Peter parker. A nobody who lives alone in the cheapest apartment in his building. He'd moved in just this week, and he was still unpacking a lot from his recent move. The only things he had really taken out of the boxes recently were his supplementary books, which he was studying very hard to prove his background, his clothes and the materials he had used for his newest alter-ego costume. Outfit which was hanging in her closet along with her most immediate clothes. His uncle's and aunt’s inheritance helped him find a place where he could stay until he got a job and, with luck, could get into a university, so he didn't have much time to breathe between his study routine and his responsibilities as Spider-Man. But that day, he sat down and started putting everything away.
Some more memories emerged, like the Chitauri battery, already completely discharged. Edith's Glasses, just glasses now, everything from that project was already deactivated. And finally, the letter from MIT. A few other things, like the giant fake check and May's glasses, were at the bottom of some boxes. So many memories of a time that had just been left behind. But he knew he could unpack more. The stamped passport, the piece from the drones, a fragment of Vulture's wing, a piece of Shocker's shirt. He was sure to get rid of some of that stuff, just like he left his old clothes behind, at least for the time being.
He reached into the bottom of his moving box to find a few more belongings he didn't even remember he had. He took it from the bottom of the box… A small ball, the size of his hand, in white and pink colors. It was an ink bomb he had forgotten, and it belonged to a person he preferred not to remember, but then, he remembered why he kept that strange device of unknown potential. And his mind took him away again, back to a time when he was more of a child than the man he was now, to a time when he didn't understand a valuable lesson, one he was about to discover.
It was another day at Midtown College. Peter flings himself into the air as New York's newest hero, while trying to approach the high school in his costume without trying to draw attention. When he managed to land on the roof of the college, he quickly dressed as the discreet student and entered the building. Ned was already waiting for him on the stairs, they greeted each other and quickly headed to their lockers. Ned happily commented on his friend's recent victory against, who they themselves nicknamed, “The Vulture”, but Peter didn't seem very happy with the situation the way it was. Upon arriving there, Ned continued commenting.
- I can't believe you're already winning your own gallery of villains. Who do you think could be the next person? I mean, you don't have an archenemy yet, like Captain America and Red Skull, and you don't have any frenemies, like Loki and Thor. It makes me wonder, what scale do you place Vulture on? From one to…
- Ned! — Peter almost shouted, getting his attention — That's it, man, they could hear us.
- It's true… But you haven't been excited about anything since this happened. Where's the Peter who was just as excited about... Our friend as I was.
- I'm just trying to stay grounded, man. Mister Stark has stopped picking on me and left me free to do as I see fit, don't you think it's time to be a little more serious?
- Yes, but seriousness and fun are not opposites… — Ned turned around with his head down and opened his closet.
- What's up, nerds? — A familiar voice came from behind them, and when they turned, they saw a flash of a camera before they noticed Michelle behind it, photographing them.
- Hi MJ — Peter replied — Why are you taking a picture of us?
- Not both of you. From you. Remember, I draw people in crisis, and I can't stand there drawing you in the middle of the hallway, so I saved a picture for later — Ned gave a short laugh.
- What was it? — Peter turned to him, already knowing the answer.
- Nothing... — Ned looked away from Peter, and looked at MJ — Hey, have you drawn me yet?
- No… — Her face expressed doubt and curiosity — Why? Do you consider yourself a person in crisis?
- No no! Just to see if you really thought so.
- Someone with that haircut in public always looks confident to me.
- Yeah… Wait, what did you mean by that?
- Nothing… — MJ looked away just as Ned had, and looked at Peter, patting him lightly on the forehead with the back of her hand — See you in class, nerds.
- You are one too! — Ned yelled back, with MJ just giving him the middle finger without turning around — Can you believe it? Doesn't even look like he did a decathlon with us.
- Yeah, I can't — Peter replied dryly.
- What's up, man? Did you wake up on the wrong foot today?
- I... — Peter passed his hand over his face, and forced a smile — Sorry, Ned. I'm just not really in the mood yet, I woke up kind of late today and… Well, May found out about Spidey.
- It is serious?!
- Yes, Stark returned the suit and… Well, she saw me with it, I left the bedroom door open. Said we'd talk later.
- Hahahahahaha! — Ned chuckled, pointing at Peter's face, mocking — Man, that was great. You have to take better care of your secret identity, one day a madman leaks it and you won't have a shred of peace anymore.
- Jesus — Peter shuddered with fear, and then smiled, at the pace they went to class.
After the school day, Peter returned to his apartment in the quiet neighborhood of Queens. May was already waiting for him sitting on the sofa in the living room, clearly irritated with the situation. He sat down beside her, placing his backpack on the floor. She crossed her arms; he already knew what she wanted. He opened the backpack and, from a secret compartment, took out the Spider-Man mask, and handed it over. She held the object, looking into the big white eyes of her nephew's alter-ego, and turned to him.
- So… Spider-Man, isn't it?
- Yeah…
- How did you get Spider powers?
- Do you remember when I was sick from being bitten by a different spider?
- Yeah… Was that it?
- A Radioactive Spider. It altered my DNA, mixing mine with their. It obviously couldn't take mine and ended up dying, but I... Well, I gained the proportionate powers of an arachnid.
