Chapter Text
"Ok, go over this with me one more time. There's been a sighting of a what? "
Peter had to catch his breath again. Today had been a rather busy day for him, with petty crimes of all types and sizes happening seemingly within minutes of each other. His brain felt like it was going 20 miles per hour. He was swinging through the city now, taking his brief second of calm to finally answer an urgent call from MJ.
"Someone in a Spider-Man costume was seen falling from the sky. Or more likely off a tall building. It's close to wherever you are now." Mary Jane's voice came through Peter's com device built into his suit.
"And you're sure it wasn't Miles? Or yknow, just me swinging like I do all the time?" Peter joked.
"I said falling, Pete. Not swinging or diving. This guy was limp." MJ replied. Peter could tell there was a hint of concern in her voice. "I mean, I called Miles and he said it wasn't him. So I have a feeling that it might… well…. You know what happened last time some random guy dressed up as you."
"Oh. Right. Yeah, I get it. I'll go check it out." Pete doubted that this situation would be that big of a deal, but he had to admit that he didn't like the idea of some random schmuck jumping off a roof in a bootleg spidey suit. He wouldn't be surprised if someone did that, mind you, but he still didn't like it. Jameson would have a field day over that.
Peter wasted no time in swinging over to the location MJ had told him about. Where the supposed sighting actually was. There were no cops around to survey the scene, no signs of any commotion at all. Likely due to the fact that someone seeing Spider-Man fly past their window probably wasn't something the average New Yorker would call the cops about. Even still, it was a little odd. Maybe he just got here before anyone else did.
"Ok, they have to be somewhere around here." Peter said to himself, perching on a ledge overlooking a small intersection of alleyways. He was about to hop down when his spider sense went off. He sprung up to his feet, narrowly avoiding what looked like one of his spider bots, who just missed jumping onto his leg.
"Oh, hey little guy." Peter chuckled slightly and kneeled down, letting the mechanical critter jump onto his hand. It chattered slightly. "I don't remember leaving one of you guys out here. How did you-"
Pete cut himself off as he looked down at the thing. He didn't have to look at it very long for him to know that it wasn't one of his own spider bots. It was more intricate for sure, with sharper legs and a darker paint job. He wanted to examine it further, but it slipped through his fingers and jumped down to the alley below, chattering and whirring all the way.
"Wh- Hey! Get back here!" Spidey practically scrambled over the edge of the building to chase after it as it skittered down the alley and around a sharp corner. Pete followed, landing on the concrete below to see where the robo bug was going. He stopped dead in his tracks once he saw where he was led. Or rather, who he was led to. Peter's eyes widened behind his mask.
" Oh no. "
There was a man in a Spider-Man suit sprawled out in a corner of the alley, limp. The spider bot had curled up next to the figure, somehow managing to look a bit sad. That wasn't what had worried Peter the most, though. The suit that the figure was wearing wasn't some average spidey suit. This was different, and Peter recognized it immediately. Red on the head and shoulders of the costume, which tapered down into an almost completely black suit from the spider logo downwards. The eyes of the suit were black, and there were almost cat-like claws on each hand. It would be properly menacing, if the person wearing it wasn't slumped over unconscious in an alley with blood pooling underneath them.
"Doc!?" Peter blurted out, rushing over to the man, checking for a pulse. After he found it, he couldn't help but pull the man's mask off. The suit, the tech on the web shooters of the costume, it all felt authentic, but he needed confirmation. Unfortunately, that was what he got. He looked just like he remembered. Peter shuddered. "Oh no, it is you…"
He never thought that he would ever see him again. Otto Octavius. Not the Doc Ock he knew, though. This was an Otto Octavius from another universe, who now called himself the Superior Spider-Man. The last time they'd met, Otto had brought Peter along to join a multiversal army of spider people to go fight some interdimensional vampires that wanted to eat them all. Peter still thought about the event often. I mean, how could he not? It was confirmation of other worlds, other spider people. Sure, it was confusing as all hell, a real mouthful to explain, and it was over far too quickly for Peter to even comprehend most of what was happening, but he did come away with some new things to think about. One being the man now in front of him.
Pete had to weigh his options. Superior Spider-Man, from what he was told at least, fucked up big time. In more ways than one. Peter couldn’t just ignore that. Otto was impulsive, and still had many super villain-esque tendencies. But even still, even though they hadn’t known each other very long, Peter knew that this Otto was trying. He had shady methods sometimes, but still ended up doing the right thing. He could tell that this guy cared, and wanted to try to be a hero at the end of the day. A perspective that his dimension’s Otto certainly didn’t have anymore. Pete hoisted the man up into his arms. Otto’s spider bot skittered up too, resting on Peter’s shoulder.
