More Than Amazing
Chapter 1 - Cursed With Knowledge
"What are we going to do, May?" Ben Parker whispered to his wife with a mournful rasp.
"I-I don't know, Ben," May rasped, her voice thick with tears. He held her in a tight hug, one she hoped comforted him as much as it did her, "How could this happen? …Richard, Mary," She glanced towards the door she knew laid beyond their room's walls, "…Oh god, Peter."
Ben clutched her tighter as he dragged his chin over her head, hiding his reddened eyes, thick with tears.
Just minutes earlier they had received a sudden phone call in the dead of night, one that informed them of the sudden death of Richard and Mary Parker, Ben's brother and sister-in-law.
From a plane crash, of all things. What were the chances?
Ben's heart plummeted to his stomach when he heard the news. His beloved younger brother and his kind and beautiful wife, dead. Memories flooded his mind as he held onto May—teaching a young Richard how to swing a baseball bat, giving him advice about girls as he grew into his teens, and even the joyful day of his wedding to Mary.
He remembers the wide, goofy smile on his face the day Peter was born, even through the tears of joy.
Happy days, better days…. but now, he was gone.
A shuddering breath escaped him as the reality of May's words hit his chest like a boulder.
Peter.
His nephew, the brilliant young boy that his brother left with him because of a sudden business trip, now an orphan.
Not on his watch. Ever. He didn't care if his job barely earned enough to support a child. A few more hours of work was nothing to his newfound responsibility.
He brought his face down to May, as a solemn resolve filled him with purpose. He wiped the tears from her face with his hands as he spoke, "We'll be here for him, always."
She gave a quick retort as she looked at him with a sad yet fond smile, "Stupid, was that ever in question?"
He could help but give her a chaste kiss at the bittersweet moment, before he pulled her in tight once more, "Never."
A choked sob left her throat as she dug her face into his neck, "I love you, Benjamin Parker."
"And I love you, May Parker."
He swallowed hard, wishing the morning would never come, as he dreaded the moment he would have to explain this to his nephew.
------------------------
Peter Parker struggled to focus as the world blurred to his senses. What was going on? His memories lingered at the edge of his mind as he tried to recall them.
He went to bed after a warm glass of milk from his Aunt May, quickly dozing to sleep under the covers… and then, nothing.
Am I asleep… dreaming?
Then the voices came, as his sight gained a bit of clarity, allowing his blur of vision to sharpen enough to barely make out the hazy red and blue shadow of a robed man kneeling in front of him.
"Dreams are windows into the lives of our Multiversal selves."
Peter didn't understand, but it did sound pretty cool. What's a multiverse? Is it like when you sing a lot of songs at once?
Then the blur grew once more, blotting out the man as they transitioned into intense flashes, filled with foreign, overwhelming emotions.
Suddenly, he felt himself hold an unclear older man bleeding out on the ground, who looked at him with fear, sadness, and love, "P-peter?"
The scene filled his heart with such heartache, he wished to cry and break down. The man died, and a piece of him died with him. He tracked down another man right after, and the sadness and rage vanished the moment he laid eyes on him, they were nothing compared to the foreign and overpowering guilt he felt.
'It's all my fault.' He felt himself(?) think in despair.
Then another scene flashed, his previous grief quickly fading as he laughed with joy at the sudden feeling of profound freedom as he free fell across a city skyline.
"Woohoooo!" He cried out without his will as he suddenly clenched his hand in a reflexive motion, watching as rope shot from his wrist and onto the side of a building, before he pulled himself to it with impossible strength.
The man in a green suit who he rescued was held in his arms, and soon shouted in disbelief as he instinctively tried to struggle out his grip.
This is amazing! His childish self thought as he felt the wind ruffle his skin tight clothes.
Another flash.
He opened a door and saw a girl standing at the other side, with wine red hair and piercing green eyes, they locked gazes as she smiled with a confident flirty smirk, "Face it tiger—you just hit the jackpot!"
An involuntary blush erupted furiously on his face as a strange tangle of weird emotions suddenly boiling within him at the sight of her.
What was that! W-who was that?
Then the flashes gained speed and his young mind took a backseat. Flickering thoughts, emotions, and memories burned into his brain at a rapid pace.
…
Love.
"Where's your chicken boyfriend, lady? He hasn't the guts to stand with us?!" A young man holding up a sign in front of a police station, yells at a pretty blonde haired girl.
