Part 1The sun rose over New York City, casting a yellow-red light throughout the streets. People were waking up to begin their day of work or school while others were just getting in from their various nighttime activities. They were normal people with normal lives except for one lone figure high above their heads.He moved faster than the eye could see and was only a red and blue blur to those who may have caught a glimpse of him. The figure didn't fly through the air, but instead swung from thin strands of clear webbing, which was shot out of wrist mounted mechanisms called web shooters. Having done this for years, the figure, known to all as Spider-Man, swung from building to building at break neck speed. He flung himself between buildings, through alleyways, and over rooftops to travel through the city with reckless abandon. While ordinary people went on with their everyday lives, this extraordinary person was just ending his long night of crime fighting. While no major super villain was committing a crime, he did stop a handful of convenience store robberies, a car theft, drug dealers, and a man who was beating on his wife in an ally. It had been an eventful night but now it was time to finally turn in. With the day off from work, Spider-Man's alter ego, Peter Parker, could rest all day long without anything or anyone to disturb him.Since starting his life as a superhero from the day he got bit by an irradiated spider, he got to see the city unlike no other person alive. One of his favorite spots in the city was at the top of the Empire State Building. Swinging around the skyscraper, he soon was at the top and ascended the metal framework that stood on the roof until he was standing on top one of the highest buildings in New York. With no one around him at this height, he took his mask off and allowed the wind to blow through his dark brown hair as he gazed at the rising sun over the horizon that lit up the city. It looked so peaceful from this view as if there was no evil in the world. The maskless Peter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. For the moment everything was at peace. That moment soon ended however, as a familiar tingle, his Spider Sense began blaring through his head.He cringed at the pain he felt in his head and quickly looked around and saw no signs of danger anywhere, yet his Spider Sense continued to buzz. As he continued to look around him, the blaring in his head suddenly stopped. "Ok, that was weird," he said as he looked in the direction where his Spider Sense stopped. He slowly looked around him only to have the buzzing return, almost as if it was telling him that there was only one way for him to go and not be in danger. "Well, call me crazy but I should go and check it out. All I wanted was to go home and get some sleep."

Diving off the building, Peter Parker slipped his mask back over his head and fired a web-line out, snagged a flagpole, and swooped upward a few inches from colliding with the ground and swung back through the city of New York. When his Spider Sense buzzed, he changed course and headed towards the direction where it calmed down. It wasn't long until he ended up at an alley way. After scooping out the surrounding area, Spider-Man leapt down into the darkened environment.

The alley faced a direction that allowed only a sliver of morning light to pass into it. Being cautious, he slowly made his way down the alley. "Hello? Anybody here?" He was at about the ally's midpoint when a hand clamped down on shoulder. "Who the…" he shouted as he quickly spun around with a fist cocked back, ready to deliver a punch.

"Trust me. You do not want to do that," came a voice from behind him where he was just facing.

Turning back around, he saw where the voice originated. An old raggedy homeless man was standing in front of him, looking at the masked vigilante.

"Who, who are you? How did…" Spider-Man asked, ready for a fight if need be.

"Mr. Parker, I can do many things. Which is something you should know by now," the man said.

Spider-Man was taken by surprise by the mentioning of his real name. "How…how did you know who I am? And why didn't you trigger my Spider Sense?"

"I know a lot about you Parker. Even what you don't know."

"Ok, now you're just talking crazy. What the hell are you talking about and who are you?" Spider-Man asked as he started to lose his temper.

"I can't tell you here but trust me when I say you'll learn soon enough."

"No, I want to know now! It's obvious that you lead me here so tell me who you are and how you know what you know or, ACK!" As Spider-Man approached the elderly man, he was stopped in his tracks when the homeless man placed two fingers on his head, making his body suddenly go rigid.

"Know this Parker," the old man said. "I don't have much time for explanations so listen carefully. Tomorrow, you will wake up with your eyes truly open for the first time. You will see things in this world for what they truly are and you will seek me out again."

A yellow light emitted from the man's hand and passed through his palm into and Spider-Man's head. The light became so bright and blinding that it was as if the sun was right there in the alley with them. When it finally faded out, no one was there and the alleyway was empty.

All was quiet in the apartment of Peter Parker as he slept. The costume he wore as Spider-Man lay on the floor in a crumpled heap with his mask resting on the digital clock by his bed when its alarm went off and emitted a harsh buzzing noise that woke him up. A drowsy hand reached over and slapped the top of the alarm to stop the irritating buzzing as Peter slowly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He leaned over the sink and splashed a hand full of water on his face to help him wake up and dried off. When he put the towel down to look in the mirror, he received a major fright.