He didn’t have to look too hard to tell that he was injured badly, not just from the fall. He looked bruised, and there was a deep gash on his side that looked like it had been made by something digging its entire clawed hand into him. The wound was deep and bleeding out, and Pete knew that the man wouldn't last too long in this condition. Yeah, Doc had screwed up big time before, but he couldn’t just let him die. And so he called up Miles.
“Hey Miles? Are you anywhere near my apartment right now?” Peter asked, trying to hide the concern in his voice. He quickly pulled Otto’s spider mask back over his face for privacy reasons before taking off and swinging away in the direction of his house. It was definitely awkward having to swing and carry someone, but it wasn’t anything that Spidey hadn’t done before.
“Yeah, It’s really close to where I’m at..” Miles replied, responding quickly and with an air of excitement. “What's up, are we starting spidey training early today?”
“I don’t think we’ll have time for that today. I need your help with something.” Peter heard Miles make a sad noise at that, though he quickly perked up again with the prospect of getting to help.
“Yeah! I’ll help! What do you need?”
“Pull out every first aid kit I have and tidy up the place a bit. We’re gonna have a visitor.”
“That sounds kinda concerning. Should I be worried about this?”
“It shouldn’t be anything too bad.” Peter replied. At least he hoped it wouldn't be anything too bad. Last time this Otto showed up it was to warn Peter of an interdimensional threat. Peter desperately hoped that this wouldn’t be something similar.
—---
“Sorry! Sorry! Coming through!” Peter had stammered as haphazardly stumbled through his apartment. He had nearly fallen through his own window, freaking out Miles in the process. He rushed into his bedroom, sitting Otto down onto it, where he flopped over pathetically. Pete ran back to grab the first aid supplies that Miles had left out, and Miles, in the chaos, couldn’t help but peek in at this new and very beat up stranger.
“Um, Pete? Is that just some guy in a spidey costume or…” Miles inquired. Peter whirled around, shutting his bedroom door.
“Nonono its nothing to worry about! It's a friend of mine! And he’s uh… kinda hurt so-” Peter awkwardly opened the door again and went inside, medical supplies in hand. “Yeah, I should probably help him. Hold this.”
Peter yoinked the stray spider bot off his shoulder and put it in Miles' hands, where it chirped and jumped off, skittering away. Miles looked dumbfounded, watching it go, before looking at Peter with a face of pure confusion.
“If that guy’s injured, shouldn't we just take him to a-” Miles cut himself off as Peter closed the door. “...hospital?”
“Sorry!” Peter yelled from behind the door. “I’ll be out in a moment! We’ve got a spider-emergency here!”
—---
It had been a good 2 hours since Peter had brought him in. Patching up his multiversal buddy didn't take long, but it sure was awkward at times. (Peter wasn't really an expert on medical stuff.) He had to obviously do it himself, as it would be too much of a hassle to ask anyone for help, let alone explain who Otto was right now. Once he was done attempting to be a doctor (and changing out of his costume) he spent the remainder of his time pacing in his small apartment living room, trying and failing not to stress out. If Otto came here bearing news of some new interdimensional spider person eating monsters again, he doubted that he would be able to handle it. Miles certainly wasn't helping.
"You know, MJs gonna be home soon. Are you gonna tell her what's going on at least? Cuz I really don't think she's gonna like this." Miles stated, clearly a bit annoyed. Peter couldn't blame him. This was very confusing, but he couldn’t explain yet.
"Miles, I'm sorry. I really am, but this is just too difficult to put into words right now. I promise I'll tell you, just in a-" Peter began, before he heard a loud thump and a yelp coming from his bedroom. Oh shit, he's awake.
Peter rushed into his room, Miles tailing after him. Otto was awake alright, and he had apparently fallen out of the bed and had been crawling across the floor to the window in some escape attempt. He didn't get very far before Peter dashed in front of him. Otto scrambled to his knees, moving back like some kind of spooked animal. Peter could've sworn that he heard him growl. He quickly tried to move closer before stopping as red, spider looking mechanical legs shot out from the back of Otto's spider suit, one sharp end nearing dangerously close to Peter's neck. Pete signaled for Miles to stay back.
"Woah, woah! Take it easy, doc!" Pete exclaimed, raising up his hands in a passive gesture. "It's me! Peter Parker, spiderman of Earth ten-forty something or whatever number you called it! Remember?"
"Where. Am I." Otto growled in response. He sounded both angry and exhausted.
"Calm down, you're just in my apartment." Peter said. He slowly moved one hand to his back pocket to pull out his Spidey mask, in some attempt to show that he wasn't trying to fool him. "You do remember me, right? We went on a whole multiversal mission? We beat up some creepy vampires?"
"...Parker?" Otto said after a beat, his voice suddenly a bit shaky. "Peter Parker of Earth 1048. Right."
