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A myriad of colors swirled in the rift of time and space that had been created in front of me.The night had started just like any other—I came home after work to our small but comfortable city apartment, only to find Peter passed out on the couch, Spidey suit still on and mask lifted just enough to let his soft snores pour out. I threw him a fond look as I kicked off my shoes and locked the door before heading to the kitchen.The whole way home I had fully intended to make dinner, but upon noticing the dishes piling in the sink and the day I, and apparently Peter, had, I swiftly found myself in no mood. I whipped out my phone and quickly placed an order to our favorite pizza place, which had basically memorized our order and address based on our phone number at this point.I walked back over to Peter and kneeled next to the couch so that we were face to face. Placing my fingers under the lip, I gently pulled the mask up and over his head, softly cradling his head in my hands as it came off completely. I leaned over and placed it on the couch next to him as I knew he liked having it close by to him at all times.Lightly threading my hands through his hair, I sat back and let my eyes roam over his face in reverence, amazed by how handsome looked even as he snored up a storm. The sound caused me to let out a giggle, and I pressed a sweet kiss to the button of his nose. The pressure must have been enough to wake him as he started to stir, but I made no motion to move from my position as I watched him.Crinkling his brow, a tell-tale sign something's set off his senses, his eyes suddenly opened at the feeling of a presence only to swiftly soften when he realized it was me. He reached up to cradle my face and flashed that heart warming smile he only ever uses with me before he whispered in a sleep-adled voice,"Hey."And then he was gone.Sucked from existence into the same portal that had taken him almost three years ago. At least, I could only assume it's the same portal as I had only heard descriptions of it from Peter.Peter...A flash of red caught the corner of my eye and I looked down, realizing that Peter's mask had fallen off the couch and into my lap. Cradling it with the hands of a mother, a surprised sob escaped my lips as the cold, white eyes stared back at me, lifeless. I clenched the mask in my fists and glanced back at the portal that had taken my husband, seemingly sticking around as a taunt, and I—I dove into it headfirst.
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Falling through the portal was a lot less scary and painful than I always imagined it to be and more floating through Willy Wonka's crazy tunnel. I had to close my eyes against the colors that continuously burst in front of them as my body was being pulled by some unknown force. I pushed a hand out in front of me to act as a guide, and not too long after, I felt solidity beneath my fingertips.My whole body came to a halt, and I was able to tuck my legs under me so that I was now in a fetal position, floating. Opening my eyes, I saw what it was that my hand hit, and I just knew that this is where my Peter had been dropped. Crystalline fragments of New York City skyscrapers met my sight, bright sunlight reflecting off of them. Below, a plethora of people walked to and fro, going about their busy days.Determined to get into this dimension, I pushed against the glass-like structure with both hands. It didn't budge. I pushed at it again, this time pressing my feet against it as leverage. Now desperate, I banged the glass with closed fists, swinging one arm back and bringing it down as hard as I could. I was rewarded with a loud crack! as fractal lines worked their way up and around the picture in front of me.Swinging my fist back once more, the resounding thump of my hand against the glass completely shattered it leaving only a deep, black hole behind. With only a moment's notice, I was swiftly sucked into the void and this time I was no longer floating. I was straight free falling. And the ground was quickly coming up to meet me. Wait, not the ground..."Ahhhhhhhh—oomph!"I hadn't even realized I had been screaming until it was cut off by the force of landing in a giant trash pile next to a dumpster. And while it is fitting, would I use this as a metaphor for the turn this night had taken? I looked at my surroundings, noticing that I had landed in the back alley of a New York City street, in the middle of the day, where I still sat in trash up to my elbows. Yeah, probably.Heaving myself up to a sitting position as best as I could, I used the leverage I now had to shimmy down and out of the garbage pile—landing sock first into a sticky, wet substance."Ugh, you have got to be kidding me."Not even bothering to give the unknown goop a second glance, I bent down and ripped my sock off in one fluid motion. Movement caught the corner of my eye and I froze, slowly turning to my left. I breathed out a sigh of relief when I realized that there was a broken mirror that someone had left in the alleyway that was reflecting my own movements back at me. I walked over to the mirror to get a better look at myself.My hair was disheveled and wild about my face from the tumble I took through time and space. My nicely pressed blouse and slacks were now terribly crinkled and covered in splotches of garbage juice while my peacoat was lucky enough to be dark in color and not so obviously stained. After my encounter with the goop I was now left in one sock while the other foot was bare.Leaning in close to the mirror, I passed a hand through my hair and let out a surprised gasp. "Now I'm the hobo..." The shriek of a siren pierced through the air. I swiveled my head to the right, just catching the sight of a police car racing down the street. I ran towards that end of the alley, my heart pounding in my chest. Wherever there's a crime there's a Spider-Man, and thank god New York is chock full of criminal intentions. I pushed through the throng of people passing by, ignoring the insults thrown my way as I kept my eyes skyward.I scanned the skies for any flashes of red and blue, my heart dropping with every second that passed without any sign of him. I slumped my shoulders and leaned my head back in defeat, closing my eyes. A soft breeze caressed my face, tousling the few strands of hair that rested there."Look, sweetie, it's Spider-Man!"My eyes shot open as I tried to refocus on the scene above me. He swung from building to building with almost as much grace as I remembered, but I took no time to think about that as I pushed my feet to follow after him. He soon started to pull away, but I couldn't lose him now that I just found him."Pet—Spider-Man!" I yelled out to him as loud as I could. "Please, Spider-Man! Just hold on!" His head turned ever so slightly in acknowledgment, but he showed no signs of stopping. "God damn it Pet—oh!"I was suddenly propelled backwards and onto my butt, hard. "Jeezus, lady, what are you, some kinda lunatic fan?"Blinking rapidly, I focused on the sight of a man leaning down towards me, his eyebrow raised in disgust."What?"He thrust a meaty finger at me, pointing down to my left. "That! You trying to get him to sign some merch for you or something? God, kids these days..." He shook his head and clucked his tongue disapprovingly before turning around and walking away, still muttering.I blinked a couple more times to gather my thoughts before looking down to where the man was pointing. There, still clenched in my left fist, was Peter's Spider-Man mask.
