D-Day

'Life can be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.'

 - Soren Kierkegaard

***

The seasons passed like falling leaves. Slow yet unbearably fast. 

One could only understand how fast time moved when looking back.

And so, 7 years went by in the blink of an eye.

- RIIII~ Click!

The moment the alarm rang out, it was turned off by a slender arm.

Peter got up from the bed, his hair untamed and eyes restless. Heavy bags bore down under his hazel eyes, corresponding to his anticipation.

A month had gone by since highschool began. Like the original story, Peter joined Midtown Highschool. And today was the day.

The date of the class trip of Hogw-Ahem, Oscorp Tour!

Throwing off the blanket, Peter jumped to his feet. The room had started to feel smaller as he had grown sufficiently.

Days of training and good diet had increased his mass and muscle density. Though he couldn't beat an average, adult woman, he was sure to bully any kids that came his way.

After all, there was no water as sweet as the tears of the cutesy kid down the block. Her misery would be his joy.

'Right, I need to babysit her again next week,' Peter smiled at the thought of bullying her again. It was the payment since he didn't charge for this type of a job.

However, there was no time for pleasure. This day was strictly business.

He scurried off to the washroom, preparing for the trials.

In the mirror of the washroom, a young boy stood proud. Slight muscles could be noticed on his body.

While his vibrant eyes weren't dulled by the weary, harsh nights. A chuckled escaped his lips as he admired his own handsomeness. Narcissist wouldn't be the right word for it since he was truly handsome and charming.

Moving on quickly, Peter rushed to the kitchen, fixing up a healthy breakfast for his aunts.

- Sizzle!

Two stoves were turned on simultaneously. One for the scrambled eggs while the other heated the bacon. He also shoved the toast in the toaster while taking out the ingredients for a simple cheese sandwich. Boiling a coffee pot on the other side.

Multitasking with food could be dangerous but he was used to it. Cooking had become second nature because of the experience from the past 5 years.

Peter was already ready to be independent, Spider-Man's moniker did come at a cost. A destiny of pain and suffering. A lonely, desolate life was better for the kind, young hero.

The subtle, aromatic scent filled the air, waking up the slumbering giants from their sleep.

As the boy cleaned the dining table and put down the dishes, two women walked out of their bedroom.

"Pete, what did you make today?" Aunt Bea licked her lips in excitement. Her previously healthy figure became a bit rotound, revealing a pot-belly.

"Honey, I think you should go on a walk sometimes, instead of devouring Peter's food everyday."

Aunt May chided her wife. Though she too had put on weight. Luckily, the women in this world didn't care about such things. Weight had nothing to do with their daily lives, not hindering their appetite in any manner.

May, similar to Bea, had aged a bit in the past 7 years. Her hair turned grey in various spots. Time was the natural enemy of beauty.

Nevertheless, their heavy bodies were mostly attributed to the delicious, savory food they ate on a daily basis.

Peter looked at the duo and glanced at his hands, 'What have I done? It wouldn't be a surprise if these two died because of a Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack). Is that how they will die in this world?'

The young man had done his best to help his family, especially knowing that his aunts had taken him in after the death of his parents.

It would be sad if a villain spooked them, killing them painfully as their arteries were blocked, sending their bodies in shock.

Yeah, that would be more funny than sad, thus, not possible. Everyone knows that each loss in Spider-Man's life has to be painful and agonizing. Sometimes, the consequences of their own actions.

"Jeez, you two need to exercise daily," Peter shook his head in exasperation, "It's like I'm taking care of two kids."

For some reason, Aunt Bea agreed with him, nodding her head like a hen.

Aunt May smiled and sat down, "You will make a good husband one day, Peter."

Tears filled her eyes as she continued, "You were so small. I feel like it was just yesterday when I had you in my arms."

Peter felt his right eye twitch because of the drama. They were having a normal breakfast and it swiftly transformed into a soap opera that Aunt Bea watched.

"Come on, May. Every bird has to fly and leave the nest," Aunt Bea patted Aunt May, kissing her head, "Our bird is flying fa-"

- Thud!

Yeah, Peter wasn't wasting his time on that, 'Spider, here I come!'