- And I thought you had got better with my grandma's detox recipe — She looked into Peter's eyes, and then smiled — And is it cool?
- What? — The confusion in his voice was huge.
- You know, being Spider-Man, is it fun? Do you like the adrenaline?
- I... Yeah, actually.
- Aaaaahh! — She squealed with joy, holding his hands — This is so wonderful, my nephew, a superhero. Stark has something to do with it, doesn't he?
- When he showed up here during the Civil War... He already knew, somehow.
- That's when Spider-Man showed up with his new costume. Great! It was on the face the whole time. Oh dear, why didn't you tell me sooner?
- You know, being a hero isn't easy at all, but it's also something I really wanted to be, and I always had the impression that you wouldn't allow it if you knew. You know, I'm still a kid who lives with you and...
- Oh, Peter... — She hugged him, and then looked into his eyes again — We only have each other, darling. We don't need to hide anything. Let's make a deal, what do you think? Without secrets? Same goes for me.
- Yeah. Of course, it's really nice to have someone to talk to about it. Ned knows too, by the way.
- You told him and not me?!
- No no, he found out by accident... Sort of almost the same thing that happened to you.
- Peter... You need to take better care of yourself. Maybe some crazy person out there reveals your identity and…!
- I already heard that today. From Ned.
- Well, he's right — She got up from the couch, smiling — And what does my superhero want for dinner today?
- I'm accepting anything, hahaha — Peter chuckled, relaxed.
May started to walk towards the kitchen but realized that the mask was still in her hand. Deciding to prank her nephew, she waited for him to turn around to go to the bedroom and threw the mask in his direction. Like a flash of lightning, Peter grabbed the mask in midair without turning around. Soon after, he started to turn around, staring at his hand astonished, and then looking at May's equally astonished face, who was speechless.
- How did…? — Peter pointed to his hand.
- Spider powers? — May guessed.
- It was like a tingle.
- A tingle?
- Yes, behind the head and then on the arms.
- I know… — She started to smile again, this time clearly mocking Peter.
- Wait... It's not what you think.
- Know! — She yelled from inside the kitchen.
Later that day, this time without having to do his undercover work, Spidey went on another journey to protect the neighborhood. He prevented several robberies; he actually protected some people from some accidents and some crazy guys who were threatening many of the residents. And for the first time, you can sit on the roof of one of the buildings and watch the sunset without having to worry about what time you need to get home. When he saved a woman with a baby carriage from being run over earlier, she wanted to express her gratitude in some way. She pointed out what should have been obvious to anyone that day, that he had been a bit quiet and distant lately, and that it didn't feel as safe as people would like. He thanked the advice, and then, after feeling the last rays of the day's sun fading, he decided to kill two birds with one stone, and headed to a place he knew was welcome.
The big man, owner of the hot dog stand on a simple corner of town, was getting ready to end the day, when from the heavens, suddenly, the arachnid hero landed at his side. He jumped back in fright, and Spider came over to help, apologizing.
- Oh, boy, you almost killed me from the heart! — he said, grabbing his chest.
- Oh, I'm sorry sir, is everything okay?
- Yeah, now that I know it's you.
- Sorry, I saw you were closing, I came here to buy a hot dog.
- Seriously? — He looked surprised but happy.
- I'm still a man, right, it's in the name, and it's been a while since I've eaten.
- Damn, I won't even charge.
- Wow! Really?
- If you let me record you doing a flip in front of my tent so I can post it on the internet.
- Another flip? Alright, fair.
And so, he did, the man opened the video happily saying that it had the presence of the neighborhood hero himself, and that he came to try one of his hot dogs. Right after the mortal, he signaled that he had finished recording and was typing frantically.
- Sir…? — Spider asked, while waiting.
- Ah, help yourself, Spidey — He pointed at the cart, never taking his eyes off his phone.
- Ok... — Shy, he started to open the stall's compartments and prepare his dinner — I didn't know you were so addicted to it.
- What?! You're going to tell me you don't have a social network.
- I do, it's just that... — He waved the bread in the air, thoughtful — You know, I'm not that into them, that's all.
- Look, kid — He showed the cell phone to the hungry hero — I make half of my clientele with the fame and promotion of my business and my vlogs on my social networks. I started doing lives of anything that had to do with superheroes. Or supervillains, to be blunt. My video of the day I survived the battle of Manhattan went viral, this world of yours is a source of fame.
- But don't you think this is sacrificing your privacy to have a fame that won't even help you that much?
- It's more than that, kid. People know me and they know I'm a person like them. It's almost like therapy, I can be myself and find people who understand me without being judged. And, between us, there are also those who don't like me, but that's a click away and so I know exactly who to avoid.
- That's right... — The Webhead reclined on the man's cart, lifting his mask up to his nose to eat — I had never thought about it that way.
- There are some heroes that are like that, like Iron Man and every now and then Ant-Man also posts something. I heard that even the Hulk... What's his name again?
- Bruce Banner.
- That's it, he tried to do a science channel once, but it didn't take off unfortunately. The most famous currently is Screwball, she is hilarious, it's a shame I never saw her. Have you ever thought of doing anything like that?
- Hmm... — He swallowed
the piece he had bitten from the dog — Now that you mention it...
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