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I got up off the ground, my eyes still focused on the mask in my hand. Bringing it up to my nose I inhaled deeply, letting Peter's familiar scent wash over me. "I swear, no matter what it takes, I will find you," I whispered, breathing it into the material like a secret oath.A shoulder check alerted me to the fact that I was still standing in the middle of the sidewalk. I'd never been more thankful to have probably been written off as a crazy person to the other pedestrians as they continued to ignore and walk around me. I shoved the mask into my coat pocket and walked to the end of the block, hoping to find I was somewhere recognizable. I was only a couple of steps in when a sharp pain shot through the arch of my foot."Fuck!" Looking down, I realized I must have stepped on a particularly sharp pebble when I was running earlier because I now had an inch-long cut on the bottom of my foot. "Right. Shoes."I hobbled off to the side and out of the flow of traffic to lean against the glass pane of a storefront. Reaching down into my pocket I pulled out my phone and opened up 'Maps' in an attempt to locate a nearby pharmacy. I stared at the screen, waiting for the grid to pop up to show my location. When a few moments passed and nothing happened, I exited and closed the app before opening it up again to the same response."Why aren't you working, you stupid thing!"I opened and closed it a few more times before—my eyes flickered to the top left corner of the screen. No Service. I brought the phone up to my face and smacked my forehead with the top edge. Of course it's not going to work. I'm in a different fucking dimension. I gently tapped my phone against my head repeatedly, a soft 'shit' escaping my lips with each succession.A chorus of laughter filtered through the regular droning tone of the city, causing me to lift my head in search of the sound. A group of teen girls came up the block towards me, and I knew they were my best bet at getting directions. Gals help other gals in need, right? I waved to grab their attention."Excuse me, do you know where I can find a pharmacy?"One of the girls raised her eyebrow at me and sneered. "Pssh, you have a phone, don't you?" Guess not.The girl to the night of her immediately piped up. "Oh god, Jessica, would you hush about that?" She turned to me, looking apologetic. "Sorry about that. She's going through a whole' Google it yourself' phase, and it's getting annoying." She shot a sharp look at Jessica before turning back to me. "There's a pharmacy about two blocks back that way on your right. It's pretty big, you shouldn't miss it."I looked down the direction she was pointing and nodded. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate it!"She smiled brightly, sending me off with a little wave. "No problem!''"Oh, and Jessica?" I called out, waiting as the girls turned back to me. "I would be nicer to your friends, otherwise they might just 'Google' kinder people to hang out with." She had the decency to look abashed, and I just shrugged my shoulders. "Food for thought. Bye now!"I waved and turned around, limping in the direction the girls came from. ~Entering the pharmacy, I walked with all the confidence I could possibly muster towards the first aid section, pointedly ignoring the specks of blood I left with each step. I swept through the aisle, grabbing the first box of band-aids that brushed my fingertips and a little tube of Neosporin. Making my way to the back where they keep the miscellaneous items, I grabbed a pair of small flip-flops before heading to the register.I walked up to the cashier and placed my items on the counter, flashing the tired-looking teen a warm smile. He barely spared me a glance as he rang up my items and placed them in a plastic bag. "$9.58 is your total. Will that be cash or card?""Uhhhhh..." My hand froze in my pocket, a tight grasp around my wallet. Holy fuck, will my money even work here? There's no way I'm even taking a chance on my card, but are the bills even the same here? Oh my god, were the presidents even the same?"Miss? Are you going to pay or am I going to have to call security?""No! No, I'm sorry. I was just trying to remember if I had a rewards card, but I don't think I do." I let out a breathy laugh, slightly amazed with my quick thinking and pulled out my wallet. Taking out a twenty, I handed it to him face-down, not breaking eye-contact.He sighed deeply, taking the bill out of my hand and placing it into the register before counting out my change and handing it back to me. He tore my receipt off and placed it into my plastic bag, sighing once more. "Have a great day."Grabbing the bag, I tossed my change into it and turned away. "Uh, yeah, you too."I waddled over to the pharmacy section and plopped into one of the armchairs they had in the waiting area. Ripping my now dirty sock off of my foot, I took one of my