Fuck. The. Marvel Comic Timeline. I swear, I wrote this chapter in the first week, feeling a ton of inspiration, yet when I got to the end I had to stop to research, and by fucking god. Marvel Comics really screwed the pooch on keeping up with continuity. Dan Slott and the other Spider-man writers seemed like the only ones to try and keep other comic characters continuity together.
In other words, this is being posted due to me having to scour the fucking comics and wiki for 616 to put together a coherent comic timeline. I stopped this at a point where I feel it can be left off and leave you all wanting to read more. That's enough from me though. On with the story.
Presbyterian Hospital – Reception
Franklin fussed with his bow tie in the mirror at the reception desk. Grumbling to himself about how he was taking too much time and then released an internal sigh at that thought. 'When did I start caring more about how I look towards my colleagues.'
He shook his head and took a glance at his family off to his side, noticing his wife in a black off-the-shoulder dress, her blonde hair in a stylized bun. She was fussing over Johnny and Sue before giving them both a kiss on the temple and turned to give him a shaky smile. He looked away wincing internally. 'She's more mature than me.' He thought, thinking back to their most recent spat.
The only reason his family was here and not at home was due to the hospital wanting his expertise. A patient had a head wound, but nothing too serious. Though the way they tried calling him in yesterday and today you'd think it was life or death.
Finishing with the bow tie he gave her his own shaky smile as well before he reached for her hand, squeezing it and receiving one in turn.
"Okay, kids we have to hurry, remember your father worked very hard to be honored among his peers. They're hosting a charity and I want you both to be on your best behavior." Mary Storm tried gently relaying to her kids. Sue glared at her mother and huffed before turning her head away.
"I don't want to go," Sue grumbled while following her parents.
Johnny was, thankfully, just grinning. Whether from ignorance or some form of selective hearing he never really let that stop him from smiling.
Face falling, Mary looked to her husband, eyes relaying her thoughts. 'Help me' they seemed to say.
Sighing Franklin shook his head at her trying to tell her to drop it. She knew how important this dinner was. He didn't have time to cause drama within his family. He saw as her eyes widened in hurt before hardening and she released a sigh and pointedly looked at anywhere but him.
Franklin winced before releasing a sigh of his own at the backward progress he just made. They reached their car and Franklin mulled over his options, trying to choose the best one that would leave his family satisfied and also leave him with the opportunity to still attend his dinner. He took a look back at Sue and Johnny before sighing again. 'I hope this helps. I'm going to be late.'
As they entered the car Franklin turned his head to look at his children in the back seat. "Do you think you could handle yourself and Johnny at home then Susan?"
His daughter tried glaring at him like she did her mother before she tentatively nodded her head wondering where her father was going with this.
Exiting the parking lot and heading towards the location where the dinner would be hosted just in case Franklin looked to his wife who was now looking at him in relief at taking charge of the situation, she nodded her head in agreement already thinking in the same vein.
"Okay, we'll drop you both off at home then. We won't be gone long. We'll get some food for you on the way home first just in case though." Franklin relayed to his kids as he turned the car to head in the direction of their house.
Susan still angry or at least wanting to keep her walls up tried and failed to hide a tiny grin. While Johnny started moving excitedly in his seat, probably excited to play with his toys.
'They would probably have been bored out of their minds. Better this way.' Franklin thought to himself, trying to not let the fact that he was late get to him. He didn't trust either Sue or Johnny to not act out if the dinner took too long. That line of thinking had him shaking his head at himself in annoyance.
While he doesn't necessarily want his kids to grow up without any manners he also shouldn't be trying to force them on them for his own image. 'After this, I think I need to re-evaluate my priorities. Take a vacation.' Being one of the top surgeons in the nation must have gone to his head.
He let that line of thinking continue, he knew his wife supported him and his choices throughout their relationship, but she was always about making sure their family came first. This dinner was supposed to be a compromise.
The steering wheel jerked lightly in his hands and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, blaming it on his thoughts distracting him. 'After. I'll apologize after the dinner. I'll let her know as well about planning a vacation.' He turned to smile at his wife and received a watery one in turn.
Sighing in relief at a plan of action he focused his attention back on the road making their way towards a yellow light with no cars in sight. Out of nowhere, his left front tire made a loud popping noise, causing him to instinctively jerk away from his left, then it was a struggle for control over the car. Franklin dared not try slowing down manually in case any of their other tires were as vulnerable and possibly flip their car.
Or at least, that was his hastily made plan before his wife screamed at him.
"FRANKLIN! CAR IN FRONT OF US!"
Gasping he looked ahead, wondering how he didn't notice it before now, and hastily tried braking. Hoping that he could mitigate the force enough not to injure either his family or whoever was in the car ahead.
The squeal of metal on metal assaulted his ears before the front airbags activated. His wife and he both had their heads squished momentarily. Then, silence except for the sputtering of both cars' engines before they died. The silence was broken as Johnny started bawling in the back seat causing both of his parents to move quickly. Franklin took a glance at the other car and noticed only a driver who didn't seem to have any blood on him and was leaning against a deflated side airbag.
Franklin looked back to his son and thanked God that his son seemed to only have some bruising on his arms, but was shaken up. 'Johnny must have instinctively tried covering his head.' He then turned to look at Sue, who was staring wide-eyed while tears streamed silently down her face. Her chest started rising and falling rapidly causing both parents to move towards the child closest to them after opening their respective doors trying to provide whatever comfort they can.
Franklin took the small moment to be thankful once again holding his son before guilt came surging in as a man's voice hoarsely cried out "PETER!" 'Someone else in the car...but…' Franklin's thoughts trailed off as he rushed out setting his son down.
Standing up, he now had a complete visual and can see what he missed before, that there was a child in the back seat behind the driver, blood matted on his left side, the door marked with blood where the child's head hit it.
Franklin's blood ran cold and he froze in shock 'Please no…' His thoughts didn't go towards his career but instead to how he would be the cause of someone's death. A child's death.
