Pavitr Prabhakar had been born to Rishabah and Marya Prabhakar fourteen years ago; they had loved and raised him until their untimely deaths in a shipwreck. It was then that Pavtir fell into the care of Rishabah's brother Bhim and his wife Maya, who were unprepared, but otherwise took in and loved Pavitr like he was their own son. However, unbeknownst to anyone, Pavtir always carried with him the belief that he had somehow made his parents go away and did what he could to please his aunt and uncle, from good grades at school to being home on time.
What Pavtir didn't realize was that he didn't need to jump through all these hoops to please them; his aunt and uncle loved him no matter what. After the fiasco at the performance of The Myth of Arachne, Pavitr trudged home and, as he got closer to the Prabhakar family homestead, his self-pity died down and was replaced by a feeling of comfort and joy. He could smell his aunt making her island famous lychee nut and coconut shaved cookies, which were his favorite. He entered the hovel to find a smiling Uncle Bhim and Aunt Maya; but their smiles instantly disappeared when they saw their nephew covered in cabbage waste.
"Pavtir, honey! What happened to you? Are you alright?", Aunt Maya asked, immediately rushing to Pavitr's side and checking him up and down. "Did Falak Thaman give you a hard time again today?", asked Uncle Bhim, to which Pavitr replied, "Yeah, he's just jealous of my highly evolved brain pitted against his puny one." Uncle Bhim looked at him with a serious look, causing Pavitr to sigh and admit, "I screwed up the performance today, Uncle Bhim. Again! In front of everybody!" The old man nodded in understanding and said, "Oh, son. You shouldn't be torn up about that. Probably just a glitch in that mechanism thing you cooked up.", then he walked over to the dining room table, sat down, and continued, "Now, how's about you have a seat. Your aunt made us your favorites: lychee nut and coconut shaved cookies."
Pavitr smiled and sat down next to his uncle, as Aunt Maya went into the kitchen to bring them cups of moo-sow milk. Suddenly, a melodic voice could be heard from outside asking, "Are those Maya Prabhakar's island famous lychee nut and coconut shaved cookies I smell?", as the figure stepped into the house and revealed herself to be Pavitr Prabhakar's best friend, Meera Jain. She had been chosen to perform the role Arachne for this year's pageant; Meera Jain had been the one most concerned for Pavtir after the little mishap with the stage mechanics. Her best friend mattered more to her than playing Arachne; Pavitr (or Pav, as she called him) and Meera Jain (or MJ, as he called her), had been friends since they were children. They did everything together, and then, one day when they both turned thirteen, they decided to "get serious". One kiss later, things were back to normal and they never spoke of it again (except when Aunt Maya wanted to bug them).
"Hey, MJ.", greeted Pavitr sheepishly, "Sorry about wrecking the play today." Meera Jain just giggled, reached over, and ruffled her friend's hair while saying, "Oh, Pav. Don't worry about that. I was more afraid you would get hurt by that contraption you made." Pavitr's cheeks reddened with embarrassment and he said, "At least you weren't hurt, MJ. Maybe it was the hydraulic unit I installed in the back of the spider legs; they must have jammed up when I flipped the switch." Aunt Maya put both of her hands on each of their shoulders and said, "I'm just glad the both of you weren't hurt." Pavitr placed his hand comfortingly on his aunt's and said, "Just my pride, Aunt Maya. Just my pride. I have to use the washroom.", then he stood up to go there. "Hurry back, son.", called Uncle Bhim as he and his wife continued to talk with Meera Jain; Pavitr took one last look at the three of them and thought to himself, "Ok, maybe my life's not all bad."
Unbeknownst to Pavitr, he was being watched from the Spirit World by a particular spirit from her prison: the Web of Destiny. Trapped there by her own blasphemy, she had been desperately looking for a way to make amends with the spirits; she had seen how the Hundred Year War that was slowly consuming the world and the Avatar was nowhere to be seen. She had offered to find someone to bestow her power to that would turn the tide in favor of reason and goodness; the higher spirits begrudgingly agreed, but only if her champion would succeed in their mission. They would have to use their power selflessly, never for personal gain, or Arachne would have to spend another hundred years in darkness and the Avatar would return.
Arachne believed she had found her champion in Pavitr, as she gazed at his visage and said to herself, "At last, I've found you. My Spider-Man."
Next Time: With Great Power