Chapter 1: Chapter 1 ~ Capitalism is the bane of everyone's existence
Chapter Text
The first time Peter got fired was very much his fault but the second time was not. The first time was simply from being late too many times. The second time was very much due to the unfortunate set of coincidences following Peter throughout his very short life. All the cameras in the room he was in exploded causing him to get fired from the buggle and go out on the job hunt. His resume wasn't impressive considering that he worked nights at a local pizza chain, had no references, and never finished school.
(Un)Fortunately for him, he had an interview at the Magnus Institute, a prestigious academic institute researching the supernatural on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Around 40 minutes on the subway from his apartment in Queens but his pay if he got the job would well be worth it. He had no idea how his resume got accepted but a job is a job and rent is expensive, college even more.
The building was a few stories and considerably small compared to the average building in New York, and the old architecture made the whole building look out of time. The steps and pathways were remarkably clean for New York but considering the whole building was situated in the more high-end parts of the city, he deemed that normal.
Peter walked up the stairs and opened the door. He felt his spider-sense shiver up his spine, wow this place must be legit. He knew that the supernatural existed, hell he even dealt with a few ghosts when Dr Strange asked him but he assumed most of it was just rich boys playing detective to spend their parent's money.
The poor state of the building and the ragged state of mostly anyone's clothes slowly started to disprove his theory. Everyone was a passionate worker who either got paid minimum wage or didn’t care about their appearance. He hoped it was the second one. He hated people using other people's passions against them. Did Peter read the advertisement wrong? $30 an hour was great and would let him actually get a first aid kit, and save up for college.
He walked up to the reception where a lady with brown hair glared at him. “You must be Peter Parker here for the interview” Sheesh how did Peter ruin this lady's life in the first 10 seconds of meeting her? Peter reluctantly nods trying not to draw any more of this lady’s ire and sits on the seat as the lady continues to type away. If only he wasn't here for an interview he would've gone full Spider-man and messed with her.
He was totally not fidgeting with his hands as he waited for the interview. He tried to calm down but the eerie atmosphere and the way his spider sense tingled every now and again made it hard for him to relax. At least academic institutions weren't like science labs that profited off the suffering of others. There was a reason why he couldn't keep a job and it had nothing to do with Spider-Man.
After waiting for a few short moments the door opened to a man who was greying slightly in a polished green suit, it stood out in comparison to the dreary atmosphere of the hallway and the room beyond. The man was kind enough to smile at him and welcome Peter in. "You must be Peter Parker, the photographer." His voice was stern but comforting, like a father. "I'm Elias Bouchard the director of the Magnus Institute."
"It's nice to meet you," Peter said. He was a good damm idiot who could only mumble that phrase out instead of saying something better, where was the confidence when he needed it? Due to the mortifying idea of being known Peter didn't notice his spider-sense going crazy as he entered the room. It wasn't until Peter sat down that he felt the migraine that his senses had enforced on him, it was screaming that the whole room was dangerous, further solidifying the fact that this was a very real supernatural emporium.
"So Peter I've seen the photos you've taken and they're amazing, specifically the action shots. Do you know how to work a film camera? Digital ones don't work the best here" That was suspicious but then again the most supernatural experience he had was Dr Strange and he was hardly the type to actually tell him the difference between ghosts and spirits.
"I've taken film photos before in my art class in high school and I used to take film photos with my uncle." God, he hoped that was a good enough answer. He mainly had interviews with people as socially inept as he was not this charisma machine that was in front of him. They continued the awkward conversation, with seemingly normal questions. Peter tried not to act annoyed as his spider-sense-induced migraine was rattling his head.
Peter was in auto mode and nearly didn't notice Elias accepting him for the job. "Well, you seem like a great fit. We'd love to have you on the Archival team. Of course, there are a few rules and forms you'd have to sign." Peter gave him a silent nod, still fighting with his spidey sense and migraine.
He knew it would be better if he looked through the forms before signing them but he was so tired and he didn't want his mood to somehow get him fired before he even started. Elias gave him the forms to take home without Peter even asking, what a kind man most employers would complain about before finally giving in. "You'll start next Monday, I'll get TIm to meet you at the entrance around 8 if that's all good with you?" His voice sounded sharp and comforting if he wasn't Peter's boss he would've had a one-night stand based on his voice alone.
Yep, Peter should go home now this room was messing with him and Elias's sharp smirk made it seem like he knew what Peter was thinking about. He said his goodbyes and used the subway to go home instead of swinging back home, no patrol for him he was too tired.
