Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1: Welcome To SPIDERCORP
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK
8 months.
It's been 8 months since… since he lost her. Lost her to some stranger from a dead world. Since he was made a fool of by Tombstone. If he had to be a little more honest with himself, all of his current woes started when he refused to help his clo– brother. His brother, Ben. He's not even sure if he's still on speaking terms with her after the whole Hellfire Gala debacle.
Right now, Peter Parker might be at his lowest point, if you can believe it.
‘I could really use a distraction right about now’, Peter thinks to himself. Web swinging through Manhattan usually helps Peter clear his head but as of late it's starting to not be enough. His mind keeps going back to that day and keeps running through different scenarios: “What if I had done this instead?”, “What if I was more faster?”, “What if I had sent Mary Jane back instead of me?.”
What if, what if, what if.
‘Stop it, Pete. You can't keep thinking about the what ifs. Remember how sloppy you got when you got captured by Lonnie?’ Peter thinks. ‘Get your head in the game before somethi–’
KABOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!
An explosion pulls Spider-Man out of his thoughts and a quick web swing to the left leads him to a heist in progress.
The culprit? The Big Wheel. From the looks of it, Jackson Wheele has a few money bags in one of his wheel’s mechanical arms while the other is flipping cars out of his way. The destroyed remains of the armored truck he plundered layed in the middle of the the intersection.
‘Finally.’ He thinks, ‘A distraction.’
Peter begins to gain speed to catch up to Big Wheel. The people on the Manhattan streets see a streak of red and blue race past them. But as Spider-Man gains momentum, he realizes quickly that he's forcing himself to go faster. Usually catching up to Jackson is a piece of cake. But now…
‘Did Jackson get an upgrade or something? When did his oversized unicycle get so fast?’ thinks Peter. ‘Or maybe he's using a different brand of oil and that's what's making go faster? Either way, I'm gonna have to add a little more pep in my step if I'm gonna catch up to him!’
And with a quick thwip of the wrist, Spider-Man lands a perfect shot on the side of the Big Wheel. He tugs himself over to the large contraption.
“Excuse me, sir! Are you aware that you went over the speed limit?,” he quips.
“AAAHHHH!,” screams the reckless driver. “You almost made me lose my focus! I coulda dropped my cash!”
“Really? It's not the endangering of pedestrians or destruction of public property that's worrying you? You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say that–”
{This would go a lot quicker if you stopped toying with him, darling. I guess we can start the revamp with getting rid of THAT particular brand of “humor.”}
“Huh?” Before he can comprehend what just happened, Big Wheel gets a lucky hit in and knocks Spider-Man off of his ride.
“HA! TAKE THAT, SPIDER-DWEEB! TOMBSTONE WAS RIGHT! YOU ARE A CHUMP!,” Big Wheel shouts victoriously.
{And now you're letting him get away. *sigh* I guess I'll fix this myself then…}
‘OK. Something is going on.’ Peter thinks to himself. But that'll have to wait. The possibility of vehicular manslaughter is still rolling around. ‘Gonna have to catch up to him. Just ignore… whatever that was.’
Again, Spider-Man begins to web swing his way to Big Wheel. He switches from regular web lines to quick web zips to gain more speed. And, just like before, he's back onto the Big Wheel.
“YOU AGAIN!”
“Yeah. Me. Mr. Chump,” says Spider-Man. (He's not bitter about that low blow from early. Honest.)
Before either men could trade blows, however, the mechanical arm holding BW’s I'll gotten goods falls to the ground. Then his sideview mirror. Then several other components of his machine. The strangest thing is that the vehicle starts turning towards a different direction.
Both men are confused until closer inspection reveals several spider themed robots are dismantling the pride and joy of Jackson Wheele.
“H-Hey! Cut it out! Call of these things!,” cries Big Wheel. “This stuff cost me a fortune!”
“This isn't me doing this!,” Spider-Man responds.
“You're lying! Those things got your colors on ‘em!”
“Dude, if they did belong to me, don't you think I'd have used them earli– Wait, why am I arguing with you?,” and with a quick love tap, Spider-Man knocks out Big Wheel.
