The Tangled Webs of Bonds

A safe person can do wonders for someone’s mental health. A person who can provide emotional support, understanding, accepting, and become a safe place for others. Not everyone can have someone like this, so it isn’t something that can be taken for granted.

Peter Parker, or now known as Peter-One by his reliable older brothers, thinks so.

At least, he tries to.

However, he believes that he can be strong and self-sufficient by himself. He has been a Spider-Man since he was young, younger than when his older brothers started, so he knows how to solve a problem and fight by himself. He is never a clingy and spoiled kid too, never been one, at least before.

Until he sees how Peter-Three carries an unconscious and bloody Peter-Two to the oldest’s room. Peter-One is still nursing his head, but the moment he sees the oldest’s condition it feels as if the world stops spinning for a moment.

“Little Bug—I… Can you move a little? I mean, I-“

It is clear that Peter-Three is panicking. He can’t think straight, Peter-One can see how the middle brother’s eyes are shaking in fear.

So instead, the youngest moves out from the bed.

“Wait, you don’t need—you are still hurt—” Peter-Three is shocked even further.

“Come on, I’m starting to heal, Peter-Two needs it more,” Peter-One scolds Peter-Three. His eyes are spinning a little bit, but honestly, he has endured worse pain than this.

Peter-Three huffs, probably not having enough energy to banter with the youngest, so he lays down Peter-Two on the bed.

“What happened?” Peter-One asks Peter-Three in worry. Now that he can take a look at him, Peter-Two looks pale, and… is that a nosebleed? Someone can bleed that much from their nose?

“I don’t know, I—he was fine… or maybe he wasn’t, I don’t know,” Peter-Three grabs a new towel from the pile on the bedside table, the ones that Peter-Two might have prepared for tending of Peter-One. “Suddenly, he had a nosebleed then he fainted, that’s all.”

Peter-One frowns.

That doesn’t sound… right.

There should be no way for Spider-men like them to lose consciousness at the mere of a nosebleed.

Peter-One kneels beside the bed, hiding the fact that he needs to sit down because his knees still feel weak. He looks at how Peter-Three is wiping off the blood from Peter-Two’s face and shirt. The oldest looks as if he is sleeping, beside a little frown.

“He isn’t… poisoned, right?” Peter-One asks with a timid voice.

“No—I… I think I’m sure that he didn’t get poisoned. There shouldn’t be any chance for him to get poisoned, I was the one who made the antidote so-“ Peter-Three stops abruptly and shakes his head. Despite his words, he doesn’t sound sure of himself.

Peter-One wonders, he hopes that the oldest didn’t get poisoned just like he did. Peter-One remembers his blunder. Despite his spider-sense warning, he didn’t move faster when the poisoned gas bomb exploded near him. The sudden gust of poisoned gas surrounded him and Peter-One took a breath in surprise.

Then, the rest was history.

His consciousness fluctuated for the rest of the night. He can vaguely remember his brothers’ hazy voices and faces, but—

Anyway, it is hard to believe that Peter-Two made the same mistake as he did.

“Should we try to give him the antidote, just in case?” Peter-One suggests.

Peter-Three is done cleaning all the blood, he is frowning. “Well, there is no harm in trying that,” he answers though he looks doubtful.

The middle brother grabs the small gas cylinder that is connected to an oxygen mask, the youngest hazily remembers how he breathed on its last night. “There is still some left,” Peter-Three checks the content before he puts the mask on Peter-Two’s face.

Peter-One watches how the gas cylinder is turned on then Peter-Two is breathing on it. The youngest grabs Peter-Two’s hand and caresses it, noticing how cold his hand is on Peter-One’s cold hand too. Peter-Three is waiting with an anxious face.

Waiting for any reactions, any effect.

But even after the gas cylinder is completely emptied, even after time passes, there is no response.

There is no effect.

Peter-One can feel how he becomes nervous and anxious, while his body is slowly healing and he gets better, but inside he still feels twisted. With how Peter-Three is radiating with anxiety doesn’t help him either.

Peter-One seriously hopes that it is nothing. Maybe Peter-Two is simply being tired and he shuts down because of tiredness after a stressful night and then he will wake up soon.

But, his spider-sense is buzzing softly, not enough to alarm him but noticeable enough to warn him something.

Something is wrong with Peter-Two, but Peter-One doesn’t know what.

And he feels hopeless and scared, he doesn’t know what he- they should do-

“Shit-“

Peter-One raises his head as he hears Peter-Three’s cussing. Peter-Two is having another nosebleed, with more blood flowing down slowly. The middle brother changes the oldest’s position so that he sleeps on his side so that the nosebleed can flow down without risking it being inhaled back and aspirating.

Peter-One is watching everything with fear.

If they are simply going to wait, it won’t fix anything. It won’t help Peter-Two anything.

