paying Wade no mind. What he didn’t see was the glint of eyes in the hallway, they moved slowly and methodically, much accustomed to the darkness. The figure silently grabbed the axe Wade so carelessly discarded. In a split second the figure had shoved Deadpool to the floor, the axe hovering above his neck. 

Chapter Text

Steve couldn’t remember how long it had been since he first met his husband. It felt like they had always been together. To think that there was once a time where they had been strangers was such a bewildering feeling. The day his gaze met with those bright eyes his entire life changed. They had both grown so much from the people they used to be. Herobrine had long since given up his reign of terror and made up for his past mistakes tenfold. Steve helped Herobrine realize that loyalty built from kindness was far superior to loyalty stemmed from fear. For some time Herobrine did rule over the land but only because the people wanted him to. He had never quite gotten used to the positive attention. Eventually he stepped down so he could go live out his happily ever after with his beloved husband.

Steve wasn’t too fond of the fact that all plantlife that was in Herobrine’s vicinity for extended periods of time withered away to nothing. He couldn’t even have his farm anymore so he was forced to trade with a local village for his produce. It was a small sacrifice he was willing to make in exchange for spending the rest of his immortal life with Herobrine. The life of an immortal can get pretty boring at times if there's no big struggle to overcome. They haven’t come to conflict for a long time now so they had taken to adventuring most of the time. Thanks to Herobrine’s teleportation it was always easy to continue where they’d left off or come home in case of an emergency. The downside is he could only teleport to places he has already been or is within his sight and he was also limited by distance. Sometimes getting home would take multiple teleportation jumps and that was very taxing. So they stuck to the traditional method of transportation for the most part. They didn’t live in their house that much, they just used it to store their findings and to recover from long journeys. Once they were well reseted they’d be off again.

There had been a few unfortunate times where Steve met his unfortunate demise and sent Herobrine into a crazed frenzy. Steve would always wake back up wherever he slept last, like it was some kind of save point. It didn’t even have to be a bed, it could be wherever they camped last. Whenever that happened he would always wake up so dazed. Dying took a lot out of him and it often caused short term amnesia. At this point he had died so many times that he couldn’t even remember how long he had existed. But now Herobrine was always there to help him recover and comfort him when he had flashbacks to his own deaths. Dying was very unpleasant so he did everything in his power to avoid it. It would always take a few days of recovering for him to feel like himself again.

This time was no different. They were on their way to a big city and they were exhausted on the last stretch of their journey. All they had to do was get to the other side of this mountain and they decided it would be quickest to go over instead of around. Herobrine didn’t do well in the cold so the sooner they got past it the better. Being so far from terrain that they were used to they didn’t know to be cautious of the freshly fallen snow. Steve stepped in it first and didn't think much of it until he didn't stop sinking… He started to panic which only made him sink faster.

“Steve!” Herobrine yelled out and tried to grab him but as soon as the snow touched his skin it was like all his strength was sapped out. He pulled back with a hiss as if he was burned, his skin was red and blistered where it touched the snow. Steve fell through the snow as if he were a rock sinking in water. Before he knew it he fell out of the snow and into a cavern hidden below it. He began to scream only for his breath to be stolen as a stalagmite impaled him through his chest and the light slowly left his eyes.

Steve disappeared before his eyes, swallowed by the frigid embrace of the snow. Herobrine’s face contorted through multiple emotions but eventually settled on fear. He had all this power at his fingertips yet a little bit of snow made him useless. He shoved his concerns aside and only thought of how he needed to save Steve. He dove in after his husband. Teeth clenched painfully in an attempt to ignore the burning bubbling blisters forming all over his skin. The loud sound of skin sizzling followed him as he sank.

It felt like an eternity before he fell out of the snow and into the dark cavern. In his weakened state he didn’t have the strength to react before he face planted onto the hard stone. Without giving himself time to recover he pushed himself off the ground with a wince. He turned to look for Steve and was met with a dull gaze not an inch from his own. Steve’s mouth hung open as if screaming but only a trail of blood came out. The stalagmite pierced through his back and his limbs hung at an unnatural angle above the ground. A river of blood flowed down the ridges of the stone where it met his body and pooled on the ground below. The light shafts from the gaps in the snow above made everything glisten in crimson. Herobrine might've thought the sight beautiful once if it was anyone but Steve pierced upon the spear of stone.

