Qué Maravilla

Ch.5 - Double Take

'Whatever happens we'll make it work.'

When Gwen Stacy visited Peter B. Parker he was cradling Mayday to sleep in his New York Apartment. There was this fluorescent orange light that caught him by the corner of his eye. When he got up towards the window for a better look, he saw her standing there in front of a portal wearing a pleading, almost despairing look on her face. She didn't have to ask, he knew exactly why she was there. And he immediately moved to grab his web shooters and strapped his baby carrier to his chest.

"This is super bad parenting," he cooed, pinching Mayday's cheek, earning a lively laugh from the baby, "Don't tell your mom, okay?" He then opened the window and jumped down to meet the girl waiting for him below.

As cliche as it sounds, he remembers the day like it was yesterday. The day that turned Miguel from an endearing idealist into a cold and unyielding autocrat. You try witnessing the collapse of an entire alternate universe and see how easily you forget. That day was the only time he saw Miguel have a breakdown. He didn't even think he was capable of having one, as silly as it sounds. Nonetheless there he was standing behind Miguel's cowering frame, erratic coughs as he was gasping for breath in between harsh sobs. Peter remembers vividly as he stood there with hand hovering in mid air just above his back. At that moment he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to comfort him. He didn't know what to say. It all happened so fast. The more he tried to force himself to console Miguel, the more and more the gravity of the situation began to weigh on him. His entire family. All those lives. Hundreds of millions of lives just...gone.

Peter was one of the few people who knew Miguel before and after the incident. To this day he still has a hard time explaining to people just how different of a person Miguel was when he had you and Gabriella. Not only was he happier but his approach to leadership and the culture of The Spider Society was unrecognizable. When Miguel found you and Gabi he had patience. He had hope. He had trust in himself and others. He was a team player. When Miguel had you he was a joy to talk to. He was never condescending or harsh. He was funny, like actually really funny. He'd laugh. He had this kind of booming cackle that you could hear from the next room over. The kind of laugh that would make you laugh. The difference from then and now was truly like night and day.

So naturally when Miguel came to him with his proposition to maintain the sanctity of the multiverse, how could he refuse? After everything that went down he at least owed him that much. That was the sentiment he had been riding on for ages and to a certain extent he still did. Call him stubborn, but the shock of that day weighed on him constantly. Blaming the incursion on broken canons was just easier than admitting that there was so much they just didn't know about the multiverse. That theory had brought him a sense of security, a safety net he was too scared to abandon after what unfolded that day. The real reason he tagged along wasn't because he had any interest in revolution, he tagged along to look after Miles. To make sure everyone would be okay. To act as a mediator of sorts when things eventually went sideways.

It was Peter who found out about your existence first. You were the local spiderman he had to contact when an anomaly appeared in your dimension and you were very good at what you did.

"Hey I don't usually do this," He leaned on the horn of the now unconscious Rhino, "but there's someone I really think you should meet. At HQ."

"At HQ?"

"That means headqua-"

"-I know what it means thanks," you raised your hand to stop him, "So what? Are you gonna take me to your leader?" you joked sarcastically.

"I guess you could say that, well he's more like my boss. You'll love him. He's super smart. And tall and strong. He also has great hair and-"