He had the energy to read the documents Elias gave him once he got home. He skimmed the first page already assuming the legal stuff, focusing on the rules and safety measures instead. It was a bit weird but then again Elias must really care about his employees... Or maybe Peter had a small crush on the man.
It was a 2-page list of rules and a map of the institute on it. The rules were as followed:
1. Do not enter artifact storage without a person who works in that department.
2. When calling 911 specifically state that only Section 31 officers are allowed.
3. Do not bring technology made after 1996 to the basement.
4. Clearly mark your food and do not leave it out for more than 30 minutes.
5. Do not try to murder your employers.
6. Restock the first aid box every month with new materials. Put the unused stuff in the bin.
7. Always tip the delivery men.
8. If someone is acting suspiciously assume the worst.
9. If you get contacted by a supernatural entity not working at the institute tell the archivist and make a statement
10. If human resources contact you ignore them, we do not have a human resources department.
Wow, the first page already looked like the start of a horror movie. Peter wondered how many people didn't look at the rules and got into a nasty accident. There was a surprising lack of lawsuits around the institute though, so maybe everyone read the rules? He didn't know. He wanted to say that it was a joke but his spidey sense told otherwise.
He flipped over the next page to luckily discover the lack of strange rules, mostly about dress code and treatment of workers.
Peter didn't bother to read through the rest of the legal documents already tired from patrolling, worrying about rent, and working at the pizza shop. His defeat of the sinister six throughout the week and the tips he got from delivering pizza during the battles gave him rarely seen hope he lost long ago. He was actually surprised and excited about his new job. It would mainly be taking pictures of supposedly haunted places and sometimes just helping organize stuff. Pretty easy and if his coworkers were like his coworkers at the Buggle he'd be paid for basically doing nothing.
Hopefully, his boss wouldn't be a villain like Dr Ock or spoute hatred about Spider-Man. It'll be all good, he needs to learn how to become more optimistic again anyway.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2 ~ Despite popular opinion teenagers are not that scary
Summary:
Peter's first day at his new job.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
His first day started waiting at the reception for 15 minutes watching the same man come and leave until that man came up to him. "Are you the guy working for the archival department?"Wow he was rude, maybe he was the Jameson type? The type that liked his work and hated people? Or was Peter just unlucky and every coworker here was fated to hate him. To not draw out more of the man's ire he just nodded instead of tying and most likely failing to give a good first impression. "Ok, let's go." Peter followed the man ignoring the mutter the man let out about him looking too young.
The silence would have been awkward if they were walking any slower but the man was quick and brought him down to the basement seemingly ignoring the bit about technology in the rules. It was probably fine but Peter left his phone under a loose brick he found near the stairs.
"I don't know where Jon and Martin are but the lady over there is Sasha." he looked over to the Lady with curly black hair and earthy brown skin. Did Peter gain another crush? Maybe Ellias had a rule where he only hired supermodels? "So what's your name anyway? I was supposed to read a file but I forgot." The man said. Peter noticed the eye bags under his eyes and the faint smell of alcohol on him. Maybe he was just tired from partying too long and didn't have the urge to kill him. It was still rude though.
"I'm Peter Parker," his voice let out a little crack and he tried not to show any embarrassment. "I'm sorry I didn't get your name as well?"
"It's Tim." There was a moment of silence only filled by the rustling of paper where both men didn't know what to say. "I don't think the others are coming anytime soon so I'll give you a tour." Tim didn't seem keen but it seemed like he had to do it so Peter didn't object. Was there a reason why someone would go partying on a work night? He'll never know.
Tim guided Peter around the archives and then to the small break room and bathroom ignoring every where he deemed "unimportant" It was fine Peter already memorised the layout from the map he got. Most of the institute was old but it was surprisingly clean for a New York establishment. Maybe working in the high end area also meant that they didn't have the usual New York grime?
"So you're going to take photos of the spooky scaries." Tim jokes around, his voice light and charismatic. It seemed that after he had a cup of coffee, he was feeling much more professional. Thank god it wasn't personal and just him being in a bad mood. Tim seemed unsure of how to approach his much younger colleague but luckily Peter had a ton of experience talking and befriending middle aged people.
"Oh damn I thought I was going to take photos of the office." His joke was weak but Tim let out a little laugh before frowning again. "Come on, I'll introduce you to Sasha." It seemed that somehow Peter had failed this social introduction. Did something he say hurt him? Or was he so against swearing that damn hurt his sensibilities... He didn't seem like the type but you'll never know.
The conversation was once again awkward and the spidey-sense migraine returned in full force after he left the break room. Maybe Peter should get some pain meds before he goes to work tomorrow. But then again it is precious money he could be using on food or some spandex. He could deal with a migraine.
