Re: Avenger

by Just-Another-Marvel-DC-Geek

CONTINUATION IN CROSSOVER SECTION The arrival of a certain young hero shows the world of the Od Laguna just how small it truly is. Basically, Subaru is MCU Spidey and the Re:Zero cast meet Marvel Multiverse madness. Sounds fun, right? (First fic. Shamelessly posting in both regular and crossover sections for reach.)

20. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Subaru Natsuki / Spider-Man Origins

"…" Subaru tossed in his sleep. "Hmngh…" He mumbled without much care in the world.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaake..." The voice of an older man, an adult, called from the distance.

"…Huhn?" Subaru opened his eyes.

"UP!" The man yelled. Immediately after, Subaru was thrown into the air, his body propelling from the bed as the man picked him up.

"WOOOOOOOOAAAAAAH!" Subaru yelled incoherently as he was shook awake violently. "Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha-What?! Put me down!" The kid had begun thrashing around.

"Hahahahahahaha!" The man laughed. "You sure are tense, birthday boy! Yelling to your loving father when he's just gracefully waking you up!"

"Graceful my rosy butt! Stop shaking me!" Subaru complained again as his father, Kenichi, set him down.

"Seriously, you two boys…" A woman complained from the door. "Our last day in Japan and you have to be so noisy in the morning…"

"Well, well! If it isn't my beautiful wife!"

"M-mom!" Subaru shouted. "Dad shook me awake! Again!"

"Well, you DID sleep in, dear." Naoko laughed. "You are at fault this time for not setting your alarm."

"But dad said to pack my alarm clock last night! It's all tucked in my backpack, see?!" Subaru pointed his finger towards the man beside him while showing off an open bag at his feet. The father's face then turned into a fearful one as his wife stared at him coldly.

"Did he now?" Naoko smiled sadistically. "Well, that was quite mean of him then…"

"A-Ah…" Kenichi looked around the empty room for an excuse. "We-Well! Now that he is awake, we can all have breakfast together! Come on! It is as you said, my gorgeous wife! Our last day in Japan! Let's celebrate the birthday boy properly!" The man defended himself by grabbing Subaru by the shoulders and guiding him, backpack, pajamas and all, downstairs.

"Wa-Wait! Wait!" The little boy protested to no avail.

"*Sigh*" Naoko exhaled, yet a satisfied smile painted her pretty face nonetheless. "Don't get so excited, I made peas after all…"

"Peas?! For my birthday?! How could you?!" Subaru turned to his giggling mother in betrayal. "Mo~m!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding…" The woman waved his concern's away. "We ordered some stuff, actually. I cannot really cook when there isn't anything for me to cook with, after all!"

The family had sat down in a nearly empty kitchen. If one looked closely, the only things around the house were household items one couldn't easily move around, like the fridge, the oven and the beds. Apart from those, most everything had been packed and sent ahead to their new home in Queens, New York. A year prior to the move out, Kenichi received an offer to work overseas, at the American branch of the publishing company he worked in; his superiors had offered a profitable position as a contract manager, all with a home and all for his family to live in. It would have been a dream come true for the man to provide his family with the best of the best, but he still held some hesitation over the job.

"Here, Subaru." Just as the family had gathered to enjoy a breakfast full of all the healthiest nutrition a greasy donut shop could provide, Naoko produced a wrapped box from behind her. "Happy 9th birthday!"

"Waaaaah!" Subaru's face morphed into an eager smile as he opened the package his parents had gifted him. Within it was a plastic helmet, to be precise an Iron Man suit toy helm. "Awesome!"

"Hehe, glad you like it!" Kenichi chuckled as his son hastily put on the helmet over his tiny head and began running around the empty house, yelling onomatopoeias and flailing his arms.

"PUSHUM! PUSHUM! BANG! BANG! BANG!" The kid pronounced between giggles as his parents laughed behind him.

Kenichi had always been a popular man, so much so that he had become a local celebrity for the neighborhood in general. Therefore, even if the offer was tempting, the possibility of giving up such a comfortable image for a land he knew quite little about worried him. However, as he had been lucky enough to put the offer on hold for little over six months, the news of a certain North-American billionaire being revealed a superhero on live T.V. changed the whole world… including for him and his family.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit, that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you-?"A blonde reporter asked.

"I know that it's confusing?"The rich man in the television retorted."It is one thing to question the official story and another thing entirely to make wild accusations or insinuate that I'm uh- a superhero-!"

"I never said you were a superhero." The reporter denied.

"…Didn't…?"

"Hm."

"…Well, good. Because that would be outlandish and, uh, fantastic…"

"What's going on?"Kenichi asked his wife as he arrived home from work, laying his jacket on the kitchen's counter. "Who's the guy on the T.V.? Are they speaking in English?"He questioned again as he noticed how his son was glued to the screen.

"I don't know…"Naoko answered back."The translator said something about some… Reactor in America blowing up; about a man in a flying suit of armor…"

"Armor suit? Like, Super Sentai?" Her husband's face grew confused.

"Shh!" Subaru shushed the pair. "I think something amazing is about to happen!"The boyish wonder in his eyes at the news of the flying armor made his parents glue to the television as well, if only due to the shared curiosity.

"The truth is…" The man on T.V. paused and looked at the camera, the confident and cocky light in his eyes captivating Subaru's attention…

"I am Iron Man."

From then on, Subaru wouldn't shut up about the man. He'd draw a red and yellow armor on every paper, play around pretending to be flying and frying bad guys and chime in on conversations yammering about this 'Tony Stark' guy every so often, talking about the man's battle exploits against terrorists in the middle east and all that crap. In truth, it had been a while since the boy's father had seen him so happy. As of late, Subaru had stopped going out to play with his friends or talk about school. Sure, he was eight, so perhaps he'd get over it. But overhearing one of the neighbors talk about their children, he found out that Subaru had no friends in school, always pulling pranks for people to laugh but no one sticking around long enough to know anything about what his son liked or what he was like with others…

"He fell asleep with that 'Iron Man' plush again…" Naoko murmured as she watched her child hugging a figure tightly in his slumber. "*Sigh* I wonder if this really is a good idea… He's obsessed with the man as it is…"

"Trust me, Naoko." Kenichi patted his wife in the back with a confident smile. "Perhaps they don't get him here… But in America, he'll for sure meet kids that'll like what he likes; all of that 'Superhero' junk."

"When you say junk, you don't sound so sure about it…" The woman protested with a pout.

"Well, maybe not the best choice of words, but you get my point." The husband reasoned. "A new horizon, new people for him, LIKE him… That's what he needs to see. The world is changing… perhaps for the better, for kids like Subaru as well…"

Admiring the childish wonder of his boy, the happiness it brought him to know that there was a new spark of light in his eyes, Kenichi decided that moving to the United States, land of the 'Iron Man', was the best idea for his socially awkward son to meet people like him. People that admire heroes, that believe in wonder still… People that will be his friends. And so, by Subaru's ninth birthday, the family was set to move out to the so-called 'Land of the Free'.

"Atta boy!" Back to the present, Kenichi grunted as he took one of the heavy cases out of the trunk of a taxi. Although his birthday was spent inside a plane, Subaru was already quite the loud and bubbly child as he danced around in their new home.

"AWESOME! AWESOME! WOAH! MY ROOM IS SO BIG!" The child yelled as he unpacked.

"Subaru?" His mother called him downstairs. "Sweetie? Come down, will you?"

"Be right there!" The boy rushed towards his mother. As he descended, he saw her with a smile plastered on her face as she pointed outside. "What is it mom?"

"Look!" She indicated to a group of boys around his age play pretending outside, all of them wearing 'Iron Man' t-shirts and helms. "See? They are all playing! Just like you!"

"…" Subaru looked at them with caution, his smile not dropping but clearly a fake one just made to satisfy his mom's eagerness.

"…Honey…"

"Huh?" Naoko crouched to eye-level with the boy. "Wh-What is it mom?"

"Are you scared?" The woman smiled amidst a lamenting frown. "That you won't make friends here?"

"!" The kid's eyes widened.

"That even though they like the same things you like, they'll somehow won't like you back?"

"…I…" Subaru's tiny fists trembled. In truth, he did not know how to answer his mother. He wanted to be this 'ultra-confident man' like his father and the 'valiant heroic' figure like Tony Stark. At least, that's how his child brain interpreted the two men to be. But he was afraid… That in truth, he'd mess up in making friends like he did in Japan. And so… His little feet wouldn't cross the house's gate threshold. The fear on not fitting in, of not being enough for these new children, crippled him. "I'm sorry…"

"You know, Subaru?"

"Hmm?"

"I think a lot about you. Both your dad and me do." She smiled at him vibrantly.

"What?"

"It's true!" She began recounting with her hand her child's shenanigans. "We know your first crush was your primary teacher."

"Wha-WHAT?!" The boy blushed furiously.

"We had to give you a suppository when you were a baby, so we saw your butthole."

"MOM!" He complained in a weak voice while covering his face.

"We even know how you steal mayonnaise from our jars when we are not looking!"

"Ugh…" Subaru crouched, trying to make himself smaller.

"Point is; we know a lot of things about you… Including how you want so much to be like your daddy."

"H-Huh?" The boy looked back at her with surprise.

"That's true." His father answered from behind him with a smile as well.

"D-Dad?!"

"You little rascal… You want to be like me but you can't run to the boys that are clearly like you?" Kenichi teased.

"I'm just…" Subaru frowned. "I'm just… not even as cool like you…" He lamented on the verge of tears.

"You don't need to be!" He crouched beside his wife. "If it bothers you that much, then don't be! You just need to be half as cool as me and then we are good!"

"H-Huh?!" Subaru freaked out as the two hugged him. "What-?!"

"Subaru…" His parents retracted from the hug as the mother kept speaking. "It's fine for you to doubt yourself. To take a step back and reconsider… But there?" She pointed to the children. "They are like you… So you don't even need to be completely like your dad or me. It is enough that you are a little of the both of us. That you are yourself."

"!" Subaru's eyes bordered on the tears.

"Maybe it is too hard to understand for you right now…" His dad continued talking in a soft voice. "But Natsuki Subaru is the son of Natsuki Naoko and Natsuki Kenichi. You are not us, but half of each other. And I hope, as you grow and meet new people and find the things you like, you'll become even more than that. It is fine for you to fear, to retreat into your shell and take your time when you doubt… But always make sure to get back up! After all… If my son is as half as cool as me, he'd for sure make even 'Iron Man' gawk in awe!"

"..I-I…" Subaru muttered still, trying to cover the droplets falling from his eyes.

"Honey…" His mom spoke again, noticing his tears. "It's okay to cry. There is no shame in that! So long as you can smile in the end, then it's fine to pour your heart out. What's important isn't how you start; it's how it ends. I mean in saying that-"

"…" Subaru rubbed his eyes, drying the tears as he ran upstairs.

"…Crap." Kenichi lamented with disappointment on himself. "I think we drove the nail a little too far…"

"Don't worry…" Naoko reassured him. "I'm sure he just needs time. You said it yourself… As he meets new people-"

*DASH!*

"Wha-?!" The pair of parents looked in confusion and glee as their son ran past them, his Iron Man helmet on hand.

"I'm going!" Subaru shouted at them in childish bravado with a wide smile.

"…Hehe!" Kenichi and Naoko chuckled at each other. "MAKE SURE TO SPEAK ENGLISH!" His father yelled back at him with cheer. "Sheesh, that kid…"

As Subaru approached to the group, one of the bigger kids noticed him. "Hey!" The boy yelled as he took off his helmet. "Are you the new kid?! The one that just moved in?!"

"Uh- Uh- Y-Yeah!" Subaru nodded while taking off his helmet. "I-I'm Natsuki Subaru! Er- I mean! Subaru Natsuki! Li-Like first name is-is Subaru and l-last name is Natsuki…" The boy tried to explain amidst stutters.

"…" The kid stared in silence.

Ugh! I blew it!Subaru lamented, as he got ready to run away from the boy.

"Ahahaha!" The boy laughed. "You are weird! In the funny way!"

"Huh?" Subaru's eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm Ned! I mean, that's my nickname! The name's Edward Leeds!" The boy extended his hand towards Subaru. "Let's be friends!"

