Spider-Man: Destiny - Year 1

Chapter 3: Growing Pains and Happiness

It was a quarter past midnight, and Peter was still up in his room. Sitting in his bed with his laptop, Peter was looking through dozens of different websites for ways to find money. Hours of searching through different legal and illegal money-making tactics eventually led to something that remotely interested Peter.

"Oh, shit," Peter muttered as he noticed the website was mildly sketchy looking.

ENTER THE RING FOR $5000

Are you a fearless warrior craving the ultimate challenge? Look no further! Join the underground cage fighting scene and face off against long-time champion Crusher Hogan. Defeat him in under 5 minutes, and walk away with $5000!

Details:

Location: Beneath Linguini's Ristorante (Entrance at the basement on first floor. Say "Crush" to security guard) in Brooklyn, New York

Date: September 14, 2024

Time: 7:30 PM - MIDNIGHT

Registration Fee: None (You're probably not winning anyway)

Prerequisite: Combatants must be 18 years or older. MUST WEAR A COSTUME!

Disclaimer: Participants enter at their own risk. Paramedics will be provided, but management is not responsible for injuries sustained during the event or any correlated medical fees.

Peter smirked, confident. "Eighteen and up? I can work around that, got literal super powers now."

That Friday, Peter excitedly walked into gym class at school.

"Alright, people. You all have a choice of either basketball, soccer, or you can just go to the weight room and do your own thing. One, two, three, go!" Coach Cook yelled in gym class, quickly clapping his hands.

Peter looked around, only to see Flash and Kong joining the students playing basketball. Flash laughed the moment he saw Peter.

"Great, someone call an ambulance!" Flash remarked. "This dude's gonna get pummeled in three minutes."

Kong laughed. "Yeah, and he'll be left with a broken face and the hundred thousand dollar bill."

Flash shrugged. "Good ol' American healthcare."

Peter smirked at his bullies. "Nah. I'm staying."

Flash chuckled. "Your funeral, dork."

Peter glared at Flash. "We'll see, douchebag."

Flash tried to walk over to Peter, only for Kong to hold him back. "What'd you call me, Parker?"

"Chill, dude. You don't want to get kicked off football tryouts," Kong pointed out.

"Guys, save it for the court. Start playing!" Coach Cook instructed.

The teams were made, with Peter unsurprisingly being on the opposing one as Flash and Kong. The game started, and Peter ran over and easily grabbed the ball. In ten seconds, he leaped with grace and threw the ball in the net, instantly shocking everyone.

"Holy shit, nice!" one of Peter's teammates exclaimed, high fiving him.

"Dude, what's he on?" Kong asked a shocked Flash.

Peter proceeded to throw another ball in the basket, and it became an ongoing pattern of him easily taking the ball and making baskets.

"Sorry, bro!" Peter apologized as he jumped over someone from the opposing team, taking the ball from him in the process.

He made another basket, causing his team to cheer. Kong managed to run and grab the ball, dribbling it towards the other basket. Peter easily caught up, getting in front of him.

"Don't they call you King Kong? Sheesh, at least try to live up to your name!" Peter trolled as he grabbed the ball from Kenny, with the latter running towards the other basket.

"Parker, I'm gonna kill you! You piece of shit, you fu-" Kong rambled.

"KONG!" Coach Cook yelled.

Peter ran with the ball over to the other basket, where Flash tried to ambush him. Peter easily smacked Flash aside and jumped for the basket, smoothly getting the ball in. Some of the students in the gym looked over in shock, with a few recording the scene on their phones.

Coach Cook ran over. "Parker, that was insane! Thompson, you okay?"

Flash quickly got up, feeling his elbow. "I'm fine, didn't really feel much from the pipsqueak."

Peter scoffed. "Sure, asshole."

"Watch it, you two," Coach Cook warned. "Parker, I gotta admit. I didn't know you had that in you."

"Yeah, I guess you could say I've been holding out on you guys," Peter cockily responded.

"Look, basketball tryouts are in January. It's completely up to you, but I would consider trying out if I were you. It'd be a great physical outlet and the team could really use your skills," Coach Cook proposed.

"Hold up, Coach Cook! Don't you think we have enough people planning on trying out already? Half the football team is already down," Flash argued.

