Chapter 005 [...:Lost of when we wake…]

Chapter 005 [...:Lost of when we wake…]

Swinging back, I picked up my ringing phone with aching arms. Gwen called and had asked to meet up to talk about Harry.

"Yeah, I could use the relaxation." My arms were killing me. The things I do for friends.

/

I landed at the scheduled meet near Starbucks, the soon to be coffee giant of america.

I pushed open the glass door to find her sitting on one of the more comfier sodas near the fire. She waved when she saw me, I returned the gesture.

My mind on the other hand was in turmoil. When I looked to her I saw how she had always been. Kind, compassionate and caring, but the alternate memories told a very different picture, especially the comics, and considering how accurate they had been thus far. Who she was and what she had done in them, not to mention how she would die… It was throwing my perception of her into chaos.

I hadn't thought about any of this during school because I was still a little out of it dealing with the new memories, my perception of everything had changed. Now though, focusing on her it was a very different ball game.

Shaking my head, I tried to force a smile, "Yo Gwen."

"Yo? Trying to be hip."

"Have to be if I want to fit in with them Hipsters."

"I can't see you in a fedora."

"Hey, if I get paid, I'd wear almost anything."

She smiled then concerned, "Right, why weren't you coming for the ESU?"

"I thought this was about Harry?"

"Him too, but after."

"Ah, you play a mean game Gwendolyne Stacy." A thought suddenly occurred, "A question before we start, does anyone named Warren work there?"

She scrunched her eyes, "No? Only a family called the Conners, and Eddie."

I was going to have to track his @$$ down and bury the nut job if he tried anything. While I was all about giving people second chances, I was not psyched for a clone saga, or anything he came up with. Half my problems would be solved if I didn't bother with keeping Supervillains alive. I tried not to outwardly groan, and that was another problem I would have to come up with a solution to.

Was wiping memories still immoral? Maybe punch them repeatedly in the chain until they get brain damage a bad idea?

Ah, I'll think about it later, for now try to focus on how how to explain why I wasn't coming to the ESU. The teachers had offered internship to the two brightest in the school, which happened to be the both of us, I said I would think about it, and the teacher had stated the importance of such a matter.

I swirled the cup of coffee in my hands, "May isn't talking to me, but we're going through some financial difficulties."

"Oh Peter..." Her expression softened.

"Yeah, she isn't one to say anything but I know I need to step up. And soon." It wasn't like Spidey's life as a crime fighting machine was suddenly going to stop, it was more likely it was going to be turned on its head. I needed to be stabilized soon.

"Anything I can do to help? I know a few places I worked part-time at before- Wait is that why you aren't coming?"

"Yeah, I don't think the ESU can pay me enough. It would be a stop gap measure, there are more problems that I need to deal with soon enough. It would be better if I tested out and finishing school in less than 6 months to a year, and start up a company in the meantime."

She froze, "Test out...like from school, are you leaving?"

"No, I'll be around, just wanted to finish up on the tediousness of classrooms. I need to make money and soon." I glanced to the fire beside us and took a sip, "There are other things I need to put my focus into as well."

"You can just have a part-time job," her eyes a little wide, as she spoke fast, "or, or you could, uh join, the military!"

"The military," a little bewildered.

"I mean," she slumped, "Maybe not the military, definitely not." She cleared her throat taking a sip of coffee, "So are we never going to see each other again. You're just going to leave me- I mean us behind, Harry and I."

"Gwen I'll be in the same neighborhood as you, it's not like you can't call."

"Yeah..." She seemed to be utterly down.

I sipped my coffee wondering if I should tell her I was Spider-Man. But it was likely that wouldn't lead to anything good, it rarely did in Spidey's life. I swirled the coffee wondering if I was basing things a little too heavily on the comics regardless of how accurate they were seeming to be. It wasn't like everything had matched up exactly, only major events and parts.

This was a little out there, "You know I kind of wanted to see if I could hire you."

"Huh?"

"It's not that weird." Talking fast, "I thought I'd get a leg up on the competition by getting one of the smartest, and most capable person I know, who also has a good moral compass. Which in business and especially science seems to be rarer than a legendary pokemon."

She raised an eyebrow, "I think I can stand to hear you go on."

I rolled my eyes, "To sum it up, you actually like science, are good at it, and you're really nice. Also working with one of my best friends is a major perk."

She smiled, "Flattery will get you nowhere. But," she turned serious, "Are you actually serious about this?"

"Very."

