Peter… Peter was in disbelief. The world around him almost didn't feel real as he was forced to confront reality. Uncle Ben… died. It wasn't some accident, or run in with a bad crowd, or some noble sacrifice… but a random act of 'god' that came out of nowhere. Just… age catching up to Ben Parker at the most unlikely of times.
"You know … life really likes to suck when you least expect it."
"Yeah … tell me about it." His best friend, Adrien, nodded along. Peter lost Uncle Ben the same month Adrien lost his mother. It would feel kinda messed up to admit out loud but … it was nice, having someone who understood. "Even knowing that it would come eventually… it just feels unreal actually seeing it happen." Peter almost felt like he had no right to complain, considering Adrien had to deal with this for years, weeks and months of false hopes and faith going down the drain one morning. "Father's not ever admitting what happened out loud. I've never seen him in such denial before."
"Well your father has never been normal before, why start now?" He asked, as an awkward silence took hold. There went lightening the mood. "Sorry, humor usually helps."
"The effort's appreciated." Adrien gave a low energy chuckle. "How's May taking it?"
"As strong as a lady her age can. Trying to put on a tough facade, still goes to Feast to distract from everything." Even through her grief his Aunt couldn't help but be the kindest lady in the world. "I'm not sure how long it's going to last though. Ben's funeral is tomorrow."
"Mother never got one … they're just treating it like she left Paris." Adrien complained. "What's a way to grieve if nobody around you is grieving with you?"
Peter thought about that. "How about at the end of the week, we hold our own private funeral, just the two of us." He suggested. "Something lowkey. I know for a fact you got all of your best traits from her, so the least I can do is say thanks for that."
"That…that sounds great." Adrien smiled that grin that reminded you that for all of his good looks and charm, he was a kid. A smart kid that knew how to fence, rock climb, and knew about five-six languages with such a level of skill you'd have to double check if he was a french native, but a kid nonetheless. "Maybe I could invite Chloe. I never did get to introduce you two."
"Yeah, just…never had the time, it's all good." If Peter was being honest, he was trying to avoid that as much as possible. No disrespect to Adrien, but he had trouble reading people if Gabriel Agreste's tight grip on him was any indication. From what he gathered, this 'Chloe', was another rich kid, and a particularly bratty one at that. "Hey Adrien … if you got powers … what would you do?"
"Start a french superhero team and stop crime while quipping." The boy responded without hesitation.
"Of course you would." Kind hearted Adrien instantly thinking about other people.
"I mean, wouldn't everyone? Just imagine it, leaping from roof to roof, saving people with a smile…being freeto just…run around and do good. That's like, the ultimate fantasy."
No, the ultimate fantasy would be buying a private island full of lonely supermodels, but to each's own. "And would you … you know … make a job out of it?" He asked.
"..." Adrien was silent, simply turning the computer to his own room. "Does it look like I need a job?"
"Rethorically speaking."
"Right….I don't know." He said. "Guess that depends on what you mean by make a job out of it. I wouldn't save people and ask for five bucks in return. What, then if I save someone and they don't give me money, I won't save them? That just doesn't sound right."
"Does kind of sound douchey when you put it like that." Well, there went the whole 'hero for hire' idea. "I was thinking more like …. Merchandise? Movie deals?"
"Hm….Guess that wouldn't hurt. If you're still helping people with those powers, then I don't really see a problem. There's just the fact there'd also need to be a balance between that and helping people, because that's always more important."
"Obviously." Most of the time. There were cops and avengers after all, no need to feel like everything was his fault … some things just happened. Besides, it wasn't selfish if he was looking out for his own family. That was just being practical. "Thanks for the talk Adrien … it helps."
"Anytime Pete. Maybe next time I'm in New York, I can finally try those Wheat Cakes you're always crazy about."
"I'll store one away just for you my man." He smirked as the call ended. "Till next time dude." He waved off.
"Nice kid." Annsai popped up, eating his fifth coffee bean of the day.
"Do you just pop up out of nowhere?"
"Yeah, because I can. I'm invisible to technology." The 'kwami' shrugged. "So, what's the plan for today?"
"... I wanna aim bigger than just wrestling and talk shows." Peter said. "I wanna be a brand."
