The Amazing Spider-Man: The Cost of Great Power

By Aidan Richard Vaughan

Dedicated to Steve Ditko

Chapter 1: Battle in Manhattan

Dr. Peter Parker, aka The Amazing Spider-Man, walks to the home of his Aunt May in Queens. The 30 year old genius enters the house he grew up in after the deaths of his parents, where his Aunt and Uncle taught him how to be a good and responsible man. "Peter, is that you?!" yells Aunt May, and then smiles as he walks into the kitchen. "Hey Aunt May, I'm sorry for being late, MJ needed me to grab some groceries after I finished at the lab," Peter kisses her forehead. "You know, if your Uncle Ben were here, he'd be proud of the man that you've become. You've been working with that Reed Richards, and you use your spider powers responsibly. Not to mention you take care of Mary Jane and me while doing all of it at once!" Peter sits down at the kitchen table says, "Sometimes I'm surprised I get any time to myself Aunt May. My whole life seems to be just one big punching bag; first Mom and Dad, then Uncle Ben and then…Gwen…" Just the mention of her name brings back the painful memory of how he couldn't save the woman he loved. Suddenly, from the kitchen radio, Peter and May hear a news bulletin; "That's right Susan, Doctor Octopus is in Manhattan with what appears to be some sort of…death ray?" But then the broadcast is disrupted by a crashing sound. Aunt may looks to Peter, who is already leaving.

When Spider-Man reaches Manhattan, he is greeted by a car flying towards him after being thrown by Doctor Octopus. Whoa! I need to stop Ock quickly; someone will definitely get hurt otherwise, Spider-Man thinks as he dodges the flying car. He swings over to where Doc Ock is readying his device, when suddenly Dr. Otto Octavius smacks one of his tentacles at Spidey, sending him a block away. "You and I have fought long enough for me to expect what course of action you will take, Spider-Man!" says Doctor Octopus after coming over to Spider-Man. Peter shoots some webbing into Octavius' eyes and says, "Still haven't been able to expect that, huh Picklepus?!" Ock rips the webbing off of his glasses, "Blast you!" he yells. He takes a deep breath then says, "No matter, I can still hurt you…Peter!" At that moment Spider-Man thinks to himself, Oh no! Aunt May…Mary Jane, he'll use them against me, they all do! Doctor Octopus starts moving across the city, on his way to the Parker residence. "Dr. Octavius, please…don't hurt them…Otto!" Octavius laughs, and then knocks Peter into a bistro. "I give only two options to the man who was once my prized pupil; you can stop the unstable fusion core, or save your loved ones. Choose Dr. Parker, and do so quickly, either way people will die!" Spider-Man swings back to Doc Ock's bomb, and breaks open the barrier. With the speed of a gazelle, Spider-Man defuses the nuke, allowing the people within the vicinity to sigh in relief, and himself a moment to breathe, before utilizing all of his power to make it home to defend his wife and aunt. Have to get home, he thinks, can't let anyone else get hurt!

Peter reaches Queens just moments before his old mentor, now a megalomaniac, with four extra deadly appendages. As he reaches for the door knob, Ock shows up. "You disarmed that core much faster than I had anticipated, Parker. Nevertheless I am following through on my promise!" Doc Ock walks over to Aunt May's house and crashes through the door. "Nooooo!" Spidey spins his web all over the metallic appendages of his old professor, then pulls with the strength of twelve angry men, making Octavius fall over. Peter leaps onto the scientist and beats on him with all of his anger. "You think that you can terrorize my family?! Think again, you son-of-a-bitch!" After Dr. Octavius is incapacitated, Peter looks to where Aunt May was a moment ago; and he sees that his beloved aunt is injured. Peter rushes over, and begins to move the door off of his aunt. He checks her pulse, "She's still alive," he thinks aloud, "Barely!" However there is a piece of shrapnel lodged in her stomach. Peter rushes to the Hospital, Aunt May on his back, bleeding out. Finally, he makes it, and hands her over to an orderly.

