2 Issue 2: Two Spiders

After running halfway across town, Peter found the abandoned construction site he was looking for. They used to come to places like this to get away from everybody. No one ever came here, and this place had plenty space and quiet to vent their life's frustrations.

Peter ran inside and searched around desperately for MJ while he felt his heart was pumping through his chest.

After a few minutes passed, Peter suddenly heard a small feminine voice call out to him, "Peter?"

Peter looked over to see MJ with a jacket and a sleeping bag. She was sleeping over some cardboard boxes in a dark corner of the room with clutter like old crate boxes around her to hide.

When he saw that she was alright, Peter hopped over the barricade she built and woke her up with a hug.

"I'm so glad you're safe," Peter said with a sigh of relief.

MJ blushed as she tried to push Peter back but noticed she couldn't. She then looked at him with an expression of surprise while she thought, "When did Peter get this strong? Wait, is he like me?"

Seeing her feeling up sculpted muscles, Peter figured out what she was thinking and began looking around.

Once he found solid slightly rusted pieces of steel supporters laying in a stack, Peter walked over bent one inward and crushed I-beam into a ball.

"Peter, how?!" MJ shouted as she peered into Peter's eyes.

Peter gave her a calming smile before he said, "Your dad is still alive. He's in the hospital right now. After a few stitches, some rest, and an ice-pack, he'll be sent home."

When MJ heard that her dad was still amongst the living, she shook before asking, "I'm not a murderer then? Oh thank god…I hate him some times, but I never wanted to…sniffle…"

Tears then formed in her eyes as she cried into his shirt. Peter smiled and held her close and waited patiently for her to relax.

After she calmed down she realized that they were rather close when she asked with blush covering her face, "Tiger I think we're mutants! What am we supposed to do?"

Peter started laughing "Well, you can't call yourself Storm, or Rouge. I think those names are already taken!"

In response to his lacking response, MJ's cheeks puffed up as she shouted, "You're making jokes? Now?"

Peter smiled as he decided to just go through with what he was thinking about doing for the past 10 years. With a single motion, he covered MJ's mouth with a kiss.

She was surprised at first, but when it the shock faded, she felt like it was a dream coming true. MJ closed her eyes while wrapping her arms around his neck and enjoyed the moment. 

After they parted, Peter started talking as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "We aren't mutants, not the normal kind. That day when I got sick, did you get bit by anything?"

MJ thought back to the night she took Peter home, "I...when we were in your room something bit me, but I killed it."

Peter laughed as he said, "Well then, you just killed a multi-million dollar project that belonged to Oscorp."

MJ's face paled as he explained what the Super Spider was derived from, "You know that Captain America guy that's in the history books, the serum use on him was the base for the serum injected into that's spider's venom."

MJ couldn't believe what she was hearing "You don't have to worry about them finding out about it. I wiped the hard drives of any footage they had of us."

MJ grabbed Peter, "That's illegal!"

Petter shook his head with a smile as he commented, "So is destroying the spider."

"I'm serious, Pete!" MJ frowned. 

"I did what I had to, Norman Osborn is a psychopath. His company has its hands in a lot of dark places. Places so illegal, that you'd go to prison for the rest of your life, kind of illegal."

"But he's Harry's dad!" MJ retorted.

"I know, that's why I feel bad. Os-Tech has ties to illegal weapon manufacturing and he sells them to anyone that can afford. Then there's bribery from foreign nations, selling military secrets, and illegal human experimentation. Harry doesn't know about any of this, and we can't do anything to stop them, so I never said anything," Peter explained.

"Poor, Harry," MJ said with a depressed tone.

"However, in time, I'll be able to help Harry out," Peter said as he then stood up and started walking along the walls.

MJ gasped in excitement as she asked, "Can I do that too?"

Peter smiled as he held out his hand, "Come on."

MJ reach out to him and felt her body suddenly being pulled off the ground.

As she stuck to the wall, Peter started to explain, "Our Wall-Crawling ability is achieved by the use of Van der Waals Forces. By using electrostatic clinging on a molecular level, our bodies are able to control our internal magnetic fields in a way that allows us stick to objects or vice versa."