He heard a guttural scream echo throughout the cavern before he could process it as his own. It felt as if his heart had been wrenched from his chest much like Steve’s own. Tears pricked in the corners of his eyes as he fell to his knees. His gaze never left his husband’s. He had failed. It wasn’t the first time but it always hurt. Oftentimes it was in the heat of battle, Steve would die and Herobrine would let loose and go on a rampage, taking his anger out on those who dared to harm his husband. But now… he had no one to blame but himself. These times hurt the most.

He couldn't feel sorry for himself now. He needed to stay strong for Steve. He would need his support when he was revived. It always took a few minutes but eventually, through teary eyes, Herobrine watched as Steve’s body began to flake away into black and purple particles. They floated and danced in the air as if embers from a fire. Eventually nothing of Steve remained except the crimson pool of blood. The embers swarmed together and started floating off with a purpose. Herobrine followed. He teleported back to the surface, sure to avoid any more powdered snow. It took a few hours of backtracking but eventually the particles settled where they had camped last.

The particles slowly came together into the shape that would become Steve. Herobrine always wondered if this process was painful but Steve never remembered. He supposed that was for the best. The particles worked in reverse as if rewinding time. They started with the tips of Steve’s limbs and worked their way in. When they got to the part of his chest where the stalagmite had been they started to glow a magenta. They needed to regrow some matter to mend this wound. This is the part that took the longest and determined how drained Steve would be when he woke up. The more of him that was hurt when he died the harder it was to repair.
It was almost dawn by the time Steve's eyes shot open and he gasped his first breath. He clutched his chest where there was once a hole. Breathing raggedly he looked around to gather his surroundings. His eyes fell on Herobrine sitting beside him who let out a sob and lunged to embrace him. He hadn't fully regained his composure but he happily returned the hug. Herobrine continued to soak his shoulder with tears as he rubbed his back comfortingly. He gasped and hiccuped between sobs as if he was the one who had been pierced through the chest.

“It's okay,” Steve reassured “I’m here now. I’m okay.” He held on tightly.

Herobrine took deep breaths to calm himself, reassured by the fact he was holding his love. He finally looked up into Steve’s eyes, his own bleary with grief. Steve gave him a small smile and that's all it took for Herobrine to place a soft kiss on Steve's lips. Steve inhaled pleasantly and brought his hand up to cup the back of Herobrine’s head. When they pulled apart they rested their foreheads against one another and enjoyed being in each other's arms once again.

Herobrine could lay here in Steve’s arms forever. Nothing else mattered when he was with Steve. Unfortunately now was not the time for cuddles. Herobrine pulled away from Steve with a twinge of sadness.

“We’ve got to get you home so you can recover,” Herobrine spoke softly. He put his arms beneath Steve’s knees and around his back, lifting him in a bridal carry. Steve instinctively put his arms around Herobrine’s shoulders. Herobrine lifted him with a little struggle, still drained from the cold.

“I can stand on my own you know,” Steve informed him.

“Nonsense, you need to preserve your energy.”

“You just want an excuse to carry me,” Steve chuckled.

“I don’t need an excuse to carry my husband,” Herobrine smirked.

“Whatever you say,” Steve smushed a kiss onto Herobrine’s cheek.

Herobrine knew that Steve could stand and walk around after reviving but it would take a while for him to fully regain his motor functions. He would be far more clumsy and off balance than usual until he got a filling meal and a good night's sleep.

It took them half a day of teleporting, walking while Steve recovered from teleporting, then teleporting again to get back home. Humans weren’t made to be teleported around, it made them nauseous and sore all over as if everything in their body shifted slightly in just the wrong way. Too many teleports in quick succession could cause humans to black out or even induce a coma. Steve was more used to teleporting than most humans so he recovered a bit quicker but it was still unpleasant.

Once inside Herobrine went straight for the bedroom. He let them both fall onto the bed softly but he caught himself before his weight could fall on Steve. He stayed laying over him for a few minutes as Steve gently ran his fingers through Herobrine’s hair. He was exhausted. The blisters from the snow were long gone due to his fast healing but he was still drained of energy. All that teleporting took a lot out of him. He hadn’t slept the night prior because he was anxiously watching as Steve was knit back together and he was very hungry. Both of their stomachs growled in unison drawing a chuckle from Steve. With a big sigh Herobrine crawled off of Steve but not before planting a kiss on his forehead.

He made his way to the kitchen and started rummaging through their cupboards. They barely had any food. Usually they just hunted, gathered and traded on the road so there was not much point to keep food at home. They barely had anything left from their adventure because they were expecting to reach the city by now. He sighed. He would have to go trading with the villagers for produce before he could make an actual meal. He pulled what remained of their rations out of his bundle. Some bread, jerky and cheese. He put it all together in a sandwich and heated it on the stove until the cheese was melty and the bread was golden brown. This would have to hold Steve over until he came back.

