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Chapter 3: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Ron walked with a bounce in his step as he entered Middleton High School.

He walked to his locker, smirking at all the double takes people were giving him. He spun the lock and used his newly found 'spider-sense' to open it.

"I like the new look, Ronnie boy," a voice spoke from behind him; he turned to see Felicia Hardy looking him up and down, "Friday night just got better in my book."

"Decided against the tryouts, huh, Felicia?" Kim spoke as she approached them in her cheerleading uniform, and Ron's spider-sense screamed danger. "You missed practice, too, Ron, but that's … that's … that's … RON!"

Ron smiled sheepishly when Kim grabbed his hands and examined his fingers, "Ok, Ron, where's the power ring?"

"KP, I'm just trying a new look," Ron said, making sure she saw there were no muscle enhancing rings anywhere on his person.

"But … but, you have … muscles!" Kim protested, ignoring Felicia's giggle.

"Well, duh, Kimmie, I'd hate to think he was all skin and bone!" Felicia commented, running her fingers along Ron's trim arms.

Kim glared at the silver-haired girl, who simply returned it with a toothy smile, "By the by, Kim, I've tried out for the girls' basketball team. I think I made it, so I'll settle for you cheering me on during the games with my big, bad Mad Dog," Felicia ended with a coo toward the blushing Ron.

Kim stepped between the two, "Look, you little, gray haired tramp, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but it isn't going to work!"

"KIM!" Ron tried to step up, but Kim just held up her hand.

"I'm not finished," She snapped back at Ron before turning to the smirking, unaffected Felicia. "I don't know what you want with Ron, but I won't let you get away with anything, you hear me?"

"I don't see your name on him," Felicia stated, "Though, I do see the name Mankey on the chained ring around YOUR neck, or are you trying to monopolize all the cute guys in school? Heh. You're calling me a tramp?" Kim's mouth opened and then closed with a growl as she trembled with rage, "BTW, Kim, I have what I want from Ron," Felicia said boastfully, "We're going out Friday and we're going to have a night neither of us will EVER forget."

"You LIAR!" Kim screamed as she threw a punch at the girl.

Felicia gracefully sidestepped the punch and tapped her shoulder hard, sending her into the locker, but was caught off guard by the swift kick to the jaw.

"Why, you little …" Felicia hissed before swiping at Kim's face with her nails, but Kim dodged the attack and grabbed Felicia's hair, jerking her to the ground by it.

The girls rolled on the ground, punching and kicking each other until Mr. Barkin's voice boomed through the hallway. "What the hell is going on?"

Ron, sensing the military man's approach, threw himself on top of the girls, ending the fight.

"Stoppable? Possible? Hardy? What in the name of the Green Berets is going on here?" he growled, glaring down the three teenagers.

"Ah, well, you know me, Mr. Barkin," Ron said, flashing his trademark goofy grin while giving both flushed girls a wink, "I fell over myself and tripped up the girls, and we kind of made a big mess here."

Barkin narrowed his eyes for a moment before shaking his head, "Stoppable, catch up with the preschoolers and learn how to walk … please? Now, get to class, all three of you. The bell rang while you were rolling around like a bunch of earthworms."

Barkin walked off, and Ron helped the girls up, "You both owe me big time," He stated, eyeing both of the embarrassed girls.

"Bye, Ron," Felicia said as she gathered up her backpack and purse and started down the hallway.

"Well, on to Latin, KP?" Ron said, hoping for the best, but his spider-sense told him it was futile.

"Yeah," Kim chuckled, "Can you get anymore deluded than that? She honestly believes you're going out with her!"

"I am," Ron said nervously, "Well… I will be come Friday anyway."

"WHAT?"

"She called me last night and asked if we could go out," Ron confessed, "I said yes, and we're going out Friday night."

"RON!" Kim exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock, "How could you … how could you go out with HER? She's obviously bad news! We just fought for heaven's sake!"

"Yes, you fought, KP," Ron said, shaking his head, "But Felicia didn't do anything out of the way 'til you threw the first punch."

"Ron, it's obvious she's after something!" Kim stated, her face growing red with anger, "Why else would she ask you out?"

Ron gasped slightly, but steadied himself, "So, I'm not worthy of dating a pretty girl?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Ron, I didn't mean it like that …"

"Then what did you mean, KP?" Ron asked, giving her the benefit of the doubt.

