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geeky-writes · 4 years

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The Phoenix Project - Story Preview

Superfamily, Alternate Universe

Clearing his throat, Steve squeezed Sam’s shoulder as he raised his glass in the air, nodding at Sam, Carol, and Bucky to do the same.

“To Riley,” he said, clear and true.

“To Riley,” the rest said simultaneously before all four of them downed the contents of their glasses. Steve grimaced as the sharp liquor burned its way down his throat, fighting against the urge to cough. He wasn't that much of a drinker, especially of the hard stuff, as Bucky liked to call it, but out of respect for Sam he hadn't protested when Sam had ordered five rounds of what had been Riley’s favourite brand of whisky.

“So, have you been out to see the kid yet?” Carol asked once she set her glass down, waving the waitress over for another. “How old is he now?”

“Yeah, I just saw him yesterday when I brought Riley’s stuff out to Erin. I think he’s six months now? Something like that. Looks just like Riley too, poor kid.”

“Mmm. And how’s Erin doing?”

Sam gave a shrug, downing his second glass of whisky so fast the waitress barely had a chance to set it down.

“Eh, you know how it is. The kid keeps her pretty busy, probably helps keep her mind off of things, ya know? Keeps her from dwelling on it.”

“Yeah, that’s what Maria always says too,” said Carol. “She calls Monica her anchor all the time, says she would've been lost without her.”

“Yeah, I guess I can see that.” Sam let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. “I dunno, it all just kinda sucks though.”

“Yeah, it does,” agreed Bucky. “Kinda almost makes me wanna take a shot at them every once in a while. Let them see what it’s like for a change.”

“Yeah, but that’s the same kind of thinking that got us into this whole damn mess in the first place,” said Sam. “It’s not a matter of who shot first anymore, it’s all about who keeps shooting.”

“Yeah, well, tell that to Riley’s wife and kid,” Bucky snapped, slamming his glass down onto the table so hard that Carol jumped. “At some point you just gotta either say stop, or fight back. This whole constant patrolling thing is just a massive waste of resources.”

“Well, isn't that what this newfangled thing we're starting tomorrow is supposed to address?” asked Sam. “The next phase, or some shit like that?”

Carol scowled, shooting Steve a questioning look. “Yeah, I guess so. You okay there, Cap?”

“Oh, yeah,” replied Steve, plastering on a smile he had no doubt that Carol could see right through. “Just a bit tired, you know? I was at Ma’s house all last weekend trying to help her out. Her arthritis has gotten pretty bad lately, so I’ve been trying to fix up some stuff around her house to help make things easier on her.”

“Yeah, well, tell her I said hi next time you talk to her, okay?” said Carol as she glanced at the timepiece fastened around her wrist. “I’m already late to meet James.”

“Will do.”

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna get going too, Steve,” said Sam, nudging him in the arm. “I got some stuff to go over before we start that fancy new class tomorrow.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Bucky as he rapidly downed his third glass of whisky. “See ya tomorrow, Steve.”

“Sounds good,” said Steve. “See you guys then.”

As soon as he was alone Steve dropped his chin to his chest, gripping his head between his hands. He had been trying to hide it from his friends, but Riley’s sudden death seven days ago had thrown him for a pretty big loop, one that he hadn’t yet managed to shake. It had been just another routine mission, scouting the skies above Langara in the new X-301 aircrafts with Sam and Riley, something they had all done too many times to count, when, while testing out the banking arc, Riley had pulled back just a split-second too late, ending up just a hair over the hardline DMZ.

And the very moment the tip of his wing tripped that invisible barrier, the enemy’s automated anti-aircraft defence system kicked in and he was immediately taken out, the resulting fireball so blinding that Steve almost flew head-on into Sam before he was able to recover.

Steve shuddered as he recalled the searing heat of that fireball, and the shock that he’d felt at seeing someone he’d spent nearly every single day with for the last three years suddenly vanish, and being completely and utterly helpless to stop it.

It was like Sam had said; that they had been up there just to watch.