flip-flops and shoved the thong in between my toes, a feeling of relief at gaining some semblance of foot protection. I propped the ankle of my injured foot against my knee to give me a better view of the wound.The bottom of my foot was covered in dirt and debris, and while the cut was little more than superficial, I wanted to make sure it was cleaned and bandaged properly. I took my items out of the bag and placed them on the chair beside me. Oh, I should probably wash the cut before I do anything else, huh? Gently brushing away the crap from my foot, I reached over to grab the water bottle.My hand grasped at nothing, and I opened and closed my fist around the space, realization dawning on me as I slowly turned my head to see. I would forget to buy a god dang water bottle, wouldn't I? As I sat there contemplating whether I should bother the poor cashier again, a hand holding a damp napkin thrust itself under my face."Here, you look like you need this."I looked up at the source of the voice through my lashes, surprised to see a high school boy standing in front of me. Tentatively grabbing the napkin, I gave him a small thanks and found myself floored at the boyish grin he gave in return. Get a hold of yourself, he's like 8 years younger than you. Plus, you're here for Peter, no reason for your heart to get all aflutter at the first nice gesture you encounter!I shook my head of the silly, intrusive thoughts and cleared my throat. "Really, though, it's appreciated.""Oh, it's honestly no problem! I've found myself tending to more scrapes and cuts than I'd like to admit, so I know how it can be." He huffed out a laugh, as if it was just meant for himself. "Besides, you looked like you needed a hand and watching you deal with that cashier was painful enough the first time."I impulsively cringed as a response causing him to let out full-bodied laugh. I allowed myself a small chuckle at my expense as I wiped my foot down with the napkin, paying special attention to the area around my cut. Depositing the now used napkin in the plastic bag, I picked up the tube of Neosporin, squeezed a pea-sized amount onto my finger, and rubbed it on the affected area."So, do you have a kid or are you just really into super heroes?"The question startling me, I spluttered and shot my eyes up to him. "Excuse me?" It was only then that I noticed he was holding the box of band aids that I purchased—and the fact that it was covered in little images of Spider-Man. "Oh."He released another little secret laugh as he turned the box over in his hands before opening it and handing me one of the bandages that were inside. "Yeah, I heard he's a bit of a jerk, that Spider-Man."I gently plucked the band-aid from his fingertips, fondly rubbing my thumb over the material. This one was of the web-slinger from the chest up, his arm stretched out across the length of the band-aid and a web shooting out from his hand, all against a blue background. "That's just because you haven't gotten a chance to know the real him."He kept relatively silent as I pressed the bandage against my foot, but I could tell that the air between us had changed. I delicately ran my pointer finger over the image once more before grabbing the other flip-flop and putting it on, placing my foot back on the ground. I looked back up at him to ask for the box back but the look on his face caused the words to die in my throat. Before he could say anything, though, a shout floated up and out of the aisles."Hey Peter, where you at?"The boy in front of me froze and swallowed thickly, his eyes wide as they kept in contact with mine. "I'm over here!"The misplaced panic in his eyes was now matched in mine as my eyes grew just as wide as his and I inhaled sharply. He placed the box in my hands before quickly turning around to walk off, bumping into another high school boy who just stepped out of a nearby aisle, his face lighting up in recognition."There you are! What were you doing over here?""Ned! Uh, I was just..."Though he never moved more than a couple feet away from me, his words faded away into nothingness as a sudden, rushing sound overtook my hearing. My breathing came out in shallow pants as I fully took in the boy standing in front of me. He had dark brown hair that swooped over to the right side of his face, falling slightly into his equally brown eyes. He had a barely crooked bridge that sloped into a button of a nose, which rested above a set of downturned lips. He was only a teen, but there was a certain familiar maturity about him that shot a cold feeling of realization through me.I jumped up out of my seat and took a step forward, not missing the way the boy—Peter—crinkled his brow, shooting a look at me from the corner of his eye. "Hey kid—"And just like my Peter he was gone. But unlike my Peter, he walked swiftly to the front and out of the pharmacy as his friend trailed after him, intentionally leaving me far behind.