"You mean like how there's thousands of King Arthur media? Guy gets a Kwami once and suddenly he's the biggest shot there is." He rolled his eyes. "Pompous jerkward, so self righteous." This was the first time he's seen the little guy get frustrated at anything. It was weird.
"Wait, you used to belong to King Arthur?" He asked.
"Nah, I went to that Lancelot guy. Super chill in his off time. There's a reason why Grievene liked him more than her own husband. Guy knew how to be a person outside of being a knight." He nodded. "Then the whole kingdom got destroyed, and Mordred the incest baby killed his papi, and the round table of miraculous users disbanded."
"... So many questions."
"If you think that's weird, try asking about atlantis. The face of that Namor guy was hilarious."
"Namor, as in the sub-mar-never mind, think about it later." He shook his head. "So I gotta go in and I gotta go big. How to do that?" He needed his name to be known and set up the merch rights. He's already used shell companies so he could copyright 'Spider-man'. He just needed a hook. "Well, like they say, the internet is your friend." He took out his phone. "Hmm … fake account, add some styled flair, create some hashtags, show up big to get people to notice the channel …" Yeah, now he was getting somewhere. "Got it, I'm gonna start a Podcast!"
"A what now?" Annasi asked.
"Podcast. Best way to get your opinions and image out nowadays without any hooks attached." He explained. "I film myself doing stuff while talking to a live audience. Get some donations, shoutouts, it's gonna be huge!"
"You could always rob a bank. Just saying." Annasi munched on his coffee bean.
"No, I may be looking for money, but I'm not a criminal. Uncle Ben didn't raise a fool." He admitted. "Also Aunt May would strangle me." He saw Annasi raise an eye on that. "Oh tell me if you've ever seen anything scarier than a scorned parent in the millenia you've been alive."
"Hmmm…well there was Madalyne in the Victorian era being afraid of not being 'classy' in front of her mother, so I guess I see your point. Is the guillotine still an execution method you mortals use on death row inmates?"
"No, it used to be the electric chair, where they hit you with lightning until you died, but nowadays it's a poison that causes your body to shut down painlessly." Hopefully something he didn't need to see anytime soon. "Alright, let's get started. Annasi, Thwip it!"
Aunt may was a good woman…but working a non-profit charity wasn't going to be paying the bills anytime soon. Uncle Ben would've wanted him to use his gifts to help family. This was the right call … right?
Martin Li gazed down at the tombstone of 'Ben Parker'. He could vaguely hear the sermon over the sound of rain. It always seemed to rain when someone held their funeral, but never when they died. How strange that was … for the world to hold in its tears and cry only when everyone else could.
He had only gotten to know Ben through the work of May Parker. Both kind and a peace loving couple that only had the best interests of others. A rare glimmer of hope and optimism in a growing cold and unfeeling world. Despite the low paying job the man took, he always came by with his own supplies, every month … an admirable spirit.
Martin tried to help Ben, genuinely he did. But his powers … they could only do so much against old age. All it accomplished was allowing some last words to be said between their family … he only wished he could have offered them more. A loving wife and a nephew they took in as their own child. A family that managed to thrive in spite of the hardships thrown their way, and this was what the world threw at them.
When good people suffered, evil managed to thrive. That was the first lesson Martin Li ever took to heart about the world. He was taken, experimented, and his life was destroyed … all the while the rich bastards that ruined him profited, became better for it. It's why he started feast in the first place, in hopes of putting in more good than bad.
But even then, in spite of all his efforts, many fell through the cracks. Many lives still remained out of reach. Many lives are still unable to be saved… unable to be saved even when there were those that had the power to save them…but didn't. This … this was the last straw. He couldn't hold back the demons raging in his soul anymore. Li needed to fix this, to save the world before it became even more corrupted … and he knew where to start. Where it all began … Paris.
But before revenge, before destruction, before the demon came forth … he needed to be Martin Li … right here, right now. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more for him." He told May Parker, the innocent and sweet woman.
"No Martin…you've done more than enough, far beyond what I could've asked of you." The woman cried as she wiped away her tears. "We at least were able to get in a last goodbye thanks to your quick thinking. It…it was just his time."
