A/N: HAPPY NEW YEARS! It's not new years where I live yet, but I decided to clear my entire schedule to finish this chapter just so I could give you guys a little new years present! As a bonus, this chapter is a little longer than usual and it's like the big finale. It's everything I've been leading up to but it's super duper sad and depressing so just beware.
Anyway, I'm not really going to talk about what's in the chapter just because it's so long and literally so much happens I wouldn't even know where to start. But I will refresh your memory on the last chapter. In the previous chapter, all the files vanished (*gasp*) and Peter got into a fight with Flash (it was 100% Flash's fault if you ask me) and Adie flushed the flash drive into the toilet. Oh and she made Ned promise to stop searching.
Fluffymarshmallows: Thank you for leaving the questions for the Q&A! I'm really glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for your kind review!
Thebookworm33: Wow! Those sound like awesome Christmas presents! Bet it's time for a Marvel marathon now...
lizlil: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapters! And there's definitely some action in this one...
Thank you to: Fluffymarshmallows, Thebookworm33, lizlil, blueroses82, and babiix3 for either following/favoriting or leaving a review in the previous chapters! Happy new years guys and thank so for almost 6 months of constant support for this story!
"Remember:
with great power
comes great responsibility."
Peter sighed, pushing open the door to his house and walking inside. He rubbed his jaw, feeling a small bruise coming on. He had hoped that he wouldn't have any obvious marks on his face from the fight, but his jaw told him that wasn't the case. Luckily, he came home on the bus today which meant he still had the chance to escape to his room and figure out some kind of excuse before Ben and May caught him.
"Peter?" May said, walking into the room with Ben right behind her. Peter sighed. Maybe he wouldn't have time to escape to his room. May walked up to him, a bright smile on her face which immediately faded away the moment she saw Peter's bruise jaw.
"What happened to your face?" May asked, cupping her nephew's face into her small hands. She lightly ran her thumb over the bruise on the jaw, her face twisted into a worried expression. Peter glanced at Uncle Ben who was watching him with a look that the teenager couldn't understand.
"I…"
"Did you fall down the stairs again, Pete?" Ben asked, a hint of a smile on his face, "You've got to start watching your step, champ."
Peter blinked at him and then looked at May who still look very worried.
"Er...yeah, that's what happened," Peter said, "I fell...down the stairs."
"Goodness Peter! You've got to start being more careful!" May said. Peter gave her a small smile.
"Sorry, Aunt May. It won't happen again," he said. She still looked worried as she shook her head.
"I'll go get you some painkillers. Stay right here, okay?" she said and then hurried back into the kitchen. Peter watched her until he felt Ben's gaze on him.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Ben asked, eyeing the bruise. Peter shook his head quickly.
"No, um, I just tripped on the last couple of steps and –"
"Did you win?" Ben interrupted. Peter stopped, looking at him.
"Um, what?"
Ben smiled knowingly, leaning against the couch and crossing his arms. He nodded his head towards the teenager's injury.
"Did you win the fight?" Ben elaborated. Peter shook his head in confusion. He thought Ben believed he had fallen down the stairs.
"I wasn't in a fight," Peter lied and Ben chuckled.
"Come on, Pete. I know a right hook when I see one," Ben said, "So did you win?"
Peter felt his face heating up from getting caught. He could never get much past Uncle Ben anyway. Peter sighed, clearing his throat as he looked down at the floor.
"Um, no. The teacher broke us up," he admitted. Ben shook his head in semi-amusement. He opened his mouth to say something when May walked back into the room with a glass of water and a pink painkiller in her hand. She handed the pill to Peter and then made him drink the whole glass of water.
Ben watched the two with a small smile on his face. He decided that he'd talk to Peter about this later.
"I told you, it does not make you look fat," Tony sighed. Pepper glared at his reflection in the mirror.
"Yes it does, Tony. I mean, just look at this stripes! They're not flattering at all," she frowned, turning to the side. She glared at her reflection as if it would make the stripes flattering.
Adelaide was sitting on the chaise lounge with a can of soda in her hand, watching the scene and trying not to be amused. The world thought Tony Stark was a genius, billionaire, philanthropist and, yet, here he was trying to convince his girlfriend that she did not look fat in a particular dress and he was failing miserably. The teenager was glad she had decided to come out of her room for once: it proved to be very entertaining.
"Then don't wear that one," Tony said tiredly, rubbing his face. Pepper whipped around.
"Are you saying that I do look fat in this dress?" Pepper asked. The poor billionaire looked confused.