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Peter B.’s InterludeOne moment he was staring into the loving eyes of his wife and the next he found himself flying backwards through time and space. His arms were still outstretched in front of him, trying to grasp at the person who was no longer there.He closed his eyes, burning a mental image of her into his brain to anchor himself when he landed in whatever dimension this portal decided to spit him. Feeling the familiar tug at his back, he knew he was about to enter the crazy, new world of similar but unknown and braced himself for impact. Though he was prepared, the experience was no less intense than the last time as he was shot out of a wormhole, landing hard on his back.Winded, he brought a hand up to his chest and coughed, wincing as the action sent a piercing pain throughout his body. ''That's gonna leave a bruise in the morning."He turned onto his side and braced himself on one hand, taking a look around. It seemed as though he had been dropped into a giant, white cube which was bare save for the tall, needle-like machine that was tucked into a corner and him, sprawled along the floor.A robotic, feminine voice rang out in the cube. "Dimension splitting successful. Two results have been procured from Universe 526b."He shot his gaze towards the ceiling in bewilderment. "Is that an Irish robot? Who builds an Irish robot?"Feeling a tingle behind his ear he turned his attention towards the panel on his right, straining to hear what was behind it. There were sounds of scuffling and the 'beep' of a number pad before the wall slid open and revealed two men; one chattering away as he looked down at a tablet while the other listened intently as he furiously rubbed the lens of his glasses on the front of his sweater." ...can't be right. FRIDAY, run those calculations again."Peter noticed the man holding the tablet had a strange, glowing symbol in the middle of his chest. The imagery itched somewhere in the back of his mind but he couldn't quite place it. "Who are you?"Glasses man regarded Peter with an open-mouthed look of awe while tablet man barely spared him a second glance, walking around the cube as he continued to flick his fingers at the screen in front of him."Oh, you know, just your everyday playboy, billionaire philanthropist." Peter resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I think the better question here is," the man squat down in front of him, pinning him with a steely gaze, "who are you?"He sat up quickly to introduce himself—he wasn't sure whether it would be as Peter Parker or Spider-Man—but before he could, he rolled his eyes to the back of his head and promptly passed out.
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I quickly tossed all of my discarded items into the plastic bag, snatched it up from the chair, and ran out of the pharmacy after him, my flip- flops slapping against the bottom of my feet. I looked out among the throng of people, searching for any sign of the boy or his friend, but based on my short stature I had a hard time seeing far. I took a chance and went to my right, weaving in and out of people and throwing apologies over my shoulder as I ran.I kept going until my lungs burned and my legs ached, but eventually I had to admit to myself that I was never going to catch up to him. Hell, I didn't know if I was even headed in the right direction. I slowed to a leisurely pace not really having a destination in mind. The sun was starting to set and the streets were starting to clear out, giving me ample room to walk aimlessly. Well, what the hell do I do now?A swift breeze flew by, sending a chill down my spine. I wrapped my coat around myself, buttoning it up and tying the belt before crossing my arms over my chest. It may be the summertime, but it sure does get chilly as hell during the night. God, I could really go for some coffee right now. At the mere thought of consuming anything, my stomach cramped uncomfortably, and I remembered that I had been waiting on a pizza before all this.Pretty set on the idea of having pizza for dinner, I walked a couple more blocks before coming up on one of those 99¢ pizza joints. I entered the little hole in the wall, the scent of the baked delicacy permeating my nostrils. I nodded to the man behind the register and held up two fingers, indicating how many slices I wanted. Guess the city is pretty much the same no matter what dimension it's in. I grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator and walked back over to the cashier to be rung up.Knowing for a fact that the money from the pharmacy was accepted here, I handed over a five—no freakouts included this time. I collected my change and plopped into the bar table that was tucked into the corner next to the window. I placed my plastic bag on the table before flopping over onto it, my fingers splayed over the edge of the small, circular top. I took a couple of deep breaths before turning my head and tucking my arms into each other, propping myself up so that I could look out the window at all the people that passed.A couple caught my eye as the man shielded his girlfriend against a particularly hard breeze. He tucked her into the chook of his arm and wrapped his coat around her, gazing down at her lovingly. She smiled back up at him with just as much adoration in her eyes before she returned to whatever she was animatedly talking about. I watched them walk down the block until they were no longer in view and hummed as I reminisced about a similar scene between Peter and I.It was the night of our first anniversary and we were walking back home after a lovely dinner at our favorite restaurant. It had been raining heavily that night, but we didn't care as we huddled close under the small umbrella that Peter held above our heads. I had been regaling him with one of my famous tales of nonsense when a pensive look overtook his face before I suddenly found myself pressed against his chest, his arms securely around me. I looked up at him in confusion though it was short-lived when I realized that he was now soaked head to toe, water droplets falling from his hair to splash on my face.We stared at each other in silence for a few shocked