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"Get out of my kitchen!" Michelle grits through her teeth, playfully swatting at Peter with a hand towel.
"Soup for breakfast." Peter tsk's. "You sure you don't want any help?"
Michelle scoffs, "Please Parker, I'm pregnant not crippled." She remarks, "Why don't you go make sure Molly has enough food in her bowl."
"Anything you wish, my misses." He replies in a horribly done English accent, leaving Michelle to roll her eyes.
"And don't do an English accent, it's horrible and it nauseates the babies."
"Oh hoh! And by babies I bet you mean you." Peter teases, scooping some kibbles and bits into the dog bowl to Molly's joy, wiggling back and forth and diving herself face first right into the bowl.
"She's gonna get fat if we keep spoiling her like this." Peter remarks, laughing a bit to himself as he folds the bag up again and places it back onto the counter.
"Meh, let her be spoiled for a bit. She deserves it after living in an animal shelter, don't ya think?" MJ asks, stirring her ingredients together in a large pot on the stove; her pregnancy cravings more than ever wishing this soup was already finished.
"True." Peter comes up from behind her and wraps his arms around her and places his hands onto her belly. "Hard to believe, isn't it? Just one more week till we finally get to hold our babies?"
MJ hums in comfort, allowing herself to sway a little. "I'm so ready for this pregnancy to be over. I love them and all, but I'm soooo over it."
"Oh, you won't miss the aches?" Peter sarcastically asks, earning a groan in response from Michelle.
"As I said, so over it."
Peter gives her a kiss on her cheek, before rubbing her belly once more and yanking his shirt and jeans off to get ready for his daily patrol. He grabs his mask and looks back at MJ, "Save some for me?" He teases, knowing her pregnancy cravings lately have been wild.
She laughs, "We'll see Parker. Bare in mind I'm eating for three right now."
He winks at her before tugging his mask on, and leaving for his patrol.
MJ hears a knock at the door not long after Peter leaves. She turns the stove off and wobbles back and forth as she makes her way to the door.
Bringing one hand behind her to hold onto her aching back, she opens the door to find..... Dr. Octavius?
"Michelle." He says warmly, holding a bag of baked goods in his one hand.
"Hi, Otto? Uhm, Peter's not home right now?" She points behind her, to which he brings one hand up.
"Oh, I know. I just wanted to stop by, bring you some gifts." He brings the bag up to her face, to which she laughs softly. "That's very nice of you uh...." She doesn't want to be rude. She wanted some alone time to herself for a bit before she brings two loud babies into the world, but she couldn't reject a kind offering. "Uhm, would you like to sit down for a bit? I'm making soup if you'd want any?"
He smiles, "That'd be amazing, thank you." He walks into her and Peter's apartment to which Molly excitedly runs up to him, always happy whenever people come by and happily wags her tail back and forth. "Oh! Didn't know you guys uh...."
MJ laughs, "Yeah, sorry. We got her at Peter's insistence. I gotta say though, I warmed up to her pretty fast."
"Yeah I get that, she's adorable." Otto sits down and gently rubs Molly's fur back and forth. MJ turns the stove back on, trying to get back to her soup that she's been desperately craving.
MJ feels a little awkward about him being there to be honest. Ever since Otto lost his wife he's been more .... aloof lately. He even broke contact with Peter? Maybe this is a good sign though. Michelle knows how much Peter looks up to Dr. Octavius and maybe this is just the first step in the right direction.
"So uh, Pete's been staying up to date on you and told me you have been making bigger leaps with your arm project lately?"
"Yeah." Otto replies, sounding distracted. "It's uh, it's coming along. Why don't you sit down?"
MJ laughs, "I'm fine Otto. I've been craving soup so much latel-"
"You look kind of tired though." He begins rummaging through his bag of baked goods he bought, "I bought you some muffins? Maybe if you just would like to sit down for a bit and talk?" Michelle looks back at him, a little confused at his instance. "Not like the soup is going anywhere. Besides it's only 10 in the morning." He jokes.
She raises one eyebrow, then thinks about how much her legs have been aching lately. She supposes there's no harm in sitting down for a little. "Yeah, ok. That's a good point." She turns back to her stove briefly and turns it off again, before sitting down on the chair opposite to Otto.
