F.E.A.S.T., QUEENS LOCATION
On the rooftop of the F.E.A.S.T. building, Peter was in a darkened and secluded corner, where he changed out of his Spider-Man costume and into his street clothes, then reached into his backpack and pulled out something significant for this day. Something that he hoped and prayed didn't get damaged from the fast movements and flips that he performed while web-swinging. It was a small, square white box with a bow attached to the lid. A worried Peter held the box close to his ear, gently shook it, and let out a massive sigh of relief when he heard anything broken.
"Yeah, as you can probably tell, today was a big day at the F.E.A.S.T. homeless shelter. A place filled to the brim with staff members who were all good people who wanted nothing more than to help people in need."
Peter made his way off the roof by sliding down the fire escape, using his left hand to hold on to the ladder while using the other to keep the present tucked underneath his right arm. But instead of using the front entrance, Peter made his way to the rear; whereas he opened it up, he found a large gathering of the staff members in the kitchen set up with birthday decorations and a cake right in the center. The cake itself was primarily white with a few touches of blue, and on top were two number-shaped candles that formed the number sixty-six.
Seeing this setup brought a smile to Peter's face, and through the corner of his eye, he spotted a display billboard on the wall with the words 'Happy Birthday May' on the top. On the center of the billboard was that of a smiling in her mid to late sixties with red hair, brown eyes, and a red shirt and holding a clipboard. She appeared to have a thin but healthy frame, mainly due to attending Yoga and drinking such remedies as herbal tea, which has since become her favorite beverage. This woman was having a birthday party and someone whose caring character earned everyone's respect. A quality that Peter has always been aware of because he was raised by her and saw her as the only mother he's ever known.
"And the person leading the way in helping said people was that of my aunt, May Parker, who, after the death of my parents, raised me like a son along with my Uncle Ben, a man who taught me that 'with great power, comes great responsibility. These were the last words he said to me…on the night a robber murdered him. One that, believe or not, I could've stopped, but chose to let him go, and it cost Uncle Ben his life. After that, I made a vow to take Uncle Ben's lesson on how to use my powers to heart, and I've been trying to honor his memory by trying to save people ever since. I also took it upon myself to help May manage the bills at our house, which was the big reason for taking up the job at the Bugle. But after a couple of years, she decided to take a job at F.E.A.S.T. to 'fill the darkness' left by Uncle Ben's death, worked her way up to the shelter's Operations Officer, and became a true pillar of the place ever since. So much so that she finally made enough cash to keep paying the bills on her own, and she told me to save my money to help start living on my own. Which, to be fair, I do…somewhat. Twenty percent of the money I got from the Bugle was renting an apartment and whatnot. But the other eighty percent was for chemicals that I used to make my webbing, which by the way, costs an arm and a leg! But all that wasn't important, at least not at that time. And on this particular day, a good chunk of that money went to a special gift that I brought to the party, but we'll get to that later. For now, this was Aunt May's day, and she deserved to be celebrated by the people who loved and respected her. Me especially."
Suddenly, Peter caught the eye of a staff member, a woman of Porto Rican descent, in her mid-forties with shoulder-length hair dressed in a green light overshirt with a grey T-shirt that spelled 'F.E.A.S.T.' on the chest, black pants and boots. "Hey, Parker," said the woman in a tough but happy tone, which often made her fellow staff members see her as the tough big sister of the F.E.A.S.T. family. And she displayed this tough love towards Peter by giving him a firm punch to his upper left arm. "What kept you, kid?! We were startin' to worry about ya!"
"I know, sorry I'm late, Gloria," Peter replied, rubbing his arm and acting as if it hurt to maintain his 'normal guy persona, when in reality, he was so strong, it was barely even a tickle. "Had trouble getting a cab!"
