Novels2Search

Chapter 1:Prologue

Jonathan sat in his cluttered chair in their office, exhausted from another late night of work. He had been buried in his computer, oblivious to the world outside. But now, as fatigue crept over him, he decided it was time to call it a night.

"Jonathan, you're still here?" a voice called out from the doorway.

Looking up, Jonathan saw his colleague, Dave, standing in the doorway with a concerned expression. Dave was always the first to leave the office, the epitome of work-life balance.

"Yeah, just wrapping up a few things," Jonathan replied with a forced smile, knowing full well that his workload was nowhere near completion.

Dave shook his head, a mix of sympathy and frustration evident in his eyes. "You gotta learn to leave work at the office, man. Otherwise, you'll burn out."

Jonathan nodded, but his mind was already racing with the countless tasks that still awaited him.

As Dave left, Jonathan's phone buzzed with a text message. It was from his colleague, Sarah. She had been dropping hints for weeks now, and Jonathan couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement mixed with nerves.

"Hey, Jonathan. Are you free this weekend? I was thinking we could grab dinner or something," the message read.

Jonathan's heart skipped a beat. Sarah was smart, funny, and undeniably attractive. He had been nursing a crush on her for months, never daring to imagine that she might feel the same way.

But now, faced with the possibility of a date, Jonathan's mind raced with uncertainty. He had always imagined that his first time would be with someone special.

Despite his hesitation, Jonathan agreed to the date. As he walked to the restaurant that Saturday evening, his heart pounded with anticipation. But as he turned a corner, he saw something that stopped him in his tracks. 

Below, on the busy street, a little girl had wandered into the path of an oncoming truck. Jonathan's heart skipped a beat as he watched in horror. Without a second thought, he leaped over the railing and sprinted down the stairs, propelled by a desperate need to save her.

In that moment of adrenaline-fueled bravery, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Jonathan reached the girl just as the truck bore down upon them. He shoved her out of harm's way, but in doing so, found himself directly in the path of the speeding vehicle.

There was a sickening crunch as metal met flesh, and then... darkness.

When Jonathan regained consciousness, he found himself in a place unlike anything he had ever known. Confusion washed over him as he realized he was no longer in his own body, but inhabiting the form of a teenage boy.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Memories of his sacrifice flooded back to him, mingling with the uncertainty of his new reality. He had died trying to save a life, but now he was faced with a whole new existence.

"Did I die?" Jonathan whispered, the question hanging heavy in the air. But as he pondered his circumstances, one thing became clear: his journey was far from over.

Jonathan woke up feeling super confused. He saw superhero posters and school stuff everywhere. Not his room. He realized he was in someone else's body. Weird, right?

Then, a lady downstairs yelled, "Michael! Get up or you'll be late for school!"

Uh-oh, Jonathan thought. He rushed to get ready, still trying to figure things out. He saw a kid's face in the mirror – Michael's face staring back at him. Michael had yellow hair styled in curtains, and he wore nerdy glasses. Jonathan quickly adjusted his appearance to match Michael's, adding the glasses for that classic geeky look. With a wry smile, he realized he was now fully transformed into a typical high school nerd.

"I'm coming," Jonathan said, his voice sounding strange. He quickly put on some clothes he found and went downstairs.

There was a lady who looked like him – Michael's mom.

"Who are you?" Jonathan blurted out, totally confused.

The lady looked surprised. "What are you talking about? I'm your mom," she said, pinching his cheeks.

Jonathan, or Michael now, laughed nervously. "Just joking, Mom," he said, trying to act cool despite feeling totally lost.

His mind raced with questions, but he kept them to himself for now. How did he end up in this situation? And more importantly, how could he possibly explain it to this woman who believed he was her son?

As he sat down at the table, Jonathan's gaze drifted to the newspaper lying nearby. The headline caught his eye: "Daily Bugle: Stock Market Plummets"

Jonathan chewed on his toast, his brain working overtime as he tried to understand the newspaper and the world around him. The absence of familiar names like Stark and Captain America made him wonder.

"So, Avengers not here in this world," he said, talking more to himself than to his "mom" who was still busy in the kitchen. "Oh, I wonder why. It's because the Stark family isn't here," he kept going, his thoughts like a string coming undone. "They didn't talk about it in this article. And also, no Captain America."

The pieces were slowly falling into place in Jonathan's mind. April 22, 1947, and the "Daily Bugle" newspaper – it all pointed to one conclusion.

"I must be in the Spider-Man universe," he concluded, a mix of excitement and apprehension welling up within him. "Because it's 1947, which means Peter still hasn't been born, and he's still not Spider-Man. He became Spider-Man in 1962."

The idea sent a shiver down Jonathan's spine. He had landed in a world he knew from comics, but it was still strange and unfamiliar.

But instead of feeling overwhelmed, Jonathan felt a surge of determination. If he was indeed in the Spider-Man universe, then perhaps he had a chance to make a difference, to shape the course of events in ways he never could have imagined.

To be Continued

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter