At night, everything was quiet and peaceful.
In the woods on the outskirts, a strange man with a red-and-green body lay motionless in the bushes, as if dead.
Renzo had fallen into a deep coma. No one knew how much time had passed, until the first ray of morning sunlight fell across his body.
As if sensing the warmth, his eyes slowly opened.
"This is…" Renzo muttered, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the glaring light. "What happened?"
He only remembered that the Infinity Stone in the Watcher's hand had suddenly broken free of control. The explosion created a vortex that dragged him in, like falling into a bottomless abyss—after that, everything went black.
"Is this… New York?"
"Am I back?"
Renzo looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, confusion filling his mind. Something felt off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Whatever… no point overthinking it." He shook his head. The Mind Stone on his forehead flickered, and he shifted back into human form—still wearing Paul's face.
...
"This city feels a bit… outdated…" Renzo observed the tall buildings and hurried pedestrians. The overall atmosphere was noticeably different from what he remembered. Though he had never been inside the Avengers' base, he had seen plenty of images online.
A bold thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Could he have traveled through time again?
"Hey, man, how much for this newspaper?"
Renzo walked up to a newsstand, looking at the fierce-looking vendor.
"One dollar." The man didn't even bother to look up, taking a big bite of the greasy hot dog in his hand. Renzo couldn't help but think that, at this rate, the man's belly might one day rival Thor's.
"Hey! Are you kidding me? Trying to scam me with fake money?" The vendor suddenly snapped, glaring at the bill Renzo had handed over. "This is U.S. currency!" He waved a one-dollar bill in front of him and barked for Renzo to leave.
Only then did Renzo realize—there were subtle differences between the currencies of different universes. With no way to pay, he had no choice but to back off.
"This is…"
As he turned away, his sharp eyes caught the back page of the newspaper. A figure in a black-and-white suit and mask stood out instantly—crouched in that iconic pose.
"Peter… Parker?"
Renzo rushed forward, grabbed the newspaper, and examined it closely, ignoring the vendor's angry shouting.
"I've ended up in the old Spider-Man universe…" he muttered in shock. After all, in "Spider-Man: No Way Home", Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man had crossed universes. Given the chaos caused by the Infinity Stone explosion, ending up here didn't seem impossible.
"First priority… find this universe's Peter Parker."
Returning home was his main goal, but he had no allies here—and dealing with the authorities was the last thing he wanted. No matter the universe, the higher-ups in this country were equally unbearable.
"Hey! You think you can read for free?!" The vendor finally lost patience, grabbing a broom and swinging it toward Renzo's head.
"Ah!"
"Look over there!"
"A robbery?!"
Suddenly, a commotion broke out among the pedestrians. Fingers pointed toward a bank building on the corner, and Renzo followed their gaze.
"Dr. Otto…"
A man with four mechanical tentacles was hurled out through a shattered window. Moments later, a figure in a red-and-blue suit leapt out after him, and the two clashed midair.
"Well… that was quick." Renzo smiled. He hadn't expected to run into Spider-Man so soon.
Otto was in a terrible mood. His nuclear fusion experiment had failed, and Oscorp's executives had cast him aside as a scapegoat. He had invested everything into that project—his wealth, his time, his life's work.
And his wife…
The thought sent a sharp pang through his chest. She had always supported him, standing by his side without complaint. Now she was gone—killed in the very accident that destroyed his dream.
Rage consumed him.
All he had wanted was to safely complete his research. Was that so wrong?
When Otto noticed the police arriving and pointing their guns at him, his anger only deepened. With a furious motion, his mechanical arms lashed out and seized an elderly woman as a hostage.
That woman was Peter's Aunt May.
"Ah!" Aunt May cried out in fear, waving her cane helplessly. At her age, resistance was impossible—she could only be carried away.
Otto climbed up the side of a tall building with her in tow. Suddenly, Spider-Man appeared above him.
"Let her go!"
Peter shouted.
"Of course." Otto smirked slyly—and released his grip.
Aunt May plummeted from dozens of meters in the air, screaming.
Peter reacted instantly, firing a web to catch her. He pulled her back, securing her onto an external structure of the building before turning to engage Otto again.
"Not exactly responsible," Renzo muttered from his hidden vantage point between nearby buildings, watching the scene unfold.
"Well… I can't blame him. He's the only hero here. He probably doesn't even have time for himself."
Renzo decided to keep observing for now. If he stepped in at the right moment, he could leave a good impression on Peter—making future interactions much easier.
Meanwhile, the battle intensified. Spider-Man was caught by Otto's mechanical arms, and the two crashed into a building, then burst back out, continuing their relentless fight.
Peter was eventually flung into a nearby structure. Seeing Otto grab Aunt May again, panic surged through him. Without hesitation, he shot out a web and swung forward.
What he didn't know was that one of Otto's tentacles had extended a sharp spike—ready to impale him the moment he got close.
A cold smile crept across Otto's face.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
"Huh?!" Otto turned sharply, searching for the source of the voice—only to see a red-and-green figure floating in midair, smiling at him.
"What the hell—?!" Otto was stunned, his composure completely shattered.
"Kidnapping the elderly isn't exactly what a good scientist does."
Renzo's gaze flicked to Aunt May behind him. Without hesitation, he drove a punch into Otto's head, nearly knocking him unconscious.
Seizing the moment, Renzo grabbed Aunt May and pulled her into his arms.
"Spider-Man! Your move!"
Peter swung in immediately, slamming Otto hard into a wall. Cracks spread across the surface as chunks of debris fell away—but compared to Sokovia, this was nothing.
Renzo carefully set Aunt May down in a safe spot.
"It's alright. You're safe now," he said gently. At her age, a shock like this could have serious consequences.
"You're such a kind young man!" Aunt May, now calming down, looked at him with gratitude—and planted a kiss on him.
"…Wow."
Renzo froze, completely caught off guard. Of all the things he had expected after crossing universes, this was not one of them. His first kiss… from a woman in her sixties or seventies.
For a moment, his mind drifted to Wanda.
That thought only strengthened his resolve to return.
Up above, the battle had reached its conclusion. Just like in the original timeline, Doctor Octopus managed to escape—with money in hand.
Peter could only watch him go, then hurriedly searched for Aunt May.
"Huh… she's okay." Relief washed over him as he saw her unharmed, smiling brightly. A massive weight lifted from his chest. If anything had happened to her because of him, he would never have forgiven himself.
"But that guy…"
Peter's attention finally shifted to Renzo—the strange red-and-green figure he had never seen before. Was he some kind of enhanced individual? A mutant? An alien?
Renzo's appearance made it impossible to categorize him. Peter was certain he had never seen anything like that before—not even during Halloween as a kid. It was like something straight out of a circus.
"But he saved Aunt May… he can't be a bad person."
Peter took one last look at Renzo before swinging away on his web.
Renzo watched him go, a faint smile forming on his lips.
He knew that, at the very least, he had left a good impression.
__________________________________________
You can read early chapters on Patr*on. If you enjoy my work and would like to support me, consider becoming a patron. My Patr*on username is Renzo28557.