"Which was my usual response when I was running late for anything. When in reality, there were times when 'Spider-Man' was needed. An on this day in particular…"
UPPERSIDE LEFT SIDE OF QUEENS, THREE MINUTES AGO
Here, 'Spider-Man' appeared just a few miles away from the JD National Bank, which was robbed by another masked man dressed in a yellow and red cotton-based bodysuit with two silver gauntlets on his hands. This man's name was Herman Shultz, a former engineer who turned to crime and used his talents to create the gauntlets that admitted powerful shockwaves, hence his moniker 'The Shocker.' And thanks to these powerful weapons, he stole ten thousand dollars of the bank's money, which had inside a bag slung over his back, and used his gauntlets to propel him in the sky to make his getaway. And would have to if Peter had not swung in and kicked him out of the air. Both men found themselves on the street, with Peter himself perched on top of the trailer of a now-abandoned semi-truck and Herman himself standing up from a large crack in the sidewalk made when he was kicked by the 'Wall-Crawling freak' he fought often.
Before anything else, Peter looked around and saw that people were running away from the danger. All well and good in terms of preventing civilian deaths. But all these cars could still pose a problem, especially when it came to a villain containing gauntlets that could propel these vehicles in the air and still put innocent lives at risk. This and the fact that he was already running late for Aunt May's party led Peter to conclude that he had to end this fight fast and thus stood up on his feet. "Seriously, Herman, robbing banks again?!" Peter asked, loud enough to make Herman look up at him. "I mean, do you just really hate being on parole?"
Herman seethed with rage as he looked up at Peter, who was always stopping his getaway and was determined not to let him get in the way of what could be his biggest score yet. "What I hate are web-shooting freaks who stand between me and a big payday!" Herman answered with a raged-filled roar, then pointed his gauntlets at Peter and used the tips of his middle fingers to press the buttons located on the steel rods in between his hands. This started the process of charging up the gauntlets, and within seconds, they had two massive shockwave blasts that headed straight toward Peter at full speed.
Oddly enough, though, this was something that Peter was counting on, and thus ducked sideways to avoid the blast and allowed the blasts to fly into the sky. While bent down, Peter made his move by pointing and aiming his right hand and shot a small web-ball that hit and covered both of Herman's eyes, blinding him. Wanting to stop the criminal before he started firing his blasts in a panic and putting any nearby people at risk, Peter jumped from the trailer, performed a front-flip, and wrapped his legs once close enough to Herman around his neck. From there, Peter leaned back, and using the strength of his legs, he forced Herman to perform a front flip and landed hard on the pavement while Peter sat on his chest.
Not wanting his enemy to recover, Peter instantly stood up and placed his feet beside both sides of Herman's waist. All so he could enact the next part of his plan, in that he aimed his left hand down to the right side and shot a web-line that instantly stuck to Herman's right gauntlet, then pulled it back, causing the gauntlet to pressed up underneath Herman's chin. Peter repeated this process with his left hand, and with Herman's arms crossed and gauntlets pointing up towards his own head, Peter placed both his ends on his right hand, then used the other two to shoot two web balls to keep the gauntlets in place and put Herman in quite the predicament.
For the finishing touch, Peter shot more web balls from both hands until they covered Herman's upper body and made him incapable of getting up. "Now you can use those gauntlets if you want, Herman," Peter told his immobile enemy, then jumped and backflipped away from Herman, and as he looked down in mid-air, fired two more web-balls that covered his feet to make him completely immobile. By instinct, Peter channeled his energy into his hands and feet and instantly stuck to the side of the trailer he was on previously to finish his quip. "But given where they're pointing, I'm willing to bet you're not THAT stupid!"
Suddenly, Peter was alerted by the sounds of sirens coming from the left side. As he turned in that direction, he could see police officers arrive at the scene but being forced to park their cars and run towards him on foot due to the abandoned vehicles that were still in the way. "And there's my cue to skedaddle," he said light-heartedly, then looked back down at Herman, who still struggled to get out of the webbing but to no avail. "See you around, Herman! Oh, and tell Frog-Man, Boomerang, or any poor schmuck that I put away that's a better villain than you that I said hi." With those parting words, Peter jumped off the trailer, shot two web lines, and zipped out of the scene, leaving behind an angry and violently shaking Herman, who cursed loudly as the officers approached him.
