Chapter 2: Mandatory Origin Story Part II

Chapter Two: The Mandatory Origin Story Part II

“Patience Dr. Essex, with this line of work it takes a great deal of time, even with an adequate amount of funding put behind the project,” said Warren in a calm voice but he was shaken. His benefactor, the man who put him on his current line of research was not a patient man.

“I’m well aware of the time, but your carelessness is something that I am quite concerned with, Warren,” said Essex crisply from the other end. “You were discharged from Oscorp before you could fully tap into the resources available there; causing you to go under ground and it compromises my work. Yet, you waste my time and my money tinkering with genetically altering insects.”

“It is just one step in a lengthy process, soon I’ll be able to move onto more complex forms of life and eventually humans, before we reach the goal you laid out in front of me,” said Warren. “It does intrigue me, artificially creating forms of new life…”

“What intrigues you is hardly of notice to me, Warren,” replied Essex crisply. “Just remember, I want results other than a few super powered insects. I have plans, to bring evolution to its fullest. The serum is merely the first steps of infancy in a grander picture. In fact, it’s not like you’ve managed to keep your little pests alive for more than mere days as of yet.”

“If you know so much, Essex, then why don’t you take this project on personally?” demanded Warren.

“Believe me, Miles, I know more than you could ever dream about genetics, failures and successes, each of them getting closer to unlocking secrets not yet imagined, but I have little need to dirty my hands with the basics,” said Essex. “My own physical strength and abilities is proof of this but I need to know more, much more and let’s just say your face draws less attention than mine does but don’t think that I won’t be watching.”

“Yes, Dr. Essex,” said Warren as he heard the phone hang up on the other end before a frantic knock brought him out of his distress. “Enter.”

“Professor Warren, sorry for the interruption, but a boy was taken to the hospital because of an accident,” said a young man frantically.

“I fail to see how this concerns me,” said Warren dryly.

“He was bitten by one of your experience that escaped,” said the man and Warren just looked at him, everything changed.

“Really, what was the young man’s name and what did he get bitten by?” asked Warren, he had wondered what would happen if a human was bitten but it would raise too many questions if tried. This accident was a godsend.

“I don’t know, his girlfriend looked upset,” said the man and Warren just waved him off.

“This lack of information does me no good,” said Warren, but he readied himself for the worst. He needed to find out what experiment got loose and replace it, so no one could tie this back to him. While the Professor was curious, he also realized that a legal battle could both endanger is work, especially this close after his dismal from Oscorp and jeopardize his life if Essex got wind of another reckless blunder on his part.

-

Gwen sat in the hospital waiting room, hands folded, waiting for Peter’s aunt and uncle to arrive. She looked at her cell phone; she had tried to contact Harry several times to inform him of Peter’s accident, but so far no answer. Gwen decided to try him one more time in a couple of minutes before the door burst open and May and Ben Parker walked inside. May looked on the verge of worrying herself to death and while Ben looked worried, he tried to remain rather composed.

“Oh my…where’s Peter?” asked May.

“Mrs. Parker, Peter’s been taken in, he’s stabilized, I’m sure they’re tell you more right away,” said Gwen who tried to maintain her own composure, but May walked off, wanting an explanation, trying to find some explanation.

“What on earth happened, Gwen?” asked Ben.

“This is going to sound really stupid, but we were at the exhibit, and Peter he was bitten by a genetically altered spider,” said Gwen as flashes from the day had continued to overwhelm her and Ben looked confused.

“He’s going to be alright,” said Ben in an optimistic voice.

“I hope so, I really do,” replied Gwen, who brushed her hair out of her eyes, before she looked forward and May came out of the next room, with Ben meeting her.

“Good news, the doctor said Peter came out of whatever happened to him but he’s really weak,” said May in a relieved voice. “He said we can visit him in a little bit, only family, sorry dear, but I’m sure you can see him a little later.”

“No, that’s alright Mrs. Parker, I’m just glad Peter’s going to be fine,” said Gwen as she breathed a sigh of relief. She had come so close to losing him, too close in fact, as she watched the Parkers leave, followed by a doctor, as she tried to get in touch with Harry once again.

“Norman Osborn, speaking,” said the last voice that Gwen wanted to hear.

“Mr. Osborn, its Gwen Stacy, is Harry there?” asked Gwen and there was a pause, where Gwen was almost certain that Norman was contemplating hanging up on her right away.

“Ms. Stacy, Harry is in a tutoring session at the moment and he doesn’t need in distractions, whatever trivialities you have, I’m certain you can tell him on Monday,” said Norman coldly.

