Mission P.S.

Chapter 1


Sometimes it's hard to tell when a story begins, and when it ends. Mainly because something happened before the beginning, and life continues after the end. But there has to be an opening to this story, somewhere to start, and for Peter Parker, this started on a completely normal day in September.

From the outside, this was just another good day in Queens. From above the area looked completely normal, as cars drove through the streets, while people walked by, all busy with their own lives as they stared at their phones, lost in space and time. In these modern times, people barely noticed it was summer, and how all the trees were green, while the sun shined comfortable above them, with only a few clouds. It was, by all means, the perfect day, but no one seemed to notice.

Just like no one noticed the boy above them, swinging past the rooftops of Queens, watching out for his beloved neighborhood.

The boy's name was Peter Parker, and in a homemade suit, he had taken it upon himself to protect his city against criminals, calling himself Spiderman. He had done so for a few months, after being bitten by a radioactive spider, and he could honestly say he had never loved his life more than now. Mostly because he made an actual difference.

And so it was with a good conscious he began to swing back home, knowing Aunt May would be home soon. He still hadn't told her just what he was doing after school each day, and so it was easier to get home before her in the afternoon and sneak out after dinner when she thought he was asleep. Peter doubted May would understand his need to fight criminals each day, and would probably forbid him from going out as Spiderman, should she realize what he was doing.

Therefore Peter had to lie to May, despite how horrible he felt about it, but it was necessary.

But Peter was not stupid, and so he always made sure to leave his window open, in the apartment complex they lived in. And as soon as he got inside, he quickly hid his suit away and got changed into another one of his dorky shirts and jeans. A large bruise was forming forearm, after fighting with a thief about a car that didn't belong to him, but he would just have to make sure May didn't see it. Or claim he had been clumsy again, should she ask.

From what Peter knew, this was just another day in his life, as he carefully opened the door to his and May's living room. But that was perhaps the last moment of Peter's so-called normal life, as he got eye contact with May, who was sitting on the couch. Not that there was anything strange about the situation, but as Peter looked into her brown eyes, he couldn't help but think she looked rather nervous.

"Oh, Peter! I didn't know you had come home sweetie," she said nervously, and suddenly seemed to gather some papers on the coffee table, her movements and accelerated heartbeat confirming something wasn't right. "I even called your name," she added, and almost managed to spill her coffee onto the papers, which she desperately tried to hide from Peter.

"Must have had my headphones on," Peter lied with a smile, as he stared strangely at May, who usually never acted this nervously. He had lived with her since he was five years old, and after been died just a few years ago, it had just been the two of them. There had never really been any secrets between them, as May was a rather open-minded person, who in return respected Peter's privacy, and it was only recently he had started lying to her. But usually, he was the one who was acting all nervous and fidgeted.

"How was school, what is it you do on Tuesdays? Band practice? Or is that Monday?" she began to ramble, although Peter couldn't blame her. He had dropped out of most of the extra classes he took at school, to have more time as Spiderman, but May still thought he attended those classes.

"Uhm, it's actually Friday and Monday, May are you okay?" Peter asked, slightly worried as he began to walk toward the couch. Their living room had never been big, but it felt even smaller now, as an awkward tension seemed to rise.

"Me? Well of course… I… I, I was just looking through some bills?" May smiled, while her face started to heat. She was just as bad as lying as Peter, and Ben had always joked none of them were supposed to play poker.

"Are we broke or something?" Peter asked nervously, all of the sudden scared they didn't have enough money to stay in May's apartment. He had lived at this place since he was five, and the thought of having to move crushed his heart.

"No! No… oh of course not sweetheart!" May said quickly, and regretted her own words, as her lie had made Peter worry. "It's nothing like that," she tried to assure him. Ben had thankfully left a good amount of money when he died, so they would never have to worry about rent or food on the table.

"Then why are you all nervous?" Peter asked nervously, eyeing the papers May was trying to hide from him. Worried why she wouldn't tell him. "Has something bad happened to someone?" he then asked, wondering whenever someone had died. He looked like a broken puppy as he asked, seeing how Peter had lost his parents as well as Ben, and the thought of losing someone else was heartbreaking. "Are you sick?" he then asked worried, as the horrible idea came to him. Was May looking at medical bills?

"No! no!" May protested and stood up to hug her teenager, knowing how many people both of them had lost. "It's nothing like that, no one is sick,"

"Then why are you acting like that?" Peter asked confused while hugging her back. May seemed unsure what she was supposed to say, cupping Peters face for a moment in her own hands, while looking into his eyes. But something in Peter's brown eyes must have convinced her, as she made a small sigh and ran her thumb across Peters's cheek.