She notes that for whatever reason he's still wearing his coat. "You know, you can take your coat off? I don't see how that's comfortable to wear a coat in July."
He shakes his head, "I'm fine." He smiles half hardheartedly, as he lifts the bag up again and collects a muffin from it, offering it out to her. "Here. I know you're hungry." He politely offers. It's still confusing to her as to why he's being so insistent. She laughs a little, "Maybe later, thank you."
For whatever reason he has a very clear look of ... disappointment? Anger? Whatever it was, it was an odd look to have after simply rejecting food.
He seems to catch onto this and his face relaxes, "I just .... when my wife was pregnant I always worried whether or not she was eating enough. I want to be sure you and Peter are having a healthy pregnancy is all."
She tilts her head, "You have a kid? I didn't know that?"
She notices a change in his facial expression again, before quickly relaxing again. "Yeah .... well, uh. It never came up."
"Oh." She looks down, and for whatever reason has a sudden uneasiness in her stomach. "Well, uh....."
Otto's expression suddenly becomes increasingly warm and caring, if she wasn't cynical she'd say it's almost to a creepy level. "As I said, I just want to be sure you have healthy twin babies."
She sighs. Maybe if she takes it it'll shut him up and he'll stop being such a weirdo. It's just Dr. Octavius anyways. Why did she even feel so uneasy to begin with?
She grabs the muffin from his hand, "Thank you." She smiles at him, to which end he gives her a shit eating grin. Ok, again, weird.
She bites into it and yep, just a normal everyday muffin. Don't get what all that hype was about. She still doesn't quite understand why he couldn't have just left it here so she could have it later, but whatever.
"So..." He sighs as he leans back into his chair, "You are feeling normal?"
She shrugs, swallowing the muffin. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
He laughs a little, "Just a question, why are you so anxious my dear lady?"
There's that uneasy feeling again. Seriously why is he being so weird. "I uh, don't know how to respond to that." She replies, setting the food back down. She needs to get him out of here. She's getting really weird energy right now. "Anyways uh, thank you for everything, Doctor Octavius but I really need to ge-" Michelle abruptly gets cut off by a sudden pain in her head, causing her to fall over, but not before she ensured she would fall onto her knees so she wouldn't fall onto her stomach. That's the last thing she will ever do to her babies. She starts sweating and grabs onto the carpet below her, feeling herself losing consciousness.
"I lied." She hears from above her, and she looks up and sees that shit eating grin ever so evident on Doctor Octavius's face, before she sees something that would make anyone shit bricks. Suddenly his coat is tugged off of his frame, revealing four mechanical arms hovering over him. "I don't have any kids."
She crawls over to him and grabs him by the ankle, trying everything in her power to stay awake. "What ..... the fuck did you do?" She grits out. She swears on her life if this hurts her babies she's going to unleash unholy hell onto him.
"Michelle. I haven't done anything, yet."
That's the last thing she hears, before she gives into the darkness.
Peter isn't one to brag or anything, but he has kicked major ass today. Stopped an armed robbery before anyone could get hurt, saved all residents that were trapped inside a burning building before anyone could get hurt, and gave directions to some tourists on where Central Park was located.
Not a bad day for this web slinger if he may say so himself.
Peter climbs back into the apartment through the window, where he finds Molly looking up at him with an anxious look on her face, tail wagging all the same. "Hey girl." He greets warmly, petting under her chin earing him a tail wag from her, although it's not as enthusiastic as he's used to. "What's wrong Mols, huh?" He asks, as he makes his way through the apartment and tugs his mask off.
"Em?" He calls, but no response. Weird. Maybe she's napping. He checks, no sign of her. Ok, shower maybe? Nope, no sign of her in the shower either. It's only weird because she usually texts him if she's about to go out so he knows what to expect when he gets home from his patrolling. He looks over at the stove and notices the pot of soup is entirely untouched.
"Em?" He calls out once again, his concern growing. He continues looking around until he finds a note on the table. That's good, right? That means she left a note before she left and that she's fine. He picks it up and unfolds it, and his eyes begin to scan over it.
parker - i've had enough. you ruined my life. now i'm about to ruin yours, you know where to find me. from - your joke of a mentor, octavius
Peter's mouth is agape and nearly drops the note upon reading this. Dr. Octavius? The man he has looked up to ever since the start of college took MJ? Why?? Why would he do that? What did he even do to deserve this???
