"Welcome to Casa de PBP." Peter flicked on the lights to his dismal studio, stepping aside and kicking off his shoes so Karen could walk in the door. She was scanning the room intently, her eyes critical as she took in the apartment.
Truth be told, it was probably the nicest it's ever been. Peter hasn't really had any guests come over since he moved in, so he never had an excuse to clean up in here. He'd managed to spend 5 minutes in between the firm and the shelter earlier that day cleaning up. He'd had an odd feeling that Karen wanted some privacy for their conversation, and the only place he felt comfortable talking about Spider-Man and Peter Parker simultaneously was his shitty ol' home.
And, yeah, shitty might not have been a great word, but at least it was appropriate. It was a mess, the front room having the worst kitchenette imaginable sitting across from a threadbare sofa he found sitting in a dumpster. He didn't really have a table, so there was a ton of Spider-Man stuff spread out across the floor.
Karen also eyed the bedroom, just past the bathroom door. Peter had hastily made the bed, but from this distance, it looked nice enough. He could also see about half of his desk, which had a few books and all of his GED stuff laid out on top. He did his best to keep that stuff separated from all of his superhero gear, just so his brain didn't crisscross everything too much.
He chanced a look at Karen's face. It was carefully blank, though the way she pressed her lips together showed all of her concern. But there wasn't as much he expected, probably since it had a roof, a heater, and running water.
"Karen?" Peter raised an eyebrow at her silence.
"I'm not sure what I was expecting." She said oddly, tilting her head a little bit.
He was a bit taken aback. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She startled a bit, looking at him. "Nothing. Come on, we should probably get started." She strode into the room, allowing Peter to shut the door behind her.
"Would you like any water or anything?" He asked, suddenly self conscious. "I've also got coffee, tea, I think there's some Pepsi in the fridge."
"Coffee would be great, Peter. As long as there's no rat poison in it, since I know you probably don't have anything like Starbucks laying around."
He opened his mouth to respond, but stopped. With his enhancements, he wouldn't really notice if there was anything like that in his off brand bodega coffee beans. It's not like it would hurt him.
"I'll just… I'll make you some black tea." He turned to the kitchen and poured water into a small pot.
Karen snorted as she sat in front of the couch. "Can I move some of this stuff? I work better when I can see all my notes laid out in front of me."
"Oh! Yeah, you can just shove it all off to the side. None of it's too crazy or anything." He shrugged as he grabbed a couple of mugs from a cabinet.
"Uh, are you sure? These look a little… delicate."
Peter turned around to see her holding up one of his prototypes. "Shit! Wait, yeah, I'll grab that. And, this… and, you know what? How about you just wait for me to get all of this stuff out of your way?"
Karen smiled fondly at him. "What is it?"
"This one?" He looked at the prototype in her hand. "It's a web bomb I've been working on. You pop the key out and toss it, like a grenade, and then it's supposed to send a bunch of webs out and trap all the guys." Peter explained as he moved his web fluid supplies out of the way.
"Supposed to?" She twisted the sphere in her hand, looking over the details.
"Yeah, I haven't figured it out quite yet. I want it to have a greater radius, cause it only spreads, like, a couple feet out right now. More like a weird web bowling ball than any sort of net."
She considered the device for a little longer as he finished clearing everything away. "Mind if I keep this? Since it doesn't really work, and who knows? It might come in handy."
Peter shrugged at her. "Knock yourself out." He stepped away to pour their tea.
"Such a shame Stark Industries let you go." She commented as she tucked it into her bag.
"Yeah, well, can't keep an employee on retainer after the only reason they're employed dies saving the world." He shot back nonchalantly.
Karen looked at him for a few seconds before she started taking notepad after messy notepad from her bag, spreading them out in front of her. She began organizing them according to whatever system she had in mind, carefully setting the papers out by this weird web of hers.
Peter fell quiet, allowing her the space to think. It had only been a week, but Karen was very intense, especially when it came to her job. She needed a lot of time to sort out everything, ensuring she had all the information connected the best possible way.
Karen seemed to be satisfied with the layout by the time Peter approached with their drinks in hand. She accepted the warm mug with a quiet thanks before gesturing for Peter to sit in the space she made next to her. He stepped over the papers, careful not to disturb any of her layout, and took his seat as she leaned back against the gray disaster of a loveseat.