"If I don't tell you, I know you will just worry what's going on," she sighed and seemed to contemplate the situation for another minute before she let go of her nephew. "Sit down," she then ordered and pointed toward the couch, which Peter moved toward automatically.

"It's never something good when people are asked to sit down," Peter said worriedly, but gingerly sat down on the couch next to May, who without thinking grabbed his hand. "It's even worse news if you do that!" Peter commented horrified and stared suspiciously at May, wondering if she was sick, and hadn't said anything.

"You know how you and I have a special bond, despite not biologically being related, right?" May asked carefully and ignored his comments.

Of course, they had spoken about this before. May and Ben had never had any children and seeing how Ben was the one who was related to Richard, Peter's father, meant May and Peter didn't have any genes in common. May however still loved Peter, and Peter loved her equally, seeing how none of them had anyone else left.

"Yeah, I know… I love you, and you love me, and we are still a family despite not being related," Peter nodded, starring warily at May, who in return just squeezed his hand in comfort.

"Just remember that," she smiled, and took a shaky breath like she was about to cry.

"So you are sick?" Peter asked worriedly because that was the only logical explanation in his head at this point, but May just shook her head and ran her hands through his fingers.

"No, no one is sick, dying, or broke Peter," she assured him. She seemed unsure what to say next, while she just stared at her nephew, for a moment contemplating just how she was going to say it. "We never really talked about this, but you don't recall a lot about your parents, do you?" she began asking, while Peter looked at him in surprise. This conversation was taking an unexpected turn.

"Not really… I mean I remember them, but I was only five," Peter admitted. It did hurt him sometimes, that he barely could recall his parents, but May and Ben had been good at keeping their story alive and sharing it with him.

"Yeah, I recall what a little thing you were when Ben and I got custody over you," May smiled sweetly, clearly rather emotional at this point, but Peter was still far too worried to appreciate it.

"I don't understand what's going on?" he said nervously. Peter doubted May was about to say his parents were still alive, and so it couldn't be that, but what new was there about his parents.

"Alright… sorry kid, I just gotta pull myself through this," May said in an apologetic tone, making it clear to Peter whatever she had to say wasn't good news. "I Uhm, I have been going through some of your parent's old papers recently, trying to see if I could find any evidence," he began to say, but it only confused Peter even further, as he had no idea what she was talking about anymore. Had May gone insane?

"Evidence? Of what?" he interrupted, and May groaned and buried her head in her hands for a second.

"God I am awful at this," she muttered mostly to herself before she took another deep breath. "Ben has always suspected Richard wasn't your real father," May finally blurted out, and Peter snapped his head up, staring at her in confusion, unsure if he had heard correctly.

For a moment none of them said anything, as Peter stared at May, and Mary stared at him, none of them able to form an actual sentence.

"What… I mean… how… I don't understand May," Peter said confused at last, while his bran desperately tried to process the words she was saying. Because if he had heard correctly, May just said Richard Parker wasn't his real dad.

"I know… I know. It's… it's was just one of those theories Ben had. It was never really confirmed by your parents, but looking through all of these papers, I think Ben might have been right," May continued to ramble, showing the big stack of papers she had been going through.

"May… I… I… what are you saying?" Peter asked confused, still not getting just what was happening. His whole life he had known his father was Richard Parker, and his mother was Mary Parker. He had grown up knowing this, and it was those two people he recalled being his parents.

"It's just. Ben and I were really young back then, as Ben, as you know wasn't nearly as old as Richard. And one day, he just showed up with you and your mom, proudly introducing you as his newborn son, and Mary as his wife," May began to explain, while Peter stared at her in disbelief. "We had never met your mother before, Richard had never even spoken about her, until all of the sudden. We weren't even invited to any kind of weeding," May told sadly.

For a moment Peter just stared at her, feeling like someone had punched him in the face, and he wasn't sure whenever he was going to pass out or throw up. But he wanted to do both things at the same time. But he couldn't, and instead, he just stared at May, unsure what to do.

"I can't say anything with certainty Peter, but Ben always wondered whenever you were Richards child, and you mother simply chose not to contact him before you were born, or if you weren't his child," May told him sadly, trying to be as calm as she could, while she waited for him to react.

