Three heartbeats. Ba-bump. I tune my own out. Ba-bump. Two heartbeats. Ba-bump. I've memorized one already- it's Spider-Fist's. Ba-bump. One other person in the room. Ba-bump. It's beating faster than a normal heart. Ba-bump. I hear Spider-Fist walk away, and suddenly we're alone. Me and the other one, presumably another version of me. Or is it another version of 'Spider-Man?' I'll save the philosophical questions for later. I can sense the extra mass around their torso. Extra arms. More arms to pump blood to. Faster heart. Makes sense. 

    I simply nod to them, and almost as a response, the mass is gone and the heartbeat slows. Their arms are gone. Soon, Spider-Fist returns with more Spider-Men, one by one, until there are seven others, plus Spider-Fist. 

    "Hmmph, I [i]could[/i] have more arms but there's no more room on my rib cage..."

    The voice came from Tarantula, the one who was already here when I arrived. It was under his breath, probably inaudible to everyone else in the room, but I heard it clearly. I now know his name, shape, heartbeat, smell, and voice... Another voice speaks up.

    "Now that I have you all gathered here, if everyone would remove your masks... I know there may be some hesitation in some of you but trust me when I say that you are among friends here."

    Spider-Fist. I hear the faint swishing of the other Spider-Men removing their masks. Hesitating, I'm last to remove my own. I figure at least one of them is staring at me, but it doesn't bother me. The exercise was probably supposed to build some trust between the group immediately, but it does nothing for me. Oh well. I run a hand through my hair, setting it back down after removing my mask stood it up. It felt funny that way. 

    Spider-Fist starts dispensing information on the enemy before he's interrupted by two more Spider-Men. Before they finish their speech, I have a good grasp on their identities, (except their names, having not introduced themselves) as well as everyone else's in the room. The other "me's" start asking questions, one called Neo requesting more information on the goblins and commenting under his breath that he hasn't actually faced one before. A rookie? Spider-Fist must have a good reason to call somebody with no experience in. A Spider-Woman, Silk, calls the ones asking questions out on their time-wasting. Thank God. Spider-Rogue agrees with her, as do I. We need to move soon. Finally, I speak up.
    
    "So what are we waiting for? Let's go."