“No, listen, Mr. Osborn, it’s an emergency, our friend, Peter Parker, there’s been an accident and Peter’s is in the emergency room!” shouted Gwen in an extremely frantic tone without taking a breath.

“Peter is in the hospital?” asked Norman but he continued without given her a chance to answer. “What hospital is he in?”

“Manhattan General,” responded Gwen briskly.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can and I’ll be sure to pass along the message to Harry once his tutoring session concludes,” said Norman before he hung up the phone and Gwen leaned back with a sigh and a frustrated expression on her face, before she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for a chance to see Peter.

-

“Mr. Parker, Mrs. Parker, a word about your nephew’s condition before you see him,” said the doctor.

“I thought he was better,” said May in a frantic voice.

“Peter is much better, other than being extremely weakened right at the moment but several tests have been run, there is nothing wrong with him,” said the doctor. “In fact, once your nephew recovers from this he will be almost normal.”

“What do you mean by almost normal?” said Ben sharply, not missing a beat or what the doctor said.

“It’s nothing alarming, in fact in the long run it will be completely unnoticeable, he’ll just require a bit more nourishment than a normal boy his age and his strength and endurance towards certain diseases will be heightened slightly,” said the doctor. “I assure you that if I had not been sure of this, I would not have said it.”

“May we see him?” asked May and the doctor nodded, giving the middle aged woman a smile before he stepped outside to reveal an opened door with Peter laying in bed, sitting up. He gave his head a little shake, the events of earlier in the day a bit sketchy, but his mind managed to piece together what happened.

“Hi, Aunt May, Uncle Ben,” said Peter in a weakened voice and May moved over, before she hugged her nephew. Ben stood on the other side, clapping him on the shoulder, as Peter looked a bit embarrassed. “Really, I’m fine, you don’t have to…its okay, I’m sure the doctors told you what happened.”

“Oh Peter, how do you get yourself into these messes?” asked May as she shook her head. “You gave us quite the scare, young man. I hope you’d be more careful.”

“I agree with your aunt Peter, but all this over a little bug bite,” said Ben with a relieved smile.

“Must have been an allergic reaction,” said Peter with a shrug and both his aunt and uncle nodded. “I feel okay, really I’m telling the truth this time, a bit hungry, and tired but really, I don’t know if I could have gotten through it all without Gwen.”

Peter just paused as he watched his uncle look at him with a knowing smile.

“How long have I been here anyway?” asked Peter, abruptly changing the subject.

“Only a few hours, it’s almost evening,” said a doctor form the other side. “Mr. Parker, I’m sure you’ve heard the news that you’ll be perfectly fine, but I do wish to keep you for a couple more days to see if there are any other potential side effects and maybe run a few more tests but you should be out of here by Tuesday.”

“That would be more than fine, doctor, just to make sure Peter is safe,” said May and Ben nodded but Peter just shrugged his shoulders. Personally he felt fine but the doctor’s word was final and if his aunt and uncle felt he could do with a couple more days in the hospital than it just gave him no to argue whatsoever.

-

“Dad mentioned what happened to Peter,” said Harry to Gwen on Monday morning just before school. “Some kind of accident or something…”

“At the science exhibition,” confirmed Gwen with a nod.

“See Gwen, I told you science could be dangerous,” said Harry with an attempt to lighten the mood but Gwen just looked at him with an angry glare. “Right sorry, not funny, I know. Is Pete going to be alright?”

“He’ll be fine,” said Gwen, wishing she could confirm that fact for herself. Truthfully, despite waiting for several hours, she had not been able to see Peter, as visiting hours were over by the time he was stabilized and on Sunday, the hospital was closed to visitors. She hoped to swing by after school to see if she could see Peter. “I just hope his aunt and uncle are.”

“What do you mean?” asked Harry.

“Don’t tell Pete, I told you this, but he doesn’t want anyone’s sympathy, but they’re not that well off, especially since his uncle has been laid off from work,” said Gwen. “And the cost of medical bills these days, it can be a problem.”

“Parasitic doctors trying to squeeze every cent out of their patients,” said Harry seriously. “Don’t sweat it Gwen, I’m sure they’ll find some way to manage.”

“I hope so Harry, I really do, because you know Peter, he’ll beat himself up about this,” said Gwen as they down the hallways before they separated before their first class period.

-

“Fine, Aunt May, I’m fine,” said Peter on Wednesday morning, the previous evening he had been let go from the hospital with a clean bill of health. “Trust me if I even feel a little bit sick, then I’ll go the nurse’s office and call you to pick me up right away.”

“That’s a good boy Peter, I know the doctor’s told us that you were perfectly healthy, but after what happened, I don’t want to take any chances,” said May as she fussed over Peter.

