Okay I know its been a while but I've been on vacation, somewhere with NO reception and NO internet. It was HELL! I come back, it turns out, a relative of mine was using my laptop, with the ONLY copies of my stories...the same laptop that crashed...and I cried, I did, I really did. It took me a while to get up the nerve to start them over...

I was centimeters away from just trashing the stories because honestly, there was and still is no way I'll remember everything that I typed. The ONLY saving grace was when I found a rough draft to this chapter saved on my USB. So, it will take me longer to do the other stories because of the trauma I've been forced to endure. But, yes, there will be more.

But two warnings to all writers out there: DONT SHARE YOUR PC EVEN UNDER THREAT OF PUNISHMENT...and...MAKE COPIES OF YOUR WORK. (Shiver) All gone...all...gone...(shiver) *Sob*

Disclaimer: ...I own Nothing...

Warning: Slash in future chapters. Dont like, dont read, if you read it anyway, dont flame me because I'm not in the mood to deal with ppl's bullshit. I'm just gonna make a voodoo doll with your name on it and run it through with a cheese gratter.

Chapter 3: You Have a Choice

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." –Eleanor Roosevelt

He knew he should be fighting this. Fighting what the Ship Master was making him do, but he couldn't. Spiderman dodged another thrown fire ball aimed for his head. He knew that the crowd was roaring at the promise of violence and the other fighters didn't hesitate to deliver. Some kind of reptile in silver armor threw a spike at him, Spiderman easily flipped out of the way. Then he made the mistake of glancing around, an arm lay at his feet-torn at the shoulder, a leg, a foot, a lion fighter's torso and a mixture of blue, purple, and red blood clouded his vision for the briefest moments before being pushed to the back of his mind, back to Peter.

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

Spiderman had had enough, he went straight for the reptile fighter, and when he tackled him, he hit his opponent with just enough force to knock him to the other side of the arena, unconscious. Danger!- Spiderman moved to the side just as another fire ball flew passed him. He turned to face the only other fighter in the arena. He didn't know the name of said alien, just that he reminded him a lot like Johnny, except instead of flames covering its body, it only covered its head, and its body looked more like dried lava. How do you take down a fire breed alien? Answer: the same way you take down a flamed on Johnny Storm.

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

Everything after that one thought turned into a blur, and the next thing he knew, the fighter was down on the ground, out cold. A moment of silence filled the arena before the crowd began to chant, 'Kill him! Kill him!'louder and louder and louder until the phrase was stuck pounding against his head. Spiderman moved until he was hovering above his opponent, a stinging sensation dragged his attention to his hand where he gripped something sharp, so much so that it cut into his palm. It took a moment longer for him to realize that he was holding the broken tip of the spike from earlier. Why was it so hot? The fighter was down. He found it hard to breathe. Each breath was harsher than the last.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Spiderman raised his hand, preparing to fulfill the crowd's demand, to save himself from death, from torture, when every nerve in his body froze. He tried to move, to plunge the shard into his opponent's back, but he couldn't. There was this strange buzzing, coming from around him-from inside of him!- and it was converging, an image, a sound-creating a dream…a memory…

He was sitting in his uncle's car, in the passenger seat. The world outside the car windows was full of bright white light, no streets, no people, and no city, just light. Peter wondered if this was Death.

"Peter…" a voice next to him spoke. Peter found himself looking into the face of his Uncle Ben and couldn't stop his eyes from watering

"Uncle Ben," he choked out, "I missed you."

"I missed to you too…but, I'm worried. All the things that you've been thinking about, Peter... make me sad."

"You don't understand…I can't fight anymore. I'm broken…" Peter sobbed, "This is it. This is the end."

"Nothing ever ends, Peter. Not really, not unless you want it to, not unless you give up. After everything you've been through, will you let it end this way?"

"I-I-…" he stops; he doesn't know how to answer.

"Peter, all the times we've talked of honesty, fairness, justice, out of those times I counted on you to have the courage to take those dreams out into the world. To do what generations of people have done before us, to make a difference, to make change, and to make the world a better place, I still believe you can do that."

"I can't live your dreams anymore. I'm not strong enough. I'm not even on Earth anymore. I don't' know where I am…"

"That doesn't matter Pete'," Uncle Ben said with a smile

"W-what?", Peter turns to look his uncle in confusion

"You've been given a gift, Peter. With great power, comes great responsibility. It doesn't matter if you're on Earth or on Mars. What matters is that you do what's right wherever life takes you."

