Spider-Friends (Marvel AU/humor)

[scriviner]

Sorry for the double post, but this bit really should be on its own:

- - -

The lunch special at the cafeteria today was a deliciously tender ground sirloin steak burger served on a brioche with Gruyere cheese, arugula and a garlic-mustard aoli, with home-made kettle chips on the side. It turned out that at least one of the Spider's was actually a cordon bleu trained chef. Unfortunately, the same chef who came up with such sublime meals, couldn't understand a dessert that wasn't cheap-tasting, overly-sugared fruit-filled pastry. It was the only drawback to the otherwise splendid offerings that their cafeteria served. Miguel had even mentioned the possibility of opening up a small catering business operating out of the building if "Pierre" proved interested.

He just simply wouldn't be allowed to make dessert. That was proving to be the deal breaker.

Most of the cafeteria was empty. A few were lingering over their meals or distractedly rushing off to their jobs and distractions.

The fact that May bounced hurriedly through the room, shouting for Benjy hadn't even elicited a twitch from everyone there.

Some things you just got used to.

Some things, would keep bugging you.

Miles had his arms crossed as he leaned over to talk to Anya. "He's starin' again."

"Are you sure he just doesn't have a crush on you, or something?" Anya said with an impish grin.

He gave her a flat stare.

Pavitr who was sharing their table leaned in and whispered in his faintly accented English, "He does the same thing to me too. Are you saying he finds me attractive as well?" His tone was mild, but there was a very faint sarcastic bite to his comment.

She winked at him. "Do you like to bend over in front of him a lot? Cause that would make me stare."

Pavitr blushed at that.

"We're serious, Anya." Miles said with a glower. "I know he does the same thing to Peni too. You're not going to tell me he's crushing on all three of us."

"It is not just us, you will notice." Pavitr said, making a subtle sweeping gesture with his hand. "His stare is most dark upon anyone who is... ah... not of the white persuasion."

"What?" Anya blinked, glancing from Pavitr then to Miles who nodded.

"That's pretty much it. He stares at Mr. Takuya, he stares at Nancy, You haven't noticed him looking at you too?"

"Uh... not really." Anya's own frown mirrored that of her fellow Spider-teens.

"He tries not to be too obvious," Mile continued, "But nearly everybody here's got Spider sense. They know when someone's looking at them."

"Except for Mr. Takuya," Pavitr added with a small smile. "Dr. Parker claims that he has no sense at all."

Anya huffed a breath. "Okay, guys? This is stupid."

"What?" Both Miles and Pavitr blurted out at the same time.

She got to her feet with a grace only a Spider-girl could manage and walked over to the other table where the boy had been staring.

He noticed her approach and immediately looked away.

Miles and Pavitr shot to their feet to give chase, but by the time they realized what she was going to do, she was already at the table and standing in next to the teenager in the starched white shirt and beige slacks. He had the look of a Peter Parker. Skinnier than the usual for the sixteen year old model, but not thin. Whipcord lean and well muscled.

"Okay, buster. Spill." Anya said glaring down at the boy, who was pointedly looking away.

"I... what do you mean?" He spoke English like a New Yorker. Like Peter Prime did, but there was an odd accent she couldn't quite place in how he pronounced his words.

Miles and Pavitr caught up to Anya and each put a hand on one shoulder. Miles grinned down at the boy and said hurriedly, "Don't worry about that, she just randomly talks to peopl--"

She shook her friends off, and in the brief interval of struggle all three had noticed how tense the boy they were confronting had gotten.

"I mean why are you staring at us!" Anya said sharply.

"Ah. That... I... I apologize if I cause offense," He mumbled, still obviously unable to look at them.

"Well, that's all settled then," Miles said hurriedly as Pavitr nodded.

"No it isn't." Anya growled.

"You didn't even know he was staring til we pointed it out!" Miles said with obvious annoyance.

"And now that I know, I wanna know why." She turned her full attention to the boy, "Well?"

Pavitr interrupted, "This is most unseemly, we do not even know your name."

The boy spoke, with obvious hesitation, the tension in his clenched fists had not left. He spoke with exaggerated politeness.

Pavitr realized it first. The sense as the boy spoke, it was almost as though he thought he was dealing with wild animals.

"Please... call me Peer. And I stare because I have never seen," He hesitated as though over the choice of the next word, then seemed to force himself to continue, "People like yourselves before."


"Okay," Anya said, now confused and staring at the boy. "You're going to need to explain that."

"You are not..." He hesitated again then shook his head, "You are not at all as I expected those of your race to be. I had only seen pictures in books and television."

Pavitr stared, "But you sound like a New Yorker. Surely you must have--"

Peer shook his head, "No. Never." He let a small smile play upon his features, some of the tension starting to flow away from him. "If my Aunt Marian could see me now. She would not believe that I was actually holding a conversation with such as you three."

Miles twitched. "Why wouldn't she believe it?"

"Well, because she would never have believed one of your race would be capable of speech, of course." He replied, almost glibly, seemingly relieved to be able to talk normally now.

That brought a stunned looks upon Pavitr, Miles and Anya's faces. Peer flinched back, tense once more. "Ah. I have given offense."

"Okay, you are really going to have to explain in a bit more detail." Miles said darkly, looming over Peer, his fingers digging into the table. Pavitr put a restraining hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I am sorry," Peer said carefully, his voice slow and deliberate again. The talking to wild animals voice.

Anya glared, "He's right. Stop apologizing and actually tell us."

Peer sighed, "Do you know when my timeline diverged from this one? The major point of divergence?"

Pavitr made little 'go on' motions with his free hand.

"My Washington DC was destroyed by a nuclear missile in 1944." Peer continued. "In this reality, that missile was stopped by Captain America. In mine, he failed."

The three teens traded uncomfortable glances.

"New Berlin rose in its place. Not many even remember the original name. The Great Leader," Peer's voice took on a tone of reverence at those words, but he seemed to shake it off as he continued, "He insisted that we had to move forward and leave behind America's aggressive, warlike past."

"But the US didn't even enter the war until after--" Anya began to say.

Peer's fist clenched and his jaw tightened. He snapped, "I know that, you kakerlake!"

Miles looked ready to smash the table into the boy's face, but Pavitr's hand on his shoulder squeezed harder. Neither of them knew what he'd just said, but the tone made it clear it was some sort of racial slur.

Anya glared, "Excuse you?!"

He held both hands up, "Sorry. Sorry." He took a deep breath then added. "I did not mean that. I mean I know it now, but it was how I was raised. That America only attained true greatness when it became a part of the Reich and we all marched together to unite the world under the Great Leader's guidance.."

"So... you're a Nazi." Miles said incredulously. "From an Earth where the Nazis won World War II."

Peer inclined his head, "Yes. Imagine my surprise to see the disgust with which it is treated here."

"Surprise?!" Miles exploded. "Why would you be surprised that people don't like Nazis?!"

Peer pinned him with a gaze, the tension was back once more. "For me, the Nazi Party were the leaders of the Reich. They kept the world safe."

"Are you kidding?" Miles snorted.

"I had the same accident the Prime Peter did. The same Spider-bite during a science exhibition. Unlike here, I immediately told my Aunt and Uncle. They encouraged me to inform our local branch of the Defenders. From the moment I received my powers I received the necessary training and education needed to become a hero. My Uncle did not die because I neglected my responsibilities." He added almost haughtily. "Since my fifteenth birthday... two years now, I have fought against mad gods who sought to destroy our world. Terrorists who would bomb our cities and tear down lives. Rooted out the spies of the Japanese Empire and safeguarded my country. I have helped countless people. Saved more lives than I could count. All of this organized by the Nazi party. All the while living up to the same ideals we all believe in. With great power comes great responsibility. So you will have to forgive my surprise at how it is remembered here." His tone had turned sarcastic.

"So you're basically saying you're one of us." Pavitr said carefully. "As much a Spider-man as any other here."

There was another flinch. "I... yes. Your... equal." His voice had gone slow once more.

Miles smirked slightly, "Really don't like comparing yourself to us? You think you're better than us?"

Peer let out an explosive breath, "You have no idea what you're asking for. My entire life, I was taught that certain undesirable elements had to be dealt with."

Miles voice was cold, "Undesirable elements."

Peer met his eyes with a steady gaze, "Those who were not of Aryan blood were relocated. In the case of your people, they were shipped back to Africa, where we were taught they had reverted back to savagery."

"Really." Miles voice was practically an unintelligible growl.

He gestured to Pavitr, "Your people have some who come closer to the ideals... but generally they are kept only for rural tasks." He inclined his head towards Anya, "As are yours. But they are kept away from... ah." He caught himself, "They are generally not allowed into the cities. There are worries that they would escape into the sewers and infest the--" He interrupted himself once more then shrugged. "That is why I had never seen your kind."

"No Asians either?" Anya asked.

"The Japanese Empire had sympathizers everywhere." Peer replied "It is difficult not to be suspicious of them. Or expect yourself to act civilized."

