A few years in dilated virtual time. Two months in real time. Weeks of flying from one corner of the world to another. Days of planning, convincing, deals, blackmailing, and ultimatums, all for this moment.
Peter stood by the glass windows of his new penthouse suite, a towering building that had been recently purchased. It was a hundred stories, 1300 feet, plus two official basement levels with many more unofficial basement levels a little deeper than building regulation would allow, 2.8 million square feet, and approximately 800 plus rooms.
Big enough to hold 15,000 employees and then some.
Officially purchased by their partner, Yashida Corporation, and transferred it, deed and all, to the spin-off company, Parker Corporation. Parker Corporation is a parent company, a spin-off of a tech division into a new startup, and to help it launch, Yashida Corporation generously gifted an office building for the division to occupy, along with enough resources to keep it afloat. The spin-off is structured under IRS Section 355 to avoid tax consequences.
Officially, that is. This building and many other properties were purchased through various means.
Renovations would be complete in the next few months. Well, the more drastic modification would be complete by then anyway. Arno was already working on the finer details under Cypher's watchful oversight. A few projects were already in the works, set to be released in the next few weeks, among other things.
Peter spent most of his days with Kelly and the ancient one. He still 'slept' in his home in Queens, spending more time there when he dove into the metaverse. Aunt May was moved to a more secure location- she would be awake soon, sooner if Cypher's projections were right, and they were usually right.
Too soon. Peter wasn't ready yet. He would be though, at least he hoped he would be. He felt Garfield's fluffy tail brushed softly against the back of his neck as the cat now as small as a kitten slept soundlessly on his head.
Light stomps filled the empty sweet as tiny footsteps fluttered around the room.
"Yay! This couch is so comfy." A bright, childish voice commented behind him. More footsteps resounded as the tiny ball of energy bounced around from one room to the next, followed by more overly dramatic 'oohs', 'wow', and 'ahh'.
"A Pool, Primary! We have a Pool!" Kelly McGrath cheered as she ran up to him.
"It's Peter, Kay. Peter."
"I know. But we're alone right now, Primary."
Peter glanced down affectionately at the little sprite. Blue hair with the same bunny ears, tucked comfortably in her oversized bunny-themed cotton hoody, and matching blue bunny flip-flops. Her smile was bright and cheerful, but her eyes were dull.
"What are you doing?" Peter asked as he ruffled her hair.
Tilting her head slightly, Kelly leaned closer to the glass window and answered. "I'm mimicking the behavioral patterns of the average twelve-year-old girl. Am I doing it right?" She attempted a childish grin, scrutinizing her reflection. "My mental model and voice pitch are within acceptable parameters. Micro expressions are harder to articulate… I have too much control over my muscles- smiles are supposed to be involuntary for children."
Peter raised an amused brow. "You don't have to try that hard, you are twelve. You know, that right?"
"I know." Her grin spread a little wider, lips quivering slightly. "Aha! That's it. Nailed it. What do you think?"
Seemingly satisfied with herself, Kelly turned to Peter with her perfected smile and gave him a proud thumbs-up. Chuckling lightly at her, Peter returned the smile and ruffled her hair again. "It's perfect."
"Come on, let's go." Peter turned to leave.
"Where are we going?" Kelly checked her reflection again, nodding at herself before abruptly turning, she skipped after Peter.
"My old high school."
"Am I going to school?"
"No, you're not, we're just visiting."
…
If there was one thing that was on everyone's mind at the moment, aside from the obvious aliens from outer space, superheroes, and mutants, it would be the name Peter Parker.
Gwen watched the crowd grow around the newly renovated Midtown High. Students, reporters, parents, and bystanders. She sat in her seat at the forefront of the crowd along with Liz, Flash, and a few others. More students chattered around her, talking about one thing or another. They saved a seat for MJ, who would arrive later.
