A Different Life (June 2015)

An official statement regarding Serena and Peter's engagement was released to the press and the news spread quickly. Serena and Peter were hounded by the press now any time they left the Tower, but they took it all in stride. Serena had called Gambit before the press release went out and told him about their engagement. She didn't want him to hear about it from anyone else. They spoke for a while and things appeared to be healing between them. Isabella and Tony set about planning the engagement party and all of their closest friends were invited. Peter had gone to pick up Aunt May and Serena was back in their room getting ready. She could hear her mother directing the caterers and her father was talking to the bartender. There would be live music as well and the band had just arrived. Serena was excited about the party. She couldn't stop looking at her engagement ring. It was just what she would have picked out for herself. It was beautiful...simple in its overall design, but timeless.

Serena had picked out a black cocktail dress and heels. She had finished her makeup and was finishing up curling her hair. It was longer now and she liked putting a little more curl into it. She finished and ran her fingers through the curls to tousle them a little and then spritzed on some perfume and stood back to look at herself in the mirror. She heard Peter arrive with Aunt May and she smiled. She then walked over to the door and stepped out...

Doom hated to be the last to know ‘anything’ Being so far removed from the world at large had its advantages but it also had its drawbacks. He didn’t really know Peter Parker but he knew spiderman. That insect had foiled several of his past crimes as well as that Stark fledgling Serena. He had learned from Norman Osborn about Peter and Serena’s secret project. One they had tried to hide from him but he had pieced it all together over time. Norman was a genius himself in some ways and a complete fool in others. The Arcbot was something doom knew he could make use of, a great use but he knew Peter would never give it to him freely. He’d likely do something noble like destroy it if he tried to take it from him by force. No, he had to use duress on this young pup and he knew the exact form that would do the most good.

Doom was a practitioner of black magic. He dallied in it and had caused himself a great deal of harm by doing so. Mechisto constantly threatened him but that was a lesson he had had to learn. He decided he needed to send Serena away. He had learned of what Peter had done from his short time he had held the Beyonder’s power inside of him. That had proved to be too much for him to control but again, it was a hard lesson he needed to learn. He would do to Serena what Peter had done. Shift her back into the timeline that Peter came. Reset the balance as it were. No one should be able to what Peter did and have no negative effects. He would show Peter pain and Peter would give him what he wanted.

Doom looked at Serena through the mirror she looked into. He had to admit she was a beautiful young woman. He wondered if he shouldn’t take her for himself. Victor liked women but he did not force them into being with him and he doubted she’d like that he just took her away from her family. As she looked into the mirror, he knew she couldn’t see him, he conjured. His focal point was the door. Once she exited the room of her own accord, she’d be transported into the other timeline. Doom had looked into this other timeline already and Peter would be hard-pressed to bring her back before he was forced to kill her by his own hand. How delightful was that? Not only did he kill her, himself, but he also crossed over just to be with her again. Desperation always worked wonders on people.

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The moment Serena stepped through the door she traveled. The room was dark, she had just turned off the light but she felt light-headed as she put her hand on the door handle to open it. It was her and Peter’s 8th wedding anniversary. She knew that but those years with him...those wonderful moments filled with their love began to fade inside her head. As they faded, new memories flooded into her. Of Peter crossing through a tineline to be with her. Of how he courted her and how she fell in love with him so quickly that it even amazed herself. She was getting dressed for their anniverary….no, an engagement party. She stood and turned back on the light...

For a fleeting moment as Serena stepped through the door strange memories filled her mind. Memories that she knew were her own...and yet not her own. She remembered her wedding to Peter, winning the Nobel Prize for the arcbot, the birth of her two children...all things that had not yet happened to her...at least not in this life. Then, suddenly they were gone. She stood there in the doorway trying to recall the memories that had just been there a moment before. Perhaps, instead of memories, they were simply hopes for the future. She could hear talking out in the main living area and she stepped out that way...

Peter looked older because he ‘was’ older. He danced with WIllow who was in a light blue and white dress. They were celebrating Peter and Serena’s love for one another. All the Avengers were there along with Aunt May who was dressed in a paisley patterned dress in summer colors. She danced with Happy and they had been dating for quite some time and seemed happy with the arrangement.

Tony ofcourse was in his lab with Ben. Ben was extremely intelligent for someone so young and he was shaping up to be much like his father and Tony. WIllow was more like Isabella. Everyone loved Willow and she loved everyone. The music was a bit jazzy and the champagne and hors devours were being moved around the room by a man and a woman in white suits, the caterers. They all waited for Serena to appear so they could toast to the happy couple.

This moment of happiness was one they all desperately needed. Nyx inhabiting Serena had been a difficult time for them. She was contained for now but they knew that prison that Charles Xavier made was not a permanent solution. The could not know that ‘this’ Serena’s arrival had changed all that. For Nyx did not exist in her head at all. The god had been removed. Peter twirled WIllow as they danced and she laughed as he twirled as well. She was getting pretty tall for a girl her age.