The man frantically moved his hand back from the driver's side to unlock the child's door before switching to rolling down the window. Removing his jacket the man then tried gently holding the child's head in place before opening the door moving quickly to try and keep him in the relatively same position as he set him down.
"Please God no, Please not like this, not Peter..." the man rambled tears rivuleting down his face as he looked around the driver's side of his car.
'Maybe for a cellphone.' Franklin's mind passively told him before he jerked and moved back to search for his own back in the front of his car.
Mary gasped as she came upon the scene. Her tears came to fruition as she tried holding her children close to block them from seeing anything. Her guilt consumed her.
'Come on come on where is it...' Franklin thought to himself as he rapidly searched for his cellphone.
Finding it he moved around to where the child was laying down, the man rapidly searching his glove compartment, Franklin was already calling 911 and looked up quickly at their cross streets to relay their information and set the phone down on speaker, before gently moving the child's bed of hair out of the way to get a clearer view of what the injury looked like. His mind moved into a more analytical form of thinking.
'Chest is rising, but intermittently and with rapid spurts, the head wound is about half an inch wide on a horizontal axis above the temple, laceration, too much blood to tell how deep it is, but amount of blood and color would suggest no artery was somehow injured. Possible brain injury along with the child's neck muscles strained.' Franklin thought to himself as he tried to come up with a possible way to stem the bleeding without injuring the child further.
'The ambulance shouldn't be far, the hospital is only about 5 blo-' His line of thinking was cut off as his wife screamed "WAIT- PLEASE" just as a leg shoved-no kicked him off of the child causing him to let out a gasp as the air left his body. His kids' cries of "Daddy!" assaulted his ears.
"Get away from him you bastard!" The man screamed in a protective fury his cellphone in his hand, eyes red as they seemed to scream for his murder.
Coughing Franklin waved his hands in front of him to calm the man down. "Please no let me try and help I'm a doctor, a surgeon until the paramedics get here please let me help."
The man, whose greying hair looked disheveled, his chest rising as though getting ready for a fight grimaced at his words before looking at his wife and kids, a frown overcoming him as he then tried calming himself. He then gave Franklin another glare before nodding his head and moving the cellphone up to his ear as he then watched Franklin like a hawk.
With the child's guardian's permission, he moved back to the child, making sure to be as gentle as possible before deciding he could afford to grab some of his on-hand medical supplies just in case.
'Please, please let me save him. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please.' Franklin frantically prayed.
? Somewhere in the Overspace
Peter awoke seemingly without being any worse for wear. Looking down he noticed that he was back in his hero uniform, based on his gloved hands. Looking past his hands, he saw his young body slumped over against the car door, blood pooling beneath his head.
His eyes widened, and a chill spread through his body at the sight. Before he could question what was happening he ascended, passing through the hood of the car door. His body was forced to turn upwards toward a bright star in the sky. As he got closer the light seemed to expand before it was all he could see. His eyes strained, he couldn't close them. Suddenly the light disappeared and it was dark.
Blinking he then noticed that he was now sitting in his parents' house. At the dining table. He was not alone.
"Hello…Anomaly." The alabaster skinned woman seated across from him greeted in a soft smoky voice.
It was soothing and helped him gather himself somewhat to pay attention to who was speaking to him.
Her long raven hair was left free to fall and framed her heart-shaped face. Symmetrical rectangles were under her amber eyes and one lay beneath her blackened full lips. Following her hair downward, if it wasn't for the lights of the room shining down and showcasing her hair's luster he wouldn't have been able to tell where her hair ended and her cloak began as it reached her large bust before the table hid the rest of her from view.
A memory flitted through his mind, one he thought was a fever dream. That contained him fighting Thanos over the life of one little girl. This woman calmly watched before sending him and the little girl back as Thanos held Peter's throat in his hand, agreeing with Peter's cause. 'Death.'
Looking back up he noticed her staring just as intently at him.
Blushing and quickly coming to terms with what must be happening he sputtered out "H-hello. Did you just call me 'Anomaly'"
Death tilted her head slightly. It was hard for Peter to guess what was going through her mind as other than her now glowing amber eyes he could not glean any information from her.
"Yes. That is what you are. Something that is here, yet should not be. An anomaly." She replied, seemingly content to sit while her eyes continued to glow though more softly now. She blinked and her eyes reverted to a vibrant amber.
She hummed in thought, now seeming to be looking through him.
"Uh, if you're gonna just stare at me, can I go back, please? I got a lot of unfinished business." Peter winced as soon as the words left his mouth. 'Idiot Peter, she's death. The literal Death. She probably hears that all the time.'
"I see no problems with sending you back now that I have your measure." Death softly responded. "I would ask though, that you patiently wait until I am done speaking with you."
Mollified and also flabbergasted at not only her non-threatening tone but such a quick acquiesce to his demand. Peter quieted and instead shifted in his sear. 'If she wanted to talk she can just talk. But she's just sitting there staring at me like I've got the answers to the universe.'
"Tell me...Peter," She finally spoke. Her eyes were glowing again he thought to himself. "Why do you do this? What do you hope to gain?"
Well wasn't that the loaded type of question. "What do you mean?" He asked and as he's won't to do when under pressure with no lives but his on the line... "Like from working out? Cuz I could really work on my glutes you know. MJ says she likes to grab onto it whenever she likes and…" He trailed off with a gulp at seeing her serious stare.
"You know what I was asking Peter. Your memories show me that you're very intelligent and can be serious when the moment calls for it." She stated at seeing him stop.
'Memories? Oh, the glowing eye thing. Man, that's a thought why does every telepath have some kind of tell for when their powers are being used.' Peter thought to himself before shaking his head, he was getting off track. Sighing he rubbed the back of his head before responding to her. "I really don't know. I just...I don't want anyone to die. I want to save everyone." His tone hinging on that of desperation.
"Why?" She asked.
Peter's shoulders slumped, his head facing down "You saw my memories. You know why."
"But I doubt you will make the same mistake again, your Uncle may not die from the robber you let go. That should alleviate a majority of your guilt will it not?"
