Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Marvel, but this idea is mine. This story is mine. Anyone wants to claim otherwise, well, you're wrong.
Chapter 3: Settling In
Mornings. Everyone hates them, even spider-people. Especially Peter. Though, this morning was one he was going to enjoy. After all, he hadn't forgotten what happened the previous day, and he was still ecstatic about it.
"Well, might as well get up. I can't wait to see everyone." Peter thought, excited about how his days were going to be, now everyone he once lost was back with him again. His uncle, his brothers, his children, even his girlfriend. Although, that last one is still debatable. After all, while this was Gwen Stacy, Peter had to keep reminding himself that it was a DIFFERENT Gwen Stacy that was living with him now. The differences were all too clear. This Gwen has spider powers like his, and her personality was slightly different. She was more...like him, in some ways. At least, in terms of how confident he usually is when wearing his mask. Though, this Gwen still retains the old one's kindness, from what he could tell. That, and she obviously likes him. The question is, how much? He'll have to look into that later.
After Peter brushed his teeth, he went downstairs to find Kaine doing push-ups in the living room. He saw Peter come in and greeted "Morning, Pete." "Morning. Do you always do this before breakfast?" "Pretty much. It helps the food go down quicker. Plus, I gotta stay fit, man. I've been dead for a while now, I got a lot of workout sessions to catch up on." Peter laughed and said "Just don't overdo it, alright?" "Can do."
Mayday soon came downstairs after smelling the food from her room. "Morning Dad, Uncle Kaine." She greeted, still a little groggy from sleep. "Morning." The two said in unison. Mayday sniffed and said "What'cha making Dad?" "Pancakes, with bacon and eggs on the side. It is Sunday, remember?" Mayday stood there, a little shocked that Peter remembered that she used to have that same breakfast every Sunday back on her earth. "I...I can't believe you remembered that." "Of course I did. It was your memories I saw, and they're all engraved in my brain, so they aren't coming out, no matter what." "Not even if you used bleach?" Kaine asked. "Nope." Peter replied, making a popping sound at the p. "Oh, speaking of breakfast, Kaine, could you wake up Ben? The others should follow, considering how loud he can get." Peter requested.
"Can I kick him out of bed?" Kaine asked, feeling mischievous this morning. Peter gave him a plate of food and said "Just wave this under his nose. When he wakes up, act casual and start eating in front of him. It'll piss him off." Mayday laughed at this plan, picturing it in her head, and asked while laughing "But-but what if he lunges for the food?" "Simple, get the hell out of there and make sure he falls down the stairs. That way he's FULLY awake." Kaine said with a shit-eating grin. Now it was Peter's turn to start laughing, picturing it as well. "Ohmygod, Dad, can I film that? Pleeeaaasssseeee?" Mayday asked, trying to use the infamous 'Puppy Dog Eyes' technique, which is known throughout the multiverse. Peter only fell for it because he thought his daughter looked adorable when she did it. That, and he was already on board with the idea, so the look was just overkill.
"Get the camera." Peter told her.
Mayday did a mock salute and went upstairs quietly to her room. When she grabbed her phone, she noticed that Benjy was already awake. "May!" Benjy said happily. "Aw, morning Benjy. Sorry I woke you up." Mayday said, lifting him out of his cradle. Looking at the phone, and back at Benjy, she grinned and asked "Hey, you wanna see something funny?" Benjy seemed to want to, considering he looked like he was dancing in her arms. Kaine came up the stairs, peeked his head through the door and whispered "Pssst. You got the phone?" Mayday showed it to him. "Great, let's go." Kaine left, eager to get the prank started. Mayday grabbed her web shooters, reloaded it, and webbed Benjy to her chest, that way her hands were free to film. Kaine already set up a chair right in front of Ben's bed, and gave Mayday the signal to start recording. Once Mayday hit the record button, Kaine waved the plate under Ben's nose, and proceeded to eat loudly. Ben groaned, saw Kaine eating, and just gave him a blank look.