“I think-“ Peter-One stops talking when he sees how Peter-Three suddenly rummages through a first-aid kit bag beside the bed. He pulls out a syringe and looks at it with determination.

“I’m going to draw Big Bug’s blood, let me check if I can find something wrong with it,” Peter-Three informs him as he prepares the syringe and alcohol cotton. Peter-One watches him with dumbfounded eyes.

“How will you check it?” Peter-One asks with concern.

“In my workplace lab,” Peter-Three answers without looking at the youngest. He is focusing on his task, positioning Peter-Two’s arm, wiping it with alcohol cotton then drawing the blood using the syringe. “I don’t know whether I can find anything—maybe I won’t, but, I will try.”

Peter-One sees how Peter-Three is finished drawing the blood and a bit clumsily, trying to stop the bleeding once he pulls out the syringe. The youngest helps by putting pressure on Peter-Two’s arm with a cotton then they wait.

Peter-One is drawing a blank with anything related to nosebleeds. With his limited medical knowledge, he mostly only knows nosebleeds are caused by trauma, mostly. But, if in that case then, their healing factor should heal it just fine.

If it is an illness then… maybe? He guesses that is why Peter-Three is trying to check the blood.

“I will go for a while, will you be okay?” Peter-Three asks the youngest. For a second, he looks concerned.

“I’m going to be fine, I’m going to just… rest here,” Peter-One confesses. He leans his head on the bed while he is sitting on the floor, he caresses Peter-Two’s hand while sometimes palpating his pulse.

“Okay,” Peter-Three pauses again. “I will come back fast and… grab you something to eat, okay? Be good,” Peter-Three adds quickly before he runs out of the room.

Once Peter-One can no longer sense the middle brother in this apartment, Peter-One lets out a soft sob as he caresses Peter-Two’s hand.

He doesn’t know why, but he feels very scared about this situation.

And while he knows that Peter-Three is doing his best, the middle brother is struggling as much as Peter-One did. Both of them were very shaken and helpless.

Peter-One never experienced his loved ones being sick and losing their life that way. Everyone in his life, they all passed either by accident or… murder.

So, this situation felt very foreign, very…

Strange.

Peter-One bites his lip and erases his tears. No, there is no use to cry here. He is a Spider-Man too, he needs to do something. He needs to figure out something.

True, he is becoming spoiled by his brothers, but, Peter-One will do what he can do.

He will do everything that he can do.

0o0o0o0

When Peter-Three comes back with a dejected face, Peter-One doesn’t know how to react.

“There is nothing… Big Bug is as healthy as his blood examination showed me,” Peter-Three answers as he ruffles his own hair with a frustrated expression. “I really don’t know what happened to him.”

Peter-One bites his lip in anxiety then turns at the oldest with a complex face.

He sees how Peter-Three sighs and approaches the oldest again because more nosebleed flows out.

“Big Bug… why won’t you wake up?” he whispers, his voice thick with sadness and frustration.

Peter-One can only see that with a hollow look.

“Oh right, food—damn, I should have-“

“I have eaten, don’t worry,” Peter-One responds back with a small smile. There is a small pot of porridge on the stove, half cooked, too watery, but it was edible. Peter-One also has changed his pajamas out and wearing his casual clothes.

“Oh,” Peter-Three nods with a dazed face. But, he still looks… helpless and bewildered.

The two brothers sit side by side on the floor, saying and doing nothing.

Once in a while, Peter-Two frowns and nosebleed comes out before it stops shortly.

The youngest’s gaze lingers on the oldest’s chest, to make sure that he is still breathing properly.

But again, they are just waiting and not sure what else they can do.

In the meanwhile, Peter-One can feel that he regained most of his health. He doesn’t feel awful and his chest doesn’t hurt anymore, but still, he feels bad inside.

Time passes awfully slowly before finally, it is midnight now. The date has changed but there is no visible change in Peter-Two’s condition.

The two younger brothers don’t even bother to go back to their respective worlds, simply lingering inside the apartment while doing barely the minimum to survive. Eat, and go to the bathroom, but besides that, they keep staying in Peter-Two’s room, just waiting.

Peter-One looks at the clock. It is past midnight now.

He bites his lip.

If it keeps up this way then…

“I will ask for Doctor Strange’s help,” Peter-One voices out his decision. The middle brother looks shocked.

“What!?”

“He is called Doctor Strange because he was formerly a doctor, and he is a sorcerer- uhm.. a wizard. Anyway, he should know what to do, he will figure out what happens to Peter-Two,” Peter-One stands and stares at Peter-Three. The middle brother looks speechless.

“But you—” Peter-Three shakes his head. Probably he is thinking about the reason why Peter-One has been avoiding the Avengers. But, the middle brother is probably smart enough to figure out that Peter-Two’s well-being is a priority compared to Peter-One’s shame. “Okay, aside from that, this whole multiverses-portal thingy is still a secret—you will open up about that to him? And then you will tell him that your counterpart from another universe needs help?”