He didn't notice the two of them reached the basement where the archives were held until Sasha's voice reached him. "You're Peter right?" from the way his spine shivered he could already tell that she was observant, her pretty face hiding keen intelligence.
"I am, resident photographer, intern and urban explorer." He really only added the last bit because he didn't want his skills of breaking into things questioned. Sasha let out a polite laugh and Tim winced. Yep Peter was off his game with these jokes, most days he even got his worst enemies to laugh. Yeah he definitely should buy the pain medication and hope that it works.
The two of them sent him to one of the rooms that held statements to sort through them. He heard another person come into the basement. He should go say hello but then again he didn't want to get in trouble for leaving the room.
He assumed they would go to their desks and he never meant to eavesdrop, he couldn't control his super hearing. He wasn't expecting them to start talking shit immediately after he left the room.
"He looks way too young for this job. He's expecting just a fun little side hobby, he could get killed out there." That was definitely Tim, the other man had a less confident voice.
"How old is the guy anyway?"
"He looks around 16, maybe 17, did his parents even let him come here?" He was 18 thank you very much and he was an orphan, suck that Tim.
"What was Ellias thinking? First making Sims head archivist and now hiring a teenager to follow us around and take photos its like he wants the archival department to fail." Sims? That was a weird name, or was it a last name? Anyway his boss had a weird name and was apparently underqualified for his position. Plus not introducing himself was an easy way for Peter to say his new boss was very suspicious.
"Who knows what that man is thinking in the first place. He runs this god damn hell hole in the first place." This was the first time he heard Sasha's voice. It was soft but somehow confident. "At least we have some more hands and he seems like a harmless kid." Thank you Sasha for defending him, he was not going to make a mess as long as spider-man didn't interrupt his work.
"Still you know..." Tim trailed off somehow scared to talk either in front of Martin or Sasha. He should probably prove that he was stronger than he looked. Despite the bad first impression Peter had grown a liking towards TIm.
"We should probably start working before Jon comes in."
"What would Jon even say in the first place? No, I'm going to fire my colleagues despite them being the only people to know what to do." The group was silent at Sasha's remark. Why did Sasha hate Jon? Did he take her job or was he a bad boss? Was Peter overanalyzing this? He never has been in a healthy workplace since all his work has either been with villains wanting to kill him, a man who hates his alter ego, or a pizza place where the boss has been in prison three times.
He was way too much in his head that he didn't notice a man coming to the room he was in until he opened the door. He was on the larger size with sandier hair and glasses. He would be considered quite handsome if he wasn't wearing those bright colours. MJ has definitely rubbed off on him.
"Hello, I'm Martin I'm the newest-well the newest after you." He had a nervous but friendly demeanour "You'll be sticking with me for the time being." Ok, Peter could do this he could give a good first impression to someone who works here.
"It's nice to meet you." It's basic but a classic for a reason. "You must be very good at your job if you're already training me." At those words, Martin looked down. Only a sentence in and Peter had already hit a nerve. Was he somehow cursed to always make a bad first impression to his colleagues?
"Um, thank you?" Martin replied somehow unsure of how to reply to Peter's remark. "You're the photographer right, has Tim shown the cameras you can use?" Tim already had but Peter was a bit curious about everyone who worked here so he shook his head.
"Is it ok if you show me?"
"Sure," unsure of what to say, Martin started to carry the conversation. "The archives are pretty big but once you find your way around them it'll be hard at first but you'll get used to it." Peter nodded unsure of what to say. Sure he was mouthy inside the suit but when he was outside of it working hard to be professional it seemed like all his social skills disappeared.
"So why did you decide to work here?"
"The pay was good." Oh, Thor strike him down already. In his own embarrassment, Peter didn't spot Martin's smile. "Uh- I mean Ghosts are cool I guess."
"Don't worry I came here for the money as well. Surprisingly an easy job to get, I think people don't want ghosts attached to them" Martin was surprisingly nice to the new employee, it seemed genuine and wasn't one of the nice persona acts mangers put on before working you to death. Despite making a fool of himself he made half of a friend today. He promised Gwen that he'd try to make more friends long before she passed away and she'd be proud that he let Martin buy him lunch instead of his pride letting him starve.
His first day was surprisingly unproductive and he didn't have a shift delivering pizzas today so he let himself go on an early patrol. By midnight Queens was quiet and he didn't feel like sleeping too early (no he wasn't worried about nightmares) so Peter swung to Daredevil's hell hole (Hell's Kitchen). This place always needed work and Peter was one of the only vigilantes Matt trusted.
"Hello, Mister devil," Peter said in a posh British accent as he swung next to him.
