Author's Notes: Last chapter! Who wants a sequel?

The Spider Brothers
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Chapter 5
Reunion

Peter One was trapped in a ferocious nightmare. And even worse, he knew he was dreaming, but couldn't escape it. He could only watch hopeless, paralyzed, helpless, as Aunt May died in the rubble over and over again. But in this nightmare realm she was scared, she was angry, and she was in pain. Instead of calmly stating that she just needed to catch her breath, she begged him to save her, screamed at him for getting her killed, and wailed in pain. And then – and then MJ replaced her. MJ begged him to save her. MJ screamed at him for getting her killed. MJ wailed in pain.

And then it was Ned. Then Peter Two, followed by Peter Three, followed by Happy. And then there was Tony Stark. Why was watching Tony Stark die again the worst of all? With Aunt May's death so fresh, why was the ultimate pain for Peter watching his mentor as he begged him to save him, screamed at him for getting him killed, and wailed in pain? Begged, screamed, wailed. Begged, screamed, wailed.

The scenes rotated. Ned, MJ, Happy, Ned, May, May, May, Tony, MJ, Peter Three, Peter Two… The environment got worse as time went. More rubble, more fire, more smoke… Goblin's laughter hovered around him like fog.

Tony again. "You let me down, kid," Stark told him as he gasped for breath and leaked blood. "You could've saved me Peter… Peter… Peter…"

Peter!

A voice penetrated the dream like a bullet through water. Wait, no… Two voices. Simultaneously calling his name.

PETER!

Peter inhaled deep and fierce, like it was the first time he'd ever taken a breath in his life. The voices disintegrated the nightmare and he emerged from it, reborn. He was in a large white room that smelled like bleach and alcohol – a hospital room, he assumed. And there were more wires connected to him and tubes leading in and out of him than he ever imagined would need to be attached to a human body. He was naked from the waist up and hips down. And sitting on the bed on either side of him, one grinning excitedly and the other smiling knowingly, were Peters Three and Two.

Peter Three leapt to his feet, threw his arms up in the air, and shouted in victory. Peter Two squeezed Peter One's hand gently, and asked if he was ok.

Peter One's throat was raw and swollen, and he sounded mouse-like when he spoke. "What happened?"

"You've been in a coma for four days," Peter Two softly explained. "That witch's spell burned you from the inside out and you weren't healing."

"Dude, you were totally dying," Peter Three said with far less finesse than his elder brother. He sat back on the bed and clapped One on the shoulder. "Then I said to Peter, I said, hey, there's got to be some way we can help him, right? Like, his senses are crazy and we're learning to communicate by thought and I said, I said there's got to be other things we can do, right? I said that, right?"

Peter Two gave Three a fond smile. "That's right, buddy, that's right." He winked at Peter One.

"So I said – if Peter Two can send me his thoughts, maybe I can send Peter One my healing powers!" Peter Three clapped his hands together once. "So – me and him – we've been sitting here for, like, two days. Holding your hands and just, I don't know, pushing! Just thinking about you and pushing healing into you but, like, with our minds, right? And, holy shit!" He clapped again. "They said you'd never wake up!"

A door behind Peter Three swung open, and MJ and Ned nearly stampeded Three to get to Peter One. MJ accidentally pulled out wires and unhooked tubes and ripped off medical tape when she bellyflopped onto him. She was trying to speak, but could only weep. Peter One wrapped his arms around her and kissed her and told her everything was ok, but meanwhile he was exchanging alarmed, wide-eyed looks with Peter Two – communicating that she was causing him pain without saying it. So, while reassuring her that he wasn't separating them, Peter Two carefully guided MJ off Peter One and sat her at his bedside. She hiccupped and oozed snot and trembled and Peter One only saw her beautiful eyes.

"Uh, oh," Ned suddenly said. "Principal's here." He, MJ, and all three of the spider men turned to see Dr. Strange enter the room with Wanda Maximoff.

"Strange," Peter One croaked. "You saved us?"

"Kid," Strange acknowledged with a nod. "Our own witch took down those sorcerers, if you must know." Peter One couldn't be sure, but he thought Dr. Strange looked a little embarrassed to admit that.

"Hello, Peter," Wanda greeted with a warm smile. "I'm happy to see you're awake."

"Yes, and now we can send your doppelgangers home," Strange said.