Peter-Three sounds sceptical. “Will he even… agree to help?”

Peter-One feels swayed, to be honest, he is very nervous and afraid on the inside. The youngest can remember Doctor Strange’s disapproving look when he met with his brothers, though they didn’t have many chances to properly talk to each other. But, then Peter-One remembers Doctor Strange’s complex face, a mix of concern and sadness when Peter-One asked him to erase everyone’s memory about him.

“I don’t know, but I will try to get his help first,” Peter-One answers. He will get Doctor Strange’s help, no matter what the cost. That is what is important, he needs to try it first. Whether it will work or not. He looks at Peter-Three, to see whether the middle brother agrees with his plan.

Yes, this will put their life in jeopardy. From what Peter-One knows, Doctor Strange isn’t fond of messing around with multiverses. The worst outcome probably will be him shutting down the portal and making sure that Peter-One can’t meet his brothers again leaving Peter-Two to his own dismay.

But, Peter-One wants to believe in him. He isn’t such a cruel person, he won’t-

“It seems like we don’t have any other choice, huh?” Peter-Three huffs with a reluctant face.

Right, in the end, it doesn’t like they have any other choice besides this.

Peter-One grabs his Spider-Man suit from the closet, admiring just how thoughtful Peter-Two always washes and stores his brothers’ clothes even if no one asked him to, and then the youngest changes into his suit.

“Don’t force yourself too much, if that strange wizard refuses to help you, we will find another way to help Big Bug,” Peter-Three reminds him kindly.

Peter-One wonders whether the middle brother is being honest about it. Because, for Peter-One, they really don’t have any choice but to ask for Avengers’ help. Doctor Strange seems to be a better choice than the other members because of his past involvement in the multiverses incident and his past expertise in medical knowledge.

Whether he remembers Peter-One or not, or how much he remembers about the incident… Peter-One will find a way to explain everything later.

“I will leave now, please take care of him,” Peter-One deliberately chooses to not respond to Peter-Three’s words. He pulls on his mask and takes a deep breath to ease his stiffness.

Peter-Three only nods with a reluctant expression, Peter-One nods back at him before he runs toward the portal in the laundry closet.

He knows there will come a day when he can’t avoid asking for help from the Avengers but…

Certainly, never like this. He never thinks that… he will need their help… in this way.

0o0o0o0

Peter-One remembers the last time he came to this spot. The front door of Doctor Strange’s place. He felt nervous, even back then, because honestly, he didn’t know whether Doctor Strange would help him or not.

But now, he feels even worse.

As usual, the doors are already open before Peter-One can knock on them.

He takes a look on the inside, noticing that this time there isn’t a pile of snow everywhere. But now, the front entrance is completely desolate.

He steps inside in nervousness, wondering whether the doors being open are magically automated or someone opened them for him. “Hello?”

“From all of things, I never thought that Spider-Man would enter politely from the doors, not the window,” Doctor Strange appears from the top of the stairs, slightly floating on the air while descending slowly onto the ground. “Or maybe I got a wrong impression about you.”

Right, Peter-One barely remembers times when he enters a place from the door without hiding his presence when he is in his Spider-Man suit. He, as Spider-Man, used to pull his stunt as secretive as possible. But now, he isn’t in the position to do that kind of thing to the man in front of him.

After all, he comes here to ask for help.

“Well, I’m sorry if I left a wrong impression on you,” Peter-One isn’t sure how much Doctor Strange remembers him, how much he separated Spider-Man from the non-existent Peter Parker in his head. But, Peter-One doesn’t want to be overly friendly to him, it is better to think that he is just a stranger but a famous someone to him. “Uhm… I’m sorry, Sir… but I come here… to ask for some help…”

“I realized that much,” Doctor Strange answers with a neutral expression, he doesn’t look shocked. “I would be surprised if you come here to ask for a cup of coffee… not with that expression.”

Peter-One immediately touches his masked face in surprise.

“I mean, your body language,” the older man corrects his phrase, with his finger pointing at Peter-One’s body. “I have a feeling that whatever you are going to tell me won’t be good news, but just tell me anyway.”

Peter-One looks at the man in front of him. It feels like Doctor Strange is being passive-aggressive at him or he wonders whether he is reading into it too much. But, then again, Doctor Strange is never a friendly person to begin with.

“Do you remember… the last time we met?” Peter-One asks first. He needs to know this. Whether he needs to explain everything from the start or not.

Doctor Strange perks up then he frowns. It seems he is thinking hard for a minute, probably trying to remember something before he speaks again. “I must have cast a spell that erased my own memory as well. Then it must be that spell…” He mutters then he looks at Peter-One with sharp eyes. “You were in the middle of everything of that incident, my memory is spotty and it is annoying.”

