Chapter 66: What If Peter Parker Never Became Spider-Man
Ethan took the Sling Ring, turning it over in his fingers, quietly delighted. Portal magic. Picked up this easily. Unbelievable.
"I'm not the kind of guy who does this for a reward. The peace of the cosmos is its own motivation. I'm there for it."
"Always ready. To fight for commu— for — for cosmic peace!" Ethan caught himself mid-Communist-Pioneer pledge, pivoted hard, and somehow landed it.
The Ancient One's unflappable face flickered, for just a second, with something like doubt. A task this important. This man. Was she sure.
"Hold on though — as far as I know, the Sling Ring doesn't actually let you travel to parallel universes, does it?" Ethan asked, suddenly serious. That part he wasn't making up — he genuinely didn't remember portals being rated for inter-universe travel.
Most people thought Ned conjured Tobey and Andrew's Spider-Men into No Way Home with a Sling Ring. That wasn't right. They'd slipped through tears in spacetime. Different mechanism.
The Ancient One nodded. "Correct. I didn't say Sling Rings could do it. What I said was — since these are adjacent universes, I can locate the tears in spacetime and send you through."
She had her methods. She'd been alive a very long time, and in that time she had learned every magic worth learning and a few that weren't. There wasn't really any spell the Ancient One couldn't do. There were only spells she chose not to use.
Ethan nodded along, newly impressed. The old-timers really are something else. Man, I want to make her Family. Just imagine free-riding on her entire spellbook.
"Ethan — do you know why tears in spacetime exist in this universe at all?" the Ancient One asked.
Ethan blinked. He'd never actually thought about it. Now that she'd put the question in front of him, he was curious.
"There are countless parallel universes, all adjacent, all normally sealed off from each other. They don't interfere."
"But exceptions happen. Like this one. When a single variable is introduced, the butterfly effect cascades. The pressure builds. The walls between those universes begin to fracture — tears form, and universes that were never meant to touch begin connecting." She laid it out.
Ethan nodded along like he was following. In truth, his previous-life understanding of multiverse mechanics was more along the lines of Marvel wanted more money but didn't feel like thinking hard, so they invented the multiverse. But he kept that to himself.
"Okay, understood. Question though — once I finish the job, how do I get back?" Ethan cared about his own survival, always had, always would.
The Ancient One seemed to have anticipated this. "I've enchanted your Sling Ring. Activate it and it will bring you home."
"Only once, though. Next mission, come see me and I'll recharge it."
That was by design. It guaranteed Ethan would report back in person.
"Got it, no problem. I'll do it."
"And honestly — the bigger thing for me is wanting to be your friend, Ancient One. Friends helping friends, that's just how it works. You wouldn't mind being friends with a guy like me, would you?" Ethan leaned into sincerity.
Something in the Ancient One's face softened. After all these years, it had been a long time since anyone had proposed friendship. Just like that.
"You're an interesting one." She didn't say yes. But she didn't say no either.
Ethan, however, already had his answer — from the System.
「DING!」
「Congratulations, Host! The Ancient One has been added as a friend!」
「Attribute Gained: Portal Magic!」
「Integrate immediately?」
Integrate! Ethan thought.
A flood of knowledge and practical experience poured into his head — the technique, the gestures, the intent, the finer calibrations. All of it. Ethan suddenly felt like he'd been practicing portals for, oh, about two and a half years now.
He hadn't even been sure how long learning the Sling Ring would take. The System had saved him all of it. Now he could work the ring fluently.
While he was running through the new download, the Ancient One let the Mirror Dimension drop.
"Now, Ethan. Fetch your guest. I'll send him home."
Ethan hustled upstairs for Miles. The kid still had no idea how he was getting back.
A few minutes later, Ethan came back down with a very confused Miles in tow and led him over to the Ancient One.
"Miles — this is the Ancient One. She's the one who's taking you home."
Miles ducked his head respectfully. "Hi — uh — hi. I'm Miles."
His head was a mess right now. The last few days in this strange universe had been a lot.
Part of him had already made peace with never going home. With never seeing his parents again.
And now, out of nowhere, Ethan had shown up with a sorcerer who said she could fix it — and Miles didn't know what to do with the combination of hope and fear that was suddenly sitting in his chest. He was terrified to hope and it was already too late for that.
"You're a brave kid. Don't worry. You'll be home soon." The Ancient One looked at him with something gentle. A child this young, stepping in front of a universe-level threat.
She could see his future too. And she knew what was waiting for him as a hero who wasn't supposed to exist. A lot. A lot was waiting for him.
"Child — do you know how special you are?" Against her better judgment, she offered him a hint.
Miles furrowed his brow. Thought about it.
"Uh — 'cause I'm Black?"
The Ancient One shook her head with the patience of someone who had already been very old for a very long time.
"Child. Listen. Almost every universe only has one Spider-Man. And almost every Spider-Man has to live through the loss of someone they love. Your parents are both still alive. Do you understand what I'm telling you? That part is not a coincidence."
Next to them, Ethan found himself nodding along without meaning to. God alone knew how many times Uncle Ben had died across the multiverse. At this point you could probably line up every Uncle Ben's gravestone end to end and wrap them around the Earth.
Miles's face changed. "So — so my parents are going to be in danger?"
The Ancient One shook her head again. "Your parents will be safe. But you need to be careful. Now. It's time to go home."
She had seen more than she was saying. But some things, as she'd told Ethan earlier, were simply going to happen.
She raised a hand. Something quiet and powerful flowed from her palm and settled over Miles.
Miles's body began to shimmer strangely. His skin went translucent, bleeding into the air around him.
He felt the change happening. He raised a hand to wave goodbye to Ethan.
"Thanks, Ethan. Seriously. If you're ever in my universe, come find me. Dinner's on me. Thank you, Ancient One."
His voice trailed off as he did. Miles collapsed inward into a beam of light and was gone.
Once he'd fully dissolved, Ethan turned to the Ancient One, curious.
"Hey — what would happen if Peter Parker never became Spider-Man?"
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