Thoughts On the Universe?
The rest of the tour surpassed Riley's expectations. Mostly because of the spiders. Sure, the tech was pretty impressive, as expected of a conglomerate organization with a partial monopoly on the scientific world, but the spiders really made Riley buzz.
When Riley made it back towards the end of the day to Mary Jane and Peter’s house, they felt exhausted. They had stayed far longer than planned, and Riley was even extended another offer to view other areas not shown another day. And while they should’ve said no, Mr. Osborn made sure to offer when Riley was distracted by spiders.
They needed to tone it down a bit if they were so easily swayed. They were given a spare key to the home, so they entered as soon as they got there, yawning out of exhaustion.
The home seemed empty upon entering, which they already expected. Mary Jane had mentioned taking Mayday to the park while Peter was busy, and she’d be back later.
Peter must’ve still been busy. Still, entering the empty home was odd. Thankfully, it felt just as warm. So Riley closed and locked the door behind them, going to their room to set their things down. Upon entering, they noticed something on their bed, with a note resting on top. Closing their room door, Riley moved to their bed, picking up the note.
You mentioned your parents packed your bag, so I found some clothes you might like better. They’re likely baggy since I’m a little taller than you.
-Peter
Riley glanced down at the clothes, seeing a couple pairs of jeans, shirts, and button ups. They were still smart, just more casual and less stiff. There were even a few sweaters in the pile.
Spiders really look out for each other, huh? Riley found themselves smiling a bit as they picked out a few pieces, changing from their stiff business attire, into something much more casual.
A plain black shirt with a short sleeved green button up, and some worn dark jeans. They were a little baggy, sure, but Riley couldn’t say they really minded. It definitely made them look more average and not intimidating. Honestly, they looked a bit like they did in their college days. Well, their enthusiastic college days. Clothes that didn’t fit right, but still worked. Riley went to a mirror to look at themselves, smiling again when they saw who was staring back.
It felt like their cheeks had been burning since they arrived. How much time had passed for these genuine smiles to fall? They only really smiled around their brother, so finding these two who were so accommodating and accepting… their heart stung bitterly as their smile dropped.
It’s a visit. Soon, it will be over and they’ll return back to their life. And getting attached was pointless. A warm thought and fond memory. So Riley moved away from the mirror, and went back out of their room towards the living area, sitting on the couch. It felt strange to be there without the three occupants, so Riley could just wait.
They wouldn’t have to wait long at least, as a few minutes after they sat down, a rip in reality formed near the front door. Similar to the look of a cartoonish black hole, a small dot that expanded to fill a space, with splintering colors in fractals, dancing like glimmering glass, reflecting off of each other to create new fantastical combinations. It was web like, these splinters that created this colorful array, blinding almost. And stepping from it was Peter in his suit… minus his mask.
Peter spotted Riley on the couch, and the new clothes. “See you liked the clothes Mj and I picked out!”
Riley wasn’t really responsive, staring past him and at the rip in space. And circling back to their meeting with Peter. It was a ticket, a passage into the unknown. And maybe Peter could see that inquisitive wonder dance in their eyes, recognizing it from many other scientist, many other people in general. Recognizing that look that used to be in his own eyes.
“What’s your opinion about the multiverse?”
This knocked Riley out of their trance, eyes snapping over to Peter. “Well, it’s illogical to completely deny the possibility simply because it’s an area of science so severely unexplored by our world. Much like the idea of aliens. And considering there is a portal there that seems to defy all logic… I’d say I believe it exists.” Hard to deny something like that when it was quite literally spelled out for them. “It does explain your line of questioning when we met. Was I some…” Riley threw up their arms to do air quotes around their next words. “ ‘Anomaly’ in your eyes until you realized was from this universe?”
“Your word choice is… a little on the nose,” Peter muttered to himself. “I won’t lie, yes. I’ve actually met… quite a few people bitten by spiders, many who are from alternate universes. I assumed you were the same, which was my mistake.”
“I’m guessing two spider-people in one universe is pretty uncommon?”
“Yes. It happens… just, not often. And usually the reason is cloning.”
Well, that made enough sense. The portal still hung open, and Riley fought back the urge to get up and jump through it. Their molecules would rip apart if they tried.
And Peter definitely could sense that desire dancing in Riley’s eyes, amused by it. “I actually came back to grab you.” Peter held up his hand, a bracelet of sorts dangling from his fingers. “Had to grab you a visitors pass. Can’t have your molecules get scrambled. I don’t MJ would be happy if I let you get all frazzled either.”
“Wait, you want me to go into that?”
“Mj and I think it would be a good experience for you. Meet others just like you. So… are you in?” He waved the bracelet/day pass in the air, Riley’s eyes following the movement as they debated the idea. They already wanted to jump headfirst into the portal… and if that day pass Peter grabbed them would keep their body intact…
Riley bounced to their feet, snatching the day pass from Peter, slipping it on their wrist. “What are we waiting for?”
Peter laughed, and started walking towards the portal. “I have a feeling you’ll love this.” And they stepped into the portal, Riley chasing after them. The second they both stepped inside, the portal closed behind them, leaving no trace they were even there.