Isabella was in a silver cocktail dress and all the men were in tuxedos. Kate held her and Steve’s son WIlliam who was also in a small tux and the dark blue frills of her dress swayed with the music as Steve joined them with a glass for her. Bruce and a blonde woman Serena did not recognize danced to the soft music.

Serena stepped out into the living area and stopped short. She didn't realize it at the moment, but she was holding her breath. She blinked several times to try and clear her head, but nothing worked. She began to wonder if she wasn't dreaming. The scene before her was not one she recognized. Peter looked...older and was dancing with a young girl who appeared to be about 6 years old and looked a lot like Isabella, her mother. She saw Steve and Kate and Kate was holding a little boy in her arms who was nearly the spitting image of Steve. Logan and Natalya were nowhere to be seen and Bruce was there with a blonde woman she did not recognize.

Serena suddenly stepped back into her and Peter's bedroom. When she did she noticed how different it looked. There were pictures of the girl she had just seen Peter dancing with and a boy who looked to be about the same age. The furniture was different than she knew it to be and there were scientific awards all over the room. Then, a certain picture caught her eye. She walked over and picked it up. It was of Peter and herself. They were both dressed nicely and each of them held something she immediately recognized...a Nobel Prize. Her mouth went dry and her mind began to race. This wasn't her life. That meant that she had to be in Peter's old timeline. She heard the door open and she looked over to see Peter step in.

Peter smiled seeing his beautiful wife in her new dress. “I thought I saw you step out but when I looked back you were not there. Are you trying to get me to come in here?” He asked as he put his arms around her. “Everyone is waiting for you wife. You look amazing,” he said.

Serena didn’t know how to react. She felt herself stiffen when he hugged her. He must have felt it too because he pulled back to look at her. Serena looked upset and confused.

“I don’t know what’s happening or how I got here...”

Peter smiled warmly down at her. “Well my love, today is our 8th anniversary. We got here together. It wasn’t always easy but we have 2 wonderful children and a wonderful family,” he said as he looked at her. His smile changed to concern.

“What’s wrong my love? You do not seem yourself,” Peter said as he softly kissed her forehead. “Are you well?” He asked finally.

Serena was in a near panic. She didn’t know how she got here or how to get back to her timeline. It was Peter in front of her, but not her Peter.

“Ok, this is going to sound crazy, but I’m not from this timeline. I don’t know how I got here.”

Peter certainly frowned now he had ofcourse heard of something like this happening. He and Tony had talked about it before but not in a serious kind of way.

“Then come, sit down on the bed and talk to me about it,” Peter said and shifted to the bed. Just then Willow knocked and came into the room. “Momma...they’re all waiting for you!” She said happily and came over and stood in front of Serena. She had dark, wavy hair and Peter’s eyes and dark skin like her grandmother. “You said you’d dance with Benny...he’s waiting for you,” she said as she looked up at her face.

Serena was rather overwhelmed to say the least. Even though this Peter wasn't her Peter, he was a version of him and that was somewhat comforting. She sat down on the bed at Peter's urging and just then the young girl she had seen Peter dancing with earlier came into the room. Seeing her daughter was almost too much for Serena. Knowing that the girl standing in front of her was a daughter she might have in her own timeline was astounding to her. Serena didn't know what to say to her or even do.

Willow looked at her mother and then at her father. "Poppa, what's wrong with Mom? Is she alright?"

Peter smiled. “Willow, she’s alright just out of sorts right now. We’ll be coming out soon, see to your brother, ask him to dance,” Peter suggested and Willow smiled and squeezed her mother’s hand. She was about to get up and then hugged Serena and the. Got up and left the room.

Peter looked at Serena. “So this ‘shifting’ you say you are not from this timeline, where exactly are you from? It’s difficult for me to fathom. Nothing seems to have changed at all,” he said as he looked at her. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you but...can you give me something to work with? Anything?” He asked.

Serena drew in a shaky breath and then looked at Peter. "In my timeline I'm 24 years old. Peter and I just got engaged. The crazy part about all of this though is is that the Peter I just got engaged to is you. You see apparently in this timeline I died. Nyx took over my body and mind and well...I won't go into the details about that. You were so distraught after my death that you and my father figured out a way to send you to my timeline. You became the Peter Parker from my timeline and then you helped save me. In my timeline I was getting ready for our engagement party when I was suddenly transported here. I had memories from this Serena's life in my head for a moment and then they were gone and I was here."

Peter frowned at everything Serena said. He had been an Avenger for a long time and a scientist but he was having a difficult time swallowing all of this. “Did Thor put you up to this?” He asked. “It’s ok if he did. I can take a joke like the best of them,” he said.

Serena looked at Peter and tears actually filled her eyes. She shook her head. "No, this is not a joke," she said adamantly.

