Disclaimer: I own nothing of familiarity.
A/N: Yes, I know what some of you are potentially thinking, 'you just posted anew story, what about your others?' And I assure you, I do plan to give the go-around and update my other stories. My muse is a fickle thing, lemme tell ya, and while coming up with a good update schedule, well...this idea is one I've been sitting on for a good while that came to me before Marvel took a nose-dive in terms of quality and whatnot. as well as some of the newer reveals in the comics.
After NWH, I started thinking about Peter Parker/Spider-man and how the poor guy has literally been put through the emotional wringer in comics/video games/movies and for one of the heroes to have had various interactions with a number of more 'cosmic' entities in-universe, well...as Kate Atkinson once said, "Alternate history fascinates me, as it fascinates all novelists, because 'What if?' is the big thing."
So yeah, I thought 'What if...?'x)
Enjoy~!
I.
It was morning. Penny sat in her usual seat, opposite her dear Uncle Ben and next to Aunt May.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, sweetie!"
Sunlight poured in through the parted curtains of the living room, filling what might have been a dreary room with a fresh wave of light and life, strengthened by the warmth and love reflected in her aunt and uncle's matching gazes.
It was nice. She felt good today, better than she had in what felt like…months maybe? Years felt a bit more accurate.
"Up all night playing Beast Wars again?" Aunt May asked, watching Penny pour her favorite cereal into her bowl.
She needed to hurry if she wanted to catch the bus. Mouth full, Penny could only nod.
"Ah, I'll never understand these computer games, I swear," Uncle Ben began, turning the page of the morning paper. His smile betrayed the exasperation in his voice, causing both her and May to laugh. "The whole wizards and warlocks, magic and ogres-"
"Don't forget trolls," Penny cut in with a smirk, earning herself a pointed stare of amusement.
Penny could feel herself further relaxing under the soothing warmth of their shared home. Her aunt and uncle's laughter. Life was good again-
"You couldn't save them."
Penny's eyes shot open, the surrounding air suddenly dark and cold, leaving her feeling clammy and weak. Instead of the once-happy, peaceful visage of her Aunt and Uncle there were… There were…-
"If you were good enough, you could have saved everyone—you SHOULD have saved everyone. But you didn't, did you? Instead you let them die, one by one, just like Tony Stark."
Penny backed away, shame and horror etching themselves deep into her face. Her eyes started to water, stuttering out denials.
Forced to stare into her own reflection that was cast on Quentin-Mysterio's strange fishbowl helmet, she felt like she couldn't breathe. All the furniture and signs of life that once surrounded her were gone, leaving her alone in this cold, empty space with only her demons.
"It's because of you that I can't see my daughter or wife!" The angry glowing green eyes of the Vulture shoved themselves into her face, the loud whirring of his wings distracting her. "Why couldn't you have just died? Nobody would miss you—a hero who can't even save themselves isn't worth the air they breathe."
Penny thought about refuting the claim-part of her wanted to! Part of her wanted to say they were wrong and that she did save people. But-! But-!
"Tragedy. What else can I call it? What more needs to be said? The damage, the destruction, you saw it with your own eyes. When will people wake up and realize that everywhere Spider-Man goes, chaos and calamity ensue. Everything Spider-Man touches comes to ruin."
…They were right, weren't they?
Penny shot awake in a cold sweat. Her heart raced louder than the train running outside her building, and she gasped out a sob of pure relief that was short-lived as the loneliness sunk in again. Shaking her head and wiping away the tears, she donned her suit and swung out into the familiar bustling streets of New York down below.
There weren't many nights where Penelope 'Penny' Parker wasn't bogged down with nightmares anymore; nightmares of the battle against Thanos, her 'death', Mr. Stark's death, Mysterio, Aunt May's death. There were nights where the Green Goblin's words still haunted her-
"I may have given the blow, but you… you were the reason she was there."
- and now there was no MJ or Ned to console her. Hell, there was no Mr. Stark or Strange to help ease some of the burden. Now there was only Penny. It was better that way, or so she told herself upon seeing MJ and Ned in that coffee shop. She caught sight of the small cut on her once-girlfriend's head, and for just a moment, Penny saw Aunt May.
Penny stood in the now destroyed apartment-destruction she caused!-with no one but her dear Aunt May by her side. Police swarming the building, guns raised at the ready to open fire. All of them were calling for her arrest. There were helicopters outside too, no doubt picking every second of the spectacle that was Penny versus Osborn.
Nor-The Goblin left laughing. Triumphant in bringing Penny to what may well have been her lowest point ever right now. Nearly killing both her and Aunt May.
Aunt May who was an innocent bystander.
Aunt May who was too kind and good for the world.
Aunt May who loved her.
Aunt May who she killed- failed to protect. Again. Because Penelope 'Penny' Parker couldn't save anybody, she couldn't protect anybody. Not Uncle Ben. Not Mr. Stark. Not Aunt May-
"I just need to catch my breath. I just need- "
-and certainly not MJ.
So Penny had to let her go.
Penny blinked, willing the memory away as she headed back to her small, dingy one room apartment. She was done patrolling for the night. Heading back for some much-needed R&R.
