Chapter 2 - Setting the Stage 2

Time skips back to after the playdate

Residence: Fitzgerald Residence

Peter's POV

"How will Captain America and Bucky get out of this one," The narrator of the cartoon says. The cartoon being left on a cliff hanger as the episode ends in dramatic fashion.

Still weird that there is a cartoon about Captain America. It's actually pretty entertaining though, once you get past the part of the old animation. Probably made this as a propaganda or motivational effect around the time of the war when Captain America was at the peak of his popularity.

"Okay that's enough cartoons for now," Mother tells, turning off the tv and giving me a hand to get up.

"Ok, Mom" I agree, walking off to my room to draw with my crayons. Not like there is much I can do as a four-year-old. At least I'm trying to draw stuff with semi skill. It's harder with my hands not being as dexterous as a late teenager. Always liked to draw things as a hobby.

"Actually Peter, can you stay for a little bit," Mother asks. I turn right back around and stand in front of her. Guess those crayoned drawings can wait for now.

"I wanted to talk about something important with you," Mother says with a serious voice. One of the first times she hasn't sounded cheerful or positive like to me. My own face taking on a serious tone too, but it probably just looks funny with my child face. She laughs looking at my face. She goes back to serious after laughing for a good minute.

"Sorry Petey you just look so cute and funny with that face. Now what I wanted to talk about was me possibly going back to work," Mother explains.

"If I did go back to work for Norman my friend, then I won't be able to spend as much time with you anymore. Instead, you would spend time with Emily and Harry. What do you think of that," She continues with nervousness in her voice. She must want to go back to work or has been asked by Norman.

Now spending less time with a nice mother definitely doesn't seem like a good thing but turning down Norman Osborn is well not something smart people do unless you want to be on his bad side. On the plus side I get to hang out with Harry, who is just pretty timid of a child when I was with him. So, I basically was just leading him in playing.

"What do you do at work," I ask. I want to see if she is something important as Oscorp to be needed.

"Well, I am one of their leading workers and do very important things for the company," She explains it simply since saying words like scientist and genetics wouldn't probably make sense to a kid my age.

This changes my thinking on it a little. If she is as important as she is basically saying, then it would probably be a bad thing not to go back. I hum a little as I think.

"I think you should go back mother, your important right. That means they need you there," I tell her.

"But I wouldn't be able to spend time with you," She argues with a guilty face.

"It's fine mother, you're still my mother anyway. I'll always love you no matter how much time you spend with me," I assuage her worries. It's true too, if I was able to love my previous parents even though they treated me like a glorified trophy, than loving someone like her as a mother is so much easier. She doesn't have to spend time with me to know I love her and vice versa.

"Ok sweety, now come give me a hug," she says with a more relieved face. Pulling me into a tight hug.

"I'll always love you Peter no matter what," Mother tells me. This feels nice.

"I love you too mother," I respond back.

Time skips four years

Oscorp Lab

Mary's POV

I watch as the specimen continues its aggressive behavior against the other specimen. Both get into a fight with the aggressive specimen winning over and killing the more passive one. I feel a frown pull at my face. I release a tired sigh into the air.

I jot down some more notes, while observing the behavior of the aggressive one continuing its behavior even after the action. Shaking my head at the actions.

"Why does this keep happening," I mutter to myself, rubbing my eyes. I pick up the cup next to me and walk over to the coffee machine. Filling up my cup with straight black and just downing it. I hear the lab door opening and Curt Connors walks into my personal lab.

"Hello Mary, same problems I'm assuming," He concludes upon observing the specimen for a moment with a frown himself. He holds his one hand up and lifts it to his other shoulder to get out some creaks. No other arm below the shoulder he is touching.

"Yes, I don't know why no matter what we change it just resorts to such aggressive behavior after an extended period of time," I explain.

"Well, I've yet to find out myself even after all this time," He agrees with me. God this is frustrating and tiring.

"So, what are you doing here. You're usually busy with your own work," I question him.

"Ah, Mr. Osborn wanted to see you," He tells me. I give a nod of my head and he leaves the lab to go back to his own research. Always the same stuff with him too, lizards.