Peter saw Serena about to cry and he leaned on and hugged her. “oh, babe, it’s going to be ok,” Peter said as he hugged his wife. “You’ll see, I’ll go out and tell everyone that your not feeling well ok? They’ll understand,” Peter said and began to get up.

Serena nodded and just sat there as Peter got up and walked out into the living room and told everyone that she wasn't feeling well. Isabella immediately became concerned. She waited until Ben and Willow were gone before speaking to Peter in a low voice. "Is it Nyx?" Tony was standing next to her and she felt him put a hand on her lower back to comfort her.

Peter told him the truth. “I don’t think this is anything like that. She believes she is from a different timeline. She is very specific and sure about it. Oddly O believe her though I can’t explain how it could happen. And she can’t either but I can’t see a reason why she’d lie about something like that,” Peter said to Tony and Isabella.

Isabella was having a very hard time understanding all of this, but she had seen a lot of crazy things during her time as an Avenger. She and Tony were retired now from all of that and focused on taking care of their grandchildren. "Are we certain that this isn't Nyx causing her to go insane?" she asked Tony quietly.

Tony looked at them. “I can do tests but it’s awefully specific of her to claim what she’s claiming. Bring her down to the medbay and Ill do the tests,” Tony said. Peter agreed and talked Serena into going down into the medbay.

The medbot injected Serena with Arcbots designed to check For Medical Issues but they didn’t find anything. In fact, they didn’t find any of the markers that alluded to NYX being in control of Serena. None of them.

“Peter I don’t think NYX is inside of her anymore,” Tony said.

Serena agreed to go down to the medbay with her parents and Peter. It was crazy for her to see the arcbots that she and Peter were building in their timeline actually in use. When her father spoke to Peter and told him that it appeared that Nyx was no longer inside of her anymore a thought occurred to Serena. "Well, we destroyed Nyx in my timeline. When I was transported here I was transported without Nyx."

“Another timeline? Like another reality of our universe?” Tony asked interestedly.

“Destroyed? How?” Isabella asked almost urgently.

“Ok let’s not bombard her with all of this right now. Obviously she’s been through a lot in the last...hour,” Peter said.

Their two children were peeking from the stairs down toward them. Peter noticed them and pointed at them. “I think I told you two to stay upstairs,” he said calmly but also a little sternly as well.

“But poppa...is momma going to be alright? What’s wrong with her? Mom?” Ben asked worriedly. “I’m frightened,” he said and looked it as well. Obviously they overheard them talking and he didn’t understand what was happening.

Isabella knew that whatever this upcoming conversation was going to be that it should not involve the children. She walked over and smiled at them. "Everything's fine. Why don't you both go back upstairs and see if Happy and Steve will play a game with you for a little bit?"

Willow and Ben reluctantly agreed and went back upstairs. Once they were gone, Serena launched into a full story of what had happened in her timeline. She left no detail out and told them all she knew from the time Nyx first entered her body, to Peter's arrival, and how they finally defeated her.

"So, the Peter I'm now engaged to is actually this Peter but from 10 years in the future. However, when he traveled to my timeline he took over the body of the Peter Parker who already existed there who was my age. There are things that are different between the two timelines as well. Such as in my timeline Kate and Steve don't have a child. Kate is unable to conceive. Also, Logan from the X-Men is a member of the Avengers and is married to Natalya Sokolova."

When Serena mentioned that name Isabella drew in a sharp breath that caused Serena to stop talking. When she looked at her questioningly, Isabella glanced at Tony and then looked back at Serena. "We had run ins with Natalya in the past. She tried to kill me. It took 10 SHIELD agents to finally kill her."

Peter was still lost in thought about the traveling thing. ‘How did we do that?’ He wondered. ‘And if she came here, was there another Serena there?’ He wondered also. “Well obviously Nyx is gone and you were sent by someone or something, as to why or how though, that’s still a mystery.

“So you have no idea why you’re here or who sent you? And...and do we know if there is another Serena back where you came from?” He asked worriedly. “I mean, if we can send you back, which I’m not certain we can, is there a body for you to go back to?” He asked to no one in particular.

—————- Back in the AMCU

“None of the security cameras saw her leave,” Tony said as Logan came up the stairs. “She’s definitely not in the tower,” he said. He would have smelled her if she was. Peter was very worried and very confused by Serena’s disappearance. Everyone was.

Serena sighed and shook her head at Peter's questions. "I wish I did know who sent me here or why. It felt like magic so I don't know if it was Loki or someone else." However, when Serena thought about Peter's last question she felt like a steel ball had been dropped into the pit of her stomach. Would there be a body for her to go back to? Also, would this timeline's Serena reappear?

Isabella could see that that question was upsetting Serena and so she motioned for Peter to stop. "Well, let's get you settled and comfortable for now. Would you like something to drink? Tea?"

Serena looked at her. "Could I have something a little stronger?"

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Isabella was upset over Serena's disappearance and was trying to make sense of what might have happened. "So, she just disappeared into thin air?"

Kate was standing next to Steve. "That sounds like magic to me..."