Peter Parker (oldparkerluck) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2014-04-17 08:43:00 |
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It didn’t take a whole lot to fire up that nagging, gnawing feeling in Peter’s gut, but that was just part of being a Parker. The world loved to surprise. It loved to drop neatly-wrapped trouble right at the metaphorical doorstep. It loved, especially, to throw one more thing on top of the eight bajillion other things already weighing those Parker shoulders down -- and the best part? Peter knew he had this habit of making himself wide open and available to all of that. That habit had deposited him in the hall of Potts Tower, staring down the number plate next to the door in front of him. All right, so. Supposedly, this was the door to the apartment assigned to one April Parker. Peter’s phone verified that one, and he sucked in a breath before lifting a hand to knock out a catchy little rhythm. Maybe this would be some wild coincidence, and the sense of responsibility that had carried him here would find it wasn’t really needed. Parker was a pretty common last name, after all. Either way, there wasn’t gonna be any telling until that door opened. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and took an idle glance up and down the corridor, bounced on his feet twice, and then settled back to… well, wait. “Hang on a sec… be right there.” April grumbled, having just layed down to relax and just PROCESS everything that was going on. She’d just been arguing with her clone (and YES, to her, May was the clone. Shut up.) about things like basic morality, and then blammo… here she is, in a whole different place AND time. Clearing her throat as she stood, her symbiote fashioned itself to make her appear to wearing tiny black denim cutoffs and a plain black tee as she walked toward the door. This had better be good. If someone was standing there trying to pump her for info, or to try to lock her away somewhere, shit was gonna get REAL. Sighing, she opened the door, a slender eyebrow going up as she looked at the man. Oh, he looked different… much younger… but considering she knew she was in the past, it didn’t take a brain surgeon to realize who this was. “Oh, you gotta be SHITTING me.” Peter could hear the mechanism in the door clinking before the door swung open, and it tugged his focus off the pattern of the hallway carpet and up to… A face. A familiar face, at that. He couldn’t help the way his brows rose or his stomach sank with that uneasy, nervous feeling. Something was gonna unfold, here, and he wasn’t sure what. Peter reached his hands up in open surrender, expression still looking completely stunned despite his best efforts to keep his usual levity going. “Not in on it, I swear. Which is usually the case, but I… uh…” He offered a small shrug, which turned into a hand rubbing at the back of his neck as he fumbled for what to say next. “It’s April, right?” Of course it was, but small steps seemed best. Small, careful steps. “Not exactly sure how you already know who I am, but… yeah. Good call.” She blinked, studying him, as if trying to determine if he actually had any idea how she might be related to him. This was easily the most confusing, frightening thing that had ever happened to her. And considering she spent most of her life in a glorified test tube? That was saying something. “So… do YOU belong here? Or are you just stuck here the same way I am?” She asked, still looking stunned and honestly, more than a little bit overwhelmed by all this. “Because…. not gonna lie, I’m SO close to freaking out here.” “Well, SHIELD…” Wait, did she know what SHIELD was? “Y’know, the welcome wagon people? They usually let the rest of us know who turned up, and I saw your last name…” Peter dropped his hand from his neck. He extended it outward -- might as well get through introductions, even if April seemed to know him (or at least a Peter Parker) already. “Nah, not a local,” he started again. “Peter Parker -- I’m guessing you know that one -- been here almost a year and a half, aaaand I’m also guessing there’s a me out there that knows you. That’s not helping with the freak-out, huh? Am I talking too much right now? I feel like this conversation is all me, and I know I have that habit of letting my motormouth get away from me, but --” He forced himself to stop. “Hey, nice to meet you?” “Yeah… you’re definitely Peter Parker…” She mumbled, smirking, when she heard him ramble. Even the older version of him, while more sad in some ways, and at times a little bitter and hardened, tended to babble occasionally. So what the hell should she do here? She could make up some lie, something that would make him more at ease… but what the hell? April was never the type who really cared for sugar-coating anything. May as well rip THIS band-aid right the hell off. “Well… where I’m from? You had a daughter. And as M. Night Shyamalan as this sounds, the baby