Chapter Text
His life was perfect. At least as perfect as it could be.
He was making discoveries, possibly ones that could save lives and make him money.
Of course money was on his mind, he couldn't do these scientific experiments without it. He couldn't live in a nice ass apartment without it. He couldn't afford the machines he has without it.
With his salary of 6 figures, he could buy anything he wanted.
Not like he had the time to buy anything he could use, the hours at Alchemex were too harsh to have free time.
Science around the clock, 24/7, 365.
He didn't complain though, it's not like he had anything outside of science anyways.
He had no wife or husband or anyone for that matter. He didn't have pets and he barely had enough friends to hang out with. For a socially awkward guy, he honestly wasn't good at making new friends anyways.
He made great machines, even if he didn't get full credit, he still knew they were his and his alone.
Even the collider.
He designed it. He did the math. He made the prototype.
And yet, Liv and Alchemex took full credit. The one thing that would show to the world that he wasn't just a socially awkward loser; But that he was a brilliant scientist who figured out how to travel the multiverse.
Everyone was running. No one wanted to stay in the building, the Alchemex being torn to pieces as it was sucked into the massive vortex of the collider. The multiverse, all connected through this machine, was collapsing on itself.
It was blowing up; his work, his hours, his life.
He tried to save it; stealing parts of the machine so that they knew it was him who tried to salvage it.
But with a sickening explosion, his life flashed before his eyes.
There he was, The Jonathan Ohnn, dead. His reputation, his work, his looks; all dead.
Maybe that's what he wished. Maybe he had wished death swept him up off his feet. Maybe he hoped he'd finally find out what happened when you died. Maybe he'd finally get the credit he was due.
But he sat there, baffled he was still alive, wanting to cry so badly as he looked at his reflection in the twisted metal around him. He wanted to cry, to scream, to do anything, but a black dot glared back at him. His knees dug into the dirt below him, the pounds of metal and miscellaneous things taunting him as they surrounded him.
He had no eyes to cry with. No mouth to scream with. He could scream, but it wasn't the same.
He didn't know how long he stood there, frightened by the white and black freak looking back at him.
As he watched Spider-man swing away from the scene and into the city, he connected the dots.
Spider-man did this. Was that kid even Spider-man? The actual Spider-man died. Who was this kid to suddenly take Peter's spot? And with Jonathan's spider of all things?!
He tried to go to his co-workers that survived, but none of them looked him in the face. And those that did only laughed at his stupidity. To think these were the same cowards who ran from the collider as soon as something went wrong.
But no, they laughed at Jonathan's decision to not let his machine rot.
He was fired from Alchemex with nowhere else to go. They threatened to take his money if he tried to sue, which his money was the only thing he had anymore.
He tried to reach out to his family, whom he had cut off years prior.
Let's just say he shouldn't have reached back out.
They only looked at him with fear and disgust, ridiculing him even more for leaving them in the first place.
Booted from his fancy apartment, he was forced to downgrade with the limited budget he had.
He transported all of his stuff to the new place, but it was so small to fit everything. So machines stacked on one another and the bed was just another place to set things down.
He tried applying for jobs, but they'd refuse his offer the second they saw his face. Or lack of one.
So he was making due with his money. He didn't have to eat anymore so the money was mostly poured into rent.
To think he thought he was a rich man before, now wondering if he was going to be able to pay rent.
He stopped going outside, and at least without something covering his face. It was humiliating to go without anything on; the weird and fearful stares.
As months passed by, the rage for this new Spider-man bubbled. His life was not the same, and would never be.
He never was good with people before, so his chances of finding a partner were on the lower side (Even with him being the scientific standard of handsome). But now, his chances were slim to none.
The spider he had brought to this dimension was the one that bit the new Spider-man, and that Spider-man blew up his beloved collider, which turned Jonathan into what he was now. Two sides of the same coin; two beings that were responsible for each other's existence.
Jonathan used to be obsessed with the small comics they made of the first Spider-man; he became fascinated with the idea of an arch nemesis.
This was his new purpose.
A tragic backstory fit for a villain, a villain for Spider-man.
Why try to fit with society at all if all they were going to do was shun him?
He started to study, more than he had ever before.
He reread his old Spider-man comics, hoping that maybe he could connect any dots of information to help take down the new one.
Sadly, old comics could only do so much. So, he turned to documentaries. Old re-runs and on demand; he sat and absorbed as much information he could. And surprisingly, there was a lot of footage and content of Spider-man. It's not like he had anything else to do.
So that was that; his life was drowned with becoming the new arch nemesis of the century.
His mornings, his lunches, his afternoons, and his nights were spent studying Spider-man just like how he had studied the spider who bit him. He wished he had more time to study that spider back then, but it escaped before he could. If it hadn't, this would've been a hell of a lot easier.
If it hadn't, it wouldn't have bit the new Spider-man. If it hadn't, Jonathon wouldn't even be in this situation.
Most of the days and nights blended together, except for one. He remembered it in the highest detail he could; remembering the pain it bubbled up, like the incident happened all over again. At least, it felt like the emotions did.
It was a long documentary centered around the first Spider-man's upbringing, a surprisingly newer one produced almost immediately after his death. In hindsight, falling asleep during it was incredibly disrespectful. Then again, it had been over a week since Jonathan had slept. I know, he was shocked and disappointed that he still had to sleep. But at the same time, it made him feel human for a bit. Until he woke up, that is, then he'd take a glimpse at himself and remember it all again.