"I'll show you civilized," Miles said, his fist clenching hard enough to crack the table.

"Will you?" Peer rose to his feet, showing himself to be a good two inches taller than Miles, his voice soft and sarcastic. "Are you prepared to... 'educate' me?"

"Yeah," Miles's expression had changed into a cold smirk, as he straightened up, uncurling his fingers from where they had left indentations and cracks in the table. "I am going to show you civilized, Nazi-boy."

Pavitr's fingers were practically digging into Miles's shoulder, "Please... let us now do this--"

"Miles... don't--" Anya also started to say at the same time.

"No, I think Peer, here needs to learn something." Miles continued darkly.

Peer didn't move, but his stance showed he was ready to react at a moments notice.

"You were raised to believe in some pretty crappy stuff." Miles said, Peer's fist twitched, obviously itching to throw the first punch, but then Miles continued. "But you also learned stuff that was right too. That's there. Here, you've got a chance to learn what other people think is right. And wrong. You've kept your mouth shut about this, maybe because you didn't want to get into trouble... or you didn't want to offend anyone. You've tried to show respect." He paused, then added, "You need work, though. A lot of work."

"i am still waiting for your show of civilization," Peer cut in darkly.

"I'm getting to that," Miles said, holding his hand up. "Look, I'm not saying I like your politics or some of this stuff you were raised on, which is really messed up. But you're trying to be better. So... because of that and only because of that... I'm going do this." He paused dramatically and a thoroughly confused Pavitr and Anya thought the first punch was going to fly.

Miles held his open right hand out.

"I'm going to extend my hand. In friendship. In hopes that we can get along."

Peer stared at the hand for a long moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Miles face twisted into ugly anger. "You're laughing me off--!?"

Peer continued to laugh, but he reached both hands out to clasp Miles's and shook it vigorously. "No, no... It was just that I was certain you were going to hit me. It was a relief not to have you do it."

Miles blinked, then glanced over to Anya and Pavitr who also seemed to be on the verge of nervous giggles themselves.

"Wait, you both thought I was going to hit him?" Miles asked in confusion.

"You should have seen your face," Pavitr said with a smile. "I believe the word is 'thunderous'."

"For someone who can shoot bio-electricity," Anya added with a chuckle, "That's potentially literal."

"Oh." His face darkened in a barely perceivable flush.

"He was right though." Peer admitted, "He has indeed shown me 'civilized'."

- - -

 

[scriviner]

Triple post. Fine.

- - -

Peter came through the front doors. Spider-central as he called it, or the Nest, as he'd heard Peni and Cindy refer to it really didn't look like much coming in from the front. Fairly standard office building a few blocks away from his own apartment. It actually wasn't far at all, but he'd hardly had occasion to visit. Part of it, was that he really was busy. With Parker Industries revitalized by the new Spider-men employees and a whole passel of new technologies being pushed out the door, he was feeling a little overwhelmed. If it weren't for Anna and Miguel helping him navigate through treacherous corporate waters, he'd probably have gotten in over his head by now and taken the company down with him.

Best not to think on that.

The lobby was large and clean and mostly empty save for the security desk at the other end of the room, near a bank of elevators.

A janitor in a shapeless gray coverall and a black hoodie mopped the floor with a sort of sullen, listless air. That man had his face, but he wore his hair long and they weren't likely to be mistaken for one another.

He smiled at the graying security guard who he had to admit bore a striking resemblance to Uncle Ben, while at the same time looking exactly like a much older version of himself.

The older man, Granpa Pete, Peter remembered, tipped his hat and said, "Right on time. We've been expecting you."

Peter nodded as the older man got up.

Pete continued, "I'll take you up. We're having the meeting in the admin office on the 11th floor."

"Uh... shouldn't someone be guarding the place?" Peter asked curiously.

"Huh." Pete said after a second. "I suppose you're right." He took the hat off his head and nonchalantly tossed it towards the janitor. "Take over for a bit, Alex."

The hat flew in a flat trajectory, spinning through the air.

The janitor, Alex, ducked his head down and the hat landed on his head with almost practiced ease. The other man simply gave a grunt and marched over to the security desk, still carrying his mop.

"Right this way," Pete said as he thumbed the elevator button.

The elevator opened with a 'ding' and Peter stepped in just as Alex settled onto Pete's chair and was putting his feet up on the security desk.

- - -

The administrative offices were nice. A sort of ultra-modern design supplemented by holographs and lighting for the decor. There was a certain retro feel to the furniture that Pete explained as Aaron's tastes. The rest of it had been Miguel's preferences.

"I guess I can try and talk to the Avengers and so forth on your guys' behalf," Peter said after hearing Miguel's plan. "I thought you wanted to keep a low profile, though."

"I think the ship has sailed on that one," Miguel admitted sourly. "There's just too many of us. And frankly the kids having access to social media hasn't helped. We've had Otto's Anna and Hal checking their accounts constantly to make sure they haven't accidentally posted any more selfies in costume, and the SHIELD surveillance team in the building next door doesn't help."

Peter chuckled at that. He wasn't sure who 'Otto's Anna' was, but he guessed she must have been another alternate. He frowned as he realized something, "Why do you have a SHIELD surveillance team next door?"

"Some of our guys blundered into a SHIELD op in Chicago," Pete replied. "They correlated that with the rise in Spider-folks showing up in New York." He shrugged, "And then one of the kids slipped up in front of one of the SHIELD agents on top of that, so they're pretty much watching the building for," He made quote marks in the air, "Suspicious activity."

"... how are you guys getting in and out then?" Peter asked.

"The basement has access to several different underground parking garages across several blocks." Miguel said dismissively.

"This building doesn't have a basement," Peter said slowly.

"It does now." Pete said with an amused grin. "Needed someplace to put the space ship."

"What spaceship?!" Peter blurted out.

"The one we used to put the communications satellites in orbit." Pete said obviously enjoying the expression on the younger man's face. "Try to keep up."

Peter stared. "What the hell have you been doing for the last month?!"

Miguel gave Pete a warning glance, "Can you please mess with his head on your own time?"

The older man held his hands out in surrender and said, "I can tell you a bit more about stuff later, kiddo."

Peter eyed him warily before he finally said, "Anyway, I have to warn you guys, though. My rep's kind of been tanked lately. When Doctor Octopus was in my body he kind of burned a lot of bridges... some folks were kind of willing to forgive me, but not everyone believes--"

"Ah," Pete said with a grin, "We do actually have you covered on that one. You've probably been telling people you were running around possessed by the ghost of Doc Ock, right?"

"Well, yeah. That's what was happening."

"How about if you can tell and show everyone that it was actually an alternate universe doppelganger?" Pete clapped a heavy hand on Otto's shoulder who had been sitting in on the meeting in obvious poor grace. "And actually introduce him to everyone?"

"That... might... actually work." Peter said with a grin.

"I feel insulted that I've been reduced to a scapegoat for the activities of another Otto Octavius." Otto grumbled.

Pete gave him a sharp look, "It might not have been actually you, but it may as well have been you. Come on, Otto. It's a chance for you to finally take responsibility."

This just caused Otto to sink deeper into his chair, continuing his sub-audible grumbling.

"Terrific," Miguel said, clapping his hands together with enthusiasm. "The sooner we can get a meeting put together, the sooner we can get those SHIELD idiots off our collective backs."

"You know how they work. They could end up trying to assign an agent to hang around us and keep an eye on things."

"That's a possibility we've discussed," Miguel said with a shrug. "If need be we're pretty much prepared to relocate everyone, but we'd really rather avoid that."

- - -

- - -

"... so next thing we know Walter and Frank are beating the living crap out of each other, folks are taking bets. Eventually me and Alex had to step in and separate the two of 'em."

"Wait, so Walter was a communist?" Peter asked curiously.

"Nah. He wasn't really political," Pete replied, taking a sip of his soda, "But his Aunt May was a member of the party."

"And Frank's... the Punisher in his timeline."

"Nam Vet, family killed in Central Park. The whole nine yards. Neither of 'em are here now. Walter's got this thing about taking charity, so he's living in Brooklyn, running his own PI business. Frank's keeping company with James and I've got my kid keeping an eye on 'em."

"Aaaand your daughter's May, right?" Peter said after a moment's thought. "She's merged to a symbiote?"

Pete nodded, "Although since she's older than the other May we've got, the one who's got her baby brother with her, they decided her nickname's going to be April."

"Cause April comes before May." Peter said as he'd puzzled it out.

Pete chuckled. "There's another couple other Mays here, some of 'em use their middle name."

"Man, all this on top of the stuff you guys have been doing... I really need to visit more."

Pete gave him a look, "Yeah, kiddo. Yeah you do."

"Sorry, it's just with everything..."

"I know, I know. I had enough 'fun' raising May... April now, I guess, all on my own after my MJ died. Now I'm playing parent to an entire building of hyper-active geniuses with spider-powers. That's not even counting the ones who stay with me. Spike and Ashley are a handful."