moments until I snorted in his face and broke out into a full-bellied laugh with him joining in shortly after. His chivalrous actions ended up being for naught as his quick-thinking led him to drop the umbrella, causing me to get pelted by the now exposed downpour. He grabbed my hand as we ran the rest of the way home, continuing to laugh as we made it up the stairs and into our apartment. I remembered how we immediately stripped down and hopped into the shower to warm up before we got into bed and cuddled, not even bothering to get dressed again. I burrowed deep into the warmth of his chest and sighed contentedly as he leaned down to whisper in my ear."Two slices! Your two slices are ready!"I jerked up in my seat at the realization that I had fallen asleep. Yawning, I stood up and walked over to the counter, picking up the tray that held my food and headed back over to my table. I ate my pizza and continued to look out the window, my mind chasing the memory from which I had awoken. I had a hard time swallowing as it suddenly hit me that I would not be sharing a warm bed with Peter tonight. Taking a swig of water, I pressed my eyes together tighty, desperately willing myself to not start crying in the middle of this pizza joint.Fuck, pull yourself together! You'll get nowhere feeling sorry for yourself! Don't forget, Peter's here, too, and he's probably just as lost as you are. I let out a self-depricating laugh. Yeah, but he's also got the benefits of being a friggin superhero. He wouldn't have to say a word and people would fall all over themselves to have him stay in their homes. I took another bite and shook my head. Oh, stop it. That isn't fair to him at all. He doesn't even know you're here, that you jumped in after him.Finishing my food in relative silence, I watched as the sun finally set behind the buildings, officially plunging the city into darkness. I nursed my water as I tried to formulate a game plan for tonight. I had no phone, no place to stay, and about $30 to my name. I could potentially rent a room for the night but knowing I was in the city, the cost of that would pretty much deplete me of all my money. Mentally sorting through my limited options, only one thing became glaringly clear: I'm fucking screwed.
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After overstaying my welcome in the pizza place for far too long, I finally got up after adding my water bottle to my plastic bag of items and deposited my trash in the can before walking out into the brisk summer night. I flipped my collar up and shoved my hands deep in my pockets, the bag rustling in the wind as it hung off my wrist.I had no idea where I was going and with the weariness that had set in ever since I took that impromptu nap, I knew that I would have to stop soon. Feet aching and absolutely fed up with walking with no destination in mind, I looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before I ducked into the nearest alleyway.I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm doing this!I chanted it in my mind as it were the mantra to change the fact that I was noting that the alley looked relatively clean or that I was now looking at cardboard boxes to see which seemed the most hospitable. Selecting the one that appeared to big enough for me to spread out on, I set my bag down before breaking down the box and laying it out underneath the fire escape. I stared at my makeshift bed in disdain. I can't believe I'm doing this...I sat down and brought my bag over, positioning the water bottle inside it as a makeshift pillow. Grimacing, I slowly lowered myself onto my side, shifting the bottle so it settled somewhat comfortably under my neck. A beat passed as I listened to the faint sounds of cars passing and muted chatter."I'm just straight up laying on the ground."My whispered admittance cut through the relative silence, causing something inside of me to snap. I turned onto my back as I felt a sting at the back of my eyes, pressing my fingers against them to stem the flow of tears that were now pouring down the sides of my face. I tried to imagine Peter was here with me, comforting me as he does by wrapping me up in his tall frame and kissing away my tears, but that only served to have my heart tighten in my chest, causing me to cry more.Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out his mask and held it out in front of me. I stared at it for a few seconds before clutching it to my chest and turning back to my side, curling into a ball. Sobs wracked my frame and, whether from exhaustion or sadness, I finally drifted into a restless sleep, his name a whispered prayer on my lips. ~A soft, rustling sound roused me from sleep. I yawned and turned over, praying that whatever was making the sound would just go away. When it didn't, I opened my eyes in frustration to find the cause, only to be met with a brick wall. Immediately reminded of my situation, I turned onto my back and let out a deep sigh. The rustling caught my attention once more, causing me to look up to my right.Oh, it's just the plastic bag rustling in the wind. I settled back in and closed my eyes to try to get some more sleep when a haunting realization passed through my mind. There's no wind. My eyes shot open and I sat up quickly, turning my attention to the bag. Horrified and now fully awake, I noted that the bag was moving. Steeling my nerves, I reached out a shaky hand to lift the edge of the bag, revealing...A scream erupted from my throat, scaring the fat, gray rat that had been rummaging around my belongings. It tried to drag its treasure along behind it but had to drop the item when it kept causing the rat to stumble. I watched as it ran far down the alleyway and out of sight before I even attempted to move. Noticing just what it was that the rat tried to steal from me, I groaned in frustration."Goddammit, I told you to stop eating bagels in the suit!""I don't know why. Seems like it saves a lot of time."Another scream was ripped from my throat at the unexpected voice. Looking up, I was met with the last person I expected. "You!"Though his suit looked much shinier and way more hi-tech, the color scheme and large emblem on his back was hard to mistake