The blonde haired girl with a prominent black headband gained an enraged look on her face, as she glared at the crowd that surrounded her, "You said, Peter Parker doesn't have the guts?!!"
The boy in protest shouted back, "Yeah… it's Parker I'm talkin' about! And you better believe it!"
She slaped him right across the face without hesitation, careless of the dumbfounded police officer watching her audacity at the side, "...You crummy, dim-witted loudmouth! He could be half the man he is... and still make up ten of you!"
…
He looks up, stunned and with bruised lips, as a white haired girl in a tight black suit leaned over him, giving him a cheshire grin, "In case you're bad at reading body language… I consent."
…
He had his shoulder around a familiar red haired girl, eyeing her as she spoke, "So, maybe it's time to stop running. Maybe there's nothing wrong with making someone else happy—as long as that person makes you happy."
At her words, his nerves tensed, tightening like a steel cord, "You mean…?"
She glanced at him with a bright smile, dimples puncturing her cheeks, "I mean yes, Peter. Yes… I'll marry you!"
…
Anger.
He was in a dark building, dramatically screaming from the top of his lungs as he chased a man in yellow, "SHOOCKKKEER! You can't escape me!" He climbed up a wall in an all black outfit as he pursued, "I'll chase you to the ends of the earth!"
…
"Poor Peter! Too weak to send me home to die." A sinister mocking voice spoke as he eyed him with a maniacal mirth.
Hatred boiled in his chest as he poised to strike and tear the wicked man apart, "No, I just want to kill you myself."
The man grinned back, proudly, "Atta boy!"
…
He grips a black shadow, a woman. She has black wing-like appendages jousting out her back and plated wasp-like armor.
She hit him hard.
He doesn't even feel it.
All he wants is to rip her limbs off… and beat her with them.
…
Joy.
"How can one guy have it all? To grow up with someone like your Aunt May there," A handsome blonde man with a tight all blue suit spoke to him in envy, "To be a hot shot photographer, to have a brain the size of Mr. Fantastic's…" He threw his hand up in frustration," …And the babes! The girls I've seen you with?!" He screamed out at him, "God, how I envied you. You always had everything going for you!"
"What?!" Was the response of sheer disbelief.
"Over the years, I even came up with a term for it. I called it, the Parker Luck." He spoke grumpily.
His only response was a pause, before an eruption of mad laughter, "…HAHAhahahahaha!"
"Hey, what's so funny?!"
…
He looks sharp in all green, with his hair short and combed over—his old highschool bully, "Look, I—I get it, I'm sorry for how I was. And I know most people won't understand why I signed up. I'm proud of this uniform, but I still feel the looks when I wear it. Honestly, it kind of helps me know where I stand with people when I meet them."
He didn't know how to reply, but he tried anyway, "I… why are you doing this? Your dad fought in the war, and it changed him. For the worse. You've told me stories. I just—I just don't know why you'd put yourself through that."
The response was immediate, "Aw man, that's easy. I'm doing it cause—" He grinned wide, with a prideful smile as he finished, "—It's what Spider-Man would do."
"…"
He continued, missing his absolutely stunned look, "He's got this… this sense of duty that makes him risk his life everyday, without ever even showing his face. You know I'm his Number One Fan… well, now I can prove it by doing what he does—helping people."
…
He stood in front of a blackboard, with chalk in hand as he splayed the words, 'Super Power Ethics, Mr. Spider-Man' onto it. A green blazer dripped over his classic costume as he eyed the odd assortment of students in the room.
"Hello students! My name is Mr. Spider-Man, and I'll be your new teacher for the next… however long it takes… to teach you stuff."
He heard a snicker. Rude.
"Roll call! That's a thing teachers do, right?" He cleared his throat with a laugh, "I know this, because I am a teacher!"
…
Loss.
He did it, he caught her! Then he fell to her side, and she didn't move. Her back was slack on his web, motionless.
The reality settles in, he could feel his heart leave his body and die as the realization hits. But he deludes himself as he pulls the mask off his face and approaches.
"…Gwen?" He grasps her tight, despair gripping his soul. He holds her blond hair in his hand tenderly as his vision blurs with tears, "Please… you're okay. Stay with me. You stay with me!" He can't do this, his features warp in agony, "No! Please… Please!"
…
He can't live like this anymore. He's tired, broke, burdened. He's thrown his life away for this, and for what?
Hatred. Scorn. Loss. Every victory accompanied by a greater defeat. No more.