He presented the sandwich on a plate and brought it to Steve. Steve startled when he entered the room. He had been dozing off.

“You should eat something before you sleep. I’m going to run out for groceries so I can make dinner tonight.” Herobrine handed the plate to Steve.

“Thank you for taking care of me so well, you’re an amazing husband.” Steve sleepily took the plate and placed it on his lap, smiling up at Herobrine.

Herobrine felt his heart flutter at the compliment. He could never get tired of Steve. He loved him just as much as the day Steve proposed to him. Even though he knew he was attractive he never got used to taking compliments so he smiled warmly in response, eyes crinkling.

“Eat up and get some rest, my love, I’ll be back shortly,” He leaned down to give Steve a peck on the lips and was surprised when Steve grabbed the back of his head and deepened their kiss. His eyes closed and his hand came up to cup the side of Steve’s face. The kiss was slow and passionate with only a hint of mischief when Steve nibbled his lip. Herobrine pulled away reluctantly to breathe. He looked into Steve’s violet eyes with all his adoration.

“You love teasing me don’t you,” Herobrine breathed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Steve lied and pressed his smile into Herobrine’s for another kiss. Herobrine reciprocated.

“Okay you, that's enough or else we will both be bed ridden. Let me make you dinner.” Herobrine pulled away.

Steve sighed dramatically. “I love you, stay safe.” He finally picked up his sandwich.

“I’m always safe,” Herobrine chuckled and earned a side eye from Steve.

When Steve woke up the sun had just passed below the horizon. How long had he been out? Herobrine shouldn’t have been gone for that long. He slowly got out of bed, body still sore. The wind outside was whistling. The house was creaking as the walls shifted slightly. He rubbed the crust from his eyes and yawned. He heard the front door close so he went to greet his husband. He froze in the hallway when he heard a chest open and objects being thrown about. That wasn’t Herobrine… His heart sank. Who would be brave enough to break into their home? They must have come prepared for a fight at least.

Steve slowly made his way back to the bedroom and hid under the bed. He was still weak from his respawn. He didn't know if he would be able to fight anyone in this state. He heard footsteps approach and he kept his breathing as quiet as he could. Odd boots came into view, they stopped in the doorway for a few seconds before turning around and walking away. He let out the breath he had been holding. The bathroom door squeaked as it swung open followed by a sigh. He could still hear rummaging from the next room. There must be at least two of them, maybe more.

He heard talking but he couldn't quite make out what they were saying. There were only two distinct voices. He could handle two crooks right? Suddenly the universe decided for him. A stone axe had been thrown and it wedged itself in the floorboards, handle pointed towards him. It was just asking him to pick it up. He slowly, quietly made his way across the floor until he was out from under the bed. He moved to a crouch and picked up the axe as he observed the intruders. Both of their backs were turned to him. They were dressed strangely with masks. The bigger one was closer to him, better to get a surprise attack on that one.

He lunged out of his hiding spot and tackled the closest intruder to the ground, holding the axe above their neck.

Chapter Text

Deadpool yelped in surprise more than fear. Spiderman turned around in a flash to see a man hovering over Deadpool pinned to the ground. Holding a stone axe threateningly over his neck.

“Who are you? What are you doing in my home?,” The man demanded.

Peter froze with indecision. He didn’t know what would happen to Deadpool if he was hurt or killed. He didn't know if they still had their powers. He had his spidey sense, yes, but that was a little different and still didn't give him the scope of how much their powers were affected here. He didn't want to take any chances, even though Deadpool was usually immortal he still hated seeing the guy get hurt.

His thoughts raced as he debated if he should risk trying to rescue Deadpool or submit and hope the stranger was merciful. With his abilities still in the unknown the risks of trying to save Deadpool outweighed all else. He could just end up getting both of them hurt or worse.

“Woah, woah, woah,” He waved his hands to try and show he wasn’t a threat. “I’m sorry! We don’t want any trouble, we didn't think anyone lived here.” He honestly hadn't thought there would be other people here. He thought the NPCs were the closest thing he was going to meet to intelligent life.

“What. It’s a house, why wouldn't anyone live here? You think people just leave all their personal possessions lying around in abandoned houses?” The man sounded dumbfounded.

“Well this is just a game, we didn't think we were going to run into real people.” Peter tried to explain their situation, leaving out the part where they only got into this mess because they were careless in the first place. Deadpool was starting to squirm in the man’s grip, he had to do something before Wade did something stupid.

