Alt. Ending
A Year Later
Spiderman - Friendly Again?
Non-violent arrests up by 70% - Why the sudden change in Spidey’s methods?
Is the Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman Back? Witness Tells All
Peter’s time in the other dimension (and wow is that a sentence he never thought he'd say) stuck with him. He likes to think he grew a little along the way. It no longer hurts to think of Gwen. He'll no longer feel the sting of tears when tries to whisper her name into existence. He still thinks of her. He’ll see a scarf or a hat and think “Gwen would love this”. She will never completely exit his life. Honestly, he doesn’t want her to. Her blood is on his hands. She’s his responsibility. (“After all” Ben’s voice whispers, “With great power comes great responsibility”). But, it got better. He can smile and laugh without her absence weighing on his mind like an anvil. He doesn’t feel the need to make others feel his pain. Now, he just wants to save Gwen in the little ways. He sees her. He sees her as the little girl stuck in the burning building. He sees her in the eyes of the boy he saves from a potential mugging. He sees her in the quivering smile of a teen who was scared to walk home alone in the dark. He couldn’t save her. He may never accept that fact. But he can save these people.
Now, Peter stands in the middle of an alley in the middle of a random part of New York - this one different then the one he was left in one year ago. There he stopped - pspspsp-ing at a stubborn cat stuck on a ledge. Trying his hardest to save Gwen in the little ways, even if that means embarrassing himself in front of an unamused cat for the better part of an hour.
“You seem to be having trouble there” a masculine voice speaks out from behind him. Spinning around, Peter is struck with the image of a man about his age with vibrant red hair and bright blue eyes.
“Just a little” He smiles politely. The young man simply scoffs before pulling himself to stand precariously upon the lowest windowsill.
“What are you doing?” He eyes the other man’s feet where they lay half over the ledge.
“Saving a cat from a metaphorical tree,” he smirks, rifling through his pockets. With a triumphant grin, he pulls out a small silver cylinder.
“I already tried nudging our feline friend. He doesn’t take kindly to it” He warns, lifting up his forearms to show him the long red lines that run down them. The redhead simply snorted before using the tip of his fingernail to flip a small black switch on his device. A small red laser emits from the device, projecting itself upon the brick of the wall behind him. The man began pointing the laser in the direction of the cat, quickly gaining it’s attention. The cat’s lazy eyes immediately perked up at the sight of the small red dot. It stood slowly with a large yawn and began to follow the light. Meticulously, the ginger mapped out a passageway for the Calico to jump into his awaiting arms. Shifting the cat into one hand, he dropped the laser back into his pocket. With one small leap, the man was back on level ground with Peter.
“I-” Peter stammered, slightly dumbfounded by the stranger in front of him.
“There are a lot of outdoor cats by my apartment. Helps to have a laser pointer” he replied casually, dropping the cat into Peter’s arms. Mystery Man (™) continued to walk past Peter, and into the mouth of the alley.
“I’ll -uh- keep that in mind” he said dumbly. “Um…My name’s Peter.” He called to his retreating back.
“Hello Peter,” the man yelled from over his shoulder, “Name’s Max Jordan. But you can call me MJ.”
Once again, Peter found himself freefalling.