"So… is Mary even my mom?" Peter asked softly, suddenly worried nothing he thought about himself was true.

"I… I… I think so, Peter. Remember it's just a theory. We never told you because you were too young, and god I am not sure I should have told you now, but you and your mother appeared out of the blue," she explained, while Peter just listened, unsure whenever this was a cruel joke. They had never spoken much about how Richard and Mary met but had always told Peter they loved each other very much. In hindsight, Peter should have known that was strange, as the rest of their life was described in rich details from Ben and Mary.

"And… and what proof have you found, you said you had gone through some papers," Peter reminded her, still in a state of shock, as he sat stiffly on the couch, unsure whenever he was awake or this was a bad dream.

"Oh yes…" May recalled and began to search through all the papers. "Ben and I put all their important document and things into storage when they died, and I recently got this box. It contains all kinds of official documents, including your birth certificate," May smiled and handed Peter the document, which he without thinking began to scan.

"But it states Richard Parker is my father," Peter said confused, seeing how there was nothing wrong with the certificate. It was a completely normal birth certificate, stating the day of birth, mother and father, and so on.

"I know… but then I found this," May said, and handed Peter another document, which resembled the first document well. Peter quickly realized it was another birth certificate, with his name on it, as well as his mother's. But a few things stood out.

While his mother's name had been Mary Parker on the first certificate, it here stated her name was Mary Fitzpatrick and the child was to be named Peter Benjamin Fitzpatrick. Peter had never heard the name Fitzpatrick mentioned before, and it made him wonder if Fitzpatrick was his mother's maiden name, but it still didn't explain why the certificates had different names.

But what was even stranger was that where the fathers' name should have been, the word unknown had been written instead. And on top of the paper, someone had with a red pencil written the words Grandfather: H. S.

And to top it off, the certificates came from two different hospitals. The first one, with Richard Parkers' name on stated he had been born here in New York, while the second one stated he had been born in Washington DC.

"I don't understand… this one must have been a mistake," Peter said confused, and waved with the strange one, claiming his father was unknown.

"I don't understand either Peter, but both of them have been signed, meaning someone approved both of them," May said, and looked nervously at her nephew.

"Perhaps… perhaps this one was just a mistake, and then they corrected it?" Peter suggested desperately, but deep in his guts, he could feel that something about this wasn't right. "I mean, this woman is named Fitzpatrick, perhaps she just happened to get mixed up with my mother?" Peter suggested, but it was a weak attempt as May handed him another document.

"This is their marriage certificate, Peter," she said softly, as Peter's eyes began to scan it. Realizing his mother indeed once had been named Mary Fitzpatrick.

It would be a bit of a coincidence, if a different woman had chosen to give birth the same day as his mother, and had picked the same name for her child, which made Peter question just why a hospital in DC had signed one, while a hospital in New York signed another.

"You might want to notice the date on the marriage certificate and your birth certificate," May added, and Peter's eyes were immediately drawn to them.

If those dates were correct, Peter would have been born a day before his parents got married, which was slightly odd. Peter had always thought his parents had been married before he was born, and why would his mother then be called Mary Parker on the certificate that stated Richard Parker was his father if they weren't even married when it happened?

"May, this makes no sense," Peter whispered, because something was wrong, and Peter could feel how his spider senses began to tingle in response, ready to fight something that wasn't there.

"I know… look, I know I shouldn't have told you. But I have tried to dig into this for a while, hoping to find some kind of answer for you, but without any luck. And I can't bear to keep a secret like this from you… god Peter I am so sorry!" May apologized, feeling horrible about this whole thing, and how she had chosen to tell him. But at the same time, he deserved to know.

"It's not your fault May," Peter said immediately, and hugged her without thinking, seeing how he hated when she was sad.

"Oh Peter, I know this is a lot, but I am going to help you! We will figure it out if you want, and if not we can just bury it and never talk about it again. I love you no matter what," May muttered sweetly into his hair, and pressed him into an even tighter hug.

Over a few minutes, Peter's life had changed drastically, seeing how everything he thought he knew about himself, turned out to be a lie.

Leaving an unanswered question. Who was his father?


So welcome back... for like the third time. I am so sorry I never finished this story, then deleted most chapters, tried to write it again, only to now delete it. It's really a long story what has happened, but do know I am trying to finish it this time! Anyway, reviews are always appreciated and for your own sake don't start looking through all of the reviews. I have changed some things about the plot, as I want to incorporate the Marvel universe that has been created, but some things will remain plotwise.