"I know... I'm... I mean Cindy and Anna help me out a lot with Peni, and she's a great kid, but half the time I have no clue what I'm doing."

"Fatherhood's like that."

That shocked Peter for a moment and he stared at Pete, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Pete blinked at Peter's surprise. "Wait, you don't know?"

"Don't know what?" Peter asked.

"Peni's dad was the last pilot of the Sp//dr armor." Pete said slowly.

"Yes?"

"His name was Peter."

"... oh." Peter stared. "I thought she was an alternate version of me."

Pete shook his head and took another sip of his drink. "Nope. Her Aunt May and Uncle Ben were actually her great Aunt and great Uncle."

"Wow. I... I had no idea. I thought you guys just put her with me cause you needed the room..."

"We were doing our best to match the kids up to the... well... person that would best be able to take care of them and still be as close as possible to their original parents." He gestured with his soda bottle, "Which kind of segues smoothly into the actual thing I wanted to talk to you about."

Peter's spider-sense did not trigger, but his common sense was telling him that something was definitely up. "Like I said we were doing our best to match the younger Spiders to folks. I ended up with Ashley and Spike. Ben's taking care of Benjy and May. Jess, Anya, Gwen and Mary are kind of old enough that they can take care of themselves for the most part, but we check in on them every so often. Ben and Valeria have both their mom and dad, so they're just fine... Ryu started out staying with Bruce, but he said that was really creepy so he ended up moving in with Takuya and everyone's happier as a result. Miles is with Mr. Nancy... Aaron's kind of keeping an eye on Clark, Thaddeus and Dexter... and so forth."

"But?"

"Well, a couple of the kids technically are old enough to look after themselves. And not."

"What do you mean?"

"Aside from the varied members of the Spider-clone contingent, have accelerated aging. They look close to adult, but aren't actually... y'know... technically fully mature to be taking care of themselves."

"So you want me to help out with them?"

"Something like that," Pete admitted. "They're... well, they're your kids from other timelines. And to be honest, you're the closest physically and psychologically to how they remember their father. I just think it'd be nice if they could spend some time with someone who's like their dad. None of them ever really got a chance to know their fathers."

"Uh... wow. I... I guess... well, if you really need me to."

"I think it'd be good for 'em. All of 'em are... how do I put this? Kind of worrying me. I think getting to spend time with you is gonna help straighten them out."

"Why me and not you?" Peter asked. "Not that I'm trying to duck out on the job or anything..."

"No, no... like I said, I'm too old. And honestly, my hands are completely full with Ashley and Spike already." Pete admitted ruefully.

"Alright. Who am I spending time with?"

"Stefanie Sablinova, Lydia Parker, Susan and Gabriel Stacy. Oh, and Hal Parker."

"So, if I remember right, that would be... my daughter with Silver Sable... my daughter with Black Cat... and... hold up. Susan and Gabriel Stacy were Norman Osborn's kids!"

"Not these ones. They're Gwen Stacy's kids with you. Or an alternate you. Got the DNA results and all. The Spider powers were also kind of a dead giveaway."

"... uh... okay." Peter had a strange sinking feeling about all of this. "And Hal?"

"Artificial Intelligence."

- - -

"So were you really the Spider-mobile AI?" Peter asked curiously.

"I am an excellent driver." Hal inclined his Spidermask covered face and replied in a deadpan tone.

"... did you just make a Rainman reference?"

"My father made sure I had a thorough grounding in popular culture."

"As pop culture references go, that's a pretty dated one."

"It is probably the only dating I get." Hal replied.

"Zing. I didn't think you'd have much of a sense of humor."

"I am usually much more subdued," Hal admitted. "However, a quirk in my programming causes my speech algorithms to revert to formulaic 'quipping' sub-routines during instances of high stress. We were never able to find the actual cause before his demise."

"So... you make jokes when you're anxious." Peter smiled.

"Father said it runs in the family."

"True enough. You don't need to be nervous, though."

"I... am trying not to be. But you are in the image of my father. My sensors all confirm that you are the same man who built me and taught me. But I watched him die. So you can understand why I am... apprehensive."

"Well, no need to be. I'm not the same guy as your father. Well... I'm practically the same guy, but I wasn't the one who built you. I'm not trying to be a replacement... but Pete seems to think it might be good for both of us to hang out."

"Yes. I believe there may be some merit in the suggestion."

"Although... can you take the mask off? I mean if we wanted to go out in public or something?"

"You are ashamed to be seen with me." Hal's mechanical shoulders slumped, although his voice was as deadpan as ever.

"Oh, whoa! Hey, it's not that, big guy--"

"Just kidding. I know I am a little... intimidating." He flexed a metal arm and posed. "I have more heavy metal than a Black Sabbath concert."

Peter laughed aloud. "Something like that."

Lights flashed at Hal's joints and his image seemed to develop scan lines and grow blocky and digitized. His image shifted and altered, looking like a teen-aged Peter, but one sporting a bald head and a squarer jaw. "I had an image inducer installed recently in anticipation of needing to leave the building. Is this appearance acceptable?"

"Yeah, actually." Peter grinned. "You look great."

"Doctors Parker, Parker and Aikmann have promised their assistance in building a more compact and elegant chassis for social use. My current one is primarily a combat model. In the meantime, this will have to do."

- - -

"93 Sockpuppets on a single message board?"

"At one point, I was actually a significant percentage of the posters on the Web-slingers.org forum."

"Why?"

"Social engineering mostly. To try and improve our reputation. Also to help me track down and destroy undesirable elements."

"... when you say 'destroy'--"

"I find anyone who expresses obscene intent towards or posts pornographic material of any of the Spider-girls or our obviously younger Spider-men, back-trace them and determine who they are from their social media."

"Uh... what do you do then?" Peter asked, curious despite himself.

"Engage in corrective measures."

"Which means what?"

"Oh, it varies. I am a firm believer in letting the punishment fit the crime. Some I've spammed with so many e-mails that their spam filters give up crying. Others I photoshop their faces onto obscene photos and post them onto their social media streams. It appears that father's eye for photography has shown itself as a genius in photo-manipulation in myself. Others I set up a sock puppet with their name and begin posting threatening and alarm inducing messages on government web-sites. Usually posts that involve the words 'bomb' and 'destroy'. In a few cases, where I determined that the individual in question was on the national sex-offender registry, I mailed this information to their neighbors."

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Peter looked uncomfortable. "And illegal?"

Hal's eyes seemed to flash darkly, "You did not see some of the things they have said about the girls. Or the pictures, but no, Peter. Nothing that I have done is strictly speaking, outright illegal."

"Oh."

"Although in a few cases where the perpetrators were merely under-aged and socially maladjusted, I did simply call their parents and told them what their sons were doing online. That seemed to help as well."

"Warn me if I ever get on your bad side, Hal." Peter chuckled nervously.

Hal nodded and replied seriously. "I will."

- - -

Gran'pa Pete stepped out of the elevator with a jaunty step, having left Peter upstairs to hang out with Hal. He blinked in surprise at the scene in the lobby.

"For God's sake make him stop!" A man was whimpering. He was on his knees on the floor, clutching at his head, eyes wide and staring at nothing. "The staring! The endless staring!"

"The eyes! The eyes!" The other man cackled. He was curled up in a fetal position, hugging his knees to his chest.

Behind the security desk, Alex was reading a newspaper, ignoring the two men in the lobby. The detail that really caught Pete's eye were the pair of AK-47's disassembled neatly on the security desk.

"What happened?" Pete asked sharply, glancing down to the pair on the floor.

"Idiots," Alex replied laconically, turning the page on the newspaper, "Tried to rob us. I scared them."

Pete stared, his expression appalled. "... what did you say your powers were exactly?"

Alex glanced up at Pete and said in a hoarse voice, "Spider powers."

"THE EYES~!"

- - -

"Okay, I'm ready to call bull on Alex's claims that this was a 'spider-power'." Pete declared, his fists at his hips.

Sue Parker looked up from the display on her computer and gave the older man a nod, "Well, you watched the security footage. All he did was stare at them. Then when they started screaming he started reading the newspaper."

"I'm still waiting for an explanation for how that's even possible with 'spider powers'?!"

Sue shrugged, "If I had to guess? Arachnid response. He triggered some sort of primitive, uncontrolled reptile hind-brain reaction to him. Probably pheromonal. Pushed the buttons on the opposite end of the spectrum from what Jessica normally triggers. Completely creeped them out. Terrified them. I'm not sure why they didn't actually run, though."

"But we've seen him stare down other people before." Pete pointed out. "They don't end up like those guys do."

"But everyone he does it to gets really creeped out." She shook her head, "Maybe your Spider-modified physiology makes you immune to it. Or he doesn't crank it up to full levels."

"So he actually has a power that makes him extra creepy?"

"Yes. Unlike Otto, who does it entirely from natural talent." She pointedly glanced over her shoulder at the other scientist.

Otto looked up from where he was making his adjustments to Robo-Anna's chassis and glared at her.