Peter thought over what Death pointed out. 'If I save Uncle Ben will I feel more at peace?' The answer was obviously yes, but the lesson he learned would stick. Not to mention he still needs to figure out a way to stop the large Green Door.
"That won't stop me from wanting to do the right thing. Plus," He shivered "I need to figure out a way to stop that thing. From ending everyone's lives again."
At that Death pursed her lips. "Yes. It. The One-Below-All. We were under the impression that he was contained."
Peter was confused "I'm sorry 'we'?"
Death shook her head and waved her hand to stave off his questioning, "Those of us that were made when the universe was created. The point," she continued, now sounding annoyed "is that we were aware of him being contained. The fact that he was able to overcome his containment is cause for concern and I will be working with my siblings to ensure that does not happen again."
"Um, forgive me then for asking this, but I would have thought that you would have been happy for that because...you know..." he gestured up and down.
Death raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"Well, wouldn't you want the world to end, as Death and all?" Peter asked exasperated.
She blinked and stared at him as though he was the one talking crazy before letting out a small melodious laugh. "I think you are confusing me for my elder brother Oblivion. My 'job' if you want to put it, is to be the embodiment of Death and Destruction. Without me, no life would be able to end, and everything would be as it was with no progress. I have no need nor want to see the end of everything prematurely."
"But Thanos–" Peter started.
"Is irrelevant and a madman. If you are curious as to why previously I was with him in the previous timeline I can only guess it was to watch him. As I do now. If you remember your fight to save a little girl's life I was moved by your passion and morals. I let you both live. That was not by chance. I am not whimsical." She stated in interruption.
"Appearing to him as a kid and pushing him to his path of madness?" Peter questioned afterward remembering what he's gathered from talking with Wade and the Avengers who knew of Thanos's origins.
"He is, a Mad. Man. He's already started on his path in this time as well. Imagining a young bodied me pushing him to kill." Death said with a huff.
"Your interactions with Wade?" Peter asks now seeming to be grasping at straws.
Death looked at him in disappointment. "Your memories show that Wade Wilson was an insane, broken man that was known to hear other voices in his head. While I do not doubt that he tried to tell the truth when possible I don't think he would have a good judge of my character with how he behaved."
Looking lost now Peter emptily stated, "Okay, I'll just process this later."
Peter shook his head before continuing "I've side-tracked you enough though, so is that it then. You just wanted to talk to me about my motivations? I've done that, can I go now?"
Death rolled her eyes, she was becoming more animated as she talked to him Peter thought to himself "No, not yet. I will let you know when you will be sent back. As I said, please be patient. Time dilation is within my power."
Peter slumped in his seat but nodded his head staying silent, waiting for her to continue.
Nodding at him in thanks, she continued "Now then, I think after viewing your memories and hearing your beliefs I feel confident in asking this. I don't tend to concern myself with the universe, but would you be willing to be my champion for lack of a better word?"
"You lost me," Peter said eyes wide.
Frowning she restated "I said, would you like to become my champion?"
Gulping, Peter asked "Why me? I don't kill. I'd be a horrible agent."
"There is a possibility that my siblings and I will not be able to stop the One-Below-All in his attempt to end all life in the Multi-verse, or that Oblivion will use our neutral meetings as a chance to sabotage any measures we take. And if it comes to that I would rather utilize a champion that I could entrust to carry out tasks as a fallback."
Shifting nervously in his seat he asked "Would I have to kill? You didn't mention that."
Death stared at him, her eyes glowing again before blinking and continued with a sigh. "While I would rather you be as efficient as possible I don't care if you try other means of disabling any foes you come across. Though, based on your memories you will be hard-pressed to continue trying to disable foes even with my power."
"And what exactly would your power do?" Peter asked, mollified at her willingness to let him try to fight his way.
In answer, Death reached across the table with her right hand towards him. Causing Peter to tense but let her touch him. Her soft fingers rubbed his chest as though searching for something before she pulled back and he saw a glowing rainbow of light surrounded by golden and black wisps of what appeared to be webbing orbiting it. The black webs seemed to encompass a majority of the ball, yet somehow did not seem to darken it.
Looking deeper he also noticed that there seemed to be some hellish-looking strand of webbing before Death drew his attention again.
"This is a projection of your soul. As the center of the Web of Life, you have greater use for the Tantric and Chaotic Energies compared to other Totems. As death falls under the chaotic aspect, my power will more than likely manifest in you as a subset of any chaotic energy you may use."
"And those would be?" Peter trailed off at a loss again.
"Ah yes, you barely touched your chaotic energies in the previous timeline. You were mainly utilizing your partners' and your own tantric energies." Death stated before humming in thought and shrugging.
"I can't say. At the very least it will boost your previous powers to a point where you should be able to handle most foes in your way. I'd expect that you'll need to compensate more when dealing with your normal foes at the very least."
Peter paled at the thought of having to hold back even more before mulling over Death's offer one more time. He just had one more question. "How often are you going to call me for assistance then?" He was concerned that Death would pull him away from being able to help all the citizens of his city for long periods of time.
"I can't tell you a concrete answer. Depending on what and when I become aware of some plot. I will bring you or contact your Madame Web to prepare you for whatever task is needed. I can tell you it shouldn't be often. It took me four and a half years to find you and that was mainly due to your chaotic energy being so large for a child once I focused my attention here on earth." Death stated while enlarging the projection to focus on the black webs which he now noticed were tinged with a red hinging on crimson.
A cold feeling seeped into him at the implications of that, he then asked "But I didn't kill an-" He shook his head remembering Wolverine's friend at a cemetery "I didn't kill on purpose and even then I can count on one hand the number of times I've done that."
"You were there at the end of the previous timeline's demise Peter. The chaotic energy from an event that large was bound to attach itself to anything that survived such an encounter." Death stated evenly.
Sighing in relief as that explanation, while still horrible to think about, was easier on his conscience than the other implication for why his soul contained so much chaotic energy. 'It's so weird to look at. It's like someone dumped blood on a shining bulb and the bulb just decided to shine right on through it.'
