WHO: Ben Reilly and Peter Parker (MCU) WHEN: June 10th during the whole portal missions thingies WHERE: the wilds of Siberia WHAT: the Spiders take a break from tech rummaging to talk about some things that other Peter showing up brought to light. WARNINGS: none?
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Ben couldn’t help feeling disappointed that their mission ended up being harmless tech and, of course, then felt bad about that. Harmless tech was good. Less people in danger. More things to play with and make better facilities with. But at the same time, having something to fight would’ve been a nice stretch out and energy outlet. Especially when they were stuck in Siberia while knowing other places were in danger. One of those places being Queens. Home no matter the universe or circumstances. Plus…
Tech inventory had all this down time of standing around and fidgeting and checking things on the network which, again, a fight would be a great distraction, but instead… He glanced around before making a b-line to the younger Spider. He could just break the news on the network, but this was a band aid he prefered to rip off in person and, well, no time like the present, right? He nudged Peter with his elbow lightly before nodding his head farther out from the main cluster of tech. “How ‘bout we check the perimeter? Stretch the legs and get the blood pumping a bit more. There’s got to be something our old fogey eyes have missed.”
Peter tried not to sound aggravated when he exhaled. His whole day had gone off the rails. At least if he’d gotten to the lego party on time, he’d have had an hour earlier to hang out with kids his own age. But as it was, that was one of the least stressful parts of his day.
He waited until they were further from the group before he finally opened his mouth to speak. “So, either I have a twin brother that my parents hid from me for some reason before they died, which would just raise all kinds of questions, or someone tried to make Spider-man clones probably for nothing good. Does that about cover my options?”
Peter looked down and kicked up a small drift of snow with his foot.
Ben’s eyebrows raised and he pressed his lips together in a tight line. Well, that was one way to rip off the band-aid. He nodded slowly before he puffed out a cloud of breath.
“I mean, there’s shapeshifters too, but nah, you got it covered pretty well,” he conceded before he waved a hand at Peter. “But ok, see? Everyone always goes on about ‘why don’t you guys just say you’re twins?’ and there’s that. The whole backstory because long lost twin brother popping up has to have more to it, right? At least with the cousin explanation, people just go ‘wow that’s freaky how much you look like each other’ and leave it at that.” Which wasn’t the point. Breathing out a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair. “So, yeah, that’d be the more extended answer on how I got my powers. I’ve always had them because I was created with them.” He made a face. “So, um, sorry about freaking you out with thinking babies were getting experimented on…”
“You could have just told me,” Peter complained. But other than looking a bit sullen, he took it in stride. “Are there other clones? Did you have to fight the other clones? Am I going to get cloned do you think, or is that just in your universe? How many universes do I have clones in?”
Peter was only trying to mentally prepare himself once the day came. This all seemed like good information to have.
“I know,” Ben said before letting out a heavy sigh. “But believe or not, it’s never really a fun conversation and we have a history of not taking it well. At all. It took awhile to actually get to the brotherly levels of friendship me and my Pete have and talking about it opens a whole can of worms.” He waved a hand as if the words Peter said were still hanging in the air. “Like all those. Maybe I’m just too sensitive ‘bout it, but I always feel like it’s good to let everything else settle in before adding that on top of the pile.”
Which was rambling again. Apologetic rambling at that. And not answers to the rapid fire questioning. Looking up at the sky, he started ticking the questions off on his fingers as he answered them. “Yes, there are others, which ones depend on universes.” He grimaced. “Fighting each other is kind of a past time for us. Plus fights with Pete, but…” He shrugged. “That’d be the not taking the whole cloning thing well part. I honestly don’t know for your history and four universes that I know of. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more considering how some of the Spiders I’ve met have reacted to me.”
“Yeah. Okay.” Peter rubbed the back of his neck, trying to take everything in. Watch out for women named Gwen Stacy, he thought, and be nice to your clone if you have one. Mental notes for a future that may or may not come. “So why are you blonde?”
Parker peered at the clone.
“Nevermind. Not important. Just don’t keep the important stuff from me, okay? It just, it sort of feels like a lie. Even though I know you’re just trying to help. I mean, it’s not like the Avengers would keep something that Earth shattering— I mean— not that having a clone is Earth shattering but you know it kind of is. Like, I always wanted a brother and you’re genetically identical like a twin which is sort of basically like having a brother, even though you’re the clone of me from an alternate universe and I don’t know if that makes us genetically identical because the other other Peter doesn’t look like me so I don’t think we are—“
Ben wobbled his head back and forth. “Kinda important actually,” he admitted. “Once Pete and I were on better terms and I stayed in New York, I needed to find a way to not keep getting mistaken for him, so…” He waved a hand at his hair. “Dye job. Now it’s so much a part of me that I actually get twitchy if I go too brunette.”
He blew out a deep breath as his head ducked. He stopped so he could turn more towards Peter. “I won’t, Pete, and if I do at some point, it’s not on purpose, I swear.” Another handwave. “There’s just a lot. Some stuff I’m so used too that sometimes I forget that it might be Earth shattering. Obviously the clone thing not being one of them, but, well, not even the Avengers I work with back home know that. I think the number of people who know can fit on one hand.” He paused. “Maybe two… But I did say we were as good as brothers. And everything I said was true if… just not the whole story. I’ll be better.” His brow furrowed. “Um… which probably means mentioning something else too…”
“Uh oh,” Peter frowned. His own furrowed brow mirrored Ben’s even if they didn’t look exactly alike without taking in the age difference. “Is Aunt May okay? Are the other Peter’s kids okay? Did something happen with the Vulture? Mr. Stark? Do you know him on your world, too?”
Peter was going to ask questions until Ben gave him an answer he hadn’t asked for.