It didn't have to be. If he had more power, if those rich bastards shared their power with the rest of the world, no one had to die like this…no one had to die at all. "I'm going to expand Feast." He said to May. "I'll travel the world a bit first, to make sure that they set up the centers well and good, but I'm moving to another country …" He told her.
"I see … it was lovely having you around." She smiled.
"You could come if you want … a fresh start in Paris." He offered her.
"France?" The kindly woman gasped in shock. "I…I don't know. It just seems like such a big step."
"I understand." He nodded. "You have my number … just call if it ever gets too much for you, alright? You're my friend May."
"Thank you…" She nodded gratefully as she turned to her nephew, one Peter Parker, who just kept staring ahead. "It's going to be okay Peter."
"I know … it's just … settling." A bright child like this … robbed of a father figure … he needed to fix this, all of this. With that bitch … Tsurugi.
Chloe rolled her eyes as she flicked through the screen. "Why do people still make lady gaga jokes, she is so overdone." With all the memes it was hard to tell who was alive and active and who was dead and un-trending. It was tacky like socks with sandals and something thinking they could pull off wearing orange.
"Just…an easy mark I guess.." Her personal lack/'best friend' Sabrina spoke from the corner she was ironing her summer dress in.
"Hey, eyes on the prize! I don't want you burning another dress!"
"But…last time it was you who left-"
"Did I say you could talk back!?" Honestly, she thought she trained Sabrina to know better by now.
"Yes mam, sorry." Good on her, knowing her place.
"Now let's see what else there is … 'The Rock' is starring in another movie with Ryan Renolds, the Fantastic Four are doing boring science stuff, Symkaria has a new crown princess …" Uggh, you'd think with a world full of superheroes and mutant freaks that there'd be something interesting going on. So far the princess thing was the only thing worth any note. Getting a princess to like you on your social media posts was almost just as good as getting a rich lonely prince to like your post.
A new thing popped up, a livestream involving … Spider-Man? She didn't know how blunt you could be with a name to make it sound ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. "Whatever, this might be good for a laugh." If not, she could always just start trolling this guy with a bunch of #lamename and get clout for starting the bandwagon.
"Hello web heads, it's your new hero on the block, the Miraculous Spider-Man! Name is trademarked, no one else can claim it. Looking at you spider web on third street." The person made a lame joke … while swinging through the city on a chain, their phone clearly attached to a holder on their shoulder. Huh, that was slightly impressive. It was hard to get selfies from that angel. "Now I know what you're thinking. Spidey, isn't it reckless to swing and stream at the same time?" He asked as he flipped through the air and did a handstand on a nearby flag pole. "And to answer your question, yes, yes it is. This is a job for trained professionals kids, do not do this at home."
He let himself free fall through the sky in a lounge position like he was in a chair. "Or you can be like me and suddenly gain powers through supernatural means. Apparently magic, but trust me fellow nerds, I am doing my best to prove it wrong." And they stopped … on a lamppost, completely sideways. "Now I'm sure many of you are complaining about the lack of content other than flips and tricks. But right now is just a patrol." They jumped from the lamppost and onto a building, walking up as if they were on solid ground. "You know, waiting around to see what crazy cook has the idea of running around snatching purses."
"Stop, thief!" Some old lady yelled as a man in a tacky green striped sweater was running the other way with a tacky pink handbag. Seriously? Who wore green stripes?! It wasn't even spring so the colors didn't even match!
"Right on cue. What we have here folks is what we call in new york the 'dummy pickpocketous', or as you probably know them as, petty criminals." They stuck out their hand. "Just watch how easy it is to take out this newb.Adhesion!"
The moment they shouted that, the tacky criminal stop in his tracks, and was sent flying backwards. "Whoa, what's goin on-!"
"Smile chuckles! You're alive!"
SMACK
The man slumped into a fist. "Still working on the safe landing, don't worry civilians, I'll get it down pat in no time." There was a ping on the chat. "Shoutout to Itsybitsy, who donated a cool fifty. Yes, I can pull non living objects too, I tested it out."
In an impressive display of muscle, they wrapped a street lamp around the criminal, before handing the old lady her purse. "I charge in smiles, keep the change!"
"Oh thank you, young man. You're too kind."