And now there was yet another Langaran test-pilot widow, and yet another Langaran child growing up without a father.

Just like he had.

It took him a few more seconds to realise that none of the others had bothered to leave any credits behind for their drinks, something that brought a slight smile to Steve’s face as he dug into his back pocket, peeling off the required number of bills and laying them on the table. He’d get them all back the next time.

In fact, if his memory was correct, and it always was, Bucky had managed to skip out on paying the last three times, something Steve would be sure to pass along to Sam once he saw him again.

Getting to his feet, Steve grabbed his worn brown leather jacket and slung it over his shoulder, checking his timepiece on his way out the door. It was only 1600, and since he’d already completed his aircraft double-check and filed his mission report for the day, that meant he had plenty of time to make one of his hospital visits before he returned to the barracks for dinner.

Outside the sun was shining, the autumn air crisp and cool as Steve mounted his motorcycle and took off in the direction of the base hospital, smiling as he felt the breeze whipping across his face and through his hair. He never bothered with a helmet, something he knew drove his ma mad with worry, but he had always rather enjoyed living a bit dangerously, and since he had been driving motorcycles even longer than he’d been flying aircraft, Steve figured he didn't need to worry about a helmet.

Especially since he had driven out to that hospital so many times he likely could’ve done it in his sleep.

“Hey, Sharon,” Steve said as he arrived on the paediatric floor, smiling fondly at the pretty, blonde-haired nurse sitting at the nurses’ station. “How’re you doing today?”

“Hey, Captain!” Sharon replied, shooting Steve a quick smile. “It’s always good to see you. How’s it going over on the flight deck?”

A stab of pain pierced Steve’s heart, one that he pointedly ignored. He didn't feel like talking about Riley’s death yet again.

“Oh, you know,” he said quickly. “Patrols and more patrols. I’m starting a new class tomorrow though, so maybe things’ll get switched up a bit.”

“Oh. Well, that sounds like fun,” said Sharon. “So, you here to see someone?”

Steve gave a nod. “Yeah, thought I’d stop by and see what Tyler’s been up to. Is he still here?”

“Actually, he’s not,” answered Sharon. “He finally turned a corner about three days ago and was just discharged earlier this morning. The doctors expect him to make a full recovery.”

“Aw, that’s wonderful!” Steve exclaimed, even as he felt a pang of regret. He had really enjoyed getting to know Tyler.

“I’m just sorry that I didn't get to say goodbye to him.”

“Yeah, especially with the nasty type of pneumonia that he had,” Sharon said with wide eyes. “Kids really are resilient, you know?”

“Yeah, they sure seem to be,” said Steve. “Is that why you love working with them so much? ‘Cause they’re resilient?”

“Oh gods yes,” Sharon said, nodding swiftly. “That, and they don't complain about stuff nearly as much as adults do.” She gave her keyboard a tap and grabbed another chart off the counter, one that was so thick that its binding was starting to fray. “There is another kid who just came in early this morning, though, and I’d wager that he would really appreciate some company. Especially from a hotshot pilot like yourself.”

“Oh? What’s his name?”

“Peter,” said Sharon. She tucked the chart to her chest and leaned forward, lowering her voice. “He’s got a pretty bad heart, poor kid, and when he came in this morning… well… if I ever have to see another kid’s face that awful shade of blue ever again, it’ll be way too soon.”

Steve winced, crossing his arms across his front. “How bad is he?”

“Pretty bad.” Sharon huffed out a sharp breath as she bit her bottom lip, lowering her voice even further. “I’m not really allowed to talk about his family, but… let’s just say that he needs a pretty expensive operation, but there’s a lot of mitigating circumstances out there that are muddying the waters. It just sucks because he doesn’t deserve any of it, you know? And yet he’s still the one that’s suffering for it.”

Anger welled up inside Steve’s gut, so strongly that it almost frightened him. He hadn't even met the child and yet already felt very protective of him. “Okay, but you're not saying that his parents—that they’re—?”

