Chapter 149: Peter 616
"But do not worry. Stark was not the only one hiding secrets."
More videos began to appear across the screens. "It is everyone! But do not worry. I am here to make sure everyone learns those secrets. Not only the secrets of heroes, either. We will also learn a few interesting things about some rather relevant villains."
The figure spread his arms dramatically.
"Let us see what the heroes you all praise and acclaim are truly like. And Spider-Man, I know you are looking for me, and I must tell you that you will not succeed. As compensation for your inevitable failure, however, we will also reveal some information about you. Information that nobody knows."
That statement caused citizens, heroes, agents, vigilantes, and villains alike to keep their eyes glued to their devices.
"When the time comes, I, the great Otto Octavius, will destroy this city piece by piece and then continue toward world domination! HAHAHAHAHA!"
After his laughter ended, the recording disappeared, and an enormous amount of information began spreading across the network.
More than one person started reading in horror about the secrets various heroes had kept hidden, but the information causing the greatest reaction concerned the same hero who had saved them countless times.
Spider-Man.
The man they had called a buffoon, useless, weak, a threat, and an idiot had accomplished things they had never imagined possible.
Facing Juggernaut and defeating him.
Fighting the Hulk and surviving battles that should have crushed him.
Making Thanos bleed and confronting threats far beyond what anyone expected from a street-level hero.
That alone was enough for more than one person to realize something deeply unsettling.
Spider-Man had always been holding back.
Across the city, criminals who had fought Spider-Man before began wondering, perhaps for the first time, whether they truly wanted to continue down their current path.
That reaction intensified when another recording appeared, showing Spider-Man confronting one of the most powerful crime lords in New York. But what truly stunned them was hearing him explain that, if he wanted, he could kill with a single action.
He simply chose not to.
Every criminal watching that day began reconsidering their choices, carefully weighing whether attracting Spider-Man’s personal attention was truly worth it. Even some established villains quietly began reconsidering their next move.
With all the information now exposed, one of the strongest reactions came from footage showing an enraged Spider-Man.
But that fear was soon replaced by awe as the recordings continued revealing feat after feat.
Holding a ferry together while nearly tearing his own body apart.
Holding up the weight of a collapsing structure.
Lifting three train cars.
Wielding Thor’s hammer and using its power.
Stopping a moving jet.
Being struck by a grenade and emerging with little more than a damaged suit.
Dying and returning to life.
And then came footage that left even experienced heroes speechless.
Spider-Man facing corrupted or hostile Avengers and defeating them.
Yet among those incredible moments were memories far more painful than any battle.
Two of them made civilians, vigilantes, heroes, villains, and antiheroes alike fall silent.
The sadness spreading through the city was soon replaced by anger when another set of files appeared.
According to the information released, Reed Richards possessed cures or treatments for numerous diseases, including the conditions that had killed the two children, yet had never released them to the world because he considered them irrelevant to his priorities.
On that day, the actions of a single man caused billions of people to begin questioning their perspective. Some changes were immediate. Others would take months or years. But for the first time, countless people began looking beyond public reputations, heroic titles, carefully controlled press conferences, and the labels they had accepted without question.
And many began looking again at Spider-Man.
The hero they had mocked.
The hero they had called weak.
The hero they had blamed whenever something went wrong.
Many did not believe the information at first, but then they remembered everything Spider-Man had done for the city. They remembered the disasters caused by other heroes, the battles that destroyed streets and buildings, and the times powerful figures simply left once the enemy had been defeated.
Then they remembered Spider-Man.
Whenever something went wrong around him, he came back.
He helped rescue those trapped beneath the wreckage.
He helped repair the damage.
He stayed.
For many people, that realization changed something.
Not everyone suddenly loved Spider-Man. Not everyone trusted the leaked information. Some called it propaganda, others demanded investigations, and many heroes immediately denied the accusations. But the old image of Spider-Man as nothing more than a reckless buffoon had been shattered.
From that day onward, New York began looking at its wall-crawling hero differently.
....
"Well. That is enough. I hope things start changing little by little. What do you say?"
He turned toward the children and saw that both of their eyes were red from crying. Taking off his mask, he immediately understood the reason for their tears.