Looking into Death's eyes again Peter nodded his head. While he traditionally had been a loner and normally wouldn't even fathom the thought of accepting a cosmic entity's help that represented death, these were extenuating circumstances and he was very unlikely to meet anyone so close to that Green beings power willing to help again anytime soon.
"I accept becoming your champion," Peter stated in a grave voice. He then waited, expecting maybe some form of energy to encompass him or a symbol denoting his status before he thought back to Fire Lord being a herald of Galactus. 'Come to think of it he didn't really have any special symbol that screamed "Herald of Galactus" What? Do people just have to rely on word of mouth or something?'
Death hummed in thought frowning, before letting out a grin that transformed into a smirk while looking at Peter. Before he knew it the table and background of his house's dining room faded away to one that was outside of a Gothic-styled manor and a pool that seemed to contain its own galaxy lay in front of them. Both him and Death were standing now he noted, she was about half a head shorter than him.
She walked towards him slowly and if he didn't know any better he would say it was sensually, her cloak now billowing in the breeze of this new area, showcasing her creamy bare legs and feet with hints of her ivory mid-riff popping in and out before cupping his cheek.
"I think I know of a great way to solidify your status as my champion." She said huskily, eyes glowing before closing them and moving his head down for a kiss.
Shocked, Peter didn't move at first and so, therefore, was unprepared for her tongue to then gently prod his lips open and then begin to try to coax his own into a dance with hers.
'Soft.' Was Peter's first thought as her pillowy lips connected with his. He felt her then move her arms to encircle him along with one of her legs raising up and latching onto his; he finally moved to gently pry her off. 'Or maybe not gently. Her grip is insane'
Feeling him grab her shoulders tightly Death groaned in what Peter would call exaggerated pleasure. He wasn't that good with his hands, or at least not when he was trying to remove someone from his body. He then tried pushing her off before she herself forced them closer.
One of her arms snaked its way to his right temple and gently tapped his head. 'Please accept. So that we may finish. Or don't…' Her voice echoed in his head with a teasing lilt at the end.
Hesitating, Peter tensed before he sighed into the kiss and reciprocated her passion. His relationship with MJ was gone he thought melancholily and while he wasn't one to simply latch onto the next attractive woman, this was more of a business transaction, but he can also admit that the fervor in which Death latched onto him and moved with her tongue was enough to crumble his resolve to make-out with her with lust.
She let him lead as Peter started moving his body forward as though to encompass her. His arms encircling her back to bring her closer and latched onto her hips. Feeling the swell of her curves as she moved one of her arms to move one of his around her body before doing the same to his as he let his hand wander.
He then felt some tumultuous scorching feeling pass from her lips and tongue into his as they danced. He groaned into the kiss, his body began to ache as though he was burning with excess energy.
He had to move, swing, punch, scream, something.
Before he could act on it, Death slowly removed herself from his embrace with a sultry sigh, a thread of saliva connecting their lips. She softly pecked his lips once more, leaving an electric buzz on his own lips, before stepping back. At that, he felt the energy recede back to...somewhere. 'Your soul.' Death's voice answered him. Peter's eyes widened at hearing her voice after she was already away from him. Would she be watching hi–
"Thank you for accepting Peter. You'll feel fine until you gain your powers again and have access to utilize your chaotic and tantric energies." Death spoke with a smirk, interrupting his thoughts. "Your memories showed that kissing was a fun activity to do with your partners. And was a staple for your, what was the word, movies, yes. To use as a binding pact. I had to try and emulate them from your memories, but you certainly live up to your own hype."
Peter's cheeks were dusted with pink and opened his mouth to make a witty reply about how she wasn't so bad herself before she continued in a haughty tone looking behind him. "Wouldn't you say he was superb...Thanos?"
Ice in his veins, Peter turned around and noticed a transparent Mad-Titan glaring at Peter with eyes that screamed for his death. Other silhouettes stood behind him, though their gazes were more curious, a few power-hungry.
Mouth moving to speak, probably in some form of how he wanted no part in, if Death could be believed, some weird unrequited wanna-be love triangle. Before he could let out one syllable she laid one finger on his lips to silence him and her voice echoed through his head. 'Later my champion.' His vision went dark.
Presbyterian Hospital – Pediatric Ward
Blinking his eyes rapidly Peter noticed the special kind of grogginess he's learned to associate with pain medication and with bleary eyes looked around his room. The pale white walls thankfully did not blind him in the early morning. And, other than the occupied wooden chairs and the...baby car seat(?) on the medical dresser next to his mother, his room was a lot more sparse than his father's was.
'They must have gotten Teresa while I was out.' Peter thought staring off into space as he took stock of his body.
Other than the hospital gown made for children he was wearing and the bandages around his head he felt fine.
A baby's cry alerted the rest of the room as the early morning light hit the front of the seat. Or it would have if the rest of the adults weren't deep in their slumber. May and Ben had their hands clasped together, his mom and dad were resting their heads together with his mothers on his father's shoulder and his head on top of hers. 'Not comfortable at all. Their necks are going to be killing them.'
Teresa cried again, this time, Mary jerked slightly as she awoke to her daughter's cry. She sighed sorrowfully at noticing the room she was in, but she must have been as groggy as Peter felt since she gently moved her husband's head out of her way before moving to Teresa to see what was wrong without noticing Peter's eyes were now wide open and staring at her.
"What's wrong?" Mary softly cooed at her daughter.
Teresa let out a cry in response.
"Hm let's see, are you dirty or do you need some milk?" She continued as she picked up her daughter.
As Mary worked to comfort and care for her daughter the rest of the adults woke up due to the noise. Ben and Richard after stretching their limbs both noticed Peter awake and let out cries of joy. "PETER!"
Thankfully not overwhelming him, other than his mother who with teary eyes beamed at him while taking care of Teresa, his family crowded around his hospital bed. They asked in soft tones if he was alright, did he need water, Does he want more drugs, to which both his aunt and mother slapped his dad's arm while Ben laughed.