“Have a good day at school kiddo and try to take it easy, don’t need to strain yourself the first day back,” said Ben.

“Right, will do Uncle Ben,” said Peter in an agreeable tone but as if on cue the door bell rang.

“Who could that be this early in the morning?” wondered May out loud as Peter moved forward, to get the door. As he opened it, his express brightened when he saw who was on the other side.

“Gwen, good morning,” said Peter brightly. “What are you doing here this early in the morning?”

“Is it a crime to come by and see my friend after he got let out of the hospital?” asked Gwen with a smile as she looked over Peter. Something about him seemed a bit different, other than the obvious fact he was not wearing his glasses. “I stopped by and tried to visit you but when they finally let me, you were asleep.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” asked Peter. “I would have enjoyed the company, the hospital can get depressing after a time.”

“Oh you looked so peaceful and…I didn’t want to wake you up if you weren’t feeling well,” said Gwen, who mentally had to stop herself from adding the word “cute” to her description of how Peter looked.

“Er, maybe we should get to the school, don’t want to be late,” said Peter and with that word, the two left the house. They walked in silence for about a minute before Gwen turned to him.

“What happened to your glasses?” asked Gwen curiously.

“Glasses?” inquired Peter, caught off guard.

“Yes, you know, those corrective lenses that help you see better, glasses,” said Gwen with a smile.

“Oh, those, well after the incident this weekend, my eyes seemed to work perfectly without them,” said Peter and Gwen just looked at him with a questioning look. “Don’t worry about it Gwen. Nothing bad happened when this happened, I just seem to be a bit more hungry than usual and…well I’m not as scrawny and clumsy as I was before the accident.”

“I just hope you’re right about nothing bad happening,” said Gwen seriously. “At least you’re fine, but don’t ever scare me like that again. I thought you were going to die.”

“You weren’t the only one, Gwen,” said Peter as they turned the corner, only one more block to school and for once, he was making good time, ten minutes until first period was going to start. “It hurt badly and…well don’t worry about it now. Like you said, I’m fine. The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong.”

Gwen just nodded, that was about all she could do. Perhaps she was being silly, but she was more worried about the long term effects of the spider bite, then what the doctor’s could find short term. Walking towards the school, with a crowd having gathered, with most having not noticed or cared about Peter’s absence.

“Maybe we could catch Harry before school,” muttered Gwen under her breath but she stopped when she caught sight of Flash Thompson who noticed Peter and walked over with a grin. “Let’s get inside now Peter, trust me, don’t want any trouble on your first day back.”

“No, Gwen, I’m not going to hide from Flash, not today, I’m done putting up with him,” said Peter firmly, catching on rather quickly and Flash just walked over.

“Hey Parker, good to see you’re feeling better,” said Flash with a grin, before he walked forward and grabbed Peter’s book bag from off his shoulder. Normally the force would have knocked Peter flat onto his face but he managed to steady himself. “Nice bag Parker..oops clumsy me, guess I don’t know my own strength.”

Peter looked up with horror as his bag was launched into the air before it landed on a ledge high up.

“Guess, you’re going to have to ask someone to get your bag Parker, because you’re too puny to reach it,” taunted Flash but Peter just clenched his fists together.

“Flash, don’t push me today, I’m not in the mood,” said Peter which took Flash aback. Since when did Puny Parker grow a spine? Flash stepped forward, where he was nearly in Peter’s face but Peter shoved him backwards a bit, causing him to be taken completely aback.

“Man, Parker, what’s your problem today, someone steal your chemistry set?” demanded Flash as he watched Parker turn around before he looked, everyone was watching. Normally he would have let it go but he had a reputation to keep up. He raised his arm.

Peter turned but suddenly there was a dull ringing in his head. Instinctively, Peter felt that he had to duck, as if danger was coming and he crouched down, before Flash’s fist would have connected with the back of his head. Flash gave a pained grunt, to laughter at the star quarterback of Midtown High punching a wall.

“Ah, son of a…Parker…” grunted Flash, cradling his hand, as he moved inside, with Peter standing there a bit confused at what just happened as he turned to Gwen, who bit her lip, trying to stop from laughing but she shook her head.

“About time you stood up to him, I don’t think he’ll be bugging you that much any more,” said Gwen as she watched the crowd file into the school, having lost interest. “Serves him right really…now about your bag, maybe we should get some help to get it before class…”

“I think I can reach it if I jump,” interjected Peter as he proceeded to do so. After two leaps, he reached his hands out but much to his surprise, he was able to stick to the wall. He heard a gasp from below as Gwen watched him with wide eyes as before Peter knew it, he had climbed up to the ledge, to grab his bag but he stopped, staring down at Gwen. “Did I just…can I just….”