"What? No! When did I - look, all I'm saying is that if you don't like that dress, then just wear a different one," he said. Pepper pursed her lips, turning around to face the mirror again. Tony gave Adelaide an exasperated look.
"I can see you, Tony," Pepper said, "In the mirror."
"Of course you can," he mumbled, slumping in his seat.
"Adelaide, what do you think?" Pepper asked, looking at the teenager's reflection.
Adelaide looked like a deer caught in headlights and she suddenly wanted to teleport out of the room. She could see Tony fighting hysterics from the corner of her vision. She began to struggle to find an appropriate answer.
"I think that...um, I think you look good in every dress," she said, hoping it would suffice.
It did not.
"That's not helpful!" Pepper said, her voice rising a pitch, "This meeting is very important and I have to look like I'm in charge. Do you know how hard it is to make a room full of men accept that there is a woman in charge and that she is perfectly capable of running an internationally renowned multi-billion dollar industry on her own?"
"I'm so glad I left all of that behind," Tony mumbled to himself.
"Um...very hard?" Adelaide guessed.
They both earned a hard glared from Pepper. Sighing and shaking her head, she disappeared into the bathroom again, probably to try on another dress. Adelaide was suddenly very glad that she wasn't the CEO of Stark Industries.
"Tony! Can you zip me up!"
Throwing a look in the teenager's direction, the billionaire pushed himself off the couch and went into the bathroom. Just then, Adelaide's phone rang in her hand – it was Ned. She pressed the green button, holding it up to her ear.
"Hey Ned," she said, trying to sound calm. Inside, she silently hoped that he hadn't called her about the files. It was for his best interest that he dropped that whole thing.
"Hey did you hear about what happened to Peter?" Ned asked. Adelaide frowned. Peter? She hadn't talked to him since they decided to go to the library to story together.
"What happened to Peter?" she asked, feeling her heartbeat speed up. She began fearing the worst. What if the man who deleted her files got to him? What if he had kidnapped Peter just to get to her? Or worse...what if Peter was already dead?
"He got in a fight with Flash," Ned said. Adelaide was just about ready to start panicking when Ned's words settled in.
"Oh," she breathed, slumping back into the chaise lounge, "Oh."
"Yeah," Ned said, "It wasn't that bad, but I heard they were sent to the principal's office. It's just so weird, you know? I didn't think Peter would do something like that again. Flash probably said something really terrible."
Or Peter's been on edge…
Adelaide realized that with all the havoc with the files and the...the kiss...she had hardly talked to him and she doubted Ned had been either since he hated lying. This looked pretty bad. What if Peter thought she really was dating his best friend behind his back? She had to fix this. And the best way to do it was to just talk to him. Today, when they met up at the public library, she would just talk to him. It couldn't be that hard, right?
"Adelaide?"
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna talk to him just to see if everything's fine," she said.
"Yeah that's probably a good idea. Listen, I have to go but tell me what he says, okay?"
"Okay, bye."
Just as Adelaide hung up the phone, Pepper walked back out, wearing a different dress. She stopped in front of the mirror as Tony walked out.
"How's this one?" Pepper asked, her eyes still on her reflection. Tony came up behind his girlfriend and hugged her, setting his chin on her shoulder. A smile tugged at Pepper's lips.
"I think you look perfect," Tony mumbled to her reflection. She smiled and then turned around in his arms a moment later.
Adelaide suddenly wanted to leave the room.
"Keep it PG!" Adelaide said, getting out of the chaise lounge as quickly as she could and shielding her eyes, "I'm leaving, I'm leaving!"
She could hear the two laughing behind her as she hurried out of the room.
4:45 pm
"Hey, Uncle Ben, I need to ask you something…"
Peter walked into his Uncle's room, feeling slightly stressed. He was supposed to meet Ada at the library at 5 o'clock. The fight started at 5 o'clock as well. And there was only one of him. He doubted his abilities went as far as making duplicates of himself. He only had 15 minutes to figure out a plan.
"What's the matter, champ?" Uncle Ben asked, sitting up in his seat.
"What would you do if you had to be in two places at the same time?" Peter asked.
Ben raised an eyebrow.
"And you really can't miss either?"
"Not really, no," Peter said.
He doubted Ada would appreciate getting stood up again and there was no way he could miss the fight. It was his only chance to come out with his new identity. He had been preparing for it all week long. He had made a makeshift suit to mask his identity and he even had a superhero name. He really couldn't afford to miss either one.