He balls up his costume, and tosses it into the trash in an angry, childish fit. Then he walked out of the alley, feeling a bittersweet relief.
…
He pulled off his mask as he looked at her sickly form with tears in his eyes, "You knew?"
She gives him a knowing, weak smile, "I've known for a while."
"I never wanted you to worry." He chokes out, the sadness numbing the pain of his body's broken bones.
"I did." She affirms, with motherly eyes, "And I am so proud of you." She continues softly with a grin of pride, "And Ben would be too… all the people you saved."
"…I don't know what to do." He's torn, sadness and dread coil in his chest as he stares at her pale skin and listens to the slow beats of the heart monitor.
He could save her. He had the cure right in his hand, if only…
"Yes, you do."
She flatlines.
…
Triumph.
Everything hurt. His bones, his muscles, his organs. The water was seeping in, and he was trapped, "C-Can't budge it."
It was too heavy.
The cold water ran down his mask as his knees slowly drifted to the flooded floor. "So cold… I'm so stiff. No, this is it. I fought the good fight—did my best. Even foiled Doc's plan… no one could ask more of me."
He gave up.
Then he heard a grunt of pain—and he looked up, and there she was. Her prone form groaned in pain. Her blond hair splayed in a wet mess. Her cracked glasses hung loosely on her face.
Then, it hit him.
"—What am I doing? I can't give up!"
He struggled, his suit tore, his skin ripped—but he stood, and he lifted the weight of the world, then threw it off his shoulders.
…
He doesn't know.
The strange green elf man wearing a satchel flew on his glider as he mocked him, "Aaand here he is at last! The hero of our little drama, just in time for the thrilling climax! But, wait—a twist! The hero isn't one at all. In fact, he never was!"
The glider flew past him, billowing smoke as he continued, "Really, Otto, you're just embarrassing yourself with this charade. Granted, you were never on my level, but being a bad guy suited you. Saving that little lady is your last remaining achievement as Spider-Man. When it all goes boom, you'll have nothing left! HAHAHAHA!" He crackled like a mad man.
The quip came out before he could think, he couldn't help it,
"Except the dignity of knowing I never carried a man purse."
The laughter died instantly. They locked eyes, the elf—no, goblin, spoke with a vile hatred, but it couldn't mask the way his eyes dilated with fear, "It's you."
There was no doubt.
"The one and only."
…
The explosion threw him into the lawn. His body was broken, his limbs crumbled, and his side… long since out of blood.
But, he won. He killed him, and the rest were probably all dead too.
Good.
He heard her scream, in fear, in shock, in denial, "Somebody do something!" Tears drowned her eyes as she collapsed to the ground next to him, red hair shadowing her face, "H-He's really hurt."
It was too late.
Then there were more who followed, a flaming boy, a blonde girl, an old woman, "What did you do, boy? What did you do?" Her expression crumbled as he looked up to her. He made out the aged features and short gray hair with pained joy.
"It's okay, I-I did it." He wheezed.
"J-Just hold on, an ambulance…!" She cried.
He interrupted her as he gripped her coat, "Don't you see, it's okay. I did it." A cold satisfaction filled him, "I couldn't save him, I couldn't save Uncle Ben, no matter what I did."
But this time, he succeeded. He saved them all.
He gave them one last look. His friends. His loves… His mother, "But I saved you, I did—I did it."
…
Wonder.
Talk about a crash landing. Thankfully, some strange robot people slowed his ship down with green super tech rays.
He crawled out of his busted spaceship, Reed's Nanosuit formed around him as he hopped out and came face to face with his saviors.
He gave a quick glance at the city he landed in. He thought it was so strange to leave Earth only to end up on some strange copy.
Now he just had to track down Jameson.
He eyed those who surrounded his burning ship, armed and ready to shoot on sight, "Uh oh, guess that was the frying pan, and this is the fire."
The humanoid robots approached, circling him, "Surrender! In the name of Lord Tiger and the High Evolutionary!"
He shot a web, "…And everything was going so well 'til now."
He was on them in an instant, webbing up two opponents before punting them away, and then barreling through the rest in the blink of an eye. He gave a quip as he fled, swinging away on the 'New York' skyline, "You're going to have to do better than that, to catch your Friendly Interplanetary Spider-Man!"
They chased him across the city on hoverbikes, eventually cornering him on a flagpole.
Their leader put his hand up shouting, "Tis folly to continue this fight… Spider-Man," His helmet retracted to reveal… a tiger man? "Know you not, that no one escapes us?"
