Chapter - 5

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Chapter - 5: A Universe of My Own

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[Midtown High School]

Midtown High School is a public school located in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York City.

I doubt there's anyone who doesn't know it, right? From the famous Spider-Man comic and TV series. The high school that seems to contain every teenage superhero/villain with a load of hormonal problems.

It's a mystery how it's still standing, considering from my memories, I had fought here many times last year against Lizard, Shocker, and plenty of other minor villains who weren't all that important.

As usual, I was the first to arrive in front of the school. Not that it was anything new, of course. After all, I had to keep up appearances as the perfect nerdy student to have a chance at skipping a grade.

Graduation was just around the corner, and I was already thinking of ways to get rich and ensure both mine and May's safety. For the time being, I planned to continue with Peter's previous projects, so that by the time I graduated, I wouldn't be treated like an amateur.

It shouldn't be too difficult, considering I was Peter Parker, one of the most naturally gifted and brilliant minds in the entire Marvel Universe. I had access to everything Peter had learned throughout his life, and my prodigy-level intellect, combined with an almost photographic memory, made it easy to absorb topics and subjects that had previously been foreign to me.

It was almost like I had become the new Doctor Octopus and taken over Peter's mind in an attempt to become the "Superior Spider-Man" or some other nonsense like that.

Though for the moment, I definitely wasn't a damn villain.

I quickly learned that, in this world, Peter was incredibly intelligent, just like in the comics. The kind of smart where, if pushed far enough, he could become the next Doctor Doom, given enough time, of course.

He hid most of his intelligence because he was afraid of being even more of an outcast than he already was, which was stupid in a way. But, since he was a teenager, I could somewhat understand it.

The feeling of having so much more brainpower was startling, to say the least. My mind was working at a pace I wasn't used to, yet I had no problem keeping up.

After all, it was my new brain.

I wondered how the hell this had happened. How did I end up in this body? If the Marvel Universe was real, did that mean all those cosmic entities outside this universe were very real too?

Who exactly was Atlach-Nacha? Had they put me in Peter's body just to see what would happen? A test, perhaps? I sighed. I didn't know what to think, so I decided to head to my classroom.

I sat down, without much ceremony, right next to Gwen. Her scent hit me immediately thanks to my enhanced senses—a subtle fragrance of flowers that I honestly liked.

We didn't say anything at first, but the silence between us wasn't awkward at all. I caught her gaze and noticed the way her eyes sparkled, which made me wonder if she had a crush on me.

Over time, more people started arriving. Mary Jane, Liz Allan, Sally Avril among the girls. Flash Thompson and his followers Rand Robertson, Kenny Kong, and Hobie Brown.

I remembered them because they were sometimes involved with me. But I usually avoided trouble, even though it was quite hard not to engage in some mischievous act and compromise my reputation as a nerd.

And so many other secondary characters that, even with my abilities, I barely remembered. I had to keep up with my new identity and searched through my memories to learn all their names.

At first, I tried to figure out what kind of world I was in. You know, classic Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, maybe one of the Spider-Man movie universes? I found out that this world was similar to the comics.

In fact, I had ended up in a world more akin to the comics. Judging by the events involving Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, with a school for young gifted individuals—it was honestly very easy to find out with a simple internet search.

I'd say the timeline is a mix of the comics and a bit of Spectacular Spider-Man—it's definitely a new timeline. I don't mind it this way, though, as it might save me from all that canon event nonsense.

Well, my uncle was already dead and had spoken the famous words that over time the editors exploited to make Spider-Man increasingly isolated, thus making him more recognizable.

But there were some things that didn't add up in this world, and many of these things were about my parents dying in a car accident, or at least that's what the police told my aunts and uncles.

But those were thoughts to push aside for now, as I had more pressing matters to deal with. I needed to fully integrate into the life of the individual known as Peter Parker.

The eyes of others were filled with sympathy and curiosity, but I simply shrugged it off. I didn't care about the sympathy from strangers. I chose to ignore them.

Another thing I was focusing on was training my body. With all the powers the original Peter was endowed with, one would think he would have tried to make the most of them, right?

Yet, unfortunately, the original Peter had barely scratched the surface of the potential lying dormant in his body. Learning combat and physical training were at the top of my priority list.

In the Marvel world, power levels were literally off the charts. World-destroying events could happen at any moment, and interdimensional beings could appear out of nowhere to wreak havoc, maybe just because they were bored.

Additionally, in Marvel, there is Ki or Chi. The Ancient One uses it, and obviously, Iron Fist and the monks who trained him use it to enhance themselves, fighting at a near-meta level, like in the old Chinese martial arts movies.

If I could tap into this power or find a teacher to help me master it, not only would I improve my overall control, but I would also become a much more formidable character.

I needed to become stronger. Otherwise, I would be crushed and relegated to the sidelines, unable to do anything or protect the people I cared about. This thought kept circling in my mind as I tried to figure out how to fully integrate into Peter Parker's life.

I had access to all his intelligence, his potential, and his responsibilities. It wasn't just about being Spider-Man; it was about becoming the best Spider-Man I could be—or at least that was my goal that kept me going for now.

I had a lot to work on...

My next step was to continue interning at one of the leading industries. The Baxter Building had been Peter's best opportunity, and continuing the internship there would give me access to all the necessary tools, along with funds and privacy to work on my future personal projects independently.

Naturally...

