Spider Man

BOOM!

This is an illusion… right?

BOOM!

Venice was being ripped apart as Mysterio fought with this… thing. He blasted it with green smoke that was summoned by some green circle with an eye in it. He was leading that thing away from the water into a more densely populated part of the city.

I kept watch, staying on roof tops, away from the fight, away from Peter who was currently trying to fight the thing made out of water with webs. Thank Stan Lee that kid has one big heart because he clearly still so green at this whole hero thing.

I watched as he put on a mascarade mask and followed Mysterio and that water monster, webbing up buildings it destroyed, preventing it from collapsing and killing the people underneath.

This had to be an illusion, it had too. But I mean...it's so life like. The monster swung its arms and a tower was hit hard. Peter moved to web up the structure quick, climbing up to the top to keep it steady by shooting two web lines to opposing buildings, holding it upright with his bare arms.

And while he did that, I noticed the monster, the way it moved, the way it acted. The way it… drench a single building it struck.

Gotcha you son of a bitch.

A water monster that didn't splash around water behind? That left no trail of water? Oh you fucked up Mysterio, you fucked up bad. Yes there was water near the bottom, but that could just be water from the canals accidentally pushed ahead. It's the bone dry buildings that caught my eye.

But how was it doing it? I can't see cameras on any building, plus the physical damage it's doing is very real. But just as I gathered my thoughts the battle started to go into the end phase as Mysterio summoned two massive missiles of green smoke to come forth and rip apart the water monster, exploding apart.

The people started to cheer, Mysterio floated down and waved to them all, smiling all the while. After a moment in the spotlight, he took off, flying away. I spotted Peter coming out of the now safely lowered tower, drenched from head to toe.

Wait...how did…. My theory isn't holding up. Something was up here, something was seriously up. This world's Mysterio couldn't be real… could he? If this world is the real MCU then…. I need to bide my time and wait.

I wanted to step in, step in and expose Mysterio and tell Peter the truth. But… this was a growing moment for Peter. He needed to understand that this wasn't play time and this would forge him into the hero his world will need him to be, I know it will because it did the same to me.

For all the horrors Doom brought about my life...I became a better hero for it. Mysterio might pose the same role for Peter, so… it's probably best to wait and see what he'll do.

Deactivating my armour I opened a portal and walked through to the New York Sanctum, finding Hope and Wong in the dining room, a cup of tea in their hands.

"And my room's the best! It's as bigger than this room and daddy made it look like the outside!"

"Oh, I see, that's very nice," Wong smiled, nodding along as Hope continued to describe our home as best as she could. I smiled, standing by the door frame and watched my little girl ramble on to her new friend about how cool her home is. And Wong, being the amazing dude he is, just smiled and nodded along.

Eventually, Hope noticed me, smiling she cried out, "daddy! You came back! Did you fight the monster?!"

"Something like that," I walked in, kissing her head and ruffling her hair, "so, did you behave?"

"She was nothing short of a delight," Wong replied, "I have to say, she has quite an imagination. She was just telling me of your home, did you use illusion magic to make her ceiling transparent?"

"Little more complex than that, but yes," I shrugged, "didn't want my Princess growing up looking at a white wall."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Wong replied, gathering up the empty tea cups, "will you two be leaving now?"

"Yes… no. Is Strange here?"

"Strange is correctly at Kamar Taj, researching on Hope's-"

"-I see," I cut him off with a loud tone that surprised Wong and Hope, though the latter seemed more confused than worried, "when he comes back, please tell him to contact me because he and I need to have a very long conversation."

"Is this about why he sent you in this world's Peter Parker's path?"

"Yes."

"Well then he told me to pass you a message. Quite simply put, Peter needs a mentor."

I raised an eyebrow, "excuse me?"

"Strange has been keeping an eye on Peter Parker. On this world, if you don't know, Peter Parker, the Spider-man, is the metaphorical heir to Stark's mantle as Earth's greatest champion. Stark himself wanted Peter to take his place, eventually. He had been grooming him and… after he died, this world's Peter has been left stranded and forced to step up at a very young age. Strange didn't tell me the full details but he wants you to...act like his guide, show him a thing or two. And more importantly, show Peter Parker that he can be the hero he wants to be. The hero you are."

I stared at Wong, "your making that up aren't you."

"No."

