211. Red Haired Redemptions. (Patreon)

Mary Jane Watson-Parker POV (Earth-616-B):

When my husband told me there was a version of him that was terrifying, I laughed.

“Pssh. A Peter terrifying? What does he do? Kick puppies?”

Sarcastic, petty and mildly grumpy was the mental image.

Not… this.

Then Peter B. told me the story.

About how he suspected no, predicted that Spider-People of the Spider Society would one day commit a kidnapping and not just of anyone.

The targets are Uncle Ben, Aunt May and Captain George Stacy.

The holy trinity of tragedy.

The ideological pillars of every Peter Parker and he was right.

What kind of mind anticipates that?

What kind of mind gambles on it?

What kind of mind prepares for it?

I felt sympathy for Miguel. I did. I understood the fear, the desperation to preserve “canon.” But his methods? They betrayed everything the title 'Spider-Man' stands for.

You don’t protect destiny by becoming its executioner.

Sooner or later he was going to provoke something he couldn’t handle.

He did.

I snapped out of my spiraling thoughts when Mayday climbed onto my shoulder and tugged my hair.

“Ow, baby, gentle.” I said while she pointed at a girl that was walking toward me.

Brownish-red hair, ebony skin, hesitant steps and I knew that she was me or at least, a version of me..

She stopped in front of me, clutching a small box of chocolates like armor. “Hi,” she said softly. “My name is Mary Jane. But my friends call me Em Jay.”

Her voice sounded younger than mine had ever been.

“Hello, Em Jay,” I smiled warmly. “I’m Mary Jane Watson Parker. People call me MJ.”

We shook hands and there it was. That faint resonance that Peter once described.

Multiversal resonance causing variants to recognize each other on some subconscious frequency.

“So,” she said carefully, “you’re married to Peter Parker?”

Her voice carried skepticism, confusion and a little awe.

I laughed softly.

“It wasn’t always smooth sailing. We had our problems. Hell, we were divorced for two years.”

Her eyes widened. “Divorced?”

“Yep.” I popped the ‘p.’ “Turns out love doesn’t magically solve emotional immaturity.”

She let out a small breath.

“But we found our way back,” I continued. “We did the hard work. And we made this.”

I lifted Mayday forward.

Mayday giggled and immediately grabbed Em Jay’s nose.

“Hey! Hey...” Em Jay laughed, startled and delighted and her laugh was unguarded.

It made me like her instantly.

“Well,” she said after catching her breath, “you can’t be worse than me. What’s the worst you did?”

I didn’t sugarcoat it.

“I cheated. Drunk spectacle and a public mess.”

“Damn.” She murmured. Then she inhaled deeply.

“I don’t know how much you know about my world’s Peter,” she said. “But senior year? He got into an accident. Crippled waist down and... I jumped in joy.”

She didn’t smile. “I literally fucking jumped. I thought… I thought I’d finally break up Gwen and Peter’s friendship.”

Her voice cracked. “I was jealous. Of their closeness. Of how she looked at him.”

Shame is heavy and you can see it in someone’s posture.

“And then?” I asked gently.

“And then he got rich,” she said with a hollow laugh. “Stupidly rich and he funded my band and he knew I couldn’t refuse. My life was falling apart. Rent overdue, family issues, reputation shot.”

She swallowed.

“He didn’t gloat. Didn’t hold it over me. He didn’t make me beg. He just… helped. Like a friend.”

A thin smile formed on my lips.

“That’s the Parker Lucky Charm,” I said softly. “For us Watsons, anyway.”

She looked up.

“They just show up,” I continued, “and boom. Your life gets infinitely better. Even when you don’t deserve it.”

Mayday suddenly dove off my shoulder. Without looking, I caught her mid-air.

Em Jay blinked. “You didn’t even...”

“Occupational hazard,” I grinned.

From across the room, Peter’s voice rang out. “Guys! Second breakfast!”

I laughed.

“See? That’s another Parker trait. They feed you when you’re emotionally processing.”

Em Jay smiled.

Peter POV (Earth-65M):

“Gracias, Peter. De verdad. Gracias por salvar a nuestro hijo.”

Rio Morales clasped my hands tightly.

Jefferson stood beside her, nodding firmly.

“Te debemos la vida de Miles,” Rio continued, eyes glistening.

Miles groaned behind them. “Ma, stop making it dramatic...”

I chuckled. “I hope you grounded him for the rest of his life.”

“¡Peter!” Rio scolded, though she was smiling.

“Man, you trying to get me killed?” Miles shot back.

I turned slowly, narrowing my eyes theatrically. “Saving your butt from the Spot cost me nearly 500 million dollars. I’ve earned the right to badmouth you.”

The room froze.

Inspector Singh choked on his tea.

Gayatri coughed violently.

Aunt May from 1610-B sputtered, “Five hundred...?”

Uncle Ben 65-B coughed into his napkin.

Captain Stacy 65-B wheezed, “How much?!”

I passed around glasses of water like a responsible host.

“Relax. Liquid assets fluctuate.”

Captain Stacy from 65-B wiped his mouth. “My Peter’s net worth is around seventy billion. What’s yours?”

I shrugged.

“Publicly known assets? Just passed 2.5 trillion USD.”

Hobie slowly lowered his waffle.

“Wait,” he said. “You said publicly known.”

“Yeah?”

“How much is the unknown stuff?” Margo asked cautiously.

I tilted my head. “About 12.5 trillion.”

Water sprayed from Gwen-65-B's nose, Peni’s mech whirred erratically and Ganke choked on his bacon.

Miles stared at me like I’d confessed to being a dragon.

“What the hell is worth that much?!” Peni demanded.

“Pet project,” I said casually. “Prototype UNSC Infinity. Experimental FTL drive.”

Collective nasal water discharge. Again. Ganke pointed at me and asked, “Bro, what do you think about marrying a man?”

I scoffed.

He snapped his fingers. “See? You’re perfect.”

Miles buried his face in his hands. “Bro, first I see you in MJOLNIR armor and now this? Please. Please let us see it.”

“Later,” I said. “It’s cloaked in a secret shipyard orbiting Europa.”

The chatter exploded. Speculation, excitement and conspiracy theories.

While they talked, I sent a silent mental ping.

Clanker. Remove the Memorial Park section of UNSC Infinity. ASAP.

"Acknowledged, Sir."

Can’t let them see the memorial plaque recording every true casualty of the Human-Covenant War.

I leaned back in my chair, watching the chaos.

Friends were laughing, acquaintances were discussing things and somewhere in the middle of it all, I felt something rare.

Peace.