A Visit To A Friend's House

"...I'll be fine, mom. I'm not going off to war or something," I muttered, watching my mom fuss over my clothes and what I had in backpack.

She looked worried, like a bird mother watching her chick leave the nest.

...It's a vast overreaction, if you ask me.

It'd been a few months since I started school and met Peter. The young Spidey was a nice kid. Could hold a decent conversation if he wasn't too busy playing with Legos. Even then it was fun to help him build ambitious projects. We tried to rebuild a model-scale for our school while in school.

It went...okay-ish. Well, no, it went horribly and ended with me making a bunch of kids cry after they knocked down Peter's (I didn't do much other than pointing out mistakes) hard work.

What can I say? I hate to see hard work go down the drain. It happens enough to me every time I reincarnate. Starting over from scratch sucks ass.

"I know you'll be fine, sweetie," mom gave me a smile, pinching my cheek, before she put on a slightly too serious face, "But I've gotta make sure I don't give off a bad image to your friend's mom! What if she thinks you're being neglected or something?!" she gave a terrified cry before she started straightening my collar for the thirteenth time.

Looking at her like this, I sighed. Why does it always have to be like this? My fathers have changed from time to time, their appearances never really mattering, but my mothers' appearances...they've always been the same. The attitude has always been the same. The personality. The worrying.

It's an all too painful reminder that this is a woman I've seen die countless times before. Or at least a past reincarnation of her.

She'd also be one of the reasons I vowed to kick an omnipotent being's ass. Even if that is an unrealistic and horrible aspiration. But it's an aspiration nonetheless. One that has allowed me to reach the top every life I live.

Though old age, betrayal, simple mistakes which turn into catastrophic events...they happen and effect everyone. Even if they are me.

But other than old age, those other things were brought on by the dullness I experienced every life when I realized I still had at least one more reincarnation left. Not this time. Not when this is my last life. I'll be sure to get everything I can to guarantee not only my survival but also my mother's. This time is one of the rare reincarnations where I actually feel alive and not like some husk that only practices martial arts and cultivates Ki.

Which means I want to enjoy this life for a long time.

Looking into my mother's similar eyes I just smiled, "Don't worry, mom. Anyone who disrespect the way you raised me will get thoroughly reprimanded by me~" I lifted my chin into the air, acting like a cocky brat for once.

Mom just smiled before chuckling behind her hand. In the end she just ruffled my hair with a loving smile on her face, "You better. If they're too strong for you, just call me and mama bear will come and tear em' a new one!" she said with another laugh though it didn't seem like she was entirely joking.

...The same protectiveness as well. Sometimes I just wish to be reborn to some whore that doesn't care about me. That way I wouldn't have these connections nor these emotions...nor any of these chains that make me want to do good by her.

But seeing her smile so happily as she interacts with me...well, it just takes away that wish and puts it in the gutter where it belongs.

Looking at her like this, smiling without a care as she interacted with her son aka me, I felt at ease. Call me a momma's boy all you like but I just appreciated my mom's well being. Like most son's should unless their ungrateful little shits or have actual reason to dislike their mothers.

Though let's just say this: my mom isn't exactly a 'normal' mom.

We live in a high-class apartment building, we don't struggle for money despite being a single-parent household, and we have most the luxuries possible in the year 2000. Technology wise, at least.

This is because my mom comes from a pretty well off family and when they heard dear ol' dad split, they gave help. Plus, my mom's a detective for the NYPD - so she gets paid a decent amount. Put that together with the money she gets off of my grandparents, and she has enough money to go around.

Though her working for the NYPD does unsettle me. Especially with what I know is coming to this city.

But it's my job to prepare myself for that point in time. I can't exactly power her up - whether through some sick twisted sort of fate or just a very unlucky coincidence, I couldn't teach others my Ki Techniques. It's to do with the fact that no one else in this world as a Ki Center. Without that, they can't control Ki or gather it from the outside.

But I can work something out. It won't be too hard to synthesize some sort of Spirit Medicine to increase her Ki and enhance her body. I just need the right ingredients.

What? Just because she doesn't have a Ki Center doesn't mean she doesn't have Ki. Everyone has Ki. They just can't sense it or use it.

What they can sense and use is Chi. Which is, in my biased opinion, an inferior version of Ki.

It's harder to use, less versatile, doesn't strengthen the body permanently and it needs too much time to 'summon'. Unless you have the Iron Fist, it's destructive power is quite low as well. Even with the Iron Fist, it's still weak because it requires you focus on using one hand. Leading to your opponent being able to predict your attacks.

Or at least that's what I do when I come up against Iron Fists. I've done it a few times. They're decently strong when it comes to Martial Arts but in terms of overall strength...not too much.

Well, compared to me, at least.

By this point in time, I realized that I was standing there with my mom looking at me with a weird expression, "Don't you wanna go? Oh sweetie if you don't want to go I can cancel--" she tried to get out but I rolled my eyes before shaking my head and walking toward her and the door for our apartment.