"That's a tough pickle, Pete," Ben said, letting out a breath. He clicked his tongue.
"Tell me about it," Peter sighed.
"If I were in your shoes, I'd just pick the one most important to me," Ben said, shrugging, "and go to that."
Suddenly, the perfect idea struck him. It was brilliant! The perfect solution! He would first go the cage fight because it probably wouldn't last more than half an hour and he would just text Ada that he'd be running a little late because of traffic. Then, after he was finished with the fight, he would take a taxi to the library and meet Ada there. No one would suspect a thing and he would get to be in both places in one night. Ergo: the perfect solution.
"Thanks Uncle Ben, you gave me the perfect idea," Peter said, rushing out of the room, "Come on, we have to go to the library!"
About 15 minutes later, Uncle Ben pulled up in front of the public library. Peter grabbed his backpack which held both his costume and books. It was consequently heavier than usual but he was too excited to care. He was about to go to a fight! He was going to win money!
"Thanks for the ride, Uncle Ben," Peter said, starting to feel excited.
"Now wait a minute, we uh...we need to talk," Ben said, stopping him. Peter dropped the door handle, sitting back into his seat.
"We can talk later…" Peter said. He was going to be late if he didn't get going now.
"Well we can talk now," Ben said, turning off the car, "If you let me."
Peter let out a quiet sigh, glancing out the window.
"What do we have to talk about right now?" Peter asked. Ben gave him a small smile.
"Because we haven't talked in so long you're Aunt May and I don't even know who you are anymore. You shirk your chores, you have all those weird experiments in your room, you start fights at school –"
"I didn't start that fight, I told you that!" Peter shouted.
"Well," Ben said, "you sure as hell finished it." Peter let out an angered sigh, dropping his hands in his lap. He had gone out of his way to keep himself from fighting, but it wasn't his fault Flash was angering him into fighting. How could Uncle Ben possibly not understand?!
"What was I supposed to do, run away?" Peter asked angrily. Ben shook his head.
"No, you're not supposed to run away, but…Peter, look, you're changing. I know, I went through the exact same thing at your age."
Peter shook his head, trying not to smile. He had no idea how wrong he was.
"No," Peter said, "not exactly."
Ben took a deep breath, trying again.
"Peter...these are the years when a man changes into the man he's going to become for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you're changing into," he said, "This guy, Flash Thompson? He probably deserved what happened. But just because you can beat him up, doesn't give you the right to. Remember: with great power comes great responsibility."
"Are you afraid that I'm gonna turn into some kind of criminal?" Peter asked. Ben looked at his nephew with a sense of regret in his eyes. The boy had been through so much with his parents and now this bully...He dropped his eyes, shaking his head.
"No."
"Stop worrying about me, okay?" Peter said, "Something's different, I'll figure it out. Stop lecturing me, please."
"I don't mean to lecture and I don't mean to preach," Ben said quietly, "And I know I'm not your father –"
"Then stop pretending to be!" Peter shouted.
There was total silence in the car as the words hung in the air. Peter instantly wished he could take them back but it was too late. They were out there and Uncle Ben had heard them. The look on his face...Peter could see his heart breaking. The teenager looked away, unable to look his uncle in the eye as his face filled with shame.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Ben nodded slowly, swallowing as he looked at the floor.
"Right," he mumbled, his voice sounding flat, "I'll pick you up here at 8."
With one last look, Peter grabbed his backpack and got out of the car, closing the door behind him. He stood there until the car disappeared around the block, feeling terrible.
Clenching his fist, he turned around to call a taxi to take him to the fight.
6:00 pm
Peter was almost an hour late for the fight and by the time he finally got there, the sun was already setting, casting an evening shadow over the streets. The dark, rainy clouds loomed over the sky like an omen.
"Yuh sure dis is where yuh wanna be, kid?" the cabbie asked, looking over his shoulder as he parked the taxi.
"Yeah," Peter said uncertainly, glancing outside at the building that was dimly lit by a flickering lamp post, "I'm sure."
"Dis is one of de sketchiuh parts of town. If I leave yuh here and yuh die, it's not on me, right? I don't wanna get involved wit' de cops, man," he said, shaking his head. Peter swallowed, silently cursing at the driver for scaring him.
"I'll be fine," Peter snapped, "How much?"
Peter's heart was hammering in his chest as he paid the cab driver and stepped out of the car. This was it, he thought as he watched the cab drive away, there's no turning back now.
