Peter Parker fell out of nowhere and crashed directly into a large garbage bin in a narrow alleyway.
"Ouch!"
The impact rattled the entire container. After a few seconds, Peter climbed out while still holding the homemade Spider-Man suit he had been carrying earlier. He looked around in confusion, trying to understand what had just happened.
The last thing he remembered was standing in his bedroom talking to Luke. Now he was somehow in a completely different location.
"Okay... that's not normal."
He climbed out of the bin and brushed dirt from his clothes. Since walking around carrying a Spider-Man suit wasn't exactly a good idea, he rolled it up and shoved it into a nearby trash can before leaving the alley.
The streets outside looked normal. People walking. Cars moving through traffic. Shops open. Nothing seemed unusual, which somehow made the situation even stranger.
Peter walked along the sidewalk trying to make sense of everything. Eventually his attention landed on a large television screen mounted outside an electronics store playing a news broadcast. At first he wasn't interested. Then he noticed the date.
His footsteps stopped.
2019.
He stared at it. Then stared some more. His brain refused to process the information. The date stayed the same.
"What the heck is going on?"
"Bullshit is what's going on."
A familiar voice spoke beside him. Peter nearly jumped out of his skin, spinning around so fast he almost lost his balance. Luke stood there with his hands in his pockets as if he'd been there the entire time.
"Can you stop doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Appearing beside me like some horror movie character."
"You should be happy."
"How is that supposed to make me happy?"
"Because if I wanted to scare you, you'd know the difference."
Peter immediately decided he didn't want clarification.
Luke glanced back toward the television. "Anyway, welcome to another universe."
Peter looked at the screen, then back at Luke. "The date says 2019."
"Yes."
"That's impossible."
"Time and space don't operate under some universal rule that says every reality has to be synchronized. Some universes are ahead. Some are behind. Some develop completely differently. In an infinite multiverse, almost anything is possible." He smirked slightly.
"There are probably universes where you're female."
Peter looked horrified. "I did not need that mental image."
"So wait," Peter said after a moment. "If this is really another universe, is there another me here?"
"Finally, a good question." Luke nodded. "Yes, there is." He looked toward the city. "And currently he's going through the biggest identity crisis of his life."
After Spider-Man of this universe defeated Mysterio, things hadn't ended the way they were supposed to. Before his death, Mysterio released a fabricated video framing Spider-Man for the attack in London and revealing Peter Parker's identity to the world.
Overnight his life turned upside down. News channels followed him everywhere. Protesters gathered outside his apartment. Reporters chased him through the streets. His friends and family got dragged into the controversy simply for being associated with him.
Unable to live a normal life anymore, Peter eventually sought help from Doctor Strange.
His request was simple — he wanted the world to forget that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Strange agreed and began casting a powerful memory-altering spell to erase that knowledge from humanity's collective memory.
Unfortunately, halfway through the spell, Peter realized there were people he didn't want affected. He wanted Aunt May to remember. Then Ned. Then MJ. Then several others. Each interruption forced Strange to modify the spell while it was already being cast.
The constant changes destabilized its structure. What should have been a controlled magical effect became increasingly unstable, and eventually the spell broke apart completely.
Instead of affecting only one universe, it reached into the multiverse itself. The damaged spell began drawing in individuals from other realities who shared one specific piece of knowledge — that Peter Parker was Spider-Man.
The barriers separating universes weakened as it searched across reality for that connection. People, objects, even fragments of other worlds began getting pulled toward this universe.
What started as an attempt to protect one secret identity had escalated into a multiversal crisis.
"Yep. I'm definitely not cleaning this mess." Luke shook his head. Unlike normal incidents, this wasn't some local problem he could solve in five minutes and forget about — the entire situation was the result of a damaged spell interacting with the multiverse itself.
He was already tired of dealing with one crisis after another. For once, he intended to rest. More importantly, he still had a wedding to think about.
"Ummm, Mr. Luke," Peter said cautiously. "Can't you do something?"
"Can I?"
"Yes."
"But I won't." Luke continued calmly. "If you want to solve the problem, then go solve it yourself."
Before Peter could respond, Luke grabbed him by the collar. A portal opened beside them.
Peter looked at the swirling gateway, then at Luke, then back at the portal. "Ummm... don't tell me you're throwing me through that."
"No."
Peter relaxed slightly.
"That portal is the way to solving this mess."
"Okay."
Luke lifted him slightly higher.
Peter's expression changed instantly. "Wait."
Luke looked completely innocent.
"So you are throwing me through it."
"Technically I'm helping you enter it."
"That's not what that looks like."
"It looks exactly like that."
Peter's spider-sense started screaming. "Mr. Luke, let's discuss this like reasonable people."
"Reasonable people solve their own multiversal disasters."
"Mr. Luke—"
Before he could finish, Luke casually tossed him toward the portal. Peter's voice echoed through the street as he disappeared.
"This feels extremely unreasonable—!"
The portal closed behind him.
Luke dusted off his hands and looked toward the sky. "Problem solved." A few seconds later he corrected himself. "Well, technically the problem is Peter's now."
That distinction was important.
*****
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