"!" Subaru smiled from ear to ear at the notion, shaking the other boy's hand and nodding in affirmation profusely. "Hmm!"

Over a month has passed since Subaru and his family arrived to New York, and the boy had done a great job at adapting. At least, from his parents perspective. He only had one friend in the kid that lived around the block, Ned Leeds, but that was enough. He wasn't the best in his grade, but he had become earnest in his studies for a child. He had acclimated quickly into the culture, replacing manga with comic books and anime with cartoons. He had even become a fan of American Cola, which was far sweeter than Japanese fizzy drinks. That isn't to say he didn't miss his old home from time to time, but he was certainly doing a good job of connecting to his new environment. Enough for his parents to want to reward him, as the pampering pair they were.

"…And so, the Stark Expo shall be held for the entire year, as declared by the man himself, Tony Stark, last night." The news broadcaster informed.

"Hmm… This Stark Expo… What is it about?" Kenichi wondered aloud as he sat down on the sofa.

"From what I know, it's mostly technology and the like… Robotics? Erm… That virtual reality thingy?"

"YEAH! YEAH!" Subaru yelled as 'Iron Man' appeared onscreen. "He showed off his armor! And then- And then they are going to show off spaceships and- and motors and reactors and-!"

"Woah, woah! Calm down there, little guy!" Kenichi protested to the screaming gremlin. "I get you are excited, but keep it on the down low!"

"Ahaha…" Subaru laughed awkwardly. "Sorry… But… it is just so cool! I wish we were there!"

"Hmm…" His father stared back at the screen. "They did say it'll go on all year long…" He thought aloud again.

"Are you thinking about something, dear?" Naoko inquired as she handed him an open beer, a wineglass on her other hand.

"Well… Little genius over here seems rather glued to the news about it…" The pair looked at Subaru, who was still staring at the television in awe at all the gadgets.

"Ben and May across the street talked about it before as well, earlier in the afternoon I mean… Though the man's wife didn't really seemed that thrilled about it."

"What say we all go together, hmm?" The man proposed.

"For real?!" Subaru stood up in surprise as he gazed at his father with a dumb grin painted on his face.

"Will you have time for it?" His wife wondered as she sat beside him.

"Of course! I can make a window… We'll make an evening out of it!" He raised his beer to his wife's glass. "They even have a Belgian Waffle stand! Next to the Burger King, I think… Don't tell me THAT doesn't sound interesting!"

"That does sound appealing…" The dumb remark made his wife remain pensive with a smirk for a pair of seconds. "Oh, whatever! Sure!"

"YAY!" Subaru bounced in excitement as his parents made a toast.

The next day, in school…

"You are going to the Stark Expo?! Awesome!" During lunch, Subaru had told Ned about the trip his family was planning.

"Yeah! It's going to be cool as hell!" Subaru posed in excitement. "Imagine! What if they have, like, all these awesome as hell things there?!"

"Like what?!" Leeds wondered in equal cheer.

"I don't know!" Subaru laughed. "All I know it's that it will be insane! Insane, I tell you!"

"Hey, hey!" Ned prompted with a chuckle.

"What is it?!"

"What if- What if Iron Man is there?! Li-Like in his battle suit and all?!"

"Oh, that'd be so AWESOME!" The pair of boys geeked out.

"If I were you? I'd totally ask him to take me for a ride. I mean, think about it! Wouldn't it be cool to sit on his back as he flies you around on one of his missions?! Blasting terrorists all like PASHUM! PASHUM! PA-KOW!"

"Oh! What if, like, he needs a sidekick?!" Subaru then proposed. "I could totally be his sidekick! Like- Like 'Iron Boy', boy wonder!"

"That'd be so AWESOME!" Ned freaked just like Subaru did earlier.

"Yeah! Imagine it! Tony Stark's partner in crime…" Subaru crossed his arms while trying to look all cool.

"He isn't a villain though?!" Ned jabbed at Subaru's statement with a laugh.

"Oh, it's a figure of speech!"

"You are such a spaz! Haha!"

And so, by the end of May, the Natsuki's visited the so called Expo as a family and Subaru was fascinated by all the advancements they saw within the complex. A car that could fly and submerge under water, retro-reflective paneling and a ball made of experimental nanobots, amongst many other impressive inventions. Truly, it was a glimpse into the future and Subaru could not be more excited for said future to arrive at his doorstep any moment. As it turns out, ever since discovering the 'Iron Man' Subaru had become something of a nerd, wanting to learn all he could about technology and gorging on research magazines. Of course, he could not understand even half of what he read, but that didn't stop him from staying late into the night 'researching' as he would call it. The new horizon that was the U.S. had ignited a knack for the sciences in the impressionable child.

"Ahahahaha!" Subaru leapt around some bushes with a new toy in his hand. After running around the place, his parents had bought him a 'repulsor bracelet'. It was just another toy, meant to imitate Iron Man's blasters. Subaru did not care though; to him it was as good as the real deal. "The arm of a hero! The power of the sun in the palm of my hand! Ahahahahaha!"

"Hah…" Naoko sighed in exhaustion. "Mo~! My feet hurt! I think we should rest a little…" She sat down on a bench.

"Too true!" Her husband sat beside her. "I knew it'd be packed… But these expositions really are more like amusement park attractions! I think this is the first time I've been standing around this long!"

"Honestly… I admire how Subaru can bounce around like that…" Naoko muttered as she drank some water from a bottle, musing on how her child could still jump in joy after hours of walking. "The kid is a ball of energy…"

"Well, maybe he'll be a future genius, with how many questions he asked!" Kenichi laughed. "Honestly, I felt bad for the presenters! Subaru asked so many questions, some of them could only answer with stutters and nervous giggles! Even I was shocked!"

"Half of his questions were kind of asinine though…" Naoko protested. "The kind you'd, well, expect a kid to ask…"

"He still shut them down!"

"Mom! Dad!" Subaru called for their attention, pointing at the sky excitedly. "Look!"

"Hm?"

"Huh?" The pair gazed upwards, in the direction of their child's finger, to see a streak of fire descending onto the main stadium in the distance.

"It's Iron Man! He's here!" Subaru jumped again, putting on his helmet. "Let's go! To the main stadium!"

"Now hold on there, young man." Kenichi quickly reproached. "Mommy, my beautiful wife, is tired as it is. We can go there after she rests a little."

"But dad, he'll be gone before-!"

"No buts!" Kenichi crossed his arms, making the shape of an 'X' with a stern face.

"Oh, dear…" Naoko giggled. "It'll be fine! You can go with Subaru; I'll stay right here and rest. It's not problem, really!"

"Oh, come on Naoko…" Kenichi complained but without any real annoyance in his voice. "I think we might have been a little TOO lenient with him as of late…"

"You are trying to be the 'stern dad' after being the 'cool dad'? Why, isn't that a bit wishy-washy?" Naoko teased with another chuckle as her husband shrunk in embarrassment. "I'm sure you-"

*RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT!*

"AHH!"

"UAH!"

"AYEH!"

"!" Subaru and his parents all looked up to the stadium in alarm as the sound of continuous gunfire and screams resounded from within it.

"Darling, come here!" With her protectiveness kicking in, Naoko quickly called for Subaru to come to her.

"U-Uh-huh…" Subaru mumbled, running towards his mom.

"We are leaving, no questions asked." Kenichi said with seriousness, receiving nods from his wife and child. Gone was his earlier cheer, replaced for the need to protect his family.

*ZOOM!*

*ZOOM!*

*ZOOM!*

*ZOOM!*

*ZOOM!*

*ZOOM!*

*ZOOM!*

*ZOOM!*

"What?!" The Natsuki's all gazed at the sky once more, the continuous sound of shooting and jet engines roaring and approaching them. "Just what is going on?!" Kenichi wondered in anger and confusion.

Ivan Vanko's Hammer drones were pursuing Iron Man. The chase was a close one, with the robots shooting recklessly as they attempted to take down their armored foe. Tony Stark maneuvered as best he could to reduce the casualties, distracting the robots and preventing their rampage from devolving into carnage against the innocent bystanders. His approach required that they stayed within the air, the gunfire concentrated on him as he dodged it. Unfortunately, Vanko had engaged and activated the land drones as well. As the people ran out of the stadium in droves, the land drones deployed military-grade ballistics onto the populace, destroying a vast amount of stands and presentations within the Expo. And worst of all… Subaru's family was directly in the collision path for one of said missiles.

*CLINK!*

*SHWOOOM!*

"SUBARU!" His parents yelled at the same time the moment they saw the bolt of fire approaching them, their kneejerk reaction pushing their son away from the danger.

*THUD!*

"Ah…" Subaru murmured in a low voice, not comprehending at the moment what was happening around him.

*BOOOOOOOOOM!*

"UAAAAAHHH!" Subaru was launched backwards by the explosion.

*BLAM*

"Unf!"

Subaru crashed against a bunch of shrubbery, softening his landing. Although the only thing that grazed him was the windblast of the explosion, he grunted in pain as he groggily got up, his ears buzzing a bit.

"Ugh… What the… AH!"

The moment he got up, he remembered what just happened, prompting him to search for his parents.

"M-MOM! DAD!"

As he searched around the destroyed surroundings, he finally got a clear view of where his parents were amidst the dust and smoke floating around.

"M-mom…?"

He approached with caution, not knowing how to react exactly. Before him, lying under a pile of rubble, face down… were his deceased parents. The explosion had hit them directly in the back, the debris crushing and killing them almost instantly.

"A-Ah…" Subaru couldn't comprehend the sight in front of him.

It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

"Ah…"

It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real.

"H-Help…" Subaru ran away from the grim sight.

Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help.

"SOMEBODY HELP! MY PARENTS! MOM AND DAD! THEY ARE INJURED! SOMEBODY HELP!" He ran into the fleeing crowd, pleading for someone to help him, to save his 'injured' parents. In truth, he knew they were dead; there was no feasible way a normal human could survive such injuries. But Subaru couldn't, no, he REFUSED to admit such fatalistic truth. "S-SOMEBODY!"

"AAAAAHHH!"

"NO!"

"R-RUN AWAY!"

"UAAAAH!"

"Agh!" The running crowd ignored him, pushing him along before he was left all alone once more.

"Ah…"

With no one around, the boy was pushed to the verge of tears as the world around him threatened to turn dark. He noticed… that throughout this entire nightmare, he had been wearing the Iron Man mask, the helmet covering his expression of horror.

"Somebody…"

*CA-CLANK!*

"H-Huh…?" Subaru looked In front of him, the sound of moving metal alerting him… to the arrival of a Hammer drone. "Ah…"

The drone stood still, looking at Subaru, as if analyzing him. The drone had been programed to target 'Iron Man' and, at that moment, the closest figure to 'Iron Man' was the masked child in front of it. Not distinguishing between the real deal and a toy, the robot pointed its gun at Subaru.

"…" Subaru stood in silence. In front of him, as the adrenaline kicked in and stopped the world around him, he found two options. The first one was to give up; to just let it happen, to accept that his parents were gone… and that he was fated to soon meet with them. The second one, however… was to raise his hand and use the power of a hero to slay the monster that had dared take his family away from him.

"…TSK!" Subaru raised his arm in retaliation almost at the same time as the machine pointed at him. Deciding on fighting and struggling as opposed to being a sitting duck, he faced the merciless odds with hope instead. The hope that, somehow, someway, the monster before him would pay for what it had done. That he would avenge his parents. As the drone prepared to strike though…

*SHWOOOM!*

*BOOM!*

The robot was blown to smithereens, the explosion startling Subaru as he almost fell to the ground.

WHAT?! He thought in confusion, not understanding what just happened. Did I- Did I do that?!

He looked around, looking for an answer when, from behind, the figure of his savior and hero greeted him. The sheer splendor of his metal casing almost striking Subaru with the image of a god descending from the Olympus. He felt as though he was witnessing a being above humanity, a divine being...

"Nice job, kid!" With but a few words, his savior and the man that had avenged his parents, Iron Man Tony Stark, flew away into the night to continue the fight.

"…A…"

For the briefest of moments, amidst the chaos, amidst the pain, amidst the sorrow, amidst the sadness, amidst the impotence, amidst the rage, amidst the anger, amidst the darkness… Subaru's eyes shined with hope.