"See, you get it. Now, if you'll just let me..." Peter replied, moving closer. He took his steps cautiously, and though he was rather upset with him, he still offered Otto a hand to help him up. "Miles, can you give us a moment, please?"
"You know what? Fine. I don't even wanna know." Miles slowly backed out of the room and shut the door, though Peter figured he was likely just going to listen in anyway. Pete cleared his throat.
"Ok, Doc. I know you're hurt, but you have some serious explaining to do." Peter's words were rather harsh. "So whatever multiverse escapade you want to drag me on this time, it's gonna have to wait until you talk."
"You misunderstand." Otto said, reaching up and taking his hand. Peter pulled him up. He was going to help steady him, but Ock pulled away, moving back to sit on the bed.
"What do you mean?"
"I am… I am not meant to be here. In fact, I don't think I am meant to be alive right now.
“Oh.” Peter sagged. Well shit. He wasn't expecting that. "What… what happened?"
"There was an incident involving a Norman Osborn variant. I wasn't strong enough to stop him. I don't remember much of what happened." Otto's voice was low, and it looked like it pained him a bit to recollect. "I assume I was drifting through the multiverse. Norman had something to do with that, he likely threw me out the same way he came in. Perhaps he thought that with the high probability of ending up in an unsafe dimension, I would end up dead."
Ok, well now Peter felt bad.
"So you're-"
"I don't have a way back home, I'm afraid. At least not one that I'm aware of." Otto replied before Pete could even ask. "I… apologize for the inconvenience on that front."
"Oh geez, I really wasn't expecting that. Well, in any case, if you're telling me the truth, it sure is lucky that you ended up in my world specifically." Peter said. Otto nodded, looking away slightly. His demeanor was uncharacteristically quiet, meek even. Seeing an Octavius act like that was unusual and kind of scary. He must've been beat up pretty bad. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"You don't need to do anything. I shall leave your apartment as soon as possible."
"Wait, no! Don't do that, please."
"Why not? It would be beneficial for us both to-"
"Ok, look." Peter said, sitting down on the bed next to Otto. "I know you messed up in the past but you've already atoned for that. You shouldn't be beating yourself up about any of that or whatever fight you lost. Let's focus on right now. Right now, you're trapped here, and you need somewhere to stay. I happen to have a very nice apartment and a lot of techy stuff for you to use. So-"
"I couldn't do that. I don't know how long I'm going to be here."
"I don't mind at all. Stay for a year for all I care! I could always use a roommate to help me keep the place tidy." Peter said, elbowing Otto gently, trying to lighten the mood. Otto just looked at him, and Peter sagged again. "Please. I already failed to help the other Octavius I know. I can't just not help you."
Otto's eyes widened a bit at that, and then he nodded in understanding.
"Fine. At least for the time being." He said softly. "I suppose you could use some help around here. Your room is a bit of a mess."
"Thanks, Doc."
"Peter Benjamin Parker!" Someone shouted from outside the door. Peter knew exactly who it was and fear shot through him. Uh oh. She just full named me. Right on cue, MJ slammed the door open. Miles was standing behind her with an 'i told you so' face. "What is going on?!"
Peter had already whirled around and stood the moment she had entered the room. Otto, still very much on edge, also tried to stand up, but failed, only ending up landing back on the bed. His red spider legs moved around him defensively. Oh man, this could get really bad really fast. Peter got between them, holding up an arm to signal to Otto to stand down.
"Who is that?" MJ asked, calming herself down a bit. "Miles told me you brought some injured stranger in here? Was it that guy I was telling you about? Another spider person? Why haven't you told us anything!?"
"I'm sorry, it's just so hard to explain- Doc! Sit down!" Peter cut himself off again as Otto tried to move to his feet again, using his robo spider legs this time. Man, he was stubborn. Parker grabbed him by the shoulders and practically threw him back down. Peter turned back to Miles and MJ. "Ok, you remember that time I went away for a week cuz I said I had to fight some vampires?"
" What. " MJ stared at him. Dangit. He forgot that he never explained it to her.
"Wait, I remember that. What about it?" Miles cut in, averting the crisis.
"Ok, this might be a bit hard to believe, but I was actually traveling across the multiverse with some other Spider-Men. And women. Spider people. We did fight vampires though."
"The multiverse is real?!" Miles cut Peter off. His confusion was replaced by excitement as he rushed over. "Pete, why didn't you say so? That's so cool!"
"Well-"
"So is that guy like, you from another universe? He has spider powers too right? Is he like, another Peter Parker?"
"Um, about that…. He's actually-" Peter began. Ok, now this was going to be difficult to explain. He gulped. Thankfully, Otto finally spoke up.