"What? Wait, no, what?" Peter One struggled to sit up in his bed. Peter Two helped him.

"They convinced me to let them stay until you were safe," Strange said while he rolled his eyes, "but it's time for Dorothy to go back to Kansas."

"I—I just woke up! And we – after what we went through together – we have so much to figure out!" Tears sprang up in Peter One's eyes. "Besides, can you even get them home?"

Wanda intertwined her fingers in front of her. "I can," she said, almost apologetically. "And, no, I don't need to bleed you half to death," she told the other two Peters, "and I won't have to erase all memory of you," she told Peter One.

"Show off," Strange growled.

Peter One reached for his two brothers with shaking hands, and they went to him immediately. "But I just woke up…"

Peter Two grasped One's hand in both of his. "I should go," he said, though he didn't sound convinced, "before my wife decides to divorce me for a second time. Plus, it's our son's birthday tomorrow." Peters One and Three opened their mouths to ask questions, but Two just shook his head and chuckled.

"And I should go because…" Peter Three stared off into the distance for a minute, then decided, "…because I have Peter Parker stuff to do." He and Two exchanged knowing smiles.

Peter One raised his arms toward Peter Three. The middle and younger brothers hugged tight, and both had fresh tears in their eyes when they parted. "Thank you," Peter One gulped. "I'll miss you, man."

Three nodded. "It's been fun. Horrible and painful, but fun," he chuckled. He grew serious. "Take care of yourself, bro."

"You, too." Peter One pivoted in his bed to face Peter Two. Those two didn't hug as tight, but the embrace lasted longer. "Thank you," One hiccupped, "for everything. I can't imagine what would've happened if I didn't have you through this."

They parted. Two didn't have tears in his eyes, but his lower lip did briefly tremble when he said, "Be brave, Peter. It's what—"

"—we do," Peter One finished for him. "I will. I promise."

The two Peters stepped away from the bed and approached Wanda. She handed them each a needle and pointed at their forefingers. "Just a little drop of blood," she told them. The pair pricked their forefinger. Peter Two put a drop in Wanda's left palm, and Peter Three put a drop in Wanda's right palm. "Before you go…" Wanda licked her lips and tried to force a smile. "In your universes… Is there an – an entity – known as Vision?"

Two and Three shook their heads, looked at each other, and then shook their heads again.

"Tony Stark?"

"No. Not that I know of anyway," said Peter Two.

"Dr. Banner?"

"Wanda," Strange said softly, speaking her name like it was a warning.

"We… We could Google those names, if you want," Peter Three offered.

Wanda smiled gratefully. "Thank you but… Never mind. If those men were in your worlds, you'd know their names." She sighed. "Ready?"

Peter Three suddenly pivoted and wrapped Peter Two in a hug. They didn't say anything – at least not out loud – just closed their eyes. And then they parted.

Wanda faced the white wall opposite of Peter One's bed. She raised the palms of her hands, careful not to let the blood dribble out of them, and circled her left hand counter-clockwise, and her right hand clockwise. There was no incantation, no dimming lights, just a motion and a thought. And, suddenly, the portals appeared.

Peters Two and Three shared one last look with Peter One, then with each other, and without any significant parting words, returned to their worlds.

Wanda closed the portals, and wiped her hands on her jeans.

ONE WEEK LATER

No one but Ned and MJ knew that he had moved into Ned's house, so Peter One was surprised when a package appeared that Saturday morning with his name on it. It hadn't come through the mail – just appeared on the doorstep. A small box, brown paper, tied with twine. Peter took a knife out of the drawer and opened it alone at the kitchen table. Inside he found six small, transparent containers in two plastic bags, and a note. He plucked out the first bag and looked closer. One container in the bag appeared to hold a thumbnail-sized bit of fabric, stained red. Container numbers two and three held what looked like tiny suns. The two balls of golden energy simply hovered in the center.

"No way…" Peter whispered. He picked up the second bag. Again – one container held a square inch of bloody fabric, and two containers held golden suns. "She didn't…"

He opened the handwritten note:

"Dear Peter, I know what it's like to lose family. I thought you might want to see yours again," Wanda Maximoff wrote. "When you want to enter your brother's universe, just drop the blood into the spell, and the portal will open. From the other side, combine your blood with the second spell, and you can return here."

"P.S. Sorry, but I don't know which one is which. I mixed them up. Oops!"

"Good luck."

The End

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