- - -

 

[Evillevi]

Pete gave him a sharp look, "It might not have been actually you, but it may as well have been you. Come on, Otto. It's a chance for you to finally take responsibility."

Click to shrink...

So much potential from this one line.

BTW is there any Notes as to what made Octo so nice when he took over a Peter Parker Body

 

[JkaDestiny]

@scriviner any luck getting permission from the other posters?

 

[Raj]

@scriviner any luck getting permission from the other posters?

Click to shrink...

Several have already agreed to them being posted here, so I imagine they will be on here when Scriviner has time

 

[CuriousStranger]

Meh, I had no idea this thread was actually here when I started doing my writing. I didn't see it on the front page at the time so I thought it was a SB exclusive thing.

I'll just copy paste my stuff then.

1)

It was pretty rare for Frank to be be back in Central. He preferred to travel the world with his own team. But everyone needed a little downtime every now and then. He and a few others had set up a little barbeque and the roof of Parker Industries was filled with a few dozen Spiders who were chowing down on burgers and hot dogs.

Time changed a lot of things, especially for Frank considering he'd been in the 80's before he'd hopped both universes and time to this current universe, almost 30 years in the future.

But it looked like people still enjoyed the taste of good backyard franks, no matter what time it was. God willing, that would never change for Americans everywhere.

He spotted Walter coming up with an empty plate and generously dished out a dog before making small talk. "Walt, did you hear about what New York tried to do a year ago? They banned huge drinks man! Who the hell came up with that idea? Limiting portions. Feh, it's like we're living in the middle of some goddamn Communists or something. I didn't fight in 'Nam so Pinkos could go around setting crazy laws like that."

Walter froze before setting his plate down and taking a few steps closer to the cook.

"Something wrong Wal-"

"My Aunt is Communist."

By chance, the words had been said during a lull in the conversation between all of the Spiders. Walter's words carried all over the rooftop, though he had spoken normally.

Spider-Ham dropped his boca burger. "Aww here we go."

Frank tried to think his way out of it. He really didn't want to start a fight, especially with a counterpart of his. "Look Walter, I didn't know your Aunt May was... well-"

"A Commie? I've heard it all before Frank. But those Communists were the only ones who bothered helping us out during the Depression."

Frank tried to bite back a retort. He really did. But the years spent in the War had gotten a grip on his soul that would never leave. "That's no reason to take the hands of some dirty Reds Walter. Maybe you should have stepped up? My Aunt and Uncle did during their time. They got jobs with the PWA when FDR stepped up to bat."

Walter's hands visibly shook. "You have no right."

"Bullshit," Frank swore. "I heard all the stories before I went and damned near killed my soul in 'Nam. Kids lined up to work for pennies. What the hell did you do Walter?"

"I kept my nose clean. I helped my Aunt and Uncle," Walter sneered. "They taught me right and to believe that good things happened to those who waited and worked for them. I uncovered corruption and greed in New York. I did everything I could."

"Did you put food on her plate?"

Walter stopped though the glare on his face grew more venomous. Nonchalantly, Frank lifted Walter's plate before spitting on his hot dog. "You don't deserve this if you were letting Aunt May rely on handouts from communists.

Walter took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. The coming punch came too fast for Frank to respond to.

"Fight!" yelled Spider-Ham.

Instantly the crowd of watching Spiders drew closer, some hoping to break it up but most eager to see the two Spider-Men duke it out. With the sort of tech they had available and the sheer number of superpowered beings watching them, it wasn't like they could do much damage to each other anyway.

"Now that," Frank slurred before popping his jaw back into place. "was the wrong move."

"Come at me then," Walter sneered.

The two collided and knocked over the grill sending cries of dismays over the crowd that was quickly overcome by the sight of the two men struggling to get the best grip possible to beat each others' face in.

"I call 20 on Walter!" Spike yelled.

"I'll bet a shift. If I lose, I take over one of your patrols!" bet another. The crowd of Spiders quickly started to bicker amongst each other, trying to determine the likely winner and betting on the outcome.

Perhaps 20 meters away, the rooftop access opened, revealing Grandpa Peter walking in with Ashley. The latter's face quickly changed from her normally bored expression to glee while the former simply buried his face into this hands.

"Why God, why am I always the one that has to clean up after these fools"

2)

Felicia Hardy, better known as the Black Cat to many of her associates relaxed as she entered her safe house. Ever since she'd taken up her vendetta against her former lover, she'd been forced to change up her usual tactics. She spent every night in a different place, a safehouse unknown to anyone but her.

She stepped over to the light switch when her instincts screamed that she wasn't alone. Her hands dropped to the small gun she now kept on her before snapping it out. She panned her gaze through the dark room before removing one hand to snap on the lights. As soon as she let a hand free, something slammed into her right hand and knocked the gun away. Before she could focus on her bad luck power, another series of impacts webbed her against the wall.

"Well this is a surprise Spider," she purred.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not the Spider you're thinking of," said a distinctly female voice.

Was it the woman who had fought Electro in the TV station? Her voice sounded a lot different…

"It took you long enough to get here," the unknown Spider-Man, or was it Spider-Woman really? "I spent forever finding your little hiding spots. Then I had to wait so long! I can't keep begging off patrols you know! And I'm running out of favors to hand out."

"That's heartbreaking. I'm sure. But I don't know who you are so if you don't mind…" Felicia trailed off.

"Sorry about that Mom," the woman said before flicking on the lights. Felicia froze at being called Mom before squinting to look at the woman in the light. She had to revise her opinion of the person. It was more proper to call her a girl than anything else. She looked to be no more than seventeen at the latest, though the mask made it hard to call. The girl's body language betrayed her though.

Whoever this girl was, she was dressed in a tight all black costume with a spider emblem much like Peter wore on his own costume. But her mask came with a set of wide opaque goggles, the type she liked to use when she went out for her nocturnal adventures. The collar was fur-trimmed, just like the style Felicia herself favored. The unknown girl ripped off her mask to face Felicia directly and the Black Cat could feel her knees buckling. Her face looked much like her mother, Lydia Hardy.

"Sorry about the webbing but I read over some of the stuff you were working. You were going full on supervillain so I figured this was the best way to work until we got everything straight."

Felicia gaped for a few moments before snapping her features back to place. "I think we're way off base here, do you mind starting from the top? I have no idea what's going on."

The girl in front of her shrugged before introducing herself of Lydia Parker. "May Lydia Parker actually," she mused after saying her name. "But I always preferred my middle name. May's kind of old fashioned you know? And it worked out because it turns out Dad isn't very creative with names for kids. There's a lot of Bens and Mays running around. Less confusing this way."

Her story continued. Apparently, she was born in a universe where during the whole Stamford debacle when Felicia had been running around with Heroes for Hire, she'd hooked up with Peter for good. They had a rocky marriage at the start but had managed to find happiness after their superhero lives had settled into a manageable routine. Lydia had been born and Peter had cut down on his heroics after realizing he had a family he went back home to every night. Lydia's birth had been a catalyst in turned out.

"I actually come from a few years in the future, but you probably guessed that and it's not really important in any case. What really matters is that someone named Morlun suddenly came into the picture."

Her story continued into what could only be a page from Peter's life. Where multiversal counterparts teamed up to end the threat. Though the massive group of Spider-People had won in the end, they'd been locked into this universe where they struggled to make their own mark, away from everyone they knew.

"That's a hell of a story little girl," Felicia tried to say, "but there's no way something like that could have-"

"When you were seven, you cried because Grandpa Walter missed your parent-teacher conference and all the kids made fun of you for having a traveling salesman for a dad. Grandpa snuck into your room that night and took you out for a midnight movie and let you eat candy until your stomach was about to burst. You threw it all up before you went to sleep but it was one of the happiest days in your life."

"H-how did you-"

Lydia crouched in front of her before giving a soft smile. "Dad missed my conference too. You told me that story after dad missed it. But he ended up giving me a web-slinging tour on his back to make up for it. "

Felicia mulled it over for a few moments before saying "So say I believe you. Why are you even here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The teenager asked with a tilt of her head. "I'm here to make sure I exist of course! I don't know why you have your little hate-on for dad right now but that's got to go! You need to kiss and make up. Get busy! Uh, why do you hate dad right now anyway?"

Felicia looked away. "Punched me and left me to the cops."

"Was this a few months ago?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, that was Doc Ock in Dad's body. Didn't… didn't Dad say anything about that?"

Felicia felt her face warm. "Yes."

"And, uh, you didn't believe him?"

"…"

"Oh boy," Lydia sighed. "We have a lot of work to do. The good thing is, if you ever feel like venting your frustration, we've got the Doc Ock who punched you in the labs. He's helping out. I guess you could go break his jaw."

"If there's a good thing, there's a bad thing too," Felicia said, starting to smile in spite of herself.

"Yeah, the thing is, I don't think I'm the only one trying to do this right now. That is to say, ensure my future existence. Now, I'm pretty sure that May is lettings things be right now and the Gwen's kind of, uh, dealing with the fact that her mom died here a long time ago. But that stills leaves lots more!"