"I know Doctor Strange, he isn't the kind to do something without reason or cause. Peter Parker isn't even on his radar as far as I know."

"Apparently he grew on him during his trip to space."

"... But why me? I mean, why would he trust me? I could have been lying this whole time about who I am."

Wong shrugged, "I don't know. I asked him the same. He replied simply that he trusted you because of the way you behaved. After all, the Orb of Agamotto deemed you dangerous enough to kill this planet with ease. There is no reason for the strong to rely on deception."

I had to say, that was some flimsy logic… meaning Strange was playing some other game. He knew something, I may not know what but… I trust him enough not to put Hope in danger. Even Strange won't be that heartless. So for now… let's see if I act as this world's Peter Parker's guide.

Hours later:

Walking into the rundown, flooded hotel in the middle of a renovation I realise one thing: this place was a shit hole. But I didn't have a choice, Peter's class was staying here for their field trip so I had to stay close.

I walked in and almost immediately the kids from before noticed me and Hope. Michelle waved and smiled at Hope, who quickly waved back to the nice girl she had met earlier in the day.

I went to the teller at the front desk and got a room for Hope and myself. I had to borrow some cash from Wong for the rooms, the man didn't mind but made sure I knew this was a loan and not free.

I paid for the room and turned to the kids, who were all sitting and watching the news coverage for today's incident. Alright, time to act.

I walked up to them and feigned surprise, "oh, you're those kids from the boat. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, we managed to make it alright," Michelle replied, "what about you and..."

"Hope, I'm Ben," I smiled, waving to them, "it's nice to meet you." Hope looked at me funny, confused. She didn't really remember my name, since at her age she knows me as 'Daddy' rather than Peter, but she knew for sure Ben wasn't my real name.

Hope however stayed quite, processing this new information as best as she could, while the kids continued to talk.

"Who is this guy?" one kid asked, "he looks like Ironman and Thor rolled into one."

"The news media is calling him Mysterio," Ned replied.

"No, they are saying he's a man of mystery in italian," Michelle corrected, though no one really replied.

"Whatever, he's no Spider-man," Flash Thompson spoke up.

"What is it with you an Spider-man?" Michelle asked, turning her head slightly towards Peter. Oh… so she knew did she? Or at least suspected.

"What? He looks out for the neighborhood, has a dope suit and I really respect him," Flash replied, before noticing Peter smiling, puffing out his chest in pride, "sup dickwad? Thought you drowned."

"Oye!" I cried out, covering Hope's ears.

Flash turned, binking, "oh, sorry."

"You keep that up young man and I'll wash your mouth out with soap," I narrowed my eyes, removing my hands from Hope's ears, "and do you really think Spider-man would approve of you being so belittling to your fellow classmate? Or bullies in general?"

"I- I don't think-"

"-Exactly, because if you ddi think you would realise you were exactly the kind of person Spider-man would fight."

"And how would you know?" Flash asked defensively.

"Because my daddy's Spider-man," Hope spoke up.

"What?!" everyone cried out.

I turned to Hope, this girl's a snitch! Peter looked confused, Ned even more so. Michelle kept looking between Peter and me while the rest just had their jaws dropped. Okay, damage control mode engage!

"C-costume," I immediately spoke up, "halloween costume," perfect!, "she's talking about a halloween costume I had a few years ago. Big fan, you know."

"Oh, make sense," Peter said, obviously he believed me. Ned nodded too, but the rest, well the rest just looked suspicious.

"Anyway, glad you're all safe, good night," I had Hope hurry into our room upstairs before slamming the door shut behind her.

"Daddy, why did you lie?" Hope asked, looking at me with those big beautiful baby green eyes of hers. I could almost see my stature lowering in them. I sighed, guess it's time for a very long and deep conversation about keeping secrets.

An hour later:

Hope was asleep and I got ready for bed too. It was a long day for us both, starting with getting sent to another world and ending with a long conversation about keeping secrets. She fell asleep halfway through the talk.

I was ready to go to bed myself when something surprised me. A scent… an odd scent. I had learnt a long time ago to not be overwhelmed by my senses, to adapt to them and control them. It's like white noise in the background by now. But now, something new had come into that mix of scents.

I smelt water, I was in Venice so duh. I smelled teenagers, hormones so thick it was almost sticking to focus on it and mixed in there was...something odd.