as he hung upside down from the bottom of the fire escape. This was this universe's Spider-Man, the one I had basically chased throughout the city—twice—and he was hanging right in front of me.He released himself from the web, flipping around and landing gracefully in front of me. "Me!" He tilted his head to the side in question. "You were the woman who was chasing me yesterday, weren't you?"Rolling my eyes, I heaved myself up off the ground and crossed my arms, leaning against the brick wall behind me. There's no way I'm letting him play dumb; I do not have the time. "Oh, cut the crap. You know exactly who I am. You were even so bold as to approach me in the pharmacy, remember?"He took a tentative step back, throwing his palms up in front of him as the white eyes of his mask widened ever so slightly. "Woah, calm down. Whoever you think I am, I'm not! I'm just your friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man!"I sighed and ran a hand through my already wild hair, mussing it up even more. "Look, I'm sorry to be so forward. But I did just sleep on a cardboard box in some godforsaken alleyway all because the person who won't just stop and listen to me is now standing here trying to pretend he didn't run away from me. Twice.""To be fair, I was trying to stop a crime that first time.""Aha! So you do admit that you're the boy from the pharmacy!" I exclaimed, thrusting a finger at him."Wha-No! I- "He looked as taken aback as he could considering, before he cleared his throat and composed himself. "Look, the point of the matter is that it's clear you've been trying to get my attention. The only question is why?"Now that I suddenly found myself faced with answering the question of the decade, an unsettling fear washed over me. Would he even believe me? He stood patiently, waiting for my explanation. I mean, I'm sure it wouldn't be the weirdest thing he's dealt with, right? Biting the bullet, I gave him the condensed version."Basically, I'm your wife." A panicked look overtook him. "From another dimension!" My dumbass exclaimed as I attempted to placate him."Uh, okay..." He looked about ready to bolt, and I reached out a hand, grasping his wrist."Wait, I'm sorry! I'm messing this all up." I took a deep, steadying breath. "There are different dimensions with different versions of spider people. I'm from such a dimension. And so's my husband, Peter." I looked him dead in the eyes, noticing how they reacted to my words. "He was pulled into this dimension, and I jumped in after him. I hoped finding this dimension's Spider-Man would get me closer to finding mine."My eyes strayed to the side in embarrassment, and I released my grasp on him. A beat passed before I realized something. "Speaking of, how do you keep finding me? It seems awfully convenient.""That's actually something I was wondering about myself, but now it's starting to make sense. My suit's tracker kept connecting to something on your person. I'm assuming it's that."He pointed to the mask in my hand. "Oh, that is convenient."Silence settled between us before he piped up again. "So, the Peter Parker in your dimension... what's he like?"The innocent question pulled a light-hearted laugh from me."It's Peter B. Parker, first of all, and don't you forget it! In terms of what he's like, well, that's honestly something you have to experience first hand.""Uh oh, now I 'm worried." I laughed harder."Hey, that's not to say he isn't a great guy! I mean, he managed to land me, and I'm a catch!"He joined in on my laughter before we were quieted by the sound of someone opening a window and yelling at us from above. I smiled at my newfound friend, finally feeling like things were starting to look up."So, what now?"
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Peter's Interlude
The first time he saw her, he had been swinging through the city, chasing the screech of a police siren as it led him to the latest committer of crime prancing throughout the city. Though people usually called out his superhero name as he passed above them, it was the minor stumble of her words that caught his attention, glancing back at her ever so slightly.
There wasn't anything particular about her that stood out, but there was something in the way her face contorted as she called after him—a sense of familiarity like she was desperately calling out for an old friend. He lost sight of her as she ran into someone and fell, the crowd of people swallowing her up, allowing him to turn back to the task at hand.
It wasn't until he caught up to the scene of the crime and saw that the police were escorting the perp into the back of a cruiser, the sound of the siren now silenced, that he noticed his suit was incessantly beeping at him. Something had triggered the tracker in his suit and was swiftly moving further and further away.
~
The second time he saw her, he had unexpectedly bumped into her at a nearby pharmacy. Okay, it was less accidental and more the fact that he followed the track of the unknown object into this pharmacy and was completely floored that it led straight to her. He watched as she flew through the aisles with confidence but had to stifle his laughter as she stumbled through her interaction with the cashier.
He hid behind a nearby aisle and looked on as she tended to what appeared to be a wound on the bottom of her foot. He saw as she realized that she had nothing to clean her foot with, and, thinking quickly, he reached into his backpack—the one he had Ned meet him with before he rushed off to follow the unknown trace—and pulled out a napkin and water bottle, opening the cap and dousing the paper with water before walking over and thrusting it into her face.
Though he surprised himself with his own actions, the resulting conversation was a pleasant one and Peter found himself relieved when he realized she was a normal person and not some crazy super fan. Until he found those band aids. He threw out a feeler, maybe she was just a loving mom trying to get something from him for her kid? He laughed to himself as he joked about how Spider-Man was a jerk but was stunned into silence by the tenderness that overtook her as she defended him. He was certain he'd never met this woman... right?
