Chance Encounters

"Oh my god..." Rob mumbled, before downing his martini in one gulp. He placed it on the bartop and signaled the bartender for another. "Please, just kill me now..."

To put it plainly and simply, Rob's life was pretty good. He had more money than god, he was surrounded by gorgeous women who worshiped the ground he walked on. He could go anywhere, do anything, limited only by his ambitions and imagination. He could not imagine life getting any better than it was now.

And yet, here he found himself in hell.

Not literal, fire and brimstone hell, mind, but as close to any place on Earth as to that as he could imagine.

He dully stared out into the crowd of people filling the banquet hall of this five-star hotel, slammed back another drink, and fought back a shudder of disgust.

He was at a new and emerging technology conference, elusively exclusive for only the biggest names in the industry, just outside of Port Reyes. With Slutter making waves in the world of social media, it was only natural it's top executives would be invited. Normally, he would have just sent Asami and be done with it, and while his business bitch was in attendance and being the face of the company, she had insisted that he make a rare public appearance, seeing as he was President and Chairman of the board for the company.

And so, here Rob was, in the midst of the most odious company on Earth: Silicon Valley techbro douches and East coast vulture capitalists and hedge fund managers. People who only cared for vulgar things like profit. People who didn't understand what Rob was trying to do. Very quickly, Rob had learned this was not his scene, and had retreated to the comfort of the bar, pounding back drink after drink. At the very least, it was an open bar, and the hotel's bartender was top notch. He had made maybe the best negroni Rob had ever had. He got a thousand dollar tip for his efforts. At least there was once person in this room doing worthwhile work.

Rob knew that since his wish, he had retreated from the real world into a realm of fantasy. He had quit his job, barely saw any of his friends, rarely venturing outside of his bubble... but this hellhole was even farther from the real world than the erotic world he had created for himself. What he wouldn't give to be cuddling with Tifa or having a homecooked meal with Ann and Kim or any number of other things with his girls right now...

"I should have sent one of my fucking clones... You idiot, Rob!"

Emerging from the crowd as Rob grumbled and drank, Asami made her way towards the bar, a head-turning beauty in a strapless, dark red gown, hair styled to veil almost half of her face, adding an air of pure mystery to her beautiful form. Rob could see a number of men in the crowd (some of them with wives or girlfriends!) staring at Asami as she slunk her way to him, long legs flashing out from the slit in her dress, hips wiggling enticingly with every step.

Sorry fuckheads, but she's mine, Rob thought with a certain level of smug satisfaction.

But Asami was far from pleased as she confronted him, after ordering a cocktail for herself. "Honestly, sir, you can't just hang out by the bar all night..."

"Oh, yes I can..." Rob snarked before sipping on his drink.

Asami held her hands on her hips, glaring at him with surprising defiance. "It looks odd when the owner and founder of our company never does any PR. I don't need you to do much, I'll do all the heavy-lifting, but at least go out there and rub elbows and shake hands for an hour." Rob gave her plea a moment of thought, before...

"No!" He sniped, petulantly. "I had more than my share of elbow rubbing tonight. Those..." he motioned to the crowd, lowering his voice "...people," he tensed, "are a bunch of braindead ideologues who probably can't spell 'ideologue' and who make me want to walk into the Pacific!"

If Rob heard one more empty-headed techbro tell him that "he should tone down the focus on NSFW content in order to attract advertisers and turn a profit" on his pornographic website or suggest "you should be less eager to ban users, it's sets a bad precedent" regarding creeps who were stalking and harassing users.... well, Rob was going to find another genie, wish for a gun, and then shoot himself with it.

Asami frowned, but Rob flippantly waved her off. "Don't act all haughty, babe, this is your fault." He then pressed close to her and growled. "You owe me. I am going to destroy your asshole later..."

Despite her frustration with her Master, Asami still blushed, batting her eyes seductively. "Don't threaten me with a good time, sir..." Then, clearing her throat and focusing on the matter at hand, she said, in more diplomatic tones. "Look, just wait here, I'll bring some select figures for you to speak to. You may think this crowd is a bunch of parasites and poseurs, but there are important investors here, as well as software and management experts. People who can help us." Rob rolled his eyes, but Asami did not let up. "Three people. I need you to talk with three people for a few minutes, make pleasantries and introductions, then stay for the keynote speech and then you can leave and plow as many sluts as you would like."