‘Whoever sent these drones must be doing this to get my attention. But why? And where exactly are they taking me?’
{Seems like I owe Hope an apology. You are more perspective than I gave you credit for.}
‘There it is again! That voice! I don't know who that voice is but–”
{Save the fake threats, dear. And be ready for something magical.}
As the Wheel begins its slow descent, Peter looks around the area and notes there's a crowd of reporters and once he sees the gated off area, he immediately recognizes where he's at.
‘This is where the Beyond Corporation had its building. But that place was destroyed months ago. Why did the drones bring me here? And what exactly am I supposed to see?’
—-------------
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
“And that finalizes just about everything, ma'am.”
“Run down the list for me, would you? I want to take inventory before the launch.”
“Of course ma'am. The first item from the Beyond acquisition was the building blueprints.”
“Such a beautiful thing. A real shame to see it go to waste. I am glad they weren't attached to that design. I do think we can make some improvements, wouldn't you agree? ”
“Yes. The next item is multiple caches of unused gadgets and unfinished prototype stealth suits. I've already taken the liberty of bringing in a few of our technicians to see if they can repurpose them.”
“Excellent work. What else?”
“Some other schematics for equipment that is just plain ghastly to look at. Some off shore accounts. More money for us. We don't have to go over that again.”
“Money is money.”
“Well said, ma’am. And that brings us to the last item from the acquisition.”
“Don't keep me in suspense, darling. Lay it on me.”
“Congratulations, Miss Frost. You are now the proud owner of the Spider-Man copyright.”
Emma Frost smiles as her daughter, Sophie Cuckoo, finishes reading off her current purchase. Who would've thought buying something so simple as a copyright for New York's resident menace would turn out to be the most expensive thing she's ever bought? Certainly not her.
“Give Trinary my OK to begin construction. I'm ready to start getting my money's worth from this.”
“Done. She's getting the seeds ready.” says Sophie.
“One last thing,” says Emma. “Make it big. Make it loud. Enough for everyone to notice. Including Mr. Parker.”
—-------------
BACK IN MANHATTAN
~SPIDER-SENSE!~
Peter's eyes widen under his mask as the ground beneath his feet begins to shake. Suddenly, out from the ground sprouts a new building taking the place of the empty plot of land. The building itself is a remarkable piece of architecture: it's exterior shows of sleek glass and… tree bark? Why is ther foliage on the sides? Every reporter with a camera starts filming this incredible feat, but Spider-Man is left a little confused.
‘So that's it? A mysterious voice brought me here to see a building? Did I really have to be here… for… this.’ as Peter's thoughts slow down he notices that all the reporters are looking up and once he takes a glance up, he immediately stops thinking.
On the very top of the building, a massive spider logo is proudly displayed. Once every reporter from all news stations get a good view of that thing, one person comes to mind…
“SPIDER-MAN!” “SPIDER-MAN!”
“SPIDER-MAN!” “SPIDER-MAN!”
“ARE YOU KICKSTARTING A BUSINESS VENTURE?!?”
“IS THIS SOME SCHEME?!”
“WHY WOULD YOU PUT A GIANT SPIDER ON THE SIDE OF YOUR BUILDING?!? DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TACKY THAT LOOKS!?!?”
Spider-Man gets bombarded with questions from reporters from The Daily Globe to Threats N Menaces to The Daily Bugle. Each one overwhelming.
“Hey, hey! Everyone! One at a time! Listen, I don't know what this is about, okay! I have nothing to do with this!,” yells Spider-Man.
“On the contrary, Spider-Man. You have everything to do with this,” says a new voice.
The crowd turns toward the entrance and is greeted by a young Japanese woman. Peter recognizes her as one of Logan's former students. Her name is Hisako Ichiki, or Armor to her mutant brothers and sisters.
“I'm sure you all have questions. We'll be giving a formal press conference in two weeks. But right now we ask that you leave the premises.Except for you, Spider-Man. The Big Boss wants to talk to you,” she says. The crowd begins to disperse, leaving only Armor and Spider-Man. “I'm sure you have a few questions–”
“A few is being a bit too generous.”
“And they'll be answered soon. Please follow me.”