Peter shakes himself out of his own thoughts, he can think more later. Once he has MJ safe and sound, and he will. He knows he'll save her. He has to. He has to save them. He tugs his mask back on before running back out into the city.
Michelle wakes up, bound, gagged, and her hands are tied to a chair. It takes her a few seconds for her vision to come back into focus. She sees Octavius straight ahead of her typing some stuff into a computer. She doesn't know what, and she doesn't really care. She tries screaming to get his attention, to which she successfully does and uses his mechanical arms to walk back into her direction, and yanks the gag off of her.
"My babies." Is the first word she says that isn't muffled. "My babies; you, my babies-" She lets out, her eyes burning with tears that threaten to escape.
He smirks, "Your babies are fine. For now." He replies, before quickly gagging her back up again and turning around.
She lets out angered and muffled "for now's." multiple times before he finally looks back at her and replies again, "You mustn't worry. When what happens happens it's not like you'll even be alive to know any better yourself." This is when she begins screaming once again through her gag, kicking her chair back and forth and her tears finally begin streaming down her face. "This is against Parker, not you." He adds, "I'm not a monster."
"My babiesth!" She muffles out, anger and devastation overflowing her.
He looks back at her and seems to have a look that shows he genuinely feels sorry about this, but she doesn't give a god damn shit! She doesn't care about herself, but he's about to kill her babies! Her fucking babies! "I really am sorry. But this needs to happen to him. I can assure you however, the way you will die is painless." At that, he turns his attention back onto his computer.
This can't be happening. It can't be happening!
Peter swings into Octavius's warehouse. Ready for anything.
He crawls onto the ceiling and tries to be as stealth as possible. He glances around the warehouse for minutes until he finally sees MJ. Still alive. Thank god.
As he gets closer however he begins to notice something .... off. Her eyes are hazy. Her head keeps bopping back and forth and there's an iv drip attached to her.
Whatever it is that's being injected into her, he's sure as hell it isn't medicine.
He drops down to the floor and can't contain his anger anymore, "Otto!" He yells, to which Otto turns around and a grin he wishes he could tear off appears onto his face. "You're already too late, Parker."
Peter ignores him and looks over to MJ, hoping she'll look up at him and show any sign of recognition she sees him there. The look he's gotten before when he's come to her rescue. But there's nothing. Her face is entirely blank and her face is becoming more ghostly pale by the second.
"What did you do to her?" He grits out, to which Otto laughs in response. "Well?!" He yells, his voice bouncing against the walls.
Octavius's face completely falls, and goes into a psychotic rage. "You let Rosie die!" Otto yells in response. "She-she was counting on you, and you killed her!"
Peter shakes his head, "No, Otto. You know that isn't true." He slowly replies, walking towards him a bit slower, "We both knew how unstable the reactor was, but we both risked it and she chose to stay in the room-"
"You're Spider-Man and you didn't save her!!" He screams louder, growing more unstable by the second.
"Otto, I'm sorry. I wish I could've saved her, it has kept me up at night. I'm so sorry. I can't always save everyone. I wish I co-"
"You've been out here, living the life Peter Parker!" He says in between psychotic laughing. "Got married, were about to having babies, happy happy life, isn't it Parker?" He grits out, slamming his hand down to a button and Peter notices more ..... red liquid pouring through the tubes and being injected right into MJ.
"Otto, stop! Leave them out of this!" He yells, running over to him before Otto puts his hand up. "Ah, ah, ah. You come any closer and her death will no longer be painless, but full of unbearable pain!"
"She's pregnant, stop this!" Peter helplessly begs, getting down onto his knees and beginning to sob. His eyes wander over to MJ again as her eyes begin to hauntingly roll to the back of her head. Beginning to slouch back more by the second and growing more and more lifeless.
Peter desperately looks down at his webshooters. He wants to web up Otto's hands so he can get over there, but Otto now has 4 extra fucking arms that can press anything anytime at his command.
"As I said Parker, you were already too late regardless." Otto speaks up, noting Peter looking down at his webshooters. "You realize how lethal what I've been injecting into her for the past half hour is? Go ahead, try and web me up and get me arrested. I have nothing else to live for and I already accomplished what I needed to get done."