"Ron, just listen to reason; I have a very bad feeling about her," Kim said, giving him her mission face. "She's bad news; I can feel it. Trust me, Ron."

"Trust works both ways, Kim," Ron said, shaking her head, "I can tell you Josh is a grade A wolf in pretty boy clothing, but do you trust my word on that?"

"That's different. We've known Josh for years," Kim stated, "You're just paranoid. He's ok, and we both know it deep down, even if you don't admit it. But, this girl, something isn't right about her."

"We've known OF him for years, Kim," Ron argued, getting in her face as the conversation turned into an argument, "We know about as much about Josh as we do Felicia, and you trust Josh enough to go out with him when you could DIE because of it! Well, I trust Felicia, and you know what, KP, I may even LIKE Felicia, so you think you could back off?"

"I can't do that, Ron; I won't let you get hurt," Kim shook her head determinedly.

"You can't be the hero all the time, Kim," Ron snapped, "You've had some good calls, but you're wrong this time."

Kim's eyes flashed in outrage as Ron stood against her for probably the very first time, "Well then, if you don't trust me, maybe we should just throw in the towel on Team Possible. How can we be a team if you don't trust me completely?"

"Maybe you're on to something," Ron said quietly, breaking eye contact.

"Huh?"

"Hey, we're going to have to pull the plug and go separate ways after this year anyway," Ron shrugged his shoulders, turning his back on his best friend.

Kim felt the air turn ice cold around her as she processed Ron's words. This wasn't supposed to happen. "Ron, no … that's not true …"

"Yeah, it is, KP," Ron sighed, "You're probably going to end up valedictorian, and me, I'm going to be lucky to even graduate. You're going to any college you want, while I'm going to go to the city and try to find some work. How can we be a team with two totally different lives?"

"Ron … no …" Kim tried to say something, anything else to stop this course their conversation had taken, but Ron pressed on.

"Kim, I'm not saying I don't trust you, or that I'm going to stop being your friend, but …" Ron sighed and let his chin fall to his chest, "Things are changing; I'm changing … I don't know who or what I really am, or what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life… but, I know … I can't be the sidekick anymore."

"Ron … please don't …" Kim almost begged, struggling to keep the tears at bay.

"It'll be ok, KP," Ron said giving her one last sad smile from over his shoulder, "Just give me some time and trust me to make the right choices for myself. Ok? I'll … see you around, Kim."

Kim shook her head, trying to form words, but failing miserably as she watched her best friend walk away down the hall.

The day moved by slowly. Ron avoided Kim for the rest of the day. Once school was out, he went on one last rooftop run to practice and limber up before Spider-Man's fight later that night. He finally came home an hour and a half before time to pick up his costume and tell his parents he'd be late.

Ron walked down the stairs with his new costume on under his usual baggy clothes and his mask and gloves stuffed in his pockets.

"Ron, could you come here for a moment," May Stoppable called from the kitchen.

The blond headed boy walked into the small dinning area to find his mother and father at the table, "Dear, what's going on with you and Kimberly?"

"Huh, what do you mean?" Ron played dumb, forcing a smile.

"Kim's called here several times since school let out, son," Ben Stoppable said, giving a small smile to his son, "And every time, she sounded as if she was very upset. What's going on?"

"Oh, um… yeah," Ron said, scratching the back of his head, "Well, I sort of gave up being her sidekick."

"What?" Ben and May Stoppable glanced at each other in shock.

"I just … I can't do it anymore. We're going to have to stop soon anyway, so I thought so much the sooner the better …" Ron shrugged, avoiding eye contact.

"Are you sure that was a wise decision? While your mother and I do worry about you going on dangerous missions with her…" Ben said, giving Ron a slightly disappointed expression. "Son, you and Kim had a great deal of power as a team. Like they say, a well-oiled machine. But, not just that, son. You had the power to make differences in peoples' lives, either by physically saving them, or giving them an example, someone to look up to. Always remember that with great power comes great responsibility."

"Now, you want to tell me what to do!" Ron snapped, causing both his parents to turn their heads to look toward him in surprise. "First Kim, now, you two! I don't need anyone to tell me what I should or shouldn't do! I'm more than strong enough now to take care of myself and look out for number one!" Ron shot off before stomping toward the front door, ignoring his parents' calls.