"…A…"

He muttered lowly as he removed the mask, entranced by the distant star in the night sky Stark had become.

"A hero…"

The next month was a blur. One day, he was sleeping on his comfy bed, surrounded by toys. Now, he was in a hospital bed, with doctors tending to his concussions. The death toll of the incident was low… But it was still there nonetheless, and it was especially aggravating for Subaru, being that he was an orphan now. The fact that Vanko was dead and Hammer was arrested didn't even bring joy for the boy, only bitterness that he wasn't there to see them fall himself.

The funeral was open casket, although only the upper part of their bodies was shown. In their eternal slumber, they looked peaceful, and yet Subaru wailed and wailed as his parents lowered into the ground. The only person there to comfort him was his friend Ned, who cried as well and hugged him tightly in return. He spent the next few weeks in an orphanage, the paperwork being done so that he could be shipped back to Japan within the month. Ned visited a couple of times, but Subaru felt too numb to really do or play anything, which made him hate himself as he knew it made Ned uncomfortable to even be there for him when he was being so pathetic. As he accepted the fact that, eventually, he'd return to a land where he did not fit in; to a country in which he was surely destined to be a loser, a nobody… A couple came into his life.

"Subaru… right?" A middle-aged man with greyed hair tied in a short ponytail and glasses adorning his face approached the lonely boy.

"Huh…?" In a dejected and apathetic tone, Subaru turned to look at him. "Hey… You are… Were… Our front door neighbor… Um…?"

"Ben." The man crouched to greet Subaru on eye-level. "Ben Parker." He extended his hand for Subaru to shake with a smile on his face.

"…Subaru Natsuki." The boy shook his hand.

"I'm told…" Ben paused for a moment, weighing his words. "I'm told they are trying to send you back to Japan… Am I right?"

"Yeah…" Subaru looked downwards, clutching the helmet in his left hand.

"And… Do you wish to return?" The man asked again.

"…I don't know…" Subaru hesitated. It'd be a lie if he said he wanted to stay, but it was also a lie to say he wanted to return. He would be in pain either way, so he could not tell what he wanted. "I… I just wanted…" He closed his eyes with impotence. "I didn't want for any of this to happen…"

"…Subaru."

*PAT*

"Huh?" Subaru wiped the brimming tears almost immediately as Ben rested his hand on his shoulder.

"I understand that… you are In pain right now." Ben explained. "That it is all unfair, that no one could understand what you are feeling… But, perhaps you shouldn't be alone when dealing with such heavy emotions."

"What?" Subaru's eyes widened.

"I may not have known him for long… mostly just from the few drinks we had over the past couple of weekends…" Ben chuckled. "But your daddy was a great man. A good man. And I… I think that's what the world needs more of right now, good men like him."

"But I'm…" Subaru lamented still. "I'm not my dad… I'm just his son…"

"Exactly, you are not your dad…" Ben consoled. "But you needn't be. You just need to be yourself; the boy your father was proud of, the man you KNOW your father would be proud of."

"Wh- What are you…?"

"Subaru… I know I cannot hope to replace him… But would you allow my wife and me to take care of you?" Ben proposed with an intense gaze.

"!"

"I may be presumptuous here… But I want to make sure you are not alone; that you know you are not alone. That even when the world looks bleak, you still have someone to call your family." He got up and smiled, extending his hand to Subaru who looked doubtful from below. "Would you allow me the honor of being your Uncle?"

"…" Subaru's eyes glittered as tears rolled down his cheeks. Barely holding in the sobs, the kid nodded furiously as he grabbed the man's, no, his uncle's hand. "HMM!" He managed to stutter an affirmation in-between cries.

As they arrived to his new home, the smell of charred cooking assaulted Subaru's nostrils. It smelled as though someone had incinerated a bunch of plastic mixed with aromatic oils. So disturbing it was, in fact, that he had to cover his nose to avoid it.

"URNF! What is that?!" The boy complained.

"Ah… That smells like May's delish cooking." Ben admitted with a silly face.

"Huh?! THAT smells good to you?!"

"Oh, you are back!" A woman, Uncle Ben's wife, come out of the smoking kitchen wearing a dirty apron. "Oof, you wouldn't believe how TOUGH it is to make sushi, honey…"

"That's supposed to smell like sushi?! Were you trying to make black rice or something?!" Subaru exclaimed in surprise before covering his mouth in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry… I just-"

"No, no. It's fine!" May smiled at him. "I mean, we still have to taste test it, so you might actually like it!" She accepted Subaru's antics from the get-go.

"U-Umm…" Subaru gazed back at Ben in confusion. The man himself brazing himself for the trial that was the dinner ahead of them.

"Just… play along…" Ben's smile trembled.

"Ugh…" Subaru sweated in nervousness.

As they sat down and ate, Subaru had to drown himself in gallons of water just to avoid puking May's horrid cooking… But he did not suffer alone. After all, the other two did the exact same, neither wanting to admit the horrid taste of the food. By the time they finished, all they could do was laugh at the entire situation in hindsight and turn in for the night. That night was the first one in the entire month Subaru had no nightmares. Strange and brief as the interaction with his new foster family was, he felt at home again.

Slowly but surely, the years passed, and Subaru went from child to preteen…

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" An alarm blared from the school's broadcast system. "THE SCHOOL IS GOING ON LOCKDOWN! I REPEAT! THE SCHOOL IS GOING ON LOCKDOWN!" The principal warned through the speakers.

"Everybody, please calm down and stay in an orderly-!" The teacher tried to reassure to no avail.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

"UOHHH!"

"UAHH!"

"What is it?!" Ned asked in a panic as his books fell to the floor. "What's going on?!"

"…I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this…" Subaru spoke ominously to his friend, the alarm resurfacing bitter memories. "Huh…?" Subaru noticed weird lights in the sky.

"What the…?" Ned looked on at the city from the same window as well.

The pair stood in silence as a portal opened above New York, in the distance, over Manhattan. And then… The leviathans and Chitauri descended. The horizon was filled by purple lightning and floating snakes.

"LOOK!" Subaru pointed outside, for everyone in the classroom to gaze in a mix of despair and shock.

"Oh my…" Subaru's teacher fell to her knees, her façade of order falling into disgrace.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!"

"MOMMY!"

"AAAAH!"

"WE ARE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"…" Subaru stood silent, ignoring his panicking classmates as they ran around in fear, simply gazing in surprise. For him, the end of the world had already taken place when he lost his parents… so he knew what came afterwards. "Heroes will appear…" He muttered for no one to hear.

"Su-Subaru, what are you doing?!" Ned called in alarm as Subaru grabbed the school's broadcasting television and dialed a news channel.

"Don't you get it?!" Everyone in the class looked at the hopeful boy in confusion as the news broadcasted live what then would become a historic event for humanity as a whole. "This is it! When the heroes appear!"

As if on cue, the distant image of the Avengers assembling and battling the alien menace happened soon after. Coupled with the sounds of fighting in the distance, the entire classroom fell into silent awe as Subaru pointed at the figures fighting onscreen. Although the image was hazy at best, cutting off from time to time, the group could clearly distinguish the heroes driving back the enemy amidst a rain of purple lasers and debris. It was monumental, as if the forgotten legends of old, the tales of the Titanomachy and such, were taking place right before them. Just yesterday, the most fascinating thing around was a billionaire who could fight in a flying suit of armor. Now… A god, a green monster and a soldier that returned from the dead were actively fighting together with the rich man against alien invaders, all for the sake of saving the world. Not just New York, Earth itself was not the same after that day

"Despite the devastation, what has been confirmed as an extraterrestrial attack, the extraordinary heroics of the group known as 'The Avengers' has been to many a cause not only for comfort but, also, caution."

"Nah, it's just… it's really good to know that they are out there, ya know? Someone watching over us?"

"I LOVE YOU THOR!"

"AND THEN THEY START GOING 'PIUM! PIUM!', AND THEN THERE GOES 'PWOOOOOOOGHSH!' AND THIS GREEN MONSTER THEN GOES 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!'"

"Superheroes? In New York? Give me a break…"

"These so called 'heroes' have to be held responsible for the destruction done to the city. This was THEIR fight! Where are they now?!"

"What? That this is all somehow their fault? Captain America saved my life. Hah… Wherever he is, and wherever any of them are, I would just… I would wanna say 'Thank you'…"

The news broadcasts would not shut up about them, whether in support or criticism, the Avengers had become the center of the world after what came to be known later on as the Battle of New York. Subaru's school gave the week off as the devastation of the fight had managed to reach as close as the intersection a couple of blocks away from the establishment, prompting the Department of Damage Control to section off the entire street as the exotic material was collected.

"THE AVENGERS!" Subaru and Ned gushed within the former's room as they watched television. While Ned had painted a blue t-shirt with red stripes and a star as he put his Iron Man helmet on, Subaru made a crude green mask and a hammer with papier-mâché. The two then ran to the streets alongside all other kids their age, who had become fascinated with the ideas of these living legends.

"…*Sigh*" May sighed as she saw Subaru jumping around in costume from the house's window. "Gotta tell you Ben… Not a fan of that Tony Stark…"

"Well, I'm not big in suit and ties either, but-" Her husband attempted to answer as his wife continued.

"It's not that, it's just…" She struggle with her next words. "It's weird, you know?"

"What is?" The man stood beside her.

"Subaru never hated him… Even after what happened to his parents at Stark Expo."

"…"

"If anything, he adored the guy. He's, like, his idol. The kind of man HE wants to grow up to be… And now, well, saving the world must have solidified that stance even more."

"Hmm…"

"I'm worried about Subaru… What kind of world will he grow up in now?"

The years passed once more, and Subaru was soon to enter high school. He and Ned had stuck together, through highs and lows, as a pair of geeks that scored the highest grades overall. It had been tough for Subaru, pulling all-nighters studying for tests or reading scientific journals, but he was determined on his objective: To work for Tony Stark one day. Stark Industries only allowed the best of the best, and for Subaru to ever meet his idol again and thank him in person for saving his life, he needed to know as much as he could, be smarter than anyone he knew. For that, instead of asking for toys like other kids would do, he started asking for telescopes or chemistry sets, even dumpster diving, scavenging for broken machines and parts for him to build computers and the like, practicing his technical skills.

"Hey! Subaru!" Ned called for his friend, indicating him to take a picture of him as he posed in front of a tank full of fish. "Look! Pufferfish!" The guy inflated his cheeks, making a kissy face as the fish all gathered around him to look at the camera as well.

"Do they think you are their big boss?!" Subaru exclaimed while chuckling.

"So lame…"

"Yeah…" A couple of blonde girls murmured from behind them as the pair of boys fooled around.

"Hey! Back to the group you lot or I'm sending you to detention!" One of the teachers pointed to Subaru and Ned in irritation.

"S-Sorry…" The two apologized as they walked back towards the rest of their classmates.

Subaru and Ned were on a field trip to the laboratories of the R&D department of the company known as Roxxon Corporation. Although the original focus of the company had been the oil industry, they had expanded into other scientific endeavors following the altruist example of Tony Stark.

In truth, this was all a façade. With the fall of Hammer Industries and Stark Industries' leave of the weapons program, the United States was under pressure of securing as many possible armament subsidiaries for all the government projects that were left incomplete or inconclusive. Those including… the completion of a Super Soldier serum. The chemical and technological research they were showing as a front was nothing in comparison to the experiments conducted underground.

"Here, here people!" One of the researchers spoke loudly to the group of students of different schools that had attended to the exposition event. "We'll be explaining next the new formula for skin rejuvenation that Roxxon Corporation has been keenly working on these past few weeks, in partnership with a myriad of pharmaceutical companies! It should remain a secret, but… Oh, what the hell! There are so many eager future scientists here; it'd be a shame not to fill you in on such an advancement!"

"Skin rejuvenation?" One teenage girl wondered. "Mr. Osborn, does that apply to, like, make up and the like?!"

"Of course!" The charismatic man kept explaining. "The formula was made with girlies such as you in mind! A permanent way to stay as beautiful as you already are, even against the mercilessness of time!"

"Oh wow!"

"AWESOME!"

"Uahh!" A bunch of teens gushed at the idea, although some others were not amused so easily.

"What a creep." A girl that seemed to be all alone muttered under her breath, disgusted by the man.

