Something Somewhat Normal
Peter Parker was Spider-Man…
What was with the alliterative names? R.R.? P.P.? They needed someone to break up this alliteration.
Riley dropped from the ceiling, eyes wide as they stared at Peter, who dropped down as well. Mary Jane seemed amused, her daughter watching in usual childish excitement.
“You’re Spider-Man?” Riley got out finally. “What are the odds?”
“Didn’t expect you to be a spider too… Mega-Byte.”
Mary Jane laughed a little, still clearly amused. “Seems like scientists are pretty drawn to spiders, huh?”
This was… strange. Riley was glad that the two recognized them as Mega-Byte, but there was no reason they should’ve. They pushed the thought to the side for the time being, more focused on their bizarre circumstance. “This is so weird…”
“Well, now I can ask the questions I meant to earlier when you leapt from the roof. Nice tech you put in your suit by the way. I thought you turned invisible, but it was camouflage instead, right?”
“I took inspiration from Crab spiders, and from the various other creatures that can shift their form. It makes it easier to blend in,” Riley informed. “It helps me get away enough to slip into a crowd.”
Peter snorted. “I noticed. Well, proper introductions are in order. I’m Peter Parker.” He extended his hand out, and Riley shook it.
“I’m Riley Rowe. Though I’m guessing you already know that.”
“I do. You look different from what I imagined,” Peter admitted. “I thought you’d take after your parents a bit more.”
“I’m glad I didn’t,” Riley admitted with a sigh. “I don’t like being compared to them much.”
Peter took the obvious hint to shift the subject, moving to grab his daughter. “This is Mayday Watson-Parker, and she also has some spider powers.”
That should’ve been expected with spider genes. Still, with all the crawling the little baby was doing, Riley imagined it was a bit difficult at times to look after them. “Nice to meet you mayday,” they greeted politely, startling a little when the baby jumped onto them. Riley fumbled a bit to get proper hold of them, the spider baby giggling happily from their arms.
“Think that means she likes you,” Mary Jane joked lightly. “Peter’s been getting her socialized, so she seems to like everyone.”
“I-“ Riley was still rather puzzled, Mayday looking at them with a bright smile that seemed unwavered by the lack of smile back, reaching her small hand out to smack Riley in the face. “I don’t know how to deal with children…” they mumbled a bit, adjusting their hold. “Hi?”
Mayday giggled, slapping lightly at Riley, bouncing in their arms, amused by something. By what, Riley couldn’t discern, well, until they felt pin pricks of pressure on their scalp.
“Is there a spider in my hair?” They asked mayday, who happily nodded cheerfully. Riley didn’t know if she actually understood the question or not. So they adjusted their hold again as they reached for the top of their head. The spider crawled on Riley’s fingers and they brought their hand down, keeping the spider far enough away from Mayday.
What had crawled onto their fingertips was a common garden spider, so they weren’t worried about bites, but it should probably be brought outside.
“Huh. That spider seems to like you too,” Peter commented lightly, moving to take mayday, which Riley happily complied, focused on the spider.
“Spider’s like me. It’s been this way since I was little. Ironic that I ended up becoming a spider-themed hero later in life.” Riley liked spiders, and spiders liked them. It was a pretty fun bond. “I’ve taken in quite a bunch of them, but i’m going to release this little guy outside.”
“Feel free.”
Riley hummed out rather happily as they went to the back door of the house, and walked outside, finding a tree to put the little spider on, helping them onto a rather nice tree branch, before retreating back for the inside of the house, a little more pep in their step. When they got back inside, the three were still waiting for them.
Mary Jane seemed rather contented by the whole ordeal. “So how many spiders do you look after?”
“Besides my mechanical ones? About ten. They all have their own enclosures, and I have them on a specific feeding schedule that my spider-bots preform when I’m away.” Riley informed rather excitedly. “I just took in a jumping spider named Franklin, and I have a black widow named Miguel and his lovely wife that’s no actually his wife but is also a black widow named Vee. Then there’s my Bridge Spider that I named Lotus, and she’s my second newest spider, I have two tarantulas named Midas and Hecate, and then the Huntsman spider named Blue. She’s a beauty. And I have a golden silk orb weaver named Pan and a white banded crab spider that I named Greg. And she is my oldest spider. Not sure how she’s lived so long, but I’ve had her since I was fourteen. It’s the same type of spider that bit me, but not the exact same one since that one died.”
“You… really like spiders,” Peter commented slowly, but with an amused smile on his lips. “Why not study them if you adore them?”
“Oh, I do,” Riley assured. “But it’s more of a hobby. If I work in one specific field, I have less prying eyes on projects I’m interested in, as a lot of projects rely on a budget from those who want a specific outcome. I can fun my own projects.”
“So when you say you specialize in tech-“
“It’s the field I mostly do for work. And I focus on bridging the gap of humanity and robotics. This comes across in prosthetics, mobility aids, and finding ways to significantly improve quality of life through technology,” they prattled it off as they’ve done multiple times before to plenty of scientists. “My lab is actually working on low cost-hearing aids at the moment. I develop the tech, so I’ve been making prototypes.”
“Huh…”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bore you both with it. I prefer talking about spiders.”
Mary Jane and Peter both shook their heads, looking at Riley excitedly, Mary Jane even commenting. “Talk about whatever you want dear. Even if you just want to talk about Spiders.”
“Really?”
“Yes really.”
Riley felt all warm and bubbly. And while the night moved on, Riley talked science and spiders with them both, Mayday occasionally crawling into their arms. It was a joyful time. The younger scientist the most animated when allowed to express things they enjoy and dislike, with active encouragement from Mary Jane and Peter, who worked on dinner together while Riley talked Spiders to Mayday. Explaining in great detail what to watch out for and how to be safe, even if the little baby in their arms had no clue what they were saying.
For someone only really about a decade younger than them, Riley felt like a kid at heart. Maybe too used to having to play the role of a smart scientist and never getting to talk about their own true interests with others. So it was nice to witness.
Equally hilarious to witness Riley’s distressed face as Mayday started to climb walls, the scientist trying to keep up with her.
“You should bring them to meet the others,” Mary Jane suggested to Peter softly. “I think it will be good for them.”
“I don’t know, I’ve already had issues trying to convince mr grouch to let me sometimes visit my friends. And I still can’t go see Miles.”
“I think you’ll manage to convince him,” she assured, eyes once again watching fondly over Riley still trying to stop Mayday from falling. “I think they could use some good friends.”
Peter sighed thoughtfully, nodding at her words. “I’ll see what I can do.”