Inbetween
Martha Walker, Mary Jane, and Peter Parker - of this reality - occupied the dining room in awkward silence. Trying to make sense of the situation proved futile for either one of them. The truth was that there wasn't any way to make 'sense' of anything that was happening. Alternate realities? Parallel dimensions? They were all things of science fiction. Clearly, that argument no longer made sense anymore given the timeline of events having occurred now. So accepting it all as is seemed to be the only way in coping with it.
Shifting her head as subtly as possible, Mary Jane every now and then took quick peeks at the young Peter Parker sitting at the table. Arms crossed, she stood against the sink next to the fridge closer to Martha, who was sitting at the opposite end of the table from the kid. Her attention was drawn to him, as though he carried an invisible orb of influence. He certainly seemed normal, but MJ couldn't quite put her finger on what made him so captivating. Out of worry not to alarm her, Peter didn't let her know that he could easily tell that she kept shooting glances at him. He didn't blame her either.
"Is your maiden name Reilly?" the kid asked, breaking the silence.
Martha gave him an odd look. "Yes. It is," she answered.
"How long have you guys been here?" Mary Jane asked, cutting out the conversation entirely.
"Uh… I'd say about," Peter looked to Martha, who shrugged, and then back to MJ, "30… 40 minutes?"
Martha nodded in confirmation with him. She really didn't know. Or cared.
"So you guys are friends of Ben?" the redhead asked.
She asked tough questions, in Peter's head. He scrunched his face and scratched his head, not sure how to explain it all without Natasha's consent first. "Mmm," he answered with, not expecting a follow-up.
"It's a little complicated, MJ," Martha told her.
"A little?" she shot back.
"Yes… a little. I don't have any answers to it all yet, but we're trying to figure this thing out as we go. I know it's confusing, but bare with me, this is all hitting me at once just like it is with you."
The redhead fell silent again. Again, it seemed the best way to make sense of the whole situation. Silence. Acceptance.
"Peter, would you like some more tea?" she asked the boy, snapping him out of la-la land.
"Oh, yeah. Sure," he timidly answered. He reached for the pot sitting on the table still, about the pour it himself, to which Martha raised her hand gesturing for him not to worry.
"You want some tea, Mary Jane?" Martha asked.
At this point, what else could she do? Perhaps they should all just think this over with some nice warm tea.
"… Sure," the young lady hesitantly complied. "Is it chai?"
"Darjeeling."
It'd been so long since he last saw Natasha Romanoff. How he even remembered her name surprised him as much as it did her. So many memories of his became jumbled over the past few weeks that he couldn't tell anymore what was real or not. He dreamed about her. He knew exactly what she looked like. That's how he knew it was her the moment he laid eyes on her when he came through the door.
Ben, formerly known as Peter Parker to the spy, stood by the sliding patio door, gazing out at the backyard full of Martha's many well-furnished plants. Natasha stood by the couch in the living area, facing him, still needing more answers. She still had no clue what happened between them, other than the details Martha Walker revealed to her.
"I'm sorry to come unannounced like this," Natasha spoke. "But I don't know much of what's going on. I know that you and I - and your aunt - we've experienced something in common. I don't know what for some reason. Maybe my memory's been erased, or I was brainwashed into forgetting the whole thing. That's a more logical explanation to it all… but there's just something telling me that isn't the case. I think something… stranger is going on. I need to found out what."
Taking his attention away from the yard now, the other Peter Parker faced Natasha, intrigued by her answer. If it wasn't strange enough that he couldn't remember the many important things that have happened to him, even an entire year of high school, he was all ears for what Natasha had to say in an effort to try and top this off.
"You remember me," Natasha went on. "How? What do you remember about me?"
"You're a SHIELD agent," he answered. "An Avenger. You helped me escape from HYRDA. My aunt, too. You helped us start a new life - here. Changed our identities and everything." He paused momentarily and gave Natasha a suspicious look. "Have you been having strange dreams lately, too?"
The spy nodded out of relief. She was only relieved because she wasn't the only one now. He had them as well.
"Yes," she softly spoke. "A lot of them. Not just dreams, but visions, too. Even when I'm awake. That's how I found you here. They led me to you and your aunt."
Peter nodded and scratched the tip of his nose. He slowly made his way to the couch across from her, taking a seat. His body began to feel rather sluggish the moment he entered the house.
"Well, I had visions of you also," he said. "Vivid ones. They were kinda like scenes that played out between you and I. I figured they were actual memories that happened between us. Some were happier than others. And then some were like nightmares."
"Tell me…" Natasha said as she took a seat on the arm of the couch.
"There's happier ones of me and you sitting on a park bench, or out having a coffee. Another of you and I on a rooftop for some reason." He started to feel uneasy. "And then… I can remember one where… it involved Spider-Man. I'm not sure why, though?"