"You...." Peter grits out, beginning to run towards Otto and losing all sense of himself. "You have nothing to live for?!" He tackles him roughly to the ground and begins punching him. Over and over. Wishing he had instant kill mode still but also thinking an instant death is too good for him. Peter keeps this up, pounds Ock's face into a bloodied unconscious mess until he hears a few muffled groans. Some sounding like "stop." He looks back to MJ and sees her, eyes just barely open and blinking wearily.
Peter immediately stops at this, rips his mask off and runs over to her. He quickly yanks the iv off of her arm and gets her out of the bonds of the chair. He sits down onto the floor and gets the gag out of her mouth, putting her head gently onto his lap.
"Hey, you're- you guys are gonna be ok Em." He tries to softly say to her, holding back a few sobs in his voice.
"I felt them..." MJ weakly lets out, eyes heavy and just wanting to go to sleep. Her eyes start to close.
"Hey, no none of that Em. We're gonna...we're gonna be a family Em!" Peter is desperately trying to sound enthusiastic, bringing his left hand up and showing her his left finger, "Remember when you put this onto my finger Em? Our vows?" He pleads, tears escaping him. "Our babies." He holds onto her baby bump and gives her a watery smile. "We're all gonna be a family. Just you and me and them, but you have to stay with me ok?"
"They....they're dead." MJ lets out weakly, "I felt them die.....inside of me. I know it. They stopped kicking."
Peter just vigorously shakes his head, refusing to accept that. He brings his hand up to brush the tear that escaped her eye. "No Em, No. That's not it. They just stopped kicking that happens sometimes." He brings his hand up and brushes her hair back, "You're all going to be fine."
She weakly shakes her head, her eyes going dim. "Just please, be ok." Her voice is barely there now, a soft whisper if anything.
Peter shakes his head, "We are all ok Em."
MJ tries to hold on a little bit longer for Peter's sake, but desperately wants to be with her babies again. She looks confused suddenly and her eyes squint and looks away from Peter, then a soft smile ghosts onto her lips. "It's them Pete." She laughs softly, "Our babies." She sighs blissfully, truly content. "They look just like you, so perfect."
Peter feels the biggest lump form into his throat, "Stay with me." He chokes out, barely holding back a sob. He grabs onto her hand even tighter.
MJ can no longer hear Peter. Can no longer hear his begging or feel the tightness of his hand around hers. All she can see and hear are her babies calling for her. "Mommy's coming." She whispers, her eyes finally shutting for good before she goes entirely limp in his arms and her breathing stops all together. Peter no longer hears her heart beat. No longer hears either of his babies heart beat. Gone. All gone.
Peter lets out what is a mix between a scream and a wail. He can't even describe what the noise that comes out of him is, but it's horrific and a noise that no actor can recreate in any movies or television.
Stephen hears loud knocking abruptly at his door. He walks over and opens it to find something he wished he hasn't ever seen.
Peter Parker, unmasked, holding his pregnant wife's dead body.
"Save. Her." He barely manages to grit out, walking past him into his mansion in a complete panic.
"I can't."
"Bull fucking shit!" He angrily sobs, holding her body closer to his and rocking her back and forth. "You have the time stone! Change this now!" Dr. Strange just looks at him. "Seriously! Fucking do it now!"
"Peter, it's not that simple-"
"Save their lives!" He screeches, completely hysterical, "You can save them, please!" He sobs, "Octavius, that bastard killed them! My babies! Her! They're all gone!" After Dr Strange doesn't respond again, Peter loses his composure even further. "Fucking look at her!!!! Look at her!!!! Do you not see her?!?!?!" He hysterically cries, dropping down to his knees onto the floor but still keeping MJ pressed again him, making sure he has her in a comfortable position. He continues rocking her back and forth and sobbing hysterically, leaving Dr. Strange to sigh deeply.
"I shouldn't but....it's risky." Dr Strange lets out, leaving Peter to look up at him with a pitiful look on his face. "It's risky to use the stone solely for resurrection purposes. However, and I really shouldn't be doing this. But I can...." Dr. Strange pinches the bridge of his nose, leaving Peter to stand back up with MJ still in his arms, a hopeful look mixed with the devastation on his face.