“Oh no, that’s not it at all,” Sharon assured him. “I don't think I’ve ever seen a more overprotective father than this kid’s dad. I mean, the only reason he’s not in there with him right now is because he was afraid that he’d get fired. It’s just… well… you know our government, right? I mean, you're around part of it every day, so…”

“Just the military part,” said Steve. “I don't really know much about what goes on in the civilian aspect.”

“Well… like I said. It all just pretty much sucks.” Sharon tilted her head, giving Steve a warm smile. “I’m sure he’ll perk up once he sees you, though. He’s a real sweetie, but he’s pretty down at the moment.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing I’m here,” Steve said. He tapped his palm on the counter, returning Sharon’s smile. “Thanks, Sharon.”

“Sure thing.”

Stepping down the hallway, Steve paused just outside the door to Peter’s room, his mind swirling with what Sharon’s cryptic words could possibly mean. What sort of mitigating circumstances could exist that would be murky enough to prevent a child from getting a potentially life-saving surgery, especially if he was as bad off as Sharon made it sound?

And she had only mentioned the boy’s father, so did that mean he didn't have a mom? Or that the mom wasn't involved?

Ultimately Steve knew it really wasn't any of his business, but yet he couldn’t help but wonder.

Inhaling a deep breath, Steve gently knocked on the door.

“Come in?” a small voice responded, weak and timid.

Stepping inside the room, Steve was greeted by a young boy, maybe ten or eleven years old, with probably the biggest and sweetest brown eyes that he had ever seen, partially hidden by a mop of brown curls that hung across his forehead. The boy’s skin was ghostly pale, nearly as white as the various bandages covering the three separate intravenous tubes, but he smiled kindly as Steve approached him, letting out a weak, wet cough as he raised his hand to wave hello.

“Hello,” he said, tilting his head as his eyes narrowed. “I’m Peter.”

“Hello Peter,” said Steve, attempting a smile. This boy was far, far sicker than Tyler had ever been, and Steve wasn’t quite sure he was comfortable with that yet. “My name is Steve.”

“Hi Steve,” said Peter. “You're not another doctor?”

“No, I’m not,” answered Steve. “I’m actually a pilot with the Langaran Air Corps.”

“Oh,” Peter said, eyeing Steve suspiciously. “Okay, so then why are you here?”

The prologue for The Phoenix Project will post on Monday, March 23rd, with new chapters posting weekly until the story concludes 😊

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loopy777 · 4 years

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whats your thoughts on Venom, the green goblin and doctor octopus, the three characters who are generally held up as spidermans archenemies? which one do you think has the best potential as spidermans definite enemy if they were written perfectly, and which series do you think had the best portrayal of each of them respectively?

If I had to crown THE Spider-Man Archnemesis, I would have to give it to Green Goblin. Doc Ock is the oldest, and the first to both defeat Spider-Man and make him consider quitting, but ultimately Norman has taken more from Spidey, gotten more personal in their conflict, and created more of a legacy for the mythos. Sorry, Otto.

That said, I don’t really like designating a single archnemesis for Spidey because Norman hasn’t completely dominated the field. Ock runs the Sinister Six, Spidey’s big Villain Team and one of the best Villain Teams in all of superhero comics. (And let’s face it, the Legion of Doom is bigger only because DC characters got more media exposure for a long time and Superman’s villains are so good that Lex Luthor, Brainiac, and Bizarro lift up the likes of Solomon Grundy and Cheetah when they’re all on a team together.) Venom has the whole Evil Knockoff thing going and a unique and terrifying ‘stalker’ gimmick that puts him in a special class, not to mention how he directly overpowers or counters all Spidey’s abilities.

And, honestly, the whole ‘Goblin’ gimmick is kind of arbitrary and has nothing to do with spiders. Clowns and bats don’t have a direct relation, but at least they’re opposites in terms of color and purpose, so Batman and Joker kind of seem like twisted rivals. Goblins and spiders are only linked in that they’re both kind of Halloweeny, but Spider-Man has little to do with Halloween or spooky stuff, anyway. But I better cut this line of thought off before I start explaining how Spider-Man shouldn’t be Spider-Man at all and him being Frog-Man would make just as much sense and then we wouldn’t have to deal with pictures of icky spiders in all Spider-Man media.