was kidnapped as a newborn, and cloned. Me? I’m…. one of them. Don’t ask. We honestly have no idea which is the real deal and which is the clone.” Peter’s hand lingered in the open air as he let the words filter in through his ears and his brain frantically set to work trying to digest that little trinket. “Wha…” Realizing his mouth was moving before he even had his response thought out, the smart half of his brain clamped his jaw shut. It was always Osborn, wasn’t it? As if the grief that he and Ben had gone through wasn’t enough with all the clone misdirects and lack of knowing who was the real Peter Parker was, apparently that tactic had come back in another world for round two. Somehow, experience made it easier to believe, but it also reinforced that urge to track down Norman to punch his teeth in. Peter distractedly lowered his hand, eyes averting to his right shoe for a second. Luckily for any nearby Osborns, the anger was beat out by another emotion. The teenager in front of him was, by all rights, family. Sure, that was the initial suspicion -- April was a dead-ringer for May, even before that c-word dropped into the conversation. “Yeah, May. Right. She’s back home. Caught up on that one already,” he finally answered. “Maybe the handshake was the wrong thing, here. Is it gonna be weird if I offer a hug instead? Man, you’d think this would get easier the more the Tesseract drops people off,” he added, faintly laughing an unsure sort of entirely lost laugh. April blinked again, COMPLETELY caught off-guard there. In her time, Peter had NEVER been very affectionate with her. If anything, he treated her as a loose-cannon that he kept close to appease May and MJ. So this was a bit of a shock. Apparently the younger Peter was far more soft and loving. Which meant, sadly, that she knew there was one thing she should make known to him before anything else went down here. “Um…. Peter… er… Mr. Parker…. ok, I admit I have *zero* idea what to call you here… anyway: before you hug me or do anything else… there is one other thing you should know about me. I know a lot about your past and there is ONE thing about me that might… really freak you out.” She took a step or two back, trying to keep her voice soothing and calm. He was NOT going to take this part well, she just knew it. “When the whole cloning deal happened… I was hidden away in a laboratory. And experimented on. The biggest one of which changed my genetic structure. My DNA was bonded with a small piece of someone you…. REALLY don’t like.” Afraid to say any more, she focused for a moment, allowing the symbiote to wash over her, her costume now like a blue and black version of May’s… save for the face, which now slightly resembled a black and blue version of Carnage, save for her long hair. “Apparently, I was bonded to a piece of the Venom symbiote. It’s part of me though… it doesn’t have a life of it’s own.” This was too much for just the hallway. April would have to forgive him for the quick bolt forward when that first inkling of black started to creep into view. Peter hooked the door shut behind him, and in looking back up was faced with a visage that was entirely symbiotic. For one of the rarer moments in Peter Parker’s life, the words were stunned right out of him. When the words did come back, though, all he could think to say was, “I’m sorry.” God, this sucked. There had to be a Parker out there that had a free and clear life, right? Some Parker had to have escaped their awful luck. His stomach felt like ice as he looked at April. This was wrong on so many levels. “I didn’t know. If I knew -- I mean, where I’m from is different. May didn’t -- I’m so sorry,” he blurted out. “...May’s here too?” April asked, as that just kind of hit her. Dammit… she had hoped that maybe, just maybe, at least being in this place would make her more unique. Make her the only Parker girl. But of course not. How could she think that even in another world, there’d be some chance for her to have a fresh start, free of comparisons to someone else? “And don’t be sorry. In some ways…. the symbiote is a good thing. It makes me powerful. Makes me unique. It’s one thing that I can claim as my own, that isn’t a carbon copy of someone else. When I’m Mayhem… I don’t feel like someone’s double.” She sighed as the symbiote resumed it’s guise of simple clothing, allowing her to look like herself again. April gave a lopsided grin then, oddly enough the type Ben always gave when something amused him. She extended her arms out, trying not to laugh or cry, as honestly, she couldn’t tell which she was closer to doing. “Still want that hug?” Peter’s half-frown shifted towards a small smile. “Are you kidding? This place is overrun with Parkers lately. You think your brain’s broken now, just you wait.” The same probably went for those other Parkers, actually. Maybe a text ahead to MJ would be good. He’d have to sneak that in before this one was torn wide open on the