Matt let out a little hum and replied. "You seem weirdly excited and energetic? You got a free hot dog or something."
Peter let out a little gasp placed his hand on his head and leaned on Matt pretending to be a fainting Victorian lady. "Why do you always assume the worst out of me? I did not get a free hot dog, I in fact got a new job where I do not have to work myself to the bone and actually get paid."
"Wow, are you sure that isn't a company that's trying to take over the world? Even the few times you've worked for villains you didn't even have great benefits."
"Well I'm actually working for a supernatural research centre, how are they going to take over the world? Ask their ghost friends to start haunting me?"
Matt hummed in the same way his aunt May hummed when she knew he was about to do something dumb. "At least it's better than what you normally do." Was the only comment Matt made before jumping onto the rooftop next to him. Peter followed already feeling a jump in his spider-sense.
They parkoured a few blocks before jumping down to meet a man who was running away in a panic. There was a white, glowing worm stuck on his shirt, Matt squished it as Peter tried to calm the man down. There was a hole through his hand and Peter used the man's shirt to wrap his hand.
"Sir please calm down, who are you running from?" Matt took over wrapping the hand and examined it. It didn't smell like charcoal or sulphur like usual wounds did but like dirt. The man was leaning on his knees trying to get oxygen through his exhausted body. "Do we need to call an ambulance or the police? Is there a villain we need to fight?"
The man shook his head and winced "There was a lady." His hoarse throat was able to mutter out. "Worms, so many worms. Or small snakes."
Peter whispered "I'll bring him to the hospital." quietly knowing only Matt would be able to hear him. Matt climbed up a wall as Peter continued comforting the man.
"She wasn't right, she put worms down my throat and into my ears." Peter would've believed some sort of hallucination power if it wasn't for the worm he found on the jacket.
"Let me take you to the hospital sir, You can tell me the story on the way." Peter would've swung there but he didn't know too much about what happened to risk a panic attack in the sky. The injuries seemed minor and there were no villains he had to fight currently. "Can you tell me about what this lady looked like?"
"She was dirty. I thought she was homeless and was about to offer her the way to the nearest homeless shelter." The man muttered out. He was starting to get paler instead of the colour that most people got when they realised it was safe. Peter needed to quickly get to the hospital, he didn't know if there were any injuries but with how he was acting he seemed like he might faint.
Peter grabbed the man and started swinging, sending a silent sorry to the man. The man almost didn't seem to notice that they were in the air and kept repeating. "Worms, everywhere. So dirty, the only thing clean about her were the worms." Was it shock or something else?
Peter got to the nearest hospital and placed the man on a stretcher before swinging out. He wanted to know what happened but it was more important for the man to get better instead of what happened, the nurses would just call security so they could arrest him anyway. He really hoped it wouldn't kick him in the butt later.
Maybe that was enough patrolling for one night. He knew he wouldn't stop thinking about that man during patrol and he didn't want to get sloppy and risk a life.
Notes:
Woooo! Early chapter.
Sorry if Tim was channelling season 3 energy, seeing Peter (who in this fic looks very similar too Danny) just scared him, he thought that he had too much to drink the previous night and was hallucinating a younger version of his brother.
Unfortunetly Jon and Peter's meeting won't come until the last chapter of this fic, due to lore reasons. I'm very excted to force the four of them into work friends.
Thank you for reading <3
Chapter 3: Chapter 3 ~ A realisation
Summary:
Peter ends up on his first assigment with Martin.
Notes:
Trigger warning: Graphic description of insects.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
For the past few days, everything has been going right in Peter's life. There's been a lack of supervillains escaping jail, no smear articles against Spider-man, and he paid his rent on time. Someone with more luck would say that his life was finally going on track. Unfortunately, Peter knows that his life could be anything but that and something horrible would be happening soon.
Maybe his new job was giving him some extra luck or he was being his delusional self. Peter still hasn't developed the usual hatred for his new job yet so he had a slight skip in his steps as he walked into archives. For the past few days, he's been helping out with sorting files and going on coffee runs like any well-paid intern.
He still hasn't seen his boss 'Jon' and hardly talks to Tim, the older man seemingly leaving the room or busying himself up with his own research. Sasha was on the nicer side and said polite greetings to him but she seemed too absorbed into her own research. Martin was the only friend he made due to the similar work they both did despite him being his superior.
Sasha smiled politely as Peter came into the archives. "Peter, I think Jon wants you to go take photos with Martin today." Good old Sasha always gave him assignments because Jon seemed like too much of a lazy prick to even say hi to him. "I think it's because he doesn't trust Martin but who knows."