Coach Cook turned to Flash, a little annoyed. "Thompson, we gotta look out for what's best for the school. For the Midtown Patriots. Anyways, just go to the nurse. And you, Parker. At least think about it. Everyone, get back to what you were doing!"

Flash groaned and started to leave to go to the nurse, only to see Peter smirking at him. Flash mouthed 'You're dead' to Peter, prompting him to flash the middle finger in return.

After the period ended, Peter left the gym, walking to his next class.

"Yo, Peter!"

Peter turned around to see Harry walking towards him.

"Harry! What's good, man?" Peter asked, giving Harry a fist bump.

"Not much. Nothing's really new, just getting through school and everything. How about you?" Harry asked.

"You know Flash Thompson?"

"Yeah, he's in my intro to business class."

"Well, the guy's been an absolute prick to me since elementary school. I finally got to show him up in gym today. Man, I destroyed him in basketball. Hopefully, the dude's pride is pretty shattered," Peter explained.

"Dude, that's actually badass. Good for you, bro," Harry said, impressed.

"Thanks. It felt awesome."

"I bet. Anyway, what class you going to?"

"Precalc."

"Damn, I knew you were smart, but wow."

"Yeah, it's not really a flex depending on who you talk to. And it's really just me sitting in there with a bunch of juniors and seniors."

"Still though, that's insane."

"Thanks. What class are you heading to?" Peter asked.

"English. I think we're gonna start reading Hamlet. God, that's gonna be fun," Harry sighed.

"I mean, just SparkNotes that stuff."

"I could, but it's gonna drive me crazy if I don't actually read the whole thing and properly grasp the plot."

"Oh, I totally get that. In engineering, I gotta make sure that every single piece is put together in the right area. Every part is properly looked after and-"

"You literally sound like my dad right now," Harry joked.

"Oh man, is that a compliment?" Peter chuckled.

"I mean… yes and no. It's kinda complicated, I'd have to explain when we have more time."

"I gotcha. I mean, is there any-"

"Hi, Peter!"

Peter turned to his left to see Liz Allan passing him in the hallway. Smiling, Liz shot a wave at Peter, who was feeling the butterflies multiplying in his stomach.

"Uh, hey, Liz!" Peter responded, waving back with a smile.

Even after Liz was out of sight, Peter couldn't stop smiling. Laughing, Harry hit his friend's shoulder.

"Okay, Peter! You did not tell me about her? Now, who was that?" Harry exclaimed.

"That's also a story that's gonna require more time. But that's Liz, and man, she's the best," Peter replied. "Also, can I just say something, man?"

"What's up?"

"Today and the last week have been GREAT."

Harry smiled. "Let's go, man! Seriously, that's awesome. Didn't take long for things to turn around for you."

Overwhelmed with happiness, Peter started going on a tangent. "Yeah, I mean, I got you and Liz. I got to embarrass Flash in gym. Things are still great with my aunt and uncle. And…. yeah. Things are changing and I love it. It's awesome."

"That's amazing, man. Seriously, keep it up," Harry encouraged before turning to the right. "My class is this way, but let's figure out when we're gonna hang soon!"

"Definitely. See you, bro."

Peter continued walking to his class. Putting in his earbuds, Peter tuned out the rest of the world as he allowed himself to be happy.

The next day, Peter was putting the finishing touches to his makeshift costume in his room.

"Peter!" Aunt May's voice called.

"One sec, May!" Peter called back.

Peter threw the suit in his closet real quick before closing it. Aunt May opened the door and walked in.

"Ben and I are about to head out for dinner. We'll probably be back around ten," Aunt May said.

"Okay, sounds good. I'm probably gonna head to the library in half an hour or so. Harry and I are gonna chill there for a bit," Peter lied.

"Oh, well, that's nice! Let me know how that goes!"

"Will do. Love you, May."

"Love you, Pete," Aunt May responded as she left the room. "Ben, let's head out!"

Peter closed the door and went to go take his costume out of his closet. Finishing it up in under a minute, Peter was satisfied. Specifically, the suit consisted of a red mask, dark yellow sunglass lenses, a black beanie, a black jacket, blue jeans, and black-and-white Converse flats. Peter then got a text from Aunt May.