Chapter 2: Aftermath

At New York City General Hospital, Peter and Mary Jane rush in to see if Aunt May is alright, but a nurse blocks their path. "That's my aunt in there!" Peter says, with worry all over his face. "I'm sorry Mr. Parker, really, but the doctor said that your aunt is not to be disturbed until her vitals stabilize," the nurse says. Mary Jane brushes her hair out of her face angrily and says in a brazen tone, "Excuse me?! My husband is out of his mind with grief, and you won't let him see the woman who sacrificed so much for him, while this time it's his turn to take care of her?!" Peter holds her back and says to her, "It's OK honey. Please miss; let us know as soon as we can see her." The nurse nods her head and then goes back to work. Later, in Aunt May's hospital room, Peter is sitting at her side while Mary Jane nods off in her chair. Finally, a doctor enters the room and says, "Mr. and Mrs. Parker? I'm Dr. Cho; unfortunately, I have bad news for you. The shrapnel has infected most of her white blood cells, causing her immune system to decay. There is treatment however, if we perform a blood transfusion, then her blood cells could regenerate at a healthier rate. And in doing so, she could recover in a few weeks." Peter looks up from his chair and asks, "How much will this cost, doctor?" Doctor Cho hands Peter a slip of paper after scribbling on it. "$65,200?! Are you serious?" Peter asks. Doctor Cho nods. MJ steps up. "Thank you, doctor," she says, and then closes the door behind him. She then turns to Peter and asks, "Hey Tyger how are we going to pay for all of her treatment? I mean, we're not exactly rolling in it…" I was just thinking that MJ, Peter thinks. He sits up and walks over to the window. "I could ask the Baxter Foundation for a raise, I mean, I've put in the work!" Peter says. Mary Jane walks behind Peter and says, "I know, Tyger, this is going to be difficult, but we always pull through." Peter turns around and kisses MJ. "I love you, Mary Jane," he says. Mary Jane looks up at her husband and says, "I love you too, Peter." Peter walks to the door, and then he says, "I'll be back soon, honey." MJ steps forward and asks, "Where are you going?" He looks down and says, "To see an old friend."

At a New York cemetery, Peter Parker sits in front of a grave. "How many times are my enemies going to use my loved ones against me, Uncle Ben? I can't protect them if the bad guys keep finding out who I really am! First I let you and Gwen die, and now Aunt May's life was put in jeopardy…" A tear begins to trickle down Peter Parker's face as he reminisces about the people whose lives were lost on account of his actions. I was responsible for your death Uncle Ben, Gwen's too. I even get Gwen's father killed! But I cannot let Aunt May pay for my mistakes; otherwise I'll lose my mind, he thinks. He walks over to the grave of Gwen Stacy, and kisses the headstone, and a flash of her face dances across his retina. A smile crosses the face of our distraught hero. "I loved you Gwen…so much," he says, and then chokes up. "But I also love Mary Jane," he continues. And as the sun begins to set, Peter walks away, a shadow cast across the headstones.

Flash back to nineteen years ago on Coney Island, Ben and May Parker brought their eleven year old nephew, Peter to the amusement park. "Do you want to go on the Ferris wheel Peter?" May asked. "I'd rather try the milk bottle game, Aunt May!" Peter replied, causing his uncle to smile. "Alight sport, I'll make you a champ out of you yet! You'll throw as hard as Captain America himself," says Uncle Ben with a twinkle of hope. Peter manages to win a telescope form the carnie, making Ben and May very proud of him, and furthering his love of science. "You'll be as respected a scientist as Einstein someday Peter, I'm sure of it," says Uncle Ben. The three laugh, and go on to the Ferris wheel. "The city is so big from up here!" Peter marveled. "It's even bigger on the ground, sport," Uncle Ben said. "With many good people," Aunt May added.

Back in the present, Spider-Man swings through the city, looking for any trouble to stop. He happens on Electro, robbing a convenience store. "I see you've gone down in the Underworld Max," says Spider-Man, webbing the villain's legs and pulls him off balance. "There're slim pickings these days, Spider-Man. But hey, a man's gotta feed himself!" Spidey ties him up outside of the store and leaves a note on his chest that reads, Courtesy of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man! Peter arrives at the hospital to visit his aunt, and runs into Flash Thompson, his rival in High School. "Hey Parker, fancy seeing you here!" Flash says. Having none of this, Peter says, "I have to go, Flash. My Aunt is in the intensive care ward!" Flash clears his throat, "Oh man, I'm so sorry Parker. Just let me know if you need anything, honest!" and with that Peter and Flash part ways. When Peter reaches Aunt May's hospital room, he sees that MJ is sitting at May's side. "What took you so long?" MJ asks. "I'm sorry, honey," Peter says, "I got held up by Electro!" MJ shushes him, "Not so loud," she whispers. Peter smiles, and then sits next to May. "The doctor says that they'll do the surgery in a few hours, after some blood work," MJ says. Peter looks at his beautiful wife, her fiery red hair glowing in the lamplight. "How are you?" he asks. She looks up, and smiles. "I'm alright, Tyger, just worried about Aunt May," she says. They sleep in the Hospital room that night, and Peter's dream is more of a nightmare. It starts with his parents on the plane, crashing into the mountains, followed by him leaving the TV station. The thief runs past him, smiling, and then shoots Uncle Ben. Eventually, it comes to the Brooklyn Bridge, and Gwen hanging there. He's suddenly woken by a nurse shaking him. "Mr. Parker, it's time for your aunt's surgery," he says. Peter nods, "OK."

