2 A Marvel Welcome

BANG!

A fist slammed into Grant's jaw the moment he woke up, causing him to lose his balance and fall back, his head slamming onto the floor below.

"What the fuck!", he exclaimed, disoriented, as he opened his eyes to be met with a highly blurry world.

"Can't take a punch, Parker?", spat a blurry blob before him.

'Parker?', Grant thought while trying to sit up and think through the pain. His head was pounding and a bruise was probably forming on his lower jaw.

He had woken up standing, which was odd enough, but getting sucker punched in the face took the cake. Did someone mistake him for someone else? Was he abducted while he slept? Why would anyone do that? Was it related to the investors? Did they want to take care of loose ends? Why call him Parker though? Why was everything so blurry?

Questions sprang up in droves but his assailant didn't give him time to process the weirdness that he was going through.

"Pathetic Parker!~~", the aggressor sang in a distinctly male voice before ramming his foot into Grant's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"Fuck you!", Grant growled, pain filling him at the second show of needless violence. He had no idea why this man was hitting him, but it couldn't continue. He felt weak. His previously fit and healthy body was replaced by a far more frail and feeble one. But while his body seemed to have downgraded, his mind seemed to be on steroids.

His thoughts seemed to flow so much more smoothly, ideas and concepts were far more vivid. He could remember what he ate on Christmas Eve seven years ago as clear as day. He could almost feel the taste of the pasta on his tongue. If he went back to his research, he could probably devise ten methods instead of the previous two for figuring out Hydra regeneration. He was far far smarter than before.

'What did they do to me?', Grant thought in trepidation. He did not feel like himself and his lack of proper eyesight was bothering him.

"Oh!", the man said in surprise. "You seem to have grown some ba-

"FLASH!", someone shouted from behind Grant and he heard multiple quick footsteps from behind him.

"Peter!", a feminine voice called out in worry.

"What? We're just having a conversation?", his assailant said.

"Conversation?", the second man growled, walking past him. "You lay a hand on him ONE MORE TIME, and my father shall hear about this!"

A second later, the sound of a resounding slap reached Grant's ears who managed to sit up while clutching his stomach. Everything was still blurry, but he could make out that he was in a hall with what seemed like lockers next to him.

'A school perhaps? Why did the girl call me Peter? Wait, Peter Parker?! Flash?', Grant's heart skipped a beat but he dared not make any assumptions just yet, though it would perfectly explain why he felt he could slam dunk on Einstein in terms of intelligence. He would make sense of this sorcery in a safe and calm environment without people sucker-punching him. For now, he would go with the flow.

Two hands with surprising strength grabbed his shoulders, hoisting him up and another shoved what seemed to be spectacles into one of his hands.

"Thanks..", Grant said, still reeling from the pain. Was the eyesight issue due to his lack of spectacles? Damn, he really was in a new body.

Once he slid his unusually thick and round glasses on, the world's clarity went back to normal which meant he could now see the blonde girl staring at his face with concern. Her beautiful blue irises were scrunched up in worry and behind her was another beautiful redhead with a similar expression.

"Going to run to your daddy Harry? Can't face me like a man?"

'Ah yes, the fucker who attacked me', Grant thought, turning around to see what seemed to be a 17-year-old boy confronting his assailant, Flash, who loomed over him but was rubbing his cheek in pain.

Harry, his supposed saviour, snorted and turned around to look at Grant and the girls, "Get a load of this guy. Mr Manly Man over here."

SMACK!

Harry's hand blurred as it smashed into Flash's cheek once more.

"You!", Flash spluttered in indignation and riled up a fist that seemed to be able to cave Harry's face in.

"You're gonna hit me?", Harry chuckled. "Come on, I dare you to do it. You don't have the balls. You touch one hair on my head, and your life is over."

Flash's now red face twitched before he turned on his heel and stomped away, huffing in anger.

"This isn't over!!!", He growled.

'Doubt that's the last time I'll see him', Grant thought.

"It's not only me, you so much as go near Peter, and the same thing happens douchebag", Harry called after him and turned around, looking at Grant with a worried expression. His brown hair was neatly combed and a black leather jacket covered his sturdy form. It was evident from the gold ring on his pinky and the expensive watch that he was from a wealthy family.