Peter-One looks down with a guilty look. “I’m so sorry, Sir…”

Doctor Strange sighs. “If it involved that spell then… that answers everything… no wonder the multiverses aren’t stable these days.”

Peter-One feels guilty even more. “I’m really sorry about that…”

“Raise your head.”

Peter-One does so.

“I know that you don’t come here to confess about this, you come here for something else. So, what is it? What kind of mess that you have done this time?”

Peter-One is almost crying. He can tell that Strange is angry at him. But, he can’t blame him for feeling that way. In a way, Peter-One also feels ashamed that he only sought this man only when he needed help. He never properly apologized to him before or tried to check on how he was doing after pulling that kind of spell that involved himself.

But, no, Peter-Two needs help.

“If you are angry at me, I deserve it. And after what I will tell you, I know you will be even angrier at me, Sir,” Peter-One knows this. It can’t be helped. “I don’t know whether you remember it or not, but your spell broke the multiverses, there were villains from other universes that came here to get me and also my counterparts as well-- uhm, then you fixed it by erasing me from the people’s memories…”

It is such an irony that Peter-One can summarize the incident like that, while actually a lot more happened that day. But, none of the details are important now.

“To be honest, we—I mean, I found a way to travel through multiverses so that… I could meet with my counterparts again…” Peter-One confesses another truth that he has been hiding for months. The youngest Spider-Man is looking at the floor, avoiding Strange’s stare. But his spider-sense informs him that the man in front of him is glaring at him.

“And I know I’m being shameless here… but… my counterpart… he is sick and he needs help… And I don’t know who else I can ask for help to so…” Peter-One trails off as tears form in the edge of his eyes.

Peter-One can hear how Strange lets out a huge sigh.

And another.

And another one again.

Peter-One raises his head slightly and looks at how Strange is covering his face with his hand.

“You know you are being shameless, do you know what you just admitted to me?” His tone is higher as he speaks more. “How could you play with multiverses so lightly like that--- huft… do you even understand what you are doing? With the way you look guilty, yes, you do know how wrong you are.”

Peter-One’s lips are trembling. He closes his eyes then he takes off his mask.

It doesn’t matter anymore. Strange knows his identity before, whether he knows that Peter-One’s identity now won’t change anything. But, Peter-One hopes that Strange can see just how sincere and serious he is now.

Strange looks stunned for a moment before he frowns. “I already expected you to be young but not this young…” he mutters with a slight sadness.

Peter-One ignores his words. “Sir, I know that what I’m doing is wrong,” Peter-One isn’t stupid. There are tons of things that can go wrong with how the portal connected the three universes. Some enemies can discover that and take advantage of that, it will be a total disaster. Not to mention what if the multiverses cracked like before and some universes maybe will blend into one or shit like that-

But, honestly, none of that matters now.

“I will receive punishment later, what will you make me do, I will wholeheartedly accept it. But—” Peter-One’s eyes become even more watery.

The image of Aunt May dying in his arms enters his mind.

It was his fault and for sure he would never let Peter-Two end up with the same fate.

“Can you please just help… him? I—I don’t want him to--- I want to help him, please! I will do whatever you ask me to, I will accept any kind of punishment, scolding, anything just--- please help him…” Despite Peter-One’s will, the tears finally fall from his eyes.

Something is wrong with Peter-Two and he doesn’t know what. Peter-One is afraid that it is because of him. His fault.

He is afraid that he will end up alone like before. Without his brothers at his side, living and surviving all alone in a world that has forgotten about him.

But now, Peter-One discovers a new fear. He is afraid that Peter-Two is going to die for good. Just like Tony, just like Aunt May—that no matter how Peter-One tries to find a way to meet him, he would never be able to meet him again forever. Not him, not the same person, not his oldest brother who has been taking care of him like he is his real little brother.

More than how Peter-One doesn’t want to be separated from his brothers, he doesn’t want any of them to die in vain.

“Is he really in such a predicament…? Is he dying?” Strange finally asks him.

Peter-One erases his tears and raises his head. “Uhm… he has been unconscious from the morning for no reason and… he kept having nosebleeds randomly…” Peter-One shakes his head. He can’t figure out what happening to his oldest brother, but he hopes that Strange can.

The wizard in front of him is frowning a little bit then he sighs.

“I understand, bring him here. I will deal with whatever you have done later, just bring the other Spider-Man here for now,” for a second he looks tired and reluctant, but his eyes look a bit softer.

Peter-One blinks in surprise. “Really? You will help him?” He asks in shock and disbelief.

“Now, bring him here before I change my mind,” Strange warns him with a stern voice.

Peter-One is shocked and he wears his mask quickly. “Roger, Sir! I will come back quickly!”