Looking around, there was hardly anyone out on the streets minus a few of the sketchy-looking folk lingering in the dark alleys like wild dogs waiting to pounce and bite. Peter suppressed a shiver and pulled his jacket closer. With his abilities, no one could touch him. He would be fine. Now, he just had to get to the fight...
With a hand shaking from the cold, he reached inside his backpack and pulled out the advertisement for the fight. He was in the right place, he realized, looking up at the old, slimey brick building the cabbie had dropped him off in front of. Taking a deep, determined breath, he twisted the handle and let himself inside.
Instantly, he was surrounded by the sound of a wild, cheering crowd. He stepped onto the staircase leading downwards and closed the door behind himself, surprised by how much sound one little door could block. Clutching the paper tightly in his hand, he made his way down the stairs. As he got closer to the fight, the sounds grews louder. He swallowed nervously when he heard a man screaming. What had he gotten himself into?
Maybe he should just go now. He could walk a few blocks back to civilization before it turned too dark and then hail a cab back to the library where Ada would be waiting under the false belief that he was stuck in traffic. He could live without 2,000 dollars...right?
"Can I help you?" a man grumbled, pulling Peter out of his thoughts. He realized the man sitting behind the desk was talking to him.
"I'm here for the uh...fight?"
The beefy man studied him for a second, looking him up and down in a way that made Peter feel uncomfortable in more ways than one. Then, he silently pointed a set of stairs on the right. Nodding, Peter hurriedly made his way down the stairs, eager to get away from that peculiar man.
The sound of the crowd was deafening once he got closer. Bracing himself, he pushed open the door.
It was crazy. There must have been hundreds of people in the crowds and several dozen putting on a show, including the violent fight that was happening in the center of the arena. Peter watched the two men wrestle violently, mesmerized. He realized that he was about to be up there, in front of the cheering crowd. Suddenly, one of the men in the ring fell to the floor and the referee held the winner's hand in the air.
"WINNER!" the referee shouted and the crowd roared deafeningly. A man wearing a ridiculous shiny gold suit pulled the microphone from the referee's hands.
"Will the next contestant make their way over at this time for just 3 minutes in the cage with bone saw for the sum of TWO-THOUSAND dollars!" he announced and the crowd cheered excitedly once again.
Peter realized that he should probably get in position so he quickly pushed his way through the crowd and stopped behind the curtains that the man in the shiny golden suit was standing in front of. Peter quickly reached into his backpack and pulled his mask over his head.
He blinked nervously, feeling his stomach twisting itself into several knots. He wiped his hands against his thighs, trying to calm his nerves. This was really happening.
"...And the next contestant is...pst, what's your name, kid?" He almost answered 'Peter Parker,' but he stopped himself just in time.
Clearing his throat, he said, "The Human Spider."
"Human spider? That's it? That's the best you got?" the announcer said.
"Yeah…" Peter answered. What? It wasn't bad. In fact, it had taken him all week to come up with that. He was pretty proud of it, too.
"Oh, come on, that sucks," the announcer mumbled under his breath, turning away from the curtains. Squaring his shoulders, the announcer stepped forward, into the spotlight.
"The sum of 2,000 dollars will be paid to...the terrifying, the deadly...the amazing Spider-Man!"
The curtain pulled up and the crowd gasped. Peter blinked under the harsh white light, wincing.
"My name's the Human Spider," he said to the man standing behind him.
"Get out, kid!"
"No, he got my name wrong!"
"I said get out there, you moron!" the man said, shoving him into the light. The crowd began booing angrily as Peter towards the ring. He could hear people talking to him but their voices felt distant.
"...Bone Saw's gonna eat you up and spit you out, little man…"
"...I hope you brought your mommy with you…"
"...We're gonna break your…"
"...you crying…"
Suddenly, a couple of people pulled by in front of him with a grown man lying on a stretcher, whining in pain.
"Ah, my leg! I can't feel my leg…"
Peter stopped walking and swallowed nervously as he watched the man get pulled away from the ring. The crowd began shouting something, pulling Peter out of his scary thoughts.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Ignoring them, Peter stepped up the ring where so-called Bone Saw was standing, encouraging the crowd. Ducking under the rope, he stepped inside confidently. He could do this. He hadn't come all this way for nothing. Plus, after this, he still had to get to the library for Ada.
Suddenly, Peter heard the sound of metal creaking from above him. He looked up, his eyes wide.
"Cage!" the crowd shouted.
Peter looked around frantically. Oh no...The walls of cage closed around them, trapping him with Bone Saw. He edged away to the corner.