He couldn't imagine the emotions flitting over his face right now and was thankful that she was too busy tending to herself to notice him looking for a way to quickly extract himself from the situation. Peter was eternally grateful when the sound of Ned's voice rose above the aisles, calling out for him. That is, of course, before the woman inhaled sharply, meeting his gaze with a look of almost recognition as he answered. Depositing the box he held into her hands, he swiftly turned around before she could say anything, bumping into Ned who, ironically, just walked out from the aisle Peter occupied not too long ago.
"There you are! What were you doing over here?"
"Ned! Uh, I was just..." Peter looked around frantically, grabbing an item from the nearest shelf and holding it up, "looking for this!"Ned looked from him to the item and back, an incredulous look upon his face. "You had me urgently bring your backpack to you and then ran off without a word because you were looking for... Chex Mix?"
Peter let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I thought I'd pick some up for Aunt May." Something set off his senses in the back of his mind as he saw movement in his peripherals. "But I just remembered that she hates Chex Mix, and also I'm running super late for dinner so I gotta go. Bye!"
He threw the package back on the shelf and grabbed his backpack before running out of the pharmacy with nary a glance backwards, Ned hot on his heels.
~
He tossed and turned in his bed that night, thoughts of the woman rattling around in his mind. Who was she? What did she want? Why did she act as though she knew him? These questions and more kept him up for hours with no sign of ever slowing down. It was when he turned over for what seemed to be the 100th time and caught the glowing, red numbers of his alarm clock, which prominently displayed that it was now 3:48 in the morning, that he decided he couldn't take it anymore.
Jumping out of bed, he donned his spider suit before quietly opening his bedroom window and sneaking out with a much practiced stealth. He swung between buildings urgently, once again foIlowing the tracker that steadily beeped at him. He took solace in the fact that she no longer seemed to be moving which made her much easier to trace.
He was about two blocks away from her when a chilling scream pierced through the silent night. He blanched, noting that it came from her direction. Filled with dread he pulled himself towards the source of the scream and found that the was now in an alleway. And it was there, under the fire escape and huddled up on a flattened cardboard box, that he saw her for the third time.
He landed softly on the building she was leaning against, a few floors above as to not startle her. Silently, he scaled down the wall, shooting out a web towards the bottom of the fire escape so that he could hang above her. He lowered himself ever so gently, catching the outburst that exploded from her lips as she picked up a red and black object.
"Goddammit, I told you to stop eating bagels in the suit!"
His response was nothing short of automatic. "I don't know why. Seems like it saves a lot of time."
She screamed in response, allowing him to confirm that she was, indeed, the screamer from before and was relieved to see nothing serious had befallen her. He flipped onto the ground so that they were now properly facing each other. Though there was finger-pointing and accusations on her part and fumbling through words and minor slip ups on his, he finally managed to ask the question that had been knawing away at his mind.
When she answered that she was his wife from another dimension, Peter felt he had made a grave mistake in thinking she was anywhere near normal. Her explanation didn't ease any of his worries, and he was pretty much convinced that he had been chasing a crazy woman this entire time—if not for one last thing he couldn't explain.He was thinking of a way to bring up the question when she suddenly did it herself. Explaining exactly how he kept finding her by pointing at the object in her hand, it was only when she brought it up to look at it that Peter finally realized what it was, his heart stopping in his tracks. Though the red was lighter and the eyes didn't look as sophisticated, he knew that he was looking at one of his masks, and it wasn't a cheap replica. This thing was the real deal.
Needing a way to lull her into a false sense of security, he inquired about his supposed'other self'. He knew he had her when, after a small bout of laughter, she looked up at him with a strong sense of trust in her eyes as she asked what they were going to do now.
