The Phenomenal Spider-Man
Agents of Shield
"ARRGGHHH!" Mary Parker screamed as she desperately tried to push the fetus out of her body.
"Push" yelled the doctor, "You're almost there, Push!"
Mary continued to sweat as she continued to scream in agony. She gripped onto her sister-in-law May's hand, who assured her that there was nothing to worry about and that it would all be over soon.
"Where the hell's Richard?" May whispered to her husband, Ben.
"I dunno, he was supposed to be here an hour ago," he replied.
"You'd think they'd let him have time off, with his wife pregnant and all. You did call him, didn't you, dear?"
"Of course I did, but there was no answer," answered Ben, "Men aren't completely useless, you know!"
"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP, I'M IN LABOUR FOR PETE'S SAKE!" snapped Mary.
"You see what you've done?" May whispered to Ben. Ben sarcastically smiled back.
Mary was accompanied to the hospital by her brother-in-law, Ben, and his wife, May. Her husband, Richard, had been working overtime, so Ben and May had been staying at their house for a number of months to support a pregnant Mary. Mary had only gone into labour a few hours prior, and Richard was already at work. It was usually hard to get into contact with people there.
"They say childbirth's the most precious thing in the world, but this hurts like hell!" exclaimed Mary, forming a weak smile.
"The most precious thing about childbirth is the moment when your baby is born," explained May, "when you hold your baby in your arms for the first time, knowing you've become a mother, knowing that you're going to be there when your baby takes their first steps, says their first word; Ellie went through it all when she had Cheryl. She said the pain ends with a welcoming feeling of love and joy."
"Speaking of which, how is your sister?" Ben asked, "I heard Cheryl had entered her teen years."
"Yeah, Ellie's doing fine," May informed him.
"So this is childbirth," smiled Ben, "I didn't think it'd be all... blood and... sweat and all that."
"Ben, when you were ten, you used to think that childbirth was done through the stomach," said May. Mary let out a small laugh. Just then, Richard came bursting through the door, panting.
"I came as fast as I could," said Richard, trying to catch his breath. He gripped his wife's hand as she let out a few more screams. "I'm here honey, I'm here."
"IT'S COMING!" yelled Mary, tears in her eyes.
"Okay, you've got to push," said the doctor, "Push!"
"Don't worry, honey, I'll be right here. You can do this!" Richard assured his wife. Mary let out a few more screams until they were replaced by the cries of an infant.
The baby was born.
"It's a boy," announced the doctor, handing the baby to Richard, "Congratulations, Mr and Mrs. Parker." Richard gave his wife a kiss and looked into his son's tiny eyes.
"A boy," smiled Richard, "He's got my eyes, don't you reckon?"
"Yeah, and he's got my nose," said Mary.
"He's going to go on and achieve amazing things, I know it! Would you like to hold him sweetie?"
"Nothing would make me happier," smiled Mary, crying tears of joy. Richard handed the baby over to his wife. "He's so tiny!"
"Mrs. Parker needs her rest so I'm afraid I'll have to ask you guys to scoot," ordered the doctor.
"See you later, honey," said Richard, giving his wife a kiss. Richard, Ben and May then left through the door.
"Reckon he might become a police officer like his old uncle here?" chuckled Ben. Mary had woken up and had the baby in her arms once again.
"Who knows, he might even become a world-renowned scientist who invented the cure for cancer, or maybe a famous writer," said Richard, "You better not go spoil him with gifts like you do with your niece, Ben. I know you will, anyway."
"What should we name him?" asked Mary.
"What about Ben?" joked Ben.
"Well, we don't really want two people in the family named Ben Parker now, do we?" laughed Richard.
"What about... Peter?" said Mary.
"Peter..." Richard thought about this for a moment, "Yeah, I like it. Peter. Peter Benjamin Parker. You happy now, Ben?"
"Yeah, thanks Richard, that really means a lot," smiled Ben, "And, hey, Congratulations on the bub. May and I are just going to grab a bite, okay. Want anything?"
"Just a coffee, please," replied Richard. Richard and Mary were now alone.
