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Wrong
Wrong
Wrong!
Wrong!
WRONG!
Wrong…
Everything was wrong.
The noise of the city, Peter’s city, New York, had become almost muted now. Leaving Peter in a weird sense of silence, calmness, in a way only pre-bit Peter had known. But the reality of the situation were… there weren’t really quiet.
It was just, drowned out by the ‘other’ noise in Peter’s life.
The Statix.
Filling his brain, leaving him awake, night after night after night. And all Peter wanted was calm. Peace and quiet, and happiness, and love. And one of Aunt May’s hugs…
… but he couldn’t get that!
Peter’s sure that in one reality out there, an alternate reality, May was okay. Not laying in a coma, in a hospital bed, with Peter sitting in an empty hospital chair next to her. Somewhere, Peter and May would be eating Thai and laughing at their ‘I larb you’ joke.
Or maybe not.
Maybe, in every single reality, Peter were supposed to suffer. Slowly break and die. Pulled apart by the constant, terrifying noise, of beeping. Of the other reminder that May is still there. Alive. Breathing.
Because somewhere that Peter can’t quiet pinpoint, he isn’t that lucky.
Somewhere, in the universe, May’s already gone. They didn’t make it. May died in surgery. The surgeon, May’s friend would walk up to him and place a hand on his shoulder and say in a calm, yet sad tone that “I’m sorry Pete”.
WRONG
Snap out of it Peter!
MAY’S ALIVE!
She isn’t dead yet
But she could be. Peter’s well to aware that it had been a close call when his Spidey-sense went off. If he had waited, thought about it just a second longer, things would have been so different. If Flash hadn’t called, if Flash hadn’t reacted, if Flash hadn’t helped… May would be gone. And maybe she would anyways.
But Peter’s can’t think like that. Right now he has to be strong. Wear a mask, and pretend to be okay. Because he HAS TO BE OKAY!
“Pete” Tony says, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder, but Peter pulls away from the touch. “Do you maybe want to go home? Take a shower, get some food and sleep?”.
Peter shakes his head, holding back the tears the threatens to overflood any second, “No… I… I think I should stay… here. With May”. Peter replies, gripping May’s too still hand extra tight, focuses his hearing a little more on her heartbeat and breathing.
This is Wrong
You failed her
WRONG
“Underoos, I promise, she’ll be okay” Tony says, sitting down next to Peter. He doesn’t make a second move to touch the boy, doesn’t pull him to his feet, and forces him to go home. It’s almost like he understands, but how could he, when this is so wrong. “And I’m sure Aunt hottie wouldn’t want you to pass out due to low blood sugar” Tony points out.
Peter’s swaying, his leg’s feeling unstable under his body. The sadness, the sorrow freeze. He clings to the wall, he feels the color leave his face, his get’s paler for every second. Glitz. His suddenly standing in the kitchen at the compound, Bruce, Helen, Rhodey and Tony is sitting, eating breakfast. But they focus on him as he enters. And quickly they all got up, but before Peter could register anything else his falling, darkness pulling him under… but he doesn’t feel the impact of his head against the floor.
WRONG
That isn’t right
That didn’t happen here
Yet
“Whoa kid! You good?” Tony asks, now standing in front of him, careful hands on his shoulders. Peter blinks a few times, take a few deep breaths. What the hell is Wrong with him?
“I…” Peter’s voice break. Is he good?
Tony pulls Peter up from the chair, places a hand over his shoulder and leads him out of the room. And Peter’s world turns quiet, as the beeping get more and more distant.
The Statix takes over his head.
***
”Hello Peter. What would you like to do today?” Karen asks in her robotic voice as Peter pulls on his mask. The HUD turns on, the light blue settings, text, vitals, web settings, and so much more shows up on in front of his brown eyes.
It’s been one week since May fell into a coma
Tony isn’t happy about Peter going out while at this Wrong mental stage, but Peter has convinced Tony (with a little help from Pepper) that it helps him to clear his mind. That the movement of swinging through the city keeps him sane.