“You did,” said Gwen, awestruck and unable to formulate two words but panic set in. Her fears about the long term effects of the bite had returned. Regardless of who they were, normal people did not climb walls. “You better get down, no not that way…climb down…gently…PETER!”

Peter instinctively lowered himself to the ground, with a series of acrobatic moves before he landed in front of Gwen, the two teenagers came face to face, with Gwen breathing a sigh of relief as she stared at Peter, torn between kissing him in relief and slapping him for scaring her half to death.

“Ta-da,” concluded Peter weakly.

“Peter Benjamin Parker do you take pleasure in almost giving me heart failure?” asked Gwen in an irritated voice with her hands on her hips but the warning bell rang. “We better get inside, we’ll talk more about this later.”

“Right talk,” said Peter, who was curious about what else he might be able to do with these mysterious new gifts.

-

“Did you really beat up Flash Thompson?” asked Harry abruptly at lunch with a grin on his face, as he sat across from Gwen and Peter.

“Yeah, Harry, I’m fine, thanks for asking,” replied Peter but Harry just waved this off, he wanted to get the dirt on what happened.

“So did you, because everyone’s saying you did before school,” said Harry. “Wish I was around to see that.”

“Well technically he didn’t beat Flash up, more than he defended himself,’ inputted Gwen slowly.

“Long story short, Flash pulled the usual, I pushed him, he tried to punch me but he struck a wall, everyone laughed at him, it was kind of amusing,” said Peter who was glad that no one had saw him climbing walls to get his bag off of the ledge. That would have taken some explaining he was not willing to do.

“Well considering you could have got stuffed in your locker and hung up by your underwear from a flagpole, technically you did beat Flash up, he came out worse,” said Harry in an encouraging voice. “Next time you make a fool out of him, make sure to invite me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind Harry,” said Peter with a bit of a sigh. “So how have you been?”

“Oh the usual, Dad works me the bone, anything other than perfection will never be suitable for that man,” said Harry, as he picked at his food. “He’s been asking me questions about you, he’s a bit obsessed with finding everything out about you.”

“Should I be worried?” asked Peter and Gwen looked apprehensive.

“No, not really, Dad tends to get in these moods where he shows interest in me or my friends, but they pass,” said Harry. “So, about the accident…you sure you’re alright?”

“Fine Harry other than my eyes working better, everything is the same,” said Peter, he was not quite sure why he was omitting the fact he was climbing walls to Harry but a gut feeling told him that now was not the time. Gwen looked at him with a questioning look but said nothing.

“Good to hear it, as Dad pointed out, I’d be hopeless without you, either of you in fact,” said Harry. “Imagine how many more hours I would have to spend with those tutors.”

The three friends shared a laugh at the study habits or lack of study habits rather of Harry, before Peter grew serious. His life was changing but exactly how would be something that he would have to learn about as he went.

-

“I had time to think about it and maybe a diluted version of the serum, combined with spider DNA got into your system,” said Gwen, as she was struggling to come up with a more logical explanation. “Maybe rewriting your DNA slightly into…I don’t know, some kind of spider man or something.”

“A week ago, I would have said it wouldn’t be possible, but I climbed that wall and leapt down without falling on my face, it might be true” said Peter, sitting on a bench across the street from the school, Gwen following suit.

“I just hope enhanced coordination and being able to climb walls is the only thing that could happen,” said Gwen choosing her words carefully. “As someone who’s interested in science, I’m curious but as a friend, I’m scared to death. Who knows what the long term effects could be?”

“I feel fine Gwen, besides what’s the worst that could happen?” asked Peter with a smile in an attempt to lighten the mood. “I mean I could grow four extra limbs or start shooting webbing out of my…”

“Alright, alright, I get it,” said Gwen who was slightly grossed out by the mental image that Peter was giving her. “You aren’t going to tell anyone else about this are you?”

“Not unless it gives me any problems that I can’t handle, Aunt May and Uncle Ben have enough to worry about and Harry…well he might let something slip to his father and Mr. Osborn’s taking enough of an unhealthy interest in me as is,” said Peter as Gwen nodded in agreement. “Believe me, I doubt it’s nothing, a few added abilities, maybe I can have a bit of fun with them, maybe they’ll wear off after a while.”

“Maybe,” admitted Gwen, looking at Peter, lost in thought.

“Thanks for being there for me when it happened, I don’t know if I could have got through it without you,” said Peter.

“You would have,” said Gwen as she leaned forward. “I hope I didn’t freak out too badly but if something happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“That makes two of us them,” said Peter as they edged closer.

“Guess you don’t realize what you have until you almost lose it,” said Gwen seconds before their lips met with a kiss. It took a few seconds before they realized what they were doing and broke apart. Gwen stepped back, slightly alarmed, wondering if she had overstepped some invisible boundary in their friendship. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, I should have asked you to be my girlfriend and…” said Peter before his eyes widened when he realized what he said and Gwen looked relieved.

“Hey, you kissed me, I kissed back, or maybe it’s the other way around, but it does take two sets of lips to do the deed, Peter Parker,” said Gwen with a mischievous smile which caused Peter to laugh, trying to get over his embarrassment. “Oh and yes, you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”

“That hopeless am I?” asked Peter.

“No more than any other teenage boy would have been,” said Gwen as they laughed.

“Guess we better get going,” said Peter and Gwen nodded, they would have plenty of time later.

-

“Life’s going good for you right now Pete, got some kicking new powers, don’t know what exactly their limits are or how long they’re going to last, Flash went in the other direction when he saw you walking towards him, and you’ve got a girlfriend, not too shabby,” thought Peter. “Still could use a little cash but baby steps, one thing at a time.”

Peter walked to the school with Gwen. It was a bright, beautiful day, for a number of reasons.

“Morning!” called Harry.

“Wow, Harry you’re actually here early today,” said Peter.

“Yeah, Dad had to step out of town for a business meeting this morning but he told me that I better find my way here and back so I did,” said Harry as he looked at Gwen and Peter. “And on another note, is there something my two best friends would like to tell me?”

Peter and Gwen looked at each other.

“Well we’re now dating,” said Gwen quickly.

“Since yesterday, we didn’t get a chance to tell you but looks like you picked it up right away,” said Peter as he looked at Harry, trying to study the expression on his friend’s face.

“Took you long enough, really,” said Harry with a nod. “I was wondering if it would ever happen, neither of you didn’t seem to want to make the first move but now, I guess, congratulations.”

“Thanks,” said Peter.

“Yeah Harry, thanks,” responded Gwen.

“Just wish I could find a girl that liked me and not Norman Osborn’s money,” said Harry more to himself than to Gwen and Peter. “Guess some people have all the luck.”

“Not too lucky given how long it took us to figure it out,” said Peter and Harry nodded, but Peter shifted his attention towards another pressing matter, as he walked towards his locker but his ears perked up when he heard a group talking.

“Did you hear about the big wrestling match this weekend?” asked one boy.

“Crusher Hogan, the champion’s going to be here and he’s challenging anyone to fight him, with five thousand dollars on the line for anyone who could last five minutes in the ring with him or beat him,” said another boy. “Wouldn’t that be cool to win?”

“Not worth the risk man,” said the first boy. “Crusher’s not one I’d want to mess with. Five thousand dollars won’t even cover the medical bills when that guy’s done with ya. I mean, that stuff’s normally fake, but Crusher’s the real deal. He flosses his teeth with barbed wire man, I wouldn’t want to get into the ring with him.”

“No, but it’d be fun to watch who tries to step up and fight him,” said the second boy as they walked off, laughing with Peter having a thoughtful expression on his face. Using his new abilities to last five minutes in the ring, maybe he could solve his money problems. A small voice inside his head tried to warn him how completely stupid this sounded but the thought of five thousand dollars squashed all those worries.

He would have to get more information about this.

-

“Well we’re here at the library, Peter,” said Uncle Ben as he looked at his nephew with a good natured smile.

“Thanks for the ride Uncle Ben, it shouldn’t take me any more than a couple of hours to find what I need, research project, I just need to find a couple more things,” said Peter evasively, he hated lying to his uncle.

“I’ll pick you back up sometime after eight, Peter,” said Uncle Ben as Peter moved towards the card door, ready to open it but he paused. Ben noticed his indecision. “Something troubling you, kiddo?”

“Just wondering something,” said Peter slowly. “If I could…you know do something and do it well, would it be wrong to try and cash in on it?”

“Well that depends on what it is Peter, but I do know this, you’re reaching an important stage in your life, your decisions will shape you into the man you’re become, and if you do have a gift, you should think about how well it can serve you in helping others,” said Ben calmly. “And remember, just because you can use a gift a certain way, doesn’t mean you should. If there’s one thing I know, that with great power there must also come great responsibility.”

Peter turned, his mind conflicted but nevertheless he exited the car.

“See you later Uncle Ben,” said Peter as he walked from the car and lightly closed the door before he heard his uncle’s response. He moved slowly towards the library, many thoughts running through his head.