Kaine just stared back and said "Morning, you lazy ass." "Uhh..morning? Why are you eating in my room? Wait...what are you even eating?" Ben asked. "Oh, you know, the classic Parker Sunday Special. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon." Kaine said, putting huge emphasis on the bacon. Ben stiffened and asked "D-Did you say..bacon?" "Yes...bacon. Nice, juicy bacon. Fresh off the pan. Who knew Peter could cook this good? I would've thought he'd burn the house down while trying to impress us." "Hey!" Peter exclaimed, hearing everything clearly from downstairs. Perks of having spider powers, all your senses are heightened, including hearing. "Believe me, he almost did burn the house down. Several times. It always started with his oven mitt, then the counter, but that was as far as it got before Mom handled it." Mayday chipped in, giggling at the memory.
Ben didn't hear this. All his attention was on the bacon that Kaine was eating, torturingly slow, mind you. Slow, in terms of putting it in his mouth, and the actual chewing. He made sure his mouth was open, just so Ben could see the bacon being devoured in very vivid detail. "Give...Me….The bacon…" Ben demanded, dead-set on getting his favorite breakfast in his mouth. "If you want it, then get up and get it yourself." Kaine egged on, enjoying himself. Suddenly, Ben lunged at Kaine to get his 'precious bacon'. Kaine immediately got up and dodged him, and went to the door, waving his bacon strip. Ben followed him to the stairs, but failed to notice the web line that caught his ankles until it was too late. He then fell down the stairs until he was in the living room, where everyone was laughing at him. Mayday was having the time of her life as she caught everything on camera. Even Benjy was having a good time, since he couldn't stop laughing. "Oh man, I've gotta show this to everyone. This is gonna get so many views online." Mayday said to herself.
Just then, everyone heard a groan and saw Gwen coming down the stairs in her PJs as she asked "What the hell was that noise? Ugh..it's too early for this crap." "Hehe, sorry Gwen. It was just a harmless prank. That's all." Peter explained. " 'HARMLESS' MY ASS! THAT HURT LIKE HELL!" Ben shouted, still hurting from the stairs. "Ah, you're fine. Now get up, you big baby. Unless, of course, you DON'T want your precious bacon." Kaine said. At the mention of bacon, Ben went into a trance, and as soon as he saw his plate, which was reserved just for him (seriously. The plate had a post-it attached that had Ben's name), he just went to it and started eating it, fast. "Savage." Peter commented.
"Well, this is certainly an interesting way to start the day." Uncle Ben said as he saw what was happening. "Yup. Well guys, breakfast is on the table. Mayday, could you make something for Benjy?" "Sure, Dad." Within a few minutes, everyone was eating their breakfast. Mayday was showing everyone the footage of the prank, and everyone was laughing. Peter, Kaine and Gwen were laughing the hardest. "You guys are terrible." Gwen said, still laughing. She knows she shouldn't laugh at Ben's pain, but she couldn't help it. "We know." Peter and Kaine said in unison. Ben finished eating and said "Okay, Pete, you make good bacon. The pancakes and eggs weren't too bad either." Peter took the praise and acted as if he won an Oscar. "Knock it off. Anyway, since it's Sunday, what the heck are we gonna do?" "Well, I gotta get Mayday's school application in, that way she could still go to school. We also gotta make sure you're all in the system, that way there's no issues." Peter explained. "How are we gonna do that? You gonna hack the government or something?" Gwen asked. "In a more legal way, yes. I'm also gonna have to talk to Tony about this. Hopefully he'll help." "Uh-uh. Bad idea bro. I don't trust Stark as far as I can throw him." Kaine argued. "Look, I'll explain everything to him slowly, that way he'll handle it better. It's gotta be done either way."
" *sigh* Fine. But I swear, if he starts tearing apart the city because he got the wrong idea about all of us, I'm just gonna say I told you so, right after ripping him out of that tin can." Kaine groaned. He honestly had nothing against Tony Stark. Kaine knew he meant well, and his intentions were good, but he goes too far. Hell, the Superhero Civil War was a prime example! "If that does happen, I'll calm him down. AFTER I rip him out of his armor." Peter reassured. With that, Peter grabbed his phone and dialed Tony's number. "You have reached the life-model decoy of Tony Stark, please lea-" "Tony, it's me." Peter cut off, knowing Tony's jokes all too well. "Oh, hey kid, what's up? You never call. This isn't a business thing, is it?" Tony asked. "Technically no. Listen, I need your help with something, so I'm gonna stop by the tower later, alright?" "Sure thing, Pete. I'll leave the door unlocked and let the guys know you're coming." "Great, see you later then. Oh, by the way, I'm bringing some people with me, and yes, it's related to what I need help with. See ya." He hung up before Tony could answer.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? From what the others had told me, this Tony guy is gonna freak the hell out if he finds out about us." Gwen asked, worried about what might happen. "It'll be fine. Besides, you guys are coming with me, that way you could help with the explanation. I won't let anything happen to you guys, I promise." "If we're going to see Mr. Stark, we're leaving Benjy here. Something tells me he hasn't baby proofed the place." Mayday insisted. "Well, I guess I'll play babysitter while you kids go out. Try not to cause too much trouble, alright?" Uncle Ben said while taking Benjy to his room. "Okay, will do! Alright, let's suit up, guys, we're leaving in a few minutes." Peter told everyone.
