2 Years Earlier
"I'm just saying we don't need to rush into this," Peter B. said as he practically danced around Chris. The two of them were walking through a hospital, having just given Dr. Parker the last of the survivors of the Spot's assault on the city. There hadn't been that much loss of life… certainly not as much as there could have been considering the Spot had been throwing everything and anything at them in a chaotic mess… but there had been enough and every person they were able to pull from a magma-encrusted building or rescue from a pack of raptors was a win.
Actually, the two of them weren't walking through the hospital. Chris was walking through the hospital while Peter circled around him like a pesky fly that didn't realize that it wasn't wanted. But Peter was used to that… pretty much everyone in his life, at some point, had been utterly annoyed by his presence and wanted him gone. But he stuck around, wiggling and twisting his way into their hearts, wearing down the walls they built up until they finally accepted him. It was his way and it just worked.
He was sure he could do the same with Chris. Buy himself a bit more time.
He needed the time.
"I mean, there is so much more to do and you need veteran Spider-Men to help you out!"
"What we need," Chris said, "is to stop tripping over ourselves. We are trying to fix up the city but there are too many cooks in the kitchen. The only way we're going to be able to make things right now is to stop every other Spider from butting in thinking they can take the lead."
"Right, right… you need support. I get that. I'm just saying that there is no need to rush into this. I mean, what happens if it turns out there is a train that you need to haul back onto the tracks? Going to be a pain to get some of us back here. A few well placed Spiders, ones that know this Earth, would be a bit help-"
"I have an army of Wongs," Chris said. "We'll manage."
Peter nodded at that, shifting Mayday a little she was cooing and giggling in delight as he moved about, clearly enjoying his antics. In fact hearing her baby talk made him realize there was another avenue he could go down to get Chris to let him stay.
"Right… but you are also wearing yourself down. Bet you want a rest but you can't because you and the rest of the… Cabal or whatever you want to call yourselves… are focused on helping out. Which is why it would be smart to keep some of us around. Day shift and Night Shift, you know? Here-" he thrust Mayday out towards Chris, his adorable baby girl knowing at once to give the most charming smile she could, "-hold the baby. She's great for helping you relax."
Chris though raised an eyebrow. "So the guy known for grabbing kids and adopting them… should hold the baby you've already abandoned once?"
Peter at once yanked Mayday back, cuddling her close. "I didn't abandon her."
"Right. You were just focused on other things. I'm sure you have plenty of other ways to justify the bullshit you've pulled." Peter opened his mouth but Chris talked right over him. "You don't seem to get this Peter so I am going to say it in tiny words: You aren't wanted here. You aren't needed here. You only make things worse."
"…okay, first off, ouch. Second-"
"We have real work to do," Chris said, once more cutting him off. "Not just on this Earth but throughout the Multiverse."
"Hey, I get it, I really get it! The Spot-"
"Not just the Spot, you gibbering idiot," Chris snapped. "You still don't get it, do you? All this time… after everything you've been through… you still can't look 2 steps ahead. Can't see what is happening around you. For someone with Spider-Sense you are utterly BLIND to the world around you!"
"…uh," Peter said, noticing that some of the nurses had stopped to stare at them. "I'm not-"
"Do you realize how many people lost loved ones because of the Society? You only thought about the Spiders but you never thought about the husbands, the wives, the children. Oh, and those children… we already have reports of 15 sons and daughters of Captains who have become Supervillains thanks to you idiots brazenly showing up and refusing to do anything to save their loved ones."
"Wait… no…"
But Chris just kept talking. "And the innocent people we found in your cells in the Tower… yeah, there were Mysterios and Doc Ocks and the like that had escaped their worlds and were causing problems but we found others. A heroic Rhino who is the protector of his city and a good friend of Spider-Man. A Hobgoblin who was being mentored by Spider-Man to try and get him to turn to a life of heroics. Black Cats who never stole a thing in their lives but because they popped up in secure areas you idiots just assumed they were evil! Because you never bothered to THINK!" Chris tapped his temple violently with his index finger.