But yeah, Norman Osborne is still indisputably a cut above the others.

Ock is really just a typical mad scientist with a robot-arm gimmick that allows him to directly fight with Spider-man. He’s well-written and constructed, granted, and I love how his arrogance contrasts with Peter’s humility, how they’re such opposites in terms of empathy, and how different their paths become after science-based accidents that granted them unusual powers. Bendis’s “Ultimate Spider-Man” comics nicely honed in on this theme, and I also appreciate how both Stan Lee’s prose story in the unrelated “Ultimate Spider-Man” short story collection (...it’s a title Marvel loves to reuse for some reason) and John Byrne’s attempted origin revision linked the irradiated spider to the explosion that created Ock. All great villains should be dark reflections of their heroes, but while Ock has gotten some great stories that make him a top-tier villain, he still offers little storytelling potential beyond his mad scientist archetype. Now, I know what comics-readers are thinking at this point: Yes, I did read the original “Superior Spider-Man” run and I think there’s some real potential there, but honestly I feel like it was under-served by Dan Slott’s pacing and foibles. And I haven’t seen an adaptation of it yet that I think really fulfills the possibilities. But the idea is great, so maybe Otto will get his chance to level up his rivalry with Spider-Man.

Venom’s problem is that he’s a little too focused on his revenge on Spider-Man. The stories where he stalks Spidey, wandering into Peter’s life to fold laundry with Aunt May, popping up to have a surprise tussle with Spidey just to throw him off-balance, etc- Those are great and make Venom seem super-scary, especially since Spidey can’t beat Venom in a fight without some kind of edge or gimmick. But all Venom wants is revenge on Spidey, so after he’s failed a few times to get it, what do you do with the character? He’s not scary if he keeps failing. The original idea was to have the symbiote pass on from Eddie Brock and take on other hosts, and that might have opened the door for some new kinds of stories. I know this was eventually implemented 20 years later, with the original Scorpion getting to be Venom for a while, and symbiotes becoming a whole Thing with a bunch in various colors, but I didn’t read any of those stories and they don’t seem to have left much impression on the general Spider-Man fandom. Ultimately, it was chosen to ‘redeem’ Eddie Brock and make Venom into an “anti-hero” (for a definition of the term that means “protagonist who kills people but doesn’t have to worry about that whole ‘consistently laid low by their fatal flaw’ thing”) which did sell a bunch of comics in the 90′s and set up some tension-filled team-ups with Spidey. Nice idea, if implemented in a really shaggy way, but -- again -- what do you do after that? Venom/Eddie isn’t really a compelling lead who you can keep telling stories about. (Yes, I saw the Venom movie. It has like two minutes of amusing material and two hours of boring dreck, and none of it is memorable.) And making him evil again runs into the same problem as having left him evil in the first place. Venom was a good idea whose time came and went, and perhaps someone will find a way to make him fresh again. But until then, I think he gets by more on his visuals than anything.

The Green Goblin, in contrast, has a lot going for him in terms of storytelling potential. He’s a mad scientist, a wanna-be crime boss, a dark shadow of his civilian identity looking for revenge and/or illicit thrills, and personally has that ongoing personal hatred/rivalry for Spider-Man. That offers a whole bunch of storytelling paths, all of which have been taken and proven fruitful over the years. And that’s without getting into how Norman Osborne is the father of Peter’s best friend Harry, a flawed father figure to Peter in his own right, a ruthless millionaire industrialist before Lex Luthor gave it a try, and another dark reflection of the paths Peter could have taken in both aspects of his life. Even when Norman is dead, his legacy continued to be felt for 20-odd years with how Harry fell from grace. You can even link Norman to his spin-off the Hobgoblin; just Norman’s equipment getting passed on created another enduring villain. And, again, that’s without even looking at Norman’s murder of the one-time romantic lead Gwen Stacy being the event that ended the Silver Age of comics. Norman Osborne is just plain a truly great, versatile villainous character who has managed, despite being almost 60 years old, to still maintain an “Oh, no!” impact among Spidey fans when he shows up. Sure, there have been bad stories about him, and some over-exposure at times, but that hasn’t diminished his impact or ongoing potential.