AUNT MAY: Forgot to mention, but make sure to be home by 9:30!

Putting his phone in his pocket, Peter quickly took the costume and stuffed it in his backpack. Leaving his room, Peter headed out of the house to catch the train.

Now fully costumed, Peter walked in a dimly lit back alley behind Linguini's. On the brick wall was a small vent, its rusty edges revealing years of neglect. Determined, Peter crouched down and quietly pulled off the vent cover, the metal protesting with a soft whine.

"Sick," Peter whispered.

Gently setting it aside, he peered in and started crawling through the wide vent. The scent of marinara and garlic wafted through the vents, causing Peter's stomach to growl. As he approached the end of the vent, he could further hear loud cheering. Pulling open the vent, Peter stealthily lowered himself down, landing silently on the catwalk.

"Holy shit," Peter exclaimed.

"HOGAN! HOGAN! HOGAN!"

In a wide underground cage fighting arena, thousands of people in the seats cheered as the famous 235 lb Crusher Hogan pummeled the poor Demon Hunter.

"No, please! Shit!" Demon Hunter yelled as Crusher Hogan pinned him against the cage.

"Couldn't last two minutes, huh, sweetheart?" Crusher Hogan taunted as he punched Demon Hunter in the face, knocking him down.

"I give up! Let me out! Let me out now!" Demon Hunter screamed.

Crusher Hogan scoffed as the cage was opened up. The audience got up and started cheering as they screamed for the champion. Paramedics arrived to take Demon Hunter away.

"HOGAN! HOGAN! HOGAN!"

"Ladies and gentleman, Crusher Hogan effortlessly takes down the Demon Hunter after a little less than two minutes!" the cage fight announcer yelled in his microphone. "The grand champion remains undefeated! Who's man or stupid enough to get destroyed by Hogan next?!"

A majority of the audience started booing, and the announcer turned around to see a new challenger jumping on the ring.

"And who the hell are you?!" the announcer exclaimed..

"Call me the Spider! And that money's mine," Peter declared as he turned to face Crusher Hogan.

"Maybe get a less shitty costume next time!" Crusher Hogan suggested with a smirk.

"Come and get it, ugly," Peter responded.

Crusher Hogan charged at Peter, who jumped over him. Peter ran over to Hogan, only for the latter to smack him across the face, knocking him down.

"Gah!" Peter groaned in pain as he felt his jaw in pain.

The cage proceeded to close down on the ring, enclosing the two combatants. Peter's enhanced senses started warning him, prompting him to jump out of the way as Hogan tried to tackle him. Peter ran in and punched Hogan in the face, only for Hogan to kick him in the chest, knocking him back. Heavily gasping from the impact of the kick, Peter held his chest as he started to get back up.

"Look at this guy! Little pussy!" Crusher Hogan taunted.

The crowd started laughing. Crusher Hogan ran over and threw another punch across Peter's face. Hogan went for a second punch, only for Peter to grab his fist. Yelling in a fit of rage, Peter punched Hogan in the jaw, causing him to stumble back. Peter then threw a spin kick at Hogan, knocking him down.

"Could this be? Has someone actually knocked down the champion? Talk about historical!" the announcer rambled.

Crusher Hogan got back up, infuriated. "You're dead, kid!"

Crusher Hogan ran over to Peter, throwing a few more punches that the teen dodged. Peter went for a punch, only for Hogan to deflect it with his arm and counter with a punch to the face. Peter yelled and jumped at Hogan, knocking both of them down to the ground. As the two wrestled for a bit, Hogan managed to grab Peter's leg. Hogan then got up and slammed Peter against the cage three times before body slamming him into the ground.

"G-get off me!" Peter stammered as he tried pushing Hogan off of him.

"Nap time, little bitch," Hogan taunted.

"Don't. Call. Me. That!" Peter furiously demanded as he generated enough strength to push and kick Hogan off.

Peter then went for a punch to Hogan's face, causing him to stumble. Peter dodged two more strikes from Hogan, and jumped over an attempted body slam. Peter landed and clinged on to the cage, to the awe of the audience.

"The hell are you doing up there?! Get down here and fight!" Crusher Hogan yelled.

