CHAPTER 1: A Decision That Ruined Everything (ALPHA WORLDLINE: DIVERGENCE 001)

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by Vandalia1998

by Vandalia1998

DECEMBER 1, 2024

PETER PAN DONUTS

Peter Parker walked into the Coffee Shop that shared his name Peter Pan and saw her: Michelle Jones, the girl who took his breath away. Peter took a breath when she turned around, and he saw her smile. But he quickly realized it wasn't for him. It was for the person behind him. Ned Leeds.

Ned walked past Peter without saying anything. That hurt worse than Michelle. Ned had been closer to Peter than Michelle had for a while, even though they had been his friends for years.

Michelle walked up to the counter, "Can I help you?"

Peter took another breath, "My name is Peter Parker, and..." He chickened out. "I would like a coffee, please."

"Sure thing Peter Parker," Michelle said with an amused smile. This boy was weird, but a strange odd she didn't mind for some reason. She grabbed a donut from the shelve and took it to Ned.

Peter overheard their conversation with his enhanced hearing. They had gotten into MiT. Peter smiled at that, then frowned. Was it cause he had spoken to the admission lady, or was it cause they no longer knew him?

He was broken out of his thoughts when a voice said, "Peter Paker, your coffee?"

Without thinking, he responded, "So, are you excited about MiT?"

Michelle paused, wondering how he had heard what she thought was a whispered conversation between her and Ned. "I guess I'm usually not, but things feel different this time." She had no idea why she was chatting so casually with this random consumer. "Usually I expect disappointment so,"

"So you can never be disappointed?" Peter replied.

She wondered how he knew her catchphrase, "Um yeah, but like I said, this time it feels different."

It's cause I'm not in your life to ruin it. Peter thought. That's when he noticed the wound on her head that he had caused with his choices from him putting her in danger. "Are you Ok?"

Michelle smiled weakly, "Yeah, it doesn't hurt anymore."

And without me around, it never will again. Peter put the note back in his pocket and said, "I'll see you around." He never planned to see her or Ned again. They would be safe now.

Michelle watched as he left and felt a pain in her heart, and tears started to come down her cheeks. "Why am I feeling this way?"

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DECEMBER 25, 2024

A month had passed since his trip to the coffee shop and his decision not to remind his friends who he was. Peter stood on the side of the Brooklyn Bridge looking down at the East River, coughing; he was cold, hungry, and lonely and couldn't take it anymore. Since he had no ID, he couldn't get a Job, and without one, he couldn't make enough money to get a place to live. He thought about going to FEAST, the organization May used to work at, but he didn't want to curse the business with his presence. Besides, it would stir up painful memories about his loss. Peter hadn't eaten an authentic meal in days, just barely managing with scraps from Trashcans.

His other life as Spider-Man hadn't been going well either. Over half of the people still called him a murderer and thought Beck was a hero. He had kept going cause of his responsibility, but now he was at his end.

He looked down at the freezing water when a voice said, "So are you going to jump or not?"

Peter was shaken out of his reverie with a start, turning to see a young girl around his age with Blond pigtails. He stared at her, feeling as though he had seen her before. He realized where—it had been on the cover of one of the fashion magazines May had loved to look through.

"Aren't you Junko Enoshima, the fashion model?" Peter sputtered. "What are you doing here?!"

"Ah, he is a smart little boy," Junko said slyly, leaving the second question unanswered. "And you are Spider-Man, the washed-up hero."

Peter gasped and coughed. "How do you know..."

Junko replied, "How do I know, Who you are? easy for a girl of my intelligence." She cracked an evil grin, "Spider-Man committing suicide will cause such despair in New York. Well, at least for those who still care about him. And there aren't many who do, are there? So jump, no one cares, end it. The city won't suffer with you gone."

This felt like the last straw. Peter had given up. He said, "MJ and Ned are better off without me, and if I'm dead, I won't be tempted to mess up their lives." And with that, he jumped into the icy waters below, never to resurface.