“This isn't a game!” The man shouted angrily, as if he had already explained this multiple times. “The people who live here are real, everything here feels fear and pain, it’s all real. Why wouldn't it be? Just because it's some game to you doesn't mean it isn't some people’s entire lives.” He sounded very passionate about this topic and kept going on about it.

Spiderman saw this as the best chance he was going to get to strike and get them out of here. Even without his powers he should be able to overpower one guy, right? He was next to the man in a split second, he grabbed the arm that was holding the axe and yanked him away from Deadpool. The man didn't go flying across the room as he expected but he did stumble quite a ways away. Enough for Spiderman to pick up Deadpool and bolt for the door.

“That was so hot, Spidey! I should get into perilous situations more often,” Deadpool flirted. Now really was not the time for his antics so Peter just ignored him. They barely made it out the door before they were both tackled to the ground. They all rolled over each other, scrambling to get up. When Spiderman finally stood up he was knocked right back down by Deadpool being thrown at him. Who was this guy??

“Im not letting you off that easily, you thieves.” Oh yeah, Peter forgot about that part.

“Okay, wait! This is all a big misunderstanding,” He tried to reason but the man was advancing towards them menacingly. “We’re from a different universe, we’re just trying to get home!” Peter’s words rushed as he tried to get Deadpool off of him but their limbs were tangled awkwardly. Thankfully that seemed to be enough to get the man to listen.

“Another… universe?” he sounded confused, as if the word itself was foreign to him. “Eaxplain,” he demanded, still standing over them.

“A villain used some kind of portal to trap us here. In our universe this place is just a video game. So we thought… We would never do those things if we knew this was real,” He finally pushed Deadpool off of him and slowly stood as he spoke. Deadpool thankfully let him do the talking.

The man's features contorted into more confusion as he analyzed them and then flashed to realization. “You're not players.” It wasn't a question.

Before either of them could respond the wind picked up, stronger than before, and a crash of thunder sounded nearby. What he thought was lightning at first was actually a pair of glowing white eyes that appeared out of nowhere. He soon recognized them to be from a person as his vision focused. A feeling of dread settled into his gut as his spider sense rang painfully in his head. He winced and in that split second the man’s hands were around his throat and lifting him off the ground. He could see Deadpool scrambling towards them, shouting something he couldn't hear. Blood pounded in his ears, he grabbed at the hand on his throat, his vision already fading as he tried desperately to kick away from his attacker.

Deadpool was trying to help pry the man away from Spidey but was swatted away like a fly, his body snapped a nearby tree in half as he flew through it. Suddenly the grip around his throat loosened enough he could gather his surroundings. The first man they had been fighting was beside the one with glowing eyes, talking softly. The glowing eyes flickered between the two of them and it seemed he was reluctantly let go. He fell to the ground clutching his neck and gasping for air. His spider sense still stung but not as painfully as before.

He saw Deadpool crawling back towards them from the trees. So that must mean they still have some of their powers. No regular person would have survived that. Suddenly he was picked up off the ground again but by his arm this time.

“You said you’re from another universe where this world is a video game?” The glowy eyed man’s voice boomed in his still pounding head.

“Y-yes,” he winced for multiple reasons.

“This isn't good. You’re not players, you have no usernames or server connections. That means you’ve been made part of our world’s code. That's the disturbance I must have felt.” He said the last part to the other man. He dropped Spiderman and turned away as if he was no more threat than a fly.

“We have to get them out of here or else our world will collapse. I've read about this happening but I always thought they were legends. The longer they stay here the more at risk we are,” Even though he stopped talking the two men still looked like they were communicating somehow.

“I know you have no problem doing that but is it really our only option? You know I hate it,” The purple eyed man responded to something unsaid.

“I can’t think of any other way. We don’t have the power to send them to another world and acquiring that power would take longer than I’m willing to allow them to stay here. Same thing with defeating the dragon and neither of us have even done that. There hasn’t been a point to.”

Peter started slowly making his way towards Deadpool, careful to be as quiet as possible. Wade had seemingly passed out. A few of his limbs contorted in unnatural angles. He had heard enough from the mysterious men, he didn’t want to stick around long enough for them to decide to kill them or not. He hefted Deadpool over his shoulders with more effort than he expected, the disturbing sound of bones mending emanating from him. That was comforting in a weird way.