"I… okay, so maybe Miguel-"
"Not just Miguel! All of you! You didn't think, you didn't stop. It was all rush rush rush without a second thought! And now you want to do it here?" He let out a huff. "And that's assuming you actually want to help, which I doubt. Because I can see the gears turning in that head of yours, Peter: This is all about Miles."
Peter did all he could not to grimace. "I mean… that might be a nice… side benefit… but I am actually all for helping others. You just said that we made a lot of mistakes and like Uncle Ben said "With Great Power comes Great Responsibility". Right? Right?" He suddenly paused. "Wait, do you have an Uncle Ben?"
"I had an Uncle Ken."
"Ah. Yeah. Okay, that-"
"He's still alive and an asshole," Chris replied. "I miss a lot of things about my original world but he ain't one of them." He took a step forward and Peter tilted his eyes up; while not as massive as Miguel Chris still towered over most of the Spider-People at 6 foot 1… and that was if he were barefoot. His powers worked differently than everyone else's so he didn't need thin material to stick to walls and thus was able to wear thick boots that added another inch to his height. It honestly reminded him a bit of how Flash could tower over him.
"Ah… well… that's… great?"
"See," Chris continued on, "I didn't need someone to tell me some pretty little motto to know that I needed to be careful with how I used my powers. I understand that because I am a fucking adult." The words STERN, ANGRY, and PATRONIZING flashed across Chris' face. "Because that's the problem with you, Peter. You never grew up. You remained utterly stunted, refusing to actually develop into an adult. Adults don't need a mantra that reminds them to do something. That's something we do for a child. Do you still sing a song while you wash your hands?"
"…okay, so that's harsh-"
"You have it in your head that you can fix all this with just a few words but you can't. That is how a child thinks. That you just have to tell someone sorry and that will make everything right. But it doesn't. The vase is still broken. The feelings are still hurt. And sometimes there isn't anything you can do about the pain. No medicine or band aid. It is why we teach children to be careful with what they say and how they act around others."
He paused.
"You need to learn that."
Peter shuffled at bit at that. While Chris was around his age Peter felt like it was Uncle Ben talking to him, trying to impart upon him one more lesson.
"Okay… okay I get that," Peter said. "And I am working on it, I swear. I just need-"
"No," Chris said sharply. "You still don't get it. So… time out."
And with that a portal suddenly opened up under Peter, Mayday letting out a squeal of delight, and then the two were plummeting down so fast his heart went right into his throat-
-and then he landed on the roof of his house.
"Well… crap," Peter said.
~Present~
Peter let out a sigh as he looked over the instructions he had been given before glancing over at Mayday. "So… this is going to be the most difficult one yet. One of the most stressing and frustrating tasks I've ever had to do. I… I don't know if I have the strength to do this."
"Daddy can do it!" Mayday yelled, throwing her arms up in the air.
"Yeah… yeah, you're right!" Peter smiled as he reached over and grabbed his tools. "Alright, Vulture… let's do this."
And with that Peter… turned to his computer and set it up to begin printing the stencil set he would need. As it did that he used his screwdriver to begin taking apart the Gamestation 6, removing the outer cover so he could safely begin work repainting it.
"Alright, so they want a pearl gloss finish for the background and the Vulture with his wings spread out as the main design." Peter shook his head as he looked at the design the customer had selected. "Seriously… I could get the Lizard or Doc Ock or Venom. Hell, especially Venom, that's just a great design. Can do so many things with Venom."
It honestly amazed Peter that it had taken him so long to figure out that the perfect job for him, one that would allow him to provide for his family, was customizing and optimizing electronics. Cellphones, gaming systems, laptops, tablets.
'Its perfect,' he thought to himself. He rubbed his chin, fingers scrapping against the full beard that covered his chin and cheeks. 'I get to be my own boss so I don't have to deal with Jonah breathing down my neck. Sure, he's toned it down recently but he still is a hot head. I can work from home; MJ gets to act and we don't have to find a babysitter who knows how to deal with wall-crawling toddlers.'
