The Boom Tube spat them out into the cool bite of New York air (along with some garbage from the dumpster in the ally they're in), and the noise hit Jacob like a hammer.
Car horns. Sirens in the distance. Chatter from crowds shuffling along sidewalks. The hum of the subway beneath their feet. It was endless, suffocating.
Jacob closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself not to wince. City life just isn't as peaceful as… He stopped himself, the thought unfinished. Peace was a memory too far away, too fragile to revisit.
Beside him, Peter Parker was already slipping into his natural rhythm, weaving through the streets with a kind of boyish ease, his voice spilling over with half-explained stories and jokes. Robin — Damian Wayne, though he rarely offered his name — followed close behind, silent and sharp-eyed, like a shadow stitched to Peter's side.
"Queens isn't glamorous," Peter said, glancing back at them with a crooked grin. "But it's home. You'll like Aunt May. She'll feed you until you can't stand up anymore."
"That's not necessarily a good thing," Damian muttered, though there was no malice in his tone. Just… truth.
Jacob, walking a step behind, said nothing. The noise pressed down on him, his thoughts blurred. Yet, when they finally turned onto a quieter street, lined with modest houses, he felt something shift. The chaos of the city dimmed here, replaced by something more… ordinary. And ordinary, for Jacob, was extraordinary.
Peter swung open the door to a small, warmly lit house. The smell of baking bread and faint laundry detergent clung to the air.
"Aunt May! I'm home!" Peter called.
From the kitchen, a voice answered, warm and alive despite the cracks of age. "Peter? Oh, thank goodness. I was starting to worry. You never call when you're going to be late—"
She stepped out, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Aunt May was smaller than Jacob expected, her frame thin, her hair silver, her face lined with years of both joy and sorrow. But her eyes — her eyes carried the same softness Jacob had seen in Peter.
"Oh! You brought friends," she said, her face brightening as she noticed Damian and Jacob.
"Yeah, this is Damian," Peter said quickly. "He's… helping me with homework again."
Damian bowed his head slightly, his voice polite and precise. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
Jacob almost smirked. The son of Batman, charming an old lady to get on her good side. Guess it runs in the family.
"And this is Jacob," Peter continued, gesturing toward him.
Jacob inclined his head in greeting. "Ma'am." His voice was low, quiet, almost unsure.
Aunt May's eyes lingered on him. Something in his gaze — the weight of it — caught her off guard. But she smiled anyway, ushering them inside. "Well, any friend of Peter's is welcome here."
Peter and Damian disappeared quickly up the stairs, bickering about algebra and deadlines.
That left Jacob in the living room, alone with Aunt May.
She settled onto the couch, motioning for him to sit as well. For a while, there was silence, filled only by the ticking of an old clock on the wall. Jacob sat stiffly, hands folded, unsure how to exist in such a normal space.
Finally, Aunt May spoke, her voice softer now. "You don't talk much, do you?"
Jacob shook his head. "Not… usually."
"That's alright." She gave him a small smile. "Sometimes it's nice to have someone who just listens."
Jacob's eyes flickered toward her, and something in his expression — the quiet way he watched her — made her words catch in her throat. Against her better judgment, she kept talking.
"Sometimes," she said slowly, "I wonder if I'm going crazy." She clasped her hands tightly in her lap. "Every time I close my eyes… or even when I see Peter… I remember Ben. His voice. His words. The night he died."
Her breath shook, and Jacob felt a pang deep in his chest.
"He told Peter something," she whispered. "Something he always believed. 'With great power comes great responsibility.'" Her eyes shimmered. "But Peter… he's still only a boy. He shouldn't have to carry that weight. Not yet."
Her voice cracked. She turned her face slightly away, ashamed of her tears.
Jacob exhaled, the words forming before he even realized he was speaking. "Sometimes…" He paused, meeting her gaze. "Sometimes it's the younger generation's job to clean up the mistakes of the old. Because no matter what… where there is light, there is shadow. And where there is evil, there is good."
Aunt May blinked, startled.
Jacob's voice softened, though his eyes carried the weight of foresight. "Peter… he's the pure kind of good. He has faults, like everyone else. But I can guarantee you — from my time with him — he's going to do so much."
Her lips trembled. She smiled through her tears, fragile but real. "Yes… yes, I believe he will. He already has, in so many ways."
Jacob looked down, his chest tightening. He already has, May… and he will do so much more.
But he didn't say it aloud. Some truths were better left in silence.
May stood suddenly, brushing her hands on her apron as though nothing had happened. "Well, enough of me rambling. Dinner isn't going to cook itself. Come on, Jacob, you can help."
Jacob hesitated — then nodded. "Of course. I'd be a bother if not."
"Of course not," she chided gently, patting his arm as she led him toward the kitchen. "Now come. I'm making lasagna."
[Omni Template System Online]
Karmic Value (KV): 9,221
Jacob blinked, the faint glow of the system flickering at the edge of his vision. He ignored it for now, stepping into the kitchen where May already had ingredients laid out.
"Ever cooked before?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jacob considered the sterile labs, the nutrient packs, the tasteless meals forced down his throat. "…Not like this."
"Well, then it's time to learn." She handed him a knife, guiding his hands as he chopped onions and garlic. She hummed softly as she worked, filling the kitchen with the warmth of something Jacob hadn't felt in years — home.
For a moment, he allowed himself to forget the noise outside, the weight of foresight, even the system that lingered like a ghost. For a moment, he was just Jacob, helping Aunt May make lasagna in a little house in Queens.
Dinner was simple but rich. Damian and Peter eventually rejoined them, bickering less now, their plates filled high with May's cooking. The four of them sat together, laughter and conversation filling the room.
And though Jacob spoke little, though he still felt the shadows of his past pressing in, he found himself… at peace.
For the first time in a very long time.
A/N: If your wondering why Jacob refers to her as May, instead of Ms. Parker, is because I thought that would fit the fact he is influenced by the characters he uses, some MORE so, but you'll see exactly how in time.