A few days later...
Peter Parker found himself riding in a black car with one of the X-Men, Storm, whose real name was Ororo Munroe.
Storm kept both hands firmly on the steering wheel, her eyes calmly focused on the road ahead as the scenery rolled past the windows.
Peter sat in the back seat beside Emma Frost, who looked as elegant as ever while leisurely sipping a warm cup of tea, completely at ease despite the silence filling the car.
Inside Peter's mind, Venom spoke with clear confusion.
"Remind me again why we agreed to meet the wheelchair guy?"
Peter answered subconsciously, keeping his voice low enough that it almost sounded like he was talking to himself.
"Because... he specifically asked the White Queen here to bring me. Even though we've never met before."
Without taking her eyes off the tea in her hands, Emma smiled faintly.
"Don't worry, dear boy. You'll meet him soon enough."
Peter raised an eyebrow at her.
"You really like peeking into conversations, don't you?"
Emma took another graceful sip before replying.
"Only if I find it useful for intelligence reasons."
Venom let out an exaggerated laugh inside Peter's head.
"I'm dying laughing. Literally. From the inside."
Peter couldn't help the tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Emma noticed it and responded with a light, amused chuckle of her own.
Suddenly, a small blue creature appeared out of nowhere.
"GURA!!!"
Emma's composed expression immediately melted away.
"My baby!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, she carefully placed her teacup aside and scooped the little blue reptilian creature into her arms, hugging him tightly against her chest. Jeff happily nuzzled into her embrace while wagging excitedly.
Emma turned toward Peter with an unexpectedly cheerful smile.
"Boy, meet Jeff. Jeff... in reverse."
"GURA!"
Peter blinked before letting out a soft laugh.
"Heh. Hi. You're such a cute little fella, aren't you?"
"Guraa...!!"
Jeff happily reached toward Peter while making another adorable chirping noise.
From the driver's seat, Storm let out a small sigh without taking her eyes off the road.
"You three, stop playing like children."
Although her voice sounded stern, there was the faintest hint of amusement hidden beneath it as she continued driving toward their destination.
A short while later, the black car rolled through the gates of a large compound that also served as a school for mutants. The vehicle came to a gentle stop in front of the main entrance.
Emma stepped out first with Jeff comfortably cradled in her arms. Peter followed after, closing the rear door behind him.
Before shutting it completely, Peter leaned down slightly.
"Thanks, Ms. Ororo Munroe."
Storm gave him a casual nod.
"Anytime. Now get moving."
Peter smiled before joining Emma.
As Storm drove away toward the parking area, she suddenly blinked.
"...Wait."
Her brows slowly furrowed.
"How did that kid know my real name?"
She glanced at the rearview mirror, watching Peter disappear into the distance.
"This was our first time meeting too..."
Meanwhile, Peter and Emma slowly climbed the staircase leading toward the main building. Jeff had apparently exhausted himself from all the excitement and was now peacefully asleep in Emma's arms.
Emma gently rocked him while whispering in an unusually soft voice.
"Mmm... all sleepy? Mommy's going to tuck you in and..."
She suddenly froze.
Realizing Peter had heard every word, her confident expression instantly cracked with embarrassment.
"I mean... um..."
Peter didn't even bother looking at her.
"I don't want to know about it, Ms. Frost."
Emma cleared her throat, quickly regaining her usual composed expression.
"...Agreed."
The two continued walking in comfortable silence until they arrived before the principal's office.
Emma stopped just outside the entrance and turned toward Peter.
"This is where we part ways, Peter. I've already informed him of your arrival."
Peter nodded respectfully.
"Thank you, Ms. Frost."
As Peter reached for the door, Emma gently placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him for just a brief moment.
The instant her fingers made contact...
She accidentally read his thoughts.
Not just his thoughts.
His memories.
Countless images flooded into her mind in the blink of an eye.
The death of Uncle Ben.
The endless battles.
The pain.
The sacrifices.
The losses.
The responsibility.
The unbearable loneliness.
And finally...
His death.
Emma's eyes widened as she instinctively stumbled back a step, her breathing becoming uneven for the first time in a very long while.
"So... that's why..."
Her normally unshakable composure completely disappeared.
She stared at Peter with genuine disbelief.
"Peter... are you still..."
Peter noticed the hesitation in her voice.
Without turning around, he answered calmly, without the slightest pause.
"Yes."
He slowly looked over his shoulder.
"And I will change the future, Ms. Frost."
