Releasing his web, Peter landed on the appointed meeting place, known to most as the Chrysler building. He didn't see Ben around yet, so he checked the time on his phone. Sure enough, it was already 6:01 P.M. They scheduled their meeting for six, so he thought he was doing well. Also, this was technically another version of himself that he was meeting, so perhaps running late really did run in the genes? Either way, Peter opted to take a seat on one of the ledges while he waited.

Honestly, he was stoked to see this new suit design Ben had been hyping up for a while. The man seemed quite proud of it, and he promised that it wouldn't borrow too much from the classic Spider-Man design, so Peter really didn't know what to expect going in. He was particularly curious whether it would end up baring any resemblance to any of the sketched designs he'd tried out before he'd settled on classic webbed up red and blue. He remembered not liking most of them until he'd crafted the final design, so more than likely, it was going to be something he hadn't expected.

After a couple minutes, the sound of webs being fired could be heard in the distance. Peter stood up, glancing to his right. Sure enough, there was Ben, who was still a bit too far for even Peter's enhanced vision to spot the particulars of the design just yet. Ben then yanked himself up, flipping through the air before dramatically landing in the classic Spider-Man pose right in front of him, finally allowing Peter to take in the design in all its glory: a blue, sleeveless hoodie-style shirt, with a scarlet mask, the same color adorning the arms and legs as well.

"So, what do you think?" Ben asked.

"Wow," Peter said. "I really wasn't sure what you'd come up with, but I have to say, not bad! The eyes have a little classic Spidey look to them, but the rest feels very… you. It works!"

"Thanks," he said. "It actually means a lot to hear you say that."

"No problem, man," Peter assured him. "So, have you thought of a name to go with this new look yet?"

"Well, I'm hoping that it's not too on the nose," Ben explained, "but what do you think about… 'Scarlet Spider?'"

"Nice!" Peter said. "Again, still obviously a Spider-Man, but making it your own thing!"

"Alright, then I guess I'm all set!" Ben replied.

"Okay then, partner!" Peter said. "Let's go stop some crime!"

Indeed, they would have no trouble doing exactly that; it turned out to be a pretty busy night in the city, with seemingly every kind of illegal activity going on. Peter and Ben would go on to stop multiple drug and weapons deals, as well as save a couple of innocent civilians from nearly falling to their death after a crane accident. It was in that particular instance that the world first got to really see the two Spider-Men in action, with Peter observing Ben to see how he was taking it. Frankly, he seemed to be loving it, though not in some prideful, arrogant way, but rather with a sense of deep satisfaction. Despite their masks, he could tell just how much it meant to him to be doing this and to be received well in doing it, how much his clone had come to find purpose even in just this small night. It was hard for Peter not to wonder if perhaps, despite an almost six-year head start on his new partner, Ben had already ended up finding even more purpose than even he had in watching over the city.

Eventually, the sun had set and been replaced in the sky by the moon, which meant that it was nearly time for Peter and Ben to go their separate ways. However, just as they were about to veer off in different directions, they heard a woman's scream coming from an alley nearby. Ben managed to change direction first, making a b-line straight for the scene. He landed, grabbing the woman's attacker while Peter attended to the victim.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," she responded, her voice breaking due to her nerves. "H-he just g-grabbed me while I was walking along… t-tried to t-take advantage of me…"

All of this sounded very familiar to Peter, with Gwen having described a similar thing to have happened to her when she was taken to Dr. Warren. Still, the woman needed his attention right now, so he steadied himself, opting to focus on the present.

"It's going to be okay, ma'am," he assured her. "We'll wait right here with you until the police…"

The sound of something being slammed against a hard surface drew Peter's attention, and he spun to see that something was actually someone, with Ben having pinned the attacker against the wall, his hands to his neck. Peter rushed over, coming to Ben's side as the other man began desperately gasping for air.

"That's enough!" Peter shouted. Ben didn't even appear phased; even through the mask, he could tell Ben's eyes were zeroed in on the man.

"I said that's enough!" Peter repeated, this time grabbing Ben by the shoulder and arm and forcing him away from the man, who dropped to the ground. Ben's actions seemed to be suddenly catching up with him, as he glanced down at his shaking hands.

"What was that?" he questioned.

"I… I don't know," Ben replied.