He really had no idea about the dynamic here but he knew that Sasha hated Jon and Jon hated Martin. "At least I get to go capture some photos instead of sorting through the files. The lights are so bad in those offices that it gives me a headache." That was an excuse of course for his spider-sense migraines but Sasha didn't need to know that.
Peter spied the old camera most likely made in the 1980's due to the model. "Wow, I didn't know the cameras I'd be using were this old. Are you sure you want me to use these? I probably won't be able to get good pictures."
"I'm sure it'll be fine Jon won't care he'll dismiss the evidence anyway like he usually does."
"If you're sure." It was weird Sasha would be more particular and bothered Peter about using a better camera. She probably thought the story was a bad one.
Peter grabbed the camera and walked to Martin's desk, waiting for him to come and collect him. He was probably on lunch break. It was usually the time he went out anyway. He glanced over a few statements on Martin's desk. Most were about ghosts or other normal supernatural things he expected.
There was one that struck his curiosity though. A statement about a man named Timothy Hodge, it seemed simple at first about a hookup but the final few paragraphs about how his hookup turned into a ball of beating breathing worms, freaked him out. It seemed like something straight out of a horror story and Peter wished it was some sort of sick prank but his spider-sense and the man he met on patrol a few nights ago. Did that man have a similar story? He should've asked instead of being worried about being caught by the police. The only thing that connected them was the worms but he didn't have enough information to deem the situations weren't done by the same person.
Peter didn't get to read the complete file, only getting to the part about the worms. Martin came into the archives and spotted him. Peter rushed to meet him trying not to be suspicious. It wasn't against the rules to read files anyway, he probably wouldn't get in trouble. "You have a ton of files on your desk," Peter said instead of a greeting.
"How about a hello? Instead of interrogating me about my messy desk." Martin joked. It was good that he didn't get angry, if it was Jameson he'd probably be covering his ears due to how loud his ex-boss would be shouting.
"Hello, why is your desk so messy?"
"I'm always busy, Mr. Part- timer. You youngling wouldn't get it." Martin covered himself with a jacket as they got outside of the institute, the duo walked to the subway, Martin leading the way since Peter didn't know where they would be going or what they were even investigating. Peter should be asking Martin about where or what they were doing but he didn't care too.
"Star Wars reference?" Martin nodded and scanned his subway pass, Peter just jumped the gate. "Where are we going anyway?"
"Brooklyn, an apartment complex near Prospect Park." Near a park must mean a rich person area.
"And why are we investigating there?"
"Some sort of story about too many spiders. I want to say it's pretty dumb to investigate since the person who made the statement is already dead but I can't really say that to Jon."
"You know I'd actually like to meet Jon instead of just hearing stories. His door is always closed and the curtains are shut."
"Yeah it's weird, Jon usually isn't this anti-social. He would have at least asked you to sort through some files by now." Peter didn't show his discomfort but it hurt. Everyone was ignoring him for no reason, he was used to cruel behavior but it felt more personal this time for some reason.
"I'm sure he's just scared of the teenager in the office with all his new technology." His face was the same as always, he didn't want to show Martin how much it hurt. Martin looked at him, his eyebrows rising, shit he knew that Peter was deflecting. "Anyway tell me about creepy stuff you witnessed while on the job."
Martin let the topic go and began talking about the weird things he saw while they traveled to Brooklyn. As they were walking to the apartment complex Martin's face became white and he stopped moving. "You do know that we have to lie to the landlord right? That we're safety auditors working for the council."
"No, do you have the documents that we might need?" Peter didn't particularly care about lying, he did it constantly but Martin seemed worried about what Peter might think. "As long as you do the talking we won't get caught." That was another lie but it was to calm Martin down, he seemed worried that Peter might spill the beans on them.
Martin nodded, seemingly calmed down, at least to the point of moving. They continued walking silently until they reached the apartment complex. It was 30 floors and looked over Prospect Park, modern, sleek, and reinforced like any new apartment complex made after the battle of Manhattan. Although the battle didn't reach Brooklyn most of the newer apartments were made in the protective style developed.
A greying man most likely in his 40s met the two of them outside the building, he gave a polite handshake to Martin and sent a forced smile to Peter. "You must be Mr. William-Cook, here for the safety audit," The landlord guided them to the basement and left the two of them there, he didn't seem to display any annoyance or hostility, only tiredness.
Martin was just looking over the building's history, "It's a fairly new building made 5 years ago. Carlos lived here from 2021- 2023, there was an infestation of maggots and flies on April 2023 when Carlos also started noticing the spiders."