She took a long drink of her tea, savoring in the heat. Peter watched her with a curious eye as Karen sighed and set the mug down next to her. "So, I think I'll start from the beginning."
"What we talked about at the restaurant?" He implored.
"No. What I did this morning," She reached out for some paper close to the middle of the floor. "I, uh, I went to Blecker St. today, with the intent to speak to Dr. Strange."
"What?" Peter almost dropped his mug. "Karen, I told you how bad it was that even you knew, but if you-"
"I didn't end up speaking to him. To Strange." She cut him off with a powerful side eye. "But I did speak to the Sorcerer Supreme, Wong."
Peter clenched his jaw, deciding that it was better he hold in his comments until he absolutely couldn't anymore. "Right. Wong." He sighed before doing a double take. "Wait, he's the Sorcerer Supreme?"
Karen ignored his question. "When I went there, the only thing I had to say was Spider-Man, and he invited me in. I had a few questions," It wasn't too hard to read between the lines and find that she basically interrogated Wong of all people. "Which he answered."
His breath caught in his chest. "Yeah?"
She looked over at him. "The first thing I asked was how it was even possible for one kid to break the universe so much that everything had to happen the way that it did. First, he made some offhanded insult about Strange - he did that a lot, actually - before he went into some long explanation into the function of the multiverse. A lot of it went right over my head, I'll be honest, but essentially, you're not the first person to have messed up like this." She looked at the paper. "Actually, his specific wording was that you weren't the first spider. Um, anyway, whatever happened before left a large enough hole in the universe that the spell Strange cast ripped it all to shreds."
Peter clenched his jaw, leaning into Karen slightly to read the paper she had in her hand. She brought it closer to him, but Jesus Christ. Her handwriting was worse than a jittery doctor's after their fourth cup of black coffee. He had no idea how she managed to read it.
"He went on to say that the repairs, while harsh, were ultimately successful, and that there isn't anything to worry about if others find out your secret identity." Karen fully turned to him, then, catching his eye with a serious yet kind expression. "The universe won't break apart if you open up to people. You don't have to isolate yourself."
Peter sucked in a harsh breath, releasing it shakily as he nodded. That- it was surprising to hear. It didn't make too much sense to him, that everything was just wiped clean like that, and he could go on without tearing the universe apart, but he obviously wasn't the most experienced with magic. He also wasn't sure if he totally believed it, but with Karen's conviction looking him in the eye, he couldn't help but nod once back at her.
"He was relieved when he realized I was in the know. He definitely thought that you desperately needed support from someone who has experience in this area." She continued gently. "Wong asked me to tell you not to look back too harshly on everything that happened. I kind of agree."
Peter gulped, ducking from her gaze to take a drink of his tea. He didn't really want to have to face all of this at the moment.
She sighed before continuing. "When I asked if there was anyone else who was aware of what happened, Wong got very vague. He said there were others like you, many of them. Totally sidestepping my actual question, but whatever."
"Yeah, I know." Karen's head snapped to him. "I met a couple other Peters before the Battle of Lady Liberty. They were- they're great." He smiled softly to himself.
"Seriously?" She looked at him with wide eyes.
He nodded at her before he set his tea down. Peter stood, stepping onto the couch before climbing onto the wall. He crawled over to his bedroom, above his desk where some photos were sitting. There was one picture Ned managed to take of Peter and the other Peters - his brothers - in the lab, and he grabbed it. He then moved to the ceiling and turned around.
Karen's face was absolutely priceless. She was totally shocked, her mouth wide open and her brows furrowed tightly. She almost looked offended as Peter sauntered back over to her, his bare feet connecting to the ceiling without any effort on his part. It took a lot of effort on his part to keep from bursting into laughter, holding his face neutral and bored as he held out the picture to her.
"Jesus fuck, kid," Karen half yelled at him. "You can just do that?"
He shrugged and shook the photo of him and the other Peters a little bit at her. "It's normal to me."
She practically snatched the frame from him. "Everything is normal to you." She muttered in exhaustion, and Peter hid his smirk at the hint of jealousy he heard.
Karen did a double take at the photo, her mouth falling open in surprise again. "This is- I- there is no fucking way-"
"You said yourself that Wong went on about the multiverse when you talked to him. I don't get why you're so surprised." Peter placed a hand on the ceiling before releasing his feet and dropping back into place next to her. He gave her a fake innocent look as he took another sip from his tea.
