Incoherent

Queens, New York

Worrisome that his suit and mask remains concealed inside his backpack at all times, Peter Parker innocently bobs his head to the beat of the music playing in his new iPod Aunt May got for his birthday. But surely, even if the thought of it slipping out of the small space of the bag zipper frequently bugged him, he could just say it was a silly costume. And considering the reputation Spider-Man has come to make for himself, that'd be a far more believable excuse than the many other crazy things that existed in the universe.

As he let himself in his home, Peter threw his bag onto the living room couch and made his way towards the kitchen. Any other time Aunt May would've been pissed to see him carelessly throw his crap onto the furniture like that (to be fair, it was a new couch), but she wasn't home yet. Since getting her new job, Peter kind of missed her being there waiting for him to get home and ask how his day at school was. Now all he comes to is silence. On the other hand, most teenagers, like himself, loved the idea of being home by themselves up until the point their folks came by to crash the party.

But even before he made it to the kitchen, an uninvited guest was sitting at the Parkers dining room table. Their back was turned to him, and their hood was over their head, but Peter could tell it was a female with blonde hair that still dangled to the sides a bit. Peter thought to himself, if it was a thief, they chose the wrong home to break into.

"So," the woman said as she stood up to reveal herself. Peter's jaw dropped as he slowly pulled the headphones down from his ears, letting them awkwardly dangle over his neck. "How was school?" she finished.

It was Romanoff. No longer donning the red hair, but blonde instead. Once she became a world renown assassin and Avenger, her own natural feature became a signature look that she couldn't afford to let blow her cover since laying low after the incident in Berlin. For Peter, all he could wonder was what she was doing in his home in the first place. And most importantly, was she a threat?

"W-What are you-" Peter tried to muster, "How did you-... w-wh"

"Whatever you're wondering, that's the least of your problems now, Parker," Natasha firmly addressed.

"Aren't you a fugitive now? L-Like a war criminal, with Captain America and them - what are you doing here?!"

As he said that, he immediately started running towards his bag, where he kept readily available loads of web shooters. He knew he wouldn't have time to use his suit if the spy tried anything funny. Natasha sighed.

"Parker, I'm not here to hurt you," she assured.

Still reaching for his bag, Peter unzipped it and scuffled to grab for his webs. Considering that by this point, if the Black Widow did intend to harm him in any way, she would have by now, so for Natasha, he looked rather silly to her rummaging through his bag, looking up and down frantically to make sure she didn't attack or anything. She just stood there with her hands resting in the pockets of her hoodie.

"Stay back!" Peter warned as he pulled out his pack of shooters and held them up to her. "I'm not scared to use these on you!"

Natasha, trying to keep her composure, gave a nod and slowly raised her hands in surrender. "Look, I get it, you're confused. I am too." Now he was really confused. "We need to talk."

"About what?!" he demanded.

Natasha took a breath. "It's complicated. I can explain it all as much I ca- could you please put that down?"

"Uh-uh, I don't trust you."

"I don't trust anyone. Welcome to the club."

Peter kept his arm fixed on her as though he held a real gun up to her. Even if it didn't shoot a bullet, Natasha would be met with a full-forced web that'd send her flying onto the table just after wrapping her like a tortilla.

After moments of hesitation and probably looking stupid, Peter made up in his mind that Natasha would have probably done something already had she really intended to take him out. But he knew how manipulative she could be. He knew what she was and how great her methods could be.

"Parker, please," Natasha sternly spoke.

Peter lowered his arm to show a sign of approval, though his face said otherwise. Any sudden movements and that was it for her. Natasha cautiously lowered her hands down to her sides, really being careful of the choices she made from now on to ensure not to alert him.

"What do you want from me?" Peter ordered.

"I just need a minute of your time," Natasha assured.

"Is that it?"

"After this I'll be out of your hair. You don't have to see me again."

Peter looked her up and down, making sure to see if she had anything on her that might raise suspicion while trying not to get distracted by her figure. He was only human.

The spy continued, "This is gonna sound crazy, so you'll have to hear me out, okay?"

"At this point, I don't think my life can get any crazier," the teen protested.

Natasha nodded. "I thought the same thing. But I know for sure now that I'm not…"

Every word that she spoke began to convince Peter more that Natasha was telling the truth. Of course that could all be a part of her act, but he even if it was, Peter fell for it instead. He decided to take a chance.

"There's another Peter Parker roaming around," Natasha stated. "Another Spider-Man."

The teenager was confused by the statement because his mind couldn't decide on how to logically comprehend it all; either there was another person taking his identity as Peter Parker, therefore claiming the role of Spider-Man, or there was another individual who acquired the same skills and abilities and also donning the Spidey suit, becoming an impostor. He was going to need more clarification.

"Huh?" he asked.

"I know, it doesn't make any sense. And I'm not talking about some guy running around wearing a Spidey costume, I mean there's actually… ANOTHER you that exists."

"I'm… not understanding."

"I still don't fully understand it either." She began turning around and making her way back to the table to take a seat. "At first I thought I was losing my mind. I don't know what kind of drugs I had to be on in order to believe it… but now I know for sure I'm not crazy."

Half-jokingly in his head, Peter didn't actually want to know just how crazy the Black Widow could be.

"What do you mean there's ANOTHER me?" Peter kept questioning. "I hear what you're saying but-"

"I know it doesn't make sense. Believe me, I'm trying the best I can to explain it in words."

Natasha had to take a moment to blurt it out.

"My stance on alternate realities and other dimensions isn't exactly the strongest… but with the more recent things I've witnessed in this chapter of my life, it doesn't sound so off the wall anymore."

"Alternate realities? Like parallel universes and stuff?" Natasha nodded. "But… Wh-Hold on, wait a minute. How can you know that stuff is real? That's all just a 'theory'."

"I thought the exact same thing not too long ago. But… at first, it started as a dream. And then it happened. The next day I saw him. Just like how I pictured him in the dream… and then the memories came back. Just vivid memories that I have no idea how they got there… but they were there. I knew him. He existed at some point, in some reality."

As she kept talking, she was more and more amazed with herself at just how easy the words were coming out of her mouth. From the outside looking in, she would've thought of herself as a crazy person spouting a bunch of nonsense.

"Who?" Peter asked, not realizing he took a few steps forward. "Who did?"

"P-Peter Parker" Natasha said as sane as she could possibly sound. "But not you in this reality, but another."

Seeing the kid look to the floor for some sort of sign or guidance as to what the hell she was talking about, Natasha felt as though this were a mistake. Coming here. She knew this would sound crazy, but she should've told herself not to even bother. But the dreams were getting worse… they were starting to become too real. Too vivid. And after what she saw… after seeing him, in the flesh, she couldn't let this slide.