With those words, Peter opened the door and entered the room, leaving Emma Frost standing silently outside.
The hallway suddenly felt much quieter.
Emma lowered her gaze toward Jeff, who continued sleeping peacefully in her arms, completely unaware of everything she had just witnessed.
She gently pulled him closer against her chest and softly stroked his head.
"Hmm..."
A bittersweet smile appeared on her face.
"After all that suffering... you still chose this path, kid."
She looked toward the now-closed door.
"That..."
Her voice became barely above a whisper.
"That is a very big responsibility."
Peter entered the room and closed the door behind him. As he turned around, he froze for a moment.
The whole gang was there.
Wolverine (Logan), Cyclops (Scott Summers), Jean Grey (Phoenix), Rogue, Beast (Hank McCoy), and finally, seated behind the principal's desk at the very center of the room, was none other than...
"Oh man!! So it's you, the Spider-Spidey guy, right?! Great to meet ya! Name's Deadpool. But inside the mask? Ryan Gaslighting, get it?! Just busting your chops. Name's Wade Wilson, trainee X-Men, thanks to my sweet little Colossus after I finished killing that son of a bitch named Francis for turning me into a living hell scarecrow."
". . . . ."
"The fuck."
Peter muttered in complete disbelief as he slowly walked toward Wolverine. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't Logan at all.
It was an incredibly lifelike statue.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, brown-haired nerd," Deadpool complained, waving both hands dramatically.
Peter ignored him and turned back around with a frown.
"Where's Professor Xavier?"
"Hoho, talking about the big dog, huh?" Deadpool rubbed his gloved hands together mischievously. "Well, first you've gotta complete a test, my friend."
"A test?" Peter asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.
"Yep, a test. That is..."
CRASH!!
"RAAGGHH!!"
Peter spun around instantly.
The wall exploded inward as the real Wolverine burst into the room, his adamantium claws fully extended. His eyes were wild with rage, his breathing heavy, and every muscle in his body tensed as if he had completely lost control.
Peter's eyes widened.
"What did you do?!" he demanded, glaring at Deadpool.
Deadpool casually shrugged.
"Beats me. He's just like this."
"Like this my ass, Wade!"
"RAAGGHH!!"
"FUCK!!"
"JINX! I CALLED IT!" Deadpool shouted while pointing excitedly at Peter.
Without another word, both of them bolted for the exit.
Peter threw the door open, and the two sprinted into the hallway before slamming it shut behind them.
Deadpool leaned against the door, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead.
"Phew... that would've been—"
He blinked.
"Hey! Where're you going?! You coward!"
Peter was already halfway down the hallway at full speed.
"You asshole! Wood is child's play to him!"
The next second...
SLASH!!
Wolverine's claws tore straight through the wooden door as if it were paper.
The door exploded apart.
Before Deadpool could even react, Logan lunged forward with terrifying speed.
SNIKT!!
In a single clean slash, Wolverine sliced Deadpool clean in half across the waist before continuing his relentless pursuit of Peter without slowing down.
"My legs!" Deadpool cried, staring at his separated lower half. "I can't feel me legs!"
He paused.
"...Wait."
His detached legs were still running several meters ahead before finally toppling over upside down.
Deadpool pointed at them.
"Oh... there you are."
Meanwhile...
Peter activated his suit.
In an instant, countless nanites flowed across his body as his ordinary clothes transformed into the sleek black-and-red Spider Suit of his own creation. The metallic plates locked into place with a series of soft clicks before the glowing white lenses covered his eyes.
"Its a prototype for now... but thank heavens I wore this."
He sprinted through the hall before abruptly planting his feet against the polished floor.
Logan came charging around the corner like a wild beast.
Peter turned to face him head-on.
"Shit... he doesn't know me because this is our first time meeting. I've gotta think of something."
"RAAGGHH!!"
Logan lunged first.
His claws sliced downward with terrifying speed.
Peter barely avoided them, twisting sideways as the adamantium claws carved three deep gashes into the hallway wall instead.
Chunks of concrete exploded everywhere.
Peter fired two web lines toward Logan's wrists.
THWIP! THWIP!
The webs wrapped around both arms.
"Gotcha!"
Logan simply roared.
With one violent pull, he snapped the webs apart as if they were little more than strands of string.
"...Right. Super strength."
Logan charged again.
Peter ducked beneath a horizontal slash before planting both feet against Logan's chest.
BOOM!
The kick launched Wolverine several meters backward, crashing through a display cabinet before smashing into another wall.
Peter didn't waste the opportunity.