Harry waved at her from the stage, and she returned the wave with a cheery and supportive smile, although not entirely cheery at the moment, she didn't want to bring the mood down.
Her friends waved back as well. Most of them anyway.
"I mean, this shit can't be real? right?" Flash voiced his disbelief for the umpteenth time. Gwen had lost count of how many times he asked that question. "Sure, he's smart. But he's not that smart. Come on, babe. What do you think?"
Flash turned to Liz Allen.
Liz rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's antics. "I think it's happening whether you believe it or not. I don't know why you're stressing out over this so much."
"I'm not stressing over it…" Flash grumbled.
"No, you're just jealous the nerd no longer needs daddy's money to be a man." Liz teased sarcastically.
"Come on, babe. Really?"
Gwen tuned them out as her eyes scanned through the masses. She was searching for him, unintentionally; she was looking for Peter. A tiny bit of dread gently curled in her stomach along with the silent whispers of anticipation she chose to ignore.
She had observed him from time to time as he came and went from his home. Usually, when she was out on patrol as Spider-Woman. She wasn't stalking him, she wasn't a stalker by any stretch of the word – she was simply looking out for him. That thing inside him, whatever it was, was dangerous. More dangerous than Peter realized.
It changed their world, it changed her world.
Apparently, Captain America was a woman and dead until months ago. That was until Peter, or that thing in him brought Peter back to life. The changes varied, some changes were big, some changes were too small, historical inconsistencies, people changing gender, some being born when they were never supposed to exist, and others erased. She was living in a world that was changed and by how much she didn't know.
Even the spider society couldn't identify all the changes. She wasn't sure if her friends had changed in any way, or if her family were even the same people she remembered when she was plucked from this universe.
It scared her.
She was terrified and at the same time, she was powerless to do anything about it. She couldn't even trust her own memories, she would never know what had changed and what remained the same. The worst part was that she couldn't do anything about it, not yet.
Peter didn't know what was inside him, or that it was responsible for the change. She couldn't tell him because they didn't know how it would react, they didn't understand it enough, they didn't know enough about it to protect the world from it, to protect Peter from it.
The older Peter she had met reassured her that he had fought something like it before. Some demon named Mephisto, but this wasn't a demon. This was something different.
An anomaly in the omnipotent. One that even the Spider Society, with their vast archives of multiverse-spanning knowledge, couldn't make heads or tails about it or its nature.
How would she even begin to fight something like that? All she could do now was wait for the Spider Society, bide her time, watch Peter, and look out for any changes to the timeline. So far, there has been no change to the timeline.
Peter, on the other hand, had the most drastic change. He was now effectively the youngest self-made billionaire on earth, in history, even. He patented two inventions that were supposed to be able to change the world.
The news and various online speculations said he created a large interactive language model, close to an AI but not an AI. A leap in the field of AI and an impressive one at that. There was a demo hosted on a website online that anyone could try; she tried it, and it was something one could have full-on conversations with, the language model was almost human, it was uncanny. Quite frankly, it was amazing. The other was a small renewable energy device called a Flux-core, which was even more mind-boggling. Both were enough for him to gain a 2.5-billion-dollar contract and enter a partnership with Yashida Corporation in Japan to start his own company.
Most of her friends couldn't believe it.
She did, after all, he had made the lizard serum in a few weeks with nothing to go on but an incomplete formula. She wasn't sure if he would use 'that' too or not. She hoped he didn't but if he did…
Regardless, now they were waiting for him to show up. At least most of them were.
Gwen turned her eyes from the crowd and back onto the stage. She watched Harry shake hands with a few notable individuals awkwardly beside his father. Oscorp had donated a large sum of money to rebuild the school after the battle of New York for obvious reasons. However, someone else had also donated a large sum of money at the last minute to the school, another corporation.
Parker Corp.
