"Woah, dude, I think your gaming room is bigger than my house!"

John teased Henry with a nudge on his shoulders. Although that might not be much of an exaggeration as the mansion his friend lived in was truly immense and was full of all sorts of entertainment equipment from a stocked kitchen, an arcade center, and every gaming console ever made.

"Yeah, I guess there are some benefits to being the son of the CEO of Oscorps. I just wish he wasn't so busy all the time..."

Henry sighed wistfully as he thought of his father. While he had all the money and games he could ever want he could never get the support he wanted. It was why he tried so hard in school and never told anyone about the bullying. He didn't want to disappoint his dad or look weak in front of him.

"Cheer up, champ, I'm sure he'll see how hard you're working. Any dad would be proud of their son as long as they try their best."

"Do you think so?"

"I know so. Now quit stalling and get ready to have your ass whooped!"

"Pfft, save the dreaming for when you're in bed, nerd!"

Hopping on one of the two bean bags the Osborn heir grabbed the controllers before tossing on to his friend. It was on. They were on their 5th match with the score 3-2 when suddenly yelling could be heard from someone coming up the stairs.

"I don't give a damn if you need to flip the entire town upside down, I want answers and I wanted them yesterday. If the perpetrator isn't found by the end of the week you can kiss your ass goodbye!"

Norman Osborn angrily shut his phone before letting out a small scream of frustration. The game was paused by Henry, but the motion caught his dad's eyes.

"Oh, Henry, and this must be your friend, John? I apologize for that unsightly scene. It is very nice to meet you."

The businessman gave a warm smile and offered him a handshake. If he didn't know better he would've thought he truly was a kind man, but he knew better. Even without the Goblin Serum, the man had been rotten to the core. He was only more subtle about it and his horrible actions were legal. It was disgusting and he felt like he was shaking hands with a snake.

"It is very nice to meet you too Mr. Osborn."

A fake smile and peppy tone. He couldn't reveal his true feelings about the man yet.

"Please, call me Norman, thank you for looking after my son all this time."

"Of course, Mr. Norman. It was no trouble at all, rather I find myself depending on him quite a lot. He's really smart, top of the class even, and has been helping me with my studies."

"Oh? Is that so? As expected of an Osborn. Keep up the good work son."

A beaming smile was plastered on his face at hearing rare praise from his father.

"So, what was the phone call about, dad?"

"Don't remind me. Apparently, some maniac had sneaked into one of our labs and destroyed everything. The punk even stole some top secret information and killed one of the scientists before he left!"

"Woah, that's horrible! Who died?"

"A Doctor Octopus or something."

He stiffened at hearing the familiar phrase. It couldn't be, could it? Deciding he had to confirm his suspicion he spoke up right before Mr. Norman had turned away.

"Excuse me, sir, did you happen to mean... Otto Octavius...?"

"...? Yes, if I may ask, how did you know?"

"Oh! Umm, I'm really into science you see. I want to become a researcher when I graduate and I happened to come across some of his work. His paper on physical science was really intriguing. It's a shame to hear he passed away."

Bluff check passed! Thankfully the Ceo didn't seem to question him any further on his bullshit.

"Yes, it really is sad. Don't worry John, the criminal will be brought to justice."

The irony of that statement left a bitter taste in his mouth but he merely gave a small smile. What a fucking hypocrite. As soon as the older Osborn had left the two teens went back to playing, although John wasn't truly paying attention to the screen. His minds occupied with questions.

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Who killed Octavius?

In fact, how did they even manage that? The man worked in a high-security lab facility and was armed with his robotic tentacles. Even without fighting skills, him randomly whipping those things was enough to kill most people. Why did this happen? Was this a consequence of him changing the timeline, or was this a natural course of events from being in an alternate Earth? And if it was the latter... A chill raced up his spine. If he knew one thing about comics and writers it was that a bigger baddie always replaced the empty spot left behind.

While he was busy training it seems events were already changing behind the scenes. He needed to speed up his schedule even more. He couldn't wait for the birth of spiderman. Speaking of which... Where was Peter? Was this somehow connected? Apparently, the kid had shown up to school for some time but disappeared shortly after. Call him paranoid but his nerd senses were tingling. There was definitely a connection between the two, paranoia usually was correct in a world like this.

"Sorry, Henry, but I just remembered I had to do something. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"What? Er, alright man, stay safe! Crazy things have been on the news."

"Thanks, you too!"