He could use his powers for good but exactly how could he? Becoming a super hero of some kind seemed to be the most obvious answer to this question, but Peter scoffed at the idea. He was not what one would see when they thought super hero. Super heroes were larger than life, something that people aspired to be. Legends like Captain America was the most obvious definition of a hero, but even heroes such as the Fantastic Four had reached a level that Peter had never thought he could measure up to. Folks like this fought the worst evil one could imagine day after today. They were beyond compare. One thing heroes weren’t, was fifteen year old science geeks who got a few added abilities through a random accident.

Still, Uncle Ben’s words weighed heavily on him but Peter shook his head as his uncle’s car had drove out of sight and he turned, bag slung over his shoulder containing his hastily made costume, walking across the street to the venue, the potential of being five thousand dollars temporarily blocking everything out of his mind.

-

Peter felt a bit silly now that he thought of it. Dressed in a red mask, with a sweatshirt with a crudely drawn cartoonish spider and baggy blue pants, he walked backstage, where a security guard accosted him.

“What’s your business back here?” demanded the security guard gruffly.

“I’m here to accept the challenge, for the five thousand dollars against Crusher Hogan,” said Peter.

“No kidding!” bellowed a voice and Peter looked up, to see a sleazy looking man with greasy black hair and a goatee, wearing a nice custom made suit. “I’m afraid we were going to send one of the boys out there as a ringer, no one seems to want to go in there with the champion.”

“The boys?” asked Peter who could not help but notice that this man talked in the most stereotypical New York accent imaginable.

“Wrestlers, don’t you spend all your time on the Internet, I thought all wrestling fans did that,” said the sleazy looking man, as he held his hand out. “Vinnie Victor, I’m the promoter and owner of this company. So you want to go into the ring with Crusher Hogan and try your luck against the undefeated champion?”

“That’s right,” said Peter.

“What’s your name?” asked Vinnie Victor.

“Er, Spider-Man,” responded Peter and Vinnie looked at him.

“Right, Spider-Man, as if I couldn’t guess with that er costume,” said Vinnie Victor with a large, obviously fake laugh. “Okay here’s the deal, kid, you’re up next. Get in there and give the champion a fight, put on a real show out there. Crusher’s been chomping at the bit for competition and I’m going to give it to him.”

Peter nodded, truthfully he didn’t know much about this Crusher Hogan, people said he was tough but with his new abilities, he might be able to outlast him for the five minutes and get the five thousand dollars. As he walked down to the ring, he watched as the crowd booed as he walked down to the ring. Climbing into the ring, he looked around.

“People are expecting me to be massacred, but I’ll give them something they’ll never forget,” thought Peter.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this bout, is your main event, a special non-title challenge match, if the challenger defeats the champion or lasts five minutes, he’ll receive five thousand dollars cash!” bellowed the ring announcer. “This battle will be contested inside the confines of a steel cage.”

“Wait a minute, that wasn’t part of a deal!” yelled Peter in surprise but the crowd cheered at the potential brutality.

“First the challenger, height unknown, weight unknown, from parts unknown, he is the spectacular, the amazing, the sensational, Spider-Man!” bellowed the announcer, “And his opponent…the champion, he is seven feet tall, weighing in at over three hundred pounds, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, he is the undisputed, undefeated, and undoubted champion of the world. He’s ripped, chiseled, jacked, and juiced for any completion, he’s Crusher Hogan!”

Peter stood, eyes widened as Crusher made his way to the ring. He was huge and mean, looking ready for a fight. He stepped into the ring, as the cage lowered from the ceiling, enclosing both competitors in the ring, as Crusher stepped forward.

“Fresh meat,” grunted Crusher, playing to the crowd, before he bent down and came face to face with his much smaller opponent. “Look kid, I’m in a good mood, so I’ll just lightly knock you around for a couple of minutes and you take a dive. Okay, brother?”

The bell rung and a ringing sensation echoed through Peter’s head as he dodged an attack. Another attack by the Crusher was narrowly dodged but he spun around and Crusher extended on arm, before he threw his weight at Peter, knocking him right on his back. Peter winced as he hit but it did not hurt as much as he thought it would, as Crusher pulled him up, before hoisting him up.

“Crushing atomic drop!” bellowed the announcer. “Spider-Man bounces up and down and Crusher now is toying with his opponent, lifting him up, this is not going to be good.”

“No kidding,” muttered Peter, as he was high above the Crusher’s head.

“He’s over ten feet in the air, is Crusher Hogan going to throw Spider-Man over the cage and causing him to land on the arena floor?” asked the announcer as the crowd cheered as Crusher flung his opponent but he bounced off the cage and dove right into Crusher Hogan. The champion was knocked off guard, as Spider-Man landed on his feet, completely unarmed.

“C’mon champ, is that all you got?” asked Spider-Man as he dodged a punch. “I’ve known old ladies who hit better than you.”

