Author's Notes:
Q: Love it! Looking forward to seeing where you take this story...
BTW how closely is your universe following the MCU? Like will certain events like Civil War happen at the same time as before or will there be changes that throw the events line out of whack?
A: All I can reveal that this takes place in an MCU like world where mutants exist...but Tony Stark has not revealed he is Iron Man. When Peter becomes Spider-Man, he'll basically be the world's first true modern superhero...as well as the only one. In a world that hates mutants. Anyway, this story would take place in 2008 and will cover Peter's first year and origin story. A sequel will cover the rest of his high school year till he graduates...in 2012, when a certain team up happens. I do intent to cover the broader Marvel Universe, but I'm not stupid enough to get ahead of myself, I'm focusing on this story.
Q: WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH MAKING GWEN A FREAKING PERFECTED SEX WHORE!
A: That was the uh, reaction I got to my little comment at the end of my last Chapter. if it's in violation with anything, please let me know and I'll have it removed. Anyway, the funny thing is that Gwen is quite the opposite of a perfected sex whore, she's one of those religious wait till marriage types. She's not in your face about it... but I mean, she is a naive fifteen year old girl. I was just making a dumb joke about how she's apparently attracted to all of her friend's dads. But anyway, I'm putting my own spin on Gwen Stacy, one that's different from her more popular incarnations in the Ultimate Comics, the Webb films, the Spectacular TV Show, and as Spider-Gwen and...I don't know, I kind of just rambled for a bit, but I thought that was relevant to say.
Q: peter is soooo adorable, especially with Mary Jane lmao i need more of this!
A: Sometimes it's the simple reviews that are the nicest. Nice to know that you think Peter is pretty adorable (Which he is) despite his many insecurities. And I tried to set up an actual friendship between him and Mary Jane, like in the Ultimate Comics. I understand the fundamentals of Spider-Man, and I know that isn't how Mary Jane is, but the point of fanfics are to put your own spin on stories and all that.
Anyway, keep leaving questions, say what you want to see more of, what you don't want to see, and I'll make sure to listen!
"Herman."
"What, Norman?"
"Peter was bit on your watch."
"Bullshit." Herman retorted. Was Norman actually trying to shift the blame to him?
"I was talking with you about the-"
"Your refusal and inability to meet your job expectations." Norman finished, in a tone that filled Herman with pure agitation. Norman was a power tripping prick who one: Always had power, and two: Was always a prick. Hell, even Doctor Octopus wasn't nearly as agitating as Norman.
"This, combined with the fact that a bright young mind interested in OsCorp, your neighbor, I should remind you, was bitten by a genetically altered spider and fell ill..."
Herman had taken Peter out of the bathroom, and boy, the field trip got shut down real fuckin' quick. Peter was picked up by his parents-Err, May and Ben, and Herman wanted to speak with them, he wanted to tell them about Peter's condition...but he couldn't, because Norman dragged him off to chastise and intimidate him, probably pressure or blackmail him into finishing those stupid, technically illegal future war crimes in waiting that were the gauntlets.
"I wasn't the one that led him into a room full of spiders, Norman." Herman pointed out. "Anyone could have been bit-"
"Like your daughter?" Norman interrupted, and Herman felt his sentence stop in it's tracks.
"Don't pull that crap on me-"
"Or perhaps Gwen, the daughter of the school's principal? Your neighbor?" He continued. Herman couldn't imagine the pure wrath Gwen's parents would reign down on everyone if Gwen had been harmed.
He also couldn't imagine how Norman knew he was neighbors with the Stacies.
"Or my son?"
"You don't give a shit, about your son." Herman said, laughing. "You probably wouldn't even pay his medical bills."
"I'm sure you've painted an evil picture of me in your mind, Herman, but your immature accusations hold no merit." Norman said, his tone cold. "Believe it or not, I do care about my son. I would take responsibility. Something you refuse to do. And worst of all, what if I was bitten?" Norman asked. Of course, the idea of Norman getting bit was the one that riled the worst reaction out of him.
Narcissistic prick.
"Then it wouldn have been your fault." Herman deadpanned, standing his ground. "Would you have fired me if you got bit?"