More webs shot from both wrists, pinning Logan against the wall from every direction.
His arms.
His legs.
Even his torso.
"Stay down!"
For exactly one second...
RIIIP!!
Every strand snapped apart.
Logan burst free with another enraged roar.
"Yeah... should've expected that."
The mutant lunged again.
This time Peter relied entirely on his Spider-Sense.
Every slash came within inches of his body.
Left.
Right.
Uppercut.
Diagonal.
Peter twisted, flipped, and weaved between each strike with near-perfect precision while the claws tore apart everything around them.
Walls.
Doors.
Ceiling panels.
The hallway looked as though a tornado had ripped through it.
"I really don't want to hurt you, Logan!"
Another slash answered him.
Peter leaped onto the ceiling before firing a web directly into Logan's face.
The temporary blindness bought him only a second.
Peter flipped behind him and locked Logan into a chokehold.
Logan responded by throwing himself backward.
BOOM!!
Peter was crushed between Wolverine and the wall.
"...Ow."
Logan immediately swung another claw.
Peter blocked it with his forearm guards, sparks flying as adamantium scraped across the nanometal plating.
"So that's what Vibranium feels like against adamantium..."
Peter shoved Logan away before putting several meters between them.
"This isn't working..."
Then...
An idea flashed across his mind.
"...Magic."
Peter quickly formed several hand signs exactly as he had been taught.
Golden-orange mystical symbols appeared beneath his feet.
"You'd better thank the Ancient One for this."
Several glowing magical chains erupted from circular portals.
They wrapped around Logan's arms.
His legs.
His torso.
Another set wrapped around the claws themselves, locking both hands in place.
Logan struggled violently.
The hallway trembled from the sheer force.
Cracks spread across the floor.
The glowing restraints groaned under the pressure.
Peter gritted his teeth.
"Come on..."
Logan roared louder.
The magical chains stretched dangerously.
Peter poured even more magic into the spell.
"...Hold..."
Finally...
Logan's movements slowed.
His rage gradually subsided.
A few moments later, he collapsed onto one knee before losing consciousness completely.
The magical restraints faded away.
Peter let out a long breath.
"Phew..."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"That took a while."
He looked toward the unconscious mutant.
"Although all the credit goes to the Sorcerer Supreme."
A nostalgic smile crossed his face.
"If I'm right... Dr. Strange should still be training under the Ancient One right about now."
Peter knelt beside Logan.
"Now let's see what's going on with you."
He carefully examined Logan before noticing something unusual around his neck.
"...Wait."
Peter gently lifted the collar.
"Is that... a universal power-enhancing inhibitor collar?"
He frowned.
"No..."
Looking closer, Peter noticed the internal circuitry.
"It isn't suppressing his abilities."
His eyes narrowed.
"It's amplifying aggression while overriding higher brain functions."
Peter carefully disabled the locking mechanism before removing the collar.
The moment it came off...
Logan's tense muscles relaxed.
A few seconds later, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Uhh..."
He groaned while rubbing his forehead.
"What... where am I?"
He looked around before recognizing the surroundings.
"Wait..."
"This is the mutant school."
His eyes landed on Peter in the Spider Suit.
"...You're..."
"The one Xavier wanted to meet."
Peter nodded.
"Yeah."
He offered Logan a hand.
"I'm gonna need you to fill me in on what's going on."
Logan accepted the help and stood up.
"But first..."
Peter's expression became serious.
"I need a favor."
Logan folded his arms.
"I don't do personal, bub."
Peter stared at him for a moment.
"Trust me."
"You'll want to."
Logan studied Peter's expression before giving a reluctant grunt.
"...Fine."
A few minutes later...
"Ah..."
Deadpool sighed happily.
"Finally."
He finished reconnecting his lower half.
"Back in one piece until—"
SLICE!!
"..."
Deadpool slowly looked down.
He had been cut in half again.
"Oh, come on!"
He sighed dramatically.
"Don't tell me he failed the test and—"
He slowly twisted his upper body around.
Standing behind him were Peter and Logan.
Both wore identical serious expressions.
Logan slowly cracked his knuckles.
Peter crossed his arms.
"Care to talk, bub...?" Logan asked.
"Ummm..."
Deadpool scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Ehehehe..."
"I can explain?"
Peter sighed.
"Yeah."
"You've got one hell of an explanation to give, Wade fucking Wilson."
As the two confronted Deadpool over what exactly had happened at the mutant school...
---
Chapter 32 — End