"Hello? Guys!" he shouted but no one paid attention.
"Will the guards please lock the cage at this time?" the man in the shiny golden suit announced. Peter ran up to one of the guards locking the cage.
"Hey listen!" he shouted, "This is some kind of mistake! I didn't sign up for a cage match!"
The guard ignored him and locked his corner of the cage.
"Hey!" Peter shouted, starting to panic, "Unlock the thing!"
"Hey fritzo!" came a deep voice from behind him, "You're going nowhere!"
Peter turned around slowly, facing Bone Saw who was currently laughing at him. Peter swallowed. Uh oh…
"I got you for three minutes!" Bone Saw said, holding up four fingers, "Three minutes of fight time!"
The timer above them dinged and Bone Saw came for him. Peter panicked and jumped up, latching onto the cage walls with his sticking powers. Bone Saw ran straight into the wall, hitting his head.
"What're you doing up there!" Bone Saw shouted at him, shaking his fist.
"Staying away from you," he said, "That's a cute outfit, did your husband give it to you?"
Bone Saw growled and lunged for him. Before he could catch him, Peter jumped off the cage and flipped in the air, landing perfectly on the opposite side of the cage. When the man came for him again, he shot his webs onto the cage ceiling and pulled himself up. Once again, Bone Saw ran into the wall, missing Peter by inches. Peter dropped his webs and landed on the other side of the cage again. But this time, Peter didn't see Bone Saw coming towards him with a chair. Before he could move away, Bone Saw brought the chair down on Peter, knocking him over.
"Argh!" Peter shouted, falling down. Bone Saw hit his head with the chair again and Peter winced at the pain. Still, Peter attempted to pull himself up. Bone Saw brought the chair down on his back this time, knocking the air out of him. Throwing the chair away, Bone Saw grabbed Peter by the leg and flung him against the cage wall like an old rag over and over again.
Peter groaned, rubbing his forehead and turning over. His eyes widened when he saw Bone Saw coming towards him with a crowbar. Without thinking, Peter shot a kick into his chest, making him fold over. Then, he kept kicking him until he fell against wall. With one last war-like cry, Bone Saw ran towards Peter, raising the crowbar above his head.
Groaning, Peter used his feet to trip Bone Saw and make him flip over. The huge man slammed against the wall and then fell to the floor.
The crowd erupted into cheers as Peter stumbled up, breathing hard. He felt a smile coming onto his face as he realized that he had just won. The referee ran up to him as soon as the cage pulled up and then grabbed his arm, holding it up victoriously.
"WINNER!"
The crowd roared even louder, if that was possible.
"Give it up for the new champion, Spider-Man!"
Peter watched in awe as the crowd shouted his name triumphantly. He grinned from ear to ear and held both his hands up, waving excitedly.
He had just won 2,000 dollars!
7:35 pm
The beefy man sitting behind the desk drew a 100 dollar bill from his large pile of cash and slid it to Peter.
"Now get outta here," the man said, waving his hand. He resumed counting the wad of cash in his hands.
Peter blinked confusingly.
"A 100 bucks?" he asked, holding up the bill in his hand. This was barely enough money to buy groceries for a whole month. "The ad said 2,000."
The man stopped counting his money and turned to look at Peter, throwing him a disgusted look.
"Well check it again, webhead. It said 2 grand for 3 minutes and you pinned him in 2. For that, I give you a 100 and you're lucky to get that," he spat.
"I need that money," he heard himself saying. The man sat up in his creaking chair. He narrowed his eyes at the teenager.
"I missed the part where that's my problem," he said, smirking. Peter blinked at him, his face hardening. He threw the man a dirty look and turned around, clutching the 100 dollar bill in his hand.
All that time, all that fighting...wasted. He didn't even get the 2,000 dollars. Sighing, he opened the door a let himself out, almost running into another man. As he walked down the dim hall, he decided to take the elevator this time. He was too tired to climb the stairs.
As he waited for the elevator, he heard a shout behind him. It was coming from around the corner.
"Hurry up!"
Suddenly, the man he had run into by the door ran out from the corner with the beefy man chasing after him. Peter watched, confused.
"Stop him!" the beefy man shouted, "He stole the money! Stop that guy!"
Peter's face hardened as the thief came closer to him. Now he understood. Looking the beefy man in the eye, Peter stepped aside, letting the thief into the elevator.
"Thanks!" he shouted as the elevator closed. The guard missed him by seconds.
"What the hell's the matter with you, you let him go!" the guard shouted in Peter's face before stomping away. The beefy man finally caught up to him, rubbing his head in pain.
