Here is a story I've wanted to do ever since I saw the incredible movie 'Spider Man: Into the Spider Verse.'
WARNING: Contains spoilers for 'Spider Man: Into the Spider Verse.'
Enjoy and no flames please!
Peter B. Parker smiled to himself, looking back at Miles Morales as he fell into the portal that would take him home to his own dimension.
With his help and the lessons taught by the different Spider people from other dimensions, Peter knew Miles would defeat Kingpin and take on the great power and great responsibility as the new Spider Man.
And Peter was ready to be back in Mary Jane's arms.
But...will Mary Jane be willing to be in his arms? Peter had split up with Mary Jane and Peter took it very hard. He knew he had to take a leap of faith, but is it really worth it?
And Mary Jane wanted kids...something Peter was absolutely terrified of.
As these thoughts raced through his head, Spider Man felt something strange while traveling through the portal. He felt his body glitching like it was when he entered Miles' dimension.
But this glitching felt extremely different.
After a harsh light blinded his eyes, Peter landed on a patch of cold, wet grass.
"Oh, man..." Peter rubbed his sore head and opened his eyes to see himself back in his own New York.
Only he wasn't.
Peter slowly got to his feet as he stared and stared and stared. He was standing in front of an old, spooky looking mansion. He looked around and saw that he was on top of a tall hill that overlooked a city, but it wasn't New York City.
Peter's spidey sense tingled. He reacted immediately and was ready to punch whoever was sneaking up on him.
But before he knew it, his arms and legs were constricted by white and black striped tentacles. A tentacle wrapped around Peter's mouth to keep him from calling for help.
A white, ghostly image appeared before Peter's eyes before the hero blacked out.
Peter felt like his body was mangled by a savage beast. He woke up in a dark room with just a single light shining down on him. He tried to move, but his arms and legs were tied down to a torture rack.
"HEY!" Peter yelled. He tried to break free, but even his super strength couldn't break his bindings.
"Save your strength." a raspy voice hissed.
"Who's there?! Where am I?!" Peter demanded answers.
Suddenly, the ghost that attacked him materialized before Peter's wild eyes, causing him to let out a scream. It sure looked like a ghost. He was white with a gaseous appearance and claw like hands. He even wore chains around his chest and green cuffs on his wrists that were green. His single green eye looked right into Peter's soul.
"Who are you?!" Peter managed to say through his terror. "A-Are you a real ghost?! If you're a real ghost, I am gonna freak out!" He cleared his throat. "And...I don't freak out that easily..."
"We will be asking the questions here." said the ghost. "Who are you?"
Heavy footsteps boomed toward Peter. He couldn't help but let out another scream when a tall, muscular humanoid creature stepped into the light. To Peter, he looked like Frankenstein, only a million times worse. His face and body was scarred and stitched with mis-matched patches of skin. Two giant green conductors stuck out of his back.
"And why are you here?" the Franken-monster bellowed.
Peter tried to speak, but it was difficult with fear clotting his throat. "I-I'm Spider Man!" he choked out.
The ghost and monster exchanged dubious looks. They looked back at Peter, letting their eyes travel to his messy brown hair, five o'clock shadow, and rather large belly.
"We'll see about that." said the Franken-monster. Without warning, he took out a small syringe and poked the needle into Peter's arm.
"OW! Dude!" Peter yelped.
The monsters ignored his yelp and walked away with the syringe full of Peter's blood, vanishing into the darkness.
Peter sighed, dropping his head. "I never thought this dimension stuff couldn't get any weirder..."
Several minutes later, Peter was still held captive in the dark room. He was not in a good mood. He was tired, confused, homesick...and hungry.
"Why does this stuff always happen to me?" Peter said to himself. "At this rate, I'm never going to get home. I might as well been destroyed in Miles' world-"
Suddenly, Peter jumped when he felt something tickling his foot. He jerked his head to see, but there was nothing there.
