Hey guys! This isn't my first fanfic, but it is my first Spider-Man fic so I hope you like it! It takes place two years after the death of Gwen Stacy in the TASM movieverse. I do not own Spider-Man or the Hard Rock Cafe. Also, I am thinking of possibly adding in the Avengers later on. Obviously too early to tell yet, but we will see! Please review and let me know if you like it. :] I haven't decided on a name for the girl with they grey-blue eyes yet so suggestions are welcome! I'm thinking something unique, so let me know. 3
Some know me as a hero; others refer to me as a masked vigilante causing trouble on the streets. You would think that after about four years the good people of New York would know a good crime fighter when they see one? For years I have been protecting the streets of New York from the likes of people like Electro, the Rhino, Sandman, Mysterio, Doc Oc, and a few other weirdos. You could say I'm sort of the Protector of New York. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man.
Beep, beep, beep.
The ever so familiar and monotonous sound of my alarm clock went off. 8 a.m. sharp every day. Such was the life of an employee at the prestigious Daily Bugle of New York City. Oh and not just a part-time employee, but also a full time student; studying neural science and engineering at NYU. That's where I was off to this morning. My regular Monday morning classes before heading off to the Bugle later this afternoon.
I slowly opened my eyes and turned over to turn off my alarm. Slowly still, I sat up in bed and swung my legs over the edge. I sat still a moment, thinking about the day ahead although I knew nothing would be different. Maybe some new topic in class that I had already studied, the same old lectures from Jameson about how my photos were "garbage," and then the same old crimes with just different faces. It wasn't that I didn't love doing what I do, but after a while... you crave something different. I've craved something different for a long time now.
Finally I stood up, walking over to my bathroom door and stepping in to begin the morning routine. Brush teeth, hair, get dressed, school, work, taking care of business anytime in between, then sleep if I was lucky enough. Same thing day in and day out. While I did crave something different, I have come to love my schedule. It took time after the incident for me to be able to carry out everyday tasks. That was why I didn't go to school for two years and I am now an almost twenty-one year old college freshman. It's almost like I can't function unless I am thinking about doing my daily schedule. I wanted different, but the thought of different scared me and I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
After getting around and getting dressed, I headed downstairs. Being in a rut for as long as I was, I really needed the support of my loving Aunt May. I still live with her. I really can't bring myself to leave her, actually. After losing my Uncle Ben a few years ago, I would feel awful leaving her on her own. And I know I can't be alone anymore. I like to think we need each other, but I know I need my aunt a lot more than she needs me.
"Good morning, Peter," she smiles at me the same every morning but I never get sick of my aunt's smile. She is one of the sweetest, most caring and genuine people I know. I would do anything for my aunt.
Our relationship was put to the test when my arch nemesis, Doc Octopus, had kidnapped my Aunt May about a year ago. Needless to say, my Aunt May knows about my double life as a superhero now.
"Morning, Aunt May." I grinned back as she handed me some toast as she did every morning. She knows I like to eat while I commute to class. "Save some lives today, huh?" My aunt was a full time nurse now at the Queens hospital. I was glad she had found a way to occupy her time doing something she loved.
"You too," she winked at me before I was out the door.
The commute was always the same. Take the B train at 8:30 to downtown, walk five blocks to my first class, and if anything interesting happened along the way then class would have to wait. But lately the streets have been pretty quiet since I shut down a few of the biggest names in the biz in the last year.
I had faced quite a few nasty people in my time as Spider-Man but not all those thieves and thugs could match up to my favorite six baddies. Kraven, Mysterio, Sandman, Vulture, Doc Oc, and of course the Green Goblin.
Sergei Kravinoff, or Kraven as he liked to call himself, had been hired no doubt by someone at Oscorp to hunt me down to prove he was quote on quote "the greatest hunter in the world." Obviously he is not the greatest hunter because I'm still wild game.
Quentin Beck went by the alias "Mysterio" and he was an interesting character. This guy had actually framed me for stealing museum artifacts and since, ya know, half the city still thinks I am "the bad guy" a lot of people believed him. That is until I used my awesome wit to trick him into admitting guilt for the robbery on tape. That little stunt helped clear my title a little bit.
The Sandman was a guy named Flint Marko who had some freak genetic experiment happen to him and he can literally turn his body into a giant pile of moving sand. Let's just say his downfall was my Aunt May's vacuum cleaner.
The Vulture was different because this guy could fly. Adrian Toomes was some crackpot who had invented these electromagnetic body harnesses so he could fly through the streets of Manhattan much like yours truly. This guy was tough but eventually all it took was crashing him on top of a roof and knocking him unconscious and I haven't seen him since.