Instead of responding, he shot a web at her mouth before knocking her out cold. He gathered her up in his arms, took the mask from her hand and tucked it back into her pocket. Now, he thought as he swung towards the tall building in the middle of the city with her slumped over his shoulder, now we find out who you really are.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
A throbbing pain in the side of my head is what greeted me as I was reunited with the waking world. I brought up a hand to rub away the pain at my temple and promptly hit myself in the face with both hands. What the...? I blinked to clear the foginess from my mind and after further inspection realized that my wrists were bound together with some sort of white, silvery rope that I immediately recognized. Well, this is certainly different than the way Peter usually ties me up...At the thought of my husband, memories of the meeting I had with teenaged Peter last night kept flooding through my mind. I sat up quickly, sending a rush of pain to my head. I automatically moved to soothe the ache, smacking myself in the face once more."Ow! Fuck!"As I silently cursed Peter and mulled over the moral ambiguity of kicking the ass of the younger, alternate universe version of my husband, I failed to notice the presence of another."Oh good, you're finally up. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just made you some bacon and scrambled eggs. Hope that's alright!"My heart stuttered in shock at the sound of the new, unknown voice, and I froze in place as I waited for it to even out again. I took the time to reestablish my bearings, something I find myself doing frequently with all the whiplash l've sustained since I jumped into the portal, and noticed that I had been sleeping on an exceptionally comfortable couch. Directly in front of me was an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, which gave me a grand view of the city buildings as they glistened in the sunshine. It was with a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach as I realized I was no longer in that back alley in the middle of the city but in a stranger's living room."Hey, are you okay?"I sharply turned my head to the right and found a man sitting on another couch across from me, worry glistening in his ocean blue eyes."Where am I?" The words came out of my mouth no louder than a whisper, but the man was staring at me so intensely that he must have read my lips."You're... in a safe place." He pushed his eyebrows together in what seemed like thought before he sighed deeply and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, mind telling me who you are, exactly?"I attempted to mimic his position, moving my body so that my feet were now On the floor and my back vested against the couch, but had to leave my hands clasped together in my lap. "And why, exactly, should I trust you enough to do that?"He looked almost shocked at my response, as if he couldn't fathom anyone not trusting him but quickly rebounded, relaxing his face into a somewhat smug grin. "No offense, but you're not really in a position to be questioning anyone about trust."At my confused look he huffed out a laugh before lifting one of his hands and shaking it side to side from the wrist. Oh, right. I looked swiftly down at my own bound wrists and silently cursed Peter once more, rolling my eyes."Friggin' Peter..." Whoops, guess it wasn't as silent as I thought.The man suddenly sat up ramrod straight, pinning me with a steely gaze. "So it's true? The kid mentioned you knew him somehow."Not backing away from his gaze I pinned him with one of my own. "Depends on who's asking."A short laugh escaped his nostrils before he placed his hands on his knees and pushed himself into a standing position. I watched as he made his way over to the kitchen island, walking behind it and obscuring my view of him from his waist down.Turning my attention back to the plate of food in front of me, I noticed a particular discrepancy. "So, how am I expected to eat this without any utensils?"Without taking his attention away from whatever he was doing at the counter he replied, "You've got hands, don't you?"I looked down at my bound hands before shooting him an incredulous glare. "You're kidding me."A raised eyebrow was all I received in response."I thought you were supposed to be nice.""Not that nice. Cream or sugar?"I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead decided to take advantage of what he was offering me. "I'd prefer milk, thanks. And I'll take as much sugar as you're kindly willing to give me."He shot me an amused smile as he returned from behind the island counter, balancing two steaming mugs in one hand and a sugar bowl in the other. He placed all three items on the table in front of me before returning to sit on the opposite couch.Realizing the lack of a sugar spoon, I scoffed. "You're serious about this whole 'no utensils' thing, aren't you?"He merely lifted his mug to his lips, blew a cooling breath upon the hot liquid, and took a sip. I gave in to the urge to roll my eyes this time. "You can at least trust me with a spoon!"He firmly placed his mug onto the glass table with a resounding clack. "Quite frankly, I can't trust you with anything. You've yet to answer the question of who you are, and if we can't even get past that then we're not going to get very far. If you want my trust you'll have to earn it."The fortitude in his eyes froze me to the spot, killing any words that were previously attempting to crawl up my throat."Now that we're clear, I'll ask you one more time. Who are you?""I--it's a long story."He eyes softened fractionally as he gestured to the spread in front of us."We've got time."I paused for a moment, stretching over to grasp my fingertips around the warm mug. Cradling it in my palms I took a sip and made a face at the overly bitter taste that assaulted my tongue. I eyed the sugar bowl, sitting there in temptation with no spoon to be seen, as I forced the gulp down."Yeah, alright. But don't say I didn't warn you." ~By the time I finished regaling the man with my tale of how I just so happened to land myself bound up on his couch, the coffee had gone cold, the food had been eaten, and I now had very greasy fingertips."So let me get this straight... You're telling me that you are from another universe where there's another Spider-Man, who just so happens to be your husband, and you've been tracking down the kid because you believe he's this universe's Spider-Man and therefore can lead you back to your husband?"At my nod he continued."And the reason you believe that is because your husband has dimension- hopped before and told you the first thing he did was find that Spider-Man which eventually led him to discovering even more Spider-People, and you're wondering if the same thing is happening all over again?""Yeah, you've basically got the jist of it. So, you see, I'm not trying to stalk this kid or ruin his life. I'm just trying to find my husband and get back home."He sat back in his seat and took a deep breath before a determined look overtook his features. "Well, I don't believe the kid has anything to do with this, but I have an inkling of who might."He stood up and walked over to me, brandishing a small pocketknife that seemed to materialize out of thin air. He gestured for my hands, which I gladly offered to him, and cut my restraints cleanly, the strands falling to the floor.I took a moment to rotate my wrists in an attempt to return any feeling I might have lost before turning my attention back to him."Now that I seemed to have earned your trust, may I ask who the heck you are?" He chuckled and thrusted a hand out."Steve," he said, with a wink. "Steve Rogers."