Let's Get Back Home

Epilogue

You gently knelt down beside the gravestone.

It had been exactly nine years since your best friend's death.

You wondered if he still could rest in peace when he was stuck under the ground in another universe.

It was clear that he wasn't going back to his own reality anytime soon but you, on the other hand, might be soon.

You placed the flowers that you'd bought specially for the occasion beside the words engraved into the stone.

Harry Osborn

A lost soul

There were only five words on the gravestone which made it look odd but that didn't matter.

You knew when he died and it was only really you who cared. It seemed even in death, Harry was a loner like you.

You stride away from the grave, finding it strange how the days lined up so perfectly.

Today was the date you would be sent back to your own universe, today was the date that you'd forget Peter Parker for real.

You'd been keeping up with the papers and eagerly watching the news. You knew exactly what was going on from both the public's perspective and your memories.

Ten minutes ago, you'd seen the broadcast from Spider-Man on the screens in Time Square. Peter 1, Peter 2, Peter 3 and you were currently at the Statue of Liberty, fighting for your lives against the multiversal villains who want a spell from a box.

It was crazy how long ago that felt like in your head but it was happening right now. You had to admit, time was a confusing concept.

Thinking back on it, when you'd been sent back all those years ago, it was weird that you didn't forget Peter. I mean, that was what the spell was supposed to do.

But now, it was likely you'd forget Peter Parker for real and all your memories of fighting with Spider-Man would be lost. For all you knew, you could forget the multiverse existing.

You were pretty sure all memories including Peter would be wiped and those memories made up a great chunk of your life.

It was time to start afresh for a third time.

You walk from the cemetery and into the city. It was busy as always. You could see dog walkers, joggers, taxi cabs and a shiny picture of Peter Parker that was plastered on an advert above you. So they hadn't forgotten yet.

In your time in Peter 1's universe, you'd tried your best to live an average life with minimal superhero interventions.

You were studying (your favourite subject) at (a good university) so life was pretty good, especially since Tony had paid for your education and your nice apartment.

You visited Peter 1 from time to time. You could tell he regarded you as his big sister. He always looked up to you and asked for your help whenever he was in trouble.

However, you had decided not to intervene with the current events. You didn't want to mess things up as time travel was a concept of which you knew very little. You didn't want to meddle with stuff that is unknown.

You quickly web up to the top of a building and crouch there.

Although you weren't allowed to use your powers, you still occasionally used your webs. It was nothing personal they just made life a lot more practical. You practically felt disabled without them.

As you sit on the rooftop, you watch the billboards flicker as the setting sun casts a pinkish blur across the skyline.

You waited patiently for that weird nausea feeling you got before universe travelling but when it didn't come you started replaying all the happy memories of all the Peters in your head.

You had to make the most of them before they were wiped completely.

Time passed so quickly as you smiled thinking of Peter 1, Peter 2, Peter 3 and.. of course.. Peter 4 from your own universe.

You watched as the sun slowly shrunk underneath the skyline, the pinkish blur turning into a deep blue night sky.

A moment ago, you could've sworn it was purple up there with little people floating around but you suspected you were just going crazy with internal fear of losing your memories.

Stars twinkled above you, shining bright with hope. It seemed almost normal.

You had been so lost in your thoughts that you didn't realise something was off. You were sure that Dr Strange would've fixed the spell now.

You glance at the square and all it's billboards. Suddenly, they'd changed quite a bit. The adverts had switched themselves around for some reason.

And in the centre of it all, you saw a poster that had someone you knew on it with little catch phrases around the side in different colours and fonts.

Is there more than one Spider-Man?

Was Mysterio a hero?

Who is Spider-Man?

Is there a Spider-Girl?

Spider-Man or Spider-Menace?

Hold up. Did you read that one correctly? You run your eyes over the poster again and realise that you did.

Who is Spider-Man?

It must've happened. The world must've forgotten him. But the thing was.

You hadn't.

And you hadn't returned back to your original reality either.

Maybe there was a glitch in the spell or maybe they'd just forgotten to wipe your memories. Maybe you didn't go back to your universe because this one was your home now.

Either way, it didn't matter. And there was no way of telling the truth. Although, there was one thing you knew for certain...

You remembered Peter Benjamin Parker and you knew that he was Spider-Man.

Perhaps he hadn't lost everyone after all.