First time writing anything... kinda nervous. ^^'

Anyway Disclaimer! I don't own Marvel or Spider-Man, but if I did... snappy anecdote!

Prologue/One Shot: Me, Myself And The Octopus

My name was once Peter Parker or 'The Amazing Spider-Man'. You pick, it doesn't matter any more.

A madman by the name Otto Octavius aka Dr. Octopus; as insane as it sounds, killed me and stole my body, my life, my power, my responsibility. And just to rub salt in the wound, the nutjob was actually better at it than me. I could make excuses like 'Oc stole my intelligence' or 'Otto wouldn't even be quarter the man he was without yours truly to keep him in line, and while that is true on some level, it's not exactly comforting.

Especially since I handed it all to him on a silver plater. I knew without my influence Oc would be free go about being his nasty old self, world domination being the first on his grocery list. And with my rather rakish exterior I knew it would be more than just a pipe dream this time. So I had to give him something more than that, and not just more, something that would speak to that massive ego of his. Because as much as Otto loved the thought of the big 'WD' I knew there was one thing he loved even more... beating me. So I gave him everything.

Whatever mental mumbo jumbo that allowed him into my head also allowed me to share my every waking experience with him, right down to the most intimate details of my life. Who I loved, who loved me, who I had been intimate with... I had to stand there and watch as he indulged himself in... me! Like it was the most natural thing in the world. And sadly enough it worked. Oc finally understood why I do what I do, but that doesn't mean he agreed with it. He rose from that moment reborn. Vowing to be better than me in every possible way and declaring himself the Superior Spider-Man.

Someone once said that with great power comes great responsibility. They don't mention the fact that with great responsibility there must also come great sacrifice... must've got lost in the translation.

For months I was trapped in some sort of freaky Star Wars ghost limbo, seemingly nothing but a whisper in the back of Oc's-my mind, watching helplessly as that slimy piece of... reaped the benefits of my life. He helped people, not out of the goodness of his heart or because it was the right thing to do... well the children maybe, no he did it to prove his superiority to the dearly departed me and that's not all. He hurt people, even killed them. But the galling thing is, everybody loved him for it. He became the Mayor's confidant who made him his very own spider signal for god's sake! He created tiny little octo-spider robots that patrolled the city keeping him updated on crime, he bugged super villains just so he would have time to take care of my aunt, he got 'back' together with my ex girlfriend the love of my life... it was just so creepy and wrong, like a reversed handsome version of Norman Bates! And all I could do was float there and talk to myself in abject misery. It's a wonder I didn't lose my mind!... I know I know, stupid joke.

Over the following months I learned I wasn't completely helpless. I found if I concentrated hard enough I could actually force my will onto his-my body, it still disturbs me how easy killing was to the doctor and then to go on as if nothing happened... Oc just figured it was after effects of the mind transfer. Also when Oc slept or was sufficiently distracted I could actually move his-my hand for a limited time, maybe if I was subtle enough I could write a little note here, a little SOS there, just something to show anybody that Peter Parker was still in the house. Unfortunately it was too little too late, Oc somehow became aware of me, he never found any notes or whatever so I guess my nattering in his-my thick skull had finally gotten through to him.

What came next was the one moment that still haunts me to this day. Oc got a lead on a villain calling himself Cardiac who, get this. Had been stealing money to fund an underground hospital for patients who couldn't afford the insurance rates. Why can't more villains be like that huh? Unfortunately he also stole the machinethingmabob that would let Oc look inside his-MY head! Anyway my untimely doom came in the form of a young 8 year old girl... figures. I don't remember her name but she was a beautiful little thing and she was also very very sick. She badly needed an operation with no insurance and no doctor insight, but luckily enough Oc was more than qualified for the job. Lucky for the girl, not so much for me.

I knew what Oc was really about, Oc wouldn't give a flying monkeys about the girl if she wasn't right in front of him, she was just a means to an end. Oc talked them into a trade. The machine for the girls life... all heart he is. I remember the strange feeling of holding the scalpel yet not holding the scalpel. My fingers trembled. Was this one little girls life worth all the suffering Oc would cause if I wasn't there to keep him in check?... I didn't want to do it... no I couldn't do it... but I was tired... so so tired... I'm ashamed to say that I hesitated. I let go and let Oc do his thing. He saved her life and gained the means to destroy me.

After that everything gets a little hazy, I remember a fight, I think it was between me and Oc. He wanted me gone and I- I don't know. I'd like to think I fought like I lived my life, a quip on my lips and a song in my heart. I would like nothing more than to say that I stood strong like hero's are supposed to when the chips are down... proved without shadow of a doubt that my angels were so much stronger than my demons and that Oc had no choice but to give up and vacate the premises, right this way sir!

That I proved once and for all that I am Peter Benjamin Parker! I AM The Amazing Spider-Man!

Unfortunately that's not how the story goes, I'd go into details but right now it's just... blackness, a deep penetrating soulless blackness. No room for sound, movement, taste or touch. Not even thought. I wasn't asleep nor was I awake. I was just there and nowhere. Empty.

It was either eternity or a single microsecond. I don't know... do you know what it's like to suddenly be someone else and yourself but not be able to tell which? It changes you...

"Peter!"

A/N With the end of The Superior Spider-Man I've decided to keep this as a one-shot/prologue of sorts... I just think it works better that way.