"How do you know all this?" MJ questioned.

"I know a thing or two about spiders and science," Peter informed as he grinned and ran up the wall before jumping up to the second floor of the half-built building.

He poked his head out from over the cover of the half-constructed floor and said, "Follow me!"

MJ started to move slowly adjusting to her new-found ability. She started to climb up when a huge grin came across her face.

"This is amazing!" MJ thought as she climbed after Peter.

When they reached the roof, Peter stood up and took MJ while still clinging to the wall.

"Care for a stroll?"

MJ laughed as she took his hand and said, "This so weird." 

They walked up the wall by the hand and showed her the view of the city from the highest point this building could offer. The two sat in silence and waited for the sunrise. He held off on saying anything until she was ready to speak and just enjoyed the view of the city lights and tall skyscrapers in the distance.

"Soo, we're not Mutants…then what are we?"

"Mutates,"

MJ raised her brow.

"I'm being serious. We had our basic genetic codes rewritten through an unnatural manner. Mutation takes hundreds of years while ours was instantaneous."

The red head gave a look that said, "Come on…really?"

"There's a difference!" Peter announced as he stood and threw his hands up.

MJ started laughing. Seeing her look a bit better, he sat back down and said, "Any other questions?"

"Not right now, can we just…you know hang out. I don't want to go home yet," MJ blushed a bit as she grabbed his hand.

They leaned against each other until the sun started to rise above the horizon and enjoyed each other's company. Not a single word was spoken, but they felt closer than they had in years. 

"Ready to go home?" Peter asked MJ before she wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest.

"Yes. Hey, Tiger?" MJ moved her head and looked him in the eyes.

"What do we do now?"

"Well MJ, I think the only logical step is to become super-heroes," Peter answered with a grin on his face.

MJ gawked at Peter with a look of disbelief and asked, "You okay, Tiger? You didn't hit your head anywhere did ya?"

The would-be superhero laughed and said "I'm serious! You know that saying Uncle Ben always brings up?"

Mary Jane smiled and said, "With great power, comes great responsibility!"

Peter snapped his fingers, "That's the one!"

The two shared a soft chuckle before Peter continued by saying, "MJ, right now, you and I have a lot of power. If we have the power to help others, and choose not to, isn't that the same thing as letting them suffer?"

MJ looked like she was thinking intensely when she said, "That's really deep, Parker. Something about you is different, and I'm not talking about the powers."

Peter looked to her and smiled as he pulled her closer. 

"What can I say? After getting bit by that spider, I feel like a whole new person."

Picking her up bridal style, he jumped off the building and landed safely below. MJ held his hand as they walked home.

"You know I always wondered what it would be like to be a superhero. So… do you think we should make some suits?" MJ asked with stars in her eyes. 

Peter laughed as he recalled MJ's liking for fashion. She got the same look he did whenever he saw something science related.

"I actually made one already, and I'm wearing it right now," Peter said with a grin on his lips.

MJ smiled and reached out her hands towards Peter's waist and started to tug on his tucked-in shirt while saying, "Let me see it."

Peter covered his crotch and backed away in a defensive gesture before he said, "Not before you take me out to dinner, you deviant."

MJ blushed and slapped him on the back, which ended up hurting him more than he thought it would.

As they approached his house, MJ's mom came outside and embraced her daughter.

MJ cried and apologized and said, "I'm sorry, I put dad in a hospital! It was an accident! I never…"

MJ's mother shook her head and replied by saying, "No it's my fault. I should have done something about his behavior sooner. I talked to some of his friends on the force and told them about his drinking habits. We've decided on pooling some cash together for sending him to rehab. Maybe that smack in the face will finally knock some sense into him."

MJ cried even harder when Madeline sighed before saying, "Come on, baby. Let's go home."

Peter walked back inside with May and Ben looking particularly peeved, but after giving it some thought, they both sighed and realized that he didn't do anything wrong. However, despite their nephew's good intentions, they couldn't forgo punishing him for running out in the middle of the night like he did. So, after talking it over, they settled on sending him to his room to be grounded until the tomorrow.