"No." Norman stated, and Herman thought he was hearing things, because that was a far too reasonable thing for Norman Osborn to say. "I would have fired you for your inappropriate behavior, argumentative attitude, refusal to work, and general incompetence which caused grevious harm to a potential OsCorp employee."
Ah, there we go. That was the Norman he knew and loved.
"But I'm a liberal thinker, so I would also fire you if Peter was the one that was bit." Norman deadpamned. "Which he was."
Oh shit.
"You're fired, Herman."
Herman was too shocked to react. Too stunned to speak. That wasn't supposed to happen. He thought in numb shock.
"DAD!"
Luckily for Herman, Norman's attention was caught by Harry, who was rather angrily stomping towards them both.
Norman's face turned into an angry scowl, and Herman could see Harry hesitate for a few, brief moments...before he resumed his angry scowling and stomping. For just a moment, Herman saw Norman's mouth twitch into a smile.
But only for a moment.
"I told you..." Norman said calmly, as he turned to glare at his son, who seemed to be regretting his decision. "If you speak to me, you will call me Father."
I'm never going to do that with MJ.
"Now what, Harry." Norman hissed, very, very agitated. "Is the reason for this-"
"Well, Dad", Harry hissed, and Norman's face became even scowl-ier. "Peter got bit because of you! My friend is hurt because of you-"
To put it in blunt terms, Norman bitchslapped Harry. Had Herman not been disgusted by this blatant act of what was technically child abuse, he would have laughed at how sudden it was, and on the shocked look on Harry's face.
But he didn't.
Because you know, technically child abuse just happened in front of him.
But what could he do? Try to stand up for the kid? Herman-He didn't have any power. He didn't know what to do, the last two sudden, shocking things Norman had done in the last minute had made his thinking process numb.
"I'm disappointed the spider didn't bite you or me," Norman all but spat to a shocked Harry. "Because in either scenario, I wouldn't have to listen to this pointless, childish tantrum."
There was a tense silence, because neither Herman nor Harry knew what to say... or how to react. It was difficult trying to stand up to Norman Osborn.
"Now leave us, the adults are talking."
Harry clutched the side of his face. His eyes looked like they were watering.
"Are you crying now?" Norman asked, disgust clear in his voice. "Pathetic."
Harry didn't move. He just...kept looking at his father, like a dog who wanted to love it's owner...but kept getting beat by it.
Norman slapped him across the face again.
"Did you not hear me the first time?" Norman asked, his voice low. Cold. Creepy. Unnerving.
Harry looked terrified.
"LEAVE!" Norman screamed, and Herman saw his face twist into something terrifying. Something full of pure rage and hate. Something evil.
Harry skedaddled right the fuck out of there.
"A real man would have stood up for himself." Norman said, looking at his retreating son on disgust.
"Is that what all that was?!" Herman snapped, too angered at what he had seen to be silent anymore. "Are you one of those shitty fathers who beat their kids to make them tougher?!"
"I don't need to explain myself to you." Norman said coldly. "Not to an ex-employee. I'm done here. And Herman?" Norman's mouth twisted into a smile. Herman had seen Norman smile before in public and on TV shows and magazine covers:It was photogenic, charming, almost comforting.
Whatever was on Norman's face - It definitely was not a smile - was none of those things.
"I want you gone by the end of today." Finished Norman. His voice almost sounded sweet.
Almost.
And then Norman Osborn walked away, and left Herman Schultz behind.
"We're visiting Peter as soon as we get home." Was the very thing out of Mary Jane's mouth when Herman picked her up.
"Fair enough." Herman shrugged.
The drive home was very long. And quiet. And awkward. Herman wasn't used to it. In fact, as most people do when faced with something foreign, Herman hated it.
"So..." he began awkardly. "How was your day-"
"It sucked!" Mary Jane practically screamed. She had been sitting in her seat, arms crossed and scowling as she glared at the cracks in his old, shitty car, but now her arms were flailing all over the place to add dramatic effect for her rant.
"Gwen started crying because she was worried about Peter and Harry was being weird and awkward cause Peter was gone and me and him started being snappy at each other and then freaking LIZ!" Mary Jane stopped her run on sentence of a rant to hiss out the name of her hated rival. "And Flash," she paused to catch her breath. "They came by and started making fun of us! I could handle them making fun of me for liking Peter-"
"You like Peter?" Herman asked
"Yes!" Mary Jane angrily admitted. "Now shut up, that's not important!"