F.E.A.S.T, PRESENT DAY
As Peter gave a sheepish smile and shrug to give his 'lovably tardy' routine to the stern Gloria, they heard the voice of another female staff member whispering this in a rushed tone. "She's coming!" With that warning, Peter, Gloria, and the other people in the room hurried and found places to hide behind a steel refrigerator for Peter. Finally, May and two other staff members walked into the room, leading everyone, including Peter, to jump out of their hiding places and yell "SURPRISE!"
May was naturally shocked by this and thankful that she took a friend's advice on taking Yoga and other health supplements because this probably would've given her a heart attack. She was greeted by her co-workers, some of whom she helped train. But what surprised her the most was Peter with the present in hand. "Peter!"
"Hey, favorite aunt!" Peter replied with a smile as he hugged her with one arm.
After giving Peter a slight squeeze, May looked up at her nephew with a small returning smile, though admittedly, she was shocked as she didn't expect to see him. "I'd thought you'd be busy at work."
"Well, I almost was," Peter admitted, be it with his work at the Bugle or as Spider-Man. "But there was no way I was gonna miss your day, Aunt May!" Seeing this as his chance, Pete soon held the present in front of her. "Especially when I got you this!"
May was surprised and confused to see the box that her nephew held in her view and thus took it and opened it. What she saw inside caused her eyes to grow wide and water up.
It was a white coffee cup with a digital image of Peter, back when he was five and wearing glasses and a blue T-shirt, and a red baseball cap with what appeared to be pictures of particles. Also in the picture were a younger May and her smiling late husband Ben Parker, who seemed to be a slightly overweight man with brown hair. And it was this picture that reminded May of how she and Ben took Peter to the New York Science Expo took the picture as a family trip. It was a day in which all had a good time and a great memory for both aunt and nephew.
Something which Peter, who was on the verge of tears himself, went on to explain. "Yeah, I know how much you love herb tea, so I felt that this was the best I could do," Peter admitted, given his current budget. "But I can't lie; I wish I could've gotten something else. I mean, after how you raised me, helped me out with college. And with the way you continue to help people here at F.E.A.S.T., All without asking anything in return. You're a blessing, Aunt May, and you inspire everyone, including me, to try and do better. And you deserve better. So much better."
This speech caused the staff members to clap in agreement, which caused further tears of happiness to stream down May's cheeks. "Oh, Peter, it's perfect!" May said about the cup, then placed it next to the cake, walked over to her nephew, and hugged him tightly around his waist. "Besides, the real blessing is you! Being here, as well as hearing from you, that's what's always given me the strength to keep moving forward after your Uncle's passing. And the fact that you've grown up to be a brilliant and kind-hearted young man that makes me proud to be his aunt is the greatest gift of all. And I know that your Uncle would feel the same way
if he were here!"
The grinning and watery-eyed Peter felt the irritation and exhaustion that came from this day suddenly vanish and were replaced by that of the same level of overflowing joy his aunt felt. All that came from Aunt May's words and how she also still thought highly of him. Though Peter knew that there would come a day when he had to come clean about his double life as a superhero that only a small percentage of, if not half, the city liked, he wasn't going to concern himself with it now. That was in the future, and he was going to enjoy the here and now and be there for May and join the staff in making this day extra special for her and showed his love and appreciation for her by hugging her back. But only squeezing with just fifteen percent of his incredible strength to not crush her, but still enough to let her know that she means a lot to him. "Happy Birthday, Aunt May," said Peter with a tear rolling down his cheek and further determined to continue trying to be the best person he can be for both Uncle Ben and her.