Peter was okay with this because he was kind of tired from all the running around the city. He really had to start practicing his web-slinging and get into shape.

"Just because I have super muscles now doesn't mean I shouldn't work on them." Peter thought as he went to his bed.

Falling onto his back and laying his head into his pillow, Peter stared at the ceiling and thought, "So MJ was bitten by the same spider? I guess this isn't the amazing universe since we weren't going at each other like dogs in heat."

The image of Silk pouncing on the Amazing Peter Parker flooded his mind for a bit as he shook and cleared his head, He then looked over to the calendar and saw that it was 2012 and turned on his computer to begin looking through the web for information on other superheroes.

There were stories about Captain America, Hulk destroying Harlem, and Ironman. 

It seemed that Tony's storyline followed the MCU storyline pretty thoroughly, and he even looked like R.D.Jr. He didn't find any mentions of Thor but didn't think he would in the first place. Peter didn't exactly have the equipment to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D to get at that information. 

At least, not without being caught that is.

He was happy to find out that the Fantastic 4 were up and operational at the Baxter Building, and it appeared that Reed and Sue have already gotten married in this universe.

Next, he checkout various mutant sightings, and some other heroes that already existed, such as the Wolverine, the Black Panther, Ant-Man, the X-Men, and several others.

Peter turned his monitor off and went to bed. He smiled and shouted internally, "I don't think I ended up in any known Universe of Marvel, I wonder what life's gonna be like from now on."

Peter turned in for the night thinking about what he was going to do tomorrow after school.

He woke up the next morning and met up with MJ. The two gave each other a knowing smile and held each other's hands while they walked to school.

The two were shyly thinking about last night when Peter inhaled a breath of fresh air before saying, "So we are going out, right?"

MJ blushed as she squeezed his hand and replied, "You're not getting away from me that easy Tiger."

Peter smiled as he felt like the luckiest guy in the world right now.

"So how's your dad?" Peter asked before seeing a sad look come over her face.

"He's got 15 stitches across his forehead, and fancy new scar, however, the doctors said he be released this afternoon," MJ explained.

Peter gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as he said, "It wasn't your fault MJ. Your body just changed too quickly for you to notice. With some training, we'll be able to control our strength, but until then, it's better to avoid physical activities for a while."

MJ nodded her head and asked, "How'd you get to be so smart Tiger?"

Peter laughed as he replied, "A lot of studying. Studying that will also become part of your training too!"

MJ chuckled and let out a playful smile before asking, "Sure you're not making up reasons to spend more time with me?"

Peter smiled and answered, "Of course! Who wouldn't want to spend time with such a beautiful girlfriend?"

MJ blushed and gave him a kiss on the cheek that made Peter feel like he was walking on a cloud. He maintained that feeling right up until they walked into the school's halls, were Flash appeared like some kind of super-bully-magic.

"No way! Puny Parker's dating Mary Jane?" Flash yelled out calling the attention of everyone in the halls.

While the children gossiped, Peter rolled his eyes before he smiled and said, "I know you had your sights set on me, Flash, but I don't swing that way."

[A/N: Get it? Spider-Man not swinging that way…Sigh, I'll show myself to the door,]

MJ tried not to laugh but when the crowd joined in on it, they all couldn't help it as they started busting up in a wave of laughter.

Peter smiled seeing MJ's cute laugh while Flash turn purple, then green, and then red as he shouted, "You little twerp!"

Flash reached out his hand, however, Harry suddenly appeared and placed his hand in front of them before saying, "I think that's enough, Flash!"

Flash stopped his fist and held his hand back before saying, "Harry why are you standing up for this dweeb?! I thought you were cooler than that!"

Peter started laughing again before he shouted, "Careful Harry, I think he's crushing on you now." 

Flash looked like he was about to boil over and pop when the bell rang.

"Saved by the bell, Puny Parker!" Flash grunted.