It wasn't normal, like a perfume that was designed to smell natural but comes off fake and obvious. Something was… wrong… and it was coming from the room next to mine.

I opened the door and was about to investigate when I stopped and turned. My little girl was curled in the blankets, tucked in tight, snoring loudly. I wasn't the same man I was a year ago. I can't go running off to adventures. I had responsibilities now, and these ones I could never fail.

So, with no option, I sat down on the bed next to Hope, crossed my legs and held my hands out before me. I cast several warding spells around the room that would alert me if there was an intrution along with some magical booby traps.

With that done I closed my eyes and began to mediate. This was something I hadn't tried since my training with the Doctor Strange of Earth-982, but it came to me just the same.

I took a deep breath and let it out, and as I did, along with the air my own spirit came forth as well.

Astral projection was a pain in the ass. I never found the need for it as I couldn't hold it for long and was more the proactive type, but now it would be key to being at two places at once.

I flew forward past the wall between my room and the one the strange smell came from. I flew forward and found myslef in Peter's and Ned's room, only Ned was on his bed with a dart in his neck, Peter was standing with a toothbrush in his hand and Nick fucking Fury was Nick Fury sitting down in the coner of the room, gun in hand and holographic projector on the table before him.

What the fuck is even going on?!

"Put on your suit, we're going on a trip," fury said, pocketing the holographic projector and walking to the window, "now."

"Right," Peter said, taking out his suitcase, inside of which was his red and blue suit. He changed quickly and the two snuck out of the hotel to the docks just outside, where a boat was waiting for them.

I followed them as Fury drove the ship into the canals of Venice, Peter standing beside him. Once they were far away from the hotel Fury reached into his jacket and pulled out a wooden case, passing it to Peter.

"Stark left these for you," Fury replied. Peter opened them up and inside was a pair of glasses with a card inside, "heavy is the head that wears the crown. He said you won't recognize it because it wasn't a Star Wars quote."

Peter said nothing, though I could see he was visibly shaken.

They sailed to a hidden entrance underneath a bridge and stepped into what looked like a part of the underground hidden sewage system Venice had made several years ago.

"You can take off the mask, everyone here knows your secret identity. You would only be feigning annaimty and breathing through spandex for no good reason," Fury said as they walked into a large room with a low ceiling, filled top to bottom with advanced machinery and over half a dozen people.

Wait...half a dozen people know Peter's secret? And why is he just doing what Fury's saying without question?! No you idiot! Don't take off your mask! God this kid's an idiot!

They walked in and there, standing before a holographic screen was a very handsome man dressed like Mysterio...wait, was that supposed to be Mysterio? Oh my Stan Lee… he's gorgeous.

"Mysterio?" Peter blinked.

The man replied, "excuse me?"

"I-it's what my friends have been calling you," Peter replied.

"Oh...I saw what you did out there. It was fine work, we could have used someone like you on my world," Mysterio replied, shaking Peter's hand.

"I'm sorry, your world?" Peter asked. I blinked too, what the hell is this guy's game?

"Mr. Beck is from Earth, just not yours," Fury replied. Wait, what the fuck do you mean yours? It's your Earth too jackass.

"Wait, are we talking about a multiverse?" Peter asked excitedly, "as is parallel worlds?"

"This is Earth-616, I am from Earth-833," Beck replied, "and I came here to help stop those things," an image of the creature from today came up. He then went on to explain their backstory and his own tragic origin story. But I didn't pay attention to any of it, because of one simple reason.

This wasn't Earth-616, this was Earth- 199999. Gotcha you lying sack of shit.

"We have only one more to kill: Fire," Fury explained.

"The strongest one," Mysterio said somberly, playing with the wedding ring on his finger, "the one that burnt my world...took my family." Okay, I'll give him this: dude's an amazing actor. Seriously, handsome and a great actor, why does he even want to be a supervillain? Dude can be the next Jake Gylnhall… wait a minute… that is Jake Gylnhall! Holy fuck! Is this seriously happening? They got him to play Mysterio?!

"The Elementals are appearing in the same places they were as in Mr. Beck's world," Fury noted, "so pack up, we are going to Prague."

"Mr. Fury, this sounds like big time superheroing," Peter was quick to reply, "I'm more of a neighborhood heroine kind of guy."