Her eyes darted between him and the photo before she shoved it in his chest. "You know, some days, I have to ask myself how this ridiculous stuff ever became my everyday life."
"I'm surprised you're not asking yourself that at least once an hour."
"You little shit," She chuckled, shoving a hand in his face and giving him a slight push. Peter let her push him away, giggling with her.
Once he was back firmly on his bottom, he let his giggles die out. "So, what Wong was saying?" He brought their attention back to the piles of notes as their laughter tapered off.
"Right, so," Karen looked back to the papers, setting the framed photo next to a completely full yellow notepad. "Wong said there were others. But when I mentioned the multiverse, his only response was 'there are always more than you think.' I have no clue what that means, so when I asked about it, he said that you should seek Web."
"Web?" Peter parroted. He may have been Spider-Man, but the spider gimmick got old to him, sometimes, too.
"Yeah. Used feminine pronouns, so I'm assuming it's a woman. He also said 'Madame' at some point, so looks like…"
"I have to find some high society spider-themed lady who's supposed to, what? Have the same powers as me?"
"Correction;" Karen leaned her shoulder into his. "We have to find her."
"Karen-"
"Nope." She rested her fingers over his mouth, a clear request for silence. "Wong said it, and I said it; you're not in this alone, not anymore. I won't let you be. I'm with you, and I'm sure that Matt and Foggy would be as well. Hell, maybe even Frank, who knows? The point is, there's no way I'm going to let you do any of this alone, especially with what's coming. Sometimes, even the strongest people need backup, and I can do that for you. I will do that for you. Okay?"
Peter looked her in the eye. Her gaze was piercing, just as intense as she always was. But the sincerity and determination shone clear as day. She wasn't asking, wasn't offering. And, for some reason, Peter had no doubt that she would be one of the strongest allies he's had since the day Tony died.
"Why weren't you on the Avengers?" He asked, only half joking.
She put her hand back in her lap and grinned. "Cause I was too damn busy cleaning up New York."
He smiled back at Karen before one of her earlier statements hit him a little harder. "Can I ask what you meant by 'especially with what's coming?'"
Karen's face immediately tightened. "Right. Yeah." She shifted oddly, and Peter's face hardened in worry. "I need to go back quite a bit. Back to Mysterio."
Peter's blood turned to ice as soon as Karen said it. He looked away from her, eyes trained on the floor. "Yeah. I, uh, the Punisher mentioned him last night. When he had me pinned." He twisted his tea in his hands.
"Yeah. I know. Frank mentioned that to me, too. And I was able to get him to elaborate." She looked away from Peter, down at a different notepad. "Apparently, at some point, Frank found evidence that the Maggia - the Manfredi's, specifically - were footing the bill for Beck and his crew. They're the ones who funded… everything."
Peter threw the mug in frustration. It shattered against the wall, black tea pouring down the dull brown wall as some shards embedded themselves in the plaster.
Karen startled a bit, but not as much as she probably should've. As Peter tried to control his breathing, she hesitantly reached a hand out and laid it on his shoulder. He allowed her to do so, trying to get himself back under his own control.
"Can I elaborate?" She asked softly after a moment. Peter gave her a curt nod. "Right. Well, Frank found receipts after he'd been kidnapped by the Maggia for whatever reason. Through his own digging, he managed to find the reason why the Manfredi's are targeting Spider-Man. Why every Maggia family is targeting Spider-Man."
Peter looked up at her, his brows knitted together. "Every family?"
She nodded sadly, lightly squeezing his shoulder. "Yeah. I haven't connected everything specifically quite together, but from my cursory review of all known Maggia activities, the vast majority of them involved you interfering. And they were really elaborate, too, as if someone had planned it to get you there. Seems everything always went haywire in the end, when you would succeed. I'm planning on looking it all over in the morning, but it all connects, especially with what Frank found."
"But why?" Peter felt himself grow a little desperate. "Like, I get that they want me out of the picture, but why did it all get so-" He waved his hands in the air, making the shape bigger as they went up.
"Because they're not the ones who want you." Karen began delicately. "They're all competing for something. Something we don't know yet, but whoever has that thing - the international source I told you about earlier - they want… they want Spider-Man, in exchange. And whoever gives them Spider-Man wins the war, and New York is probably doomed."