He felt something tickling his side. He yelped and looked to see nobody there. There was a poke in his armpit and tickle on his other side.
"QUIT IT!" Peter yelled. "Who's doing that?! I know you're in here!"
Something dropped on Peter's stomach, making him cough the wind out of him.
"Hey, mister!" Peter gasped when he saw a another strange creature sitting on him. It was small and had a black and white body with plugs on it's fingertips and two antennas. It had one big, solid green eye and a big smile. "Hello!" It had the voice of a small female child.
"Uh, hi..." Peter said, staring at the creature. "Who are you?"
"I'm Sparkle." She kept smiling. "I'm an alien."
"An alien?!" Peter gasped.
Sparkle nodded. "Who are you? Are you a new member of our family?"
"What?! No way! I'm not joining this family of freaks!" Peter snapped.
"Freaks?!" A girl with dark hair and dark eyes popped her head from under the table, making Peter yelp. "You're the pot-belly calling the kettle black!" She poked Peter's gut.
Another girl popped up. She had brown hair and matching eyes. "Yeah! You're a grown-up wearing Spider Man costume!"
"That's because I'm the REAL Spider Man!" Peter retorted. "And who are you guys?! I'm way more confused than usual right now!"
"Well, I'm Megan and this is my cousin Summer." the brown haired girl said. "Our uncles told us you're an intruder posing as Spider Man!"
"Uncles?! You mean that ghost thing and the Frankenstein guy?!" Peter asked in shock.
"Yeah! We all know the real Spider Man and you don't look anything like him!" Sparkle said, pointing a finger at Peter. Peter's eyes grew when he saw her plug fingertip so close to him. He was afraid lightening could shoot out of that finger and scramble his brains.
"So, there's a Spider Man in this dimension too?" asked Peter.
"Yeah! Except he's a teenager, not a grown up." said Sparkle. "And he's a lot thinner too."
"I am thin!" an offended Peter shot back.
A grin came to Sparkle's face. "Oh, really?" She started wiggling her fingertips into Peter's belly. "You feel awfully squishy here!"
"Ahahahahahaha! Stop it!" Peter giggled as the alien's prodding tickled him.
"Tickle attack!" Summer cheered. She tickled Peter's armpits while Megan tickled his feet.
"AH! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOP IT!" Peter screamed. He tried to sound angry, but he couldn't with all his ticklish laughter. He couldn't try to break free as the tickling took out all the fight in him.
"Coochy, coochy, coo!" Summer teased.
"Tickle, tickle, tickle!" Megan cooed.
"STAHAHAP IT! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Peter laughed. "I DON'T LIKE BEING TICKLED! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Peter couldn't stop laughing as the three girls playfully tickled him. Surprisingly, despite all the weirdness that's happened to him, Peter started to feel better as all the tickling made him laugh his fear and sadness away.
"Are you really a superhero?" Sparkle asked teasingly, tickling Peter's sides.
"Well, he's super ticklish!" Summer said with a giggle as she tickled Peter's neck.
"Come on! Just stop!" Peter cackled. "I can't take it!"
The three girls stopped and let Peter rest. Normally, Peter would beg them not to tell anyone that he surrendered to a bunch of little kids, but he said something else. "You know, I can't remember the last time I laughed that much."
The girls looked surprised. "Really?" they asked in unison.
Peter nodded. "Yeah, things have been pretty rough on me lately. So I barely had a reason to laugh."
"Well, that's not good!" Sparkle poked Peter's tummy again. "Laughing is important!"
Peter giggled from the poke. "I know that now." He looked at the three cute kids. "I wonder if this is what it's like having kids?"
"You don't like kids?" asked Summer.
Peter tried not to sound offensive. "Well, it's nothing against you guys. But, it's just...my girlfriend wants us to have kids and...well, I don't think I'm ready for that."
The girls felt sympathetic towards Peter. "You mean don't want to be a daddy?" asked Summer.
