The next day I woke up due to another nightmare, my family once again coming around to comfort me.
"Your sure you're ok, Pete?" Aunt May asked, concern etched into her face.
"No, I'm not okay. But I will be, eventually." I replied.
"That's a smart answer, Peter. But what's bothering you?" Uncle Ben said.
"Don't worry about it, ill be fine." I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"If you say so..." Aunt May said, and her and Uncle Ben filed out of the room.
"Same dream?" Tess asked as soon as the folks were far enough, with her hugging me all the while.
"Different forms of death. But essence was the same."
"We're here Pete, it'll be okay till it's not, but even then we'll find a way out."
That would be all good and perfect if I was Peter, I thought to myself.
"Y'know, Tess, SHIELD was onto us last night."
"Yeah, what're we going to do about it?"
"No need for you to worry. I've assured that they won't make a move against me temporarily, by threatening them, but I'm not sure how long Fury will stand down."
"When did you threaten them?"
"Dad didn't directly threaten them," SEXI butted into the conversation, "he merely interrogated those thugs with SHIELD watching, with a style familiar to only one SHIELD agent that he blended with a twist of spider instinct, as well as other advanced interrogation styles, then indirectly dared them to send said agent to apprehend him, saying something to the effect of that we would wait for her."
"I am guessing you infiltrated Fury and Natashas meeting?" I asked.
"yup" SEXI said, popping the p.
"SEXI do you have a recording of the meeting? I would like to watch it." Tess asked.
"Playing the recording now." SEXI said.
After we watched the recording, Teresa said, "Huh, so you really thought of everything."
"Mostly, other versions of me had different teachers and such so it comes much easier to me. I don't have a full database on their lives, it was some sort of selective process. For example, most Spider-Persons create a form of martial arts which was a combination of several different martial. This fighting style was made by me for the most part. It's emphasis is on how to pull your punches, and take bigger opponents in the least amount of hits and time. the reason for pulling punches is that not pulling back, we can take a super soldier with ease in most universes, there is only one super soldier who is usually able to match my power, Luke Cage. But even though I know all about it, I don't know how The Way Of The Spider works. It mostly was just showing me bonding with loved ones, only to lose them. It was a way of saying my life is meant to be doomed by what the Parkers call Parker Luck." I said, not letting myself show emotion, another nifty trick taught to me by Natasha.
"Then why do you have memory of Natasha's teaching?"
"That was our... form of bonding. With her teaching me how to be as good as her, aiming for us to be the badass 'spy-ders.'"
"Who was she to you?"
"Half of the universes, she is a love interest. The rest of them it varies, sometimes she is a close friend, other times me, her, and Spider-Woman for our 'spy-ders' club and are feared in the super community. Sometimes she is my non biological aunt. It varies."
"Sorry for bringing up difficult memories for you, but do you think you have feelings for her here?"
"Wether I do or don't doesn't matter, Tess. I've fallen in love too many times and being the reason my loved ones die, if you weren't bitten I honestly would've left and lived on the streets while doing my job. Peter Parker is destined to be the fall of his loved ones, and I'm not making that list bigger."
"Dad, you can't do that. You said it yourself, this world is a new ballgame. In most other universes, you said there isn't any Aunt Tess or me, this is a different world dad. Don't worry too much, let yourself live this life to it's fullest." SEXI said
"She's right, nothing is concrete, Pete. You have a NEW life here, it's not like the others. Don't waste it." Tess added.
"I will see what to do when we get to that step, for now, we do the now." I said
"That's the best I can get from you, right?" Tess asked
"yeah," I said, letting the sadness finally slightly leak into my voice.
