What If Uncle Ben Lived?
What a crazy night, Peter thought to himself as he walked through the cool night air. First, Uncle Ben and I had that awful fight. I really hope he isn't still mad at me. I really need to apologize; I shouldn't have treated him like that. But winning that wrestling match, oh, man! That was so awesome! Can't believe that jerk had the nerve to stiff me, he deserved that burglar coming and taking his money. On top of all that, Uncle Ben didn't show to pick me up from the "library." So, instead of getting a nice car ride home, I'm stuck walking all the way there. At least it gives me a chance to think and relax for a little.
As he finished up this thought, he lifted up his head and saw he was approaching the last turn before he reached his house. He quickly realized something was a little off. What are all those flashing lights for? Is that the Police? Is something wrong? Oh my God! I hope Aunt May and Uncle Ben are all right! He broke into a sprint and turned the corner as fast as he could to make sure everything was ok. What he saw when he turned the corner made him stop dead in his tracks. His brain was overloaded all at once with worry and concern as his worst fears were realized. All the flashing lights were from the cop cars surrounding his house! And there was an Ambulance there! Oh, no. I've got to see what's wrong! If someone hurt Uncle Ben or Aunt May, with this power that I have now, only God can help them.He hurried inside the house to find Uncle Ben lying on a stretcher, his face clenched in pain as he lay there. On the floor all around was a large amount of blood.
"Officer, what is it, what happened? Is he gonna be ok? Who did this?"
"Peter," a familiar voice spoke from behind him, "I need to talk to you."
"Captain Stacy? What is it?" Peter spoke as he turned around. "Is Uncle Ben going to be alright?"
"That's just it, Peter, We really don't know. He was shot in the left side of the stomach, just below his ribs. He's lost a lot of blood, so it's still very touch and go. He could make it, but we just don't know."
Peter's head turned down as he heard. He heard his Aunt May crying in the other room; she was obviously very shaken up. Peter heard the radio on Captain Stacy's belt crackle and come to life. "We have pursued the shooter into an abandoned Oscorp warehouse about 3 blocks away. We need to wait for him to come out, if we go in, we would be sitting ducks for him."
Captain Stacy picked up the radio and spoke quietly into it. "Ok, hold the perimeter, and send for the chopper. I will be over there as soon as I finish up at the Parker house."
Peter got up and went over to Aunt May as the paramedics lifted Uncle Ben into the ambulance. "Go with Uncle Ben, Aunt May, I'll get a ride to the hospital when Captain Stacy gets off duty. But you need to be with him when he goes into surgery. I need to head up to my room for a little while so I can get some rest before I go to the hospital."
"Oh, Peter, are you sure? They'd let you ride in the ambulance too."
"It's ok Aunt May; I need to get some sleep first."
With this, Peter hugged her and headed upstairs. I hate lying to her, and I would REALLY like to be with her and Uncle Ben, but first, there is something I need to do. He reached into the backpack on his back and took out the costume that he had worn to the wrestling match. Man, this thing reeks! Oh, well, maybe it will distract the burglar. Heck, how can it not? He put on the suit and opened the window. As soon as he was sure no one was looking, he jumped out and headed in the direction of the abandoned warehouse.
There's no way the police can go in and take out the burglar in that old place, Peter thought to himself as he ran. If he has any ammunition at all he would take out several cops before they could even get close to him. But, I have several advantages. I can enter undetected by either the cops or the burglar, I can stick to walls and ceilings, and I also used that warehouse to practice my aim with my webshooters and to work out in my spare time.
By this point, Peter could see the warehouse on the horizon, within two minutes, Peter arrived at the warehouse. He sneaked around back and surreptitiously got inside. Good, no one noticed me. Now, for the hard part.He climbed up to where he it sounded like someone was moving around. As he poked his head around the corner, Peter saw the outline of the burglar. He chose a direction for coming to the burglar in a way that his shadow would distract the burglar long enough for Peter to get in a blow and knock the gun away. The man saw the shadow and as Peter had predicted swung the wrong way. Peter took advantage of the opportunity and kicked the gun away, then grabbed the man by his coat. "You!" Peter cried, "You hurt my Uncle! You might have killed him! For that, I should kill you too!"
Peter backed him up to the only window, and light from the police chopper overhead streamed through, illuminating the burglar for the first time. "Oh, no!" Peter cried out, and his eyes widened in shock at the revelation. "You were the man at the wrestling arena. I let you go, and I could have stopped it. And because of me, Uncle Ben is hurt, possibly dying."
Peter looked back up at the man and shoved him through the glass, holding him suspended in midair three stories above the ground as he repeated, "I should kill you for what you've done."
He dropped him, and the man saw the ground rush toward them. Just as he was bracing for the killing blow, he felt something tug at his feet. "But," Peter cried from above, "My Uncle wouldn't approve." The burglar looked at the ground, mere inches from his head, and sighed in relief as he saw police rushing to where he was hanging. The police on the third floor looked for the man who had caught the burglar, but he was nowhere to be found.
As Peter left the building, he breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure of what to do 'til the man was already halfway down, but he was glad he made the right choice. Now, I just need to get to Uncle Ben. Obviously Captain Stacy hasn't gotten off work yet, so I'll swing by home to get my clothes, and then tell Aunt May I took a cab. But really, I'm going to try out swinging on my webs, if I learn how to do it well, I can make it around town a lot faster. As he climbed to the top of the first skyscraper he saw upon getting into the city itself, Peter breathed deeply, shot out a web, and jumped off. The thrill of falling from over a 30 stories up was incredible, like a roller coaster, but even more thrilling. His eyes widened as he quickly approached the side of a building, but he quickly shot out another webline and pulled himself away just in time. Woah! That was so COOL! I just need to not kill myself trying to get to Uncle Ben.Within a few minutes, Peter had arrived at the Hospital and changed back into his clothes in a nearby alley. He found out where Aunt May was waiting, and hurried on up. When she saw him, she sighed in relief.
