Chapter 9: 9 FAMILY

Stray gulps at the unexpected reveal. Slowly, the dots are connecting to his mind. Toussaint bringing him that night must be so that he can force a confession out of him. Toussaint must be waiting for him to reveal his true colors, but unfortunately, there is no such true colors.

“Toussaint, you say I don’t exist? Fuck you…”

Intense blazing anger is rampaging in Stray’s heart.

“I had a past. It wasn’t bountiful, rainbows, and fairytales… My grandfather saved me from that past… At the age of eight, I lost my only family, my mom… After that, I got inducted into a gang. I barely remember my childhood, because I didn’t have any… At the age of nine, I did my first crime, I stole a fucking piece of bread! At the age of ten, it only got worse as I do a snatch and grab… At the age of eleven, I started selling and smuggling drugs… At the age of twelve… I… I... I killed a kid about my age… At the age of thirteen, I got sent to the slaughterhouse to be chopped up for parts… to sell my organs… After my grandpa got to me, he then gave me a life… I was fucking saved! I don’t give a fuck about what you think, I just want my fucking life back…”

“…”

Stray slowly walks to the side in nonchalant steps, his eyes gleaming with hidden intentions.

“I want my life back in the main reality before this… But I know, that’s impossible now with you hounding me, and with the ‘time machine’ gone, how the hell am I to return to the old world I once knew?”

Toussaint noticing that Stray is up to something tenses his legs. He wants to hear Stray continue talking, so he might as well go for broke and throw a bait.

“I am from the Illuminati, we can help you… A multiversal war is already upon us… I am sure you know some things, and I wish to hear them.”

“Do you think I am an idiot, Toussaint? Even if you were not hounding me, I’d still jump at the time machine. Even if I do have a method to return to the main reality, I would not…”

“What do you mean?”

“I am playing you, Toussaint, I am buying time…”

With Strike (A) skill, Stray punches himself on his jaw causing a beautiful self-knock-out.

The situation confuses Toussaint. He approaches the fainted Stray carefully. Toussaint reaches his hand to check Stray’s pulse in his collar, to see if he is still alive. Suddenly, a guard comes looking at the very basketball court where the two have been fighting.

To the guard… Toussaint’s act of checking Stray’s vitals looks like he was strangling Stray instead. It was an illusion of the eye all coming together because of Stray's scheming. “Hey, you! What are you doing?”

This is what Stray has been banking for…

It is not a problem for Toussaint to knock out one guard, but he cannot have his face revealed. With the bit of darkness and distance between them, it is safe to assume that the guard hasn’t seen his face yet.

Toussaint also has the choice of bringing the fainted Stray and going in his way, but if that does happen, a kidnapping case will be the least of his problems. Though the golden age of heroes hasn’t come yet, the various organizations that currently maintain the peace of the world aren’t to be trifled either.

Excepting SHIELD… CIA, FBI, INTERPOL, and even the local police are a handful especially if they don’t lack passionate professionals.

Toussaint grabs his bag and scurries off in a hurry.

The guard approached Stray. “H-hey, are you ok? Wake up!” The guard was panicking. When Stray’s eyes suddenly open, the guard becomes more panicked.

Stray lifts himself up, ‘acting’ a bit frail as he stumbles while standing up. “T-thank you… I… acted suddenly unconscious when that guy attacked me… I was hoping he’d stop but he suddenly started strangling me…”

“Should we call the police?” The guard was sweating nervously unsure of what is the right thing to do.

Stray aware that he cannot have the cops learn of this makes up a convincing story on the fly to manipulate the guard. “I… I am actually just a bum… I found myself in this place so that I can have a goodnight’s rest. That student, I think, doesn’t like bums going into his school so he attacked me…”

At the word, ‘bum’ and ‘attacked’, the guard becomes more nervous. He could lose his job because of this. He is lucky if it would just end at that. Worst case scenario, he will become the main character of the scandal in which he lets a bum into the school.

“You know what? We shouldn’t call the police…” The guard nervously convinces Stray of what they should do next. “Here, take this money…” The guard takes a dollar from his wallet. When he thought that maybe it’s not enough, the guard returns the dollar to the wallet and just gives the whole wallet to Stray. “Take this money, take a cab, and go eat something… That attacker must’ve had a past vendetta with you, that’s why he attacked you… You should be careful…”

Stray smiles at the guard. “Thank you, I won’t forget this…” These are Stray’s honest thoughts. Though he feels sorry for the guard, he cannot reject the money. He would need it so that he can survive. There is no pension from grandpa nor his big brother Peter’s generosity to help him now.

That aside, it is not just ‘surviving’ that he needs to focus on now.

