Chapter Text
Gwen appeared in Manhattan. She felt a bit hungry, so she went down the avenue to find a coffee shop. She entered Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop and ordered a coffee and a donut. She ate as she was trying to wrap her mind around about the event that happened in the forest earlier. She never knew the multiverse was real. Of course, she heard theories about it, but they were never confirmed until now.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a woman with red hair walked into the shop. She ordered a cup of coffee and stood by the window while waiting. She saw the woman staring right at her. Once she received her drink, she moved forward, assuming the blonde was lonely.
“Hello!” she said in a cheery voice. She extended a hand. “I’m Mary Jane Watson!”
Gwen smiled and shook her hand. “Hello, Mary Jane. I’m Gwen Stacy.”
On the outside, Mary Jane was smiling, but on the inside, she froze. Gwen Stacy? “I’m sorry, did you say your name is Gwen Stacy?”
“Yes.” The blonde narrowed her eyes. “Do you know someone who has the same name as me?”
Mary Jane thought about it. She could lie to the younger woman, but something inside her told her to be honest. Oh, what the hell? “Actually, I do. She has blonde hair like you, has green eyes, unlike you who has blue eyes, and she used to date a guy name -“
“Peter Parker?” Gwen finished her sentence.
“How did you know that?”
Gwen looked around her surroundings. The place wasn’t completely empty, it had some customers. But she wanted to be alone with the older woman. “Let’s take this outside.” The two exited the shop. Mary Jane drank her coffee as she and Gwen talked about the multiverse. “Tell me, Mary Jane, what do you know about the multiverse?”
“The multiverse? Mm, not so much. But my friend, Peter Parker, has his theories. He said it’s something that we shouldn’t be ‘playing’ with it.”
“Yes. Sometimes, the multiverse could be dangerous. It is a concept in which we know frighteningly little.”
Mary Jane nodded and drew back the conversation from the shop. “So, how did you know I know a Gwen Stacy who dated Peter Parker?”
Gwen chuckled. “This’ll sound crazy and shocking, but I am a variant of the Gwen Stacy of your universe.”
“Y-You are?”
“Mhm.”
“But you’re not my variant, right?”
“No. Our worlds’ Peter Parker is another example. I ran into his variant in a forest while fighting an electric man and a sand man.”
“Was he a teenager and wore a Spider-Man suit?”
“Yes. Wait, you know him?”
“Yeah. I saw him fighting an octopus man on a bridge. The villain was the same person my Peter fought. I guess this is his universe.” Gwen nodded. “But the question is how and why did he brought us here.”
“Not sure. Maybe he had this sense that he needs our help. Maybe he needs help from not just people of his world, but also from other worlds.”
“I guess.” The older woman giggled. “I bet if our Peter Parkers were also teleported here, I’m sure the three would’ve been the best of friends.”
Gwen laughed. “Yeah. I can see that happening.”
Daytime turned into night quickly as the two got to know each other better. They talked about their lives and what it was like to be an ally of their respective Spider-Man. It began to pour once they arrived in Times Square. They looked at a building where a news reporter named J. Jonah Jameson blamed the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man for the tragic event that neither the two women knew of.
“Tragedy. What else to call it? What more need be said? The damage, the destruction. You saw it with your own eyes. When will people wake up and realize that everywhere Spider-Man goes, chaos and calamity ensue? Everything Spider-Man touches comes to ruin. And we, the innocents, are left to pick up the pieces. J. Jonah Jameson reporting. Good night, and God help us all.”
The two were confused. Where did those come from? The following news answered their questions. There was a huge fight in a condo (obviously, Spider-Man was involved), owned by a man named Happy Hogan. The place was brutally damaged and one person was killed: a woman named May Parker.
“That poor kid,” Mary Jane sympathized.
“We need to find him,” Gwen said. “We’ll be his company and we’ll comfort him, after hearing his aunt’s loss.”
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The two women were searching for Peter. They tried to look in apartments, (suggested by Mary Jane, whose Peter lived in an apartment), but he wasn’t there. Eventually, they found him on a rooftop of Midtown Science High School. They wanted to call his name, but they let him talk with his friends and…their Peter Parkers? Did they also got pulled into this universe?
“I - I lost Gwen,” the middle-aged Peter said. “She was my MJ. I couldn’t save her. I’m never gonna be able to forgive myself for that.”
Gwen cried along. It must have been hard for her Peter to get over her death. He probably gave up being Spider-Man for months.
“…But then at one point, I just stopped pulling my punches. I got rageful. I got bitter. I just don’t want you to end up like - like me.”
Next, the oldest Peter began to talk about his Uncle Ben’s killer. “I wanted him dead. I got what I wanted. It didn’t make it better.”
Mary Jane remembered the times when her Peter got the symbiote and turned into something he’s not. Him and Flint Marko fought underground and “killed” Flint in the sewers. When he told his Aunt May about it, she was disappointed. Before her ex-boyfriend Harry Osborn’s death, Peter finally forgave Flint.
“It took me a long time to…get through that darkness.”
The subject changed to the youngest Peter talking about his Aunt May. “Even after she was hurt, she said to me that we did the right thing. She told me, ‘with great power’ -“
Older Peter finished his sentence. “…Comes great responsibility.” He looked at the man next to him. Middle-aged Peter gave him a small nod in return.
“How did you know that?”
“Uncle Ben said it,” the tallest man said.
“The day he died,” the shorter man said. “Maybe she didn’t die for nothing, Peter.”
The youngest Peter nodded. He believed in his older variants since they went through the same thing as him.
“Well, since we’re all here, do you think you can help us cure the villains?” MJ asked. “We’d really appreciate the support.”
The older Spider-Men smiled and nodded. “Yes, of course.”