Usually, Peter would be skeptical of this. The last time someone was using his logo didn't end well. But this feels different somehow. He can't quite put his finger on it, but it's different.
‘I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?’
“Okay,” says Spider-Man. “Lead the way.”
“Excellent. Welcome to SpiderCorp, Spider-Man!”
‘Yep. Definitely gonna regret this.'
—-------------
INSIDE THE SPIDERCORP OFFICES
“... And this here is just one of our many laboratories. This one if focused on recovery units for natural disasters.”
‘This tour has been going on for almost 30 minutes. I thought she was going to answer my questions? Not give me a tour,’ thinks Spider-Man.
“And now, the main office. Behind these doors is the boss. Are you ready to meet her?”
Spider-Man takes a moment to steel himself. “Ready as I'll ever be.”
The doors open to reveal a very spacious office. It's got nice specs: paintings worth thousands, a desk outfitted with hologram displays, a personal Krakoan gateway, and an incredible view of New York City. Staring out the windows are two figures: one dressed in all white and the other dressed like she's ready for war.
“Even though I have the most beautiful view of the Krakoan coastline, the view of the city never ceases to amaze me,” muses Emma Frost, The White Queen.
“Eh, I still don't like it. Those buildings get in the way of the sky,” says Hope Summers, the mutant messiah.
“Miss Frost. Hope,” Armor makes their presence known. “Our esteemed guest is here.”
“Thank you, Hisako dear. You're dismissed.”
The minute the door closes behind him, Peter starts the conversation with “Okay, you mind telling me what's up with this place? SpiderCorp? Drones with my colors? My logo? What are you guys up?!”
“... Well that's no way to talk to your business partner, is it Mr. Parker?,” Emma says. “Did your Uncle neglect to teach you manners? And before you ask how I know your name do try to remember you're talking to a telepath.”
‘What's the point of a secret identity if a telepath is just gonna call you by your real name?’
“He gets it, Emma. Now let me take over from here,” says Hope. “Look, I know everything seems fast and drastic and truth be told, you're probably right, Spider-Man. But please just hear me out.”
To be honest, Peter is mad. Wouldn't you be if you found out people were using your likeness for personal gain? The only difference here was that he knew Hope and he teamed up with Emma a few times way back when mutants were an endangered species.
So, with great reluctance, Peter takes off his mask and says, “Start talking.”
“Great!,” Hope exclaims. “So, as you know, us mutants made a big change. We created our own sovereign nation. A home for all mutants.”
“Mazel Tov, by the way.”
“Thanks. Now, because we made these big moves, it ended up upsetting the world,” Hope continues.
“Mostly bigots but they don't really count as people if you ask me,” Emma adds.
“It also upset of people from the hero community. They think we went behind their backs to create our new home without their input. And because we don't want to burn any bridges with people like the Avengers, we decided on a solution,” the more Hope talks about this, the more intriguing it sounds.
“Which is?,” asks Peter
“Create a bridge between us and them. A peace offering, if you will,” says Emma. “To show what we can provide to other heroes should they want to partner with us.”
“Well, that's all nice and dandy but there's something I'm not getting here,” says Peter. “Why me? Why am I number one on the call sheet instead of someone like Cap or Iron Man?”
“Truth be told, I saw how many zeroes were attached to the Spider-Man copyright and I couldn't help myself,” says Emma. “But, Hope has made it a point that you have the X-Men’s trust. And once I started to put a lot of thought to it, the possibilities started to become endless. Plus, that gaudy outfit is far more recognizable than whatever new armor Anthony is wearing.
“This building is here to assist you in apprehending your usual foes but also here to create new advancements in life saving machines. Of course, you will have to answer to me here and there but that's to be expected.”
Emma walks around her desk and towards Peter. “I'm not just here to offer you a job where it would make your dual identities more convenient. I want you to use that brilliant mind of yours to be put to task on the very next stage of Krakoan technology. You're the first and only human we are offering this to. That only should show how much faith in you I'm willing to give. So, do we have a deal?”
To say that Peter was overwhelmed by this offer was a massive understatement. The good kind of corporate backing, access to cool gadgets, and a whole team of people to help? It's everything he could ask for to make being Spider-Man easier. However…
“I… I'm gonna need some time to think about this. It's a nice offer, really but I want to take my time before I make an actual decision.”