"The building is fairly close to the park, but it is weird for an infestation of a new building around spring." Peter knew the events were fairly weird but nothing paranormal about them. He took a few photos of the basement just in case. "Should we go see the apartment where Carlos lived?"
The two of them climbed up the staircases to the second floor. "No one has moved in since Carlos moved out, which was around a year ago," Martin told Peter as he opened the door. It was an average 1 bedroom apartment that was fairly big for New York. It was painted white with no dents in the wall, the landlord most likely cleaned it up after Carlos moved out.
"So do most of your investigations go this way?" He asked awkwardly, he didn't want any drama but it was too quiet for his taste.
"Yeah, it does, sometimes it might include running away from security or seeing someone suspicious but it's most likely this." Maybe Peter was too used to the fights that came with Spider-Man or maybe it was suspiciously too clean here, he could come after dark to check again for the sake of his mind.
It was quiet on the journey back to the archives, both Peter and Martin thinking about the weird investigation Jon sent them on. Peter continued sorting out the archives until it was time to go deliver pizzas. He ended up working until 2 am and when he got home he was so tempted to skip out on patrol, but his curiosity won out and he donned his Spider-Man costume.
He swung to Brooklyn, making sure to keep an eye out for any crime. It was becoming that time of the year where crime spiked up in preparation of the holidays, and Peter was ready for many sleepless nights.
It was around 3 when he reached the apartment complex in Brooklyn, he easily broke in and felt his spider-sense shiver up his spine. He was ready for a fight as he crept down the stairs, he didn't hear anything but the snoring of the people above him but he did smell the faint scent of dirt.
He walked down the stairs to the basement, it took a few seconds for his eyes to accommodate the darkness but when they did he saw a massive amount of white grotesque flesh shaking on the floor. They seemed conscious and conjoined, he couldn't make it out if it was just one writhing block of flesh or multiple pieces of flesh conjoined together in an attempt to make itself larger. It reminded Peter of a chicken squirming for help as a butcher sliced off his head. Still alive for a few moments desperately wanting help while knowing it will die. If it wasn't so alien it would've caused Peter to be sympathetic instead of horrified.
The more Peter focused on the massive block of flesh the more Peter could distinguish what they were. They were worms, similar to the ones he found on the man a few nights ago, similar to the statement he read today at the institute. Hundreds upon thousands of worms crawling on the floor, too many for them to appear naturally unless someone or something dumped them all in the basement.
They were all tangled up and the mucus made it harder for the worms to escape. They were a sort of creamy white color with a hue of yellow that was unnatural no matter what light it would be looked at. It had hard shells all over the bodies of the worms and yet was still able to move dynamically. The longer Peter looked at them, the more they looked like bleached centipedes without legs. It was both unnatural and yet seemed like any other worm he would find in a park.
For a moment Peter just stared at the dying creatures, he swore he heard screams similar to those of a human coming from the worms. It wasn't until they stopped moving that Peter bent down to grab a handful of worms. Even though they were dead, his spider-sense still screamed in alarm at the dead animal. He carefully held the corpses in his right hand and swung away with his left.
He should call the landlord about the worms, but that would be tomorrow. No one was awake at this time. He could pass the time by dissecting the worms at Oscorp. The work day wouldn't start until 7 at the earliest and it was still 4. He had plenty of time to dissect the worms and figure out what exactly they were before he had to leave.
Peter placed the worms in a jar and began testing the dead animals. He spent the last few hours of the night testing and testing but he never could find why his spider-sense spiked so much when he was near the vicinity of the worms. They were unlike any worm, insect, parasite, or slug he knew about, they had no poison or venom in them and seemed to be made out of flesh, not anything unnatural and he couldn't find evidence that it was genetically modified by humans. Just a simple worm, there was nothing suspicious about it that Peter could find. The only suspicious thing was how Peter could hardly sense the worms and how his spider sense spiked in its vicinity.
He had to ditch the worms and race out of the building. He was caught by a lab assistant after he overstayed his welcome. He raced home, only bothering to stop to help out people in trouble. He scoured the internet trying to find any similar worms. The most similar thing he could find was pinworms, a smaller parasite that can live in humans and cause infections. Was it a more dangerous type of pinworm? Something genetically engineered to be more dangerous, or was it just some sort of new type of worm?
Maybe a new villain was in the building or was the government trying out a new weapon? Maybe the amount of radiation the worms were getting had modified them. He'd have to ask the rest of the vigilantes to keep an eye out and investigate in case anything happened or if there were more injuries or any casualties.
He fell asleep, while investigating the new type of worm and precautions against it and woke up around midday. He had 15 minutes to get to the institute. Instead of taking the subway like he usually did, he quickly started swinging towards the institute. His identity might be important but he also won't risk getting fired because he was late.
He was only late by 10 minutes which was pretty good by Peter's standards. He quickly walked down to the archives and sent out a polite meeting to Sasha, he started to walk around looking for Martin until Sasha stopped him. "Martin's not here today, Peter, so you'll be helping me."
There's this moment where everything rushes through him. The worms, the spidey sense that always bothers him in the institute, the lack of connection between his coworkers. They're not all just coincidences like Peter's been telling himself. He's joined something that will ruin him, he'll see coworkers die and he'll be hurt again and again and again. This luck that's been blessing him wasn't a sign that something was going better but a warning. A warning that he will be ruined again.
Peter smiles already feeling grief rush through and a longing for the only friend he made. "Oh, I hope he's alright." Peter won't delude himself that Martin's alive, he just hopes that when Peter finds the body it'll still look like Martin.
Notes:
This was supposed to be way longer chapter but it felt right to end it here, I may or may not add another chapter depending on the pacing of the next few chapters.
Peter is finally peicing together the truth instead of deluding himself like most of the chapter! I'm so proud of him. The next few chapters will be getting more intese until we finally reach the season finale! Thanks for reading!
Chapter 4: Chapter 4 ~ Peter is unsurprisingly very popular with eldritch entities.
Summary:
Peter meeting Annabelle? More likely then you think.
Notes:
HEllo!
I am back. I'm sorry for leaving but I got writters block then an unintrest in Spider-man. Fortunetly for me I still love him and now I want to write this story again.
Updates will be irregular but I will try to update at least once a month.
This chapter is very conversation heavy, so enjoy that. My pacing also isn't very well but All these scences where very important to have in the same chapter.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It's been 2 weeks since Martin hasn't been at work. The rest of his coworkers simply just say that he's sick. Are they just naïve to this or do they already know Martin's fate? Peter has a million questions running in his head, but he simply doesn't trust anyone enough to ask them. He's been to Martin's apartment, but it was apparently his old place of residence, when Peter asked the landlord he was told that Martin moved out when his mother was put in a nursing home a few months back. When he visited the nursing home, Martin's mother lived in all he could find was a spiteful old woman who never even bothered to put up any photos of Martin.
It was becoming near impossible to find Martin and his world wild access to technology he had access to at the Buggle was gone. Peter prayed that if he found Martin, the body was still unmangled. Peter knew that he most likely was dead, but Martin deserved to have a proper funeral for the people that cared about him. He was always such an idiot. Couldn't even save the only person in the institute who was decent to him. He still had no idea who controlled the worms and was now half his investigation time, since he had to fill in for Martin.
It was during one of those nights when Peter had to work late because of the absence of Martin that he met a family member. At least that's what she claimed when she forced him to sit down and have tea with her. It was weird how she approached him, Peter didn't even notice her until she was right in front of him. One of his senses should've gone off, he can hear a heartbeat a mile away but he couldn't hear her.
The first thing he noticed was her bright blonde hair that seemed to glow from the light of the street lamps. There was nothing odd about her from the first glance, sure she might give off a pretentious hipster vibe, but what was odd fashion in New York. "Peter" Her voice had that oozing confidence that stopped him right in his tracks. "You're Peter Parker." It was a statement not a question.
"I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Oh, don't be so mean to your sister" He didn't understand what she was saying? Sister? He didn't have any siblings, and they looked nothing alike.
"Are you? What are you?"
Annabelle grinned at his panicked state, showing her perfect pure white teeth. One of the lights came on from a ground level apartment, showering her in light. The right side of her skull was caved in, it was covered by white string that matched the exact same colour of her teeth. How did his spider sense not sense anything? Why couldn't he hear the click clack of her shoes, of the sounds her organs made that let her function?
"I told you, I'm your sister, well, more like your half-sister. Same mother, different father"
"You're apart of whatever the institution is doing, aren't you?"
She points at her head and smiles as if she's talking to a young child. "Obviously. Now come along, I want to talk to you. I know this fabulous little 24-hour cafe that you'll love. Don't worry, I'll pay."
Like some sort of spell came over him, they both walked over to a small cozy cafe without a word. Annabelle ordered for them both, somehow getting his favourite items off the menu without even asking him. "Peter, I want to be your sister. I mean actual sister, not the forced to interact type but the type that actually cares for each other."
She came in strong but Peter preferred the lack of small talk. "So no offence, but are you sure we're siblings we don't particularly look alike?" It was true, there where hardly any similarities between them. The staff at the cafe most likely thought this was a very awkward break up from how they where reacting.
"We are. We're family, and I want to have a relationship with you."