Mary Jane grabbed Gwen by the arm and pulled her away.
“What was that?” Gwen said in a hushed tone.
Mary Jane shushed her as the gang, one by one, landed on the ground. The group stared at the building, thinking of a way in.
“Any ideas?” this universe’s Peter said.
“Oh, I got this,” the tallest man said confidently.
He found a rock on the ground and threw it at a window from a far distance. He grinned at the three friends as his idea worked. The older man cleared his throat. He somehow managed to unlock the door and opened it. The second oldest Peter awkwardly entered the building with a mumbled “thank you” to his variant. Everyone else followed him and closed the door.
“Are you going to answer my question now?” the blonde said.
“I did that so they wouldn’t see us,” the older woman said. “Especially your boyfriend who lost you in the past.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Don’t you think we should be helping them?”
“No way! I’ve already bumped into my Peter’s villain before and there’s no way I’m gonna do that again!”
“Come on, MJ. We should be encouraging the little guy. I mean, he’s a kid. He’s too young to go through a deep depression.”
“Oh, all right.” The two opened the door (thankfully, wasn’t locked) and went into the school.
—————————————————————————————————————————
The three spiders, Ned, and MJ found a chemistry classroom to work on the antidotes. Peter-One gathered all the stuff they needed.
“Oh, I got Connors,” Peter-Three said. “I already cured him once, so no big deal.” The two variants stared at the middle-aged man blankly. “What? It’s no big deal.”
“Great,” Peter-Two said.
Peter-Three awkwardly went to his work station.
“I think I can make an antiserum for Dr. Osborn. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.” He looked at his youngest variant. “Gotta cure them all. Right? Cuz it’s what we do.”
While making the antidotes, Peter-Three saw Peter-One nuzzling his girlfriend. He was happy for the two. Really, he was and wished them a great future together. But he admits he was jealous and wished Gwen was still alive.
Peter-Two caught his counterpart’s gaze. “You have someone?”
He looked at him. “No. I guess I don’t have time for Peter Parker stuff, y’know?” The older man smiled in understanding. “Do you?”
“Well, it’s kinda…complicated.”
“No, I understand. I guess it’s just not in the cards for guys like us.”
“Well, I wouldn’t give up. Took a while, but we made it work. Me and…MJ.” Peter-Three’s eyes widened. “My MJ. It gets confusing, huh?” The two shared a chuckle and went back to work.
—————————————————————————————————————————
The women searched every room of the school to find the group. They saw a room that’s lights were turned on. The door was locked. Mary Jane knocked on the door. A short kid answered.
“Hello!” the redhead said. “Is Peter Parker here?”
Ned turned at the three Spideys. He calls out, “Peter!”
All three got up from their seats and answered together. “Yeah? Oh, sorry. Did you mean…?” They pointed at each other.
“Peter Peter.”
“We’re all Peter Peter.”
“Peter Parker.”
“Same thing.”
Before Ned confused and frustrated them more, Gwen walked into the room. “Peter?”
Peter-Three looked at the blonde with teary eyes. Is this a dream? “Gwen?”
Mary Jane stepped in. “Peter?”
So did Peter-Two. “MJ!”
The two Peters hugged their respective girlfriends. Peter-Three and Gwen were the most emotional ones. “I thought I lost you…” he mumbled.
“Uh, what’s happening?” Ned said.
Mary Jane was the first to break the embrace. “I’m Mary Jane Watson, Peter’s friend.”
Gwen was the second. “And I’m Gwen Stacy, Peter’s girlfriend.”
MJ looked at Peter-Three. “This is the girl you were talking about?” The variant nodded.
“I recognize you two,” Peter-One said. “I met Mary Jane on the bridge and Gwen in the forest. I was catching the villains. I think I know how I pulled you girls here. Yesterday, when my friend, Doctor Strange, casted the spell, I didn’t mentioned MJ, who’s my girlfriend -“
MJ was offended. “Hey!”
“And that’s why you’re here.” The teen rubbed his head sheepishly. “Heh, sorry.”
“It’s cool,” Gwen said. “I’m sure my Peter would’ve done the same thing.”
Peter-Three scoffed. “Yeah, right.”
Mary Jane changed the topic. “Anyways, Gwen and I are here to help you. We heard your conversation earlier and we would be more than happy to accomplish your mission curing the villains.”
Peter-One smiled. “Sure. The more the merrier.”
Peter-Three looked at his older counterpart. “So are you going into battle dressed as a cool, youth pastor or you got your suit?” Peter-Two pulled down his teal shirt, revealing his Spider-Man suit.
Ned handed his teen friend his web chambers. “What’s that?” Peter-Two asked.
Peter-One replied, “Oh, it’s my web fluid. It’s for my web shooters. Why?”
The oldest Peter fired a web at four test tubes. Everyone but him and Mary Jane exclaimed in shock and amusement. “Whoa!”
“That came out of you,” Ned pointed out.
“Yeah,” the man said. “You can’t do that, huh?”
“No,” the teen spider responded.
The second oldest moved forward to his variant, staring at his wrists. “How on Earth does that even…?”
“Anyways, we’re getting sidetracked here.” He showed the group his plan on how to cure the villains. The Statue of Liberty will be taking place for their final battle. “All we have to do is figure out how to get there.”
“We could portal there,” Ned suggested.
MJ agreed. “Yeah, he’s right. He can.” The older Spider-Men nodded.
Peter-One was amazed. “No way! All right, then. Here we go.” He looked at his girlfriend. “What’s that thing you always say? ‘Expect disappointment and -‘“
“No, no, no. We’re gonna kick some ass.”
“Cure,” Peter-Two corrected her. “Cure some ass.”
Ned nodded. “Cure that ass.”