I walk out of my lab and into the white walled hallways. Everything feeling so clinical in design in this place. Brings back old memories of this place when I first started.

Just fresh out of the university and in need of a job. That's when I heard Norman had just started his own company and he sent an invitation towards me. The only true brains of the operation being Norman and Stromm. Yet, with my help Norman was able to get more of a foot hold in the company against Stromm.

Stromm didn't really care as long as he could continue with his strange obsession in robotics and engineering. So now Norman is lead chairman and Stromm just another scientist under his dime. It's nice to see how Norman has mellowed out over the years since our education days.

Could only imagine the person he would be today without Emily and being head of Oscorp. I finally get to the doors of Norman's office. Opening them after a moment.

His sits behind an obsidian black desk going over some papers. The rest of the room also black with the back wall being entirely made of glass to look out into the city. He looks up upon my entry.

"Ah Mary, it's good to see you," He greets with a small upturn to his lips. Never quiet fully smiling ever really.

"Norman I work for you, it's not like we don't see each other every day here," I reply, bluntly.

"I suppose, anyhow how has the project been going," He gets straight to the point. Like this way of doing things much better than working around.

"Well for an enhancer it does what it's supposed to, makes the specimen stronger, smarter, and basically enhances the body in any other way it can," I explain before scrunching my eyebrows for this next part.

"I'm sure it isn't all good things," Norman suspects upon looking at my expression.

"Well, the biggest problem with it is the affects it is having on every specimen's mind and behavior. At first the changes aren't noticeable, but as time continues with the observation an aggressive behavior can start showing after a time. Eventually it devolves even further into attacking anything near it," I explain further.

"That's a shame, do you believe you can fix it or slow the deteriorating process of the mind," Norman questions with a serious face. I think and come to a conclusion on that.

"With time, I believe I can definitely do so, but I've currently run into a roadblock," I answer honestly. I'm tired from using my brain so much, I just want to relax at home with Peter. Maybe watch a movie with some popcorn. That would be nice.

"You should take the day off Mary," Norman proposes out of nowhere. A little worried look on his face. Not often he shows worry.

"Uh but I still have a couple hours left," I reply.

"Yes, you do, but you look exhausted. Take the day off, actually take the whole weekend off. Spend some time with your son," Norman tells me. How kind of him.

"Ok I think I will, thank you Norman. I'll see you next week," I thank him with a smile and walk out of his office into the elevator to start heading to pick up Peter from Norman's home.

Switch to Peter's POV

My finger holds the pencil as I draw Chibi Spider-Man doodles on my notebook. The tutor going over some instructions for me and Harry. I don't really bother listening as I've learned all this crud already. I was the top in my class in everything in my previous life and that knowledge hasn't left my head a bit. That's what a good memory can do for you.

I draw him swing kicking into a Chibi Venom's face. With a sound effect bang behind them in the background. I chuckle at the image, before a hand pulls my notebook from my desk. I look up and the tutor looks at the doodles with a displeased expression.

"Instead of wasting your time drawing Mr. Fitzgerald, you should be taking notes," the tutor explains with a disappointed expression.

"Why it's not like it anything worth noting," I explain. Harry chuckles a little to the side before the tutor looks to him and he's back with his face in his notebook writing.

"Your mother pays for this tutoring, so I wouldn't waste her money on spending time making amateur drawings," He continues past my snip at him. I look at the board and see it's only a little bit of advanced subtraction and addition problems. I get a blank face at this and just look back at him.

"You're still getting paid aren't you, so stop bugging me with your amateur teaching," I shoot back at him. My drawings are not amateur. Chibi is a form of art too and one that is fun to do. Harry starts coughing on the water he is drinking. That's when a knock is heard at the door. The door opens and Emily with my mother walk in.

"Hi Peter, I came to pick you up early," My mother says upon entry. I start packing my stuff and heading out of the classroom as the tutor starts talking to my mother about my behavior. Harry himself is told he can leave early too and follows me out of the classroom.

"You know you're going to get in trouble right," Harry tells me as we both stand outside the classroom. A nervous smile playing at his face.