"As you've probably picked up by now, being Spider-Man isn't a job where you get a lot of thanks. Aside from the vow I made to my Uncle, there are very few things that help inspire me to keep it up. And I am not lying when I say that THIS moment is definitely one of them. Seeing the jubilation on Aunt May's face when she saw the people she worked with put this surprise birthday party as a way to say thank you, and hearing how much she was proud of me was something you couldn't put a price tag on. And oddly enough, Aunt May's happiness wasn't the only thing that motivated me to keep spinning webs…"
After a couple of hours, the party began to wind down, and Peter was found in a large room filled with tables and numerous bunk beds and conversing with one bearded homeless man in heavy clothing. However, their conversation was cut short when a little five-year-old girl of African American descent ran in between them, another woman sitting on the bed. "MOMMY! MOMMY!" screamed the little girl, sounding happy and eager.
The mother, an African American woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties and with a bell-shaped body frame, was sitting on the bed and looked shocked to see her daughter run between two men without even announcing herself. "Tamiya!" The mother told her daughter sternly, then turned to Peter and the homeless man feeling slightly embarrassed. "I am so sorry!"
The homeless man only chuckled as he understood how energetic children could be. "Oh, it's quite all right, ma'am," he replied cheerfully and politely. "Trust me; we've gotten quite used to people running around here. Welcome to F.E.A.S.T.; I'm Michael Sinkfield, but feel free to call me Mike…."
As Mike went on with his introduction, Peter just stared at both the mother and daughter for a bit, as they both looked quite familiar. However, through the corner of his right eye, he saw a little boy nearby holding up a toy fire truck, and his eyes lit up with revelation as he remembered where he saw the excited little girl who stood before him. "Wait…!"
QUEENS, THE AFTERNOON BEFORE
With his backpack slung on his back, Peter was swinging away in a huff after getting pepper-sprayed by a woman after he returned her purse from a criminal. "Well, this is a good way to end the day!" Peter thought irritably. "Having my masked be soaked in mace and having my nostrils flare like crazy! Well, at least it's all over with now! It's not like any worse can happen." At that moment, Peter was suddenly alerted by the sounds of sirens, which made him release a web-line that he had just shot and landed in a perched position on the ledge of a nearby roof to see where they were coming from.
It turns out the sirens came from a fire truck speeding towards a burning building just four blocks away.
All of which made Peter let out a loud, exhausted sigh. "Okay, I admit, I walked right into that one." Despite what transpired just a few seconds ago, Peter still knew that he made a promise to use his powers to help and had to keep it, whether people appreciated his assistance or not. As such, he jumped off the ledge and restarted his web-swinging, but this time, he followed the firetruck speeding towards the building engulfed in flames.
At the scene, both firefighters and paramedics were already hard at work saving the lives of the people that once lived in the burning building. From firefighters shooting water from their hoses to try and put out the flames. To those carrying the soot-covered residents out of the flaming structure that they once called their home, to the paramedics standing by outside and ready to administer oxygen or provide other medical attention to any other injuries that the residents may have sustained.
One of the said residents was an African American woman who appeared to be semi-conscious, coughing from being around the smoke and being tended to by two paramedics after two firemen helped her out of the building. She found herself sitting on a stretcher and taking some slow breaths out of an oxygen mask held by one of the paramedics to her right, who was a thin but fit fair-skinned woman with short brown hair. Taking one last breath, she started to get a clear head and found herself outside the now burning apartment building, where she saw the two firemen who rescued her trying to sort out everyone that they managed to evacuate from the flaming apartment complex.
She saw neighbors along with their children, and much to her horror, she could not find her daughter among them, or anywhere else for that matter. "T-Tamiya?" The woman asked, concerned, and as she looked forward and saw the flames that consumed the entire building, her eyes grew wide with terror as she feared the first. "Tamiya!"
The woman immediately tried to stand back up from the stretcher and was being held down by the paramedics, and it was the one on the left, who was a blonde-haired, light-skinned man in his mid-twenties, who decided to speak to her. "Whoa, whoa, ma'am, you need to relax!"