(X)

The house was packed at Middleton Auditorium. People were on their feet, chanting the name of the undefeated Global Wrestling Federation Champion: Bone Saw McGraw, and holding up signs with his name and catch phrases.

Ron gulped under his mask as he saw the last contestant rolled out on a stretcher.

"My legs!" He cried, reaching for Ron, "I CAN'T FEEL MY LEEEEEEEEEGS!"

"You're up next, kid," the Promoter said, shoving Ron in his Spider-Man suit toward the archway.

"Is there no one man enough to face the Mighty, Undefeated Bone Saw McGraw?" the ring announcer called out over his mic, "If our next contender can withstand just three minutes in the cage with Bone Saw McGraw, he will be ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS richer! Now, here he is, heralding from right here in Middleton, Colorado: The terrifying, the deadly, the Amazing Spider-Man!"

The crowd booed as Spider-Man fearfully made his way toward the ring, his spider-sense going wild.

Spider-Man climbed into the ring, and the announcer started again, "This match will end if Spider-Man is still on his feet and conscious after three minutes. Will the attendants please lower the steel cage and lock the doors at this time?"

"What?" Spider-Man gasped, glancing up at the lowering steel cage, "I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR A CAGE MATCH!"

The cage lowered and latched, locking Spider-Man in alone with the 6'9" 300lb wrestler. "Oh boy …" Spider-Man whimpered as the bell rung, and the fighter swung at him. With his spider-sense, Spider-Man successfully dodged and countered almost all of the older fighter's attacks. The crowd was in a stunned silence as Spider-Man made the undefeated champ look like a chump.

Bone Saw tried a spear tackle, but Spider-Man leapt to the side of the cage and stuck to the wall by his fingertips and feet.

"What are you doing up there?" Bone Saw screamed at the teen.

"Staying away from you," Spider-Man stated, "That's a nice costume. Did you husband give it to you?" Spider-Man leapt back down at Bone Saw, hoping to catch him off guard. "Aw, crap …" the Wall-crawler groaned before he was slammed hard on his back.

Bone Saw, thinking the small boy was down for the count, turned to the crowd to pose. "Hey, tall, dark and stinky, we're not done yet."

Bone Saw turned to see Spider-Man back on his feet and his gloved fist flying toward his face. A sickening BAM echoed through the auditorium. The ref ran in and lifted Bone Saw's arm and let it drop once, twice, three times and then signaled to ring the bell, "The winner and new champion: SPIDER-MAN!" The ring announcer called as the ref held up the masked teen's wrist.

Ron couldn't help but smile under the mask as the crowd began chanting "SPIDER! MAN! SPIDER! MAN!"

Ron stood, still in his costume in the dirty office of the promoter who hired him, and stared at the single one hundred dollar bill in his hand. "Um, where's the rest of it?"

"Rest of what?" the Promoter asked, counting his earnings, which was probably close to half a grand.

"The ad on TV said a thousand dollars," Ron asked, narrowing his eyes behind the reflective coverings.

"Thousand dollars for three minutes. You were in there for thirty seconds," the promoter said, "You should have played around a little, woulda gotten more money. Come back again and I might help you."

"That's not fair!" Ron complained.

"I missed the part where that's my problem …" The promoter shrugged.

"Fine, whatever," Ron growled before stomping out of the office, almost running into another guy about to walk inside.

Ron took a glance, sensing something wrong with the guy, but was too angry with the promoter to really care and just continued on down the hall to the elevator.

As Ron waited for the elevator, his spider-sense went wild and he turned back to see the man running out of the promoter's office, a bag of money in one hand and a handgun in the other. Ron heard Kim's voice in his head saying 'stop him!'

"I'm through with stopping bad guys," Ron sighed as he stepped out of the man's path.

"You could've taken that guy apart!" The promoter screamed at him as the elevator door closed, "Now, he's gonna get away with my money!"

"I missed the part where that's my problem," Ron shrugged with a smirk. "Besides Kim Possible or the cops will get him before the end of the night probably."

Ron put his regular clothes back on over the top of his costume and was on his way home. Just before he got to the suburb where he and Kim lived, there was a large gathering of people and police.

