I was giving my best smile, towards my father and mother over on the other side of the kitchen table. I was sitting across from them, but in my inner world I was in a mix of nervous and exited emotional turmoil. Like I was on a thigh rope roller coster ride over boiling lava. One wrong step and I was so very dead. This was my first step into this very long road of hopefully making my family safe in this insane but wonderful world.

Richard and Mary eyes narrow in instinctive suspicion as they looked over the paper document. Mary had a nagging little voice saying that something wasn't quiet right about all this. As she looked up to her husband she notice that same looked in his eyes. For the past 12 years Braden had been nothing but a model older brother to his young sibling Peter. Sure they both wish that Braden had inherited some of their brains, sadly even if he manage in getting A's at school. He didn't have that special spark that Peter had begun to show recently.

"Tell me again what this trip is all about?" Richard spoke in a measured neutral tone. Not wanting to give away that his fatherly instinct was screaming loudly, that his son was lying about something. Its just that he wasn't sure what, exactly it could be. This was a very new and odd feeling, Braden had as far as he could remember never acted this way. (Hell, Braden had been more of a parent to Peter then both him and Mary had been for the past few years.) He thought with guilt. They couldn't help it, they were working on Captain America blood, trying to figure out the super soldier serum formula, which means long hours at the lab. Thankfully Braden was their to take care of Peter, also his Brother Ben and wife May were there. (Sadly they we're more in mourning, May had just lost the baby three years ago. Only to also learn that she couldn't ever have another.) He sigh at the bitter hand that life had dealt his older brother.

"As I have already mention, which is also mention in that document. This is a summer trip, that the school has organize. In it, we have a guided tour of the Nuclear Power plant in New Mexico. But we will mostly spend all are time near, a local Native American Indian tribe. Where we wil learn about there history and tradition. Learning things like tracking, archery, horses back riding and other part of their deep history. At the end, we will be awarded with both, a safety ambassador badge on nuclear power plant protocal. And a honorary decorated head gear piece, that symbolize a partial acceptance membership of the local tribe." (Be cool Braden, this is almost in the bag, just need to keep it together a few more minutes.) His mouth was starting to hurt from the cheap car salesman smile he was giving them.

"Honey, it not the trip that has use worried. It well frankly, the long stay, the whole summer? What about your Soccer team? Is the Coach really ok with you missing the whole summer? Beside since when have you had an interest in native culture and nuclear psychic?" Mary had a warm loving smile, as her eyes held a veil threat that was broadcasting tell me what your hidding to her son.

When I spotted my mother loving smile and threatening eyes I almost caved. When ever my mom got mad I aways found it terrifying, of what she would do if she found out what I was really planing. I just keep reminding miself on why, I was doing it. (If I don't do this now, my next window will be much later, and by that time It might be to late. Hell, already Im lucky, in the comics or movies they both die like a year after Peter is born. But they have been with us for four years, the clock is ticking I have no idea how long I have with them. Besides they have already been working on the super soldier serum, it only a matter of time before they either die in a accident or they get assassinated.)

Gathering my courage I lifted my head and with a shy look, pulling all the cuteness a twelve year old young boy face he could muster, I reluctantly went for plan B. I said a silent prayer for forgiveness to my best friend. I then imagine my most embarrassing memory, which will be omitted. I then open my bleu eyes wide, trying to emite nothing but sweet innocence, I then blush a deep red and wispered. "Naomi is going." Before my head went down in shame, my dark brown hair covering the grimace my face had. I prayed to all kind of deity, hopping one or two would lend me some help in sympathy. Pleading that my best friend would forgive me for this most sacred of sacrifice, of trowing her under the bus. (Sorry Nao but It the only way to get them off my back.) I dreaded when she would find out, I was certain that she would kick me, in my most sacred of places. Since last summer she had told me in confidence that she was gay, I had sworn that I would never let a little thing like that ruin a perfectly good frienship. Also that I would keep her secret until she was ready to come out on her own terms. I had even joke back then, that we now had a new common thing we could share, which girls we found hotter.

Richard and Mary froze for a moment, a slow knowing smile spread on their faces. They turn too each other they had a knowing looked in their eyes. With a spark of teasing mischief on their faces, they turn as one and started bombarding him with embarrassing question. Braden endured in the series of questions, all the while tearing at the very upcoming deserving beatdown from Naomi, she was no doubt going to pummel into him as soon as she heard of this. Of course that was only if she decided to forgive him quickly, if she decided to prolong his punishment longer the social damage she could infict on him was devastating. She had plenty, no she had all the dirt on him. Hell she could also ask his parents for every embarrassing photo they had. The worst was they would gladly give them to her, even pile on some videos as well.

After an hour of hell, being interrogated until I was nothing but bones, I finally manage to satisfy my parents sadistic glee. I was now climbing up the stairs on shaky legs up to my room. All the while wondering if I should call Naomi and start begging now, or try to hide this for as long as I could. At the very least I got my parents signatures. The plan was now truly on the way. Yes their was a camp at New Mexico and a nuclear tour as well. Yup the school also organize it as well. Only well the trip was only for two weeks at the beginning of summer, and not the whole summer like it said on the paper.

"Jamie Madrox, I really hope you are still in Los Almos in New Mexico. Hacking in my school to change some dates on my form was easy, hopefully what I found on the internet was right. Its alot harder to know without any social media like facenook. I had to look in the police and hospital files. Hopefully my theory on him still being at his home is right. Or else Ive done all this for nothing."

I really hope to find what I was looking for in New Mexico, or else things would only get alot harder. Hell I might have to change his whole plan because of it. I still remember becoming aware of my surrounding around the age of one. At first I was confuse, it became quickly apparent to me that I wasn't on drugs or out of my mind. I had somehow, been reborn. I could still barley remember some parts of my past life. Things like my old name or how old I was, even faces of familly and friends were foggy. I had snap shots of selective memory. Like big event or marking moment of my past life, I knew I had a longness life? Just not so sure how much. Maybe in the mid 40? In fact I didn't care too much about it. Because once I figure out that I was in the Marvel universe, I was ecstatic until I remember that I was IN the Marvel universe. The place were wonder and crazy happen to be the bests of friends.

I then tried to vaguely recalling all I could about the bat shit, mumbo jumble, over the top crazy, toon town stuff madness, that happens to all character in the marvel worlds. Now I was confident that not all those thing would happen, but the question was which ones? I then realized that I was a Parker so my question was, will I be the new spiderman, sadly in a bitter way the universe gave me my answer. It was a big fat No, after seven years of intense training pushing my body and mind to my young limit, all in an efforts to be worthy of the mantle of spiderman. Only for my excited parents to annouce, that I was going to be an older brother, to a new baby boy in eight months time, Peter was going to be his name.

Should I hate the baby for stealing something that could have been mine, no, after coming back from any dark thoughts toward a vulnerable innocent baby. I came too realize a terrifying truth, in the comics or movies. Their never was a Braden Parker, so I had no clue if I had a death flag or not. Hell my parents had a death flag since in some stories they died very closes after Peter birth. So I needed to do everything I could in preventing their and also potentially, my very own demise.

So the secret hell training I secretly endured for seven years to be worthy of the spider mantle, was pick up once more but for a different reason this time. Now this wasn't for me, but for his new family, all in a bide to trie and break away from loosing any of his family or friends. I was just sad that in all my efforts I put in this, today I may just have lost my own best friend in my lonely crusade.

Braden gave out a sigh, as I thought about the past. I made my way to my computer desk. I went down on my knees and place my hand on a wooden floors board that had the demention of 12 inch long and 6 inch across. Pushing down on it, 3 time in a measured sequence. It push up with a quiet wish sound, presenting a box attache under the now lifted floor board, the board was suspended by two metal contraption of my own making. This was my little insurance I cook up over the years, perhaps the only place I could ever outshine my parents genius was computers. I long ago figured out, how to hack into their home lab that they had in the basement.