Now, looking at the appearances more closely, I noticed something. Are they all cute here? At least the ones relevant to the plot. Mostly women, with an emphasis on Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy. It was as if everyone had a comic book charm advantage.

Mary Jane... damn, she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. And I can say this with certainty, considering all the wonderful women Peter had tried to "interact" with over the past year.

No wonder she's Spider-Man's main love interest.

But as much as MJ truly desired Peter Parker, she had never managed to handle his dual identity. She loved the man behind the mask, but the weight of being involved with Spider-Man was too much.

Her constant absences, the secrets, and the dangers that came with that life always kept her on the edge, torn between loving Peter and struggling to accept all that being part of his world entailed.

I didn't even want to talk about One More Day...

Or worse... Paul.

Essentially, Spider-Man is just the mask he hides behind. She chooses the one she loves, and she always chooses Peter, not Spider-Man. (Instead, Gwen would be perfect; they are compatible in every single world... ugh Miles.)

After all, in many parallel universes, MJ is a cheerleader or an aspiring celebrity who chases after the rich guy like Harry or the cool guy like Flash. Peter was never the "hot" guy, at least not until he was bitten by the spider that gave him his powers.

In this universe, Peter didn't have many close friends. Even Harry Osborn had become more of a study buddy or bully than a true friend after Peter neglected him due to his Spider-Man life.

Mary Jane, at most, could be considered a friend, so no romantic relationship was on the horizon, at least not for now. From this point on, I would be the one to decide what would happen.

He had been, frankly, a very lonely guy, and the last year had only made the situation worse. His life had become incredibly stressful, especially with J.J. Jameson hounding him in nearly every universe, and people even labeling him as a threat.

But this time, I was here... And I knew I was strong enough to face and handle whatever this universe could throw at me. Or, at least, I would prepare myself to the best of my abilities to be ready when that moment came.

The rest of the class passed without any noteworthy events. I used that time simply to observe the people of interest and see how they were doing.

No surprises...

No one approached to talk or interact with me. Heh, perfect. I had no intention of going up to anyone; for now, I didn't need anyone trying to include me in their group out of pity.

After all, I had no intention of being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Nor was I the famous Peter Benjamin Parker of Earth-616, or even Miles Morales, one of the most powerful Spider-Men from various parallel worlds, who surely still had a lot to show in his hero life.

And certainly not Miguel O'Hara (2099).

I was an existence that shouldn't have existed, a new singularity inserted into the Marvel universe that just wanted to live a decent life without some higher entity depriving me of my happiness.

In any case, it was completely pointless to keep asking myself the same question... No one was going to give me an answer. I knew that well, and honestly, I didn't want anyone to bother helping me at this point.

Sigh.

I didn't even have the chance to delve further into my thoughts. I felt a slight tingle at the base of my neck, a warning signal that caught my attention as a football flew toward my head.

*PAH!*

The ball came flying at me, but with a quick movement, I ducked as if I were picking something up from the ground. Of course, the ball didn't hit me. Even if it had, it wouldn't have affected me. My physique was more resilient than anyone there could imagine.

I would have been surprised if it had managed to hurt me.

"Ooh~ Nice throw!" Kenny Kong, one of Flash's cronies, exclaimed, trying to hype up the moment as if he were celebrating a big win in a video game. His voice echoed across the courtyard, seeking approval from his friends as they laughed and exchanged satisfied glances.

However, his enthusiasm quickly faded when the ball, thrown with excessive force and poor accuracy, completely missed its intended target and headed toward a different one:

It was poor Aaron Warren, our biology teacher. The ball hit Aaron square in the face, sending his glasses flying and causing him to stumble backward from the impact.

The courtyard fell into an embarrassed silence. The smiles on Flash and his friends' faces vanished, and the mood shifted drastically. Aaron Warren, visibly irritated and with a disapproving expression, stood up, rubbing his nose and adjusting his glasses with jerky movements.

His eyes, filled with stern disappointment, settled on them. "It was you two, wasn't it?" he asked, his voice taut and authoritative as he tried to regain control of the situation.

Flash, clearly caught off guard and flustered, stammered an apology: "Mr. Warren, I... didn't mean to..."

"Quiet!" Aaron interrupted firmly. "If you think it's funny to throw balls at people's faces, you're gravely mistaken. Both of you, Kenneth McFarlane and Eugene Thompson, come to my classroom after school. You're in detention."

Kenny was left speechless, his face shifting from red with embarrassment to pale with concern. Even Flash seemed to want to protest, but Aaron Warren was unyielding. He shot them one last harsh look before walking away, leaving us to stare at each other with a sense of defeat.

"Well done, Kenny," I said sarcastically as I prepared to head towards my locker. "Really masterful shot."

Kenny looked at me with an expression of dejection and couldn't respond, while Flash and the rest of the group slowly dispersed, their initial enthusiasm now completely gone.

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Marvel: I'm Spider-Man in this Damn Reincarnation: 3 advanced chapters

Osmosian Sorcerer?: 3 advanced chapters

Son of Li Qiye?: 3 advanced chapters

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Chapter - 6: Jessica Jones - Chapter - 7: Way of Spider - Chapter - 8: Spider

Chapter - 15: Bloom - Chapter - 16: Demon Sorcerers - Chapter - 17: Onmyoji

 Chapter - 6: Wind Lightning Emperor Inheritance - Chapter - 7: Hobby - Chapter - 8: New Hunt

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