Spider-Man: Homeless

Peter Three

Ned had magically appeared only a few minutes before when Peter One himself arrived, holding something large in his arms.

It took him a second to realize that it was MJ.

He willed himself not to well up as he saw her- so young, happy, and unbroken. He willed himself not to feel a single thread of jealousy- because after all, they deserved it.

It wasn't their fault that he'd lost Gwen.

If he had to blame anyone, he blamed himself.

He knew that Gwen wouldn't have wanted him to. But he'd never been able to stop. He'd always wish, for every moment of the rest of his life, that he could live the moment again and wonder what would've happened if he'd managed to save her, even at the cost of his own life.

And even if he couldn't get her back forever... he'd give anything to tell her he was sorry.

Which was why, in that regard, he couldn't blame Strange. But the more he'd thought about it, the more he'd realized that Strange was far more corrupt than he'd originally thought. Even if he hadn't meant to do this to the multiverse, he would hunt Christine down and probably wouldn't let her go.

Peter had almost let him.

So much of this was his fault.

That was why he'd never be able to live a truly happy life. Because even though he tried to be the good guy, he always ended up helping the villain.

Sometimes, he wasn't even sure if he deserved to call himself Spider-Man.

Peter swung down with MJ and set her on the grass, where she righted herself and shuddered. Peter said something to Ned, and a portal opened. Peter jumped through and about a minute later came back out with a giant suitcase. He motioned for Peters Two and Three to come down from their posts and join the two of them.

"These are some of my old suits," he told them. "Peter Two, I think you'd probably rather use your own suit, but Peter Three, I think you said you wanted another one. I wish I had time to let you modify your own, but..." he glanced at the sky, and the entire group took a moment to take in the sight of the rippling purple.

Peter One tossed Peter a suit, and Peter recognized it as what he'd once called the Iron Spider. It was nanotech unlike anything he'd ever seen, and as he stripped off his stealth suit and put it on, it perfectly conformed to his body despite being designed for someone else.

Peter One said a few things to the AI inside, and suddenly, Peter was able to access every feature inside of the viewports.

Peter One pulled on the suit he'd been wearing when Peter had seen him last, the one that contained particles from the Iron Spider in it. Clearly, he'd been able to fix the suit that Peter Three was wearing and still keep the nanotech on that one.

And then, somewhat more reluctantly, Peter one pulled another suit from the case, and red and blue one that looked similar to the suit that all three of them used as their trademark.

He slowly handed it to MJ, and she disappeared behind a tree for about a minute before returning, dressed in the suit. It too perfectly fit her body.

Peter One turned to the rest of them as MJ made her way over. "I wanted to keep her safe, but she insisted on helping, or at least being near me. I didn't have another choice, so I gave her one of my suits. Help protect her. Please."

The other two Peters nodded in sync. Peter knew that both of them fully understood Peter One's need to keep her safe- and Peter Three especially knew what it was like for Gwen- MJ- to insist on helping.

Even when she shouldn't.

But just like Gwen, MJ had made her own choice.

Peter was going to make sure that Peter One never came to regret not locking her away, even if she hated it.

As MJ finally got to them, all of the Peters watched her adjust to some of the features of the suit. She held out her wrists and a string of webs shot into a tree.

"I could get used to this," she commented, holding out her arms. "But I still hate swinging."

"You'll learn," Peter told her. His tone was good-natured, but even through his suit Peter Three knew that they could all hear the anxiety in his voice.

MJ kept talking, though, and while Peter and probably everyone else knew that she was probably only trying to keep them as lighthearted as possible, he appreciated her attempt.

"All three of you could really have made your suits any colors in the world, and in all of your universes, you picked red and blue?"

"You can change the colors, and the design, actually," Peter One told her. "I just never did."

MJ didn't reply, but Peter watched as her arms shifted, obviously selecting things that the rest of them couldn't see.

In a moment, the suit shifted, and they all watched as most of it turned an inky black, except for the head and most of her arms. Those turned solid white, but the eyes and part of the top of her arms were highlighted in pink.

"I like it," Ned said before the rest of them could get a word in.

"Yeah, it fits," Peter One agreed, and then the rest of them turned to each other.

"Let's go kick some monster-" Ned started.

"There you are," hissed a voice that chilled Peter down to his bones.

They didn't have time to plan anything further.

Strange had arrived.