Peter felt his heart hollow itself out and the floor drop from beneath him. The world was suddenly distant, his breathe thundering as he took in what Karen said.
"Peter-"
"Why."
"What?"
He looked up at her, and her face crumbled in sorrow. "Why do they want me?"
Karen sighed, shaking her head to herself. "I… I don't know, yet. And I don't know who they are, either." He turned away from her, his gaze finding its way back to the tea slowly dripping down the wall. It had cooled off almost completely, most of the remains already finding their way to the floor. It was all he could do not to punch a hole in the wall behind him.
Karen began again, determined and optimistic. "But remember what I said. About me, and Matt, and Frank, and Foggy. We can be your back up. You don't have to do this alone ever again. We're your support, we want to help you. Together, all of us can find this Madame Web, we can figure out everything Wong really meant, and we can stop the people who want you."
"Yeah. Right. Uh," Peter sniffled, clenching his jaw. "I- I need some time, to process all of this." He looked at her sheepishly, not meeting her eye.
Karen nodded, her face twisting in sympathy. "Of course, Peter. Just, call me. If you have any questions, if you need someone to talk to. Call me for anything. Cause regardless of everything, I'm here for you, kiddo."
Peter hummed in acknowledgement before turning away from her. He stood, stepping back onto the couch before making his way to the ceiling. He began pacing an already well worn path, trying to sort through… well, everything.
Why would someone want him? For revenge for breaking open the multiverse? Because he fixed the destinies of all the villains that came through? For info on Stark and SHIELD? Did they just want to have the joy of killing or imprisoning him? It made no sense.
Karen began packing away all her papers, leaving the photo and the first stack she'd examined in their places. Peter noticed, and opened his mouth to ask when her phone began ringing.
"Is that…" He paused as he tried to figure out the song. "Super Freaky Girl?"
"So it's not just weird to me that Matt is a huge Nicki Minaj fan?" She asked as she answered, putting the phone on speaker. "Hey-"
She was interrupted by a loud hail of bullets blaring through the phone. Her eyes were immediately alert, all of her attention on the phone sitting on her lap.
Peter walked over, looking down in concern. She said that was Matt. Why would Matt of all people be around that sort of thing? Unless he and Foggy were pursuing that arsonist, or some other deranged client, or the Punisher decided he was done with Nelson, Murdock & Page.
Karen looked up at him, scared and deep in thought. Peter looked back at her in worry, unsure what to do as more bangs came from the other line of the phone.
As if coming to a decision, Karen nodded to herself and held a single finger up to her lips, asking Peter to be quiet. He nodded before she turned back to her phone. Peter considered her oddly before a voice came through the line. "Karen!" It was Matt.
"Hey! What the hell is going on?" She asked, frustrated with only a hint of fear.
"I was- ugh-" He was cut off briefly, the sound of boots hammering against pavement echoing through Peter's apartment. "Castle went after the Manfredi's again, said he found some lead and didn't wait for me to catch up. When I followed, he ended up walking us into a shootout between a-" More gunshots.
"Matt!"
"Karen, please don't call me that when I'm in the field." Matt yelled.
"Fine," Her voice was riddled with sudden anxiety. "What do you need, Daredevil?"
Peter's jaw dropped, his eyes going wide as he stared at Karen. She didn't even look up as Matt began rambling something about Spider-Man and the Maggia and we need help right fucking now.
Nope. Not Matt. Fucking Daredevil. How in the hell- Peter could not believe it. How was Matt Murdock of all people Daredevil?
He totally lost focus. His feet subconsciously loosened themselves, and all at once he crashed to the floor beneath him. Peter groaned after landing harshly on his back, rubbing his right shoulder as he sat up.
"Karen, what was that noise? Are you okay?" Matt asked, briefly distracted from his own fight.
Karen was looking at Peter with wide eyes. "Yep! Everything's fine!" She injected some fake cheer into her tone. "I'll just, I'll find Spider-Man and send him to you before I meet up with Foggy and the kids."
"Great, Karen, I can't-"
"Red!" A distant, angry voice came through the phone. "Put your fucking phone down!" Matt grumbled something to Frank before the line went dead.
Karen and Peter looked at each other, both wide eyed and nervous.
"Seriously, Karen?" Peter was incredulous.
She smiled sheepishly, hiking her shoulders up to her ears in an awkward shrug. "Surprise."