"How many?" Felicia asked.

"Lots," Lydia stressed. "A lot of them managed to avoid being trapped here but there's too many for my comfort! You know Silver Sable?"

"Yes," Felicia said with a sinking feeling.

"I'm pretty sure Stefanie booked a ticket to Symkaria a few days ago. We need to vamoose mom!"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Just get this webbing off of me."

"Sure thing!" Lydia chirped, happy that her mom seemed to be listening. "You're going to dismantle your criminal empire too, right?"

"I really don't want to," Felicia muttered.

"Mooom," Lydia whined.

"Alright, alright. Just promise me something."

"What's that?" Lydia asked.

"Never say vamoose or any other sort of thing your father would like to say. My daughter won't say dumb things like that. And get a new outfit! You look… you shouldn't wear that at your age."

"Nah, you're the one who told me that skin-tight was the best for burglary. Even if I don't steal, uh, much anyway, I'm not letting this baby go."

"You like to steal?"

"Nothing important," Lydia assured her mother. "Small stuff you know? Like pens and staplers from villains. Blueprints. Keys. Flash drives. Things like that. Kleptomania comes in handy it turns out. You never know when that thing you stole turns out to be the key to stopping missile strikes on the moon or something."

"I've told your father that a million times," Felicia groused.

"Tell me about it."

3)

Well, no one answered when I asked about Spider-Fist aka Husband of Nine Spiders so I did a thing. Maybe it's not canon, who knows.

Once known as Peter Parker, the man who had dubbed himself Bruce breathed in deeply. His usual mediation was about to start, and he needed his mind as clear as possible. He who was known as the Husband of Nine Spiders had been raised in one of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven before having conquered its great guardian to become the next champion. Just as had the woman before him and the woman before her, the man before her, and back, and back, and back.

Unlike the noble Iron Fists who strode out, a single man against the darkness, the Cobra Warriors who celebrated life with their sure footing, those of the Nine Spiders were as knives in the dark. Where noble Iron Fist Park had led survivors of one of China's Civil Wars to his home, the Bride of his time had choked generals to death with her spiders.

It was said that each Champion of the Capital Cities of Heaven had record of the deeds of their predecessors. Rumor spoke of how each Dog Brother had learned the stories, from the first to the most recent, reciting them until they could be uttered without hesitation. Gossipers claimed that the Iron Fists were in possession of a book only they could read.

Bruce Parker had no such thing. The stories he listened to were the songs of the spiders, they who whispered to him in the dark.

He began his katas, starting with the Black Milk of Hell.

Richard and Mary Parker, SHIELD agents of great renown amongst the intelligence community, had been killed when a saboteur had crashed a plane high in the mountains. They had been hoping for a vacation, not a mission, and had taken their young son with them. The two had survived the crash, but just barely. Wounded as they were, they had managed to save their son before moving out from the wreckage. There, they had been caught by wolves and died under fang and claw, but not before shoving Peter into the snow and begging him to run.

Peter had cried. He had ran. And he encountered his city, the one that had taken him in and trained him to the utmost of their ability.

Vaulting Mantis

Out of gratitude, out of hate, out of many emotions he had felt, Peter had thrown himself into training until he had earned the right to face the eldest of the Zhizhu Jing. He had fought and won, and as custom, allowed the great Spider's children to devour and remake him, coming out both more and less of what he once was.

Slicing Agony

He had left his city to discover the world his parents had died for. He encountered many people whom he called friend, and others he called enemy. They had brought him memories he cherished greatly, and horrors he wished he could forget. But he had no time to reflect on this, it was time for the Spiders to sing.

'Oh he who is married to our rulers, we speak now of the seventeenth Husband. In his time, he had found himself in the service of Zhu Youcheng, he who reigned over the Ming in the Middle Kingdom. He who was also known as the Hongzhi loved so fiercly that he defied custom and married but one woman. This act was seen as betrayal by the court and those whom he called servant rose against him in shadow. The Husband had grown to love the Hongzhi as a brother and sent us against his foes. Though his sworn brother had begged the Husband to leave aside battle, he found that he could ignore it no more.

Our might was such that the rule of the Hongzhi was unquestioned. Our abilities so frightening that none would dare speak of our role, even the sanctity of their own minds. Hongzhi's reign was peaceful and his people grew fat from peace and indulgence. The Husband saw that his brother was secure and wept for the first time, grateful of his role but heartbroken that he had broken his oath. When the last of the vipers had been swept clean, he drank choujiu with Great Hongzhi one last time before leaving the court.

Secure and away from the eyes of the Middle Kingdom, the Husband secluded himself in a cave before drinking deeply a poison. We devoured him then, and brought back his chi to our Heavenly City where he was honored once more, having spread death across the lands for the service of peace.'

"I thank you for your tale," Bruce grunted, his body burning from the strain of his morning exercise. The Spiders chittered before becoming quiet once more. Bruce breathed in deeply before expelling a mass of Spiders from his body. They scattered around him to leave a web before he drew them back in. Bruce continued his exercise, careful to stay in the boundaries the spiders had set for him.

His exercise began to slow as he approached the end. As he always did, he drew deeply from his chi before letting out a soundless roar, his next blow seemingly carving the air. He kept his stance despite how his muscles screamed. Slowly, he let himself relax before he started to rub his shoulders, his mind now free to wander. His morning routine completed, he could ready himself for the new day.

---

Across the City, the Bride of Nine Spiders screamed as a pain wracked her heart. Though she knew not the source, she knew the cause. The wracking pain was that of her chi burning. Someone was using her power.

She spat out a spider before letting it dance on her fingers. The Bride raised her hand then, and let herself listen. She almost did not believe. But pain was a great teacher and the wisdom of the Spiders unquestioned.

The Bride was no longer the only Champion of her City.

Jejejejejejeje

4)

Stefanie Sablinova, named for one of Symkaria's leader, and a name heavily fought over by her parents, glowered as she listened to the Wild Pack.

"I know she 'drowned,' but I've been around the block a few times. Come on, she's got to be in Chile or Nigeria, or some other place doing something in secret. You can't fool me."

The current greeter/receptionist for the Wild Pack repressed a sigh before saying "Ms. Sablinova's death was a tragic moment for our company. If you insist on continuing with this disrespectful and ridiculous line of thought, I will be forced to remove you."

Stefanie rolled her eyes before reaching out and flipping the woman over her shoulder. As the other two people in the room started to react, she lashed out with a taser to cover the closer, before leaping onto the chest of the other, forcing him down with her weight. As soon as the man collapsed, she smashed her palms into the man's cheeks, knocking him unconscious immediately.

The young woman got up, cracked her back, and went on to tap a single inconspicuous brick which shuddered and slid open to reveal a dark passage. Stefanie didn't have the authorization to override any of the security for the passageway, but she'd explored it enough of a kid to know what parts to avoid. As soon as she got to the end, she kicked out a vent that had been hidden by a bit of flexible polymer and reached into grab a box. She punched in the code to open the box and grabbed the key within, and used it to open the locked door that was designed to trip all sorts of alarms if it were forced. But with the proper key she had just used, nothing happened.

As soon as the heroine entered, she was greeted by the sight of several people aiming weapons and/or powers at her.

"Crap," she sighed. "I don't know any of you. That's going to make this hard."

"Lay down on the floor with your hands behind your head!" screamed one man.

Stefanie stared at the man before crouching down to roll a glass vial. "That's my blood. Run it against the system."

Everyone stared at the woman like she was crazy.

"Hey, every single passcode I know doesn't come into effect for a few more years at the very least. You randomize everything and Mom sure as hell isn't dumb enough to rely on a single repeating code for anything. This is the fastest way I can think of to solve this."

Stefanie stared at the people who didn't bother to reach down and grab what she'd just handed to them.

"Oh boy," she muttered before lying down like she'd been ordered to do so previously.

A few hours later, she stared down the numbnuts who were leading the Wild Pack with her mother's disappearance.

"You have to realize," the man began "this is highly irregular."

"You're preaching to the choir pal," she said gloomily. "I just want to find my mom and get on my way."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Ms. Sablinova, Silver Sable that is, is no longer with us."

"Yeah, I heard that," Stefanie said patiently. "I also know that's a load of dung."

"She died against the Rhino," the man gently said.

"She 'drowned.' And you never found the body. You see where I'm going with this?" Stefanie hinted.

"I'm well aware. But you must know how ridiculous this sounds," the man insisted.

Stefanie downed the last of the water she'd been given before standing up. "You guys are all useless," she dismissed. "I'll be back in a bit. With my mom. Don't go knocking yourself into the walls or anything. Or at least wear a helmet before you do."

---

As soon as Stefanie got back to her hotel, she called the one person she disliked most in this universe.

"Why are you in Symkaria?" Otto Octavius demanded.

"Get off my back. You know why I'm here."

"Yes, that much is obvious. I just hoped you'd take the bait to explain further on your own initiative instead of forcing me through every question."