“Just stay down after the next one kid,” grunted Crusher as he swung a punch that was dodged. The big man turned around, as Spider scaled the cage, before he leapt over a charging Crusher Hogan. The big champion put the breaks on, before Spider-Man leapt off, right into his arms. “Okay kid, you asked for it, I’m going to slam you through the mat now, you could have had an easy fight, but you just had to make a name for yourself.”

Crusher held Spider-Man up high in the air above his head, as the crowd was on their feet, but the smaller opponent shifted his weight, before he kicked off the cage. It seemed like the champion was not as coordinated as he thought and he lost his balance, his legs collapsing out from underneath him, with Spider-Man landing on top in the pinfall. The referee looked confused before he slapped the mat three times, signaling the pin. Spider-Man rolled off his opponent, as the crowd was in numb shock.

“I won?” muttered Spider-Man as Crusher looked dazed but otherwise okay as the referee bent down to raise the hand of the unlikely victor.

“Your winner, Spider-Man,” announced the referee.

“What the hell was that, the little guy won…I mean what a performance by Spider-Man, using his smarts to counteract the brute force of the now defeated champion Crusher Hogan,” said the announcer. “Your winner, Spider-Man!”

The crowd reaction was mixed, some cheered the underdog win, some booed, while others were completely shocked what happened. Peter turned and saw the promoter, Vinnie Victor, sitting, head in his hand, muttering to himself before he walked off. Spider-man turned as Crusher got up, shrugging, before he turned to the crowd.

“I’m still the champion!” bellowed Crusher Hogan, in an attempt to save face. “That little punk won nothing. He didn’t beat me, he can’t even beat himself at night!”

Crusher turned to Spider-Man who flinched.

“Good match, brother, caught me off guard, if only you were a bit bigger, you would have a future in this business,” said Crusher Hogan as he walked off, before he started yelling at the fans, a few of them heckling him because of his loss.

“Strange man,” muttered Spider-Man to himself but he had more pressing matters at hand, like collecting his winnings.

-

“TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS!” screamed Peter incredulously. “I thought if I lasted five minutes or beat the champion, I’d get five thousand.”

“Well to be honest, I never expected you to win, no one did, but I’m giving you this out of the kindness of my heart,” said Vinnie Victor. “Maybe you can buy a better costume than that one, what did you fish that one out of a Salvation Army bin?”

Peter clenched his fist, but shook his head, this slime ball was not worth his time. He still could not believe that a wrestling promoter had so blatantly lied to him but he turned to get changed and get far away from this place as possible. Peter stewed in anger but he heard several loud voices from behind him, and man dressed in a leather jacket, dirty white t-shirt and jeans, with filthy black hair rush by.

“Stop him, he just stole tonight’s gate receipts!” cried Vinnie Victor in terror. “Spider-Man, don’t just stand there, stop him.”

“Maybe if you used that money you swindled me out of to get a better security staff, you wouldn’t have this problem,” replied Peter callously. “What did they graduate from anyway, clown college?”

“Come on Spider-Man, he’s getting away!” begged Vinnie Victor.

“Not my problem and it looks like he got away, better call the police,” said Peter with a shrug. “Besides, it’s not like I’m getting paid well enough for it anyway.”

“You ruined me Spider-Man, its your fault he got away!” yelled Vinnie Victor, losing his temper but Peter was already out the door, pulling his mask off as he walked back to the library, checking his watch. He was about fifteen minutes late. Wincing, he wondered how he was going to have to explain this to Uncle Ben.

-

“I can’t believe this, I had to walk home from the arena, I mean it’s not like Uncle Ben would forget,” said Peter in an agitated voice as he stomped home, but there was the sound of sirens nearby. This caused Peter to be overcome by a feeling of incredible dread, as he walked forward, where a very familiar face turned, seeing Peter. “Captain Stacy, what are you doing here, what is it?”

“Peter, there is no delicate way to say this, but your uncle was shot,” said George seriously, trying to keep his voice professional and Peter stepped back, in horror. “The bullet pierced his heart, the paramedics tried everything they could but…they couldn’t…I’m sorry, he’s dead.”

“NO!” shouted Peter backing off in horror, he was shaking, it felt almost like his entire world was spinning. “Uncle Ben can’t be dead, he just can’t, this can’t be happening it’s…where’s Aunt May? Is she okay?”

“Physically yes, but emotionally is another matter, she’s in shock, she’s staying at a neighbor’s house,” said George as he looked at Peter, before he added, putting a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. “We’ll do everything we can to bring the culprit to justice.”

“Thank you, sir” said Peter in a hoarse voice, as the horror set in. At first he thought he was having a bad nightmare but in face, Uncle Ben was dead and he turned, not wanting anything to see the tears forming in his eyes.