He was speechless as the rest retracted their helmets to reveal animal hybrid… people, "Holy moly! Who—What are you guys?!"
…
"I-I figured you were through with us! Because you let us come home… and now… you're here?!"
He crawled down from the wall nervously as he eyed the blonde haired 'man' in all white standing in his living room, "I saw you destroy a galaxy… create a world from scratch! What does someone like you want here?!"
The man replied unflinchingly, "I desire to understand! I desire experience!"
"…Oh."
Welp, better than pretty much any other alternative.
The 'man' continued, "In my universe, I was all! Here there is multiplicity, diversity… incompleteness, why?"
Why is an all powerful being coming to him for life advice?! Was there a worse choice?!
He led him to the small couch as he replied, "You know, I was a science major at ESU… I had an academic scholarship, a 1600 on my SAT, I'm a pretty smart guy. But, the meaning of life? Wow… you ought to visit a guru… or a philosopher, someone smarter than me anyway!"
He watched as the 'man' sat, perfectly straight posture, stoic faced and assured as he continued speaking. Like a robot with the mind of a child, given the body of a Greek god along… with the confidence and power of one too.
"Hey, I know!" He spoke, eager to throw the problem to someone else, "Reed Richards! He's a genius, the leader of the Fantastic Four! You know, the guy who can stretch his body, and who you also took to that other world. Ask him! I can't help you, except for my Spider-Man powers, I'm just an ordinary guy!"
He felt a bit guilty, as the 'man' accepted without hesitation, "I shall do as you say!"
"Good—! I mean… boy, I guess I've been a rotten host, is there anything I can get you? A drink of water, maybe?"
"Will that relieve this strange pressure—this fullness I feel in my lower abdomen?"
He was dumbfounded, "Uh… No, it'll probably make it worse! Sounds like you have to, um… go to the bathroom!"
The 'man' turned to him with an intrigued glare, before he commanded, "Explain!"
"Oh boy."
What was his life?
…
He couldn't find words to describe what was happening. It was simply too crazy.
He's in a room with Spider-Man.
Multiple Spider-Men.
How is this possible?! One moment he was on set, in costume and ready for a brief rehearsal—then, boom! He was sucked into a portal and in a room with an old woman a-and, a bunch of different versions of Spider-Man!
Wow. T-there was even a six limbed Spider-Man, and a Spider-Man with metal tentacles! Could those be from Doctor Octopus?!
They looked so real!
They started to confront each other, taking off their masks one after another, revealing impossibly identical faces!
Oh boy, how could they also look just like me?!
The old lady was speaking, and he finally pulled himself together enough to listen, "…These Spider-Men are from parallel realities, each as legitimate as yours, they're all you… with some slight differences."
Slight?
…He would beg to differ.
The main Spider-Man confronted them, "You mean to tell me you all share my life, my powers?"
He felt the need to step in, and walked up nervously as he cleared his throat, "…Well, not quite all of us, I don't have your life, or your powers."
"So, who are you then?"
"…You wouldn't believe me if I told you, let's just say… I'm here to help." He hesitated slightly, "…Although, I'm not prepared for anything like this."
He just had to pull off a role. The one he had already been cast in, but it would just be a bit more real than expected. But, he couldn't deny the thrill he felt hidden beneath his nervousness.
Talk about method acting!
He looked down at the familiar red and blue costume he wore, as he resolved himself… afterall, who wouldn't want to help their favorite fictional hero.
…
Terror.
It was tempting him. Worse, it was working.
"Enough of the games! You don't want my soul, so what do you want!"
What was he doing?
Haunted words spilled out in a cursed alphabet from its crimson lips, "What I want is far greater than one paltry soul can provide me. What I want is the one thing in the universe that is truly greater than the sum of its parts and tastier than any single soul I could devour!" It licked its lips, as if drooling from the prospect, "I want that which gives you joy, that which sustains you in your moments of greatest despair! The source of not your power. But of your strength, and your happiness, your dreams, and your passion… I want your love. I want your marriage!"
The demon clenched it fist in delight as its red baleful eyes grinned towards them with temptation.
He and MJ shared a look of horror.
…
He's gone. Teleported away in a flash of blue smog from this wasted planet with the clench of his fist.
The tingle at the back of his skull only got worse the longer he was gone.
There wasn't much he could do after the gauntlet slipped from his grasp, not in a fight anyway, so he just played support and made sure everyone else survived.
