1st January 2011 — Horizon University, Texas (Jake's POV)
The shuttle hissed as it slowed along the mag-rail, sandstorm winds buffeting against its sleek glass shell. A moment later the doors slid open, and the desert heat gave way to cool, recycled air and a panoramic view of the future.
Horizon University wasn't a campus. It was a city.
Towers of glass and titanium curved skyward like frozen waves. Energy domes shimmered across districts — each a controlled biome, from dense rainforest to arctic lab. Roads weren't roads, but mag-lev tracks and hover-shuttle lanes. The UN flag stood beside Stark Industries, Oscorp, the Baxter Foundation, China even Wakanda and Zamunda had banners. Above it all, holographic text cycled through a dozen languages:
WELCOME TO HORIZON — THE FUTURE STARTS HERE.
Deadpool Commentary™:
"Translation: MIT and Disneyland had a baby, and then the UN raised it with Stark's wallet. Don't worry, folks — tuition's only your soul."
Beside me, Cindy Moon clutched her tablet, wide-eyed. "It's like walking into Star Trek," she whispered.
"Yeah," I muttered. "If Starfleet charged rent."
Forge and Ezekiel had finally let her out into the world, after Forge won the argument that "locking a teenage girl underground with old men and files on spiders" wasn't healthy. She was practically vibrating with relief.
We passed the gates, security drones scanning us, and that's when I froze.
Because walking ahead was someone I'd only heard about.
Teresa Elizabeth Parker. Tessa Parker. N-Tek trainee, Richard Parker's daughter, left in Forge's care when her father disappeared.
And holding her hand?
Harry Osborn.
I blinked. My brain screeched. Harry. Was. Dating. Peter's sister. That was a Code violation. A cardinal sin.
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Cindy peeled off to look for Max Modell.
I walked up to them, keeping it casual. "Hey Harry, how are you?"
He looked up, startled. Then his face broke into a smile. "Jake? Damn, man — you've been off the grid a year. What happened?"
"My dad's private hospital. Cindy's family's on the board. What about you?" I glanced at Tessa. "I see you're dating Tessa?"
Harry frowned. "How do you even know her name?"
"We've been friends since we were five," I said slowly. "Peter and I go back before his parents disappeared. My mom always said Uncle Richard left his little sister with her brother."
Harry's eyes widened. "You don't mean—"
"Yeah," I confirmed.
He went pale. "I'm dead. I'm so dead." He darted a look around like Peter might materialize from thin air — then bolted.
"Your boyfriend just bolted," I told Tessa.
"Because you scared him with my brother," she shot back, pouting.
"Why's he scared of Peter?"
"Because Peter swore, he'd kill anyone who hurt his sister once he found where she was. And Harry…" she sighed. "Harry can be Harry."
I nodded. "Yeah. Out of it sometimes." Though before the spider bite, he was just sickly. Something's off. I need to check that later.
"Hey Jake, how are you feeling?"
The voice behind me was unmistakable.
"Fine. Just talking to your sister," I answered automatically.
Peter blinked. "My… sister? You mean Tessa? No wonder she seemed familiar." His face twisted. "Wait, Harry's dating her? He broke the Code—" He started muttering, then sprinted after them.
"Catch you later, Jake!"
Felicia showed up two seconds later, out of breath. "Have you seen Peter?"
I pointed. She ran without a word.
I stood there, blinking. "What the hell is going on today? This is the weirdest New Year ever."
One Hour Later
Orientation wrapped, and I had my starter pack: a Horizon ID, a UN-subsidized research grant, and a tablet loaded with more computing power than Stark's early suits. The "dorms" weren't dorms. They were four-bedroom houses in their own neighborhood, with lawns, mailboxes, and autonomous recycling drones.
'I love this school,' I thought — until I didn't.
Because when I opened my assigned house door, I got a front-row seat to a nightmare.
My new roommate, Peter Parker, naked on the couch.
Felicia Hardy, tangled on top of him.
Cindy Moon, half-suited, spider-silk draped on the floor.
"Oh," I said flatly. "I'll come back later."
Door. Closed. Gone.
Deadpool Commentary™:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Jake McGrath Hypocrisy Hour! He's mad at Harry for breaking the bro-code, but Spider-Boy over here is running a whole Netflix Original Series with Jake's cousin and his spider-friend. Round of applause!"
I walked briskly, trying to bleach the mental image out of my skull. 'Harry breaks the code, Peter breaks the universe. I need bleach. Or a psychic. Yeah. Definitely a psychic.'
"Mr. McGrath, may I speak to you?"
I turned. Bald, calm, with a cane.
Charles Xavier.
"Well," I muttered, a wry grin spreading. "Speak of the devil."