Laughing as well Peter shook his head before speaking with a rasp, "May I please have some water?"
Handed a cup he nodded his head in thanks and took small sips; his family was content to beam at him and wait in the moment. Sighing in relief at his quenched thirst, he then turned to Uncle Ben and warily asked "Um, Uncle Ben...do you know what happened?"
At that, the adults all frowned, while they knew Peter was incredibly mature for his age he was still only 4 years old. And so didn't have the life experience to deal with trauma as well. "Peter–" Ben started.
"I know I was in a car crash, but are you and the other driver okay?" Peter continued with a concerned look on his face. 'Death didn't outright state it, but she made it sound like she orchestrated the crash to bring me to her.' A hot wave rushed through him 'I swear if she caused any more people to die just to talk to–' Before Peter could finish his thought his Uncle shook his head.
"They're fine Peter, just some bumps and bruises. You're the only one who was hurt really bad." Ben said with a frown, his tone had a hint of chiding in it at the apparent lack of concern Peter had for himself. 'Combined with our talk before in the car…' Ben hummed to himself in thought before deciding to speak with Richard sometime soon.
"Oh, am I alright then?" Peter asked looking toward everyone.
Richard, always ready to joke if tensions were high, spoke first "Yup, now you can look as good as your dad!" Pointing toward his own bandages on his head.
Mary huffed shaking her head before responding to her son "You were out for a day honey. While you were physically doing better you refused to wake up." Releasing a sigh of relief she continued "Thankfully once...Dr. Storm" She said the name tersely "was aware of your condition he assured us you would simply need rest and to not move as much."
Peter nodded accepting his mother's words before they registered completely in his mind and he stilled, his mind racing. 'Wait don't tell me…'
"Uh, why do you sound like you don't like the doctor mom?" Peter asked hesitantly.
Scowling Mary replied "Your doctor was the one to crash into you and your uncle in the first place. Since he was qualified and...was already cleared to work with our family. They let him continue working to save you from the crash to here."
Muttering under her breath she continued "And refused to let us use another doctor. Damn Fury."
Peter almost couldn't contain his grin, almost. This was great! Perfect even. His mind raced. 'Ben said that everyone was alright. Unless he meant specifically just him and Dr. Storm that would likely mean Mrs. Storm was in the car as well. And she made it out okay!'
Peter remembered from Sue confiding in him what exactly happened to their parents, Johnny said he barely remembered that night. He only knew that he thought his father was dead till a fight with the Skrulls where they strapped what amounted to a bomb on him and died surrounded by his kids.
Instead, it was a lot more tragic than just their father disappearing and then reappearing.
Dr. Storm not only survived the crash but he tried performing surgery on his wife to save her and failed, dying in his arms. He became a lot more distant to the point where their aunt needed to step in for Sue's and Johnny's sake; while their father wallowed in guilt and turned to gambling. Eventually taking a loan from the mob and being unable to pay. Then being sent to prison for manslaughter due to an altercation with a loan shark who threatened his family.
'So all that hopefully could be prevented, assuming that dinner was the reason they were driving.' Peter thought with an internal sigh.
"But don't worry about it, honey. Other than that situation we have no concerns about him; he's a wonderful doctor." Mary ended with a sigh.
Peter smiled softly. All was well.
Ben chimed in "It helps that his tire was blown out like he said, looking back on it now it is unlikely a man would drive recklessly with his wife and kids with him."
Peter's face went blank. Momentary panic coursed through his body before he took a deep breath. 'It's fine, they're safe. There was bound to someho- wait why were they with him.'
His family gave him glances of concern at noticing his facial expressions before he gave them a shy smile. "Sorry, just hearing he had kids with him had me worried."
Nodding his family then changed the subject to small light topics. All of them a little tired of back-to-back emergencies.
Richard spoke after a few minutes "Oh that reminds me. Peter, Professor Xavier reached out to us and wanted to apologize for not being able to visit the hospital. His school is undergoing renovations and his wife and their son also arrived back in the states."
Peter gawked "He has a wife and kid?"
Chuckling his father continued "Yes, he spoke to your mother and me about them during our weekly talks outside of any lessons you have. At first, they were having some marital troubles, but after teaching you and seeing us he said something just clicked and he's been talking with his wife more."
Still shocked Peter let out a "Huh". He cleared his throat "Well I'm happy for him too. I wonder what's gonna happen to Amel-"
A gentle, yet surprisingly loud series of knocks interrupted him before a dirty-blond-haired man with a simple chevron-styled mustache entered the room, his blue eyes took stock of the room. He wore a white doctor's coat and cleared his throat before glancing at his clipboard.
Breaking the now tense silence he spoke "Good morning everyone, I just came in to come check on Mr. Parker here."
Richard glanced at Peter, eyes shining with mirth before turning to the doctor.
Cottoning on to what his dad was about to do, Peter cleared his throat.
As one, father and son spoke "Which one?"
"Uhhhh" Dr. Storm began too nervous to laugh and feeling too guilty to know if he should take it seriously.
Sighing Mary laid an arm down on her husband's arm and gave Peter an amused yet reproachful look. "It's fine Dr. Storm, my husband, and son like to play small jokes like that when the opportunity arises."
Clearing his throat and giving her a nod of thanks he continued "Thank you, Mrs. Parker, I wanted to check up on Peter, though Richard's head wound should be checked up on as well." He then muttered, "Though it looks like they both are doing remarkably well."
Giving Ben and his wife a wide-berth, the memory of that night still fresh in his mind Dr. Storm reached Peter and gave him a wane smile before muttering for Peter to move his head.
Acquiescing Peter tilted his head to make it easier as the doctor unwrapped the bandages and waited for the verdict.
'What?' Franklin thought to himself. The wound was healed except for the stitches that would dissolve over time.
'Could it be that the wound was not as deep as I thought it was when I put the stitches in?' Shaking his head he bundled the used bandages and disposed of them.