Come to think of it... I haven't seen any of these guys since I last kicked their butts. Particularly Doc and Goblin, my worst enemies.
Doc earned his stripes after becoming completely crazy when these cuckoo robotic octopus arms attached themselves into his spine, basically creating a whole new alter ego for Otto Octavius. I worked with him personally on some stuff after high school for fun and... somehow the guy had figured out my little secret and one thing led to another and he had kidnapped my Aunt May. I had been down that road before with another and I was not about to let another loved one die because of me. After saving Aunt May, I made sure that octopus wouldn't show his face for a while.
And Harry? Well, I haven't seen him since that night.
Harry Osborn's family had a curse. The men of his family suffered from a disease called _, and his father had died from it weeks before Harry started showing symptoms himself. Convinced that Spider-Man would be the cure for his disease, Harry believed that I could help him. But I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt Harry. Instead, Harry hurt himself. He had injected himself with the same venom I had been injected with and well, it didn't turn out so well for Harry. It seemed to have just further his symptoms and turn him into some goblin-like creature hellbent on revenge. So he sought me out. That was the night my world came tumbling down.
When I say I was in a "rut" for about a year? I wasn't kidding.
Gwen Stacy was the light of my life. Top student at Midtown Science and the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. Our relationship was rocky from the beginning because how could a superhero possibly have a girlfriend? Her father knew what consequences came with that kind of power, and he had made me promise to stay away from her... But I couldn't. I loved Gwen and I couldn't bear to see her unhappy and us not being together made her unhappy.
Maybe it was selfish, but I disobeyed Captain Stacy's one dying wish. I kept seeing his daughter. I put her in harm's way. And that night when Harry came for me, he took Gwen. It was then that Harry knew who Spider-Man was. Who I was. That was the night I lost Gwen.
For such a long time, I had trouble coping with the death of Gwen. I believed for so long that I had killed her and her father, too. I still feel a tremendous amount of guilt whenever I see her mom and brothers or whenever I think of that night. It hasn't been easy. And to be honest, the only thing keeping me from not falling back into that depression I had felt when Gwen died, is my daily schedule. I think about Gwen often, but if I think about her too often, I begin to tear myself apart.
I love Gwen. I'll never stop loving Gwen. Her death, and my aunt's kidnapping is proof that a person like me - like Spider-Man - can never get close to someone. That was why I told myself I would never let myself get close to anyone else, ever again. And so far, I have kept that promise to myself.
It was in that moment of thinking about Gwen and how I could never be close to anyone again that my spider senses began to tingle. Instantly my attention was pulled to one individual in the crowded streets and all I could see of that person was their grey-blue eyes. Almost exactly like... Gwen's. My heart skipped what felt like a thousand beats and suddenly I felt that I had to find this person. My legs immediately picked up speed as I began to walk along the sidewalk until BAM.
"Oh, my God," came a female's voice.
I was on the concrete, suddenly aware that I had been so wrapped up in those eyes that I hadn't realized I had bumped right into someone. I blinked and immediately stood up.
"Oh, my God, I am so sorry. Are you alright?"
I casually brushed off my pants and shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it, I wasn't watching where I-"
When I had looked up, my heart felt like it stopped.
The girl in front of me had the eyes. The eyes that were so very much like the ones I had looked into for so long and had fallen in love with. I couldn't help but stare at the girl as she looked at me like she had just hurt me or something. I shook my head, bringing myself back to reality. Those eyes weren't the same. "I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," I apologized more coherently now. I offered up a smile at the girl, who still looked hesitant to believe that she hadn't hurt me. "I uh, I thought I saw... someone." I shook my head again, trying to tell myself it was not what I thought it was.
The girl smiled. She was a very pretty girl. She had pretty pale skin, light brown and curly hair that fell just past her shoulders, dimples on either side of her mouth, and then of course those eyes. She was dressed in black skinny jeans, black converse, and a white tee with a vest over it that was covered in different pins and buttons of bands and sayings from the 80's. That was when I noticed one that said "Hard Rock Café." She must be a waitress there. "Well, I hope you're okay," she said, and I could hear the generosity in her tone.
I simply nodded, smiling myself. "Yeah, I'm perfect. Thank you." It didn't occur to me why I couldn't think to say anything else, because after that I just stood there, staring at her with this goofy look on my face. After what felt like an eternity, the girl began to nod slowly.
"Well, I hope you find... whoever you were looking for," she spoke rather slowly as she began to slowly walk around me, smiling though all the while.
I just watched her, turning as she walked around me. I just nodded, smiling at her. I was at a loss for words as I watched the girl walk across the street over to the restaurant.
She was who I was looking for. Those eyes... they were the eyes.
Why was I so good at breaking promises?