"Harry, I learned math like this when I was four," I explain with a serious face. In this life I learned when I was four, but in my previous life I was taking damn IB classes towards the end of my schooling day.

"Still can't understand who teaches a child math problem at four years old. I was still learning to count," Harry says with exasperation in his tone.

"My mother is a person who does that," I say to him. Harry just nods like that answer makes sense for my mother.

"Well anyway what are you doing this weekend," Harry questions me. Fiddling with notebook bindings.

"What I've always done, come here because my mother has work," I tell him with an isn't it obvious tone.

"Oh right, yeah sorry," Harry says with a nervous face. Still as timid as I remember he was four years ago. Some things never change.

My mother walks out with Emily and gives me a little disappointed look. I just respond with a quirk of my eyebrow. Not like I did anything wrong. That hack of a teacher shouldn't have crossed my work like that.

"Well see you later, also goodbye Aunt Emily," I give a wave to her and start walking with my mother. Emily takes Harry's hand, and they walk further into the home as we walk towards the elevator to leave.

"Peter, why have you been giving your teacher trouble," Mother questions with a stern voice. I just give her a sideway glance.

"Because he's teaching simple math I've learned already, and he called my drawings amateur. He wouldn't know a good drawing if he saw one anyway," I clarify to her. She softens her expressions a little bit.

"Yes, I know you learned this already, but you have to show respect Peter," Mother informs me. I may have been a patient person in my last life, but that was because of image. I don't have to uphold an image here. Not like I'm being watched by vultures all the time anymore.

"You've told me respect is earned not given. And what is there to respect, he teaches 3rd graders," I argue with a baffled expression. I am not taking bad talking from someone with a living like that.

My mother laughs a little bit breaking the stern image herself. I'm a little surprised at this.

"I understand, I use to have tutors myself when I was your age. It didn't last long because I kept getting on their nerves. Nice to know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," She explains with an understanding face. I often forget that she herself came from a wealthy family, except their all basically dead now.

"Now guess what, I got the whole weekend off. We can hang out or go out for some fun," Mom informs me with a smile. I smile at her positivity.

I know I told her to take the job all those years ago, but I still do miss my time spent with her. She has days off but has to spend them sleeping to really be functioning as a person when she goes back to work.

It's made me spend a lot of time with Harry and his mom. She eventually got tired of me saying Mrs. Osborn and decided I should call her Aunt Emily instead. Since I spend so much time with the family anyway.

Harry has been my only friend and I, his friend in turn. He may be timid most of the time, but he does have another side to him that is pretty stand up. Feels like having a brother after all this time. Four years have gone by fast, but it feels like forever now that I'm finally eight.

I still think about the world that I live in often. It's crazy to open a history book and see Captain America have his own section during WW2 period. It never gets any less surprising to me. Everything just feels so normal right now. No crazy super villains robbing banks yet or nut jobs trying to destroy the world. It's just all so peaceful at the moment in my life.

I'm enjoying this life, even if I'm still a child. There is just so much to do in this world, places to visit. I wonder if I can ever go to Latveria or Wakanda in this life. I'm just like a spec in the universe with a myriad of different things to experience. I turn to my mom after my moment of thinking.

"Let's go get some ice cream," I say, something simple will do for now though. Smiling as we exit the building together hand in hand.

Author's note: Kept this chapter pretty short, but I just want to build up the characters some more before crap will eventually hit the fan. And trust me it will at some point in the near future. Also just giving that slice of life tag an actual reason for being here.

For those wondering why Peter acts the way he does, I do have an explanation. After spending so long trying to be perfect for those around him in his past life, he just wants to act the way he wants now. Less emotional masks and time keeping in his thoughts. Life is short, he figured that out the hard way dying just before his life really got started. That's why he likes to express himself even if his opinion isn't nice.

On Harry's character I sort of see him as someone who didn't really have a voice for himself as a child since his dad is Norman Osborn, but with Peter and his own mother still alive. It gives him the chance to start breaking out, which is what I plan for the future of his character.

I'm sure people realize that the project they were talking about was the Oz project. Next chapter will be sort of slice of life, like the calm before the storm.

Thank you for reading and see you next chapter.