There's a moment, in some peoples' lives, when you realize you weren't destined for anything normal. Sometimes, if you're lucky enough, you get two.
Discovering my powers was the first.
And Peter Parker was the second.
And everything that followe...
It starts again the way everything starts. A flood of sudden sunlight.
The golden rays step inside through the windows, streaming in through the slats of the drawn blinds. They warm my cheeks, beckoning me to open my eyes. And I do.
I find myself on the barren floor of my bedroom. The furniture is draped with white painting canvas, blanketed by a two-inch coat of dust.
How long have I been away?
I massage the side of my head when I sit up, picking NEO out from my eardrum. My fingers curiously wrap around the cord of the blinds and pull them up to reveal streets of trash, abandoned cars, and people looking around just as confused as me. There's a "For Rent" sign offering up our apartment. A flock of birds flutter up into the blue sky.
I hear my name called from the hallway.
"Dad?" I call back.
We rush to each other and meet in the center of the doorframe. He hugs me tightly until I feel protected. I don't even mind it when all of the air is squeezed out of my lungs.
"What happened? Did I black out?" he asks me, still holding onto the embrace.
I look up at him, "Wha...you mean, you didn't see the orange place?"
"What orange place?" his eyes widen, "Wait, isn't Peter in trouble? Aren't you trying to contact him?"
My brows furrow in thought, "I think...something happened to us. I think some time has passed since we..." I don't have the heart to tell him we were somewhat dead, so instead I say, "...since we blacked out."
"So...was the part about Peter being Spider-Man in space a part of a coma dream or..."
"No. That part's still true."
"And your telekinesis?"
"Also true."
He takes a deep breath, "Alright. Alright. What now? What do we do now?"
"I think I need a ride to Queens."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
• • •
"Upstate New York," I place NEO onto the table, "that's where the signal came from. I've been there before. I know the way."
May leans back onto the kitchen counter and holds the side of her head, "I'm sorry I'm still trying to wrap my head around the part where Peter is in space..." Her head turns to a woman and her mother talking frantically to the landlord of the apartment complex, "And the being snapped to dust slash losing my home thing isn't helping much either."