"Bitch please, you've been to space," Fury replied.

"There must be someone else you can call. What about Thor?"

"Off world."

"Doctor Strange?"

"Unavailable," Maria Hill replied, send Peter a glare. Damn, what's this bitch's problem?

"Captain Marvel?"

"Don't invoke her name," Fury narrowed his eyes.

"Please Mr. Fury, I can't do this. If my aunt found out I left my class trip she'll kill me. And if my classmates see my dressed like this," he pointed to his costume, "then they'll know I'm Spider-man. I'm sorry, I wish I could help you but I can't."

Fury was silent for a long time before sighing and nodding, "I understand."

"What?" What?

"I get it, you can't do it because of your field trip. Dimitri, show the kid the way out," Fury nodded to the tall rough looking man with long hair pulled back into a ponytail and a large pointy beard that looked well groomed.

Wait...Fury's just letting him go?

The man didn't say much, motioning Peter to follow him out. Peter wished them luck before running out, eager to get back to his hotel.

As soon as he left Fury's demeanor changed turning to Maria Hill he grumbled, "contact the travel agency his trip is booked under. Get Parker to Prague, whatever you have to do."

There's the asshole I knew and loved. I shook my head, some things never change. Did he seriously just think to himself that the best way to get Peter to help was by effectively holding Peter's classmates hostage?

I mean seriously, his brilliant idea is to hijack their field trip, introduce more possible civilian casualties into the path of a fire demon. If that isn't crazy I don't know what is.

"Fury, I don't like this," Mysterio spoke up.

"Frankly, I don't care what you like Beck. This is my operation, I suggest you get used to doing things you don't like doing."

Mysterio looks irritated, he turned and walked away, "I need some air. I'll see you in the morning."

"Don't be late," Fury called back, though Mysterio ignored him for the most part. Curious, I decided to follow the man, I figured he was going somewhere to prepare for whatever his next trick was going to be.

I floated right behind him, watched him exit the underground tunnels into a parking garage where, after a few moments of waiting, a white van came up. Mysterio smiled as the door opened for him, inside of which were several people all having matching smiles.

"Step 1 is completed," Mysterio said as he got in and the van took off. I followed behind them, "have the drones ready for Prague tomorrow, I don't want any mess ups. This is going to be our crowning moment, after this we will have Fury's trust and hopefully the Parker kid's as well."

"Does he have EDITH yet?" the bald man in the driver's seat asked.

"I saw him holding the glass's case, I don't think he's opened them yet," Mysterio replied.

I narrowed my eyes, they were after the glasses Stark left for Peter? I see…. Dickwads.

So not only was Fury going to force Peter into this, something I can relate to very well, but Mysterio was also after the only heirloom Stark left for Peter.

The kid was in deep shit and he didn't even know it. Damn it… now I'm feeling sad for him. I didn't want to get involved but now...

I was about to continue following them when suddenly a buzzing sensation hit my head, one of my magical alarms had been tripped.

Immediately I pulled myself back to my body, crossing great distances in seconds, arriving in my room and slipping into my real body just as a knock hit my door. I carefully got off the bed, so as to not wake Hope, and opened the door a crack.

I was surprised to see Flash Thompson on the other side of the door, with a phone in hand. Was he...recording me? "Can I help you?" I asked, confused, "it's late kid."

"So, are you Spider-man?" he asked.

"No," I moved to shut the door, only to have him block it with his foot.

"I need to know, are you Spider-man?!" he asked.

I sighed, "kid, listen to me very well. I'm a father, that makes me a very busy man. I don't have time to have a social life let alone run around in stupid red and blue spandex. So no, I'm not Spider-man."

"Hey, you take that back! That costume's dope!"

I kicked his foot and slammed the door shut. I winced, turning to see if the noise woke Hope up. Luckily for me, she was deep into her sleep cycle so I didn't have to deal with a cranky baby in the middle of the night.

I rubbed my eyes and walked out the balcony overlooking the beautiful Venician canals and the late night ferries out in the water, making some couples night all the better with a romantic tone and atmosphere. I guess even after today some people just won't let their night be ruined.

I had a choice now, one, to let things play out without interfering. Teach Peter a lesson about not trusting people and help him grow. Or two, tell him the truth. Tell him about Mysterio and… about myself. Guide him through this trial, guide him… make him a better Spider like Strange wanted me to do.