"Your son/nephew looks to be completely healed," Franklin stated to the boy's parents, perplexed. "The stitches inside his head will dissolve in time, give or take a week."
Confused as well before simply letting the good news wash over them the family whooped for joy. To which Teresa did not like and let out a wail that made most wince as Mary started trying to soothe her daughter.
Clearing his throat Franklin gave a more lax smile deciding to let the day's events pass him by. "Now I know you're still for some reason confined to the hospital here Mr. and Mrs. Parker bu-"
"DADDY!" A child's voice screamed though muffled from the door before another child's voice mumbled something before opening the door.
Two blonde children a boy and girl entered, the boy rushing in towards his father seemingly without a care for the adults in the room other than his father. Franklin let out a slight huff as his youngest slammed into him.
His daughter looked cautious as she edged her way toward her family. Not wanting to disturb the family before reaching her father herself.
Sighing in exasperation, Franklin looked towards the so far silent Parkers apologetically "I'm sorry, my children are normally more well behaved than this. I think the crash scared them more than my wife and I thought -"
Richard waved it off with a sheepish grin. "Eh, you're fine. We should be all good here anyways right Doc?"
"Uh yes, yes we should. I'll be back to check on your bandages later." Dr. Storm said absentmindedly to Richard. His daughter was tugging at his coat looking at anywhere but the family in the room.
"Okay, let's leave the nice family alone." He said to his children moving towards the door.
Susan gave a more insistent tug before motioning for her father to bend his head down.
Puzzled but giving everyone else in the room an apologetic look he bent down to listen to his daughter.
After a few moments, his face looked hesitant before whispering and giving a nod to his daughter.
Frowning now at her father Susan stepped back before making an about-face towards Peter before stopping just before his bed.
'What the?'
"Um. I wanted to say sorry for my daddy hurting you, I hope he made you feel better. That's his job." Susan said shyly not looking at Peter.
Feeling awkward Peter looked around unsure of what he was supposed to do. Dr. Storm wasn't any help as he looked just as awkward as Peter did. While Ben and his dad both looked as confused as Peter felt. Thankfully his Aunt and mom both mouthed to Peter what she was waiting for.
His eyes widened before turning back to the still waiting girl now holding her arm down to her side. "Thank you for apologizing. Your dad did help me get better! Um, thank you also for apologizing it wasn't your fault."
A quick glance showed that both his aunt and mom approved of his acceptance of the apology.
Susan gave him a small smile before power-walking to behind her dad and grasping one of his hands hiding herself from everyone.
As they crossed the doorway only Susan and Dr. Storm actually waved at the family. Johnny solely focused on being near his dad.
"Those two were cute." Aunt May said as the door closed behind them.
Mary hummed "Yes, but they both were still a little rude."
As his mom and aunt both discussed the previous occupants to pass the time seemingly Ben leaned over to his dad and whispered something heatedly to him.
Richard glanced at Peter as his brother whispered to him about Peter's words earlier in the day along with what was said as they both got into the car.
He patted his elder brother on the back and gave him a nod before giving a look to his wife before nodding his head towards Peter.
After that, Ben excused himself and his wife to get the family all food.
As the door closed, Mary laid her daughter back into her baby car seat, now fast asleep. She patiently waited for Richard to say something.
Richard reached out to grab his wife's hand before turning back to Peter and asked "Son, do you feel pressured by us and our praising of you?"
Mary's eyes widened at this and she looked at her husband to explain.
Seeing his wife's look he continued, "Your Uncle told me what you asked him about in the car. About how if you have the ability to help a lot of people, but not enough time what should you do."
Peter nodded his head.
Nodding himself Richard continued, "He told me he wasn't as concerned about it and wasn't going to press too much on it till we all were back home, but after hearing your first concern when you woke up I have to agree with him."
"To your Uncle and me that sounds like someone who's putting others first over their own well-being. It's not out of place in those in dangerous professions, but you're just a kid." Richard finished frowning.
Now somewhat caught up, Mary asked "Baby, is your father right then? Are we unintentionally pushing you too hard?"
Slightly overwhelmed now with emotion, mainly due to not remembering conversations like this with May and Ben as he grew older and really only his romantic partners showing any type of concern for him like this Peter shook his head.
"Can you tell us why you are so concerned with helping people and ensuring they are cared for?" Mary continued.
Peter hesitated, while he would like nothing more than to tell them everything, he was done hiding important information from those he was close to, and even have Charles back him up by showing them his memories; there was there was no telling what sort of cosmic entity might become aware like Death was and eventually decide to do who knows what to his family to get any information they know.
On the other hand, telling them, and getting past any emotional distress it might cause, would hopefully make them more amiable to any asks that he might put forth to help his friends or try to prevent tragedies he was aware of.
'Or maybe a half-truth?' He thought to himself, internally wincing at the thought of intentionally lying and not just omitting information.
Richard and Mary noticed Peter's hands clench, head bowed before he raised it to speak with them. "I don't know how to say this, but you remember how Dr. Xavier reached out to our family?"
At seeing their nods he continued "That wasn't actually by random chance. Um, he can tell you more, but I am what he would call a mutant. Someone who is born with a supernatural ability or abilities. Mine is precognition, but instead of it being a constant view of the future I 'saw' a single version of my adult future. He was somewhat of a mentor to me later in life." 'Not a complete lie'
At seeing their disbelieving faces he hurriedly added "Again I understand it's confusing and really, really out there but I'm telling the truth. We can ask Dr. Xavier to explain it better he's a mutant as well and has been compiling a lot of data and information to classify what is a mutant."
Sighing at seeing them somewhat mollified if their expressions were anything to go by he continued "All this to say that I learned a lot, and have been confirming with Dr. Xavier that I am right. I-I'm ahead of where my peers will be by a long shot and while I can't remember everything I know I was eventually able to help a lot of people in my profession."
Voice choking up he continued "I just, I want to help people. Especially because I know in advance some things. It doesn't feel right not doing anything when I know what could happen."