"No, get off me!" The woman yelled back angrily as she struggled to get out of their grip. "I need to get in there! I need to get to my daughter!"
One of the firemen, who was light-skinned and whose face was also covered with soot, also held her down. "Ma'am, no, you can't go in there! The roof's about to collapse!" The fireman stated with regret in his voice, as he too was a father and hated to see her in so much pain. But the last he remembered, when saving as many people he could, the roof looked like it was about to cave in at any minute, and as much as he hated it, it appeared that there was nothing he could do, much to his dismay.
All this drove the mother into absolute hysterics. "NO! NO, PLEASE! MY BABY'S IN THERE! TAMIYA!"
Suddenly, one of the building's residents, a young Latino woman in her early thirties wearing a fireman's blanket, looked up at the sky in astonishment. "Look, up there!"
This caused everyone in the area to look up and see that what was in the sky was that of Peter, who leaped off the roof of the building across the street after dropping off his backpack. He overheard the mother's desperate cries to retrieve her daughter from the fiery building and took it upon himself to be the one to do it. To which he pointed his hands forward, shot to web-lines, zipped towards one of the building's windows, and heard the mother scream for him to save her daughter as he used his feet to crash through it.
For the first ten grueling seconds, it was total silence. Many of the people who spotted Peter charged into the burning building were on edge, but none more so than the mother, who openly wept as she clamped her hands together and prayed for 'Spider-Man' to bring her only daughter out alive and in one piece. Finally, after waiting for an excruciating amount of time, the silence is broken by a loud booming sound and fire shooting out one of the windows, which led the mother to fear the worst and plunge her into deep turmoil. "NOOOO!"
However, much to everyone's surprise, all was not lost, for Peter had crashed through another window that was beside the one destroyed by the fire, all while holding what appeared to be a rolled-up blanket close to his chest. He then shot a web-line swing over and landed in front of the mother, who looked completely baffled. "It's okay," said Peter as he lifted off part of the blanket to reveal the girl named Tamiya, who Peter had found hiding in her closet. "Your daughter's just fine."
Once she felt the blanket pulled from her head, Tamiya looked around and saw her teary-eyed mother and outstretched her arms to her. "MOMMY!"
"TAMIYA!" The mother exclaimed happily, then opened her arms as Peter brought the girl to her and hugged her tightly. As tears of joy streamed down her face, the mother noticed Peter right in front of him and silently thanked God that the reports of Spider-Man being a menace were wrong and that he was a true hero. "God bless you, Spider-Man! God bless you!"
Peter couldn't help but smile underneath his mask, for saving the little girl and reuniting her with his mother helped prevent the tragedy that he and his Aunt May felt when Uncle Ben was murdered. And of all the injuries and heartache that Peter endured as a superhero, losing a loved one is a pain he wouldn't wish on anyone. However, this heartwarming moment was soon interrupted when Peter heard a man's voice in a threatening tone.
"THERE HE IS! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" yelled the voice, which came from a police officer who, along with two other officers, ran in to try and apprehend Spider-Man after reports of him terrorizing a woman who pepper-sprayed him.
All of which led to Peter's disappointment to return. "And now we return to everyone hating my guts," Peter thought to himself as he jumped up, fired two web lines, and zipped over to the roof that had his backpack before the police could even get to him. All of which left Tamiya confused as she watched Peter leave while being in her mother's arms.
F.E.A.S.T., PRESENT DAY
Seeing this mother and daughter left a wide-eyed Peter dumbfounded until Mike grabbed his shoulder and startled him back to reality. "Huh?!"
"Pete, are you all right? You kinda spaced out there!" The worried Mike replied and made the mother just as concerned but confused more than anything. "Oh, sorry," Peter replied as he scratched his head sheepishly while trying to think of an excuse for why he was lost in thought. "I…just remember that I, uh, need to throw out some week-old Chinese food that's still in my friend! Don't want the landlord calling about the smell, am I right?" As Peter laughed nervously, he could see that everyone was still giving him awkward stares and thus lets out a cough as he tried to compose himself. "I'm Peter Parker, by the way!"