Aunt May looked up, not seeing Peter around, "Did we do something to make him leave?"

'Not we, sweetie. It was you,' Aunt Bea thought to herself but didn't say anything. She didn't want to sleep on the couch tonight so she simply took a sip of the coffee and kept her mouth shut.

.

.

.

An elderly woman was carrying some grocery bags to her home. Holding 3-4 bags in each hand, filled to the brim with some essentials.

A paper bag rest above both her hands, obscuring her view of the front.

No one helped her. Probably used to the cold nature of this cement jungle, the lady didn't judge others either.

"Let me help!"

A familiar, young voice entered her ears as Peter grabbed the paper bag for her.

"Do you want me to pick up those too, Miss Rui?" He pointed at the carrybags on her hand but she shook her head, "No, I will be fine, Peter."

The boy before Rui, had helped her on several occasions before. There wasn't any hint of greed in his eyes, instead they were warm and comforting.

'Ha~ If only I had a son like him,' Rui shook her head, 'Rather I have that troublesome daughter freeloading off me.'

There was no one in the suburban region of Queens, that didn't know Peter Parker.

From mowing lawns for free to helping cats get down from trees, the young boy had a hand in every single business.

At the start, Peter helped others because he didn't want them to trouble him if his identity ever got out. But soon, his mind took a 180 turn when he saw their grateful smiles, thanking him sincerely.

Since then, he had done this 'volunteering' from the bottom of his heart. Even if they would hate him, if and when his identity got out, he wouldn't regret helping them.

"How's school going for you, Peter?"

Rui tried her hand at small talk. Her daughter had begun ignoring her more and more, leaving her quite lonely.

"I'm actually in highschool now. Ned is dating his 5th..." Peter thought about his friend's popularity before speaking, "Maybe 6th girlfriend." 

"Oh, Gwen is stuck admiring lizards as usual, which shouldn't even be a surprise now. It would scary if she gave up on them. Don't know what she will obsess on after that. And MJ has been designing some clothes for me to wear, which are itchy to say the least. Nothing out of the ordinary, if you ask me."

Peter shrugged, "What about you?"

The older woman sighed and shook her head, "The days are getting colder and shorter. What do they call it? Ah~ Global warming, it is becoming a pain to deal with."

She didn't tell him about her loneliness as it wasn't something he needed to be burdened with, 'He already has his friends and studies. He looks all-grown up now.'

Like Aunt May, Rui was also getting emotional. 

Her tears were wiped away roughly, not revealing them to anyone.

But Peter saw them anyway, 'Is it just me? Or is something really wrong going on? It makes me feel like I will die today?'

There was that thing too. A slim chance that the spider bite may kill him and not mutate his genes, granting him spider powers.

"Oh, by the way, Miss Grace down the street, made a book clubs for retirees. You should give it a try if you are interested."

Understanding that these episodes were an effect of loneliness, Peter pointed her to Grace's house. Aunt May had recently left her job too, making her a bit too soppy and dramatic.

"I can introduce you if you want." It wasn't that hard and he could earn some brownie points from both of them.

"Don't worry about me." Rui continued in a disheartened tone, "Ah! We're already here."

Her house was already in front of her. She felt a bit of regret, feeling that time moved too quickly.

"Try Miss Grace's book club once. You will definitely love it, Miss Rui!"

Peter bid her farewell with those words. He was already late and there was no telling who else would be in need of help on the way to school.

Seeing him run at full speed, Rui sighed and looked down on the note in her paper bag.

'When did he put that there?' She hadn't seen him write or add anything to her groceries.

[Miss Grace's Phone Number : 902*******

 - Give it a ring... For my sake, please!]

Scoffing at the sentimental attack, Rui smiled warmly. Her heart was grateful to the tomgirl, who was always there for others.

She took out her phone, 'This is the least I could do.'

- Riii! Clank!

"Hello, is this Miss Grace speaking?"

- Why, yes.

A heavy, british accent came from the other side. The two old women spoke for a while and hit it off. 

.

.

.

Back at highschool.

Mrs. Tracey glared at the latecomer, "So what is the excuse today, Mr. Parker? Did you help an old man cross the road? Was a kitty stuck on a tree?"