"What's right?" Peter echoes, "I don't know if I can do that anymore. I'm not…not who I used to be. So much is lost, miss placed…

"…You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. You're hurting, yes, but you still have a choice. You've always had a choice…"

Ben Parker stops and smiles at his nephew. Then he holds out his hand, palm face up, and offers it to Peter, to Spiderman.

"Take my hand, son."

Peter forces himself to swallow a sob. He remembers the first time his uncle said that to him and how he had refused. How he had given up on being Spiderman. He remembered the agony of being helpless. He had refused to help those in pain, the people who needed him, who whispered his name like a prayer. Peter had pushed Spiderman away and it wasn't until weeks later that he realized that he couldn't just walk away; he couldn't just sit on the sidelines and wait for someone else to pick up where he left off. The people were hurting; so; much, and they couldn't wait, he couldn't wait for someone who might never show, who might never save them.

He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Peter took a deep breath, raised his hand, and reached for his uncle's hand. The warmth of his uncle's hand sent a jolt of shock through his body, and he opened his eyes, unaware that he had closed them. Peter hadn't realized how cold he was, until this very moment. It was like someone had turned on a furnace inside of him, turned the temp up so high and so fast until he was full of so much heat: unending love, blistering hope and burning life to the point that he drowned in it. He turned his tear filled eyes to meet his uncle's and saw the older man smiling at him, his own eyes filled with tears. Then his vision erupted into light…

Spiderman inhaled deeply, and opened his eyes. The roar of the crowd and the coppery smell of blood came back to him. He was in the arena, his posture unchanging, time continuing from where it had stopped. He raised his head to the north most sector of the arena, where two holographic screens stood, one showed an aged lion like alien dressed as a Roman Emperor with a gold and grey mane, watching him intently. The one underneath, was wider and showed the "Council", as he dipped them, showed a collection of aliens including the Ship Master that kidnapped him, and all were watching him with the same intensity as their Emperor.

Under the bludgeoning of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Spiderman took another deep breath, savoring the warmth that soothed his soul. He brought his gaze back to the Emperor, who turned his head to the younger male lion next to him, one with a black mane, who slowly raised his paw, and immediately pointed his thumb down-Death. But the warmth inside of Spiderman grew, to the point of blazing. He didn't hesitate-Thump!- and dropped his weapon.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms the horror of the Shade,

In an instant the arena became dead quiet. Not a whisper out of place could be heard. But Spiderman's posture never wavered, never faltered. He could see the Ship Master's face, and he was furious, so much so that Spiderman knew he was going to be in a lot of pain when he was taken back to his cell, but he didn't care. He would endure it, he would survive, and he would not break. He couldn't, not after this, not with this raging inferno tearing throughout his entire being, evolving him. These beings will learn, will understand, with great power, comes great responsibility. He won't stop even if it kills him, because there was a great possibility that he was never going to make it back to Earth, ever.

And yet, the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

Then the moment was shattered by a low, audible clap. A single spectator soon commanded the attention of millions, as he brought his aged paws together-the Emperor applauded him! Like a ripple in a pond, one became many, turned into a full blown riot. But the Ship Master's face didn't change, and the other Councilmen glanced in his direction, and Spiderman knew, deep down that things were going to change. For better, or for worse, he did not know.

It matters not how straight the gate,

How charged with punishment the scroll,

A barely audible groan reached his ears, and the web slinger turned to face his opponent, who was now waking up. When he turned onto his back, he could see the confusion written all over his face, when he looked from the broken spike next to him, to Spiderman and back. Spiderman did the only thing that came to mind. He held out his hand, like Uncle Ben did to him, which the alien accepted and Spiderman gently pulled his opponent to his feet. The clank of armor brought his attention to his other opponent, who was also getting to his feet, and Spiderman felt their gaze. Not just Spiderman though, Peter, too, felt everyone's eyes on them, hundreds of millions of souls, watching, cheering, screaming and the hero felt the fire grow inside of them. The fire that was a blessing and a curse…

The universe shifted its course…

Time moved unhindered…

Destiny wrote and rewrote itself…

Fate cried in rage…

I am the Master of my fate:

I am the Captain of my soul.

…and Chaos laughed…Finally, one of its Children had been found…

Yes, I used the conversation btwn Peter and Uncle Ben and yes, I did watch Gladiator to get a feel for this chapter. And for those that correctly guess the name of the show where the "Lava" alien came from, you get a cookie!

Read and Review!