Chapter Text
The first sensation that MJ becomes aware of is Ned’s snoring. Which doesn’t make sense, given that she and Ned have different rooms. The second sensation is the hard floor under her back, which also doesn’t make sense, given the nice mattress she splurged on. A girl can’t exactly put her best foot forward in interviews if she’s not well-rested, now, can she? Her brain, connecting the dots, lurches further into wakefulness. Oh my god, she thinks. Have I been kidnapped? She tries her level best to calm her breathing, not wanting her kidnappers to become aware of her awakened state.
Then, the third sensation appears. A scream. Shoving all compunctions aside, she shoots straight up, seeing the two or three dozen other people in the room. Old classmates, a few strangers, and not-quite-as-dead-as-they-should-be Avengers, and a few retired or associate Avengers, too. Glancing around, the scream apparently came from a small boy, probably no older than six years old. He seemed hysterical, but a woman who closely resembled the boy was already comforting him. MJ’s mind was hard at work trying to put the pieces together. Who would kidnap a bunch of civilians and some Avengers? Who would even have the power to bring back-she glances back up-Tony Stark?
“Mr. Stark?” a quiet, broken voice calls out. Looking around the room again, she can see several faces turn towards Spider-Man.
“Underoos? What-” A new voice cuts him off. “Hello, civilians, heroes, vigilantes, and others.” The voice belongs to seemingly no one, just echoing out of nowhere and no one. “I have seen the suffering of one of you, and it has buried somewhere deep in my heart. I have decided to rectify the situation and allow heroes to be happy.” Okay, so therapy for a superhero. MJ lives in New York City; this isn’t the weirdest thing she’s taken part in.
“You will see his past and his present, and you will see the highs and the lows. I suggest introducing yourselves, your profession, and what year you are from. A specific moment if you believe it will help. Enjoy.” And with that final statement, silence rang throughout the room.
“Well, you all know who I am.” Tony Stark begins. “I am from 2023, currently in the middle of fighting Thanos. Any questions? Good, I won’t answer them anyways.”
“I’m Spider-Man, 2028.” His lack of quip is noticeable. He seems…shaken? And yes, MJ knew that he was just as human as the rest of them, mostly, but something about seeing him unsteady makes her feel unsteady too. She can see in the eyes of her presumed fellow New Yorkers that they feel the same. Everyone else introduces themselves the same, without the extra commentary, with the occasional hesitant glance toward the newly revived Iron Man or awed glance at any and all of the heroes present.
“Frank Castle, anti-hero, 2028.” (Spider-Man loses some of the tension in his shoulders that MJ hadn’t noticed until it was gone.)
“Bruce Banner, physics professor at ESU, 2028.”
“Officer Jean DeWolff, NYPD, 2028.” (Spider-Man’s shoulder relax a little further.)
“EJ DeWolff! 2028! Hi Spider-Man!” (The middle-school boy eagerly waves at Spider-Man, who offers the kid a high-five, which the kid eagerly accepts.)
“Marley DeWolff, the cooler of the DeWolff kids.” (Spider-Man can apparently see clear as MJ how much the girl also wants a high-five. She gets one.)
“I’m May Parker, nurse, 2016.” The tension returns to Spidey’s shoulders. Why?
“Ned Leeds, creator of the SpideyTracker app, recent graduate of MIT, 2028.”
“Michelle Jones-Watson, 2028.” These strangers don’t need to know anything more about her than public information.
“Happy Hogan, head-” “Forehead.” Stark cuts in. “Head of security at Stark Industries. 2024.”
“Stephen Strange, better known as Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, 2024.”
“Uh, time for the us civilians, then. Roger Harrington, science teacher at Midtown High, 2028.” (This got a round of greetings from several old students of his, a stunning amount of which were members in the room.)
“Jason Ionello, I work at Lockheed Martin, 2028.” (A fellow class of 2024 of Midtown student.)
“Betty Brant, junior journalist at the Daily Bugle, 2028.”
“Flash Thompson, law student, 2028.” (Eugh, that guy.)
“Brad Davis, cashier, 2028.” (Eugh, that guy.)
“Chrissy Bisesi, med student, 2028.” From what MJ can see, that’s it for people she graduated with.
“Liz Allen, social media manager, 2028.” Huh, her pre-Blip classmates are here too.
“Sally Avril, 2028. Can we speed this up? I have a young kid that I do not want home alone.” The mysterious voice cuts in again. “Time is frozen where you are from. Worry not.” Sally seems to accept this as truth.
“Alright, moving on. I’m Abe Brown, that’s Tiny McKeever, Cindy Moon, Charles Murphy, and Seymour O’Reilly. We are from 2028.” And that’s everyone she had homeroom with, pre and post Blip. Huh.
“I’m Cecelia Braun, journalist, and this is my girlfriend, Mary Keplinger. We’re from 2028. -Oh, and she works at a sandwich shop.”
“I’m Layla Freeman, that’s Michael Bower, Janine Hope, and Paulie Chu. 2028, and we’re all college students. Paulie’s also an RA.”
“I’m Margaret O’Connor, firefighter, and this is my husband, Neil O’Connor, he’s a nurse. We’re from ’28.”
“Officer Cody Ellings, NYPD, 2028. This is my little girl, Miriam. She only responds to Mimi.” The girl in his arms appeared around the same age as the boy from earlier, around seven or eight years old.
“I’m Annette Cooper, and these are my kids, Marcy and Timmy.” The girl, Marcy, appears to be around fifteen, and the boy is the same one who screamed earlier.
“I’m David Katel, journalist. 2028.”
Silence rang once more through the room as everyone looked at the final member of their odd kidnapping, a girl with red hair and a youthful face. When she said nothing, the room continued, like it was expecting her not to comply. Couches and bean bags shimmered into existence, and a movie-theater sized screen appeared on the wall. Spider-Man, always a source of comfort for New Yorkers, strode confidently forward and settled on a bean bag. He then sank into it like he’d hiked a mountain for several hours, and then finally reached his car again (sue her, she likes nature and nature metaphors). Everyone else followed his lead, settling down and making sure friends and family were comfortable and nearby. MJ ended up sitting next to several old classmates, with Ned on her right (closer to Spider-Man) and Jason on her left. Ned leaned over to her.
“Bet you twenty dollars the hero we’re watching is Spider-Man.” MJ glances at the vigilante, sitting next to the mysterious redhead and Officer DeWolff. Her kids kept leaning over and asking the masked man questions that she couldn’t quite hear. He laughed at one of the questions, and something in her guts twisted unpleasantly. “No bet. You’re almost always right when it comes to Spider-Man.” Ned laughed. “Like my Spidey spidey-sense!” “Loser.” Then, the screen activated.