“Seriously? I spent close to a billion dollars just for–”
“What Emma is trying to say,” Hope shoots a glare towards the White Queen. “Is to take your time and think it over.”
“Thanks.” Peter puts his mask back on and leaves.
As he begins to web swing outside, Peter begins to think about this deal. It's everything he wants but something is stopping him from accepting.
‘Maybe I should talk to somebody about this. But who? The FF currently hate my guts and it's not like I can talk to Aunt May about this.' As he swings past a corner, he sees a familiar shade of fiery red hair walking down the street. ‘Mary Jane… maybe she can help me? But she's seeing someone else… but she's the only one who could understand why I'm feeling nervous about this.’
He makes his choice and swings down to see an old friend…
—-------------
LOCAL BODEGA
‘Milk? Check. Ice cream? Check. Computer parts? Check. I have to start talking to Paul about getting a job soon otherwise I might have to start dipping into my savings,’ muses Mary Jane Watson.
It has been 8 months (or 5 years? It's hard to tell with time dilation) since she finally left that dead universe with her… with her….
Despite how much time her, Paul, and the kids have spent with each other, MJ still can't bring herself to call them a family.
‘Why am I still hesitant to say that? I've practically raise Romy and Owen myself. Me and Paul are good parents… at least, I think he is. Paul was always closed off from them. He still is,’ thinks Mary Jane.
Mary Jane leaves the bodega with groceries in hand. She tries to drown out her thoughts with an audiobook of Shakespeare's 'MacBeth' but her mind keeps thinking about the past few months.
‘Sometimes I can never get a good read on him myself. I know for a fact that he's smart. He made me this power watch. But, he isn't a good man. So, why am I still around him?’
She thinks back to her and Paul's fight with Peter. The day he found out about Paul's parentage. How upset he was. And, upon reflection, Mary Jane made the mistake of comparing Paul's trauma to Peter's.
‘Why did I do that? They both lived different lives,’ If there was one thing MJ was beginning to regret was burning her bridge with Peter down. ‘I hate being isolated in my apartment. As much as I like those kids, I still feel so alone. If I could just get the chance to talk to Peter again. About anything: work stuff, personal stuff, Spider-Man stu–’
And, like a magic word, Spider-Man appears. The crowd ‘oohs’ and ‘awes’ but for her, she's mesmerized. Even after all these painful months of not being around each other, she is still left in awe.
Upon closer inspection of the webslinger, MJ notices Peter giving a gesture. He's using sign language.
MJ once had to learn how to do ASL for a movie role once. Her and Peter had decided to take night lessons on ASL. They had gotten pretty good at it. Not wanting those lessons to go away, she pitched to Peter that they should use ASL whenever he was out as Spider-Man and she just happened to be in the area. It started as a precaution to keep his identity safe, but slowly it became a sort of secret language to them. Thank God not everyone in New York knew ASL.
‘Can we talk?’ He signs to her. The smallest of smirks forms on her face.
‘Sure.’ She replies. ‘You pick the place.’
She won't admit this, not yet anyway, but she missed this.
—-------------
CENTRAL PARK
Peter had changed into his civilian clothes once they got to the park and after they found the perfect bench, he unloaded everything.
“So, they want to use Spider-Man as an example of mutant and human cooperation and are offering you more resources to help you, not just as Spider-Man but as Peter Parker as well?”
“Yep.”
“And you're not 100% sure if you should take that deal. Does that about cover it?,” asks MJ.
“Just about,” Peter responds. “What do you think?”
“Hmmm. Well, I think I know what the problem is, Pete.”
“And what's that?”
“You're scared of a repeat of what happened with Ben. You think you failed him and you think that if you take this deal, you'd be failing on an even bigger scale,” MJ places her hand on Peter's shoulder. “Peter, I know that you blame yourself for what happened. I know for a fact that if you had the chance, you would've saved Ben before things got to where they are now.”
“... I still think about how I could've saved him, you know,” Peter says.
“I know you do.”
“and I already tried doing the worldwide superhero schtick and that blew up in my face. How is this going to be different?”
