Chapter 1: Now let's start from the top...

Thursday, September 9, 2006

10 pm

Queens, New York

Alex Pov.

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Where do I begin, huh?" These were the first words I wrote in the notebook Pete gave me for our 10th birthday. He claimed that I always complained to myself that I had too many thoughts in my head, and it should help to at least write some of them down. However, Pete does have a point about the "Too many thoughts" part; I should try to stop spacing out in public. That's food for my later thoughts; I need to put something down to rest easy. Though some of me still think this is a bad idea and that is what plan B's are for, I'll burn these pages after I'm done here, no big deal.

Anyway, let's start this shit show, shall we? I should begin with my name before we enter memory lane—the name's Alexander Benjamin Parker, or Alex for short. Yep, you heard the last name right, Parker; I guess you figured out who my twin brother is, huh? The one and "only" Peter Parker, a.k.a the amazing spider-man, the spectacular spider-man, or whatever name the good-old Hitler mustache can come up with that doesn't have the word menace in it.

Back to my point, which I will start by saying this; I shouldn't be here, and I don't just mean in this house; I mean in "this" body, on "this" earth, within "this" universe, and living "this" life. I SHOULD NOT HAVE EVEN EXISTED!!!!! *sigh* 'Deep breaths, Alex, deep breaths. You're not going down that road, so chill.' I thought to myself...again.

As I lie back on my chair, staring at the ceiling, I think back as far as I could before everything started. Which, to my disappointment, wasn't a whole lot to go off of. For one thing, I used to have a name before I became Alex. Now, what was it...Noah, no...Nick, nope...Nate, that's it, Nate Thompson. Second, I don't remember jack-shit about him, his family, his friends, his life all gone, and the only thing I seem to get from him was his memories of the media Nate loved. I'm talking about anime, manga, comics, games, movies, etc., especially anything from marvel; the dude was a full-blown nerd, which I respect. Lastly, I was conscious or had a higher understanding than most my age. I'm not sure how to explain this better, for as far as I can remember, I was in complete darkness then, bam, I was being born—not going to talk about that...ever, 15 years later, and I'm still repressing the memory.

Now, with all those points added, that brings it to one thing to summarize what I am... A reincarnator.

I didn't notice all this from the start; who in their right mind would? I thought Me and Peter's parents were conveniently named parker, and they gave peter his name as an in-house joke. I put everything together when I read my first history book; no sane person would put Captain America's picture in a history book unless he were real. Once I figured it out, I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I'm in the marvel universe; I'm spider-man's brother; I'm in a world where superheroes, crazy space shit, badass tech, and magic exist. Did I mention that I'm spider-man's brother? If I kept thinking like this, I could end up like Gwenpool; I love her though she went crazy when she first started. Compared with what Nate's memories showed me, I don't think his world has anything close to those things; The phones, however... never mind that. To say that I was excited was an understatement, but that excitement only lasted for a while as I began to think about the world I was in.

I am in the fucking Marvelverse!!!!!

I'm in a universe where there are alien oozes that can take over your body, monsters under the surface of the earth, vampires, a terrors group that is run by a real nazi, crazy villains that some either want to cause havoc or take over the world; a version of Skynet and a large purple man with a raisin for a chin who could soon wipe my existence away with the snap of his fingers; and that was only the basic fucking shit out there.

Even Peter would have to deal with some, if not all, of these problems along with his own as spider-man and himself. My twin could never get a break, could he? If you think about it, becoming a superhero was both a blessing and a curse. Peter had a lot of times that his life went downhill...looking at you, superior spider-man.

I am still determining what version of the Marvelverse I'm in. For all I know, I could be in a world doomed from the start, like marvel's zombie universe. ...Oh god, if I am in that, Thanos might as well snap me away right now. I could be in the MCU, but it's too soon to tell. I'm hoping for it to be accurate; Nate's memories of the movies only go toward No Way Home then they stop. Though for now, I can't tell the last time I checked this week, Tony Stark didn't get kidnapped by terrorists, so Ironman is still not born. However, there were some slowly growing talks about 'mutant sightings' in the news this year.

Feeling that I had written down enough and could use some fresh air, I grabbed my favorite hoodie and quietly made my way through the house but not before bringing my notes along. Picking my head out to see if anyone was still up, seeing no one, I sneak towards the backyard. I would say that it was difficult, but with Peter's snoring echoing in the background like a damn grizzly. It would make the rhino look like a ninja. That said, I continue my way through the house only to stop as my eyes land on a particular picture.