"Peter, Dear, I thought you weren't going to make it. I'm not ever letting you sleep if your Uncle is in trouble again; I need you here for support."
"Yes, Mam, but I'm here now. I took a cab, because Captain Stacy wasn't off yet. How is Uncle Ben doing? Is he gonna be alright?"
"I don't know yet, Peter. The surgeons have said it's still a little touch and go. He's been in surgery for over an hour now."
About two hours later, the door opened and the head surgeon walked in. "Mrs. Parker, can I speak to you?"
"Yes, of course." May gave a little worried smile and went around the corner to talk to the doctor. Peter could just see her through the glass door, and though he couldn't hear the conversation, tried to judge as best as he could what they were talking about. When he saw Aunt May's shoulders slump as she tried to keep from crying and failed, Peter felt a lump in his throat.
Oh my God! The man that I've admired so long, and so carelessly dismissed this afternoon, is dead! That could be the only reason Aunt May's so sad. And it's all because I wasn't responsible with my powers, I was angry and let that burglar get away, and now both Aunt May and I are reaping the consequences.As he was thinking this, Aunt May opened the door, her eyes still red, but she breathed deeply and tried to keep her composure. "Aunt May!" Peter cried out, "Is. . . did he. . .?" He couldn't even finish the sentence.
"The bullet didn't go straight into the left side of his stomach as the doctors had originally thought. Apparently, it was shot at an angle, and at close enough range that. . ." Aunt May stopped and tried to go on, but failed.
"Aunt May, what is it? You have to tell me!"
"The bullet, it, uh, it lodged in his spine, right near the base. They were able to remove it, but, she once again stopped and tried to regain her composure. "He is going to live, but the doctors say he's never going to walk again!" She collapsed into tears again, grabbed Peter as tightly as she could, and wouldn't let go for over an hour. Peter just held her and cried softly, knowing that it was his mistake that had cost Ben Parker the ability to live a normal life.
The next few months of summer passed too slowly Peter, Uncle Ben was able to come home after a week, and had finally gotten used to his new life. At the same time, Peter had designed a new costume, and had practiced swinging on his web so that now he was a pro at it. Because of guilt over Uncle Ben's injury, Peter decided that to make it up to him, he would be a crime-fighter, like the super-heroes in the comics that he read as a kid. There was only one thing that bothered him now, and it was that he had never apologized to Uncle Ben, nor showed him his new hobby. Finally, one week before school was to start again, he slowly approached Uncle Ben where he was sitting in front of the TV. He heard Peter coming and turned his wheelchair around to face him.
"Hey, Kiddo! Whatsup? Got something on your mind?"
"Yeah, Uncle Ben, I need to tell you something but I don't think you're gonna believe it? Do you want to come with me to the city? I want to show you something. I'll push you and we can talk on the way."
"Sure, thing. You sure you want to push me though? It's a long way, and we could always take the car now that I got you your license."
"No, I'd prefer walking; it always helps to put me in a good mood."
"Alright, then, I'd love to go on a walk with you."
For most of the walk Peter pushed Uncle Ben and they just made casual conversation, but as they approached the first skyscraper, Peter got to the point of the conversation. "Uncle Ben, you remember the day you got shot, you and I had a fight. You were trying to teach me to be responsible with my actions, to do the best with the abilities I was given."
"Of course I remember that Kiddo. I had hoped you learned from that, even though I know the conversation didn't go as well as I had planned."
"Well, I did, but not soon enough. You see, I" Peter hesitated, but knew he had to continue, "I've been given a special ability, one that you don't know anything about. I used this ability to beat a guy in a wrestling match instead of going to the library. But, the guy who was in charge, he cheated me of the money he owed me for it. Right after I left, another guy came in and pulled a gun on the manager and took the money. I had the chance to trip him, to hold him up, to knock him out even. Instead I did nothing."
Uncle Ben tried to speak, but Peter stopped him. "Later that night, when I came home, I heard where the man who shot you was. I changed back into my wrestling costume and went to apprehend the burglar. Right before I caught him, I saw his face. It was the man who I let escape. The man who I could have stopped, but because I wasn't responsible with my abilities, because I didn't listen to you, was the man who paralyzed you instead. I realize that you may not believe me about my ability, and even if you do you may be mad at me, but I had to tell you. You are too important to my life for what I just told you to go unsaid."
"Peter, I want to thank you. I don't know what abilities you got that helped you in wrestling or in catching this man, but I am glad that you apologized for your mistake. I'm also glad that you have learned from this and that it has made you a better person."
"Well, would you like to see my ability? That's why I brought you here, where all the skyscrapers are."
"Peter, I would be honored. What exactly is this ability, anyways?"
"Remember the field trip to ESU's science lab? While I was there I got bit by a spider that the Connors had genetically altered. It gave me special powers, like super strength and the ability to crawl on walls, or even to sense danger coming."
Peter ducked into the alleyway that was next to them. He already had the suit on underneath his clothes, so he hurriedly removed them, then put the mask on and showed Uncle Ben. "What do you think of the suit?"
Ben gasped in surprise, but managed, "So you think you're really Spider-Man, huh? You do realize that's a hideous costume."
"Yeah, so I've been told. I brought you here because I wanted to give you a personalized webslinging tour of New York."
"Peter," Uncle Ben said with a smile on his face, "I'd be honored"
With that Peter picked Uncle Ben up and webbed him into a secure position so that he wouldn't fall during the tour. As Peter climbed up to the top of the building, he whispered "I love you Uncle Ben," and took off on the best adventure of his life.