"Oh don't be like that, I'm blushing." The guy rubbed his head as a small crowd around him cheered. "Thank you, thank you, you've been a lovely audience. But don't you worry, the show shall go on elsewhere, wherever there's a butt to kick"
PING PING
"Alrighty, I've got two more minutes, that's enough time to answer one or two more questions. Any takers?" He asked, sending forth the chain and pulling himself up in the air once more. There was a second of silence. "Ah, Capmarvelfanatic616. Huh, wonder who your favorite hero is." Chuckles from the crowd came up. "She asks 'aren't you that same Spider-Man on tv?' Why yes, yes I am. But I figured it was time to branch out. Tv's a dying art anyway, it's all about buzz and social trends."
"That's what I always say!" Chloe shouted, feeling justified in about half her decisions she made today based on getting buzz. Mostly selfies and capturing morons as they trip on their feat…aka Dupain-Cheng wednesday.
"And last one from Supercool34. 'What do you plan on doing for the long term'? Well I plan on a movie deal if people offer it, but until enough people petition my handsome face on the big screen, it's blogging for me." More incessant beeping came from somewhere. "Well that's all the tieI have! From burning buildings to cats in trees, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is here for all your needs." They said cheekily. "Just remember the hyphen, a lot of posts keep forgetting it."
With that, the stream ended. Whoever this guy was….had the absolute right idea! You heard all about these 'avenger types' and whoever the heck Alpha Flight were, but none of them flaunted the spotlight. If you were going to dress in bright colors in the spotlight, why not flaunt it? This guy was being smart and getting ahead of the curve. It's exactly what SHE would've done if she had powers of her own to exploit.
"Sabrina, make sure I'm following Spider-Man from now on." Still an utterly ridiculous name, but not everyone cold be perfect like her.
"Right away Chloe." The girl stood up.
"AFTER you do your chores." The effort Chloe was forced to put in these days. But it was all for the greater good.
Garbiel Agreste wasn't a very social man. Even before his wife Emmilee's….condition, he mostly kept to himself. He only managed to make a select handful of friends throughout his life, and only with those that could see past his stoic demeanor. But Emmilee….she was able to reach his heart in ways no one else could.
She was the light of his life, the wind beneath his wings, the constant force that kept him going. Every word she said held passion and beauty never seen before. Not a single selfish thought existed within her body…except for the desire to have a child of their own, the greatest gift anyone could ever receive ... and doing so cost the both of them so dearly.
He tried normal medicine first, doing all he could to find the best and brightest. But science wasn't the answer, they couldn't tell why she was failing, they barely understood it.
Then Gabriel tried magic. If magic caused it, then magic would fix it. He searched far and wide, before eventually finding one 'Doctor Strange'. He begged the man for a cure, offering any amount of money he wanted. The hack had told him it was even beyond his ability, though Garbriel believed that the man didn't try hard enough. If you had the power to create portals to other worlds, surely curing a magical illness wasn't that beyond.
From there he got desperate, using the butterfly miraculous to try and give Natalie the power to cure Emilie. And it WORKED… For a year. The effectiveness of the healing degraded with time. The butterfly could grant powers, but it wasn't all powerful, not like the others in the book. Anything he tried with the butterfly would only be temporary, and anything with the peacock miraculous would only put someone else in a similar state, and he wasn't going to sacrifice Natilee, or deprive Adrien of both his parents..
"I'm sorry …" He held her hand. "I tried so hard … I kept pushing, hoping for an answer …" The cruelest part was keeping Adrien away from the truth. As far as he was aware, his mother was dead. A cruel deception that was better than the false hope of getting better.
But there's still hope … a small, small chance at hope. He looked to the book, the one that was found with the miraculous he had. It showed the objects, displayed their powers … and showed even more. He couldn't quite decipher the book, the language was old, but one definite fact remained.
A wish. A magical, all powerful, wish. Like that of a genie, a wish that could grant anything the user declared. It was these magic jewels that sent his wife to the grave…and it would be those very same jewels that saved her. The only issue was not knowing WHERE the other jewels were, particularly the Black cat ring and the Ladybug earings. With most of the world filling more and more with super humans, it was almost impossible to tell who held what.