network, as always seemed to happen. For now, though, what seemed right -- what felt right -- was throwing his arms up and out. If it turned out to be the wrong move, he was sure he’d find that out, but he refused to turn his back on her now. “C’mere. It’s only weird if we make it weird. And, y’know, in the grand scheme of this place, this is pretty tame.” Before she could reply, he was already circling his arms around her, taking that little leap of faith. “You… are SO not like the guy I knew.” April replied with a nervous laugh, tentatively hugging him back, just completely taken aback by ALL of this. “So maybe I should ask this now… who else is here? I mean, there’s young-you and then you said Mayday is here… anyone else I should know about?” Sure, she asked it in a joking fashion, but it was really her survival instincts kicking in, trying to find out how hard of a time she was going to have fitting in here, or even WANTING to fit in. “Also… what DO you want me to call you? I really don’t wanna get off to a bad start with making anyone uncomfortable here….” “Yeah, I heard that one from May already. Chalk it up to positive thinking and not going grey yet,” Peter volleyed back, easing back into the conversation now that the short embrace was over and nothing had exploded because of it. “‘Sides, this place ain’t so bad. The other day, I completely got a free lunch out of Captain America. Anyway, there’s me, May -- yeah. Not sure if you know my brothers? Ben and Kaine. MJ’s around. The local Peter, who’s probably wondering what he ever did to have us all dumped off in his city.” He ticked off the numbers on his fingers, eyes narrowing in thought. “JD’s a little, uh… complicated to explain. She’s technically a sibling, but she’s from even another world where her Peter’s a teenager. Am I losing you yet? Just let me know when to break for questions. “Oh -- and, ah. I guess whatever floats your boat and isn’t Mr. Parker? I’m not pushing middle age yet, thanks. Seriously, I’ve been called everything in this world. If it’s PG-rated, we can make it work.” “PG. Ok, so basically just don’t call you any of the things I mostly called you behind your back. Good to know.” Oh, the cheeky little bitch… she grinned wryly at him, before arching an eyebrow in question at him. “So…. this is like a totally clean slate? Any mistakes I made in the past are nonexistent here?” Hey, can’t blame a girl for asking, right? Face it: April had made a few blunders of MASSIVE proportions, and if this was a chance to start completely over? You bet your ass she was going to grab it and cling to it for dear life. “I can’t say I really… have any idea how to really function in a family. But… if you’re willing to accept that I can be a handful sometimes… I’d really like to try.” “Wow, just kick a guy on behalf of his alternate-reality self,” Peter answered, head tilted and brows arching at April. Although, he took a brief second to peer around her at the apartment itself after that; the place was as empty as you’d expect for a new resident who’d been dropped off without anything more than the clothes on her back. “Clean slate, sure.” He pulled his focus back to her and offered a slanted smile. “Funny thing, too. You just missed the kerfuffle we just had over making the family thing jive. Trust me, if you think you’re rusty, you’re in good company. Which probably doesn’t sound reassuring, but… ” He jabbed a thumb sideways, indicating the general interior of the room they were standing in. “It’s a regular sit-com. You unpacked yet? Or settled? Or got an emotional attachment to the Ikea sofa that’ll make my next question tricky to answer?” “Honestly, I have nothing to unpack. I kinda… “make” my own clothing, if you know what I mean, and I don’t really have any possessions. As for this place?” She laughed with an adorable little snort, rolling her eyes derisively as she gestured around the place. “I’ve been here for like… a couple of hours. I don’t think I could form an emotional attachment to a PERSON in a couple of hours.” She blinked a few times then, catching what he said at the end of his statement, though. She… had a feeling she knew what was coming next. It just felt almost… too good to be true. “Why? What’s on your mind?” Peter gave a nod. “Oh, yeah. I remember that symbiote trick reeeeeally well.” And to his credit, he didn’t even tag a grimace onto the end of that. No spider-sense pinging, no feelings of dread that April’s share of that one would break off and latch on? It looked like face value was the truth, not that he’d even considered April could be lying. It had a golden moment to try something in that hug if it really wanted to swap hosts, anyway. Nada. All there was was a young girl who shouldn’t have to fend for herself in a completely new world. More than that, a Parker would always have a place with the rest of the family. “What’s on my mind? Well, pizza. But, actually, you should come with me. We have