It had been only a few months now since the incident where she asked Strange to make everyone forget who Penelope Parker was. A few months since last she visited Aunt May's grave and saw Happy. A few weeks since she got rejected by MIT.
She had no money or job and she'd immediately realized she needed one ASAP after she'd sent everyone—including her other dimension counterparts—home, but for the most part, she thought she was handling it well. She'd chosen to grin and bear it when the first ten or so jobs wouldn't hire her, and of course the landlord's understandable mounting frustration when she explained the first month's rent would be late was entirely understandable- "Not off to a great start, Parker!" he'd thrown at her with a shake of the head.
Honestly, Penny was tired. She was struggling with studying for her GED, she was struggling with having no one to talk to, having no friends or family to fall back on. Put frankly, Penny was struggling with life, feeling as worthless as when Mysterio had leaked her identity. Causing the whole world to hate her.
Still, she was trying - "with great power there must also come great responsibility" -torn over how to live up to her aunt's dying words.
She exhaled a shuddering breath, feeling the familiar sting of tears that always came when thinking of her aunt as she arrived on her bedroom window, quietly sliding it open and easing her way inside. Her muscles were sore, and everything ached after fighting that weird rhino-guy. Didn't one of her counterparts mention fighting someone like him as well?
She flicked on the faulty little light, figuring that perhaps she could in a few more hours of study tonight when-
"You know I'm pretty sure this place has already failed like seven major health code bylaws and that's not taking into account the two rats I've seen scurrying around in the hall." An unfamiliar, clearly male voice spoke up after she slid the window shut.
Penny froze. Having already pulled off her mask, she looked up and saw the stranger who was leaning against the small dirty sink of her kitchen (or at least that's what she chose to call it). Sipping on who knew what since she was pretty sure she ran out of coffee like a day ago and hasn't paid the water bill yet. His piercing blue eyes never wavered from her as he spoke, garbed in casual dark wash jeans and a pristine-looking white jacket, his wavy black hair holding a somewhat lighter shade of brown that was reminiscent of Penny's own hair, with skin just as tan.
Her first thought was that he was an enemy, only…her Spidey tingle hadn't gone off? Why hadn't it gone off? Was he somehow not a threat?
"Who-"
"Ah-ah, me first," the stranger cut in, the interaction eerily reminiscent of the first time she met Mr. Stark. Unbidden, a pang of guilt shot through her chest, but she forced herself to focus. "Penelope Parker, that's you, correct? Because if not, I'll just wipe your memories right here and now—though judging by the, ahhh, 'costume' you're sporting I'm guessing it is you," the stranger affirmed, pulling out what appeared to be a phone and tapping away on it. "Hm, YouTube makes you seem…taller," he settled on saying, seeming to brush off Penny's gobsmacked look with ease, pushing himself off the sink and turning, reaching for the handle of the faucet.
"W-who are-ah, th-that doesn't work! I haven't paid…the…water bill…" Penny said, and her words grew faint and further apart. watching as he turned the handle and a fresh flow of clean, fresh water flowed down and into his cup. He then turned it back off.
"Yeah, believe me, I know. I've been hearing your landlord bitch about it for the last half hour or so," the stranger went on to say casually, taking a long sip from his cup and regarding her with another cool stare. "And now I'll answer one of your questions, as for who exactly I am, well-" he seemed to think for a moment, then shrugged "-I have many names, not all of which I feel like sharing at the moment, to be quite honest. A majority of the universe, as well as most other ones, have coined the term 'Beyonder,' which in all honesty, I don't really get…"
Penny listened to him ramble, noting the way he stood so casually before her. It was clear from his words and mannerisms that he knows her, which shouldn't be possible. Did Mr. Strange's spell not work perhaps? But if that were the case then why didn't ones like MJ and Ned remember her either? Or even Happy?
"-Father."
Her world screeched to a halt, zoning back into the conversation. The single word anchored her suddenly, causing a sharp, sudden intake of breath to escape her lungs. Her gaze flitted back up a moment later, having swept across the room in a sudden flurry of confusion, and his left brow arched higher while he made a noncommittal hum in the back of his throat.
"You're not very good at listening, I see," he remarked with a heavy sigh, lips pulled down into a prominent frown. "I said -" he began, this time with a more pointed look "-for you, there is another title by which you may address me as, that being Father."
Penelope Parker thought her life would regain a sense of normalcy after the whole Mysterio, then 'multiverse' situation. Turned out she was wrong. As it turned out, she was wrong on a lot of things…including who her supposed human parents were.
"Oh, you've got to be shitting me," she whispered, something akin to horror lacing her words now as she struggled to process what this meant. The Beyonder—or whatever he chose to go by in that moment—didn't seem at all bothered by her cussing.
"The reason I'm here, Penny, is that you and I need to talk. Now."
For those who may or may not be familiar with the character, I feel the Beyonder could very well conceive a child given his curiosity towards humans as well as there actually being a comic storyline where he willingly does either give up or offer to split his own power in half in order to share it with a woman(who he thinks loves him, but uh, she ends up not really being all that great of a person).
And I feel the web-slinger is overdue for some 'cosmic assistance' in some regard, yes? I've also put a poll up, just a little curiosity thing for which pairing you might like to see in this. Also, no need to worry as these somewhat lengthy ANs will not be a regular occurrence, I assure you.