With Great Power
a fan-fiction by River J
...I do not own Spiderman or Cheerios...
Chapter 1: Swirling Leaves
"Leizi, could you please hand me a dishcloth?" Mary-Jane asked as she shifted eighteen-month-old Cherry onto her left hip, eyeing the spilled formula on the kitchen linoleum as she did so.
I handed Mom a red and green dishcloth, stained and ripped after years of use. We simply couldn't afford any new ones. Mom had to retire from modeling once my twin brother and I, the oldest of the Parker children, were born. For one thing, Mom had to stay at home full time to keep up with me and Elijah. For another, she had put on too many pounds during her pregnancy for the camera to cover.
"Thanks, dear." Mother handed Cherry to me, and then bent down to wipe up the spilt liquid.
"Mom, I'm going to go to the park to skateboard with Ricky," Elijah, my sixteen year old twin brother, announced as he clamored down the rickety stairs of our small, fading house. His dull red hair was escaping from underneath his black baseball cap, which was turned backwards. He was wearing a loose tank and ripped jeans. A skateboard was propped under one arm.
"Couldn't you stay and help out?" Mom asked pleadingly. "Leizi's been helping me with Cherry all day."
"Aw, Mom," Elijah protested. He was preparing to fire into an assault of reasons why he should go board with his friends, when Mom interrupted.
"All right, dear. You can go to the park after you pour Jackie a bowl of cereal."
"Deal." Elijah strode to the pantry and pulled out a box of Cheerios to feed our seven-year-old brother.
"Where's Dad?" I asked, putting down my sister who toddled off to grab a toy.
"He's at the lab," Mom replied, untying the apron that she was wearing. She folded the garment and slipped it into a drawer. Then, Mom looked at me. "He's the one making a living for us, Leizi. You have to understand that this is the way things have to be."
As I looked at her mother, I suddenly saw more than the familiar face that had slowly worn out over the course of the sixteen years of my life. I saw the young woman that had once been there; the sparkling green eyes and the creamy red hair that I had inherited. The same eyes and hair that the camera had ate up before Mom had had children. I saw the frisky young woman that had roguishly fallen in love with the mysterious Spider-Man; the wall-crawling superhero that had saved so many from certain doom. Including Mary-Jane Watson, who ended up becoming MJ Parker.
I knew the rest of the story, but it wasn't nearly so exciting or romantic. I knew that MJ was willing to risk her life to marry the man she loved; Peter Parker, who was the alter-ego of Spider-Man. Yet, Peter wouldn't allow Mary-Jane to be put in any danger, so he said goodbye to his arachnid identity for the final time, and was hired by a local scientist when he was wed.
Besides Dad, I'm the only one who knows the truth. I had inherited more than my mother's fair looks. I had somehow acquired my father's spider powers.
I am the only one of the Parker kids who knows our parent's past. I am the only one who had inherited Dad's gift. Or was it a curse?
I can't remember a time when I had not known. Ever since I was five years old, Dad would on occasion drop by my room before I fell asleep. He would sit at the end of my bed, and tell me about his days of being Spider-Man. Of course, he hadn't started telling her the scary and harrowing stories until I had turned fifteen; before that, he told funny and quirky stories about web-spinning and leaping from building to building.
Then, he would smile at me and tell me with a smile how I was attempting at climbing up walls since I was five years old. With a laugh, Dad would tell me that I was lucky Elijah hadn't been observant enough to notice me perched halfway up the wall in the basement. I always wondered if Mom secretly knew, or if she really had never noticed her own child crawling up the walls.
Then, before Dad would retire for the night, he never failed to say one thing. He would look me in the eye and say, "With great power comes great responsibility. Leizi, you have great power. You can choose whether or not to use it. But if you choose to use your gift, always remember your responsibility. You have a choice to use your powers for good or for evil." Then, Dad would kiss me on the forehead, turn off my light, and close the door gently behind him as he crept to the master bedroom.
And I would lay in bed and think about what I was told. And slowly, I would drift to sleep.
"Leizi!" I snapped out of reverie at Jackie's protest.
"Yes, Jackie?" I asked, twiddling a strand of red hair around my index finger.
"Mom told me t'ask ya if you could take me to the park," he informed me. "Come on, if we wait to long the swings'll be taken."
Jackie slipped his thin, pale hand into mine and led me to the front door. I allowed myself to be dragged, knowing that a walk would be the perfect opportunity to think about my life and how confusing it was. Dad's words echoed in my mind: You have a choice...remember your responsibility...for good or for evil.
As we strolled down the street, Jackie jumped into swirling piles of leaves. I stood back and smiled as a large brown maple leaf blew up and hit him in the face.
After a fifteen minute walk down the sidewalk, there was one more street to cross before we reached the playground. "Look, Leizi! There's a free swing!" Jackie exclaimed, a flush of excitement crossing his face. He enthusiastically began running across the street.
"Jackie! That's not safe!" I shouted after him. Fear pumped through my heart, the only part of my body that wasn't frozen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a truck appearing around a bend. It was heading for Jackie. Without thinking, I sprinted after my brother, trying to catch up. The truck almost seemed to be moving in slow motion, as it neared my brother. The driver wouldn't be able to see Jackie from the cab so high up. As if by instinct, I extended my arm and aimed my wrist at my brother. A long, sticky thread of white goo shot out of my wrist, sticking to the back of Jackie's coat. I was as surprised as anyone, but I knew that I had to save Jackie. I yanked, pulling my brother out of the way just as the semi rumbled by. I pulled Jackie onto the sidewalk, where he caught his breath. "What happened?" Jackie asked. He obviously didn't know how he was pulled away from the vehicle's path at the last second. I didn't know what had happened. I didn't even know I could do that. That's when the full weight of Dad's stories and sayings hit me. I had inherited a great power. And with that came a great responsibility.
"At least you're safe," I said finally. I lifted Jackie onto my back for a piggy-back ride. I finally reached a crosswalk, and we made it to the playground safely. Jackie ran to grab a swing. I sat down on a bench, leaves swirling around my boots. With great power comes great responsibility. I wasn't so sure I wanted to accept my power.
Chapter 2: The Choice is coming soon, and I promise it'll be longer. This one was sort of spur-of-the-moment, and I personally don't really like the ending. I'm hoping that the story will improve soon, so stick around