Peter sighed. "I'm just...not sure."
"But why?" asked Megan. "Kids play an important part in the world. We're the grown-ups of tomorrow."
"We may not be old enough to do grown up stuff like vote or drive a car or have jobs, but we're old enough to think." Summer said. "And we're old enough to make a difference."
Peter was amazed by how down to Earth these kids were. "How did you guys get to be so smart?" he asked honestly.
"Because we raised them right." said a voice.
The lights came on for the first time and Peter saw two young women enter the room. One had blonde hair and glasses while the other was a brunette with no glasses. Their icy blue eyes indicated they were sisters.
"Mommy!" Summer ran up to the four-eyed blonde and hugged her.
"Mommy!" Megan ran up and hugged the brunette.
Sparkle waved to them. "Hi, Aunt Rachel! Aunt Sasha!"
The bespectacled blonde giggled. "Hello, Sparkle." She looked at Peter laying on the lab table. "I'm Rachel and this is my sister Sasha. You must be the Peter Parker from another dimension."
"How did you know?" asked Peter.
"Because we got the results from the lab." said the Frankenstein monster as he and his ghost pal came in. "The DNA is a perfect match. He really is Peter Parker."
"This guy's been telling the truth all along." said the green-eyed ghost. "You can let him go, Sparkle."
"Aw, can't we play with him for a little while?" Sparkle asked. She playfully tickled Peter's tummy.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Peter laughed. "COME ON! NO MORE TICKLING!"
Rachel picked up Sparkle and put the alien on her shoulders. "That's enough, Sparkle. We could hear the laughing from downstairs!"
"Why don't we fix you up a nice hot meal before we send you home, Spider Man?" Sasha offered, giving the hero his mask.
Peter could somehow sense the kindness in this young woman. He smiled with a nod. "Sounds good. Very good."
On they way to the dining room, Spider Man explained his whole situation with Kingpin's Super Collider and meeting other Spider people from other worlds as he walked with his new friends.
"Well, that certainly explains a lot." Rachel said.
"Wow! That's insane!" Sasha said in awe.
"No kidding." said Peter. "So, you guys are aliens too?"
"Yep. I'm Frankenstrike and this is Ghostfreak." said the Franken-monster. "We come from the planet Anur Transyl. One of my machines picked up unusual dimmensial readings. When I went to check on it and search for any interdimmensional creatures. I heard something crash from outside."
"So the big guy sent me to investigate and that's when I found you." Ghostfreak concluded.
"I'm assuming my machine interfered with you returning home and brought you to our world instead. "Frankenstrike deduced. "A simple mistake."
"A simple mistake?" Peter couldn't believe how calm the alien was.
"Sure. Just need to make a few tweaks to my machine and you'll be home in no time!"
Rachel rolled up her sleeves. "Well, before that, we've got a lot of hungry bellies to feed!"
"The Jocklin Sisters are ready to cook another fantastic feast!" Sasha said. "And since we have an extra special guest tonight," She slapped a hand on Peter's shoulder. "we gotta put in some extra effort tonight."
To say Peter was touched would be an understatement. He wasn't used to such kindness after all he's been through in his world and Miles' world as well.
When they came into the dining room, Peter let out a startled yelp as he saw the room was filled with the most unusual creatures he's ever seen.
"As you can see, we have a lot of people living here, so we're never lonely." Rachel said. "We all started out as friends then grew into the biggest family."
"Who's the new guy?" a deep, breathy voice came from behind.
Peter spun around and screamed, falling on his backside. A blue faced hooded phantom phased through the wall "Another g-g-ghost?!" Peter stammered.
The phantom raised a confused brow.
"Big Chill, this is a Spider Man from another dimension." said Rachel. "He'll be joining us for dinner before we send him home."
"Cool!" Big Chill smiled, giving Peter the chills. He gave Peter a thumbs up. "He can sit by me if he wants!" He went over to join his fellow aliens.