I looked down and spotted Peter coming back on the boat Fury took him on, Dimitri now driving. He landed a good distance away and web swung over to his room, landing with a thud.

I sighed, I honestly didn't have a choice in the matter. If I don't do what Strange wants he might drag his feet with Hope's cure, plus it's not like I can just abandon the kid...damn this.

So I walked out of the room, stood before Peter and Ned's door and knocked.

"Ah- just a minute," Peter replied. I heard a rustle of clothes, obviously he was changing out of his suit and trying to put something else on. I waited patiently and after a moment he threw the door open, panting. His shirt was inside out and his pants were backwards.

"Ah-hi?" Peter asked, confused, "can I help you sir?"

"My room," I replied, stepping away, "now. Or I'll tell Flash your Spider-man and you can deal with him stalking you."

"W-what?" Peter asked, shock and horror on his face. I said nothing, simply motioning him to follow me as I stepped back into my room.

Peter ran in quickly, shutting the door behind him, "I-I don't know what your talking about sir, I-I'm not Spider-man."

"So you ran into my room, closed the door and began whispering because you aren't Spider-man? Have you ever heard the term acting guilty?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Peter blinked, "ah...I ...-"

"Hold up," I raised my hand, summoning several magical circles on my palm before flicking my wrist, sending them flying to the four corners of the room. They looked like an inverted 'E' with an 'S' intersecting it.

"Woah," Peter said, looking at the runes and then me, "are you a wizard?"

I smiled, "kind off...well, yes, but I'm more than just a wizard," I sent a mental command and my gauntlets came alive. They formed around my hands and my suit came around my form. In seconds I was dressed and stood before Peter in a black suit that was a mixture of Spider-man and Thor with a bright white spider spread across my chest.

"My name is Peter Parker, I'm from Earth ...well, to be honest I don't really know. Important thing is though, I'm a Spider-man, just not from this world."

Peter's eyes went wide, "what the fuck?!"

"Sh!" I hissed, pointing at Hope, "she's asleep! The sound ward will break if you make too much noise!" It won't, but honestly this will go a lot better if he doesn't keep screaming every five minutes.

"I-I-" he looked at me, then Hope and then me, "I have a daughter?"

"I...I suppose," it was an odd question, technically true and when I spoke it Peter's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fainted.

I sighed, figures. I picked him up and threw him over my shoulder. I tucked him into bed next to Ned, seems this conversation was going to have to wait. But before I left I noticed his bag off in the corner, his Spider suit sticking out.

I shook my head, he really was too clumsy, honestly it's a surprise more people don't know his secret identity yet.

As I pushed the costume inside and zipped up his lap I noticed the glass case inside that Stark left for him.

I knew it was disrespectful, but for some reason Mysterio wanted this and I needed to know why. I opened it up and inside were the square blue tinted pair of shades I often saw Tony Stark wore.

Inside was a card with a simple message, 'For the next Tony Stark, I trust you. Say 'EDITH'.' I couldn't help smile, even dead Tony was looking out for the kid. For the first time I was beginning to regret not have a closer relationship with the man back on my world, he would have been a good mentor...I think.

Looking at them, they looked like a simple pair of glasses, but know Tony and the call sign he left behind I'm guessing it was an AI system inside the glasses. What it did I didn't know nor do I think I should try and find out. It was probably a personal gift from Tony to Peter and I don't plan on robbing him of the chance to have them.

I put the glasses and the card back and shut the box, but not before casting a powerful warding spell on the box making anyone who didn't have a similar energy signature to a spider totem unable to open it.

I put the glasses back and found Peter's laptop inside. Hm, I'm definitely going to need to borrow this.

I took it out and placed it on the table, turning it on and meeting a password bar. It took me three tries to get in, 'Michel Jones' wasn't very secure.

Using Peter's computer, which was very advanced I must say, probably Stark tech, I managed to piggyback off of the travel company that arranged the school trip to SHIELD, or whatever it was that Fury was currently leading.

I found the 'arrangements' they had made, a luxury bus trip to Prague and a one night and one day stay at a fancy hotel in Prague.

Since I was going to crash Peter's school trip anyway I decided to club two new additional guests into the travel company's program, Hope and myself. To the company and anyone who sees it will seem as if it was a technical glitch, but nothing to be too worried about since it isn't an unusual thing to happen.