"He tried to kill me!" the man shouted. "You're supposed to be one of the good gu…"

Without even looking at the man, Peter delivered a punch to his head, knocking him unconscious.

"I… I have to go," Ben said. Peter tried to speak up but ended up being unable to even get a word in, as his new partner fired a web, swinging off into the night.

"So, how do you like the new professor?" Peter asked.

"I liked her," Gwen answered as they strolled along the center walkway of campus. "She's clearly very knowledgeable and she has a great background. Did you know that she has six PHDs?"

"That is impressive," Peter said. "Also, I really hope being a nerd is cooler by the time our kids go to school, because there is no way that they are not going to end up like us."

"Yeah, they won't have a chance," Gwen responded with a light laugh. Peter then turned back to face front and was suddenly surprised to see Gwen's dad walking up to them.

"Hey, Dad," Gwen said, her tone indicating she was caught off guard too. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Peter," he said. "Alone, if you don't mind, Gwen."

"Oh," Gwen said, seemingly a little taken aback. "Sure." She then turned to Peter, assured him that she would grab their usual table at the library before giving him a quick goodbye kiss and taking her leave. Peter then turned his attention back to the captain.

"What is it?"

The man glanced around, likely to check and make sure no one could listen. He then pulled Peter off the path and more towards a spot where they'd be less likely to be overheard.

"I talked to the assault victim you rescued last night, as well as the man we're charging," he began. "They both mentioned something about 'another Spider-Man' becoming violent?"

Peter fought off a swallow; frankly, he should have suspected this would get brought up.

"I had it under control," he tried to assure the man.

"Oh really?" the captain questioned, "because that's not how they both made it sound."

"I know how this looks," Peter explained, "but Ben will move past this. It won't happen again."

"I'm not sure I believe that," the captain replied, "and I'm not convinced that you do, either."

Peter let out a light sigh. The man really did have good instincts.

"Look, you didn't see the rest of last night," he said. "You didn't see the joy that he got out of being a hero. He really felt a sense of purpose, maybe for the first time. He needs that. Please, just let me talk to him; I'll stay with him on patrols and make sure nothing else happens until I feel he's ready to be on his own."

The captain let out a deep sigh; it seemed as though his gut was likely at war with what he wanted to say.

"I'll give him another chance," he finally said, "but Peter, if incidents like last night start to become a pattern, especially on a more public scale, I'm going to have no choice but to bring him in, even if it's just to make sure he gets the help he needs."

"I'll make sure nothing happens," Peter replied. "I promise."

Ben had no idea how long he'd just been staring down at the headstone in front of him, but words still failed to emerge from his mouth. Perhaps it would have helped if he'd planned a little more regarding what he'd wanted to say, instead having settled on the idea that they would likely just come to him in the moment, which was proving untrue. He just had so many thoughts swirling around in his head after last night, thoughts that he wanted to get out there somehow.

"I should have known to look for you here."

Ben still didn't remove his gaze even as Peter approached him from the side.

"I've been trying to get in touch with you."

"I'm sorry," Ben said. "I guess… I guess I just hoped that coming here would allow me to clear my thoughts a little, but I think it's only made things worse."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"'Ben Parker: Beloved Husband and Uncle,'" Ben said, quoting what was engraved on the stone in front of them. "It's strange, having all the memories, all the lessons learned from him. I remember every word of advice he gave, every time he said, 'You're grounded!', every fishing trip… all of it. Most of all though, I remember the day that he told us, 'With great power, comes great responsibility.' I feel that saying in my bones; it reverberates in my mind and heart every day…"

Ben paused, shaking his head.

"… but at the same time, he wasn't actually MY uncle. He's just a figure from some borrowed memories. Does that mean that I shouldn't take his words the same way as you did? Was it a mistake for me to go out there, to dress up in my own suit and try to save the world?"

There was silence between them for a moment before Peter spoke up again.

"Listen… as much as you're your own person, you are also me on some level. Both can be true, and I don't think it'll do any of us any good to deny it."

Ben turned to him, eyeing him curiously.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I think that I might have an idea of why what happened last night happened," Peter said. "You feel guilty for what happened to Gwen; sure, you can argue that you were manipulated, even brainwashed, but no amount of recognition of that truth can ever change the fact that what happened, well, happened. You want to know how I know all this; it's because, if I were in your shoes, regardless of how I came into the world, I would feel the exact same way."

