Chapter Text
Cerivent was by all accounts an observant being, despite barely staying in any universe for an extended period, he always made a point of taking stock in any and everything, regardless of interest. It was his nature, in a way.
And his interests on earth (in this rather fractured dimension, at least), had fallen onto the sorcerer supreme himself, Stephen Strange
More specifically, the doctors absolutely fabulous, magnificent, and downright awesome cape
He’d watched the doctor for some time from his floor length wall mirror, attempting to see just what about the cape was so captivating to him. He came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. He wanted it, and he’d get it
Fairly, of course.
His first attempt had been rather direct- simply going up to the doctor, and asking what price he’d need to pay to get the cape. Gold? Jewels? Immortality? Ancient relics? As a being untethered from everything, he had access to it all. But Strange stayed stoic and frankly a little hostile- which was pretty rude, honestly- and told him to leave before he made him leave. Cerivent found the very notion preposterous, but he was not a man without honor, and left him be
Cerivent's watching of Stephen did not stop, however. He watched as he trained, talking with his friend, Wong, and his… boyfriend(?) Tony.
Tony's label was strenuous at best, but the two spent a lot of time together, though they often talked about nothing but work, snarking at each other, and speaking of a boy named Peter
He heard that boys name a lot, though he never saw the boy. Bad timing of his observations, he supposed.
But the men seemed to care deeply for the child. It was a child, right? They spoke of him as if he was barely over 4 or 5 human years.
… Perhaps this “Peter” could assist him
—-
Peters day hadn’t been going great, really.
Late to school, got a 70 on his Spanish pop quiz, and Flash decided to get half the cafeteria to chant “Penis Parker” for a solid 2 minutes.
Yeah, he just wanted patrol to start.
As he said his goodbyes to Ned and turned the corner around the school, he bumped headfirst into someone's chest and landed embarrassingly on the ground “Ah, uh, sorry!” He looked up at the tall man he’d run into, who seemed completely unperturbed
“.... You’re Peter Parker?” the tall man furrowed his brow “Huh”
“.. How’d you know my name…?”
“Boy, i know very much about you. I am in need of your… assistance” The man held out a card as Peter got himself up, his spider sense just slightly tingling in the man’s presence.
“... For what?” He asked skeptically
“I am in need of your… special services” The man continued to wave the card “Come to this address later today, if you please”
Peter took the card, and looked at the address “Wait, how-”
The man was gone when he looked up.
The amount of red flags that were going off in his head were certainly something to behold
But then again he’d never been great at following warning signs.
---
He’d gotten suited up as a precaution before coming to the home. It looked utterly average, for the most part, save for the fact that the tall man was just… watching him from the window. It wasn’t even really creepy, honestly. It was just… weird.
Peter, or- Spider-Man, specifically - came up to the door and knocked, watching the man leave the window and open the door, eyeing him
“.. You asked me to come”
“Oh, oh yes! Yes yes yes, come in yes” He waved in the teen, muttering something as he closed the door behind them.
Peter was happy he was wearing the mask, so the man couldn’t see his jaw drop. This place was… much, much bigger on the inside. It bordered on the absurd
“Thank you so much for coming! Please, please follow me” Cerivent waved him down a hall “You will be quite useful to helping me, thank you again for coming. Though, I will admit you are not what I was expecting”
Peter fumbled a bit after him, going down the brightly lit hall “Uh, no problem? What do you mean?” He asked cautiously, ready to turn a heel and run if needed.
“Oh, well, the way the good doctor talked about you i assumed you were a child, not a teenager… though i supposed Spider-Man being a child would have been quite silly” The man let out a bright laugh. Peter’s spider sense tingled at the sound.
“Uh huh…” Peter followed, though he slowed his gait so there was more distance between them. “So, what do you need me for?”
“Oh, you see, I intend to fake a hostage situation!” Cerivent beamed back at the boy, and stopped walking “I need you to simply wait here, the Doctor will come for you, and everything will be fine!” He shared his plan, standing beside a bright blue door covered in little rocket ship stickers.