In the back of her mind, Natasha began to question whether or not he even remembers that he himself was the webslinger. She wondered if it actually mattered or not, since the other Parker had to keep his secret also. But since they were basically one in the same…
He went on, "There was a girl, a blonde. I don't know who she was, but in the dream she fell to her death. We were at the top of a clock tower. I was Spider-Man. I tried to save her - I tried to catch her with my web, but…"
Natasha can only vaguely remember any talks about a blonde girl from the memories. That was the only thing that she couldn't trigger yet by talking with him.
"The thing is, I can't remember that much either," Peter admitted. "All I remember is you and I being kidnapped by an organization called HYRDA, and then you getting us out, and me and my aunt moving on with our new lives. The rest is a blur."
"So you remember your old name, right?" Natasha inquired. This threw him off.
"I mean, yeah. Of course. Peter Parker."
Natasha nodded. She pointed at the closed door that led to the kitchen. "Well, that kid in there who came with me? His name is Peter Parker as well. Same deal and everything. Has no siblings. Lives alone with his aunt, whose name was also May Parker. And-" Before she continued, Natasha made sure not to blow Peter's cover as Spider-Man again. "There's many other similarities," she finished.
"What?" he questioned, expectedly.
"It's weird, I know. But… I think he's a parallel version of you, in the same reality somehow. Or at least I think it's the same."
"Na - Natasha, think about what you're saying."
"I have thought about it. And it doesn't sound as crazy anymore. I've confirmed with some of my sources."
"Your sources?"
"I haven't told anyone else. Not even him," she said as she gestured her head towards the kitchen door. Natasha wasn't exactly sure she should be telling this Peter either, but at this point what did it matter anymore?
"You mean to tell me you think there's actual parallel universes among us that have somehow merged with our own? That's really what you're saying?"
"SHIELD collected intelligence on otherworldly beings since the start of this mess. The attack on New York City. It opened the door to a lot of things, good and bad. But from what they gathered, along with the Tesseract, and the person responsible, Loki - the god of mischief - his scepter held a stone within it, too, that he used to control minds. Other assets of ours - that are also not of this world - have helped us understand that there are these things called 'infinity stones'."
To him, this all sounded like a child's fantasy book. But he listened anyway, curious to see where this would go next.
"From what we know, there's six of them. The one Loki possessed was the Mind Stone. It is what it sounds like - that's how he was able to control other people's minds. The Tesseract was another that could open portals to other worlds, hence the Chitauri invasion. And then there was another we learned about, called the Aether. Others referred to it as the Reality Stone. At full power, whoever holds it can actually use it to manipulate reality around them. Including our own."
"So you think the reason behind all of this is that someone's holding the stone and using it against us?"
"I don't know, but I think it's a strong possibility. There doesn't seem to be any other explanation as to how. Trust me when I say if you had told me all of this years ago, before any of this happened, I would've looked at you crazy as well. But I'm not making this up. There are other worlds beyond this one. And now… other realities, too, I guess."
Ben had nothing to say, really. Everything he wanted to would only make Natasha more infuriated, he presumed. So he kept silent, but remained thoughtful. If it was all true, then he really had a lot to learn about the many other cosmic principles of the universe like she said, despite what he already knew.
"But despite all this… I guess it's good to see you again," she said.
Ben smiled. "Same."
Martha opened the kitchen door. The two turned their attention to her, and she looked at Natasha.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" the woman asked.
Natasha and Ben exchanged looks, and then Natasha thought about the kid. She knew his aunt was probably worried sick. If they were going to stay, she needed to discuss it with him first, unfortunately. As funny as it was, Natasha needed a kid's approval first in this situation.
"I'll have to ask this guy," Natasha said, looking over Martha and at the brunet standing from his seat at the table. "But I'd love to."
"Ask me what?" he said from across.
"Is your aunt cool with you staying for dinner?" Natasha asked.
"Probably not. She's already gonna kill me when I get home, but I'll explain it to her." He nervously chuckled.
Martha gave him a look. Then she looked to Ben. "Sounds like something you two have experience with at that age," she commented.
Natasha's smirk suddenly turned into a frown, and her eyes grew wide as she kept looking over Martha's shoulder and at the kid.
"Parker," she said, seriously. "Your nose."
Now she had him worried, too. Martha turned to look at him also, to her own surprise. His nose was bleeding badly. Mary Jane rushed from the table to get him a paper towel.
"Is he okay?" Ben asked.
Natasha didn't answer. She rushed into the kitchen to the boy's aid, as did Martha. Peter took the paper towel Mary Jane put up to his face himself, and applied pressure to soak the fluid.
"Here, stand over the sink," Martha ordered. "No use in trying to tilt your head back. That never works."
Martha led him towards the sink. Natasha and Mary Jane watched as he let the rest of the blood pour down the drain. Why was this happening, Peter wondered. He's never gotten a nosebleed a day in his life. And to make matters worse, his head was starting to hurt also, making it all the more scary for his first time.
"Are you okay, Parker?" Natasha asked, concerned. He was her responsibility now.
"I'm alright," he said, lying. "This has never happened before."
At that point, Ben stepped into the kitchen to see what was going on. Natasha glanced at him and then back at the other Parker. Does this answer your question now, she thought.