The young Spider-Man turns around and runs toward the opened doors. He leaps into the air while shooting his web to another building, swinging his way to his apartment quickly.

In his rush, he misses how Strange looks at him with a complex expression but soft eyes.

0o0o0o0

When Peter-One came through the portal and informed Peter-Three that that strange wizard was going to help Peter-Two, the middle brother felt skeptical but he didn’t say anything against him.

Peter-Three isn’t used to getting help, especially from other people he deems strangers.

But, he has said that they didn’t have any choice.

So, here he is running through the street to get to Doctor Strange’s place. Peter-One was reluctant for him to swing along with him while carrying the oldest. Peter-Three didn’t have the heart to tell that Peter-Two and Peter-Three had swung along while carrying him the day before yesterday. The middle brother understands that the youngest still wants to hide the fact that there are multiple Spider-Man now, which now seems futile.

Anyway, Peter-Three is running while checking his little brother, who is carrying the oldest on his back, swings from building to building. The passerby seems surprised but not alerted to find Peter-Three running quicker than normal human could, but he isn’t exactly that fast on foot so maybe not many people would notice.

Peter-One lands on one of the buildings, which seems ordinary from the outside so Peter-Three turns and quickly follows him.

“This is really stupid.”

Next time whenever something like this happens, he will just swing no matter what his brothers say-

Okay, probably there shouldn’t be ‘next time’ in the first place.

Peter-Three slips inside just about when the doors are about to close. He is trying to catch his breath but also trying to not so obvious that he is running out of breath.

He looks at Peter-One who wears a full Spider-Man suit, and Peter-Two who looks so pale on his back.

“Who is he-“

“Uhm, Sir, let me introduce you. Spider-Man, Peter Parker, just like me-us.” Peter-One points out at Peter-Three then to himself and Peter-Two at his back.

For a second, Peter-Three can see that something inside Strange must have snapped because his eye twitched slightly. Before finally he sighs. “So, there are two Spider-Man from the other universes…” he mutters under his breath. Then he glares slightly at Peter-One, though he doesn’t say anything.

Peter-Three steps to shield Peter-One and glares back at that man.

“If you really want to help, can we please skip the introduction and let Big Bug lie down?” Peter-Three is holding back his sourness, but it must have shown because this wizard glares slightly at him.

“For someone who needs help, you need to check your attitude,” Strange retorts back coldly.

“Yes, that doesn’t mean I will allow you to treat Little Bug like that-“ Peter-Three feels how Peter-One is pulling on his clothes. “What!?”

“Don’t, please just… don’t fight,” Peter-One pleads him.

Peter-Three misses to see how Strange’s eyes soften again then he shakes his head.

“Follow me,” he simply says and he turns around.

Peter-Three frowns and reluctantly follows him. Peter-One elbows him, then gestures him something undecipherable while pointing at him and then at Strange.

Peter-Three gets the gist of it, Peter-One wants him to behave. But, Peter-Three can’t help it. He doesn’t like this wizard after all, because he was partly at the fault of Peter-One’s situation.

And judging at how big this place is… Peter-Three can’t help but feel iffy even more. How come a superhero can afford this kind of place to live? Peter-Three can’t wrap his head around it.

They come to a room with a bed in it. Everything inside this place looks old, a bit dusty, and also foreign. While his spider-sense doesn’t inform any danger from this place, Peter-Three feels stuffy here.

He feels like he is out of place…

Peter-Three helps Peter-One untangle the web that tied him to Peter-Two on his back. Then the middle brother carries the oldest to bed, laying him as gently as possible.

Then the strange wizard steps forward, pushing out Peter-Three slightly. The middle brother glares at him slowly but he doesn’t mind him. He extends his right palm to Peter-Two’s face and Peter-Three can feel an intangible force come out from his palm.

If he is in any other situation, maybe the nerd side of him will be happy to observe how magic works. But, Peter-Three is currently too anxious to feel anything besides some distrust toward this strange wizard.

Peter-One has pulled out his mask. He grips his arm, seeking support. So, Peter-Three wraps his arm around Peter-One’s shoulder to comfort him.

Peter-Three can feel how the intangible force dwindles down and Strange’s face looks complex.

“How peculiar something like this can happen between counterparts of universes… but it is obvious how he ended up like this,” he sighs as he withdraws his hand and turns around at the brothers. “Did something distressing happen to you two?”

Peter-Three blinks in surprise. How did he know?

“…uhm… yes, I got poisoned but I’m fine now,” Peter-One answers back.

“Then the answer is obvious,” Strange sighs softly then he sees at them. As if, he is waiting for their reaction.

Peter-Three blinks in confusion then he glances at how Peter-One looks confused as well.

“You two don’t know?” Strange asks in shock. “Then, this is one way?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Peter-Three asks back.