For an instant, he saw a grotesque figure behind him in the mirror but when he spun around, no one was there, just an empty apartment. Slowly, Peter turned back around to face the mirror but the figure was gone and only his own reflection stared back at him. All the hairs on his body stood up at the sight of the thing he saw in the mirror. He exited his bathroom and began to search his apartment but found nothing out of the ordinary. Despite not seeing anyone in the apartment with him or having his Spider Sense warn him of any possible intruders, he still didn't feel as if he was alone. With no evidence to suspect someone was with him, he got himself ready and grabbed a few clothes from his closet when he noticed a small white mark on his finger.

"What the…" Peter said as he looked closely at the white area on his left ring finger. The white mark circled his finger completely, almost as if he had worn a ring for years. "Hmm, glove must've been tighter than I thought." He turned from the closet and finished getting ready; making sure that his Spider-Man costume wasn't showing as he left his apartment. If he would have looked back before closing his door, he would have seen the same ghastly figure watching him leave.

It didn't take long for Peter to reach the house of May Parker, his aunt and only mother he has ever known. Web slinging across the city proved to be extremely faster than driving a car or public transportation. The only problem he had was keeping the flowers he had bought from a street side vendor intact as he swung to his Aunt's house. After a quick change into his civilian clothes, he walked the last few blocks to her home, all the while thinking about what he saw in his apartment a few minutes ago. As he approached the door, he put all thoughts of the creature in the back of his mind and instead began to think of how much Mary Jane…

Now that's someone I haven't thought of in a while. I wonder what made me think of her. Peter thought when the door opened and his Aunt greeted him.

"Oh Peter, how nice to see you" Aunt May said as she stood in the doorway.

"You too Aunt May," he said as he handed her the flowers.

"Oh how lovely, dear. I'll go put these in some water," May Parker said as she hugged her nephew.

"Sorry I can't stay long," Peter said as they made their way inside May's house. "I've got to go meet Harry for lunch over at…"

Peter stopped dead in his tracks as May rounded the corner of the living room and went into the kitchen. He looked in the large mirror hanging on the wall and saw a creature resembling the one he saw earlier in his apartment standing where his Aunt was. He walked slowly around the corner and looked at his Aunt who was filling a vase with water for her flowers. He than looked back in the mirror and once again saw the ugly, horned creature standing in her place.

What the… what's going on? Peter thought as he looked away from the mirror. This can't be real. My… my Spider Sense would be going off… to warn me of… Backing up, he couldn't believe what he was seeing and tried to leave the house quietly.

"Peter?" May asked as she sat the vase down on the coffee table in her living room. "Is anything wrong?"

Hell yes! I can't believe what I'm seeing and I might be going crazy! "Um, no Aunt May," he said. "I just forgot that I'm supposed to meet Harry for lunch and I'm running late."

"Oh, well I don't want you to be late. Thank you for the flowers Peter, they're lovely." May walked up to her nephew and hugged him goodbye, which made him jump slightly. "Peter? Are you sure there's nothing wrong with you? Are you catching a cold?"

"Uh, no Aunt May. I… just got a slight chill," he answered as he looked in the mirror at the creature before him. It was red from the tips of its horns to the bottom of its cloven feet.

Once outside, Peter took a look back in his Aunt's house. To him she was the same elderly woman who raised him all these years from when he was a child. She looked, sounded, and smelled like May Parker except when she crossed in front of the mirror again, a hideous creature was in her place. He rubbed his eyes and took one last look before turning away, trying to figure out what he just saw.

Peter couldn't remember how long it took him to walk from his Aunt's house to the restaurant where Harry Osborn, his best friend, was waiting for him. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice he had walked such a long distance. When he finally arrived at his destination, he found the fancy restaurant completely crowded with Harry waiving him over once he saw him enter.

"Late as usual I see," Harry said as he and Peter sat down.

"Yeah, sorry Har," Peter said.

"Is something wrong Pete?"

"No, just have a lot on my mind." Like the fact that I may be going crazy.

The two continued to talk until their waitress approached them for their order. Harry went first as Peter skimmed his menu when he saw something in a reflection from a spoon that was sitting on the table. While Harry spoke and flirted with the waitress, Peter nonchalantly maneuvered the spoon in such a way to capture Harry's full reflection. His eyes grew wide at what he saw and he prayed to God that he was seeing things, as Harry's reflection was like Aunt May's, a grotesque demonic creature.

"So Pete," Harry asked. "What do you want?"