Chapter Two: Ghost of the Past
His breath hitched. Just this morning, it was 1992.
Now… this was 2025?
The disorientation sank deep. Had the Fantastic Four thought he was dead? Was Mary Jane still out there? Was she safe?
The questions stacked like bricks in his mind as Peter stumbled onto the sidewalk, trying to make sense. The people bustled past. He was just another masked figure in a city bursting with tech and digital noise.
Then—"Spidey?"
The voice made him freeze. It was unfamiliar but tinged with something… reverent.
He turned toward the sound, and hovering just above the ground was a figure in a high-tech armored suit—sleek, angular, glowing in crimson and gold. The resemblance was uncanny.
"Iron Man?" Peter called out; his voice edged with disbelief.
The figure's visor retracted, revealing a young man with tousled hair and eyes wide with shock and awe. "Holy— It's really you."
Peter stiffened. "Who the hell are you?"
The guy chuckled nervously. "Sorry. Name's Cade William. And uh… yeah, we need to talk."
Peter's spider-sense tingled. "How do you know who I am?"
Cade lifted his hands, non-threatening. "After what happened just now, our surveillance caught everything. The explosion. Your DNA. And the suit. You're Peter Parker. The Spider-Man who vanished in 1992. You've… been something of a legend."
Peter blinked. "You've got to be kidding me. Let me guess—you're part of the Iron Legion?"
Cade grinned. "Close. I'm the Iron Man now."
Peter raised a brow. "Tony Stark finally took a vacation?"
Cade's face dimmed. "He took something more permanent. Long story."
Peter rubbed his temples. "Yeah, I think I'm owed a few of those."
"Come on," Cade said. "There's something you need to see."
Peter followed cautiously. Cade led him into an alley and approached what looked like an abandoned subway entrance. With a flick of his palm across a scanner, the wall shimmered and slid open, revealing a glowing interior laced with futuristic tech.
Peter hesitated. "Hidden bases under New York"
Cade smirked. "You're not the only one who likes to keep secrets."
The corridor they entered was a blend of old concrete and new technology. Blue-lit panels pulsed with energy. Holograms flickered overhead, displaying maps, and files.
"Welcome to the Avengers Initiative," Cade said, his voice tinged with pride.
Peter stopped walking. "Where are they? The Avengers? Fantastic Four?"
Cade hesitated. "Scattered, mostly. After the Incident, things changed."
Peter narrowed his eyes. "Define 'Incident.'"
Cade tapped a console. A hologram burst into life: chaos, cities in ruin, heroes clashing with monstrous enemies, explosions lighting up the sky.
"It started in 2012," Cade explained. "Magneto declared war. He brought an army of enhanced mutants. The world called every hero to arms."
Peter's heart pounded as familiar faces appeared in the footage.
"But Magneto wasn't alone," Cade continued. "Turned out, he was just a pawn. The real threat was the Dark Society. Led by Doom."
Peter's jaw clenched. "Doom was already megalomaniac back then…Did we win?"
Cade nodded. "They managed to imprison Magneto. But Doom disappeared—vanished off the grid. Some heroes died. Others... retired. The world's been trying to hold itself together ever since."
Peter stepped back from the hologram. "Everyone I knew… gone."
"Well, not everyone," Cade said. "Some still fight. Some wait for the right time."
Peter stood silently, absorbing the weight of three missing decades. Friends lost. Battles unfought. The city changed. A legacy forgotten.
"I wasn't ready for any of this," Peter whispered.
Cade smiled softly. "Yeah? No one ever is. But you're here now, Spider-Man. And something tells me… we're going to need you.