Grabbing his bag he ran towards Midtown high. He didn't have time to take things as they come anymore. He had to be proactive. It was late and the school had closed hours ago. All the doors were shut. Scanning the building he saw an open window on the second floor. He climbed the nearest tree before kicking off the branch he was on towards the window. He didn't manage to make it all the way but thankfully managed to grab onto a ledge and pull himself up and through the window.

 A quick glance showed him that he was in Mr. Barnes Science lab. He needed to get to the third floor and into the Principle's office.

He cracked the door open and carefully looked around. The coast was clear. As silently as he could he went up the stairwell and took a shape right. He carefully navigated to avoid the auditorium as the theater and drama kids might've still been practicing. It took an extra ten minutes to hide from some janitors and late-night clubs, but he had safely gotten into the empty office. He walked over to the file cabinet behind the large oak desk and opened them randomly. 

After the 4th drawer, he finally found what he was looking for. Student records. 

"Bingo" John muttered as he rapidly flipped through the names until he reached the P section. Lo and behold one Peter Park's address and house number was quickly memorized.

Shoving the files back in its place he made sure everything looked as it was before he had come in. Retracing his steps he slipped away back home. It was 10 P.M and the doors were locked. Shit. He had just turned around prepared to crash at Shang Chi's place again when suddenly the door opened before he had even taken a step. 

"John Doe, do you have any idea what time it is?" A young blonde lady asked him in a green sleeping robe. Her foot tapped impatiently as he waited for an answer. It was Miss Ekans the head of the Orphanage. Despite her young age she had decided to dedicate her time to helping other kids in need. An admirable woman who was loved by all the children. She had welcomed him in when he had nowhere to go and helped him settle in and sign up for school. He owed her a lot and hated to disappoint her.

"I'm sorry Miss Ekans. The club meeting I was in lasted forever. I came back as quick as I could, honest!"

The young woman merely looked at him before biting her lips. Her brows furrowed ever so slightly before she whispered in a small voice, the tone heartbreaking to hear.

"...John, are you unhappy here at Little Wanderers?"

"What?! No!"

"Are the other kids making fun of you? I'm so sorry, you're such a nice kid, yet I failed you"

"No, no, no, nobody is bullying me. You haven't done anything wrong Miss Ekans, you're great! I swear!"

He could see tears pooling up behind her eyes and felt like a scumbag for making this kind lady who did him such a huge favor cry. Some hero he was, first he broke into his school and all but stole some files, and now he was making his pseudo mother cry. The guilt was eating at him.

Absolutely spectacular, way to go hero.

"Then will you tell me the truth on why you've been out so late all this time? John, you're just 12 years old. It's not safe for someone like you to be wandering out so late at night. Not in a city like this. Especially with all the terrible things happening on the news recently. I worry about you. I consider everyone here at little wanderers my children, and that includes you, John."

A soft hand rested on his shoulders. It was a dainty thing, yet its weight felt absolutely crushing to him. Could he lie to this woman? He felt a strange impulse to blurt out everything, but he held it back. It felt wrong. A tingle in the back of his mind stopped him. Maybe it was because he couldn't endanger her with the knowledge of his issues. Maybe it was fear that she would think him insane? He didn't know, but he silently apologized in his head before telling her a white lie, one amongst many he already told. What was one more?

"I'm sorry. The truth was I was having fun with friends and I lost track of time. I'm really sorry for worrying you and I promise to not be out so late in the future." At least not with you knowing. What she doesn't know won't hurt her as they say.

She pulled him in a warm hug and it was as if all his stress and worries flew away. Perhaps this was why every kid loved her so? She was always so kind, understanding, and radiated warmth and a sense of protection. He almost broke down in her arms but held it in. He couldn't do that to her. Anyone, but her.

"Its alright, dear, as long as you're safe. We haven't hung out recently ever since you started high school, do you want to read with me this weekend?"

He felt another blow as he heard her. He really hadn't been in the orphanage much. His schedule and list were full, with school, his business, lessons with Shang Chi, MJ and Henry, Renka and the Fu family. His schedule was jam-packed and everything added to the list only made feel worse because each one pushed Ms. Ekans further back. When he had first joined and was in middle school for those months he had spent nearly every day with her reading and inside. Now it seemed as if he did everything he could to be away from it.

He felt conflicted because he had to find Peter and scope out the Parker family now that he had the address, but on the other, he couldn't just abandon someone so important to him. Everything will be fine if he just took a day off right? What's the worst that can happen, after all, he's been missing for months now. One weekend to unwind wouldn't change much.

"Of course, Miss Ekans!"

She held his hand and lead up back to his room.

"Good night, John."

She gave him a kiss on the forehead and headed back down to her own room.

"Good night, Miss Ekans."