Mary Jane thinks about that for a moment. It's a tough question. Luckily, she has just the answer.
“It's not just you, Peter. You've got other people to rely on. I know you've always been a solo act and yeah, Spider-Manning around the world is different than being the the neighborhood. But, if you really think about, they're showing you that the neighborhood can be a lot bigger. And Spider-Man can still help out.”
“Do you really think so?,” asks Peter.
“I *cough* know so, Tiger. *cough* *cough* I really *cough* *cough*”
“MJ? What's wrong?,” Peter asks. “You sound you're gonna cough out a lung.”
“It's fine. It's *cough* just a *cough* *cough* a *cough cough cough*!!!”
Mary Jane starts to cough more and more. Worried, Peter reaches out to check on her but he hears a jogger collapse and coughing just like MJ. A couple that were having a picnic are suffering from this mysterious cough as well. Soon, Peter realizes that everyone is getting sick.
~SPIDER-SENSE!~
‘It's way past cold and flu season! What the heck is happening!?,' thinks Peter.
“p–Peter?,” Mary Jane chokes out. They look at her arm and are shocked to see scales start growing on her skin.
‘If MJ is growing scales, then,” Peter quickly checks an elderly woman and sees that she is transforming as well. ‘All of them are having the same effects. OK, think Peter. Where have you seen this? This can't be the Lizard. Last time I saw him, he got a transfusion from Morbius.’ Upon further inspection, he recognizes the scales. ‘This is–’
CRAAAAAAAAAASSH!!!
Several trees fall down in the distance. Immediately (after findinga safe place to put MJ and a private place to change), he switches to Spider-Man and goes to investigate. When he gets close, he sees Stegron, his dinosaur villain. He's sporting a giant cloak but he knows that t-rex like tail anywhere.
“Hey doc! This is Central Park, not Jurassic!” he quips. The former doctor doesn't respond. Spider-Man gets closer and sees that Stegron is clutching his chest. He looks to be hyperventilating. “I don't know what you're doing to these people, Steg–”
“S-SPIDER-MAN! I-I NEED Y-YOUR HELP!,” cries Stegron. This is the first time Peter has heard the mighty dinosaur cry for his help. “T-THEY FOUND ME! W-WOULDN'T L-LEAVE ME BE!”
“Are you saying you didn't do this?”
“NO! THEY D-DID SOMETHING T-TO ME! MY DNA!!! THEY– ARAAAGGHH!!” Stegron reels back in pain and when that cloaks fall off and Peter is horrified by what he sees: there are massive spores protruding on his back. And they look like they're about to explode!
Peter's Spider-Sense goes off like crazy and he takes a quick look around: the park goers have been transformed into dinosaurs, including Mary Jane!
‘What am I going to do?'
TO BE CONTINUED…
—-------------
EPILOG 1
KRAKOA, 2 WEEKS AGO
The last thing she remembers was getting shot in the head by her sister.
She had successfully torpedoed her sister's pitiful school’s reputation and was close to blow the place to smithereens. Her sister’s powers didn't work on family members, so she thought she had the win. But… well.
Now, she opens her eyes. She's in some sort of..
egg? The “egg” bursts open and she falls to the ground naked as the day she was born.
After coughing out fluids from the egg, she looks up to see five people: a girl with a white streak in her burnette hair, a boy made of energy, a heavy set boy, another boy with gold skin, and a redheaded girl.
They are talking but she isn't paying much attention to them. That is until someone else appears. This man with a red diamond on his forehead.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, Adrienne Frost,” Mr. Sinister say. “How do you like the new you?”
A MUTANT IS REBORN
—-------------
EPILOG 2
“They made me an offer I simply couldn't refuse. A whole research division to myself. Full government backing, resources that I would have otherwise stolen myself, and materials I could never dreamed of.
“Now, I do not condone nor condemn mutants. I only find them as bothersome. Not on the same level as… him. But, once I remove those optics and look at the offer as it stands… well, it's worth it. Why wouldn't I take it?
“‘Adrian Toomes. Director of Orchis’ Weapons Division.’ I quite like that.”
– From The Vulture's Journal