Getting to know him
After the chaotic interrogation died down—well, as much as it could die down—attention quickly shifted from our Peter is Spider-Man to who the hell is this other Peter?
“So, let me get this straight,” Rand says, leaning forward. “You’re Peter Parker from another universe. And you’re also Spider-Man.”
MCU Peter nods. “Correctamundo.”
“And you’re… how old?”
MCU Peter pauses. “Uh. Nineteen. I think? Time has kinda been a blur lately, but yeah, let’s go with that.”
There’s a collective pause as everyone slowly turns to Spectacular Peter.
“You’re seventeen,” MJ states flatly.
Spectacular Peter shrugs awkwardly. “Yeah?”
Kenny stares. “So you’re telling me this dude, who is literally the same person as you but from another universe, has been doing all this Spider-Man stuff longer than you, and somehow looks more exhausted?”
MCU Peter lets out a dry, humorless laugh. “Oh, buddy. You don’t even wanna know.”
Sally tilts her head. “Okay, so what’s your deal? Like, our Peter is a huge dork, he’s super awkward, and he sucks at keeping secrets—which, by the way, we’ll be discussing later, Parker—so what’s your whole… thing?”
MCU Peter smirks, but there’s a tired edge to it. “Ooooh, you guys think your Peter is bad at secrets? Oh, honey, I was outed to my whole school by a literal PowerPoint presentation. In Times Square.”
Silence.
“WHAT?!” the entire room explodes.
MCU Peter casually takes a sip from the soda he swiped from Spectacular Peter’s fridge. “Yup. Whole world found out. Got turned into Public Enemy #1. Ever had the government send drones to hunt you down? Super fun experience. Highly do not recommend.”
Mark looks horrified. “What kind of messed-up universe do you come from?!”
MCU Peter shrugs. “Oh, y’know. The usual. Alien invasions, wizard battles, reality collapsing, a guy in a metal suit adopting me for five minutes before dying—classic coming-of-age stuff.”
Spectacular Peter stares. “You had an alien invasion?!”
“Twice, actually. First one was in space. Almost died. Second one was on Earth. Also almost died.”
Glory gapes. “This is insane. How are you even alive?”
MCU Peter grins, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Mostly luck. And super healing. And stubbornness.”
Sally narrows her eyes. “Okay, but what about personal stuff? Like, do you also have an Aunt May?”
MCU Peter’s smirk falters slightly. “Uh… yeah. Had.”
The room goes quiet.
Spectacular Peter stiffens. “Had?”
MCU Peter exhales, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. Uh. She… she died.”
Nobody speaks. Even Sally, who always has something snarky to say, is quiet.
“She—she knew, didn’t she?” Spectacular Peter finally asks.
MCU Peter nods, his fingers tightening around the soda can. “Yeah. She knew. And she was amazing. She—she told me, ‘With great power, there must also come great responsibility.’” He lets out a small, almost bitter laugh. “And then she died in my arms. So, y’know. Fun times.”
For the first time since this whole thing started, Spectacular Peter actually stares at him—like he’s looking at a completely different person instead of an alternate version of himself. Because, in a way, he is.
Because this Peter? This Peter has been through hell.
Harry shifts uncomfortably. “Dude… that’s rough.”
MCU Peter shrugs, forcing a grin. “Hey, life of a Spider-Man, right? What about you? Your Aunt May still around?”
Spectacular Peter nods. “Yeah. She doesn’t know, though.”
MCU Peter chuckles, but there’s no humor in it. “Good. Keep it that way for as long as you can.”
Sally frowns, something unsettling in her expression. “You keep talking like that—like you’ve lost more than just your aunt.”
MCU Peter doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he stares at his hands—the same hands that had cradled May’s broken body, the same hands that had held Tony Stark’s lifeless one, the same hands that had clung to his best friend right before erasing himself from his life.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “I have.”
The weight of that statement sinks into the room like a stone.
For all his jokes, for all his sass, for all his cocky little remarks—this Peter has lost so much.
And yet, he’s still here.
Rand awkwardly clears his throat. “So, uh. What about villains? We’ve got guys like Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom—”
“Had them too!” MCU Peter chirps, bouncing back into humor so fast it almost gives them whiplash. “My Goblin was purple, though. And way more murdery. Oh, and my Doc Ock was actually a scientist I really looked up to before he tried to kill me. Good times.”
Kenny rubs his temples. “This is insane. You two are the same guy, but you have completely different lives.”
MJ eyes MCU Peter. “Yeah, but the biggest difference? He’s way more of a little shit than ours.”
MCU Peter grins. “Why, thank you. I do try.”
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