room,” he started again, reaching behind him for the doorknob. “Offer’s on the table -- don’t feel like you need to answer now, but... Meet the others, get drooled on by the dog, see if it’s something that would work for you. All that sorta thing.” “I…. would love that, actually. All of it. Especially the pizza. I’m STARVING.” April chuckled, nervously running a hand through her hair as she took a deep exhalation of breath. “But…. do you think you should talk to May first? I don’t want to just come barging in and wreck her life…” Not again, at least, she thought, but wisely didn’t speak aloud. “Also….is it true what the guys that brought me up here said? That people we thought were just fictional are popping up here too? Because I’m trying to behave, but… fair warning, if the little blonde kid from that Game of Thrones show I saw a bit of shows up, I’m punching him as hard as I can. Possibly in the junk.” So much for that warning text to MJ, Peter realized. His eyes widened upon that particular thought slamming the breaks. Good thing she was always so understanding, and hopefully that one kept applying because there just wasn’t takesies-backsies with this. Slipping around and making a small show of opening the door again gave Peter just enough time to breathe out a barely-audible apology to his wife. Knowing her, she probably just got a twinge of a feeling that he was up to something right now, too. “Sure, yeah. Talk to May. We’ll figure it all out, okay?” He stepped out of the apartment and half-spun back to face April, giving her a nod to follow. “As for Joffrey? Nah, not here. You missed Indiana Jones, and you might see Buffy the Vampire Slayer around a lot.” There was a pause, then: “Webshooters? Got ‘em?” “NO idea who Buffy is. But… Indiana Jones? Really?” She laughed, shaking her head. “This is all kinds of hilarious. I’m telling you, if Super Mario shows up, I officially give up on life.” She laughed, following him closely. She certainly wasn’t scared…. somehow she just felt better not being alone. She’d spent far too much of her short life that way. “And no: I don’t have any webshooters. Wouldn’t mind having a set for emergencies, but…” she trailed off, before flicking her hand in the “web-shooting position” as a strand of symbiote snaked out. “I mostly use this.” “Buffy’ll love hearing that one, too. And does this look like the face of a liar? Dead serious! Indiana Jones, too. Oh, and Batman was here for a bit. And! Harry Potter -- I know you gotta know Harry Potter. Everyone knows Harry Potter.” The elevator doors opened, and Peter stepped on, stride completely back on a steady rhythm, even if his brain was still buzzing with everything that had come to surface in the last ten minutes. His finger loomed over the 13th floor button. “What’s the reach on those? We can always hop the subway, but I figured the faster way’s worth a shot if you get where I’m going with this.” “Please. These babies’ll outswing you any day, old man.” She said, voice obviously full of playfulness. Oh, she’d likely be a handful over time, but for today at least? She felt happier and more free than she ever had. “And if Harry Potter’s as annoying as he is in those books, then I almost hope Voldemort shows up and curses his ass.” Boop. Floor 13 it was. “Yeah, yeah. Just keep up with me, okay? Also? Don’t even say it. If Voldemort turns up, it’s gonna come right back to us. ‘Sides --” Peter broke off to tug his mask out of the backpack slung over one shoulder. Of course it was buried underneath a stack of papers and his Horizon laptop; it took an extra bit of finagling to get it loose. “Good guys. We like ‘em better,” he added, squinting over. “And butt. Butt. PG-rated, remember?” “....No promises, old man.” She laughed playfully, letting her symbiote form a more “normal” costume, basically a carbon copy of May’s only in blue and black. “Now… we gonna do this, or stand around yapping?” She wanted to thank him. To show how grateful she was for helping her feel so free, so forgiven, so HAPPY in this strange new place. But sadly… sincere emotions were something she still struggled with. So, instead, she merely gave him one more quick, thankful hug. The short embrace tethered Peter’s arms to his sides for a moment, his mask clutched between his fingers where he was ready to tug it on. Go figure that before the Tesseract, he’d been flying solo and couldn’t even imagine a life where turning up at someone’s door meant anything other than needing a place to crash because he’d been kicked out of his own again. With that thought, he offered April a sideways smile before the red fabric of his mask was pulled down over his face. Webshooters were fastened in place as Peter gave a steady nod. “Good thing I did my hair and makeup before I got here, huh?” The elevator dinged. Doors slid apart directly after, although he was already halfway down the hall by the time they were notched wide open. “Next stop…. Forest Hills!” |