"Richard, how can we continue working for SHIELD when we've got a child to raise?" asked Mary, feeling worried, "Our life's too dangerous, and I don't want to ever put Peter in harm's way."
"We'll manage, Mary. Remember, we're spies. If we do our job properly, then there's no need for Peter to be put in harm's way. Our roles are too important to abandon."
"And our job is more important than Peter?" snapped Mary.
"What..? No! I'm just saying, there's no need to abandon our jobs when we can maintain both."
"But how will we maintain both, Richard, HOW? How can we manage to keep the job and raise our son when SHIELD requires us to work frequently, and what about travelling? SHIELD also requires us to travel on certain jobs, so who will take care of Peter when that happens, huh?
"Well, Ben and May are always happy to mind Peter whenever needed, plus they are among the few who know that we work for SHIELD."
"But they live in Morkum, Richard. We can't just expect them to drop everything and fly to New York all the time, plus Ben would have to take leave off duty, which would be hard to do."
"Well, Ben and May can look after Peter sometimes, then. We've got friends here in New York who can mind Peter whenever needed."
"But how is that going to make us look if we leave Peter with other people all the time. It's gonna make us look like really shitty parents now, would it? For all they know, I'm a scientist working for OsCorp and you're a businessman for a high-ranking company, so if we're away all the time, then wouldn't it cause people to become suspicious about our occupations? Plus, as Peter gets older, he'll probably be wondering why he doesn't spend that much time with his parents. It could really affect him, Richard."
"Well, since you're a forensic analysis, you can ask for a reduced amount of work so you can spend more time with Peter and..." Richard gave his wife a passionate kiss, "Look, you and Peter are my top priority, and I promise you, I will do everything in my power to be a good father to Peter."
"We're back," informed Ben, who had returned with May, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," Richard replied, "Hey, how would you like to be Peter's godparents?"
One Year Later
"Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to Peter,
Happy Birthday to you"
Everyone cheered for the birthday boy. All of a sudden, Peter started crying.
"I think the noise must've got to him," said Richard.
It was Peter's first birthday. Richard and Mary threw a big party for him in their home; among the guests were Ben, May, Richard and Ben's mother, Winifred, Mary's parents Will and Lois Fitzpatrick, and many more.
"So," Mary began, "I'd like to thank everyone for making it here today for this special occasion, Ben, I know you had to take time off work to fly down here, so thanks, I appreciate it, and mom and dad, for coming to your grandson's first birthday, I love you, and to everyone else who could make it to this once-in-a-lifetime event." Everyone laughs. "So, I think that's about it, so let's get into that cake and later we'll open the presents."
The house hadn't been this populated in years. There was family, relatives, neighbours, friends, and the house was decorated in balloons and streamers and a banner that read "Happy Birthday, Peter!"
Suddenly, the phone started ringing in the Parker's room.
"I'll get it," said Richard. Ben began taking photos of the event.
"When do we get to open the presents?" asked Ben.
"Gosh, Ben, you're like a kid on Christmas morning," May laughed, "They're not your presents, so what are you so excited about?"
"I want to see him open the present I got for him," said Ben, "Mine's the best, I reckon."
"You both got him separate gifts?" asked Mary.
"Well, originally, we were supposed to get him a gift together like we do with Cheryl, but Ben insisted he got his own gift," May explained, "Probably wants to outshine everyone, I reckon."
"Mary," Richard called out, who had just re-entered the room, "Can I talk to you? In private?"
A sense of worry struck Mary's face.
"Is it urgent?"
Richard nodded his head.
With that, Mary accompanied Richard to a deserted corner in the room. Both Ben and May could sense something was wrong.
"Do you think it was SHIELD that called?" Ben whispered to May.
"By the looks of it, yes, but they said they wouldn't bother them today, so whatever it is, it must be serious."
Richard and Mary, who had finished talking, walked up to Ben and May.
"Sorry Ben, but we need to go," informed Richard, "That was Nick Fury on the phone."
"But you said you wouldn't let work get in the way of Peter's birthday."
"I know, I know, I feel bad, but it's urgent, and we need to leave this instance." Richard began packing his stuff.
"Where are you going?"