Peter smirked underneath his mask. "If you insist."

Peter jumped down on Crusher Hogan, wrapping his legs around his face. In that pose, Peter managed to slam Hogan into the ground. Getting off of Hogan, Peter looked at the infamous fighter, struggling to get up. Laughing, Peter delivered a light punch to Hogan's face, knocking him down for good. The audience exploded as the referee ran over to Hogan.

"One! Two! Three!" the referee counted as he pounded the ground. "It's done!"

"WINNER!" the announcer yelled as the audience filled the room with cheering and clapping.

The referee held up Peter's arm as a massive amount of euphoria overflowed the teenager's brain. The cage opened up, and the announcer ran up to Peter. Paramedics arrived to take Crusher Hogan away.

"Everyone, our champion has finally been defeated after five years of an undefeated career!" the announcer exclaimed. "Give it up for our new champion, the terrifying, the ferocious, the amazing Spider!"

"SPIDER! SPIDER! SPIDER!"

Peter was laughing and nearly tearing up under his mask as he watched the thousands in the audience cheer and clap for him.

In the promoter's office, Peter excitedly waited for his money. At his desk, the promoter begrudgingly took out five hundred dollars and handed it to Peter, before admiring the rest of his money.

"Now skedaddle," the promoter rudely said.

Confused, the smile on Peter's face faded. "The ad said five thousand."

The promoter scoffed. "Five thousand for whoever lasted five minutes in the ring. And you took down my best fighter in two! Not just that, but you just jumped in the cage without permission! And you clinged onto the cage, that should be cheating if you ask me. So unless you want to sign a long-term contract, you get five hundred."

"Are you freakin' serious? I earned the money fair and square and kicked your fighter's ass, dipshit. Now give me the money I earned," Peter argued.

The promoter smirked. "What are you gonna do about it? Assault me?"

"I need that money."

"Not exactly my problem, kid."

Fury running through his eyes. Peter gave the promoter a code glare before storming out of the room. As Peter walked down the hallway, a man with a blonde buzzcut, sunglasses, and leather jacket walked into the office. The promoter looked at the man, confused.

"Who the hell are you-" the promoter started before a gun was drawn on him.

"Give me all the money. Now!" the burglar instructed.

Outside, Peter had just opened the elevator before hearing yells in the office. The burglar burst out of the office with his gun and bag of money, sprinting towards the elevator. The promoter ran out, and a cop started making pursuit.

"Stop him! Stop! Kid, knock him out!" the promoter yelled as he chased the burglar.

Scoffing, Peter simply stepped aside and allowed the burglar to run past him and into the elevator.

"Thanks, man!" the burglar said as the elevator door closed.

"Goddamn it!" the cop yelled as he ran down the stairs, hoping to make chase.

The promoter turned to Peter in anger. "The hell's wrong with you? You could've taken him down! Because of you, he's gonna get away with all my cash!"

"Not my problem," Peter coldly responded, walking away.

In disbelief, the promoter shook his head and walked back to his office.

Much later that night, Peter quietly opened the door to his house. Sneakily walking inside, Peter started to tiptoe until the lights suddenly came on. Aunt May and Uncle Ben were waiting in the kitchen, and they didn't look happy.

"Where the hell were you? Do you realize what time it is?" Aunt May asked.

"Uh, no," Peter replied.

"It's 12:04, Peter. What in the world were you doing until midnight?" Uncle Ben exclaimed.

"I-I needed to take a walk. Clear my mind." Peter sighed.

"You didn't respond to a single text or call from us," Aunt May pointed out.

"My God, Peter. Is that a black eye?" Uncle Ben asked, even more concerned.

Peter looked at his face on his phone, not having previously noticed an injury. "Oh, shit."

"Peter. Who were you out with? What were you doing?" Aunt May interrogated.

"I already told you, I was at the library with Harry. We hung out after the library closed, and I had to take a walk for a little while after to clear my head of some things. At one point, I walked into a pole. Sorry I wasn't looking at my phone, I should've texted you guys back," Peter explained.

"Okay, I understand all that, but you left us worried sick. We were super close to calling the police. Like, this was still super reckless on your part," Aunt May scolded.