Teresa gave me one last squeeze then walked out of the room. I went to my bathroom and as i freshened up I reviewed what I needed to do. 1) see what was up with Cindy and find out her identity, 2) make some protection on our suit against mental attacks, 3) make some nanotechnology so as to be able to make my bunkers.
after we ate breakfast, I said that I would make my way to the HQ on my own, I had some things to do before. After getting dressed, I walked to Cindy's house. It was walking distance from our place. Both of us lived in a somewhat rich area, us because Aunt May and Uncle Ben were heads of separate branches of PI, them because her parents were big scientists in PI. As kids, we were friends apparently and so were our parents. They had even worked on many projects together, according to Peter's memories. Peter used to talk to her frequently, but not enough to call her a close friend. As I finished going over our relationship, I came up to her house. I rang the bell. Moments later, her younger brother, AJ(Albert Jr.), opened the door.
"Hey AJ, is your sister and your parents here?" I said politely
"My parents are here, come in, I will call them." he said, as polite as an eleven year could be
As I entered and sat down on the couch, I realized Albert hadn't said anything about Cindy, electing not to mention her whereabouts. I remembered Nat telling one of me, 'omission is just as good as a lie.' I never doubted that phrase, but this just made that phrase so much more reliable.
Moments later, The Moons entered the room, Mrs. Moon holding a tray of biscuits and tea in her hands. "Please take some." She said, placing the tray on the coffee table.
I took a cup of tea slowly, with a "Thank you"
After taking a quick sip of the tea, which was green and real good, I said "I'll get straight to the point, I'm here about Cindy. Did I come too late or is she already with the government?"
I was watching their faces closely as I said it, and when I asked my question, panic and shock slightly crossed their faces for a moment before they schooled their expressions, but their eyes retained their emotions, being able to do that takes a lot of training.
After a moment, Mr. Moon slowly said, "I believe you are aware that your parents and us worked together, right?"
I nodded, then noticing a moment of panic cross Mrs. Moon's face as she looked out a window, said, "SHIELD has no idea this moment this meeting is occurring, if that's what you are worried about, Mrs. Moon. If SHIELD thinks of looking at any of us on their satellites, they will see that I went with my family to the HQ and that your family, not including Cindy as I suspected I may be too late, are driving to Staten Island. Should SHIELD attempt to hack your phones, they will find that you are talking about the nice weather and how opening the windows of the car would be perfect. I apologize for not mentioning that earlier."
After a moment of surprise, Mrs. Moon gave me a look of gratitude, then said, "Thank you, Peter. Although I am surprised that you were able to accomplish such a feat, it is not that surprising considering Richard always used to do that before we started working. And just call me Aunt Nari, Peter. Do you not remember calling me that as a kid?"
After a moment, I did find that title in Pete's memories, so I said, "Actually Aunt Nari, I do." And a nostalgic smile passed Aunt Nari's face.
Mr. Moon (I called him Uncle Al in my memories) cleared his throat, then continued, "Thank you for covering your bases before coming here, your father would be proud of you. As I was saying, the four of us used to work together, due to some unfavorable circumstances. SHIELD had wanted your parents to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. What SHIELD didn't know was that Mary was one of two twins, the children of Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter. At one point when your mother was a toddler, KGB and HYDRA had a joint operation to kidnap your mother and her brother. It was a success, HYDRA took the brother, named James Carter, who if Mary's intel was correct, had passed away due to too many tests done on his body. KGB took Mary, where she was sent to the-"
"The Red Room facility!? If so then how am I around? The graduation ceremony ensured that no Widows can have children." Then I noticed in my surprise, I had cut Mr. Moon off. Shit, both my mom and Nat would be disappointed in my skills. "Sorry Mr. Moon, I interrupted you."