The wizard approaches them hastily, a bit imposingly. Peter-One’s body stiffens when Strange raises his palm to his face. Peter-Three is about to push away his hand before he can see how Strange frowns.

“No wonder… so that’s how this happened,” he sighs as he withdraws his hand quickly.

Peter-One only blinks again in confusion.

“Can you please be more elaborate on what is happening with Big Bug…? You know, with common language, not chippers?” Peter-Three asks in annoyance. Because he can’t understand what Strange has been mumbling about.

Strange turns at him and frowns. “No, I don’t want to be the one who has to explain everything to you. That’s way too troublesome. I don’t want to be involved in the drama.”

“What drama?” Peter-One asks, he sounds confused too.

Strange swipes his hand and Peter-Three sees how a cabinet opens and a few branches of incense flow to his hand in slow motion. He flicks his fingers and the incense lights up, letting out a strange sweet smell into the air.

“Now, you two just need to relax, it will help. He will wake up soon, after that, I will explain everything to you,” Strange puts the burning incense on the plate on the table. “Remember, just relax. Don’t overthink,” he reminds them again sternly before he flies out of the room.

Peter-Three only blinks in confusion as he sees how the door of the room closes.

“Did he tell us to relax and not overthink? What is the point of that?” Peter-Three spats back bitterly. Because how that strange wizard refused to tell them anything felt even more foreboding. Then it means something serious is-

“But, he did say that Peter-Two is going to wake up soon, so… let’s just believe him for now,” Peter-One says back.

Peter-Three looks at the youngest and nods. He pats Peter-One’s head a little. Deep inside, he is amazed that the youngest is even more level-headed than him, not to mention how the youngest was poisoned around 24 hours ago. But at the same time, Peter-Three feels sorry for him, because he knows that Peter-One has to be strong because Peter-Three isn’t in the place to support him yet.

“I’m sorry…” Peter-Three blurts out before he can stop himself.

Peter-One turns around with a confused look. Peter-Three shrugs. “Just… you know, sorry… for everything.”

He is the older one but he isn’t dependable unlike Peter-Two, he is just…

“Hey… don’t be like that. We did our best and… I’m just lucky because I have more resources than you,” Peter-One says as he pats his arm.

“Did that wizard question how we traveled across universes?” Peter-Three asks.

Peter-One looks down but then he gives him a tight smile. “He will deal with it later, he said that.”

“Oh, okay,” Peter-Three hopes that he can do something about that. Based on how that strange wizard treats them, it seems he doesn’t welcome them wholeheartedly. His disapproving look reminds Peter-Three a lot of his late Uncle Ben. He is somewhat used to people looking at him with that kind of face, but his brothers don’t deserve that.

“Now, let’s rest… it has been a long day,” Peter-One pulls Peter-Three’s sleeve.

It is a long day, yes, he barely rests and eats, but Peter-Three knows that his body can handle a lot more.

However, for Peter-One it is different. Peter-Three sees a small dusty couch in the corner of the room, it is probably a loveseat. He drags it effortlessly to the side of the bed and dusts it off a little.

The brothers plop onto the sunken old loveseat together, while observing how Peter-Two has a better complexion now.

It is hard to just relax and not overthink anything, but Peter-Three is trying. He feels how Peter-One leans his head on his shoulder. So, Peter-Three leans his head on top of the youngest’s head.

“He will wake up soon,” Peter-One mutters as if he is trying to reassure himself.

“Yeah, he will. Then he will nag at us like usual,” Peter-Three replies back, trying to lift up the mood.

“He definitely will,” Peter-One chuckles softly. “I miss him,” he says, barely a whisper.

“Me too,” Peter-Three admits.

Peter-Three hears how the youngest’s breath becomes steady. It seems, finally, fatigue catches up on him. This strange sweet smell also helps Peter-Three to relax.

And he feels sleepy. So, he closes his eyes and lets himself sleep.

0o0o0o0

“Uh…”

Peter-Two slowly opens his eyes, fighting off drowsiness. His body strangely feels heavy, it is a bit foreign. It feels as if he is just healing from wounds he got after a big fight, he-

Peter-Two remembers how he got nosebleed and the panicked face of Peter-Three enters his mind. And the unconscious Peter-One too, how are they-

Peter-Two wakes up in a panic, rising up to a sitting position, and stops when he sees how his brothers are sleeping on a small couch beside the bed.

Seeing them fine makes Peter-Two sigh in relief, and then he winces because he feels dull throbbing pain in his head.

“Finally, you wake up from your slumber.”

Peter-Two almost jumps out of his place, because even his spider-sense is too late to inform him that someone else is here in this room-

Wait…

“Where am I?” Peter-Two asks in confusion. “And you are…”

Now that Peter-Two takes a look at him, the oldest recognizes this person as that strange wizard from Peter-One’s universe. Why is he here?