As for portrayals, I’m overall a fan of the 90′s animated series and their takes. That show really petered out after a few seasons, but it introduced Ock with a bang and got a lot of mileage out of him. Venom got to do the whole scary stalker thing, and then the show put him on a shelf until his ‘redeeming’ death to avoid over-exposure, so that worked out fairly well. And while it’s odd how Kingpin and Hobgoblin took over most of the Green Goblin’s role in Spider-Man’s stories, what we did get of Norman was good, and the performance that went into the Green Goblin really sold the weird psychology of the character. Those three villains definitely got a chance to shine in this series, even if Green Goblin was under-used.

I also think the Sam Raimi movies overall did a good job. Green Goblin was perfect- aside from the costume. Willem Dafoe utterly nailed every aspect of the character, right down to the body language, and the movie did a good job condensing his rivalry with Spider-Man into a single movie. As for Doctor Octopus, I’m of two minds about how he got a sympathetic backstory and characterization. On the one hand, it made him a more compelling character and Alfred Molina danced nicely between the human side and the villainous side. On the other hand, though, Ock has classically never really been sympathetic; he’s an utter monster in behavior, and the insertions of bullying in his backstory have never changed that. Venom is the only one I think didn’t really get a chance in these movies; I like this version of Eddie Brock (really!), but he barely got an opportunity to be Venom and you can tell no aspect of the character really inspired the storytellers.

Spectacular Spider-Man, naturally, did a good job. I think this version of Green Goblin is the best of them all; I even got my DVD set signed by Steve Blum! Ock was also done well, getting to be the Master Planner as well as leader of the Sinister Six, although I don’t think I quite buy the timidity they gave the character before the accident. Similarly, I didn’t buy Eddie’s fall from grace as Peter’s best friend; one episode he’s upset because Peter’s blowing him off for hanging out, and the next episode he’s nearly killing Mary Jane just to mess with Peter. You might as well just start with Eddie being a monster, like the Raimi movie did.

I also think Bendis’s Ultimate comics did well by all three characters. I’m not really a fan of Goblin-Hulk, but Norman’s impact was fully in effect (even if we had yet another toothless homage to Gwen Stacey’s death with Mary Jane getting thrown off a bridge and surviving), and they fit him well into the Super-Soldier Arms Race aspect of the setting. Ock got some really great use, including an arc of character development and ‘redemption’ that still managed to allow him to be an arrogant monster to the end. Venom was under-used, but this might be the best ever interpretation of Eddie Brock and obviously inspired the Raimi version, and I love the origin of the symbiote here and how it tied to Peter’s father. My only complaint is that after that first great story, Bendis didn’t seem to quite know what to do with Venom; the video game and its comic adaptation seemed to be setting him up for more, but that didn’t come to anything.

So, those are my thoughts. As a Spider-Man fan, I think I’m spoiled for choice in picking an achnemesis. Despite the little flaws that keep Ock and Venom from topping the Green Goblin, they’re still heavy-hitters as comic book villains and could run the game in the rogues gallery of most other superheroes. But Spidey has one of the best sets of villains in the business, so that’s not surprising.