If SHIELD noticed then I might get on Fury's radar, but right now, as far as I'm concerned, keeping an eye on Peter is far more important than flying under the radar.

After making the trip plans I decided to use this rare chance with a computer to build up some resources for myself, can't keep borrowing money from Wong after all. I used every trick in the book and some new ones I came up with to create a bank account for myself and secure funds from insecure bank accounts.

You could find anything in the Dark Web, provided you know where to look. A couple of stolen credit cards and IDs later I had saved enough money to keep Hope and me living comfortably for a few days. It wasn't a large amount, just a dollar from over hundreds of accounts, nothing that would stick out too badly.

When I was done, it was near dawn. I made sure to erase any digital footprint I may have accidentally left behind while digging around in the net's underbelly, put Peter's laptop away safely, and went back to my room.

Coming back I smiled at Hope's sleeping visage, the soundproof charms and warning sigils kept her safe and her night peaceful. I could see the sun just rising over the horizon far away, maybe I could get a few hours of rest, maybe just a few minutes. Just a few moments to shut my-

"-Daddy!" Hope called out, almost jumping out of the bed, "daddy I'm hungry!"

Or never mind.

"Okay Princess," I sighed, pushing the sigh of exhaustion away with a smile, "let's wash up and we can get your some breakfast, I'm sure the hotel will have something ready."

"Okay!" Hope smiled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

An hour later:

Washed and feed Hope and I walked out of the hotel hand in hand, just as the Parker's highschool field trip came out ready to move as well.

I noticed Ned and Peter off in the corner, both eyeing me and Hope. I could tell he had questions he wanted answered, but obviously after fainting he ruined the last chance we had of talking privately, now, with all these people, it was impossible to talk.

"Alright kids, we're going to Prague!"

"Wait, what?!" Peter cried out, finally taking his eyes off me and Hope and looking to his teacher who then explained how the travel agency offered an upgrade.

Obviously the students had issues with that, but shut up the moment they saw the big black luxury bus they had waiting for them, driven by the same agent Fury sent for Peter yesterday, Dimitri if I recall.

"Wow, what's that thing daddy?" Hope asked, her eyes practically sparkling with wonder.

"It's a bus honey. Like a big car."

"Oh, are we going to ride it?"

"You bet we are."

The kids got on, Peter gave me a look. I nodded and motioned to the bus, walking up to it with Hope, "ready to see more cities baby girl?" I asked Hope.

"Yup! Can I have icecream now?"

I rolled my eyes, "yes, you can have icecream. When we reach the city I'll get you some."

As we walked on the bus Dimitri held his hand out and glared, stopping up from boarding. He growled, "what are you doing?"

"Of you'll check your logs my good man, you'll find that my daughter and I are also booked in the same travel packaged. They company called me last night, something about a mix up with our tickets and they offered this as compensation."

"What?" Dimitri asked, pulling out his table and going through the logs, only to have his eyes widened in surprise as he looked back up at me, "this isn't right."

"Yes well," I shoved his hand aside, "take it up with your boss. Come on Hope, let's get on the bus!"

"Yay!" Hope cheered as she jumped onboard, rushing inside.

"Ah, excuse me, but what's going on?" the teacher in charge asked, clearly surprised at Hope and my preceness.

"Apparently we used the same travel agency and apparently they screwed the pooch on us both. So we're going to be coming with you to Prague," I flashed the man a smile, "I hope you don't mind. You can check with the big guy up front if you want."

Th teacher looked to Dimitri outside, who looked pissed off as he began talking to someone on the phone, obviously reporting Hope and I.

"Oh, n-no, not at all, I just was curious is all," he said eyeing me up and down before turning to my daughter, "not a problem at all." The students all looked confused, but took it in stride, merely shrugging before turning back to their phones.

"Hey Hope," Michelle spoke up, a smile on her face, "so you coming with us huh?"

"Yay! Daddy said we're going to Prage," my little girl smiled, mispronouncing the name of the city.

"Oh, you are! That's awesome!"

"Come on sweety, let's go to the back," I promoted Hope, turning to Peter and Ned who had just got on and motioning to the back row which was currently unoccupied. Peter looked nervous but nodded.