Mary Jane actually seemed very agitated, and Herman realized he was kind of being a shitty dad, and considering he had witnessed some child abuse earlier, he decided to you know, stop being a shitty dad.
"Sorry." Herman apologized, and he really meant it. At least he could actually apologize. Herman wasn't sure Norman Osborn had ever actually apologized in his life.
Fuck, that reminds me - I need to tell MJ about me being fired.
But he looked at MJ, and he decided that could wait. His daughter's happiness mattered more than this.
It always did.
"Anyway!" Mary Jane continued, slightly calmer, but still very angry. "I can handle them making fun of me-
You shouldn't. Herman thought, realizing his daughter and her friends were being harassed on the daily. He was really going to have to do something about it.
"But then, they started making fun of Gwen!" She yelled, outraged. Herman was pretty pissed too, to be honest, Gwen Stacy was one of the nicest, sweetest girls he had ever met. She (And neither did MJ, or anyone else really) deserved to be harassed like they were.
"So I just - I slapped the bitch!" Mary Jane revealed, sounding oddly proud of herself. Herman was also oddly proud of her. "And she just fucked right off after that!"
"...and then what happened?"
Mary Jane paused. "Well..." she attempted to kill down her anger as she tried to think. "I mean, they just kind of left-"
Herman stopped the car dramatically. One, because they had arrived in front of their home, and two, it added dramatic emphasis to what Herman was going to say next.
"All right MJ, this has got to stop." Herman said. "The harassment? You're best friends with the principal's daughter, and for God's, they're our neighbors!" Herman said, slightly exasperated. "And I went to a shitty rough and tumble school, and the bullying there was awful, teachers didn't do shit, but that's not Midtown! If you all talked to Charlotte you could end this!"
"I don't want to talk to Charlotte!" Mary Jane said defensively. "I hated being powerless, being pushed around, back when, back when Mom..." she trailed off. "I hated it, okay? I hate her, I hate what she did to us, and..." she trailed off again. "I never once stood up to her. It was you who always saved me. Always stood up for me. Always protected me."
Herman could tell this was serious now. They never talked about her mother.
"I just wanted to be able to protect myself." She said, sniffling. "To stand up for myself, like you always did, like you taught me to do. I didn't want to- I didn't want to rely on adults. I just..." she wiped at her eyes. "I just wanted to be like you." She admitted, her loud and confident voice gone, replaced by something soft and vulnerable.
Herman smiled at his daughter...but it faded away into something more melancholic.
"I want you to be better." Herman said softly, looking at his daughter as she took off her glasses and wiped away the wetness in her eyes, sniffling all the while.
Fuck it, might as well do it now.
"MJ..." he tensed up. "I got fired today."
"YOU WHAT?!"
"Indoor voices, jeez." Herman said, wincing. Mary Jane looked a bit embarrassed.
"Anyway..." Herman began again. "I got fired because..."
Because Norman Osborn is a petty jackass.
But he couldn't exactly say that, now could he?
"Because Peter got bit?" Mary Jane asked.
"Yeah." Herman nodded.
Aaaaaaaaaand...now there was an awkard silence.
"..."
"..."
Great.
"Mary Jane..." Herman tensed himself, now was the time to be serious. "We're going to be having money problems." He admitted. "Norman pulled a lot of strings to get me my job, but I mean, I'm still an ex con. Finding a decent job to pay the bills? It's gonna be tough."
Mary Jane nodded solemnly.
"You might have to stay with the Parkers or Stacies soon."
"What?!" Mary Jane shot to attention. "You can't be serious!"
"I am serious." Herrman admitted. "MJ, I'm just being realistic, okay? I don't want that to happen, but..." he sighed. "It's a very real possibility."
Mary Jane also sighed. "Dad, I don't want to live with Peter or the Stacies or whatever, okay? I want to live with you."
"I fucking promise you, Mary Jane." Herman said, looking into his daughter's eyes. "I'm going to keep us together. We will get through this together." He promised. "Together." He repeated. "You understand?"
Mary Jane nodded. A simple nod, but Herman could see the love, the determination behind it.