Mayday looked down at him from her jungle gym and laughed. Many of those that had come to see his workshop had asked why he had a large cat tree when he and Mary Jane didn't have a cat but he had always laughed and waved them off… and made sure no one saw May leaping from it, giggling as she did spins and flips in the air before catching herself. The floor around it was padded to make sure she never got hurt but honestly Mayday had only hit the ground once without meaning to and she had bounced right back before Peter could panic.
'I get to be creative and use my brain, which is a lot better than most of the jobs I've tried,' he thought as he finished removing the outer shell. He'd also been asked to boost up the RAM on the thing and install new whisper-quiet fans. Setting the system in the special static-free box that he kept nearby he turned to the special printer he had personally made and pulled out the sheets of paper it had printed, popping out the perforated sections and going through them to make sure everything was in proper order. 'And I get to make my hours.'
Honestly that was the best part of the entire thing. No more having to make lame excuses why he had to duck away. No more lying to co-workers and having them think he was, at best, a forgetful idiot or, at worst, a slacker who could never be counted on. He could be working on a project and if an alert came in saying that Carnage or Shocker were attacking he could stop what he was doing and just worry about getting Mayday to one of the neighbors before heading out. Which was a lot easier than trying to juggle a newsroom, a lab, or a classroom.
'And the money is stupid,' he thought with a shake of his head. 'No matter how many times I do this I still can't believe how much people are willing to pay me!' The Gamestation 6 he was working on would be, breaks and dry time removed, about 2 hours. 'And I am going to make a hundred bucks off of it!' And of course he was able to work on multiple projects at once, meaning that he was bringing in some days more than he had made selling photos to Jonah over the course of a week!
It felt wonderful, being able to provide for his family without the guilt of having to leave New York defenseless.
He had just gotten done with the second coat on the base when he heard footsteps and turned in time to see Mayday let out a screech and fling herself at Mary Jane. It was only practice and routine that allowed MJ to catch the toddler, though it was a close thing.
"Mayday, we've talked about tackling mommy…" Peter said with a sigh.
"Yeah! It fun!" Mayday declared happily. Having thus explained such things to Peter and nearly killed her mother May wiggled and fussed until Mary Jane sighed and let her down, the little one chirping "Hi mommy!" before running back to play on the jungle gym.
"…she gets that from you," Peter told her, Mary Jane shaking her head with a bemused sigh. "How was work?"
"Went well."
"What was it today?"
"Train derailment."
"Did you stop it with webbing?" he asked. "Because I've done that."
"No," Mary Jane said with a laugh. "It was already derailed. But my stun double did get to run through a wall of fire to rescue a baby that was trapped inside."
"Baby?" Mayday asked.
"No, no baby," MJ said, Mayday pouting; recently their daughter had been heavily hinting she wanted a little brother or sister.
Peter smiled though. "Don't tell me anything else… I can't wait to see the episode."
Mary Jane had managed to land the lead in the year's newest hit, NYFD, a spin off of NYMED, as Captain Emelia Cross. Peter had become addicted to the show, which covered the lives of the fiction Engine 209 and their work in protecting the city, and demanded that Mary Jane keep spoilers to a minimum.
"Then I shouldn't tell you what happened between Captain Cross and Blade Runner?"
"NO!" Peter exclaimed in horror. He had been following greatly the Will They/Won't They of Captain Cross and the Super Heroine Blade Runner, who kept meeting up with each other at disasters and clearly had a ton of chemistry. One might have thought that it was weird that he spent days rooting for his wife to have a torrid affair with a married superhero. Of course Cross had no idea that the marriage was one of convenience and that Blade Runner was gay but…
Well, Peter was able to enjoy it because unlike all her other roles, or real life, MJ spent most of the show glammed down, with soot on her face and her hair in a tight bun.
"Alright, alright tiger," she teased, shaking her head.
Peter merely narrowed his eyes and waited to make sure she didn't try and spill anything before saying, "Alright, well let me get this done and then I will get ready for date night."