"There will be a change because of what we showed," Valeria said quietly. "Whether it will be for better or worse, I do not know. But what I do not understand is how someone could defeat two cosmic forces with a simple lie."
"I hope for the best. And to answer that question, we Parkers make the impossible possible." He stood up. "Now I need to change."
"Why?"
"Everyone will be looking for Otto after he revealed things that were never supposed to become public. I need to change my appearance and find Peter. There is information I have to give him personally.....information that only he should possess."
Before leaving to change, he transferred several memories onto the laptop, along with the game, and took the Goober with him.
"I think there are some clothes in Uncle Johnny’s room. Follow me," Valeria said as she left the room with Franklin beside her.
When they reached Johnny’s room, he opened the closet and immediately received an unpleasant surprise.
"Good Lord!" he exclaimed while covering his eyes.
"What is wrong?!" Franklin asked.
"So much color," he muttered while staring at Johnny’s collection of brightly colored clothes. Some were even fluorescent. "It looks like a living rainbow suffered a mental breakdown in here. This is visual torture."
He said this while pushing clothes aside with one hand. It was not until he found a completely white shirt and black pants inside a bag that he finally stopped.
Taking them out, he followed the children to the bathroom to change. He removed a Nanocube from his belt and unfolded it, causing a black bag to appear. He stored the suit and utility belt inside, though he kept the web-shooter with him. Once everything was secured, he compressed the bag back into a Nanocube and slipped it into his pocket before leaving the bathroom.
"And your things?" Valeria asked.
"Stored."
"Where?"
"This is a Nanocube. I keep my things inside it....equipment, weapons, ammunition, spare suits, and clothes. Unfortunately, when I checked, I discovered I had forgotten to put ordinary clothes in this particular cube. I had planned to do it, but certain interruptions got in the way."
He mentioned this while glancing at his watch, which glowed faintly blue.
"And how do the clothes fit?" Franklin asked.
"A little off. I still need shoes. Johnny’s are not my size."
"I think Richards has some. Come on," Franklin said as he walked down the hallway toward another room.
Upon entering, Franklin approached the closet, searched through it, and pulled out several pairs of black shoes. Peter waited until he found a suitable pair. As he approached the closet himself, he noticed a brown trench coat, took it out, and put it on.
"I think that was a gift from Mom," Franklin said, "but Richards never used it. He preferred wearing the Fantastic Four suit and changing his appearance with a hologram."
"Well, Richards has terrible taste."
He walked past a mirror, caught sight of his reflection from the corner of his eye, and abruptly stopped.
Damn. I look like John Constantine. All I need is blond hair, a red tie, and enough cynicism to ruin everyone else’s day.
He sighed and looked toward the children.
"Kids. Do you know where your father might be?"
"At his apartment, maybe?" Franklin offered.
"Probably. Valeria, do you have a phone?"
"Yes," she said, showing it to him.
"Perfect."
He swiped his watch across the phone.
"Search for Peter Parker."
A few seconds later, a red dot appeared on his watch.
"Got him. He is not at his apartment." He looked toward both children. "Listen carefully. Stay here until your mother returns and tell her everything. Your laptop contains the memory of Otto switching minds with Peter. There are also additional memories that I need the three of you to watch."
"Why?" Valeria asked.
"Because you only know one side of the story, just like Susan. I need all three of you to see those memories if I am going to help Peter. Do you understand?"
The children nodded.
"You are good kids. Peter is very lucky to have you as his children."
He said this before heading toward the exit of the Baxter Building.
"Tell your mother everything, children. Link, the game is on your laptop, along with a manual explaining how to make a physical version."
"Understood! And thanks for everything, Uncle Peter Two!" Franklin shouted.
Peter heard the words just before the elevator doors closed.
"Okay," he murmured. "I am coming for you, Peter 616."
....
Time Skip.
Getting out of the taxi, he looked toward the location displayed by the GPS and then up at the sign above the entrance.
His expression slowly changed.
"What happened to you that you ended up in a place like this?"
He stared at the sign.
MUTANT BAR
"I curse everyone in this dimension."
With that, he pushed open the door and entered.
....