"Don't worry about him, Michelle." Liz Toomes says under her breath to the girl. "Just between you and me, I think he's a creep too."

As his companions of the Academic Decathlon dismiss the researcher talking to the crowd of teenage girls, Subaru stands around taking pictures of the laboratories. He was quite excited about the environment around him, all the lab coats and test tubes that would otherwise be boring fascinating him to no end. As the crowd dispersed, talking about other topics and moving onto other shiny parts of the laboratory, the earlier researcher sank ominously into the crowd of people.

"Fuck you Roxxon… you goddamn thief…" He muttered with a scowl as nobody paid him any attention. "Reducing me, Norman Osborn, the man whose father founded the very company in which you stand atop… to a mere researcher?! Renaming it to your liking?! Taking away MY birthright, as if YOU were the legitimate founder?! You fat pig… You'll see… when your 'oh so precious' one of a kind specimen goes missing… you'll see…" The man produced a tiny box from his coat, opening it to reveal an orange and black colored spider within as its contents. "Go you scoundrel… pick a target… kill them, or as many as you want, you unstable shit… Sink that fucker in lawsuits, hehehe…" He retired as the venomous insect walked into the crowd.

"Hey Liz!" One girl yelled, making the beauty perk up in response.

"Hm? Oh! You girls!" Toomes beamed a smile at her friends.

"Let's go! They are handing out free samples over there!"

"Sure!"

"…" Subaru stood in concentration with his camera on hand. Liz had another water tank as a background, this one with an interior light making her look somewhat ethereal in contrast. For a couple of months now, Subaru has had a crush on her, not acting out on it but certainly wishing for her to notice him. Truly, an awkward nerd he was. As he prepared to take the shot, the boy then noticed a slight tickle sensation on his right hand, as if something or someone was slowly running a brush across his skin. "Huh?"

"…" The spider looked back at Subaru. Its size was that of a wallet, rather big for such an insect, alarming the teenager. But just for a moment… the bug looked at Subaru with what seemed like wonder.

"Wha-?!" Just before the boy could complain, his fear came true.

*SNIP!*

"YOWCH!" Subaru yelled, swatting away the spider as he recoiled in pain. "Augh… What the hell?! The spider bit me!" He looked at his reddened hand with concern before glaring at the ground before him with the intention to step on the little bugger. However…

"…" The spider recoiled in pain for a bit before stopping altogether, laying on its back as the legs contracted and stiffened. Somehow, it became smaller than it was before, reducing to the size of a normal spider as it writhed. Before he noticed, the spider had died.

"What…?" Subaru frowned in confusion, not understanding what had even happened. As he gazed back upwards, he noticed Liz and her friends had moved on already. "Tsk! What the hell…"

The field trip ended, with Subaru not getting any answers as to where the spider had come from. Nevertheless, things weren't as easy as they would seem for the young fourteen-year old.

"Hnngh…" Subaru grabbed his head with annoyance on the bus back to school.

"Hey, you okay man?" Ned looked at his friend with concern.

"Nah… It's nothing…" Subaru dismissed with a weak smile. "It's… just a headache, is all…"

"W-Well, if you say so…"

An hour later, Subaru arrived home, to the apartment complex him and his family had recently moved in. The headache from before had grown even worse, devolving into a serious fever.

"Augh…" The boy sweated as he dropped onto his bed.

"Are you okay, honey?" May dropped by to see him as he grunted, worry painting her expression.

"I-I'm fine, May…" Subaru dismissed yet again. "I just… Feel really tired… I think I may be sick…"

"Well, it could be influenza." His aunt reasoned.

"It's not… I don't think it is… Just a cold, I think…"

"Well… If you are still this sorry looking tomorrow, I'm taking you to the hospital, got it?" The woman stressed.

"Y-Yeah…" He weakly nodded. "Um… I won't be having dinner today… I'm not hungry, so…"

"You got it… Just rest, tiger." May smiled and closed the door, leaving the pitiful boy to sleep. But troubled did not stop for Subaru with just some rest.

"Ungh…!"

*SCRATCH!*

"GUH!"

*SCRATCH-SCRATCH-SCRATCH!*

"TSK!"

Subaru turned and moaned in pain in his sleep, tossing the blankets aside as his body heated up. His skin burned, so much so that he had to scratch himself all over just so he could distract from the pain.

"AUGH!" With one final yelp, the boy fell unconscious once more.

Eventually, the next morning…

*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!*

An alarm clock in the shape of the Hulk blared annoyingly, indicating it was now 5:30 AM, time for Subaru to wake up and perform his regular morning exercises.

*CLACK!*

"MMMmmmnnn…" Subaru groaned in exhaustion as he turned off the alarm. During the course of the night, he had removed most of his clothing as he scratched around, his only apparel a pair of boxers.

*YAWN!*

"Hauh…" He yawned with some tears brimming on his eyes. As he was about to get up and stretch, he noticed he was still holding onto the alarm clock with his left hand. "Huh?"

*TAP!*

The boy softly laid down the clock on top of his nightstand, where it belonged. Not thinking much about it, he tried to stretch again… surprising himself as the clock was still stuck to his hand.

"What?" The boy narrowed his eyes at the clock. This thing… Is it stuck to me? Did I, like, dropped some glue or something on top of it last night? Ugh… How annoying…

Subaru got up properly, trying to unstuck his left hand from the clock by use of force.

"HNGH!" The boy pulled, laying his foot on top of the clock as counterweight. His face reddened as he poured all of his raw strength into detaching from the item. "Come on you… blasted thing-?!"

*CRASH!*

*TAP!*

"WOAH!" The boy yelled in surprise. As he had pulled, he triumphed over the damned alarm and this one rocketed against the floor, breaking apart. "Hah…" He sighed in annoyance once again. However, for Subaru, the surprises had only just began.

"Hm?" The boy turned around, noticing that the pull had made his right hand retract in the momentum and clash against the wall behind him. He had solved one problem but succeeded in creating another as his right hand was now stuck on the wall.

"Oh, for the love of-!" He pulled again, trying to detach his limb with increasing irritation. As he pulled, out of pure instinct, he laid his left hand on the wall as well. Turning bad into worse, his left hand was stuck once more, making a ridiculous scene as the teenager struggled with even moving now. "This sucks!" He grunted again.

His efforts to return to normalcy began once more as he pulled away with all his strength, this time laying his feet against the walls to serve as the necessary weight. That struggle, nevertheless, was fruitless as well, considering the fact that his feet were now stuck too. "Are you kidding me?!"

Subaru was desperate now, trying and failing to separate himself from the wall, flailing ridiculously as if he were a crab stuck to a rock. "COME… ON MAN!" Through a lot of effort, Subaru managed to slide his right hand across the wall in an upwards motion. Slowly, he did so as well with the left. Then with his right foot. Finally with his left foot.

"Hmph!" He shuffled, slowly but surely, across the wall. Before he noticed, however, he was hanging upside down, looking upwards to his bed. "…Huh?" The moment he noticed, he fell from the ceiling and on top of the bed.

*BLAMF!*

"OOF!" He moaned in shock as he landed, surprised by what just happened. "…" Subaru got up again, this time not sticking to anything as his eyes wildly looked around. They focused first on the wall, then the ceiling and then onto his hands. He inspected them closely, noticing that there were no injuries or traces of glue in them. The boy was perturbed, as he simply could not comprehend what had transpired.

"…" Slowly, Subaru laid his right hand on the wall again. The hand stuck, but by shuffling it in a certain motion and with some concentration, it immediately unstuck. He then tried with his left and with his feet, getting the exact same result. "…Nah... No way… right?" He hesitated a bit as he tried crawling on the wall. Sure enough, in a quick matter of seconds in fact, Subaru was once again hanging from the ceiling. "…Fuck ME!"

*BLAMF!*

"Hahahahahahaha!" Subaru laughed cheerfully as he dropped onto the bed again, raising his right hand and looking over the spot the spider had bitten him. The rash that he had hidden the day before was gone, as if the insect had never attacked him in the first place. "I'll be damned…" He smiled a bit.

As he got up, Subaru picked up his cellphone and noticed in surprise that he had taken more time than usual in getting up. The teen then hastily dressed himself, not having the capacity so early in the morning to freak out about the event. As he went out for his morning jog, he noticed how the world around him seemed… clearer.

"Huh…" He could see into distances that he was not capable before. The colors around him seemed vibrant; he could discern a couple of flies' buzzing around at the end of the block. He could even hear better than before, as his ears adjusted to the voice of a man from above him, in a balcony, talking over his cellphone and catching every word as if the man was speaking right beside him. Somehow, the boy could even perceive the shape of the man that was about to mug him from behind… "What?!"

"All the money, no-!" As the hooded man yelled at Subaru, brandishing a pocketknife on his right hand, the teenager leapt above and over him.

*WHOOSH!*

"!" Performing a 360° spin as he landed behind the man, Subaru kicked him out of instinct squarely on the back.

*SMACK!*

"AUGH-!" The man propelled forward a total of five meters before landing face first against the pavement.

"Oh-Oh shit! Are you okay?!" Subaru rushed to help him, but the man looked in terror at Subaru as his nose bled profusely.

"Hi-Hiiiiieeeee~!" The man ran away, leaving the pocketknife behind.

"A-Ah…" Subaru tried to reach out to the man, but it was pointless. After all, he tried to rob him, so an apology was surely nothing BUT stupid from his part.

Subaru returned home later, having finished his morning training and taking a shower, he prepared himself for another day at school. Although there wasn't that much to look forward to, all the hectic of the morning just now had drawn a cocky smile on his face.

"Well, someone sure seems bright today!" Uncle Ben pointed out with a coffee mug on his hand as Subaru came out of the steaming bathroom. "Did the water taste good or something?"

"Oh… It's nothing, Ben. I just… I kinda woke up fidgety, is all!" Subaru answered cheerfully. "I feel pretty good today, not gonna lie!"

"Well, and here May and I worried all night about you!" The man continued as he sipped on his beverage. "You looked feverish, she told me. So much so that you didn't even bother eating dinner!"

*GROWL~!*

"…Well, now that you mentioned it…" Subaru reddened in embarrassment as his stomach growled. "Is there anything on the menu today?"

"Meatloaf, meatloaf and… Last night's meatloaf." Ben chuckled at the despaired face of his nephew.

"Augh…" Subaru's face morphed into reluctance.

*PAT-PAT!*

"Ah, don't worry, champ. Just think of it as a hamburger and you'll have swallowed May's cooking before you noticed it!" He patted the poor boy in the shoulder as he made for the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Oh! And don't forget. We still haven't finished that puzzle!" Ben prompted as he laid down the mug in the sink, getting ready to leave for his job.

"The Parisian one? Or the Star Wars one?"

"'I AM YOUR FATHER!'" The man spoke in a bad imitation.

"Hehe! Yeah, It'll be waiting for you when you return from work in the evening…"

"Don't start without me!" Ben pointed at Subaru with a grin.

"And YOU without me!" Subaru pointed at Ben with a grin.

"Haha!"

As the day moved forward, Subaru still awed in marvel over the effects of the spider's bite. He picked up on what the girls at the back of the mess hall were talking about. He managed to lift the lockers completely with one hand when no one was looking. He dodged Flash's wet paper balls as he spat them in his direction during recess. Even more surprisingly, he managed to complete his written report for sixth period before the bell rang, despite having forgotten it at home!

"You seemed pretty good today!" Ned commented as the boys finally left the building. "You honestly looked like my grandma when she eats seafood… Yesterday, I mean. I thought for sure you'd puke on me back on the bus!"

"Hey! I didn't look THAT bad… I told you, it was just a headache, nothing more." Subaru explained amidst complaints.

"Well, hehe, I had to be sure." Ned chuckled. "Didn't want your nickname to 'Su-barf-ru' or something."

"*Sigh* As if it wasn't bad enough already…" The boy lamented as Flash drove past them in his dad's car.

*VROOM-VROOM!*

"BYE-BYE, NAT-SUCKER!" The bully laughed aloud, prompting everyone around them to laugh at Subaru.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"NAT-SUCKER!"

"PFFFFFT!"

"…Way to dampen my mood, that jackoff…" Subaru grumbled pettily.

"Eh, he'll grow up one day." Ned consoled while stifling a laugh.