Kids snickered at those words while Peter bowed his head, standing before the class.

He raised his finger to answer her, "Actually, I just overslept. People can make mistakes, Mrs. Tracey."

That earned more laughs than Mrs. Tracey, which was probably why she glared at him, like she wanted to tear him to shreds.

"Detention after school, Parker!" She screamed with a distorted face.

'It's surprisingly lenient. For a moment, I thought she would ban me from going on the Oscorp Tour.'

Calming his tired breath, Peter walked to his seat and sat down.

"Psh! What happened? Why so tired?" Harriet bowed her head and spoke in whispers.

Peter rolled his eyes at her, the corners of his mouth slid upwards, 'As much as I hate to admit it, this dumbass has grown on me.'

"Nothing. The usual."

Harriet was baffled, "Your usual is different than others. You volunteer on weekends, help unknown people, jump in while others are getting jumped. You're more girly than I am!"

Peter almost wondered what was girly about him before realizing that this world's 'girly' meant brave and courageous. While 'boyish' meant shy and cutesy.

"Maybe you should get your gender checked."

At his words, Harriet pulled her shirt and looked down, "Hmm. Yup, guess I should."

The flat board on her chest made it harder to differentiate her from a boy. A source of her inferiority.

"Is this why I can't seduce him properly?" She mumbled under her breath.

Peter turned to her with a 'What?' expression, not hearing her mumbles. The boy didn't have his spider hearing yet.

Surprisingly, spiders had better hearing than most humans, despite the blatant lack of ear drums, which was present in most other animals.

"I asked if you were excited about the Oscorp Tour?"

Harriet changed her words, blushing slightly as she looked away.

If there was any spider sense present, it would be ringing right now. Spreading the blaring noise of love.

Oscorp Tour wasn't that important. Most kids were reluctantly heading there. Somewhat happy that they would miss an entire day's worth of classes.

To begin with, Oscorp was falling in recent years. Their reputation declined, their medicine was soon surpassed by their competitors.

The CEO of Oscorp, Norberta Osborn, did her best to quell the inner unrest but most of the investors were already pulling back. Pressuring her intensely.

Either she would make the second, better Supersoldier Serum or she would lose the company she raised from the ground up.

The radioactive spiders, currently at Oscorp, were experiments of this Supersoldier Serum project. They decided to mix vita radiation and spider venom since just one of those things wasn't deadly enough.

Soon, the class got ready and were prepped up for the tour.

The guidelines were simple. No touching, no smelling and no playing.

Everybody had to follow along with the guide or would be punished with a month-long detention.

As the students got on bus, many students from other class mixed in.

"Gwen!" Peter called out to his disciple, an decision that was taken at the spur of the moment.

Gwen smiled and walked towards him. Unlike Harriet, her growth wasn't stumped.

Her chest was filled up to the brim, forming a C-cup while her behind was plump and heart-shaped. Her beautiful figure was only dwarfed by her cool looks. She had switched to contacts, leaving her spectacles behind. Her golden hair was more lustrous as it flew with the wind.

If it were any other world, then she would be a popular kid. But most girls were only jealous of her looks in this universe.

As alluring as it was, Peter saw her nothing more than his disciple.

His mental age was way bigger than theirs and because of his past virtues, he could only keep his eyes out for a single girl. Ahem!-MJ-Ahem!

"Are you excited for the tour?! I really hope that Dr. Connors is there. My internship application is already submitted but I have yet to recieve a reply."

Oh, and Gwen became more of a chatterbox in the past years. 

Mostly because Flash Thompsdottir, her highschool bully was punished and forced to transfer. Instead of stupidly standing up to the female bully and make her bully Gwen when he wasn't around, Peter collected video evidence and proof before presenting it to the school board.

As a result, Flash had to transfer schools. Her friends never said a word because Peter scared them by using the evidence he had against them.

Gwen's highschool life had been smooth-sailing as a result. No one to bully her and she could study her lizards in peace.

Peter still wasn't so sure about her obsession with lizards. And wondered why they gave him chills.

'Finally, it's here. The D-Day!'

As the bus reached its destination, Peter glanced up at the magnificent building before him.