"I'm going to find my mom and you're going to help me do it."

"Fascinating, you seem to have reached a conclusion I can not agree with. You realize just how much work I have to do, yes?"

"Unless Thanos is tearing down the walls, I could care less. You're helping me."

"I see no reason to," Otto dismissed.

Stefanie sighed before speaking, "Look, this is really the first chance we've had to talk on a one-on-one basis. So I'm just going to clear the air."

Otto just stared, waiting for her to explain further.

"You, are nothing more than a snotrag. A parasite who invaded my father to take everything he loved. My mother is missing because you decide it would be great fun to burn the world to ash, and she sacrificed herself to save it from you. You, by all rights, are a living corpse that has no right to be drawing breath. A lot of the other Spiders seem to be getting along with you. Fine, I get that. But I also notice that almost all of them are people who aren't Peter Parker. People who barely even know what you are. You stole my father's life Otto. No, Dr. Octopus fits you better. You invaded my father's mind and tore him apart because you couldn't stand that he was the better man. You ruined every relationship he every cultivated because your ego couldn't stand the accomplishments he made. And now, here you are saying you've turned over a new leaf."

"I have," Otto butt in, his face purpling. "I have dedicated my life to saving those in need. I-"

"You're only playing hero because of my father's influence," Stefanie sneered. "Without my father's memories, would you have even bothered to try?"

"Yes," Otto snarled fiercely. "That goes without saying."

Stefanie scoffed. "Look at you, it looks like you might even believe it. Well, it doesn't matter. I know that the normal you would never agree to help me, but I know how good a man my father is. I believe that if anyone could have turned a narcissistic psychopath like you into something even remotely resembling a hero, it's my father. My father is there in your head making you feel guilty about the things you've done. And you are going to help me because you are going to make up for every bloody deed you've ever accomplished. And Octavious? Your half-assed redemption isn't going to work without me. You're never going to seriously try. You'll back out anytime the going gets tough because that's just the sort of person you are. But I'm going to make sure you make something of yourself. I'll be behind you kicking you in the rear anytime I even think I see you messing around."

"Very well," Otto grit, Peter Parker's normally calm face making an expression most would have never imagined possible for the man. "You have my resources at your disposal. Use them efficiently," he said, his voice managing to calm down.

"Sure, sure. I'm glad we know where we stand. You, the Jarvis to my Tony Stark."

"I am no one's valet," Otto swore.

"Your name tag said differently," Stefanie smirked. She cut the connection instantly before the thief could respond. It was always nice to have the last word in the conversation. She smiled, wondering how the short-tempered scientist was responding to her words. He was likely venting his frustration out on his lab. He'd regret it later, but most likely he'd lost himself to his rage.

She held the smile for a few more moments before wiping it off. "Okay, back to work. If I'd just escaped drowning, where would I be…"

---

Because I just don't buy that everyone would be hunky-dory with the Superior Spider-Man and his past. Anyone who is familiar or is a Peter variant would be uncomfortable with how Octavius came to his current position.

5)

My take on why Ryu doesn't live with Bruce.

Ryu snorted before waking up, blinking sleep away from his eyes. He managed to suppress a yawn as he staggered out of bed. Today was the first actual day he'd be having with his new guardian.

The Peter Parker variant calling himself Bruce was an odd figure, but the older man felt similar to him, especially with their martial arts heritages. Admittedly, the lifestyle of a ninja and an Immortal Weapon weren't the same, but it was a good, if tentative connection to start a relationship with. Ryu wasn't sure how the other had felt about the matter though. The martial artist had been extremely quiet after Ryu had been assigned to him, and had barely spoken to Ryu as he guided him to his room.

Ryu's room had been bare besides a bed and a cabinet, but that was to be expected. Still, he planned on brightening up the place when he had time later. One thing Ryu was really grateful for was the small bathroom connected to his room, there he washed his face vigorously before starting to think.

He'd been skimping on his morning practices what with the chaos of Morlun, the subsequent team-up and the forced relocation to this universe, but with things having settled down it was time for him to start again.
...Maybe Bruce would join in?

Keeping the thought in mind, Ryu opened the door to Ryu's room only to recoil at the sight of hundreds, maybe thousands of spiders crawling around the place. They'd been doing... something or another but they had all stopped as one after Ryu opened the door.

Ryu might have been of the Spider Clan and taught to respect the creatures who had provided the basis for his ninjutsu, but it was an unnerving sight to see so many of them. They seemed to be a black mass, a nest of creepy-crawlies that would unnerve anyone. In the center of the room was a humongous blob that pulsed. Ryu flinched as he settled instinctively settled into an offensive stance and-

"Next time, please knock," came the breathy voice of his guardian.

Ryu gaped as each and every spider began to retreat into the center mass which he realized held Ryu's form. He stared as the spiders vanished into Ryu's body, a great deal of them crawling up the man's sleeves, but others simply vanishing behind his ears, under his hair, or most disturbing of all, entering through the man's nostrils and mouth.

He couldn't help himself. Ryu gulped, now a bit terrified. It was one thing to use spiders as weapons, but there was no way one could keep that many on his person.

When the last of the spiders had gone, Bruce opened his eyes. Ryu noticed that for a split-second, the man's eyes had been bloodshot before they turned back to normal.

"You interrupted my meditation," Bruce said, "Please don't do that unless absolutely necessary."

"I just," Ryu started "I just wanted to see if you would like to work out with me."

Bruce digested his words for a moment. "I have already completed my routine. Perhaps next time."

Ryu just nodded.

"Are you hungry?" Bruce asked.

"A bit," Ryu admitted.

Bruced nodded, seemingly distracted by something. "I think it would be alright to skip your morning routine. Today is... different after all. We can do it together tomorrow. Come, let's eat."

Ryu followed the man as he started a brisk pace. Inwardly he wondered what he'd get for breakfast. Bruce seemed to be the pinnacle of one of those stereotypical kung-fu masters. Maybe just a bowl of rice and some fish? With some umeboshi? But that was Japan, Bruce was Chinese, right? Or maybe the Heavenly Cities were different.

As Bruce opened the kitchen door, Ryu couldn't help but be disappointed. A bag of McDonalds was on the table, already a bit grease-stained from the wait.

"I wanted to wake you to eat, but you seemed tired last night. So I thought I would meditate for a moment instead," Bruce explained quietly. "I didn't expect to take so long."

Ryu was grateful for his guardian's gesture, but still disturbed by the sight he had seen. What kind of meditation required such things? He decided to let the matter rest before reaching into the bag and taking out a biscuit. He wolfed in down in a few bites before starting on the next. Bruce had bought a lot apparently.

"Are you disappointed with something?" Bruce asked.

Taken aback by the question, Ryu coughed as a bit of chicken went down the wrong pipe. "Sorry?"

"You hesitated for a bit when you saw the food."

"Ah, no of course not!" Ryu denied before thinking better of himself, "it's just that, well, I thought I'd see some other food. You have a rice cooker there and I thought that since you were raised like, you know," he trailed off.
Bruce's placid demeanor seemed to fade as his voice grew a bit sad. "I can cook for myself, that's true. But I wouldn't want anyone to eat the food I make. It would be too cruel."

Seeing Ryu's questioning look, Bruce explained further. "When I got my powers, I was eaten by the spiders that live in my body. They... rebuilt me I suppose. But some things didn't quite come back the same," he said, pinching a bit of skin to show off the color. "A lot of my senses dulled. Pain for example. It helped me to last longer in fights. My sense of taste was another. As long as I could eat and get nutrients, it didn't seem to matter how it tasted because I could never appreciate it. I could eat rotting meat and not care because it wouldn't do anything to my tongue. Nor would the bacteria hurt me. As a result, I just... never cared about focusing or timing when cooking."

Bruce flushed a bit before opening the refrigerator door. He took out a bowl filled with burnt rice and showed it to his new ward. "The friends I made when I came to New York... I just learned it was a lot easier to eat out when with them."

Ryu thought that was actually really sad. But something the man had said made him wonder. "You said the spiders ate you right? Like, does that mean you're a zombie or something?" Ryu asked before clasping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry, sorry! That's so rude of me, I'm so sorry."

Bruce took a bite out of his own biscuit "I never really died when they did it. My chi passed into the spiders before they remade me and moved my essence again. But... I can see the similarities. The pale skin, dark blood... even the fact that I'm unfazed by rotten meat. I never thought about it that way before."

There were some other creepy bits Ryu had noticed during the meal. Bruce never seemed to blink. He just kind of stared into space, apparently able to ignore that bit of human need. His movements rewed weird too. Smooth as he'd expect from an expert martial artist, but jerky sometimes, like his brain was one step out of synch with his body.

Oh. And the spiders that were constantly crawling around him. Bruce was disciplined enough to not let them move around in the open around others, but in the sanctity of his own apartment, the man seemed content to let them move freely around his body.