The wind continued to whistle around them and he could barely make out the sound of rain drops slowly starting to fall. The sky was dark but there were no monsters around as he expected there to be. He started moving into the leafless forest, hoping to put some distance between them and the strangers.

He didn’t make it far before his spidey sense flared at him again and suddenly the glowy eyed man was standing directly in front of him. He stumbled backwards and lost his balance because he was carrying Deadpool. He landed on Deadpool who made an “oof”.

“You were awake this whole time!” Spiderman scolded Deadpool, ignoring the dangerous entity in front of him as his spider sense went quiet again.

“Uh…no? What, I was definitely unconscious at first, I don’t remember you picking me up in your strong sexy arms but I wasn’t about to compai-”

“Just where do you think you're going?” The stranger asked menacingly “Even if I wasn’t inclined to kill you for corrupting my world, you are still trespassing and stealing from me. Tell me why I should let you go without punishment,” he dared them to give him a reason.

Spiderman instantly recognized him as the type of person who would torture someone just for fun. He had fought plenty of villains just like him. But before he could think of a response Deadpool piped up.

“Uh because your husband wants you to, duh.” So he WAS conscious and heard the entire conversation. Spidey was going to smack him once they were out of this mess.

The man narrowed his eyes before he responded. “I noticed you have some sort of rapid regeneration, no average human would have survived hitting a tree like that. What are you exactly, where have you come from?” He didn't deny what Deadpool said.

“Why should we tell you anything?” Spidey dared.

“You’ll answer me if you want to live, I don’t often give griefers the luxury of a conversation before I rip their throats out. And trust me, even with your regeneration, I will find a way to make you stay dead for good,” The stranger's voice became deep and threatening, almost rumbling in tandem with the forming storm around them.

The other man had caught up to the three of them now, it didn't seem like he had the same powers of the glowy eyed man, if any at all.

“Yeah? Well I-” Spidey quickly shoved his hand over the part of Deadpool’s mask where his mouth should be, he continued to mumble. His spider sense told him that this man was not lying and he should be very scared of him. He did his best to keep his composure. He figured their best chance of survival was honesty.

“We come from a universe where there are super humans, we are some of them. We have powers that we use to fight evil. We were fighting a villain when we were caught in a portal and sent here. I recognized this place as a video game from my world so-”

“So you didn't think there would be consequences to your actions,” Menacing man filled in helpfully.

“That's… not the way I would have worded it but you're not wrong.”

“You sound like a disappointed parent,” Deadpool jutted in and earned a glare from both Spidey and the glowy eyed man. The other man just started laughing which caused the first one’s expression to soften. “Okay, the writer is tired of trying to keep track of who is talking when we all use the same pronouns, what the fuck are your names?”

Everyone looked at him confused “I’m so sorry, he didn’t mean that, he-”

“I’m Steve, and this is my husband Herobrine.” Steve gestured between them

“HEROBRINE??” Deadpool almost screamed “Who's that? You sound important.”

“Are you sure I can’t kill them?”

“Please, let me do the honors,” Spidey clonked Deadpool on the head with his fist. “Ow.”

“As I was saying, in my world I am a hero known as Spiderman, he is a mercenary known as Deadpool.”

“Spiderman? I never would have guessed with the way you’re dressed.” Herobrine commented sarcastically.

“Wait, do heroes kill people? Why were you working together?” Steve asked.

“Because he won't leave me alone so I figured I might as well make sure he doesn't kill anyone while he’s around me.”

“But Spideeeyyy, sometimes the best solution is murdering those scum, you know not everyone can have a redemption arc.”

“We really need to work on your morals,” they bantered back and forth, oblivious to the knowing looks shared between Herobrine and Steve. “- so our best guess is that we have to defeat the dragon to get home. That's considered beating the game in our universe.”

“That was also our best guess besides killing you,” Herobrine said with a smirk. He was still looking at Steve though. Why was Steve blushing?

“But a dilemma still stands, the longer you exist here the more our world will fall apart. It’s already happening at the forest next to the village where I assume you spawned in. That's where I was before I found you here. The chunks are starting to disintegrate into void and soon it will engulf the entire world. I won’t let anything threaten my existence here with Steve so I’m going to have to kill you both.” Herobrine grabbed Steve and teleported them both away.

“What…” Spidey was confused.

“Why’d they run away?” Deadpool wondered aloud, they both finally stood.

“I don’t want to stick around to find out, let's get out of here.”

Deadpool had healed completely during the time it took to converse with the others. They both took off running into the forest, away from the house. The storm had picked up and it was now raining with more purpose, the wind was so strong it felt like it was fighting them.