"No problem Peter, you were surprised. And please, go back to calling me Uncle Al, Mr. Moon makes me feel old. But yes, your mother was a Widow, but she escaped before the graduation. She came back, to find Peggy Carter the head of SHIELD. Together the two of them made her a new identity, changing her last name to Fitzpatrick. She continued to work with SHIELD as a gene scientist, when she got married to your father, who had two PhD.'s, one in gene science and the other in computer sciences. But by this point, the leadership of SHIELD changed to how it is now, with Pierce and Fury at the top. The two of them had seen an opportunity to try and get the serum remade, not a couple who deserved the right to retire to a semi-normal life managing PI which was already well established. At first your parents refused, but then they threatened them with your Aunt and Uncle. That's where we come in. We were two employees at PI, who were proficient in their fields, with a good moral code, according to your mom. Together, the four of us were trying to find a way to defeat the Super Soldier Serum, when we found the Super Adaptoid Serum. This was a serum that could take any form of powerful blood, such as a super soldier's, adapt it into the body, and add a bump of power that the original subject didn't have. At this point you and Cindy were born, and Teresa was on the way. So we kept it in the side, while your parents pretended to work on the Super Soldier Serum, hitting 'blocks' in the serum which no one other than us would have been able to solve, as the others in the field were amateurs compared to our skill. I'm not bragging, these are facts, which we took advantage of. Eventually when Teresa and AJ were born, Mary got word from a trusted source that another couple who was working on the serum, were killed in a plane crash. SHIELD had kept the fact that there were others working on the serum from your parents, but they knew anyways, how, I don't know. The crash was made to seem to be orchestrated by an organization that had hostilities with SHIELD, that was named Zodiac, but according to your parents SHIELD knew that Zodiac would attack and let the plane crash. Immediately we knew that we were running out of time. We were having a discussion at our house on what to do and who to give the Adaptoid Serum to, when all of a sudden all four of you kids came in the room, asking for food. Left with no other choice, we gave you all the Super Adaptoid Serum. A year later, your parents were killed. That is your past Peter, your parents wanted us to tell you of it when you asked of something relating to the topic. As to what happened to Cindy, I am afraid I can't tell you unless you are mixed up in this too, Cindy suspected you might."
"I am mixed up in the spider thing, as Cindy suspected," I said, watching slight surprise cross their faces before Aunt Nari gave me a slight nod of her head, "but first I think we should discuss the Adaptoid Serum and the Red Room and SHIELD. As to the Red Room, SHIELD currently has a graduate of The Room working for them, I am waiting for SHIELD to sic her on me, it will happen sooner or later, considering the message I sent SHIELD last night, which I will explain later. My mom being Red Room explains why I know Russian fluently." I was wondering why I was able to read the Russian lullaby book I found in the house, guess this is the answer. "As to the other couple working on the serum, had SHIELD prevented the crash, they would have had an army of Super Soldiers by now, they had actually perfected a serum that day, and when Zodiac infiltrated the plane, they injected the serum into their son and pushed him off the plane, ensuring that the son survived. The serum the Cages made was different." When I said Cages, Uncle Al nodded at me. "It made Luke Cage, their son, more powerful than Steve Rogers, and gave him impenetrable skin. He can be shot point blank and not receive an injury. The Cages are currently alive, if my Intel is correct, working with Zodiac under the threat of their son's life. Luke is currently at SHIELD, working for them and living in the Helicarrier. But what the Cages were told was that their son was under Zodiac custody. I will come back to this point again. As to the spider thing, I was bit by the same spider as Cindy, but Tess was bit by a different spider, which still gave her powers, though not as damming as mine."
"Cindy told us that when she was bit, there was some sort of soul jumble, she had a new soul/mind which was a combination of her original as well as a soul from another universe where your stories were fictional, that's how she knew you would be around. So, you aren't really Peter, are you? I saw that you knew of our customs beforehand, I didn't see any surprise on your face when I offered you the tea, just pure nostalgia and joy when you tasted the tea, as if you always had it." Aunt Nari said.
My face showed that much emotion? I must've let my guard down out of happiness. Mom and Natasha would be disappointed, failing twice in one setting? I sighed then said, "SEXI, what we are currently discussing doesn't go to Tess or anyone else yet, okay? I will tell Tess myself sometime next week, got that?" I honestly already saw Tess as a sister, but she wasn't ready, and besides if I waited then she would see my slight change in personality enough for her not to be surprised.
"Who are you talking to?" Aunt Nari asked.
"My daughter, an AI I made yesterday. SHIELD won't be able to hack her, this information is safe with her, her name is Karen SEXI Parker."
"hello there," she said with slight hurt and worry lacing her tone.