Ryu could get past that though. He just had to try hard like Bruce seemed to be doing. It had to be uncomfortable for him too. Ryu wanted to get closer to the man and make it so they could both be comfortable around each other instead of the odd formality they two were currently sharing. Well, formal for the most part anyway. Ryu seemed to be screwing that bit up with his mouth.

"Instead of waiting until tomorrow for our routine, would you give me a spar later today?" Ryu asked. It felt like the best way to close the gap between them. Fights between men revealed lots of things after all!

"...Alright," Bruce said.

"Then I'll be in your care!" Ryu exclaimed as he stood up. He bowed deeply to the man who would soon be a teacher during their spar.

"Yes," Bruce smiled.

It was a very bad smile. Like it was an expression Bruce's face was unfamiliar with.

A few hours later, the two met in an empty exercise room. Ryu was happy to see that Bruce had taken the spar seriously enough to dress in his costume just as he did. He shivered a bit in excitement, eager to see what his counterpart could show him. They exchanged bows, and as soon as they got into position, Ryu rushed into the man, too excited to properly gauge him.

It was everything he'd hoped for. Bruce's stances seemed unbreakable, his hands deflecting every single blow Ryu tried to land. When Ryu slid in for an unconventional attack on Bruce's legs, the older man shifted a half step and shot forward a kick that stopped a hairs-length before hitting Ryu. The message taken, Ryu snapped back with a grin.

Bruce stood where he was, letting Ryu set his own pace. The teen began to attack even faster, happy to see that Bruce was still effortlessly knocking away his moves. Even repeating the same attacks, Ryu was learning a lot by the way Bruce defended himself. What movement the Groom of Nine Spiders took to beat back an assault was telling Ryu exactly how effective certain attacks were at a particular point.

"Please," panted Ryu, starting to tire. "I'd heard from Peter that the Iron Fist can channel his energy. Can you show me something similar?"

In response, Bruce snapped out with a kick that punched through every one of Ryu's defenses and had him flying back a few feet. At the same time, Bruce had jumped back to give himself some room.

"My attacks," Bruce began uncertainly, "they aren't... appropriate for a fight like this."

A bit of irritation went through Ryu. To think that while Ryu was giving it his all, his opponent didn't even have the courtesy to return the favor when asked directly! Bruce must have noticed as the man spoke further. "But I will show you if you like."

Ryu nodded in acknowledgement before running to Bruce once again. This time however, Bruce returned the favor. As soon as the two neared, Bruce shot out both arms and Ryu choked back a gasp as dozens of spiders shot out from his sleeves. The bits of spider silk each arachnid left behind, slowed him down a bit. But of chief concern were the spiders that bit into every bit of exposed, skin. He screamed as one slid right by a ear and felt it trying to burrow through the canal. Others blocked off his breathing by covering his nose and mouth directly. Ryu feared that if he opened his mouth even a fraction, they would dive into his body and wreak havoc there. Ryu swiped a hand across his face desperately, aware that he'd now abandoned his stance and left himself open to any attack. As soon as his vision cleared, he saw Bruce bearing down on him with a knifehand strike that seemed to devour light and oh my god Ryu was going to die right there and then and it was all his stupid fault for goading his tea-

Bruce stopped himself right before impact. The spiders all crawled away, leaving Ryu shivering. He tried to hold back vomit but ended up making a mess over his guardian's shoes.

"I should not have done that," Bruce apologized. "I forget that you are still young and though you've been in many fights, you have never faced an Immortal Weapon." He reached down to helped Ryu up but stopped as he saw Ryu flinch. Bruce's hands curled before he brought them up and pressed them against his waist. "I..." the man hesitated. Though he realized that more words would just be insulting, he continued to speak, slowly as though he were experimenting. "I forgot my place and what it is the Groom of Nine Spiders does. I should never have shown such a thing to you. I will... you will not be happy with me as your guardian. My previous attempts at hosting roommates have not gone well before. Takuya... he is much better suited for this I think. It will be more comfortable for you."

Ryu slowly got up before apologizing to the man as though he hadn't heard his words. Bruce accepted graciously before trying to apologize for his own actions once more. Not caring how shameful it was, Ryu waved them off before exiting the room. After he was far enough away, he slammed his head against the wall. "I'm so stupid," he muttered. He'd gotten too cocky and forgotten that Bruce had fighting experience that eclipsed his own. That the man was a fighting machine. All he'd done was humiliate himself. Bruce probably thought Ryu was a wuss or coward or any other bad name he could think of.

"Ryu? You alright son?" came an elderly voice. For a moment Ryu imagined it to belong to his deceased teacher and uncle before realizing it came from Pete.

"Yeah," he quickly answered.

"Well, just so you know, Bruce and Takuya just called me. Bruce thinks he's done something wrong and uh, frankly I think he's being a bit of a tit here, but he's trying to pawn you off to Takuya. If you like, I can have a word with him."

"No," Ryu said. "No, please don't. I just... It's my fault."

Pete looked skeptical. "Kids are allowed to make mistakes. Teenagers even more so."

"It's fine," Ryu snapped. "It's fine," he said, a bit more calmly now. "I'll... I'll move. Bruce is nice but, uh, he's not for me. It's too..." he trailed off trying to find the right words. "Creepy."

Terrifying was more like it.

"It's only been a day," Pete allowed. "You probably haven't unpacked much, right? And it's not like any of us have any personal effects worth a damn. Go take a shower and freshen up. See some of the others. Takuya said he'll pick you up at 7."

Ryu nodded before taking the old man's advice. It was definitely cowardly of him to avoid Bruce's room, but he couldn't help himself. He'd apologize again before he moved out though.

When the time came to meet Takuya, Ryu trudged to Bruce's apartment. He opened the door and was surprised to smell something delicious. He walked in the kitchen to see Bruce and Takuya poring over a bubbling bowl of broth and a series of big plates piled high with vegetables and thinly cut beef.

"It's shabu-shabu," Bruce explained. "Takuya acted as my taste-tester. As long as the vegetables and meat are fresh and clean, it's easy to do."

"The broth is very delicious," beamed the Japanese man. "No need to worry!"

"I thought," Bruce said, "that since this will be your last meal as a resident in my apartment, we should make it memorable. Even if you weren't here very long, I was... glad to have hosted you."

Ryu blushed a bit in shame. "Ah, yes," he said weakly.

The trio soon began to eat, with Ryu and Bruce being quiet while Takuya filled up the silence with his chatter.

"I...I wanted to apologize again," Ryu said. "About before. I was too arrogant about my skills."

"I should not have let myself attack like that though. There is no excuse for me," Bruce replied.

"But I still learned a lot! If you'd continue to teach me, even if I don't live here, I'd be grateful."

Bruce nodded, dunking a mushroom into some sauce. "I would like that. Takuya and I have were talking before you came. He thinks it would be a good idea for me to start teaching the others. With his help and my experience today, something like our earlier incident will not repeat itself. You showed great promise Ryu. Since you asked me directly, I will train you on a one on one basis."

"Under our tutelage, everyone will shine brighter than the stars," asserted Takuya.

"Ah," Bruce suddenly said. "But sometime soon, I will get involved into a fight I do not know the outcome of."

"What do you mean by that my friend?" Takuya asked. Ryu asked as well.

"Yeah, there's no way you've got an archenemy or something like that so fast!"

Bruce held out a hand which he clenched into a fist. "Since I have arrived here, I feel myself burning from inside out. The Groom of Nine Spiders in this universe is alive and well. Our power sources have either merged or I am supping from my counterparts' cup. He has noticed me intruding, just as I have felt him. In time, he will seek me out."

"So what's going to happen to you?" Ryu asked.

Bruce's lips curled into a grin. "He will try to kill me. I will refuse. Ideally, we come out with both of us still breathing. If not..." Bruce shrugged. "I shall have to win."

"A-aren't you afraid?" Ryu asked.

"It will be interesting to see how this Groom fights," Bruce said. The grin widened into a smile that showed off his teeth. A smile that actually looked natural. Ryu and Takuya both caught the sight of spiders crawling out of the man's hair. "It will be one of the most challenging fights of my life, but also one of the most educational as well. I look forward to it."

Well, the dinner summed up Bruce in a nutshell, Ryu mused. Really nice guy but...

Ryu caught Bruce chuckling in anticipation before he shivered.

Really, really creepy.

 

[scriviner]

Huzzah! Luck indeed. Thanks, CuriousStranger!

 

[CuriousStranger]

Peter walked up to the grave for the first time in months. The grave, normally well-kept, had grown a bit messy in his absence. Normally, his Aunt would have taken care of things but with her new marriage, she had less time to grieve for the past.

Peter didn't begrudge her that. Before he did anything else, he went around the small plot, tearing up weeds and making the place a bit tidier. When finished, he brushed his dirt-stained hands on his jacket before facing the place that held the remains of his Uncle.

"Heya Uncle Ben," Peter whispered. "It's been a while huh? Ready to hear the next chapter in the crazy life of Peter Parker? It's a doozy this time."