“Captain Stacy, the burglar’s been found, three twenty, west avenue, he ran into an abandoned warehouse,” said a voice. “He’s sealed himself inside.”

“Send for back up, we’ll get there as quickly as we can!” ordered George, as he turned his attention to bringing the culprit to justice. It was always hard to not make things personal when the victim was someone that was a good man.

“They’re never reach him in time and he’s got to pay for what he did, but perhaps what the police can’t do, Spider-Man can,” said Peter as he removed his mask from his bag, before rushing up into his room to make a quick change of clothes.

-

The burglar shuddered in horror as he heard the sirens outside. Shooting the old man, he was not what he meant to do; he only meant to steal his car to be able to ditch the city with the gates from the wrestling match tonight. Now he was wanted for murder. Clutching his gun, his hands were nervously shaking.

“You thought you could get away with this,” said an intense voice, which made the burglar jump to his feet and he turned around, looking around, before he saw a figure move towards him with impressive reflexes. “With murder, you took a good man’s life, for what?”

“Get away from me!” shouted the burglar as he sent three shots but all missed. In desperately, he threw the empty gun at his enemy, but much to the horror of the burglar, he dodged it and he decided to run away, but he was grabbed away from him. “Alright, I’ll surrender, I’ll turn myself in.”

“It isn’t going to be that easy,” said Spider-Man as he spun the burglar around before he went face to face with him, before he recoiled slightly when he recognized the face. “You, no it can’t be you, it just can’t be…”

“Get away from me, you’re crazy, you’re a lunatic, you’re…” started the burglar but he never finished as he found himself flung right to the ground.

“If I had stopped you, none of this would have happened,” muttered Spider-Man but he jumped in front of the burglar. “Not going to get away that easily, I’ll make you pay, you’ll see, what you did to Ben Parker, it’s time you learned your lesson.”

“The old man, please have mercy, it was an accident!” shouted the burglar but Spider-Man grabbed him, before he slammed him roughly into the wall, before walking over towards an open window.

“But this won’t be, you murdering coward,” hissed Spider-Man as he dangled the man towards an open window and he prepared to drop him, it would be so easy. The man whimpered in fear before he went limp and fainted, but suddenly, Spider-Man pulled him back into the warehouse and dropped him on the ground. “But he wouldn’t want me to kill you, not on his account and you wouldn’t learn from your mistake and I wouldn’t learn from mine.”

The door creaked open and Spider-Man quickly launched himself out the window, to another roof top, before he made his way home, several thoughts moving through his head. Uncle Ben was right; he should use his talents for good. He had used them to bring his uncle’s murderer to justice today after all.

-

“Aunt May,” said Peter tentatively as he wondered if his aunt had came back home. He had felt bad instantly the moment he went off to play vengeful hero and not actually going to look after his aunt, to see if she was okay. She had to be close by when it happened. “Are you here?”

“Peter,” whispered May as she wiped tears from her eyes, unable to formulate more than that as Peter slowly walked forward, wrapping his arms around his aunt in a comforting embrace.

“I’m sorry, he died, you don’t know how sorry I am,” said Peter as May nodded. “He’s gone, really gone.”

“The person who did this was brought to justice Peter,” managed May in a shaky voice.

“Good thing for that,” said Peter before he looked at his aunt. “I’m sorry that I didn’t see you sooner after…”

“No Peter, I understand, you needed some time, it was a shock to both of us, but you’re here now and that’s all that really matters,” said May before there was a moment of awkward silence, the grief heavy in the air. It was hard to believe that this time yesterday they were together as a family and now they had been torn apart by a random act of chance. The fact that most of all that ate Peter up inside was that if he had just not acted so selfish and done something to stop the burglar at the arena, this would not have happened. Now his uncle paid the ultimate price with his life. He watched as even though his grief, his aunt picked up on his discomfort. “Peter, what is it?”

“Just thinking about what happened, I might need a moment, if you’re going to be okay,” said Peter as he looked at Aunt May, who responded with a nod.

“Take as long as you want Peter, I’ll be fine, you’re going to need to grieve as much as I do,” said May in a shaky but still somehow firm voice as Peter turned, looking out the window in an absent minded voice. It was still very early in the morning; the son had not rose up yet.

He had made a decision at that moment, the last piece of advice his uncle gave him echoing through his mind. From this day forward, Peter Parker vowed to live up to that advice, as Spider-Man. With a better costume and a few other additions, he would use his abilities to help others, regardless of how hopeless the fight would be.

He vowed that Spider-Man would always be there from this day forward to protect the innocent, no matter how hopeless the battle seemed. 


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