Aunt May's voice pulled me out of my daydream.
"Peter, breakfast is ready!"
There was a warmth in her tone that hit me harder than I expected. There was something deeply comforting about that call—like, for just a moment, my mind stopped thinking about Thanos, superpowers, timelines… and could only think about toast, coffee, and a kitchen that smelled like home.
I walked down the stairs carefully, relying on the memories of the old Peter to avoid missing a step. The creaky stair. The loose handrail. All of it was imprinted in me as if I had always lived here.
Ben was already sitting at the table, flipping through a newspaper. May was pouring coffee and gave me a worried smile.
"You look much better than yesterday, sweetheart," she said with relief. "We thought we might have to take you to the hospital."
"I think it was something I ate. I feel great now," I replied, forcing a smile that I hoped seemed genuine.
I had learned to lie from a young age. Not out of malice, but necessity. But now, with a couple of superpowers running through my veins, that skill took on a whole new level of complexity. Lying to these two people felt… dirty.
During breakfast, my mind wandered. I knew I had to act fast. In ten years, Thanos would snap his fingers and wipe out half the universe. I knew how it happened. When it happened. Who survived. And who didn't.
But stopping it wasn't as simple as killing him. Because before getting to that point, you had to build the foundation of a resistance capable of stopping him.
The first step: prevent the Avengers from falling apart after Civil War.
But… how do you stop a group of egos from crashing into each other until they break?And how do you do it without raising suspicions, when you're just a seventeen-year-old kid with zero actual influence?
Money. Technology. Information. That's what I need.
But my thoughts were interrupted by Uncle Ben's deep voice.
"You okay, Peter? You seem… distant."
I looked at him, and for a moment, I struggled to answer. This man… he was still alive. The mere sound of his voice stirred emotions in me that didn't even belong to me.
"Yeah," I said honestly. Then, without thinking, I added, "I was thinking about using my brain to start a business. Something… tech-related. To make money."
The room became quieter than the obituary page Ben was holding.
May lowered her gaze. Ben gently set his coffee cup on the table.
I knew what that meant.
They were barely making ends meet. Ben worked as an independent electrician, taking jobs wherever he could. May was a full-time nurse, sometimes covering double shifts out of necessity more than passion.
I didn't say anything else. I didn't need to. Their faces said it all.
"Peter, you don't need to worry about that just yet," Ben said with restrained tenderness. "You're a bright kid. What's important now is that you study, enjoy your youth. We'll handle the rest, okay?"
I nodded, but it hurt inside. Because deep down, I knew he was lying. No matter what they said, they were sacrificing. Their lives had become a daily struggle.
And that reminded me of my real parents in my world. My father, who worked two jobs. My mother, who worked three. The lonely breakfasts and the dinners with only the TV and my siblings for company. My real parents were doomed to eternal exhaustion.
A tear slipped out—betraying me. Fast, like how quickly I lost them. I wiped it away discreetly, pretending to scratch my eyebrow.
"By the way," May interjected, trying to lighten the mood, "Gwen called this morning. She was very worried about you."
"Gwen? I'll talk to her later, Aunt May. Don't worry," I said calmly, but inside my mind was racing, trying to make sense of this disconcerting variant.
One single image filled my mind: Gwen Stacy. Clear eyes, gentle smile, blonde hair cascading in perfect waves. But there was no Gwen in the MCU, as far as I remembered. Then, my predecessor's memories gave me the answer. But those memories confused me even more—this Gwen was the one played by Emma Stone, with her sweet voice and fierce gaze when defending what she believed in.
Something didn't add up.
It wasn't just Gwen. Ned Leeds was also here—just as loyal and funny as the Ned from my previous world's MCU. A familiar face, luckily. And there was a third person: Harry Osborn. God. He looked exactly like James Franco.
Peter, the original, had been friends with all of them since childhood in this universe.
So… what was this? A mix of realities? A modified MCU?
The only reasonable answer: this wasn't the exact MCU. It was a variant. A fusion. Something different.
And that complicated everything.
Because it meant villains who never showed up in the original MCU could appear here. Norman Osborn, the Lizard, even Morbius or Kraven… and with them, new variables in the Thanos equation.