"I can take us back. To eight this morning. But Peter you-"
"Yes!" Peter interrupts, "Let's do it." Peter replies, wiping the tears off his face and a ready look on his face.
"I need you to realize, the same events of today are still likely to occur. You'll need to do anything and everything in your power to prevent this from happening. Only you and I will remember the events we've lived through today, the rest of the world will not."
"I understand, just please save them." Peter shakily says, still traumatized from what he had just witnessed.
"Ok, but Peter? Understand this, you need to get this right. If you mess up I can not, and will not do this a second time."
Peter nods, determined. "I will already know what to expect. I won't mess this up."
Strange nods, "I have faith in you." He replies, before everything goes dark.
Peter wakes up in a daze to feel his bed frame shifting and hearing a soft groan. He feels a peck of lips against the back of his head before it all hits him again.
Peter abruptly jumps up in bed, much to the surprise of MJ. He looks over to her to see her petting Molly.
"You uh....had a bad dream?" She asks jokingly, to which Peter just looks at her in awe. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She adds, turning her attention back to Molly and kissing her a few times. "This little one had me up from face kisses."
Strange really did it. He really turned the clock back and saved her. Saved them.
Before he can think about it he grabs her and pulls her into his arms, leaving her to let out a surprise "op!" He hugs her tighter than he thinks he ever has, of course making sure he isn't hurting her in the process.
"God. Thank god." He doesn't even realize he started crying until he speaks.
Due to all the nightmares he's had over the years of losing her, she seems to piece together that was the cause as she rubs his back back and forth in soothing motions back and forth. "Shh. I'm here. I've been here." She softly comforts, "It was just a dream." She whispers, rubbing her fingers into his curls.
Peter stays silent at this. He never wants her to know it was real. Never wants her to know he not only lost her but-
He abruptly leans his head down and presses his ear against her stomach. Feels the kicks against the walls of her stomach. A sobering relief to know they're all alive. That they really will be a family.
He feels her continue to sooth her fingers through his hair, "Hey, it's ok, we're all ok." She laughs a little, trying to bring him some comfort. "A little hungry but nothing soup for breakfast can't fix." She jokes.
"Yeah uh..." He abruptly pulls away from her, "I am going to stay home."
MJ tilts her head, "Don't you have-"
He remembers the people who could be killed if he ditches out on his responsibilities today. Shit he already knows about the armed burglaries and the burning building. All those people will die if he stays home today. He can't do that. Shit shit shit.
An idea comes to him, "Can you stay at May's today while I'm working?"
"Wh-why should I?" She asks, growing more confused.
"I uh. She misses you!" He lamely lets out. "She uh, called me yesterday asking if we'd be able to come by. I said I probably can't because of Spider-Man but told her you probably can!"
MJ bites her lip, "Are you sure you're ok Pete?" She asks, voice laced with concern. "Where is all of this coming from?"
"Em, I'm just worried about May, please." He begs, hoping and praying she'll agree.
She sighs, her shoulders sagging and giving in. "It wouldn't hurt to get out today, I suppose." She smirks, which leaves him ecstatic.
"Awesome, alright."
Everything wound up working out perfectly. MJ stayed the day at May's, Peter called the cops while he was out on patrol to come check on Octavius's warehouse to find all the illegal crap he was producing; thus causing his arrest before he could hurt anyone.
One week later Stephen and Ben were born. Ben was obvious from the get go, and Peter got lucky Michelle already liked the name Stephen for one of her their sons, and was happy she didn't question as to why he'd want to name one of their babies that.
Three nights after she had their babies, as she peacefully rested in her bed with him watching her carefully; left him some time to think. About nothing but his family. How much more grateful he is to have them. How grateful he'll always be to Dr. Strange for saving them.
Just grateful.
He looks behind him to Stephen and Ben in their little bassinets, both sleeping peacefully and he smiles warmly at them.
Feeling the urge to sleep himself, he scoots the bassinets closer to MJ's hospital bed; before gently getting scooting onto her bed that just has enough room for him.
He puts his arms around her sleeping frame and gets comfortable, and whispers "I love you guys." before allowing sleep to pull him under.