Peter doesn’t believe it himself.
“I’m ready for anything Karen” Peter replies and shots a web, sticking it to a building across the stress and runs to the edge of the building, jumps off and swings. Glitz. He lands on the ground in front of burning building only 5 minutes later.
”Peter, there are 3 people stuck on the top floor” Karen tells him, and Peter get’s to work.
And Karen is right. On the top floor is a man and woman, and in their arms, protected and somewhat safe, is a toddler.
Peter takes the toddler first, carefully swings out of the building and to the ground Glitz. The woman is safe on the ground with their kid, the father is waiting in the window, desperate for someone to save him. Peter get’s up again, preparing himself for the extra weight by the taller, slightly big guy.
When Peter reach the window, Karen warns him that the building is about to collapse. The man get’s onto Peter’s back, and holds a little to tight, but Peter swings down anyways.
Only when he touches down onto the ground dose, he realizes who the man is…
Wrong
Skips standing right there, in the front door for Midtown high. No longer behind bar’s, as he had been in what seemed like ages. If May had been there, there would be a restraining order on Skip already, his been out for two weeks… but May’s dead, and Tony doesn’t know about Skip. Glitz. In the store, just a few hours later, with Pepper, Skip is there again. Walking up behind him, placing his hands on Peter’s shoulder’s, running down his back, down to his ass…
Not real
CAN’T BE
Wrong…
Peter takes two steps back, knees growing weak. He can hear Karen somewhere, but her voice is nothing compared to the Statix filling his vision, his ear’s. Giving him a headache, making him dizzy.
To much sound.
Stop the noise
What noise?
The Statix grows louder, and louder. As the world disappears around him. And then…
Glitz
His sitting next to May’s hospital bed, his hands holding hears tight. Pepper is sitting next to him. The doctors are losing hope.
***
Peter almost doesn’t go to school that morning. He want’s to keep laying in his bed, dreaming, and hopefully get the headache away. But somehow, he anyways ends up at Midtown high, Flash waiting for him in the front of the building.
It’s been two weeks since May fell into a coma.
May’s medical insurance can’t keep up, so Tony pay’s to keep her alive. But no one knows if she’ll ever wake up.
And if she do… they don’t know in what condition.
“Hey Peter!” Flash calls from the front steps, MJ is standing in the background, not saying a word.
Wrong
”What’s up Penis Parker?!”
Real
Peter shakes his head lightly, desperate the clear the Statix noise in his head, “Hey Flash, MJ!” he greets, trying to be his own happy self. But Peter’s sure they see right through it. Why wouldn’t they? “Isn’t Ned coming today?” Peter asks. Glitz MJ kissing him on the lips and he pulls MJ close.
“His sick” Flash mumbles quietly.
Wrong
Glitz
What the…?
Glitz
”How could you do that to your own friends Peter!” Ned shots, “You just, left us. For whom? Flash, your lifetime bully? And you didn’t even tell us?!”.
Peter takes a few careful steps down the stairs, and stumbles, falls, hand hitting the pavement first. Glitz. Ned’s standing over him, MJ in the background. “This is what you get for leaving your friends behind like that”.
Ned pulls open his backpack, every book, every paper, every pen falls out onto the floor. Down into the muddy water in a puddle of rain. And last… the suit… the red and blue spandex falls out. Ned picks it up, “I didn’t know Spider-man would leave his own friend… dude” and they walk away. The suit left on the ground.
“Peter!” Flash catches his arm as he stumbles.
Statix
Peter’s vision goes Black
When White
Before going back to normal. MJ and Flash are holding him up, pulling him through the hallways of Midtown.
The headache is growing worse by the minute.
WRONG!
DANGER!
NOISE!
STATIX!
His falling, falling, Falling! FALLING! Down, Down! DOWN! And he can’t stop.