And what is this strange sweet smell?

“There is a lot to take in, but first, do you realize what kind of predicament you are in-“

“Uh… Big Bug?”

“Uhm… Peter-Two… huh? Peter-Two!?”

The wizard stops talking when the younger brothers open their eyes and jump in surprise to see Peter-Two awake.

“You—you are awake!” Peter-Three says with a big smile, based on how he hovers around Peter-Two, not exactly touching him but can’t calm down, he is probably dying to hug the oldest.

Peter-One has climbed on the bed beside Peter-Two and sits there with a relieved smile. “I’m so happy that you are awake now…”

Peter-Two is a bit confused about this situation. What is happening? Peter-One should be the one who was in a bad condition so how—

“Did something happen to me?” Peter-Two asks, hoping that his brothers can fill him in.

“You… you have been unconscious for one whole day, Big Bug. And you kept having nosebleeds randomly,” Peter-Three answers with anxious eyes.

“So, we brought you here, then Doctor Strange helped you,” Peter-One continues.

So now, Peter-Two shifts his attention back to the wizard.

Wait, does that mean this wizard knows about their traveling-through-multiverses secret then?

“Only temporary,” Strange answers with a bit annoyed face. “I haven’t uprooted the source of the problem yet…” His eyes are strangely sharp.

Peter-Two feels nervous under his stare.

“You should know, or at least have an idea, of what happened to you.”

Peter-Two slowly blinks while looking back at the wizard’s sharp eyes.

What happened to him…?

What…?

Peter-Two remembers how Peter-One got poisoned, and how he stopped Peter-Three’s rage. Then how Peter-Three has a mental breakdown about his past, and then-

Right, Peter-Two also remembers how he vomited and had such a massive headache for the rest of the night--- even right before he lost consciousness---

His brother-sense?

No way… but that—

He was fine before so how come now…

“I’m glad that at least you have some understanding of what happened to you, so I don’t need to explain it to you from the very start,” Strange’s words snap Peter-Two from his trance.

Then the oldest looks at his little brothers’ reaction. Obviously, they don’t understand anything.

“Wait!” Peter-Two cuts the wizard before he can speak further.

Strange looks quite surprised and glares slightly at him, but Peter-Two ignores him, he focuses on his brothers instead.

Honestly, Peter-Two has been avoiding thinking about when this time will come.

When his secret will be revealed.

He doesn’t know how his brothers will react, but he doubts that they will accept it in a positive way.

And most importantly, they will feel hurt…

“Peter-Three, Peter-One, can you two please… wait outside?” Peter-Two asks them with a small smile. They both look unhappy and shocked.

“Huh!? Why…?” Peter-Three asks with a betrayed look.

“But, I want to know… I will behave, please let me stay,” Peter-One pleads.

Peter-Two can feel the ringing of his brother-sense increasing rapidly, it is more intense than usual and he winces in pain. This is weird, usually at this level he shouldn’t feel pain-

“Big Bug-“

“Peter-Two-“

Peter-Two opens his eyes and he can see how bloody his lap is now. Both of these brothers are on his side now, holding on to him with scared looks on their faces. The oldest covers his nose and mouse, wondering why the blood keeps coming out-

He looks around in a daze at how the smoke inside the room become thicker like fog now. The strange sweet smell is quite suffocating but also numbing his pain.

He hears how the wizard sighs.

“You sure you want to have this talk alone?” he asks in annoyance. “I hate to explain everything twice.”

Peter-Two looks at his little brothers’ confused and hurt expressions. Based on how rough they look, they must have had such a stressful night- no, two stressful days. He feels bad for them, he feels-

The oldest can feel tangy blood suddenly fills his mouth and he coughs in surprise. He hunches down, surprised at how his nosebleed flows backward toward his mouth-

“I’m really sorry… but please, wait outside… I need to talk to him first,” Peter-Two wipes out the blood from his lips and he tries to put on his brave face. His little brothers’ eyes are shaking with fear and concern, Peter-Two can feel all of that through the ringing brother-sense.

“What are you hiding from us…?” Peter-Three asks, holding Peter-Two’s bloodied hand. “Can’t you just let us stay….?”

Peter-Two smiles and grabs Peter-Three’s hand tightly. The middle brother’s hand is strangely warm, he notices.

“It is rare for me… to ask you two a favor… please can you let me slide for this once…?” Peter-Two uses a low trick, the one that he dislikes to use. To guilt trip them so that they will follow what he wants.

Peter-Three and Peter-One look conflicted before they nod reluctantly. “But, you need to tell us later!” Peter-One says with glassy eyes.

Peter-Two smiles and nods.

His brothers walk away slowly with heavy steps, they seem reluctant, but finally, they leave the room and close the door.