"I want to go. I was just thinking about something," I said with a smile, beaming it up at mom.

...It was super effective and she smiled back at me, ruffling my hair some more, "Don't think too much, kiddo. Just enjoy being a kid for a little longer, okay? For your lovely mom's sake, at least," she laughed at her own joke before she began styling my hair back to what it had been before she ruffled it.

...If you're just gonna style it again, why did you ruffle it, mom? But thinking about what she said, I wondered. Be a kid? When have I ever had that luxury? Never.

I don't have it now either. But I can take a little time to get to know some future heroes and important people, right? It could count as making connections in this new world. Childish reasoning aside, I know what I'm doing. I'll just have to train harder AND smarter when I do train.

With this, mom put a jacket on and we were off - to the Parker Household.

. . .

As I walked through the doorway after saying goodbye to mom, I took off my backpack and moved into the hallway of the apartment. Looking through one of the doors, I saw Peter sitting on the floor watching some cartoons - it was a Saturday morning, after all.

I looked around for somewhere to place my bag and as I was not finding anything, I heard a voice come from the side of me before a hand came into vision, reached out toward my bag.

"Do you want me to put this somewhere safe for you, honey?" a typical New York accent entered my ears, yet it was much gentler. Like my mom's. Though it had a bit more liveliness to it. Mom was usually calmer when she was being a worrywart about me but this woman seemed to be the opposite - energetic for the most part and serious on occasion.

Nodding, I answer, "Yes please," I said handing her the bag, while I turned and got a good look at her.

A beautiful woman, by any means. Brown hair, dark brown eyes and lightly tan skin. Though it was still a few shades lighter than both my mom's and my own skin, it was easy to see that this woman was of descent from a warm and sunny country.

Of course I knew she was of Italian descent as well. This was Aunt May or May Parker, Peter's Aunt, after all. Well, the MCU one at least.

As she took the bag, I thanked her before walking into the living room where Peter was watching Power Rangers. I just sat down and joined him. I remember the Power Rangers. Though it's only blurs and flashes of certain lines - it has been around a thousand years since I last saw it, after all.

Looking to Peter, I raised an eyebrow, "Did you manage to get that new Lego set?" I asked, feeling slightly curious about building it myself.

...What can I say? The kid's got me hooked on Lego. It's fun.

Peter's head shot in my direction and he began to rapidly nod, "Yeah, yeah, I got the Death Star! It should be fun to build!" He continued to go on about Lego and I just smiled - he's not even that different as a kid to how he'll be when he's grown up.

Though just as I was about to say we should go and get started on building it, I heard knocks.

From the door, obviously.

I curiously looked in that direction and saw May answering the door, revealing a pretty woman who would no doubt look more so if it weren't for the tired look in her eyes and the slight paleness to her face. Feeling nosy, I focused my hearing and enhanced it with Ki just in time to hear May begin to talk, "Hello?" she said with a polite yet inquisitive tone.

"Hello, my name's Madeline Watson," the woman who had reddish-ginger hair said with a tired voice, "I just moved in with my sister next door and I felt like I should come introduce myself. Especially to the person who's helped my little sister out so much," she continued with a grateful tone.

"You're Anna's sister? Oh, come in, come in!" May's polite tone went out the window, replaced with a warm one. I could practically hear the smile on her face.

But Madeline Watson...why does that sound familiar?

My thoughts were cut off by May continuing to speak, "Oh? And who's this little cutie?" she spoke in a high-pitched and sickly sweet voice, like she was either talking to a baby or a pet animal. I turned my eyes that way and raised an eyebrow at the sight of May pinching the cheeks of some little redhead brat.

Madeline laughed before kneeling down next to the kid and speaking, "Mary, do you want to introduce yourself to the nice lady?" she asked and the kid just rapidly nodded her head.

...I mean, I think it's a her. Not many boys are named Mary and have long hair that's sorted into twintails. But I've been wrong before...so I'll hold no assumptions.

"M-my name is Mary Jane Watson and I want to be an actress when I grow up!" the little kid shouted at the top of her lungs, her nervousness getting the best of her. Her shout got the attention of Peter who looked curiously toward the hallway before he lost interest and went back to watching the TV.

May and Madeline, however, started to laugh and May pinched Mary's cheeks again, "With cuteness like this, I'd say you'll definitely make it as an actress!" she said while smiling between Mary and Madeline.

--Wait. Wait a fucking minute. Redhead. Mary Jane Watson. M...J. MJ. Oh shit.

Was she even a redhead in the MCU? I mean, I know things have changed. Peter's been born much earlier than he should've been. But I still thought most people would still be the same...who else is gonna be added?

But to think I'd be here when little Spidey runs into one of his future love interests.

Though, with my handsome looks, I bet that's not so certain anymore is it? Heh. This reincarnation just keeps getting more and more interesting.