"Oh come on! Not you too!"

"It is pretty funny!"

"It's not!"

Subaru returned home and just as he was about to open the door, he heard his aunt's complaints. The ones meant for no one to hear.

"Bills, bills, bills…" The woman on the other side mumbled.

"…" The silent boy overheard.

"Ben really does his best… But there's too little money to cover all of these…" The woman sounded on the verge of tears. "*Sigh* This isn't fair to Subaru… We'll probably have to move again at this rate… Who even knows if we can even afford living in Queens anymore? Or even New York?"

"…" Her words stuck to him, his previous chirpy mood changing into one of concern for his caretakers.

The next day, as Subaru walked to school, he regretted his childishness. His thoughts previously were that now that he had powers, now that he was different from other people, he could go beyond his normal self, that he could be special. After all, what use are the powers if he cannot even provide for his family? But the moment reality smacked him on the face, he had to come to terms with his simple view of the world.

"Seriously… They should not have to worry about shit like money… It's not fair!" Subaru kicked a can lying on the street.

*CLI-CLINK!*

"…?" The can collided with a wall full of posters and announcements. Some of them were nothing but obvious scams while others were just advertisements for workshops and the like. The usual for subway announcements.

BODY CARE WORKSHOP!

LEARN THE SECRETS OF RELAXATION WITH YOGA!

SEMINAR IN THE BIOLOGY OF REPTILIANS. HOST DR. CURT CONNORS. APPLY NOW.

"Huh?" The boy squinted his eyes as he noticed a certain poster amidst the filler.

EASY MONEY!

"What?!" He grabbed the poster with interest, bringing it closer for him to read.

EASY MONEY! BEAT THE CHAMP AND EARN A WHOOOPING $3000! A WHOLE 3K! ALL CASH!

"$3000?!" Subaru's eyes widened in wonder. $3000… They might not be enough in the long view… But surely, that's enough to foot one of the bills at least!

FRIDAY! FRIDAY! FRIDAY! AT QUEENS UNDERGROUND GYM! 22:00 / 10:00 PM! ANONYMOUS INSCRIPTIONS ALLOWED, FOR ALL OF YOU MASKED ROMANTICS! DON'T BE LATE TO WITNESS THE CHAMP BREAK THE CHALLENGERS OR FOR HIM TO FOLD AND THE RISE OF A NEW CHAMP! ENTRANCE FEE $10!

"Tonight? I have a curfew… I wouldn't be able to go out at such an hour… But maybe…" The boy remained thoughtful for some moments before smiling. "Nah… I'm doing it for them after all! Nothing wrong with bending a rule or two from time to time! Just have to ask them!"

In the afternoon, however, his unsure guardians rejected Subaru's pleading.

"No." Ben said in a stern tone.

"HUH?!" Subaru's face scrunched up in confusion. He and Ben had been completing another puzzle over dinner when Subaru prompted an enigmatic question: 'Can I go to a friend's house tonight? I'll be back late!' Unfortunately, for the teen, his uncle's immediate response had been a negative, ruining his plan. "But why not?! I'm not- We are not even gonna do anything weird! It's Friday night! Everyone stays awake anyways!"

"Doesn't mean it's the right thing to do." Ben affirmed. "Subaru, if your friends jumped off the Queensboro, would you follow along?"

"W-Well, no, but-"

"Then there's my answer." Subaru's uncle remained firm on his stance.

"But that is so not cool!" Subaru protested again.

"I'm not interested in being 'cool'; I'm interested in your safety."

"I told you! We are just gonna chill! I never ask you to let me do anything else! I only go to Ned's if I'm allowed to stay over! I can take care of myself if it's just walking out at night!"

"Oh, can you now?" Ben looked him in the eye with reproach, making the boy flinch. "Who is this friend you want to hang out with so much? It's clearly not Ned, so who?"

"…" Subaru remained silent, knowing he couldn't respond.

"Are you, perhaps, planning on doing drugs?" May asked from the kitchen, gazing intensely at the boy.

"Wh-What?!"

"Or meeting up with a girl?" She asked again, her voice turning serious. "Are you even planning on using protection?"

"Wait, no! I'm- I'm not gonna do either of those!"

"Then what do you really want to do?" Ben asked now.

"…I-I…" Subaru sweated, unable to say a word to refute the man. He knew well that if he said 'going to an underground arena to bet money on fistfights' would land him in trouble, let alone going, he'd be grounded for life. That was his angsty thought process. "I can't say…"

"*Sigh* Then you cannot go, end of discussion."

"But-!"

"If you cannot trust me, how can you expect me to trust you?" Ben declared.

"…"

"I know… It is hard for you, that you feel this need to fit in with the crowd… But that does not mean that they are the good crowd, young man."

"Ben…"

"I didn't know him for very long, but I'm sure your father wouldn't have liked for you to meddle with such dubious people."

"…"

"You are a smart kid, Subaru. Far more than you realize." His uncle continued in a softer tone. "You'll do AMAZING things one day, I know you will! But this isn't the way you go about it… With great power comes great responsibility. You must be patient. Grow up a little bit and think things through."

"…You are right." Subaru growled in a low voice.

"So you do underst-"

"You are not my dad, so stop talking like him… as if you were him!" Subaru ran into his room, slamming the door behind him.

*SLAM!*

"Subaru!" May called with worry, but Ben stopped her. "Ben? What-?"

"He's not a bad kid, May." The man reassured with a patient smile. "He just… He just needs some time to cool off, that's all." His eyes, although still stern, softened as the pair gazed at the closed door. "He just needs some time…"

"TSK!" Subaru grunted as he laid down on the other side of the door. "I'm trying to do this for them… So just let me! It's not as if I could tell you, you just have to trust me!" He murmured pettily. As he lamented with frustration his foiled plan, another equally bad idea popped into his mind as he gazed outside the window.

"…That's right… I can stick to walls!" Subaru's brilliant plan to go earn that 'Easy Money' was to sneak out. He knew Ben and May would be mad or saddened, so they wouldn't check on him. Plus, THEY didn't know about his 'wall crawling', as he called it, so he'd be easily capable of running off on his own without much trouble. "Hehe! Just you wait! I'll apologize all you want later, but right now? I'm gonna earn us some bread!"

Climbing out of the window, Subaru rushed into the night, blending with the mass of people that flooded the streets of New York. Right on time, before entering the building packed full with spectators, Subaru donned an orange ski mask and sweater, contrasting his black tracksuit and white sneakers.

"U-Um… Excuse me?" Subaru spoke, making the man sitting at the stand in front of the gym look up at him. "I'm-I'm here for the fight. I mean, the anonymous fighters ad."

"You arrived just in the nick of time, then. We were about to close off inscriptions." The short man affirmed with a bored voice. "The inscription fee is $10. You can also bet more, even on another fighter, if you want."

"Uh, no, it's fine. I just-just came for the reward money."

"I see…" The man produced a list from under the table. "Anonymous fighters… Then? What's your name?"

"Huh?"

"Your alias. What's it?" The man frowned in annoyance.

"Oh-Oh…" Subaru thought for a little bit, only one answer popping up within his mind. "Spider-Man!"

"Hmm… Okay." The man nodded while writing down. "Pay upfront inside. You'll be the last one of the night if someone doesn't beat the champion by then."

"Ah, thanks!"

Subaru went inside and the event began shortly after. The place reeked of cheap beer and cigarettes, the loud yells of the brutish men and women inside filling the room as the 'champion', a two-meter tall behemoth of a half-naked man who called himself 'Bone-Saw', demolished foe after foe, throwing them out of the ring as if they were sacks of potatoes instead of people.

"WOOOOOAH!"

*CRASH!*

"WINNER! THE CHAMPION! BONE-SAW!"

"DREAAAAAAGH!" The lunatic celebrated after throwing another poor bastard out of the ring, sending him crashing against a table.

"WOOHOO!"

"YEAH!"

"YOU ROCK!"

The crowd cheered, entranced by the antics of the savage man.

"*GULP!*" Subaru gulped in nervousness, rethinking if this was a good idea or not. Can I… Can I do this…? Yeah! Of course I can! I-I mean… It's just one guy! I have super strength now! I can do anything! Yeah! I can win!

"THE CHAMPION HAS REMAINED UNBEATEN! UNTOUCHED THE ENTIRE NIGHT!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" The people yelled.

"NOT ONE FOE! NOT ONE RIVAL HAS EVEN PUNCHED OR TOUCHED HIM!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The champion stole the microphone from the presenter. "ARE YOU ALL READY FOR THE LAST CHALLENGER OF THE NIGHT?! FOR BONE-SAW TO SHOW ALL OF YOU THAT HE WILL REMAIN… THE CHAMPIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON?!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"THEN COME UP HERE! LET THE LAST CHALLENGER COME UP HERE AND MEET HIS FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!"

"WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Subaru braced himself as he ascended the stairs leading up to the ring.

"HERE COMES THE CHALLENGER!" The announcer said through the speakers as the limelight pointed to Subaru, creating a giant shadow behind him. "THE HUMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN SPIDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!"

"What?!" Subaru said with indignation as he climbed over the ring. "That's not it at all! They got my name wrong! It's 'Spider-Man'!"

"I don't care, dude." The presenter flipped off Subaru, much to the boy's chagrin.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"LOSER!"

"GET BENT!"

"SCRAWNY WEIRDO!"

"SHORTY!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The crowd mocked Subaru at every turn.

"SERIOUSLY?!" Bone-Saw asked with shock and revolt. "YOU ARE THE LAST CHALLENGER?! PAH! SAVE YOURSELF THE EMBARRASSMENT AND GIVE UP, DWARF!"

"Sorry, not gonna happen." Subaru glared as the mask hid his cocky grin. "Come on! Let's do this!"

"Hold it, kiddo!" The presenter interrupted as he left the ring. "Did you not know the rules?"

"Rules? What rules?" Subaru frowned.

"So you really didn't know…" He chuckled with a grin as both him and Bone-Saw looked at Subaru sadistically. "The last challenger of the night… gets the cage!"

"Cage?" As Subaru wondered, the crowd went crazy.

"CAGE!"

"!" Subaru looked at the manic people around him in confusion.

"CAGE! CAGE!"

"Just what-?!" On cue with their primal screams, a giant cell descended from above, its bars covering the wrestling ring on all sides.

"CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE! CAGE!"

*BLAM!*

The cage finished lowering, encasing the two fighters and blocking any aid from the outside.

"TOO LATE TO CHICKEN OUT NOW!" Bone-Saw mocked.

"We-Well… It's not as if I was going to run away…" Subaru simply dismissed the fake concern. "If anything, you are the one going down!"

"OOOOOOOOOH! I LIKE THAT ATTITUDE!" The champion kept laughing. "I WILL ENJOY BREAKING YOU!"

"AND THE FIGHT…" The announcer paused for a second. "BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINS!"

*CLING-CLING-CLING!*

The chimes of a bell and the primate scream of the man flared the audience into a cacophony of cajolery and cheers.

"BEAT HIS ASS BONE-SAW!"

"BREAK THE LITTLE FREAK!"

"FUCK HIM UP!"

"YOU HEARD MY FANS! IN THREE MINUTES, YOU'LL BE NOTHING BUT MY BREAKFAST PANCAKE!" The wrestler laughed before rushing at Subaru. "RRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAARGH!"

*WHOOOSH!*

"HUH?!" Bone-Saw wondered in confusion as his target disappeared.

"Up here, you dunce!" Subaru mocked from atop one of the cage's walls. He had jumped away at the last second to avoid a pummeling by the man.

"COME DOWN! YOU COWARD LITTLE MAN!" The enraged champion complained. "COME DOWN AND FIGHT LIKE A REAL MAN!"

"Probably can't convince you to come up here and fight like a spider, can I?" Subaru joked again as the audience threw popcorn and empty beer cans at him.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"FIGHT! FIGHT!"

As Subaru performed on-stage for a bunch of drunkards, another man waited patiently for him outside. A very, very worried middle-aged man…

"…" Ben looked at the building intensely, in a mix of anger and sadness. He knew he should have had a more strict approach, but he loved Subaru too much to simply chastise him. After all, he was right in saying that he barely ever asks for anything, other than stuff for science projects and the like. However, upon discovering the mangled poster for the event in Subaru's trashcan and one of the bill notes on his desk when he visited his empty room, only then did he realize that the boy was doing something as dangerous as prize fighting for the sake of money. Stupid money he could not provide due to the bills he had accrued in bad financial decisions. Stupid money that, knowing the kid as he does, was meant to pay those bills in his stead.