"Daddy, can I sit here?" Hope asked, looking up at me with her trademark puppy dog eyes, "please?"

"I-Princess we shouldn't bother them-"

"-It's no bother," Michelle said quickly, "no bother at all."

I sighed, turning to Hope and shrugged, "fine. But remember, if you do something naughty no ice cream for a week."

"No! I'll be good!" Hope cried out before quickly sitting down next to Michelle, the little red head quickly gaining the attention of all the students around her by just being the cutest thing in the world. And I'm totally not exaggerating on that cute part, my kid is the best.

With Hope occupied I turned my attention to Peter. We moved along slowly to the back and sat on opposite sides. He looked at me, I motioned him to wait and stay silent. Ned was moving to join us, but in the last moment a girl called him over and forced him to sit down next to her.

I'm guessing Ned won't be joining us after all.

As soon as the bus began I threw up a bubble of red gold energy around us and turned it Peter, "we can talk now."

"Woah...so not a dream. What is this?" he asked, looking at the aura surrounding us, "like that muting spell from last night?"

"Yes, just a bit smaller is all. Now come closer," I motioned, "they can still see us."

Peter looked up nervously and once he was sure no one was looking scooted closer, hiding behind the seats before us. "So-so last night was real?" Peter asked, his eyes growing wide, "y-your-"

"-Peter Parker," I explained, "or at least a version of us."

"Multiverse," Peter's eyes went wide, "wait...why should I belive you?"

I raised an eyebrow, "you do remember that costume I wore yesterday right?"

"Anyone could have a costume."

"The magic wards around you?"

"You said your me, but I don't know how to do those things."

I nodded, "fair point...so how should I prove to you I'm not lying?"

"I don't know...tell me something about me that only I know."

"Dude, I'm not you from the future, I'm literally another version of you! We had different lives! As you can clearly see," I motioned to Hope who was playing patty cake with Michelle. Huh, when did she learn to play patty cake?

"Fine… then-webs!" he practically shouted, "can you spin webs?"

"Eh, kind off," I held out my hand and shout out a magical whip onto the nearby window, "I sort of don't want to waste the little web fluid I have, so I use this magical substitute."

"So cool," Peter said as a smile came on his face. He reached out and touched the line of magic, the energy line twinging as he flicked it, "h-How does it have any structure? Magic?"

"Magic," I nodded, dismissing the whip, "but if you want to look at it in a scientific term I'm able to divert the form of light from its dual nature to a single particle nature."

"How does that even work? I mean that totally negates physics as we know it!" Peter cried out in excitement.

"I know right! Seriously man, you should give magic a try. It's the other side of science, the only thing if the explanations you get might not always be testable in a lab or directly translate into the structure humanity has of what is and isn't possible in science today. Why just a month ago I was reforming the spatial dimensions in Hope's room, make it bigger on the inside, and Sue, a friend of mine tried to scan what exactly allowed the room to gain extra mass. Caused all her equipment to fry out and the server to start running an endless chain of algorithms and solutions."

"Woah, so does that mean magic can be detected by science? Even if in a limited capacity?"

"Totally. In fact that was one of the first things I tried doing when I began to learn magic. It was-' I stopped and blinked, "we're getting off topic."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Peter smiled shyly as he backed away.

"You don't need to be sorry Peter, I'm a version of you, remember," I smiled, "I know the feeling. We can talk science later, but right now there's a lot I need to tell you."

Peter nodded, "I...I still don't know if I can trust you."

I blinked, "why?"

"Well, it just doesn't make any sense. I mean, it's too much of a coincidence. First Mysterio and now you...unless," Peter's eyes went wide, "did you come here because of the snap too?!"

"What? The snap? You mean because Thanos clicked his fingers?" he nodded frantically, "no Peter. The reason I'm here is because of my daughter and my status as a Spider totem."

"A what?"

I leaned in, "you see Peter, we, you and I and people like us, we are called totems. When a human takes on the properties of an animal, they become a totem. We are Spider totems and-"

"-So wait, if someone is bitten by a radioactive cat they become a cat totem?"

"Ah, no, it's not like that. They would have to have inherited some of the cat's properties."

"Is Ant-man and ant totem?"