"Who is babysitting this time?" MJ asked. But the moment she said that she suddenly paled. "Not Wade."
"Unca Wade!" Mayday squealed. "Maxie Eff-or!" she then began to swing her arms around, making 'swish, swish, slice, slice' sounds.
"No… never again no," Peter replied, mentally making a note to talk to Wade about just WHAT he taught Mayday every Wednesday when he took her antique shopping. "Ben is watching her."
"Unca Ben!" Mayday cheered, leaping up and grabbing onto one of the climbing pads.
"Oh, is Ben… Ben again?" MJ asked.
"Yeah, not Chasm at the moment, thank Uata," Peter muttered. That had NOT been a fun 3 months. "He's looking forward to seeing her."
"Well, that works for me," Mary Jane said. "Which is good because its my turn to pick and I didn't want you weaseling out of this, Parker."
THAT made Peter nervous. "Uh… what do you have planned?"
MJ merely smirked.
~MC~MC~MC~
"This is mean," Peter complained as he tugged on his suit jacket sleeve.
"It will be fun!" Mary Jane said as they stepped into the piano bar.
"I'm not a fan of music and dinner, MJ."
"Aw, still traumatized by Bully Parker?" she asked.
"We do not speak of that Earth," he complained as they were shown to a table by a waitress. "And this place… I keep imagining Mephisto showing up in here. Feels like his kind of place."
That made MJ shake her head. "The Devil in a Piano Bar? No one would want that." They settled in and began to look over their menus, Peter already deciding he wanted an Appletini. He didn't care that Logan would have mocked him for it… Zach Braff was right, they were so yummy!
He had just gotten his drink, MJ going for a scotch on the rocks because they were such a weird couple, when the lights lowered and the crowd began to murmur to themselves as a well dressed man stepped out, a spotlight shining down on him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Ticklish Keys." Polite clapping filled the air though Peter didn't join in as he was too busy sipping his drink. "We will of course present you with some of the greatest hits for you to enjoy but tonight we have a special duo that will be performing for all of us. We hope you enjoy…"
"You know about this?" Peter asked to MJ as the lights went down again.
"No," she admitted and Peter was glad that meant that the special guest wasn't some trick on him or some surprise. He really-
An upbeat piano riff filled the air, energetic and strong. The spotlight returned, revealing that now at the piano was a woman with short bluish-black hair and some kind of orante headpiece that looked like horns, her black-painted lips quirked in a smirk as her fingers raced along the keys. She was wearing a suit but it was cut to leave NOTHING to the imagination.
"Huh… wonder if she's famous," Peter said. "She looks familiar…"
"You think so?" Mary Jane said. "I don't recognize her…"
"Maybe she was in Rent, or Stomp, or Clomp, or some other piece of crap…"
But before Mary Jane could scold him for that (and he knew she was getting ready to scold him) another figure stepped out of the shadows and Peter's jaw dropped.
Chris Chase.
You could never know what it's like
Your blood, like winter, freezes just like ice
And there's a cold, lonely light that shines from you
You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use
Chris turned and smiled at his partner, who Peter dimly realized must have been the Proxima Midnight he had picked up. He hadn't interacted much with her but he remembered her being rather stiff and blunt… so seeing her with her head down, playing the piano like it was a lover that needed to be touched in all the right places was very much startling.
And did you think this fool could never win?
Well, look at me, I'm a-comin' back again
I got a taste of love in a simple way
And if you need to know while I'm still standin'
You just fade away
"Peter?" MJ said, having seen him stiffen.
Part of him wanted to run. To grab Mary Jane and just… leave. Go. Get someplace, any place, other than there. But then Chris caught his eye and Peter felt like he had been frozen in place, body locked up like Wanda had fired some chaos magic at him. He couldn't move.
Don't you know I'm still standin' better than I ever did?