"You coulda taken that guy apart," he said, "Now he's gonna get away with my money."
"I missed the part where that's my problem," Peter said, looking him dead in the eye. Something like understanding flashed across the man's face. Nodding twice, he walked away.
Peter smirked after him, feeling rather proud of himself for getting the last word.
8:20 pm
Adelaide was furious. She had been waiting for Peter for three hours. He had texted her saying that he was stuck in traffic but clearly he had been lying. He had stood her up. Again.
She was standing on the steps of the library, shivering under her coat. It was completely dark outside now and it was pouring hard. She hadn't even brought an umbrella since she thought that she would be home by now. It was 8 o'clock already. Where the hell was Peter? He hadn't been answering any of her calls or texts. It was just like last time all over again.
But this time, she wasn't worried about him at all. No, not worried. The only thing that she could feel was anger coursing through her veins. Who the hell did he think he was? The queen of England? Maybe she hadn't made it clear enough the first time how angry she had been. No, this wasn't her fault at all. It was his fault for making the same mistake again.
She was never, ever talking to him again. And not even a kiss would fix it this time. Not like it was the reason she forgave him last time...The kiss had just happened. It was an accident despite the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about it. The point was that she was never talking to or kissing Peter again.
Letting out an angry huff, she fumbled to pull her phone out of her pocket. It was harder to do while shivering from the cold. Finally, she got it out and quickly texted Happy to come pick her up. She was done waiting for Peter to show up – it was very clear that he wasn't coming.
Dropping her phone back into her pocket, she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. She regretted not wearing double layers but it was too late for that. Happy would be here soon and then she'd be back at the warm Tower with a cup of hot chocolate in no time.
On the street, people were huddled together, hurrying to either get in a car or under a roof to escape the freezing rain. Suddenly, her gaze fell on a very familiar car parked a few feet from her. Was that Uncle Ben's car? In the rain, she could just barely make out a figure who looked an awful lot like Uncle Ben stepping out of the car.
Adelaide squinted. That was definitely Uncle Ben, but who was the man he was talking to? The rain made it hard to see his face and most of his body was covered by the car. Should she go say hi? But without an umbrella…
Squinting even more, she watched as another man ran up to them. Maybe she should go say hi…
Suddenly, there was a loud boom. Adelaide's body froze mid step as she realized what that familiar sound was.
That was the sound of a gunshot.
8:24 pm
Peter hadn't realized that it was going to rain tonight so he hadn't brought an umbrella. He deeply regretted it. The cabbie had dropped him off a little ways from the library and he was walking down the street to where he knew Uncle Ben would be waiting. The rain pelted down on him but he was already soaked and freezing so he didn't bother running.
It was 8 o'clock already and Ada had probably left by now. He had thought he would have made it in time, but it was too late now. This was the second time he had stood her up and he felt terrible. Even more so this time because he had done it deliberately and he was 1,900 dollars short. Kicking his foot in the puddle, he turned the corner, coming up to the front of the library.
He was scanning the road for Uncle Ben's car when he saw a couple of police cars whiz by him and stop in front of the library. Peter picked up the pace until he was jogging towards the crowd that had formed in front of the library.
Peter had a bad feeling about this. Nonetheless, he pushed his way through the crowd, trying to see what had happened.
His heart was hammering loudly in his chest. Why was he so afraid? He didn't even know what was going on. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't control his breathing. He was terrified even before he broke through the center of the crowd.
And then everything stopped. The rain, the crowd, the sirens, his heart…For a moment, there was stone cold silence.
"Step back!" the police officer shouted, pushing Peter. Peter shoved his hand off desperately.
"That's my uncle!" he shouted, falling to his knees. He was shaking from head to toe. With a shivering hand, he reached out and held Uncle Ben's hand.
"What happened?" he whispered. The crowd heard him even over all the noise. Everyone fell silent.
"Pete?" a soft voice asked. Slowly, Peter looked up until he was face to face with Adelaide. She was sitting across from him, holding Uncle Ben's other hand.
"Ada?" he croaked, "W-What happened?" The tears were cascading down his face now but he hardly felt a thing. He was in shock.
Adelaide bit her lip and the tears spilled over. She shook her head.
"I-I don't know," she cried, "H-He's been shot."