The world’s muted, but loud and noisy at the same time.
Stop
Glitz
His sitting in the car with Tony by his side, Happy in the front seat. “You good kid?” Tony asks, Peter shakes his head.
“Somethings wrong” he replies. Because it’s true. The Statix fills his head.
***
Helen says it’s stress. Peter doesn’t by it. May still hasn’t woken up. Peter stays home from school for a few weeks.
Snap
Glitz
It’s been a month since May fell into a coma. She won’t wake up
“Pete, it’s okay” MJ whispers close to his ears as they lay in his bed at the compound, were his staying till May wakes up.
Glitz
Peter hasn’t turned on his phone since Friday night. When he finally dose, in his room at the compound, there’s a million messages from Ned. But Peter doesn’t care to reply. He just falls back against his pillow and looks up at the celling.
“Friday, throw on a movie please” Peter says out to the celling.
The windows become tinted, and one of the movies on Peter’s list starts playing on the television.
And soon enough, he drifts off.
Not real
“Again” he whispers, because MJ knows what that’s supposed to mean. She knows about whatever this is. About the noise, the STATIX, the… the pictures… the headache…
Tony knows too, and Happy and Helen.
Cho had wanted to make sure Peter knew the rules down to the smallest detail before she would even consider allowing it.
Glitz
Peter had once asked why she was so carefully about allowing him to be in position of the enhanced Meds, but Cho had refused to tell him.
“They’ll fix it Pete” MJ promises and kiss his forehead, become hugging him tighter. For a moment Peter feels like everything is right again and then Glitz. The morning sun and shining in through the windows. MJ has already gotten dressed; she smiles are him carefully.
“You did it again” she says, brushing her fingers through his hair “but it’s okay”, she reminds him.
***
It’s been two months since May fell into a coma
Slide
Slip
Fall
“Shit” he mumbles, the cold eyes meets his legs making him shiver. MJ and Ned is laughing quickly in the background, Harley is pulling Peter to his feet.
“Are you okay dude?” Harley asks, Peter nods. Glitz they are standing at the edge of the ring, Tony holding Peter into a close hug. His shaking, the Statix noise making him dizzy.
“Your doing such a great job kid” Tony tells him “I know this is bound to be hard. With May and, whatever this is” He pulls Peter out so they can make eye contact “I’ll fix it, Pete. Okay?”.
Click
Peter nods.
Tony pulls him close again.
Shake
The camera is what Peter picks up first. It’s old, used, and uses film. Peter remember taking photos with it everyday for months, Ben had found it cheap in a shaky store a few blocks from the apartment. Glitz Together with the camera lays a handful of pictures. One of them is a selfie and him, May and Ben. Some of them is of May and Ben in the kitchen, cooking. Ben was a better cook then May. Glitz There’s a few from the pound in the park, the winter before Ben died, they running around on ice skates
Fall
There a picture from his first decathlon meet, when Liz was still the leader. There’s a picture of him and Ned building Le……..
“Breath” Tony reminds him. They in the car, Peter leans against Tony’s shoulder. Harley is on his other side, scrolling through his phone.
Peter hasn’t used his own phone in ages. The headache grows worse. The Statix more pronounced and the noise in his head louder.
***
“Karen give me something!” Peter almost shots at the AI. It’s become routine, Peter goes out every night, because that’s something he can still do.
His grades as slipping. May won’t wake up.
But help people? That he can do.
It’s a tendency there’s been there since Ben. Maybe even before Ben?
Peter isn’t sure.
Three months mark
Glitz
His at the top of a building, looking down. His getting ready to attack a rapist pulling a teen girl around his own age with him. She’s sobbing, begging for help. For Anyone to help her. She’s scared, shaking.
Peter swing down, lands a hit right in the man’s chest. The man falls back with a thud, the girl steps away, but doesn’t run. Fear is filling her eyes.