She pursed her lips, "And Harry?"

"If he and his dad is cool with it, I have an idea of what he could do." He was a good businessman in the comics but I didn't know how that translated here. I would have to test him to see, but of course I was going to take major precautions. I was going to get Matt Mordock to lawyer up on contracts if he was joining, the Osborn family always seemed to implode and explode not too long after Spidey appears in public.

"I am getting paid right? As much as you're a friend Peter..."

"Definitely, don't worry I wouldn't do that, you'd probably also head the biology division." I wasn't buttering her up or anything she was just as smart as Sue Storm or Johnny, she understood and had a passion for it. If I was going to become a company for mad inventions, she would be perfect.

She said with determined eyes, "I might try a trial period after the ESU if and only if you have a stable company and deliver on what you promise."

"Gotchya. No worries." I felt a little nervous, I had no idea how businesses were run, but they had to start somehow somewhere...right? I knew it was going to be worth it but still I groaned internally from how much work it was going to take.

I took a sip of coffee. Best to change topics, I needed to talk to a legal and business expert on the details later, "So, what was up with Harry?"

She took a breath, "Yeah..."

She went on to explain how Norman Osborn had been dropped from a hundred meters up onto solid asphalt and had miraculously survived. Naturally. While it was one thing to root for the death of a Green Goblin, it was another for hearing Harry's dad had nearly been murdered lunatic in a bird costume calling himself the Vulture.

To say I had mixed feelings was an understatement.

"Where is Harry now?"

"He's been with his dad for the past few days and have cut off contact from everyone. I tried to visit but they wouldn't let me in." Her eyes dropped as she frowned into her cup.

If it hadn't been confirmed Gwen was normal in most iterations I would've thought she had superpowers, "Don't worry I'll go check up on him." One face and I was ready to go see Harry, not that I wasn't going to check on him, but the words left my mouth before I could think about them.

She smiled, "Thanks Peter."

"No problem." She had to have superpowers.

:+:+:+:+:

Saturday

I entered the ESU with Gwen as she took me there, Eddie was there as he had work.

"Bro! How's hanging!" A giant smile on the tall muscular bound college student. After Jarvis he looked positively small, but he was still taller than me. He walked up and hi-fived Gwen and clasped forearms. I never understood why he did that greeting, but it was cool.

"Not too bad."

"Flash still giving you the up and up, I see you still have your shoes," he grinned.

"I think he likes to sniff socks more so than the sneakers," returning the expression.

"Come on, I'll introduce you guys." He walked us over to a family of three. A shaved blonde guy in a lab coat with a metal prosthetic for his right arm, he had a soft smile as he wrote in his notepad and typed something on the computer with his right. His name was Dr Conners, and his wife Martha Conners who was the redhead watching a little blonde haired kid was like them riding around on his skateboard must be their kid.

They stopped what they were doing when they noticed and came to greet us. Pleasantries were exchanged Doctor Conner said, "Feel free to take a look around, we'll be in our office if you need us," and started to walk there.

I jogged and caught up with them, "I actually have a proposition for you."

I laid out what I had been planning getting everyone in one the idea, "That's not… a bad plan. But I would need to see prototypes and at least a base plan for what you want exactly," as Doctor Conner pulled away from the group and we had been talking serious business in his office. His wife had joined us not too long afterwards. I was essentially a businessman and him my client.

Basically, it was similar to an old social media site called LinkedIn from my world where instead of business associates this would be more under, 'Anyone in Academia or Pursues Knowledge'.

That was the easy sell, the harder one would be the selling them easy to use and repair inventions than the ridiculously overpriced ones they currently had, at a lower cost in return for endorsements of both the site and the inventions that I used.

"Show us what you have."

I pulled them out from the backpack I had been carrying them in. They checked them over quietly asking questions when needed, and once finished they sighed and asked for some privacy. Ten minutes later, Doctor Conners had been scratching his head with the metallic arm he had as a prosthetic.

He sighed as his wife elbowed him with a smile, "Son, you had us from the start."

I grinned as we shook on it. Sweet I was rich now. Alright maybe no rich, but it was a start.

"Something I wanted to mention before, why haven't you shown this to the hospitals, you'd make a killing from how many lives it would save."

"...I need to patent it still, which is still in the process, and two," I coughed, "I didn't think about it until you mentioned it."

He snorted, "You'll need someone helping you organize, can't be that forgetful in business."

Once we left the office Gwen noticed us, she finished her conversation with Eddie, and asked when we had walked close enough, "What were you guys talking about?"