Once everyone changed into their suits, they started swinging towards Avengers tower. Peter went through the door first, and greeted "Hey guys, what's up? Any other-worldly threats today? Or is it the local variety this time?" "Your jokes could use some work, webs." Hawkeye commented. "Hey Pete. You're early. With 4 other spider people behind you. Why are there 4 of you, with 2 of them girls?" Tony inquired, wanting to know what the hell was happening. "Well, let's just say that I had my own cross-dimensional adventure recently." Peter let on. Then he explained to everyone about Morlun and his family, the huge battle against the Inheritors, and the multiple Spider-Men he teamed up with. He also brought up the events from the previous day and how they were all linked together.
"So yeah, that's pretty much it. I wanted to let you guys know first, that way you don't freak out and start a manhunt for no reason." "Peter, when have I ever started a manhunt for no reason?" Tony asked. "Civil War." Peter, Ben and Kaine said in unison. "That was rhetorical. So they're not just clones made by Jackal?" "Jackal's been inactive for a year now. I'd know if he popped up again." Peter said. "The only clones here are me and Ben. But don't worry we don't bite. The most we'll do is have people dying of laughter in Vegas if you give us a show." Kaine joked. "Knowing you guys, I'd pay to see that." Clint said.
During this whole conversation, Mayday and Gwen were just staring at everything around them. For Mayday, she had experience with the Avengers. Granted, it was a different team, with different people in a different time period. Still, everything looked foreign to her. For Gwen, there weren't any hero teams on her earth, just a couple of solo heroes that liked to stay separate. "Well, we know about Ben and Kaine, but I don't believe we know these 2 ladies." Steve said. "Indeed. Who are these fair maidens?" Thor inquired. Peter gestured to Mayday and said "Well, this is my daughter, May Parker. On her earth, she was Spider-Girl." "I usually go by Mayday." "You have a kid?! The hell man?!" Clint said, clearly shocked that Spider-Man, of all people, would be able to have a family, let alone kids. "Actually, he's got 2. My little brother Benjy is here too, but he's at the house." Mayday pointed out. "Okay, and the one in white and pink?" Tony asked. "Well, this is Spider-Woman from Earth 65. She's my old girlfriend, Gwen Stacy."
This had everyone shocked at this. Tony was tempted to grab his armor right then and there to lock her up, automatically thinking she was another clone. But he stopped himself. If he did something, he would be outnumbered. Plus, he didn't want to jump the gun. Not again. "Oh yeah, that reminds me, you two never really met these guys, huh?" Peter asked Mayday and Gwen. They shook their head. "Well, I'll introduce you. The guy with the bow on his back is Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye." Peter gestured to Clint, who waved and said, trying to look cool " 'Sup." "The guy with the hammer is Thor, god of thunder. He's an Asgardian." "Greetings." "Then there's Steve Rogers, aka Captain America." Peter gestured to Steve. "I knew a Captain America on my earth." Mayday commented. "Really? Well, considering you're from an alternate future, that doesn't surprise me." Steve acknowledged. "Then there's the one and only Tony Stark, aka Iron Man." "Please, don't all applause at once." Tony said, his narcissism kicking in.