Peter-Two lets out a sigh of relief and wipes out the blood from his face. He turns at the wizard who has been observing him silently with folded arms.

“I’m really sorry for that,” Peter-Two smiles sheepishly at him. He doesn’t know why he apologizes, but it feels like Peter-Two is inconvenient him.

Strange sighs and comes closer. “You all have interesting… bonds,” he says while he moves his hand in the air. His movement is peculiar as if he is touching something see-through objects. “You three are sharing the same name, same existence, and similar fate, and yet…” Strange trails off. He turns at Peter-Two with an indescribable expression. It is as if he finds something interesting, peculiar, and amusing but also annoying at the same time.

“Counterparts from multiverses shouldn’t have such close relationships… like you all. It is quite weird.”

“What do you mean?” Peter-Two asks. He feels that it should be obvious that the three of them are close because they can understand each other better than anyone else.

“I’m just figuring out how this… odd thing can happen. It is my first time to see this kind of thing to be so strong and cancerous to the host,” Strange says again as his hand is still touching and tracing something intangible in the air.

And then he grabs it.

And for a second, Peter-Two can see it.

It is a very thin thread, almost see-through, but it starts to glow a golden color and the color spreads through. Then Peter-Two realizes how it comes out from him. From his chest.

“You made such strong and cancerous bonds, Spider-Man. It is really troublesome.”

Peter-Two doesn’t know how to respond to that. His eyes only go wide as he looks at the thin thread that comes from his chest.

“Cancerous… you said?”

“Well, it is only a figure of speech.” Strange flicks off the thread from his hand. The gold color vanishes and Peter-Two can no longer see the invisible thread. “If you leave it alone, you will lose your sanity or maybe even your life. So, just like cancer, you need to cut these out.”

Peter-Two frowns and pats his chest, the thread is invisible and he can’t touch it.

“Bonds… to them?” Peter-Two mutters as he tries to process Strange’s peculiar words.

Strange sighs and takes a seat on the old couch beside the table. He sits so elegantly with his legs crossed. “You must have heard how twins can have a weird connection, telepathy, or things like that. So, yes, some humans can bond, more common happening at family through blood.”

Peter-Two nods. “I have heard things like that.”

“Imagine that but… one thousand stronger than that, that is what your bonds are.” Strange sighs and he folds his arms as well. “Your bonds are so strong, you didn’t just pick up their well-being, but also their feelings all the time.”

Peter-Two wipes the trace of the blood from his nose in nervousness. “And so…? How can it be cancerous?”

“Because it keeps growing hence why I call it cancerous,” Strange answers with a serious look. “I don’t know why it keeps growing and getting stronger, it is my first time to see it.”

Peter-Two looks at his lap, staring at nothing while he is thinking. He feels like he knows the answer to that mystery.

“Anyway, the bonds are so strong now that you are taking away their ‘pain’ and transferring it to you,” Strange explains more.

Peter-Two blinks in surprise and looks at the wizard. “I’m not-“

Peter-Two wants to deny it, but something in Strange’s expression makes him speechless. The wizard already knows, he didn’t ask to confirm it. He just said it as a fact.

“Wish is such a strong power, in my opinion,” the wizard adds. “Nothing will start, you won’t move, you won’t have motivation if it isn’t coming from wishing it first. I don’t know what you wished for but, you did something forbidden even in sorcery.”

Peter-Two looks at Strange with a frown.

“It is forbidden to transfer anyone’s pain or suffering to another person, even yourself.”

The oldest Spider-Man is speechless.

“It is hard to explain it, but each being is born with their own capacity to endure pain and suffering. If you try to take away someone’s pain and transfer it to you however you do it, it will increase more than what you can handle. Because that isn’t your pain that you need to endure, but someone else’s.”

Peter-Two doesn’t know how he should react now. He is shocked. He has a hard time following through with Strange’s explanation.

But deep inside, he understands because what the wizard said makes sense…

“Now, your bonds are like an opened blood vessel that keeps flowing one way. So, the solution is simple. You just have to cut it out,” Strange makes a scissoring motion with his hand. “I mean me, I will cut it out with my power.”

Peter-Two looks at the wizard in doubt. “Is it really that easy…? There are no risks or side effects…?”

Strange pauses and thinks for a while. “Honestly, I don’t know because I never did it before. But… I think the risk maybe…” he points out to Peter-Two’s chest.

“Your bonds are made based on your affection for them. If it is cut off, then… you might lose your affection for them. Probably… along with the memories of them too.” Strange sighs then he shrugs.

Peter-Two feels as if the time stops ticking for a moment.

“…what?”

He hopes that Strange is only joking about it, but the wizard’s face is completely serious with no hint of fakeness.

It has been a long time for Peter-Two to feel this way.

Devastation.

And…

Heartbreak.

To Be Continued