"I….I don't think so...I mean, strictly speaking no but he can control ants…." I snapped out of another possible tangent thought, "look, that's not important right now, what's important is that Spider totems, like you and me, have a special place in the multiverse. It's kind of...well there's a long mystical explanation to it, but I'll spare you the details. Basically we're more in tune with the multiverse and multiverse travel due our status and that's why my daughter and I ended up here, in your world."

"So… you need my help getting back home?"

"Are you a master of the mystic arts?"

"No, but I know a guy."

I smiled, "Strange, yeah, we spoke to him already, he's finding a way to get us home as we speak."

"Then, I mean, don't get me wrong, knowing all of this is fascinating and all but...why did you tell me this?"

"Because Peter… I'm here to help you," I took a deep breath, "because right now your in the cross hairs of both Nick Fury and Mystiero and frankly I don't know which one I distrust more."

"Wait, what?" Peter looked confused, "Mysterio? You mean Beck? What's wrong with him?"

"Beck, Mysterio? Peter he's a bad guy. He's lying to you. He isn't from some other world, he's from your world," I explained slowly, "trust me on this Peter, this is his origin story, supervillain debut. Honestly, I have no idea how Fury could have missed it, I mean come on, that story he told you alone about the Elementals was such bullshit I surprised your Spidey Senses didn't pick up on it."

"Spidey sense?" he asked before shaking his head in dismissal, "no, not the point. What do you mean bad guy?!"

"Last night, when you were meeting with Fury, I followed you," I explained.

"You did?" I nodded, "like under the tunnels?" Another nod, "I didn't even see you."

"Kind of the point," he nodded, his full attention on me, "I'll be honest Pete, I didn't want to involve you in this, you had your own life and trials to face and I don't believe in cuddling kids. Expect mine," I quickly added, "but...Fury is being played and he doesn't know it and he's bringing you into this as well."

"I-I can't believe this."

"Trust me, Nick Fury of my world is just as heartless of yours."

"No, I mean, Mysterio not being from another world...how do you know?"

"The designation for your Earth," I explained, "it's not 616, it's 199999. Trust me, you do not want to get the two confused."

"That's a lot of nines..."

"I know...plus after you left, Mysterio stormed off and I followed him. He got in a van with other people and started asking them if everything was ready for tomorrow and discussing about how to get your glasses," I twitched my fingers and the wooden glass case sticking out of Peter's open bag flew into my hands, "because Mysterio's after these."

"What?! Wait, how did you even do that?! I didn't see you move! Do you have invisible webs or something?!"

"Invisible webs? No, don't be ridiculous, I'm telekinetic, like Wanda. You know Wanda right?" he nodded, "yeah, like that. Can move things with my mind."

"No way."

"Yup," the glass case began to levitate before opening up showing the glasses inside, "they are after these. I don't know why or when he'll make a move for them...but I'm here to help you."

Peter took the glasses and the card. I leaned away and let him read it out loud. He smiled as slowly he began tearing up. He looked at me and the glasses. "Put them on," he told him, "he did leave them for you."

"Y-yeah," he choked up as he did so. He pushed them up with his finger, allowing them to rest on the bridge of his nose. He looked at me and smiled, "what do you think?"

"I think they're a little big on you," I admitted, "but...I think you'll grow into them eventually..."

"I...I don't know if I should trust you. Yesterday I met a guy from another world and now I'm being told by another guy from another world that the first guy is lying to me," Peter chuckled a hollow laughed. He looked at me and for a moment, the teenager washed away and I saw that spark of fire all Peter Parker's held, "can I trust you?"

"Always," I replied without a moment's hesitation, holding out my hand, "except when it comes to my daughter. If she's ever in danger, all bets are off."

"That's fine by me," Peter smiled, shaking my hand. He turned to Hope and me, "so wait...who exactly did you marry?"

"Oh, technically I'm not really married, but Hope's mom is my girlfriend," I left out the part where she was one of many.

"Oh. Okay...do I know her?"

I chuckled, "different worlds Peter. You don't know her."

"Okay… cool...so technically does that mean I'm her dad too?"

"You know, I wondered the same thing when I met May," I chuckled.

"Who's May? Like Aunt May?"

"Oh, no, she's the daughter of another Peter Parker from Earth-982. I ran into her some time ago, we bonded."

"Dude…. That is so weird."

"I know right!" I grinned, something told me this bus ride was going to be a very fruitful one.