Later, Peter and MJ go home, and eat. After their breakfast, Peter goes to familiar place. At the Daily Bugle, the newspaper that Peter had worked for most of his working life, editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson is yelling for photos of the latest incident with Spider-Man. "When Parker was here at least I got pictures! And what the Hell are you doing with your time, huh? You're pretending to be some sort of Don Juan! Get out of my office, and don't think about coming here again!" He throws a paper at the young man that he was screaming at, and looks for a cigar. "I never thought you cared so much JJJ!" says Peter as he enters Jonah's office. "Parker! What brings a bigwig like you to this old rag, huh?" Peter goes into his coat pocket and produces a few photographs, then places them on Jameson's desk. "I thought that I'd come by with one last set of photos for you, Jonah," says the former photojournalist. Jameson picks them up and without looking at them, he says, "All crap! Very typical of you, Parker." Jonah takes out his checkbook and writes Peter a check for $50, and while he gives it to him he says, "Here Parker, don't spend it all in one place. Oh and…Peter…you were always a good kid." Peter smiles, "Now get out of here, Parker this isn't a Library!" Jonah yells.

Chapter 3: Battle in Central Park

At the laboratory of Dr. Reed Richards and Dr. Peter Parker, Sue Storm-Richards is inspecting some lab equipment. Sue sees Peter walk into the lab and says, "Reed's waiting for you, Peter. He's down the hall in the particle accelerator room…oh, and make sure to wear your safety gear." Peter gives Sue a little salute as a way of saying, yes ma'am. Sue always appreciates Peter's sense of humor, as it brightens up her dreary days in a drearier lab. In the particle accelerator room of the lab, there are instruments that far surpass the one found in Switzerland, in fact, Reed designed them to detect subatomic particles two-times faster. "How's your aunt, Peter?" Reed asks. Peter puts on his lab coat and responds, "She's recovering (I hope) Reed, thanks for asking." Reed stretches his arm to the other end of the room and starts working on a spreadsheet for their research, and at that moment, Sue runs into the room. "What is it darling?" Mr. Fantastic inquires to his wife, the Invisible Woman. Sue takes a moment to catch her breath, "Doom," she says, "He broke Otto Octavius out of the Raft, and they're now on their way here to kill you and Pete!"

On Long Island, Victor Von Doom (aka Doctor Doom) and Doc Ock are crashing through whatever, and whoever, gets in their way. "Make way for Doctor Octopus!" shouts Octavius, while Doom uses a spell to call upon a small typhoon. In the distance, a gruff voice with a New York accent could be heard yelling, "It's clobberin' time!" And just as the two doctors of evil can look to where the catchphrase had come from, Ben Grimm (aka The Thing) comes crashing down on them! "How do they always find me?!" Doom begs. The long arm of Mr. Fantastic punches Doctor Doom, sending him through the air and into a bistro. The bystanders scream and run, "This way everyone!" yells a man who resembles Steve Ditko. Back at the scene of the altercation, Spidey is fighting Doc Ock. "How did you escape Octavius, and what are you doing with Doom, huh?" asks the hero. Ock swings one of his mechanical arms, knocking Spider-Man down, and then replies, "I thought that it was obvious. Why, Doom is the one who orchestrated my escape, of course!" cries the pompous old physicist. Doom uses his Doom Ray of Doom that he had developed himself, to attack Spider-Man, sending a beam of light that would kill a "regular man," but only render Spidey unconscious. However he sustains some injuries as well.

When Spider-Man awakens, he sees that he is back in the lab, surrounded by the F.F and Mary Jane. "You gave us quite the scare, Tyger," MJ remarks. He notices that his suit has been removed, and he is now draped in a hospital gown. "The four brought you to the Hospital, Tyger, and don't worry, it's on their dime," Mary Jane continues. "How's Aunt May doing, MJ?" Peter asks. MJ kisses her husband on the cheek and says, "I'm so sorry tiger. Aunt May…her condition worsened. She's here in the Hospital," she begins to sob. Peter gets up with a start, "Easy there kid," Ben says, trying to keep Peter from falling over. Peter looks up at The Thing, his friend and says, "You have to let me see her, Ben!" Peter rushes to the administrator's desk. "Where is May Parker's room?!" he demands. "Sir, you need to go back to your room!" the administrator responds. "I need to know now!" he proclaims, with a furry in his voice that would rival that of The Incredible Hulk's. She points to a room at the end of the hallway. Peter stumbles down the hallway to his aunt's hospital room.