Conners smiled, "Peter and I made a deal…"

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise as I looked back to see a screwdriver and tool kit left strewn on the ground.

:+:+:+:+: Max

Sunday, Sept 7, 2008

I dreamed.

I was four.

An unfamiliar hallway, slamming against the wall as I ran from the monster behind me. Most kids had night terrors, fears of the dark, or random phobias of monsters under the bed.

For me, they were all too real.

I don't know when I understood, or if it really was the first time I had seen death, but I remember sitting and watching a man in a trench coat walk up to a nice couple and chat with them for a few minutes. I looked back to my toys to see if I could stack them diagonally.

When I looked up the couple was gone, and the man in the trench coat had blood dripping down his smile as he stared at me.

Time passed and I had grown used to scenes like them, grown people from all ages simply disappearing after talking to strangely dressed people or sometimes funked out animals. A poodle one second was a lion with acid breathe and a snake's tail before it disappeared.

One day I had cracked the second ever novel I have ever read. I hadn't hit puberty and my mind had still been young things and I still missed things. It was something we had been forced to read as an English Class. It had been recently popular as fantasy. It had been about modern day kids dealing with Ancient Mythology. Suddenly, everything made sense.

The monsters, disappearing people, magic spells I had seen. I wasn't delusional, they weren't the psychosis of a lonely kid who didn't have many friends. It was a massive relief.

But I hadn't really been thinking, my relief turned to horror when I realized how many people had been chased as kids, no one was really safe. The Novel had been surprisingly accurate rendition of a lot of what I had seen even if there was a lot missing like the glowing symbols floating in the air and the monsters that looked very strange even to the Greek mythos.

It didn't matter how much I read, I still couldn't do anything, I had seen people try and fight them with guns, knives, glass, signposts, huge muscles, karate, and still die.

Except two.

Once, when a kid not much older had been running from a large dog about the size of a Humvee, with glowing red eyes. He himself held a glowing gold stick.

When the dog lunged and he hit him, I realized it wasn't a stick. But a Sword. The monster dog had burst blood, and howled a dying cry before collapsing and dropping dead on the spot crashing into him.

Another when some kid had gotten to close to the river and he had shouted something. A glowing word floated in front of him and fried the tentacle.

I didn't want to be next, not when I had finally figured out why they had never targeted me over the others, but that didn't mean they wouldn't soon. I had to be ready, like Batman and Spider-Man comic we had in our class. They won using their minds and being prepared.

I knew what I had to do.

:+:+:+:+:

I woke up.

I blinked, rubbing my eyes in the glow of the full moon.

That was a nightmare, no a memory from my alternate. Even with my alternate's memories I hadn't retained everything, there were large missing spots. Memories people took for granted or some that were simply repressed due to time, it explained a lot of who he was and the kind of world he had lived in.

Now I was sure it was a variant on an old story 'he' had read in that world, which was a strange thing. Originally, I thought he had lived in a completely fantastical world, since that's what his most recent memories had pointed to. It was surprising where he had started out.

I quickly wrote down the dream memory in case I had forgotten, it might come in handy later. If I didn't forget that was.

It was very close to Percy Jackson stories, but there were massive diveragences and differences in the world. Excluding that, he himself wasn't even a Half-blood or anything like it, he seemed to be entirely human with only possessing Clear Sight with how little the Mist had affected him.

He came across few people like him that could fight, and most of nearly everything was trying to kill him, this time a little more than normal.

Though there was also something about how Hecate created a lot of the Mist in the Mortal world. It was vague but the definition was something like 'a veil between the supernatural and mundane warping the perception of mortals to see things into their view of reality'.

Which now that I thought about it was rather bullshit.

This proved to me further that I had only gotten his memories and not anything else, because in his more recent memories he had gotten a strangely multi-coloured glowing sword and had been incredibly skilled at it. His vision had also mutated for some reason. He was definitely not normal. I didn't have his vision, even in the mundane he had a type of ability to see the unseen, almost clues or things that others would miss piercing sub dimensions.

In essence, I had none of his original abilities.

Which sucked because the eye ability was cool as shit. He seemed to be unique in that regard as well since I hadn't seen anyone else in his memories with one.

I yawned, putting away the book and went back to sleep. Ah, well, his monster fighting days weren't as important as his memories reading spider-man and marvel comics, those would be a lot more handy.

I rolled over and went back to sleep.

:+:+:+:+: