multi - a spiderman multiverse fic

eight

"I wondered when you'd come back. I'll admit, I didn't expect Spiderman too, though."

Peter and I froze. I may not have been able to see his face, but his body language immediately switched up. His stance quickly became more guarded, and he turned to face the bedroom door. Good thing he put his mask back on before we climbed through this woman's window.

I let out a shaky breath as I also turned to face the bedroom door. I slowly slid my hand into my hoodie pocket, clutching the engraved gold ring as though my life depended on it.

My eyes met Elizabeth Green's, who stood staring at the two of us from the hall. Peter and I were silent - probably because neither of us knew what to say - while Elizabeth just waited patiently. I suppose she had expected one of us to reply, but we simply stared back at her, unable to process any words. Peter moved forward, keeping me behind him. After an uncomfortable silence, it must have become clear to Elizabeth that we wouldn't start a conversation willingly, so she took it into her own hands.

"So, how did you get back?" Elizabeth asked, moving closer to us.

Peter looked at me, then back at Elizabeth. "Uhh, we swung here?"

Surprisingly, she laughed at his response and shook her head lightly. "No, no. I meant Charlotte. How did you get back to this universe?"

"What did you just say? Back to?" I tried to maintain a calm tone, but I could feel my palms sweating. I couldn't make anything obvious, so I pretended to misunderstand. "I just came to New York yesterday?"

"Oh, I thought this could have happened. You completely forgot, huh? That's okay. It has been a long time."

Elizabeth smiled warmly at me, although I still hadn't decided whether I should trust her. I clutched the ring in my pocket. I knew it could seem suspicious, but I didn't want her to find out that I had taken the ring.

"You don't have to pretend around me. I know you somehow came through from another universe, Charlotte."

"What are you talking about? From a different universe?" I narrowed my eyes.

I was too busy trying to figure her out to wonder why she repeatedly called me Charlotte. I'd gone by Lottie since I was much younger. The more I thought about this, I grew increasingly suspicious of Elizabeth. Peter and I believed we were the only people that knew about me coming through from another universe, but this woman seemed to understand the situation.

Peter still hadn't said much, but took another step forward to keep himself between Elizabeth and I. He was probably just as confused as me, but hadn't questioned anything yet. Elizabeth glanced between Peter and I before speaking up once again.

"Let me guess, there's a different Spiderman where you came from? They don't look the same, do they?" Elizabeth frowned, moving closer to us. Neither of us responded. She paused before she spoke again, as though she had expected a reaction from us. "Okay, I'll just get this out of the way. Honey, you were born here, in this universe. You're my granddaughter."

"No." I shook my head. "No, my gran is back with my dad in my actual universe. I'm just trying to go home."

"This is your home. Our Charlotte should have been raised in your universe, and you in ours." Elizabeth seemed somewhat disappointed that I hadn't remembered. Peter turned to look at me, still visibly defensive.

"What do you mean, you're from here?" Peter spoke quietly as he moved closer to me. He still didn't fully turn his back on Elizabeth, who nodded slowly when Peter spoke. "Lottie..."

Elizabeth held her hands up briefly, then sighed. "I'll give you two a minute, just... Just come out into the kitchen when you're finished."

She walked away from the door, leaving Peter and I alone in the room. He reached over to close the bedroom door, then extended his forearm to shoot a web on the handle.

"Are you really from my universe? Have you been lying to me?" Peter removed his mask, revealing his unimpressed expression. His brows were furrowed, he seemed confused, and I could tell he was hurt. "You turn up completely out of the blue, you already knew I was Spiderman, but how do you know that if you're from here?"

Naturally, I was having a hard time coming to terms with everything Elizabeth had said, and an even harder time trying to figure out what Peter was accusing me of. Peter mistook my silence for a confession of something sinister.

"Wow. And I just trusted you, pretty much right away." He scoffed, turning to look away from me. "So... what? Someone sent you to snoop on me? To get me to trust you?"

"W-what? Peter, no. I have no idea what she's talking about, Peter. I promise. I haven't lied to you, at all." I stumbled over my words as I tried to explain myself. He watched me intently as I spoke, trying to figure me out. "Please, I have no idea what is going on. I don't know whether we can trust her, I don't know her!"

Peter looked down at his feet before muttering a response. He avoided eye contact as he spoke. "I want to trust you. So, please don't make me regret it, I can't take losing another friend. Or anyone, for that matter."

He pulled his mask back over his head, hiding his face from me. I wanted to reply, and my mind stumbled over everything I wanted to say, but I couldn't find the right words. I hadn't expected to see him this vulnerable. As I considered my next move, the door swung open with a flash of green.

"You need to leave, right now. Charlotte's here. She can't find out about you." Elizabeth spoke quietly, despite her frantic expression. "You need to go, come back tomorrow evening. We can talk then."

Peter quickly sprung into action and lunged forward to grab my waist. He raced towards the window, holding me at his side and tried to open the window.

He quickly pulled his hand away from the window latch when he noticed the soft green glow around the frame. I watched with wide eyes as Elizabeth held up her left hand and gestured to the window. With a flick of her wrist, the window slid open and Peter jumped.