Adelaide moved her hand off of his abdomen, revealing the bullet wound underneath. Everything was soaked in blood. The sight made Peter feel dizzy and he clutched Uncle Ben's hand tighter as if it would somehow save him. He couldn't be shot...not Uncle Ben…
"The paramedics are on their way, son," the police officer said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Peter barely heard him. How could this be happening…? He couldn't understand. Uncle Ben would never hurt a fly then how…
"Uncle Ben?" he heard himself saying, "Uncle Ben! Uncle Ben!"
His eyes fluttered and the air rushed back into Peter's lungs.
"Uncle Ben!" Peter shouted, tears running down his face. He was still alive! He was alive! Ben looked around until his eyes landed on his nephew. He smiled meekly, ignoring the pain that followed.
"Peter?" he croaked. Peter nodded eagerly, moving closer.
"I'm here, Uncle Ben," he said softly, smiling through his tears, "I'm here."
"Peter…" he mumbled painfully as his vision began to fade away. He captured his nephew's face for the last time before everything faded away into darkness.
Peter felt all the air knock out of him. His muscles gave away and he slumped against the ground, sobbing. His heart wrenched in incredible pain as he watched his Uncle's hand slip from his.
He felt another, softer hand grab his but he wasn't paying attention. He stared at his Uncle's face, shaking with sobs. He was gone. His Uncle Ben was really gone. For good. He was gone for good. Peter felt something break inside of him and he dropped his head, sobbing.
"We got the shooter, he's heading south on 5th Avenue. Got three cars in pursuit…" the officer said into his walkie talkie.
Peter froze, looking up. He knew what he had to do. He stood up, the hand in his falling away.
"Pete? Peter, what are you doing?" Adelaide shouted, standing up. But he wasn't listening – he was already making his way out of the crowd. Panic settled into Adelaide's chest as she chased after him. Where the hell was going?
"Peter!" she shouted but her voice was drowned out by the rain. He took off down the street and Adelaide sprinted behind him. What if he was going to…? No, no way was she going to let him to that. She had to stop him.
"Peter!"
He barely heard anything as he sprinted down the street. He took a sharp turn around the corner and by the time Adelaide caught up, he had disappeared. She stopped, breathing heavily. She had lost him. What if he had been going to take his own life...
Suddenly, Adelaide realized where he was going. He wasn't going to take his own life. He was going to take someone else's! She had to stop him and she knew a shorter way to 5th Avenue. With a new determination, she tore down the street after her best friend.
Meanwhile, Peter was already perched up on the dome of a building, looking down at the streets. There, he spotted his uncle's car speeding down the road with three cop cars chasing after it. He narrowed his eyes.
He shot out a web to the closest building. There was only one way to catch up to that car now. Tightening his jaw in anger, he swung himself off the dome and towards the next building. When he let go of the web, for a moment, he was suspended in mid air with no strings. Then, he shot out his web to the next building and swung himself over.
There was no way he was letting that man get away. No way.
Soon enough, he had caught up to the cop cars. But he wasn't close enough yet. He wanted that man.
He swung faster until he landed on his uncle's car with a loud thump. The man driving jumped, trying to see what had just landed on the roof. Before he had a chance to though, Peter punched through the roof of the car, blindly grasping for the man's face. Suddenly, bullets shot through the roof, missing Peter by inches. Peter suddenly wanted to have that man's throat between his fingers even if it meant tearing the car apart to get to it. Instead of ripping the car apart, Peter jumped off and landed on the roof of a small truck driving by. He kept his eye on the car.
He waited for the right moment and then he jumped off the truck and landed on the front of the car, shattering the windshield. The man lost control and the car swerved off the road. Looking behind him, Peter saw that they were headed towards a closed iron gate. He jumped up just in time as the car crashed into the gate. The man rushed out of the car and into the building up ahead.
Little did he know, Peter was already lurking inside, waiting for him to come.
Nervously, the man stumbled around the room he had run into. He had his gun out in front of him but his hands weren't steady. He was looking left and right, trying to find that kid who had crashed his car. He didn't know to look up.
"Who's there!" he shouted at the shadows. Peter moved and the man shot at his shadow.
Stealthily jumping down from the ceiling, Peter landed right behind the man. Peter grabbed him by the collar, taking him by surprise, and rammed his head into the window. The man screamed in pain but Peter didn't stop. Grunting, he pulled him back and broke some more glass. He was going to put this man through hell and then kill him.
The man tried to defend himself, but it was no use. Peter was not stopping until he was finished.
Unknown to them, a certain teenage girl was hidden in the shadows, watching them. Adelaide had never seen Peter like this before. He was raging with fury and he had every right to but...but she couldn't let him do something that he would regret later. He was acting purely on anger and he wasn't the Peter she knew. She knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he killed this man tonight. She had to stop him.