I opened the camera on my Parkerwatch, turned it to face me, then I said, "SEXI, sunshine, look at me, ok. I was going to tell Tess first, you know? But then you came along. If I didn't want you to know before anyone else, I would've left you at home. I suspected that this might happen, and I was okay with you knowing. If it wasn't mentioned here, I would've told you on my way to the HQ. Hun, please don't be mad. I'm sorry you had to hear it this way."
"It's okay dad, but why? I mean you are the same person. You're my dad, not Peter Parker, right? So why didn't you tell me?" SEXI's voice was filled with confusion and hurt.
"Hun, I was scared, still am. I was given a body that was only good for killing his loved ones, and I created you, my sunshine. I created you, and I am afraid to lose you. It's just, hun, I was too scared to tell you myself. But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't tell you, right? So I brought you, so I was forced to tell you, because I was too scared of you rejecting me to bring it up myself."
"I understand dad. In the end, you're my dad, not Peter." There was still some hurt left in her tone, and that was painful.
"Hey SEXI, as I was saying to your dad before, that his parents injected the serum into him, but they weren't brave enough either. You're an AI, so you know about things like this, don't you? In the end, its not your dad's fault, he only wanted what was best for you, so he made sure you know, but he couldn't bring himself to say it."
"it makes sense, I guess." The hurt was mostly gone from her voice, leaving just a touch of hurt in her voice.
"Not that I want to break from our current discussion, but we were talking about your identity, weren't we?" Aunt Nari said after a moment.
"Yes, so compared to Cindy my souls weren't combined, instead they were switched. I am supposing from what you said that both in my universe as well as this Cindy is a combination of both personalities. What is her other name?"
"Interesting. When she tried to tell us, she kept getting bleeped, then she was knocked out and after three seconds she woke up and said some shadow told her she couldn't reveal her other name and that it would be the same for you." Uncle Al said.
" So there's a new rule to his game, huh." I said.
Then I just remembered why I was here. "Oh sorry I nearly forgot but where exactly is Cindy?"
"oh yes," Aunt Nari said, "she said that when she was bit she was also given all the comic information you already had from your 'fanboying' of comics, as well as the different lives of her multiversal counterparts, it was kinda cool." She added as an afterthought.
"So she decided that she would be fine going to the bunker with that Ezekiel guy, and when you were strong enough to take the spider vampires down, to get her out of there." Uncle Al said
" I honestly wasn't happy that she was going to leave, but what can I do? I'm proud that she decided to do that though, proves we didn't make a mistake giving her the serum. Oh and Ezekiel didn't have spider legs, I think that's the bump that the Adaptoid Serum gave." Aunt Nari said.
"Thank you for your hospitality and the information, its been an hour now, I should get going now." I said, all of us getting of the couches.
"It's an honor Pete, next time you come over bring Teresa, I want to see you guys use your powers." Uncle Al said
"I will try to bring Tess, but if I don't then I will at least bring you some of my watches with weapons, Cindy would want me to keep you safe."
"Thank you, Pete." He said and gave me a hand shake. Aunt Nari gave me a soft kiss on the forehead and a hug, then I was off.
As I waited for a bus to go to PI, I talked to SEXI.
"SEXI, hun, I am sorry, are you ok?"
"yes I am, thanks for asking dad." She said, her voice finally normal. Thank god, its only been a day and I already messed up. Ugh.
The rest of the day went by smoothly, working at PI. After we were done there, I took Tess to the Moons' house, to explain everything, except for me not being me. She took it surprisingly well, for someone who had no previous warning that this might happen.
We went home, had dinner, went out, stopped some petty crime, with several more mentions of Big Man, I was planning to wait for several weeks before moving on the Bar With No Name, so that they would be afraid by the time I got there.
Later on, we were sitting on a roof, when I asked Tess what she thought about the whole serum deal, and she just said, "I don't know, it doesn't effect me that much, but that's also because I don't remember Mom and Dad too well, but this means we could just potentially get more powers we wanted from other people, and that's what scares me."
"I agree, I guess we just wing it and don't collect powers unless we need to?"
"Yeah, but let's go home, we need to sleep before school."