Chapter 150: Emotional Support
Note: In this Chapter, "Peter" refers to our protagonist. His Earth-616 counterpart is referred to as Peter 616 throughout.
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When he entered, he noticed several things that told him to be prepared for the unexpected. The first was that the place was incredibly empty and quiet.
The second was that it was surprisingly clean. Walking toward the bar, he sat beside a brown-haired man dressed almost formally.
"Whiskey," Peter said while looking at the bartender. Once the order was placed, he turned toward the brunette beside him. "And you? What brings you to a place like this?"
"Love," Peter 616 said bitterly and monotonously before taking another sip of his whiskey.
"Hmm. The most powerful and destructive weapon ever created, capable of causing untold chaos in the wrong hands." Peter thanked the bartender, took his drink, and downed it in one gulp, enjoying the burning sensation in his throat. "What happened?"
"Is this an interrogation?" Peter 616 asked mockingly before taking another drink.
"No. But I am a good listener, and it might help you get everything off your chest. Not to mention that you have nothing to lose. It is your decision."
Peter watched him remain silent for several seconds. Peter 616 took another sip before finally speaking.
"Before I went on a business trip," Peter 616 said with a mixture of mockery and sarcasm, "I spoke with the person I thought I would spend the rest of my life with. We agreed that once I returned, we would continue our relationship. But when I came back and looked for her, I found out that she was married and about to have a child."
Mary Jane Watson. I did not expect anything from you, and I am still disappointed. I hope your marriage goes to hell, Peter thought indifferently.
"I would tell you that I am sorry for what happened and that I understand, but I would be lying."
Peter 616 snorted upon hearing his words.
"But something good came out of it."
"What? That my heart finally broke and I ended up drinking in a bar? Well, yes, something good certainly came out of it," Peter 616 said angrily before taking another drink and hitting the glass a little too hard against the counter.
"You discovered that she was not the one. That she was not made for you." Peter took another sip and leaned slightly against the bar. "I will tell you something you should already know. Love is like a dagger. It can be wielded from far away or close enough to touch your heart. You can see yourself reflected in it."
With a slight movement of his fingers, Peter created the illusion of a dagger in his hand. Peter 616 stared at it with widened eyes.
"When you first see it, you admire its beauty and ignore how dangerous it can be. Then one day, it makes you bleed. And when you finally reach out to take hold of what you thought was yours, you realize that perhaps it was never truly there."
"It is a very strange analogy, but.... I understand what you mean," Peter 616 said before taking another drink. He reached for some pastries resting to his left. "What brings you here, Is there some danger you need to resolve or something like that?"
"I came for you."
Peter 616 stopped eating.
"I came to save you."
"For me? I do not need you to save me. I am perfectly fine."
Peter slowly turned his head and looked directly at him.
"How is life treating you, Parker? How does it feel to be surrounded by hypocritical people like Stark and be the only one who does not understand their dialect because money and power have not completely brainwashed you?" Peter picked up a few peanuts from the counter. "By the way, did you see the news?"
"Well, although things were terrible at first because I did not know how to control or run a company, some of the guys helped me because of favors I asked for. But the one who helped most was May, and no, I have not seen the news. I do not want to hear more criticism like Jonah’s."
Peter 616 smiled bitterly. Nobody trusted him anymore, and the favors he had asked for could have been useful under different circumstances. But there was nothing to regret now. What was done was done.
"I understand that starting a business is difficult at first. With help from the right person, however, everything becomes easier." Peter threw a peanut into his mouth and started chewing. "But I did not cross dimensions to discuss business management. I came here to free you."
"Free me from what?"
"From this."
Peter gestured toward him.
"The drinking. The misery. The endless cycle of guilt. The constant belief that every bad thing happening around you is somehow your responsibility. The ridiculous idea that suffering makes you a better hero."
Peter 616’s expression hardened.
"You do not know what you are talking about."
"I know exactly what I am talking about." Peter’s voice remained calm. "You think misery is some kind of moral achievement. You lose someone, blame yourself, suffer, recover just enough to keep moving, then wait for the next tragedy to destroy you again. And every time someone offers you a way out, you reject it because some part of you believes being happy would mean betraying everyone you failed to save."
Peter 616 put down his glass.
"You came here to lecture me?"
"No. I came here to tell you that your life is pathetic."
The words caused Peter 616 to glare at him.
"Careful."
"Why? Are you going to hit me? Go ahead. It might be the first honest thing you have done for yourself in months." Peter leaned slightly closer. "You are one of the most intelligent men alive, yet you constantly allow people less intelligent than you to determine your worth. You possess enough strength to tear most of your enemies apart, yet you let them return again and again to hurt innocent people because you are terrified of making difficult decisions."
"Being like you? No thanks. I would become the biggest hypocrite in this place. Breaking my motto, breaking my word, becoming what I swore to defeat."
Peter 616 stood from his chair, anger visible on his face.
Peter remained seated.
"There it is."
"What?"
"The excuse."
Peter 616 frowned.
"You think there are only two possibilities. Either remain exactly as you are or become exactly like me. That is idiotic."
Peter 616 stared at him.
"I did not come here to turn you into me. I came here because I know you can become something better than both of us."
That caused Peter 616 to fall silent.
Peter stood and adjusted his trench coat.
"You do not have to kill everyone. You do not have to abandon your morals. You do not have to become cruel. But you do have to stop confusing mercy with irresponsibility. You have to stop allowing people to manipulate you with guilt. You have to stop crawling back to people who repeatedly prove that they do not respect you."
Peter 616 looked away.
"And most importantly, you need to stop believing that your suffering is the price the universe demands for allowing you to be Spider-Man."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
"Easy for you to say," Peter 616 finally muttered.
"No. It is not."
Something in Peter’s tone caused his counterpart to look at him again.
"I know what it is like to lose people. I know what it is like to wake up and wonder whether everything would have been better if you had made one different decision. The difference is that I eventually understood something you still refuse to accept."
"And what would that be?"
"We are allowed to live."
Peter 616 remained silent.
Peter returned to his seat and gestured toward the empty chair beside him.
"Sit down."
After hesitating for a few seconds, Peter 616 sat again.
"You said you came to save me," he said.
"Correct."
"From what?"
"From becoming the same miserable man ten years from now."
Peter 616 gave a humorless laugh.
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
"By changing your perspective. By giving you information. By showing you that half the cage around you exists only because you keep repairing it whenever someone tries to break it."
Peter 616 stared at his glass.
"And what do you get from this?"
Peter smiled slightly.
"There you are."
"What?"
"Now you are thinking properly."
Peter 616 rolled his eyes.
"I am serious."
"So am I. You finally asked the correct question." Peter picked up his glass. "What do I gain? A better Spider-Man in this universe. Someone capable of protecting people without destroying himself in the process. Someone who might eventually become powerful enough, intelligent enough, and decisive enough to deal with threats before they become disasters."
"That is all?"
"No. I also find your current situation personally irritating."
Peter 616 looked at him strangely.
Peter shrugged.
"I crossed dimensions, discovered what happened to you, and became offended on principle."
For the first time since Peter had entered the bar, Peter 616 genuinely laughed.
It was brief, but real.
Peter smiled.
"There. Progress already."
"Do not get used to it."
"Too late."