Rob gave a noncommittal grunt, which Asami took as acceptance, happily swishing back into the crowd to find these three people. Rob stared bitterly into his drink, mumbling obscenities to himself.

"Rob? Rob Daily, is that you?"

Looking up from his drink, Rob was either expecting one of Asami's mystery people or, worse yet, another fake looking to schmooz with him. The last thing he was expecting was a beautiful redhead straight out of the pages of Marvel comics and his dreams.

She smiled brightly, warm like the spring sun, emerald eyes sparkling with joy and recognition, even as Rob stared slack-jawed at her. Drop-dead gorgeous in an ageless way, she was somewhere between twenty and thirty-five, wearing both the brilliant vivacity of youth and the wisdom of age with casual grace and ease. She cut a splendid figure in her flowing evening gown, sparkling black fabric contrasting with both her flawless alabaster skin and the rich, deep scarlet of her hair. Even in comparison with the beauties of Rob's harem, she had the body of a goddess: tall, leggy, full-figured. The kind that men and women alike worked themselves to **** to achieve, one way or the other.

But the most striking featuring of this woman, to Rob, was just how happy she looked. Happy to see him. To meet him. To... reunite with him? He blinked. He must be dreaming, but he could see the notable signs of nostalgia and familiarity in her bright teeth, the creases of her smile, and the shape of her eyes.

https://www.deviantart.com/tony058/art/Mary-Jane-Watson-By-J-Scott-Campbell-429103077

She was not a stranger to Rob, or, more likely, he wasn't a stranger to her. Someway, somehow, Mary Jane Watson was here, possessing a level of awareness and closeness of Rob, and was over the moon to see him once more.

"C'mon, it's me!" She said, after a long moment of Rob gawking at her in start. "MJ? Mary Jane Watson? Don't tell me you forgot about me after all these years..."

"No, no, no...." Rob shook his head. Of course he could never forget about Mary Jane Waston, at least in another context. "I'm just... shocked to see you again. To see you here. And, uh... looking so good."

MJ waved him off, politely, smile turning humble, as she shook her head and laughed. "Oh, please. You know, I'm just your average world-famous supermodel and actress." Rob shared in her laugh, if only to hear more of MJ's. It was light and musical, a balm upon the soul. "But, anyways, I happened to get an invite due to industry connections." She looked over her shoulder to the crowd of people on the floor. "Pretty sure they only invited me to have a famous, pretty face in the crowd."

"Yeah, that sounds about right..." Rob commented with an aside glance to the same people.

"But, what about you? How are you doing? What are you doing here? Gosh, we haven't seen each other since... high school!? What, seventeen, eighteen years?"

High school!? Had Rob's wish retconned MJ to be an old schoolmate of his? Would make sense, seeing as how MJ was the ultimate girl next door...

"Oh, I mean, I'm good." Rob blathered, still totally flatfooted in regards to MJ's sudden appearance. "Better than good. Great actually. Oh, uh, I'm here because I founded and own a social media site. Slutter." He immediately winced when he mentioned the website, feeling shame for the first time in a long-time for his involvement in porn and smut. Yet, MJ still looked supremely impressed, a look Rob read as genuine.

"Oh, I mean... wow!" MJ shook her head, starstruck. "That's amazing that you own all of that! Some of the girls I work with post on there frequently - Safe For Work, obviously - and they cannot rave enough about how much they love it compared to all the other social media sites."

Rob breathed a sigh of relief, confidence slowly returning to him. "Well, you know, a lot has happened to me, even in the last year. I would love to catch up with you, especially with what you've been doing. How about we ditch this place and grab drinks somewhere? I'm sure my CEO will be pissed at me for leaving her high-and-dry, but...." He shrugged and chuckled, soon dismayed when MJ's smile thinned and she shook her head.