But they WERE out there. He's seen it out there, the spider with the chained rings. Gabriel was sure the others existed … he just needed a way to bring them out into the open … so, he came down here to do one thing …
"I'm sorry … I'm so sorry Emilie, for the dark path I'll be walking." He told her. "The lives I'll hurt, the damage I'll cause … but if I make that wish … to make it so that you never got sick to begin with … then that would undo my sins too … wouldn't it?" If their roles were reversed…..maybe…maybe he wouldn't want to be brought back….but Emilie was better than him. Emilie was better than most people….someone as innocent as Adrien deserved to have someone as pure as her in his life.
"Nooro.." He spoke to the Kwami as he put on the Butterfly brooch. "It is the Ladybug miraculous that's required for purification of these 'akumas', correct?"
"Y-yes Master, it is…but Akuma's only occur when the Butterfly Miraculous is used for evil."
"I know …" He clenched his fists. "I'm sorry Nooro, but I need to make a wish using these two miraculous."
"But … but master, it's not how it works." Nooro spoke. "If you make a wish, something else has to happen. Creation and destruction balance each other."
"I know…" He repeated sorrowfully. "But my decision is final." He closed his eyes. If he had to be the villain to save his wife…then he would be the villain for all of paris. "Nooru…dark wings rise!"
"Hey Annasi." His master asked. "Do you think I should do a colab? You know, team up with other masked people around town as we fight crime and look cool?" He asked. "Help give them exposure and spread the Spidey love?"
"If that's what you want to do, then go for it, though I don't think other masked people would be so excited having their faces so close on everyone's cell phones." He munched on his daily coffee bean. "I know you walk a fine line, but some people like having what's known as a 'secret identity'.
"Hmm … maybe I'll give them a heads up and talk it over first. See if they take it up." He muttered. "Also really wanna meet and greet with a female superhero." Annasi sent him a look. "You and I both know 'Peter Parker' isn't gonna get a girlfriend."
"True, but don't go expecting Captain Marvel to jump on your doorstep." He's seen how the boy looked at her posters. "Also, I would really appreciate you leaving the suit off if you do so. I don't want to watch human 'eye candy' so close and personal."
"Can I even take off the suit when I'm transformed? I feel like it's more like a second skin than a costume."
"If you want to get technical you could rip your skin off, thus the costume." He shrugged.
"...You are randomly morbid at the most spontaneous of times." Peter stated. "Which is darkly ironic for the kwami of stability."
"Hey, I'm built differently than most Kwami's. The definition of what counts as 'stable' changes from time to time, person to person, society to society. I'm adaptable like that."
"Does it ever get lonely?" Peter asked. "Being the only Kwami out in New York?"
"I see others on occasion. Besides, the order pretty much brainwashed them into being a bunch of rule following good doers that do whatever they say." Annasi would say they could bite it, but if they actually did the universe was screwed. "Even Plaag, the kwami of destruction follows the rules when he's supposed to represent disorder. Not everything can follow the same straight path"
"Well, to each their own I guess." Peter said, pulling out a bag of his favorite treat. "I'm gonna work on managing our account and looking into other newcomers. Help yourself."
"And like that, you've been promoted to top ten holders." Annasi grinned as he dove into the bag.
"Who would even consider number one?" He asked.
"Tough choice…tied between Pavitar and Jessica." One was super easy going and one was super kind….to bad the latter was also a secret Nazi sleeper agent. "The worst two are gonna have to be Arachne and Jack the ripper."
"… You knew Jack the-wait, how was this 'Arachne' as bad as that psycho!?"
"Jack was clean, Arachne got blood on my food." He shivered. "And trust me, blood and coffee do not mix, no matter what Dracula says."
"...Dracula is real-never mind, distracting myself with the internet now." Peter shook his head. "As long as I'm nowhere near as bad as a freaking serial killer, then I'm confident in what I'm doing."
"If you say so kid." It wasn't exactly in his nature to argue with what his holders did with the powers. If everyone was perfect all the time then nothing would happen. At least this one wasn't a people eater … Annasi really did not like the taste of blood in his coffee beans. Still though, Peter was a strange case. He was selfish, that wasn't something even the boy himself wouldn't argue against, but he was pragmatic about it. He wasn't above being thanked with twenty dollar tips, but he would still be helpful.
"… You know, if there's a Kwami for every concept, I'm surprised we haven't run into another user yet." Peter noted.