"Is it wrong that I don't feel sad that you guys are gone?" I ask this question to myself every time I come across this photo. A picture of four individuals, a man, a woman, and two young boys around six. All of them were smiling happily together; however, one of the boy's smiles seemed to look fake. That boy with the fake smile is me, along with Peter and his or rather "our" parents, Richard and Mary Parker.

Don't let my question fool you; I didn't hate them. Sure, they were good people, gone often, but they also tried to be good parents. I remember Al-my mother the most, how often I'll hear how I'm much like her both in looks and personality; not sure if the latter is true. Not to forget how much of a doting mother she was to us. It's just that I never really felt connected to them. I tried to, but knowing they would die while I was young made it hard for me. Yeah, I know it's fucked up to think that but bear with me here.

Despite Nate's "memories," some gaps exist between them. I only knew a tiny bit of information about them, and that's it. I couldn't stop them from dying if I tried. Would you believe a 4 to 6-year-old kid if they said that you would die? Not to mention that I was beginning to find out where I was back then, so I was often scared and still am a little bit. With that, I kept everyone at a distance throughout half of my childhood, even my twin. It wasn't until we heard about their deaths that I tried to connect with everyone and see them as actual people. A mistake that many other reincarnators in some of the books Nate read often make.

Taking my eyes off the photo, I continue towards the backyard while grabbing some matches from the kitchen. Once outside, I had to hold back a chill and immediately noticed how cold it was tonight; it seemed like fall was coming early this year...great. Wanting to get this over with soon, I started digging a quick 3-inch hole with one of Aunt May's gardening shovels; after that, I threw in my balled-up recently written notes, lit a match, then watched it burn.

I stood there ignoring the cold, waiting as the papers turned ash. This is for the best if Nate's memories are the only secret I have in this life, then I'll take this to the grave. No one should know about their lives possibly being part of some comic. It could change their view of me, or worse, change themselves entirely to where my only golden finger is useless. I quickly check my surroundings to see if anyone is watching, only to stop out of curiosity about the house next door.

"Huh, looks like someone finally is moving into that house. And here I thought it was haunted or something." I said, and I wasn't lying. That house has been vacant for years since Pete and I moved here. Though I was never one to care genuinely, a random moving truck showing up at a house like that does seem odd. While giving the place a quick once over, I noticed one of the upper-floor windows happens to be across from Peter's room. He'll probably know something about our new neighbors; however, this got me thinking about some spider-man-related stuff, especially about a redhead I've failed to meet yet.

"Wait a minute, could it be-"

"Alex, is that you out there?" I was interrupted by a voice coming from behind me. I turned around only to see a much older man wearing light blue pajamas looking back at me with a confused expression.

I smiled. "Oh, hey, Uncle Ben, what's up?" Ah, uncle ben, the man that all spider-man fans religiously know as the one who drove spider-man to be, well, spider-man. If Stan Lee is god for spider-man fans, then he is the messiah. Real talk, though, he's every bit of the man I knew he was, a great father figure, role model, and friend...and he won't be dying this time.

"Son, what are you doing here so late?" he asks before smelling the air. "And is something burning?"

"Oh, that; after I finished writing some personal things down In my journal, I got a great idea to burn those pages to hide the evidence." I said, gesturing towards the now formerly dug-up hole after kicking the dirt back in when he wasn't looking.

I may have secrets I wouldn't tell a soul if I could help them, but I don't like lies or lying.

Now misdirection, however...

*sigh* "Seriously, Alex, why would you even do such a thing when you could've thrown it in the trash."

"You and I both know how the others are when it comes to teasing me with any juicy secret of mine, especially Peter. So as his twin brother, I can't allow him to take my job." I stated, puffing my chest in brotherly pride. This made him chuckle.

"I see now, so this dose has something to do with you and Gw-" knowing who Ben was talking about was like my own form of sixth sense. I stopped him as fast as possible, yet my face felt warm.

"W-wait, it's not like that; I-I told you guys that we're just friends, I mean best friends. I don't know where you get these ideas, but they aren't true! ...but did she say something?" He laughed at that.

" Hahaha, alright, alright, I get it. I'll leave you're little love life alone for now. Why don't we go back to bed, huh? Peter kept mentioning that tomorrow was a big day for him and that giving your support is, as you said, your job." Ben said with a smile. "Plus, I know how much you hate the cold."

I nodded in agreement, knowing he was right, as he guided me back inside. I don't like the cold at all.....and that tomorrow is a big day for Peter, and I need to have his back as his brother.

...For tomorrow is the field trip to Oscorp.