"Actually... I'm was right on my way out when I saw you. I was only here briefly before going to an industry party, but I had to stop by and say 'hi'." MJ's dismissal was as gentle as it could be, yet Rob still slumped his shoulders and let out a sigh. However, MJ quickly scooped up a cocktail napkin and scribbled something on it. "But I want nothing more than to catch up with you, Here's my number and the address I'm staying in while I'm out here. I'll be here for the next two months, so call me the moment you get a chance and we'll make plans."

Rob held onto the napkin with MJ's contact info gingerly, like it was a fragile crystal that would crumble in a light breeze. The most valuable thing he owed. "I... yeah. I'm gonna call you first thing in the morning!" He exclaimed, eagerly. A little too eagerly. But MJ was perfectly graceful with her acceptance.

"I look forward with bated breath!" With another smile, MJ lunged forward into a loving embrace, arms thrown around Rob's broad shoulders and squeezing him affectionately. Despite all of his experience with the fairer sex, Rob was frozen in place, awkwardly holding his arms out by his sides.

"I'll see you when I see you!"

And with that, MJ made her exit, flashing Rob one last smile as she left.

And with that, the realization of everything just hit Rob. Mary Jane Watson knew him. Mary Jane Watson had been inserted into his past. Mary Jane Waston... could be his...

"What the fuck just happened!?" Rob exclaimed, loud enough that the majority of the room heard him.

////

Even before MJ's sudden appearance, Rob could not wait to get out of that conference. Afterwards, he practically speedran through the rest of the night, meeting with Asami's people, and then sneaking out before the keynote speech even began. Asami could be mad at him all he wanted, Rob had a mystery to solve!

With Tifa behind the wheel of his town car, the two raced back to the Big House, Rob barking orders over the phone to Izu, putting the android and her super-powered processor on the case to dig up dirt on Mary Jane Watson in this world. That being done, Rob immediately retreated to his study, pouring a tumbler of scotch, pondering about something he preferred to keep dead: his past.

No, Rob did not have a dark, twisted tragic past. In fact, his life prior to the lamp was painfully mundane. Still, bad memories are bad memories, and Rob had no stomach for reliving them.

Born in Queens, New York, Rob was an only child. His mother passed away when he was young and his dad was a workaholic, his relationship with his son best described as "distant". He had several cousins throughout the five boroughs, but even growing up, Rob was never particularly close with any of his family.

Growing up, Rob loved anything remotely nerdy. He lived for science-fiction and comic books. He loved comics and video games and anime. He spent most of his freetime at the comic bookstore or local arcade. At a young age, he found a passion for drawing and writing, even coming up with his own fan comics he would photocopy himself and distribute to his friends and acquaintances. He, of course, was overweight and unathletic, but lacked the confidence of his adult self in both his body and his hobbies.

He was bullied. A lot. In elementary school, in middle school, and in high school. He had been wedgied and swirlied. Beaten up. Had his lunch money stolen from him. He had comic or games or his Magic card taken from him and destroyed in front of his tear-filled eyes. The adults in his life, of course, did nothing to alleviate the situation.

His response to such bullying was to sink further into his passions, into the world he loved. Read more, play more, draw more, write more. Graduating high school, Rob had never finished a college degree, but he did take several creative writing and art classes at a local community college, to hone his talents. In his budding adulthood, he began to find himself, like himself. He found friends with similar interests, he found girlfriends with similar interests. Movie nights and games nights and road trips and late nights drinking and talking. He finally lost his virginity at the age of twenty-four.

But, also, growing up in the shadow of the burgeoning internet, Rob quickly took advantage of a place he could publish his works - no matter how amateurish or bad - to the masses, earning praise from virtual strangers. Then, as the infrastructure of the internet refined and his own skills solidified, he learned that people were willing to pay money for art and fiction.

Especially if it was pornographic in nature.

Earning the money from his creative endeavours, Rob worked a series of oddjobs throughout his adult life. Retail work, warehouse work, construction jobs, IT jobs; the income combined with his side hustle letting him live a comfortable life. Around a decade ago, he finally left New York behind and moved cross country, for a change of scenery, to get away from it all...