The man pulls a gun Glitz
“Oh my god, are you okay” The girl is standing over him “Shit, you shot. I have to… uh” she knells down and puts pressure on the wound. Karen is calling Mr. Stark.
“Keep your eyes open for me please” The girl begs.
“Who are you” Peter asks carefully, his voice weak but the pain making the Statix less intense “If you don’t mind me asking”.
The girl meet’s the eyes of the mask and shrugs “I’m Echo” she replies.
Blink
”This isn’t working. It’s DONE!” Tony screams “I trusted you to tell me when you had problems, Peter. But you didn’t” Pepper tries to stop him. “We are moving, tonight. And you’ll switch to a private school, it’s safer”.
Glitz
“Hey, you must be Peter” A red hair girl shakes his hand “Welcome to Whitestone Academy, I’m Echo and I’ll be your chemistry partner for the next few weeks till you make from friends”
Pain
Iron man lands, thanks the girl for keeping Peter safe, and picks him up and they fly. Fly over the sky. Over the city. Over the noise.
Statix
“Mr. Stark” Peter mumbles.
“Call me Tony kid” the Iron man suit replies.
***
His pull all he can, the metal gauntleis slippery and heavy in his hands, but he can’t stop. They so close to stopping Thanos before he has a chance of snapping his fingers.
His purple, grab head, showed up on earth less than 12 hours ago, and while some of the avenger’s fight on earth, Peter fights in space. With Tony and the guardians of the galaxy.
Glitz
He losses grab of the gauntlet, and suddenly Thanos is standing with a sword through Tony.
Peter jumps in front of Tony, the pain hits him like nothing he has ever felt before. Glitz Tony standing over him. “Please don’t give up kiddo” he begs.
Peter smiles quietly at Tony “Your going to be a great dad” Peter whispers. Tony doesn’t know yet, but Peter can hear the extra heartbeat inside of Pepper.
“Don’t leave me Underoos” Tony hugs him close.
Peter shakes his head with the last of his power “This is for the better. I’m okay now Tony, I have piece” he mumbles. The darkness pulls him under. And then, wind and, and his being pulled apart into a million pieces
“Karen! Activated instant kill” Peter shots, jumping at Thanos from behind. One of the Iron-spider legs makes a move and shifts.
Glitz
The blade has gone through the purple giant who looks at Peter in his last seconds “So your cursed with knowledge as well” it isn’t a question, it’s a statement. And Peter knows what Thanos means with it.
The light leave the giant eyes, Peter steps back, the helmet of the suit pulls back. And suddenly… suddenly the noise, the Statix that has filled Peter since that night with May and Flash seems to be gone.
Now nothings wrong.
It’s right.
And Peter breaths.
Tony hugs him tight, as they through the orange portal and goes back to earth. Peter doesn’t explain anything. There’s no need for it.
It wont help anyone, other than maybe Tony. But that’s only a maybe.
Because both Peter and Tony are cursed with knowledge, but it’s two different things. Tony knew what was coming… but Peter knows what came to someone else. Another Peter, another Tony. A different world and different timeline.
***
Happy is in the med bay when they return to the compound, it’s been 5 months since May slipped into a coma. She was moved to the compound when Thanos attacked New York city.
Peter walks into the med bay, with Tony’s arm over his shoulders. And there, sitting up in the bed, awake is May, talking with Happy.
Kissing Happy.
Peter runs over and hugs her. Because he needs that. Need peace and calmness and love. He needs a break, because he felt himself die, even if it wasn’t him. And he knows, the other him isn’t as lucky. The other him lost May, and Ned and MJ. He lost Midtown, and his life.
Pepper walks into the room soon after, whispers to Tony and Tony kisses her with passion.
Peter listens, focuses his super hearing.
There’s an extra heartbeat.
“Pepper, your pregnant” he says and Pepper just smiles and laughs.
Because in this reality, everything is how they should be. Finally.
And Peter is… Happy