This time he woke up, the documentary was long over and it had trickled over to a movie he had never seen before. It looked and acted like a typical soap opera, he hated it. It was cringy to him before, and it's cringy now. He normally would grab the remote at light speed and change the channel to save himself the embarrassment.
So why didn't he? Why did the remote stay like a rock in his hand; the remote buttons stagnant?
"Please, Pedro, you can't leave!"
"Maria, I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore."
"Do what, Pedro? Can't you stay any longer?"
"My dear, Maria, I cannot, because I love you too much."
Jonathan had never been one to get attached to live action shows, he knew they were just actors pretending to cry for one another for the entertainment of people.
"Maria, I cannot stand another day pretending we are friends. Every living moment, my brain cannot function without thinking of you."
And yet...
"Pedro..."
"Maria, no, please I can't stand the thought of your rejection. I would go to the ends of the Earth for you. Whether that be to show you I love you, or give you the space if you hate me for loving you."
These words touched Jonathan in ways nothing else had before.
"Pedro, I love you too. I love spending every moment I can with you. And whenever you aren't with me, my mind can only think of the next time I am with you. My dear, Pedro, I wish to spend every moment I can with you."
He wondered what it would be like. To be loved, to be confessed to, to be looked at like he was the only person in the world. He wondered if he'd be able to love someone normally, and that person could love him back.
But he knew he could never love normally. He'd never have a moment like that, or even one remotely similar.
He wanted to cry his heart out; to let out the year worth of sobs stuck in his system. He just wished he could let his emotions loose; let the tears flow down his cheeks.
But he couldn't.
He watched as the two characters held each other lovingly, exchanging passionate kisses.
He couldn't.
He had no one to hold like that. No one to hug. No one to kiss.
Even if he did, he couldn't kiss anymore.
He wished that he at least had a face. He wished he could taste the food he ate, smell the sweet air outside, cry, kiss, yell, just anything.
He couldn't.
Couldn't, couldn't, couldn't.
He couldn't love.
That's what he told himself every time he thought of that night. He had convinced himself that it was true. No one would look at him the same, so his life would never be how he wanted.
Until you. You made his brain flip. It had come to so many conclusions and solutions; he had convinced himself they were right.
But to him, you just went up to the greatest astrophysicist on the Earth and told him every single conclusion he came to was wrong.
And you were somehow right about it too.
You were an enigma to him. He had spent his life solving mysteries easily, and yet, you were the one thing he couldn't solve. You looked at him as if he were a normal person. If Jonathan had no awareness of how he looked, he would've thought he was magically human again.
You had single-handily convinced him he could live normally. He didn't even know you for 24 hours yet, but he already questioned his future of being a villain. Every single issue he had before was somehow solved without even asking.
Money? Well you already jumped to that conclusion with his failed robbery attempt. So what did you do? You offered him a job at the bodega.
"I'll pull some strings and get you a job here."
"You don't have to do that."
"I know, I want to."
That sweet smile you did was always what he strived for every time he said something. Sure, old him would've been shocked that an amazing scientist like him was taking a job at some random bodega. But then again, he couldn't exactly get hired anywhere else.
And he wanted to work here, especially if you were working here. Maybe he could buy you something nice one day. Or maybe he could make you something, he didn't know what though. One day he would as one big thank you.
You kept assuring him that he didn't have to do anything, that you weren't just dating him out of the kindness of your heart, but that you actually wanted to be with him. Still, he knew you didn't fully understand the amazing thing you did for him. You had brought light into a world he thought would be forever shrouded in darkness. He had forgotten what human interaction felt like, let alone human touch. But everything you did pulled him out of his villainous thoughts from before.
His plans of being an arch nemesis were in the bin, and he was fine with it.
He no longer wanted anything to do with Spider-man. No more late nights researching, he would spend every moment he could with you. He'd actually spend his life doing something he wanted.
He wouldn't do something for Alchemex.
He wouldn't do something for Spider-man.
He wouldn't even do something just because some random co-worker wanted him to "in the name of science".
No, not anymore. He had realized he hadn't actually lived his life, the only thing he had to show was certificates. But, he never did things outside of science, and he just now realized it.
Even with his appearance now, he wondered if he could actually live a normal life. And the idea actually seemed plausible this time.
All because of you.
"You know, you're just like a blobfish."
The two of you were back in the bodega, both sitting behind the counter and chatting about random things. You couldn't help but laugh at the sudden comment.
"What?"
"I finally figured out an analogy for you; a blobfish."
Although he totally was the type to rub in the fact he thought of a funny analogy for you, his tone was softer than anything you've ever heard before. For such a weird analogy, he said it like he was saying something sweet.
"You're so strange and I can't figure out how something like you could even exist. In a good way, of course."
You couldn't help but giggle.
"Well I definitely feel like your analogy beats mine in terms of creativity."
"I told you I'd think of something."
There's his smugness, but you loved going along with it.
"Alright, ferret."
"Okay, blobfish."
"Spots."
"Weirdo."
"Dots."
"Are you just going to keep making nicknames based on my appearance?"
"Maybe or maybe not, dalmatian."
"How dare you."
"I have more."
"No you don't."
"Okay, cow-"
Jonathan covered your mouth with his hand before you could finish the sentence, his hand almost completely swallowing your face. He laughed, obviously not offended by your little remarks.
So you did the totally mature thing to get out of this situation; you licked his hand.
"EW!"
He pulled his hand away and wiped it, laughing.
"You're such a mature person."
"Why thank you."
He rolled his head in a playful annoyance, he liked to exaggerate an eye roll even though he didn't have eyes anymore.
Jonathon knew his life wasn't normal anymore, but he knew he could at least get used to this.