And that, until he found the genie's lamp, was the life of Rob Daily. Now how did Mary Jane Watson figure into all of that?

The question tumbling around in his head, over and over, Rob didn't even notice Izu's approach, until the android spoke up. "Master." So lost in thought, Rob almost jumped out of his chair at Izu's digitized voice. "I have completed the task you gave for me, uncovering all of the information on one Mary Jane Watson."

Setting his glass aside, Rob nodded to her. "Please, then, Izu."

"Mary Jane Watson. Born in Newark, New Jersey. Birthdate of August nineteenth. Age: thirty-six." Rob took note of that, as it made him and MJ the same age. "Raised in Queens, New York. Home address: 742 Evergreen Terrace."

"Tha-that's a Simpson's reference!" Rob exclaimed, suddenly, to a blank stare from Izu. "Uh... also, my home address growing up was 744 Evergreen Terrace...." So, did that mean that he and MJ were neighbours growing up? Childhood friends. That would scan with her fictional biography...

As Rob fell into though again, Izu continued. "Graduating from Empire High School", again, that was Rob's high school, "She then attended Queens Community College, graduating with a degree in business management. However, she is most known for making a name as a world famous supermodel, first appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair at the age of nineteen. She has been the spokeswoman for numerous fashion and cosmetic brands, and broke-out into an acting career, both stage and screen. Notably, she took a year pause in her career to play Eponine in an off-Broadway production of Les Misérables. Recently, she-"

Rob held up his hand for Izu to stop. "That is more than enough, thank you, Izu." The android bowed obediently, before shuffling off at her Master's command.

Doing his best impression of Rodin's The Thinker, Rob was still left with numerous questions. He could see how MJ fit into his life, how she was so familiar and friendly with him, but he had no idea the specifics. He was hoping when he learned more about her, the magic of his wish would download these new memories into his brain. But, nope. Nothing new so far.

Half an hour passed, as Rob wracked his brain in futility before he gave up. Really, he was getting too hung-up on this, he told himself. He shouldn't be looking a gift horse in the mouth, because the universe just handed him Mary Jane Watson on a silver platter! Don't question it dummy, just go for it.

Making his way up to the master bedroom, Rob figured he would just call up some of his girls, entertain himself for the night, then start on his plan to make MJ his the following morning. Marvel may not want MJ to be happy and romantically fulfilled, but it was those loser's loss in that case. Rob would give Mary Jane the life she always deserved.

Big, dopey smile on his face as he dreamed of MJ in his harem, Rob opened the door to his bedroom and was stopped dead cold by what he saw.

By who he saw.

"Hello, my love." Zatanna greeted fondly, stretched out atop the bed. "I'm back. And I've brought a very special friend with me."

For curled up next to Zatanna and looking at Rob with an amorous curiosity, was none other than the Scarlet Witch...

/////

This was not planned at all, but I am very, very pleased this is the one-hundredth chapter of this thread (and holy shit, we got to a hundred chapters! Hell, start of the year, I was happy to have hit the fiftieth chapter!)

Anyways, this may seem innocuous, outside of Rob's reunion with Zatanna, but Mary Jane is going to end up a very important figure going forward. And, fittingly, just like Wanda, this a woman of Marvel who has been given the complete shaft for the last twenty-years or so. One More Day, anyone?

But, hey, if Marvel doesn't want MJ and Peter to be happy, Rob will be more than happy to pick-up the spare.

As I had mentioned earlier, this storyline can roughly be divided into parts (or arcs, but I use that term for series of chapters with the same throughline; ie Rob claiming the xenosluts is one arc, followed by the Pink Room arc). From the start of the story, up until Rob claiming Zatanna (chapter 29) is Part One. Part Two goes from Chapter 30 up until this point. So, chapter 101 will be the start of Part Three. And, no spoilers, not too much hype, but Part Three will end with a BIG EVENT. Game-changingly big. I was actually worried at first that I didn't have enough content to fill the start and end of this part, but I believe I do now. Hold onto your keyboards, folks, things are about to get wild.

Cheers to one-hundred chapters everyone! Thank you to all my readers and commentators for their support! Here's to a hundred more!