Richard and Mary were both conflicted, they both felt this was an admittedly outrageous claim, but they also noticed Peter's conviction to help people and didn't want to upset him if he truly believed this. Calling Charles Xavier to reach out is one thing, but to see the future? That was what had them hung up on taking everything Peter said into account as absolute truth.
Richard, after seeing his wife's conflicted expression assumed she was thinking along the same lines as him and made to try to explain to Peter that that is a very hard thing to believe. "Peter look, while your mother and I can believe parts of what you are telling us, seeing the future is an outrageous claim."
Seeing his father pause Peter interjected and bluntly said "I know you were on a mission for the CIA and SHIELD."
Both parents raised an eyebrow, that wasn't exactly hard to guess since they explained at a high-level overview of what their job was.
"You would have died if not for Ernst, his men, and Wade helping you. Not to mention the other two men who got rid of the bomb placed in the jet you both took back." Peter continued.
Their faces changed to ones of worry.
"I also know you left Teresa with a family that has ties to SHIELD and did it secretly so that Hydra wouldn't find out about her in case they ever targeted your loved ones since I was already well known."
Richard and Mary paled at his knowledge concerning his sister's previous location.
"I also know of my broth-" Peter stopped at seeing his parents' reaction to the word he was about to say, rapidly shaking their heads and covering their mouths to show him it was time to stop.
Confused but acquiescing Peter spoke, "I take it you both believe me now?"
Teary-eyed Mary nodded her head before making her way over to hug Peter, Richard not far behind. "Yes honey we do, we told no one but our boss that information and you weren't here."
Sobbing she said "It" she let out another sob "you should never have come to know that your sister was hidden for that reason. We were planning on only letting Ben and May know of that. I can't imagine what that might have made you feel."
She started soothingly patting his head as her husband wrapped his arms around his family. "Your father and I love you equally compared to your sister, we don't want you to think we just used you as bait or any other reason."
"Just," she let out a sniffle "Ben and May already knew about you and would have dug through every inch of this earth to find you. Not to mention we were sure Hydra was already aware of you."
"It was," her shoulders fell and she tightened her hold on Peter "it seemed like the right choice."
'Uhhhhhhh' Peter's brain shorted as he tried to copy the mental gymnastics his mom, and dad just took at his mentioning of knowing why they hid Teresa. 'Why would they think I might be offended or hurt at knowing why they hid Ter- Ohhhhhhh right. 4 year old right now. Shouldn't have the maturity or understanding. Wait but they believe I was able to see the future.' Shaking his head Peter just took it as his parents stopping there and to be fair to them don't know everything Peter 'knows' so they could safely assume for what should be normal for a 4-year-old knowing that he was essentially left for the wolves along with his elder aunt and uncle.
Patting both his parents' arms Peter moved his head out of his mom's bosom to speak. "Mom, mom you're okay those kinds of thoughts never crossed my mind. I completely understand your guys' decision to hide Teresa. You both don't have to worry. I love you both just as much okay? I have a ton of admiration for you both making what must have been a hard decision."
Sniffling once again Mary asked, "You sure?"
Peter hugged his mom and dad as best he could, arms too short "Yup."
The family released the family hug and smiling now though it was strained a little Richard asked "So what was your profession?"
Peter's eyes lit up as his mouth moved into a smirk knowing his mother's trepidation at Peter messing with tools and materials required for his job. "A scientist."
Seeing his mom let out a look of horror imagining her baby messing around with volatile chemicals and who knows what else he continued "Actually, I was CEO of a company for a time. I even supplied technology to SHIELD."
Suffice to say Richard and Mary both had some questions for Peter about the future but he quickly stated that he doesn't know how their lives will play out now that they lived. Only guessing those bigger events that rely on more than just a couple's lives will stay the same.
Their questions then moved back to Peter's conviction to help people and Richard let out a hum before leaning in to whisper to his wife and after a few seconds, she nodded though had a look of resignation on her face.
Richard turned to grin at his son "How about we open Parker Industries early then?"
Peter beamed.
Shortly after that Ben and May came back carrying some good ol' fast food.
Ben's shoulders released the tension he was carrying after relaying his thoughts with Richard and knew that was what the family would be discussing while he and his wife were gone. So seeing the family all smiling brightly even though there were signs of some form of tears being shed, some tissues, and tears stains on the family's shirts, he felt lighter than air.
Ben grinned and said, "I didn't bring just food. I brought some more guests!" He then moved to make way.
Peter's eyes widened. Aunt Anna came, and she brought MJ, the little girl hiding behind her aunt's legs before shyly looking around. The glasses she was wearing helped sell the innocent look.
"Say hi Mary-Jane," Anna said softly to MJ.
Squirming a little before moving to her side she shyly raised her hand for a wave. "Hi everyone."
Needless to say, Peter felt out of his depth, while he likes to think he was great with kids he felt awkward actually trying to socialize with them as a kid himself now.
Thankfully the adults brushed off Peter's awkwardness simply as him interacting with another child for the first time. He fell asleep right after, body drained from doing a lot of talking,
After his conversation with his parents, Peter's life became busy. While they had to stay in the hospital at first due to possible Hydra retaliation, after all, Red Skull was now dead and his parent's identities were disseminated among the top Hydra ranks, it was best to keep them around the hospital that had SHIELD personnel rotating around the clock to ensure the Parkers were safe.
Some of the data Richard and Mary brought back showed that even SHIELD was already being infiltrated and so made due with what they had as they cleaned house.
While a little boring Peter eventually came to learn that even Ernst and Wade were still being held as well. Though they both were able to bring their loved ones with them after Ernst's daughter was put in danger.
From what Peter was able to overhear in the short conversation between Ernst and his dad, Ernst's house was rigged to blow And it was only due to Silver's basic knowledge of how bombs work (and a dash of paranoia) that she didn't enter their house.
Shortly after that Ernst petitioned for SHIELD to move his daughter with him to America while his own government handled dealing with the Hydra nests. While no Wild Pack members died, they were a known quantity to Hydra and whoever did survive the attack would have relayed who the main attacking force was.