Their I learned that Peter had a rare genetic deases when he was just born, without any treatment he would die in less then two years. So my parents did what any desperate genius parents in the Marvel universe would do. They modyfied the super soldier formulas they had on hand, all in a desperate gamble to save their newly baby boy. It was a success, in fact it work better than expected. Not only was Peter genes repaired they even improve a little. Mostly his brain seem to show classic sign of genius level intellect. Also there was a unexpected surprise, was that Peter Body and genes seem to have a sort of mutation, into a almost perfect receptor that contained endless possibility. My parents had been working on a very unstable spider super serum, but with Peter now mutated like genes, if they introduced their spider serum into his cells. The result was a 78% chance of a successful integration.

When I first learn of this I was over the moon, only after reading more did I feel my hopes once more crumble to dust. My parents had deem this genetic receptor to dangerous, and had drop any more time or work on it.The reason was only briefly mention, they started too wonder if their employer were really who they said they were. So in a precaution they destroyed the formula and all the work on it. Fortunatly I was abel to salvage the data and copied it on a disk, along with all their other work. I had figured that this was my best shot at gaining powers, sure their was magic. But frankly I wasn't so sure which sorcerer supreme I would meet. So I decided to stay in the science path, at lest for now.

As I turn on my computer, I sigh in exasperation every time I heard its sound. It reminded me that better models were still in someone head right now. Sure I had toyed with the idea of trying to sell tech beyond the current times, but the attention I would attract was detrimental to any plan. What I needed for now was stealth, being the young inventor of better tech would attract giants like Stark industry, or worse Shield. I wasn't sure if Hydra was a separate group or had intergrated like in the movies. I had to wait until I gain some better hidden cards before hopefully coming in contact with them much later. I also had debated on modifying my own computer, I did have the know how in upgrading it, no doubt with the tools I had I could advance it at least ten years forward. Only to realize that their was a very real possibility of my computer being grab, in the hopefully unlikely sudden demise of my parents. So I took even more troublesome and sneaky ways in covering my tracks.

Once my computer had finish weezing to life, I inserted the disks holding all my notes on the formulas I was working on for me. It was slow going, I spent half my time figuring out just a small part of my parents work. It was a lot of back and forth from the library and my parents own books collection. Hell it was frustrating work, not for the first time I curse all genius around the world. They never realize how infuriating it was for a normal person, who could only ever reach learned level intelligence in improving or even modifying their damn formulas.

"Even when I'm cheating, its still difficult. It like playing Demon Soul with only using a dagger and nothing else, while trying to kill a boss! I grumble under my breath. I work on it for an hour more before saving it, taking out his disk. I return it with all the other secret copy of my parents secret work. Pushing down the secret hidden spot in the floor. I then erase any data left on my computer, then shutting it down. I walk to my closest in my oddly very orderly room, I had gotten more then one few odd looks as I grew up, seeing a two year old picking up after themselves without any shouting or even asking, had gather some weird looks from everyone around me. Opening the door and reaching for my personal tool box also grabbing a small wooden box. Going back to my computer, I expertly open it up. Taking out a certain circuit board, I then open the wooden box, taking a similar circuit board and switching it with the one in the wooden box. One circuit board I use for my daily life, while the other I work with strictly on my side project. I figure if the worse happen before I could prevent it, at the very least this would buy me time from attracting the wrong kind of attention.

Once I finish putting everything away I went down stairs to cook super. By this point I was sure that my loving parents were deep into their work in the basement. I spotted Peter wrap up in a blanket on the sofa fast asleep, the tv was on real low he was hugging the teddy bear I had bought for him during his last birthday. I stop just to engrave this adorable scene in my mind. Peter had a small smile, this warm my love for the little bundle of joy that he was, he really got to me. Once more I swore to try and protect my little bro as much as possible.

"Maybe some home made pizza tonight, Peter loves pizza." Braden smiled a warm smile, hoping that this piece would last.