Chapter 4: Good Bye

In the Hospital room of May Parker, the aunt of The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker cries over the woman who had raised him since childhood. "Peter…is that you, dear?" asks the frail old woman. "I-I'm here Aunt May. Please…stay with me, you're a Saint!" he struggles with the words. She tries to smile, just as Mary Jane enters the room. "I-I told you that she has a wonderful personality, P-Peter," May cracks. MJ tries to smile, but instead begins to cry. "Save your strength Aunt May, I know that you can make it through this, you're the strongest woman that I know," Peter kisses her forehead. "I…I love you s-so much Aunt May," he says as she smiles. "My sweet boy…I love you more than anything in this world," May says. Mary Jane wipes the tears from her face and says, "I love you like my mother never could, May." The old woman whispers to the wife of her beloved nephew, "Take care of my boy Mary Jane, he'll need you." As she finishes speaking, the machine measuring her heart rate begins to alert of complications! And as she slips into her death, May Parker's last words are, "Ben."

Weeks turn into months, and Peter's depression overwhelms him. He rarely gets out of bed, and won't eat anything, nor will he even put on his Spider-Man costume. Finally, one sunny morning, Mary Jane Watson-Parker decides to help her husband in the only way she knows how to. "Honey," she says, shaking his shoulder, "Wake up please." Peter gets up and looks anguished and enraged. "What is it MJ?" he asks, getting out of bed. "I have a great day planned for us Tyger! First; we'll eat some breakfast, then after, we'll go to the Museum of Modern Art. Second, we'll have a picnic in Central Park…" but before she can finish, Peter brushes her off. "I'm sure that you spent a great deal of time planning this day, MJ, and I'm grateful. But I just can't do any of that right now sweetie, I'm sorry," Peter says as he gets in the shower.

Five weeks later, at the graveyard where Uncle Ben, Gwen and her father, and now Aunt May are buried Peter sits in front of her headstone. "You always believed in me Aunt May, no matter what. I'll never forget the day I came to yours and Uncle Ben's house, after Mom and Dad had to go on that business trip, I never thought that it was going to be a permanent visit!" Peter says as he remembers. Flashing back to when Peter Parker was six years old, his parents Richard and Mary Parker had brought him to Aunt May and Uncle Ben's house in Queens. His mother had kissed him on the forehead and promised that she and his father would come back and get him as soon as they got back to New York, and his father had told him to be a good boy. Unknown at the time, Richard and Mary Parker were agents of Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, short form being S.H.I.E.L.D and were murdered by Captain America's nemesis, Nazi scientist The Red Skull. "I love you Aunt May, and I'll never forget the lessons that both you and Uncle Ben taught me," Peter says. Standing up, he begins to kiss the headstones of all his deceased loved ones; Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Gwen and Captain Stacy. After he says good bye, Peter rips off his shirt as he leaves the graveyard, revealing his Spider-Man costume.

The Amazing Spider-Man ends up in Hell's Kitchen, swinging between the buildings and his web is suddenly broken. Falling, Spider-Man sees the culprit…Sergei Kravenoff, Kraven the Hunter! Spidey manages to sling a web at a building, causing him to crash through one of its windows, and rolls into a net laid out by Kraven. Spidey struggles to get out of the net, but can't. "Your attempts, I am afraid, will be in vain Spider-Man," Kraven says, as he jumps into the room where he had set his trap. "That net was made of a Titanium alloy that was developed to keep a great white shark in!" he continues. Not now! Spidey thinks, how many times is this nutcase going to try and kill me? He technically did already! Spider-Man feels around the net, until his spider senses starts to go off, meaning that he found a weakness in the net. "Hey, Sputnik!" Spider-Man yells, "What's the difference between a Soyuz and my fist? My fist won't bring you back from the Moon!" As he says this, Spidey socks Kraven in the jaw, then webs up the villain's arms and legs in an "X" type bind. Just as Spider-Man is about to leave, Kraven the Hunter breaks free of the webbing and lunges at Spidey, sending them both through the window.