Ben’s eyebrows jumped towards his hairline at the rapid fire questions. None of which was actually what his mind had pinged on and, oh boy, that first one… He reached out and put a hand over Peter’s mouth to stop the stream of questions.
“Ok, so, a lot on your mind, but not what I meant, but here you go with the honesty thing… Your Aunt May’s okay. Pete’s kids are fine, even if it’s going to take May a long time to forgive me for missing her birthday and God help me when she remembers I missed Christmas too.” He groaned as his eyes rolled up towards the sky. “Ugh that guy. He really needs to be in a retirement home instead of flying around and worse that I had to fight a bunch of alternate universe Vultures before I left my world that made me realize mine isn’t so bad. Far as I know Tony’s as good as he can be with the whole superhero thing and, uh, yeah, I know him. He’s my paycheck.”
He took a deep breath after that word string before he locked his eyes with the teenager’s. “Ok, now, I’m going to say what I meant and when I move my hand you’ll get five questions. So think ‘em over.” He waited a moment for the conditions to fully process. “Ok, so, I said my place has an open window policy, but the full moon is off limits, because I’m a werewolf.”
There was the element of surprise to contend with, but also the five question limitation. If Peter were being honest, it was the five question limitation that was tripping him up more than the lycanthropy itself. He took a breath and counted off a finger for each question.
One: “So you have spider powers and werewolf powers?”
Two: “What are the circumstances that led to you becoming a werewolf?”
Three: “Who else knows you’re a werewolf?”
Four: “Are you allergic to silver or anything else I should be aware of?”
Five: “No coming over on the full moon means you don’t have control and could hurt other people?”
Okay. Phew. Nailed it.
Ben had to take a moment to just stand and be impressed because, huh, yup. That was just five questions. Way to go, Pete. He grinned as he bumped his fist against the other Spider’s shoulder.
“Ok, going to jump around with the answers here. I have both powers, which… heightened spider-strength isn’t something that ever should happen and was a big problem when I didn’t have control during the full moon…” That’d always been an uncomfortable part of the whole thing. Spider-Men held back so often, he hated to admit how powerful they really were. Or acknowledge the fact that if he ever did get loose, no one would have to worry about him creating new werewolves because there wouldn’t be survivors. He shook the thought away. “But I’ve got pills now that let me stay in control, but…” He shrugged. “I worry. And likely won’t be home anyways. I’m still allergy free, although the sniffer’s more sensitive than it used to be, so just avoid any strong colognes if you ever get into that.”
He ran a hand through his hair as he rested the other on his hip. “I… honestly don’t know who knows now… It isn’t a secret, considering me getting bit was a big thing that a lot of the people here knew about, but it’s been over a year and with the world swaps and people coming and going…” Another shrug. “It’s not a secret though, I just sometimes forget how much time has passed from… well… The place a lot of us were at before this, one of the locals got bitten and he saw becoming a werewolf as a gift to get back at us. He created an army of werewolves and set them up outside where we all lived before the full moon. A lot of us went out to make sure no one got hurt and…” He ducked his head. “A wolf had the Pete who was there in its line of sight and I grabbed it. Pete got some scratches, but I got a bite.”
He held his hands out to the side in a ‘what are you gonna do’ gesture. “Any more questions?”
Peter’s face fell. “So it’s my fault that you got bit?”
He might not have remembered being there at the time, but it was still supposed to be up to Peter to make sure bad things didn’t happen to the people he cared about. And, well, Ben seemed like—
“Wait. So did Other Me name you Ben and named his kid Ben?” Was Peter really so bad at thinking up names? Or was he did he feel that much guilt for the rest of his life for what happened to his uncle? He sighed.
Ben shook his head. Oh, the Parker guilt complex. Maybe he should’ve left that part out, but that’s how this whole conversation started, right? Eventually that little tidbit would come out, whether it was from an offhand comment or joke.
“Different Peter, older Peter, so no, and even if it was you you, still not your fault or his.” A knowing smile quirked his lips. “It’s what we do, right? If the situation had been flipped, you and any Peter would’ve done the same. Or if it’d been someone else in that place instead, this conversation would still be happening. So, no tug of war with the blame game, ok?”
Which left the other tangent question. He let out a laugh. “No, no. I named myself. Pete just felt like copying me for once, but then ‘number one name for boy child being taken by my clone’ isn’t a situation you come across often. But hey, I won’t argue with it. I couldn’t ask for a cuter munchkin to share the name with.”
“Yeah,” Peter said. Uncle Ben’s death had still been less than a year ago. He wasn’t sure if Ben’s explanation for his name, or who he acknowledged sharing it with, made him feel better or not. “Hey, uh, we should probably get back to the others. In case Mr. Stark needs us. I don’t think there’s anything else out here.”
Peter hooked his thumb behind his shoulder before dropping his hand to his side, as if the gesture made his excuse somehow more plausible.
Ben’s smile softened, his look knowing as the tone turned more somber. Or at least felt like it compared to the rapid-fire questions from just a little while ago. He understood though, even without words. He’d never gotten the full story of what happened, but he’d picked up enough from all the visits to gather that this Peter didn’t luck out in skipping out on that common universal loss. A loss that was still recent and raw in the teenager’s case.
Reaching out, he rested his hand on Peter’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “It gets easier with time,” he offered, but didn’t push. Just something to let linger in the Spider’s mind for a bit considering how he was looking for an excuse out. So, he left it at that and a pat to the shoulder before he stretched his arms over his head. “Fingers crossed there’s something because otherwise…” A mischievous glint entered his eyes as he rotated his right arm a few times. “There’s actually snow here, my pitching arm needs some practice, and how can I pass up a chance to test Loki’s reflexes?”