"The only thing that was saved is our purity," Peter said as he acted like a scared stereotypical b-movie damsel in distress. 

A vein on Flash's forehead throbbed as he walked passed his usual bullying target while attempting to bump Peter's shoulder violently. 

However, all he had to do was gently tilt his body and stick out his foot, making Flash almost fall on his face.

While Flash hoped to regain his balance, Peter tossed in one more insult, "Thank god, Harry. For if it weren't for the bell, I fear he might have started to hump your legs. You got to be careful around dogs that aren't trained."

Harry started to laugh making Flash turn his head and say, "PARKER! After school, you're so dead!"

Peter smiled as he placed his arm around Harry's shoulder and said, "Sup, bud."

Harry smiled and laughed before saying, "I see you're in a good mood!"

Peter smiled as he looked back at MJ and held their conjoined hands in front of his face, "Well I nabbed the girl of my dreams, so I'd say I hit the Jackpot."

Harry went bug-eyed and said, "You two are finally going out?"

Peter smiled and gave MJ a quick kiss on the lips before he replied by saying a simple but joyful, "Yep!"

MJ blushed as she gave Peter's back a little pinch.

"Easy, Tiger, I don't mind a little PDA, but only when I'm aware," MJ said teasing him.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! I'm sorry MJ! Forgive me!" Peter cried out making Harry laugh.

"I'm happy for you guys! All I can say is it's about time!" Harry said as he wrapped his arms around their necks and hung them over their shoulders.

Peter liked this version of Harry, although his dad was still a real piece of work, he hadn't yet become the goblin, and with his actions deleting all the research data and their back-ups, He knew that only that the last week or so was actually deleted. 

He could only hope his action might have bought him some time or set them back enough that it puts the Spider and Goblin Projects on hold. He would at least like to avoid Norman becoming the Green Goblin altogether. 

"Call me crazy, but something tells me nothing can stop the Goblin's birth from happening. Heck, I might have just accelerated the process for all I know." Peter thought to himself.

This version of Harry was Peter and MJ's best friend, and he had been since grade school.

When Peter helped Harry study for the Entrance Exams for this school and actually helped him pass, and just like in the Ultimate-Timeline, Osborn thanked Peter and showed little interest in his own son's achievements, focused on complementing Peter's genius while ignoring his son's.

Ever since then Harry has always resented Peter a little, but not enough to stop being friends.

As they sat in class Peter talked with MJ and Harry throughout most of the period. They joked around but after a while, Peter suggested starting a study group with Harry.

"Why would I want to do that when I can have some fun instead?" Harry questioned with a serious expression.

"First of all, you're my buddy, Harry. I don't want you get good grades, I want you to get spectacular grades, and before you ask, no your dad didn't put me up to this," Peter replied.

"I didn't think that!" Harry shot back.

"Yes, you did." MJ giggled.

"Look, man, you know how much I love your mom, right?" Peter joked while wagging his brows.

Harry almost spit as he held in his laugh,

MJ pinched his arm, "Please explain."

"Ow, ow! Easy, girl, it was a joke. You know his mom is an environmental scientist? What I really love about her is what she's doing with her work."

MJ let off as Peter blew over the red marking on his skin. He then turned back to Harry and said, "You see, unlike other Climate Cash Grabbers, your mom is actually making stuff to improve the health of the environment. I've read up on her plastic-eating fungi research and her air filtration designs for smog control. She's a freaking genius!" Peter explained.

"And your point is?" Harry waved his hands in a hurrying manner.

"Well, you should study to be like her. Honesty, how long do you want to hang on to daddy's wallet?" Peter answered and questioned.

"What the hell Pete?!" Harry shouted sounding really offended.

Peter continued by saying, "Now, hear me out. I'm tired of the scowls you throw my way sometimes. Your dad's an ass, I get it. Even I wanted to slug him when he didn't even congratulate you for passing that exam with high marks. I want you to do better for you man, so you can give daddy Osborn the middle finger and tell him you don't need his approval to be a great man."

Harry paused. He paled a little with a look of realization before he tried to think of a way to change the subject, "Seriously Pete? What the hell are you doing?"