Silver or Silvija as she wanted to be called (at least currently) was...very withdrawn from what Peter was able to gather from their own short conversation they had. He didn't hold it against her, she lost her mom probably months prior and from what he remembers her telling him before everyone died, she became driven to get revenge while also trying to live up to what she felt her mother represented as a child.
Plus she barely knew any English.
Other than that the only noteworthy thing to happen was Peter's dad starting the paperwork to create Parker Industries. His parents decided they both could afford to go all-in, especially with the amount of money saved up.
As SHIELD eventually deemed it safe enough for everyone to be released from the hospital, Fury spoke to both of his parents about assigning some security detail around their house. And even around the eventual company building though he made no promises on that being available for long.
Due to Professor Xavier being busy with the new renovations, it took a while for the Parkers to schedule some time for a visit. The mansion was now reminiscent of how Peter remembered it being. That being of a technological marvel. Professor Xavier even had his futuristic-looking wheelchair.
Thankfully Charles stated almost verbatim what Peter told his parents to solidify Peter's half-truth. While exasperated at the deception, after hearing the reason they were not initially told was to ensure they both were safe; both parents asked to be kept in the loop in regards to Peter from now on.
And, in an effort to jump-start his new plan for having mutants become accepted by society, Charles also planned with Peter ahead of time, for circumstances revolving around the X-men. Peter, of course, helped as best as he could, with the stipulation that Charles stopped holding things as close to the chest as he did previously.
The years after that meeting were extremely busy for Peter and his family.
Mary, while being understanding of his continued education wanting to be at a more advanced pace, expressed concern about Peter's social growth possibly becoming stagnant, and demanded that Peter interact with children around his age. At least until Xavier's school became populated to that point, and to go to Ben and Mays local school district at least once a week.
Peter, seeing an opportunity to foster the friendship and family he had with Susan and Johnny asked if he could also spend a day interacting with them.
While caught off-guard his parents saw no reason not to extend the offer. Which Dr. Storm and his wife readily agreed out of a combination of guilt, and seeing the genuine want of friendship Peter displayed.
And, seeing an opportunity for her neighbor's niece, Aunt May when overhearing the family's conversation, chimed in for MJ to count for a possible day.
Not long after that, Peter's life moved forward in a predictable manner. Continuing his education with Charles, spending time with his family and friends, and working toward Parker Industries first line of products and patents.
A new line of polymer that was bulletproof and bendable while being extremely lightweight along with the cryotube's flash freezing and unfreezing technology were some of the first things he wanted on the market and out for public use.
Needless to say, they sold very well and started saving many lives.
Though, it wasn't until Peter turned six that anything extraordinary happened.
Shortly after his birthday, he kept dealing with a string of nightmares for two weeks straight concerning his old life, except every facet of it went wrong if it could and led to him being tortured by Kindred. A sinister laugh accompanied his many deaths.
Until someone, who looked like God aka Stan, came to give him some hot chocolate while discussing something with Death...he chalked that up though, to being delirious with insomnia and what he would safely classify to himself as PTSD. Thankfully he didn't tend to scream when he was asleep so his parents were still unaware.
After that, he was a poster boy for Charles's school whenever he left to meet a new potential student, including for the original X-men team. With his parents' permission of course. Normally he would be accompanied by his mom or dad, but sometimes his Aunt or Uncle attended as well.
When asked why they simply shrugged and joked it was an excuse to go on vacation while making sure nothing untoward happened to Peter.
Meeting old, but new faces wasn't all he did though, after the success of his company's products Peter started to create and move into the products that SHIELD eventually hungered for, albeit at a reduced efficiency with Peter's current era of technology.
Richard and Mary's successful mission, not to mention the killing of Red Skull, who was unfortunately just a puppet as he later found out, critically hindered Hydra's grasp on many projects and reduced their effectiveness to their allies.
The subsequent void left as SHIELD tore away at the rot that was Hydra globally meant that as SHIELD ramped up recruitment at colleges nationwide, Parker Industries expanded, at least in capital, for supplying SHIELD with its equipment.
Thus life repeated itself, in a series of meetings for Charles's school and the future X-men, new technologies for his family's company, and the opportunity itself to grow up somewhat normally with his family and jump-start the many friendships he made in life.
Death during the years was also silent, something Peter took as a good sign.
11 years later
Bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt!
Bzzzt bzzzt – SMACK!
A slender hand slapped down on the blaring alarm clock as its owner prepared itself for a new day. Brown eyes blearily opened till they saw the date on the clock; causing the owner to jump out of bed.
'Today should be the day.'
Aaaaaaand I gotta stop here. Like I said, FUCK. THE. MARVEL TIMELINE. The sliding timescale has fucked up a lot of shit, but that's not all. Tons of writers just said fuck all to keeping everyone on the same timeline. Hell not to mention the retcons making me doubt the comics I read or skimmed through to try and gather character personalities.
That said, I have to ask, do you guys think this is alright to do in the future? This was already wordy at ~10k words but I initially had more planned for the chapter and would have written it. (I wanted to write about Peter's acquisition of his powers) If I didn't get stuck researching and feel bad at not hitting my self-imposed deadline. Hence the chapter is broken up and you are all being served this. Please let me know your thoughts if you wanna leave a review (I hate asking for reviews but if you are gonna review I'd like to know your thoughts on this)
Also, again only if you wanna leave a review, let me know what you thought of Peter and Death making out. I tried to convey that Peter isn't a horndog, but with a beautiful woman who was voracious when intimate, yet was gentle and soothing beforehand, combined with his lack of relationship, he was willing to make an exception and eventually let his lust lead him. But I digress, it's my first time writing a romantic(?), and sexy(?) scene. I would like some critique if possible to write those scenes better. After all, this is going to be a harem if that wasn't made clear by the tags and I am not going to shy away from writing scenes like this and taking it further.
That said, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I hope to write the next one in the same timeframe or faster.
Ya'll keep being awesome!