He was not going to let Mary Jane suffer, bouncing around from shitty home to shitty home like he and her mother did. She had friends here, he wasn't going to let that be taken away from her.
No matter what.
Herman reached forward, as did Mary Jane, and they hugged each other tightly despite the awkard angle and positioning of their car seats... but then it became too uncomfortable because of the, you know, awkward angle and positioning of the car seats.
"Yeah this is uncomfortable." Mary Jane admitted.
"It really is." Herman agreed.
And so they both got out of their car.
"So... wanna go visit Peter?" Herman asked. It was a kind of redundant question, considering how Mary Jane was looking at the Parker's House, which was about ten feet away from theirs, and even that was stretching it.
"Nope." Mary Jane said, a smirk on her lips as she walked forward towards their house. Herman smiled and followed after her.
One minute and two knocks later, the door opened, and they were greeted by the warm smile of Ben Parker.
"Mary Jane! Herman! It's good to see you!" Ben said, his face lighting up into his usual wholesome one.
No matter how many times Ben greets us like this, it never gets old.
Herman really wanted to smile back (Well, he was smiling back, but that's not the point) and pat Ben on the arm or something and do one of those manly hugs and say "Good to see you!" but then he remembered that they were neighbors that lived next to each other.
"Hey, Ben." said Mary Jane, who was smiling back at Ben.
Dear God those two are photogenic.
The only other people he knew who had dazzling smiles to match were Gwen and Norman when he was trying to be nice. But if the four worked together...they could probably take over the world or something.
"Is uh, Peter inside?" She asked.
"He is." Ben answered. "But you two aren't, so...let's go inside!"
And head inside they did.
They sat down in the table in the kitchen, as Ben climbed a few steps on the stairs in his house and called out to his wife.
"May? Peter? Herman and Mary Jane are here-"
"Shush!" May Parker demanded, suddenly appearing in view from the top of the stairs. "Peter's sleeping, but don't worry, he should be fine."
"Should?" Ben asked nervously.
"Nope." May said casually. "I lied." Now she was smirking. "He's dead."
Ben sighed and rolled his eyes, but there was still a dumb smile on his face, which Herman could see as Ben looked down at them.
"You two can't visit Peter, obviously." May said as she and her husband came down the stairs. "Because you know, he's dead."
Mary Jane snorted.
Mary Jane idolized May. And Charlotte. Probably because of the fact that she hated her mom, who was currently no longer in the picture, so she was looking towards other successful older woman as a mother figure. Herman didn't mind, as far as mother figures and role models went, May and Charlotte were pretty great. Gwen was very similar, the girl absolute adored her mother, and she also saw Ben and May as her role models. Probably why she wanted to become a police officer so bad.
"Welp, you heard 'em dad." Mary Jane giggled, standing up. "Peter's dead. Oh well." She deadpanned.
They all remained where they were for a few seconds, laughing and chuckling quietly...until they stopped doing that and stood there in awkward silence.
"I got fired from OsCorp today because Peter got bit by the spider." Herman said bluntly.
Might as well get it out of the way
"What?!" Ben exclaimed, utterly shocked. "That's completely-"
"No no no." Herman said, shaking his head and hand in the "Stop" motion. "I don't want to hear it, I don't need pity or anything, I'm just letting you know."
Mary Jane looked suprised at her father's forwardness (He couldn't blame her) May looked baffled, and Ben...he looked shocked. Floored. All that jazz.
"So uh...yeah." He eloquently explained. "Just... letting you know, I guess."
"You could babysit Peter tomorrow!" Ben offered, which caused May to laugh and Mary Jane break into a snorting fit.
"I can... I can what?!" Herman asked, unable to contain his own snickering.
"Peter's too sick to go to school tomorrow, and you don't have a job for now, so we can pay you to babysit him while we're at work and until you get back on your feet!"
He forgot how fucking nice Ben was. The guy was just too good for this world, Herman didn't know how he did it.
"All right, hold up." May said, now much more serious. "He hasn't even been fired for a day, he doesn't exactly need to "Get back on his feet." May added air quotes to the last part. "We don't have to give him an allowance."
