Loki's Trick (Patreon)

While his oaf of a brother would always be his favourite victim, Loki enjoyed pranking other merry members of that pesky Avenger group Thor had joined after growing so fond of Midgard. They were all so gullible and easy to manipulate - simply put, they were a reliable source of continued entertainment for the Trickster god. The Man of Iron, the lumbersome green monstrosity and the patriotic fool had all found themselves humiliated by Loki many a time but it was their latest recruit who had caught his eye. Spider-Man was clearly younger than the rest and that naivety would make him an easy and most enjoyable target. 

It didn’t take Loki long to uncover the arachnid hero’s secret identity, nor to learn about his personal life. Peter Parker hadn’t had the easiest time growing up, between losing his parents and his precious Uncle Ben, but it was the young man’s troublesome school experiences that felt like the most exciting prospect to take advantage of. Prior to getting his superpowers Parker had been an absolute nobody - a nerd pushed around by bullies and the thought of seeing the young hero returned to that state rather excited the trickster god. All he needed to do was get Parker into a position where he would willingly accept a little shift in reality and with magic on his side Loki knew that would be all too easy.

A sudden second Chitauri invasion of New York was a good way to get Spider-Man in the vulnerable state he needed to be. The young hero had done his very best to protect as many innocents as he could but Loki had created an illusion to trick the young hero into believing that he’d failed to save a group of tourists. The guilt would continue to stir in Parker’s mind long after the threat had been contained and that evening Parker chose to hide away from the rest of his teammates to dwell on his failure. That was the perfect moment for Loki to strike, appearing to the other as his sweetheart MJ. The loveblind fool accepted him with open arms, doing little to hide the misery he had slumped into after witnessing the apparent death of several individuals on his watch.

Loki allowed the young man to pour his heart out and hid the smile from his face as he began to sense his approaching victory. Once the other had fallen quiet and wiped the tears from his eyes, the trickster god knew it was time to strike. “If you could give it all up - your powers - would you?” Loki asked, feigning concern for the young man as he ran his fingers through the other’s hair. “Maybe… maybe those people would still be alive.” The words visibly pierced the hero like a knife and after a moment of hesitation he gave a feeble nod. “Say it,” Loki encouraged, his feminine voice little more than a whisper.

“I wish somebody else was Spider-Man,” Peter mumbled before surging forward and pressing his lips against Loki’s, unaware that he was signing his own life away in the process. At that very moment reality itself was reshaped through Loki’s powers of manipulation and one person was at the epicentre of it - Peter Parker. Suddenly feeling an absence against his own lips, Peter opened his eyes and discovered that he was no longer in Avengers Tower but rather his own small bedroom in his Aunt’s Queens apartment. How did I get here?

As his confusion began to spike, Peter found himself short of breath for the first time in a long time. Old instincts returned to him and he clambered to find his inhaler in the top drawer of his bedside cabinet, using it to steady himself like he’d had to in his early teen years. His head was swimming in confusion. What the hell was going on and where had MJ disappeared to? As he looked around the room though, he realized that even the decoration wasn’t quite right. His walls were covered in posters of Spider-Man and photos he had a faint memory of taking himself. How could that be right though? Wasn’t he Spider-Man?

“Peter! It’s time for school!” Aunt May called through the bedroom door, startling him. He scrambled around to find some clothes and was surprised by the lack of coordination he was experiencing, not to mention the lack of strength as he tugged open the door that had always been a little too tough for its own good. The truth slowly began to unravel in Peter’s mind as he boarded the school bus and found a seat by himself, his classmates regarding him with looks of disgust or pity as they passed him by. His own history had been rewritten to make him even more of a loser than ever! He was known as “that Spider-Man geek” because of his crazy collection of Spidey Merch, some of which he kept in his locker, and he had all too regularly been the victim of pranks by the school’s wrestling squad. But I should be stronger than them, Peter reminded himself. He had fought off several members of the Avengers when Mr Stark and Captain America had been at war with each other… so why did he feel so physically inferior all of a sudden?

The answer provided itself in cruel fashion as he glanced out of the window and caught sight of a familiar red-and-blue shape swinging through the air: Spider-Man! The bus came alive with chatter as people noticed him and the webbed wonder even swung close enough to wave at the teenagers staring in awe out of the bus windows. Peter felt a surge of excitement at the sight of his hero before it was dampened by a sudden onslaught of confusion. Wasn’t that supposed to be him? Don’t be ridiculous, he chided himself, As if a loser like you could ever be Spider-Man. Those were words that had been said to him multiple times, particularly by Flash Thompson, the arrogant rich kid whose favorite hobby seemed to be tormenting Peter. The saddest part of it though was that Peter had even started to believe those words too: a loser like him would never be a famous superhero. He wasn’t even worthy enough to be a sidekick!

Once he arrived at school, the memories of Peter’s time as an Avenger and the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man had been eradicated and replaced by the memories of the reality Loki had created for him. He was pushed or shoved no less than five times on the way to his locker and when he got there he found that smug asshole Flash waiting for him. “So, Parker, I’ve got a question for you,” his bully started. “Do you want to be Spider-Man or be his girlfriend? I’m really thinking it’s the latter, you know. You don’t exactly have the strength… or speed… or skill to be a hero, if you get my drift.” The words were accompanied by a devilish smirk and Peter felt a rush of nerves flood through him.

“I-- I--” The words seemed to get stuck in Peter’s throat, no matter how hard he tried to force them out. “I don’t--” His inability to speak only caused Flash to roar with laughter, prompting Peter’s cheeks to flush red with embarrassment. Why did he always have to make himself look like such a dork, especially in front of people who found glee in his torment? Aunt May alwys told him to stand up for himself against his bullies but whenever the moment came Peter always seemed to shrink back and let them get away with treating him like dirt. He only wished he could have the strength of the heroes he admired so much.

“Whatever, dude. Take it from somebody who knows: Spider-Man wouldn’t be into you,” Flash interrupted, sounding perfectly sure of himself. “And he’d be freaked out if he knew that his number one fan was such a creep.” With that, Flash gave Peter a shove and the smaller teen was slammed against the lockers, surprised by the strength that should have been far beyond what Flash was capable of. Even as he attempted to regain his breath, Peter watched as his tormentor swaggered away, a number of questions beginning to formulate in his mind. Based on what the other had said and his strength… could Flash Thompson be Spider-Man?

Knowing Peter’s luck, of course his bully would be his greatest hero!