Guest - Wow...Post Flashpoint, not a bad thought, I didn't consider that. Took me a second as I thought you were referring to a during Flashpoint plot, but after re-reading it, I got what you were trying to get across. I was considering either doing it with either Teresa or introducing Jessica Drew as a "half-sister "or something along the lines.

But the future stuff I'll keep on the back lane as I don't know if I'm using WestAllen as the ship in this one.

Yeah, I'm on the fence on using WestAllen this time considering I'm showing the ripple effect to show how things have changed due to this one alteration.


Guest - actually, your suggestions helped me out. It's just the matter of their world being a part of the continuity.

That would also affect the timeline of all the other BRANCHES stories.

One quick google search will help explain who Lana is. I don't wanna spoil it for others.


Nightwing Josh - No, when Peter was dropped off with his uncle and aunt, he was moved to Central City.

His parents moved him out to New York when he was a baby before then, Wells recruited Richard to help with the Accelerator, and that's when he dropped Peter off back in Central City.

And technically, I meant Ben was the only one within the family and his life that knows. There are others that know he's adopted (Co-workers, officers, Joe), just none that Peter's currently aquatint with.


"Eddie Brock here with another report. The STAR Labs particle accelerator that's turning on tonight. People have said that it's going to change the way we see life, but not many people are talking about the risk of turning this thing on. They say it could potentially open up a black hole to swallow the earth, create unpredictable and incurable deceases. I mean, zombie apocalypse anyone. Don't tell me there isn't a disease out there in the universe that turns us into zombies."

Peter was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a knock at the door and looked up to it.

"Yeah?" Peter called and Ben opened the door.

"Hey, can I come in?" Ben asked him.

"Sure." Peter supposed and Ben came in and sat on his bed as Peter got on his desk chair.

"Listen, Peter...you know I don't have the best education. Hell, I stopped being able to help with your homework at six. What I'm trying to say is, uh..." Ben started and looked at Peter's face and knew he couldn't tell him yet. "...I know it's been rough for you without your parents. I know we don't talk about it that much."

"It's fine," Peter assured him.

"No, it's not," Ben stated.

"I wish I could change how you came into our lives, but I can't." Ben apologized.

He was referring to the adoption thing that he has yet to bring up. To Peter's mind, this was him referring to when he was dropped in May and Ben's lap at five.

"Hey, does the name Curtis Connors mean anything to you?" Peter was curious to know if Ben knew everything, knowing he was close with his brother.

Ben looks away from Peter to think for a moment and finally recognized it. "Curt Connors." He then nodded his head and turned to face Peter. "They worked together for years at STAR Labs. Harrison Wells handpicked them specifically from New York. They were close. But after that night, we never saw him again. He didn't even call. Go figure."

Ben then got up after saying his part and made his way out when Peter called him out. "Uncle Ben." He stopped his uncle and he turned to face Peter who had a smile and sincerity in his statement. "You're a pretty great dad, you know that?"

Ben smiled and wished he could tell him, but that wouldn't change anything but also change everything. "Thanks."


The next day, Peter was back in school and looking over the Life Foundation, Peter had to say he found the place a little creepy.

Carlton Drake, the man who is in charge, was seemingly doing a bit of damage control after one of his rockets crashed a few days ago.

"Very soon, another Life Foundation rocket will be launched and sent on an exploratory mission," Carlton told the class after showing off a miniature model of one of his rockets on display at the Foundation. "And that's how, one day, we might all live in space. Isn't that cool?"

"Cool until we get an 'Alien' situation," Gwen tells Peter as he laughed and tried to keep it down.

"And now that I've shown you some of the amazing stuff we do here, I hope I inspired each and every one of you to go out there and create things that are only dreamt of." Carlton finished his almost sounded like a speech of recruitment as another scientist comes up. "This is Dr. Skirth."

"Hello, kids." Skirth greeted them. "Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to inform you your interview is coming up." She warned Drake.

"Right. Yes." Carlton saw he needed to go. "Sorry to leave you, Dr. Skirth will answer any questions any of you have and escort you all out."

He then walked off and left the group with Dr. Skirth.


Once Peter got home, he started to look into the work that Connors and Richard worked on together and saw it was genetic editing, exactly what they were talking about during the tour.

After a few days of research into it, he found out that Richard helped him out with his research during the same time he was the head engineer on the particle accelerator.

His death set the accelerator and Connors research back a few years, which surprised Peter as he never knew his father was working on the accelerator from New York. But scientists working long-distance aren't exactly uncommon.

Looking into a few recent books from Connors that he was able to get at the library. Looking at the theories he has, he sees a few key differences between his dad's research and Connor's studies.

Looking at the back of the book, he sees there's a note on where Connors is currently living, with his wife and son. Thinking about it, Peter wonders if maybe he could get a few answers on what happened to them from him.