"May, do you know how difficult it is for ex-cons to find jobs?" Ben asked. "It's just a bit of support, and do you really want to leave Peter home alone? I mean, come on, what's the worst that could happen? He gets bit by another spider? Come on, Herman used to babysit Peter, Mary Jane, and Gwen all the time." He reaaoned. "It's not as if-*
A very distinct doorbell sound rang out, interrupting the conversation.
"I'll get it." Herman offered. He was the closest, and he just wanted to stretch his legs a little. So before anyone else could say anything, he went to the door and opened it, and was promptly greeted by the sight of one Norman fucking Osborn.
Norman looked behind Herman, smiled at himself when he saw no one could see them, and placed his hand on Herman's chest and shoved him to the side, as he said "Move." In a cold, commanding tone. For just a few seconds, Herman could see Norman's face gain that magazine-cover smile...and then he simply walked past him. Herman felt utterly powerless as he was quite literally shoved to the side.
"May and Ben Parker, I presume?" Norman asked, and that lovely, almost soothing voice was back. After all, Norman needed to make an impression.
He noticed Herman's daughter. "And Miss Watson? A pleasant surprise." He remarked, that smile which now seemed far too creepy appearance was back.
Mary Jane looked baffled...and then she saw her father, who was fuming, so Mary Jane decided to scowl instead of being baffled. It was much more enjoyable to do.
"It was unfortunate that I was forced to terminate your father as an employee," Norman said, not apologizing, because that motherfucker never apologized. "But rest assured this is hardly a person feud between families. In fact, I would love to inform you that there is still an intership waiting for you at OsCorp." He said, smiling as if he was a wonderful person and not a fucking asshole who was talking to his daughter and clearly checking her out.
"You have ruined my day three times now." Mary Jane stated rather quickly. "I had to listem to your sales pitch and tour that got Peter, my neighbor, my friend, bit. Then, you place the blame on my dad and fire him, and then you show up here and talk to me as if I would ever respect you?" She spat.
Well she didn't spit, because that would be gross and disrespectful to the Parkers, but the "I want to spit on you" was implied.
It pissed Norman off.
And as Mary Jane saw Norman's face, his eyes, she saw something that made her worry. Something angry. Something evil. Something wrong. And she and Herman both knew that Norman wanted to do something far worse than spit on her.
"Let's go, Mary Jane." Herman said, slowly stepping between Norman and his daughter. If Norman was going to look at someone evily, it was going to be at him, not his daughter. He didn't give a damn if he was in the Parker Home, if that little shit did anything to Mary Jane...
"Ben, May." He said, still looking at Norman. He could hear Mary Jane get out of the chair behind him. "It was nice seeing you. If Peter wakes up, tell him we said hi."
Mary Jane was already walking out away, and Herman swiftly followed after her, protectively placing an arm around his shoulder as they left the house of the very confused Parkers behind.
"What a jackass." Mary Jane muttered, her breathing slightly heavy and erratic. She was clutching her chest. "Fuckin' creep. Did you see the look he gave me?" She asked, looking back at the Parker Home as if Norman would suddenly burst from it, knife in hand. "Sent shivers down my spine, and not the good kind." She wiped away some sweat that had formed on her forehead.
"Jackass." Herman said, the single word expressing how he agreed with his daughter. "MJ, let's just, let's just forget him, all right?" He asked. "We don't need him, okay? We got each other, we've got-" he gestured to the home of the Parkers and the Stacies. "Our neighbors. And more importantly, and I know I already said this but this still applies..."He smiled at his daughter. "We got each other. "And MJ?"
"Yeah Dad?"
"You're the best daughter I could ask for."
Mary Jane smiled back.
Then she looked at the door to the Parker Home, then at the window where Peter could see the street from his room, and then at the Stacies Home.
"Dad?" She asked.
"Yeah?"
"I think we should talk to Charlotte."
And talk to Charlotte they did.
As Herman and Mary Jane left the Parker Home, Norman was left behind, doing his best to conceal his rage.
This is what happens when I interact with the middle and lower class, they always piss me off.
"Anyway." Norman began. He was going to start off with "Apologies for that." But then he remembered that he was Norman Osborn: He had no need to apologize. "What happened to Peter was an unfortunate accident, I assure you." He promised, flashing May a reassuring smile. "Peter is a wonderfully intelligent young man, and as you know, there is a bright future waiting for him at OsCorp, one I hope isn't in any danger following today's events-"
"Why was Herman fired?" Interrupted Ben, crossing his arms.