"*Sigh*" Ben was disappointed. Not on Subaru for making a childish decision, but on himself and his impotence for forcing his nephew into making such a decision in the first place. After driving all the way to the place in search for the boy, he felt shame even attempting to enter the establishment. As such, he just stood outside, waiting for his nephew's return. Unfortunately, for Ben, someone else was watching him intently before going into the gym himself …

"GET HIM!" A woman yelled as she passed over a chair for the champion to grab through the metal bars of the cage. "BEAT HIS ASS!"

"YEAAAAAH!" Bone-Saw cheered as he charged at Subaru again. Subaru had been busy dodging the man's assault, the boost in confidence of his newfound agility and strength distracting him of the instinctual alerts screaming for him to dodge the incoming assault from behind.

*THWACK!*

"UNF!" Subaru planted head first against the floor.

"YEAH! TAKE THIS! AND THAT!" Bone-Saw kept laughing maniacally as he swung down the chair again and again on the boy.

*THWACK!*

*THWACK!*

*THWACK!*

*THWACK!*

"TSK!" Subaru grunted in pain before landing a kick to the man's diaphragm, cutting his breath short for just enough time to stop the assault.

*SMACK!*

"BURGH!" The wrestler retreated a bit, drawing some distance between himself and Subaru.

"…" Subaru glared at him as he posed as a spider, ready to leap at its prey at a moment's notice.

"TCHE! NOW YOU'LL SEE!" The champion rushed again, grabbing a golf club gifted to him through the public behind the bars.

"BONE-SAW! BONE-SAW! BONE-SAW! BONE-SAW! BONE-SAW! BONE-SAW! BONE-SAW! BONE-SAW!"

"DRAAAAAAAAGH!" The wrestler swung and swung, but Subaru dodged every motion without much effort.

*WHOOOSH!*

*WHOOOSH!*

*WHOOOSH!*

*WHOOOSH!*

"Come on… No new tricks?! Are you really the champion?!" Subaru mocked smugly.

"FREAKING…!"

*WHOOOSH!*

"…DIE!"

Subaru ducked again, positioning himself for an uppercut.

*THWA-THUMP!*

"BLAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Bone-Saw went flying to the other side of the ring, falling unconscious the moment he landed. "GAAAAAaaaaaughh…"

"HA! That's how spiders do it!" Subaru laughed, noticing then that the entire arena had gone silent.

"…"

"…Uhmm…" He looked around nervously, not knowing what to expect. But just as sudden as it had gone quiet…

"UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

"!" The people began cheering and complaining again.

"MY MONEY!"

"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!"

"LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"MY LEG!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"WINNER… THE SPIDER-MAN!" The announcer exclaimed with cheer.

"…Hehe!" Subaru giggled as the announcer lifted his arm in the air.

Moments later, as the crowd left and the fighters all returned to the staff room, Subaru went ahead to claim his prize money. But things just wouldn't go his way, no matter how he acted.

"$300?!" Subaru exclaimed in indignation. "The ad said $3000! I can't pay crap with $300!"

"Not my problem kid." The announcer, who was revealed to be the organizer, scoffed at Subaru dismissively. "With all the trouble you caused… You should be counting your lucky stars I'm even paying your sorry ass!"

"Huh?!" The boy shouted in confusion.

"Look at that!" The man pointed behind him.

"Hm?" Just past the man, Bone-Saw was lying on a couch, moaning in pain.

"Augh…" The former champion grunted as he held a bag with ice and rubbed it over his forehead. "It hurts…"

"…Bull…" Subaru whispered in frustration. He knew he knocked-out the man, sure, but he pulled his punches as well. He knew for certain that he wasn't hurt enough that he'd be complaining about it afterwards.

"Listen little guy!" The announcer shouted in anger of his own. "We didn't make that much today and now I have to foot his hospital bill! With YOUR money!"

"…"

"So if you want that $3000 you bitch and moan so much about, you'll be working for ME now! As MY new champion!" He explained with a smug voice as he sat back down. "Every Friday from now on, same hour."

"…And what if I don't want to?" Subaru prompted with anger.

"Well…" The man pointed to his goons behind him, all the other wrestlers that night. At his order, they all got up and glared daggers at Subaru.

"…"

"Not only will they beat you up, they'll unmask you. THEN I'll sue you for fucking up my main man. You got it?!"

"…Yeah…"

"GOOD! You simply had to understand that I'm doing you a favor giving you a job here anyways!" The man chuckled for a bit. "Now, get out! And remember! 22:00 Next Friday!"

"Tsk!" Subaru grunted as he left the office. As he walked towards the elevator, he crossed paths with a shady looking man walking towards the office, fidgeting around as if on drugs or something. Nevertheless, Subaru was already too distracted to even notice the man's presence.

"…Hmph! Punk." The organizer spat.

"Weren't you a bit too tough on the weirdo, boss? I mean everyone betted when he came onstage. He raked in that good cash." Bone-Saw reasoned while standing up and removing the ice from his clearly not injured face.

"It's precisely because he made the good cash that we gotta keep him humble, you moron!" The organizer explained as he turned away from the office's exit, all while counting a wad of bills on his hand that he had kept under the table. "Ha! He may be the golden hen, but he ain't getting none of the eggs! If he knew how much he made us, he'd dip and look for a better gig. We gotta keep him stupid for as long as we can! Dangle that $3000 as if he really needed them! Trust me! He'll come back begging for a-"

*CLICK!*

"OH SHIT!" The man's goons flinched in alarm at the sound.

"ALL THE MONEY IN THE BAG! NOW!" In front of them, holding a handgun to the back of their boss' head while laying a canvas bag on top of the table, a masked hoodlum began barking demands. He had entered as they were distracted talking to their boss. "ALL OF IT! INCLUDING THE SAFE! ALL!"

In the hallway, Subaru was waiting for the elevator while still pissed about the entire situation. $300? That isn't enough to foot a fraction of the bill… How can I even look Uncle Ben in the eye now? After the entire shit-show that was the argument… But as he was sinking into his thoughts, his Spider-sense flared in alarm, indicating danger behind him.

"MOVE IT!"

"!" He turned to see a masked man running in his direction.

"Wait!" The organizer that had yelled at Subaru came running out of the office in pursuit soon after. "Stop that thief!"

"…" Subaru, not taking any chances, stepped aside and allowed the man to board the elevator instead of him.

"Hehe, thanks man! You are a life saver!" The thief in question thanked Subaru as the elevator doors closed.

*CLANK!*

"*Pant! Pant!* Hah…" The chubby organizer rested on his knees as the elevator descended, attempting to regain his breathing. "Why… Why didn't you stop him?!" He inquired with indignation.

*SNATCH!*

"…" Subaru remained silent as the organizer grabbed him by the collar.

"He took all my money! Why didn't you stop him, you little freak?!" He shook Subaru, increasingly yelling as he threatened to punch him. However, the boy quickly grew tired of the ugly man's shouting.

*GRAB!*

"Ack!" The organizer cried in pain as he let go of Subaru; the boy had grabbed his wrist and twisted him into submission, forcing the chubby man to crouch in his stupor. "L-Let go! Uncle! Uncle! I give!"

"Hmph!" Subaru huffed in exasperation. "If we didn't make that much money, then why the hell would the guy even rob this place, huh?!"

"Th-That is…" The organizer looked away.

"Not my problem? Pfft…" Subaru scowled from behind the mask. "I'm outta here… Not coming back." He exited the hallway through the emergency stairs.

"M-My money…" The fat man cried on the floor pitifully.

"…" As Subaru ran down the stairs of the building, he heard in the close vicinity outside a loud noise. One familiar enough for him to recognize…

*BANG!*

"A gunshot?" The boy's eyes narrowed.

*VROOM-VROOM!*

"A getaway of some kind!" He concluded as he ran outside of the building. He noticed then a group of people had formed around, all screaming and crying as if they had seen something horrible just happen before them.

"OH MY GOD!" A woman yelled in horror.

"SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE!"

"CALL THE COPS!"

"HOLY SHIT!"

"What's going on?" Subaru unmasked as he trotted towards the crowd. "Did something happen?"

"A-A man just got shot!" The bystander said in alarm. "L-Look!" In a poor show of compassion, the panicking man just pointed to the victim.

"Huh…?" Subaru peeked over his shoulder, freezing in shock. "!"

"Ungh…" The man bleeding on the sidewalk was none other… than his uncle Ben.

"BEN!" The boy cried out as tears threatened to burst out. "MOVE! MOVE!" He pushed the crowd again as he kneeled beside his dying uncle. "UNCLE-!"

"S-Subaru…" The man whispered in a dying gasp. He had a shot wound on his abdomen, his lifeblood quickly pooling under him as he gasped for air. "S-Subaru…"

"I'm here!" Subaru grabbed his hand, trying to comfort the man as he cried his heart out. "Oh god! Oh god! B-Ben!"

"Subaru…" Ben muttered again as his hand clenched around the boy's own. "Don't forget… Don't forget…"

"Do-Do-Do-Don't talk Ben! Just-Just save your strength and-!"

"With great power…" The man whispered as he looked at Subaru directly in the eye. "Comes great responsibility…"

*THUD*

"B-Ben…?" Subaru shook as his uncle's hand fell from his, falling into the cold, hard concrete. "Ben?!"

"…" Benjamin Franklin Parker passed away, gazing into the eyes of his beloved nephew.

"Police!" An officer yelled as he approached the scene. "Oh no…" He gasped when he saw he was too late.

"Ben! Ben!" Subaru yelled frantically amidst tears.

"Son, please!" The officer separated Subaru from the man's corpse as the emergency responders arrived.

"Ben!"

"…We have shooter pinned down, copy!" Another officer's radio blared.

"!" The boy's ears perked up.

"Officer to dispatch, what's the situation?!"

"Hit and Run! Possible fatality! Suspect is fleeing down south! Fifth Avenue! Inside a yellow Sedan, have six cars following!"

"…" Overhearing this, Subaru ran away from the scene as his face morphed from sadness into anger, absolute wrath.

"Wha- hey! Hey kid!" The officer tried to reach to the boy to no avail; Subaru had already sank into the shadows of the night. "Oh man…"

"Tsk!" Subaru turned around and ran into an alleyway, masking himself as he jumped atop one of the building's walls and crawled upwards.

Once he reached the rooftops, he began jumping over entire buildings until he could see the persecution in action.

"Just you wait…" He growled, running full speed ahead and over the sides of the buildings between him and his target. The murderer had stolen Ben's car and Subaru had a clear view of him as the lights of the police officers pursuing him covered the vehicle from all sides. "HUP!" Grabbing onto a lose cable between the buildings Subaru swung away, using the momentum to leap on top of the moving vehicles down in the streets.

*BLAMK!*

"What the-?!" A truck driver that was running some ways after the pursuit grunted in surprise as something landed on the roof of his moving car.

"HUT!"

*BLAMK!*

*BLAMK!*

*BLAMK!*

Jumping from vehicle to vehicle, Subaru eventually landed on top of his uncle's car.

*CRASH!*

"HOLY SHIT!" The murderer yelled in surprise as Subaru punched a hole in the roof, aiming for the man. "EY!"

*BANG!*

*BANG!*

*BANG!*

The man fired multiple shots upwards in an attempt to kill his assailant, all to no avail. As Subaru distracted him, the man drove away into the sidewalk, not noticing that his collision path lead straight into an abandoned warehouse.

"ACK!" The man yelled as he crashed against a wall. "SHIT! SHIT!" He cussed repeatedly as he rushed out of the car and fled into the building with a bagful of money in hand.

"…" Subaru, who had jumped away at the last moment, observed from the shadows with a glare as the man sought refuge in the warehouse.

"*PANT!* Hah! *PANT!* Hah!" The man sighed and moaned as he ran within the complex, wishing for the freak that was surely pursuing him to let go.

"…" Within the shadows, Subaru stalked the criminal.