"What do you know about the institution?" If Annabelle wanted a relationship, she'd have to answer his questions first. She could even help Peter find Martin.
"What would you like to know?"
"What do they do?"
"I thought you'd be smarter than this." There was a small frown on her face, but she began to explain, anyway. "The institute is a place where they store experiences so they can feed... it." She coughed into her handkerchief and Peter could start to feel the intense grip of his spider sense coming back to life.
Annabelle was unnatural. Half of his spidey sense wanted to flee and the other half wanted to stay there and learn more. It was so intense how his head pounded that Peter was sure he'd vomit. "I have to go." The chair shrieked across the floor as he got up and began walking out. Peter began to feel cold. So very, very cold that he swore he'd freeze to death.
"Wait. Let me give you my business card." Annabelle rushed to him and placed her business card in his hand. Her hand was deathly cold. Colder than his entire body. His mind didn't even process that he was most likely running a fever. He scrunched up the card into his pocket and left the cafe.
He rushed home, ignoring the cries for help. Didn’t even pretend to be normal instead ran and ran and ran. The people on the trains were giving him a dirty look when his body wouldn't stop shaking with fear but he didn't care. He had to get home. Had to get away from the mess he got himself into.
Unfortunately for Peter, god hates him and decided that he deserved to meet another person who would most likely try to kill him. Well, he only figured that out the next day.
Peter felt the being first, his spider sense flashing warning lights before it came out. It looked like the most ideal form of a person, yet it wasn't. It had long limbs and flowing blonde hair. "You should be my friend" Was it the fever or did this thing sound like Mysterio?
"No, I'm sick"
His laugh was like the Rimmonim bells in the synagogue Peter used to go to until Uncle Ben died. "You worry too much. You're going to get gobbled up if you continue acting like that."
"If you don't leave me alone, I will beat you until you can't move any more of your freaky fingers."
"How about a game? If you can count the number of fingers, I'll leave you on your own. If not, you have to go on a date with me."
Peter cringed at the suggestion. The thing didn't like him romantically only as a thing to use to fulfil his own crazed agenda. "I'll listen to what you want me to do if I fail your little game. If I win though? You'll leave me alone."
"They always said you're dumb, but not this dumb." Intimidation or reverse psychology or whatever the term was wouldn't work on Peter.
"Give me your hands, let me hold them." It placed its hands on Peter's one. Its hand was still bitterly cold, but not as bad as Annabelle's. His hands squeezed its hand and began counting its fingers. Was it doing something to its hands or did Peter completely forget how to math?
"Either 13, 11 or 7." It was a guess, but the thing seemed to be the type to prime numbers.
"Oh, Silly you. I have 10 fingers. At least I know why I like you! You'd make a great little brother. You can call me Big Brother Micheal!"
The thing was hurting his head, he had a fever, and he was going to hurl right onto this stupid little things leather shoes. So he did. He vomited on the monster's shoes. If he didn't get to be left alone, it didn't deserve its good shoes. "Oh, Peter, let me take you home" So this weird monster thing took Peter home and left him by himself without a care in the world of the bet they made.
Peter woke up the next morning with someone in his kitchen humming Espresso. "Micheal I will vomit on your shoes again if you don't leave now."
He covered his eyes with a pillow. It was too early for anyone to be humming that stupid song that was everywhere. "Petey Pie, who's Micheal? A guy you got to replace me because you missed your sweet old daddy." Wade jumped onto his body and laid down right on top of Peter.
"Wade, I love you but I am so sick; please get off of me."
"My poor baby boy." Wade may have sounded sarcastic but his heart was rattling in his chest, Peter never got sick.
"I'm fine, just got drugged or something. Now get off." He understood why Matt was in a pissy mood half of the time whenever he had to interact with Deadpool. Wade was a menace.
Wade got off and began actually being useful for once in his life. He made Peter a light breakfast of snacks and closed the curtains for him. "So Petey pie, you never told me who Micheal is."
"Some sort of weirdo who wants to become friends, I think. He was crazy dude." Peter could see Wade's frown from underneath his mask. "Don't worry, I can handle him." Peter probably could if he didn't get sick again. Wade didn't need to deal with all this supernatural stuff, anyway. He was pretty sure Wade would go crazy with excitement when he figured out there were flesh-eating worms.
Notes:
Thank's for reading!
weeping_samael on Chapter 1 Fri 15 Nov 2024 04:32PM UTC
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weeping_samael on Chapter 1 Wed 20 Nov 2024 01:55PM UTC
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Your_Gay_Cosuin on Chapter 2 Tue 26 Nov 2024 10:49AM UTC
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