When nobody did anything, besides Ben making cricket sounds, Tony just groaned and said "So, besides these 4, and the infant, is there anyone else we should know about?" "Yeah, my Uncle Ben." Everyone just froze, knowing how much the man meant to Peter, and made the right choice about leaving that topic alone. "Okay, wow, that got awkward fast. So, Peter, I'm assuming you came here for more than just introducing us?" Clint got out, wanting to break the tension. "Yeah, I need help in getting everyone in the system. That means state IDs, birth certificates, the works." In only a few seconds, Tony had the program open for making the birth certificate on one screen, and another for the state ID. "Alright, who's going first?" Tony asked. "Wait, you're actually helping us? Why?" Ben asked. "Because I can, and I want to. Now seriously, who's going first?" Mayday stepped up, gave Tony the required information, and soon her birth certificate was made, as well as her state ID. She also had Tony make a birth certificate for Benjy.
As for Ben, Kaine and Gwen, Tony told them that they already had everything sorted out, so there was no need for more work. Ben and Kaine, because they hacked in and forged their own birth certificates and IDs years earlier. For Gwen, Tony said she could just continue using the one that was owned by the original Gwen Stacy. The same could be done for Uncle Ben, apparently. "Okay, anything else? Food, drinks, an organ? How about a pocket-sized alien?" Tony joked. "Nah, you did most of what I needed help with, Tony. Thank you. Now all I gotta do is put Mayday in school." Peter said, grateful for everything Tony did. "Ah, might as well do it here. She got a preference?" "Um, Dad? Which school does Miles go to?" Mayday asked, hoping it wasn't a bad school. "Brooklyn Tech, I think." "Wait, Miles? As in Miles Morales?" Steve asked. "Yeah. Why?" "Just curious, that's all."
Mayday just gave Steve a look, and Peter explained that Miles was a member of their Young Avengers team, alongside the new Nova and Ms. Marvel. "Okay, everything's sorted out. I even took the liberty of giving her the same schedule as Miles, so he'll help her through the day. She can start tomorrow. You're welcome." Tony announced. "Thanks again Tony. Sorry I dropped all of this on you." Peter apologized. "Nay. You made the right decision by informing us, Spider-Man. 'Tis best to hear the truth from you, rather than a stranger." Thor reassured. "Thor's right. Had Tony heard it from anyone else, well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty." Steve agreed. "That, and it's the least I could do, after everything that's happened." Tony said, still feeling guilty about what he did to Peter during Civil War. "And you said you didn't trust him." Ben said to Kaine, mocking him. "Shut up, or I'll stab you somewhere important." Kaine threatened, revealing his stinger (if you don't know what this is, it's basically Spider-Man's version of Wolverine's claws, except there's only one, and it comes out of his forearm, not his hand.) to prove his point. Ben just stared at a random computer and started whistling.
After that, they stuck around for a little bit, caught up on recent events, and decided it was time to head back home. Once they were home, Mayday started to panic a little. "Ohmygod, I got school tomorrow! I don't have to worry about clothes, but what about my books, all my supplies-" "Mayday, I have plenty of stuff here you can use. Don't worry too much." Peter reassured. "Right. Sorry. Thanks Dad." she smiled. Peter affectionately messed with her hair and said "You're welcome. You want me to let Miles know you're coming in tomorrow, or do you want it to be a surprise?" "Keep it a surprise, but tell him to wait outside for a bit, before classes start." Mayday said while looking at her new schedule. It wasn't too different from what she used to have, which was good. She just hoped that she didn't have to deal with anyone remotely bitchy, or obsessed with social standing inside of school. Honestly, Mayday could care less about popularity, she just wanted to continue her education, and be close to Miles. "Where did that last one come from?" Mayday wondered to herself.
"Okay, so Mayday's going to school, you've got work, so what the hell are we supposed to do?" Kaine asked bluntly. "Well, you could get a job, for starters." Peter and Ben deadpanned. "Uh, unlike Ben, I didn't inherit your nerd brain. The most I could do is grunt work, or working at a bar." "I'll figure something out. In the meantime, Ben, I could get you a job at Parker Industries, if you want." Ben was a little shocked at this offer and asked "R-Really? Are you sure I qualify?" "Yeah, you do. I could have you working under Miguel, since you two already know each other." "Miguel? I don't know anyone named Miguel." Peter just gave him a deadpan stare as he said "Miguel? Miguel O'Hara? Spider-Man from the year 2099? Any of this ringing a bell?" Then it finally clicked in Ben's head as he exclaimed "He's here?! Why?!" "Well, he's stranded here, so I offered him a job in the meantime. Plus it helps that our competition is Alchemax, a company from his time."