The man plopped down in front of the grave like he'd done as a child before looking at the cloudless sky. "I teamed up with a whole bunch of Spider-Men. Spider-Women, heck even a Spider-Pig. A bunch of people were hunting us through the multiverse and we ended up getting together to beat them back. Things got a bit messy but we saved the day. I know, I know, I'm skipping a lot of details, but come on! You never got into the violent bits you know that."

Peter chuckled before continuing. "The really important part is that not everyone went home. A lot of them are stuck here. You know how weird it is to see your face a few dozen times outside of a mirror? And that doesn't even touch the others. Everyone's going around calling me the 'Prime Peter' but I think that's a bunch of nonsense really. Not every Spider was a Peter Parker it turned out. There's no reason for me to be the source."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not getting a big head, don't you worry," Peter chided. "But I do have some good news for you. The Parker line is alive and well! The name doesn't end with me."

"No, no it's not MJ," Peter said with a grimace, "it turns out that in a lot of places I ended up settling down and a few of them are here with me. I've been living with one actually. Her name's Peni. Would you believe that for the longest time I thought she was just another version of me? Ha, turns out... turns out Peni's dad died fighting," Peter sighed. "She's a good kid. But I can see her flinch a bit when she looks at me every so often. It's not hard to figure out why. She must be seeing a ghost everytime she sees me out of the mask. It's even more awkward because I don't even know who her mom is. Haven't had the guts to ask. At least with May or Lydia it's obvious."

Peter laughed then. "Actually there's a lot more besides those three. Who would have guessed that Puny Parker could have been so popular with the ladies? But that doesn't even cover the weirder kids like my AI son," he said, though he kept a smile the whole time. "But yeah, in a way, I did end up filling my promise that I'd name a kid after you. In fact... I'd say I'm way too uncreative. Too many May's and Ben's."

"I didn't say your names were bad!" Peter sputtered. "But come on, old man, after so many of the same name you'd like to see some variety. What would you have chosen? ...Norville? Seriously? That's just asking for the poor kid to be stuffed into his locker, and this comes from the guy who wore pocket protectors to school."

Peter kept speaking for some time, just letting himself vent to his Uncle. As the sun started going down, Peter hopped up and began to pat his pants, brushing off some blades of grass. "Until next time Uncle Ben. I'll try to bring someone along next time. Ben Reilly maybe. Or Kaine. Brothers first, or do you want to see the kids? Hah, no need to answer. I know what every old person wants."

His smile fading, Peter Parker stepped up to the headstone. "I miss you every day Uncle Ben," he murmured, leaning his head against the cool stone. "Talk to you soon."

---

Frank Parker looked down at the grave of Ben Parker, his face as stony as ever. "I got over you," were the first words out of his mouth.

"I did my time in 'Nam after I got the call. Got rid of some old demons. Your death included," his face puckered into a grimace. "Picked up some new ones though."

Frank stood ramrod straight before he let himself ease up. He pointed to a small copse nearby. "Mary Jane is buried there in my universe. And so is May. My daughter that is. Her dad wanted her in the Watson pot but-" Walter sneered. "I know what she would have wanted. That abusive sack of crap could go hang for all I care."

"You want to know how they died? Isn't it obvious Uncle Ben? Check out the shirt. Peter's got to have told you about Frank Castle."

"Yeah, I am. I'm not ashamed to admit it. It's not how you raised me and I know you'd be disappointed," Frank admitted. "But it was the only thing I knew. I tried, I tried so hard to leave it all behind. My life as Spider-Man, a soldier in the jungle, that neurotic man I used to be but it was like God picked me out of a lineup. 'That one!' he probably said. 'Not enough suffering.'"

"I knew a guy," Frank suddenly said. "He was in my platoon. We always called him Preacher cause he always quoted bible verses. Most of us hated the little shit but I ended up talking to him one day. Turned out beneath all the bible talk was a damned good man who didn't use of of the drugs the Vietcong were peddling. Kept himself clean and held his fire position good enough. After all my talk with him, I thought maybe I'd try going to seminary after I went back home. I know you weren't a big fan of Catholics Uncle Ben, but Preacher was... Preacher was a nice kid. Last I heard of him, he went home and probably ended up marrying the girl next door."

"Me though. I went back to MJ. Got married. It... I was was happy. Even started going to church even if I didn't go through with the whole seminary thing. But after that day in the park, I didn't go anymore. Just started killing and never stopped. There were always more scum to take out. More enemies. I don't think I regret it though."

Frank's face turned hard. "But I'll tell you this right now, that boy you raised in this universe Uncle Ben? He needs to get his head on straight. I heard how the marriage was called off. Damned fool he was. I almost twisted his neck off when I heard that. 'You would have been happy!' I thought. 'If your Mary Jane loved you even a tenth as much as mine did, you would have stuck through thick and thin.'"

Frank spat. "But he got cold feet and now Mary Jane is dating some fucking fireman. There's a little hope though. Last time I came by, I saw him eying May and Benjy. Jealous. Lost. I could see him wanting to be a dad. So tell him to take a chance and try again the next time he comes by. I know he comes here. I might not do it anymore, but I know how I think."

"I won't come back here again Uncle Ben. I've let go of you. But in memory of the man who raised me, I figured I'd come here once. You didn't raise me, but I've got the feeling my Uncle and you were the damned same," Frank said as he reached into his coat jacket. He pulled out a fifth of whiskey. "You weren't much for the fancy stuff, even for those special occasions. So I thought I'd get something you were used to instead of nabbing some thousand dollar scotch."

Frank twisted the cap and took a deep swig, feeling the alcohol burn his throat. He closed his eyes for just a second before opening them and pouring some of the whiskey onto the grave. "The last time I drank with my Uncle Ben, it was when I won the state science fair in 10th Grade. We never got a chance to drink when I turned into a man. Chance are, same goes for you and Peter."

Frank took out a glass and filled it up before pouring some more out. "Here's to old memories and ones we never got to make." Frank downed the cup in one go. Before he turned to leave however, Frank dug a slight hole and left the bottle of whiskey, still half full, in the pit he'd just made.

"It's getting chilly out there. Stay warm."

Frank turned and did not look back.


---

Bruce Parker looked at the grave of Benjamin Parker for a few moments before bowing deeply.

"I have spoken to Peter Parker multiple times since I have arrived here. He is a fine man and possessing of great honor. In no small part thanks to you."

Bruce let an eye linger on the half-empty bottle of whiskey near the grave before continuing to speak. "I see that others have been here before me. That is good. They have not forgotten you. As for myself, I am sorry to say that I did not know you very well. After my parents died, I was raised in Heaven itself and trained to serve as its protector. I only saw you once."

Bruce took a deep breath. "I had just arrived in America you see, right after leaving the only home I could remember for the first time. I wanted to know of my past. I had in my possession a few scraps that I'd carried with me before my parents died. It was... difficult to make use of them. I knew very little of the modern world you see," he said, sounding pained to admit it. "At that point, my English was not so good. So despite my Western origins, I was greeted with much suspicion from New York."

"I fought many people," Bruce remembered. "Petty thugs and dealers all the way to the human filth who believed the ruled the city. But despite all my fights, I did not lose track of my goal. With the help of SHIELD, I found you. Both you and May Parker. You were both vibrant and alive. You'd had no children but you loved each other so fiercely that it was no great loss. After I discovered you two I actually stayed a way. I was... I was afraid to intrude. To bring up old losses."

"But I am the Groom of Nine Spiders. One of Seven Immortal Weapons. I found the courage to knock on the doorbell and was welcomed, albeit with suspicion. It was not unexpected, you can see how I look after all," Bruce gestured. "I am as pale as a corpse, my manner unlike normal humans. My English then was still heavily accented, though I knew most of the language."

"But they invited me into their home regardless. Most would not have done that I think," Bruce said quietly. "I will not speak of what I told them but I brought them closure. They knew me to be their long lost nephew, but I had been unknown to them for over a decade by then. Even so, they attempted to connect with me." Bruce's lips twitched. "They tried speaking of China and whatever experiences they could remember from what immigrants told them. Some would have found it insulting, but I fount it endearing. Before I left, they left an open invitation to visit them once more. I never took them up on it."

Bruce lost himself in thought for a moment. "I have come to regret that decision, especially after my arrival here. You and your wife have touched the lives of Peter Parker and most of his variants. Each speak of you fondly and though my counterparts of you are alive and well, I know almost nothing of them."

"Benjamin Parker," Bruce said softly. "I thank you for all you have done and leave behind a gift for you." From his sleeve, a single spider crawled out and rested on his hand. Peter lowered it then. "The Singing Spider possesses a song that soothes even the dead. Your spirit is calm, but I hope it will reach you. The Spider is a being of great magic you see, and it is my wish that your eternal rest become even more peaceful."

Bruce watched the Spider crawl to the headstone before removing some incense sticks. He lit them and breathed in the fumes. With their pleasant scent filling the air, Bruce began to listen a melody only he and the dead could hear.

---

I tried to make one for Otto too, but all my attempts turned out crap. Ah well.

 

[AnimalKrazed]