No one thought much about the name, no one connected the dots. Not until Peter Parker's name made the front page of the Papers and the headlines on several News Channels a week ago. A week ago, no one knew his name, and the few who did only knew him as the awkward smartass nerd from Midtown High or that one boy from Queens. Now, everyone suddenly knew his name, and everyone wanted to know his name. His story made him a celebrity overnight.
A gifted and brilliant young kid from Queens who, after losing his only family in his Aunt and Uncle, risked it all to sell his inventions and made it big threw sheer luck and tenacity.
A literal rags-to-riches story. She wanted to scoff at the idea but the story wasn't entirely wrong. A sudden weight on her shoulders pulled her from her thoughts, she felt a pair of soft arms coil around her.
"What's up, tiger?" MJ greeted her with a hug. Gwen leaned into the hug lightly. "Hey, MJ."
"That thinking face of yours is working overtime right now," MJ commented as she worked her way around Gwen to her seat. She greeted Flash and Liz, who were still arguing over something with a simple 'Hey guys,' then turned to Gwen with an inquisitive gaze. "So, Penny for your thoughts. "
Gwen sighed and answered simply. "Peter."
The reaction was instant. MJ groaned almost comedically, much to Gwen's amusement. That name conveyed so much yet so little given what MJ knew about Gwen and Peter's relationship. "Not you too… Seriously, my internship at the Daily Bugle has been effectively and literally reduced to 'How much do you know about Peter Parker?'"
MJ gave Gwen a light-hearted glare. "And the one person who knows more about him than anyone else refuses to give me anything to go on."
Gwen shook her head with a chuckle. "I don't think a list of his favorite foods and movies would make for a compelling piece. Besides, if you want to talk to him, just ask him."
"Easier said than done." A trace of envy laced her voice as she continued. "You know, I never thought he'd make it big."
"No one did."
"Right." MJ relaxed into her chair as she raised one arm to wave at Harry, her arm paused briefly. "Huh, speak of the devil."
Gwen turned to the stage, and she too paused briefly. She watched as Peter Parker walked up to the stage and took a seat beside Norman Osborn after briefly shaking his hand. Against all odds, Peter's eyes met hers amongst the ocean of people around the stage.
Peter's lips quirked into a ghost of a smile, a knowing smile like he was sharing an inside joke with someone, and for a moment, it felt like everything was back to normal until it wasn't.
His smile still felt off. His eyes were still empty, and what little emotions they conveyed was only known to him. His expensive suit clashed against his skin. His hair, now trimmed to perfection, looked strange on him.
He still didn't know.
He didn't know what he did. He still wouldn't take her warning seriously. He was treating it like some game. Like him playing the anti-hero and she was playing the hero, like this was some witty, comedic play and he was just playing along to see how she would stop him or if she could even stop him.
Gwen suddenly felt very angry. Angry at herself for not being able to do anything, and angry at Peter for being such a clueless idiot. It was the kind of anger that scorched, raw and consuming—and yet, somehow, she was grateful. Because beneath the twisted façade, her friend was still alive in there. Every time she saw him, a part of her clung to the hope that her friend hadn't completely disappeared. That the thing inside him didn't change him too much.
That she could still save him.
It was her responsibility to do so, to save him, even from himself. Even if it meant hurting him, because she was the one who started this mess in the first place.
After all, she was the one who killed him.
- Chapter End -
So, Surprise, I guess. This fic isn't dead yet. It was just on a long hiatus. Don't expect too many chapters, but there will be a few from time to time. And thank you Ken_eki, Bla_ck_1330, Clo_th, Glu_Ttony, World_Breaker2, World_Breaker1, Demon_Celeste, TheFool002 and arezki_Silmana. Seriously, and the others that dropped a stone from time to time. Thanks. I don't how you guys do it but damn. I thought the story notifs would be nonexistent until my next update but then you asses shows up and my ass feels guilty asf for not updating. (T_T)
If anything, consider this chapter and the few chapters that follow, if they do pop up, my gift to you. I hope you enjoyed it. (^_^)