#thekingofwinterblog

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selene467 · 5 years

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Sticky Situation Chapter 10

Fictober19 Day 10 - Prompt #10: "Listen, I can't explain it, you'll have to trust me." fanfiction Fandom: Spider-Man/Avengers [Superfamily, Tony Stark/Steve Rogers with Peter Parker as their son] Warning(s): Minor injuries, mention of character death, some swearing and non-detailed minor violence, but barely. Mostly talking and shouting really XD Rating: General --- A large explosion catapulted Peter right in to the bay. He felt an electric current sizzle through his nerves, setting them on fire and causing him to reflexively cry out. Too late did he remember he was underwater leading to him inhaling a mouthful of it. His body thrashed at the invasion, instinct makijg him acutely aware of how bad this was. He struggled to right himself, the explosion having knocked him around so thoroughly that he couldn't tell up from down anymore. Having little in the way of options, Peter kicked hard with his legs and abruptly broke through the surface. Still choking on the gulp of water clogging his lungs, he used his webshooters to pull himself to shore where he promptly began to violently expel the foreign liquid. When he was finally able to breath, he did so deeply before dropping onto his back to wait for his heart to stop hammering and his breathing to settle down. A beeping drew his attention to his phone, waterproofed of course by his dad, alerting him to his looming curfew. "I better hurry, if I want to get back on time." /--------------/