Sasha saw Peter visibly stunned. "That was Big Chill. He's an alien too, not a ghost." She helped Peter stand up.
Rachel giggled. "Don't feel bad. Our world's Spider Man is scared of ghosts too."
Peter frowned. "I'm not scared of ghosts."
Right on cue, Ghostfreak's head popped through Peter's chest and was an inch from the hero's face. "Boo."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Peter screamed as he tried to wipe Ghostfreak off of him. "THERE'S A GHOST INSIDE ME! GET IT OFF!"
Everybody laughed as Peter freaked out and flailed until he tripped over a foot rest. Ghostfreak exited the man's body and helped him up. "Sorry. Couldn't resist."
"Yeah, saying, 'I'm not scared of ghosts' is basically starting a challenge with ghosts or those with ghost powers." Rachel said.
Peter let out a laugh. "Yeah, I pretty much set myself up for that."
Dinner was ready and there was plenty of food. Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, corn, biscuits and gravy, and chocolate cream pie for dessert.
Peter gladly helped himself. "Oh, man! This is the best food I've had in my life!" he said with a mouthful of steak. Drips of gravy dribbled off his chin.
The girls didn't mind Peter's table manners. Most of the aliens ate like barbarians anyway, so they were used to it.
"Thanks! We do our best!" Sash said, smiling.
"So, what are you going to do once you get home?" asked Rachel.
The first thing that immediately came to Peter's head was Mary Jane. "Well, there's this girl I know..."
"Mary Jane?"
Peter looked at Rachel, who wore a knowing little smile. "Our Spider Man talks a lot about her."
After a heavy sigh. Peter explained about what went down with him and Mary Jane. "I just don't know if I'm ready for that leap of faith."
Rachel and Sasha looked very understanding. "Well, you're never going to know unless you take that leap now." said Rachel. "Otherwise, it'll be too late."
That last sentence hit Peter in the gut. "What do you mean too late?"
"Well, it's a dangerous world out there, no matter what universe is it." Rachel said. "What if something happened to MJ and you never got a chance to be with her again, let alone start a family together?"
Peter was silent as Rachel continued.
"Everyone meets their fate eventually. So you need to enjoy being with the people you love for as long as you can. It's all worth it, trust me."
"And that goes for being a parent too." Sasha said. "Sure, it's an emotinal roller coaster. But it's better to feel something than nothing at all. Just play your cards right, be prepared for any situation, devote yourself to family, and always fill your children with love. It's definitely worth it."
"As for this Mary Jane, it never hurts to bring flowers." said Big Chill. He held his hand out and used his powers to form a beautiful rose made of smooth, flawless ice. An impressed Rachel and Sasha clapped in applause.
Frankenstrike entered the dining room. "Okay, Peter. The teleporter station is a go." He put a gentle hand on Peter's shoulder. "You can leave whenever you're ready, Pete."
Peter stood up and smiled. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
It was a dark, cloudy day in New York City. It seemed like the same old city with it's crowded streets and carefree pedestrians.
But they all knew something was off.
Spider Man, their town hero, was missing for days.
However, on the rooftop of a tall building, there was a bright flash of light.
And Peter Parker stood where the light once shined, fully masked in his Spider Man suit. "Looks like my New York." He sucked in the New York air. "Definitely smells like my New York." He smiled under his mask. "It's good to be home."
Spider Man got out his phone and saw the selfie he took with Sparkle, Rachel, Sasha, and all of his alien friends from another universe. "Thanks for everything, you guys. Hope I see you again soon."
As if the sky heard his voice, the dark clouds faded away and the sun peeked through. With newfound strength in spirit, Spider Man jumped off the building and began swinging downtown. He was on his way back to his apartment. He had to put on a nice outfit and see a florist about some nice flowers.
Mary Jane was waiting for him. It was time for that leap of faith.