*CREAK~*

"WHO'S THERE?!" The man yelled, pointing a gun at the shadows. "I'M ARMED! I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!"

"…" Subaru's shadow flashed around the corner.

"FUCK YOU!"

*BANG!*

*BANG!*

*BANG!*

The man fired at the shadows, but he could tell he did not land a single shot.

"…TSK!" He grunted again. As he tried to run away, further into the building, the boy finally reached from behind.

*GRAB!*

"WHA-?!"

*CRA-CRASH!*

"UNGH!" The thief complained in pain as Subaru grabbed his head and crashed it against a window, breaking it and making the broken glass stab onto his face. "OUGH?!"

"DRAAAGH!" Subaru yelled as he tossed the man against a wall.

*WHOOPSH!*

*BLAM!*

"OOF!" The man recoiled in pain again, dropping his gun and the bag of money.

*DASH!*

"…" Subaru ran towards the man, but he refused to go down so easily.

"COME ON!" The murderer drew a knife from his jacket, swinging it against Subaru.

*SCHWING!*

"Hmph!" The boy simple moved aside as the man inexpertly flailed the weapon. "Ha!" Subaru grabbed the man's arm, performing a judo throw and flinging him towards another wall.

*WHOOOSH!*

"DYAAAAAGH!" The man cried as he landed on the floor. "C-Come on, man! I'll-I'll share the money with you! Just let me be!"

"Huh?!"

"Don't hurt me!" The man stood up shakily as Subaru approached once more. "Ju-Just give me a chance! JUST GIVE ME A CHANCE!"

"WHAT ABOUT BEN PARKER?! DID YOU GIVE HIM A CHANCE?!" Subaru retorted, as he looked the man in the eye. "DID YOU?!" Subaru grabbed the man by the collar, pinning him against the wall.

"HIIIIIEEEE!" The man cried in terror as Subaru's hold began choking him.

"Tsk… What?!" Subaru's eyes widened as he noticed the face of the man. The darkness and the shadows had veiled him up until now, but when the streetlights from the cop's sirens shed into the building, he could clearly see… that the man before him was the man from the elevator moments prior.

"Hehe, thanks man! You are a life saver!"

"No… No way…" Subaru murmured, distracted by the memory. "You are…"

"Hah… Hah!" The man grabbed the handgun he had dropped and pointed directly at Subaru's face. "Hehehehehehe! See ya, chump!" The murderer giggled maniacally as he prepared to kill the boy in front of him.

"…"

*GRAB!*

*CRACK!*

*BANG!*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" The thief yelled in pain as his hand shattered into pieces. The moment he was about to fire the shot, Subaru twisted his hand and aimed it upwards, the violent motion breaking the bone instantly. "ARGH!" He crouched in pain, letting go of the weapon and grabbing his broken limb between sobs.

"TSK!" Subaru was not satisfied with just injuring the man, however. He wanted him gone, dead, killed by his own hand.

*GRAB!*

"WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The man asked in panicked alarm as Subaru pulled on his hair with his left hand, threatening to punch him at full force with a raised right fist. "PL-PLEASE, DON'T!"

"Shut up!" Subaru complained.

"PLEASEDON'TPLEASEDON'TPLEASEDON'TPLEASEDON'TPLEASEDON'TPLEASEDON'TPLEASEDON'T!" The man pleaded pitifully as Subaru growled, crying his eyes out as he wetted his pants in terror of the arachnid boy.

"JUST SHUT U-!" Before Subaru could land the finishing blow, a voice in his head resounded. A voice he knew well. A voice he wished could be standing beside him right now.

"With great power…"

"…" Subaru looked at himself within the reflection of the crying man's eyes.

"Comes great responsibility…"

"…" Subaru let go of the man's head, walking away.

"O-Oh, thank god!" The man relaxed as Subaru sank into the shadows, seemingly abandoning him. However, he panicked once more as the boy returned with a rope in hand from within the warehouse. "…Huh?"

Outside of the building, the police officers attempted to enter the complex, ascertaining that they had heard gunshots from within, it alerted them that the suspect's whereabouts were indeed inside. However, as they braced themselves to raid the place…

*CRASH!"

"WHAT?!" The officers at the ground jerked in alarm at the sound of glass breaking.

"UWAAAAAAAH!" The murderer and thief screamed in fear as he plummeted towards the pavement.

*SNATCH!*

"UNGH!" Falling from the building, thrown by an unseen force, the officers witnessed their suspect hanging from his legs. The dangling man could do nothing but sob in fear and pain as the cops surrounded him. "Uuuuugh…"

"What the hell…?" One of the men said before looking upwards. Above them, atop of the building and gazing back at them ominously, the figure of a lone masked man stood tall.

"F-Freeze! Police!" The officers pointed their guns at Subaru, but the boy simply vanished into the night before they could attempt to apprehend him.

Later into the early morning, as Subaru returned home…

"…" The boy stood silent in front of the door to the apartment. It sickened him to no end to be there, to know that it was all his fault. Had he listened to Ben and May, the man would still be alive right now. But he just had to go, thinking he was the smart one, the one in the right. And now… The couple stands broken as the husband has lost his life. He couldn't help BUT blame himself… So he expected, no, WANTED May to hate him as well and kick him out. It felt like the right thing to do from Subaru's perspective after all.

"What am I even doing here…?" As he was about to turn around to leave, his aunt opened the door, much to his surprise.

"Subaru…" She had tearstains on her cheeks, so she clearly knew what had happened. "Oh, Subaru…"

"M-May… I…" Subaru looked away in shame. As he expected her to slap him or yell, her next action surprised him.

*PAT!*

"?!" Subaru's eyes widened the moment May hugged him.

"Oh, thank goodness you are okay…!"

"But-But May! I… It's all my fault! I-!"

"Shut up!" May shushed him off. "You are not at fault here and you know it! The man that killed him… Hgk!" May sobbed a bit on his shoulder before continuing. "It's his fault, not yours! So don't you dare blame yourself!"

"M-MAY-!" Subaru's eyes welled up as well as he hugged back. Within the hallway, Subaru and May cried their hearts out that night.

A few days later, much like Subaru's parents, Ben's funeral had been open casket. He was at least thankful he got to say goodbye to his body… The man looked peaceful in his slumber. Afterwards, the next month was especially tough on the pair left behind. Although most of Ben's debts had died with him, his pension was not enough to cover all the other bills. As such, May had to enter the working world once more in order to make ends meet. Throughout the weeks, Subaru would spend most of his time visiting Ned, as his apartment did nothing but bring painful memories to him.

After yet another month, they ended up moving onto a smaller apartment, wishing for the new place to breathe some fresh air into their tired hearts. Although it wasn't the best, Subaru couldn't complain. After all, regardless of what May would tell him, he still blamed himself for all that happened. One day, as Subaru walked back from school towards the new home, he heard in the distance within an alleyway the panicked yells of a woman.

"H-Hel-MGHHH!" The woman attempted to cry as a man covered her mouth.

"SHUT UP BITCH! SHUT UP!" The man covering her mouth and pinning her down yelled. "WHAT ARE YA WAITIN' FOR?! CHECK THE PURSE!" He told his partner.

"On it!" A second man, burlier than the first, obeyed happily. "Woooh! This bitch earned good!"

"She probably a whore or somethin'!"

"Hey!" Subaru yelled at them. "HEY! I'M CALLING THE COPS!"

"…" The two men looked at each other while the woman looked at Subaru with desperation.

"Di-Did you not hear me?! I'm calling the-!"

"Oh, we heard you, alright!" The man checking the purse said spitefully. "By the time they come, both y'all will be corpses!" He laughed as he produced a switchblade.

"HMMMMGH!" The woman panicked further.

"…" Subaru stared at the knife intensely.

"RYAH!" The assailant rushed at Subaru with the intent to stab, but Subaru moved aside and tripped him. "What the- URNF?!"

*SLAM!" The man fell face first against the dirty floor.

"HEY! HELP ME OUT HERE!" The assailant yelled, prompting his partner to let go of the woman.

"MOVE, BITCH!"

*THUD!*

"AH!" The woman fell to the floor as the man threw her aside.

*SCHWING!*

"Now you've done it, punk!" The two men rushed at Subaru, each with a knife in hand. "RARGH!"

"IYAGH!"

"…" Subaru's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the two.

"LOOK OUT!" The woman yelled in alarm, thinking that Subaru was about to be murdered.

*WHOOSH!*

*SMACK!*

*SMACK!*

"!" But the woman was shocked into silence as Subaru jumped at the perfect moment to land a kick on each of the men's faces.

"GEGHK!"

"KUGH!"

The two men fell to the floor, unconscious.

"…" Subaru looked at the two with disdain before staring back at the woman. "Are you okay, ma'am?"

"Thank you!" The woman hugged Subaru for dear life.

"U-Uhmm… I'm-I'm glad you are…"

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" She cried her heart out.

"…It's… It's no problem…" Subaru reassured her with some pats on the back. "Just… Just doing my part…"

That evening, as Subaru stared through the window at the cityscape, bathing in the melancholic lightning of the setting sun, the words given to him kept replaying on his head over and over.

"…With great power comes great responsibility…"

"Thank you!"

"…What's important isn't how you start; it's how it ends…"

"…If my son is as half as cool as me, he'd for sure make even 'Iron Man' gawk in awe!"

"…" As he laid down on the bed, Subaru's eyes drifted to his stand of collectibles and toys. His second-hand anime figurines of elf-girls, his Avengers figurines, a couple of Star Wars and Batman toys… And the Iron Man helmet staring right back at him. "…"

"Nice job, kid!"

"Just… Just doing my part…"

"…My part… huh?" His eyes, for the first time in months, welled up with a bright and youthful light once more. "That's right… You have to be the one to take the first step…" He mumbled to himself as a smile appeared on his face. "ALL RIGHT! THAT'S IT!"

He got up and reached for his desk's drawer. There, sitting neatly within a piggy bank, were a total of $500, all of his savings, including the money from the night two months ago. May had refused it, saying that Subaru needed it more. Although he hadn't agreed before, the mix of confidence and sense of responsibility welling up within the boy would not allow him to complain about the extra cash now. "…Let's make this work!"

The next Saturday day, Subaru bought a set of different things: sunglasses, goggles, some thick black and orange fabrics, broken watches and springs, a utility belt… and in addition, some pharmaceutical chemicals. Although they weren't enough for anyone to suspect he was up to no good, it startled him that no one had asked him if he was planning to build a bomb or something.

"Okay… Okay…" The boy locked himself in his room all afternoon and evening, working on a concoction. Ever since remembering his swinging around the city in pursuit if that thief, Subaru has had the idea of creating a tool to help him in his new endeavor. At first he had thought of a hook shot, but then he felt it defeated the purpose of speed of movement if he had to reel the cord in every time. Then, his focus turned chemical, prompting him to analyzing the webbing of arachnids as a point of reference.

"H3C and… Uhm… Some NH2…"

*FIZZLE*

*FWOOP*

"It's still too weak…" He complained as he botched another formula within a test tube. "But… Scale it to the human weight and proportion… Maybe…" The flash of genius appeared within his eyes as he ran some calculations, making him smile.

"Add some 1,6-Hexanediamine… a spoonful of Sebacoyl Chloride… More enzymes here and there…"

*FIZZLE*

*BRRLIT*

"Hehe… pseudo-nylon complete!" He celebrated for a moment before noticing the odd smell. "Wait, fuck! This is kinda toxic! I'm naked here! Pants and masks on!"

The boy then continued his reckless investigation, prodding the newly formed liquids with all sorts of chemicals to tame them and make them more flexible and resistant. "Move it here… Stir just the right amount… And…!"

*FIZZLE*

*SPLURT!*

"That's it! Hahaha!" He laughed as his formula turned into a sticky substance upon contact with oxygen, extending upwards to the spoon he had been mixing with. However, he failed to take into account the amount of chemicals he had poured into the test tube.

*SPLURT!*

*SPLURT!*

*SPLURT!*

"Woah, woah, woah, WOAH, WOAH!" Subaru flailed and yelled in surprise as the liquid formed a bubble on top of the flask. "IT'S GONNA EXPLODE!"

*BLU-BLURT!*

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" His aunt May screamed from the kitchen as she rushed towards Subaru's bedroom.