He hobbled over to Mr. Stark, giving his battered body a hand and helping him up as the rest of them stumble to join.
The tingle suddenly jumped to the forefront of his head.
Then the weird antenna lady spoke, a look of terror as she gazed all around her, "…Something's happening."
…And promptly turned to dust.
What?
An ice cold fear shot up his spine as they all started to dissolve into dust one by one. His skull rang with a terrifying intensity. He was scared.
Then, he knew he was next.
"…Mr. Stark." He choked out, "I don't feel so good."
"You're alright." He replied, a stutter of fear in his voice.
But the ringing in his skull only grew, "I-I don't know what's happening. I-I don't kno—" He stumbled onto Stark's arms in fear, pulling him close for even a hint of comfort from the dread that enveloped his body, "I don't wanna go—I don't want to go Mr. Stark." He sobbed out, "Please… please."
He fell to the ground, Stark hovered over him as he stared into his eyes with fear and sorrow. Their gazes were locked for a moment, both knowing what was next.
He saw how he blamed himself, but it wasn't his fault, "…I'm sorry."
…
HUNGERHUNGERHUNGERHUNGERGUILTHUNGER.
He watched while his decayed jaw unlocked, gazing into endless space, drifting with cosmic power, surrounded by countless stars once encompassing a universe filled with life.
Not anymore. He glanced to the side, his… allies, his fellow monsters. They ate them all.
HUNGERGUILTHUNGER.
It was wrong. So wrong. He couldn't stop. What had he become?
They finally returned home, to Earth… and there were people.
Food.
HUNGERGUILTGUILT.
Pym spoke up, restraining some of them from eating their fill, looking at the survivors with clinical, surgical evil, "There's not enough of them for us—there's only a handful of remaining humans left. We've got to think this through."
They were terrified. Of them, of him.
HUNGERGUILTGUILTGUILTGUILTGUILT.
"We've got a real chance here, as long as we're smart. I'm with you—I've missed eating human flesh, I recall it tasting so much better than the creatures we've been forced to eat recently. We've got to be careful, to do this the… right way."
HUNGERGUILTGUILTGUILTGUILTGUILTGUILT.
"We could turn this place into a breeding camp! We could control ourselves, only eat a few at a time… we savor it. If we do that, we won't be out of food in a matter of minutes… we'll dine on human flesh—forever!"
RESOLVE.
"NO!" He roared, cosmic rays erupting from his hands and slicing off the top of Giant-Man's head, "Listen to yourself, Giant-Man... listen to what you're saying! For God's sake, man—have you lost your mind?! I've been traveling out in space for forty years—eating and killing, devouring everything in sight… only to learn I'd be coming back here, to Earth... a place where I can't hide what I once was—can't forget it, the evidence is right here—all around us."
"We were heroes! And we return to find living people here! With families! We can't do this again! We just can't!"
He beat the hunger, and he would never allow it to hurt anyone ever again, "I WON'T LET YOU!"
------------------------
He woke up.
His entire body was drenched in sweat, his clothes damp, and hair clumped. His hands shook as he clutched the sheets, chest tightening with each ragged breath. A young boy's mind was not prepared for what he saw, what he experienced, even if only for a moment.
He was drowning in borrowed lives.
He puked everywhere. Bile tore from his mouth as if it couldn't get away faster even if it wanted. His eyes went bloodshot in fear as his lungs started to hyperventilate.
What was that?! Was that real?! Horror filled his mind, his body, and his senses. He remembered dying, of eating people!
He almost fainted as he attempted to stumble to his feet in terror. It was only when his Aunt and Uncle barged into his room in concern did he even gain a hint of coherence.
"…Dead. They were all dead." Peter's voice shook as the words escaped. His chest tightened, the horror of his final vision refusing to leave him.
But then Uncle Ben suddenly pulled him into a hug, with Aunt May joining in without hesitation, before he spoke, "Peter… how did you know? About your parents… did you overhear us?"
What?
"What?"
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Author's Notes
Why is there never enough Spider-Man fanfics? Where are all the homies at?! MY GOAT! Anyways, hope you enjoyed it! I'll have you know I'm very confident in the next chapter, some of my best work.
Also, surprise! Hahaha, only took um, a couple years for an upload.
My b.
Fate/Defiance update soon, I rewrote the first four chapters in a much higher quality. I just didn't like them on re-read. They're over on my Patreon for free, and I'll upload them to the actual site when I update for the next chapter.
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