Spider-Man: Close To Home
Chapter 1: Paying Respects
5 Years Later…
"Hard to believe it's been another year." Aunt May said to Peter, resting a hand on his back. Peter nodded, not saying much as he stared at the name etched in marble stone: 'Benjamin Parker'.
After the Battle of New York in 2012, once the dust had settled, the Chitari aliens were dealt with by the Avengers, and the city had rebuilt, they created a monument park to those who lost their lives in the attack. The two of them came once a year to pay their respects to Peter's late uncle.
"Seems like the time's going by faster and faster each year." Peter finally said in response. May nodded in agreement, managing somewhat of a sad but optimistic smile.
"It does. But you know what he would say, honey. He'd say something like, 'Learn what you can from me then go out and do something worth remembering.'" May said, doing her best to put a positive spin on things. Peter smiled a bit and nodded.
"I'll catch up in a minute. Can I just have a second?"
"Sure, hun." May nodded, hugging her nephew and kissing him on the side of his head before leaving him alone.
Peter sighed, staring at the name. The more he looked at it, the less he could see the image of man whom the name belonged to: Uncle Ben; the man who taught him how to ride a bike and helped him with his homework and who would insist on fixing plumbing and electrical issues himself to save money.
More often than not, Uncle Ben had something to say that held some sort of wisdom or advice. He often used them on Peter when he was having trouble with other kids in school or when he was frustrated with something.
Now that he was going into his first year of high school at Midtown, he really felt that he could use that advice right about now.
"Hi there."
His thoughts were interrupted as another young man, older than him, came over and stood by him. Peter nodded, his brain still a little jumbled from the surprise of this stranger coming to greet him.
"Uh, yeah, h-hey." Peter said in a slight stutter.
"What's your name?" The guy asked him.
"Peter."
"Nice to meet you, Peter. I, uh, noticed you here staring at this one particular name. Family member?" He guessed. Peter nodded in response.
"Uh, yeah. He was my uncle. Kinda my father, really, in a way." Peter answered. The young man nodded with a solemn sigh. He pointed to the name next to Ben's. It read: 'Maria Sanchez'.
"My sister. She was about as old as I am now when it all went down."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Peter said in understanding.
"I appreciate it. It was tough, you know? I mean, yeah, you know… For a long time, I was just looking for…blame. I especially blamed the Avengers, you know? I mean, why couldn't they save her? Did you ever think like that?" The guy asked. Peter shook his head.
"No. They were just trying to help. You just… You can't save everyone sometimes. But if they hadn't done what they could, they'd need a lot more space for this park." Peter said. The guy chuckled a bit somberly, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, I feel the same way now. It took time, but really it only falls on the things responsible. You can't hate those who were just trying to help. It doesn't really help to have that weighing down on you either."
"Yeah… You know, Uncle Ben probably would've defended them too. I remember he once said something like, 'A superhero story without superheroes would just be a villain hurting a lot of innocent people. No one wants to read about that.'"
"Sounds like your uncle was a good guy."
"Yeah, he was. Really good." Peter said, looking up at the name again.
"Something that's really helped me all these years is, uh… I just try to do the right thing, be the best person I can be, and then I like to think that if my sister were still around, she'd be proud of her baby brother." The guy recounted with a small chuckle. Peter nodded a bit.
"That's good advice. I'm sure my uncle would have a few things to say to me if he were here now." Peter said, starting to walk away from the monument.
"Yeah. Well, just try to take his advice. Make it your own."
"Sure. Thanks, man." Peter said, turning and waving to him. The guy waved back with a nod.
"Nice meeting you, Peter. Take care." He said before turning and going his own way.
"Who was that?" May asked curiously once Peter had made his way back to her. Peter simply shrugged, glancing back but not seeing the guy.
"I don't know. Just some guy."
"Oh okay. Does he go to your school?"
"No. I mean, I don't know. I don't think so." Peter shook his head.
"Okay. Well, we need to go get the last of your school supplies. You ready?"
"Are you excited to be almost at the start of a new school year? End of the summer is just around the corner." May commented with a smile as the two sat at their dining table in their small apartment. Peter chuckled a bit and shook his head before taking a bite of his food.
"Summer's too short. They need to make it longer." He responded. May smiled a bit.
"Well, maybe you can invite your friend Ned over. That'll be fun, huh?" She asked, finding more positives to point out. Peter nodded again.
"Yeah, that's true. That'll be cool." Peter recalled.
"We'll put something together." She said with a chuckle.
"Sounds good." Peter nodded, going quiet again as his eyes drifted down to his food. May looked him over with concern before speaking again.
"You know, Peter, I was thinking today. Maybe with the new year rolling around, you could have a fresh start… I think you should try branching out a little bit." May brought up her suggestion. Peter glanced up at her.
"What do you mean?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Well, I mean, maybe make some more friends or…you could join a club!" She suggested as the idea dawned on her just then. Peter scrunched his nose at the thought of it.
"A club? I don't know about a club, May, I mean, that's kind of a nerd thing." Peter said, knowing that this meant nothing to the either of them.
"So? It's better than doing a loner thing. Maybe you and Ned could join something together, so you don't feel completely awkward. Umm… Oh! What about that dumpster diving thing you do? You could use that!"
"I don't think they offer a 'Dumpster Diving Club'." Peter said.
"Well, yeah, but you could use that in another club. Like, Robotics club? Computer club?" May threw out suggestions.
"Eh, Robotics is too much money to front for competitions. And they probably don't have any computer club like that." Peter said.
"Well, what about video game club? You like video games, right?"
"Yeah, but I don't really have any consoles like what the other kids bring in." Peter pointed out.
"Gotcha... Just try and find something, Peter. You don't want to go through all of high school feeling left out, like you don't belong? I guarantee you; if you reach out for something, sooner or later you're gonna find something."
"Sure. I'll, uh, talk it over with Ned and we can go through the club list." Peter agreed with a nod. May smiled a bit and nodded too.
"Big things are coming, honey. You'll see."