"Showing concern for my best buddy. You're smart, Harry. If you just forget about your dad and do this for yourself, you can excel at your studies just as well as I can, I just know it. I want you to get interested in something you like. Your mother's research is a good start. When you go home today, just ask her about her work, and join in on any one of her projects. The study group I want is for my friends for a very good reason."

MJ lifted a brow and sighed, "He's right, Harry. It'll be fun. We can get smarter together and hang out more often. It's a win, win."

Harry turned around and wiped his eyes, "Seriously, what's up with you two today? Why all the 'serious-talk' all of a sudden?"

"Harry, how smart do you think I am?" Peter asked with a blank look on his face.

"You're the smartest guy I know, Pete," Harry replied.

"I'm much smarter than you think I am. I'm not just planning on graduating early. My aim is to go to a University and study Genetics and Engineering."

Both of them looked surprised at Peter's statement, especially since they knew how Uncle Ben and Aunt May felt about him staying in school with kids his age.

"Dude, you're gonna go for it?" Harry asked with a saddened expression on his face.

"Yeah, and I'd like it if you guys came with!" Peter said as he rubbed the tip of his nose in a shy gesture.

MJ and Harry laughed at his expression and gave in to the idea of being tutored by Peter. They agreed to spend two hours after school going over all of their school work and lessons ahead of the teachers.

After school MJ, Harry, and Peter went to the library and studied for two hours straight. 

Peter was a good teacher and helped them through their hurdles by offering good advice. In his previous life, he was able to graduate from a medical university by the time he was thirteen, so studying alongside other people who didn't know the meaning of sleep prepared him for this.

Harry had a bit of trouble when they first started, however, Peter had him repeat the answers over and over again, explaining everything in minute detail until he had the subject they were studying completely memorized. The hardest part was finding something he could compare the terms to, and he sometimes needed to draw it out for them.

"Augh, this is annoying, why do I have to keep reading the same paragraphs?" Harry shouted in frustration.

"Because your memory sucks! You have to train the brain just like any other organ or muscle. Once you do this enough, memorizing stuff becomes easier. Just think, Harry! Won't it be nice to be able to read something once and recall its contents?" Peter said with a grin on his face.

"I can't do that!" Harry replied.

"Harry, you know what your social security number is, right? How many times did you have to repeat that ten digit number until you can recall it without even trying? See, I can't is just an excuse. This is the exact same thing." 

"Imagine how easy these stupid tests will be. Hell, we'll be able to relax for the whole year. No worrying about homework, finish the work in class, and we can goof off as much as we want," MJ said with a similar grin.

"That does sound nice," Harry commented before he begrudgingly went back to studying.

Peter held his hand under the table and MJ gave him a low five.

"Did you guys just high five?" Harry asked with an angry look on his face.

"Nope!" The two said as they shook their heads and they pulled their text-books in front of their faces.

"We low-fived," Peter responding earning a good chuckle out of them both.

"Dork!" Harry mumbled as he face-palmed. 

Looking at his friends with a smile, he had to admit that it was nice to see them working so hard for his benefit. It was also a little sad that there were only two people in his life that didn't want to be buddy-buddy with him because of his money.

"Pay attention!" Peter slapped him on the head with a paper fan he rolled up.

"Geeze! Alright, alright, I'll read," Harry rubbed the top of his head.

After the two hours study-group passed, Peter and MJ said goodbye to Harry before they went to find a secluded location to start their training.

They chose an old abandoned warehouse that was near the pier. Work for the place dried up the moment the governor made cuts to police funding, resulting in a lack of training and personnel. Without well trained police officers to patrol the area, crime rates increased and the hostile environment made unsafe to work.

Now days the only people that come through this place are drug dealers and unsavory characters with bad intentions. The upside to all this was that they wouldn't have to worry about any cameras spying on them and might be able to get in some basic training with low-level thugs.

Staring at the messy interior of the building, the two looked at each other and smiled before MJ said, "Okay Tiger, where do we start?"