"Maybe you should let me introduce myself, Parker." Otto said, sitting up and holding his side. "My name is Elliot Tolliver."
"Doc, what-" Peter began. Pete thought for a moment that he should call him out on that blatant lie, but Otto gave him a look.
"Right, where's my formality? It's Doctor Elliot Tolliver." Though he was trying to seem professional, there was a worried tone to Otto's voice when he spoke. His eyes seemed to be silently pleading with Peter to not spill what he knew.
Peter nodded. Ok fine, he could let this slide. It would probably be better to not have that conversation now anyways. Everyone was already on edge. Besides, he already was very good at keeping identity related secrets. Also, ElliOT TOlliver? Pete snickered a bit as he figured that out. Very clever, Doc.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Tolliver!" Miles replied excitedly. "Pete, you and Elliot gotta tell me everything about your multiverse adventures! Oh man, I can't wait to tell Ganke-"
"The multiverse is real, then. I'm not sure how to feel about that yet." MJ began. She had been standing there contemplating for long enough now. "Peter, so this friend of yours, is he just visiting, or…"
"Well, no… It's kinda complicated. He got beat up and now he's stuck here." Pete replied, definitely oversimplifying things. "He's gonna be staying here until further notice."
"If it's any issue I do not have to remain here."
"Doc, I found you dying on the pavement. You're not leaving." Peter replied to Doc, reaffirming the conversation they had earlier. MJ grabbed Peter's shoulder, pulling him to the side for a bit.
"Pete, I'm not trying to assume anything, but can we really trust this guy? Miles said he looked like he was about to stab you the moment he woke up." She said. Pete looked over at Otto, who could definitely hear them, his robot spider legs disappearing into the back of his spidey suit awkwardly.
"He's been through a lot, and hes kinda got some issues." Peter began. Otto grimaced. "But I trust him. And I want to help him. So that's what I'm going to do."
"Alright, fine. That works for me. Make him help you with your spiderman-ing or something, and he can stick around all he wants. But if anything comes up, please call me. " MJ whispered that last part. Pete nodded then looked back at Otto, who was staring at him again. His expression was unreadable, but not negative. Miles looked between the two of them.
"Oh, wait! Mr. Tolliver, I think this belongs to you." Miles chimed in, trying to start a conversation. He held out Doc's lost spider bot, which beeped and scuttled over to Otto's side. "It's really high tech, by the way. I hope you don't mind that I looked at it."
"It's Doctor, not Mister." Otto stated. He examined his one remaining spider bot. "I… am glad that it's still in good condition, though. I had programmed it to be ready for this exact kind of situation."
"Miles, maybe we should give some space. You can ask all your questions later." MJ tried to wave Miles out before moving to leave herself. Miles moved back to the door, pointing at Peter.
"You better tell me all the cool multiverse stuff later!" Miles said before running out, probably about to tell everything to Ganke. MJ stared at Peter for a moment.
"You're going to explain things to me too, right?" She asked.
"Yeah. I'm sorry I kept this from you." Peter nodded. As soon as she took her leave, Peter turned back to Otto as he spoke up.
"You still trust me, Peter? I'm surprised."
"Yeah, I do. I can tell that you're still getting better. I've put all that spidey-armageddon stuff behind me, anyways."
"I… thank you for that." Otto actually smiled a bit at that. Peter had to do a double take. He just genuinely smiled! Peter couldn't help but feel a bit proud. Otto noticed his expression. "Hey, no. Get that stupid grin off your face, Parker. Yes, I am grateful that you are willing to help me and still think well of me, and I believe I'd like to help you in return. Don't get all sentimental."
"Really? That's great!"
"You're still grinning. Quit that."
"You can be like my guy in the chair or something! I mean, MJs already kind of like my lady in the chair, but you can help too with all your gadgets and stuff!" Peter ignored his protest, already thinking it over. "And you can help Miles and I go on city patrols when, yknow, you heal up."
"That seems like the most logical conclusion. I can do that."
"But for right now, you've gotta rest, ok? I'll get you some wheatcakes in a minute. You just stay in here and take a nap or something. Get up when you're ready."
"This is the most hospitality I've ever been shown in my life, I must thank you for that." Otto managed to smile again. Peter felt a kind of chill run down his spine. For a moment, he looked just like the Otto he knew. At least, when he was still a sane person. It was like he was back looking at his old friend again. This was awkward. Parker sighed, but smiled back. Otto laid back onto the bed, wincing slightly as he did. Peter moved towards the door, deep in thought.
"Hey Otto? One more thing." Peter said, turning to the other man just before he walked out of the room. For a brief moment, it was like Peter forgot which version of Otto he was talking to, or even that the man in front of him was a different Otto.
"Yes?"
"I missed you."