"Hang on, sir," Ron heard a policeman say as he pushed his way through the crowd, "the ambulance is on its way."

Ron's eyes widened in terror when he saw who was laying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the chest. "DAD!" He cried as he shoved back two feet the two police officers who tried to stop him. Ron fell at his father's side, "Dad, dad, what happened?"

"R-Ron?" his dad croaked out, his eyes glazed over. "Thank goodness you're alright … I was … looking for you … you're … later than usual …"

"Dad, don't talk, you're going to be ok …" Ron whimpered, tears stinging his eyes.

"Son, I … I want you to know how proud I am of you …" Ben Stoppable whispered as his eyes grew heavy, "Just never forget … with great power comes great responsibility … promise me you'll remember that …"

"I … I promise …" Ron whimpered.

"I … love … you … Son …" Ben Stoppable breathed as his eyes closed for the last time.

"Dad? Dad! DAD!" Ron cried, laying his head on his father's chest.

Ron's eyes snapped open when he heard an officer's radio, "We have the suspect trapped in a warehouse in the downtown area. Suspect is armed and dangerous; all officers proceed with extreme caution."

Ron jumped from his father's side and ran into the alleyway behind them, pulling off his shirt and pants en route. He finally pulled on the gloves and mask before jumping up on the wall and scaling it to make his way to the downtown area.

"Like candy from a baby," the thug said, looking at the money in his bag, not noticing the man sliding down from a thread behind him.

"WHO'S THERE?" He snapped, turning around to find himself still alone. "I'm hearing things..."

"You killed my father …"

"Who said that?" He asked, drawing his gun and glancing around the empty warehouse.

"You killed my father…"

"What the?" the thug gasped when a white, sticky substance attached itself over his hand and gun. The criminal glanced up just in time to see the fist coming toward his face. It hit with such force that it sent him tumbling across the floor.

"You killed my father …" Spider-Man growled, walking toward the fearful thug.

Spider-Man grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall. But when the police helicopter shined a light through the nearby window, he felt his heart drop. He knew the man's face.

Spider-Man dropped the man and backpedaled several paces. "You … not you …" It was the same man who robbed the wrestling promoter, the same man Ron let get away.

'I could have stopped it … I could have saved Dad … oh, God, what have I done?' Spider-Man thought, not noticing the man pick up a lead pipe with his free hand.

The man swung at Spider-Man's head, but with his spider-sense, he caught the pipe and spun it so quickly that it snapped the man's wrist and arm in three places.

Spider-Man never even looked up as the thug and murderer stepped back, crying out in pain before falling out the broken window behind him.

Spider-Man glanced out the window at the man who murdered his dad lying on the ground dead. 'No,' Ron thought as he pulled off the mask, 'He didn't kill dad … I did …'

Ron finally dragged himself back home and was mildly surprised to see his mother wasn't alone. On the couch in the living room, his mother and Kim were seated crying.

Kim and May Stoppable saw Ron enter and Kim got to her feet. "Ron …" was all she said as the two locked eyes.

No words were needed as she walked to him and pulled him to her. Ron wrapped his arms around her waist tightly as he laid his head on her shoulder, and the two best friends, though not exactly on the best of terms, but best friends nonetheless, cried in each other's arms.

The next night, Ron lay alone in bed. He had finally stopped crying earlier that morning; now, he just sat there, letting his father's final words run through his mind. "With great power comes great responsibility."

"Ron, it's for you!" His mom walked into his room with the cordless phone.

Ron smiled sadly at his mother, who was still crying, and took the phone, "H-Hello?" Ron said, suddenly getting a flash from his spider-sense.

"Ron! It's Kim!" Wade said, panic-stricken on the other line, "She's outnumbered badly. Shego and Drakken have over twenty guards and … Ron, they're beating her; you have to help!"

Ron started to say he was on his way when the words went through his mind yet again. 'With great power comes great responsibility.'

"I'm sorry, Wade," Ron said sadly.

"Ron, you can't mean that!" Wade said, his voice showing his shock.

"I do; I can't help her, not anymore." Ron said and with that, he hung up on his old friend.

"I can't do a thing to help her," Ron said as he pulled the backpack with his costume out from under his bed, "but … I know who can."

To Be Continued …