Stray returns to the apartment he once lived in, the very apartment that his grandpa Stan Lee left him. He was long expecting this, but the ‘truth’ is really terrible. In the apartment, there was no Stan Lee, even the old things that were supposed to be there.

The only reason that Stray jumped on that time machine is so that he can reunite with his adoptive grandpa, Stan Lee… Being mixed up with the conspiracy is not within Stray’s purview. What is most terrible is that... now, Stray has to deal with that conspiracy with nothing to show for it.

You are reading story Marvel: Stray at novel35.com

“Shit,” Stray feels the bitter reality that he cannot see Stan Lee anymore. “I… I haven’t said thank you yet, you know…” The first time and last time Stray met Stan Lee was in that white world. Stray was hoping that maybe he can reunite with his idol if he does jump in that time machine.

Stan Lee died on November 12, 2018… In the original world, his very home universe, Stan Lee was already long dead even before the Avengers: Endgame…

Perhaps, not only Stan Lee die from his own main universe but also here in the Marvel universe… It was an irreversible death in its truest sense. No magic stones, time traveling, or plot will bring him back to the living.

At the thought of this… Tears finally begin pouring from Stray’s eyes.

Enveloping him in a warm embrace is the comforting voice of a woman. “Hey, hey… Are you okay? Where did you come from? Have you eaten yet?” Looking over, Stray meets the familiar ‘character’ by the name of May Parker.

The forever-loving and kind aunt guides Stray to her home. Stray doesn’t have any funny thoughts for he is aware that aunt May also has quite a fighter in her.

For three straight days, Stray hasn’t had a proper meal or a bath yet. He looks like a bum with no future prospects in life. Meeting aunt May is his fortune. It was inevitable to meet her anyway as his once-old-apartment was in the same building as May Parker’s apartment.

To be more specific, the Peter Parker of his timeline uses May Parker's apartment.

Stray recalls his brotherly Peter Parker who is more of a father figure to him. In the short two years, Stray was able to build a firm connection with various people. Something that he is proud to have.

Aunt May gives Stray a handkerchief to wipe his tears away, and so Stray did.

“Here, eat something… Sorry, I only have donuts in my fridge.” She offers Stray a box of donuts with her same comforting voice. “I don’t usually allow strangers in my house but you remind me of my nephew…”

Stray calms the turmoil in his heart. He grabs a donut and silently nibbles on it. “What was he like?”

“A crybaby.” Aunt May smiles. “He is nine years old this year. Lost his parents in a plane crash.”

“I am… sorry…” Stray mourns in silence.

Suddenly, intervening in their conversation is a handsome middle-aged stud carrying a familiar boy on his shoulder. From the door, Stray can see the man’s muscular build. “Who do we have here? A visitor? Peter, go and give your aunt a hand.”

Stray assumes the mystery man to be a soldier judging from his build, posture, and disciplined gait.

The boy, Peter Parker, rushes to his aunt May with quick steps while carrying a bag of groceries. The young Peter is as clingy as a spider. Stray smiles at seeing the young spiderman.

“Nice to meet you, I am Ben Parker…” The handsome stud of equivalent charm to aunt May stretches his hand asking for a handshake.

Stray reciprocates, “Martin Lieber… Just a bum…” He introduces himself in an awkward manner unsure of how to really introduce himself.

Aunt May and Peter go into the kitchen to make some stuff giving Ben and Stray space.

“Don’t be like that…” Ben gently smiles. “Come to Feast. I am sure they can help you. My wife, May, is a big member of this charitable organization... Do you know what FEAST stands for? It is Food, Emergency Aid, Shelter, and Training. It is a mouthful to say, but trust me… They are the best at what they do…”

Overhearing Ben’s unnecessary boast, May shouts from the kitchen. “We do need people. If you can come, you’d also be a big help…”

Stray wryly smiles at this. He takes a peek at the eager Peter helping on making a sandwich. The only family Stray has now is Peter… Though this Peter is not the same Peter that he was within the past two years, that doesn’t change the fact that this young boy is Peter Parker.

This Peter Parker is the only family that Stray has left…

Peter starts serving sandwich-full of plates. “Please eat,” The young Peter makes a bow imagining himself to be a high-class waiter in a 5-star Michelin restaurant. I chuckle at his childishness. Do waiters even bow? 

May seats beside Ben, and Peter seats between them. Presenting a picture of a complete family to Stray, Stray cannot help but feel warm in his heart. Stray resolves himself... this family will remain complete till the day he dies.

Peter Parker has been an orphan. Though he has it better if compared to Stray, Stray cannot bring himself to be envious of him. Because… Peter Parker doesn’t deserve to be an orphan… just like the many orphans like him… Stray firmly believes in this.

“I… I… Thank you…” Stray doesn’t know why he said that, and so are the Parkers.

The day comes to a close as Stray finds a reason of staying in this timeline.

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