Oh look at you, the happy go lucky officer being serious. Norman mentally scoffed. You think you're intimidating? YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME, NOTHING!
"Because your nephew was bit under his watch." Norman casually explained, because he couldnt say what he wanted to out loud, obviously, and doing his best to smile. (Which was difficult to do because of his desire to smash Ben's face against the wall) "Someone had to get fired, I was simply avoiding the PR storm-"
"That is incredibly unfair to Herman." Ben said, unimpressed with Norman's reasoning.
SHUT. THE FUCK. UP.
Norman bit down on his tongue, and slowly asked "Why do you say that?"
"Ben." May whispered to her husband, who had crossed his arms and learned against the wall. "What are you doing?"
Listen to your woman. She clearly compensates for your detrimental and sickening naivety and morality with her intelligence and pragmatism.
She also had a nice ass. And rack. Norman was definitely going to keep an eye on this one.
"I'm being a good friend, May." Ben responded.
Under normal circumstances I'd scoff and say he wouldn't do the same for you, but Herman's probably pathetic enough to share your sense of camaderie.
"That's noble of you, Officer Parker." Norman smiled.
May turned her head towards Norman and smirked. "We're both Officer Parker-"
Fucking incredible humor.
"You know who I was talking to." Norman snapped a bit too quickly. May raised an eyebrow.
I am NOT apologizing for this. Norman thought, staring May down. I have no need for the social acceptance of a police officer married to a Captain America wannabe.
"But that's hardly the point." Norman said, switching the subject as he smiled, remembering that being friendly got him the results he wanted. "I came here for a reason: To pay Peter's medical bills." He took out his checkbook and pen. "OsCorp will be more than happy to financially compensate for-"
"We don't need it." Ben said, slightly more relaxed and casual now. Norman angrily squeezed the pen in his hand, agitated that Ben had interrupted him again. "Peter doesn't need to go to the hospital-"
As if you could afford to send him there.
"-so we have no need for your money." Ben finished.
"That's a lie Ben, we have lots of needs for money." May interjected, confirming Norman's accusations. Not that he really needed confirmation, of course he would be right.
"But none of them are medically related to Peter." Ben responded. "It would be unethical of us to accept money from Norman like that."
Norman was getting nowhere with this, and being around Ben Parker made Norman have an unpleasant combination of a desire to vomit and beat him to death with his fists, but considering both things would undoubtedly ruin him, he couldn't afford to do that, no matter how satisfying it would be.
"I suppose it was worth a shot." Norman shrugged.
Wasted my fucking time, I would have rather listened to Harry cry again.
"But seeing as I no longer have no need to be here, I'll take my leave." Norman gave them a curt nod. "May, Ben, pleasure meeting you. While I do wish we could have met under better first impressions... there's always next time." He smiled, thoughts of cuckolding Ben Parker filling his mind.
And with that, he left.
Author's Notes:
Harry has been to Peter's house before. He thinks May is hot. He also thinks Charlotte is hot. And Felicia. If Gwen's fantasy involves her friend's dads, then Harry's involves their moms. And Felicia. Shoutout to Peter and Mary Jane for actually being attracted to one person their own age.
I think the best spin on Osborn is that even before he becomes the Goblin, he's a bad person. I know what happened to Norman that made him turn out the way he did: A jackass with looks and fame who fought to the top of society. The guy is a manipulative power tripping prick, he doesn't understand consequences, being the billionaire he is. After all, who's going to try and charge Norman Osborn with child abuse for slapping his son? I could write Norman as being perfectly eloquent under stress and always having a smart remark ready, but that doesn't fit him. My Norman likes being in charge, and he likes controlling things. He can be charimsatic and charming when it's going his way, when he's not being challenged, but when he can't control things, he gets AGITATED. And then he gets angry. Norman is always about two steps from just smapping, and it's great, because it already establishes him as an uncomfortable, villanous authoritative figure to be around. His mindset when he talks to Ben and May is pretty telling, they agitate the fuck out of him, but he forces himself to stay in line. But he always talks shit about people in his head, and he doesn't respect anyone.
I have two rules when I write Norman: He never apologizes, and he never says please.
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