“... With… me?” Peter pointed at himself almost incredulously “For what?!”
“Well, you see, I have my eyes on the good doctor’s cape-”
“Cloak”
Cerivent stared at Peter intensely, the boy nervously swallowed
“Its… Its a cloak, sir.”
“.... I have had my eyes on the good doctor’s cloak, but he won’t give it to me for anything, so I figured a bargain might be up his alley”
“.... Uh, yeah, no, I can’t do that” Peter raised his hands up defensively, shaking his head “He won’t give it up, not for me. I’m not more important that an ancient relic, y’know”
“... Oh boy, you’re so cute in your naivety” Cerivent reached over and pat his head “But I’m afraid you agreed to my terms when you entered my home.” His voice suddenly dropped an octave “So either wait in that room, or i will trap you in an interdimensional wormhole for the duration of your stay”
Peter wasn’t too sure what to say to that, so he said nothing. Cerivent’s green eyes gleamed and took it as acceptance
“You needn’t worry thought! If he does not come for you by the end of the day I won’t kill you, I’ll just let you go!”
Peter huffed, “You swear?”
“I’ve no reason to hurt you, boy. And take off that mask, will you? I know what you look like, there's no need” Cerivent waved his hand.
Peter obliged the being, mostly because he was worried he was going to be tossed in an alternate dimension if not. His spider sense was starting to go off again as Cerivent opened the door and Peter peeked in.
It was…. A toddler’s room?
The walls were painted a gentle sky blue, dotted with little star stickers and posters of various TV shows and Story Book characters. There was a little police car bed in the corner, with stuffed animals on it and a side table with what seemed to be juice boxes and other snacks. At the other side of the square room was a bean bag chair, across from a TV playing What seemed to be Cartoon Network
“Comfortable, no?”
“Uh… I’m 16, sir”
“Oh, I know. Again, the way Strange and the Iron Man speak of you I thought you were about 4 or 5 human years of age. They seem to baby you”
Peter genuinely wasn't sure whether to feel warm and fuzzy or insulted at that. “Well uh, I can’t exactly stay in here. As you can see” Peter’s hand gestured over himself “Not a little kid”
Cerivent simply smiled, and stood in front of Peter, raising his hand and before Peter could dodge, pushed onto his forehead with his middle and forefinger, somehow knocking the teenager onto his butt and into the room. The move was abruptly disorienting, causing Peter to shut his eyes in an attempt to get rid of the dizzy feeling, letting out a slight groan before rubbing and opening his eyes.
His vision cleared quickly and everything was… bigger? His spider sense was off the walls. He was trembling. What had just happened? He looked up, up, up at the man.
Cerivent grinned “There we go, problem solved!” He seemed to happy as he looked down.
“Wh-wha-” Peter’s voice caught in his throat. Why did… why did he sound like that? He stumbled, trying to get up and found himself barely coming up to half his previous height “Wh-what’d you do?!” His voice pitched up, his sounds slightly slurred together like a…
Like a child
“I wasn’t going to put all this effort to waste! No, no, much easier to do this than change the room, yes” Cerivent Reasoned “Now, you be a good little Peter, and I will get in contact with the Doctor” He grabbed the door, and started to close it
“N-n-no!! Wait!!” Tur’ me ba-!!”
The door shut, and audibly locked.
Peter’s senses were absolutely bonkers as he ran over to the door, banging on it over and over
“C’m back!!!! Tur’ me back!!!” The boy cried, looking up at the door, He barely reached the handle now, his (very tiny) fingers just barely grasped it before slipping off. He stared at his little hands, noting that he was still in his Spider-Man outfit (and that it wasn't oversized) before looking over to a dresser, where a mirror and stool were. He rushed over, crawling on the stool and stared at his reflection.
16 year old Peter was nowhere to be found
Instead, staring back at him with big eyes and a head of unruly curly hair,
Was 4 year old (at least, by his estimation) Petey
“.... You godda be ki’in me” He groaned, lightly dinging his head on the dresser.
Just that ever classic Parker Luck, he supposed