"Japan."
"Japan? What for?"
"Can't say at the moment."
"When will you be back?"
"Not sure, but could you please look after Peter while we're gone?"
"Umm, sure, But what do I tell the others?"
"Just say that we have important business to attend to."
"But -."
"Can't say anymore, got to go!" Richard and Mary rushed out the door and sped off in their car.
"So did they say when they'll be back?" asked May.
"No, they didn't," Ben informed her. The party had ended and May had begun cleaning up the house.
"Did you call your boss, dear," May asked.
"Yeah, I did. I told him I would be away until further notice."
"It just seems weird, with them rushing off like that."
"Yeah, I know, but that's SHIELD for ya." Peter was playing with the police kit that Ben had brought him for his birthday. "See, he loves that thing. Told you my gift would be the best. Just look at him wearing that little police cap."
"Just make sure he doesn't go swallowing small parts, dear, 'cause the last thing Richard and Mary need is to come home to find their boy in hospital. I'll just be in the living room watching the news, dear, alright?"
"No problem, May." Ben began playing with Peter, who began drooling on the floor. "Now, you wouldn't want to go messing up your mom and dad's floor now, would you?" said Ben, who wiped the drool off Peter's face. "I think it's time for you bedtime," said Ben, who picked up Peter and took him to his room, "We've got a big day planned for you tomorrow. Your aunt and I are going to take you to the zoo, to see the elephants and the lions, and the zebras and the monkeys, but adventurers need their sleep before they go exploring, don't they Peter." Ben placed Peter in his crib.
When Ben returned to the dining room, he found May looking really worried.
"Is everything alright, May?" Ben asked.
"I just saw this story on the news of a plane that got blown up shortly after it left the airport; no survivors," informed May.
"Gosh, that's horrible!" Ben exclaimed.
"You don't understand, the plane that got blown up was boarded for Japan. Ben, what if... WHAT IF RICHARD AND MARY WERE ON THAT PLANE?"
Ben's heart sank to the pit of his stomach.
"Oh, my gosh, what if they were?!" cried Ben, panicking, "What caused the explosion?"
"Police suspect it was a planned attack, but they're not certain yet." Ben went to his wardrobe and put on his coat. "Where are you going."
"To the site of the incident," informed Ben, "I need to know whether Richard and Mary were on that plane or not."
"Okay, sweetheart, be careful."
"Hey, I'm a cop. I'm always careful.
Almost two hours had passed since Ben left for the airport. May had been sitting in the sofa the whole time, anxiously waiting. She then heard a car park outside.
"Ben!" she cried. Ben looked distraught. May instantly realized what had happened. "Oh, gosh!"
Tears erupted from her eyes as she embraced her husband, who was also crying.
"They were on that plane, May," sobbed Ben, "They're... They're DEAD!"
Ben and May embraced each other in silence, still struggling to cope with what had happened.
"Waaahhhhh!"
Ben and May broke apart, and silently headed for Peter's room. May picked up the crying Peter and attempted to comfort him.
"Ssshhh, it's alright, dear, it's alright. I'm here, darling, I'm here." May continued to stroke him until, finally, he fell asleep. "Oh, Ben, what about Peter? He's going to grow up without a mom and dad now."
"He'll have us, dear," Ben reassured her, "Richard and Mary made us Peter's godparents. We'll raise him, as if he were our own son. And if he were to ask about his parents, we'll tell him that his parents loved him unconditionally. He won't be alone."
Hi. For those of you who don't know me, I'm MrAce531. For those of you who do know me, you probably read my previous Spidey story "Spider-Man Reborn." Just letting you know that this story is a prequel to "Spider-Man Reborn", meaning that the events of this story are set before my previous story (Spider-Man Reborn). So if you haven't read my other story, then that's fine, because considering this is a prequel, you're technically reading the first chapter of the series, so you won't get like, confused or anything, but if it were a sequel, then that would be a totally different story.
Anyway, thanks for reading and hopefully I'll start posting more chapters soon. Throughout the story, I'm hoping to reveal more backstory to what happened that night with Peter's parents and all that, so stay tuned.
- MrAce531 :)