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!" Subaru hid the entire mess in his drawer, hastily swatting any and all things pertinent to his current endeavor into the closet.

*SLAM!*

"Subaru! Are you- oh…" May blushed in embarrassment as she entered the room, seeing how her nephew was half-naked with a sticky white substance dripping from his hands.

"….UUUUUUUH… IT'S-IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Quickly noticing the shame, Subaru attempted to salvage the situation to no avail.

"Don't worry, sweetie… It's natural for boys your age to-" She tried to console.

"M-May, please!" The blushing mess of a boy said while covering himself with his tracksuit's jacket.

"…Just, lock the door next time. Okay honey?" The woman exited the room, closing the door behind her.

"…AUGH!"

With the liquid complete, it was time for him to move onto the more appealing side of things: the suit and tools.

"So to shoot the webs… ACK!" He yelped in pain; the bracelet mechanism he had devised to store the webbing pinched his fingers after he had pressed it. "Unf… Yeah, maybe this is isn't the best one…" He toiled around, playing with different watch parts and springs, using empty plastic lighter containers as disposable casings for the webbing. Eventually though…

*THWIP!*

*THWIP!*

*THWIP!*

"HAHA!" He chuckled in excitement. "Genius! My genius is astounding… so much so, it frightens me! Hehehehe!" He laughed maniacally as he shot web after web around the room, as if he were a little child playing pretend.

"Captain America… Suits…" Subaru browsed the internet, using his idols as reference for his designs. "They have quite a bit of protective padding… stripes… a star in the middle… Oh! So like a symbol! Then, my symbol would have to be a spider!" He sewed a spider-icon onto the sweater he had used for his fight against Bone-Saw. Along with that, the boy shortened the sleeves and sewed in place black sleeves, moving onto modifying some construction gloves immediately afterwards, painting them in a mix of black and orange. Subaru then made a pair of black pants, tight enough that they remarked the muscle but with some padding on the knees for landing, and flexible enough for some freedom of movement across multiple surfaces. And for the footing, he grabbed a pair of seamless boots he had laying around and chemically colored them to an orange hue similar to his sweater. As for the mask…

"…" Subaru grabbed the Iron Man helmet, noticing that it barely fitted his head anymore. "Nah… This thing barely fits… My head would crack if someone punched hard enough! But…" He gazed intensely at the eyes. "It's supposed to represent you… To stand by something… Hmm! Something distinctive of me!"

Subaru then grabbed the orange ski mask, the sunglasses and the goggles, as well as the Iron Man helmet's retractable lens mechanism. Proceeding to fit the lenses and the mechanism within the mask's visor, Subaru created the distinctive image of 'mean eyes' capable of 'blinking'. Those nasty eyes that people always pointed out on his face, that they would either laugh at or fear… they were something he was quite familiar with, something that reminded him of his mother. "Your eyes might be mean… But they are perfect! You are me, but yet not me! You won't be a loser, you'll inspire hope! No one will want to make an enemy out of you, Spider-Man!" He said as he held the mask in his hands. "Yeah! Spider-Man!"

Within three months, Subaru's notoriety grew exponentially. Not as himself, however, but as the masked vigilante…

"SPIDER-MAN!" Women screamed in excitement as Subaru stopped a speeding car from colliding against a bus full of people.

"SPIDER-MAN!" Men yelled in awe as Subaru stopped a police chase by lifting the car the suspects were fleeing on with his webbing.

"SPIDER-MAN!" Children shouted in wonder as Subaru rescued a woman falling from a burning building.

"I WANT PICTURES OF SPIDER-MAN!" The Daily Bugle's host and director, J. Jonah Jameson, posted on his news website and YouTube. "If you have news on the 'rising' new vigilante, Spider-Man, then consider it your duty to the populace to share it with us at the Bugle! We are the REAL source of information that the Super-Powers-That-Be won't tell you about! We are trustworthy! Any and all high-quality Spider-Man material will be rewarded accordingly! Send us an Email to DailyBugle ! Be the REAL hero!"

"Pictures of Spider-Man, eh…?" Subaru murmured as he tapped away on his phone. "Well… I AM short on cash… Repairing computers on the side isn't as profitable as I thought it would be…"

The next day, while adventuring outside of school, Subaru donned the costume and stopped an ongoing bank robbery as the police pursued yet another set of suspects.

*BLAMK!*

"What the hell?!" One of the thieves yelped in panic as Subaru landed on top of their trunk.

*CRASH!*

*GRAB!*

"UWAAAAAAAH!"

"IIYAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Subaru grabbed the pair right out of their seats and jumped away from the moving car before it flipped over.

"POLICE! FREE-!" As the cops pulled up, they could do nothing but look in shock and surprise as the pair of criminals they had been chasing for the past 20 minutes or so were stuck, dangling from a lamp as a white, sticky string enveloped their hands and legs and mouths.

"HMPH!"

"NHMPHMPH!"

"Goddamn…" The police officers swore in marvel at the speed of the catch. Spider-Man had vanished just as quickly as he had appeared, the only evidence that he had even been there to begin with…

*KACHINK!*

The photograph Subaru had set up for his camera to take.

"Yeah!" The boy celebrated as the picture's quality was flawless. Add to that the fact that his actions 'hero-ing' that day were backed by the live broadcast the news had done of the event. There was no doubt that Subaru's pictures were veridical. Not feeling much doubt, and in a pretty cheerful mood, Subaru sent the pictures to the Bugle's website, Jameson himself contacting the lad soon after to pay him a whooping and generous $200 for his freelance.

However, the world just couldn't be so kind to the 'hero-to-be'…

"There you have it, folks! Spider-Man, clear as crystal, aiding the despicable thieves run away!" Jameson declared aloud on his live podcast.

"PFFT! *COUGH!-COUGH!*" Subaru spat out the water he was drinking as he watched the broadcast. "WHAT?!"

The image then showed Subaru's photograph alongside the News broadcast of the previous day, with Jameson comparing them to state the following. "As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, Spider-Man aided the thieves in escaping! But as the brave officers of New York's Police Department approached the vehicle in which his accomplices rode on, the arachnid fiend cut his losses short and used them as scapegoats! Truly, a deviant plan from the masked menace himself to rope in others to do his bidding and ditch them at the first sign of trouble! No loyalty or integrity, I say!"

"Wow, this Jameson guy must truly know a lot! That Spider-Man guy though? Not a big fan." May said casually as she ate a sandwich beside the heartbroken boy, staring at his cellphone as the man kept blabbering on and on.

"Imma just… Going to eat dinner in my bedroom…" Subaru excused himself.

"Don't stain the carpet!"

*CLACK!*

"…" As Subaru closed the door behind him, he laid down the water and sandwich on his desk and reeled in anger and shame at the display. Sure, he knew Jameson was a boisterous man, but lying and speculating on live broadcast and then having the gall to sell it as fact? Especially so using the footage Subaru had given him of HIMSELF?! To say that the boy was pissed would be an understatement. "UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNGH!" He screamed into his pillow. "I'm never selling you another picture, Jameson!"

Nevertheless, Subaru wasn't the only one watching the defamatory podcast.

"Hmm…" Tony Stark muttered in consideration as the live showing of the podcast played on a screen by his desk. He wasn't one to really pay attention to guys like Jameson and their rants, but this particular day's show picked his interest. "Spider-Man… Huh?"

And the rest is history…

Tony recruited Subaru to apprehend Steve when the latter went rogue, then the entire incident with Ned discovering his identity and Liz's dad trying to kill him almost costed him his newfound friendship with his hero. Then even May found out, creating a whole mess of other problems. To say that she allowed him to jump into the heroics right away afterwards would be a lie; she went full 'mama bear' for a while after finding out! Imposing a curfew and all for the 'boy wonder'!

Subaru made many mistakes along the way, but he managed to persevere, grow, and make himself useful, SAVE others when they needed saving… And that's what mattered to him. Helping people, learning the way to use his powers responsibly. Like a friendly neighbor would…

"You leaving already?" May asked as Subaru was about to cross the door leading to the apartment complex hallway.

"Huh?" The boy turned around to see her. "Well, yeah! I mean… We have to be early for the trip to the MoMA, you know?"

"Well… Before you go, isn't there anything you wish to tell me?" His aunt pressed on.

"What?" Subaru's face morphed into confusion. "May, I'm just… I'll be back by the evening! Why are you talking as if…" Subaru's mind paused. Hold on… Is this a memory still? I don't remember… Wait… Memory?

"Subaru…" His aunt got up from her seat on the sofa and approached him. "Honey… You know I never really approved of the whole 'heroic'-macho image you are going for, right?"

"Um… If this is about me going on patrol every now and then…" The boy looked away in shame. "I promise I'll be more careful! I swear! Pinky swear even! So-!"

*PAT!*

"The image of a hero… What do you think of it now?" She asked seriously as she softly grabbed him by the shoulders.

"The… Image?" Subaru's eyes narrowed into even further confusion.

"That's right…" May hugged Subaru.

"May… What is…?" The boy hugged back out of instinct, not really knowing how to react.

"Do you believe yourself to be a hero right now?"

"…" Subaru remained silent, knowing that the answer was a negative.

"Well… I do." The aunt reassured with a soft yet stern voice as she retracted from the hug.

"May…?"

"You cannot haunt yourself for every death, honey… You cannot save everyone. You know this…"

"But still… I…"

"I never said you shouldn't try."

"!" Subaru's eyes widened as tears welled. "But… Even if I try… I am not…"

"A hero? Of course you are!"

"Huh?!"

"Courageous, self-sacrificing people that set an example for all of us… How are you not that when you jump into danger to save others at the drop of a hat?" The woman said cheery as she played with the boy's hair, ruffling it up.

"…" Subaru did not know how to respond.

"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 catch a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on just a second longer!"

"Is that… What you believe of me?"

"Oh, that's what I know you are!" May winked at the worried teenager. "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. And you, Subaru, live by that example more than any Avenger or whatever I know!"

"May…"

"So please… Once you cross that door…"

"!" Subaru stared in shock as a myriad of people appeared behind May. His parents, Uncle Ben, Ned, MJ, Liz, Tony, Happy, The Avengers… Everyone that mattered to him, staring with a glint of pride in their eyes.

"Take care out there, won't you tiger? Oh! I mean… Spider!" The light coming through the windows of the apartment turned ethereal, covering and enveloping everyone as Subaru remembered his last day on Earth… Before boarding Thanos' spaceship…

"Take care out there!"

May had told him from the sofa as he left. Yet Subaru didn't answer… He had already put on his earphones, not paying attention to the loving woman as he crossed the threshold.

"…KUH!" Subaru's eyes spilled tears at the image; waterfalls flooding out as May's last memory of him was the boy walking out without saying a damn goodbye.

"I-I'm…" He murmured as he dried the tears, recomposing himself in a trembling but honest smile.

"I swear I'll return to you! To all of you! So…" Subaru gulped before exiting out of the door, taking a good last look at his world. "I'll take care! I promise!"

*CLACK!*

He closed the door behind him and ran.

He ran and ran and ran and ran.

All the way until he was standing in front of his school, Midtown School of Science and Technology. As the faceless students were boarding the buses heading to the MoMA, Subaru sank into the crowd and witnessed, amongst the nobodies, the familiar pale face of a white-haired Witch…

"I have to say… Earth surely is full of wonders!"

"…Echidna…"

Wearing a typical spring or summer model set, that is, a white sleeveless blouse with white sandals and a black mid skirt with butterflies' motif, The Witch of Greed greeted the boy at the back of the bus.

"You reaaaaaally are an interesting one, Subaru Natsuki. Or should I say… Spider-Man?"

AUTHOR'S NOTES

HELLO EVERYONE!

I really, really, REALLY wanted this chapter out as soon as possible. I giddied in excitement writing it, actually…

So if you guys didn't notice it, I based the origin around the Raimi films and Ultimate Spider-Man comics. Of course, I threw my twists here and there, but it seemed pretty self-explanatory, I think.

Maybe I wrote a little too much? But well, I like my chapters like I like my women: Meaty!

…

Actually, scratch that, it came out better in my head. Argh… Whatever! I write down the notes with no intention to erase them anyways! Kill me in the comments if you want! See if I care! HMPH!

Enough joking though, take care everyone and see you on the next chapter!