"Peter, Peter. Look, what was bothering you so much? Whatever it was, your aunt and I probably went through it too," Uncle Ben stated.

Peter rolled his eyes. "I doubt that. Can I just go upstairs now?"

"Peter, if you'll just let me talk!" Uncle Ben stressed. "Look, I just need to say this. You're a lot like your father. He was one of the most brilliant men alive, but he had a drive to do things. He wanted to do good with his research, which is why he never stopped trying to discover and create. He motivated me to push harder not just in school, but in life."

"Way to preach," Peter snarkily said.

Ignoring his nephew's comment, Uncle Ben continued. "Richard always believed that if you had the ability to do things better than others, then you had a moral obligation to do those things if it meant helping people! Putting others before yourself, figuring out what your place is in this world! He inspired me a lot this way. There's too many people in this world that just take and-"

"Okay, I'm done with this," Peter interrupted.

"Peter, stop being rude," Aunt May commanded with a death stare.

Uncle Ben tried to continue. "Peter, I get this is tough to take in and everything, but-"

"Nah, I'm literally done with this. You're trying to use my dead dad to teach me some life lesson, I've already made it clear a thousand times I'm not in the mood to talk!" Peter ranted.

"Peter Benjamin Parker-" Aunt May started.

Uncle Ben groaned. "Peter, it's not like that. Just listen-"

"Screw this!" Peter declared before storming out of the house.

"Peter! Peter!" Aunt May yelled.

"May, stop. Maybe we should just leave him alone for a little," Uncle Ben suggested.

"Are you forgetting the fact that it's past midnight?" Aunt May exclaimed.

"Oh, right. Well, let me try and go talk to him. Maybe we can come back to the house and talk this whole thing out."

Uncle Ben walked out of the house.

"Peter? Peter?" Uncle Ben called for his nephew.

However, Peter wasn't anywhere in sight in the neighborhood.

It was almost one in the morning, but Peter didn't care. Walking down the street, Peter looked down as he contemplated everything. High school. His powers. Getting cheated out of the money. Aunt May and Uncle Ben. However, Peter started hearing sirens near him.

"What happened?"

"Oh my God!"

"Did someone get hurt?"

Peter looked up to see police cars heading towards the curb, where a crowd of people were surrounding something. More people were starting to head over. Curious, Peter started walking over.

"Shit, what happened?"

"I can't see!"

A police officer tried to hold people back. "People, I need you to all step back!"

Morbidly curious, Peter made his way through the crowd, where he dreadfully spotted a familiar figure laying on the ground.

"Uncle Ben!" Peter screamed.

At Fisk Tower, Wesley was sitting in a room on the top floor. With the outside darkness shrouding the entire building though the transparent glass, Wesley took a few sips from a small cup of scotch.

"So, boss. All the recent reports that have been coming out about this Silver Sable and her goons attacking our bases. Destroying some of our resources. Our employee count hasn't gone down too severely, but there will be a significant drop if this continues for the next month," Wesley calculated.

"Continue to equip the men with what we can get. Push Mason and the rest of the team to really bring an artillery that could rock an entire neighborhood alone," a voice in the darkness stated.

"I'll keep doing that, but we're going to have to come up with higher countermeasures and a proper retaliation plan soon."

"We will. And how has Adrian been doing with all of this?"

"See, this Sable chick is smart. Somehow, she knows what areas are the least populated or protected, and depending on location, it's usually too late by the time Adrian flies over."

"In that case, we'll proceed forward with a resolution on how to destroy these efforts. It's one thing to counter and attack back, but this army and any semblance of their mission need to be annihilated. This time, taking out an empire might not just be another work week."

"Well, let me ask this. We both knew this day might come eventually, but how do you genuinely think this is all going to turn out?" Wesley asked.

"She was always going to come. It was a matter of how loud the assault would be, and I will admit, she's strategic. Still, we've been better for the past several decades. And she'll be silenced. Forever." the voice declared.

Sorry this chapter was out a little later. I might try to publish the next one a bit earlier to make up for this, but no promises with how busy life can sometimes get. I hope you all are doing well and I continue the story will only continue to get bigger and crazier from here. See you soon!

-redbirds12