Lookin' like a true survivor, feelin' like a little kid
And I'm still standin' after all this time
Pickin' up the pieces of my life without you on my mind
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
'There is a message here,' he thought to himself. 'But I'm not sure who its for.' Was the song about Chris? Was it him taunting Peter about how he had managed to fix the multiverse while Peter was here just… living his life.
Or, as another part of his mind thought, could it be that Chris was being sympathetic?
Once, I never coulda hoped to win
You're startin' down the road, leavin' me again
The threats you made were meant to cut me down
And if our love was just a circus, you'd be a clown by now
'This song… it could be about Spider-Man. Not just me but EVERY Spider-Man. Each of us who were told we weren't good enough, that we didn't belong, that we were failures or frauds. And how each time… we rose up. We were still standing.'
Peter smiled.
Chris… smiled back.
You know I'm still standin' better than I ever did
Lookin' like a true survivor, feelin' like a little kid
And I'm still standin' after all this time
Pickin' up the pieces of my life without you on my mind
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
They were nearing the end. Peter could tell that. But where before he had felt dread seeing Spider-Chaos in that club now he was just feeling utterly relaxed. All the tension was bleeding from his body, leaving him feeling loose. It was like after going to that massage parlor that Tony had recommended to him, the one he couldn't ever afford to go to himself but Tony would cover the bill for. Where the little old woman that looked like she would be blown away by a strong gust would get him on the table and find every sore muscles and knot in his body and blast them away with just her thumbs.
He wasn't afraid of Chris or what he would say. He was ready for it.
Don't you know that I'm still standin' better than I ever did?
Lookin' like a true survivor, feelin' like a little kid
And I'm still standin' after all this time
Pickin' up the pieces of my life without you on my mind
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'm still standin' (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
After that Chris and Proxima did a few more songs but finally they wrapped things up and began to move around, greeting tables. Peter had long finished his drink and was just beginning to wonder if he could ask if they had food at the place without looking like a goober when Chris came over, settling in across from him while Proxima sat down at his side.
"You've mellowed out," Peter said only to wince as he heard how that had sounded.
But thankfully Proxima merely smiled. "Our children have been a great help in that. I think you would agree it is hard to remain aloof when you have little ones that are looking to you for help."
"You know each other?" MJ asked.
"Chris Chase and Proxima. They… they were part of that whole Spider Society thing."
Mary Jane stared at the two for a moment before nodding. "Right. The Council of Mary Janes. I am still waiting for my invite."
Peter paled at the idea of his wife joining up with an entire multiverse group of MJs that knew his faults and it must have shown on his face because Chris laughed. "Pete, Pete, Pete. You think that is bad? I know for a fact there is a Clowder of Black Cats. And the May Parker Collective…"
"I don't like the Multiverse anymore," Peter groaned.
That made Chris scoff. "Yeah yeah, you are at least only part of one. I have the Chaosverse to deal with on top of the Spiderverse." He shook his head before looking at Mary Jane. "We put this world on a time out so that's why they haven't reached out to you. But tomorrow you'll be able to ask them about it."
"The support system for Spider-Children is wonderful," Proxima stated. "I am not a Mary Jane but they allow me to still use the services-"
"I'm sorry… what?" Peter said, confused.
"Well, there is daycare, support groups both in person and digital." Proxima ticked off more points. "Classes if you are interested in learning tech or engineering to assist your partner-"
"No, not that." Peter shook his head. "I mean… that sounds great. Amazing! But I mean… tomorrow?"
"Two years are up," Chris said and Peter stared at him in shock. He had lost track of time. "Time Out is over and now you get to see what we've built. All of you… you and Mary Jane and Mayday, are invited. We also want to reach out to your Jessica Drew, Ben Reilly, and Kaine. Is your Otto currently a dick?"
"I… think he's dead again?" Peter said. "Its hard to figure out with him."
"I'll have Otto reach out to him, just in case. The work out programs and health regiments are really helping to stop Ottos body hopping."
Peter felt like his head was swimming even as the waitress came over, Proxima taking a menu even as Chris just asked for a pop. "I… tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," Chris confirmed.
Peter… didn't know how to react.