Ben glanced back down towards the grave for a moment before looking up as he contemplated what to say next.

"When I saw that man last night, what he was doing… I was so angry," he said. "At first, I thought it was at him, and part of it definitely was, but now that I think about it, I was also angry at myself. It was escalating so fast; if you hadn't pulled me off…"

Ben shut his eyes, shuddering at the last portion of the thought.

"What am I supposed to do?" he questioned. "How am I supposed to go on living knowing that I was complicit in scarring the woman you love forever? How can I call myself a hero when Victoria was being traumatized right under my nose, and I was blind to it?"

"Honestly, and you can probably guess this, but I ask myself the same thing," Peter said.

Ben nodded in acknowledgement.

"I still dream of doing things differently the night Uncle Ben died, but that's all it is: a dream," Peter continued. "I keep having to remind myself, and Gwen does a great job of helping me with this, that all we can do is just go on and try and make the next responsible choice, do the next right thing. Look, if you don't feel that you can be the Scarlet Spider anymore, I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong. Maybe for you, great responsibility will look different, but only you can figure that out. But for now, just try and do something that, if I'm honest, I'm still working on too: forgive yourself."

Ben turned back to the gravestone.

"Look, if you want to try again tonight, I'll be at the Chrysler building again at the same time," Peter said. "It's up to you."

Ben nodded, hoping it conveyed the thanks he couldn't seem to properly utter in words. Peter's brotherly tap on the shoulder told him that he understood, and he turned and walked off, leaving Ben by himself again. He remained there a little while longer before finally deciding to take his leave as well, contemplating Peter's words as he walked along. He thought back to the start of yesterday evening, how things have been going so well, how, for the first time since he'd recovered his memory, he felt whole, complete even. Being the Scarlet Spider had fueled him with a joy and purpose he'd wondered if he could ever have, but after how things had ended…

Ben's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone calling for help. Instinctively, he ran forward, eventually discovering that a man was trying to take a woman's purse just around the corner of a nearby alley.

"Hey!" he called out. "Leave her alone!"

The man turned his face to him before shoving the woman down, causing Ben's blood to rapidly grow hot.

"Yeah?" the guy questioned as he pulled out a knife. "What are you going to do about it, huh tough guy?"

The man took a jab at Ben, who grabbed him by his forearm, holding it up high and squeezing. The man couldn't even attempt to struggle free, his facial expression shifting drastically as concern seemed to overwhelm him. After a moment, his grip was finally broken and he dropped the knife, with Ben then shoving him against a wall. Grabbing him by the throat, he reared his fist back, preparing to deliver a hard blow straight to the man's skull. However, when the moment came, something seemed to hold him back. He gritted his teeth, shutting his eyes as he took a moment. When he did, his mind seemed to flash back, and it was almost like he could hear the words clear as day:

"These are the years when a man changes into the man he's going to become for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you change into. Remember, with great power, comes great responsibility."

Opening his eyes, Ben slowly lowered his fist. He may not be a teenager, and Ben Parker may not be his uncle in the conventional sense, but the words still applied to him. This was when he was going to determine who he wanted to be for the rest of his days, and now, in this moment, he finally knew who he wanted to be. That didn't mean that things were just going to be easy from now on, but it was enough to help him calm his anger for now.

He then shoved the would-be-thief away, the man taking off down the street as a result. Ben then turned his attention to the woman, coming up to her.

"Ma'am, are you okay?"

"Yes," she replied. "Thank you; I was beginning to think that no one would come."

Those words only reinforced in his mind that he knew what he needed to do. He offered to take walk the woman home, the lady gratefully accepting of his generosity. Though it only proved a two-block walk to her apartment, Ben ended up enjoying a nice chat with her before they finally came to her building.

"Thanks again, for everything," the woman said. "You know, the world needs more guys like you, who will stand up for what's right. Don't lose that."

"Thanks," he replied, "and don't worry, I won't."

The woman gave him one more smile before turning and walking into her building, and Ben could feel the smile creeping over his own face as well. He then took out his phone, pulling up Peter's contact and sending the following message.

"See you soon, partner."

Hope you're enjoying it!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21