Pavitr and Aunt Maya had stayed with each other to watch the sunrise. She had followed him after he ran off and discovered him in a strange red and blue costume staring at the rising Sun. The two of them had fallen asleep holding each other and were awakened by brightness of mid-morning. Pavitr slowly opened his eyes and yawned. Looking next to him, he saw his aunt next to him, still asleep. He nudged her shoulder, stirring her out of her slumber, and said, "Aunt Maya? Are you okay?"

She let out a sigh of sadness and replied, "I'm not sure, sweetheart. Are you alright?" Pavitr wasn't sure how to answer that. His home just been attacked by a group of Fire Nation hating radicals and he had let his uncle's killer leave Spider Island. Pavitr started to cry again as he said, "I let him down, Aunt Maya! I should have been here! I could have saved him!" It pained Aunt Maya to see her nephew blaming himself for what happened to Uncle Bhim. "There was nothing you or I could have done, Pavitr.", Aunt Maya said comfortingly, "Your uncle did what he thought was right for all of us."

This didn't seem to affect Pavitr much as he continued, "But I could have protected everyone! I have the power!" Aunt Maya held her nephew's face in her hands and said, "You did protect us, Pavitr. You chased off those thugs and stopped them from causing more damage to our village. You're a hero, sweetheart." Pavitr pulled out of her grasp and replied, "I don't feel very heroic. Heroes don't sneak out at night to make money." Aunt Maya adopted a look of confusion and asked,

"What do you mean, Pavitr?" The spider-powered youth let out a sigh and asked, "Remember that advertisement we got in the mail for Shuzumu's Flaming Circus?" Aunt Maya nodded and Pavitr continued, "It said that they were looking for new acrobats and would pay fifty gold pieces per show. The next performance was in Dit-Koh Village and I went there to audition. I wanted to make the money so that I could pay back you and Uncle Bhim for all the years you spent taking care of me."

Aunt Maya certainly didn't expect her nephew to admit all this. "Is that what you think, Pavitr?", she asked, "That your uncle and I took care of you because we expected something in return?" Pavitr's downcast look was answer enough, so she continued, "Well let me tell you something, Mr. Prabhakar. Your Uncle Bhim and I took you in when your parents died because we love you. As far as I'm concerned, you're our boy and nothing's going to change that." That was all it took for Pavitr to run back into Aunt Maya's arms. As the two embraced again, Pavitr asked, "What do I now, Aunt Maya?" Her answer was one simple word.

"Leave.", she said. Pavitr looked at her with surprise and she elaborated, "Go out into the world. Use your gifts to help those that need it. Be the hero I know you can be." Pavitr gave her a look of hesitation and was about to protest. However, Aunt Maya interrupted with, "Before you say anything, just listen. There's too few people out there like that, you know. Flying around and saving the day. And spirits knows, people these days need a hero. Courageous people willing to lay their lives down on the line for their fellow man. Setting examples for us all. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later, they'll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on. I believe there's a hero in all of us. That keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride. You're one of these people, Pavitr."

Aunt Maya's speech reminded Pavitr of what Arachne had told him in his dream. I have chosen you, Pavitr Prabhakar, to be my savior! To take my gifts out into the world and end this idiotic war that the Fire Nation has wrought upon the land!, she had said. But was it a dream?, Pavitr thought to himself, Or was I actually in the Spirit World? Pavitr asked, "Would you believe me if I told you that I got these powers from Arachne, Aunt Maya?" Maya nodded and replied, "That actually makes total sense. But how?" Pavitr removed his glove and showed her the bite mark on his hand.

"Oh…", Aunt Maya replied, "So she gave you her powers by biting you?" Pavitr nodded and answered, "Yeah, pretty much. And I think she brought me into the Spirit World to tell me why. She said that I had to take her gifts out into the world and end the Hundred-Year-War. At first I thought it was a dream, but now I'm not so sure." Aunt Maya got a worrisome feeling when Pavitr told her this and asked, "What did she mean by her savior?" Pavitr thought about that for a minute and replied, "She did tell me that she was trapped in something called the Web of Destiny. Maybe if I use my powers to stop the war, it'll set her free!"

"My advice to you would be to start small.", Aunt Maya said, "Focus on being a friendly-neighborhood Spider-Boy as a start." Pavitr felt a little emasculated by that, so he corrected his aunt by saying, "It's actually Spider-Man, Aunt Maya." They shared a good laugh over that and exchanged another hug. Unbeknownst them, they were being watched from some bushes by a small red and blue spider. This is an unexpected turn of events, Arachne thought to herself, Oh well. I guess I can wait a little bit longer.

Everyone on Spider Island was wondering what happened to the mysterious red and blue suited figure that swung to their rescue. Only Aunt Maya and Meera Jain knew the truth. And, quite honestly, Pavitr wanted to keep it that way. The last thing he wanted was the citizens to hound him with a bunch of questions. He had quietly packed away his circus outfit, several weeks worth of food and a canteen of water. He knew he had a long journey ahead of him and that there were things that needed to be done before he left.

Citizens of Spider Island were allowed to take extended leave only if the elders of the community deemed the reasons important. And so it was that Pavitr appeared before the council of elders, led by Kirbah the Wise, and requested to take leave of the island under the false pretense that he wished to join the Fire Nation army. To the suprise of everyone, the verdict Kirbah gave was to allow Pavitr to go. Pavitr had always known the elders to be opposed to the Fire Nation's war efforts, but somehow he got the feeling they knew what was really going on. Before he went on his way, Kirbah offered a prayer to Arachne to protect Pavitr on his journey and coated his forehead with red dye in the shape of an hourglass.

As Pavitr made his way to the ferry, a crowd of people followed him to see him off. It was then that Pavitr said goodbye to everyone that was important in his life. His aunt, Meera Jain, his teachers, his classmates, even Falak had come forward to give him a respectful handshake. Once he had bid his peers farewell, Pavitr stepped once again onto the ferry and made his journey towards the mainland. Little did he know that the path that his newfound powers had set him on would soon collide with that of a group of other young heroes.

Next Time: Spidey Meets the Gaang