"Don't hurt me!" the man shouted, "Just give me a chance! I have a family! Just give me a chance!"
Peter gritted his teeth, shaking his head.
"What about my uncle?" Peter shouted, shoving the man, "Did you give him a chance! Did you?"
Peter shoved the man against the wall, holding him by the collar. His fingers twitched to wrap themselves around his neck and squeeze the life out him slowly. Instead, when the light reflected on his face, Peter suddenly realized something. He had seen him before.
This was the man who had stolen the money from the fight. It was the man he hadn't stopped. This man who hadn't been his problem, he…
Peter saw flashes of the moment again. Standing by the elevator...stepping to the side...watching him as he ran by...all those moments...all those times he could have stopped him...
Peter stepped away, dropping the man.
He quickly scrambled up. Then he cocked his gun and held it against Peter's head.
"I'm sorry 'bout this, kid," he said, wrapping his finger around the trigger to kill the second man this night. Adelaide gasped, her eyes darting between the two. She had to do something!
In a flash, Peter knocked the gun out of his hand and twisted his arm around until he heard it crack. The man shouted in pain, dropping to the ground. In an instant, Peter grabbed the gun off the floor and held it against the man's head. He tried crawling away, but he was already against the wall. He was trapped.
"This is for my uncle," Peter said, wrapping his finger around the trigger. Adelaide began panicking. She had to stop him...but how? She caught Peter's face in the light, filled with pain and anger. She had to do something. Adelaide closed her eyes until she felt the familiar energy at her fingertips. When she opened her eyes again, the man was invisible. Lightning flashed, illuminating the room.
Peter blinked, lowering the gun. The man had...disappeared. Peter looked around the room, pointing the gun in every direction. Still, the man was nowhere. He was gone.
"Hey!" Peter shouted, "Come out here!"
The man, who had been lying on the floor, stumbled up quietly. He had no idea what was going on, but he realized that, for some strange reason, the kid couldn't see him. Just to make sure, he waved his hand when the kid faced his direction. The kid looked away like he had seen nothing.
Furrowing his eyebrows, the man stepped forward carefully. The kid couldn't see him and he had no idea why. Either way, it didn't matter. He wasn't going to hang around until the kid noticed him again. Quietly, he made his way to the door. Adelaide held her breath as he walked past her. She was invisible, but he could still hear her if she was loud. Once he was close enough, he broke into sprint and escaped.
Once he was gone, Adelaide realized she was crying still. With trembling fingers she reached up and wiped her tears away. Shivering, she peeked around the corner. Peter was slumped on the floor with his back to her and the gun was still in his hands but he wasn't holding it anymore, it was just...sitting there like a reminder.
Adelaide made herself visible again and stepped around the corner.
"Pete?" she whispered. Slowly, he turned around. He looked broken, regretful. He had given up. He turned away. Adelaide's heart broke at the sight of him like this. She fell down next to him and gently took the gun from his hands, tossing it to the side. Peter stared at the ground, feeling hollow inside. Adelaide just sat next to him, staring at the ground too and trying to emotionally catch up on everything that had happened.
"I messed up," he croaked. Adelaide turned her head to look at him.
"He's gone, Ada. Uncle Ben, he's…gone," his voice cracked and he dropped his head, "It's all my fault."
"It's not your fault," she whispered, shaking her head. He didn't raise his head.
"Yes it is," he said, "I...I can't…"
He began crying until his entire body was shaking with sobs. Adelaide wrapped her arms around him, burying her head into his shoulder. He hugged her back, clinging to her like a little child.
"It's gonna be okay, Pete," she whispered and Peter wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe her so bad, but he knew better. He had messed up and Uncle Ben had paid the consequences.
They both held each other close, shivering in the darkness until their hearts were raw from the pain.
A/N: So it happened...Uncle Ben died...
Fun fact: I actually started crying writing the scene where he died because I was watching a clip of it on youtube to get the dialogue right and it was just so damn sad I had to tear up. RIP Uncle Ben. :,(
I've got two questions for you guys today! Side note, I'm really loving these and I love hearing your answers, it's always so interesting.
Question 1: What's your New Year's resolution?
Question 2: Do you think Adelaide should have made that man invisible and let him escape?
I'm really curious about what you guys think about the second one because I think it could go a lot of ways...Anyway, Happy New Years and I hope that 2019 really is the year for you!