The tower was unusually dark as Peter creeped inside. Though he was still on time, he was cutting it so close he'd rather not alert his dads. Still, it was strange to see everything so dark, especially since the evening was still fairly young, for at least his dad. His spider sense suddenly alerted him to danger behind him, giving him just enough time to dodge under the punch. He stumbled back, not having expected to be under attack in his own home. "Friday! Lights!" It took a few seconds, but with a few aborted flickers, the lights in the tower came on momentarily blinding Peter. He felt someone grab him quite roughly before he opened his eyes and was shocked to find his own dad was manhandling him. "What are you doing in my home!?" Peter shook with every syllable, completely bewildered by the violence and anger his dad was aiming at him. He'd never ignited such irk from his either of his parents. Despite his reputation, Tony was not a violent man, especially not with his family. "Let go of me." Peter shot back before pulling himself free of the iron grip. "What's the matter with you?" Apparently it was the wrong thing to say as his dad pulled out his palm blaster from the iron man suit, and aimed it right at Peter. "How did you get in here?!" Peter slowly put up his hands in surrender, feeling completely off balance with his own dad threatening him. "Like I always do, through the window." "Impossible. Friday keeps the tower on lockdown form all intruders." "Friday never kept me out." Peter nearly bit his tongue when his dad actually charged the blaster, readying it to fire, at him! "Whoa! Hey now, settle down! What did I do?!" "What did you do?!" His dad all but growled at him, but his next words were even more confusing as his voice broke as if in grief. "It's what you didn't do." Peter made as if to reach out, to comfort his dad but his next words effectively shut him down. "Get out, Spider-Man. You're not welcome here." What?! What was going on? Peter thought before moving to follow his clearly distraught dad. "Since when am I just Spider-man to you? You can't be serious about kicking me out?" His dad whirled around, his fury back to a burning flame in an instant. "You're not an Avenger. You don't belong here. Now. Get. OUT!" Peter's spider-sense was not fast enough to alert him to the rest of the iron man suit arriving and promptly throwing him through the window. He'd barely managed to web to the nearest building to slow his descend enough to tuck and roll and not break everything upon hitting the ground. He looked up at the tower, his home, stunned and betrayed. What the hell had happened while he was on patrol! Had his dad taken leave of his sense?! And where had everyone else gone? Peter was determined to get answers and decided to call his pops. But when he unlocked his phone, he found a single message waiting for him, from a number he did not recognise but his phone apparently did as it was registered under the name, Ned. Peter was suspicious as the timing was almost too perfect but he was also curious. He opened the chat window and found a single hello waiting for him. Nothing more. He decided to take the bait and sent a message back. Hello? A few tense minutes of silence passed before Peter startled at his own ringtone and nearly dropped his phone. Hesistantly he answered it. "Peter? Is it you?" "Yeah, I'm Peter. Who are you?" "Am I dreaming or is this really happening?! Please tell me I'm not dreaming!" "Calm down, I'm fairly sure you're not dreaming. Now how did you get my number and what do you want from me?" "You don't remember me?" "Should I?" "Can you come over? If you're really Peter... please I just need to see you so I know I'm not going crazy." If this was some plan to kidnap him or take him down, it was beyond ludicrous. But, the kid on the phone sounded genuinely griefstricken. Besides, he was known for getting out of tight spots. Lord knows he had plenty of enemies already. And, he realized a tad on the late side, perhaps someone was using this kid to lure him there. If that was the case, he had to go. No one was getting hurt on his watch. He was the friendly neighbourhood spider-man after all. "Sure. Where are you?" /--------------/ Peter wasn't sure what to expect when he landed in the teenager's backyard. They stood there staring at each other for a few awkward minutes before Ned, apparently, broke the silence. "Peter?" "That's my name. Now can you explain how you know that? I don't exactly go around revealing that information." Ned looked somber at his answer. "You really don't recognise me?" Peter shook his head, despite feeling horrible for admitting the truth. Clearly Ned had been expecting a lot more from this encounter. Had he saved him once and forgotten about him? "Could you take off your mask?" Peter immediately felt on the defensive and apparently showed it when Ned hurried to explain. "Please don't leave, Peter! I just need to make sure this is really you. Maybe something happened to you that made you forget me or maybe you're not who I'm thinking. I just want to make sure." Peter couldn't explain why he did it, maybe Ned just had a trustworthy air about him, but he pulled off the mask. The reaction was shocking to say the least. Ned made a strangled, half choking noise before suddenly engulfing Peter in a crushing hug. He awkwardly patted his back, not wanting to outright push him off. "It really is you!" Ned exclaimed loudly when he finally released Peter. Peter asnwered by clapping a hand over his mouth and shushing him. "Sorry, it's just...I thought you were dead. How did you survive? I saw you're body! Can you come back alive? Is that a new spider ability you have?" Peter stared with his mouth open at the boy as he spwed every question at him in quick succession. "What are you talking about?! I have never met you in my life. Who do you think I am?!" "You must have amnesia or something. What's the last thing you rmeember?" Seeing as he wasn't getting through that thick skull, Peter decided to indulge the other teen. "I stopped a bunch of criminals who were building something with alien tech at the docks, but the device blew up and launched me into the bay." "Hmm, that must have been a really long time ago since you've been gone for months. But you never mentioned this incident to me and you always tell me about your patrols." "Hang on, go back to being gone for months. This happened not an hour ago!" "That's impossible. An explosion at the bay would