"It's a big world kid. Not every life changing incident revolves around New York." Annasi shrugged. "And we're tied to jewelry, even all powerful magic jewelry gets lost and/or forgotten over centuries."
"Makes sense, found you in a jukebox of all things. Some things are too wild to believe."
"Believe it. I got tales to astonish for years." Annasi chuckled as he hard knocking on the door. "Better answer that kid. If it's about the missing coffee bags, tell her you drank the whole thing."
"I don't drink coffee though."
"Yet your room smells like it and you're up over half the night nowadays. All signs naturally point to you." Annasi snickered.
The boy sighed. "The cons of having a superpowered animal god living in your bedroom." Peter turned to the door. "It's open Aunt May." He called out.
"Peter." The woman said coming in. "We need to talk … we're moving." ….Wow, didn't expect that. "...Why does your room smell like coffee?"
"... Late night studying." Good thing his owner was a nerd or else that weak excuse wouldn't fly.
Adrien smiled widely. "You're heading to Paris!?" He shouted with glee. The one friends he's only been able to talk to on camera for two years was finally going to be in the same city as him…FULL TIME! That never happened! Any friends he made he usually never saw again.
"Yeah … really last minute." His best friend nodded. "I am so lucky you constantly slip into french, or else I'd be more of a laughingstock there than I am here."
"That's not true. Nobody knows what Flash calls you." Adrien pointed out.
"And I hope to keep it that way. I JUST got my class to forget about it. I don't want to head back to New York in the future and have that be some kind of tradition they've kept going without me."
"True, that would suck." Adrien nodded. "Hey, on the plus side I'm here, and Mr Li." Adrien spoke with the man a few times when his father made a public donation. He seemed really nice, and Peter's stories helped paint a brighter picture. "And I can finally introduce you to Chloe."
"Right, plain ole Peter Parker from the New York suburbs hanging out with both a world class super model and the daughter of the biggest fashion critic of all time. She'll just be dyingto meet me."
"Relax Pete, she's pretty nice once you get to know her."
"You sure it isn't justyoushe's nice too, you know, given your puppy dog aura?"
"Well she's the only person my age I've ever met other than you and Sabrina, so you be the judge of that." He pointed out. "And hey, New School, there's gotta be plenty of cool new people to meet there …" A school…he wouldn't get to join.
"Fair point. Maybe I can finally make a name for myself that isn't 'puny parker', Sir Swirlie, sir stuff 'nerdy Parker'... "
"Not the most creative insults in the world."
"Well Flash isn't the smartest bully in the world." That got them both to chuckled. As sarcastic as Peter could get, there was a real sincerity to his words. "And I could probably swing by and visit you at your place…you know, granted if the Gorilla lets me within fifty feet."
"Sneak him an action figure and you're good." He smirked. "He's a really big hero fanitic. I've been able to sneak into a few movies under his watch exploiting that weakness."
"Ooooh, Innocent Adrien has a sneaky side to him. Glad to see my good influence has rubbed off on you."
"Yet we both know you'd never do something Aunt May didn't okay." He grinned back.
"...Touche my friend, touche…" Peter laughed. "Well we'll be in Paris by the end of the week, and I'll be starting class the day the new semester starts. Bit of a shame. I had just gotten into the groove with my new job."
"There's plenty of people that would hire you Pete. Hey, maybe I could get you a job for my dad." Adrien offered.
"...Two problems with that Adrien. First, I don't know anything about fashion, as he clearly stated with my 'unoriginal commoner garb with no sense of style and organization'."
"Something I'd kill for." Adrien joked.
"The second is that your father is a supervillain."
"You're still convinced he has an evil lair buried under our house?" He snickered.
"He has the money for it!" He shouted.
"I know father is a bit prickly, but he means well….most of the time." When he wasn't ignoring him…which was becoming more and more common lately. "My photoshoot is almost coming up, talk to you later Peter."
"You two Adrien. Remember, live a little."
"I live everyday." He chuckled as the conversation ended. "...Though not by much." His best friend was moving to Paris, going to school … IN PARIS, and Adrien would be spending the majority of his days inside of his room while Peter got to go to school. That settled it.
"..I'm going to go to school."