Chapter 10

Unbeknown to Peter, the room he's in enhances one's dreams, tapping into the deepest recesses of the subconscious and helping it process. As he drifts off to sleep, images and memories flood his mind. He sees the faces of all those he has known and helped. The ones he failed to save are there, too—not judging or glaring, just there.

It's uncomfortable to see his life presented so objectively—his triumphs and failures are there for him to see. It weighs him down, but amidst the turmoil of his past, a new vision emerges. He sees MJ's smirk, hears Ned's laugh, and feels Aunt May kiss his forehead, along with the smell of Uncle Ben's pancakes. He can feel their love and support as he stands tall, fighting side by side with heroes from all corners of the universe.

When Peter wakes up the next morning, he feels different. The weight pressing down on him seemed lighter, replaced by a newfound resolve. He knows that the road ahead will be fraught with challenges and dangers, but for the first time in a long while, he feels ready to face them head-on.

"Sweet dreams, huh," he murmurs to the air. He turns around, intending to stand up, when he sees a small piece of paper on top of the nightstand next to the bed. He picks it up and cannot help but laugh at what he sees.

"So the sorcerers do have wifi working around here."

He's about to stand up when he hears a sudden noise outside the window. It sounds almost like an animal in pain. Curious and cautious, Peter gets up from the bed and approaches the window, peering out into the darkness of the night.

To his surprise, he saw a cat lurking in the shadows of the garden below. The creature seems distressed, looking around as if caught in some invisible trap.

Peter's instincts kick in immediately. Despite his exhaustion, he knows he can't ignore a being in need. With a deep breath, he opens the window and leaps out into the garden, landing gracefully beside the creature.

"Hey there, little one," Peter says softly, trying not to startle it. "Are you alright? Can I help you?"

He feels stupid for talking with a cat like that, but the creature seems to understand him, so maybe this is a magical cat or something, maybe a familiar if those exist.

The cat sniffs at him and perks out at whatever he finds in his scent, reminding him he hasn't gotten a shower in two days.

Embarrassed by the cat's continued smelling around, he says, "Sorry if I stink, little fella. I just haven't got time to get a shower."

He picks up the cat, noticing now the collar it's wearing. Looking at it, he reads it out loud. "Goose, huh? That's a weird name to have." The cat doesn't seem to like that as he stops sniffing him. "Er, sorry."

He shakes his head, not believing he's really apologizing to a cat. However, the cat nods, looking like he accepts the apology, and then he opens his mouth... and it keeps opening. He can see a dark hole and tentacles and soon, they're touching him.

Hoping his life doesn't become a cheap hentai, he closes his eyes and stays in place. This is mostly because his Spider-sense is not reacting. He doesn't know if it's because it doesn't know how to react or because it's too weird a situation to analyze properly.

Anyway, after a couple of traumatizing seconds, the tentacles leave. When he opens his eyes, grateful he thought of wearing the suit before going out, he finds himself full of spit and the cat back to normal, picking one of its paws.

"I think I'm traumatized," he says numbly.

The cat meows as it rubs against his legs. Peter resists the urge to shudder as he grabs the not-cat and carries it into his room. He leaves it on the bed and goes to the small bathroom beside the drawer.

He's glad to find a shower inside.

Not taking the suit off, he first lets the water clean the saliva from it. Then he takes it away and showers as he normally does.

When he goes out, he doesn't see the cat. He thinks of it as something to ask the Ancient One later as he grabs the ring and opens a portal to New York, ready for some patrolling.

When he exits the portal, he notices it's night again. That means he's slept for around twelve hours.

It is the most satisfying sleep he's gotten in a long while, and Peter is not that paranoid to be suspicious when the Ancient One has given him enough clues to know who is responsible.

At least, he tries not to be too paranoid. He doesn't want to go down that rabbit hole to add to his other problems. However, as Peter swings through the city, he still can't help but replay the events in his mind. The dreams and the encounter with the mysterious cat named Goose left him unsettled, more so because of his suspiciously silent Spider-sense.

He can't shake the feeling that there is more to Goose than meets the eye. Anyway, he tries to push those thoughts aside to focus on keeping the city safe.

As he nears a familiar rooftop, where he used to rest whenever he was tired in his home world, his Spider-sense suddenly tingled, alerting him to danger nearby. Without hesitation, he drops down to find a group of armed robbers attempting to break into a jewelry store.

"Hey, guys," he says in a light tone. "Didn't your parents teach you stealing is bad?"

They turn around, but it's too late. Peter swings into action with quick reflexes and agile movements, disarming the criminals and webbing them up for the authorities.

"Edith-"

"Already called the police, Peter."

He nods, and sure enough, he can hear the sounds of police cars nearby as they come to take the robbers into custody.

Peter can't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. Usually accompanied by the weight of guilt he tries to diminish, this time, it feels lighter, not as heavy. Despite the weirdness of what's happened, being Spider-Man and helping others is where he truly belongs.

However, there is no time to dwell on it now as he lands on a rooftop, surveying the city below for any signs of trouble.

Just as he is about to move on to his next patrol point, his attention is caught by a video Edith shows him of a man wearing all black as he fights what looks like ninjas.

He blinks slowly. The fight is more of a dance, but while the guy in black is holding himself well enough against that many ninjas, he knows he will tire eventually.

"According to what I managed to analyze, from fighting style to modus operandi, the man in black is Daredevil," Edith says, her voice snapping him to the present.

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Wanna read more than ten additional chapters? Go to my p@treon (Jorieds) ;D

Ciao!