'He mentioned his father. And his name...Harry? It's Oscorp isn't it? This is surreal. No, process this later. This is no time for a panic attack', Grant thought, but was interrupted by the blonde girl, who he assumed was Gwen Stacy, waving her hands in front of him.

"Peter? Can you hear us?", she asked anxiously. "You remember us don't you?"

"Yeah, I-", Grant began but was once again interrupted by Harry who walked up to him and began examining his eyes and snapping his fingers next to his ears.

"Feeling confused? Don't like the noise? Feeling dizzy?", Harry questioned.

"Stop that.", he grumbled, pushing Harry's hands away. "That isn't how you check for a concussion."

"It's him, alright", the redhead, who was probably Mary Jane Watson, chuckled. She wore a black shirt while a brown jacket hung on her arm.

"You sure you're okay? You hit your head really hard there", Gwen muttered, eyeing his bruise. She looked more like the Gwen Stacy in the comics than the animated, movie version. A white baggy hoodie hid her form and her free blonde hair came down to her shoulders. She dressed a little different than the studious, genius student on Earth - 616, but 616 Peter Parker didn't have to wear such thick spectacles either. It was easy to guess that he was in one of the many, infinite universes of Marvel.

Moreover, just what version of Peter Parker was this? He sensed none of his defining superpowers. No super strength, speed or the infamous spidey sense. Did he not get bitten yet? Will he ever gain powers in this alternate version?

"I'm fine", Grant waved her off. "Just need to catch my breath. Besides, if I hit my head hard enough to cause any form of amnesia, I'll probably be on the ground foaming at the mouth."

Harry's face lit up and he smacked Grant's shoulder which made him slightly wince. His skinny body really wasn't in the best of shape.

"You really should eat more, Pete", Harry said, smacking his shoulder once more which got him a death glare from Gwen.

"I think we've troubled Peter enough", MJ interjected, slipping her hand into Harry's. "We have our Pre-Boards and we all need to study."

Harry's face deflated as if he were reminded of his encroaching death, which was odd as he was quite intelligent in the comics.

'Alternate reality, eh?', Grant thought to himself. "Wonder what else is different...Wait, Pre-Boards? I haven't been bitten even though I'm seventeen years old?"

"Well, see you tomorrow. My dad'll kill me if I fail. Take care Pete, and don't die to autophagy", Harry sighed before walking off with MJ.

Grant frowned before calling after him, "Autophagy is not a synonym for starvation. It's the process of reusing old and damaged cell parts!"

"Whatever Bionerd!"

"And thanks for the help with Flash."

"No problem!", Harry shouted back before turning out of the hallway.

***

"Why are the hallways so empty?", Grant asked as Gwen dragged him by the shoulder in a vice-grip.

After grabbing his things from his locker, she wordlessly dragged him through the school halls towards the exit. He passed by a few empty classrooms occasionally spotting a janitor or a few students lurking in the back.

"Are you playing dumb Peter? School got over a half hour ago. You didn't show up, so Harry went looking for you", She said exasperatedly, shaking her pretty face at him. "Oh! You should see a doctor too."

Grant snorted as he adjusted his schoolbag, "I'll be fine. It's just a bruise."

"It's about the concussion."

"I don't have a concussion", he retorted. He had no idea about his financial status and didn't know whether he could afford a visit to the doctor. He hadn't inherited the memories of Peter which was a shame as he would pinpoint the oddities in the universe far more readily. Moreover, regaining his bearing was a priority. He was staving off the panic and fear that came with being dropped in a fictional world but that dam was beginning to crack.

"I'll pay", Gwen said, refusing to back down. "I need to make sure you're okay."

He faltered for a second before sighing, "Fine. I'll go, but not now."

"You have something to do?", She frowned.

"Yeah"

"Is that something why you've been acting weird lately?", Gwen questioned, pushing open the exit and revealing the bustling streets of New York. People crossed the road with reckless abandon and numerous shops and stalls lined the pathway. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, bikes and more could be seen crowding the small road.

"Acting weird?", Grant asked, intrigued while enjoying the evening sun beating down on his face. He was very much eager to know more about the world he had been unceremoniously dropped into and the person whose mind he had been shoved into.

"Playing dumb again are we? Are you sure you don't have amnesia?", Gwen crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

Grant sighed, "I know I don't have amnesia, Gwen"

"My name isn't Gwen", the blonde girl suddenly said and he froze.

'It wasn't Gwen?! Fuck! Amnesia is the only explanation I can give', Grant thought furiously.

"I actu-

"Heh! I'm just messing with you", Gwen chortled looking at his twitching face before raising a hand at a taxi.

"That wasn't funny!", Grant said in indignation.

"It was", Gwen grinned and dragged him to the yellow car that had stopped before the road that was in front of their school that was named 'Mid-town High'. It was definitely the fictional school that Peter Parker attended in the Marvel comics.

More confirmation of his new identity.

"Does my expression emanate joy right now?", he grumbled climbing in the taxi.

"No. I still laughed though."

***

Grant stretched in the backseat while looking out the window. Gwen had asked the taxi driver to take them to her house in Forest Hill, and since she hadn't asked him for his own address, he assumed that he lived relatively close by.

He'd never been to New York before in his old world, which meant that the scenery outside was new to him.

Old world...

Was he dead back there?

Even if he was, did it matter? After all, there was nobody to truly grieve for him, except perhaps the professor whom he'd only known for half a year. Hmmmm....the security guard might too, given he won't be receiving any free sweets.

'I really was a proper five-star introvert, wasn't I?', Grant thought bitterly a little despondent at the fact that he hadn't lived his life to the fullest. Instead, burying his head into his studies, and in college, his research.

'Even still, I just wish I could've figured out the secret behind regeneration. Well, given Peter's brain, I could complete it in this reality too'

"You really don't want to tell me why you were acting differently the past few days? Harry in particular was quite worried about you, you know", Gwen, who was sitting next to him, spoke, putting a halt to his thoughts.

"How different exactly?"

Gwen sighed, "You didn't top the test we had three days back. You disappear after school when you usually come back with me and you don't turn up for PT."

'Odd....the fact that Peter managed to not top the test meant that he was highly distracted while writing it, as there was no way he could unwillingly not score full unless someone whacked him on the back of the head in the middle of the test. Disappearing after school meant that he was doing something that he didn't want his friends to know about. But why? They didn't seem the type to ridicule him for having a sick aunt or the like. Was it something he was doing out of self-interest?'

"Hello~~getting lost in thought again? It's the second time in the last fifteen minutes. I'm getting more sure of your concussion", Gwen pouted after waving her hand. "You got an answer for me, or are you just going to stare into space?"

"I don't really have a satisfactory answer for you...", Grant began but was cut off when the side of the building they were passing exploded.

BOOM!

Reinforced concrete was shredded like cheese when the building exploded into a ball of flames.

"HAHAHA! Ghost-Spider ain't here in the mornin' to stop me!!!", a voice boomed right when a humanoid figure burst through the flames in one of the weirdest outfits Grant had ever seen.

He wore what seemed to be an orange quilt that covered his body from head to toe, preventing his identity from getting leaked and a pitch-black exosuit that covered his chest and parts of his legs. The aforementioned exosuit seemed to be vibrating at a high frequency making it appear blurred and at the same time allowing the man to levitate ten feet above the ground. His hands and forearms were engulfed by high-tech silver gauntlets that repeatedly emitted high-frequency, visible shockwaves through the air that propelled him forward at a respectable speed.

"WOOOOHOOOOO!!!", the man, whom Grant recognized as the minor comic book villain 'Shocker', whooped in joy as he shot through the streets with a large bag, most probably filled with money, while leaving destruction in his wake.

The shockwaves from Shocker's gauntlets were highly destructive, flattening cars and the people inside them as if they were clay and making the road ripple as though it was water, making vehicles that had escaped the initial wave, smash into each other.

"SONOFABITCH!!!", their driver swore as the road beneath the car turned fluid, sending it barreling toward a hardware store.

'AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!', was the last thought that went through Grant's mind as he saw death approaching with its gleaming scythe.

But just before he could be sent flying through the windshield to be flattened into a human pancake, a pair of hands grabbed him and pulled him out of the car with lightning speed. Moreover, Instead of landing on hard concrete and inevitably cracking his head, he landed on something soft.... someone actually.

"SHIT!", he swore, adjusting his spectacles that were slightly cracked which led to him seeing four Gwen Stacys whose faces were a few inches from his and whose arms were around him, holding him in a tight grip.

"You okay?", she asked as if she hadn't done something completely superhuman.

***