The mother continued to look at Peter like he had just passed gas in church but still tried to be formal. "And…Leslie Parks," she said with a forced smile, then placed her hands on Tamiya's shoulders. "And this my little girl, Tamiya," Suddenly, Leslie's soft expression soon changed to that of a stern one. "Who still needs to apologize to these men for nearly running them down!"
Tamiya did indeed feel bad for running threw Peter and Mike, but at the same time, she knew that her mother was the number one person that she did not want to make angry. As such, she turned to the two men, all while hanging her head in shame. "I'm sorry."
With smiles on their faces, Peter and Mike shook their heads to show that there was no ill will, and it was Peter who voiced this to the remorseful child. "Hey, it's okay, sweety," Peter reassured the girl. "Besides, as Mike said, people running around is pretty much the norm around here."
Leslie couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this statement come from Peter, for it showed her that the young man was actually quite charming when he didn't act like a fool. With the apologies out of the way, Leslie grabbed her daughter once again and gently turned her around to face her. "Now, what's the reason for you running around here like a crazy person?"
Now remembering why she ran to her mother, to begin with, Tamiya's eyes lid up with excitement. "People are eating cake in the bake in the back room!"
Suddenly, before Tamiya could get to the question of whether or not she could have some, she, along with Leslie, Peter, and Mike, were surprised to hear the kind and gentle voice of May Parker. "You mean this cake?" May asked sweetly, presenting her plate with a cake piece in full view of Tamiya, now transfixed by it. "You mean this cake?" May asked sweetly as she held up her plate with a cake piece in front of Tamiya, who was completely transfixed by it. "Well, you are more than welcome to have this piece," As she continued, May soon turned her sights to Leslie. "That is if it's okay with your mother?"
While May's generosity touched Leslie, she found herself between a rock and a hard place. She wasn't too keen on just rewarding her daughter, but at the same time, she didn't want to seem rude to May, one of the first people in F.E.A.S.T. to help both her and Tamiya since losing their home. A situation that surely isn't helped when she spotted Tamiya giving her the 'sad puppy eyes,' something which she could barely resist. Finally, after a brief moment of hesitation, Leslie rolled her eyes and sighed. "Sure, why not? After all, you did say you were sorry. But just remember that this won't happen again if you don't watch where you're going next time, understand?"
"YAY! Thanks, Mommy!" Tamiya then hugged her mother with glee, then turned to May, and because she didn't want to incur her mother's wrath for forgetting to do this, she looked up with a smile to say what she was told to always do when someone handed her something. "Thank you, ma'am."
"You're welcome, deary," Mary replied as she handed the eager girl the cake piece, and as she dug in, she turned to Leslie. "Just wanted to let you know that we just found a vacancy in another apartment building in Queens, and you're welcome to take a look when you can."
Leslie grinned brightly and was on the verge of tears upon hearing the best news she's heard in the last few hours. "Oh God, thank you so much."
Once May reminded him of the reason why Leslie and Tamiya were here at F.E.A.S.T., to begin with, he looked at her with sympathy. "Yeah, I heard about the fire from a few friends who were in the area," said Peter, hating himself to lie like that to keep his secret identity safe. "I am so sorry that you lost your home."
Leslie sensed Peter's generosity and thus gave him a small nod. "It's all right. I'm just glad that my daughter and I made it out in one piece and that good people really do exist in this world. From the people who work here to Spider-Man!" As she briefly looked forward, Leslie's happiness was replaced with annoyance at what she saw. "Despite what that idiot thinks."
This development naturally confused Peter, and he looked forward to seeing who Leslie was referring. Sure enough, he took was overtaken by irritation when he saw that it was Jonah, one of the wall-mounted TV screens near the back of the room with three people watching it.