Ben was a little giddy at the thought of working with old allies again. Plus, this was his brother's company, how the hell could he refuse?! "When can I start?" "You can start as early as tomorrow, if you want." Ben just nodded furiously, looking forward to the idea more and more. "Well, what about me? What am I supposed to do? I'm not as smart as you guys." Gwen complained. "Seriously? What about your web shooters? Didn't you make those yourself?" Peter asked, a little shocked. He assumed that this Gwen was just as smart as the original. That would've explained her web shooters, but apparently that's not the case. "No, Wasp made them for me. She made them so that they would take in the moisture in the air to create the webbing, so it's no different than organic webbing. I wish I made this." This had everyone's jaws drop. All the times they wasted making the web fluid, and all they had to do was follow that one design. Peter facepalmed himself and groaned "Why the hell didn't I think of that? Gwen, remind me to take a look at your web shooters. I'm gonna upgrade everyone's web shooters later." "Oh, sure thing Pete. And don't beat yourself up over it. It's not that big a deal." Gwen said, trying to make Peter feel better.
"Yeah, I know. Thanks Gwen." Peter smiled at her. Gwen's cheeks had a slight pink hue from this. "And, as for your job situation, you could still work at Parker Industries. Though, it would have to be a desk job." "Can I be your secretary?" Gwen asked abruptly. "Well….ah, hell with it. Sure, you can be my secretary. But that means you have a lot of work to do, so no complaining." "Oh, I'll complain, alright. But don't worry, I won't let you down."
"Hey, since you're upgrading our web shooters, any chance you could upgrade our suits too, Dad?" Mayday asked, hoping he'd say yes. "Well, it's possible. All I really need is a design preference from you guys and I could fix you all something up." Everyone cheered. "Great. I'm keeping this design though. It suits me." Kaine said, laughing at his pun. "Ugh...Kaine. Let us know when you're about to throw a pun out. Seriously, that was just painful." Ben groaned. "I'll keep my design too, Pete. It's unique." Gwen said. "Alright, Gwen. But you have to at least change your name. This would make you Spider-Woman...7? I don't know, I lost count." "Seriously?! Awww….alright. I'll think of something." "Dad, there isn't anyone that uses the name Spider-Girl, is there?" Mayday asked, hoping there wasn't going to be a similar issue. "Nah, just Anya Corazon. Though, she prefers to go by Araña. Most people just call her Spider-Girl because she uses Julia's old costume." "Dang it! Well, hopefully I could talk to her about the whole name thing. You think she'll recognize me?" "She should, yeah."
"Uh, I would like a suit upgrade too, bro. I really need it." Ben said, staring at his current one. "Are you finally going to get rid of that hood?" Kaine asked, already knowing the answer. "NEVER! Hoods are awesome! Ask Gwen, she has one too!" "Hey, leave me out of this!" Gwen complained. "Why do I even bother?" Kaine contemplated. "Well, at least things are a little more entertaining now. Why do I get the feeling tomorrow's going to be a really long day?" Peter asked himself. Mayday was going to school, Ben and Gwen were going to work for him, Kaine's undecided, and Uncle Ben was going to stay home and take care of Benjy while everyone's away. On top of that, Peter was going to upgrade everyone's equipment. Yeah, he's gonna have his work cut out for him, but for them, it would be worth it.
A/N: Okay, chapter 3 is done! A little advance notice, I don't have a specific release schedule, which means that I'll be uploading chapters at random times. This can range from several days, or a week at the longest. Hopefully, it doesn't go past months. Also, as I mentioned before, I am going to upgrade everyone's stuff. Basically, everyone's web shooters will be a hybrid of Gwen's and Peter's. They will have multiple functions, like Peter's, but will make the web fluid from the air, like Gwen's. Also, suit-wise, Ben's upgraded suit is gonna look like his current one in the comics. For Mayday, her suit is going to look like her 3rd suit in the comics, after she stopped using her dad's suit. However, I plan to have it cross over with a certain Spider-Man suit from the movies, in terms of some of its design and features. Kaine and Gwen's suits will look the same, but they will be as advanced and durable as Peter's. Uncle Ben is essentially retiring, so that's why I didn't mention him.
Hope you like this chapter, and I'll see you guys later.