Once Peter found out where Connors lived, he was planning on going to knock and ask what he knew about this work and his relationship with his dad when he stopped himself and walked away.

"This is stupid," Peter whispered and started to walk away. "No. Just go." He then turned around and started to walk back up to the doors. "No, I can't." He kept on fighting against himself, as he's been doing the entire way to his house.

It took him three hours to get here if you're wondering.

Walking up, Peter finally dared to ring the doorbell and was quickly met with Curt Connors, seems he caught him with his wife and son out.

"Dr. Connors." Peter greeted, unsure of how he was supposed to start this conversation. "You don't probably remember me, I'm..."

"You're the brilliant young lad from the tour group the other day," Connors confirmed.

"Uh...yeah, I guess." Peter supposed.

"I'm sure you're a nice young man, but this is a home." Connors broke to him, and Peter knew this was a mistake. "You have to make an appointment with my office."

As he went to close the door, Peter went with the one thing he had left. "I'm Richard Parker's son."

Connors stopped closing the door and turned back to Peter in shock. "Peter Parker?"

After having that out of the way, Connors invited Peter in so they could talk as he poured himself some coffee.

"I wish I could help you out, Peter. But I don't know why they left New York or where they were going." Connors told him as he went to put the pot down. "Everything seemed fine, but then Hartly Rathaway, a colleague of ours, started going on about Harrison Wells sabotaging the accelerator."

"Why would he want that?" Peter wonders.

"Who knows?" Connors scoffed at the idea. "Richard was a little concerned but was confident in his work. After that, he started to help me with our work in genetic splicing."

"I read your book. Do you think you could actually get it to work?" Peter asked him, a little curious if what he discovered in his father's suitcase could help. "Cross-species genetics?"

"Yes, Richard and I were mocked for our theories," Connors stated. "Not just in the community but at STAR Labs, as well. They called us mad scientists. And then Richard promised to be close to a breakthrough and everything would change. We were gonna change the lives of millions. Including my own." He then looked saddened at the memory of the passing of his friend and Peter saw he would indeed use the research for the right reasons. "Then...he was gone. Took his research with him. And I knew without him...I..."

Peter nodded at the idea of what he was saying and knew they must've been very close. "I'm sorry."

"Me too," Connors said as he looked to Peter. "He was...a good friend and a good man. He and Mary were good and amazing people."

"Say...say you got it to work." Peter brought it back to a different matter of why he's here. "How much of the foreign species would take over? The side effects?"

"Well, it's hard to tell considering no subjects have yet to survive," Connors told Peter. "The problem being-"

"The decay rate algorithm?" Peter asked, getting Connors' attention for the second time as Peter got up and walked over to a blank notepad. "Can I..?"

"Of course," Connors said as Peter quickly wrote down the formula that he found in his father's notepad and showed it to Connors.

Connors looked it over and was shocked to see this was a promising algorithm and was amazed as he looked up to Peter.

"Extraordinary. How did you come up with this?" Connors wonders.

"I just..." Peter had no idea how to explain this as he just tapped the side of his head. "Just thought of it."

Connors was amazed and saw he has a more brilliant mind than he gave him credit for in the labs. "Peter, how would you feel about coming to visit the labs later today?"

"Sure." Peter was shocked to hear the

"Looks like genius doesn't just run in the bloodline." Connors complimented Peter, getting him to look up confused.

"Wait, what?" Peter asked him, wanting more clarification on what he just said.

Connors looked up to Peter and was a little confused. "You know what people say on nature and nurture." He explained, thinking that helped, and looked back down at the paper. "The day he and Mary brought you in, he was overjoyed. They couldn't have a child of their own as it seemed Mary was infertile. When they brought you home, I had never seen Richard so happy."

Peter felt as if his entire world came crashing down on him after hearing that statement. "Are...are you saying I was adopted?"

Connors then realized that Peter was never informed of it and couldn't believe he was the one to tell him.

"Oh. I'm...I'm so sorry, Peter." Connors quickly apologized. "I...I was led to believe you knew."

Peter felt as if his head had just Ben bashed with a brick and his entire body felt like it was shut down. His entire family, his entire life, it's all been a lie. He wasn't a Parker.

Who was he?


Jason Bateman as Richard Parker

Rose Byrne as Mary Parker

(A/N) Yeah, so this casting was supposed to be at the end of the last chapter, but...oops. Accidentally put it here instead.

And I have made a decision. Thanks to the review left by MCRasengan, that does make a lot of sense. So, all current and future BRANCHES will from this point on being their own continuity. No effect on the main What if Universe timeline and live in a separate branch of the multiverse.

If I ever wanted, I could always have Madame Web bend the rules of space and time or something in order to pull them in. But as of right now, their universes have no effect on the main continuity.

That means we'll be getting, Elseworlds, Crisis, etc.