not go unnoticed and there's been nothing on the news or even the police radio." "You've hacked into a police radio?" "It was your idea." "Okay, back up a bit. What does this mean?" "I'm not sure, maybe whoever hurt you planted fake memories in your head?" "Now you're really stretching it, Ned. Listen, I was not kidnapped, nor killed, nor brainwashed. Trust me, I've got an entire superhero family and two very protective dads. If something had happened to me, I wouldn't be allowed out of the tower for forever!" Remembering his encounter with his dad gave him a theory. "Maybe it's not me who's been affected. Dad nearly killed me and then threw me out of the tower for trespassing, as if he didn't know me." "Well of course he would." Ned said confidently. At Peter's annoyed expression he quickly explained. "None of them know you are Spider-Man, and with you dying...which clearly was a ruse, they kind of blamed Spider-Man for it. So they're not your biggest fans right now." "I didn't die!" Peter shouted exasperated. "Fine, whatever, explain what you think happened." "I don't know the details, but you..well Spider-Man was in this big battle and he won, but a lot of people had gotten trapped in the area. He managed to rescue them all, but he'd gotten hurt bad. Before he called his family for help, he changed back into his civilian clothes since he wasn't ready for them to know just yet. But Peter didn't make it and they blamed Spider-Man for it. From their point of view, Spider-Man managed to save everyone, several dozens of people, but he couldn't manage to save Peter." No wonder, his dad had reacted the way he did. He wasn't known for handling loss very well and not knowing Spider-Man was him...from that stand point it did seem suspicious that out of all those people he managed to not save Peter. But none of this made sense! Ned remembered this incident. Ned remembered Peter as his best friend. His own dad didn't know he was Spider-Man?! He'd told both of his dads a year ago! "Ned, something isn't right here. I remember a completely different life. Similar in many ways, but none of this rings a bell. None of this happened to me. I've been Spider-Man for a while now and both my dads know I am Spider-Man. It doesn't add up." Both teens fell silent as they wondered what was going on. "Hang on, I may have been thrown out fo the tower, but I still have my connection to Friday." Ned eagerly stepped closer, just as curious and worried as Peter about what was going on. Peter opened the app that linked his phone to the AI. "Friday? Are you there?" "Yes. I am here. How can I help you?" "Do you know who I am?" "Of course. You are Peter Parker. Son of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers." "Am I dead?" "Yes." Peter froze not expecting the answer. Unfortunately Friday was not done yet. "You flatlined several times in the Tower's medical facility until you eventually did not recover. I was very sad and still am. I miss you Peter." "Friday, if I am dead, then how are you talking to me?" "This universe's Peter Parker died. You are Peter Parker from a parallel universe where you did not die." Ned and Peter looked equally shocked at that revelation, but Peter had no doubt Friday was telling the truth. Not only did it make sense with all the inconsistencies, but he knew his dad had isntalled all kinds of extra's into his latest AI, especially after meeting Stephen Strange and his strange world of magic. It made sense that Friday could detect alternate universes, if they existed, which she just proved. "What are you going to do?" Ned asked him, pulling Peter out of his own head. "I really don't know. I can't figure this out on my own, but I can't go back to the Tower. Spider-Man isn't welcome there" "But Peter is." "No. Your Peter didn't want them to know. Besides imagine what would happen if I told them who I was. They'd think their son was back, only to have it crushed once more when I explain I'm form a different universe." "But, you need their help." Peter sighed as his list of options dried up before his eyes. "I'm just going to have to convince them that Spider-Man isn't as bad as they think." /--------------/ Peter convinced Friday to help him gather all the avengers in one place. Not mentioning they were summoned by Spider-Man certainly helped. Even though it probably wouldn't be a good idea to confront them at the Tower, it was Peter's home too and he felt more comfortable there. The hostile looks from some were unnerving, but mostly Peter noticed grief and shock when he crawled along the ceiling into the room. "YOU! How dare you come back here!" His dad erupted in anger, but knowing what he did now, Peter saw it for what it truly was. A facade. A mask. He was holding on to his anger like a crutch, so he wouldn't drown under the grief. Thankfully, his pops held him back, probably the only person who was allowed to right now. "I'm sorry for all the unrest I've created. It wasn't intentional." "You call what happened, unrest?" Clint of all people accused. It hurt to hear his uncle talk like that, but he pushed on despite it. Besides, this wasn't even his uncle really. "You don't know everything and I can't tell you, but please believe me when I say you've got the wrong idea and the wrong person." "I'm sorry, is there another Spider-Man to blame?" "Actually yes. I'm not who you think." Peter took a deep breath before spilling his guts, figuratively. "I'm from a different universe." "Bullshit!" "Like we'd believe that!" "Nice try." Bruce stepped forward, his curiosity making him less prone to brush aside his theory. "Do you mean to say, the multiverse is real?" "Yes, I think so because I definitely travelled through it somehow. And I need to find my way back." Before he could indulge his uncle who clearly itched to ask him all kinds of questions, his pops interrupted. "You said we got the wrong person, but also the wrong idea. Do you know more about what happened to...our Peter?" Peter hesitated in anwering. He so wanted to tell them the truth, but it would only hurt them more. They may dislike or even hate Spider-Man forever, but the truth of the matter was that neither he nor Peter would return. Nothing would change and he'd only be causing them more grief by revealing himself to be Peter but not theirs. "Listen, I'm sorry I can't explain it, you'll have to trust me." fin, for now....

#fictober19 #fanfiction #superfamily #spider-man #avengers

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