I had to adapt. I couldn't blindly trust my prior knowledge. Every piece had to be verified before it was moved.
But there was one unexpected advantage: Harry Osborn and his money.
If I played my cards right, I could use that connection to establish the foundations of my company. With money, access to labs, and the trust of someone influential, I could start building my web of influence.
And if I helped Harry impress his father, I'd have a lifelong ally.
But that would have to wait. Today was Saturday. The spider bite happened on Friday. I'd see them all again Monday at Midtown High.
I had two days.
Two days to discover the extent of my powers and adapt to them.
I jumped online. Looked up abandoned warehouses in Queens. After an hour of reading and mapping, I found the perfect one. Far from cameras, discreet, forgotten.
I asked May for permission to go for a walk and dressed in old clothes, covering my face with a scarf and beanie. Not the best disguise, but it would do.
When I got there, the dusty air made me cough. Everything was covered in rust and scrap metal.
Perfect.
I jumped. Landed flawlessly.
I picked up a huge fallen steel beam and lifted it like cardboard. I bent it with both hands. A metallic screech made me laugh.
"Superhuman strength: confirmed."
Climbing walls was easier than I expected. My fingers stuck like microscopic suction cups. A network of hypersensitive hairs analyzed the surroundings and sent signals straight to my nervous system.
I hung from the ceiling. Then I jumped, flipped, landed in a crouch.
My spider-sense triggered when a bird flew through a broken window. A jolt at the base of my skull. Precise. Efficient.
I quickly pulled out the notebook I had brought with me and began to write:
Scientific Notes – Subject: Myself
Strength proportional to muscle volume, but amplified by a neurological vector.Estimation: Ability to lift between 10–20 tons under stress.
Spider-Sense:Preemptive response to hostile stimuli. Automatic activation. Reaction time: 0.07 seconds from stimulus to neural impulse. Potential for predictive combat.
Surface adhesion:Microfilaments generating molecular friction. Activation through will and direct skin contact.
Physical resistance:Metahuman level. Accelerated healing factor (to be confirmed).
I was exhausted.
But I couldn't just play all day, so after about two hours of testing Spider-Man's powers, I headed home. I had to get back to what mattered: the plan to stop Thanos.
I sat at my desk. Grabbed the notebook where I had my power notes and began drafting an action plan.
Project Aegis – Planetary Defense.
And I started writing.
Objective: Prevent Thanos' Snap.Hypothesis 1: Warn Tony Stark or the Avengers. Rejected.
Problem: High risk of mistrust. With no credentials or proof, Stark would ignore me. Also, warning him directly might lead to an even worse timeline, and there's the matter of Hydra's infiltration in SHIELD.
Hypothesis 2: Create containment tech for the Infinity Stones. Impossible.
Problem: Requires advanced knowledge of quantum physics, space-time, and manipulation of universal energy.
Hypothesis 3: Influence key events.
Prevent the Avengers' fracture in 2016.
Warn Fury about HYDRA.
Strengthen interpersonal bonds between key heroes (Tony–Steve, Vision–Wanda, etc.)
Boost planetary defense using personal resources.
Action Plan:
Contact Harry Osborn and gain access to Osborn resources.
Create a tech company under a civilian front.
Develop original technology: tracking systems, energy weapons, predictive analysis AI.
Establish indirect contact with SHIELD.
Use future knowledge to invest in key companies.
Build an information network with low-profile heroes.
This action plan seemed the most accurate, but I had to be careful.
The timeline is different.
The presence of Gwen. Of Harry. The dates. The faces.
All of it suggested this wasn't exactly the same universe, which meant the origins of some villains could change.
Which meant my knowledge wasn't absolute.
And one mistake—no matter how small—could be fatal.
I finished writing and hid the notebook in the back of my closet, then lay down on the bed.
The adrenaline wore off, but my mind kept running. My life was no longer mine. My body wasn't either.
But I had made a decision.
I wouldn't be the Spider-Man everyone knew.
I'd be a new one.
One with the intelligence to prevent.
And the resolve to punish.
I was about to fall asleep when the phone on my nightstand rang, and a name appeared on the screen.
"Gwen Stacy."