Chapter 5: Rumble in Hell's Kitchen

Spider-Man and Kraven the Hunter fall out of the window down several stories and Spidey lands on a balcony, knocking the wind out of him. Kraven is dangling on the edge, just barely holding on, but the World's greatest Huntsman smiles. Spider-Man, dazed from his impact, reaches out to grab Kraven, but the Hunter won't accept the prey's assistance. "It has been a good hunt, Spider, but now I must say dasvidaniya," Kraven says. "No, I won't let you fall Kraven!" Spider-Man says, ever the hero. Kraven begins to slip, but is caught by Spidey, who pulls his nemesis to safety. "Thank you Spider, you are a good man…but now it is time to die!" Kraven shouts. He jabs a knife into Spidey's abdomen, then pulls out to stab again, but Spider-Man knocks the knife out of Kraven's hand. Spidey leaps down onto the street and is followed by Kraven. "Where's Daredevil when you need him?" Spider-Man sarcastically snaps. Kraven manages to get the upper hand, and begins beating on Spidey, who is beginning to lose consciousness. But before he passes out, The Amazing Spider-Man webs Kraven the Hunter's face, and pulls down with all the strength he can muster, and Kraven hits his face off of the granite. Blood gushes out of the Hunter's now broken nose, and then passes out from exhaustion, for their battle was long and tiresome, and both men are extremely weary.

After Spider-Man leaves Kraven bound, the police arrive and see that attached to Kraven's chest is a mysterious note. The note says: Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Peter Parker arrives at the Sanctum Sanctorum, Doctor Strange's home in New York City's Greenwich Village; he is severely injured from his fight with Kraven the Hunter, and is looking for the doctor. "Wong, is the doctor in?" Peter asks the caretaker of the residence. "I shall call on him Peter, wait here please," Wong replies. Wong goes over to the stairwell, "Doctor!" he calls, and suddenly he appears: Dr. Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme! "Ah, Peter," he says at the sight of his old friend, "How may I be of assistance?" Then he sees the injuries that Peter has sustained, and he turns to Wong, "Prepare my operating room immediately!" he cries.

In the operation room of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, the brilliant surgeon performs on his dear friend, Dr. Peter Parker. "Wong, hand me the suture please," the doctor asks his assistant. Once he has the suture, Dr. Strange begins to stich his friend's knife wound, which was causing him to pass out due to blood loss. After the surgery is complete, and the doctor sanitizes himself, Peter wakes from the anesthesia and goes to see Stephen, so he can express his gratitude. "Completely unnecessary Pete," Stephen says, "I'm happy to help out a friend." Peter takes a drink of water to rehydrate himself after his operation, "I should be going, Mary Jane must be worried out of her mind!" he says. "I had Wong call Mary Jane just after I operated on you, he told her she needn't worry seeing how you'll make a full recovery," says Dr. Strange. After a long moment of silence, Stephen says, "I was sorry to hear about your aunt Peter. I know what it's like to lose someone you love…it's very hard, but you somehow manage not to cry while thinking of them after a while." Pete stands up and gathers his clothes together, "I know that Strange," he says, "May I go change now?" Dr. Stephen Strange nods and points to an empty room.

Chapter 6: The Cost of Responsibility

Back at home, Peter tells Mary Jane about his fight with the Hunter. "Oh my God!" MJ says, "That sounds brutal!" Peter then reveals his wounds from the fight, and Dr. Strange's stitching. Mary Jane feels the scar on Peter's abdomen, her cold hands make him shiver, "I'm sorry honey. It seems like Kraven really did a number on you," MJ says. "Don't worry sweetie," Peter says, "I think that Kraven'll remember that beating for a long time!" After getting up and going over to his computer, Peter checks to see if he has any new emails, low and behold there's an email from rbanner63 . "Who is it Pete?" Mary Jane asks. "It's…Dr. Banner!" Dr. Robert Bruce Banner was one of Peter's mentors when he was in High School; Banner had addressed Midtown High School on the importance of physics. Afterwards he and Peter had kept correspondence, and they even teamed up as The Amazing Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk when he joined The Avengers. In the email, Bruce tells Peter that he is so close to finding a cure for his irradiation, and wants to meet with Peter as a way of collaborating. "He wants me to go to New Mexico, so we can work on a project together. Would you like to come with me MJ? I don't think that you two ever met," Peter says. MJ thinks for a minute then says, "Alright, let's pack for New Mexico Tyger!" Suddenly, their phone begins to ring. "Hello," Pete answers. On the other line is a familiar voice, "Hello Spider-Man, this is Nick Fury…"

Finis

Continued in "The Incredible Hulk: Thunderstruck" by Aidan Richard Vaughan.