May also looked at the television herself out of curiosity, and instead of angry, she seemed genially sad for Jameson. Because for a man who was supposed to inform the public of the truth, he used his show to discredit Spider-Man and ignore all of the witnesses who said he was a hero. Including those of the homeless people who took shelter in the F.E.A.S.T. building. To make matters worse, she knew that Peter worked for the man, and though she believed him when he tried to convince his stubborn boss that Spider-Man was a true hero, at this point, he was now only to get money for his apartment and pay for college, she knew that he could do better. So much so that she planned to ask her co-workers if they knew of any job openings, all so Peter could be in a workplace that not only paid well but was, for lack of a better term, less toxic. But for now, May chose to keep this information to herself, as she knew it could wait until later.
As for Peter, he didn't want such a good moment to be ruined by the sight of his bombastic boss on TV and thus decided to try and shift things to a more positive approach. Mainly on how she thought highly of his alter ego. "Well, when it comes to being around people who KNOW that Spider-Man is a hero, you've come to the right place."
It was here that May decided to join in and keep up the optimism that came with phrasing Spider-Man. "Indeed, in fact, half of the people in this building have been saved by Spider-Man himself and know full well not to believe anything that comes out of Jameson's mouth."
Leslie could feel the happiness return, as she knew that she was with people who not only cared but knew real heroes when they saw them. "That's good to know. In fact, this reminded me of what my mother told me when I was little. She said, 'good people shouldn't be judged by their words, but by their actions.'" A beaming Leslie tuned and looked at Tamiya, who was almost finished with the cake. "And the actions that Spider-Man showed to save my angel proved that the only real menaces are blowhards like Jameson, and I hope he doesn't let that idiot's words get to him! I know that what he does isn't easy, but I know in my heart that Spidey is something that this city, this world, really needs right now! I just wish I could tell him that."
Peter was left completely speechless, but most of all, he was truly moved by hearing Leslie's words of gratitude and admiration for his alter ego. Though he knew he had to keep it a secret, Peter still decided to let her know that he appreciated the words, but in a more subtle way. "Well, if there's one thing about Spider-Man is that he's always in the neighborhood. I know because I've met him a couple of times. And trust me, if he was here, he'd tell you that he's just happy that you and your daughter are okay, as well as everyone else in that building. But don't worry, if I see him, I'll tell him what you said."
With her smile still present, Leslie gave Peter a grateful nod.
"Even though it killed me that I couldn't do it, I should've been the one to thank Leslie. Because her words reminded me that there were people who knew that I was one of the good guys because of how I used my powers to help those in need, and it wasn't just her that felt that way, but thanks to Aunt May, others did too. All of which was, as far as I was concerned, was my true payday and was better than whatever check that Jonah could give me."
MANHATTAN, ONE HOUR LATER
With the party at F.E.A.S.T now over, Peter was back in his one-person apartment. With his backpack now on top of his with a messy bed, a table filled with numerous books, his fully charged Camera Copter, drawings of future designs for his web shooters, a laptop with a broken screen, and a jar filled with pennies as part of a fund to by a new one. Also on the desk was a piece of paper that listed jobs that might be hiring, such as electronic or retail stores. Curtesy of his ever-supporting Aunt May.
"And who knows, maybe one day, my life will turn around, and I'll be in a place where I won't need money from Jonah anymore…"
Instead of relaxing after a very long day, Peter found himself back in his Spider-Man costume after hearing on the police banner via a special hacking program through his iPhone that a robbery was taking place in the diamond district. And so, after putting on his mask, Peter pressed the button on his right eye-lens to make the Camera Copter hover to him, then opened the window, jumped out, and began to web-swing over to the robbery, with his Camera Copter following him.
"But for now, I'm still going to need it to keep a roof over my head. And until then, I'll just roll with whatever jab that Jameson or whatever criminal comes my way. Because I still have this great power, and I owe it to Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Leslie, Tamiya, and all the people of New York to use it responsibly and keep them safe. And hopefully…not get pepper-sprayed."
THE END