Part 2
"So Pete, what do you want?"
These were the words Peter's best friend, Harry Osborn; spoke in the restaurant an hour ago. For the entire time they ate, Peter hardly spoke a word. The image he saw in the spoon's reflection of a demonic Harry was burned into his head along with the reflection of his Aunt May. In fact, it had got to the point he had enough of the whole situation and made up an excuse to leave. It didn't take long for him to shed his street clothes and once again don his Spider-Man costume to web swing as far and fast away from the restaurant as he could.
What do I want? Peter said to himself. I want to know what the hell is going on!
After putting some good distance between himself and Harry, Spider-Man landed on a ledge overlooking Central Park. He leaned against the large building before turning around and reached for his mask, stopping himself before he pulled the cloth off. No one on the streets below paid any attention to him and there was no one in the office building behind the large glass window he stood in front of. The only reason he stopped himself from removing the mask is that he was nervous that he would see a grotesque figure underneath.
He pulled off his mask slowly, hoping he would see his face in the windows reflection and not some creature's. When he finally uncovered his face, he let out a sigh of relief and leaned his head against the glass. The sound of cars and trucks passing below were not registering with Peter as he stood against the window contemplating the day's events. The creature he saw or thought he saw in his apartment, Harry and Aunt May's reflections, all were grotesque creatures in their reflections but he wasn't.
"Okay, I'm not crazy," he told his reflection. "I cut myself shaving this morning and it hurt so I can't be dreaming either. So what the hell is going on?"
Then it hit him. Images of the old man in the ally yesterday ran through his mind as if some lost memory suddenly came to him. "The old man. He must have done something to me. Made me see things that are not really there."
Turning around, Peter donned his mask and leapt from the ledge than fired a web line all in one fluid motion. "It'll take me a little while to get there. All I have to say is that he had better still be there or it wont be pretty once I find him. Whatever he did to me I'm going to make sure he reverses it and maybe, just maybe, I'll go easy on him."
As he swung away from the building, clawed hands rubbed against the inside of the glass where Peter was standing. The same creature from his apartment watched as the red and blue clad hero disappeared from view.
With numerous stoplights and traffic backups that would please any New York driver, it usually would take around an hour to reach the part of the city where Spider-Man was heading to. He covered it in about ten minutes. When he reached his destination, Spider-Man wasted no time looking for the old man he met the other day.
"Hey, old timer! Where are you?" Spider-Man yelled. "Come out here now!"
"No need to yell Peter," the old man said, appearing seemingly from out of nowhere. " I'm right here."
Facing the old man now, Spider-Man quickly pinned him to the nearest wall. "What did you do to me?" He demanded to know. "Who are you and why am I seeing these things?"
With a bright flash of light, Spider-Man found himself flying across the ally and hit the opposite wall behind him hard. He was unable to move and was forced to stay there while the old man stepped towards him.
"Impressive trick, but I've seen better. I've fought Mysterio before and…"
"Shut up!" The old man commanded. "Now you listen to me closely. What you are seeing in the mirrors is not a trick or illusion. I gave you the ability to see a person for what they truly are. To see what really lies beneath. The creatures you are seeing are obviously not human. They're demons sent to keep an eye on you, to keep you from the truth."
"Oh, well, that makes a lot of sense," Spider-Man said. "But newsflash, I wasn't born yesterday and I don't think I'm Shallow Hal. Now let me down you Gandolf wannabe and tell me who you are."
"You still don't understand do you Parker?" the old man asked. "This isn't a trick. This isn't a game. What you see is what these people really are. A mirror reflects what really is inside a person and doesn't lie. Good or Evil. Man or beast. I gave you the ability to look under a person's skin and view them for what they truly are."
"No, you just did something to me to try and drive me crazy." Spider-Man continued to struggle against the invisible restraints holding him against the wall. "Now who the hell are you?"
The old man leaned towards the prone Spider-Man "I warn you Parker, don't mock me. I have come to help you if you choose to allow me to. Make a choice. Accept my help or go on with you're life as it is right now. But if you choose for me to help you, you have to go all the way and not stop until it's all over, you may not even survive at all. So choose carefully. I can let you go or I can help you take back what was yours."
At that moment, Spider-Man was feeling like Keanau Reeves. It was obvious that whoever this person was, he had strong powers but posed no threat as his Spider Sense would go off. But what did he mean by "take back what's his?"
The old man waived his hand and caused Spider-Man to be released from the wall. "Now choose."
"What did you mean by…"
"I said choose!"
"Ok," Spider-Man blurted out. "Tell me everything."
A bright light flashed like and like yesterday, they vanished from sight. Before they disappeared, Peter prayed they he was making the right decision. If not, than it wouldn't be the first time he had gotten himself into trouble.
